Read the title somewhere, without reading the article, just wanted to contribute my thoughts.

In a word: Yes. I, for one, believe that it is completely plausible. There have already been talks about a 360 controller with motion sensing abilities, and the wild success of a system like the wii, even though its only real technical innovation is the motion control (and that tended to be somewhat shoddy at times) with graphics that look worse than a gorrila's barf and framerates that aren't always good.

I certainly hope that the only way that the new generation is influenced by the wii is motion control...as a PC gamer, I won't be at all affected, however, and I'm not quite sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing (more on this later).

I'm not quite sure whether I'd like the idea of controlling a game with motion control no matter what platform I played on...Nintendo, as I've mentioned, doesn't have a perfect track record with implementing it, and they've been known for quality ever since they saved the gaming world back in '85 - if they can't do it correctly, its going to take Microsoft years of experimentation to get it completely right, even if they do get it completely right, which is something I seriously doubt considering their track record (the original Xbox's first controller, anyone?) not to mention the red ring of death, which may very well plague their next system if its going to be so closely based on the Xbox 360.

But there's also a chance that they're not going to do this. Although Nintendo's console is cemented in its role as the "family fun console" thanks to its 'casual' success, if motion control goes universal, wii shovelware is going to flood all the consoles, and the casual crowd (the smart ones, at least) will see better graphics and slightly improved quality, and will begin flocking to Microsoft's and Sony's consoles in at least enough numbers to prove as competition to Nintendo's behemoth.

But, you see, this is going to drive away a vast majority of the hardcore crowd...if you don't believe me, just look at what happened with the wii: it is now constantly ridiculed by critics and hardcore gamers alike for lacking quality, solid hardcore titles. And it does. If this happens, you're going to see a large paradigm shift in the focus of the consoles - I predict that for the life of the next generation, if this comes to be, that the Xbox 360 and PS3 will remain alive, because of the option to play with a controller and complete library of great, hardcore titles, OR Microsoft and Sony will include the options to play their games with motion sensing turned off or a regular controller.

But even that has a fault - most of the games developed for motion sensing consoles will be designed around motion control, at least in the early stages. Thus, few will utilize the ability to use a controller even if that's included and the path that they take, continuing to drive the Hardcores away.

As a PC Gamer, I'm either:

A.) not going to be affected at all. Valve, Blizzard, and all those Russian and Korean companies will continue to put out AAA PC designed titles that work better with a mouse/keyboard combo, and life will be good. In fact, if this is what happens, there's a very small percentage of Hardcores that will actually likely become PC gamers too...a small percentage, but there's a chance that (again, if and only if all of the above actually happens) this will boost the growth of the PC as a platform, which experts say is growing rapidly already.

B.) the PC will now support motion controls, as a shortcut for developers to publish everything multiplatform. The problems with all the above consoles still apply here as well.

I'd just like to say that this may or may not happen. Sure, there's a chance that it will, but this is all just speculation: and speculation isn't hard facts. Only time will tell, as always.

IMaBIOHAZARD, signing off.

My birthday (March 25th, the day that the world will no doubt rue when I have conquer the entire land mass of the Earth) is now over. Parents, friends, and relatives have all contributed to my ever-growing collection of games, adding:

Tomb Raider Underworld, Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box, Garry's Mod, Counter Strike: Source, and The Witcher: Enhanced Addition, as well as an XboX 360 controller for Windows.

And I'm enjoying each and every one of these games...to varying degrees. Each of them is a worthy buy, but here's my thoughts on each of them:

Tomb Raider Underworld

Overall a very strong, awesome title. There's a few issues that make it a little frustrating, like any other platformer. As in, if you mess up a jump, or do something in the wrong order, you fall down a few floors, and are forced to climb up the same excruciating (but satisfying) walls and other climbable-thingamerbobbers to reach that same point, and likely fall flat on your face again. If you find yourself in this position, play something else for a day or two then come back - the consistency with which you're shown breathtaking, jaw-droppingly beautiful sights is well worth the minor frustrations. I mean, in the FIRST LEVEL (when you're on the ocean, not in the tutorial) you're given that open-ended ocean, and I was lost for a second, until I jumped in the water, and found myself several hundred feet above huge, beautiful underwater ruins. The sense of exploration is evident everywhere.

