“The Bandwagon Effect is a well documented form of groupthink in behavioral science and has many applications. The general rule is that conduct or beliefs spread among people, as fads and trends clearly do, with “the probability of any individual adopting it increasing with the proportion who have already done so”.As more people come to believe in something, others also “hop on the bandwagon” regardless of the underlying evidence. The tendency to follow the actions or beliefs of others can occur because individuals directly prefer to conform, or because individuals derive information from others. Both explanations have been used for evidence of conformity in psychological experiments. For example, social pressure has been used to explain Asch’s conformity experiments, and information has been used to explain Sherif’s autokinetic experiment.

When individuals make rational choices based on the information they receive from others, economists have proposed that information cascades can quickly form in which people decide to ignore their personal information signals and follow the behavior of others. Cascades explain why behavior is fragile—people understand that they are based on very limited information. As a result, fads form easily but are also easily dislodged. Such informational effects have been used to explain political bandwagons.”

Thanks Wikipedia <3

Note the first sign.

We’ve all seen this in action so many times before. When a team catches a hot streak at the right time everyone suddenly a fan of said team. Stadiums are full and once cheap tickets are now super expensive. If you want to see it in everyday life look at all the ‘new’ Yankees or Giants fans (sorry, I’ve never been a big football guy, but I did like the Chargers in the Junior Seau days) that pop up whenever the team is competing for the c’hip (or championship). For the purposes of this article, I’ll use three really good examples: The Miami Heat once they signed Chris Bosh and Lebron, The L.A. Clippers once they got Chris Paul and Chauncey Billups and the Golden State Warriors when they made that incredible play off run that produced highlights such as this.

After that dunk, Warriors tickets became the new thing for everyone. The Clippers are currently going through the same thing. This phenomenon is not just limited to sports, or politics, it also extends into the gaming world. Allow me to give you some background before I rage the hell out.

In fighting games picking a character is a much like picking a tool box. There are different tools in each of them for different situations, but they all serve the purpose of winning the match for your character. In most competitive games (especially fighters) people tend to pick their characters, teams, weapons, etc in usually one of three ways.

The first type of player picks by character loyalty. This means they simply like the character design so much that they play as that fighter/race/whatever for that reason alone. These people will usually use the same character over the course of multiple installments of a game. It’s like those die hard sports fans who like their team even if they’re horrible or someone who likes a band that everyone thinks is terrible. The second type of people pick their character based on whether the character-in-question’s play style fits in with their current skill level. For example, in my early Street Fighter IV days, starting off with a complex character like C.Viper wasn’t a good idea because at the time I didn’t have the execution required to play her effectively. This skill-based approach to choosing also leads them to experiment with other characters after they get to a certain level of proficiency with their main character. The third and final type are the people who pick characters because they are easier to win with, or ‘high tier’ ones, meaning they have attributes that outrank a considerable number of characters in the roster. While this may seem shameless, it is in fact a valid strategy. In the end, the game is about winning, so you pick whoever gives you the best chance of winning.

Teaching them early, huh pal?

With that said, you’d think things would be pretty cut and dry, right? No, they aren’t. In fact, there is a fourth shadow group no one wants to admit they are a part of. The assholes are called the bandwagoners. These are the people who I despise the most. “But Phire”, you ask, “Why all the hate towards the bandwagon?” Simply put, for the fact that these are the same people who, to use a fighter as an example, will talk about how bad your character is, how weak/low-tier they are and how you need to switch them. However, if something changes or new tech is found, they’ll jump on that character too and talk about how good they are with everyone else. Of course, if you confront them, they will deny they ever said anything negative about them and claim that they had “played them before”. Come on. It’s like they just saw the ugly girl from High School hit her stride, become hot and they’re the first in line, claiming they always had a crush on her.

No one was there for these days in Vanilla 4 or Super Turbo.

Why am I bringing this up now? Well since I started playing the SFIV series I’ve watched my Cammy develop from an ’0-2 and out’ champion to something actually kind of dangerous. With the new 2012 patch, Cammy is no longer nerfed to hell. I remember in the original Arcade Edition when they took her dive kick I was about to commit seppuku and find a new main (had my mind set on Yun at the time) but I decided to stick it out with her, and my patience paid off becuase now, I like the way she plays. But now I’m seeing Cammy players popping up EVERYWHERE claiming to have a good one, which 90% of the time they really don’t. They lose to characters that they should be beating, and when fighting against Cammy they lose horribly. Playing online, I tend to win the mirror matches because 80% of the time I know what I’m looking for, what to watch out for, I’m not doing anything stupid, because I know how she works. This is the main problem with bandwagoners, because they really don’t understand the character they’re choosing. They will see videos, or watch some matches and say “Oh man that’s so cheap, I want to do that too!”. So they practice that set of moves, go out to try, then lose to high level players who know their bandwagon character is fraudulent or they lose via being counter-picked because they have NO match up experience.

Even he wasn't safe from Bandwagon fans after death.

