Top Spin 3 on the PS3

Ooh, just look was waiting for me when I got home from work this evening, Top Spin 3! I've been waiting for this for ages. I generally enjoy all sports videogames (except for football) and I particularly enjoy tennis games. It's out on all platforms so I could've gotten this for the Wii or the PS3 but I decided to go for the PS3 version as it has online play plus it also has the hot addition of Rafael Nadal as a player.

I've only had a short while with the game and my first impressions are mixed. First of all, it doesn't look amazing. In fact, I'd say that Virtua Tennis 3 still looks better. Also, the controls seem a little overly complicated. Maybe it's because I'm so used to playing Virtua Tennis since the Dreamcast days, but that always has fairly simple controls - "easy to learn, but difficult to master!" as the tag line used to go.

In Top Spin 3, you have to press the shot button, move your character into position, then press the shot button a second time. At first, I didn't realise what was going on and I kept missing shots, so I ended up reading the instruction manual (which I never do) and saw that I needed to do two presses. Like I said, maybe I'm just too used to Virtua Tennis and I'll grow to like Top Spin but I'm yet to be convinced.

On a positive note, the thing that I do love about this game is that is has some classic players. You know how you have the option of playing with legendary players and teams in baseball and basketball games? Well, you've never had that in tennis games until now. Top Spin 3 includes three classic players: Bjorn Borg, Boris Becker and Monica Seles!

This is a fantastic idea and I hope we get even more classic players in the future. Just imagine recreating classic matches with your favourite players, a re-run of Borg vs McEnroe for example, or Grat vs Seles. Oh, that would be dreamy.

Don't forget, Wimbledon starts Monday, can't wait! \o/

Super cute Pikachu Pokemon pizza!

ZOMG, I know what I want to dinner tonight - some super cute Pokemon pizza! I wonder if it comes with actual Pikachu topping, oh that would be just too dreamy.


Courtesy of Kotaku

XBox Live's cracking down again on the gays!

Remember my post last week about that gay guy on XBox Live who had his "Gayer Gamer" username tag removed? Well, XBox Live knows no bounds when it comes to removing the gay word from our consciousness. Kotaku now reports that yet another videogamer with the G word in his username has been banned. His name - RichardGaywood, which is kinda funny if you think about it.

Unfortunately, it seems that it really is his name. Mr Richard Gaywood, who's from gay old England, has even supplied a scan of his driving licence as proof that he hasn't made up a gay name just to annoy any Christians who may be on XBox Live.

Wow, XBox Live really does seem to be having trouble with the gays! I'm so not getting a fucking XBox.

You know, some people just can't help their names. I went to school with a girl called Gaynor Hardon (say it aloud) and I once worked with an American guy with the charming surname of Kuhnt (again, say it aloud but make sure you're not at work or in mixed company).

The Gayer Gamer username banned from XBox Live

A videogamer on XBox Live wrote to Consumerist with the following complaint:

Consumerist,

I have had a bad morning. Last night when i tried to sign into my xbox live account "thegayergamer" I was told that it had to be changed. I figured that it was just from people reporting it as an offensive name being that the greater Xbox live community isn't exactly welcome to gay people, i spend a lot of time muting people on Halo3. I assumed that once i called Microsoft they would straighten things out.

I talked to a supervisor there, Roxy, who told me that she didn't personally find the fact that my gamer tag had gay in the name offensive, but that the greater Xbox community did, so i would have to change it. I hope I'm not the only person who finds this don't ask, don't tell policy disgusting... eek

From Grant, thegayergamer

In their terms of use, XBox Live states that "[a member may not] Create a Gamertag or use text in other profile fields that may offend other members. You know what, this comes down to the same old argument that the gays need to hide away just in case someone may be offended by them. They'll tolerate the gays, but God forbid that we ever talk about it or express ourselves.

In reply, Stephen Toulouse (the Xbox Live "banhammer wielder" apparently) explains the ban on his blog:

We recieved a complaint on the Gamertag and determined that it did indeed contain sexual innuendo. Now granted, there could be an argument that the text is not pejorative to homosexuality and should therefore be allowed. But there is no context to explain that. Gamertags are visible to everyone and it would be hard for me to defend to a parent of a young child who saw it that the name did not contain content of a sexual nature.

We view these situations objectively during our review under the terms of use. To answer the question another way, yes "TheStraighterGamer" or "TheHeterosexualgamer" would have gotten the same treatment and would have been found to be in violation and forced to be changed. We've actually done that to tags like that before.

