Really Criterion? That is Not A Remake! That’s Burnout: Most Wanted!

Where’s the blacklist? Where’s cross? Where is Most Wanted, and most importantly, where is the remake? I wanted to feel nostalgic when I saw gameplay footage of Need for Speed: Most Wanted. All I feel is betrayal. Criterion and EA have insulted me for the last time. EA knew Most Wanted is one of the best games in the franchise, so they decided to fool us by slapping “remake” on the new and upcoming Need for Speed game. It looks like Burnout and I already have Burnout Paradise to get my fix; I wanted a remake damn it! Why couldn’t they have simply upped the graphics and changed the story line but kept the plot? Anyone who says this is remake of the original obviously never played the original.

I hate to say this but that game isn’t worth a dime; that is a game worth pirating. I won’t be buying this game and I won’t be pirating it, either, but I’m ashamed that EA would just insult us like that. Need for Speed – Burnout: Most Wanted will be great for those who are new to the franchise. The days where the game was focused on tuning and customization are over. Now, it’s about smashing opponents and online stats. Most of the game play NFS‘ youtube page is showing is of the online game play and how now you can ‘jack cars’.

I wouldn’t be so upset if they didn’t slap ‘remake’ on the game as if it were true. If they (Criterion) decide to work on Underground and Underground 2, my racing days are over. Underground 2 is hands down the best racing game of the franchise. I loved that game and I’d prefer to pull out an emulator and play it and not having some brainless, zombified game developers “remake” it and screw it all up.

The graphics look nice, they’re great but I don’t want to have to crash through billboards and/or “security gates”. I got enough of that b.s. in Paradise. There wasn’t one different opinion among them all that maybe they should at least try something different? Burnout Paradise has been out for some time and I’m sure Criterion had fun working on that game but this is pathetic! I don’t care about online gameplay or numbers – stats, etc. I wanted relive the memories of Most Wanted as it should be remembered.

Look at this. What the hell is this crap?

That looks like Blur, Burnout, Split Second and some other fourth racing game that’s not Most Wanted.

This…is Most Wanted!

Getting chased by the cops, defeating the blacklist, being on the top of Cross’ shit list. Defeating Razor and being the most wanted is what I liked about the game. I liked being able to run from the cops and see how long I could last before they somehow either pinned me in, rammed me with one of their SUV‘s, or got me with the spike strips. I loved the fact that there were parts of the map you could use to take out as many cops as possible. It wasn’t about numbers, it was about having fun and defeating the computer. Where the hell is that in this “remake”?

They honestly should change the name. They should change it to: Burnout: Most Wanted – A Criterion Game.

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Now That Steam’s Summer Sale is Over…

I can go back to my boring life. I think I cried on the inside when it was over. That had to have been the best sale of video games ever. I love Steam more and more because of it. I was able to get most of my games on my wish list for a fraction of the price due to that sale. So now that I have all the games to occupy me on those lonely weekends when my son is with his dad. I am complete. Now all I need are my 20 cats and I’ll be set.  That sale should have lasted a little longer. I missed the final day because of my crappy internet service. I couldn’t get on Steam for a full 24-hours. I felt like I was missing out.

I’ll end up postponing my video game marathon for at least a couple of weeks because I haven’t been feeling too good. I don’t know what it could be but it’s dampening my mood as drive to play the games I bought. If it’s gone by this Friday when my son’s dad come and get his son for the weekend, then it’s on like Donkey Kong.

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This Mom is Very Happy!: Most Wanted Remake!

I must have been under a rock because I knew of no such thing until I went on youtube that there was going to be a remake of one of the best racing games in the Need for Speed franchise. My wish has finally came true. I just hope Criterion don’t screw this up. I’m reading that it’s not a sequel but a remake but from the video footage it’s more like a combination of Need For Speed: Most Wanted and Burnout Paradise. Which is okay with me because Burnout Paradise was an okay game, minus that there was no ‘traffic check’ — well there was traffic check if you were in a huge vehicle.