The Witcher: Enhanced Edition

regardless of its multitudinous issues and very poor translation, the basic fundamentals of the original Witcher were incredibly good: CD Projekt had a real gem on their hands, a very good-selling critically-acclaimed gem with good combat, an utterly fantastic, believable story that had you sympathizing with its characters, and a mature/gloomy setting that said "this is a game for adults". And that's more of what we need - video games are no longer for children only.

Even with the original selling well, CD Projekt realized how poorly it had been ported, and wanted to do it right a second time around. And they certainly did: the voice acting is top notch, the graphics are much improved, and there's enough extras to make your head spin (soundtrack CD, in-game extras, included short story, two extra scenarios of gameplay, and a hell of a lot more). That is Valve-like dedication to doing a game right. When a developer steps this far out of the way just to appeal to gamers, not even to boost sales, you know that they're doing something, if not everything, right.

Counter Strike: Source

There is only one thought, likely synonymous with every other gamer out there, that I can voice: this is the second greatest multiplayer experience ever (just behind Team Fortress 2 and just above Left 4 Dead; incidentally, all three are by Valve). I mean, there's just a satisfaction of knowing that when you kill an enemy, they stay down, motherf****r.

The strategy and teamwork that's required to win is fantastic - you're not going to get anywhere without teammates, just like real life. The realism is palpable - there are still a lot of cartoony aspects, but they're not particularly prevalant. Its great to know that all across the map, individual firefights are happening when you've got a large number of players. When its just 4v4, its even better - a single kill or death could tip the balance of the game.

And then there's the buying system, by far the greatest thing that Valve has cooked up for this all-time classic. I mean, CS:S would be great even without this, but they just went above and beyond here - having to start out with just a few hundred (or thousand) dollars to buy all of your equipment, and then struggling to gain more cash to buy the better weapons as the blitzkrieg-fast rounds fly by in spasms of super-intensive combat and strategy.

Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box

Ever wondered what Grand Theft Auto would feel like with no guns, storyline, or context? It would pretty much be like the above title: a free-roaming, really fast-driving racer. The driving physics are really fun, the bikes go to breakneck speeds, and the selection of vehicles and the sheer volume of single-player (not to mention multiplayer) content is astounding. The races are all innovative and an absolute blast; you haven't played a racer until you've smashed and sped your way through Burnout's fast-paced, graphically impressive races. On the topic of graphics, go crash one of the cars. When you pick up your jaw from the floor, after that really awesome super-slo-mo crash sequence, where it looked like the car was sustaining real damage. I mean, this is likely the greatest car damage any piece of software has ever been able to cook up.

This is pure, arcadey fun - and that's just the races. If you don't feel like racing, just explore the streets in your favorite bike or car, all of which seem perfectly realistic and well-designed for speed. The controls (on a 360 controller, which comes with my unqualified reccommendation for everything that doesn't work well with a mouse an keyboard, limited to basically racers and third-person action games, even then) are absolutely perfect: I couldn't have asked for better, easier schemes of control.

Garry's Mod

What would it be like if someone gave you a box of half-life 2/CS/TF2/L4D themed legos and asked you to do whatever the hell you wanted to with them? Would you make a few buildings, barricade them, spawn a few hundred zombies, and try to fend off the shambling hordes with just a Schmidt TMP? Or would you create a flying death contraption/airplane/boat? Or how about the most bad@ss Jeep/hovercraft ever? The freedom is limitless - an impressive array of 'tools' allow you to well together virtually every single object used in all of the current-generation Valve games into whatever your twisted mind can produce.

Like I said, picture it as a box of legos or blocks or whatever; its the greatest map editor ever, and the $10 price tag is 100% justified.

and that's about it. Check all these games out if you haven't already - they're all so well worth it.

this latest Games Developers conference had few major announcements - the only really huge one was the emergence of the newest independent platform, "OnLive". It utilizes a 'new' technology aptly named "cloud streaming"; the idea behind it being that, over a strong enough internet connection, other computers will be using their technology, not your computer's technology, to play the games.