Having beaten several ‘Cammy’ players far worse than I should have, in situations that wouldn’t have happened (like misjudging her drill distance) if these people actually knew her well enough to call their play style ‘unique’(which most bandwagoners do by default) we wouldn’t have this problem. I personally feel that people should just pick either what they like, or what they are most comfortable with and just play the game. I think it would make for a better game overall because we’d have more diversity rather than cookie cutter clones of a particular character and play style. Newsflash: This ultimately serves you and the community no purpose, because you aren’t choosing a character you’re invested in, you’re just trending. However, this may be part of a larger problem as a whole with players who aren’t willing to do any work to win popping up in large numbers. I’ll examine that next time.

"The time has come for Nintendo to stop playing it safe."

Super Mario 3D Land was supposed to be the one “killer app” that the Nintendo 3DS needed to help spur sales. With many already questioning the systems longevity and use in the homes of gamers (with their short term memory spans neglecting the fact that the Nintendo DS suffered from a paltry line up for its first year), it seemed like the first exclusive title that would usher in a longer line of not only new purchases, but new titles to go alongside it within the coming months and years. I mean, what’s not to love about a new Mario game? Not much really, though somehow that “not much” seems like a bit “too much” this time around.

Now let me say this straight out of the gate: by no means is Super Mario 3D Land a despicable or even a poor release. What Nintendo managed to do well, was done to the typical standards that we’ve all come to love. This new 3D world that Mario inhabits works on a number of levels, most notably the 3D effect. Not once does anything feel obnoxiously overdone. Actually, it seems somewhat downplayed on most occasions. There are instances in which there’s a depth perception utilized in terms of floating down slowly to platforms that are moving below Mario, or even some pipe sequences in which he can duck around and behind some blocks that pop out in 3D. It’s not a grand spectacle, but they are little bits added into the gameplay that feel not only natural, but almost as if it’s supposed to have been this way since the beginning of time. The music is serviceable, though the homages to older tunes, and the newer ones featured are nothing groundbreaking, nor memorable in the least.

It’s everything else that manages to feel either too familiar, too safe, to clumsy or too easy. The one longstanding issue that has plagued all Mario games in general is its ease in difficulty and ease in acquiring extra lives. Not even past the first world, I had nearly thirty lives and only lost one of those lives. On World 7 and died maybe eight times and have over eighty lives and counting. The challenges thrown out by 3D Land are laughable, even with the overly abused gimmicks, such as small platforms above instant death pits. The bosses make the sub castle mini-bosses in Super Mario Bros. 3 seem unstoppable. There’s really nothing holding even the most novice players back from running through 3D Land virtually unscathed….

….and running through players will. This might be the shortest traditional Mario title I have played since Super Mario Land. Each world almost ends as soon as it begins, and with just eight worlds in total, there’s little content provided. Defeating the game opens up a sorta remixed batch of “Special” stages, which add next to nothing in terms of legitimate content. Many of the stages available are near blatant retreads of what has been conquered already. Even the advent of Luigi doesn’t help refresh the notion that there’s a lack of fully fleshed content.

There are eight slots in each world, which one would think would mean that there are eight stages per world. Not the case here, as most of these worlds only have five playable stages, including the castle at the very end. Sometimes players will come across a Toad house that will provide them a meager power up, which usually isn’t the most viable choice for the stage coming up. Then there are a few question mark box stages that are opened up via star coins collected. Some worlds will open a new stage up, while others will provide some flimsy minigame like stage that ends almost as soon as it begins.

To be honest, these stages are not as creative as one would expect from such an illustrious franchise. Even the power ups are nothing special. The Tanooki Mario powerup lacks a statue transformation until the game is completed once and the special stage opens up. There’s still a lack of flight ability granted, but then again, with how embarrassingly easy the game turned out to be, the point seems moot. Star Mario seems like it’s designated mostly for the bonus areas found in certain stages, where hopping onto a rainbow musical note block sends Mario into the clouds. The Fire Mario poweup remains the unchanged, immaculate ability that it always has been. Then there’s Boomerang Mario, which is a take on my all-time favorite powerup, Hammer Bros. Mario from the third installment. The boomerangs move quite slow, and they seem to be as rare as the Hammer Bros. suit.

I wouldn’t mind so much if the stages were a bit longer, but they are mostly brief, with zero incentive to return, unless a star coin was not obtained previously. If these were all bit sized levels, but doubled in  terms of the number available to the game, then that oversight could be forgiven, however these are all miniscule, not entirely creative stages that don’t really challenge anyone that comes through them.

Then there’s that one aspect to a Mario game that never seems to falter – the controls. I really can’t chalk this up as a discomfort of using the circle pad to manipulate Mario as opposed to a traditional analog stick, but the controls do not feel as tight as they should feel. There are more awkward acceleration and deceleration moments, and just an overall feeling of disconnection between my commands and Mario’s actions. They still work, but they are not as refined as any other 2D or 3D Mario release.

