Star Power in the next Red Alert installment = WIN?

RTS fans should be well aware of the upcoming Command and Conquer: Red Alert game coming out pretty soon. And even I don't have to say much about its storyline, gameplay, and what-have-you under the R.A. universe since by now, many of our friends here in the interwebs would have done extensive research on this one. Heck, even I have to agree that this game looks amazing already! (until Starcraft 2 comes along? Maybe...)

But one thing that sticks to my mind when it comes to this game is something that has been pretty surprising if you think about it: THE VOICE TALENT.

To give you an idea of how far EA, today's game company giant, will go to make sure this game becomes extremely successful, let's go to our favorite movie friend, IMDB, to help us out:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1198194/fullcredits#cast

As a fan, who wouldn't be glad of George Takei being in this game, much less as the emperor? (Did anyone see You Don't Mess With the Zohan?) Besides him, there's Tim Curry, Kelly Hu, Jenny McCarthy (AS TANYA!?), J.K Simmons, Jonathan Pryce, Gina Carano of MMA and American Gladiators fame, and wait...

RANDY COUTURE! (Yes, the real Captain America, UFC Hall of Famer, current UFC Heavyweight Champion, and currently starred in Big Stan)

If you look at a game like Kingdom Hearts 2 and look at their voice cast, and looking at this game, it's hard to tell that these two games have no similarities at all when it comes to a big-time ensemble. It's also pretty obvious that for a game to have such a cast would tantamount to the company taking this particular title REALLY seriously, especially with the talent fees involved.

Why is it such a wonder? Because sometimes, despite a game featuring big-time names, it does not necessarily mean it'll score high in the ratings and be considered a flop. So when it comes right down to it, let us hope that the look and the gameplay both live up to the hype, and that it can deeply complement the great talent involved in the making of this game.

As a side note, does anyone believe Couture can beat Lesnar in their world title encounter?

Keep playing!

Don't worry, I ain't dead yet!

Hey everyone! Sorry for not being able to update the blog for a while due to the lack of net connection at the moment (especially to those who are wondering). Just so you know, updates are coming soon, so keep yourselves posted till then!

And keep playing!

Featured Blog of the Day - September 5, 2008

Some of you may be wondering about the other blog that is recently posted by the sidebar of my blog. Well...


http://thediaryofsigrid.blogspot.com


This is the blog of my friend, Joan, who is also a writer for GAME! Mag, as well as a proud Girl Gamer to boot! Her blog features many of her exploits as a GE player.But not only that, it also shows how the mind of a smoking hot Girl Gamer works (if I may say so myself). In fact, she defines the anti-stereotype of a female gamer, and as a whole, she simply has a lot in store. Oh, and did I mention she got interviewed as well?

Instead of me just babbling about her awesome blog, why don't you check it out yourself? So go! Check it now! =)


Keep playing!

The Online Video of the Day - September 4, 2008

As promised, my WoW-related Online Videos of the Day. Yes, here's two for all of you!

First is a report of what could happen if you can play a player playing a character in WoW, in which you have to see for yourselves.

The second is simply self-explainatory. WoW fans should know what it is. =)

Keep playing!

Retrospective: The Granstream Saga

THQ has been more commonly known as the company that is responsible for the SmackDown! and SmackDown! VS RAW gaming franchises, a yearly staple. But I remember a time in 1998 that they released a certain action RPG game that, in retrospect, pretty much left me lacking. That being, The Granstream Saga.

What would one expect in a typical action RPG? A tale of fantasy, two battling factions, a lone hero carrying the weight of the world, same old banana. What got me reminded of this title is one simple thing: THE ENDING/S.


SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!








In order to beat the last boss, the hero must choose which female lead he wants to sacrifice in order to restore order in the world. And the world, at that point, was, if I remember correctly, already engulfed in darkness. You see, after beating what was perceived as the big villain in the game, the world has suddenly ended, setting up the stage for the final battle. And the endings? Well, let's say they could have done better. YouTube it if they exist.

The game was a prime example of how one company could not really be seen as a staple in a certain genre. RPG gaming? NAH! It's just that this title could have been better should more effort and capital be thrown in, signifying that the direction could have been different, and the game could have gone better.

Of course, one door may have closed, and another opened, as their wrestling games have become a yearly success over time. At least they take these games seriously, for what it's worth.


Keep playing!

New Minesweeper Record!

When I said before that gaming is serious business, I wasn't kidding in any way, manner, or form. Same goes for one of the most addicting free games around: Minesweeper.


Around a few weeks ago, I started doing the Minesweeper habit. Yup, once you get used to playing the game, it's sometimes hard to resist the temptation. Haha!





In any case, some time ago, a very good friend of mine, Ian, beat my record of 270 seconds on Expert mode in Minesweeper, as follows:





By luck, just some hours ago, well, just take a look for yoruselves:


(No photoshopping in any way, believe it.)

If you guys think you have a better record than mine, feel free to post or send in your pictures! Let's see if you can beat this record. Same goes for you, Ian! XD



Keep playing!

The Online Video of the Day - September 3, 2008

Originally, I was gonna post in the greatest boss fight in gaming history, featuring the Family Guy video game released for multiple platforms: Peter Griffin VS Ernie, the Giant Chicken. Fans of the series should know why their three fights are considered epic. =P

But since it's not longer available, I've decided to post in the next best thing, as shown above. If that's not epic enough, I don't know what is. But to say the least, it's simply awesome.

(Insert Peter Griffin laugh here)

Keep playing!

What Grinds My Gears: Girls VS the Stereotypes, and Internet Trolling

My friend, PJ aka NineMoons (see the first Featured Blog of the Day), recently posted a particular blog entry that got my original thoughts in check, and it was dawning on me for a very long time:





http://geninemoons.blogspot.com/2008/09/homage-ninemoons-and-one-about-ge-gamer.html (Besides that, please do check out the whole event in conjunction with L'Oreal XD)



So, you know what grinds my gears?


- You see, I, for the life of me, cannot understand why some people consider women to be pretty stereotypical when it comes to them and video gaming. I seriously believe it's awesome to have girls join in the fun when it comes to them being involved in video gaming. And why shouldn't they? There is a reason why a gaming community is called AS SUCH. So I find myself being left with a bad taste in my mouth when women are being stereotyped from being able to do anything men can, for the matter. I don't know, but haven't they learned anything in the course of human history? Let me put it this way:







See? That's called incorporating history with gaming! She's an example of women who have made a difference, and I'm glad to see a game to feature such a historical figure, even if the story of the game does have a bit of an anime-ish and fantasy feel to it. Regardless, women are to be respected in every way, bank on it. And if they can beat you in fighting games, so be it, and be happy for it.

- I have a bit of mixed feelings with Internet Trolling. I mean, for whatever it's worth, they did help innovate a lot of internet memes over the years, which is fun. But I simply do not like the discriminatory aspect of it. Again, it seems a bit funny at first, but in the long run, I just don't see it as a perfect topic to talk about in real social situations. Homophobic and racial slurs, and all that jazz are the things I don't like about this phenomenon. And what's worse, gamers tend to say a lot of these things, thinking that they would sound a lot tougher if they say words like n#@!$r, "f$@", and what have you. And as a result, this is just ruining the fun of not only hardcore gamers, but casual gamers as well. And if that happens, who knows how these people will view gaming with misguided gamers being like that. There is a fine line between acting tough (or being tough), and being a total a$$.



Keep playing!