So, although you're still controlling the gameplay, you could be playing on a computer without a video card and it could be running Crysis at 60 frames per second, because its not your computer that's running Crysis: OnLive's computers are, and they're constantly being upgraded with the latest tech every 6 months.

Be warned: this isn't going to be all facts - a huge part of this is my own opinion. Proceed with caution.

A lot of people have been screaming, absolutely screaming, that this is the end of consoles and PC gaming as we know it. Nay, I say! The PC has withstood so much, I doubt there's anything anyone can do to absolutely kill it. Perhaps mortally wound the thing, but not kill it. But consoles could be a different story. The large percentage of casual users and toddlers that toy around with them from time to time will continue to do just that - but the more hardcore crowd will likely see a large incentive to switch over.

The point I'm trying to make here in particular is that console gamers are used to being controlled by a single company - as Nintendo is to the Wii, and Sony is to the PS3, Microsoft is to the XboX 360. These companies can, at any time, remotely, and for any reason, because a contract says so, shut down your console. That isn't so with a PC. What I'm trying to say is that this is the same situation; a single company controls a whole platform. But I'm also saying that PC Gamers aren't really going to be that keen to switch over - maybe those that are new and have PCs that rate high end for back in 2005, and its a great way to get more people playing games on their PCs, but PC Gamers aren't going to like being absolutely controlled. Sure, I've never actually chosen to not patch something or upgrade my drivers because I disagree with what it changes, but OnLive makes the choice for you. One of the things I honestly love about the PC as a platform is that you're given such free reign - if the consoles were like socialist nations (and believe me, they're a lot more alike than you'd think) then the PC is the good ol' US of A. And like that same free nation, we're slowly, slowly stepping across that very fragile, thin boundary away from freedom.

But enough of that - I'm a commentator of games, not politics.

Back to the topic at hand: why I think that OnLive is going to fail, or at least not achieve the success that Steam has had. While both are innovative and certainly looking towards the future, Steam was just a messenger - a portal (haha, get it?) for the players to get the games faster and easier (well, most of the time) and I personally adore the service. But OnLive is changing the games themselves. It may be way more innovative than Steam, but keep in mind that not only, unless you have one hell of an internet connection (broadband is a MUST, they even said: 1.5 mb/s for standard definition, and 6 mb/s at least for high def, a whopping 720p...which isn't really that whopping) you'll be lagging like the Empire Total War demo load times. And that 720p I just mentioned? Its the maximum you'll be able to crank the graphics up to. That means that even though they have GTX 295s, they won't really be utilizing them. Keep in mind that 720p equals 1280x800. Yeah, I did not spend all that money on a good graphics card to see my resolution thrown out the window.

Here's a pic of the controller and adapter for the TV. I hear that you can also plug in a mouse/keyboard to the TV so that you can have the enormous screen and still own at Counter Strike.

Just one or two more things about OnLive: firstly, its just entered the fray way too early. This writer believes that it isn't going to reach enough people (only the hardcore crowd is really even eligible for looking into this kind of thing - its all hardcore PC games only pretty much), and although there's a first for everything, like the first man out of the trench, that first man usually gets instantly cut down by the enemy's machine guns. Brutally.

Secondly, does anyone honestly believe that Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo are going to go out without a fight? Well, Nintendo's wii will continue to sell in record numbers (you can't beat motion control in terms of sales) but that's besides the point. The big three will either try to improve their consoles to the point that they'll have so many advantages over OnLive that any new gamers are instantly going to choose the console, or they're going to look into cloud streaming themselves, and out-compete OnLive. Its sad, really.

Lastly, before I end the post, even if the big three don't enter the mysterious realm of Cloud Streaming, OnLive already has competitors. I don't have a lot of time to talk about them, but you can check out one of the latest "Hardware Insider" blog posts for more info. My point in mentioning them is to point out that, like the consoles, this will only lead to exlusives. Its inevitable and completely unavoidable - I mean, that's how capitalism works: business means edging out the competition. And when the services are so much the same, the only way you can really do that is with the games that you offer, when it comes down to it. Want to play this game, but you only have a subscription to this service? Too bad, because you'll have to pay a second monthly fee and a fee on top of that to buy the game, from a different service. I can understand having to pay for several different consoles; they're unique enough to warrant that. But would anyone here pay for both Blockbuster's and Netflix's online delivery services? I can honestly say that I wouldn't.