By no means is Super Mario 3D Land a flop – the Mario charm is still there, as well as the colorful world that he inhabits. It’s just that the rest seems phoned in. Nintendo did manage to have the 3D effects as an augmentation to the visual design and gameplay as a whole, however the controls are not as refined as they should have been, the content is way too paltry, the difficulty is non existent and there’s little reason to replay any stage. While Super Mario 3D Land did provide an experience that does show off what 3D can add to a game, it seems like that took away from further fleshing out all of the aspects to the game. If you’re really jonesing for some Mario gameplay on the 3DS, I say stick to New Super Mario Bros. for the time being, and once 3D Land drops in price, then take that leap into the third dimension.

Rating: 7.0

In January of 2012 I found a game on Steam called Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon by Vicious Cycle Software. One of my friends previously owned the game on console and was raving about it nonstop, so I thought I would give it a try. Well, after trying it out for myself, let me say that I am both surprised and disappointed. What surprised me the most was how good the combat actually was. Honestly, I was really expecting nothing more than another rehashed modern day arcade shooter. Instead, what I received was a 3rd-person shooter that allowed me the unexpected freedom to navigate and shoot in a limited open-world environment. Another great thing about the game is the way the story was presented. In terms of atmosphere, one of the best things about this game was the fact that It made me feel like I was in the middle of a Science Fiction B-movie from the 60′s.

Another thing I definitely I liked about the game was the fact that it wasn’t a hallway shooter filled with 5 minutes of game play broken up by cutscenes after each objective. Each level in EDF:IA is huge, fully destructible, and open ended enough that I was able to change and go through different routes to accomplish the same goal. These three factors add more to the game in terms of tactics than any other modern shooter, making this game more than just a ‘simple’ arcade shooter.Customization with each of the classes was another thing I enjoyed. There are 4 classes to choose from: Jet Armor, Tactical Armor, Trooper Armor, and Battle Armor. Each class has their own upgrade system and weapons that can be used, with a ton of weapons for each that you can unlock by two methods: Playing the game and leveling up, or by earning credits that can be spent to unlock more weapons. Like any game with classes, each has pros and cons, so choosing the right weapon for the job is not only crucial, but the differences between them adds replay value. That plus the endless amount of color pallets and weapon combinations add so much variety that each time you play through the game, you can without looking the same way twice.

But, for each good thing the game does, there are a few equally bad things that take away from it.

As much as I enjoyed it, one thing I found disappointing was the overall length of the game. At 3 chapters long, I was done with the entire game in 5 hours and it left me wanting more, especially since the game is a bit light on the story. To the average player, 5 hours might not seem long enough, but one play through of a level takes about 10-20 minutes depending on how good you are at the game and the difficulty chosen. These missions have no checkpoints to speak of and rely on your lives, so as long as at least one partner is alive you can revive each other endlessly. If all team members are dead, that is Game Over and you have to start from the beginning of the mission. On top of that, reload times tend to take a bit longer (even with the fast reload option) so if a weapon you are using has only 5 shots, then you need to make sure you can find some cover or dodge long enough to reload and start firing again.

Some people may consider the AI of the enemies to be too easy, but it’s the sheer amount of them (numbering in hundreds) that makes them a daunting enemy. Another disappointment from the game is the online play, and while you can read what ExpertPenguin thought about the console version, I am not sure how populated it is at this moment. I do know that right now, it is difficult to find a game online, and with some games having cross platform play, it makes you wonder why the creators didn’t consider it an option. Starting a co-op game from scratch, I was able to make it through the entire first chapter without running into anyone else. Perhaps having the option to search for other players on the 360/PS3 can make its way into the sequel?

All in all, Earth Defense Force : Insect Armageddon is a fun fast paced 3rd person shooter that brings a bunch of new ideas to the table in the shooter genre. It has a ton of action, high replay value, and is one of those games you can play with several friends in local or online multiplayer, as long as you have a spare pad laying around, or were lucky enough to bump into a few soldiers online. Happy gaming!

Rating: 7.0

I played the first EDF and I lamented at how weak the mulitplayer was in that version. It supported no online play of any kind, but as a local split-screen game, it was just the type of simple, arcade fun that you would need between days of grinding out combos in Street Fighter, or just from dealing with any other similarly complex titles. My first look at this game was during PAX East and I was instantly excited for its release. I instantly fell in love with the new Heavy armor class, as large machine guns and explosives are a fast way to win my undying love, and the new online multiplayer, supporting not just two, but up to four players at the same time Most of the details about the game have been covered in the previous review, so with no further ado we’ll jump right into my thoughts on the multiplayer experience!

Seeing how I received this game pretty late in its cycle, a couple of my CL teammates already had the game and were up for blasting some bugs with me. This is great, as the game seems to come alive when you’re not dealing with some AI drones. When you can instead coordinate attacks and focus your combined firepower on the same target things become a million times easier. The only thing I don’t like is having multiple players use the same suit in battle. I feel having two battle suits walking around detracts a little bit from the overall experience because the armors share a similar control scheme, but have different play styles that can be useful on their own. It creates a situation where you’ll have two players playing the same way, with the same weapons, and with no real new techniques being shown off. The weapon balance is spread between the classes like this on purpose to encourage variety, and sharing the same weaknesses makes some stages a bit harder to complete than others. If there’s any problem I really had with this system, it’s like Geekboi mentioned earlier, that the checkpointing system is a bit unforgiving. Most of these levels take 20-30 minutes to finish, and if all players are dead, it requires a start to the very beginning of the stage. If anyone on your team is ill equipped, it can make the levels feel tedious at best and an endless grind at worst.

