Tuesday was the day the internet went cuckoo. April 1st has always had a strange vibe to it. Some believe it is a day to kick back and have a few good laughs, but I see it as a day where you can’t trust anyone or anything. Nothing could have been more true of this past April Fools Day though, as it seemed the entire internet had come up with their own special practical joke. At first, it was pretty fun to come across some fake trailers and news bits poking fun at current events and the like. Unfortunately, it kind of began to wear thin as the day went on, and it seemed like every other website suddenly thought they were the cleverest bunch in the whole world. Still, some of them I have to admit were just classic. Thus, I’ve constructed this list of the Top Ten Online April Fools Jokes that I saw that day. Continue after the break for a glimpse into internet April Fools Day insanity.

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Gamers are celebrating Jonathan Coulton’s “Still Alive” being released as a free download for Rock Band. Most of us were introduced to this quirky composer when after Valve’s Orange Box was released, or more accurately, after beating the Portal game. Since then “Still Alive” has become the theme song for the slightly mad, love sick AI, GLaDOS as part of the end credits for Portal.

For those of you unfamiliar with machinima it’s the use of CGI, often from game engines, to create machine cinema. Many machinimators combine video games and music that allow them to express their love of both forms of media by creating music videos. I’ve been a fan of machinima since I was first introduced to it. I’ve even endured those primitive examples from the old MTV Video Mods show. However there are many better examples of this creative media such as the popular Rooster Teeth series Red vs. Blue based on the Halo series.

Machinima.com has been around since 2000 and hosts many great videos as well as tips on how to produce machinima yourself. However since “Still Alive” just came out, I thought I’d concentrate on Jonathan Coulton’s songs and some of the machinima based off of them like this gem.

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Rainbow Six Vegas 2
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft
Price: $59.99
Platform: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC (in April)
Category: Action
ESRB Rating: M for Mature (Blood, Strong Language, Intense Violence)
Release Date: March 21, 2008

Someone once said “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” (and an advertising firm soon trademarked it). I doubt whoever said that was talking about terrorist cells and international conspiracies, but man those seem to flock to Sin City in the new Rainbow Six Vegas 2. This being the sequel to the smash hit Tom Clancy title, expectations are understandably high for this follow-up. Even more so since the team behind this game has said this is their final excursion, because they’re tired of working with Vegas. Well frankly their apathy shows through at times, particularly since this feels like the same old Rainbow Six Vegas, just with a few changes. But still, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. My full impressions after the break. Read the full article »

I have a problem. It’s not a serious addiction, in fact its much the opposite of an addiction. I can’t commit.

If the subject of my problem were a woman I’d be the very picture of a man who wouldn’t commit – frequent hot dates with a possibility of long term relationships are tossed to the side in search of the next shiny object or attractive game setting. I dawdle between games like a child with free run of a candy store and no oversight. I just can’t seem to find that special game to break me of my wanderlust.

Now you might not think this a serious problem, I mean after all, who doesn’t play multiple games? But my issue goes beyond rotating pastimes to keep from losing interest. I have a staple game I play – Guild Wars – mostly because its free and doesn’t require a huge commitment of time or energy to hop into any of its settings and grind out a few missions or quests. Guild Wars is like the partner who dislikes your wandering habits but lets you come home whenever you feel like it because it knows it’ll always get what it can while you’re around.
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I posted recently about a so called “Co-Op Bill of Rights,” which was a concept inspired by Penny-Arcade and then run with by Microsoft employee Ozymandias on his blog. He threw together a list of features that co-op games must have, and then ones that would be ideal but aren’t necessary due to the time/effort/technical requirements they require. It’s nothing official of course, and it’s likely never going to be something that impacts how developers spend their time. More recently, he posted up a more finalized version with the help of various comments from around the ‘net that his initial article called for.

This got me thinking about features that all games simply must have. It irritates me to no end to go pick up a new game, assume something about the game and then come to find out that a blatantly obvious feature or option is nowhere to be seen. I asked for feedback from readers and friends, and I’ve come up with my own Bill of Rights. It’s not necessarily focused on features that have to be included, but more often functionality and design choices in games. Some of it will overlap with Ozymandias’ list, but that’s only because these are things games absolutely must do.

I’m looking for feedback, so if you think I omitted something or something made the list that shouldn’t have, share in the comments. This is by no means intended to be a finished piece, but more of a building block. And, as long as I’m admitting my faults, this doesn’t apply only to games, but game-related things, as well.

