http://pwned.com/quiglin/blogs/ Pwned.com - Quiglin's Blog Feed en-us http://pwned.com/showblog/3367/quiglin/The-Life-and-Times-of-an-Average-Gamer--Volume-VI/ As a child, I would always look forward to a Saturday afternoon during the winter when my father would pull a box from the top of his closet.nbsp; It was always exciting because my sister and I did not get to play with the boxrsquo;s contents very often and it was always a challenge.nbsp; The cardboard box was filled with various puzzles and challenging doodads.nbsp; We would try to out wit the brainteasers and mindbenders to claim victory over our box of treasures.nbsp; Professor Layton and the Curious Village affords you this same opportunity for fulfillment.nbsp; A point-and-click puzzle adventure on the Nintendo DS, Professor Layton offers the average gamer a well-paced, challenging romp through the fictional town of St. Mystere. nbsp; The first thing you will notice is that an elementary school-age boy is riding in a car and spending an inordinate amount of time with http://pwned.com/showblog/3367/quiglin/The-Life-and-Times-of-an-Average-Gamer--Volume-VI/ http://pwned.com/showblog/3208/quiglin/The-Life-and-Times-of-an-Average-Gamer--Volume-V/ A couple of weeks ago we took a little weekend vacation to Louisville, KY, to enjoy the city and see Video Games Live!nbsp; Billed on the website as "an immersive concert event featuring music from the most popular video games of all time," the description doesn't really even cover it.nbsp; Imagine yourself sitting in your seat with a huge smile on your face as your childhood plays out in front of you ndash; that barely scratches the surface of the experience.nbsp; nbsp; Walking into the Kentucky Center in my Pwned.com shirt, I was impressed by the throng of people standing around, talking and playing with one another on games being projected onto the walls of the foyer.nbsp; The crowd pulsed with excitement.nbsp; The pre-show festivities were the perfect primer for an audience of gamers: get gamers to play video games, whetting their appetites for the ensuing experience.n http://pwned.com/showblog/3208/quiglin/The-Life-and-Times-of-an-Average-Gamer--Volume-V/ http://pwned.com/showblog/3072/quiglin/The-Life-and-Times-of-an-Average-Gamer--Volume-4S---Sony-s-E3-Press-Conference-Impressions/ Sometimes I wish the Sony press conference was first instead of last on the docket.  I say this because inevitably the racket from the Internet begins to fill your ears with “Playstation 3 is dead,” “Sony = fail,” “this is their last chance” and “they’re desperate” even before the press conference has started.  Tuning out all the negativity was difficult as I bring you an honest and unbiased analysis of a genuinely solid Sony event.   Before the press conference even began there was an audio montage highlighting the current games on the Playstation 3 (PS3).  It was subtle but a wonderful appetizer to whet our appetites.  Once the lights came up, we were greeted by a video montage and Jack Tretton, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment.  Jack started talking and I was completely entranced.  He spoke positively, with honesty, and sincere gratitude.  He understood http://pwned.com/showblog/3072/quiglin/The-Life-and-Times-of-an-Average-Gamer--Volume-4S---Sony-s-E3-Press-Conference-Impressions/ http://pwned.com/showblog/3066/quiglin/The-Life-and-Times-of-an-Average-Gamer--Volume-4N---Nintendo-s-E3-Press-Conference-Impressions/ As an owner of a Wii and a DS, I was probably looking forward to the Nintendo press conference this morning the most for this E3 Media and Business Summit.nbsp; Remembering last yearrsquo;s press conference, you needed to have realistic expectations about this yearrsquo;s event ndash; realistic expectations that this press conference was not for the hardcore player or even an average gamer like me who follows the industry, but rather for Good Morning America, the Today Show and Oprah. nbsp; With expectations set firmly in place I watched a typical Nintendo montage and out walks Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Cammie Dunaway.nbsp;nbsp; Where is the normal face of Nintendo, Reggie Fils-Aime, President of Nintendo of America?nbsp; Ah, theyrsquo;re showcasing a female executive that loves playing and making video games.nbsp; That is slick.nbsp; No wait, itrsqu http://pwned.com/showblog/3066/quiglin/The-Life-and-Times-of-an-Average-Gamer--Volume-4N---Nintendo-s-E3-Press-Conference-Impressions/ http://pwned.com/showblog/3059/quiglin/The-Life-and-Times-of-an-Average-Gamer--Volume-4M---Microsoft-s-E3-Press-Conference-Impressions/ Much like the barker at a carnival sideshow of the strange and mysterious, Microsoft called us forth at the E3 Media and Business Summit for the first press conference of the show.nbsp; After watching the entirety of last yearrsquo;s press conference and still not owning an Xbox 360, I tuned into this press conference with keen interest to be impressed enough to purchase what many consider the hardcore gaming platform of choice.nbsp; I wanted to share with you the