Old School Gamers

Well it looks like the ding bats got their way. San Andreas now has an Adults Only rating from ESRB. Rockstar Games will be issuing a new version without the game content that was only accessible by a downloadable mod. Why they are also pulling the console versions, I don't know. I do not think even a mod xbox could access the content. To me it looks like it is just a feel good measure, and when they re-release it they will just put the console disks back on the shelf.

Rockstar Games should take this time and wonderful opportunity to add new missions, a bigger map, and new features to the game. GTA:SA1.5 less porn, more hoes, guns, drive buys, and drugs.

I wonder if the demand for the game has shot threw the roof yet, along with the price. Maybe I should drop buy a store and pick some PC versions up to sell on E-Bay...

(The 'Hot Coffee' mod has even been removed from Fileplanet.)

Will someone please give this guy a clue? Jack Thompson is claiming Sims is a porn game with cheat codes. The guy starts off off ok, Sims 2 College has a cheat code that can disable the streaker’s blurred out parts.

"The nudity placed there by the publisher/maker, Electronic Arts, is accessed by the use of a simple code that removes what is called 'the blur' which obscures the genital areas. In other words, the game was released to the public by the manufacturer knowing that the full frontal nudity was resident on the game and would be accessed by use of a simple code widely provided on the Internet."

OK, no big deal. This is not the first time a game has come out with a cheat code letting people see boobies.

He goes on to talk about how the cheat can be used by pedophiles so they can see the little kids. This would be bad. If it was true.

EA said that

"Players never see a nude sim. If someone with an extreme amount of expertise and time were to remove the pixels, they would see that the sims have no genitals. They appear like Ken and Barbie."

Darn, and here I was hopping to see a pixilated booby.
Thompson's responce?

"The sex and the nudity are in the game. That's the point. The blur is an admission that even the 'Ken and Barbie' features should not be displayed. The blur can be disarmed. This is no different than what is in San Andreas, although worse."

Mr. Thompson sure does get worked up over Ken and Barbie. How much does he play with his Barbie doll?

So is a blur different than a swim suit or a three piece business suit to this guy? They cover up the naughty places in games, so where would his hunt end?

Just imagine this guy's reaction if he actually knows about re-skinning a character. Oh, I guess he does and has something to say about that...

EA is "cooperating, gleefully, with the mod community to turn Sims 2 into a porn offering."

I am confused now. Is this a cheat code we are talking about, or a game mod? For your information Mr. Thompson, a cheat code is a serious of key combinations that are entered into a game at some point to unlock a feature that was made into the game. A game mod on the other hand is a file that has to be modified, to add or change features that were not originally part of the game.

So there we have it folks. Watch out game developers, we have some sharp cookies out there watching you like a hawk. You better make your games impossible to mod or skin, or your game will get an Adult only rating.

well today the tickets for Blizzard's BlizzCon 2005 are on sale. When they first announced it, I wanted to go, but now that I see what little they are offering for $120+ I think I will pass. I am even one of the type of people that buy special edition extras for DVDs and games, but this price is realy hard to justify. Here is what the web sight said they will be offering.

Q&A panels with the World of Warcraft and StarCraft: Ghost developers

I am expecting this to be more along the lines of a press conference and they may pick you to ask a question, or draw questions out of a hat. Question will probably be along the lines of...'why did it take so long','why do you not just wait a bit more and put it out on Xbox 360','do you think you will get sued by Bungie or EA for a knock off of Halo and Command and Conquer Renegade','will there be DOA type posters of Nova in skimpy beach cloths'

Playing World of Warcraft Battlegrounds live with friends

Can't I do that at my place now for free? High speed DSL is a good thing

1st public hands-on gameplay of StarCraft: Ghost

This could be cool, but not worth $120 to play a three year old game when a demo will only be a few months from now.

BlizzCon Invitational Tournament, featuring top Warcraft III and StarCraft professional gamers from around the world

So sit and watch the best Battle.net player fight it out. May be get a few new ideas, but not worth $120.

A separate LAN area stocked with PCs for your gaming pleasure

$120 LAN party with total strangers minus cheep pizza, chips, coke, and movie. I thought the point of LAN partys was to play with friends, get crazy, talk smack, and have cheep food.

Contests for die-hard gamers to compete in for great loot

I.E. people that have a level 38 dwarf (me) need not apply. I am guessing this is in game loot and not desk top nick nacks, and the closes you will get to showing people on your server that you went to BlizzCon. Much like the people that got a panda, or mini Diablo pet get to show off they got the limited edition WoW.

Custom BlizzCon merchandise and other Blizzard merchandise in the BlizzCon store

More ways to con(get it, ha ha) you out of your money? I went to BlizzCon and all I got was this T-shirt.

A blowout closing night concert featuring a to-be-announced band – more details to come!

I have not paid over $80 to see a band that I like. Why would I pay $120 to see a band that they are still unable to get to sign on to this gig?

I like Blizzard, and their games are a lot of fun to play. I have a lot of great memories playing them with my friends. This convention is just leaving a lot to be desired to justify the cost. Travel is not even an issue for me, I live 2 to 3 hours away. Not even a Custom BlizzCon badge with my toon's name and server will win me over. I am sure they will sell out of the 4,000 tickets, and not miss me one bit. May be next year.

I want to give a girl that I work with some flowers for her birthday tomorrow. Knowing that most girls make a big deal about this color = that meaning and that color rose = this meaning, I searched the web to make sure I do not screw up and send the wrong message. Ok, pink, yellow, or white looks like they are safe and I have those colors in my garden.

