Legend of Zelda Legacy

I wanted to talk about something that has been know as one of the best legacies in the video game world. It is know as the Legend of Zelda Legacy with its main star character Link. This game series has been reigning in the world of Nintendo. These games have been in the market since the first game was released in 1986. I t is the one game series that has a fan base bigger than Mario which is probably seen as the Nintendo mascot.
These games are based on exploration, puzzles, action/battling and strategy action features. This has been the style of the game play for every Zelda game that they've brought out. The puzzle solving in the game usual rewards the player with special weapons or health most of the time. This is a very sweet deal when you just got done battling a bunch of enemies. This is just an example that has made these games so popular with many kids. Having all the different features in a game that can give you a sweet experiences.
This game is based on the story of a young elf warrior that is out to save Princess Zelda from the evil Ganondorf. Through his questing he faces many mini bosses that lead to the next advancement which is one step closer to rescuing the princess. Another key aspect to the game is the Tri-force which is an omnipotent relic that can aid the hero.
Now these games are loved by many fans and even some have done artwork for the game, made home made videos and even a fake movie ad for these awesome games. For me it is just a normal game and I feel a little sad that I can't enjoy it as much as everyone else. I do have to give respect to the series and that If you feel like you want to take an adventure this is one that is worth venturing.

The release of Halo Wars

Now the whole Halo trilogy has been great and brought goods times for all the gamers out there. Well here comes another game that is just packed with even more exciting characters and even better graphics. This game takes place at the beginning of what started the war with the Covennant. Halo Wars brings a whole new spin to what Halo is.
We have all played the first three Halos and said yea they are a lot of fun and sometimes I would just like more. Well now you can have more with this new game. From the developers of Ensemble Studios and of course Microsoft Game Studios created a new way to see Halo. They designed this game not to be a first person shooter like its predecessors, but as a RTS (Real Time Strategy). This game is running with a different breed of gamers. It is similar to the games that Blizzard makes like Warcraft 3 and the Starcraft games. In this game you take your troops and command to do your bidding. This allows the player to just sit back and relax a little bit. So if you want to walk away quick and get something to drink you sure can. In all seriousness this game has more background story than some can image. You meet some of the legendary crew from the start of the war. We have Captain James Cutter and Seargent John Forge which are playable characters in multiplayer maps online and in the campaign mode. Now there are very few drawbacks for this game and that would be just the lack of a third race to play as while online against other players. The other big thing that I feel is not fair is that you can't play as the Covennant in campaign mode which I think would be a lot of fun. Overall this is a great game that all the Halo fans out there would enjoy. The one great thing about this game that i found to be interesting is that if you never played a RTS then you will see what have been missing.

New Style of Gameplay

An amazing new game has hit the market. Its something we have never seen before that will just blow the minds of everyone out there. This new game combines two completely different styles of games that gives you a want to play. This new game is called Battleforge and it is played online.
This new game is something that has brought the world of card games and online play together. Creating a whole new way to get online. The well know world of card games has been given its name from three of the most know card games to bring people of all ages together. They are Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh and the one that brings in the big bucks and the oldest Magic the Gathering. These games are a simple base games that involve battling an opponent for being the best. They all have creatures that battle and cards that aid these monster in either boosting their power or protecting them from being detroyed.
Now we all know about the world of games and their advances of online playability with people around the world. The most famous of them all of course is World of Warcraft. This game has over millions of players that all can say they are proud of who they are and that they love this game. So what is the big deal that I'm trying to make? The big deal is that Battleforge has finally created a world that brings amazing fantasy creatures from the paper on to the screen. In this game a player is able to battle with the four elements, buy new cards and trade with other players. The graphics are pretty descent for this new type of game. For the most part I find it to show some promising features that will give it some of its own unique qualities. the missions are fun and exciting and as an added bonus all the cards for this game are sold online which makes it easy to keep track of them. So if you want a new game to try this would be a good one.

