So...

Last night Philip started playing Heavy Rain and I was going to post my first impression of the game yesterday evening. That obviously didn't happen. So... here it is: Go buy this game! If you don't have a PS3, go buy one so that you can buy this game! I never posted last  night because I was too busy watching the game. I want to know who the origami killer is! This game is like a video-game-orgasm... you just keep coming back saying, "please sir, may I have some more." Seriously... go now to your closest gamer or electronic store and buy this game. Now.


Btw- Why hasn't anyone entered this week's drawing? I'd really like to know.

Drawing #3!

Woot! I really hope you all are enjoying the drawings! We've got some great people who are supplying the prizes. Tell all your friends to stop by each Sunday to enter the new drawing!

Here's this week's prize: A gift certificate for $5 off a purchase of $10 or more from JennJennD!
She has a ton a great jewelry, charms, and iPod cases! These are great for all Gamer Girlfriends! You can find her shop here.


What's the question? That's a good question! ;)

Who is your favorite video game character of all time?

Drawing #2 Winner!

Congrats James! You have won the Mario Mushroom Pillow!

A special Thanks to AzureeAlice for supplying this awesome prize!

Now James, you can't win next week, but Kat, you're back in the running!

Princess Peach reminds you to enter the drawing!

Only One Day Left!!!

Afternoon Quickie: Street Fighter

So... I won't limit myself to any specific Street Fighter as I have basically the same opinion of them all. Street Fighter is how pasty-faced gamer boys get out their aggression. These boys aren't going to go out and start fights all West Side Story style (they don't have the grace nor the body to pull off the tights). So what do they do? They mash buttons. If they're in an arcade, they mash bigger buttons. Street Fighter, I would say if anger management for the gamer crowd. Supposedly there is some sort of story, but who knows what it is. There's a lot of noise and not of all it is in English. Most of the time, they're just yelling at each other (the snapping and songs from West Side).  Now, the game has some risque parts. When one of the girls jumps up, you get a panty shot (compare this to the low-cut shirts of the Puerto Rican chicas). Basically what I'm saying is that Street Fighter is like a Japanese game version of West Side Story. No one knows why the characters want to fight each other, but they do and they make a lot of noise in the process.


Now to sit back and watch all the gamer's freak out that I just compared one of the most beloved video games of all time to a musical...

  

Wuv...

Firefox Users...

Apparently, some people have been having trouble posting comments when using Firefox. I don't know why. If you have another internet browser that you can use, that seems to be helping. If you're still having trouble, you can e-mail me at gamergfreviews@gmail.com. Hopefully this gets fixed soon.

Here's Blogger's help page for Firefox. I hope it helps. :/

http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/blogger/thread?tid=404021184343784d&hl=en

New Drawing!

Alrighty then... Congrats to Kat for winning the last drawing! Now it's time for a new one! Here is this week's question: What was the first video game you ever played (or watched)?

This week's prize is SUPER exciting! It comes from a really fun-guy... It's a Mario Mushroom! Supplied by AzureeAlice! You can find her Etsy shop here. She has some great gamer/geeky type items as well as really adorable goth/punk type jewelry.

Remember: You must sign-in or put your name in your comment. You have one week. Kat, feel free to answer, but sorry, you can't win this week. :(

Drawing #1 Winner!

And the Winner is..... KAT! Congrats Kat! Please e-mail me at gamergfreviews@gmail.com to receive your gift certificate!

Here's how the winner/prize-getting will work. You cannot win two weeks in a row. The winner has one week to contact me to arrange for their prize to be sent to them. If they don't respond within one week, they forfeit and I will draw again from the entries for that week.

I got a lot of really good feedback about this first drawing. Keep it coming! I want this to be a fun way to get your involved and to help promote the blog and those who donate the items.

Would you kindly...

Remember to answer the drawing question!

Gamer did good...

Heavy Rain Demo

The Heavy Rain demo was released yesterday. The thing with demos is, like movie previews, they only show the very best stuff. That being said, I am super excited for this game! If the actual game is only 50% as awesome as the demo then it would still rock. The game is visually stunning. The cut scenes are interactive (I know, that doesn't sound right, just play through the demo and you'll see what I'm talking about). The controls are unique and engaging. The sound of the rain is soothing. There are chances for you to help your guy with certain aspects of the game (including understanding the controls, they are a bit tricky). Plus, the game is played from a variety of perspectives. The demo passes the Wifey Watchability Test without hesitation and I have great hope for the game! (Finally a game that might just live up to "so real your girlfriend thinks it's a movie" commercial.")

Kitten watching Bioshock 2!

Well, maybe not, but I wouldn't be surprised!

