The lights are on
Clearly the hot topic this week was Mass Effect 3 and the whirlwind caused by the world premiere of the trailer and demo. This week also marks one of the highest numbers of blogs to be showcased in the Blog Herding feature.
Blog Herding Stats:
Period Reviewed: February 13 – February 19, 2012Number of User Blogs: 91Number of User Bloggers: 68Number of User Blogs Herded: 14
Community Events:
Frag Fest March 4thSheriff Warbuff and Alek389 are still scheduled to host a special Frag Fest event featuring Halo Reach and a number of custom maps and game modes. Less than two weeks until the big day, so sign up now.
Community Blogs:
Observations Of A Gamer DadWhat happens when gamers grow up and start families? This blog by Tactical Rash, a former regular who vanished only to reappear recently, provides a brief glimpse at life as a grown up gamer.
The Review Controversy – Getting Old Yet? Evidently NotHist muses about how some gamers react when a game doesn't get the score they think it deserves and those that are beating a dead horse by continuing the debate. Anybody else thinking, "I see what you did there."
Dark Souls: They Don't Make 'Em Like This AnymoreThe brutality of Dark Souls claims another victim as Masterassassin posts his thoughts on the exceedingly difficult and unforgiving gameplay that most current generation games seem to lack.
Motion Control: Needing To Move (Forward)Most gamers seem fairly leery of motion-based devices like Move or Kinect, but there are those, like BreadLoser, who appreciate what these peripherals are trying to accomplish.
Finding Value In Free DemosGamers typically play demos to experience a snippet of the full game prior to actually purchasing it, but there are other reasons that make demos worthwhile, as discussed in this post by tonyadpx.
Excitement Is Reaching Critical MassThere were quite a few similarly themed blogs inspired by the Mass Effect 3 demo, and this one by markus1142 sporting a clever title is definitely one of the best.
Mass Effect Multiplayer: What To Know (Demo Version)A thorough analysis of the soon to be released Mass Effect 3 exploring the multiplayer component showcased in the demo, provided courtesy of Jon Gregory aka JMan240.
The 10 Video Game CommandmentsTaking a break from his traditional top ten list blogs, thegodofwine7 doesn't stray too far from blogs with ten in the title with this humorous piece on how we should conduct ourselves as gamers.
2012: An Incredible Year For RPGsThis blog by xghost777 is certainly not the first by someone from the community talking about this being the year of the RPG, but it's definitely one of the best. Take a look and see if you agree or not.
The Blog Of Shame: Legendary Games I've Never PlayedBlogs about games we've played are common; blogs about games we're sad to say we've never played are not. Stranger does just that when he admits he hasn't played some of the industry's favorites.
Happy (Early) Valentine's Day Borderlands!Sure, Valentine's Day was so twelve seconds ago, but this heartfelt love letter to Borderlands from trap_the_clap27 is still a joy to read and worth a spot on this list.
Online Games JournalismWith so many different bloggers posting content at Game Informer, certainly there are some searching for a career in the industry. This post by indiejones provides some great pointers as well as challenges facing bloggers.
Long Live The KingWeekly photo blogs highlighting hot titles by Shootist2600 are being a common feature around here and this week is no different as he focuses his efforts on Kingdoms of Amalur.
Reckoning Impressions: It All Adds UpIt almost seems like if gamers weren't focused on the Mass Effect 3 demo they were playing Kingdoms of Amalur. Vurtax shares his thoughts on the game some are saying is up there with the likes of Skyrim.
Community Reviews:
User Review Herding – 02/15/12Back from a week off, SamuraiZero returns with a collection of user reviews worth your time, including ones for Gotham City Impostors, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, Batman: Arkham City, Dark Souls, Final Fantasy XIII-2, and much more. Support the community and take a look.
Video Review: Gotham City ImpostorsA popular piece in what might be the newest trend; Cody Gilley takes a turn at posting a video review for the newly released Gotham City Impostors.