And just to make sure things are clear, I’ll give out examples of games that did it either well – guised as a Dick Vitale “That’s awesome, baby!” – or poorly – a Charles Barley “That’s turrible.”

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Game designer Adam Maxwell, who has worked on Auto Assault and Dirty Harry, recently reworked a blog post for Gamasutra which is entitled “The Case Against Writers In The Games Industry.” With an intriguing enough title, I read through his piece and walked away thinking that a writer must have stole Maxwell’s girlfriend at some point; I couldn’t possibly disagree with him anymore than I do.

His main points are that a writer takes time away from development of a game’s core mechanics, his or her contributions won’t make a game good, and a writer’s linear work is at odds with a designer’s non-linear work.

Maxwell also claims that a designer who also has the ability to write is much more valuable than a writer, which is true to an extent. I completely can understand why you would want a multi-talented individual on your staff; someone versatile is always an asset. (Just ask Ron why he hired me. I do wonderful papier-mâchés.) But, that argument doesn’t take into account two things. Read the full article »

The Sims franchise is one of the most popular and lucrative of the PC games. Over 98 million Sims games have been sold to date and versions of the games are available in 22 different languages.

The series began as an offshoot of Sid Meier’s SimCity. The player controls a simulation of people’s lives in a suburban household in a SimCity neighborhood. This “digital dollhouse” , as designer Will Wright calls it, caught on and spawned seven expansion packs which are still selling today.

The Sims 2 added 3D graphics and new gameplay features to challenge players. Sims now age through 6 stages of life before growing old and dieing. Players must manage not only physical needs but guide their Sims in achieving Life Goals and Aspirations by fulfilling new Wants and Fears. Subsequent expansions added an attraction factor into the equation and another stage of life between teen years and adulthood for college students. To date most of The Sims expansions have been adapted to some degree for The Sims 2 allowing Sims to open businesses, adopt pets, go on vacation and have lucrative hobbies. There have been seven expansions and eight Stuff packs with new clothing, household objects build objects.

Now EA has announced a new revolution in what has been dubbed as strategic life simulation video games, The Sims 3. The details have been covered before and you can check them out out elsewhere on Gaming Today. The recent announcement that The Sims 3 was on its way immediately caused me to groan and gripe. It isn’t bad enough 2/3rd of the women in my house are obsessed with this game, but there is more coming. That led me to analyze why people found the game interesting in the first place.

What I want to know is why so many people are so fascinated with a game where you spend so much time telling simulated people to eat and go to the bathroom? Read the full article »

Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors
Developer: SquareEnix
Publisher: SquareEnix
Price: $49.99
Platform: Wii
Category: Action/Adventure, FP/RPG
ESRB: “T” for Teen
Release Date: 2/19/2008

Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors takes place in a town that lies at the foot of Avalonia Castle. There, a young man enjoys a peaceful life with his lecherous father until his sixteenth birthday approaches and he must take the Walk of the Worthy. This is a trial of strength, which all young Avalonian males must undergo upon coming of age. As the main character, you will need to put all of your training in the ways of the sword into practice if you are to pass the test, and take your rightful place amongst Avalonia’s warriors. Sounds like your typical RPG doesn’t it? Unfortunately the storyline is the only thing typical about Dragon Quest Swords.

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[Note: This article was originally posted on my personal blog. Due to the popularity of it, I decided to share my story with the readers of Gaming Today. Enjoy!]

It was a pretty weird day here in Northern Jersey. There was tons of wind, but it wasn’t as cold as it normally is, at least during the day. But of course, the sun set and the wind remained, leaving it cold. Really cold.

I preordered Super Smash Bros. Brawl months in advance. Probably almost half a year or so. Saying I was excited about the upcoming release would be an immense understatement. Super Smash Bros. was a game I have always loved playing simply for the fact that you have no idea how the rounds are going to go in the game. One minute you could be beating the snot out of your opponent, and the next, he’s got a bomb or a hammer. Once either of those hits you, you’re pretty much done for.

I arrived at the local GameStop around 9:10 PM since they informed the people in the tournament that the latest we could be there was 9:30. I of course decided that I really had nothing else to do that night, so I might as well throw my hat into the tournament. The way I saw it, I was playing Smash Bros. earlier than the people online. I’d be getting a tiny crumb of that sweet sweet Smash Bros. goodness.

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When it comes to achievements, the quickest way to completely ruin a game is through the use of online achievements. I’m sure a lot of you Halo 3 players out there remember the first month of the game when people would completely ruin matches because they wanted to stand in a line and help each other get the ‘Mongoose Mowdown Achievement’.
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