The Nintendo DSi

It is the third form of the DS to come out on the game market. Nintendo of course made another amazing hand held device that people are just going nuts over. I myself have got one and just love its sweet ability to take pictures and get apps for it through wi-fi. It is probably one of the coolest portable gaming devices that has ever been created. It is the awesome Nintendo DSi. They really upgrade this device by increasing the screen size to 3.25 in. from its original 3 in. I know this is not an amazing change to the screen but for gamers this means a lot. They also added two cameras on the machine for picture taking, an SD card slot to store pics and other stuff, the ability to get applications off the web. It has brought some new playable enjoyment to many. Some of the original ideas for the machine was to have to slots for the DS games. This was something that when came out in testing just seemed to be worthless which led to the decision to change it back to a single slot. This allowed the device to cut down on its size. Other amazing things they have for fun is the ability to change, add and morphing your pictures. They also have a recorder to play with sounds.
This is one of the best devices in my mind that Nintendo has ever brought out. It is just a fun device which can be played by all ages. And a lot of the reviews for it have come back as being a great device. So if you don't have one and would like to get in on some of the funs things in life this is the best gaming machince for anyone.

Changing up the Story

A good storyline can never be beat in a great video games. One of the coolest things seen in games are multi-story campaigns. One of the best examples are the famous computer games from Blizzard Entertainment, Warcraft 3 and Starcraft. These two games have made the frontier of having separate campaigns in one game possible. They came out and the crashed the market with the weight of their giant fan base.
I myself have played these games and saw just amazing things. One of the coolest things about these games is actually how deep you can get into the story of some of their hero class characters. They can lead off into the past events of the characters and show their history. A good example is the character Grom Hellsrceam from the orc race that wars in Warcraft. He is a general that lead his people on a dark path and looks for redemption. Another interesting thing is the intertwining storires in these types of games.
Another game that has this type of situation would be the Pokemon games. They All are different in many ways but what ties them togther is the fact that you are always a trainer out to be the pokemon master. In these different storylines you can be whatever you want with many different types of pokemon teams. You are for sure going to face gym leaders, the elite four at the end and a stupid rival friend that thinks they are better than you. So for all of you out there that like to spice it up just try a new game and see whats different.

Portable Gaming Devices of Nintendo

The Nintendo Game Boy now that was a machine that had all the bests games when you where on the go. Its funny that when you think about games now people seem to only see the big gamin consoles and maybe the ones played on computer. But some of the best gaming devices are the little pocket games. This is the one thing that has a major impact on the kids of today.
I can remember back as a child playing Mario on my cousin's Game Boy. It was such a blast and especially when i got my own Game Boy color and played Pokemon for the first time. I thought it was just amazing how I could play a video game while on the road to my grandma's house. Indeed this was a big step for Nintendo when they brought this device out on the gaming market. It brought more fans of the Super Nintendo out of their basement and into the public's view. The Game Boy originally came out in August of 1989. It was developed with a simple button layout and also came with special features like a rechargeable battery pack. To many peoples surprise the game of the time wasn't Mario, but Tetris which sold over 33 million copies. A few years down the road and some modifications to this cool little machine Nintendo brought out the Game Boy color. At this time a major game that really started to have a big sales for Game Boys was Pokemon. A very popular ga,e for little kids which had cute little monsters that would battle.
Now all of this has lead to the development of the best gaming system by Nintendo which is the DS and the newly release DSi. These portable gaming devices have been the new sweetest devices to hit the market for the fact that they are able to use a touch screen for more interactive gameplay and with the new DSi a person is able to to take pictures. With new applications for this machine the possiblilities are unlimited.