The net code seems solid for the job as well. As my team and I ran through the campaign, we weren’t thrown off by any slow down, and there were no hiccups to speak of. Survival mode is where we started to encounter problems though, and with 3 players in the room, things became a little bit dicey as the screen filled with enemies. we experienced some slowdown as things got hectic, but other than that? They hammered themselves out just fine.I also experienced a strange bug regarding how the game saves itself. I have backed out to the loadout screen from the pause menu more than only to have all my progress lost. It happened even when I quit to the main menu as well. I don’t know if this was a glitch they’re planning to patch or what, but going solo through 5 levels in this game tough enough. To lose it and start all over again is needlessly frustrating.

Overall, I give this game an 8 out of 10. The save hiccups were annoying and there were some slowdown issues, but it wasn’t enough to make the game unplayable, or any less fun. This is definitely worth a playthrough.

Rating:8.0

Fans of the popular Legends franchise, Pocket Legends and Star Legends, will discover a gameplay evolution in Dark Legends that draws them even deeper into the experience. The combat system delivers fast paced, action oriented gameplay that includes new mechanics such as charge attacks and the ability to drain enemies. A wide breadth of solo and multiplayer content will also be available.

The most significant change is a much deeper focus on narrative. In addition to story communicated during the 3D multiplayer missions, players will periodically be given the option to complete quick action missions with a single tap. These missions use brief cut scenes to create an interactive storybook, where players experience the life of a vampire up-close and personal.

The company’s goal for Dark Legends is to combine casual, strategic advancement content with their award winning real-time 3D multiplayer system to create a blend of gameplay never before seen.

“With each entry to the Legends franchise we raise the bar for the pick-up-and-play MMO space,” said Gary Gattis, CEO, Spacetime Studios. “The changes between Pocket Legends and Star Legends were significant, but Dark Legends is a quantum leap forward in interactive storytelling. Live the dark fantasy and play anywhere, anytime, anyone!”

Dark Legends opens with the player recently raised and under the direction of the vampire that sired them. The secret existence of vampires has been exposed and angry, misguided humans are uniting to exterminate the undead plague by any means necessary. Players must work with their clan to survive this brutal new world.

The previous Legends titles, fantasy Pocket Legends and sci-fi Star Legends: The Blackstar Chronicles have been downloaded more than seven million times, making it the world’s largest mobile MMO franchise.

Dark Legends with be shown for the first time publicly at GDC 2012

I am intrigued because now that I’m playing iPhone games I actually appreciate this platform a bit more. We’ll have more details available as we get them. Check out the Facebook group here.

Racing

Twisted Metal (PS3)

Release date – February 14, 2012

Alright, so I know this game isn’t exactly part of the typical racer genre but this is my list, I do what I want and I doubt anyone is going to argue anyway. Besides lets face it, what other category can you really put it in? In actuality the beauty and lore of Twisted Metal lies within the fact that you aren’t just simply racing from point A to B in tricked out vehicles! Your participating in a survival race for your life in crazy cars,buses, motorcycles and even ice cream trucks armed to the teeth with some of the nastiest weaponry known to man. Include that with some highly unique and rather insane characters as the drivers, let them do battle across the globe and you have a recipe for timeless fun.

It’s been years since Calypso and the Twisted Metal participants last wrecked our living rooms with heavy napalms and guided missiles. The same idea still applies, fight to the death for the grant of any wish you could possibly imagine. Hopefully our contestants have learned to choose their words a lot more carefully than numerous prior blunders which have resulted in non canon deaths and misfortune. Although the roster is taking a sizable cut in the eighth title, players will have the choice of now playing under 1 of the 4 factions lead by a respective leader which include The Preachers (Preacher), The Dolls (Dollface), The Clowns (Sweet Tooth) and The Skulls (Mr.Grimm).

With a heavy focus on the multiplayer component, Twisted Metal PS3 looks to not only make a powerful return from it’s past success but to also make said impact to last with staying power. 16 players will battle online in various modes including the classic death match, all new Nuke Mode and more. With destructible environments, modern day high def visuals, over the top weaponry and power ups in which include the ability to transform your vehicle into robotic killing machines, Twisted Metal is definitely the most fun your going to have behind the wheel in 2012.

RPG (Role Playing Game)

Mass Effect 3 (PC,XBOX360,PS3)

Release Date – March 6, 2012

Each year there are a handful of RPG’s that seek out to captivate the role playing audience with new game play elements enriched with a powerful storyline which feature unforgettable characters that pull us into their worlds each time we pick up the controller. But really only one game ever emerges in every console generation that truly succeeds in doing so in unique fashion.

