Does that make me strange?
 
I've noticed that nearly everyone seems to have one or both of these and spends a lot of time playing it.  Despite my limited gaming time, I like to try and stay involved with what's current... The trouble is I just can't fancy either of them.  Why?  Both titles have recieved very positive reviews critically, so they can't be that bad as games.  Could it be that I'm not a first person junkie?  Well, my main game of late has been Left 4 Dead 2, so that can't be entirely it.  The setting?  A realistic 'war' setting?  Well, back int he day I played through Medal of Honour and spent hours upon hours playing multi-player at work on it, I played Batttlefield 1942, and Return to Castle Wolfenstein as well, not to mention Counter Strike and Tactical Ops, so that's not it...
 
So why?  
 
Well to start with, I'm in a console phase at the moment, more of my gaming time is spent on the 360 just now.  I think it's partly the easy access and less general faff with playing 360 games - I can't get enough gaming at the moment, so I have to make every minute count.  Now despite owning a 360 for over two years now - I still don't really feel as comfortable with a pad as I did with a mouse and keyboard for FPS.  Gears of War and the sequel got me into it a little bit - they are very good games for people who are trying to make the transition.  And Left 4 Dead, the lack of many projectile firing enemies and the use of the melee button seem to make it a good intermediatary game for people moving mouse - pad.
 
I am getting better too!  I feel much more comfortable on it than I used to.  At the same time, back in my Unreal Tournement days, I used to win games telefragging and free-shooting with a sniper rifle.  I used to take UT very seriously.  I played as one of the female model robots - because the female models were smaller and harder to hit - and I modified it so I could use the boss-guys voice taunts because they were more frustrating and likely to make people get annoyed and make mistakes.
 
I even organised a league at our software development company, with regular matches at lunchtimes and breaks... Although that had to stop - the amount of shouting and swearing going on through out the building put paid to that and even dished out a few verbal warnings.  A guy called Mike and myself were probably round about the best at the game - but we were saddled with arguably the two worst players in the game on our team.  I ended up trying to make this situation fairer, but tweaking the bots to be slightly better and when one of our weaker players couldn't play - instead of postponing having a bot... I got a bit rumbled when teh bot head shotted an entire team trying to get the flag before they'd ever seen him... Great days....
 
The last FPS I actually played through that isn't Left 4 Dead was probably Doom 3.  I really enjoyed that game.  It was very atmospheric - a must to play with the lights off, escpecially with surround sound or headphones.  Great graphics, fun gameplay and intersting level design.  I particularly not the depiction of Hell itself, it's so good I'd play through it again except I lent it to someone and they lost the CD's....
 
I wonder partly - is it the fantasy setting?  Realism vs Fantasy?  I have enjoyed both to a degree, back at work when we weren't playing UT we played a lot of multiplayer Medal of Honour.  The trouble with that was it was very prone to hacking and cheating.  I actually accidentally cheated by choosing a skin none of the other players had downloaded - this rendered me 100% invisible... Something of an advantage, until we worked out how you could force a skin onto all enemy players.  Then there was the teleporting, frustrated at not being able to get good sniping positions, I ended up working out co-ordinates and teleporting up into inaccassible areas.  All in all UT was a better experience I think... 
 
I suppose ultimately, I've done so many hours of FPS over the years I'm a bit bored of it.  I did wonder whether this was partly because I view games slightly differently now, because I have an anti-gaming wife and a young child (Who loves playing 'Hedgehog the Fox') but then I do stay up late for a game of Left 4 Dead or the sequel so that's not it.  I can only put it down to tiredness of the genre, running around, kicking in doors, sniping people, charging through with a shotgun... I've been there and done that, and bought the T- Shirt dozens of times over.  What makes Left 4 Dead different?  Well, the gameplay is different, surviving a zombie apocalypse plays very differently to storming a terrorist hide-out.  The co-operative play is really well designed too, anyone interested in game development should play Left 4 Dead and part 2 and listen to the dev comments, it tells you a lot about player-centric design, which in my mind is the way forward.  
 
Ultimately I suppose there is one factor above all else - George Romero understood it, the makers of Dead Rising 'get it' and that is, 'Slaughtering Zombies is great fun, and probably always will be!'

Technically, I don't suppose they should let a blog influence them, hell I don't even know if this will get read - but just in case it is; here are few reasons why I think I ough to have an edge over some of the competition.
 
