When he’s supposed to be working, he’s actually on the internet. It helps him clear his head – or so he tells me.

So yesterday, while he was screwing around clearing his head, Tucker sent me a link to this video of a chick playing Avenged Sevenfold on Expert on Rock Band on the flute. I played flute in high school [don't laugh] and I suppose Tucker thought this video would be of interest to me.

About a minute into the video, I knew I had found internet and gaming gold. This girl is good!

I’ve had that tab open on my laptop since yesterday and totally meant to write about it then but life got in the way. So, when I sat down tonight to write about the video, I found that Engadget had already written about it so I must give them some credit.

You can either follow the link to College Humor or watch the embedded YouTube video below. It’s long but it’s worth it.

Image|stevendepolo

Post from: EveryJoe

Flutes: Not Just for Band Camp Any Longer

First, a little about the con itself. It was actually held at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center, located in Oaks, PA. This was the first year for GameX, which is seen as a competitor for VGXPO, a con that was held earlier this year.

Going into GameX, I didn’t know what to expect. I knew there was bad blood between GameX and VGXPO, since many of the main staff members of GameX has worked for VGXPO in the past. After attending both shows, I know where my personal alliance lies. I went to VGXPO with Binge Gamer in 2008, and although this show was full of attendees, it was highly unorganized and frustrating for vendors. I also found the head honchos at VGXPO to be incredibly rude, as my many emails to him (including some offering time and money to help with VGXPO events) went unanswered. I didn’t go to VGXPO 2009, and after hearing about it, I’m glad I didn’t waste my time. That’s not to say GameX was perfect, but the staff was amazing, the events were organized, and I had more fun than I’ve had in a long time, even though I was working.

There were two main rooms for GameX. One had a main stage, a number of vendors, hands-on previews of many different games, and an artists’ row. The other included retro and arcade games, an area for people competing in a con-long game designing contest, a few vendors, and an area for panels and QVC. Yes, QVC did a live broadcast from the event, selling millions of dollars worth of Wiis.

Binge Gamer's James Walker interviews Yahtzee. Yes, he is very tall. No, he doesn't speak incredibly fast all the time.

GameX secured a few great celebrities for the weekend:

• Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw who does Zero Punctuation at The Escapist
• Brian O’Halloran (Dante Hicks) and Marilyn Ghigliotti (Veronica Loughran) from Clerks
• Sandeep Parikh (Zaboo), Robin Thorsen (Clara), and Jeff Lewis (Vork) from The Guild
• David Nykl (Dr. Zelenka) from Stargate: Atlantis
• Jsu Garcia, film and TV actor, most notably from Nightmare on Elm Street
• Rake Yohn of MTV’s JackAss and Viva La Bam

They also had a number of games available for press and attendees to play:

• Bayonetta
• Dante’s Inferno
• Global Agenda
• Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage
• Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
• Storm

That’s in addition to the Rock Band 2 tournament on the main stage, a huge DDR set-up where a dozen people could play at once, too many retro games to list (including tournaments), and a bunch of other games I’m probably forgetting. Oh, and the tabletop group that was there was running RPGs all day.

I had nothing but love for the steampunk people all weekend. For the record, that's a working zombie cattle prod he's holding.

The con also had a Steampunk Fair. They invited Steam Gear Lab and the League of S.T.E.A.M. to invade GameX, and along with items to demonstrate, members held a meet-up in full costume (and in character), and there was a steampunk art competition with thousands of dollars in prizes.

GameX 2009 Pros

Ok, so now that you know what went on at GameX, let’s talk about the things this con did incredibly well:

• I can’t say enough about the staff. As soon as our site got there, the two PR guys introduced themselves, and throughout the weekend, they connected vendors and press. Now, if you were an attendee, that might not seem like a big deal, but believe me – the staff aren’t just for the press and vendors. Everything ran smoothly and on time, and a number of non-press attendees that I talked to told me how helpful the staff was with finding events and solving problems. Basically, if they didn’t know the answer, they took you to someone who did know the answer.

• ORGANIZATION. My main gripe with VGXPO was that nothing was organized. You might as well have used the schedule to wipe your ass, because every single event was canceled or changed. I’m sure there were scheduling issues at GameX, but I didn’t know about a single one. The program had not only a schedule, but also a map to help conference-goers find the booths that most interested them.

• The event covered a wide variety of interests. There were video games of course, but also table-top games, dealers, the Army, Star Wars cosplayers, bands, arcade machines, tournaments, steampunkers, artists, and celebrities. I’m sure that even the non-gamers that got pulled to the con with their friends or significant others found something to enjoy.
  

