So here’s the game itself, wrapped in the shrink wrap, still with price tag and in the store.  I apologize for the quality of the pictures first hand; my cellphone is the only picture capturing device I have at the moment.

Oh, what do we have here down at the bottom? A crack extending the near width of the case!

Here’s the crack extending from the middle of the case.

A light squeeze again, turned front side up so you get a look at the depth.

You may have noticed that I blocked out the name of the retailer from these shots, but I don’t blame them. This is merely the consequence of penny-pinching in the guise of environmental activism. (Not that this is commentary on environmental activism at all, that’s a good thing! But some things are better left alone.)

So 15 weeks have passed and we have reached the end of our experiment using the site as a class project. I hope the old readers enjoyed having some semblance of structure and I hope the new readers enjoyed my writing at all.

Needless to say, The Relay will continue past this, but don’t expect the kind of treatment it got throughout this semester, and possibly the little it got before it as well. Something I discovered via this class is keeping up a blog with a journalistic style is rough, especially on top of school, game development and another job on top of all that.

Many of you should know that I’m a developer by trade; my passing interest in entertainment journalism being a fall back should that not work out in the end. Having a website is in today’s day and age, a requirement for those who want to be taken seriously in a career. The logic was that if I could use it as a resume tool for another career path, then I might as well. Unfortunately, life is far too hectic for me to give my writing the full attention that it deserves. In short, this will probably become a more personal journal, and more focus on my thoughts as a designer than as a journalist or even a critic.

That doesn’t mean I’m giving up entirely on the whole journalism thing. I love games, both playing and and discussing them, and I will continue to do so. Instead, I’ll look at other platforms that allow me to leisurely construct them so that they can get the care and attention they deserve. Rest assured, if an avenue like that bears fruit, you, readers of this humble site, will be the first to know about it.

Keep in mind, it was fun while it lasted, if not a bit hectic. Keep an eye on this spot regardless; I’m sure I’ll have something to say so long as you all keep listening.

When GameStop bought out its competitor, Electronics Boutique, back in October of 2005, many figured GameStop’s reign over the competition had been complete. In many ways, they were right: former EB locations suddenly became GameStops, leading to what some would call an over saturation of stores. Many malls, including South Jersey’s own Deptford Mall now contain two GameStops as a result of the merger. Even in my own home area of Blackwood, along Blackwood-Clementon Rd., live two GameStops in two separate plazas not even a minute drive away from each other. But along with these local highlights of capital dominance, the street is home to a local underdog as well; a store that carries a modern product using the virtues of American small business.

Next Level Games is a video game store, much like its big box retail competitor. Their business model is not too different either; Although there is a modest selection of new games, the vast majority of the selection is used games being sold at a lower price than one would by used. The stark difference however, is that many of the games are for older systems. This is the crux of Next Level’s business.

“There’s a pretty good crowd of enthusiastic game supporters around the area,” says Nick Milicia, owner of Next Level. “Having a store like this locally keeps them interested. It gives them a community, and its easier than buying online.” Indeed, items in stock include more than just games you would find at an average garage sale. Many rare and highly sought after titles that only come online once in a blue moon are sold behind cases in the store. These are titles that not only give the store a unique charm from a corporation like GameStop, but make it a local hotspot for enthusiasts of the hobby.

A dedicated fan base does not make for sales, however. “As a business, we do ok,” Nick says, “The best you can do is keep up with the competition, compete with the prices . . . and try not to sell at a loss.” And what can you do? Prior to GameStop, there were only ha hand full of chains and even less passion businesses like Next Level. Finding any place that exclusively sold games was seen almost as a paradise amongst gamers. Now that a big business not only exists but is readily available, it becomes even harder for a small business such as this one to find a market if they innately know where to go.

Does that make this a story of the local mom and pop under dog fighting against the mega conglomerate? Maybe, maybe not. Instead of focusing on having an alternative, maybe it would be more pertinent to see it as something else entirely. Says Nick “Many of the regulars don’t come here for what they can get at other places. They buy older games, round out their collections, find unique items that aren’t easily obtainable…” In this way, Next Level can be seen as something of an extension; a place for a particular niche.

And without the advent of the internet, such a place would be considered buried treasure amongst the locals. With the use of social networking sites such as Youtube, Twitter and Myspace, Nick is trying to spread the word not just about his store, but the inventory as well. Youtube contains a video tour of the inside contents, whilst the Twitter regularly updates telling people about new items that have been recently traded in, or current promotions being offered.

So maybe an independently owned game store will never see the numbers of a place like GameStop, but that’s also not the point. Next Level for gamers is like that bar on the other side of town that only you and your closest friends know about; the best kept secret in your little town where you can meet with people you relate to and share a common interest. And hey, find a game or two you haven’t played in a long time, too.

