I started out with cooking mode and quickly became hooked. Maybe it didn’t help that I was hungry. Chocolate Cornets, Umeboshi, Curry, Yakitori, and so much more. Once you select which dish you would like you make, you play through a series of mini games to prepare and cook the ingredients. Being someone who cooks in real life, it was interesting seeing how so many Japanese dishes were made, I had always wondered.

I was worried that it would get repetitive with so many things to make, but there are over 200 mini games and I didn’t run in to duplicates often. Even when I did, they were usually different ingredients which still kept things fresh. Other modes have different objectives. Helping mode lets you do various tasks to help mama like putting away toys, cleaning the floor, unwrapping presents. Combine mode lets you create your own crazy meal by combining different recipe. At times I did have some trouble understanding what I needed to do in the mini games, but it was never enough to negativity impact my experience.

Now this is a 3DS game, and the big question on everyone’s mind when seeking games for this handheld is “How well does it utilize the 3D?” I would have to answer that with “Creatively.” Since most of your game play is making use of the stylus on the lower screen, that is where your eyes are focused. The top screen is reserved for things like the kitchen, mama, the timer, and an occasional mini game. At one point there were 3D pieces of toast being thrown toward me, while I had to catch them in 2D on the lower screen. I feel like this was a good choice however, because if you think about it, you’ll have a large audience of kids playing this game (it’s enjoyable for the older crowd too!) They will be less likely to experience side effects from the 3D since they won’t be staring in to it all the time, which is a great bonus for parents.

Overall Cooking Mama is fun and addictive. It constantly rewards you with new recipes, customization options for the kitchen, games, and outfits for mama. Not only that but it makes better use of the stylus than most games I have seen so far.

Release Date: November 15th 2011
Rated E for Everyone
Supports up to 4 players in multiplayer.

Credit to for the awesome fan art!

Turntable.fm is a new website that was founded in May 2011 for Windows, Mac, and iOS so far. Currently only available to the US due to copyright laws, It allows users to take turns playing songs for each other by allowing them to ‘DJ’ in an interface based room with avatars, and a chat box. You can add other DJ’s song’s to your queue by snagging them while they are playing, the site is also linked with amazon, iTunes, lastfm, spotify, and rdio.

Turntable will check your friend’s list from Facebook or Twitter to track which rooms your friends are listening to music in so that you can join in if you want. You can create a room, or join one that is already made. Once you’re in, you’ll see 5 DJ tables at the front of the room. If no one is occupying it, you can click on it to start DJing. Turntable will allow you to upload mp3s from your computer, or search their database. When it’s your turn, whatever song is at the top of your list will play automatically.

So how do you know you’ll find good songs here? The answer is that each song played can be rated by the audience while it’s playing by hitting the awesome or lame button at the bottom. Whatever the score was at the end of the song is recorded in the room history. DJs get points for playing awesome songs, and lose points for playing lame ones. These points allow them to get new avatars. As of right now there aren’t a lot of them, and I’m happy to say that the focus of turntable is definitely on the music, not what you can gain by playing it.

What really keeps me interested in this site, is the community. You’ll often find people settle on sticking around the same rooms from day to day, and after a while become friends. People who are upcoming or already popular DJs have been frequenting the site and playing their original tracks, Sir Mix A Lot came on and played his favorite hip hop tracks for a day too. My work buddies even caught on, and now they play music for each other while they work. It truly is a unique interactive experience.

Some people ask, “Is this illegal?” and while it has not been thrown in to the limelight, you will find some restrictions as they operate under the DMCA. If you are the only one DJing in a room, you can only hear a preview for your song, which makes it so you can’t use it like an MP3 player and play for yourself. There has to be at least one other DJ at the table. There is also a limit on how often a song can be played per hour. In July 2011, TTFM signed ad deal with the ASCAP to ensure songwriters, composers, and publishers would be compensated for their songs being played on the site, making it entirely legal.

Some managed to fall asleep in time, but others like us couldn’t settle down and ended up sleeping early in the morning. This didn’t seem to stop too many people however. We drove from the east side (that’s the east side of the lake which separates Seattle from neighboring towns for those of you who don’t know our lingo) in to Seattle and suddenly, there were people everywhere. The lines to get in to PAX alone were impressive. Even though the convention center had multiple entrances, each one still had a line that wrapped hundreds of people. The official attendance has not been posted yet, but judging from previous counts, I am guessing it was close to 70,000. Once we made it inside, it was time to check out games, and get some swag. We saw tons of promising games, including Zelda: Skyward Sword, Prototype 2, Virtua Fighter 5, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, Street Fighter X. Tekken, Arkham City, Twisted Metal, and more. Check out our videos and pictures to learn more about them!