  Like playing with dice more than a controller? GameX has ya covered.

• There was something going on most of the time. During the entire weekend, there were panels, celebrity meet-and-greets, and stuff going on over at the main stage. At some cons, it is easy to get bored once you’ve walked around the booths once or twice, but at GameX, you could stay the whole day and find things to do.

• GameX had a whole separate food area. Yes, it was overpriced, but it was run by the convention center (I think). The main “plus” to this was that there were plenty of tables if you wanted to sit down for a few minutes. Speaking of sitting down, GameX had a nice press room where people like me could sit to do work or interviews, which was invaluable.

• The afterparty was amazing. GameX held an afterparty for vendors, press, and attendees who wanted to stay (I’m not sure if it was for all attendees or just VIPs). The Escapist also held an afterparty at the same facilities, Arnold’s, which was like a Dave and Busters. There was an impromptu band, as well as free food and drinks. SO MUCH FUN.
  

  One thing that definitely did not suck? Bayonetta. I think I had a nerd-gasm while playing it and will be first in line to buy it when it's released.

GameX Cons

This convention was not perfect by any means. Hopefully, since it was a first year convention, most of this stuff will be cleared up for next year.

• The main stage was LOUD, and the placement sucked. Half of the time, you had to SCREAM to talk to a vendor, and the panels were very hard to hear because they were in a room right across from the stage.

• It wasn’t easy to find the convention center. They did have signs and the parking was free, but it really was in the middle of nowhere. You had to drive to get to hotels or most restaurants. A little birdie told me that it *might* be at the PA Convention Center next year, which would be MUCH better. It’s a hassle to park at that location, but it’s much more convenient in every other way.

• Attendance was low. I don’t know how many people made it to the event, but some of the vendors told me that they were promised 20,000+ people. My estimate is more like 5,000, but I wasn’t counting heads, so maybe I’m completely off. All I know is that a lot of the booths were empty, with vendors standing around, especially when major panels were going on.

• The Internet went down a few times. This was a major problem on Sunday because vendors couldn’t even use credit card machines, and a lot of people left upset about that. Personally, I see this as more of a site failure than a GameX failure, but they were ultimately responsible for the net access, so the fact that it was down stank.

I’m not really saying anything here that hasn’t been said by multiple other members of the press. Even staff members I talked to were very, very aware of the problems with the show, as well as very happy about the things they did well. At the end of the day, though, the failures are all things that you’d expect from a first-year con. I’ve been told there there IS going to be a GameX 2010, and I look forward to attending again – and you should too.

P.S. If anyone reading this is going to MAGFest in January, look me up!

All pictures are courtesy of BingeGamer.net unless otherwise noted.

Post from: EveryJoe

GameX 2009 Review

You may not know the name Sam Keller, who’s the former quarterback heading up the battle against EA, but it’s likely that you know the names Jim Brown and Herb Adderley, who are both Hall of Famers. On Monday, they asked the court to allow them to submit official documents supporting Keller. That’s a major blow for EA, who is supported by the NCAA.

EA and the NCAA say that the players’ images don’t include names on the jerseys, and that their numbers, pictures, and statistics are publicly available, making them usable under free speech laws.

Brown isn’t just coming out of the woodwork to support Keller – this is an issue he really cares about. He sued EA earlier this year for using his likeness in some of the Madden games, but the case was thrown out. EA hopes that Keller’s case will get thrown out as well; this decision will be made on November 17.

Post from: EveryJoe

More Legal Woes for EA

As awesome as it looks, I’m still on the fence about this game.

Will the game play be exactly the same as in the first Assassin’s Creed?

Is it going to include 20 missions that all include the same basic steps but with different scenery and a different time period?

Right now, I don’t care.

I just want to drool over the pretty, pretty pictures and not worry about if the game is going to rock or if it’s going to suck. I won’t be pre-ordering it [even thought both the black and white versions look great] so, I’ll just enjoy the game videos.

Watch the most recent one and you can as well.

Post from: EveryJoe

Assassin’s Creed 2 New Trailer

The single player action-strategy game (available for both PC and Mac) pits brain-eating zombies against an arsenal of powerful perennials.  There are five different play modes and players will have to use whatever is at their disposal (peashooters, mushrooms, cherry bombs and more vegetation) to turn 26 types of zombies (including pole-vaulters and Zomboni drivers) into mulch before they can get to the front door.  You’ll also have to collect coins to buy a pet snail, power-ups and other items.

