Monthly Archives: October 2013

Today in Gaming History, Uncategorized

Today in Gaming History: 10/26/2013

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October 26, 2000: PlayStation 2 released in the U. S.
As we get ready to ring in the joys and triumphs of the PlayStation 4, let’s not forget that 13 years ago this week, the PlayStation 2 descended upon the gaming world. When asked about the console, Kazuo Hirai, president and COO of Sony Compute Entertainment America, boasted, “The PlayStation 2 . . . is not the future of video game entertainment, it is the future of entertainment period.”* Like the first PlayStation, the PS2 could play DVDs was well as games on CD. It was also backwards compatible with PS1 games, and it accepted PS1 memory cards. The PS2 controllers had been upgraded with analog sticks, but PS1 controllers could be used with the machine with limited functionality.  The PS2’s launch price was $299.

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News Byte

PS4 Getting Day 1 Patch

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Following in Nintendo’s footsteps, Sony (along with Microsoft) will be requiring people who purchase the new console to download a 300mb patch in order to use many of the next-gen console’s features. Perhaps the most notable of the features effectively disabled without the patch is online multiplayer. The system simply wont be able to play online until after the download. With any luck, this will be a painless process for early-adopters and not at all like the hours off waiting people had to endure just to use their Wii U at launch.
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Food For Thought, Simul-tober

Guest Post: Zombies are Not Scary

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A group of the bloggers here at “United We Game” have been sharing posts with each other on the topic of what’s scary in video games in celebration of October and Halloween. Behold the Duck’s thoughts on the topic, originally a guest post on “Cheeese Toastie and Video Games”.

Originally posted on CheeeseToastieandVideoGames:

This week I bring to you the second guest post of the month, again on the topic of horror. The blogger I’m featuring this week is the always entertaining and insightful Duck of gaming blog The Duck of Indeed and one of the admins of United We Game. Remember to check out both of those sites for more awesome gaming stuff! Also, remember to check out my post on his blog when it goes up. I’ll reblog it here over the weekend too. Without further ado, over to Duck! 

This month, the bloggers over at “United We Game” have been participating in simul-posts most suited to the month that Halloween calls home, where we write guest posts on our fellow bloggers’, well, blogs on the topic of what’s scary in video games.  Unlike many others, the Duck is not very familiar with the horror genre, but I still have…

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Today in Gaming History

Today in Gaming History: 10/25/2013

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October 25, 1910: Happy Birthday William Higinbotham!
If you don’t think it’s possible for the history of video games to date all the way back to 1910, think again. And if you don’t think that the history of video games is littered with controversy, then let’s say hello to William Higinbotham.  If the name sounds at all familiar to you, Higinbotham was an American physicist who worked on the development of nuclear bombs during World War II.  He is also sometimes credited with having created the very first video game: Tennis for Two (1958).

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News Byte, Reporting

News Byte: New U.S. Army Helmet Takes a Cue From Video Games

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A new futuristic helmet is currently being tested by the US Army, and it looks like something straight out of Halo or Call of Duty: Black Ops II. It’s called the Helmet Electronics and Display System-Upgradeable Protection. This new helmet comes complete with facial protection plating (9mm thick) and even a Heads-Up Display !(also a proprietary name). The high-tech helmet has been in development for four years at the Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center. It probably goes without saying that the intent here was to provide the wearer with better protection and more tools at their disposal.
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Simul-tober

Simul-tober: The Sounds of Silence

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The horror continues as we are now in week two of Simul-tober! Be sure to check out the other posts at Cheese Toastie and Video Games and Games I Made My Girlfriend Play. And now the this week’s entry courtesy of Chip from GIMMGP:

In the past, I have talked about the power that music can hold over a listener.  A particular song at the right moment can heighten tension, bringing a cold sweat to a player’s palms.  Most horror games have ambient soundtracks, the kind of music that has a song for each scene, specifically tailored to certain areas and enemy encounters.  But among these recordings, there is normally a single song that transcends all other tracks and becomes a sort of theme for the game.  In the Silent Hill series, it seems like composer Akira Yamaoka had this philosophy in mind, and crafted some of the most endearing melodies that still haunt me to this day.
Food For Thought

When Glitches Just Ruin It

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Image by Flicker user yhancik
Image by Flicker user yhancik

The Last of Us is considered one of the “must play” games of 2013. It’s received praise upon praise for its story, mechanics, and style. Despite all the great reviews and such, we decided to rent it first. (Hey, there’s a lot of great games to spend a hard-earned $60 on these days!) When it finally arrived last weekend, my husband called dibs on playing it first. I was looking forward to watching it more than playing, so I settled in for some visual fun.

The game took a very long time to load and stalled once during the process; but we didn’t think much of it — we’ve had similar issues with PS3 games before, particularly games we’ve rented. When things finally got underway, the viewing experience was beautiful. The Last of Us is truly deserving as far as art and art direction go. Everything in the game is gloriously rendered in a style that’s a cross between naturalism and photography. And oh man…that story. After avoiding as many spoilers as possible about the game, I couldn’t wait to see how the story of the main protagonist Joe unfolded.

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