[WARNING: You are about to write an extremely whiny rant. Brace yourself!]



You reload your M4. You look down the sights. No enemies anywhere. You walk down the corridor. Boom. You died. A camper has struck again.

I'm sure you have encountered this; campers have been running rampant in MW2. These people care more about getting points than playing the game. And yes, although it seems a bit bold of me to say it, but there IS a wrong way to play Modern Warfare 2, and camping is NOT a legitimate strategy.

Don't get me wrong, Modern Warfare 2 is a good game. A great game, even. I've told myself many times to persevere, but these people are making it very hard to enjoy this otherwise brilliant title. The fact that they can use weapons that kill you in one shot (FAMAS, Intervention, etc.) doesn't help either. Before you flame, think about it: Doesn't it piss you off when the same person kills you two or three times before you finally kill him because he's sniping you from afar? Doesn't it piss you off when you go 30-50 seconds without seeing an enemy because they're all hiding around corners? It should.

We didn't have this problem with CoD4, I don't see why this problem has grown so out of hand. I am sorry to say that the shining quality of this great game is being dulled by it's awful community. We SHOULD persevere and show these campers whose boss, but it's becoming extremely frustrating. So, can a community kill a game? Maybe. I sure hope not.

Ok I'll be blunt: I've never played a JRPG. Never. Never ever. I havn't even thought of picking up a Final Fantasy game, nor have I played and of the "classics" like Chrono Trigger or Earthbound. I've always been a fan of Western RPGs, dungeons, dragons, axes, all that jazz.

Well all this changed yesterday. I was digging in my cousin's room for a PS2 controller to bring to my friend's house, lo and behold, I found my cousin's old PSP 1000. Seeing as my cousin just traded in every single one of his UMD's, he doesn't want it anymore. One word: SCORE!



So anyway, the PSP is MINE! I have been enjoying "tricking it out" with various themes/backgrounds, and have it nice and personalized. Then it hit me: I need some games. So I ran down my head of some good PSP titles: God of War: Chains of Olympus, Gran Turismo, Patapon, etc. Then I was reminded of one title that interests me the most: Persona Portable.

I like the premise of the Persona games. I like the nice anime characters. I like high school, and I can relate because, well, I'm in high school at the moment. I want a game that I can chip away at, that I can play on and off, and enjoy greatly. But I want that game to have some depth. That game, my dear Destructoid, is Persona PSP.

I will be writing a follow-up blog on my experience with the game. Maybe I'll call it "A JRPG Virgin Does It For The First Time". Hmm...

Also, wish me luck!

And here's why. Many of you do not know this, although I've made it a point in my other blogs, I am a young gamer. At the age of 15, I'm often grouped in with the "adolescent" crowd. The actual age, however, is not the problem. Call me an adolescent, that's not what bothers me. What bothers me is that I'm at the same level as these pricks Jim Sterling keeps ranting about. I'm here to state my case: Not all younger gamers are rude, immature idiots. There's a revolution happening, my fellow DToiders. A revolution of mature, polite, and considerate young'ins. And I'm a part of it.





I started gaming at the age of three. This was the time of Diddy Kong Racing and Rayman 2. I never got to enjoy the "true" classics, such as the original Final Fantasy or Megaman titles. Although I'm not particularly fond of these retro games, I'm humbled by the fact that they exist, and many gamers love them. My entry into gaming was successful and, well, awesome. My entry into online gaming, however, was not. At the age of 11 I picked up Counter Strike: Source and played it heavily. I wasn't the best at the game, but I could keep myself out of last place. My Counter Strike days did not last long after I got my microphone, though. When I plugged in and said a quick "Hey, guys, what's up?", the entire server was in an uproar. I honestly wanted to have a nice, civil conversation, but was shot down because my 11-year-old voice was high-pitched. Four years later, I play on the very same server I did that faithful day, and am a part of the flourishing community. So there's a little info on where I come from.

What angers me is that people my age get a bad rep. My "peers", if you will, are the ones flaming forums for no reason and calling you a "st00p1d faggot" on Xbox Live. It infuriates me to know that I'm categorized as one of these people. Being a younger gamer is no longer a blessing, being one of millions who share the same hobby. No, I'm now grouped together with these little shits who just learned the word "fuck" on Xbox Live.

