Computer Games

Welcome to the August 2010 edition of the Carnival of Video Game Bloggers. Sorry about the delay in getting to the finished product, but I hope you’ve all enjoyed everyone’s offerings in the meantime. For those who missed the announcement last month, this is now the Carnival of Video Game Bloggers, originally maintained by James Newton at The Collected Writings of James Newton. Despite the name change, and the taking over of this carnival, I’d still love to receive submissions about pen and paper games as well, so feel free to continue submitting on those topics too. Now then, onto this month’s submissions.

J presents Gears of war 3 – Fans decide story direction posted at Gamers Lounge. Pretty sure I saw this submission in a previous carnival I posted, but as this came in through the Carnival of Video Game Bloggers, I decided to give it a rerun since I’m still doing the whole transition over. The basic info? Purchase electronic product to determine the fate of a Gears of War character. Info inside.

Chris presents If Street Fights Were More Like “Final Fight”… posted at Martial Development. Basically, Chris takes a look at some of the more ridiculous aspects of the way fighting happens in Final Fight (and to be fair, many other brawlers of the  time). Most of these were simply limitations of the time the game was made, though some were also just oversights as the genre was coming into its own. An amusing read, so check it out.

dswtor presents Star Wars: The Old Republic Beta posted at dailySWTOR, saying, “We are a dedicated fan site to BioWares Star Wars: The Old Republic.” Here’s a quick blurb on some well-known info about SWTOR, as well as how to sign up for the beta test. (Can people still sign up for the beta test?)

Chris Cox presents Top 5 Most Annoying Gamer Personalities posted at Psytechology. He goes over the five gamer types he finds most annoying here. I really can’t say any of the ones listed really bother me. Ignore is easy enough for those you don’t wish to interact with. Still, I imagine this list carries some weight with people who spend a lot of time online, and either way it’s worth a read.

Michael Kotson presents How to Buy a Laptop posted at Test My Geek Stuff, saying, “An overview of the things to look for when buying a laptop.” A bunch of tips for choosing a laptop. Directed at all home users, most gamers will likely know these tips already, but if you’re new to PC gaming, this is some good starting advice. Veteran PC gamers may still find a useful tidbit or two as well, so don’t be shy in clicking on over.

Mark Graybill presents A Simple Java Video Game Kernel posted at A Beginning Programmer’s Guide to Java, saying, “A simple video game kernel in Java that new programmers can use to start writing their own video games.” This is a cool look at an aspect of video game programming, definitely of use to starting programmers, and I would say also interesting to those who are just curious about what might be going on under the hood of the games we play.

RateMeister presents [VIDEO GAME] Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 PC Review posted at RateMeister. A quick review of Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 here, the author seemed to think the game is ok, but with lots of annoying quirks. Which is too bad, since he also seems to think it will be the best PC soccer game to look forward to out of this year’s crop.

Steve presents ABC Monday Night Football posted at Every SNES Game, saying, “I play and review every SNES game ever released.” Another sports game review, and this one looks to be pretty bad (the game, that is, the review is quite funny). Anyone care to play as the “Dallas Dollar Signs”?

Robert Chapman presents Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: The Game posted at Bob’s Blog, saying, “I started a gaming/television blog recently, and this is only my second ‘gaming’ related article. It’s on Scott Pilgrim Vs The World: The Game.”  I still need to get out and see this movie, but this is about the game review. As Robert lays it out, we may just have another good beat ‘em up game this year. And in a licensed game no less. Seems like those seem to be getting better.

Martin Watts presents The depiction of terrorism in video games: where should we tow the line? posted at The Gaming Enigma. Martin takes a look at how we view terrorism, and what role video games might play in our understanding of terrorism depending on how they handle their depictions of it. Looks most closely at Medal of Honor, as they’re the ones in the hot seat right now. Definitely a good read, and provides something to think about both in terms of gaming, and politics.

Don Salva presents Fraps & VirtualDub: How to save disk space and enjoy good quality, small file size HD video clips | The Don’s Craptastic World posted at The Don’s Crapastic World. Here’s a guide to getting a lot more out of Fraps and VirtualDub while recording your gaming, without killing your frame rate. Good info for those looking to make videos out of their gaming.

Robert Chapman presents Fallout: New Vegas posted at Bob’s Blog, saying, “This is an article about the upcoming Fallout: New Vegas.”  A quick look at some highlights of New Vegas makes this game sound like a winner. Of course, I expect nothing less from Bethesda.

Mark Graybill presents Pathfinder RPG by Paizo posted at An Infinite Number of Cats on Keyboards, saying, “A look at the Pathfinder RPG from the perspective of a GM who has in the past kept going back to OD&D from newer rule sets. This may finally be the game that displaces OD&D for me.” In here, we see that Pathfinder continues to convert gamers to it’s sleek, sleek rules design, pulling all lovers of D&D to slightly better balanced gameplay and rules that are far more intutive than old editions, while still maintaining that classic feel.

Jeremy Rooney -Detroit Performance Car Examiner presents Racer simulator combines RC cars and arcade games posted at Examiner. Ever wanted to drive an RC car? Well, you can’t, but you can get the same experience with this new arcade cabinet. Looks pretty sweet.

Robert Chapman presents Final Fantasy gearing up to go online… again posted at Bob’s Blog, saying, “This was my first post of my gaming related articles I’ve written. It’s all about Final Fantasy XIV and my thoughts on it. As well as some helpful links to other sites I found interesting related to Final Fantasy XIV.” Some thoughts on FFXIV, MMORPGs, and links to info on FFXIV. Take a look if you want to know more about Square-Enix’s new MMO.

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, to be hosted on September 30, 2010. 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.