The beta begins this summer, and I will definitely check it out; hopefully the beta will provide a lot more information than we have, and perhaps bring some new revelations on the subject. But until then, we can only speculate.

how sweet is her embrace,

with spring upon her lips

and sprouts upon the ground

and snowless fields

April, oh April!

April is looking, although somewhat sparse in terms of releases, good for PC gamers like myself. Looking at a release chart, I noticed a surprising lack of...well, not only games at all, but multiplatform and console games. April 2009 will be branded the Handheld and PC month of this year...which is odd, considering we're in the second-most console intensive country in the world (behind Japan).

In fact, all of 2009 is looking very dim, even towards Christmas. The Sims 3, Dragon Age: Origins, Starcraft II...that's about it for the rest of this year that will sell in the millions (that I can think of). There are a few more releases that are bound to be more unsuccessful, like ArmA II and Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising, but I doubt as many people are looking forwards to that as Halo 3: ODST (I really think they should've kept Recon as its name - ODST is just bad in comparison) or Lost Planet 2. Speaking of Lost Planet 2, does anyone know if its headed for the PC? I never particularly liked the first one (too much politics - I won't speak of my political orientation, but I do believe that games should NOT be podiums for developers to impose their own beliefs, as with the original Lost Planet being about Global Warming).

That's pretty much all I have to say that pertains to all of gaming-dom.

Actually, for once I think I'll actually take this chance to talk about the PC's faults. I just notice that a lot of elitists tend to ignore the fact that there are a lot of reasons not to play on a PC, and yet absolutely balk at console gamers when they refuse to try a multiplatform game on their home computers.

I'd just like to say, that I realize the PC has a lot of issues: DRM, piracy, Vista sucking at everything (including games), all the tweaking and time a lot of people have to put into making a game that should normally run well but doesn't actually play, that sort of thing. PC Gamers shouldn't just think of the PC as the perfect platform - we may believe it to be better than the other available ones, but some humbility and self-assessment lead down a much better path than stubborn refusal to admit anything wrong.

And that should conclude another edition of THE AWESOME OVERDRIVE! thx for reading!

srry that it's a little late in coming, but my L4D and Portal reviews are (and have been) up. check 'em out!

There isn't much of a way to describe Dwarf Fortress - it's a city-building, Dwarf-managing, booze-production-based, semi-combat game. That's just one of the game modes (of three fantastic ones, Fortress mode), too.

Right now, I'm going through a phase in which I'm playing nothing but Slaves of Armok II: Dwarf Fortress. There's just something about the relaxing pace (up until the goblins attack :'( ) that I love, as well as being able to micromanage virtually everything about it. I mean, seriously, you can check they're **** thoughts if you really felt like it. So, if I wanted to, I could go through the dozens upon dozens that a full-fledged dwarf fortress will hold and customize their nickname, job title, read up on the particular god they worship, see what organizations they belong to, see if they have a particular affinity for any animals or other dwarfs, and customize all of their dozens of skills to make them capable of virtually any task.

(Just as a side note, does anyone remember the original Slaves of Armok? the II suggests that there was one before it, but I've never heard it mentioned, and I've never seen so much as a screenshot)

I've never seen that much customization in anything resembling this games' genre (shut up Sims fans! This is sort of a CITYBUILDER for God's sakes, not managing a single family!), and its all the better for it. Although it can kind of become a slog through endless menues if you really want to go that extra mile and customize virtually everything about your dwarfs, whoever coded it had the decency to include a seperate .exe that works sort of like a Dwarf Skill Management spreadsheet...it doesn't have every skill, but it has all the really important ones.

By the way, in case any of you are wondering WHAT THE HELL IS DWARF FORTRESS, Biohazard?, look into it, and find yourselves so helplessly lost when you download it that you feel like you're drowning, follow this link. I posted about this in the PC forum. It's pretty much the one and only useful tutorial for this game. It'll tell you virtually everything that you need to know (just check the wiki if you have any further questions, most - but not all - of the stuff there will at least answer quick questions). It's a tutorial for a game that was built without one.