Anyway, I am so excited! I just wish I knew about this sooner. I guess this is what happens when I prefer to not watch television and miss out on this year’s E3 but that’s okay. According to the internet, I’m only 5 days late.

Most Wanted is just one of the four — in my opinion best racing games in the Need for Speed franchise. The other three are, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (the original), Need for Speed: Underground and Need for Speed Underground 2. The worse in the franchise would be Need for Speed: ProStreet, Need for Speed: The Run and Need for Speed: Undercover. When they made ProStreet, it was like they gave up. When I played ProStreet, I felt as if I just got spat in the face. It was insult to the franchise and hopefully the Most Wanted remake lives up to the original. Otherwise, I’m going to be thoroughly pissed.

Yes, Assassin’s Creed III is coming, Borderlands 2, but screw that, I’ve waited on a remake for Most Wanted since I told my husband all those years ago when I was playing it on my Nintendo Gamecube.

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Put Your Finger in Your Ear and Scratch…

It’s going to be a crying shame when my son is an adult. I love Pac-Man but as time progresses, Pac-Man and games alike are becoming a thing of the past. Eventually, not even a remake (Pac-Man Championship Edition) will be enough for anyone to play them. One day I’m going to pull out an emulator and play Pac-man and I’m sure Adam and his little friends are going to look at me like I just stepped out of a National Geographic for gamers (I wish) circa 1952 and I won’t give a damn. I don’t know about anyone else but I refuse to let the good games die; they are a dime-a-dozen these days.

I wish I still had my Sega Genesis and NES consoles. I was trying to hold on to those forever; to pass them down to my son. Nah, I wouldn’t have passed them down to my son, he wouldn’t have want them.

I’ve always been a gamer and forever will be until arthritis cripples my fingers to the point I’m inadvertently holding up gang signs. Even then, I won’t need my hands unless I lower my standards and play my video games via Kinect for the Xbox 360. I’ve been a PC gamer for some time now and it looks to me that I feel as if I’m too good to play anything on a console. I spoiled myself. With games like Pac-Man and Super Hang-on becoming a thing of the past, all it does it make me hate time even more. Time is obviously not on technology’s side or we would still be playing video games on the Atari. I had the pleasure of owning one of those as well.

Makes you wonder how old I am. I’m only 24 but I know where the good games lie and it’s not in the crap that people are playing today. I look at the video games that’s being distributed and its insulting. No original idea, no decent plots, no anything. Just “The fools will buy anything we make so just put this character in the game this way, give him/her a sap story; throw a world domination plot in there with a few guns and make them buy the DLC for unnecessary and absurd prices”. Disgusting I know but once the gamers raise their standards, companies like EA and Activision will continue to milk you for all you got.

I know one thing, my son(s) (or daughter) will know the history of gaming before he/they/she ever picks up a controller. Yea, it’s that serious. You, the “I’ll buy and try anything once” made it that serious.

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& The Best Video Game Controller Is…

The Nintendo Gamecube controller. Hear me out, that damn controller was damn comfortable; durable too. I still have my Nintendo Gamecube and the controllers. When I need a Need for Speed Most Wanted fix, I can just whip that bad boy out — wait, I lost my memory cards. Anyway, the Nintendo Gamecube controller wins hands down in the comfort and durability department. I’ve stepped on my controllers, tossed them, wasted water on them, tripped on one of the cords so viciously I thought there would be a short in it, and a few other accidents I’m too embarrassed to say. If only the Xbox 360 controllers were that comfortable; and durable, I’d be a happy gamer. Granted the right joystick took some time getting used to but all around it was a good controller.

I didn’t play too many games on my Gamecube — just Super Smash Bros and a few titles from the Need for Speed franchise — Most Wanted will always be the best one to me. In other news, I guess I’ll be holding on to my Gamecube for all time because GameStop is no longer accepting them as trade-ins. That’s okay though, I have a son that I can show it to. Show him what are games used to look like (probably will still look like once he’s old enough) and how fun they used to be. He’ll eventually — as he age – understand that these video game companies aren’t worried about anything but their pockets. That’s why the games suck; barely work and the equipment isn’t built to last.

