SOPA: Put A Stop To This Nonsense

This isn't so much a post as a heads up. A few people have asked me what SOPA is and why it's something that should be killed with fire. I figured the small viewership I have may not necessarily know what SOPA is or why it's not something to be excited about. So here's some info for you.

What is SOPA Anyway? 

SOPA stands for Stop Online Piracy Act. It's goals aren't evil, in fact they are pretty noble. Piracy sucks if we're being honest. It takes profit away from developers, artists, and publishers. The goal of SOPA is to put the power under the control of the owners of these properties and allowing them to decide how best to distribute their products and media, as well as how to handle the online theft of them. On the surface this just seems like an attempt to stop people from stealing, which is, as I said, a pretty fair idea to be honest.

So How Does This Hurt The Internet Then?

Simply put, if a company thinks your infringing on copyrights, they can shutdown your site without warning. Oh and they can also demand ALL revenue pouring into said site. It doesn't matter if 99% of the sites revenue comes from ads, donations, or other places. If even .1% of it is coming from a copyright infringement then they can take all your profits. It would also allow them to do this regardless of whether or not the site is actively doing it or just allowing it to happen. I also requires search engines to remove offending sites from it's database, essentially making the site disappear. In practice, someone could even post a copy infringed link in a comments section, and the site it was posted on would be responsible.

Okay So It's Bad, But Who Is This Actually Going To Hurt?

Website owners. Plain and simple, if you own a website this bill will hurt. Youtube, IGN, Anime Season, Marshmallow Fluff!. All of us. Even I'm at risk with this bill if it passes. The scary thing is, the simple act of linking to pirated content immediately makes the site responsible. It's as crazy as it sounds, and the even scarier thing is there are so many places for someone to post pirated content and links to said content, that websites everywhere are basically facing an uncontrollable problem. And there is nothing that we can do about it if the bill passes. This doesn't just hurt the existing sites either. Many businesses start on the internet. So many, that the internet is one of the fastest growing industries in the US of A. One that is actually succeeding in creating jobs. This bill threatens to end that too.

Oh Wow, This Does Suck. So Who Actually Supports This Thing?

That's where it gets even scarier. In the gaming community there is a collection of companies called the ESA. Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, EA, Ubisoft, Capcom, Sega and a slew of others are in this group and they all want to see this bill pass. The RIAA and Warner Brothers are noted others outside the games industry that support this bill. GoDaddy, the website domain registrar, did support the bill but after Wikipedia pulled all of it's domains, along with other notable companies and organizations, the loss in profits forced GoDaddy to withdraw it's support.

So, Is Anyone Against This?

Yep, and they are equally as big as the other side. Google, Youtube (owned by Google), the Wikimedia Foundation, which includes Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Yahoo, and the EFF. Not to mention the thousands of sites that depend on user generated content to survive. In truth while the wealth and power is somewhat balanced, there are a lot more people against it than for it.

This Doesn't Look Good.

No it doesn't. And I have some really bad news. As things stand right now, this bill seems set to pass. There's plenty of opposition, but there's too many big corporations that support it. Don't get me wrong, those of us against it will fight it every step of the way, but right now, the bill has enough support to pass.

But here's where the good news kicks in. You remember all those sites and companies listed above that are against it? They represent a huge amount of money in the internet industry. They will be ready to resist this bill heavily, even if it passes. There will be a huge legal battle the likes of which we probably have never seen if SOPA passes, and it could even be dismissed if the opposition is strong enough.

Okay, This Is Bad. How Can I Help?

Simple. Call or write your congressmen and tell them why this bill is bad, and that they should be fighting to prevent it. Sign the petition (link at the bottom of the post.) If you can (and especially not easy for us in the gaming industry, but try for me?) don't give the companies supporting it your money. Attend the American Censorship Day protests. Spread the word to others and tell them to do the same. This bill is up for vote on January 24th, and unless 41 Representatives say no, this bill WILL pass. 


This is set to hurt the internet immensely. No one will win in the long run, and in the short run things look pretty terrifying for us internet dwellers. So lets put a stop to it.
http://americancensorship.org/

Thanks for your time. I promise some fun for the next article.

