You gotta do what you gotta do. Face it Blow your interview with Edge Magazine is mad long. Most people checking CVG don't give a damn about Edge Magazine. Print is dieing for a reason. All we have as gaming journalists is hits. It's how we stay relevant, and get noticed by people in the biz like yourself. You're mad that CVG sensationalized a small portion of your interview? At least CVG's article is readable. 
Lets start with the obvious, the game was FILLED with bugs when it was released. It's clear New Vegas was rushed in order to make it's release date. Bethesda figured they'd release a broken game and fix it through downloadable patches as times goes on. They promised patches would come the following week, it's been 2 months and they're starting to show up. As I'm writing this I'm still not sure the 360 or PC versions has received patches yet.
I lost well over 50 hours due to the bugs in New Vegas. One instance occurred when the game froze while it was autosaving. There was nothing I could have done to prevent that besides manually saving before I walked into the Lucky 38 Hotel. The result of that was a CORRUPT file that refused to load. I ended up with a few corrupt files in my journey through the Mojave Wastleland. It's frustrating to be reintroduced to characters and places I've already met and explored. Sure the ability to change the way I approach any situation is refreshing, but it would have been better if I could have done it with a new game as opposed to making up for corrupted saves.
The story to New Vegas was also a disappointment. New Vegas' story is longer than Fallout 3's, but it ends abruptly. I'm not going to spoil it, but if the story kept going it would have made more sense. The ending to the game made me feel like most of the work I had put into the game was pointless. I felt like I was doing busy work for most of the time.
I had the opportunity of meeting Hip Hop Gamer at a Playstation Move Event in Boston and we chopped it up. We talked about videogames and even filmed a few moments together as we tried out the Playstation Move. I was already a fan, but now I know how cool the guy is in person. Then the problem showed up.
I had a front page story on Bitmob back in August about the racism in Mafia II. I spoke up about it after I realized nobody else was saying anything. I figured it was mostly due to both politics, and the racial majority in the gaming industry not being offended by the content. I decided to ask Hip Hop Gamer, a minority in the gaming industry, what he thinks about the situation via Twitter. A day or two goes by with no response. I figured he's a popular guy and didn't see my question. No harm no foul. I then discovered the song "Mafia Music" by Hip Hop Gamer in support of Mafia II. I guess I got his response.
I'm not saying he should agree with my view, but I was interested to know why he supported a game that refers to African Americans as "Moolies." I went back to Twitter and asked him about the song. I grew frustrated after not hearing anything back from the guy and said something along the lines that only a b*tch wouldn't respond to my question. You can see the response I got from the Hip Hop Gamer on the picture to the left. I get that I might have been out of line by calling him a b*tch, but why respond to that and not the actual issue? It was clear he wasn't going to answer my question, so I just decided to drop the whole situation.
Fast forward to a month later. I began to get excited about Pax East 2011 and logged on Twitter to express my thoughts. I said I wanted to do things differently than I did this year. In 2010 I had the opportunity of meeting a few personalities in the gaming industry at Pax East which was cool, but next year I want interviews with these people. I mentioned the Hip Hop Gamer's name in the tweet, and he replies. "You talk sh*t now you want an interview. Step Ya Game Up, and I'll think about it." I took that as an insult to the almost 2 years of writing I've done as a blogger. I might not have the fans, but I'm working hard at my craft. I decided to challenged him to a Freestyle Rap Battle since he's too hot for an interview.
Hip Hop Gamer is a man of many talents. He's a rapper with many songs on Youtube. One song he has is "60 Seconds." The line "If you want to battle. let's battle you can't get rid of me" stuck out to me like a sore thumb. I decided to see if this so called rapper practices what he preaches. I told him I'll put up $500 dollars if he does the same for a battle at Pax East 2011. Once again he get's quiet on Twitter again. I begin to poke jokes at Hip Hop Gamer as a way of showing that I'm serious. I guess he decided he was too important, and blocked me on Twitter.
