GamerSushi Asks: Finishing Games?Posted by Eddy on September 2nd, 2010

Over the last few weeks, we’ve gotten to do a lot of great getting-to-know-you type posts here at the Sushi. We’ve covered topics like FPS preferences, games that changed the way you thought about games and that’s just barely scratching the surface. One of the things that’s been on my mind lately as I’ve been clearing out the backlog is the idea of finishing video games.

This actually comes from a couple of places. The first would be my great addiction to achievements, which I’ve come clean about here on multiple occasions. It’s a healing process. Anyway, one of my favorite things about achievements (in addition to being a revival of the top scores of the 80s) is that you can see at a glance how far your friends are in games. For instance, I can check out Anthony or my buddy Miles’s profile to find out where they currently are in Mass Effect. It certainly makes for easier conversations about the game. However, one of the things I notice as I browse my friends’ achievements is how few of them actually finish games. And this isn’t unique to my friends, either. Apparently, there are a lot of people out there that don’t finish games. More »

The Mass Effect 3 Wish ListPosted by Eddy on August 31st, 2010

I’ve made no secret of my favorite titles of this great gaming year of 2010 so far. Red Dead Redemption, Limbo and Mass Effect 2 are all currently gunning for “game of the year” status in my eyes, with an especially close race between those first two. We’ve said it a million times around here – Mass Effect 2 is spectacular and simply must be experienced for its storytelling, choices and Bioware’s original universe.

Naturally, there are several gamers out there gunning hard for Mass Effect 3, and already giving thought to certain qualities the title should possess. In fact, GamesRadar has put together a list of what they want to see in Mass Effect 3. Without spoiling too much, I think it’s a really great list of things that would be awesome for the next edition, particularly the idea of the “Dark Shepard” clone, gunning around the galaxy and ruining your good (or bad) name. This could easily work, seeing as how we know that Cerberus has Shepard’s DNA. I also like the idea of making Shepard’s backstory a more central part of at least one major sidequest.

For me, I would love to see bigger parties but also a few momentous and game altering choices in more moments than just the big ending mission. Something that Dragon Age: Origins nailed was a few “holy crap” moments sprinkled throughout the game, rather than bunching them up at the end the way Mass Effect 2 did.

Anyway, what do you guys think? What are some things you’d really like to see in the next Mass Effect game?

Source – GamesRadar

Gaming Pop Quiz, Almost Fall EditionPosted by Eddy on August 24th, 2010

The Gaming Pop Quiz is back! Last time, we did a pre-summer edition to start the lazy sunny days off right, and now we return in anticipation of the gaming to come. Seriously, I can barely contain myself for Halo: Reach. It’s weird, because while I don’t really consider myself a Halo fanatic, few games make me more excited than the Halo games do. There’s some kind of mystique around the whole event that really gets me going.

Anyway, because I have nothing better to do than to clear out my backlog and play the incredible Tomb Raider: Guardian of Light (seriously, go play this), I come bearing a few questions for you dudes to answer. As always with our getting-to-know-you type games, feel free to answer with as much or as little as you like. Obviously, some of these things you might not remember, but answer to the best of your ability. Go!

1. What game always seems to elude you on your backlog?

2. What game mechanic do you think is underutilized (cover systems, destructible environments)?

3. If you could turn a portable game into a full-fledged console game, which one and why? And vice versa.

4. Would anything make you consider boycotting a game?

5. What game would immediately inspire you to upgrade to spend money on a new PC/console?

6. What do you feel like you’re still waiting to do in a game that you’ve never done before?

7. What game changed the way you view video games?

The Rock Band 3 Team Reveals the Set ListPosted by Mitch on August 20th, 2010

While we’re on the topic of leaks, it seems that a couple of days ago some unscrupulous visitor to GameCom 2010 decided to grab a cell phone video of Rock Band 3′s set list and share it with the world. Well, Harmonix has decided to strike back with a rebuttal video, and…wait, in the background, is that what I think it is?

Rock Band 3 Setlist OFFICIAL Comment from Harmonix on Vimeo.

Well played, Harmonix, well played. Full set list is after the jump: More »

What Games Have You Bought This Gen?Posted by Eddy on August 19th, 2010

As we get ready for the fall gaming season, we’ve had a few discussions lately about clearing out gaming backlogs. For some, this means renting or borrowing from friends to get through as much as possible. For others like me, it means playing through purchased games and trading them back in to get ready for what’s coming next (Halo: Reach and Civilization V, anyone).

The comment thread from our recent podcast delves into the idea of trading in old games a bit, and it got me thinking about all the games I’ve purchased this generation. Some of the ones off the top of my head include: Gears of War 1 and 2, Halo 3 and ODST, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Modern Warfare 2, Valkyria Chronicles, Uncharted 2, Forza 2, Mass Effect 1 and 2, Left 4 Dead, Fallout 3, Little Big Planet, Viva Pinata, FFXIII, Red Dead Redemption and then some.

