Most Influential Game

I was recently browsing some forums and came across a topic that intrigued me. The topic was “What game has influenced you the most?” and it was easy for me to pick one game. It was no question Shaq Fu! That game is so amazing and remarkably unique that I can’t help but think of how much worse the game industry might be if we were never given this sweet, sweet game of Godliness!

Sarcasm is such a lovely part of life. Honestly the game that has influenced me the most (our meant the most to me) is easily Metal Gear Solid. There are plenty of games that I have liked more and games that I think are better, but Metal Gear Solid at the time showed me something I had never seen in a game. A little back story here; I joined the Playstation orgy late and was still heavy in the Genesis due to being poor (The Genesis still kicks ass!).When I first got my Playstation I bought Madden and Metal Gear Solid and the game blew me away. I had never seen a game with so many story elements to it (I have never gotten into JRPGs). The game had such high production values; all the voice work, characters and cut-scenes. It was the first game that made me really care about a video game character. I remember reloading that torture scene over and over because I couldn't bring myself to let Meryl die. That shit is crazy! The game was amazing to me and was such a jump from all the games I loved from the past generation. Though I do like plenty of games more; MGS will always be the game that really showed me what this media could pull off and it all always will be.

I also want to give a strong second place "prize" to Bioshock. To me the game is absolutely amazing. The narrative and the story are so above every game to me, but the real special thing about Bioshock is that it really is a work of art. The game is beautiful and has so many little details in every aspect. They really went out of their way to think about every single thing in the game world. If anyone ever questions whether video games are art. You only need to show them Bioshock and if they still say that a game can't be art; then you'll know that they don't know what art really is...

Girls Got Game

To all the female gamers out there! (Guys are welcome too) You should all check out Girls Got Game! It’s a new site dedicated to bringing together the community of female gamers and showing that they can hang with the boys. Girls are just as important as guys in the world of games. They may still be out-numbered, but they still are just as passionate about video games as anyone else out there. So if you’re a gamer who is sausage free….please, please PLEASE go and check out Girls Got Game! …sign up and tell all your fellow gamers about the site. Spread the word and let it be known that Girls Got Game! kicks ass like a boot full of brass. You’ll be sitting in the grass looking for a pass to save your ass. Praying in mass won’t save your ass, I laugh that you even have to ask! So break off fool, this site is mad cool…and if you’re a girl, give it whirl. It won’t disappoint…pigs go oink! (Sorry, I couldn’t think of anything to rhyme with disappoint)

…also I’m sorry for the rhyming in general. It’s what I do…and yes I know I am a retard!

So anyways please check out the site for me, for you…for 55cents!?....alright
Girls Got Game!

XBLA size limit increased for Capcom

"Given the sizeable content in Bionic Commando Rearmed and Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, Microsoft allowed Capcom to work with a larger file size limit for both of those titles in order to provide gamers with the game experience that Capcom desired, such as full hi-res textures (on Bionic Commando Rearmed) or 1080p support (for SSFIIT)," said the Capcom rep. "The Xbox Live Arcade versions of both titles will have complete feature and graphical parity with the iterations that will be available on other platforms. There were never any issues with 1942 or Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3, as those titles were designed from the ground up to meet [Microsoft's] standards."

Well it seems that what everyone expected has now become official. Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix and more importantly Bionic Commando Rearmed will not be subject to the 150MB limit that is currently enforced my Microsoft. I am not surprised by this news, but I am glad to finally hear the official words spoken. Now people won't be able to question whether or not the 360 version will be up to par with the PS3/PC versions.

Though this news is good news...I really want to hear Microsoft come out and officially raise the limit for all developers. Then we will be able to see more games that are as big (not is size, but in content) as a game like Rearmed. If they choose to keep the normal limit at 150MB and just make an exception here and there...we may see a surge in the downloadable games for PSN and a decrease in XBLA games. Plus with more room to work with, the more variety we can get. Also, Microsoft is selling Xbox Originals on Live and those can take up to 6GB of space! I think they can raise the limit for arcade games, don't you?

Bioshock 2 Confirmed...Why?

Ok, so the real question isn't why (To make money), but do we really want another game Bioshock 2 has been officially announced by Take-Two and that's all we know so far. We don't know if this game will be a sequel, a prequel...or a new game for that dusty N-Gage! (Just kidding). Personally I think this is absolutely horrible news! I don't think there is anymore to tell in this universe and can't help but feel that this game will one of the worst sequels in recent memory. THAT IS if this is a true sequel...A prequel may actually be a bit intriguing. Even though I don't want another Bioshock game that may possibly taint my love for the first game, but seeing how this world came to it's demise right from the start; That has a chance of being just as amazing as the first with many different ways of tackling that subject.

