http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp7mZxzuc68&feature=related

GTA Controversy

Where ever Grand Theft Auto goes, it brings with it a load of controversy. If you have played or have watched someone play any of the several Grand Theft Auto games, you know that the game has a lot of "adult" content. I personally am a big fan of the GTA franchise. However I do acknowledge the responsibility that comes with playing these games. Recently, I was in San Francisco looking for a GameStop so I could buy a new copy of GTA San Andreas for my Playstation 2; because my other copy was extremely scratched up and didn't work at all. I found a store on the way to Stanford University and went in with my Dad. I went straight up to the counter and asked for a new copy of San Andreas for the PS2. Not only did the person who worked there tell my Father about the game's M (for mature) rating, but she also (to my surprise) told him specifically that because it was part of the notorious Grand Theft Auto franchise, it was one of the most provocative games out there. After my Dad asked what one could do in this game, I said, "basically you kill lots and lots of people." The GameStop employee nodded her head in agreement. I wondered why GameStop specifically instructs their employees to warn parents of the content of the Grand Theft Auto games. Yesterday I was researching Grand Theft Auto when I came across a few articles about a lawyer Jack Thompson. Thompson is a former lawyer and anti GTA activist who was the prosecution attorney for a number of GTA related cases. Jack Thompson dedicated his career to banning Grand Theft Auto games in the state of Florida, and ultimately the entire USA. His angry attitude towards judges who sided with GTA got him disbarred (basically fired). In your face, Jack Thompson.

NBA 2K11

Oh man, I can't wait to finally play as Michael Jordan. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, allow me to explain. Next tuesday, October 5th, 2K Sports will release their greatest NBA video game yet. Before I go on about the game's features, I want to emphasize that no NBA video game has ever featured Michael Jordan in-game. Why is that? Because Jordan never wanted himself to be in a video game, because he thought the makers would over-glorify him. And not only is the greatest of all time going to be in the game, but there will be a whole game mode centered around following and playing as Michael Jordan through his career. I downloaded and played the demo of this game, and I was extremely impressed by the improvements made from 2K10. Every player in the demo looked and played almost identically to the actual player. In this demo, you are allowed to play as the Los Angeles Lakers against the far superior Boston Celtics. I focused on passing the ball to Kobe Bryant, and on every play, I took him to the basket for a completely realistic dunk or I stayed outside and shot a three pointer. More than ever, while playing this demo, I felt like I was watching a real game on TV. Other new features in this game are post-game interviews, meeting President Obama when a team wins the championship, and other new stuff. As many of you may know, the Miami Heat is one of the most stacked teams in NBA history, and I am curious as to how unfair the game will be if one was to play with them. Alright, that's all for now. Look out for my review of this game when it comes out.

History of Videogaming

While video games are relatively new, they have evolved tremendously over time. In the 1950s to 1960s, video games became available on the market. Early games such as "Spacewar!" and other space intruder games became popular. The 1970s was the "Golden Age" of video games. New arcade games were being made and became a favorite among teens. In the 1980s, new genres of video games emerged; such as fighting games and adventure games. Many famous breakthrough games were made in the 1980s. These games were Street Fighter, Dragon's Lair, Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, and Mario Bros. New consoles like the Nintendo Entertainment System were invented, and this new tier of consoles were called "Third Generation Consoles". More games were introduced, like Final Fantasy, and The Legend of Zelda. In 1991, Nintendo released the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. This and the new Sega Genesis ushered in the Fourth Generation of consoles. Games like Sims, Starcraft, Warcraft, and Mortal Kombat were released. In the Mid to late 1990s, the Playstation and Nintendo 64 were introduced, and the Final Fantasy series had huge success. Then, in 1999, the amazing Playstation 2 was released, and shortly after, in 2001 the Sega Dreamcast and the Xbox came out. This marked a huge change in video gaming. In 2001, new legendary games came out for the PS2 and Xbox respectively. For the PS2, the breakthrough sandbox 3rd person shooter Grand Theft Auto III was released by Rockstar Games. For the Xbox, another breakthrough game came out; this one was a 1st person shooter called Halo: Combat Evolved. In my next post I will write about the Fifth Generation consoles and games. With a focus on the new Sixth Generation. Thanks for reading.

My First Blog Post Ever

Hello everyone, and welcome to my new blog. This blog will be about video games and everything about them and their makers and players. On this post, I want to write about what my recent upcoming video game interest is. A year or two ago, I started playing a game called Fallout 3 for the Xbox 360. I quickly became addicted to the game and to this day have beaten it about three times. Fallout 3 is a sandbox style RPG game. For those of you who do not know what those mean, a sandbox game is a game with an open ended map. Players can explore the area and do basically what ever they want. An RPG, or Role Playing Game, is a game in which the player creates his own in-game character and plays as them through a story in which the player makes decisions that affect things around him. Fallout 3 was a game by an already somewhat well known company, Bethesda. This company has made a similar game in the past and won many awards. The Fallout video game series is about the world after an apocalyptic nuclear war between the USA and China. Fallout: New Vegas is the newest game in the series, which will be released on october 19th. This game will be an enormous open ended game, much like Fallout 3. A few months ago, i pre-ordered Fallout: New Vegas. I can not wait to play the game, and I promise to make a post about the game once i have played it. Thanks for reading.