Image Source: http://images.sodahead.com/profiles/0/0/0/5/1/6/6/3/9/STOP-SOPA-65944995136.png

Source: GamesRadar - High Horse: Save Our Internet 

A Look At 2012

 ...I patiently await the day the zombie apocalypse begins.

Well 2011 has ended. We've all reflected more than enough so now we look towards the coming year in gaming. If the Mayans are right, it will be our last and (re: they aren't) it looks like this will be a pretty good year to end it on. Plenty of high caliber titles are due out this year, and some big announcements seem imminent, and who knows what else we might see this year. So lets take a look at whats on the way.

The Games 
(Note: I can not possibly talk about every last game here, so I'm only touching on a few of the bigger ones, or ones I feel should be on the radar for most people.)

There will be plenty of huge games getting released this year, and we have one of the biggest dropping at the end of the month. Final Fantasy XIII-2 is set to hopefully mark a return to form for the Final Fantasy series. The past two titles have not been received well. In fact, the MMO styled Final Fantasy XIV was so bad they had to temporarily shut the game down so they could fix the myriad of troubles that plagued the title at launch. Luckily, it seems that the sequel to Final Fantasy XIII seems set to fix the things that upset players and keep the things that worked. A new combat system should also prove to help keep things interesting. Soul Caliber V is also set for release at the end of the month as well, a day all fighting genre gamers should have circled. In fact the first three months of the year seem to be set to be one of the bigger parts of this years game release schedule, with The Darkness II, Syndicate, Twisted Metal, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Asura's Wrath, Max Payne 3, Tom Clancy's Future Soldier, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, Ninja Gaiden III, Dragons Dogma, DOTA 2, Kid Icarus: Uprising and SSX are all set for release in the first three months of the year.

There's two games also out in the first three months that RPG fans everywhere should be waiting with baited breath for. Mass Effect 3 is set to cap off Commander Shepard's trilogy with a huge bang. Every event in the past two games has lead to the epic finale and given what we've seen so far, this could be the best game from Bioware yet. They have made the bold claim that every plot point will be wrapped up nicely in this game, and the potential for the game to end in many different ways, including a few where you fail to save the galaxy, could make for one of the best endings to a story in gaming history. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning has flown far under the radar so far but that seems hard to believe from my viewpoint. With a story penned by fantasy author RA Salvatore, a visual style courtesy of Todd MacFarlane, and the design being overseen by Ken Rolston, a Bethesda veteran, there should be plenty of interest to begin with. Then there's the games refreshingly new story and universe. Along with that a very cool combat system and condensed, yet deep skill tree. Most gaming critics and experts have walked away from previews with nothing but nice things to say about the new IP.

Then at the end of March brings us the launch of Diablo III (hopefully, finally.) This is a game people have been waiting years to see release, and finally Blizzard fans can rejoice that the games March 31st release date seems set in stone. The dungeon crawler has some new classes and improved AI and combat, not to mention a beautiful graphics system and the marketplace where players can sell the gear they find online for real cash. People have been waiting a long time for this one, and hopefully, Diablo III can live up to the hype.

Sadly after that awesome start to the year, there won't be a whole lot in the way of top caliber titles to look for. Aside from Prototype 2 in April, Darksiders 2 in June, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time at the end of June, and Dust 514 also at the end of June, there won't be a lot to look for, which should give those of us strapped for cash plenty of time to get caught up and get ready for the usual flurry of releases in the Fall. Right now the only games to really be looking for are the Tomb Raider reboot, Halo 4 and Far Cry 3 but most of the big name titles won;t be announced until E3. The big game people are waiting for in the fall/winter is Bioshock Infinite. Given the gameplay we've seen so far, it's a safe bet that this game is set to be among the biggest of the year. The visuals are impressive, and the narrative is shaping up to be pretty deep, though it might not top the original Bioshock.  The city of Columbia also appears to have been just as well crafted as Rapture. It's a safe bet we'll be seeing the usual release from Call of Duty but aside from that we're not really sure what else to expect after September ends. Borderlands 2, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, and Metro: Last Light are among the games that have no release date set but are expected to ship at some point this year.

