For some reason, I am being incredibly nostalgic today. Remember when…

* …there was no such thing as automapping, and if you wanted a map of the dungeon you had to DRAW AN ACTUAL MAP?

* …copy-protection came in quiz-format, rather than DRM fuckery?

* …you didn’t realize that Nintendo Power was NOTHING but advertisements?

* …the manual would have all the story crammed into it to save space on the game cartridge?

* …the manual would lie to you on purpose?

* …the GAME would lie to you on purpose? (‘Get a silk bag from the graveyard duck to live longer!’)

* …big-head cheats were the grand summit of easter eggs?

* …there actually WASN’T a Cow Level?

* …Samus being a girl was shocking?

* …no matter what game you were playing, the ‘water’ level or dungeon was always the hardest?

* …you actually thought Sheng Long might be real?

I can’t be the only who remembers this stuff. What stuff do you guys miss about old games?

Looks like those who are lucky enough to own a copy of the sublime Borderlands will be getting treated to a vacation on The Zombie Island of Dr Ned on the 24th of this month. It will be available on PS3 and Xbox 360 for $10 (no word on the PC version or how much it will cost yet, much to my dismay).

As excited as I am for the DLC, I am wondering if this new fad for zombie-themed content is going to end any time soon. I know the sheer popularity of Left4Dead is most likely the cause for this, but guys, srsly, there is such as thing as too much.

Also, sorry about the radio silence here at Fall Damage over the weekend. It’s been very busy around here the past few days, what with my day job and the release of Dragon Age and Modern Warfare 2 (more on those soon).

Last night, I downloaded a copy of Torchlight, on the recommendation of a number of sources, most notably Penny Arcade and my girlfriend. I was expecting it be a fun little romp, a cute little hack-n-slash to keep me sated until moving on to bigger and better games. So I booted it up, figuring “oh, I’ll just play for a few minutes then go watch Mythbusters.”

“A few minutes” turned out to be 3 straight hours.

To say that this game is “addictive” is to understate the narcotic power of its lures. Games are often compared to crack cocaine in jest, but here it is not sufficient to describe the level to which it consumes your senses.
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In the spirit of Video Game Blogs / Podcasts the world over, I thought I’d kick off the first ever Top Five List [Yet To Be Named] with my thoughts on the very best in video game music.  I am not talking the annoying little diddy’s that get stuck in your head for days, so people call them popular and add them to their sites.  That’s like saying Nickleback deserved to be number one based on sales because senile old grandmas bought the CD’s for their grandkids for Christmas.. much to the children’s dismay and inevitable suicide.  No, this list is songs that you remember because of how they made you feel when you listened to them and listening to them now… you remember that one moment in the game when you thought to yourself…  ‘my god.. this game is amazing.’

Fair Warning: Spoiler Alert [if you've lived under a rock.]

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If only I was this good at fighting games. Oh well, back to Eternal Fighter Zero for me.

Originally, today was going to be the debut of an exclusive on-release review of Bioware’s new fantasy epic, Dragon Age: Origins. I had planned it out meticulously, right down to a prepared character-build. Unfortunately, there was one rather significant fly in the ointment:

Alas, poor Frankenbox, you served me well. You arrived broken, we fixed you; your drive malfunctioned, we replaced it; your fan got borked, we built a new housing out of washers. You were more machine now, than… uh, machine, twisted and evil. But at long last, the unutterably shitty firstgen Falcon chipset within you finally gave up the ghost once and for all. Considering I bought you for around $150 and you lasted for about three years, I honestly can’t say a bad word against you. Sleep now, my child… rest eternally.

So! The review is on standby: I’ve got a brand-spanking new 360 on the way with the shiny new Jasper chipset, which is reportedly free of all the unfortunate issues of the Falcon and Zephyr models. With luck, I’ll be able to put up my review over the weekend, and I apologize for the delay.

Trying to get into the PC gaming scene can be daunting. You’ve probably heard stories from friends about the latest great PC release on Steam, or how games like Left4Dead and Team Fortress 2 are far better on PC than their console counterparts, or maybe you’re just looking to get into the latest big MMO like Aion or a new expansion for World of Warcraft. The problem is when looking for a new PC that is going to be able to play these games well, you’re more than likely not going to have any idea where to start and it’s more than a little frustrating to end up spending over a thousand dollars on something that can barely even tolerate two year old games set to minimum graphical quality.

Hopefully, with this article I can help you find something that is going to help you get into this scene and play most PC titles at the maximum quality settings, for well under a thousand dollars. Full article after the cut.

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An article over on Brainy Gamer pointed out part of the “marketing scheme” for Modern Warfare 2 to me, and I have to say, I’m… well, not quite upset, because it’s pretty much the same kind of mindless tripe I’ve come to expect from stuff marketed to the “gamer” crowd, but… well, look, just go read the article, I’ll wait for you.

Done? Good.

I’ve often wondered when, exactly, gaming culture became like this. Goodness knows when I was a kid, my school friends and I didn’t hang out on the playground with our Gameboys talking about “noob pussies” or engaging in macho back-patting. At worst we’d accuse someone of scrubbing with Sagat in Street Fighter 2, and that was a serious point of offense, not a requirement for entry. We damn sure didn’t sling around sexual or racial slurs; hell, we took turns playing Super Mario Land. What were we going to do, call Mario a dago fairy?

The whole thing’s galling, particularly to… well, someone like me. I’m not going to make this a blog about my issues or anything, but as someone who is MtF transgender, a lesbian, and takes pride in being at least mildly classy about her hobbies, it still shocks me how stunningly dumb advertising and marketing seems to think my primary entertainment demographic is. Newsflash: girls and gay people play Halo too, idiots. In your rush to cater to a group whose business you’ll have anyway just by virtue of producing games what have shooting in them, you’re pissing off a rather large chunk of people who might otherwise have given you money.

As a sidenote, I will be rather annoyed if Dragon Age doesn’t have any gay romance options. C’mon, Bioware, you’re on a good streak with Mass Effect. Keep it going and give the gay guys something, too, in the interest of equal time.

I told myself that this week I wouldn’t do yet another mod that involved zombies, demons, or anything in the same vein…

Damnit.

In my defense however, it IS Halloween, so I guess one more mod featuring zombies would be keeping in the spirit of things. And hey, this one also features fabulously dressed cowboys. So juice up the truck, grab some ammo, load up the booze and let’s kill some zombies! Western style.

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