PAX East 2010: The Link Dump
So I went to Boston for PAX East as part of my gig at Joystiq and, man, it was super fun. Getting to meet some fans of the site (I'm floored anytime somebody knows who the hell I am) and, even better, fans of the X3F podcast and JPAG-ers (all super nice dudes, believe me) -- it's just crazy to me. Hugging strangers after the live Joystiq Podcast panel was one of the most pleasant experiences of my life. It's an affirmation that humanity may not be so doomed after all.
Of course, I can't neglect my Joystiq coworkers. To give you an idea of how close we all are, you can't escape seeing anyone from staff without a hug. This is the first job I've ever had like that, where I was not some number on a piece of paper but an actual person. God bless those dudes!
Anyway, I just wanted to put up this post as a thanks and also use it to dump links to Joystiq stuff I wrote and participated in over the last week. That's pretty much the underlying tone of this site 'O mine, after all.
- Breach expected to launch this summer on XBLA for $15
- Hands-on: Battleblock Theater (XBLA)
- Hands-on: Raskulls (XBLA)
- Hands-on: Skate 3 and its new difficulty levels
- Hands-on: Breach (XBLA)
- Skate 3 demo on Xbox Live and PSN April 15
- Panel: Podcasting (f)or PR
- Interview: Skate 3's Chris "Cuz" Perry
I Ran Into This Weird Mass Effect 2 Glitch
The video pretty much explains it all. I was on Daratar, doing the Eclipse Cache mission, when I ran towards a rock and was vaulted into the air. My team (obviously) followed. They're a dedicated bunch!
Interview with Glen Schofield
Glen Schofield, the guy who came up with that very awesome Dead Space game you should've played, recently chatted with me as part of a feature for Joystiq, the site I work for. It was a great interview and Glen spoke rather candidly in our phone conversation and I think it turned out pretty well. He was one of the better interview subjects I've dealt with in my years working in the games biz -- right up there with Richard Ham -- so feel free to hop on over and check it out.
My Skate 2 highlight reel
With the dearth of gaming news going on this week, I took an hour to slap together this quick highlight reel of my Skate 2 replays. Nothing amazing, but I'm pretty proud of that sick manual line across the lily pads, thank you very much!
Oh, and sorry for the crummy quality, but that's how EA's site spits 'em out. Oh, and stay tuned for my Halo 3 replays, if you care about that kind of thing. Oh!
EA’s in-game ads: Where’s the line?
I've been playing a couple of EA's latest recently,Madden 10 and Fight Night Round 4. I usually cave and get Madden every year because A) I like sports B) I'm weak. Fight Night Round 4 came courtesy of Gamefly and, upon booting up the game and stepping into the ring, I was bombarded with ads for The Final Destination. I'm not just talking a simple banner ad on the canvas here. The ad was shown during loading screens, it was on every turnbuckle and was shoved in my face during the healing minigame that takes place between rounds (Note: In my disgust, I sent back Fight Night Round 4 before I could capture any evidence of the over-advertising, but, those of you who own the game, I'm sure you can corroborate with me here). [continued]
Godfather II review for Joystiq
I reviewed EA's Godfather II for Joystiq today. It just went live a little bit ago, so check out the changes EA implemented into the second game by giving it a read. It's surprising how much they improved the first game, which was pretty fun.
My 5 best games of 2008
I've been thinking long and hard about what my 5 favorite games for 2008 are. I knew what my favorite game was immediately, and one other game guaranteed itself a spot on the list, but what about the other 3? It's tough to pick, considering just how many games released. But, I'm glad to say that I've finally narrowed my list down to 5 games. Here they are.
Am I the only one absolutely pumped for Dead Space?
It kind of seems so, seeing as how the game hasn't been all over the blogosphere. As someone who makes a living working in the gaming blog sector, I understand the push that PR does the week before a game releases, as well as when and after. Why have I not seen all that much on Dead Space yet?
Aside from the buzz of one review, and a write-up here and there, the gaming blogs have been woefully empty of Dead Space stuff. This game is looking like it will revolutionize the survival-horror genre, which is one of my favorites.
Maybe it's all this damn Nintendo news, which I guess I can't be all that mad at, as it's kind of caused a resurgance in hope that Nintendo isn't all about Wii Fit and Wii Music anymore (even in myself, I admit, who severely doubted the company from E3 on). Whatever it is, I'm here to say that it's the only thing on my mind right now and I'm incredibly anxious to play it. If you've got no idea what it is, check out some videos over at GameTrailers by clicking this link.
Quick bio:Hi! I'm David Hinkle, Contributing Editor for Joystiq, former Lead of DS Fanboy and Wii Fanboy (now known as Joystiq [Nintendo]) and co-host on the Xbox 360 Fancast. Basically, I write about games, talk about games and play games -- all of the time.
This place is mainly a dumping ground for random thoughts, but you can also find links to all of my reviews and my contact info. Email me by clicking on this link.
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twitter.com/DaveHinkle
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