The controls need to be refined, but I see a definite future in mobile games.

Ever since Nokia first embedded snake onto their phones in the late 90s, mobile gaming has been getting bigger every year. These last two years has seen the iPhone and iPod touch revolutionize the way we create and the way we play video games. Now I'm left wondering, whats the next step?

To me, the iPhone hints at a future where all of our devices will be condensed down to one. Can you imagine only owning one video game system, a portable one? It might happen. I personally would be all for it. A mobile, download only future would, for me, be sunny and bright, how about you? Could you give up all your consoles and handhelds in favor of a device that does it all and then some? Or do you think that just reeks of the N-Gage? My views tend to be more popular in Asia and Europe, where mobile gaming is a much more established norm than in America, where we prefer our PSPs and DSs. So what do you think?

Steam usually has some good stuff for sale every weekend but this weekend really blows me away. First up we have the Crysis Maximum Edition, which is Crysis and Crysis Warhead packaged together for $29.98! Considering $29.98 is the normal price for both games, this is essentially buy one get one free. I'd be all over this if I had a computer that could run these games.

The deal that I jumped on and inspired me to write this blog is a big one. This might be the best weekend deal I've yet seen. Do you like Overlord? Do you like saving piles of money? Than get this, Overlord, Overlord: Raising Hell and Overlord II, packaged together, all for only $8.75. That's 75% off. If you own the original Overlord, the expansion pack is on sale for $2.50 and the sequel is only $7.50. Unsure about the series and don't want to drop all of your lunch money on them, than pick up the original Overlord for only $1.50, who can't afford that? Get 'em while they're hot!

I found this video on /v/ just now and I absolutely had to share it with the Dtoid community. This scene is from a Jackie Chan movie I've never head of before called "City Hunter" and it's pretty badass. I just love how they accurately used a lot of the Street Fighter II sound effects, very refreshing after so many movies have shown modern games like Halo playing with Pac Man sound effects in the background. Be sure to watch all the way to the end so you can see Jackie replicate Chun's finishing pose.

Could a game like this sway your vote in 2012? Bonus points if you know what game this picture is spoofing.

Video Games as a medium are maturing every day, we all know this. Twenty years ago, the idea of a game such as America's Army being used to recruit new soldiers was laughable, now it's a reality. Today I have a question for the fine folks of Destructoid.What is the next step for so called Serious Games? We already see video game's being used as marketing (Yaris, Doritos Dash of Destruction) so what if they were used as a campaign tool to get you to vote for the next President of the United States?

What would such a game look like? Is it even feasible? Would a well designed and fun to play video game sway your vote? Or does it still come down to the issues for you? What if the game was fun to play and talked about the issues, would that seal the deal? For you non-voters, would something like be enough to make you want to vote? Tell me what you think.

It’s time for another blog dealing with one of the issues I am discussing in my Psychological and Social Effects of Games class. This week we’re discussing cheating in video games.

I used to play a lot of Halo 2, like a whole lot. One of the reasons I stopped was because of the massive amount of cheaters I seemed to run into every time I’d play. It was one of those things I never really understood. If I were to join a bowling league, chances are I wouldn’t run into very many cheaters, but playing a video game online for any length of time is impossible without running into cheaters.

So what is it about games that make people feel like it is okay to cheat? I can understand cheating in an offline single player game. Sometimes you have to cheat to get past a particularly tough section. But cheating in online games, such as pressing the standby button on your modem while playing Halo 2, completely robs the game of any meaning. Why is it that people get such satisfaction out of it?

That's all she wrote folks. My relationship with my wonderful girlfriend is over. I've mentioned her in several other blogs (never by name), most notably in my most recent set-up blog. She said numerous times over the last month or so that I don't make her happy anymore and it's gotten to the point where I'm done trying to make her happy and I have to make the decision to move on. We've been on and off for the past while and this time it's official, we're done.

I'm shopping for a new apartment and it's looking like I'll end up in some shitty studio apartment until I can find something nicer. I should have listened to my mother and never moved in with this girl in the first place. Learn from my mistake and don't move in with someone until you're 100% sure it's right. We dated for a year before moving in together and even that wasn't enough time. Don't make the same mistake as me.

It's shameful, but I can't help but imagine how this will affect my gaming life. The HDTVs, PS3 and Wii are hers, so I'll be gaming on my old SDTV setup with only my 360 and older consoles. Not being able to play Boom Blox and Demon Souls is going to suck, but I still own the games, I just need new consoles. The question is, do I save up for a nicer TV first, or the consoles? Whatever I do, I'll have a new setup blog posted as soon as I can.

Sorry if this blog has been hard to read. I wrote it off the cuff and didn't change much while editing it. I'm in a sour mood as you can imagine, hence the lack of pretty pictures. You can expect a much better written and video games related post from me tomorrow. For now though, it's time for me to get back to apartment hunting. =(