Review: Bioshock 2

Played on Playstation 3

In this game you are a Big Daddy, but not a Big Daddy. You're like the extra special Big Daddy who's all special because you're a clone or something. To be perfectly frank, the story doesn't make a lick of sense to me. To read all about the history of the Bioshock universe and the story from the first game, read this.

Visuals:

There are two sides to the visuals in this game, gory and gritty, and then creepy and gritty. You live in this world under the ocean. It has a bit of a 1950's run down post-apocalyptic look to it (basically, everything looks cool but is falling apart). There are a bunch of neat little signs and posters that are pretty entertaining. The game has a really gritty feel, but being underwater, there are some parts like look really cool, particularly when you're able to look into the ocean and see sharks and giant squid swimming by. Ok, I said gory. There's a lot of gore. I mean, you run a giant drill through people, and there's no way around that kind of mess. Now for the creepy. You're trying to find your daughter/Little Sister (it sounds like inbreeding but I've been reassured that it's not). These little girls have bright glowing eye sockets, stick needles in people and then suck out what the needle collects. At the beginning of the game, there are lots of chalk drawings everywhere which adds to the air of weirdness.

As far as watching the story-line goes, I'm just plain confused. There are a few cutscenes, but a lot of the story is told through voice messages. Even the parts that I do follow, don't really seem to clarify the situation. Perhaps I just missed something somewhere...

Audio:

There isn't much in the way of soundtrack. There is a pretty constant sound of running water so as long you have an empty bladder, it's pretty relaxing. The fights do get a bit loud as you run the drill through your enemies. The previously mentioned voice messages are pretty cool as the people have neat accents. To add to the creepy factor, the Little Sisters have creepy little horror movie voices.

Involvement:

The most involvement opportunity I see is for your boy to spend an hour trying to explain the story to you. There are some cool advertisements in the game for which you can be on the look out, but there's just not much for a second person to do.

Overall:

Ok so, the story line is my biggest hang up. I just don't get it. If you can, read up on the story before watching this game, and I would even suggest watching the first one before hand. So, does it pass the Wifey Watchability Test? Yes and no. Here's the deal, if you are a new gamer-girlfriend/wife, this game will probably be too much for you. However, if you are able to get past the gore (and have some knowledge of the story-line), an experienced gamer girlfriend/wife will be able to appreciate this game for what it is. It is a beautifully put together psychological suspense/horror movie made into game form. While creepy, the creepiness is also really cool! (Once again, for the experienced gamer gf, those without a history of desensitization will probably freak out if exposed to those game.)

SO, do I like it? Kinda. Could I watch it for hours on end? Probably not. Will you like it? Maybe.

Our First Give-Away Drawing!

Whoot! I'm excited, and I hope you are too! I've got some great give-away items lined up and I think you're gonna be excited too!

Here's how this will work. I will post a question and to enter the drawing, you will answer the question. Pretty simple huh? Make sure you include your name or blogspot ID so that I can have some way of identifying you. I will put all the names in our Mario hat (seems the most fitting) and then draw a winner. I will then e-mail the winner to get their info to send them their prize! These prizes have been donated by sellers from Etsy.com. I encourage you to check out their shops even if you don't win.

Our first prize is a gift certificate for $10 to Little Spaniel's Crafts. You can find her Etsy shop here: Little Spaniel's Crafts. She makes some really cute crocheted items including a full checkers set! She also makes charms, dog treats, and bath and body products. She's got a little something for everyone.

Here's the question:

What video game related topic do you and your gamer argue about most often? (Boys, you can answer too.)

**Remember to sign in or leave your name!

Exciting News!

Ok everyone, starting soon we will be having drawings for great gamer fan gear and gift certificates! These will be free drawings to enter. At most they will require you to answer some cool question like "What's your favorite game?" Be looking for some more info soon.

Late night ramblings...

Ok so, my wonderful husband brought home a very perplexing game the other day, Bayonetta. In this game you are this witch type person and you're fighting the angels or whatever. Here's my description of Bayonetta: eleven feet tall, 87 pounds, boobs the size of prize-winning watermelons, 10 inch heels and black cat suit. Now, if you're thinking to yourself, "What makes her any different from any other woman in a video game?" I'd say very, very little.

Women in video games really kinda tick me off. Now this isn't because of some deep-seeded feminism or jealousy issue. Rather, they bug me because there is no possible way these girls could live, let alone kick ass. These girls are so skinny they don't even have room for a uterus and their breasts are so large that they need their own time zone! I mean for goodness sakes the computer that animates their movements must be freaking out! DOES NOT COMPUTE... BOOBS TOO BIG... CANNOT MAKE WALK... DOES NOT COMPUTE!

Ok, so, I digress... What makes Bayonetta different from every other big boobed booty-kicker? She freaking rocks! Ok so, the angels cut off her clothes in like the first 5 minutes (yippee for pseudo-porn in video games) but then her hair turns into a catsuit! Her glasses have butterfly wings and when she does a double jump she sprout butterfly wings! How cute it that! To top it all off... she shoots her guns with her heels. That right there is a skill that all little girls can admire!