Swag was considerably less than last year, but that was alright, there were also more exciting games than last year as well. One major score was the OnLive console, and bluetooth controller. OnLive allows you to play video games with any TV or computer that can handle playing a video. Which is exactly what it does, it streams a video of a video game which you are playing to your computer or TV, and it will send your button inputs back to their server to control the game. The response time is quick, which allows it to feel like you really are running it at home. Now the exciting news is that this product is coming to Android tablets and phones, as well as the iPad. So yes, this does mean you can be playing Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood on your phone or tablet.

On the second day we decided to go check out the concerts. During the queue to get in, I was staring at some kids next to us who had two packs of pipe cleaners and were forming them in to various objects. Oh I really wanted some. Our friend Rob pointed out that some enforcers were handing them out, which caused me to break out of line and beeline for them. They gave us a few packs under the condition that we hand them out. The concerts opened with the second to last round of the Omegathon, and Paul and Storm, who do parody songs. We were hoping for something with more of a beat like Anamanaguchi but it didn’t happen so we headed out. Due to the 520 floating bridge being closed (one of two bridges you can take in to Seattle from the east side) we wanted to make our night last for the trauma of trying to figure out the GPS and the driving in downtown. If you’ve never driven downtown Seattle, imagine vertical hills, one way streets, and right/left turns only, everywhere. So with our pipe cleaners in hand we went to the panel area and began advertising for free pipe cleaners and hugs (via Rob, looking for lady hugs, which he mostly received manly ones, despite his sign saying otherwise.) We got a series of mixed reactions, ranging from “HELL YEAH I WANT A PIPE CLEANER” to “What do I do with it?…” Some people refused to take pipe cleaners but yet handed me things they had made. I now have a small collection of pipe cleaner gifts. As silly as it sounds, we had a lot of fun doing this, and followed it up the next day with Smarties.

On the final day at closing after checking out all the games we could check out, and grabbing all the swag handed to us, we headed to the Expo hall to end the convention right by giving fellow PAX goers candy and rocking out with the Mega 64 booth.

Stay tuned for more coverage, and be sure to check the videos and photos on Chocolate Lemon’s Facebook!

In the slide show above, you can see the inner workings of the ArenaNet office. What a lot of people don’t realize, is that most of the content design happens right here, with little more than 250 people. When you break it down, that’s only a handful of people per department. It’s impressive to see how much hard work goes in to this game. Every detail of the game is taken in to consideration during production. I often see fans asking questions regarding “Will x be improved?” “I’m worried about x, what are the plans for that?” What I can say is, your voice is heard. This is one company that really does listen to what people have to say. During the open house, the fans were shown around the office, then sat down for some involved game play with the Norn, Charr, and Human races, underwater combat, and dungeons. They finished out the day hanging with some of the dev and community members until late in to the night. Sounds like it was a very fun day!

So what has been going on lately? It’s been a while since we saw the GW2 demo last PAX, here is what they’ve been doing recently.

I think it came as a surprise, as Guild Wars 1 never had it, that the Engineer class was announced. It was received with mixed emotions, as many didn’t see how an Engineer class could fit in to a fantasy style MMO. Recent reviews from fans and press confirm, Engineer not only fits in, but it’s fun. In GW2, instead of equipping your attack skills like GW1, they are pre-attached to a weapon, and you can equip utility skills. These can be healing, buffing, or attack skills in themselves. Each class has a variety of weapons they can use, and some which can be switched out between main and off hand, which adds more variety to your game play. Some classes, including Engineer, have utility skills that will give them weapons. One example for Engineer, is the flamethrower. You will have your normal attacks from your main weapon, and equip the flamethrower utility skill. When using this skill, it will override your main skills and give you flamethrower skills, and your character will obtain a gas backpack, and flamethrower weapon. You’ll keep all of this until you want to take them off. Engineers have an interesting set of skills which allow them to set up turrets and use mines or bombs. They can also disperse health packs for teammates. Some have voiced their worry that this will cause them to become a healing class, but it’s one thing you won’t have to worry about. Each class has their own heal skill, and is able to manage their own HP. Buffs and healing can be helpful, but won’t require anyone to be doing this full time. Everyone will have their chance to do DPS and make a difference in a fight.

