Category Archives: Editorials

Ve Have Vays Of Making You Talk, Ya.

I want to start my commentary off with a correction. Previously I wrote that I couldn't mind my Xbox titles that are enhanced by HDTV. After doing some extra research, and consulting www.hdtvarcade.com, I found out that a majority of Xbox titles support both 480p resolution and 16×9 widescreen. In addition, once I had the settings to my HDTV altered, I am now able to enjoy Xbox the way it is meant to be played, in high definition widescreen. Thanks to everyone who wrote in to let me know about this. While we're on the subject of the Xbox, it … Continue reading Ve Have Vays Of Making You Talk, Ya.

Pick Your Poison

The world of gaming is always a roller-coaster ride of emotion and this week is no exception. In the same week games have been praised and condemned in equal measure here in old Blighty. (that's slang for England for all you US readers) We all get spat out of the other end of the Christmas holidays, bleary-eyed and throbby-headed, but this year the New Year revelries were somewhat marred in the UK. On New Year's Eve two teenage girls were killed after being shot on a night out in Birmingham. Needless to say the country was shocked. The media was … Continue reading Pick Your Poison

Surprise, You Are Rich!

The year 2003 is starting off on a high note for me. After all the trouble I had the previous year with the mass power surge that fried my equipment (now I find out my computer was also affected), as well as the "Big One" crash that left me without a car for over a month, it is about time that good fortune came my way. Christmas Eve is usually a slow time for me, except for the fact that my woman and I celebrate our anniversary. I received a phone call that afternoon, but it wasn't from her, but … Continue reading Surprise, You Are Rich!

A New Dawn

Christmas is a time when all good little gamers can get some quality button bashing in – in-between peace on earth and family stuff of course. But now it's 2003 and a year of work stretches before us. This is not aided by long winter nights and cold winter mornings, unless you live somewhere hot, in which case pipe down. If only there was some sort of gamer hibernation program that meant we get to huddle up in front of consoles and PCs for the winter months. Fear not dear playmates, although I paint a gloomy picture thus far, all … Continue reading A New Dawn

This Is Not 1984

Remember the "Video killed the Radio Star" song? Well, video – as in the MTV video brand – also killed the computer game industry back in 1984 that was previously riding high with success following success. But today is not 1984. In addition to the sudden rise in music video popularity, market leader of the time Atari shot itself in the foot by only selling seven million Pac-man cartridges instead of the projected 20 million. This was quickly followed by only selling one million of their horrible ET game, when they thought they would sell 25 million. Rumor is that … Continue reading This Is Not 1984

The End Of An Era

Or At Least The Year Has 2002 ended already? It seems like it was just starting! Then again, with some of the problems I had this year (the massive power surge, The Big One, and car insurance hell to name a few), maybe the sooner 2003 will get here, the better off I'd be. Still, despite all I went through this year, it was an amazing year for gamers everywhere. I could go on and on about each and every title that I tested out and loved (or hated), but that would take forever. The year's end also brings our … Continue reading The End Of An Era

The Holiday’s Are Here Again

Yes it's that time again folks. The terminally unemployed are stuffed into Santa costumes and given a bell and a box for charity, housing estates around the country are transported into the upper echelons of bad taste (usually featuring light-up reindeer on the roof and plastic light up elves on the lawn) and I can delight in the comic wonder of Jim Carrey in The Grinch. Yes, it's Christmas time. It's around this time that journalists everywhere just can't be arsed to think of anything original so they look back bleary-eyed at the past year. Don't look at me for … Continue reading The Holiday’s Are Here Again

Things Have To Look Up

Over the last few weeks, I have been noticeably absent from my bi-weekly commentary. Sad to say, it has become tough lately for me to come up with a column because a lot of personal matters have come up over the last month. I already mentioned the mass EMP that fried my GameCube, Xbox, and PS2. Thankfully they have all been repaired, but it bridged to another major disaster in my hellish schedule. The last of my repairs was to take place two weeks ago. I got a call from Starland telling me that my GameCube was repaired, and just … Continue reading Things Have To Look Up

Bloody Thieving Bastards

This week dear play chums I am lamenting the loss of my dearly beloved Game Boy Advance. The GiN columnists aren't having much luck with gaming machinery lately. Although my loss can hardly compare to the General's casualties of war, it is never the less a loss. At this point I must admit that the lost GBA is partly my own fault. The event occurred after a genial evening of post work drinking in a most hospitable pub. After much merriment, I went home. It wasn't until the morning, when I went to grab my bag for work that I … Continue reading Bloody Thieving Bastards

Comdex Is About Games Too

As I pack my bags and head off to the Comdex computer show in Las Vegas, I wonder if the game industry will have a large presence at this largely computer-hardware type show. You see, last year was interesting because the tech industry (read non-game related technologies) were in a huge slump. Now we know this slump was just the beginning of what has become a long financial nightmare. The game industry by contrast was doing quite well, with three consoles to choose from and a healthy PC market. Even the old Macintosh game market looked like it might make … Continue reading Comdex Is About Games Too