I recorded a song titled "Psycho Sid" to get Hip Hop Gamers attention. One could call it a diss, but I call it a challenge. "$500 says I'll Beat You in a Battle" is repeated at the end of the song to make sure my intentions were clear. I'm sure he's heard the song by now, but I'm still waiting on his response. Remaining silent says a lot about his character. It says he's a fake rapper that's scared to battle some kid from Boston. My challenge is all in the name of friendly competition, and he has the opportunity of making $500 dollars if he wins. Maybe he can't rap at all, and knows he'll lose $500 dollars if he battles me. The offer is still on the table, and I'm still waiting for his response.
What does the Hip Hop Gamer's presence in the gaming industry say about the industries view of African Americans? It says that you have to fit the image of what the gaming industry thinks an African American should be. You have to be "Hip Hop" which I guess means wearing durags, bad writing, and an attitude that you're better than other African Americans. What kind of example does that set for the younger generation that looks up to you? I want to be the next Hip Hop Gamer so I'll just focus on being a likable stereotype at gaming conventions, as opposed to working on my craft to be the best journalist. If that's what the gaming industry wants then I signed up for the wrong sport.
Of all the games released in 2010 I don't think of Alan Wake as being a standout. It might stand out for taking five years to be developed, but that gets out shined by Gran Turismo 5. During Alan Wake's five years in devlopment many gamers had forgotten about it. Gamers never forgot about Gran Turismo 5, and were actually looking forward to playing it. The only time I saw Alan Wake on anyones most anticipated list was when someone was trying to remind gamers it wasn't cancelled.
"Lots of video-game covers have a bold M on their lower left corner, but none have felt as mature as Alan Wake does."
That sounds like a profile of Harry Mason, the main character from Silent Hill. It's clear Silent Hill had a huge influence on Alan Wake. The intro to Alan Wake is so similar to Silent Hill, I had trouble believing it wasn't a remake. Speaking of remakes that whole walking around with a flashlight thing was used a year earlier in Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. 
It's a 2 hour commercial.
The Gaming Industry has no personality. 
I get that the awards show is an outlet to promote upcoming games for the following year, but December isn't the right time. Sure it's the best time to give out Game of the Year Awards, but the trailers should just stay on the Internet where they belong. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised by the Forza 4 announcement, but everything else was leaked before the show. I knew about Unchared 3, SSX, and many others before the fact. That's no cool. The awards show should come the week of E3 and be held in the same place as the convention. That way there's a bigger audience, more upcoming game announcements, and better performers. Past E3's have seen Eminem, Jay-Z, Method Man & Redman, and others perform.
After watching this mess it makes me wonder how the gaming industry sees it's consumers. It's clear there's a gap in front of gamers and the industry itself. Sure the gaming industry knows how to keep us entertained, but does it know how to represent us? Watching this show I don't think it does. Black Ops proved the gaming industry is bigger than the movie industry, but what good is that if nobody can represent it? The gaming industry needs more people out there representing it.
Soulja Boy is the first artist from the Internet to become a success in the music industry. The ability to watch his career from his the days of walking aimlessly around WalMart to riding a Lamborghini chain speaks volumes to me. He introduced me to the black diamonds trend that was in before the diamond encrusted bottom teeth. Soulja Boy is rocking canary diamonds now and they are oh so pretty. Justin Bieber even showed respect by making a song with him. We'll probably never see it performed live, but it exists. Which direction Soulja Boy's career is going next is anybody's guess.
Some speculate his scandal involving Kat Stacks was the beginning of the end for Soulja Boy's career. Pretty Boy Swag was hot, but it wasn't exactly a hit outside of Atlanta. Nothing wrong with that. He could do shows in the South and Midwest once his career slows down. Maybe the Kat Stacks scandal was a blessing in disguise. Kat Stacks is allegedly getting deported back to Venezula, and is also allegedly pregnant with Soulja Boy's child. Do I smell a marriage? Kat Stacks did say she wanted to be with a boss. Ha, but if Soulja Boy is to fail then they'd both be off the radar which would make the haters happy. All he needs is that hit single.