The Mass Effect series is not only that stand out RPG of the current generation but unlike many other role playing series, it manages to raise the bar through each sequel rather than struggling to maintain the lore of it’s previous installments. Mass Effect 3 shows no signs of breaking the trend of improvements, promising extended long hours of game play, further depth in dialogue which made the series so popular, an insanely impressive cast of characters you can’t help but invest yourself in and further expansion on a fully interactive and massive world which plays sandbox to it all.

The conclusion to the battle with the Reapers will be nothing short of epic and will of course lead to multiple endings which all will be determined by all player actions leading up from the first game up until the final moments of the third. An all new 4 player co-op mode which enables players to assist others in their own campaign to prep for the final battle makes Mass Effect 3 the first and only RPG experience of it’s time to really bring it’s community together for what promises to be it’s most memorable moments.

Shooter

Bioshock: Infinite (PC,XB360,PS3)

Release Date: TBA

The shooters genre has become the victim of inflation over the last couple of years. Yearly releases and multiple clone competitors have made the shooter experience to feel like a mainstream cash cow that comes a dime a dozen. Bioshock Infinite is seemingly the only shooter in development with those stigmas in mind. Breaking free of the typical run and gun experience because another section of the world is in conflict yet again, actual adventure awaits players here in Infinite. Former private detective Booker DeWitt is on a mission in the fictional floating city of Columbia to find a young woman named Elizabeth. Problem is, the city is rumored to have vanished into the clouds with no trace but tales of an unruly and deranged population.

Telekinetic combat in combination with traditional gun play return with all new powers and elemental abilities that require players to use more brain than brawn against the many enemy types in the Bioshock world which hold unique strengths and weaknesses. Visuals are treated with a much more colorful and vivid breathing world in comparison to the underwater based previous games and more stylish cinematics to better push the action along this thrilling ride. No doubt, given this formula looks to not only be one of the most anticipated games of 2012 but also an easy candidate for Game of The Year, provided it delivers in the manner expected.

Fighting

Street Fighter X Tekken (PC, XB360,PS3)

Release Date: March 6, 2012

There is only one name that goes almost instantly synonymous with the fighting game genre and that is the Street Fighter series hands down. While there are seemingly tons of fighters up on the horizon during the recent boom of the genre over the last couple of years, along with the success of Marvel Vs Capcom 3, it comes to no surprise the that Capcom flagship cast of Street Fighter would see another cross series of their own. The most well known fighters of both brands will join the melee in Street Fighters traditional 2d plane, as well as a handful of iconic characters from past generations making their return.

The popularity of Tekken and it’s diverse roster makes so much sense for the sake of a current generation rivalry. Art style, game mechanics and engine will favor the Street Fighter play style with slight nods towards Tekken such as the ability to juggle combos and their famed tag system. A new element in the guise of ‘Gems’ have been incorporated which grant each character unique fighting abilities towards their offense, defense or supportive arsenal and all require a certain criteria to be met in game to be activated.

Action Adventure

Tomb Raider

Release Date: QT3

The upcoming Tomb Raider is an original take on the origins of the ever famed Laura Croft and lets face it, we’re already sold. The backdrop is a much more dark, gritty and mature setting than we’ve ever seen in the entire series with the youngest character model of Laura in history. While details aren’t currently anything to sink our teeth to deep into, released screenshots and videos have gamers across the world already questioning if this title might just be the next coming of Uncharted. The story promises to be a well fleshed telling of how Ms. Croft matured from a rather innocent and thimble young woman to a hardened survivalist expert.

The Internet will be buzzing with every leaked drop of info about this major well into it’s release and no doubt, well all be clinging on to each and every minor detail!

Replay Old Games

Now I am not talking about games that just came out last month or playing some of the latest DLC content, no I am talking about dusting off the consoles in the closet and trying your hand at some games from your past. Doing speed runs of games you have beaten or just playing a game you miss playing is a great thing to do. If you don’t have those games and you don’t want to hunt for them online, go to your local mom and pop game store. Places like that are full of retro games for great deals while you are there you can pick up old games you never played before.

Online Games

Online gaming is of course now part of the mainstream when it comes to gaming. Not too long ago, the concept of it was only limited to very few games and the crowd of online gamers was a very small niche of a group; however recently as more and more games are made the community has grown. So hopping online with your favorite shooter and playing some multiplayer mode is a great way to entertain yourself until that next game you want comes out. However, this isn’t just limited to console gaming, far from it. PC games are a huge market for online gaming in the realm of MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games). As more of these games are made, there is a wider variety to please the different types of gamers that are out there. Also there are more games that are free to play so you can avoid the monthly charge just to play it. So get out there, download your favorite game if you are a fan of it, and if not…it is always good to try new things.

Table Top Games

On the subject of trying new things, as a geek I always try to get people to try new things that are outside their usual comfort zone. Majority of the time whenever I do this my friends enjoy it and I have them hooked on a new hobby. Table top games are a perfect example of this. While many gamers out there do enjoy a good table top game there are some who will shy away from it or they don’t view it as something they won’t see themselves interested in. However any kind of board game, Trading Card Game, or table top role playing game has as much fun and excitement as any video game will offer to the average player or hardcore player. Also it is a great way to get your friends together for a fun game night and socialize with people offline.