Now, the thing is, there's no point bring the poor little innocent children into this. XBox Live isn't geared towards children at all and we're talking about someone playing an adult game Halo 3 which kids shouldn't have access to anyway. Way too many people ignore the ratings system on videogames and use it as a babysitter so this is a situation which should only involve adults. Besides, there are way more important issues for XBox Live to be dealing with rather than a username. You only have to watch the YouTube clip below to get an understanding of what it can be like on XBox Live:



Welcome to XBox Live folks - the place where you can call everyone else gay except yourself!

That Playstation penis-thumb advert

No, I don't understand this Austrian advert for the Sony Playstation either. I know that Austria has been having problems lately, but I mean, what's the aim with giving this poor guy a little thumb instead of a penis? I guess that they're maybe trying to say that playing videogames is as much fun as jacking off, but if so, the advert still bites.

The guy's kinda hot though. Apart from the little penis-thumb of course. That's just wrong.

Chace Crawford grabs his wheel for some Mario Kart Wii!

Ah, two of my favourite men meet up - Chace Crawford and Mario! I've been playing lots of Mario Kart lately and, since the Americans finally got the game last week, I've been playing some of our Yank cousins when I've been staying up late unable to sleep. I love that you can play anyone in the world as there's always someone online to play against no matter what time you want to play.

Oh Chace, if you want my friend Code for Mario Kart, just ask. I'd be happy to take you on anytime.

Mario Kart Wii - I'll see you online, bitches!

I'm still suffering with a sore throat and developing a chest infection, but that didn't mean that I was housebound today. I ran out of paracetamol so I decided to pop out to Boots to get some and happened to walk past HMV and spotted that Mario Kart for the Wii was released today. I still had a gift card for HMV which had been burning a hole in my pocket since Christmas so I used up that and only had to the £5 balance.

As you can see from the photograph above, the game comes with a little wheel that you slot the WiiMote into. You don't have to use it, you can just turn the WiiMote on its side or even use a Gamecube controller, but I tried it with the wheel and it felt very natural. I'm shockingly bad at all racing games and generally tend to avoid them, but I can't resist Mario Kart and this one has the extra attraction of online racing!

I've added my friends from Eurogamer already and I've been racing them this evening, losing every damn race. I totally suck at this. There's a pain in the ass process of registering your friends if you want to race against them, but you can just jump into races with random people from all over the world. The online racing was very smooth though things get a bit frantic with eleven other players and having their names flashing up above their racers doesn't help with being able to see the course clearly.

Anyway, if you fancy a race sometime, I'll see you online, bitches!

What are you playing this weekend?

"What are you playing this weekend?" If you don't play videogames, then that question may not mean a lot to you. But those of us who do have been asking that question all week. My choice is Sega Superstar Tennis. I love tennis games, plus I've got a soft spot for SEGA games having had a Dreamcast. I've read previews about the game and they all seemed to bitch and moan about the motion controls for the Wii and recommending using the other control methods (you have three control options in the game).

Well, I fancied a bit of waggling stick fun today so I just started playing using the "standard" control and it felt just right. The controls work very well and I even prefer it to the tennis game in "Wii Sports" as the game is more intuitive to play. You can hit A to produce a lob, or the B trigger to perform a drop shot. All this feels very smooth and natural.

And just look at the courts! As well as using characters from SEGA's best games, they play on courts using themes and music from classic games such as "Samba de Amigo", "Space Channel 5", "NiGHTS", "Super Monkey Ball" and "House of the Living Dead". Plus, there are also lost of tennis-based minigames to play, just like in the Virtua Tennis games.

As you can probably guess, I absolutely love this game, but if I had to criticise it for one thing, then that'd be the lack of online multiplayer. SEGA took the lazy route and decided not to include any online multiplayer which is a shame as that'd add to the longevity of this game. As it is, most people with a Wii probably enjoy social gaming and will have someone around to play with, but I can go online with pretty much every game I have on my Nintendo DS so there's really no excuse.

Pimpy Eliot Spitzer in 2006: "Children can even simulate having sex with a prostitute!"