First Person Shooters

For all the many amazing game types out there one of my favorite is a FPS. These are some of the best games to see some brutal competition. One of the big name games from this genre that has made it into the MLG world is Halo. This game is probably one of the fastest growing games in the market with popularity in the United States. It has brought many people together from the farthest parts of the earth.
More on the topic some of the first FPS's started in the 70s with Maze War and Spasim. Maze War is one of the closest games to a first person shooter since it use characters on foot and fighting. Spasim featured the FPS format more in the spaceship sense instead of being a person. So this was something that could be consider a different style to this type of play. I myself find this to be a unique look. In 92 the game Wolfenstein 3D that really set off the FPS genre it was built on the ray casting development that all FPS's are still based on today. This template was the key design for the games. Games in the later on after this also included Black Stone: Aliens of Gold and Doom. Doom was the first game to bring out the multiplayer format which was made for competitive deathmatch gameplay. Also with its texturing, variation on heights and enhancing the 3D environment it really brought the realism for the game.
It wasn't till the year 1997 when the best FPS came out that is set in the books. The name was Golden Eye 007 and it was brought out on the Nintendo 64. It was the first game to have well designed solo gameplay and also well developed multiplayer maps. It also gave the ability to use an aiming sight with the weapons and the favored ability of laying down a good Headshot.
Now to bring you up to speed with the high rollers of the video games of todays FPSs. We have the most popular ones like Halo 3, Call of Duty 4: Mondern Warfare and Resistance: Fall of Man. All of which have amazing online capability and specialties with maps, unique weapons and sweet styles for game play. They invoke the power of not only slayer matches, but also objective missions like capture the flag. Another thing that these newer games brought into this genre that was never seen before was the use of vehicles. So over all the First Person Shooters are great games with a litte violence on the side when you need to get some anger out.

Games To Movies...What A Great Idea.

Well last week i talked about how cool it would be to see a video game based off of a really sweet movie like Star Wars or one of the Lord Of The Rings movies. This week I decided to talk about the flip side of things. Where there has been games made into movies. Yes it is true a nerds biggest dream is coming true. Just kidding it is also mine too. But on a more important fact these movies are sometimes not the greatest thing ever to hit the shelves at your local rental store.
One of the major leading problems in these film adaptations of games are done horrible. A good example of this would be the Street Fighter movies. They made an OK version back in the 90s and now they just brought out another one that also tank in the ratings. I mean really what is wrong can't they find some descent directors that won't screw these types of movies up. They look good when you see the previews but they are horrible films. I haven't quite figured this out yet. Maybe they will be able to create good game based movie in a couple more years.
I'm not here to bash these types of films all together now. Because there has been some really good movies that came out that were in fact based on top selling games of their time. Here is a great example the Mario Bros. movie. Now I don't know how well it did when it came out but if you ask any Mario fan that saw the movie they could tell you it was a great film. There are others like Doom and Silent Hill which were both very good films. Now you wonder how this ties into video games. Well it is simple it is all about the franchise the more money you make the better your returns will be in the end. So if it is possible to go above and beyond a console why not just do it.
To me making a game into a movie is a wonderful idea. The one they need to do though is sometimes just leave the game as it is and not try to change it so much from the true storyline. Now for something Like Street Fighter there is not much of a story to go on. but there are some games that have great detail to there background so directors just leave it alone.

Movies to Games...Bad or Good?

We all know that we love to watch movies. Movies bring such enjoyment to us as people telling an awesome story. We get pulled into it and just want to no more. I remember as a kid coming out of one of the Lord of the Rings movie wanting to be just like Aragorn killing the orcs in the forest. Just wishing to get in on the action and have it in a video game. Now I know this sounds really nerdy but it is possible for all you fans of the movie.
The major debate in the gaming world is can a movie be turned into a game. It has been done but the problem is that every time they do it the games just tank. The problems with some of these games is that they are based off of the movie's storyline so they become very dull. Other problems include the poor sub-villains and the difficult game play. There is also the horrible script reading from the actors themselves and the worse is the cut scenes from the movie that gets added to these games.
These types of games are just horrible but yet they make money. Since they hang on the tails of the movie's fame as a blockbuster. Other games made that really suck are the Speed Racer, Incredible Hulk, and something from the past Jaws Unleashed. Wow this just makes me want to cry. It is wrong in every way possible.
Now not all games based of movies are bad. There are some that have actually made it in the world of electronics because they took a different route when designing the game play. A good example of successful ones are Star Wars Battle Front 2 and Lord Of The Rings: Conquest. With these games they were not design entirely after the movies. They just had the themes and then transformed to something that a general public would like. These games are based off of third person shooters. This is were you can see your character while you perform actions in the game. They are truly amazing games when done right. So when it comes down to it you just have to be the judge.

