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| Member Since: | May 9, 2007 |
| Bio: | Besides the Editor of Gamertell, I’m also a writer, web designer, sometimes artist and generally groovy guy at large. I earned a Master’s degree in journalism from Kent State University and have been professionally writing and designing web sites for more than 13 years. I’m currently a Contributing Editor for Geek Monthly Magazine (geekmonthly.com) and periodically write for GamesRadar (gamesradar.com), GameZebo (gamezebo.com) and a few other publications. For four years I wrote a weekly videogame column for the Cincinnati Enquirer’s magazine, CiN Weekly, titled “Player1.” |
| Location: | Cincinnati, OH |
| Birthday: | November 4, 1970 |
| My Website: | http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/author/pj_hruschak |
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All Comments
- On a whim I got an external fan for the PS3. System seems to be running fine now but the fan runs all the time (and a temperature sensor). Maybe there's something about the updates that causes the systems to overheat (like too many active components)?
- You've obviously never watched the show. There are "healthy dose[s] of gaming references - nods to World of Warcraft, a Wii Sports Bowling night and even an entire episode dedicated to Age of Conan: Online..."
- I ordered a new hard drive (wish I had waited a couple days since Sony *just* officially announced the US release of the 250GB PS3) and tried installing, thinking maybe the hard drive was the issue. No go. I cannot even get through the hard drive formatting process before it freezes (as evidenced by the colored swoop ceasing to move) with *both* the old or the new hard drive. Next attempt will include a system fan/cooler accessory.
- Cheapest. Christmas. Presents. Ever.
- Since it's really just a holster for the WiiMote, it'll work with Any Wii game, including LEGO Star Wars.
- Add me to the list. My PS3 now freezes when it never had before. It was working fine with game discs, Blu-rays and downloaded games until I played the new Katamari game (looks like that review will be delayed). Now whenever I try to get online, it freezes. Sometimes I cannot get past the smiley house login screen before it freezes. I can sometimes get it to work again with what you might call a soft boot. After turning off the system (sometimes holding down the power button for a long time works, sometimes I need to flick the power switch on the back) you turn on the system and hold down the power button until you hear the second beep (about 5-8 seconds). Then wait for it to reset some settings and start back up.
- With a lot of practice and probably some back strain.
- It's likely that the brain has at least some rudimentary operation, to keep the body moving an process thoughts of "me hungry." I'm guessing if they do feel pain, it's pretty non-existant since they seem to disregard their own limitations to get to human meat, which is why they often seem really strong. (Otherwise, it'd be a very basic sensation of pain, so it'd be rather debilitating, so even touching them would stop them, and that just doesn't happen).
- Very true. Of course, has anyone studied the digestive nature of zombies? Maybe they just eat until they explode since they cannot actually digest anything any more.
- What if Fat Princess were a zombie? Then we'd all be in serious trouble.
- I'm torn between honest and sarcastic gratitude of these freebies. The company doesn't have to offer anything (esp. since they've already sold you the games and hardware). Then again, offer any type of points program and you need to make it worthwhile to the customers to keep it viable (and meaningful).
- a) Yeah, we cannot be track all sites going down, being sold, etc. So thank you for pointing those out. b) Didn't realize that. Thanks again.
- The iPhone and iPod Touch have a similar issue with menu slots. With the iPhone's/iPod Touch, you can own and download more apps than slots, but you cannot access them through the device's menu. You have to remove items from the menu in iTunes and then reload the apps. The hardware and storage space simply allow for more than the menu system will show. With all the free app on the Apple App Store, that quickly became an issue. But, you are right, it's impossible to fill up the DSi (for now). It'll likely become an issue in the next year much as the limited space on the Wii became an issue.
- This is one of the few games with canned footage that looked truly impressive. Collapsible buildings, shooting at helicopters and multiplayer to boot. Better yet, it all looked amazing in action.
- Hmm, that could be very possible. Maybe the previous game references set up the cognitive expectation for me to mishear it.
- Not quite certain there are thousands of studies and, even if there are, none can show causality. At best, there might be a statistical correlation between game violence and real-world violence but most studies that try to find a correlation between media intake and exhibited violence often cannot find a strong correlation between the two. Most often they find a relationship between media violence and emotional violence, though the emotion violence is often very temporary. But, that is not the issue here. Violent games are already clearly labeled via ESRB ratings and it is up to parents - and possibly retailers - to take action against minors purchasing games with specific ESRB ratings.
- A variation on no. 2 is the, "Oh crap, the cat scratched your game" or, "Oops, I sat on the disc." Buy a damaged version of your friend's favorite game and replace it when they are not looking. The second version would involve cracking it which, for many games, isn't that easy. If you are really good with Photoshop and have a decent printer you could print fake label stickers of DS games to put on friends games. I suggest 30 variations of My Little Pony, Barbie or Hello Kitty games.
