GamerNode: The Q's Columns

The Q: What do you think about the Activision/Infi...

This past week has had what is without-a-doubt one of the biggest, most dramatic stories to rock the videogame industry in a long time. On Monday, Infinity Ward heads Vince Zampella and Jason West went to a private meeting with Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision. They did not return to the Infinity Ward studios the rest of the day.

Instead the studio was visited by "bouncer types". These security personnel were from Activision and refused to tell Infinity Ward employees why they were there. It was later discovered that Activision, written in a 150-page report, was looking into "insubordination" and "breach of fiduciary duty" with two Infinity Ward employees. The LinkedIn profiles for the two heads were then changed to state that they no longer worked for Infinity Ward. It was then confirmed b...

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The Q: What was the best year for gaming?

If you ask around, you'll find that some people thought 2009 was one of the best years gaming has ever had. Others, however, found it to be fairly bland in terms of revolutionizing how we play. As 2009 draws to a close, it's interesting to wonder what year was the very best in videogame history, and, for me at least, coming up with an answer seems like a very daunting task. So I pose it to you, GN readers:

What year was the best in videogame history?

Feel free to answer this one by trying to be completely objective, or simply based on your own personal favorites. After a fair amount of deliberation, I think I'm going to settle on 1998 as my personal year of choice. That incredible year saw the release of hits like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Metal Gear Solid, Half-Life, Starcraft,...

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The Q: What big titles are you looking forward to?...

It's that time of the year once again. Time for gamers to dig deep into their wallets to purchase the best games the industry has to offer. This three-to-four-month period will offer the best of the best in gaming. From Left 4 Dead 2, to Uncharted 2: Among Theives, to The Beatles: Rock Band, the fourth quarter titles are the ones that everyone wants to get their hands on and play.

But not everyone will have the money to get all of these great games. So like every year, gamers will need to get picky with their games and buy just a select few that appeals to them most. And that leads us to today's GN Q:

Of all the big name titles coming to consoles and PCs this fall season, which of these games are you most interested in buying and playing?

Personally, I'm looking forward to several new titles...

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DQ: What games have you started but never finished...

There are not enough hours in a day to play all of your favorite games so what games have you started but never got to finish? I'll probably have to hand in my gamer card at the front desk because some of the games I started but never finished should probably have been no-brainers. Also to the folks who are shocked and want to exact revenge on those who failed to complete a classic game should keep the floggings at a minimum.

I reckon I'm a little interested in hearing the reasons why some of these games were never finished. I imagine they can range from not enough time, work or even just being a terrible game.

So for example, I love FPS but I never finished Prey (time), S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl (I'm a wuss during the underground parts and I've attempted to replay it multiple time...

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Daily Q: What was the first PC game you played?

For me (I'm still a young fellar), it would have to be Oregon Trail on the old Apple II computers in second and third grade of elementary school during the early 1990's. Later when two games called Doom and Doom II were released in 1993/1994, my PC gaming life took off from there.

I have other early memories with various FPS from Apogee Sotware during the mid-90's, now known as 3D Realms; I remember juggling the various floppy disks for installation of Blake Stone: Aliens, also don't forget Wolfenstein 3D, Duke Nukem and even Rise of the Triad.

To relive the classic game that is Oregon Trail, head over to VirtualApple. It requires Windows and, if you're using it, a Firefox plug-in/extension.

So what was your very first PC game and when did you play it?

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Daily Q: Are there genres you avoid at all costs?

Everyone has different tastes. From cars to clothes to food and drink to members of the opposite sex, we all have our likes and dislikes.

When it comes to videogames, we have a wide variety of genres to choose from. Some of them tickle our fancies more than others, and some do absolutely nothing to excite us, but which are the types of games that we absolutely despise? That's today's Q.

What type of game do you avoid at all costs?

I thought about this for a while, and I'm going to have to go with anything that comes to the mobile phone platform. Yeah, I avoid those, even with their phenomenal gameplay and audio/visual presentation.

Yuck. (Can that be my One Word Review?)

[Eddie Inzauto]

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Daily Q: Do you use custom in-game audio?

Today's Daily Q is brought to you by the file extension .mp3.

I've been listening to a lot of music lately, thanks in part to finally reloading my laptop with my entire mp3 collection (I had a minor setback about a month ago), and also to the discovery of the excellent websites last.fm and pandora.com (thanks Kyle). Now, music is once again flowing constantly through the airwaves of my everyday life.