World of Warcraft.

In a world where only the strongest can survive. A land filled with dragons, skeleton creatures, and water monsters wait in the dark to pounce on a unknowing person. Where your best friend is the trusty spell book that a master wizard gave you. It is a dangerous land filled with many races that have decided to start a new war. The place I'm talking about is World of Warcraft, one of the best massive multiplayer online role-playing game ever made.
World of Warcraft aslo referred to as WoW is the fourth released game to come out of the Warcraft fantasy series created by Blizzard. In this computer game you are able to create a character that is of a certain race out of ten to choose. Each race belongs to one of the two warring factions on the game. Alliance is more the human type races consisting of Humans, Night Elves, Dwarves, Homes, and Draenei. On the Horde side you have the monsterous brutes like Tuaren, Orcs, Trolls, Blood Elves, and Undead. With every race comes their very own unique racial traits which the race. Like an increase in the ability to use magic or something to deal with giving them a berserker rage in battle.
Once you have picked a race you are then able to select your class. This is what type of player you will become like a warrior, druif, or a mage. There are a total of 9 to choose from which each get there very own unique spells and skills. And then there is also one hero class that once you reach level 55 or above your character can become. There are also much more that you can do with your character like join a guild, have professions, and even do achievements for the game.
This game has gone above and beyond the expectations for many gamers out in the world that love online games. It has made such an impact in the gaming community pulling in 11.5 million monthley subscribers. There has been two expansion sets that came out after the release of the game originally. The graphics are amazing and the designs for creatures and characters have been done well to give this full potential of being great.
This game to me is pretty amazing to me and I also find it to be very interesting. I hope to someday play it but that would require me to give in to it which I am far from. It has a huge fan base of people that like to make joke videos about the game. One of the most famous is the Leeroy Jenkins video about a seige gone wrong. For Blizzard to come out with an amazing game like this would be really hard to top. It seems almost impossible to do, but knowing Blizzard they will still be able to bring out something.

Tribute To The Villains

Every game ever brought out has been made great because of an ultimate "Baddy" as people would call them. They bring this need to beat the game and show who is the true boss which is the good guys. For the most part not all games have a villain, but the main ones that draw a person's attention do. Unless your a sports fan only, because your just getting left out on the fun. Big time villains come in all shapes and forms from the nasty, fire breathing Bowser to the relentless legions of covenant in the Halo saga. These villains are more than just some character to crush in the game. They also have a story they would like to tell too.
I would like to talk about three top villains from the gaming world. The first one i would like to talk about is Bowser from the Mushroom Kingdom. We all know that he is a bad giant dinosaur that wants to enslave the kingdom and take Princess Peach as his wife. The truth is he really only commits one major crime and that is kidknapping. I just think peach makes it way to easy and just likes the attetion. On a more serious note the major reason why Bowser is considered one of the top bad guys of the times is because of how popular he is. I mean really if someone would say something about Mario the first thing that pops into your mind would be "I wonder how we get to beat up Bowser this time."
The next villain one the list is the infamous Ganondorf from the Zelda legacy. The master of the dark arts of magic and chaos. This is one wizard you don't want to mess with. He is probably in my mind one of the coolest villains for the fact that he is portrayed as being a big muscular giant and uses magic to destroy the people of Hyrule. The hero that defeats him everytime is the Great Link who is out also to save once again a princess. But he is more than just a little elf man he is the legendary warrior that weilds the power of the tri force. This magic is the one thing that can defeat old Ganondorf. He really isn't that bad in my mind just more understood.
Now the one villain that has been deabated as the number villain of all time is Sephiroth from Final Fantasy 7. He is the most powerful, Emo punk sword weilding Baddy of all time. He is number one for the pure fact that wants to destroy the world. His sole goal of being a god in the game drives him to kill one of the beloved main characters of the cast. Even when you reach the end in this game you feel like you need to put all your efforts in to destroy him.
Overall we need villians to make the games great. They provide us with epic final battles of magic, sword fights and fire balls. Its the one thing we can count on for making are video games better. People everywhere are creating forums and videos about their favorite villians too. Because they are just as cool as the heroes and deserve their spot in the sun to shine above the rest.