If he grow up to love video games, most of his love will eventually turn to hate if things keep going like they’re going. He’ll never appreciate a good comfortable controller that can withstand a tornado because there won’t be any for him to appreciate. By the time he get to the middle of a game with a story line, he’ll have to go and buy another controller so he can finish. Wait, I take that back, a story line requires thought, time and length; something the gaming industry have lacked in for some time. Now, they’ll give you a super-short game with a cliffhanger after they tell you “this is the last chapter of the franchise” and then have you sitting there thinking, “did I dream that?” when Assassin’s Creed III comes out.

You know what?

This was supposed to be about my favorite controller but I have to get this off my chest while I brought it up:

Why can’t Ubisoft just say that they’re going to milk this franchise to death instead of leading people to believe that once they get to the end of the game, they’ll finally get closure? But Noooo! They want to let you get to the end of the game, make you believe that it’s finally over, Ezio stabs some annoying chick, they end up making you go back in whatever that damn virtual past-reality thing-a-ma-bob is, now you’re Grandpa Ezio and Grandpa Altair and whatnot in the game after that. You get to the end of that game and you’re in the woods or something heading to some cave. What the hell? Ubisoft, you’re treating this franchise like a really bad soap opera…

Ok, ok…I’m finished.

To summarize this blog: Desmond as well as Ubisoft are lost, Nintendo makes good controllers (when they want to) and I’m hungry. The End.

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Waiting for the Right Moment: CM690 II Advanced Chassis for $59.99

Today was a good day for me. I browsed Newegg a bit looking for a newer processor for my computer and just so happen to find my favorite company had my case on sale. I already own the first CM690 case by Cooler Master but I recently wanted the CM690 II Advanced chassis. Sometimes waiting pays off and this is one of those times. I haven’t told my husband that I bought the case yet (plus a different door for the case) but he’ll know when it gets here. Most of you may not know but I do most of my gaming on my gaming rig and the rest (when I can) on my Xbox 360. Gaming is better on the PC than on a console for many reasons but that’s for another blog. I just had to blog about my turn of events today. I wasn’t expecting to see that chassis in particular on sale ever, I’ve waited on the price to drop for ages. Newegg, Tiger Direct, Micro Center etc all had the chassis for $79.99; the original price for the case since its release date. $30.00 cheaper may not sound like a lot to most of you but to someone who has to buy diapers, wipes, clothes, toys for a soon to be toddler that’s already the size of one can put your wants on the back-burner–which isn’t a problem of course–it’s just that when there’s a sale and you can afford it, you better seize that moment because you may regret it if you don’t.

I’ve wanted this case for a very long time; I’ve had the original CM690 since its release in 2007 — long over due for a new one I know. There’s nothing wrong with the case except that my husband broke one of my USB ports at the top (it’s really dusty and got dinged up a bit from travel). I just like the fact that it’s all black on the inside; black is my favorite color.

Me and old Betsy(His name is actually Ichigo. Yes Ichigo from Bleach the anime. So what I named it and called it ‘he’; no that doesn’t make me crazy…) here had nice run but it’s time to either put him in the closet or give him to my husband. I’m not sure which option is safer.

Oh as far as the search for a new processor, I found one; and my husband talked me into getting liquid coolant this time around so I guess it’s only fitting I get a new case for my new (kind of new) set up.

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Things a Gamer Mom Misses After She Have Kids

This may be a short list or a long one; don’t know yet. I’m just going with the flow. My son is asleep, classwork finished, pizza is in the oven, husband is happy, so I’m taking advantage of the moment to reminisce on the things a gamer mom miss. Feel free to add more in the comments if I’ve missed any.