The recent information regarding the upcoming PlayStation 3 firmware 2.4, in which players can operate the system BGM and mess around with custom tunes via the in-game XMB, was the final inspiration for today's Q:

Do you make use of custom tracks and background music during your gaming sessions? How often? Are there any games in particular that you always aurally customize?

I don't often make us...

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Daily Q: How much do you spend on games?

So how much do you spend on games? We're all gamers so one thing we have in common is the immediate compliance of forking cash over for a spiffy new videogame.

GameStrata conducted a survey of North American video gamers and found that on average, the amount spent on games and hardware is $765 a year, which is a total cost of up to more than $30,500 spent from ages 18-48 -- those years being the "peak gaming years."

The results also noted that the Xbox 360 is "the preferred console for the consumption of digital content." 40% of all respondents said they play 6-10 hours online per week.

Barry Dorf, COO of GameStrata, said, "The overwhelming majority of gamers are spending their time online with friends, building their reputation and online personas. Video games are becoming so much more than ...

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Daily Q: What's your most hated type of game packa...

I realized something today while opening some recent acquisitions: there's a lot of packaging that sucks. Blister packs, triple taped games, multi-disc titles with all the discs on the same spindle and one in a paper envelope tucked to the side; the list goes on and on.

In the last century man has invented the Internet, the car, satellites, space exploration, computers, countless pieces of medical equipment, and more. We've cured diseases, explored previously unexplorable areas, and can now communicate with anyone on (or off) this planet within seconds.

Yet packaging still sucks. Go figure.

What's your most hated type of game packaging?

Is there a general type? Or perhaps you've had an ER-ending experience trying to pull your controller out of a blister pack?

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Daily Q: Which games were big disappointments?

Hot on the heels of yesterday's Daily Q, where I asked about games that exceeded expectations, I'm now here to find out about the other end of the gaming spectrum -- games that were utter disappointments. I know there have been a great many of them over the years, so let's hear your picks.

Which games have completely disappointed you?

These are a little bit more difficult for me to come up with off the top of my head because I usually do my best to forget such gaming experiences, but I'll give it a shot. Recently, Grand Theft Auto IV was a bit of a disappointment, because it promised so much, yet delivered what I felt was but an incremental update to the existing formula. Mass Effect, too, was hyped to the sky, but presented something far less than revolutionary. These are both decent games,...

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Daily Q: Which games exceeded your expectations?

Welcome to the late edition of the Daily Q. Today I've been thinking about videogames. More specifically, I've been thinking about really good videogames; the ones that you never expected to be as great as they ultimately were; the ones that totally exceeded expectations.

They're out there. They come along every now and then to remind us that in this industry that so often hands us let-downs and leaves us with the broken remains of our once-high hopes, there is justice and there are pleasant surprises. Those surprises are the subject of my question:

Which games have totally exceeded your expectations?

There have been quite a few to do this throughout my gaming career, so I am going to stick with the most recent pair that stand out in my mind. The first is Bioshock, which I never really got pr...

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Daily Q: What gaming moments had you going "wow"?

I finished the single player mode of GTA IV the other night and did what I usually do to unwind from a long stint with a video game...I revisit a title from my collection of video games. I decided on the original Tomb Raider for the PS1.

It brought back memories and reminded me of the "wow" factor I had when I first played it. The game setting, for its time, was huge and being able to move in a 3D world was still somewhat of a novelty. Another wow moment for me was in Final Fantasy VII where the character, Aerith, meets a fate that was certainly not expected.

And of course, my most recent "wow" factor in a game was in Grand Theft Auto IV. If the original Tomb Raider was the pioneer in an open environment where you could roam, then GTA IV has brought this concept to an art form. I was totall...

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Daily Q: Do you still use paper form game guides?

Back in the 80s, but more in the 90s, game guides were huge. Almost every game that came out was accompanied by some kind of game guide, be that official or unofficial.

If you were stuck on one of the temples in Ocarina of Time, or you wanted to get all the golden skulls in the level, the game guide would be the place to go for your inquiries. Did you want to know which monsters dropped the best gear for your character, or which ones had a weakness to lighting-based attacks in an RPG game? The game guide provided you with all of that.

In the modern age of gaming we are blessed with the internet, a series of tubes that provide us with unlimited knowledge, so it would be normal for the internet to provide us with detailed guides for every game, including unlocks, secrets, character stats, bo...

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Daily Q: Do you buy collector's editions?

On Saturday, GamerNode reported the announcement of the Fallout 3 Survival Edition by Bethesda Softworks and Amazon.com. The bundle will include a bobblehead, an art book, a DVD, and a lunch box, all for the low, low price of $120. Judgind from your comments, I would venture to guess that this particular collection isn't winning any popularity contests. But how about others?