So with this, I'm imploring you, Destructoid, to see younger gamers with a different perspective. I am NOT following the young gamer stereotype. I am a mature, responsible person, and I want to be on the same level as older gamers. Allow me to apologize for my peers, and let me assure you that I'm here to make a difference.

Or, how to make it more amazing than it will be regardless. I am a huge Valve junkie. I have basically the entire Valve Complete Pack off of Steam, except I bought it all separately as the games came out. I'm hardcoar and shit, yo. Kidding. Anyway, from the recent trailers for Left 4 Dead 2 and the trickle of information Valve has graced us with, I'm beginning to grow...skeptical. I'm still buying it, and I'm not joining that retarded-ass steam group, but if Valve doesn't deliver on a few of the following, I'd be a bit disappointed.



It appears Valve is inching L4D2 to the "survival horror" genre. And no, I'm not calling L4D2 a survival horror game, but a few of the design choices are a bit freaky. Taking a look at the L4D1 boss infected, they weren't all that frightening. The Boomer is a fatty who explodes epically when shot. The Witch is easy to avoid and is, well, a little girl in a bra and underwear. The hunter would be freakier if it wasn't hilarious to shoot down mid-pounce, and the Smoker's tongue is a scary concept but has some humor value to it. The only boss infected with shock value was the tank. When you're fighting it, you're too busy to notice how freaky it really is. The fact that it's tongue is constantly sticking out is kind of creepy, but the whole fact that it rushes at you with it's giant mutated arms while it's underdeveloped legs dangle uselessly is scary to me. L4D had amazing sound work, and it's sequel will be no different. The sound that the Charger makes is, well, freaking scary. It sounds like a hillbilly donkey. Just think of this situation: You're using the hunting rifle (which is now a PSG 1) to pick off a few infected in the background, and you hear the awful screech of the Charger along with a "thud, thud, thud" that is growing ever louder. You exit the scope to look for the Charger, but when you look to the left you get a faceful of mutated arm. I, personally, would shit myself. And when I was on DToid last night and saw the image of the Spitter, I cringed a little bit. That thing is fucking creepy. In my opinion, a bit over the top. Call me a scaredy cat all you want ('cause I am), but that thing is a bit disturbing. And the whole concept of the Mud Men is creepy as well...the fast zombies of HL2 are some of the most frightening enemies in gaming history, and I have a feeling the Mud Men will have similar mechanics. However, I know how Valve can counteract this: dialogue. The characters of Left 4 Dead 2 are very cool, each with their distinct personality. I can see some pretty awesome conversations between the characters. L4D had some great conversations, like Zoey yelling "Game Over Man, Game Over!" in the elevator of No Mercy. L4D 2 needs to have even more moments like these to break the tension and get the players to relax a bit before being charged or spat upon.



Second of all, I feel as if there needs to be more weapons. Yes, I know it was a good design choice to keep the weapon choices simple, and I know that me and every 10 year old wants "MOAR GUNZ", but I'd like some more variety. I love the SCAR, the Spas 12 is a neat idea, and the PSG 1 is a sweet gun as well. The silenced Uzi and the silver Wingmaster were great choices as well, but I want a little more. Perhaps another SMG that shoots just like the UZI but looks differently. Maybe a double barreled shotgun. I honestly don't care, I just want them to mix it up a bit, that's all.

And lastly, and most importantly, MAKE THE TWO GAMES COMPATIBLE WITH EACH OTHER!!! Give those who bought L4D 1 and L4D 2 the option to play both titles' campaigns within L4D 2. I think the people in the boycott group should go cry in a corner some more, but that doesn't mean they don't have a point. I think splitting up the two communities is a bad idea, and that finding some way to keep them together would benefit everyone. Because, frankly, I lieked teh campainz of l4d :(. And I don't want them to go away.

[P.S. I made the first image. Do you like it? If you'd like to use it as your wallpaper or for any other reason, feel free. If you'd like it in sexy, sexy 1600x1200, ask in the comments and I will deliver. Thanks.]