The Announcements and Reveals


We've already heard some bubbling rumors about what we might be seeing this year, but this entire section is mere speculation and personal thought. So don't take too much of it to heart.

We've seen an awful lot of stuff regarding Half-Life 3 as of late. First the shirt worn by a Valve employee, then the supposed references in the acceptance speech from Wheatly's VGA award win, and finally the appearance of a website that bore the Half-Life 3 logo and appropriate logos related to the games development (if it exists). Valve has dismissed it all as "the community trolling the community" but there's an awful lot floating around right now, so something must be up right? Sadly, we'll likely have to wait until E3 until we get our answer, if we get one at all. 

There's also been a lot of rumors that the next Xbox console is set for a reveal at E3 2012. While I have never seen Microsoft come out and say it won't be, my gut says that it won't be. They've just redesigned the dashboard and tried to get the Kinect to become a big pat of the Xbox 360 experience. Not to mention there are several big titles, chief among them Halo 4, that would make more sense to hold off until next year if an announcement and then hopeful launch next year. Then again, it may be time to start at least considering the rumor as a possibility. A few years back Microsoft told us the 360 was halfway through it's life cycle, and if that's true, we only have two or three years left until the next console. That's not the only reason this could be true. The eighth generation of consoles is starting. The Wii-u is set for a release at some point this year (likely the fall), both Sony and Nintendo have released their newest handhelds (North America will be getting the PS Vita in Feburary). But like with Half-Life 3, we'll have to wait until E3 before we really figure this one out.

Then there are all the games and companies that are due to make some announcements. Bioware did just announce Command and Conquer: Generals 2, but that's being developed by a new studio. Given some of the rumors surrounding Dragon Age, I'd wager we'll be seeing the next installment announced at some point. Grand Theft Auto V has been announced but that's about it. Expect lots of details to be fleshed out in the coming months leading up to E3. Something else to watch for is more information about Halo 4. We saw the reveal at E3, but have learned little else since. Expect E3 to be the place where we will really get a solid look at 343's first game with the franchise.


Well there you go. It's not much, but there's a brief little look at what to look forward to in 2012. It's shaping up to be an awesome year yet again to play video games, bu then again , when isn't it awesome? I'd also like to wish everyone a (late) Happy New Year. I hope that you'll keep reading and checking out this place through this year too.

Oh! And if you want to comment on any of my blog posts, feel free to do so. I welcome input and other opinions.


Image Source Links
#1: http://www.kaheel7.com/userimages/2012-mystery.JPG
#2. http://www.gamepur.com/files/images/2011/final-fantasy-xiii-2-screen.jpg
#3. http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2011/08/Mass-Effect-3-41.jpg
#4. http://theallgamingblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ss29-hires.jpg
#5. http://theurbangamer.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/xbox720-pic-3.jpg

Weekly Wrap Up: A New Format

Before we get started...

Okay, so you know how this blog has been updated here and there with some in depth stories and pieces? Yeah that's changing today. I'm making some changes to make this place somewhere where you can keep coming back all the time to find new stuff to read and listen to. A lot of this will be a work in progress as I go along, and more changes will more than likely to occur. As per the usual, your guys job is to spread the word as much as you can, and mine will be to keep them (and you) coming back for more.

Don't fear though, if you enjoyed what I used to do, those kinds of things will still be here, and I will still be writing new ones. But I felt like I could make this blog somewhere people flock to for the most interesting reading material about video games period. So, let's see how this goes.

- Nolan


...Let it begin.

The reason I almost missed Thanksgiving dinner.

This past week was, for us here in America (ummm....hell yeah?) was Thanksgiving. The day after Thanksgiving is traditionally Black Friday, the single biggest shopping day in the world. Ridiculous sales are on in every shop and everyone knows it's the best chance they have to haul in huge savings while doing Christmas shopping. Nonetheless the world continued to spin, so here are some of the highlights in news and interesting accomplishments from the past seven days.

South Korea's "Cinderella Law" Goes Into Effect

Fearing the problem that game addiction in a technologically focused country could have on the next generation of Koreans, South Korea has put into effect a law that bans players under the age of 16 from playing online between midnight and six in the morning. The law was drafted in April, and while it initially only covered MMORPGS, the law was extended to cover all kinds of gaming.