1. Late night game marathons. Oh how I wish I can stay up late and play video games until my thumbs and trigger fingers cramp. I can no longer do that. I have to go to sleep when my son goes to sleep because he wakes up at the crack of dawn ready to play — or lay on his back and squeal until mom wakes up.
2. Uninterrupted gaming. Those days are pretty much over. My husband plays games day in and day out without worrying about the baby bothering him because he know I’m going to get him. When it’s my turn to enjoy a little game time, I have to wait until he’s in the bed for the night to play. Even then that’s short-lived because of reason # 1.
3. Working gaming controllers. I had this one white wired Xbox 360 controller since 2005. It’s gone through spills, throws, stomps, the whole 9. All it takes is a curious 6 month old to put a short in it resulting in me having to buy another one. My old controller now belongs to him. The newer ones feel cheap and in the need of some oil in the triggers; never heard of squeaky triggers until now.
4. Co-op sessions with the husband. This one is self-explanatory right?
5. Video game money is now diaper, milk and clothes money. Before, all I needed to do was pay for rent, buy clothes and food to buy for me. Now when a new release come out that I really want I have to wait until I have a little spending money for myself; which is never. This saddens me some times.
6. No more violent games. Well he’s only 9 months but soon enough, I’m going to have to cut back on shooting games and stick to racing games and The Sims franchise when I do get a chance to play. So that means, no Gears of War 3. No Left 4 Dead. No Resident Evil; just Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 and SimCity 3000.

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My Son is Either Going to Hate Video Games or Love Them

Ever since he’s been home from the hospital, my son has been fascinated by video game controllers. I’m not sure it’s how they light up or he wants to play along with dad and I. When we hand him a controller that’s not plugged in, he looks up at the screen as he’s pressing buttons, he immediately gets upset — for good reason. Babies are a lot smarter than we give them credit for and my son is proof of that. I’m just worried what all this will mean as he get older. Will he hate video games, or love them? Am I scarring my son by not allowing him to play along with dad and I? I mean he gets really mad when he realize he’s not playing. Remember my son just turned 8 months, he’s been into video games since the first time he saw me playing Left 4 Dead.

With his mom and dad being huge gamers, he may not be all into video gaming when he gets old enough to actually play. He may want to go outside where real people are and there’s nothing wrong with that. I don’t want to give my son bad habits early or lead him to believe that this is what people do all day is sit in front of a television making imaginary characters move, jump and shoot all day. I don’t want my son growing up to hate video games because of his parents — that’ll be terrible.

Maybe I’m teaching my son the wrong habits a bit early. Don’t get me wrong, as soon as he can walk and enjoy other things besides his food, his bottle and video games, we’re going to go places, just him and me. Unlike my other half, I know when to turn video games off and go outside and take a walk. My son and I will be all over Cleveland, Ohio this summer: going to the new aquarium that just opened in the flats, the Metro Parks Zoo, playgrounds, the museums; I’ve wanted to go to the Museum of Natural History for some time.

It’s up to me to teach my son that there is more to life than virtual life. There’s life outside of video games.

Mom is a Scaredy Cat

Yep, I said it.

It’ll be a while before you read this and even longer to play the game that got your mom not wanting to play it alone or in the dark. The game of which I speak of is Dead Space 2. I’m not a fan of things jumping out at me or screens mysteriously cutting on when you get close to them. Give the right play environment [nighttime and alone] and I won’t even cut it on. Don’t get me wrong, I was never like this as a kid growing up. I could stare fictional monsters in the face and not even blink. I guess as I got older, I pretty much stayed away from games like that and played more racing games. Some shooting games I can play like Left 4 Dead or a simple Call of Duty game but games like Dead Space and Resident Evil? Nah, you can forget about it.

I should be ashamed right? Not! Some grown men can’t play horror games in the dark or alone. They probably haven’t even gotten any further than I have in the game. I’m still at the beginning after you get off the elevator and have to walk into this room and climb in this crawl space to get into another part of the facility. Well, when you get older I guess there will be a lot more games like this for you to play and try, until then you’ll be stuck playing on your LeapFrog.