SOURCE -

Next Level Video Games

As a designer myself, I don’t try to look at gender as a demographic to pander to. If a story calls for a character of a particular sex, then that’s what I’ll use to the best of my ability without being stock or stereotypical on my reasons why. It’s a simple approach, but one that I feel would help greatly toward fixing the problem while still equally representing both groups.

Either way, it’s a great read and you should check it out at the link below.

Source: The Invisible Women of War (Scattered Showers)

- First, you’re going to need an account on backloggery.com. Here, you can inventorize your games along with whether or not you have beaten them. For the curious, mine is at www.backloggery.com/asandoval. I’m not completely done inventorizing; hopefully I will be done by the end of the year.

- As you beat games, change their status on Backloggery so you keep track, and give yourself points. You then use these points to buy new games throughout the year. The point values are up to you, so you can go at your own pace.

I’m hoping this year will help me discover some great games I’ve been sitting on as well as save a bit of cash. Just consider it food for thought.

Always bet on Duke.

Yeah, right. The joke that is Duke Nukem Forever became tired and cliche even 3 years before it was canceled rather unceremoniously. Despite the ironic humor attached to this ad, however, the actual story of the game’s road to extinction is a roller coaster ride of twist, turns and laughs. The game industry is known for its radically shifting nature; many ideas and projects never see any sort of public announcement, some lasting as little as a week. Duke Nukem Forever stands almost as a testament to that concept, a story of false starts and tragedies that an aspiring game developer could learn from.

So rather than relish in its long road to failure, like some sites have done, I’ve cataloged the more significant events leading up to its crash and burn earlier this year. If you spot anything that may have been left out, let me know. Also, a word of warning; Dipity is an amazing service in that it exists at all, but its also buggy as hell and a bit of a pain to navigate. Any technical issues should be brought to them, as I have nothing to do with it. So without further ado, the DNF Timeline.

On Tuesday, I picked up Assassin’s Creed II (yes, it’s amazing) for Xbox 360. I also picked up a copy of Square-Enix’s Unreal Engine epic The Last Remnant, also on 360, as well, as it was $15 on clearance and figured “Why not?” As I’m leaving the store, I went to go move the games into my book bag when I noticed something not quite right about Creed in comparison to Remnant… that being the box felt squishy, almost as if it had no front cover. “Great,” I thought to myself. “The box is broken.” I quickly tore off the shrink wrap to ensure my copy wasn’t broken when I came to the startling realization that the box was fine, it just wasn’t the same box I had been used to. The area where the CD is held on the bottom and what lays on top of the CD had been hallowed out! Well, almost anyway.

For comparison, I took another 360 game and put it next to Creed II (I would have liked to use Creed I, but alas, I don’t actually own it). Take a look yourself:

If you’ve picked up Creed II, then you know what I’m talking about, but for anyone else, the box feels as if it could break at any time. I recognize this was probably done to save some money, but much like the switch from plastic cases to cardboard in the Sega Genesis era, it’s an unwelcome one. DVDs are hard enough to take care of as it is, and some collector’s out there maintain that the case should be in mint condition, so why make it harder on us? Is this supposed to be yet another excuse to shell out money for collector’s editions?

But what really bugs me is that I had no idea this even happened. I haven’t bought any 360 games in a while. Is this a recent trend? Are there other games out there like this? As much as the internet likes to crap on the cardboard Genesis cases, how come no one has said anything about it?

One of these things, is not like the other.

If this kind of thing matters to you, understand now that these are your options:

• Buy the limited edition. Sure, you’ll get the same case, but at least you’ll have a better case to keep it in!

• Buy the PS3 version. Unless they changed their case, too. I honestly wouldn’t know. This also assumes you’re like me and actually own both.

• Suck it up.

Not quite consumer friendly, but there you have it. Can anyone else shed some light on this for me?

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

The first New Super Mario Bros. on DS was alright, but nothing special. Ultimately, it was more of a nostalgic look at what made Mario games cool, but it didn’t really add anything new or feel like much more than a greatest hits. The reviews have said that the game now feels like a much more full experience, and that’s awesome! Beyond that, it adds the ability to play on the same game board with up to four players. My original fear is that this would put restrictions on the single player; make some worlds and bonuses unaccessible to solo players, or even making some levels nigh impossible or comparitively boring. After seeing some video, I know this is not the case; NSMBW is a single player game that lets you play with four people. The thing that makes this fun, then, is seeing just how uncoordinated four people can be when put in limited space, which sounds more like something I’d see as a novelty; something I’m pop in for five minutes at a party before moving on to a truly fun co-op experience like Rock Band. However, I know some people, my girlfriend included, get a real kick out of this kind of thing. That, and I’m fine with playing by myself if the single player really is up to par with the former Mario games.