The law has met (obviously so) some harsh criticism from various gaming groups. The Korean Association of Game Industry, a massing of fourteen publishers and developers, has called it "excessive prohibition" of a specific group, and reportedly has plans to file a lawsuit.

The obvious reason behind this law is that teenagers should be spending the evening hours sleeping rather then gaming, but the law calls into question the civil liberties of children. And while the Korean government have made their views crystal clear, one has to wonder if this kind of law could spark similar reactions elsewhere in the world. The law also calls into question whose job it is to see that children get a decent amount of sleep, but for now this law is here to stay.

Curious Elder Scrolls Player Finds Entire Continent Beyond Skyrims Borders

One person playing Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim decided he just had to know what lay beyond the invisible boundaries of Skyrim's game world. I'm not entirely sure what he was expecting when he turned no-clip mode on to see what lay beyond Skyrims invisible borders, but I can guarantee he did not expect to find the entire continent of Tamrieal. The player took numerous screenshots as he flew around, seeing such sights as the Vvardenfell volcano and the Imperial City (well, the land area it sits upon anyhow.)

The question now is what exactly are they doing there? The most likely answer is so that when players look out over the horizon, they can see familiar landscape landmarks from past games, to help them feel like they are in the same world as the past Elder Scrolls games, but who knows? Maybe there is some sort of secret Bethesda hasn't let us in on yet.

New Xbox 360 Dashboard Launches December 6th

The title is somewhat self explanatory. Microsoft will roll out it's newest version of the Xbox Dashboard on the 6th. Aside from a sleeker look, the new dashboard will have greater integration for Kinect Voice Recognition. This is also the same day that the Microsoft will be launching some new TV and movie apps, so Xbox users should be paying special attention to this date.

All in all a quiet week overall, but the "Cinderella Law" (as it is apparently being called) that went into effect in South Korea this past week is an obviously important event. South Korea has earned a notorious reputation for how seriously they take their games, and for how long some people play them. But, as stated above, this law causes many questions to appear, and some have no clear answers. I personally find this law a bit of drastic step, and for parents it's somewhat of a slap in the face that the government has decided that they can't keep their children offline. We'll see what kind of an uproar we get from this law in the coming weeks.

News: Shepard Can Lose, Skyrim Same-Sex Marriage, and more!

...investigative reporting without the investigation.

This week was filled with interesting information reveals for games coming out over the next few months, as well as a Warthog preview in Forza. Yes, the Halo Warthog as it will appear in Halo 4 (supposedly)was show off in Forza 4. No you can not drive it. Not in Forza anyway...

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Will Allow Same-Sex Marrige
In case you didn't hear already, Bethesda is taking a page out of Peter Molyneux's book and allowing you to marry NPC's and have relationships with them in Skyrim. Skyrim will allow men to marry men, and ladies to marry ladies, if they so choose. As far as I'm concerned, good on Bethesda for not restricting marriage to men and women only. I also like their response that it's not even that big a deal. The same-sex part not the relationship mechanic itself. That part is supposed to be very useful, partially because your partner can accompany you around the game world, offer you relationship-specific quests, and probably some other things we haven't seen yet.

You Can Lose In Mass Effect 3

As much as I didn't want to read this, I already kind of knew it should be possible. Bioware has confirmed that if you play Mass Effect 3 and have been screwing things up royally from Eden Prime to the final showdown with the reapers, you can fail to stop them. Bioware has already said there are many possible endings for Mass Effect 3 and that it all comes down to the choices you've made, so really this isn't so much a shocking reveal as it is a confirmation of our suspicions. Still, failing so bad the entire galaxy is wiped out. How many games can say you can even do that?

Turn 10 Shows Off Halo 4's Warthog in Forza 4's Showroom
Turn 10 has made on hell of a crossover with Halo at Halofest, showing off the first look at Halo 4's version of the Warthog in Forza 4's car viewing garage mode. You can check it out yourself when Forza 4 ships this fall, but the Halofest execs stressed that you can not race the vehicle in the game (they say because it's too slow, I say because it'd be too much awesome) , and even unlocking the vehicle to view will involve some dedication from players. They haven't said what it will take to unlock it, but they have said it won't be easy.