Videogame fans are used to assholes like Jack Thompson trying to gain attention with their grandstanding and pathetic attempts to appeal to a conservative minority by blaming videogames for all the problems with today's youth, but he's not the only one. A certain Eliot Spitzer, the New York Governor, has also tried made a similar attempt to make gains this way. Back 2006 he had a good ol' bitch and moan about Rockstar's popular videogame Grand Theft Auto:

"Like all parents, I know it is increasingly difficult to protect our children from negative influences… we have learned that when self-regulation fails, government must step in… we must do more to protect our children from excessive sex and violence in the media…

Media content has gotten more graphic, more violent and more sex-based… Currently, nothing under New York State law prohibits a fourteen-year old from walking into a video store and buying… a game like ‘Grand Theft Auto,’ which rewards a player for stealing cars and beating people up. Children can even simulate having sex with a prostitute…"

Funny how things have a habit of coming back to bite you on the ass later just when you least expect it. These comments have become all the more amusing since Federal prosecutors nailed Spitzer by wire tap for ordering an escort to come from New York to Washington D.C. which is a Federal offense. Of course, Spitzer's got more to worry about than a few clucking videogame bloggers, but he's sure up shit creek and he's not even a Republican!

This sort of thing always makes me think of that line Dustin Hoffman had in "Wag the Dog" when the President is caught having an affair: "Oh, jeez, this guy is fucked."

Eliot Spitzer is married with three daughters. Nice man.

Source

More screenshots of that boy sweat scrubbing game for your Nintendo DS

Remember I posted about Duel Love? It's that boy sweat scrubbing game for your Nintendo DS. Apparently, the girl in the screenshot above is cheekily telling you to: "Blow to clear away the steam!" This looks like the funnest game ever and I so hope it gets released outside Japan.


Source

"Duel Love" - the boy sweat scrubbing game for the Nintendo DS

Damn, why don't games like this get released in the UK? Japan has always loved playing dating sim videogames but they never get released in the UK and, until now, I've never been particularly bothered by that as I prefer my RPGs and sports games. However, Kotaku has posted an article about this delightful boy sweat scrubbing game for the Nintendo DS called Duel Love. Sure, it's intended for japanese schoolgirls, but I'm sure it'd find a wider audience elsewhere, if you know what I mean.

Kotaku describe it as: That female-geared DS game that has players whip the sweat off fetching young males. It's a Japanese dating game that centers around a school's secret fight club. Players "help" the fighters by wiping off sweat, treating injuries or giving "massages."

The game's producer has written about it on her blog but since it's in japanese, Kotaku has helpfully translated her message:

"Spring's in bloom! The season of love has arrived. Now, people want to fall in love, some people are tired of love, other want to forget it. Wouldn't you like to start fresh with Duel Love's Passion Mode? If lovey-dovey couples can play together, it'll be no accident that they get aroused!"

I do so hope that this gets released outside Japan. It's unlikely as there's not really any culture of dating sims anywhere else, but it'd be fun to try this one. I love my Animal Crossing and Advance Wars but I'm sure that this would give me hours of boy sweat scrubbing gaming pleasure.

Valentine e-cards for the geek in your life

Stuck for ideas what to get that videogame-loving hot geek person in your life? An email with one of these Nintendo themed Valentine's day images may do the trick. I love the Mario in a bee suit one below. I think that Mario in a bee suit is probably the gayest thing I've ever seen.




Source

Pacman cupcakes!

See, if I had a boyfriend and he loved me, this is how he would show his love - with some Pacman cupcakes!

If I got these delightful fancies I'd sure be in the mood to give some good loving. Heck, I'd even move. Just a little bit though, I'm classy.

Source

Pikachu's tasty bean paste cake slices!

Oh, these are the most darlin' things I've seen all week! I wish we had goodies like these at my local food store. These Pikachu head bean paste cakes would be perfect for my lunch box at work. I don't eat animals and all, but biting into a ready sliced Pokemon would be all right wouldn't it? I mean, Pikachu's already been chopped up and beheaded, he wouldn't feel a thing..

Source

Have you got your Wii yet?

Are you like one of these poor folks in the New York Times article about the elusive Wii from Nintendo? Are you ringing around the shops desperately trying to secure one for your kids' Christmas and waiting for hours in long queues outside videogame shops?

Linda Beattie is trying desperately to pay Nintendo $250, but the company is not cooperating.

Two weeks ago, Ms. Beattie went to a video game retailer in the Bay Area in search of a Wii, Nintendo’s intensely popular video game machine. She timed her visit to correspond with the arrival of a U.P.S. truck that she had heard would be making its regular stop at the store, hoping it might deliver some consoles. She was out of luck.

So Ms. Beattie, 44, a permit expediter and not a stalker by trade, followed the truck to the next store, where it did drop off a handful of Wiis. She bought one, but store policy would not let her buy a second for a friend, so she quickly called him.

“He came from another game store that he was staking out,” Ms. Beattie said. “He got there two minutes too late to buy the last one.”