1. I'm only 33, so I'm not actually an old git yet.
 2. I've got nearly 30 years of gaming experience, owning or playing regularly on :-

• ZX Spectrum
• Commadore 64
• BBC Micro model B
• Acorn Archimedes
• Atari ST
• Commadore Amiga
• Nintendo NES
• Sega Master System
• Nintendo Gameboy
• Sega Game Gear
• Nintendo SNES
• Sega Megadrive
• Nintendo N64
• PC
• PS1
• PS2
• XBOX360

Well, I've done It - I've made an entry for the Ginx TV presenter slot. It was good fun making it, I might even make some video's I enjoyed it so much. 
 
Do I stand a chance?  I have no idea - some of the entries are really funny.  The only thing I think might give me a slight advantage is that I have some clear experience of writing about and studying games, development, ludology, media psychology and everything that goes with it.  Obviously there is my blog here, my reviews here my lists.  Alot of this stuff is duplicated over at Gamespot - but I prefer the interface here so I've decided to keep my casual game writing on Giantbomb. 
 
Then there's my academic writing on Gaming located here.  I've been playing, games since 1982, and for a lot of that time I've also been creating, modifying and writing about games, gaming and the industry.  I like writing about games and gaming, hell - I must like I do it for free here! 
 
I haven't done any for a bit, I've been busy at work lately, and my gaming and writing about gaming time has been cut short a bit.  Some people might think I'm not 'into' it that much simply because I'm not playing Black Ops, the fact is I'd play more games if I could argue it was to do with my career / job.  I'm a business person at the moment, a technical manager, I spent ten years as an IT Infrastructure Engineer.  I've never been out of work, money is no issue.  I'm not desperately seeking any old fame in whatever shape it comes, I just really want to work in the games industry - and I love writing, researching and analysing... And oh yeah - I love gaming. 
 
I actually wrote a lengthy proposal letter to BBC 3 suggesting an editorial style review and news program about games and gaming late last year.  I still have a very long and polite rejection letter from them, suggesting it's a good idea - and I should approach some other organizations - but it doesn't fit in with their current plans.  I never re-worded and sent the mail to other organizations, I ought to - I included a detailed report on the current demographics of gamers and how under-represented they are in the television media.   
 
The only rationale I can come up with not making more of these kind of programs is that the producers think all the gamers are too busy playing games to watch TV.  However Ginx TV and Gameface are popular, and the newsagents shelves are over-flowing with gamer magazines... Clearly today's gamers do more than game.

I just made a new list Great Gaming Moments I'd be interested in hearing about anyody elses memorable moments, those key moment in gaming that you remember fondly.  I suppose to compare it to cinematic examples, that bit in the Lord of the Rings I'd be suggesting parts like, Gandalf just before escaping from Saruman on an Eagle says, "There is only one Lord of the Rings; and he does not share power!" Or the pit in The Two Towers where Gandalf fights the Balrog... The battle scenes... If we thought 'Star Wars' I'd be thinking of the duel between Obi-wan and Darth Vader in Episode IV... That sort of thing.

Well, I've been nailing Left 4 Dead for a looooooooooong time now... It's a really fun game, I even bought it - played it a bit, traded it in - then re-bought it because I missed playing it so much.  I've only just had a crack at Left 4 Dead 2, so why not have a go earlier?  That's what you're thinking right?  Well, I played the demo when it was new, and it just.... It just didn't feel right somehow.   Not sure why, I put it down in large to the difference cast of survivors, the bright daylight settings and something inexplicably wrong about the setting.
 
Sure the new mechanics were great - melee weapons are fun and it's handy having one or two in the team with a good melee weapon.  The new specials are interesting too, I like the jockey and the spitter particularly.  Level design seems good, and the journey from the hotel roof to the mall is great... But something wasn't quite... I can't put my finger on it.  Now I've bought it though - I'm really enjoying it.  It's completely freshened up my zombie apocalypse experience.   I still think Left 4 Dead is more 'classic Romero' and has stronger characters... Well I say stronger - maybe a bit more stereo-typical of the zombie apocalypse survival film.
 
However, there is a certain charm to L4D2, it took me a while to 'get it' but there is a different feel... I think in 1, the survivors come across as 'Hey we're in a zombie apocalypse - I hope we can get through it alive!' Maybe Francis is the exception to this if anything, but Bill's lines make me think he really takes it seriously - it's like his second Vietnam or something.  Zoe, takes it seriously, but tries to lighten the mood from time to time with jokes and humorous refernces.  Louis, Louis is glad to be alive, and just wants the whole thing to be over...
 
Now the sequel, to me has a different vibe.  Whether it's an American South vibe or something - I don't know, but they come across more as, "Hey, there's a zombie apocalypse - time to kick some ass!" The music, the regional accents and the lines give me this - but all in all, I think the characters take it less seriously and have a more positive approach to it than in 1.   I don't know if this is a film reference, I'm guessing it is - but it's a film I haven't seen yet so...
 