Players will have the choice to play in any of the following game modes: Adventure, Mini-Games, Puzzle, Survival and the Zen Garden (maybe it’s peaceful because it’s zombie-free?).  While I tend to prefer mini-games, what I’ve read about the Adventure mode sounds pretty cool since the battles take place in different settings (swimming pool, rooftop) and can happen in the day, night and/or fog.

Check out this ridiculous Plants vs. Zombies music video.  I won’t lie – I love it!

image: Amazon

Post from: EveryJoe

“Plants vs. Zombies” for PC and Mac

Some that stood for me include Deal or No Deal, LEGO Batman, M&M’s Kart Racing, Big Brain Academy, LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, Crossword and Brain Age 2

Games like Brain Age 2 and Crossword are always good to have since you can play them over and over and test your mind.  I have to also say that I really love the LEGO series of games and I highly recommend picking up a copy of LEGO Batman, the Star Wars saga or LEGO: Indiana Jones (not pictured).  It’s absolutely silliness and there are LEGO pieces everywhere but that’s the whole point!  Besides, in these tough times, it’s great to be able to pick up a game for less than $20!

images: BestBuy.com

Post from: EveryJoe

Great DS Games for Under $20

The article I read about his statement says that the Obama household living in the White House is a Wii family. Was he taking sides? Why didn’t he mention the Wii specifically instead of the Xbox?

Now I’m not saying we should read too much into this. Who really knows why he mentioned Xbox initially instead of the game console he’s familiar with on a personal level. The more I think about it though the more I’m wondering what happens. You think he throws down some Wii bowling to relax from a long day in the Oval Office? Why wouldn’t he?

How do you manage your kid’s time spent on gaming consoles, computers, tv, cellphones, etc.? How are your kids doing with their grades and school activities? Do you find a balance? How do you manage that balance?

Post from: EveryJoe

Obama Supports the Wii-House

GameStop has partnered with The Guildhall at SMU and the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences to create the Indie Game Challenge.  Between now and October 1, 2009 you have a chance to submit your work for a chance to fly out to Las Vegas and pitch your game to top publishers.  How cool is that!?  You could also be considered for a scholarship at The Guildhall at SMU!

As if all that isn’t sweet enough, you could also take home a Grand Prize of $100,000 (which will be awarded to the top two developers).  What are you waiting for!?

Head on over to the Indie Game Challenge website and check it out!  You could be the next big thing!

image: GameStop

Post from: EveryJoe

Take the Indie Game Challenge

I haven’t looked much into the game but these are the things I read:

1. You would be able to choose a demigod, similar to hero in warcraft. Each demigod has their own powers.

2. The demigod can be equipped with weapons and items.

3. The demigod levels up on experience.

4. There are multiple arenas, similar to maps in DOTA

5. Real-time strategy action

6. Destroy strongholds to gain advantage and win

It seems that this is another version of Warcraft & Starcraft gameplay; and given that I like these kinds of games, I am looking forward on playing this in the future.

Image from DemiGodTheGame.

Post from: EveryJoe

Demigod The Game

UFC 2009 Undisputed

The problem that I may pose for reviewing a fighting game is that I don’t play that often. I just don’t have the time.

This passed long weekend I had a chance to finish the tutorial and start playing around. The graphics are great and the game play is fun, it’s just that if you’re not the avid gamer then getting used to the controls is going to take some time.

If you are looking to start in career mode and build your own fighter, your best bet is to play for while in exhibition mode and use different fighters before starting a career. Get used to the controls and the game functions, that way when you do start career mode you don’t start off with a crappy record like my already 0-2.

This game is a blast to play and as Dana White mentioned, it’s not for the average button masher. There is no way you can possibly win by just pressing random buttons and hoping you get lucky. You have to block, stick and move. Avoid getting gassed out and learn to flick the controller sticks instead of holding them while punching. There are so many things to memorize and even if you do have all the basic moves memorized, it’s a matter of executing them. The controls are very reactive if used properly.

The average, lazy button mashing player will get bored and frustrated with this game very quickly and will likely say that it sucks. I’m one of those casual gamers that when given the time, will play FPS games for hours. This is a whole new realm to me. If this is the first fighting game you’ve bought in some time, be patient, be precise and practice. It’s the only way you’re going to get the most out of this game.

I’m sure there are much more thorough reviews of this game out there, I’m just throwing my 2 hours of experience in.

Great game and very challenging. Definitly worth the money vs. time played factor.

Post from: EveryJoe

UFC Undisputed 2009 Review