Music for the Games

We all know that video game adventures can be fun. There is only one problem when you are going through a level and all of a sudden your character died. If you had music playing it could warn you. Just a little thing to think about when your playing a game next time.
Everybody knows what makes a video game more exciting is not just the game play but also the music in it. Theme music in a game can act as many things a warning in scary zombie games, getting to the end of a level, or just pump someone up to kill more aliens. It is something amazing that not many people think about. There is a lot of time and effort put into video games. Good example for this is the Halo trilogy. Bungie the makers of Halo have hired some of the best music composers. They've had Martin O'Donnell compose all the music for the games. Which he has done a wonderful job I might add. What he did was use a special play engine that allowed the music to set the mood. giving a player the feeling of what was going on. People relate to the music in the game which can give joy. Even soundtracks have been made for some games and Halo of course has the best in my opinion.
The music is much more apart of the game as the graphics and strategy behind it. Without one of these pieces the game will not be a success. Theme songs from the games also give them a recognizable face in a way. Like when your just sitting around and you hear the mario them song playing the first thing that might pop in your head would be Mario defeating Bowser. Theme songs have also made it to larger scale of being performed in concerts and by the fans of the games. They are also put into other games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero 3. So overall the music for a game is more than just noise. It is a mood setter, recognizable symbol, and something that brings life to the game.

Benefits and Drawbacks

Video games good or bad? That is the major question that comes up among people. Do they help people in society or are they just crippling the minds? They have both good and bad qualities, but most people only see the bad things. There are many benefits that come from them otherwise people wouldn't play them. It is always a good way for people to past the time, they can provide problem solving skills, and they can fine tune those motor skills.
Another big thing is how the Nintendo Wii console has games that get a person interacting with them. When a person plays Wii Sports they have different sports like bowling, tennis, and boxing where a person needs to be moving. They also brought out Wii Fit which is great for people that want to enjoy a fun game with exercise. It has also been used in retirment homes for the elderly to give them a fun activity.
One of the best benefits that come from playing video games is its help with medicine and military. In medicine there are many different machines used to perform surgeries. With joysticks to operate the arms and claws. For the military they run remote control bomb defusing robots and spy planes. With these robots we are able to save many lives and complete missions without sending in a live human.
Now I am going to talk about the drawbacks of video games. One problem seen with video games is holw it affects a child's study habits. It also can end up taking away at their social life and hinder their abilities in sports, music, and the arts. It is consider to be as bad as watching too much TV in a household.
It is also seen as causing children to spend less time with friends and family. Creating the feeling of not needing to be apart of society. Loosing the ability of social skills is something that can affect them down the road. For example most jobs require social interaction with people. Without this they will never understand how to handle situations.
One of the biggest problems that is put into consideration is how games allow violent behavoir to be acceptable in real life. I see this to be more of a problem with younger children playing these games. For most older people and teenagers are able to understand that it is just a game. So protecting the young mind should be number one on the list.
So thats all I have for this blog. I hope everyone will enjoy and just think twice about what they are getting into when you play a game. For me a video game is somewhere I can escape reality and be different. Its something fun and enjoyable for all people.

