G0DM0D333

"As AAA games get bigger and budgets increase, the ability and appetite to bring new IP to the market is diminishing. This form of entertainment cannot rely on licenses and sequels alone, we need fresh blood and must continue to renew ourselves and to push innovation with new kinds of games and content."

Yeah, how many Call of Dutys, Halos, Zeldas, Resident Evils and Super Marios can we play? Not that I don't love all those series but we need to see more Dragon Ages, Dead Spaces and Left 4 Deads. There aren't enough new, solid IPs out there and he's exactly right, it comes back to the executives and shareholders who are only interested in short term, conservative profit gain. In the long term, innovative, robust IPs are much more practical financially speaking than short sighted, run-of-the-mill games. Look at Assassins Creed, not only is that a huge success in itself, it's helped Ubisoft push even more innovative games like Mirror's Edge.

This looks shopped, etc.

Though it doesn't fall in the MMO category, people in the MMO blogosphere have referred to COD4 as an MMO.

For no particular reason I decided to play COD4 multiplayer, mainly hardcore TDM, for as long as I could. Aderrall really works wonders. I played 40 hours straight. Huddled a foot from my 32" LCD TV in my dingy apartment on a rainy day in my spiderman boxers. After 15 hours of that game I had really fallen into a trance, totally zoned out. I got into a rhythm and was kicking ass. Around hour 25 I started slipping, predictably. I got a case of the gamer's equivalent of writer's block. I just couldn't get a kill, I was confused, out of it. So I took a breather for twenty, popped a double dose of amphetamines, took a dump and ate a Snickers. I got my second wind. My head was buzzing with sounds of bullet snaps and the "plink plink" of grenades hitting the ground. My gameplay transcended from being a leet noob slayer to that of the UBER PWNER. I was one of those freaks who get the most kills by a ridiculous margin. My parents would've been so proud had they seen me.

This nerd glory came at a cost though, I was losing my mind. There's a great phenomenon that happens when you play a game for long enough. The best example would be Tetris. If you play Tetris for long enough something very "Zen" happens. You lose touch with reality, the boundary between you and the screen seems to fade in your mind's eye. You become mesmerized by the turning of little blocks on the screen to the point where you ARE the little blocks on the screen. I was having the same sensation in COD4. I felt the sensation of tunnel vision, my perceptions were heightened. I was on a gaming high. Then around hour 40 my drugs started to wear off and my roommate poked his head out from his room "Dude," He said, "You've been playing that game for two days straight, go to bed, PLEASE." I laid in bed for two hours though, with bloodshot eyes. I could hear the sounds of COD4 in my head.

Would I do it again? HELL YEAH. In fact, I have a week of vacation time laid out for when MW2 hits.

I agree with this guy and I'm sure most gamers would be in agreement also. I think that's why so many people have been have been hanging out at The Speed Gamers charity marathon because it's something positive that gamers can rally around and be proud of. We're tired of people assuming that we don't contribute to society, that we're just fat, lazy escapists. Just because we love video games doesn't mean we don't have healthy social lives and girlfriends...I mean, I'm not saying I do, but I hear of gamers having girlfriends...every now and again.

Massively rules!

The feature I like the most is that not only can I build a huge, beautifully rendered city but I'll be sharing my city with other players on a planet. So, my favorite feature is the MMO aspect.

Thanks for the beta giveaways, Massively!

I was big fan of Maple Story please save me from having to play more WoW this summer!! :)

It will probably fly under the radar because it doesn't involve acquiring totally epic loot through dragon slaying and pillaging but hopefully it will hit the mark in enough ways to keep it afloat which in this WoW dominated MMO market is a feat in itself.

"So there's one that didn't leak out." WOOOOOOOOO!! Preparing social life for imminent demise. What are the classes, I NEED TO SEE SOME GAMEPLAY NAO PLZ!!!

I've been waiting for this game for a loooooong time, FFXI had so many good things going on with it but it always seemed incomplete. Hopefully they did FF justice this time around.