So now, let’s take a look at dungeons. While so much has changed from GW1, dungeons will be a more familiar feeling to fans of the first game as they are instanced, consistent environments that require group play. As of right now, there are 8 dungeons with one story mode, and 3 explorable modes with the lowest level one starting at 35. Story mode will enhance your experience on your personal storyline within the game. Each race has its own iconic character which you have been journeying with on your quests. The quest you experience will depend on a questionnaire of sorts which you answer when you create your character. While dungeons do not intrude on this, you’d be missing out if you didn’t do them. Different dungeons focus on different iconic characters. In the video above you can see the Norn iconic Eir, and the Charr iconic Rytlok. Eir ventures in to the depths of the Ascalonian Catacombs to retrieve the remains of King Adelbern’s sword, while Rytlock asks your help to stop her before she stirs up the vengeful spirits of the dead. As story needs to be accessible for pick up parties, it will be slightly easier. Not to say, that you should underestimate it. Those looking for coordinated group play, and more of a challenge, will find it in explorable which takes place after the events of story. While it takes place in the same area, you will not be having the same experience.

All this being said, there’s much more content that has been announced, and I encourage you to check it out at the ArenaNet blog: http://www.arena.net/blog/

1. Take it back old school.
Let’s face it, as much as we love our shiny new games, they will never been the same as the ones we grew up with. If you’re suffering from Next-gen-itis, maybe you need to break that old console out of the closet and remember a much simpler time in your life. Recently I played through Sonic Adventure… one, it’s amazing how your mind remembers games from years past. I thought I was a super skilled little kid! Turns out the game really was just that easy. That didn’t stop me from playing it for most of the day. After that, I sat back and thought “Yeah… we’ve come a long way since then.”

2. Attend a convention.
If you suffer from one of my favorite quotes from PAX is; “PAX is 70,000 friends you never knew you had.” And it’s true, being surrounded by people who love the same thing you do (we’re talking about video games here, of course) can help you get wrapped up in the hype. A niche of the world where being a gamer is the norm, and it is celebrated to the max. Big TVs, music, unreleased games, free swag, people so happy they’re like cats at midnight, the best …and the worst cosplays you’ll ever see, how can you not be excited?

3. Attend a tournament.
That is of course, if you don’t go to them currently. Some people find their drive from competition. Having a purpose, meeting new friends, growing and becoming better at what you do can feel extra rewarding. Not only that but all those matches will finally pay off! Whether you play FPS or fighting games, PSN, Live, or PC, there’s something for everyone, and a whole other world that you just have to experience for yourself.

4. Just pick up and play.
Some of us take time researching our games before we play them, we know what mechanics we like, what kinds of characters, we know what we want our games to look like. This can be an important element for those who play RPGs since there is so much time required to play them. If you’re feeling worn out, maybe you spent a lot of time grinding, or you feel you can’t move on to another game, just stop planning. Don’t research, don’t stick to what you know, the point is to have no investment in what you’re doing and explore. Action games, arcade games, indie games, anything and everything is on the table. If you’re feeling brave, try playing a genre you barely know anything about. You may like it!

5. Change your platform.
An obvious rift can be seen between PC gamers, and console gamers. This could be what’s wearing you out though. The feeling of a mouse, a controller, a stick, a motion control device (or no controller at all in some cases) can be refreshing to those who have married themselves to a system. It’s okay to have a fling, with another gaming platform! Not your significant other, that probably wouldn’t go over well.

6. Play with a friend.
Remember that guy, or that girl? You know, the one you met a long time ago but eventually you stopped talking to them… but you still read their Facebook page and write things like “Oh you have a cute dog.”, “Ohh… yeah that thing you went to looked fun…” or just hit the “like” button on their posts every couple days but never really talk to them? Now is your chance! To get back in to gaming of course, and slink away for another 3 months while you get lost in what you’re doing until you start hitting that “like” button again… NO! Ahem. If you have a game you’ve been meaning to play, call that friend up and ask them if they’re interested. Single player? No problem, just swap the controller back and forth or let them sit at your computer. Not only will you get to play that game, but it will ease the tension of re-connecting by eliminating the awkwardness of trying to find things to talk about, or trying to find common interests now that time has passed. Single? Well… now you have the perfect excuse to see that special someone!