You saw right, folks. Zeno Clash 2 has been *officially* confirmed by Chilean developer ACE team.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/05/19/11853/

From Rock Paper Shotgun:

[i]ACE Team have just announced the excellent news that they’re already working on a sequel to Zeno Clash, the first-person beat-em-up we poured praise upon last month. Zeno Clash 2, as it’s currently known, will take place after the events of the first game, continuing the adventures of Ghat, this time in a larger world, with mysterious “RPG elements”.

There’s to be more about Father-Mother, the peculiar Golem about whom so little was revealed, as well as promised new characters. ACE Team also explain that it’s going to be a bigger game this time. Interestingly so.

“ACE Team wants the next installment to be much larger in scope, so the new game will feature open ended gameplay with large explorable environments and RPG elements. The unique melee combat system that made the first game a success will also be expanded to feature even more brutal and engaging gameplay.”

There’s also news of a new patch for the original Zeno Clash, which amongst fixes and so on will add health and time counters for the Challenge Mode. And there’s promises of new DLC for the game due in a few weeks.

Zeno Clash 2 is currently in super-early stages, but as soon as there’s more details we’ll grab ACE by the collar, punch them three times, then knee them in the face until they tell us all about them.[/i]


I'm pumped, how about you?

I am going to start a series of blogs pertaining to my annoyances with games and gamers alike. The nature of these posts are going to be extremely controversial in the world of Destructoid. Please take all of the rantasciousness with grain of salt, if you will. JUSTIFIED opinions and CONSTRUCTIVE criticism are appreciated, but "LAWL UR WRONG AND UR A GAY" is not. Thanks.



I'm sure every frequenter of Destructoid has seen a post of some 35 year old guy talking about some game he played for the Genesis. The posts usually start out innocent enough, the said blogger usually saying how he got the game for Christmas of '91 and how excited he was to get [insert unknown retro game here]. That's great and all, but what follows afterward is what pisses me off.

The blogger (I'm not pointing out any names, here) then goes to say how frustrated he was with the game and how the game caused him a great deal of mental stress. The blogger spends the first couple of paragraphs writing about how awful and difficult the game is and that he never wanted to play again. Even after the complaints of said retro title, the blogger says that he continued on and wanted to complete the game. That's fine, It's good that you want to finish what you started.



This is where the pet peeve comes in. The blogger usually says after all of his/her grievances he/she actually loved the title. That's cool, I'm glad the overall experience was good. Oh, by the way, they're also sick of all of these "new-fangled" video games being too easy and that younger gamers are not as well-versed in video game experience because of the lack of difficulty. Wait, what?

I'm extremely sorry I don't want to go to Emuparadise or Osaka, Japan and find the extremely obscure and difficult game you mentioned. I'm also sorry I'm not allowed to go to the "cool kids table" with all of you retro gamers. I never said that I hated retro games at all, but what pisses me off is that my demographic is insulted because I have a personal preference to play more modern games. I'm also sorry I don't want to play a game that makes me want to bash my head into a wall; when a game gets that difficult I think it loses some of it's "fun value".

g

I don't care how cool and old-school these games are, I just can't find enjoyment in them. Why do some retro gamers have to have the mindset that newer games cannot deliver as good as an experience as those of the past? Why can't I as a younger gamer still be considered a "hardcore" gamer just because I want to play the games of my generation? In 20 years the Xbox 360 is going to be with the likes of the SNES, and what will I be then? Will I be a hardcore gamer then just because I'm older and played games of my childhood? Or will I just be just another one of those snot-nosed punks who plays on Live?

In my personal opinion, you can garner the same experience from a single-player game on Easy as you can on Normal or a harder difficulty. I am very knowledgeable when it comes to recent video games, but when the option arises, I select "Easy". Is that the definition of a casual gamer, then? Can I have played an obscene amount of games in my time, tell you the release dates of many upcoming titles, and at least have some knowledge about almost every popular game released after 2001 and still be considered a "casual gamer" because I play on easy and only play games of my generation? I want all retro elitists out there to get it in their heads that they're not the only ones who are hardcore gamers, and that perhaps not everyone wants to play retro titles and experience more frustration than fun.

[P.S. Yes, I know, "Also, Retroforce Go! is going to break through your ceiling tiles and rape you." Look, I'm not insulting retro gamers at all. I'm merely stating that retro gamers shouldn't have the "holier than thou" mindset, and that there's such a thing as a "hardcore, non-retro gamer".]