Gamertell

Shiny Shiny has a very interesting (if brief) blurb on one of the coolest, funniest shooters of all time: No One Lives Forever. The game was a super-smart spy spoof with a ton of sass, and Shiny writer LucyHedges posits that the game was also steeped in feminist ideals. Citing the smart, fully-clothed and ultra competent female protagonist and overt “feminism for dummies” dialogue, Lucy thinks the game was quite an anomaly in the testosterone-soaked world of PC shooters. The title is now a super-bargain at $12.99, so if you missed it the first time around, you’d be smart to pick it up now.

Obligatory female gamer comment: I’ve got to agree, and admit that I’ve always loved the game. Come to think of it, I also loved that Portal featured a female lead character (especially one without triple-D cups or clad in a thong and heels), and of course I get a little kick out of positive, cool female game characters. So I want to give a quick shout to Jade of Beyond Good and Evil, Cortana from Halo, Joanna Dark from Perfect Dark, and Samus from Metroid.

Read [Shiny Shiny]

Barbie just can’t get a break. Mattel has been unveiling a line of Superhero themed dolls - among them Wonder Woman, Batgirl and Supergirl, but the Barbie iteration of Black Canary has gotten heat from conservative groups. Their complaint? That the doll is too sexually suggestive and constitutes “filth” according to Christian Voice, a…

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I find that lightweight gun frames for the Nintendo Wii like the 2-in-1 Combined Light Gun from Brando usually have two problems. The first is that the companies that make gun frames assume first-person shooters (FPSs) do not use the Nunchuk and put all the design controls in the gun frame to hold the trigger. The second is that they also assume the WiiMote’s top A button doesn’t get used much and put it on top so you have to use the other hand to access it. Unfortunately, the ezShot Gun by ezGear takes these design flaws a bit further…

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Blacksite: Area 51 is one of the first games to question why we are forcing ourselves into such a bad situation. While it does it in a way that doesn’t entirely follow the true political reality, the message is quite clear that America might be completely screwed.

There’s a lot to take in. From the war on terror to war in America’s own streets this game mocks the politics of fear. Sure, the game is beautiful even without the blatant political insults to presidential administrations past and present. There’s just something about the war in Iraq ending to fight a domestic threat that makes it even more intriguing…

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Another week, another seemingly random update for the Wii’s downloadable content services. This time around, we have the Master System version of Sonic the Hedgehog (not sure if we needed this one...), the bloody awesome Splatterhouse 2, and WiiWare in the form of Wild West Guns, one of the most aptly-titled games ever (as a western-themed shooting gallery). As always, all titles are available on the Wii Shop channel, with a fresh batch arriving every Monday at 9 AM Pacific time. Wii points can be purchased at a rate of $1 for 100 points.

Click through for Nintendo’s Official Descriptions:

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Title: Professional Techniques for Video Game Writing
Author(s): Sande Chenm Richard Dansky, Wendy Despain (Editor), Beth A, Dillon, John Feil, Alice Henderson, Erin Hoffman, Chris Klug, Jay Posey, Rhianna Pratchett, Haris Orkin, Evan Skolnick, Anne Toole, Maurice Suckling and Andre S. Walsh.
Price: $39.00 (paperback, 250 pages)
Release Date: May 19, 2008
Publisher: A.K. Peters
Format: Paperback
Pros: Written in easy-to-digest chunks and includes a few useful examples. Great text book for an upper-level high school course or lower-level college course.
Cons: Not quite as in-depth as a true professional guide. Should have more real-word examples with notes.
Overall Score: One thumb up, one sideways; 85/100; B; * * * 1/2 out of five.

Pro Techniques is not the in-depth guide that will satisfy skilled, professional writers. It is, however, an excellent primer for beginning writers and would make a decent text book for either an upper level high school course or lower level college course.

Click through for the full review…

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Title: Game Boys (aka Game Boys: Professional Videogaming’s Rise from the Basement to the Big Time)
Author: Michael Kane
Price: $24.95 (hardcover)
Release Date: June 23, 2008
Publisher: Viking (part of Penguin Putnam, Inc.)
Pros: Conveys the excitement, personality and seriousness of competitive gaming in a readable tone. A good book for gamers and pro gaming skeptics.
Cons: Starts a bit slow and has some overly simplified explanations of gaming and gaming terms.
Overall Score: Two thumbs up; 90/100; A-; * * * * out of five.

Kane’s Game Boys is so much better than the pop-catchy name implies. It is instead a well-formed, personal and serious look into select groups of pro gamers.

Click through for the full review…

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Title: Schizoid
Price: 800 Microsoft Points (US$10.00)
System(s): Xbox Live
Release Date: July 9, 2008
Publisher (Developer): Microsoft (Torpex Games)
ESRB Rating: “Everyone” for mild fantasy violence.
Pros: Fun and addictive two-player game with good particle effects and smooth controls. Single-player two-ship “Uberschizoid” mode.
Cons: Single-player CPU teammate is occasionally idiotic.
Overall Score: Two thumbs up; 91/100; A-; * * * * out of five. 

Schizoid is a game of dualities. First, the name implies that it is meant for a single player (remember that “schizoid personality disorder” is antisocial behavior where the person tries to be alone) yet is most definitely a two-player game. Also, it may be a killer two-player game but it also has an amazingly fun single-player mode where you control both of the game’s avatars with one controller.

It’s hectic, it’s confusing, it’s frustrating and it’s friggin’ fun.

Click through for the full review…

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Check out the gallery: Schizoid for Xbox Live screen shots

Although I have to applaud ezGear for making Wii accessories that bring more realism to the game, the company’s attempt to make boxing gloves for Wii Sports Boxing is not successful. I had a chance to try Wii Boxing Gloves first-hand (literally) and noticed major flaws in the product.

ezGear’s gloves are one-size-fits-all boxing style gloves with adjustable straps and special pouches for both the Wiimote and Nunchuk. The first flaw is the way the Wii controllers fit into the gloves. Even though the pockets are made for the Wiimote and Nunchuk, it is a…

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During Comic Con 2008, many games and comics were featured. And who wouldn’t want to attend a special preview of today’s most talented directors and animators create independent film masterpieces. The Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival consisted of movies that fell into seven categories: action/adventure, animation, comics-oriented, documentary, humor/parody, horror and science fiction/fantasy. On July 27, 2008, the top films in each category were announced and awarded.

This year’s Comic-Con International: Independent Film Festival are…

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