It's the Holiday Season. Where are the games?

Labor Day Weekend is approaching in the United States which signals the end of the summer. I use this time to get my checklist ready for the upcoming holiday season of gaming. The holiday season is the best time to be a gamer. After a summer of mediocre titles and downloadable content, gamers are blessed with the return of awesome games. Last year we saw Uncharted 2, Demon's Souls, Borderlands, Assassin's Creed 2, and many other games that made the 2009 holiday season great. This year the only games I have on my radar are Fallout: New Vegas and LittleBigPlanet 2. Am I missing something?

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 Racism in Mafia II

Mafia II takes place during a time when segregation was a norm in American Society. The developers of Mafia II use that time to exploit many racist views and ideas throughout the story. I felt uneasy as I was asked to steal a car from what Vito Scaletta refers to as a "moolie" neighborhood. I was uncomfortable listening to Joe describe how all blacks do is smoke dope and kill each other as I drove around Empire City. I had to tell myself "It's the 40's" to rationalize the insensitivity. When I found myself repeating that phrase over and over I knew there was a problem.

One of the more offensive moments happened when I was shooting my way through a restaurant in Chinatown. After successfully killing every last Chinese person in the place I received the achievement "Chop Chop!" I was disgusted. The name "Chop Chop" is a reference to a comic book character from the 40's and 50's. His image was that of a stereotypical Chinese caricature as you can see in the picture on the right. It's just insulting to for a game to take pride in killing a bunch of characters then rewarding the player with a shout out to an offensive character.

The racism in Mafia II is not necessary. Red Dead Redemption focuses on an earlier time in American History and manages to do it without being offensive. The game brings us to Mexico and embraces the culture as it tells us a story. If we let a game like Mafia II slide it's only going to open the door for more offensive games. What's going to stop the next game that's set in the 40's and 50's from being offensive? Before we know it we could end up with another Ethnic Cleansing on our hands.

Letter to the Hip Hop Gamer

Mafia II is the most racist game I've ever played. A product of this nature coming from an industry that is predominately white makes me question why nobody has spoken up. I figured I'd ask the Hip Hop Gamer how he feels about The Situation. After a day without a response I discovered he made a song in support of Mafia II. How is the only black journalist in the gaming industry going to support this racist mess? Mafia Music? You and I both know your not Vito Scaletta. You have to be Italian or Sicilian which is a requirement to join according to the blurb I read on a Load Screen.

I've been trying to talk to this guy on Twitter, and he won't answer me back. The only response I get from the guy is:

Like it or not you are the only black voice in the gaming industry. When something racial shows up people are going to look at you to see what you have to say. You've got to speak up. If you don't you're avoiding the issue in support of a racist agenda. It makes you look like a coon.

Mafia II is Unacceptable

 I see why UNICO didn't want Mafia II to hit store shelves. I thought it was due to the stereotypical aspects of Italian-Americans, but after playing the game I find that every character in the game is  a stereotype.  It's disgusting. There's a prison scene in the game. I was disgusted to discover that there were only black people in the jail. I looked at the other gate and realized every race was segregated. Who want's to remember times like that? Racists.

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.

It's also sexist. It leaves Playboy Centerfolds from the stone age scattered around the city for you to find. When you open it you see a beautiful white woman's breast and buttocks. When we get a prison shower scene we get guys showering with their underwear on. That's a double standard.

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.

Poke Mania: The Aftermath

Poke Mania had reached a peak in my life, but was far from over. I couldn't stand the sight of Pokemon cards. I couldn't stand the sight of anything to be honest. I remember feeling so ashamed as I emptied out hundreds of Pokemon cards from my pockets. It changed me. I tried to distance myself from the dumb things my friends would do. The easiest way to avoid all of it was to stay in the house. I began to watch the show.

I used to watch it whenever it was on, but I began to watch it religiously. If I wasn't up by 10:00am on Saturday my weekend was ruined. Those were the days lol. I remember I saw a commercial for the game Pokemon Yellow. I began to think of my friends at school who would play Pokemon Red & Blue all the time. They looked like they were having fun, so why shouldn't I? Well for starters I didn't own a GameBoy. I saw an ad in the paper for the Limited Edition Pokemon Yellow GameBoy Color going on sale for the holiday season. I knew what I was asking Santa for Christmas.

I was skeptical about whether or not I was on Santa's naughty list after that whole mall incident, but I figured I wouldn't know unless I tried. Christmas came, and Santa came through. Boy was I a happy camper that morning as I began my adventure with Pikachu in Pokemon Yellow. I then realized that the Pokemon series was a role playing game which I despised. I was shocked. I thought I did more than tell the Pokemon what to do. I decided to give the game a shot, and I'm happy I did. I stopped watching the show not long after that. I became determined to catch all 151 Pokemon. I managed to do it in about a month. (Here's how: http://bit.ly/auPz9c)

It's February 2000 at this point and I'm learning about the new Pokemon Gold & Silver version. There was word that 100 new Pokemon had been added bringing the # of Pokemon to 251. I found out the game had been released in Japan that past November and wasn't due in the US until the upcoming fall. I was determined to play the game as a result. I wanted to be the first kid in my school to see these new Pokemon. I went to Ebay.