Community Podcasts:
Armchair Gamer Podcast: Season Two Episode OneThe latest installment of the AGP is a solo effort by Light Gamebeast23456, and on the show he talks about various topics from the industry, including Outland, Zynga's growing legal troubles, and the passing of a great video game artist.
Robot in the Corner Podcast: Episode 2-20The crew returns like clockwork with Dean sharing his thoughts on the Shank 2 demo; Titus sharing his impressions of the Gotham City Impostors demo; and them collectively talking about the latest trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man movie.
Don't forget to send your feedback, recommendations, and community events in to my personal Game Informer account located here to ensure this feature continues to provide the content you're eager to read.
Happy Blogging!
Your friendly neighborhood blogging community (02/13/12 - 02/19/12):Andrew SiNiSTER; Biggy Phatts (panewman83); blaze6106; Boo (2); born4this; BreadLoser; Buddy Acker; christopher; Cody Gilley (3); crimsonbrony; Cru Hunter; Destructur25; DLT (2); Doctor Apozem; DoctorNight; DrJoeystein; falconIZE; frog2011; gamer2486 (2); gamerchild (2); GoldvsSilver; Harvester of Sorrow; Hist; ImNickson (2); indiejones; insectopod; Jack; Jack, The Quixotic Gamer; Jake S; Jon Gregory; Kid Ica; Knapptime; Light Gamebeast23456; markus1142 (2); Masterassassin; Matt-boy; my pants are on fire; Nate77; Noe Ramirez; o_JMan240_o; Oni no Tenshi (2); Orochi Assassin LEVON; PonstoryGames; rekoin (2); SamuraiZero; Shooterboy23; Shootist2600; Sora3Ben; SpiderRyno (2); Still_Insane22; Stranger (2); supersnake; Tactical Rash; The Handheld Tank; The Legendary Ewok King (2); The Trombogon; thegodofwine7; Thejourneyman66; tonyadpx (2); trap_the_clap27; Vurtax; wayoverdue (6); xghost777; xl9; xXBourne07Xx; YepImAPersonWaving (2); ynoT0312Taz; and of course yours truly...Saint.
Video Game Quote of the Week:"Given time, even a monkey can write Shakespeare." – Colonel Hakha, Killzone
Email the author Saint, or follow on Game Informer.
Woo, another herded blog! REALLY wasn't expecting that one. o.o
congats!
Thanks so much Saint! Sadly we didn't have any Indie & Mojo this past week because we're having trouble with our podcast provider but we are currently working on fixing that. Thanks for the herd, great picks!
As much as I would like to say that my stomach wasn't churning; hoping that my blog had made the list...it was. Vanity is a curse of men. I would be lying if I said that I didn't care if I got on this list. I like the attention that my writing receives. Whether I deserve to be recognized for my writing or not I'll leave up to the people qualified to make that decision. Thank you, though.
Nice choices. :)
Another stellar collection, great work Saint
Congrats to everyone up there, I know it is a thrill to see your name and title up there.
As always, great choices. I especially enjoyed Cody's video review and Indie's journalism tips. Great job guys.
Thank you for herding my blog! I had a lot of fun writing that one.
Hey! This is the first time I've be herded! Thanks!!
Cant weait till i make it on.
Good show! Excellent work everybody, I bet you had a hard time with this one Saint, there seems to be a bunch of blogs lately, and many of them are very good. I notice you didn't herd mine, I won't cry...much.
Thanks a bunch for herding my blog! It likes to wander off sometimes.
Really, I wasn't expecting this, but it just makes me want to keep at it and work harder to make sure that I'm putting out something both quality and entertaining. I appreciate it.
Is there a device that will read blogs to me? If only. Too many talented bloggers, too little time. Once again thanks for bringing these to our attention, Saint (and thank you so much for the support!).
Woo!!! 2nd week back, and I'm herded.
And just WHAT did I do there? :P