Anyways, Fortress mode is absolutely fantastic. I haven't checked out the other two modes yet (Adventurer and Legends) but from what I hear, Adventurer is a sort of D&D-esque thing where you travel the world of Dwarf Fortress as a race of your choosing and...have adventures. Incredibly deep and involving ones, too. Honestly, I've heard some really crazy **** about Adventure mode...not to mention the amazing Fortress levels I've heard about. The Doomsday level...there's no real official link I can give you, but it's worth looking in to. Let me tell you this: there are two versions, one involves lots and lots of magma, the other involves copious amounts of water, and they're both associated with a lever that one has to pull...

But that's besides the point. This is an absolutely 100% superb title, developed by Bay12 Games, and its an absolutely unforgetable ****c. If you haven't played it, you will love it, and I mean love it.

I'm gonna keep this short, sweet, and to the point:

Watchmen, although there is no way in hell it lives up to the comic, is one of the most fantastic movies ever created.

When I heard that Zach Snyder was going to be working on this legendary piece of fiction, I was immediately swelled with confidence - if there was one way that the job could be done right, it was with perfect casting and liberal application of slow motion, as Zach Snyder has shown he knows how to do both, in his previous movie: 300, another one of my all time favorites.

The soundtrack, cinematography, and virtually everything else about the movie are as good as they can possibly be. I just re-read the graphic novel in preperation for the film, so that if there was any treacherous, underhanded move on the part of Zach to leave parts out, I could stand up in the theater, point my finger at the screen, and yell "NOOOOOOOOBZOOOOOORRRR!!!!!"

But, I didn't find any need to do such a thing. They were using mostly the exact dialogue from the book, and left NOTHING of consequence out....there was only one particular factor of the "villian's" plan that they left out, and for those who've read it you'll realize that at the very end. But considering that Zach only had 2 and a 1/2 hours in which to tell a tale that would take 5 hrs for its full length, its understandable that he had to pull out one of the wilder, less believable (but nevertheless awsum and shocking) parts of the book. Otherwise, it moves a little too fast in the beginning, but that was likely due to time constraints. Besides those two things, Zach did an ADMIRABLE job of adapting the book to the big screen.

But that shouldn't've been too hard for me to accept - he's said that he's a huge fan of the graphic novel himself. All in all, this is a step up for the movie industry; this kind of movie has never been done before, and I can say with all my heart that Watchmen is probably not only the definitive movie of 2009, but the most definitive SUPERHERO movie of ALL TIME.

There's been a huge eruption of indie games in the past few years, at least on the PC. Its the easiest platform to make games for, and the cheapest, making it ever so easy for budding new developers to get out there and make a game/mod to let people know that they can make great games, so, naturally, indie developers FLOCK to the PC.

I just want to talk about two goddamn GEMS that i found the other day while surfing the interwebz: Coil, and You Have To Burn the Rope.

But first, I just want to mention that BRAID is coming to PC...because I don't own an XboX 360, I never got a chance to play it (however much I wanted to) but now it seems like I'll get a chance. It won all kinds of crazy-ass awards and was supposed to be SUPER-awesome, so I'll be one of the first to download it when it hits. (braid-game.com)

ANYWAYS:

Coil

This is one of teh most incredibly poetic and deep games imaginable, at least in my opinion. In between levels, you'll be treated to a story that's written with the kind of shakespearian tongue that would be more fitting of a book of poetry, rather than a game. The story alone, even tho it only appears between levels, is fantastic.

the gameplay itself is a very unique mix of oddly, entertainingly abstract puzzles where you actually have to figure out WHAT to do, not so much HOW to do it.

There's a sense of continuity as the creature you "create" through the puzzles grows and matures...its surprisingly like a fetus. In fact, that might just be what it is.

I'm not going to spoil anything, except to say that whether or not you followed the story, the last level is very sad. Very, sad.

find it here.