I can't wait to see where they take Left 4 Dead 3, personally I'd like it to leave American soil, and mvoe to a new clime, Australia would be an interstingly ironic choice... England could work... Maybe even a south American take on it?

 So for those bizarre individuals who have chosen to follow me (all 7 of you - there were 8 but I must have offended someone :p ).. I present a follow up to my last post...
 
It seems one of the main reason my wife starts going all 'anti-video game' on me is because she doesn't like being woken up by me ambling into bed at midnight and waking her up.  Now one of the last post's responders used the word 'ninja' in reference to ninja'ing your way into bed.  I used to be very adept at this - like a cat, a hidden stalker in the night... But I must have let it lapse.  
 
For experimentation sake I tried to re-discover my 'Ninja Skillz' the other night, after finishing playing at 11:45pm instead of the promised 11:15pm - I know - seems drastic,  my wife thinks half an hour late is equivalen to a week or something so...

I put my skills into action, I filled my glass of water with a silent trickle from the tap.  Then made sure to ONLY hit the side of the bowl when I did my final, silent 'Jimmy Riddle' of the night.  I took my jeans and stuff off at the bottom of the stairs and tip-toed up into bed, being silent with all the child gates, and eventually timing my movements to coincide with my wife's breathing.... 

Then slipped into bed!  And she didn't wake!

I have to say it was far more exciting than that stupid rafting game on Kinnect I played at my sisters house.  The controls were spot on - if I made a mistake it was MY mistake, a creaky stair?  Extra challenge, stair-gate closed?  Another obstacle...

It was actually more tense and exciting than playing Left 4 Dead on expert mode, you got a real sense of risk vs reward.  I don't know what you guys houses are like, or how much of a 'light sleeper' your partner is - you could always make her/him a coffee before they went to bed to increase the challenge?  Or lay some noisy things on the floor to avoid in the dark - my 3.5 year old daughter already does this for me : greatly increases the challenge.

The only downside is by the time I'm lying in bed I feel so wired, I can't get to sleep for about half an hour!  Still - all good fun, and it's like an extra 'free' game to round the night off.

Maybe if this takes off we could take it to the next level and start incorporating smoke-bombs and grappling hooks and stuff.  EXCELLENT!

 Grrr.... I try to play one campaign of L4D while my wife gets little one to sleep.  She comes down, and five minutes later I'm getting lectured about how she doesn't like this and violent games cause aggressive behaviour and they should all be banned... Then I get presented with various research papers, and lists of incidents that have been linked.... 
 
I have to say in some individuals it probably does have an effect - but then would those people be pre-disposed to violent films or books instead?  Or going drinking and picking a fight?  I agree with restricting violent game access to children, but ... I find the idea that all violent games should be banned is absurd... 
 
The trouble is I find it very hard to find research that backs this up.  Generally most research is looking for problems - so they ARE biased... But at the same time... If there are causal links there are causal links.  Personally I think people have killing and murdering each other for centuries longer than games have been about... You could argue that violent games are a representation of a darker side of human nature.  Even Chess, a simple game of chess is simulating battle - pieces taking each other are effectively pretending to kill enemy troops....  Personally I don't think you can change human nature.  Prohibition didn't work in the states, and people all over the world take drugs - whether it's legal to or not - even at the risk of a death penalty in some cases.  This is because it's human nature to seek out experiences, to be taken away from where you are to somewhere else.   
 
We can all enjoy a nice round of 'Top Spin' but you will never get the adrenaline rush, the sheer excitement in playing a round of tennis - than using weapons to fight for survival.  Left 4 Dead, Gears of War..  You have to perform some fairly depraved acts to suceed at this games.... 
 
I guess the debate will rage on - and I will continue to be infuriated... Tomorrow night I'll opt for a quiet life and have a game of FIFA, just have to make sure I don't do any 'rough' tackles when my wife is watching :(    

I decided I missed the atmosphere and tension of a good Left 4 Dead campaign, so instead of ploughing through Alan Wake some more I booted up Vavle's classic co-op shooter.  When I stopped playing it a while ago, I forgot about how great the game is in so many ways.  I still need the Achievement for completing all campaigns on expert - so I decided to have a run through 'Death Toll' on expert - so far so good. 
 