Assassin’s Creed II

Just picked this one up today, in fact! Haven’t had a chance to play, but I’m excited. Apparently it takes the original, fairly mediocre game, and actually makes it alot of fun. Considering every review has used the same phrase “makes the original seem like a proof of concept” despite being written by three entirely different people, they must be right!

Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines

The portable variant of AC this time around for PSP, Bloodlines is supposedly more of a sequel than ACII is because it features the main character from the first game. And also favors boss fights instead of assassinations. Wait, what’s the name of this game again? But you can unlock exclusive content for ACII if you own the PS3  version and this game, and that’s cool I guess. Still got the 360 version myself though.

Assassin’s Creed: Discovery

Rounding off (Priming up?) this trifecta of awesome, Assassin’s Creed: Discovery is the other portable entry for the DS and iPhone. I don’t actually know much about this game other than it’s a sidescrolling platformer, and that it uses the DSi camera to post wanted posters of you all over 15th century Spain for… some reason or another.

LittleBigPlanet PSP

Speaking of four player platformers… actually, that’s the one thing LittleBigPlanet lost when moving from the Playstation 3 over to its little portable brother. Considering that you’re still able to make full levels with ridiculous amounts of customization over the internet though, this seems like a rather fair concession to make.

Tony Hawk: The Ride

Like spending 150 dollars to play yet another rehash? Neversoft seems to think you will! Admittedly, I’m tempted to play the game if not only for the novelty of trying out the skateboard controller. Not for 150 dollars, but I’m sure I’ll know some poor fool who is.

Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues

Not content with just one lego Indy game, Telltale games made another one. And it doesn’t just add content from “The Crystal Skull” (Although it does that too), it has both new levels based on scenes in the movies not used in the original game AS WELL AS new levels based on scenes in the movie that WERE used in the original. I’m told this actually works, but I’m willing to wait as long as I did to play the original game; when I can get it on clearance for a dollar.

Left 4 Dead 2

So a bunch of people were boycotting this game for being so close to the original’s release, right? And then Valve FLEW OUT the people who were holding the boycott to play the game early, then they promptly said that the game was alright, and then people shut up. If this doesn’t prove Valve’s devotion to the fans, I don’t know what does. Also; I hear the game actually IS alright.

Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles

A weak rehash of an already weak story, put in a format that is strictly linear as opposed to the original’s open ended adventure roots. And I can’t wait to play it.

Island Officials is based in Sicklerville, NJ along with their publisher, Storm City Games. Primarily focusing on casual games, their first project Hands On! Tangrams will be released on the Nintendo DS on the 17th of this month. Kef himself worked on the project as a programmer, and does other things such as music for projects when he is needed to do so. . . but does not actually live in New Jersey himself.

So please enjoy the listen, and for more information, you can visit the Island Officials website at www.islandofficials.com.

Digital Relay Podcast – Interview

Tim Rogers of Action Button Dot Net’s article grabbed me for two reasons: The title, seen in my title, and that it had to do with Love Plus, a dating simulation game in Japan. Dating simulations are by no means rare, but this one has been stirring all kinds of controversy in its native country  because of its use of the DS function. For example, Tim begins the article by explaining the difficulty he had saying I love you,  a word he mentions he does not use normally and has difficulty saying in actual situations, into the DS microphone to advance the game’s narrative.

What goes from their is an extremely indepth look at the emotional connections we make with our games, and the societal and design problems when a game like this one tries to force that connection onto the player itself. Insightful but never pompous thanks to Rogers’ loose humor, the article hits on many angles. Some of its educational as to why Japanese culture is so open to dating sims, hostess bars and general issues of sexuality, to the divide between ‘casual’ and ‘core’ gamers, and to the heart of the issue: How can a video game be considered art?

Its worth noting that the article is more than a tad on the long side and has a tendency to veer off course, but it never seems haphazard and all threads opened do eventually get closed, albeit not always in the same paragraph. There’s also a bit of sappiness every once in a while, some of which may be the emotional pangs of someone who is growing up (On some of his longer rants about the connection he has to games as well as the people who play them, Rogers constantly reminds us to how old he is), but again, there’s enough light hearted humor before it goes into the realm of being pretentious.

This was a somewhat touching and insightful read, so I decided to share. Hopefully you’ll feel the same way.

Source: Can Video Games Be Our Friends? (Via Kotaku)