Well wouldn’t that be the way things go? All the flowers in my garden that were just gorgeous a yesterday are all droopy, and wilting from the heat. All the flowers that is, but one RED ROSE! Now what am I to do?

I could...
1) Put it on here desk when no one is around and leave her to guessing and her imagination.
2) tell her when I give it to her that it was the only nice one I could find in my garden.
3) Go out and buy some flowers, but what is the point of having flower bushes if you cannot give them to girls to brighten their day?
4) Forget the whole sappy, dumb, dorky idea and just give only the gift like everyone else.


Now she is pretty cool and we get along alright. She is a pritty good friend. I think that she would be cool with number 2, but than I have not been all that good with guessing in the past with other girls. Valentines I gave all the ladies in my office a bundle of red, pink, and white roses, and that went ok, they just kept saying I was so sweet. I do little things from time to time to brighten the ladies days, but is a red rose on a friend's birthday going over the line, or am I just paranoid? (I know this has nothing to do with games and PCs, but you may thank me some day)

It looks like even Video Game Violence and Porn have people arguing on the two extremes. Glenn Harlan Reynolds (yes that Glenn Reynolds)points out an interesting trend were teen sex and violence is lowering over the years, where as access to porn and violent games is getting easier. On the opposite side of the fence is Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton calling them "a silent epidemic" that will destroy our children. She wants to make it harder for younger kids to get this content in video games. So are we going to start fining stores the same way they fine them for selling booze and smokes to children? Do we even do this for videos?

Where do I stand on the issue of violent video games and sex? I believe that violence and sex are a part of human nature, no getting around it. I know that violent game can be a release for pent up aggression and frustrations. I guess the same can be said for porn. There is a limit though. I don't like cruel and gruesome violence. Blowing away a zombie or a person and seeing blood splatter with a few body chunks is one thing; seeing guts fall out, brain goo, and a person screaming, yelling, and suffering as he dies is a completely different thing that I take no enjoyment from. Similar thing goes for porn(Playboy) and kinky porn(Paris Hilton). Why should my preferences on games, movies, and porn dictate what other people are able to get in their movies, games, and porn?

Should a little child have access to this? I say no, little children should enjoy there youth and innocence for the little bit they can, but this choice completely lies in the hands of the parents. If a parent wants to know how bad a game can be, read the box. The ESRB, for all the complaining I have done about them, has actually done a pretty good job of describing what the game may hold. If you decide the content may be suitable for your child, try watching them play it for a bit or play it yourself. Do not rely on some other people telling you how suitable the game is. If you bought the game because your snot noised little demon has thrown a tantrum the whole block heard, there is no point in you trying anything to stop him from play violent games and watching porn. In fact there is no point in you continuing to breed, so do everyone a favor and go get sterilized...

I always thought the way game makers could get around the ESRB rating was to have hidden content, or a downloadable add-on that would let the game be playable for little kids, but also enjoyable for an older audience. Some games do this right now by having a parental control option that limits gore and language, but they still get the higher rating because the content is there. Apparently now, even if the game has to be hacked to get the content, it should get a stiffer ESRB rating.

Anyone that is bemoaning the fact that their child can get porn and violence out of a GTA game is a moron. Have you tried to play the game or watch it? Have you read anything about it? The games I would understand people being surprised about are the cutesy, children games; like Pokemon. What can be evil about that cute game you ask? The whole game promotes animal cruelty, gambling, and stealing! Your objective is to have your pet fight other pets in a combat ring, and you get money and prizes if you win. If you are fighting a wild animal, you can catch it, stuff it into a small ball, and force it to fight other animals. Does this sound like cock/dog fighting to anyone else? In Pokemon Colosseum for the Game Cube, you are a former gang member that is now stealing other people’s pets so that you can cure them from being dark pokemon. (My sister plays these games; I swear that is why I know about them.) The people that you steal them from do not even react to you taking the pet right in front of them, and you don't return the pet after you 'cured' it. Why isn't PETA or Sen. Clinton angry with these games? Because people would look at that cute yellow rat and think that Clinton is crazy, instead of only the people that play violent video games.

What Rockstar games needs to do now is have a press release stating that they do not know how the content got into the game, maybe a disgruntled employee that put it in and is now leaking the hack, and offer free by mail replacements of the game with a new version that doesn’t have that content. At this point, I am not sure if it would make a difference, so may be they should just sit back and enjoy all the free publicity that they are once again getting for their game.

This is a pritty good idea from Atari. Atari on Demand is a subscription program that lest you download and play PC games that are offered by Atari. I may look at the 7 day trial just to see what games it includes. They do not have a link to their catalog, so I am not sure if they just offer there old bargain bin games, or if it includes some of there newer games like Roller Coaster Tycoon 3. It would be cool to see other companies try this approach. It may help curb some of the pirating problems. I wonder if they are trying this because of Gamefly and Netflix doing so well?

someone pinch me, I am dreaming! Supreme Commander, from the creator of Total Annihilation.

I had a lot of fun playing TA, only problem I ever had with it was there were just too many units to choose from! The graphics are still good looking, and each unit had its own animation. I will never forget Lone Wolf's massive wave of jets that would just annihilate me.

What happens when you take Bohemian Rhapsody, throw in a zig, and mix it up with flash? You get one funny well done movie! Move zig!

Thanks to Redsugar