Didn't take me long to get back into it - even seemed to have a reasonable group of players join me.  We got through the tunnel, and into the cabin easy enough, then we made it through the Sewers without any major issues, going down to last man standing when the tank attacked - but rescuing everyone after finishing off the tank.  Everyone sticking together, covering each other and helping each other out.... So we get into the Kaboose, and start the trainyard and one of the team, xxConnoRocksxx or something, goes completely schizo and starts dicking about, running off on his own, shooting the team.... We vote him out - but he comes back - a with a griefing apprentice so we can't vote them out - and they just kept dicking about - killing everyone before we could leave and enter the trainyard.... 
 
Now this is incredibly irritating... I need to find a decent group of peeps to finish this achievement... And Valve need to think about the consequences of this grief on expert level.  Other levels - it's easy enough three people can get through with one idiot.  But massive friendly fire damage and high difficulty means it's impossible for a group to succeed on expert with one numpty.  They should code in some thing that works out when someone is being a dick and kicks them off the servers for 72 hours without allowing them log back in... And that might solve the - two griefers on one XBOX - you can't vote them off ! Grrr! 
 
Rant over....

Well, I've just scooped 1000 points on The Saboteur, a very underrated game in my opinion.  Yes it's a little clunky in places - but the stealth elements and explosives make it so much more interesting to play than your average Sand box em' up.  The last two achievements I got were 'Cassanova' and 'Not on my watch' the first of which involves kissing a particular number of girls to escape the alarm.  Now normally it's a bit of a pain to do this during the game, they are almost all at street level and often disabled because you are seen.  There is a trick I discovered and wrote about in my guide which makes it far quicker and easier.  The other one involves saving citizens from the Nazi's.  Because I've liberated all of France, the soldiers you see knocking about generally behave themselves and don't start threatening to kill people - so it's been a case of popping over to Saarbrocken Germany, and following soldiers around until they tried to shoot someone.  A bit choresome...
 
The big thing that hits you in Saboteur after you finish the story is the vast number of dots on the map for you to clear, it was a bit daunting, but once I'd cleared two of the Paris area's I actually found it quite fun and engaging to plan my targets - and take them out.  I don't think I'll touch Saboteur for a while now, but I'll miss it.  It's a great evironment to interract with - and some of the digital architecture is quite fantastic - high diving off the top of the Eiffel Tower is hilarious.  If you see it used for a tenner - have a punt, It's great fun!
 
I picked up a brand new copy of Alan Wake the other day for £15 and I thought I'd boot it up and see what it was like afterwards.  I've only just got to Brightwater in the game, but so far I'm really enjoying it - the atmosphere and the story-telling are great.  Okay some of the lip-synching is off and some of the voice acting is not amazing but it's very very playable.  It reminds me of the first time I played Resident Evil on the PS1, it reminds me of Stephen King novels... I can't wait to get stuck into it.
 
Not much to report beyond that - as it happens I've started 2011 without TFU2 and Fable 3, I do have Fifa 11, and it's great - but my post 10pm gaming sessions are going to be ALan Wake for now I think, Fifa 11 is brilliant, but you can't really get absorbed in the story in the same way.

Well, I just had my first experience with Kinnect.  It was fun, it was sort of impressive, especially seeing my niece flailing around next to 3D characters in Dance Evolution... But... I didn't walk away wishing I'd got one.   Much in the same way I didn't walk away wishing I'd had a Wii when I played on that.  These things are toys, not games.   
 
The tracking felt worse than Wii, very inaccurate on several games.  What I was doing felt like it had little influence on what was happening on screen.  You also need a massive amount of space to play properly, especially 2 player - which is really where the fun is at...  I wanted to like it, get excited about it - like I did the Wii, but I just can't love it.  It's interesting, it pushes technology forwards, but give me a gamepad any day. 
 
If I want to knock all the ornements off the shelves a more fun and immersive way of doing it would be to drink 24 cans of White Lightning, while watching Mortal Kombat the movie, followed by some X-factor and enter Virtual reality Cider Space - Celebrity Mortal Kombat...  I'm sorry Microsoft, I'm sure it's really impressive tech and gets you more fit than sitting with your feet up on the coffee table and a pint of real in your hand playing Tropico 3 - but I don't see it as a great way to get fit.  I'm a 2nd Dan in Tae Kwon Do, and a genuine sparring session is far more intensive and burns more calories than these 'fit' games... Sure it's more hassle but... 
 
What is good about Kinnect?  Well, I guess the software support will only get better and next years titles might impress me more.  And it shows that there is innovation int eh industry which it desperately needs, but as it stands Kinnect offers little to nothing for the hardcore gamer - at least in my opinion... Does anyone disagree?  Has it been an amazing leap forwards for anyone?  Best present of this Christmas?