impressions of the average gamer. nbsp; The show opens and like the first act of the show, they wow us with their upcoming hardcore lineup.nbsp; Fallout 3 looks amazing.nbsp; Sure, it has the normal current-gen color palette, and by palette, I mean the many hues of brown and gray, but what set it apart for me was the gameplay elements of being able to switch from run-and-gun to more RPG-esque percentages and rol http://pwned.com/showblog/3059/quiglin/The-Life-and-Times-of-an-Average-Gamer--Volume-4M---Microsoft-s-E3-Press-Conference-Impressions/ http://pwned.com/showblog/3031/quiglin/Video-Games-Live-in-Louisville--KY---July-18th/ I'm heading down to Louisville for next Friday's VGL show. Is anyone else from Pwned going to the show? If yes, maybe you would like to meet up with my girlfriend and I for dinner. Leave me a comment or send me a PM and let me know. Thanks! http://pwned.com/showblog/3031/quiglin/Video-Games-Live-in-Louisville--KY---July-18th/ http://pwned.com/showblog/2975/quiglin/The-Life-and-Times-of-an-Average-Gamer--Volume-III/ Recently Valve released the next wave of class achievements for their hit game Team Fortress 2. Two nights before, they released the class they were updating (the Pyro) and a new “Meet the __” video - this time it was Meet the Sniper. I eagerly anticipated the release even though I am not a huge pyro player, and watching the video only heightened my excitement. That all came crashing down the night of the release when I came home from work, updated my client and logged in. The release hadn’t been out for more than a few hours and already people had 2, sometimes all 3, pyro achievement weapons. I was stunned to see people have all 3 weapons; that is 35 achievements gained in a mere matter of hours. That is when my disappointment peaked. All these individuals ‘farmed’ their achievements. I could feel my enjoyment for playing the game lessen with each passing second. As if my level http://pwned.com/showblog/2975/quiglin/The-Life-and-Times-of-an-Average-Gamer--Volume-III/ http://pwned.com/showblog/2923/quiglin/The-Life-and-Times-of-an-Average-Gamer--Volume-II/ The video game industry, compared to the movie industry, is young. This media is an unknown in the minds of the baby boomer generation as they watch their children grow up playing. To their generation and the generation before, this unknown is a scary hobby unlike baseball cards and model cars. The media, hungry to cash in on this fear, fuels it with articles of video games and their influence on children. So, the claim that video games beget violence and corrupt children is not a new one, with many “experts” and media outlets using this as a springboard to their platforms on censorship. As the industry grows in size, money and influence, and opinions sway away from “child’s toy” to entertainment venue, we must continue to fight the ignorance of “experts,” mainstream media and lawmakers. Blind prejudice against video games was never as blatant as the Fox News segment on Mass Effe http://pwned.com/showblog/2923/quiglin/The-Life-and-Times-of-an-Average-Gamer--Volume-II/ http://pwned.com/showblog/2871/quiglin/The-Life-and-Times-of-an-Average-Gamer--Volume-I/ I am out here. I may not be the terror that flaps in the night, but hopefully someone somewhere is losing sleep over me. I am in a group that is rapidly growing and feels lost because we do not have a label. We are the gamers who fall in the chasm the media (professional and enthusiast) created between "hardcore" and "casual" gamers. You may not even know we exist. We already know that publishers, developers, media and marketers do not. I love video games. I grew up playing video games. I have some of my fondest memories playing video games, like the summer in grade school spent almost entirely at my friend's house alternating between playing Contra, swimming and watching wrestling. It didn't matter how many times we beat it, we had a blast and it never got old...that, and those button-pushes will forever be carved into my brain. My parents got "me" an Atari 2600 when I was http://pwned.com/showblog/2871/quiglin/The-Life-and-Times-of-an-Average-Gamer--Volume-I/ http://pwned.com/showblog/2629/quiglin/Worst--First--Blogpost--Ever-/ Ugh. I'm not dead. I almost wish I was. Went to bed on last Monday night feeling fine and normal. Woke up an hour later with a huge fever, the nastiest headache I've ever had, and the chills. Chills like teeth-chattering and uncontrolled shaking. I survived the night and tried to sleep it off during the day only to have my fever shoot back up and the chills return... Headed to the hospital for a day of waiting and tests. I have a virus. It's not the flu, but it's viral. Wednesday led to a new symptom involving many trips to the bathroom. My ass got kicked 3 ways from Sunday. Today is the next Monday and I'm still not at 100%. I'm trying to finish up my first day back at work in a week, but it's been a long day. Just wanted to let people know I didn't die or get swallowed up by the Internet. http://pwned.com/showblog/2629/quiglin/Worst--First--Blogpost--Ever-/