GameOn - Web Comics - Awkward Zombie

GameOn with a week of videogame based Web Comics.  Today, we're going to take a look at Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich.
Official Site: Awkward Zombie - Katie Tiedrich

Not all of Katie's comics are exclusively on a specific game.  There are times where she would make a strip based on real life events with references to videogames.  I enjoy a lot of her quirky jokes that she makes that reference a game's actual gameplay, story, or character.  Most comics are based off of Nintendo games with Super Smash Bros. Melee and Pokémon being more of her well known references to games.  Her art style is simplistic, but effective in what it wants to achieve.  The Awkward Zombie site does experience problems loading and I can only hope that it's because a lot of people read her comics.  She is currently up to strip #193 from when she first started back in September 2006.

VGCulture - Music - Filler with Gameboy Music

I was going to do another GameLight of a new MMO that's out right now, but I'm pretty tired and I still have a lot of work to do.  So I decided to show you something I saw on Kotaku today:

Source: Youtube Channel MrSeberi

I wanted to do something similar about 3-4 years ago, but with kitchen appliances.  I never got around to it, and it's a very tedious task to edit (not so much then than it is now, I need to buy a hard drive camcorder...).  Anyways, have a good weekend and enjoy the music.

Source: Kotaku - You’ve Never Heard A Game Boy Make Music Like This Before 

NewNews - Global Agenda goes Free-to-Play all the way!

Global Agenda is a 3rd-Person Action Shooter Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game that focuses a lot of its gameplay on instances, competitive matches, and a constantly evolving, on-going world with defense raids and open-world quests.

Source: Youtube Channel mmorpgitalia

Later in the month, Global Agenda will switch from its one-time purchase structure to a Free-to-Play structure with the option to have a one time payment to obtain the status of "Elite Agent" which makes leveling, gathering currency and items easier.  Those who have paid for the game already will automatically receive this status when the new patch is applied to the game.  For those who want to play for free, don't worry about the levels, items, and currency too much because the game is heavily skill based with team-work in mind.  Players who are at level 10 will go up against players who are level 50+ and still win if they have a solid team to work with.  Global Agenda is one of those rare MMOs where players of any level can play together (for the most part, some restrictions for instances).  Because of this news, I'm going to get my friends who don't play the game to join.  I haven't played the game as much as I had hoped, but I enjoy it every time I log on.  The graphics are nice, the thematic atmosphere is immersive, the sounds are unique and recognizable as its own, the gameplay is fast-paced and challenging, the various game modes provide a variety of ways to play the game, but I wish there was more music going throughout the game (what is up with all these MMOs with no music?).  The team working at Hi-Rez Studios has worked constantly on improving Global Agenda throughout the year.  I have seen the game go through an entire change in equipment systems, skill tree changes, user interface, adding new items, constant updates in class balance (the nerf on the Recon made me sad, but it made sense), additional game modes, and entire expansion pack was given for free to all the players.  Hopefully this switch to Free-to-Play structure will give players who had doubts about the game an opportunity to truly enjoy this amazing MMO.

Source: Gamasutra - Hi-Rez Makes Full Free-To-Play Switch With Global Agenda

GameLight - Moon Diver

Moon Diver is a 2D Action Platformer that has elements of RPG and capability to play 4-player co-op local and online.  It is developed by Feelplus and published by Square-Enix for the PSN and XBLA Market.
Official Site: http://dlgames.square-enix.com/moondiver/na/index.html

Source: Youtube Channel machinima

I remember seeing the advertisement for this game and telling player to get ready for some "Ninja Flipping Action".  While they look nothing like ninjas, the characters have a plethora of abilities, move sets, and weapons to help them fight off the numerous enemies.  I'm not sure how to describe the game other than that it captures a lot of elements of old-school action platformers that made it fun and challenging.  The enemies aren't particularly threatening, but death comes quickly to those who let up for just a second.  I liked that it put me on edge and forced me to play more carefully because of the possibility of losing so quickly.  The graphics are a mixture of 3D art with a lot of influence from 2D games.  Like shown in the video, the gameplay is fast and frantic with lot of enemies on screen and the player being able to jump, climb, air-dash, and unleash group abilities by using their specials together.  The music is pretty cool, but it doesn't really stick beyond playing the game.  I have yet to try out multiplayer since I played the demo and not the full version; however, I am considering on buying this game because of how fun it was and I've been looking for a good co-op game for the longest time.  I'm not sure about the Xbox 360, but the demo is out on Sony's PSN for PS3 players to try out.  The game has already been released for PSN for $15.  Another game to look out for is Hard Corps: Uprising.

GameLight - Battlefield Play4Free

Battlefield Play4Free is out in Open Beta now!

Source: Youtube Channel dasBA3R

Battlefield Play4Free is EA's response to the hardcore gaming community that Battlefield Heroes did not fulfill.  Free 2 play games were thought to be of a community of casual gamers and thus Battlefield Heroes was more of a cartoonish style shooter rather than something a bit more realistic.  What the developers realized was that a lot of free 2 play games were played by Hard core gamers when they were taking a break from their usual games, and thus EA decided to bring a free 2 play game that suits those Hard Core gamers.  It follows the same structure of Battlefield Heroes where the main portion of the game is free while extra weapons, boost items, and attire can be purchased with real money.  From what I heard, it has many elements of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (without the destructible environments) along with the maps of Battlefield 2.  There are four classes to choose from: Assault, Medic, Engineer, and Recon.  I'm probably going to go with medic because I can't stand having a team full of useless healers that care more about killing than healing (happens in every game that has a healer of some sort).

