General Discussion

America welcomes a new brand of smart street lightning systems: energy-efficient, long-lasting, complete with LED screens to show ads. They can also spy on citizens in a way George Orwell would not have imagined in his worst nightmare. ­With a price tag of $3,000+ apiece, according to an ABC report, the street lights are now being rolled out in Detroit, Chicago and Pittsburgh, and may soon mushroom all across the country. Part of the Intellistreets systems made by the company Illuminating Concepts, they have a number of “homeland security applications” attached. Each has a microprocessor “essentially similar to an iPhone,” capable of wireless communication. Each can captu…

Despite incredibly oddball Japanese games like Katamari Damacy making it over to shores, some Japanese games don’t receive the same following. Sengoku Basara was released in North America on October 25, 2005, but with many significant changes. Whereas the original Japanese game was a fictionalized telling of the Sengoku period in Japan, the localization removed all historical references in favor of a pure fantasy setting, altered various gameplay modes and designs, and renamed the game “Devil Kings”. This was a misguided effort, as the game failed miserably outside of Japan. While sequels, spinoffs, and anime have flourished, the series was all but ended overseas…unt…

Just read this small op-ed. http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/03/28/the-power-of-young-adult-fiction/adults-should-read-adult-books The comments are pretty great. Check those out, too.

Read an article over at CVG this morning. If you got a couple minutes, read it and maybe some of the comments. I was pretty surprised not only at the article, but also the comments. Not sure if they moderated out any comments, but it looks like a well behaved discussion about console exclusives. Nary a fanboy in sight. Take a gander and discuss what you feel, here. http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=276561

My dad started noticing money going missing from our account so he went to check out where it was going. Turns out Barnes and Nobles has been charging my sister for books that they have labeled as "Free". So while ym dad started to try and get it fixed by calling them I googled it real quick and found(http://websearch.about.com/b/2009/07/21/free-ebooks-at-barnes-and-noble.htm) turns out alot of people are coming across the same issue. So if you have a Nook and use their eshop make sure you stay away from these so called "Free" books.

Wicked frustrating. So a bunch of short bus riding, basement dwelling, moronic script kiddies (that's why "hackers" is in quotation marks in the title) decided to DDoS the Playstaion Network on Sunday. They were successful. I don't remember the name of the "group" or whatever that are claiming responsibility on Twitter or whatever, but the completely jammed up the whole system and I was unable to log in at all throughout Sunday. They also claimed to have affected some of WoW's servers, Path of Exile and I think League of Legends. What a bunch of tools. Anyways, I played Diablo III offline for most of the day anyways. Got my Crusader up to level 66. Starting …

http://www.wistv.com/global/story.asp?s=13055036

Russia to monitor 'all communications' at Winter Olympics in Sochi: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/06/russia-monitor-communications-sochi-winter-olympics So Russia's idea is to take in Snowden, then pull this crap? What next? We going to go through all my phone contacts and text messages before I go to an event? This crap is already way out of hand...

If you are participating in the Gears of War 3 Beta then listen up. You have the chance to earn up to five “Buddy Tokens” that you can give out to your friends to join you in playing the beta. You have until May 4th to complete one of the following taks or if you are a true Gears fanatic then all five: Purchase Gears of War content on the MarketplacePlay the Gears of War 3 beta for 20+ hoursPurchase a 12 month Xbox Live subscriptionPlay 100 hours of any Gears titlePlayed one game of Gears of War 3 in the betaIf you complete any or all of these tasks, you will receive your tokens via email on May 8th that you can give out to your eager Gears of War friends. The tokens …

I want to hear your vote for the greatest story ever told in a game. Please use examples and your reason for your choice. Maybe we can vote afterwords and proclaim the winner in a Gamercide article and post it on Gamercide.org?? I think we need stronger story lines and more character development in the games we play. The more invested I am in my character the more I'm impacted by the game play. I'll give my vote after a few posts. I want to think about this a little bit. I have a few in mind and have to narrow it down. So what say you GC?