- RE: Gamertell Review: Watchmen the movie [Gamertell]Rorschach (no relation) is also one of the most interesting characters in the book, so they did pretty well there. The person who went to the screening with me said at the end, "Well, that certainly wasn't a character movie." With so many diverse main characters, it's hard to give due justice to them all. I'm not sure how they could have resolved that without major rewriting (tricky), cutting characters (a fan non-no) or an uber long movie (maybe the Director's Cut?). Even the non-Director's cuts of the Lord of the Rings movies have sections that drag on far too long. Cutting out the comic-in-the-comic/movie was a good idea but there could certainly have been a few minutes (and redundancies) trimmed from several scenes to pick up the pace. Geek_Girl - I'd recommend the Watchmen book(s) for the value of it as a ground breaker. Like the movie, it's pretty hard to get the full effect of the nuclear scare/themes in it two decades later but it has influenced many comic writers/artists/editors as well as other media. The original may seem a little dated or passe if you had not been exposed to it before. Of course, there's something nice about being able to add your own internal interpretation to the characters based in the original words and art.
- RE: Gamertell Review: Watchmen the movie [Gamertell]There were certainly slow parts that could have been edited to bring up the pace (and can you imagine an even longer Director's Cut?) It's a bit hard to capture the fright and seriousness of a potential nuclear war 20+ years later. Nixon (in the movie) was supposed to help convey that but the cruddy makeup really cut into the effect. I given them credit for at least trying.
- First make sure it is on and not muted. Then go into the PS3's audio options and make certain the correct type is selected.
- Is it just me or does that cover art make anyone else feel a little weird?
- NPR had a story a few weeks about a study that suggested there is a marked increase in diagnosis of ADHD (at least the AD part) in girls. They described the typical girl with ADHD as the quiet daydreamer while the typical ADHD boy was more hyperactive. (They eventually conceded that both show both types of outward manifestations and those were statistical tendencies). It wasn't clear if the increase was the reporting and slight rethinking of ADHD or the reality. In any case, it's pretty hard to concentrate on anything - especially a page with a bunch of words on it - when either daydreaming or running around the room. I'm guessing the right type of game can provide enough engagement to help counteract either of those behaviors. I wonder how much ADHD (either the attention or reaction to it) has affected media and vice versa. There are so many more nugget-sized blog posts and short, single-source news stories that now infest the web than ever before. (I believe this was the episode: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97149159 )
- Agreed. Even public libraries are using games to bring kids in. Observationally speaking, it seems that more adults are heading to libraries to get books on tape/CD (or to the library web sites to download books on tape) rather than read the same book. (Of course, if your only employment opportunity in this cruddy economy is a 40+ min. drive, then a book on tape is certainly better for road safety than a book.) Older kids seem to cluster around the DVDs and games. Bless the littlest kids who still head for the colorful, toy-filled children's book section. Also, even publishing houses are starting to look to increased digital distribution since print and distribution costs continue to increase. Then it's a matter of do you prefer to read text on a tiny screen for hours or listen to a book? I'm guessing that, given the choice, most people would prefer to listen from their more convenient MP3 player than squint at small sections of text on a tiny screen. The good news is that with increased digital distribution, e-reading devices will continue to improve in quality (read: increased readability, better power management, decreased eye strain and lower prices).
- This is one of those shows that even several of my sci-fi hating friends enjoy. I'm guessing the heavy themes were in there for a reason - with these writers, it's probably for something amazing. They're already touching on it with the return of the "fifth" Cylon. Any guesses on Starbuck? (And I so hope this is not all in her head).
- Does the Killzone uniform come with extra perks or is it just a cool avatar costume?
- While I certainly appreciate freedom of speech, expressions of opinions and open discourse, comments that include unnecessary vulgarities or suggest acts of violence may be removed from the site. A few such comments have already been removed.
- Articles like Mastrapa's, which seem to pop up every few months, exemplify two points. First, that many people who are paid to produced online verbiage are not trained (or at least well self-educated) writers, often forget their audience and rely too heavily on fan-centric jargon. Second, that writing about video games (journalism?) is still a very young and painfully maturing field.
- RE: Review: Nyko's Wii Wireless Sensor Bar [Gamertell]You should not need to reset any controllers for the sensor bar to work. Maybe make certain the wired sensor bar is unplugged so there are not any potential conflicts. Restarting the Wii never hurts.
- "adam" - You type to your mom with those hands? Since the site is not age gated, the owners put up a vulgarity feature. Considering your last two posts, I'm glad they did. If you continue to use unnecessarily crude language without a point, your comments will be deleted. I'm all for freedom of speech but please avoid unnecessarily crude language.