It's pretty easy to start playing:
-Make an Electronic Arts account (for free)
-Make your soldier (Assault, Medic, Engineer, Recon)
-Download (It's 1 GB worth of Hard Drive space)

You can do that here: http://battlefield.play4free.com/en/

Have fun!

VGCulture - Gamers Heart Japan

If you haven't watched it yet, here it is:

Source: Youtube Channel GamersHeartJapan

Gamers Heart Japan is a collaborative project that interviews many gamers, game developers, game editorials, and game enthusiasts in an effort to show how much Japan has contributed to the game industry and to bring the game community together to support the relief in Japan.  All donations to Gamers Heart Japan goes to the Red Cross.

It wasn't a surprise to see the 9.0 magnitude earthquake, the tsunami that followed it, and the radiation leak have an affect on the world in one way or another.  Economics, technology, energy preservation, disaster preparations, and such are being discussed throughout the world in how to recover from it and how to avoid having as much damage and casualties in the future.  For the videogame industry, servers for online games have been halted to preserve energy, release dates for certain games have been delayed for those coming in and going out of Japan, and the fear of progressive damage to the Japanese game industry as well as its economics have been brought up many times in the past month.  In the video collab for Gamers Heart Japan, game developers, writers, and players share with the viewer some of the most influential figures of Japanese game development, some of their favorite Japanese developed games, and some of their own insights about Japan and how they have been affected by the earthquake in Japan.

For me, I was affected in many ways when I found out about the earthquake.  For one, I would've actually been there near the earthquake and tsunami in Sendai had I been accepted to the Japanese English Teaching (JET) Program.  I had many friends up and down Japan studying abroad and contacted the immediately to find that they were safe but after about a week were asked to come back to their respective homes or to stay in closer areas such as southern Japan, Hong Kong, and Southern China.  I've always had an interest in Japan because of its history and its culture.  Because many cities have been raved by the tsunami, a lot of northern Japan will have to change and rebuild itself.  I also couldn't help but think about how it has affected the gaming community as well since many gamers had their start with a lot of Japanese games.

Following some of the interviews from Gamers Heart Japan, I would say on of the more influential games from early day Nintendo for me was Metroid because of its open-ended gameplay.  It didn't demand that the player go to a specific area at a certain time or at all.  The idea of having a progressive enhancement with power ups and energy tanks was also interesting to me since it gave me an incentive to look for secrets and have an awareness of the environment that I may not have for other games.  Trying to pinpoint a favorite game is near impossible and is one of the questions I have difficulty answering.  But if I had to choose one to talk about, I would say Phantasy Star Online Ep.1 & 2 for Gamecube is one of my favorite games to come out of Japan.  The structure of the game is rather simple (4 areas each episode with a boss at the end of each area) but the whole embodiment of the game is what really enticed me.  Different combinations of weapons and builds based on the growth of your pet/guardian Mag changed the way the game was played.  The freedom the player had in choosing quests or setting their own goals was very involving and immersed me into the game's world.  What kept me going back to the game was all the surprises that kept me interested.  There would be weapons or items I've never heard of drop from an enemy, special monsters would appear all of a sudden, and the change from Very Hard to Ultimate was a drastic one.  It solidified many aspects future online games that came out after it and remains a fan favorite up till now.  Choosing an influential figure of the game industry is equally difficult since there were so many developers and producers that has done so much to bring all the games we've played and loved throughout the decades.  I would have to agree with many of the interviewees and say that Shigeru Miyamoto is one developer that has influenced many gamers and game developers alike; however, I would like to talk a little about Daisuke Ishiwatari.  Ishiwatari is one of the most influential game developers that I have come across to what I want to do in my future career in the industry.  He has made a name for himself on the fighting game series Guilty Gear and now BlazBlue with his involvement with directing, development, concept art, character creation, voice acting, writing, and composed all the music for the games.  For someone like me to have interest in so many fields in the industry, I aspire to do the same and have my visions fulfilled through my involvement in writing, art, music, and development if and when I become a lead designer.  His stories are intricate to the point of being convoluted, his characters are memorable with distinct music themes that match their personality, and his design in having a smooth combo system with elements that favor both casual and pro gamers truly inspired me when I started to become more serious with my involvement in the game industry.

Be sure to visit http://www.gamersheartjapan.com/ and send your donations in an effort to help Japan out of this crisis.

VGCulture - Shu's Guide to April Fool's Day

April Fool's Day is a dangerous day for all gamers.  Rumors of untold games and trailers that crush the hopes many tend to show its face to the gullible and curious.  So here are a few tips I've made and followed throughout the many years of being on the internet during April Fool's Day:
1) If possible, don't use the internet.
2) If you have to use the internet, avoid opening any suspicious e-mails, links, or instant messages
3) If a friend asks you to "watch this" or "check this out", politely ask them to send it to you tomorrow
4) If for some reason you run into an amazing story that's too good to be true, read/watch it tomorrow
5) Stay cautious and if you do get April Fooled, laugh it off

Some of the past April Fool's Jokes has been:
-The Legend of Zelda Movie Trailer
-Bollywood's version of a Halo: Combat Evolved Movie Trailer
-The usual Rick Roll, Mudkipz, etc. video linked with an amazing story title.

So have a safe and healthy April Fool's Day and have a great weekend.