You Have to Burn the Rope

This is, however short, pretty much the ultimate indie platformer. In fact, its probably the shortest game ever. Honestly, you can beat it in about 15 seconds if you're REALLY good at it. If you're not REALLY good at it, you can beat it in about 45 seconds. But, believe me, its some of the most fun you'll ever have sidescrolling.

The premise is the title - there is a rope, you must find it, you must find fire, and you must burn it. The results will save the world. Seriously.

The song at the end of the game is longer than the actual game, and is pretty funny. Not "Still Alive" funny, but funny nevertheless.

BTW, there's even achievements, so that you can play it again...and again...and again. I don't know how they added achievements into a 30 second game, but at least they've got big enough balls to try.

Find it here.

that about wraps it up. Have fun in the indies!

Welcome to this episode of the ever exciting, ever fantastic, ever controversial gaming blog - the one and only place to get your fix of everything related to PC Gaming.

In Review: Mirror's Edge

Running is the new gunning

Very rarely does a game come along where Art actually meets reckless fun - Doom, Wolfenstein 3D, Starcraft, Half Life (all of them)...each had their own distinct style, and each has the same standard of fun taken to the extreme. Mirror's Edge is a lot like that, in a very literal sense.

The art style is incredible - the only game that actually has better graphics is Crysis (keep in mind that's a year and a half old) and the sterilized-looking oppressively bleached white cityscape is absolutely breathtaking, especially when you're running through it at breakneck speeds. But when you actually get a chance to get your bearings and take a look around while you're outside (something that doesn't happen often when you're outside, but a little too much when you're INSIDE, thanks to some very complex jumping puzzles) it's amazing.

The actual running responds VERY well to a mouse and keyboard - because there's NO HUD, this game is incredibly immersive, and takes the words FIRST PERSON to the max, meaning that a mouse and keyboard are much better than analog sticks. The controls are also VERY responsive. Speaking of the running, though, it's the best part of the game, when there's no combat involved (my way of saying that the Time Trial mode is the best mode - it's a variety of scenes from the campaign with the enemies removed, allowing you to bypass the awkward combat and just get straight to the running). While running, to cut down on the few precious seconds you have to make that jump, wall-run that...wall, you'll have to think on your feet and improvise. One of the great things about the level design is that (in the main campaign, at least) there's generally a few different directions you can go. Not always, but often enough to give some variety. It's really great - having to think that fast while RUNNING that fast is incredible.

BUT, the combat and puzzles pretty much drag down the main game. And however renowned DICE is for being a PC Exclusive developer (and for holding out for so long, up until Bad Company, shows they've still got a pair, and I still respect them for it) it just feels like it was designed for consoles, and I'm pretty sure it was. But overall, the game is really good. A much better-than solid, incredibly UNIQUE first person action game, and definitely a right step in the direction for novel game ideas.

An 8.9/10. Short, but very sweet.

THE WALKING DEAD

The zombies have finally come. And, they've probably killed your family and almost killed you. Life is hard, food is scarce, and half those that survived are crazy, starving, cannibals, or thieves, making the living dead the least of your worries. This is the universe and atmosphere upon which what is probably one the greatest comic book series ever has been built upon.

I just picked up the first hardcover book, and although I knew to expect a good time from it, I was not expecting how emotionally deep the story runs. The character interactions and conflicts between characters are pretty much the entire basis of the first of (I think four or five?) the books, which might seem odd for a zed apocalypse book, but it succeeds ADMIRABLY. The zombie-killing part of the book is fantastic, with an overall sense of desperation and intensity, while the "calm" parts of the book are dominated by just as tense character interactions. It's great.

The main character couldn't've been a better choice (you'll see what I mean). It's just all so perfect...except for the writing. This is still being written as a regular, episodic comic, and as such they have to have the mandatory "this is what happened in the last few comics" dialogue. However, you can easily get past that when you realize just how much CONTENT there is to the story. This is really very far up there with my favorites like Watchmen and Arkham Assylum. If there was anything besides a GTX 280 that it was worth spending a lot of money on, it's this. You will not forget The Walking Dead.

I'm going to have to cut it a little short, but I'll run through my must-play playlist right now:

Top of the list: Crysis. I just upgraded, and can play this soul-crushingly high-end requirements heavy masterpiece at nearly 40 FPS on High settings and 1600x1200 with 2x AA. There's nothing like it - it's AMAZING.