- People rent furniture and appliances. People rent dresses. People rent rims for their car. People is crazy.
- RE: Gaming needs its own Sundance [Gamertell]But not the current Sundace which is far too Hollywood-ized with mega advertisers, celebs and other distractions diverting the focus from indie films. PAX is already starting to get a little bit that way and is really meant as a gamers' gaming even, not a game showcase or game company event. Don't forget about Indiecade (http://www.indiecade.com/), an indie game group that showcases indie games and tacks on to various events (including PAX, E for All, etc.) for extra attendance.
- RE: Gamertell at PAX 2008: An eyewitness account [Gamertell]FYI: The link SauceRock posted to http://www.enlist4hell.com is a Brother in Arms: Hell's Highway giveaway where you can enter to win a Jeep. Ends 10/24/08.
- RE: Video games may help fight obesity [Gamertell]Probably several factors. The XaviX was a bit of an outsider with only a few available games (I recall 3 a the time and it looks like its only up to nine apps four years later). It also helps to have some bigger-name companies promising to release creative games for your system. It wasn't promoted or displayed very well - it was always on the impossible-to-see bottom shelf at stores, usually in the weird out-of-the-way game stuff section (with the Atari Retro, TVGames, cheapo Poker/Solitaire/Sudoku handhleds, etc.), which cheapened its appeal purely by proximity. The release was also after that year's E3 when the Wii was announced, so more serious gamers were likely going to wait for the Nintendo (and Mario) name. The promises of the XaviX were pretty impressive at the time, too, (motion-sensitive home security and interactive videos) but don't seem to have come to fruition. Now it appears the company has (perhaps wisely) embraced the even more popular health route instead of trying to compete against the Wii as an uber-multi-interactive system. Maybe they should try to sell it at health stores and fitness centers.
- RE: Video games may help fight obesity [Gamertell]Interestingly, the XaviX was available in 2004, before the Wii was released. Here's an old review I wrote of the XaviX for CiN Weekly magazine (November 24, 2004) but archived elsewhere: http://webn.com/jacor-common/pj/xavix.html
- My main issue with this topic is the way Wright's answers were represented. The question by Eurogamer: "You describe yourself as an atheist; take the so-called militant atheists like Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, who see faith uniformly as a bad, negative and dangerous thing. Do you see it more benignly, even if you don't necessarily believe?" So the term "militant Atheists" in that interview was introduced by the interviewer, not from Wright. There is also an exclamation point tossed in later implying that Wright was pretty excited/angered/surprised (?) that Atheists were so concerned but it's impossible to get accurate intonation from a written word. I read that as Wright not actually calling any group militant but trying to delicately reply to the interviewers question. As for the magic vs. religion aspect, I did not realize that Atheists are so against magic. What "one article" got it "right?"
- Candace - Yep, the Green Tree Online URL has gone bad. It was working when we checked it before the post went live. I've contacted EA for a new URL.
- Will - You can contact the site Editor (me) through the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of the site.
- RE: Latest gamer hater: Wired Magazine!? [Gamertell]You are right, racial stereotype and geek stereotypes are not both stereotypes that might anger, annoy or otherwise piss off the target audience. I certainly partook in some conflation there. It's obviously working pretty well for me. Believe and guarantee away as you may.
- RE: Latest gamer hater: Wired Magazine!? [Gamertell]Yes, I did. Continual (ie "all the time") stereotyping does not make it right. I assure you that all stereotypes are met with grand indignation by someone. Yeah, ancestors had to live somewhere and everything is somehow geography based. Time is also a very important factor. Of course, both are entirely relative (pun partially intended). But, not points to argue here. I laugh at many, many things. Maybe I even laughed until I peed myself at that. You may never find out. My point - stereotyping can be a slippery slope and always deserves humorous and serious criticism. You really cannot guarantee much about me. Maybe I wrote that as a theoretical piece to stir debate. Maybe I wholeheartedly believe it. Maybe I could care less. Maybe I believe there is a physical, biological necessity to create stereotypes based on the limited physical capacity of the human brain to categorize, store and recall information. Maybe not. For me to know and you to assume, infer or otherwise decide. And therein lies another layer of humor.
- RE: Latest gamer hater: Wired Magazine!? [Gamertell]Kevin H - Your first point is at least partially true and does not negate my post at all. I did allude to that. Again, concentrated on gamers. Mine is a question concerning parallel stereotypes - which you did not answer but instead tried to negate by calling it "silly." Why is that "silly" and how is it a logic gap? Many people feel as strongly (or even more strongly) about their hobby/interest group/career/political views/religion/etc. as their genetic background or geographic ancestry (which is not always DNA-based). Stereotypes are ultimately about perception and reception, not the category of the stereotype.
