Carnival of Video Game Bloggers, May 2011
Welcome to the May 2011 edition of the Carnival of Video Game Bloggers.
Dan presents Video Games are a Form of Art posted at Dan’s Gaming Blog. Dan talks about games as art a bit here. I’m sure he’ll be happy to know that here in the U.S., the National Endowment for the Arts now recognizes games can be art.
ds presents The 10 most common clichés in video games posted at My little gaming blog. Some video game cliches, heavy on rpg stuff, but some other good ones in there as well.
ds presents Games + girls = ? posted at My little gaming blog. Here ds shares his experiences with girls and games. Personally, I find that women play games about the same as men, and not with the giant disparity between different types of games mentioned in the article. But everyone always tells me my experiences on this are weird. Maybe, maybe not, but I’ve never really seen a difference.
Jordan Vigil presents Microsoft’s Kinect and the growth of Motion Gaming posted at stratagonline. Jordan shares his thoughts on motion gaming. While I agree that motion gaming suffers from a lack of experiences outside the typical sports, workout and kids games, there are a few gems outside those genres, and if developers would spend the time to make *good* motion control games, it would work out quite well.
Joe Lutovsky presents It’s Just a Game. posted at It’s Just a Game. While I like the overall message, sometimes playing to win is the best way to have fun in a game, and *some* frustration and anger is a natural side effect of playing. So long as it’s not overwhelming the fun, or seriously stressing you out, I don’t think it’s too big an issue. Still, definitely good to keep games in their proper place.
Niels Van Hellemont presents World of Warcraft is losing subscribers posted at The Grumbler, saying, “Following the news that World Of Warcraft lost over 500k subscribers since the release of Cataclysm I posted my thoughts on these numbers. Let’s just say WoW is far from dead!” I’m not surprised WoW is losing subscribers, for many of the reasons noted in Niels’ post. There’s only so much to do before it’s time to look for a new experience.
John M presents Which is better FIFA or Pro Evo Soccer on the iPhone posted at iPhone Experience, saying, “The age old battle of Football Video Games comes to the iPhone.” Here we have two soccer games (football for our friends in the UK, I know) for the iPhone and a comparison between them.
Sean McGeady presents The Teachings of Fiction: What Games Have Taught Me | Anti-Bandwagon Propaganda posted at Anti-Bandwagon Propaganda, saying, “This is an insightful, if slightly satirical account of the many facts bestowed on me by our mutual hobby. It’s a serious case supporting the beauty and wisdom of video games, but told by a witty and humorous host who knows not to take himself too seriously. I hope you enjoy it.”
Brandon Janko presents NBA 2k11 Review posted at Game Reviews and Articles. Here we have a review from Brandon for NBA 2k11. I’m a little confused as to how a game can have (according to the author) major flaws and score a 9.5, but reading the review I get the feeling it’s more little minor stuff than anything major that plagues the game. Still a good review and worth a read, of course, or it wouldn’t be here.
RandomGreatness presents Rank vs Actual skill in FPS posted at RandomGreatness’ Gaming Blog. And here we have the issues of using rank in a game as a determinant of skill. I have a solution for this though. Use the win/loss ratio over the course of the past month of gameplay for matchmaking purposes. No, it’s still not perfect, but no matchmaking system is, and it at least takes into account players who support their team as well as those doing all the scoring. Also, unlocks over time is never a good idea in a competitive game. It just isn’t. But then again, we see it all the time in rpgs, and shooters are doing the same thing to try to expand their life.
Samantha presents Rally the Horde!: Preview: Grim Dawn RPG posted at Rally the Horde!, saying, “Preview for the upcoming Grim Dawn RPG.” Samantha has a preview ready for yet another Diablo clone. For some reason, these games always suck me in, despite being the same thing over and over again. Will probably check it out eventually, especially if there’s a demo to try first.
Jon Parsons presents Paper Glider Para Drop iPhone Game Review posted at Vortex Game Reviews For iPhone. Here’s a look at an iPhone game that appears designed as a quick way to take care of the five minute wait you may be experiencing while taking care of various errands. Definitely the goal of many portable games, and looks successful if that’s the aim.
John presents Dead Space 2 Review posted at Game Reviews and Articles. A review for Dead Space 2, check it out if you’re into the genre, or just want to see what a fellow gamer has to say about it.
Nick H presents Sony Announces ‘PSP Remasters’ for PS3 posted at IGXPRO. For those itching to play some PSP games on their PS3, this post should be some welcome news for you.
Bryan Keithley presents Top 10 Sega Genesis Games Of All Time! posted at Finally Fast, saying, “You’ve waited. You’ve wondered. And now it’s finally here: the list of the hands-down, no-doubt, slam-dunk top 10 Sega Genesis games of all time (and all parallel universes). This list will either be a quaint history lesson or a nostalgic trip down memory lane. Either way, you’re sure to enjoy it!” And Bryan has a top 10 list of Genesis games, most of which I agree with, but not necessarily the ordering :P. Always nice to see the Genesis getting some love.
That concludes this edition of the Carnival of Video Game Bloggers. Join us next month for more great gaming info. You can use the carnival submission form to submit posts for next month’s carnival. Be sure to check out some of the posts of other submitters and perhaps leave a friendly comment or two if you like their work.