Man Sues Microsoft for $500 Billion Dollars

I really wish I was making that up. To sum the story up for those of us non-legal folk, David Stebbins found a loophole that allows Xbox consumers to amend the Terms of Service. Microsoft, by law, has to respond to the letter by either adding the changes or (as per Stebbins terms) cancel his account. If they didn't respond in ten days, Microsoft would be forced to submit to the new terms. Stebbins' added in a 'forfeit victory clause' that said Microsoft would have to pay him $500 billion dollars if they did not respond within 24 hours of the new Terms going into effect. Guess what Microsoft did not do? Now let me be upfront about this: No matter the legal implications of this, there is no chance that Microsoft will ever be forced to pay all that money to this guy. I can't even speculate what the hell is going to happen with this, but I can tell you right now, this guy has a better chance of being bit by a shark, hit by lightning, winning the lottery, and winning a Nobel Prize in the space of five minutes, then he does of getting that money.

Thats all for this weeks news. Check back next week to see if Half Life 3 has been announced! (spoiler alert: it won't be.)

Vaas: The Best Video Game Character Ever?

...Sorry Freeman, your out.

E3 has been, as usual, a flurry of activity. The barrage of information is oftentimes a bit overwhelming and sometimes people miss the best reveals or previews. I know I'm still sifting through a mountain of interviews, trailers, and reveals. Despite this I thought for sure I was going to be most impressed by various titles like Mass Effect 3, and Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. However a bit later in the afternoon, I was browsing around, chatting with my friend Jimmy when I stumbled upon the Far Cry 3 gameplay demo. The gameplay was cool, the graphics were pretty solid, those things didn't blow me away per say, so much as they just looked really cool.

The voice acting and animation on the main villain Vaas on the other hand left me speechless.

"Have I ever told you...the definition...of insanity?" 

First off look at this guy. He LOOKS like an insane psychopath. Look at his eyes. You can see the fire and insanity in those eyes. His movement is also amazingly detailed...and slightly unpredictable. One moment, he's having a somewhat calm, albeit, disturbing, conversation with you, the next he suddenly blurts out, "...I am sorry....I don't LIKE....the way your looking at ME!" and then proceeds to go a little crazy, flipping over a makeshift table. He calms down for a minute walks over to the cement block your tied to, and shoves it off the cliff your next to. Which brings me to the voice acting. I am desperately looking to find out how gave Vaas' voice performance because whoever it is gave one of the best performances I have ever seen. Some people (not me... specifically anyway...) are comparing it to the kind of performance Heath Ledger gave in The Dark Knight. That's not blowing it out of proportion, that's how good it really was. And this is just the first ten or so minutes.

Think about that for a second. A lot of people are already blown away by Vaas and we've seen just one micro-fragment of the game. If the developers over at  Ubisoft Montreal pull this off right, and make Vaas' story and character development unique and/or interesting, he might become one of the best fictional characters ever. Obviously we still have a ways to go before Far Cry 3 is released, and in that time we'll see plenty of more gameplay videos, and learn lots of new information to be sure, but thanks to Vaas, I can't wait to see more, because I can't wait to see if the other characters can match up to his performance. 

Since this is a bit shorter than I want it to be, I'll wrap it up with the ten things I learned at this years E3...

10.) Nintendo's Wii-U is essentially a gigantic Nintendo DS.

9.) Star Wars Kinect is going to be the worst Star Wars game in a long time. Maybe even ever.

8.) Microsoft didn't care that Bungie "Finished the Fight."

7.) I never want to be the first person on stage at E3's press conferences.

6.) Peter Molyneux will need all the optimisim he has to get through his current Journey.

5.) Sony is still intent on getting into the handheld market. 

4.) Microsoft intends to make Cable obsolete.

3.) Nintendo might finally be trying to get M rated gamers interested in their consoles.

2.) Elder Scrolls Dragons are going to be the best creatures in a game ever.

1.) Microsoft still can't keep secrets.

That's all folks so until next time...

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