7. E3 Bonus edition: Play with LOTS of friends, have a party!
Since it’s E3 week, why not invite people over and watch together? Every year, there are things we laugh over, things that make us angry, things that just plain confuse us… and it’s even better when other people chime in on their thoughts. You caught this article late and it’s not E3 you say? Why is that stopping you? Set up some TVs or have people bring their own set ups and throw a BBQ, drink hordes of alcohol if that’s your style (keep the motion games hidden, and wall mount the TVs!). Just make sure you have enough going on to keep everyone entertained. Rotating a single TV out while everyone else watches can be very uncomfortable for those who aren’t playing, and even worse for people who are new to, or don’t play video games. Have an area where you can put a movie on, watch cartoons, or play silly Youtube videos for each other.

• Twitter: @chocolate_lemon
• Facebook: Search for and “Like” Chocolate Lemon
• Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/choc0latelemon

Furthermore, you can follow some of us on an individual basis via Twitter and Youtube:

Twitter:

• Chocolate (Phire): @thegloryofphire
• Lemon (Justin Wong): @JWonggg
• Jason V. (Jason Velez): @Jas0nVelez
• Krismas (Kristian Galan): @Your8BitHero
• ForteWally (Wally Oruam): @WallE132
• ExpertPenguin (Lucien Wyatt): @ExpertPenguin
• Allowei (Alexandra Triplett): @Allowei

Youtube:

• KatieBangs: http://www.youtube.com/user/KatieCuppyCakeMakeUp
• Jason V.: http://www.youtube.com/user/Galarian

Feel free to Like us on Facebook and come follow each of us on Twitter. Trust me when I say that some of us are quite mental on Twitter, making for some occasional hilarity (especially Monday nights!)

Now that we have covered that, let’s go over some game terms that will be useful to learn.

– ニューゲーム New Game
– コンティニュー Continue
– ロード Load
セーブ Save
アイテム Item
レベル Level

はい (Hai) Yes
いいえ (Iie) No
設定 せってい (seetei) Option
終了 しゅうりょう (shuuryou) Quit
消す けす (kesu) Delete
始める はじめる (hajimeru) Start
写す うつす (utsusu) Copy
魔法 まほう (mahou) Magic
命中 めいちゅう(meichuu) A Hit
防御 ぼうぎょ (bougyo) Defense
攻撃 こうげき (kougeki) An Attack
力 ちから (chikara) Power
経験値 けいけんち(keikenchi) Experience Point
使う つかう (tsukau) To Use
捨てる すてる (suteru) To Throw Away
話す はなす (hanasu) To Talk
手に入れる てにいれる (teniireru) To Obtain
する (suru) To Do

The last man on earth I would ever expect to speak out against violent media Arnold Schwarzenegger, will be at the forefront of the oral court hearing against violent video games on November 2nd.

The Supreme Court of the United States has agreed to hear the State of California’s infamous ‘violent video game case,’ Schwarzenegger v. EMA. That means that later this year, the Court is going to decide whether to agree with the lower federal courts or not. Agreeing would mean that they believe that video games are, and should continue to be, First Amendment protected speech; just like books, movies and music. The court disagreeing would mean that they think video games should be treated differently. This could lead to new bills and laws curtailing video game access in states across the country.

It seems all over the world there is a push to ban content in media, some of you may remember Japan’s recent ban on certian profane images in anime and manga. We have the ESRB for a reason right? If anyone feels that violent video games effect kids, it’s the parent’s responsibily to monitor what their children are playing. More than ever video games are becoming a new medium for cinema and literature. How many games have we played recently that felt more like movies? How many movies have been made in the past 4 years based on video games compared to the past? How many pepole are learning new languages on their hand helds? How many people have game apps on their phones? Video games have become part of our life more than ever, and wether you consider yourself a gamer or not, you probably play something. Does this mean we should single out games with content for action fans? Is it not hypocritical for Schwarzenegger to speak out against this when his most recent movie was The Expendables which was nothing but violence and profanity? Are video games so different? In a way, it seems like video games are targeted more than movies because they are more of a time investment, and as a whole they are mainstream. For example, you have foregin film, which is not mainstream even if movies are… and within that you have horror which contains things that probably wouldn’t even be fit for American theaters. Do they get flack? Nope. Even when you are talking about mainstream movies it never seems to be a problem. Black Hawk Down is like watching Call of Duty the movie, but the American public loved it. I think that people standing out against violent video games fail to realize what video games are about… which has very little to do with killin’ the dudes.

Deadline September 17th : If you would like to sign the petition against this case, it is located here: http://action.theeca.com/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1781