It's crazy just how popular the Wii is. Before the launch last year, people were like: "Aw, plucky little Nintendo with their cute little underpowered console and waggly controller stick.." I don't think anyone thought the Wii would become the market leader, let alone Nintendo themselves. Nintendo are coming in for a lot of criticism for this especially for not having enough stock for the second Christmas in a row.

Me? I bought mine back in August when there was stock around. I didn't need it back then, but I figured that there would be supply issues once Super Mario Galaxy was released, let alone the Christmas rush for sales. The moral of the story? If you see a Wii in the wild, don't debate about it, just buy it!

Pacman Christmas Tree

Now, this is what I want my taxes to be spent on! This is a Pacman themed Christmas tree on display in Madrid this year. We've got some huge fat Santa yet again here in Manchester, but this one would be an amazing sight. I want me one of these!

Pokémon Christmas cake!!

Forget having a traditional Christmas cake, I want this Pokémon themed cake!! It'll match my Pokémon Christmas tree decorations perfectly.

Source

The Legend of Zelda feather stylus!!

Check out the great merchandise those lucky people in the US can get their hands on. Over here in Euroland, we're used to being shafted by Nintendo with getting games later than everyone else and have to wait patiently while also jealously eyeing up their super desirable extras. This feather stylus was available free (free!!) to US gamers who registered their copy of The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass. Oh, just look at it! It even comes in a fancy box..!

Since there's no chance in hell that we'll ever get those in the UK, I may just have to go on to Ebay and pay over the odds to get one. Can't you just see me on the train whipping out that beauty to get through another tricky dungeon in Zelda. I must have one, my inner geek demands it!

Source

My new Playstation Portable Slim 'n Lite!

Yesterday, I treated myself to a new toy. It's my I Don't Have A Boyfriend But I'm Fine With That, Honest gift to myself, a new Sony Portable Playstation Slim and Lite in Piano Black! Well, it's the only colour available here in England so far and it goes well with my black MacBook. I used to have one of the old PSPs but I sold it on eBay as there weren't many games that appealed to me on the system, plus the loading screens were a nightmare. I ended up using it mainly to watch downloads of TV shows on my lunch break at work.

However, I had my eye on the release of Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions so, after reading all the rave reviews and finding out that the extra memory on the new PSP helps to reduce loading screens, I allowed myself to be seduced again by the Sony marketing machine and bought another PSP. Oh, I'm giddy with excitement as I always am when I get a new piece of kit. You know what it's like, that smell of the Brand New when you open up the box of a new console. The new PSP is just like the old one, but slimmer and lighter. Well, d'uh!

Nicole Kidman keeping her brain young with her Nintendo DS

Nintendo have decided to use Nicole Kidman in their ad campaign this summer:"Known for her starring roles in films as varied as The Hours and Moulin Rouge, Oscar winning actress Nicole Kidman will demonstrate it’s her brain as much as her beauty that matters when she appears in the pan–European campaign for Nintendo’s Brain Training series. Nicole will be seen across print and television in Europe keeping her brain in shape as part of a 60 day brain exercise programme for More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima: How Old Is Your Brain? which launches across Europe on the Nintendo DS on 29th June.

Ms. Kidman comments: "I love the concept that Nintendo is reaching out to new audiences with their self improvement products like Brain Training. Most importantly, I’ve quickly found that training my brain is a great way to keep my mind feeling young." In the adverts, fans will see Nicole as they’ve never seen her before. We see Nicole in a home setting, relaxing and training her brain. She is seen speaking into the Nintendo DS to complete the exercises and memorising numbers.

Nintendo feel that working with the award winning actress as the personality of this campaign reflects a long-term pioneering philosophy from Nintendo. The aim of this philosophy is to broaden the gaming audience with software that isn’t just fun but also enriches your life, whether training your brain or practicing language skills. The software is relevant and accessible for everyone from the age of 9 to 99. More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima: How Old Is Your Brain? is the latest in a series of titles from Nintendo DS called Touch! Generations. Touch! Generations is a unique range of software designed to be enjoyed by everybody, even if they’ve never played a game before. These titles, like that played by Nicole Kidman, are disrupting the video games world and changing the perceptions of millions worldwide who previously thought gaming was just for 16-24 year old males.

Well, I guess she's an appropriate choice. She's clearly been spending time (and money) getting her face looking young so it's about time she spent some time on her brain. Well, her face doesn't have any wrinkles (or expression left) but I don't know if she really looks young. Nicole Kidman has ended up having this weird puffiness in her face, contrasting with a shiny forehead that's as tight as a drum. She denies she's had anything done of course, it's all down to healthy eating and exercise. Ahem.