Gaming Meet-Ups

This is a great way to meet people and make new friends in the gaming community; there are plenty of places that hold meet-ups on various days of the week at the local game shop. At these meet-ups people will play games and socialize. For the more hardcore gamer, this is a great way to meet others in your gaming community and trade stories and tips on how to make your own personal gaming even better. A good example of this is when some game stores have Fighting Game Dojos. At this specific kind of meet-up members of the fighting game community come together to train and test their skills against one another to improve themselves or to just have fun.  So check out your favorite gaming forum and find out where these meet-ups are happening, or if you want try to start your own. You will not be disappointed.

After these great examples of things to do in the world of gaming I am sure you will find something great to do to kill time until that next great game you are waiting for is coming out.

Beside the usual show, the GeekFist crew created and celebrated their very own holiday called Troll-Mas. The idea was to give other members of the crew something related to their interests but totally unexpected. OmegaZed took on the challenge by delivering Ninjago figures to the crew, but Krismas countered with Redakai, trolling with it not once but twice in the same episode! Needless to be said, the special events will continue and Troll-imania has been born! Details on that will be coming soon.

So for your listening pleasure ladies and gentlemen and mutants, here is the download link for the full episode! Click it and be sure to like us on our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter!

The episode is available here: http://traffic.libsyn.com/geekfist/Geekfist_2011_Award_Show.mp3
We’ll post a full listing of the awards given out soon!

Recently, a debate came up between “E-Sports” and the “FGC”. You can find all the info you need ,here, here and here.IF you’re interested, click through at your leisure, read them and form your own opinion and stance. You’ll also need Sir Scoots rant that started this whole thing to get some perspective, and it can be found here.

This has been a topic that’s been raging on twitter for some time between people deep within both communities at every level. To say it could be like Marvel’s Civil War would make it seem cooler than it actually is, but people are choosing their sides on this like there’s an actual registration act and things are actually changing within the community because of it.

So before we get started, lets define the key terms that are at the core of this issue.

Professional Sports, as opposed to Amateur Sports, are sports in which athletes receive payment for their performance.”

Electronic Sports (E-Sports) comprises the broad scope of competitive video game playing. Other terms include “competitive gaming”, “professional gaming” and “cybersports”. Games that are played as E-Sports normally belong to the “Real-Time Strategy” (RTS), “Fighting”, “First-Person Shooter” (FPS), “Massively-Multiplayer Online” (MMO), and “Racing” genres. They are played competitively at Amateur, Semi-Professional and Professional levels including participation in leagues and tournaments. Because they are usually compensated for playing at a higher than average level, the definition of a “Pro” gamer is someone whose sole income is generated from gaming.

The Fighting Game Community or FGC is the collection of players, tournament organizers and online streaming teams that keep the competitive aspect of a wide selection of fighting games going from local to national/global levels. This is done in an organized and regimented, yet informal manner however as the FGC has no governing body, having a scene anyone can join.

Alright, so where do I stand on this debate?

First off, I feel that Fighting Games have always been an “E-Sport” from the time of their creation. I feel that the Fighting Game Circuit is similar to more individual sports such as Tennis, Bowling, etc. rather than the traditional league based sports like Football, Basketball, Baseball, etc. because hey just aren’t compatible on the same terms. One good reason for this is, similar to any individual sport, they travel the country competing in different tournaments with the chance of winning prize money. In line with this, the money for the player competing is limited to three things: the amount of people entering the tournament, the pot bonuses, and in some cases the extra money matches that are played on the side. The way I see it, if players choose to attend a big event with a bigger turnout, they have a bigger pot in the end because you have more pot monsters in attendance(people who contribute to the pot with no real chance of winning). If they happen to get sponsored along with all of this then that’s a bonus, but In this system, the player is in total control of their entire career. Those who knock this method argue that under a league, you’re going to get more money per event, guaranteed.

It isn’t that being an E-Sport for the FGC couldn’t work. It could, just not for the top players. It could work for the mid-tier, to close to top-level players, but not the best. For example, with most professional leagues, if you sign a contract, you’re bound to that league. Just look at the NBA, for example. When players are under contract in the NBA, they cannot play in any other league overseas or no without voiding their NBA contracts. The reason for this is simple: Leagues want to protect their brands. Imagine, if the top players in the NBA could play where and when ever they wanted, you’d have a ton of things like the recent lock out happening all the time, with players jumping overseas for 1-year paydays that beat their current contracts. The quality of the NBA would suffer overall if there were seasons where star players weren’t playing on their teams, when they’re supposed to consistently have the best players in the world.

Back to how this relates to gaming, if you have the the top names in the community playing in your league, why would you let them play in other leagues and events if you are trying to show that yours is the best? So let’s say, if Jwonggg (Justin Wong) signs with X-League, he is now under contract and cannot play in any other league or event where he can make money. If you watched the indie documentary The King of Chinatown, Justin made quite a bit of money for his team in a year playing in events and such. Under a league format, he couldn’t have done that if those events weren’t sanctioned or if whatever deals he signed conflicted with those of his league. I know, one could argue, “Well, what if the contract allowed him to play in other events, but not leagues?”, or “What if it allowed him to play in other leagues and events?” My answer to that is: What would be the point of signing someone to your league if there’s no exclusivity? You sign a contract, and it becomes a waiting game with the hope that it averages out to more than what you would have made playing in various events, which is basically guaranteed money.

