Gaming My Way

Welcome to the September 2011 edition of the Carnival of Video Game Bloggers.

Zack K. presents Nintendo Video posted at The Four Parks, saying, “My Reccomendation of the Nintendo Video App for the 3DS.” Zack wants us all to know that Nintendo currently has some new video features on the 3DS. While the concept is cool, I’m not sure how useful it is when the Internet is open to anyone on many different devices to get any video online they would like. Still, it’s entirely possible this will develop further into something very cool.

Next Island presents Blueprint Development posted at Next Island Dev Blog. Next Island wants to let people know that they are working on blueprints for Entropia. As I’m not familiar with the game, I can’t comment too much, but it seems like they want to keep it moderately quiet for now other than letting the news out.

Jake Moses presents Anomaly Warzone Earth HD review | Best Kid iPad Apps posted at Best Kid Ipad Apps, saying, “In depth review – A good game for PC/Mac becomes a great game thanks to the iPad’s touch interface.”  Jake has provided a great review on Anomaly Warzone Earth HD for the iPad. Tower defense game, except you’re the aggressor?  Sounds pretty cool, and the rest of the review makes it sound like a good choice for iPad owners.

Video Game Llama presents New Details About PS Vita Online Features posted at Video Game Llama.  Video Game Llama delivers some information on some new features of the Vita.

Elijah Obasanya presents Are We Witnessing The Death of The Call of Duty Franchise? posted at The Game Maestro, saying, “An article on the well known BF3 vs. Mw3 debate” A quick piece talking up the differences of opinion on Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3. Both games will sell like hotcakes though, so I’m thinking it’s probably a moot point. Others may disagree though.

Zack K. presents Kirby’s Adventure Review posted at The Four Parks. Here Zack gives us a brief review of Kirby’s Adventure. Mostly opinion, with a few nuggets of information about the game.

The Legendary Carmine presents No Girls Allowed posted at Side Story Games – Carmine’s Comments, saying, “Video games are notorious for being a “boy’s club”. Most of the games that are developed for girls are a waste of time and money. Carmine seeks to establish what needs to be done to create better games for girls and how it fits into the industry’s current model.” Carmine discusses some thoughts on the state of games that attempt to appeal to girls instead of accepting they will likely have similar interests in gaming as guys do. Definitely worth a read, though I think it’s possible that we’ve begun reading too much into this. Make good games, and people of all genders will play them. Make bad games, and they’ll be relegated to the trash.

The Legendary Carmine presents A “Bad” Game vs A “Mature” Game posted at Side Story Games – Carmine’s Comments, saying, “Side Story Games is all about creating game reviews for parents, focusing on the mature content that may not be appropriate for kids. But sometimes the reviewers seem to think that certain ‘mature content’ is acceptable or even appropriate. Carmine clears the air as to what makes a game ‘bad’ vs. what makes it ‘mature’.”  I’m not sure I would say this piece clears the air on “bad” vs. “mature”, but it does get to the point that we use mature to denote adult themes, whether or not those themes are presented maturely. I personally think any amount of mature content is acceptable in a game, so long as those purchasing are aware of what they are getting into and adult games aren’t sold to children, and every gaming store I’ve been to has been very good about this.

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.

Welcome to the August 2011 edition of the Carnival of Video Game Bloggers.

Colin Whaley presents The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D Review posted at OtherLoop. Colin’s review of Ocarina of Time 3d is extensive and very nicely detailed. It definitely paints a great picture of the experience, and, combined with my memories of what the game was, almost makes me want to go out and buy a 3ds for this game. Unfortunately, money is a finite resource.

John presents Is £10.99 too expensive for a Mobile Game? | jpmblog.com posted at jpmblog.com, saying, “Blimey a £10 iPhone game. Yes its good but is it too much to pay for a mobile app?” Well, $15.99 for a port of one of the best tactical RPGs ever made? Yeah, that sounds fair to me, so long as you’re cool with the model of digital distribution. This isn’t a tiny game. Porting it wasn’t a simple, quick task. Yeah, they had an engine and a story and all of that figured out, but they had to recode it to work with the iPhone, which is a very different beast from the hardware it has run on before. Final Fantasy Tactics is not a typical release for a mobile app, and that’s why it doesn’t have a typical price. I can understand why some may not want to pay it, but that doesn’t mean the price should be lowered. Now that you’ve read my editorializing, or perhaps before, you should go read John’s take as well.

John M presents A Fun Stress Relieving Game for the iPhone | iPhone Experience posted at iPhone Experience, saying, “Mobile phones are a great platform for stress relief games, and they don’t come much better then this ” Want to squish some rats? John M has a review of the game for you. Sounds like a simple concept, and looks great for killing time if you have an iPhone.

Eric Gargiulo presents Madden 12 Video Game Pre-order Deals & Bonus Offers posted at CamelCluchBlog.Com. Unfortunately, this one isn’t very timely, as I’m running a once a month carnival here, but if you’re curious what pre-order offers were going around for Madden 12, there’s a good collection in here.

Garret Moniz presents Modern Warfare 3 vs Battlefield 3 posted at Gamesters Paradice, saying, “Just taking a quick look at the upcoming competition between Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3.” Garret has some predictions about whether Modern Warfare 3 or Battlefield 3 is going to come out on top this year. Click through to see who he believes is coming out on top and why.

Eric Gargiulo presents Madden 12 Game Achievements & Awards posted at CamelCluchBlog.Com, saying, “If you’re like me, you ran out on Madddenoliday and purchased your copy of Madden 12 or pre-ordered it. Before I even have a chance to unwrap Madden, I got an early tip on the newest Madden 12 achievements & awards, and there are some real fun ones in this year’s game.” I’m not too much like Eric in this regard, as I tend to shy away from sports games, but for those of you into Madden 12, or simply curious, you can find out some information about achievements in the game right on this piece here.

Almigo presents The Need. The Need for Speed. And Scigheras. posted at Almigo’s Adventures. An interesting piece about the history of a car that made an appearance in Need for Speed 3 for PC, and was never seen again. And no, it wasn’t merely a made up car, it actually does (did?) exist. Click through and read on for the full story.

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.