Do you buy special/limited/collector's editions of videogames, or do you just pick up the regular retail copy?

I have been playing videogames for about 20 years now, and I can honestly say that I have never purchased a single special edition game. It just doesn't make sense to me. I'm interested in what goes in the console, and would probably ditch the box and manual if it meant getting a discount price on the game cont...

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Daily Q: What's your greatest gaming achievement?

On Saturday, I posted what I thought may very well be the greatest videogame achievement I have ever seen -- a perfect performance of Dragonforce's Through the Fire and Flames on expert difficulty in Guitar Hero III. That got me to thinking about my own gaming achievements, wondering if I have ever accomplished something even one-tenth as amazing as that guy. That led me to today's Daily Q:

What is the single greatest feat that you have accomplished in your gaming career?

I've thought about this a little bit, but I find it difficult to come up with a clear winner. Of my gaming achievements, I'm not exactly sure which are perceived as the most difficult, and none stick out like a sore thumb. I'll rack my brain for long-lost memories of glory, but for now, here are a few that I'd imagine other...

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Daily Q: What's the longest you've played at once...

It seems that some video games are timeless, and by that I mean in more ways than one. There is the facet of a timeless game being so fun and involving that it continues to survive and be talked about even long after it has arrived on the scene.

These games aren't always necessarily big sellers but they remain in the hearts of video gamers everywhere.

The other timeless aspect of these games is the effect they have on us while playing them--time literally stands still. What you though was only the passing of an hour or two suddenly turns into five, and five suddenly turns into eight.

For me, Final Fantasy X was such a game. When it first came out, I held off on playing it because I knew I would have to devote a good chunk of time. I waited till it was Christmas break and I cracked open the s...

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Daily Q: How many games do you play at a time?

I was editing my forum signature today, putting that good old "now playing" list back in there, when I got to thinking that I'm in the middle of a TON of games right now. There are so many, in fact, that it's hard for me to determine which of them even deserve to carry the title of "now playing".

Which brings me to the day's question:

How many games do you play at a time?

By this, I don't mean acting as a one-man circus of virtual reality and playing multiple games on multiple screens simulatneously. What I mean is how many games, on average, do you find yourself in the middle of, making active progress? For me it's usually no more than three, but lately it's been closer to twice that number. Honestly, though, I prefer to focus on a single game, finish it to my satisfaction, and then move ...

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Daily Q: What is too long for a cutscene?

Ever since PSW Magazine claimed that Metal Gear Solid 4 will have 90-minute cutscenes, the gaming community has been up in arms shouting a collective, "WTF?" Since then, Konami has requested that reviewers refrain from commenting on certain aspects of the game, including cutscene length, but has also denied the allegations that they are 90 minutes long.

"I'm surprised nobody has stepped forward to debunk this rumor," said Assistant Producer Ryan Payton, "There are no 90 minute cutscenes in MGS4. The ending is long, but 90 minutes is a gross exaggeration." This brings me to my question for the day:

How long is too long for a cut scene? Do you have a certain threshold for idle spectatorship, or does it not matter?

My own preference is that non-interactive cutscenes be limited as much as possi...

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Daily Q: What are you looking forward to?

I woke up thinking about LA Noire, a game I hadn't thought about in close to a year. I went around the Internets searching for some news about the game and it seems I overlooked something from only a month ago. I quickly read about Sony pulling funding from the project therefore making it no longer exclusive to the PS3. It's kind of big news and I'm sorry I brought it to you in a Daily Q but it just makes for a great segue.

What game are you looking forward to that isn't coming out this year/has no release date?

Obviously mine is LA Noire. I'm such a sucker for detective noir in films and if this game is a little more linear than say a Grand Theft Auto I will be most happy. Unfortunately we don't know when we will see this little guy. With funding pulled we could be looking at a 2010 re...

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Daily Q: What do you want from us?

Well we've made it a whole month Daily Qers. An entire month of questions that you have all answered to the best of your ability with a number 2 keyboard. Sure there were some hiccups but no one's perfect...except Brendon (he's the editor-in-chief). On the one month anniversary of this daily feature I want to mix it up. I want to hear your voices speaking out, not just speaking up.

What do you want from GamerNode?

I want to know what you think we can do better. We've been increasing our features if you haven't noticed. We've got Pro Tip, Lets Play, One Word Review, and Eddie's Column (where he does all things Eddie), and of course the Daily Q.

Do you think features are the right direction? Or can we somehow improve elsewhere? I want to know. We're doing this for you, dear readers, and ...

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