There are always events to attend, too. Currently now there are tons of local,regional and major tourneys within the FGC. While not an always perfect system, it does a good job of self regulation within itself. New tournament organizers (TOs) pop up and fade from existence frequently along with big names, but what makes the FGC great is that if you really want to be apart of the community and be accepted you have to get out there. It’s welcoming if you’re able, and people take notice of hard work with a serious attitiude being appreciated. Everyone in the FGC knows fighting games need to be played offline in order for the matches to be played at their fullest, as offline tournaments are practically the litmus tests of competitors. This is because to be honest, the netcode for most fighting games sucks, and they wern’t made to be played with things like input lag and frame delays. There is a reason online rankings in fighting games aren’t taken as seriously as much offline victories, and I feel it should stay that way.

Getting back to those mid-level to high-mid players, they are the ones that however could benefit from an online league because as it stands right now, frankly I don’t see them traveling long distances just to get blown up (i.e. ‘beaten badly’) in tournaments by those same top level players. In a league format, the league could basically monitor in house talent and develop some players and enter them in events in an attempt to showcase their brand. These same mid-level players would also get some chances that they normally wouldn’t be able to get because they don’t have time to practice or actually dedicate serious time to the game due to, with other reasons, perhaps having a life and job outside of professional gaming.

Under this tried format, most of the games will take place online so they can have a ranking system for their offline events and majors. Leagues like MLG currently do this with internet services like . While it’s an admirable system looking to get the whole country involved, it’s flaws become quickly apparent due to disputes (over match outcomes), disconnects (sometimes the internet doesn’t want to be bothered or someone ‘ragequit’), boosting (making fake accounts or having friends lose to you so you can boost your stats), not to mention shoddy connection issues, missed matches, etc. I’d have to say, if the league uses these standings to determine seeding for a fighting game event, that would be to say politely, bad. I mentioned earlier fighting games have notoriously poor net code combined with bad connections. If you add mild cheating or lag switching as a result of these bad connections you’ll have players who are ranked highly that shouldn’t be, another common flaw. It needs to be managed much better in order to work on the level of the FGC.

But then, there’s also the publishers. In my opinion, one of the biggest problems keeping fighting games from being considered an E-Sport is quite simply some companies don’t want them to be. There’s a reason Capcom didn’t allow WCG, MLG or any other leauge to ever run Street Fighter and Marvel vs Capcom officially as tournament games. Companies in general seem afraid to take that kind of commitment to a league. Part of the problem is issues on how their game(s) will be portrayed, along with wanting a piece of the direction if you’re using their intellectual properties. Most of the companies that create these fighters are Japanese and the Japanese have their own way of doing things when it comes to stuff like this. The rule sets or the way the ranking system is run may anger the publishers too. There’s a ton of things that can go wrong between two companies in terms of communication and execution, not to mention that in a league capactity it also takes a great deal of control away from the actual community, the ones who shape the scene to begin with.

In closing, the bottom line? At the end of the day we can all find things wrong with both sides rather than finding the right things. I say that the league notion for fighting games is tough and as it currently stands, there are no leagues that can run them properly. It isn’t a bad idea to want them, but it’s going to take some serious work and consideration. I think if multiple leagues picked up the same game and allowed players to freely play between them that would properly capture the spirit of of the community. Among other things, the local scene has to be integrated into what they are doing as well. You need to have locals AND regional tournaments as well as true majors. It isn’t a simple answer in the least, and everyone has one, but answers

are

there, you just have to work for it.

While this isn’t exactly the first or even second to trip to the video game realm for our favorite devilish tykes from Colorado, this venture stands on a unique platform due to the new found heavy focus on in depth and immersive game-play. A direction the series creators have never explored before but are long term fans of, South Park is now joins the ranks of the role playing (RPG) genre in hopes to provide an exclusive gateway to explore the universe beyond that of what we’ve seen in the television series.

With the mission statement clear and in mind, Obsidian, a long time experienced and quality RPG developer, has been trusted with the task of bringing these ideas into virtual life. Upon initial proposal of creating South Park, the majority of the team met the idea with excitement while others weren’t so happy to be dealing with such a controversial brand. Feargus Urquhart, CEO of Obsidian and RPG enthusiast, relayed a mass e-mail among the staff inquiring who would be interested in moving forward and explained that the game content will be no less controversial than the show itself. The responses were minimal withdrawals.

An RPG format was chosen for multiple quality and expansion purposes of the SP world and characters. Never before, until now, has the South Park world been fully explored with the exception of a movie and a couple of random out of town skirmishes. The team promises to capitalize on this by exploration of entirely uncovered parts of the town as well as the outskirts in outlandish and comical ways that only South Park can. The game will be delivered in a 2D plane with background and foreground interactions possible, familiar and new locales, all of our favorite South Park citizens, tons of collectibles, leveling system, multiple classes and a turn based battle system similar to that of Super Paper Mario.