Remember how I told you I had a paper route back then? I still had it, and I saved up to buy imported copies of Pokemon Gold & Silver. The first seller I saw had both games for about 50 dollars. I won the auction, sent him the money, and never heard from him again. Salted. I was more determined than ever to play these games as a result. I found another auction a few weeks later and won. I sent my money and waited a week. Nothing showed up. A week to a 12 year old is like a month. It was brutal. I felt defeated after 10 days went by and nothing showed up. I began to lose hope. The next day my aunt tells me I have a package. I almost cried I was so happy. I Pokemon Gold & Silver 7 months before any of my friends at school did. Sure they all clowned me because I couldn't read Japanese, but I didn't care. I was able to navigate my way through the 16 badges and the Elite 5 so it wasn't so bad. Besides everybody knows the story stays pretty much the same.

I had thought Poke Mania had left my system, but the truth is it had evolved. What started as a trading card fad evolved into a passion for a video game franchise. Pokemon is the reason why I've owned a GameBoy Color, GameBoy Advanced, and a Nintendo DS. I could give up the trading cards and the show, but I could never give up the games. I used to keep my love for the series on the low because of my crazy past, but I don't care. I still have Poke Mania. Gotta Catch em All.

Poke Mania

Poke Mania was a time in the late 1990's when children of all ages became obsessed with Pokemon.  You knew someone who watched the show, battled with trading cards, or traded their Geodude for a Kadabra on their GameBoy's if you were a kid. It was everywhere.

I fell in love with the trading cards first. My card collection began after we stole a few cards from some kids we were trading with. This evolved into going to stealing packs Pokemon cards pretty fast. We were on the bus heading to the mall in about a week.

We would start at Sam Goody where they left  packs of Pokemon cards  on the front counter. I'd go to the music section and start acting crazy. My friend would grab some Pokemon cards and bounce. That's how I ended up listening to the Slim Shady LP now that I think about it, but that's another story. Sorry Eminem.  I had a paper route at the time, so the option of buying packs of cards was there. Pokemon cards always looked better when I got them for free. There's a certain shine to a stolen 1st Edition Holographic Charizrd that a purchased one doesn't have.  We got to the point where we got tired of stealing individual packs. It was time to graduate to booster boxes.

A booster box contains 36 packs of Pokemon cards which equals some really huge pockets for the dummies who steal them. If you're ready to graduate you better have a plan. My friend and I were walking around Waldenbooks when we realized they keep Booster Boxes in the front display. Why not sneak behind the registers and grab one? We grabbed a box and headed for the escalators. The rush started kicking in. We knew we had some nice cards we could either sell or trade with people. We've got all of these cards. Why not get some more? We headed back to Waldenbooks to grab another Booster Box. We were sloppy this time around. We were spotted running to the escalators with a box of Pokemon cards in out hands. I was far more concerned with finding out which holographic cards were in each pack. We walked around the mall opening packs of Pokemon Cards. Twenty minutes later we're walking around the mall with pockets full of 72 packs of open Pokemon cards. We headed for the bus stop outside, As the bus pulled up we were stopped by 2 security guards who asked us to empty our pockets.  Busted.

G.O.O.D Friday's

Kanye hasn't tweeted much since his "G.O.O.D. Friday's" tweets. He declared that he will drop a new song every Friday until Christmas. That's a bold statement for an artist with a new album (Dark Twisted Fantasy) due November 16th, and a performance at the 2010 VMA's. Call me a pessimist, but I'm not sure the upcoming Fridays are going to be as good as Kanye claims.

In Kanye's defense, he's had a good track record with dropping songs he tweets about. He promised a new song on Angie's show, and the next day the world was vibin to "See Me Now." There was also the release of the Power remix. He tweeted it was coming on a Friday and it did. It might have been a week after the Friday he claimed, but it's all good. You can't rush greatness.


That's my problem. You can't rush greatness. I listen to the Power Remix, and it's too much. All Kanye had to do was add new verses to the structure of the song, and it would have been a wrap. I was expecting Jay on the first verse, then Kanye spazzing on the next two. Case closed. Jay-Z's fire verse gets interrupted by the chorus and a new spin on the part of the original version I couldn't understand. Jay-Z kills his verse, then Kanye kills the second verse. It really is an inspirational song. Is that John Legend singing in the background? I do like the way the original beat sounds different. This song is feeling like an official remix.

Then Swizz Beatz shows up. Why? It seems Swizz Beats new thing is he produces a five minute song for about 2 minutes. He did it on Drake's song "Fancy," and he does it here. It seems to be working. He's got Kanye tweeting that Swizz Beats is the best producer of all time. I don't know about that, but Kanye does go in on the Swizz Beats track. This song is a DJ's dream right here. Let's ignore the remixes by Jae Millz, Young Jeezy, and others to just play verses from Kanye West and Jay-Z. Sounds like a party to me. Overall I give the song an 8 for the lyrics and overall message.

I can't give the song a 10 because I've been on a really chill vibe with my music lately. Even since I heard "Shades" by Diddy featuring Lil Wayne and Justin Timberlake, it's been on repeat. It's been my party and hangover music. This song is infectious. I'm listening to it right now. I've been sipping Ciroc Red Berry as a result. That probably explains why I'm so broke.