Mario Legacy

"It's a me Mario!" The famous line said by one of Nintendo's most recognizable character made. Mario the plumber from New York City who got sucked into a world of koopa troopas, ghosts and the big bad Bowser. This man is on the mission to save Princess Peach. His famous sidekicks always willing to help are Luigi and Yoshi stomping out baddies.
Mario being the legend that he got his start fighting Donkey Kong in the arcades around america. Back then he was known by Jumpman, since the goal of the game was to jump over all the different objects being thrown at him. He climbed ladders and well jumped to save Pauline from the big mokey. It was a simple game but held the attention of kids around the world. Its simplicity kept it exciting and challeging.
He later saved his girlfriend and went back to New York. During 1981 He was a popular icon in the gaming world. Mario was also a Doctor in one game, Fought monster in the pipes of New York's underground and went back in time to stop Bowser from stealing all the great artifacts of the world. All these games were great but didn't compare to the ultimate mario adventure. Released in America in 1986, was based on running through the levels as the characters Mario and Luigi to save Princess Toadstool. Evading Bowser's minions and destroying the him at the end of world eight. Was claimed to be the best game of all time and also was the game that gave the NES console its boost in sales.
Later down the road Mario became the big hero and his legacy began. As the years went on new games and console came out creating better Mario adventures. In the 90s the Nintendo 64 hit the market and mario finally got out of a 2D world and into a 3D one. Battling Bowser for control of the Mushroom Kingdom. Then Some more popular games like the Mario Parties, Making appearances in Smash Bros. Melee on Game Cube and his newest game on the Wii Mario Galaxy.
For the most part Mario will always be a legend in my eyes and every other fan around the world. His Leagacy is probably considered the greatest and many people have made forums devoted to this plumber of power. I think this character will have more games to come for many years. The future of mario has just begun.

Game Consoles.....Which one is the best?

The Console the machine that lets a person see the amazing graphics, play their favorite games and takes them to a world beyond the room. Without the machine your video game is just worthless. We all grew up with the Super Nintendo playing Super Mario Bros. or Duck Hunt back in the 1985. Then as the years progressed and we saw major changes to the game console being upgraded. Since Nintendo had a console some other companies decided that they wanted to get into the gaming market to. Sony being a company of many electronic gadgets and TVs brought out their console called the Play Station (Dec. 1994). Microsoft also joined the game when they brought out their own console later down the road (Feb. 2002). This new machine created some competition with its trademark game of Halo for Sony and Nintendo. Which both had their latest upgraded consoles out on the market the year before.
These three companies are the top dogs for the video game world. With the new and latest consoles out Microsoft's Xbox 360 brings the world online game play to a new level. The ability to store game data on a 6.4 GB hard drive. It also has the ability to be used as a media center equipment. The PS3 by Sony is probably the one console that brings a person the best grapchics and the ability to watch BluRay discs. Then there is the Nintedo Wii that has been agreed on as being the family entertainment unit for all ages.
All These consoles have online play and graphics that blow away some of the first game consoles made. The only drawback that can be found with these consoles is which one does a person want. Do we as a consumer want to be playing with the best graphics, on fun mulitplayer games or for pure and simple enjoyment. It is hard to say which one is truely the best console out because all three have their very own unique qualities that can satisfy any gamer. So when it comes down to the big choice you as a person will have to choose.
For myself gaming is important and I chose the 360 for its balance of graphics and entertainment it has. The major thing that caught my eye was the online multiplayer games. It also is useful when I want to watch a movie and get away from gaming. So for all you gamers out there to choose the best is up to you because all of these consoles are amazing.

The Old and The New

From the arcade to the living room in a person's house, the age of gaming has come along way. It all started back in the 70's when the amazing game called Pong was released. The game was base on the sport of table tennis. Its name came from the sound generated when the ball was hit hence "Pong". This video game marked the beginning of the world wide spread of popularity of games. http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blcomputer_videogames.htm
Over the years we have seen the advancement of the gaming world. From simple computer games like virtual chest to more graphic and competitive games like Halo and Madden NFL 07. The games of the present can be classified into many genres. The most popular are first person shooters, RPG (role playing games), and sports. Along with games came an organization know as MLG or Major League Gaming. This is a league just like the NFL or MLB, where people are aloud to compete with the best in games for money and the fame that comes with it. One of the biggest games to compete in is Halo. It has one of the largest communities in the gaming world that has the attetion of people in the U.S. Hosting tournments and franchising in major states. They have even been broadcasted on gaming network shows http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkufX8lM-KI.
I also can be considered a gamer for the pure fact that i really enjoy video games. I own an XBOX 360 and i use it for my movies and games. I am a huge fan of the Halo series and I also follow MLG. Even though video games can be fun they also have come to the point of causing problems in our society. Dealing with work related issues and violence with kids. Over all video games have brought many amazing jobs and entertainment to our lives and will continue to get better.