I guess what I'm saying is that video games rarely depict any female under the age of 90 in a realistic manner, but Bayonetta is just so damn awesome that I don't care anymore.

Oh the gameplay, right... um, well... I was distracted by the awesomeness that is Bayonetta. Sorry.

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So, I thought I was ready to go to bed after that, posted it, brushed my teeth, kissed the husband goodnight, and realized, that's not all.

Bayonetta, she's freaking awesome. But she's only one girl out of the entire video game world! And don't even get me started on Anime! I think they go even farther simply because they can draw it be hand and don't have to worry about computers blowing up trying to calculate a bra strong enough to support those triple Z's!

For example, in Bleach you have this chic, Rangiku Matsumoto. Her breasts are the size of hogs that feed an entire African village for a year! And if you've ever seen the show, there's nothing to support those puppies! (Great Dane puppies). Once again, she's got another itty bitty waist. How her back doesn't break in half, I will never know!

I remember being a kid and people all over the world were getting all in an uproar because Barbie wasn't realistically proportional. These video game and anime women must be straight out of Picasso! They don't have Sir Mix A Lot's 34-26-32 ratio, they have some sort of gamer boy's wet dream over 9000-2-5500 ratio.

Maybe it's just the industry. Maybe it doesn't matter. I'm not one of those video games make kids violent types, so does it even matter what the women look like? Like I said before, I don't really think it's objectifying women, God of War does plenty of that. I just don't like it. There is just something wrong with these gigantic breasts, specially when they jiggle for hours on end. For example, miss what's-her-face from Bleach. There was a fighting game for the Wii that was basically Street Fighter but with Bleach characters. When she fought, her boobs jiggled for another ten minutes after she stopped moving! Seriously, her boobs didn't stop jiggling until after the game switched to another screen. I'm not even sure if they ever stopped jiggling... God that would hurt!

Well, I mentioned God of War. I guess I should explain that. So, in the first God of War at some point you get rewarded with trophy wenches. And yes, you have sex with them, in the game, with audio. Now, in true video-game-pseudo-porn style, you don't see any activity, but you see the vase on the night stand shake like an earthquake just hit and you hear everything, EVERYTHING! It's like when your college roommate's boyfriend got back from football camp. It totally gave me the creeps!

Ok, not that is one thing that I can truly say I don't like about video games and my little inner feminist gets all riled up over this. Why must there be so much sexuality in video games? I just don't get it! Your testosterone is already through the roof from slaughtering thousands, what do you need naked women for? Maybe this is why so many gamers aren't getting out of their mom's basement. They don't even need to look for a date, they can get laid in the game!

I feel like an old Catholic school teacher saying that, but I mean, come on! Get out of the house, meet a nice girl in the comic shop (they show up occasionally, I promise). Take her out to dinner and a movie. Offer her your jacket when she's cold and maybe she just might be desperate enough.

Ok, now I understand most gamers aren't living in their mother's basement (the internet connection just isn't reliable enough) and most of you reading this have gamers who are in good committed relationships and at least have the potential of seeing a woman in the flesh once in their lifetime. Here's the thing, sexuality in video games it's a double edged sword. I started off talking about how much I love Bayonetta (and I do, she freaking rocks my pantyhose off!) but now I'm ranting about the obscene amount of sexuality that has flooded the video game world.

The truth is, I still love Bayonetta and my husband still plays God of War (he just doesn't subject me to the weird trophy wrench scene) and I don't have a problem with it. Yeah, it's easy to get all enraged over sexuality in video games, and yes, those girls need emergency breast reduction surgery, but the sexuality makes some games more entertaining. I would rather watch a game that's a bit juicy than watch a game that bores me to tears.

You know, I'm not really sure what my point is, and in fact, I don't think I have one. I think I have officially rambled. Perhaps now I can get some sleep (that 8 am class will be here sooner than Rangiku's bra).

Flashback: Mass Effect 1

Played on XBox 360

So, in this game you are some sort of dignitary mercenary combo. You go around to other planets and you do missions and kill things and meet with aliens. Your spaceship is piloted by "Joker" (aka Seth Green, I still have a bit of a thing for him left over from all those years of watching Buffy, but anywho...). There are some cool cut scenes where you get to see new aliens or learn something cool about the other species. The graphics are decent considering that it is an XBox game. There really isn't much of a soundtrack, but the fight scenes aren't loud or annoying enough to bring about any sort of strong emotion. Actually, I guess I could say that about the entire game so far... It's nice enough but the strongest emotion I have concerning it is that Seth Green made one good-looking werewolf (take that Twilight fans!)