The journey will become clearer after his third album The DeAndre Way is in stores November 30. How many fans are going to support this album? His last album iSouljaBoyTellEm sold less than 50,000 units first week and eventually sold over 250,000 units. Not exactly the platinum sales of his first album SouljaBoyTellEm.com. He was doomed to be a one hit wonder with his single "Crank That," but he has a powerful friend, YouTube. He used it to fight his record labels, Interscope Records, decision to promote the single Bird Walk by promoting his song "iDance." The single never took off, but you can see the drive Soulja Boy had to win. With disappointing first week sales haters were certain Soulja Boy would be remembered as a one hit wonder. That was when Soulja Boy went in with a Kiss. "Kiss Me Thru The Phone" featuring Sammy became a hit single peaking at #3 on the Hot 100. The single went on to sell over 2 million digital downloads. He followed that up with the top 20 hit "Turn My Swag On" which he premiered in a video on YouTube of his first platinum plaque. Was this moment the peak of Soulja Boy's career?
He's still a force in the rap game. He's got over 2.4 million followers on Twitter which is not too shabby. He's starring in a movie directed by Nick Cannon that's expected to be released next year. He also has a book titled Teenage Millionaire that is expected to be released the same day as his album. I'm interested in grabbing a copy to see what the young entrepreneur has to say for himself. Wherever Soulja Boy's career is going he'll always have YouTube to document the journey. Kids might one day be studying his YouTube videos for college courses. Maybe they'll inspire the next success story that's out there. The Internet is a blessing. Soulja Boy proved that.
The time spent playing as Ratchet & Clank individually really tested my patience. The series is not the same playing as either Ratchet or Clank. You start off playing as Clank which was beyond annoying for me. I did not enjoy Clank's missions of recording movements, and playing with Clank's time wand. I'd rather listen to Clank's jokes and have him there whenever I need to platform with Ratchet. Ratchet would not be a gaming superstar without Clank. He can use the coolest weapons, but his movement without Clank is strange. He can't jump as high or stay in the air as long without Clank. I could not stand A Quest for Booty because you spend the game platforming without Clank. It's not that much fun.
Once Ratchet & Clank get together the game really takes off. I found myself using the Buzz Blades a lot. I really liked that weapon. If used properly the Buzz Blades are a good way of preventing enemies from shooting at you. They're too busy worried about the sharp blades cutting them in every direction to do anything else. The story is still funny and entertaining after all of these sequels which is impressive. All that said I still think Tools of Destruction is the best R&C adventure on the PlayStation 3. The amount of time I had enjoying A Crack in Time was shorter than it was on Tools of Destruction. By the time Ratchet & Clank finally meet up in A Crack in Time the characters are talking about "ending this" implying the game is about to end. I was lost in Tools of Destruction before it ended. By the time I beat it I had to play through it again to really enjoy it. I tried to restart A Crack In Time, and after a long cut scene I realized I had to play as Clank again. No thank you.
I blame it on this motion control craze that's sweeping over the Xbox 360 and the PS3. Sony & Microsoft are trying to profit from the casual audience Nintendo has banking off since 2006. They got so caught up in adding motion controls they forgot about the hardcore gamers, much like what Nintendo did with the Wii. Microsoft's presentation of Kinect at E3 consisted of a bunch of casual games that could be found on the Wii, and Dance Central. Sony is hoping the September release of the PS Move proves to be a success by bundling it with "Sports Champions" which looks like Wii Sports HD. I'm already bored.
It's not all bad. 2011 is also shaping up to be an excellent year in gaming. Off the top I can name Dead Space 2, Batman: Arkham City, Gears of War 3, Mortal Kombat, and Madden 2012. We just have to deal with an abysmal 2010 holiday season. Microsoft is dropping Halo: Reach in two weeks so they'll be all right. Sony is hoping we all buy a PlayStation Move so we can replay games with motion controls. It worked with Resident Evil 4 on the Wii, but will I want to play Heavy Rain with the PS Move? Probably.
The game is also homophobic. Every other word out of these assholes mouths is "Cocksucker" and "Fag." It's disgusting. People are out here fighting for equal rights, and this game comes a long and thinks it's the shit. Fuck you Mafia II.
You really thought you were going to get away with putting this out? Saying it was the 40's doesn't excuse the conscious decision to focus on the segregated aspects of American life we try so hard to move on from. Get with the times 2K.
