Inside The Mind Of JVB

I have been hooked on the KZ 2 demo since it was released to those who pre-ordered it at Gamestop, last week. Since then, I have played it over 10 times, and I still can’t get over it. Why? Beats the hell out of me, but something was done correctly to make me anticipate a title I really didn’t have any hope for. But I’m not here to talk about my crush, but to talk about the nit=pickers that are flooding the interwebs.

I know the controls is getting a lot of heat. The big argument is that there is too much control lag, or that the weighty feel doesn’t appeal to everyone. I say that those folks are nit-picking the DEMO to death. Its pretty crazy that so many people could complain about simple controls. An experienced gamer should adjust to a scheme with no problem. Did we kill Mirrors Edge for its control scheme? Shit, most of us applaud it for being different. I laugh when I read a post about the demo that compares it to Gears, Halo, or COD 4 because all of those titles are the same at the core. Besides being great games, they still have their positives and negatives, but we still play them to death, right? So it bugs me to read so many negative post focused around a demo.

This a good sign that the game is going to be a good one. The Killzone 2 demo is the talk of the town, and its well deserved. I adjusted to the controls after a few plays and feel really comfortable when aiming. My favorite layout is Alternative 2, which is very similar to Call Of Duty4. I really believe that every First-Person-Shooter fan should get to play Killzone 2 when its finally released. It’ll be that damn good.

My son Justin is growing up to be quite the nerd. For weeks, he has been talking about a set of Ninja Turtles action figures that he really “needed”. These special TMNT toys were different then the one’s he currently owns, and he wanted nothing more then to get these awesome action figures, to go with his current collection, lol. This made me laugh, until he showed them to me on Youtube! Neca made a box-set of all four Ninja Turtles, that looked just like they did in the original comic. I told him that we would look for them during the weekend, and that we did. The problem was, this addition was nowhere to be found. He was pretty disappointed about that fact, but his spirit was still high, because he was convinced that we would find it, somewhere, somehow.

Today (1-26-2009) marks his day of victory, because thanks to Tate’s Comics, in Broward County Florida, he is now a proud owner of these hard-to-find TMNT action figures.

On a side note, I must say: His appreciation for videogames and collectibles gives me a sense of pride. Some fathers will stick their chest out when their son hits a game winning home run, or touchdown. For me, it’s watching my son gaining achievements or admiring the art and passion that is requried to make those action figures that he loves so much.

I couldn’t be any prouder.

Today I got a message from a friend of mine, who is known throughout the Xbox Live community as Gemini Ace. He asked me if I felt that the Game Talk podcast was ahead of its time. I agreed, and I will tell you why.

Game Talk was created by Glewis, who was a member of the Podtacular community. The podcast focused on every console known to man. What really made this podcast stand out was the personalities who sat in with Glews-Evil Kon Karne, Gemini Ace, Phantom Gett, and myself. We were raw, emotional, and held nothing back when it came to our feelings toward the gaming industry.

Here is a link to Episode 31

The SFX 360 posse was in full force during a trip to Orlando Florida, to attend Otronicon. The main attraction, and the real reason for our trip was the Halo Themed wedding, which pitted Master Chief as the Pastor. The wedding didn’t live up to the excitement that surrounded it, but it was entertaining. Here are some pictures I took from the trip: