Back to School

I've contemplated going back to school for quite some time now, so hearing that Rice University is offering a class in Skyrim (to be exact it's titled Scandinavian Fantasy Worlds: Old Norse Sagas and Skyrim) makes me want to drop everything and get down to Texas!  Not only is the English major in me itching for this course, but I'm a bit of a mythology nerd as well so Professor Donna Beth Ellard hats off to you.

Here's a brief synopsis of the course ENGL 312:

First, it introduces students to fantasy as both psychological concept and driving force in gamer culture; and second, using these paradigms, it considers how and why medieval Scandinavia serves as a locus of modern Anglo-American fantasy.

I love when academia delves into the wonders of pop culture as we've seen with 2Pac (and many other influential artist) and The Wire, and if you haven't already enrolled in this class what are you waiting on?

Everything's bigger in Texas !

Sharing is Caring...Games that is!

So it seems that in my circle of friends, I’m the go-to-guy with all things video games.  And the more I think about it I've always held that role which is one reason I started The Gamedom.  So the other day I walked into the break room and the first thing I heard was, “ASK AARON, he’ll tell you!”  And there I was thrust in the middle of a “which is better” argument.  For those wondering, they were arguing if Saints Row is better than Grand Theft Auto (GTA is technically the better game, but I prefer Saints Row a smidge more).  These interactions have become a common place for me, but as of recently my answers have been lacking substance.  I've already discussed my issues Blockbuster, Gamefly, and Redbox, so you should already know about my struggles playing the newest games. 

But fortunately, I've found a few spots to buy games for the cheap (much cheaper than Gamestop anyway) and in some instances you can also sell your games.  Check these sites out and make sure to prepare your budget because there's a good chance you're going to be spending some money:

Amazon

Gamefly

Glyde

Go ahead and leave a comment if you have any other sites that are worthy (and helpful).

Under Review

Hey guys…I know it’s been awhile since my last post but I’ve been working on some new ideas to keep things fresh.  For thee time being, I'll be scouring some of my older material, don't fret these post are just unfinished pieces that kept getting shuffled around.  I appreciate all of you who enjoy my posts and I hope we can keep you entertained throughout!

Greed Corner 2.0

“For the Love of Money” by the O’Jays is a classic and has been used in popular culture from TV shows to movies, but as of recently it should be the theme song for the video game industry.  Now I know, all I've talked about is how much I love video games and that much hasn't changed (and never will), but I will ALWAYS be transparent with my thoughts. 

So as I've said before, I've ran through the gaming world like Supahead has ran through rappers, so needless to say I've seen and heard a lot of shit. But what I’m hearing from some developers might be the biggest pile of manure steaming!  So there seems to be a growing number of game developers who are all for abolishing used games!  Volition’s Jameson Durall has already voiced his opinion in regards to used games:

Most Game Developers will agree that the Used Games market is significantly impacting the revenue we receive. I think what most consumers don’t realize is that every time they buy a used game, there is ZERO money making it back to the Game Developers. All of those profits are going directly to the re-seller and making it more and more difficult for us to continue making higher quality products 

But here’s what gets me, when one buy a used car none of the profits go to the car manufacturer, so why should video game devs be any different?  Most companies are combating this by adding in “pass codes” that enables the user access to full content and most likely access to the online (multiplayer) portion of the game.  I’m perfectly fine with this method b/c it’s not like their charging us extra for the “pass codes.”  Now some are up in arms over this, but if I can buy used game for $30 bucks when it’s normally $60, then I think I came out on top and if the game is good enough to warrant a pass code purchase, the $10 to $15 bucks won’t kill me.  I’m actually confused by devs being against used games because used games help spur interest in their product.  Back in the day, (that makes me sound so old!) gaming was a community event, meaning that whoever had the newest game; the whole hood would come over and watch and/or play.  And you know what happened when they beat the game, they’d trade it with their friend for a different game so that everyone got to enjoy the awesome-ness (or terrible-ness).  Now as of right now, that can still happen but games have become much more elaborate and replayability pretty much eliminates trading amongst friends.  So where does that leave you…Blockbuster…probably not, they’re closing faster than T.O.’s bank accounts and Redbox’s game selection is lackluster at best.  Gamefly’s a great option but I've yet to get any game ranked in my Top 10 queue, so your chances of getting a newer title is about that same as winning the lottery.  So not to get all political, but unemployment rate is 8.1% and I don’t foresee games getting any cheaper and video game sales are still in a decline, so why add to the frustration?

Fanboy, Please

Hey Fanboys!

Please. Stop. Just. Stop. It!

I know it seems hypocritical for me to call anyone a fanboy being that I only talk about Xbox 360, but in my defense I would so have a PS3 if I could afford one!  There are waaaaay too many great games out there to be played to let my biases deter me.  I mean, seriously, how many of ya’ll own stock in these companies to make you so loyal psychotic.  I always laugh out loud when I’m reading the comments section and I see two or more fanboys going back and forth about their preferred system or game.  

Freedom of Speech is an inalienable right and all, but just because you speak or think it doesn’t make it law.  Let’s put it to a test, I think Madden NFL 2005 was much better than NFL 2K5…but that’s just my opinion (and yes I played both games indiscriminately).  The difference with my statement and that of a fan boy would be, “MADDEN IS HANDZ DOWN THE BEST FOOTBALL SIM OF ALL TIME AND ALL OF YOU IDIOTS WHO PLAY 2K ARE OBVIOUSLY CHILDREN WHO ARE STILL SUCKLING AT THEIR MOMMIES TEATS!”  Now how idiotic does that look, but message boards are filled with this type of tomfoolery (side note, tomfoolery as a word is extremely underused only surpassed by miscreant).  This all came to a head when I watch two morons almost get into fisticuffs last night at Gamestop over which gaming system had the better game exclusives!  For the record, it’s Playstation, but that’s beside the point…there is never an appropriate reason/time/place to fight over a damn video game! 

I hate to say this, but dude grow the hell up, for everyone’s sake!