Really, there aren’t a heaping ton of them or anything, but it still got me wondering: what games has the rest of GS purchased over the last few years? Leave your lists here, people. Go!

Gaming Is…Posted by Eddy on August 12th, 2010

One of my favorite things out of Sony in the last decade is Kevin Butler, their fake marketing persona that they’ve been using to promote their gaming division. His commercials are awesome, and they’ve won over a place in my heart with them. If you were one of the many blessed individuals that watched Kevin Butler’s E3 rant about what gaming is, then you know what I’m talking about.

Well, yesterday on Kevin Butler’s Twitter, he (or whatever intern Sony pays to manage the account) held a callback to that wonderful monologue, asking users to tweet about what gaming is to them. The results were pretty spectacular, to say the least, and it was great fun to read. Here are a few excerpts:

#gamingis knowing more friends by names like “AwesomeSauce” and “PallyofDeath” than by “Karen” and “Bob”.

#gamingis another ten minutes that takes three hours.

#gamingis displaying your rage-smashed controller in a Ziploc bag as a reminder to not break the new one.

We added one of our own with the following tweet: #gamingis sitting in front of your TV for eight hours and still claiming to be productive.

All of the responses were great, so I thought I’d bring what happened on Twitter yesterday here to GamerSushi. What is gaming to you? Feel free to be serious or as ludicrous as you want. Go!

Current Top 10 Selling Games of 2010Posted by Eddy on August 10th, 2010

Maybe you haven’t noticed yet, but 2010 is almost over. Yes, for serious. While in most gaming years this might not be anything to take special note of, Modern Warfare 2′s release in 2009 ensured that we’ve had the kind of gaming we’ve always dreamed of, spread out over this current trip around the sun. I honestly can’t remember the last time we’ve had this many great titles to play before September, and maybe there’s never been another year like it.

Because there’s lots to play, there’s clearly a lot of people purchasing games. Yahoo has just released a list of the top 10 selling games of 2010 so far, and you might actually be surprised by a few of the results. Or maybe you are awesome, and you totally will predict everything on the list.

Anyway, feel free to hit the jump to see the full list of best sellers. Because I’m nice like that.

More »

Would You Rather: FPS Edition?Posted by Eddy on August 5th, 2010

Since it’s yet again been a slow news week, it seems that it’s already time for a new edition of Would You Rather. A few weeks back, we did an RPG version of the game, which got lots of awesome responses from people. It was great to see all the positive feedback, and to learn a little bit more about what makes the fellow Sushi-ers tick. So, we thought we’d bring it back, this time with a different genre: FPS games.

For the uninitiated, in Would You Rather, I simply ask a series of questions, and you follow up with your answers. Give as much or as little explanation as you want for your choices, but we all know that we like to see the reasoning behind the madness.

But beware, lest your answers suck mightily. In which case, Anthony and Mitch will kidnap you to trap you inside of Nick’s beard. You don’t want to know what other kinds of creatures lurk in there. I know this firsthand.

For an FPS, would you rather… More »

GamerSushi Asks: What Are You Playing?Posted by Eddy on July 22nd, 2010

Well, you’ve listened to us yap about what we’re playing on the podcast, so it’s time for you all to jump in with it, too.

Fortunately for me, we seem to be in a very brief gaming drought, while we wait for the fall releases to start dropping on us. I suppose this begins in September with Halo: Reach, so that gives me a good couple of months to catch up with some of the games on my backlog. These include Alpha Protocol, 3D Dot Game Heroes, Starcraft II (when it comes out), Dragon Age: Awakening, and even more Red Dead Redemption.

However, in the immediate future I will be playing both Alien Swarm and Alan Wake, two games that are polar opposites in terms of budget, scale and style, but both equally as engaging, I’m sure. While I haven’t officially started Alan Wake just yet, I watched my brother play about a quarter of the game a couple of weekends ago and I was mesmerized. In addition, Alien Swarm has commanded the last couple of nights, and I still can’t get over just how fun this free game is.

So what about you guys? What are you playing? Go!

What Issues Should Gamers Drop?Posted by Eddy on July 20th, 2010

We gamers can tend to be a finicky bunch. We are armed with intelligence, a bit of free time, and a huge passion over a hobby/lifestyle that we feel terribly protective of. Naturally this is going to lead to a few scraps here and there, things that gamers don’t always see eye to eye on, whether that is with other gamers or the industry at large.

But how many of the battles we fight are really worth arguing about because they are legitimate issues, and which ones do we actually need to drop? Last week, Koku Gamer posted a slightly tongue-in-cheek yet interesting article bemoaning 5 things gamers need to get over. In my mind, it’s actually spot on, and I’m saying that as somebody who has griped about one or two of the things present.

Hit the jump to see the list! More »