It would be very interesting to see these characters before Rapture turned to hell. I would like to interact with Andrew Ryan and learn more about his motivation to make this world, from the mouth the creator himself. I would like to learn about the discovery of the plasmids and the initial Big Daddy/Little Sister project. Rapture is a world that I am still interested in pre-Bioshock, but a game that took place after the fact wouldn't even make sense. Both endings don't give material for a sequel and the "good" ending was perfect in my eyes and I don't want to see anymore.

All we know for now is that another Bioshock game is coming and that it's going to be developed by 2K Marin (not the original developers). I don't know if Ken Levine will be involved in this project, but I would assume he is because otherwise I (and I think many other people) wouldn't be interested in this game at all. I trust Ken and if he is working on this game then I can't wait to see where it's going.

...I think I have a good subtitle for the sequel...

Bioshock 2: The Sausage Cometh

X360 Price cut in Europe

This article was taken from Gamespot.com

"Let the price wars commence--Microsoft has thrown down the gauntlet and cut the price of all Xbox 360 SKUs in Europe.

The Arcade pack will have a recommended retail price of £159.99 (down from £199.99), the Premium pack will be £199.99 (down from £259.99), and the Elite £259.99 (down from £299.99).

The price drops are effective from this Friday, March 14, and notably the new recommended retail price for the Arcade brings it in cheaper than the Wii--which at £179.99 has been the most budget-conscious next-gen console option since its launch in December 2006.

Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business Europe's VP, Chris Lewis, commented, "History shows that £159.99 is the price point where a console’s audience begins to expand, and with these new ERPs in place we’re ready to bring more consumers into the Xbox 360 world." "

I think that this is really good news for those in Europe thinking about purchasing a 360. I'm not saying this is good because of the Arcade pack, but because of the premium pack. With the HDD version now only £199.99 (Down £60!) people can get a fully functioning 360 for only £20 more than a Wii. You can't beat that deal and it makes me wonder if the states will see a price drop here as well. Maybe a drop to $300 for the Premium to coincide with the launch of GTAIV!? Who knows, but I think that would be a really good idea.

If the States do get a cut here our my price predictions...

X360 Arcade: $229.99
X360 Premium: $299.99
X360 Elite: $379.99

I know I have very optimistic thought about the Elite's price, but I think that would be the best price for it...

Pixelated Sausage ...Dot Com!?

Well it's official...I now am proud owner of pixelatedsausage.com! As of right now I only have the domain name mirroring back to this blog, but in due time I plan to launch an official Pixelated Sausage site. So in the meantime try out the official domain!

http://pixelatedsausage.com

Bully: Scholarship Edition (360) First Impressions

From what I have played of Bully: Scholarship Edition for the 360, I must say that the game is still as fun and enjoyable as it was when it originally released for the PS2. I don’t have much experience with new content yet, but what I have played has been enjoyable. So out of all the new content I’ve only actually played two of the new classes and tried out the multiplayer component. The multiplayer is offline only and is simply puts you against one friend while you compete in the different class mini games. Some of them work better than others, but the lack of online play will likely mean that not many people will even try it. The new classes I got to mess around with were Biology and Music. From what I’ve played the music class is pretty simple and not really anything special, but the Biology class (which involved dissecting different species – not the human kind) is actually pretty fun and can be a bit challenging.

The other aspect I’ll talk about is how the game looks on the 360. The game does look better, specifically the lighting, but there are a few issues here and there. Some textures may not be up to par with the rest of game and there are some frame-rate issues, but nothing too drastic that I’ve experienced personally. Also I know that many people have reported the game crashing and freezing, but I have not experienced any freezing at all (though I am only about 3 hours into the game). One last note on the graphics; with better graphics comes an uglier Jimmy.

For those who have already played Bully on the PS2, I don’t really feel there is enough to warrant another purchase (unless you are an achievement whore). Though anyone who never got a chance to play Bully when it originally came out; I highly recommend you pick Bully: SE up. It has a wonderful story with great writing and fantastic voice work. The game holds up 100% and even though I’ve already played through it multiple times before, I am still having blast hanging out at Bullworth Academy.

[Insert cheesy pun here]
Bully: SE is definitely worth the enrollment!
[Thank You]

Jumper: Griffon's Story (360) Review

Behold...the greatest game you'll ever play! /sarcasm

• Game: Jumper: Griffin's Story
• Developer: Red Tribe
• Price: $59.99 (Buy it)
• Release Date: 2/12/2008

Where do I begin? I guess I can start off by firmly saying that Jumper: Griffin's Story is the worst X360 game I have ever played. I’ll get some quick points out of the way first. There’s not much to the audio in this game. There’s simple music, lackluster sound effects and while Jamie Bell does lend his voice for the game, he wasn’t given much to do. What I’m basically saying is that the audio is the best part of the game. Can you see where this review is heading already? The controls are junk and camera is terrible. I will say that the only real decent part of this game is the fighting system. Each face button corresponds to a different direction, but they never really make any use of it besides the basic attacks.

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