Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition

With so many aliens to blast, vehicles to destroy, thugs to shoot, zombies to impale, robots to dismantle and buildings to blow up, today's gaming climate makes it easy to forget how much fun it can be to actually create something. Most of us spent our formative years learning to create, from drawing, painting and writing to building castles using blocks, running endless variations of railroad tracks for model trains, or even creating elaborate scenarios for your action figures. Then the hordes of digital enemies came-a-knockin' and we collectively switched gears and went into kill mode without consciously realizing that a shift had even taken place. Minecraft taps into that little dormant nugget of creativity that most people have long forgotten about, and the possibilities are only as limited as your imagination.

Avatar: The World's Oldest Profession

 

For achievement/trophy hunters, it's been said that "Every Point Matters".... It's also been said that if you're looking for quick and easy gamerscore, the unequivocal, axiomatic go-to game is 2007's Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Burning Earth. What's discussed far less often, however, is what the psychological effects of this caliber of achievement whoring can have on the human psyche. Thus far I've successfully avoided the temptation of this shameful 1000gs gimme, but journalistic duty commands that I compartmentalize my pride, swallow my dignity, and finally descend into the belly of the beast in an effort to see if holds up to the hype.

Free Wins, Free Wins for Everyone!

Welcome to the first post in a series I'm calling Practice Makes Perfects, in which I chronicle my journey from fighting game failure to scrappy upstart, fierce opponent, and beyond! Follow along as I test my mettle against players online and at my local arcade ranking battles! Be there for the exultant victories and tragic knock outs! Ready? Fight!

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A few weeks ago, after years of excuses, I finally set out on a quest I've been contemplating ever since 2008, when the release of Street Fighter IV heralded the beginning of a fighting game renaissance and reinvigorated the genre's competitive scene. The goal of this quest: to turn my arcade-scrub self into a competent joystick jockey--no easy task. As a wise man named Sagat once said, "Until you see the fight as more than a wild free for all, you are no fighter." Actually, he's probably said it thousands of times, but in any case it's an apt observation of the spectrum of skill separating the glorified punching bags from the tournament champions. It can take years to develop the execution, quick reactions, and adaptability that are necessary at the highest levels of play.

Second Look: WCW/nWo Revenge

Ah, the wrestling video game. These days, they're as regular and consistent as any other sports title; annual releases with updated franchises and rosters, and occasionally an interesting gameplay enhancement. While consistently improving graphically to keep current and competitive within their respective console capabilities, these games have simply become serialized, much as their NFL, MLB, NHL and NBA brethren. I don't mean to cast a disparaging hue on this fact, but at the risk of sounding like Grandpa Scoundrel, these kids today don't know how good they have it.

It's Bullet Time

American Max Payne fans who have access to basic cable will be be given quite a treat next week in the form of a full episode of Game Trailers dedicated to next month's third installment in the series. According to Rockstar, the episode will feature exclusive footage of the game along with interviews with Rockstar folk about what we can expect from Max's latest adventure. The episode is scheduled for Thursday night, May 3rd, at 12:30am on Spike TV. So check your local listings, set your DVR, or prep your insomnia, because this one is likely to be a doozy. International fans will have access to the full episdoe a few days after it airs on Game Trailers' website.

Max Payne 3 is scheduled for a May 15th release on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, and a May 29th release on Microsoft Windows.

Mollified Birds

Well, wouldn't you know it: the same day I lambast them for a greedy, misleading Achievement scheme, Rovio goes and releases ten new levels for their hit game Angry Birds Space at the low, low price of free. It's hard to tell if my original argument still holds water what with it all leaking away due to the zero gravity. Space!

Eagle-eyed readers probably spotted this bit of news all over the web, but me, I got it from Joystiq.

Gaming in the Achievement Era - Part 2

In our last Dialogue we talked about how Achievements and Trophies have changed gaming for the better. In this installment we examine the systems' potential for evil. Developers, take note!