Thoughts of a Random Gamer

We Are Nerds… with opinions

  • Editorial

    Philosophy of Dr. Manhattan

    April 7th, 2009
    Well gamers, I want o talk some philosophy with you.  Not just any philosophy, I thought I would take a whack at a comparison of Dr. Manhattan and God. You may remember that I have never actually read the graphic novel, Watchmen, but I have taken a few classes and thought about God alot.  So, I'll give this my best shot, and hope that you don't go away with an bad taste in your mouth. In the

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  • Video Games

    The Best of GDC: Mid-week

    March 25th, 2009
    If you're like me, you are sitting on the sidelines this week as the big boys get to run around the Game Developers' Conference in San Francisco this week. I've been keeping up with the announcements, and want to share with you my favorite things that have been revealed so far this week. Havok Announces AI Development Havok, the company whose logo you see on almost any opening screen of

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  • Reviews

    Review: Paul Blart-Mall Cop

    March 24th, 2009
    Mall Cop has about run it's course in movie theaters around the nation at this point.  Surely, another funny movie will come out about a mall security officer that is trying to hit it off with an attractive female.  But let it be known that Paul Blart was the first on the scene and deserves all of the credit. Paul Blart is just an ordinary man.  Seemingly in his mid-thirties, he has a daugh

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  • Reviews

    Review: Dawn of War 2

    March 23rd, 2009
    The first thing you must realize about the Dawn of War 2 campaign is that it has little to do with your average RTS. There is no resource management or building up a horde of units. Instead Dawn of War 2 reaches back to its table top roots. In the start of each mission you choose up to four squads of men to come with you to the battle. These are the only units you will have your entire mission.

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  • Reviews

    Video Games in Libraries Part 2: Ye ol' Tourney

    March 20th, 2009
    Holding gaming tournaments in libraries isn't a new idea by far. Libraries have been a safe haven for Dungeons and Dragons nerds since it came out in '74. Before then, board gaming tournaments (chess, checkers, Scrabble, etc...) ruled the gaming space in Libraries. However, sponsoring video game tournaments is new (and scary) territory for libraries. But because they love us gamers soooo much

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  • Reviews

    Review: Killzone 2

    March 20th, 2009
    Ever since Killzone 2 debuted via a CG trailer at E3 2006, the project has been burdened by the expectations of PlayStation 3 owners everywhere.  Not only has the game garnered talk of “Halo killer,” but it has been tagged as one of the first to truly make use of the PS3’s cell processors.  Along with harnessing the extra processing power comes Sony’s personal guarantee that everything

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  • Editorial

    Desire for Greater Control

    March 19th, 2009
    With great numbers of electronic toys comes the desire for increased control.  A couple weeks ago, I made the decision to better organize my music, videos, and pictures on my computer by installing XBMC (Xbox Media Center).  XBMC is a cross-platform, open source media center application that is fairly configurable and supports skinning.  After getting it up and running with all my media inte

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  • Game of The Week

    Dammit Game of the Week: Dodge

    March 19th, 2009
    This week's Dammit Game of the Week is Dodge. The object of the game... to dodge. I have no idea how you'd figure that out! Anyway... For fans of Geometry Wars, this is a simple way to get your fix at works. You pilot a little blue ship who's only weapon is its speed. That's right, you can't shoot anything. So how do you kill the baddies? Use their own weapons against themselves. Just

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  • Reviews

    Review: Resident Evil 5

    March 18th, 2009
    Background Resident Evil 5 is the follow-up to the ever-so-popular Resident Evil 4. In this installment, Capcom brings the two protagonists Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA) to Africa to uncover another controversy involving Umbrella Corporation. The story is well told, including important elements of foreshadowing, recall of previous events f

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  • Reviews

    Retro-review: Toys

    March 17th, 2009
    Many of us are familiar with some of Robin Williams greatest movie accomplishments.  Jumanji, Mrs. Doubtfire, Hook, Flubber, Patch Adams, Night at the Museum, and Dead Poets Society to list a few.  A recent search of hulu the other day brought up a gem of a film from the early 1990's that I never knew about: Toys. Toys is based around a family of toy makers and a few war hungry relatives.  

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