Substance TV

I can remember back in college when Erik and I would spend our Friday nights playing video games. We played everything. Though our favorite type of games were always co-op. Those titles made you work together as a team to reach a mutual goal. Sure we’d have a few good versus matches against one another, but we always came back to the loving arms of co-op.

Thanks to the wonders of the modern internet, Erik and I can still game in spite of our different area codes. We can once again play games together. There’s just one tiny problem. A void in the online gaming market: online co-op gaming. It’s shocking how difficult it is to find a good online co-op game. Erik currently owns a PS3 and Wii. He owned a 360 at one time, but when it red ringed for the umpteenth time, he gave up. Regardless, it shouldn’t be this hard to find fun online co-op games! Read the rest of this epic article! »

No, no, no, this is not an opinion. This is not a matter for debate. This is the cold hard truth.

But since I’m being honest, here are a few more truths. When it comes to first person shooters in general, I am average. On a good day I can maybe reach the top four in any given round. I’m good, just nothing spectacular. So I stake my awesomeness in Battlefield 1943 not out of pride, but just because it’s true. How did I come to such a conclusion? Simple.

The other night while playing, I scored a total of 1,040 points in a single round!

As you can see, I had 27 kills, each worth 10 points for a total of 270 points. Add in another 130 points for extra points garnered from killing tanks, vehicles, planes, or turrets for a grand total of 400 points contributed from kills. That leaves 640 points in captures, squad assists, and other various tasks which bring us to 1,040 points.

The real question: Why am I so awesome? Ummmmmm, I really don’t know. I don’t play the game radically different from any other FPS. I capture bases and kill enemies. Simple as that. Maybe it’s the combination of skill, class balance, teamwork, capturing bases, and the enemies lighting up as red triangles every time they fire giving me a clear direction in which to shoot. Whatever it is, somehow my gaming brain is in perfect sync.

Now if only I could parlay my awesome Battlefield 1943 skills into something cool like alligator wrestling or knife throwing.

BTW: I’m also awesome at Boom Boom Rocket. That makes me awesome at a total of two games. Not bad for 27 years of hard work.

Nothing much more to say. It’s Extra Joy!, it’s April 2nd, and it’s 2010. Oddities ensue. Enjoy!

The other night I’m in a party on Xbox LIVE. You know, shootin’ the breeze with a few friends, catching up on life, and seeing what’s new. I was playing a bit of Battlefield 1943 while the rest of the party was deep in Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer. Feeling like the third wheel, I asked the guys what other games they had. To my surprise, each of them responded with, “I only have Modern Warfare 2”.

What?

Of course one guy chimed in, as if to impress the others, “Well, I have NBA 2K7”. Wow. Great. Of course curiosity got the best of me. I asked, “What other games are you interested in?”. Each of them say in unison, “I really don’t care to buy any other games and mostly likely won’t”. They didn’t even have a simple Xbox LIVE arcade game. Nothing. Just Modern Warfare 2.

Let’s do that magical math dance and figure the least you would have to spend to get this setup.

Xbox 360 = $200 (base arcade system)
Modern Warfare 2 = $60 (new price)
Xbox LIVE = $50 (1 year access)

We’re talking about dropping at least $310 to buy the system, game, and online service. All this to play one game? Look, I could care less what others do with their money. This just doesn’t make sense. Why spend all this money for one game? I can think of a few dozen better ways to spend $310 on a single experience. Mind you, these gentleman have owned an Xbox 360 for a few years and have a considerable amount of disposable income (well at least two of them do). It’s like going to a fancy restaurant and getting the steak every time. You’d miss out on a wide array of other great dishes.

My plea to you: rent, borrow, demo, but somehow step out of your comfort zone and experience new games. Think outside of your preconceived notions. I would have missed out on an amazing series like Mass Effect had I not just tried it.

So go forth and try!