Second: Far Cry 2. I realize a lot of people didn't like this game, but the whole Open World thing in a first person game really appeals to me. I mean, it's finally been done right. Also, on the whole "repetitious" thing, it's not (only the side missions, but they were designed that way so that you know what to expect). The game actually provides a decent variety of weapon loadouts, tactics, and challenges. I'd just like to remind people that when it comes to open world games like Crysis and STALKER, you get out of it what you PUT INTO it. As in, if you play it like a dope, it's going to suck. Play it INTELLIGENTLY, and you'll have a helluva good time with it.

Third: Left 4 dead. I can't get enough of this ****.

Fourth: Bioshock. I just got it off of Swaptree (swaptree.com - check it out) and the atmosphere is absolutely unrivalled by ANYTHING except maybe Dead Space or Half Life. The gunplay is good, Rapture is a decently creepy place, the story is also way above the standard, and the whole "two dozen ways to kill everything" mindset is really good. I really like it a lot. Not as good as the critics made it sound, but its fantastic nevertheless.

And, ladies and gentlemen, that about does it for today. For questions, comments, ranting insults, and the defense of console gaming, toss me a PM, I'm always open to some witty banter. Until next time:

IMaBIOHAZARD: the official superhero of PC Gaming, signing off.

I don't know if it's some kind of deep-seated PC Gamer prejudice that resides within me or it's simple FACT that I don't like the Wii, even though I own one and my family regularly enjoys it.

I totally admit - the things are a great technical achievement...but sometimes, that's not all a console takes.

The 360 and PS3 (I won't even start on the PC) are leaps and bounds ahead of the Wii in terms of graphics. That's a real turn-off for most hardcore gamers right there.

Case in point - I tried playing Call of Duty 3 on the Wii yesterday. Just as, you know, a test. I stopped playing after a half hour in pretty much absolute disgust. COD3 was a relatively mediocre game, I think, on any platform. On the Wii, it is relative garbage.

The controls are a mess (you have to practically stand right in the open to get a shot off), the AI...don't even get me started on the AI...and the graphics...did a 3-year-old fire up a 3d art program and start waving around the "brush" at random? The game came out last year, I understand that. But then, Crysis came out last year. And it still looks photo-real.

That's not to say that the Wii isn't fun on certain levels (Geometry Wars: Galaxies, Marble Madness or whatever it's called, and Resident Evil 4 are lots of fun) but there are really only a few isolated examples.

The party games are relatively limited...the Rayman Raving Rabbids series and "Smarty Pants" are really the only games in recent memory that have succeeded at handing the players constant fun on a party scale. Maybe I'm wrong about the party games, but then again maybe I'm not.

After a few great launch titles and several wonderful ports, all I've seen is Shovelware (minus Smash Bros. and Mario Kart) and that isn't good for any system.

That's another thing I'd like to talk about: Shovelware. The bane of any console. It will be the absolute death of the Wii (at least to Hardcore gamers) if Nintendo doesn't put a ban on all Hardcore titles before Shovelware buries Wii gamers neck-deep in **** It's a real, very serious problem...and there's very little that Nintendo can do about it.

There's another thing: the console is owned, operated, and therefore a slave to Nintendo's commands. Unlike the PC, it is entirely restricted as to what Nintendo believes is best for the system.....and unfortunately (no offense Nintendo, you've made such a great name for yourself I almost feel bad saying this) their decisions have really started to suck lately.

E3 2008 Press Conference: TOTAL GARBAGE. No hardcore announcements, nothing even really vaguely interesting, just more casual games. Casual, casual, casual. Well maybe Nintendo would realize that they're going to lose a big chunk of their sales soon if they keep this up? Not likely. Unfortunately, even if they do lose that chunk, it's only like 5% of their sales. They'll keep on going, an absolute juggernaut.

As you can see, I don't really think there is a reason to own a Wii right now. just because it has four or five really great games (which, in comparison to other great games on different platforms, really aren't that great) is not enough reason to buy an entire system.

This has been another prophecy of doom from your host, IMaBIOHAZARD. Thanks for viewing.