Not really entering this contest so to speak, since I know I've been in and out of here so much lately that you're all probably tired of me. Anyways, just wanted to say hi to you all. Crap's been rough lately, with my job, family, and friends. I could create a 9-pararaph post to explain it all but I'll spare you that lol. Just wanted to say hi and although I don't participate as much as I lurk, I still consider you guys part of my family. Hope you're all doing well.

EA Week continues on Steam with today’s discounts being Need for Speed related. Need For Speed Hot Pursuit - $29.99, $14.99Need For Speed Shift - $19.99, $6.80Need For Speed Undercover – 9.99, $2.50via Steam Tweet This Post View the full article

The deals keep rolling out at Steam during their “EA Week” promotion. Today’s deals are on The Sims games. Sims 3 is 40% off, all of The Sims 3 DLC is 50% off, and 75% off of Sim City 4 Deluxe. via Steam Tweet This Post View the full article

The Razer Onza is Razer’s first proper attempt at making a gamepad for consoles. Can this gamepad created by a company known for making some of the fanciest PC gaming peripherals around live up to the hype, or is it not the godly, k/d count enhancing, reaction boosting uber controller that everyone makes it out to be? The Razer Onza comes in two varieties. The first is the $50 Razer Onza Tournament Edition which has everything the standard Xbox 360 controller has (aside from chatpad compatibility), with added features including: two extra multi-function buttons on the shoulder that can be mapped to any other button on the controller (excluding the d-pad), adjustable re…

Zen Studios has maybe the best pinball simulation game on the market today with Pinball FX2. In my previous review I mentioned that the upcoming Fantastic Four table. With its release, do we get another great addition to the already stellar table lineup? Keep on reading comic fans and let’s find out in Gamercide’s first “Quick Review” As with all the other tables, Zen Studios has done a great job capturing the feel of the Fantastic Four comics. Artwork for the table is colorful and quite impressive for a pinball game. Each character is represented in great detail and put their powers to good use as you play through the missions. Voice work is very well done, as is …

Developed by: Colossal Order Published by: Paradox Interactive Platforms: PC Players: 1 Rated E (Everyone) by the ESRB Throughout my many years playing games on the PC I’ve played quite a lot of titles. I love a game that makes you think and so much of my PC experience has leaned towards titles that fall within the strategy genre, which to me includes city-building, real time strategy, turn based war games and quite a few other “sims”. However let me be frank with you all. I’ve never in my life played a “transportation sim” so keep that in mind while you digest my take on Paradox & Colossal’s new title Cities in Motion. You won’t find any comparisons to Sid Mei…

<br> <br> Developed by: X10 Studios <br> Players: 1 <br> Platforms: PC (Available through Gamer’s Gate, Desura, Steam, Direct2Drive, and directly from X10) <br> <br> Drawing from various classics such as Metroid and Mega Man X, A.R.E.S. Exinction Agenda is the first chapter in an episodic side-scrolling shooter. Set in the 21st Century, Earch is over polluted and we are facing extinction. A processing station is sent in to Earth orbit to help with this problem, but is overrun by “zytron” that kills the station’s systems and turns all the machines hostile. ARES is a robot tasked with clearing out the station, rescuing the hostages, a…

Developed by: Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Annecy (multiplayer) Published by: Ubisoft Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3 Players: 1 offline, with 4-8 player multiplayer Rated M (Mature) by the ESRB Assassin’s Creed II was a great game and improved upon the already revolutionary first Assassin’s Creed in almost every conceivable way. With Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Ubisoft aims to improve even further upon an already great series, even adding a completely new multiplayer mode. But is it worth the full price, or is it little more than an expansion? You don’t need to read to the end of this review to know my personal impression of this game. The answer is yes, the game is abso…