Heavy details on the story are slim but it has been revealed that players will assume the role of the new kid in town, innocently enough joining the boys in a role playing tournament and taken under the mentor wing by Eric Cartman, which later turns into a rather real life adventure for everyone. 5 options for character classes are available and range from adventurer, Jew, paladin, rogue and wizard (you can guess which one Cartman threw in there and most probably can only horde gold) each of course with their own differing perks and abilities to be announced. One of the most exciting aspects to SP fans are the collectible items canon to the series like ‘Chinpokomon’.

Be sure to check back in soon for more details as they come. We are still looking forward to bringing you more insight on the plot, further game play details and a of course a concrete release date upon announcement.

Welcome to the breakdown of the latest Character Trailer which not only displays a bunch of new faces, some we expected but didn’t anticipate them ever being playable, as well as mention the all new game play mode ‘Heroes Mode Multi-player’.

Heroes Mode will be a 4v4 formatted adversarial mode featuring the classic cast of heroes and villains that were present during the Resident Evil 2 & 3 time lines. Similar to the Death-match modes of RE:5, players will have to multi-task their objectives of eliminating the other team by any means necessary while simultaneously staying alive during the viral zombie outbreak.

Some notable changes were made in terms of character design. Some well received due to some characters looking for the most part remaining unchanged while others were more ill received due to some unwanted face lifts. However, players should keep in mind that the timeline the game is set in is technically well near 20 years ago graphically, all of our beloved characters’ models debut on the Playstation all looked pretty young back then. Outside of cosmetics, if the starting campaign roster can be held as any indication as to player behavior, we can expect the line-up in Heroes Mode to also have character unique abilities and buffs that set each apart. Since no official word has been dropped as of yet, lets just take a few jabs at what can be seen from the trailer.

Leon S. Kennedy – For the most part remains unchanged from his Resident Evil 2 model outside of the obvious graphical updates. Leon seems to be the more balanced and well rounded player, we see him doing a little bit of everything without seeming over powered in one area over the next. Unique abilities must revolve around a team leader setting as he clearly is the most vocal of the bunch.

Claire Redfield – She hasn’t seen much action in the RE universe since Code Veronica X so her model is mostly unchanged. She seems to hold a bit more ‘capable’ and hardened persona compared to her RE2 counterparts, such is reflected in her small bio & weaponry reflects this. A good guess would be more of a support character role, specializing in buffed first aid spray and support type weaponry.

Carlos Oliveira – Carlos’ appearance hangs tight on the fact that he is likely the most equip for the outbreak in the group. He’s clearly got on a bit more mass to help a possible ‘tank’ persona and game play style and his weaponry doesn’t suggest anything other than that. His buffs and abilities could quite easily lie within heavy weapons and high damage output. Possibly extra grenade slots and more fluid control over the bigger guns for the more threatening B.O.W.s.

Jill Valentine – Easily the most notably changed character on the roster, Jill seems rather young compared to…well… any other previous models of herself. She surely doesn’t seem a day past 17 so this will easily be a large hit or miss with her fans. Jill seems to be highly capable with side-arms as well as CQC and dodging abilities, making her strengths seemingly focused around an agility theme.

Hunk – Not much change here, but that’s definitely not a bad thing, Hunks suit has always been bad ass from the start so a graphical update just makes it even more sweet. Of course we aren’t looking at the suit here though, it’s the disappearing act of the suit that’s caught our eye. Mr. Death seems to be part of a highly unique Stealth class which no doubt will make him even more of a fan favorite once again. His appearance is short but we can note that he might have some rather brutal CQC kills to compliment his shadow lurking. How effective that will be in these unstable environments will have to be seen when he gets more screen time.

Nicholai Ginovaef – Probably the one, if not the only, character not many of us remember. Nicholai was the backstabber from RE3:Nemesis, player decisions determined his fate on several occasions but mainly in the later portion of the game. We can note two things here, sniper rifle usage as well as equipment such as explosive traps. Nicholai looks to be the gadgeteer, possibly best at setting up defensive perimeters and fortifications against the infected.

Lone Wolf – A debut character. Lone Wolf’s bio suggests that he his most effect with firearms and tactical combat which put him in the range of a balance type character. However his appearance of a thermal suit mixed with flak jacket and multiple sightings of flame based ammunition suggests that his specialties might be more heavily focused in eradication of zombies as well as a serious threat to human hostiles.

Ada Wong – Ada definitely seems a little more Americanized each time we see her. Not much can be gathered from her, having I believe the smallest clip out of everyone. Based on the little given, she looks to be best suited with small arms and sub machine guns and similar to Jill in terms of speed and agility. A small guess could be made that one of her starting items could be the serum to the T-Virus upon infection, which we see her administer to herself during a break in combat. If that guess it right, she is perfect for supporting roles in the thick of battles against the infected.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City is scheduled for a release in March, 20th 2012.