Developed by: Ice-pick Lodge Published by: bitComposer Games, Viva Media Platform: PC Players: 1 Rated T by the ESRB Cargo takes place in a vibrant world where a well meaning but incompetent group of mechanical gods have flooded the planet and broken gravity. This has resulted in humanity being on the verge of extinction, and has left a random assortment of their objects orbiting the earth. The very Gods responsible for humanity’s demise have decided to replace us, and all our rubbish, with a new form of life called ‘Buddies’ . Buddies only have one purpose and that is to have fun. This is where you come in. You are piloting a blimp searching for salvage when you…

Developed by: Mercury Steam / Kojima Productions Published by: Konami Platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation 3 Players: 1 Rated M (Mature) by the ESRB There aren’t many games these days that can boast a history spanning 26 years and more than 30 seperate releases across multiple platforms. The Castlevania series is one of them. Konami has continually reinvented the gameplay of the Castlevania series over the years from the simple two buttons mechanics of the brutally difficult original side scrolling 1986 title. Some highlights include RPG-Lite entries such as Simons Quest and Symphony of the Night, slick touchscreen mechanics from the Nintendo DS titles like Portrait of…

Dead Rising 2: Case Zero Developed by: Blue Castle, Capcom Published by: Capcom Players: 1 Rated M (Mature) by the ESRB The Breakdown Are you a bad enough dude to save your daughter from turning into a zombie? The zombie outbreak that started in Dead Rising has spread beyond Willamette, Colorado, and Chuck Greene, a former motocross champion, finds himself in search of a temporary cure called Zombrex for his infected daughter. Is Dead Rising 2: Case Zero able to stand on it’s own as a good game, or is little more than a paid demo? Read on to find out. View the full review on the main page.

Deadliest Warrior: The Game Developed by: Pipeworks Software Published by: Spike Games Platform: Xbox 360 (XBLA) Players: 1-2 (2 player versus, online and offline) Rated M for Mature by the ESRB Link to Purchase from Microsoft The Breakdown 8 of the fiercest warriors in history battle it out to see who the Deadliest Warrior is in this brutal fighter. Based on a TV show of the same name, what can we expect from this game? Does the game deliver, or is it just another mediocre tie-in? Read on to find out! The Important Stuff Let me start off by saying one thing that will blow your mind: This game plays like Bushido Blade. If you haven’t played Bushido Bl…

Developed by: Straandlooper, Telltale Games Published by: Telltale Games Platforms: PC, Mac, iPhone Players: 1 Rated M for Mature by the ESRB Clapper’s Wreake. The town that took the “Great” out of Britain. When a terrorist holes himself up in a building with hostages there and no one seems to be able to reason with him, it’s time to call in Hector, the so-called Fat Arse of the Law. Hector: Badge of Carnage is a crude, point and click adventure where you play as Hector, an overweight cop with a sarcastic attitude. Not to say that he’s a bad guy, he’s a good cop overall, he just lacks hygiene. And pants (initially). Hector isn’t overly thrilled about being calle…

[Review] – Hydrophobia Developed by: Dark Energy Digital Published by: Microsoft Game Studios Players: 1 Rated M for Mature by the ESRB The Breakdown A group of terrorists, known as the Malthusians, has taken over the luxury liner the Queen of the World. As Kate Wilson, you are on a mission to escape the sinking wreckage with your life. All the while your co-workers and friends are dying around you. Read the full review

Developed by: Jason Rohrer Published by: Jason Rohrer Platforms: PC Players: 1 What happens when you cross Geometry Wars with Inception? You get a space shooter of epic, layered proportions. Inside a Star-Filled Sky is a space shooter unlike any other. I say space shooter for lack of a better term, as you’re really in some odd, layered pixel dimension. There isn’t really an objective in the game aside from maybe seeing how far you can go. You can play the game normally like any other shooter, flying around the levels, blasting enemies until you find the level exit. If you can’t find the exit, you can stand still and a guide line will lead you to it. And when yo…