This person was mad about something but it wasn't necessarily video games.

I've been hearing a lot of talk lately about how negative gamers are and how we can never appreciate anything. The stereotype says that we will bitch about everything, even good things like Sonic The Hedgehog 4. Well I'm here to point out that it's not a trait that is exclusive to gamers. There are people like that in every hobby,especially the ones with a strong internet presence.

Go to any automotive forum and witness the fanboyism and general ignorance on display. It's just like any given gamer forum except replace the 360 vs Wii vs PS3 chatter with American cars vs Japanese cars vs European cars talk. There are people who drive around in their early 90s mustangs and camaros yet absolutely hate the new 'stangs and 'maros based on silly things like "They're too heavy" or "They're over designed" it really is almost exactly like a video game forum.

The same goes for forums that revolve around movies and TV. Have you ever read the user reviews on Rotten Tomatoes or MetaCritic? Pretentiousness by the truckload right there. My point is, there are people everywhere who think they know better than everyone else, it is not something that gamers hold the exclusive rights to.

On top of all of that, complaining about things in a constructive way often helps things. In our internet age, companies often listen to the things we say about the products they make. We influence the next generation of products every time we log online and give our opinion. So don't be afraid to voice your concerns about Sonic 4 being episodic, just be sure not to sound like you're smashing your head against your keyboard while you complain.

Those two may have actual weapons like swords and nunchucks but seriously, they ain't got shit on me.

Xbox: First up, I have my original Xbox which I just love dropping on fools heads. You better not piss me off while you're laying down, otherwise you're in for a world of hurt.

Rotary Phone: I'm not ashamed to admit, I have a rotary phone fetish. Not only are they fun to dial, they also have a convenient handle on the back, which allows for a great grip while you smash fools over the head with it. The best part is, your opponent doesn't even have to be on their back for this method to be effective.

Acoustic Guitar: If it's good enough for Jeff Jarret it's good enough for me.

When I'm not introducing blunt objects to people's heads, I fall back on one of these weapons.

Chimchar w/Scribblenauts rooster hat: It's a freaking fire monkey that can summon anything (as long as it's not copyrighted or a naughty word) guess what he's gonna summon? That's right, more fire. What do you have that can beat that?

Rusty Hatchet: I found this in the woods as a teenager and I haven't had the opportunity to give anyone tetanus yet. Just give me a reason....

Pocket Knife: Here's the deal with this:



That's right, it's an AMERICAN knife, made in CHINA. And we all know that Asians do everything better. It's probably got some ancient Chinese magic built right in. You've got no chance.

I really need to get a proper digital camera. These cellphone pics aren't cutting it.

A few people have asked about my setup recently so thought I’d post at least one picture of the setup I’ve been gaming on for the past few months. Despite the lack of HDTV, I find it very cozy. This picture was taken as if you were sitting on my couch, hence why the TV is angled like that. Just about everything in my collection is in the picture and so is Mr. Destructoid. Can you spot him? A full setup blog will be posted as soon as I get everything purchased on my list, sometime in the summer most likely, for now, let’s move on to my impressions of some recent demos.



After sitting on it for far too long, I finally got around to playing the Dark Void demo. I’ve been hearing a lot of negative things about the demo. And personally I am more excited about Dark Void Zero on the DSi. However, I was shocked to find the game quite playable, enjoyable even. To me it feels like the best parts of Gears of War, mixed with the best parts of Call of Duty, with a touch of The Rocketeer, all wrapped in a coat of Halo looking paint. It’s not such a bad mix honestly, this demo pushed Dark Void up a couple notches on my DO WANT list. It’s just a shame it’s so short.



I know I’m really slowpoking on this one but holy shit, the Dante’s Inferno demo has naked breasts in it. I was just playing the demo, I had just killed death while he begged for his life and I thought it was all over, when WHAM, there’s one naked breast. And then a few seconds later, there are two naked breasts. And the demo went on! And there were more and more breasts! I know it’s nothing new since God of War and many other games have nudity in them, but this is first time I recall it happening in a demo. I know that back in the day, my parents would have shat bricks if one of the demos that came with the Official Playstation Magazine contained nudity, so let’s hope today’s parents have their parental controls set properly. Anyways, as far as demos go, Dante’s Inferno packs a lot in. The feeling I get from it is that it’s a very competent God of War clone. The only down side for me is that the text was very hard to read on my SDTV, so I’ll probably wait until I’ve upgraded to buy this game.



Speaking of breasts, I also played Bayonetta. I wasn’t sold on this game via trailers alone, like most people, but after playing this demo, I am very much looking forward to beating the whole game. It’s beautiful to look at, stylish in its action and the combat is fun, fast paced and challenging without being frustrating, I really hope the whole game can keep it up. Unlike Dante’s Inferno, I can read the text in this game just fine, something that seems to be a rarity these days.



After a string of three good demos, I finally land on a bad one. Fairy Tale Fights looked mildly interesting, almost like a super smash bros clone with fairy tale characters. It had a little potential. Too bad it turned out like this. It plays nothing like smash bros. The fighting is imprecise and boring, the music is generic rock or generic classic and worst of all, this demo has you fighting off hordes of enemies in a bland white room. I suppose they made it white to highlight all the blood that gets spilled, but if that’s all you have to offer me in your game, than sorry, not interested.

Picture unrelated, kind of...

I got an interesting email this morning from Brett Schenker, the Online Advocacy Manager for the Entertainment Consumers Association. The email urged me to speak out for Net Neutrality and after doing everything on the list of things in the email, I decided that writing a blog about it would be another quick and easy way I could spread the word.

Net Neutrality, for those that don't know, is the concept that the companies we buy internet from should not be allowed to restrict access to websites, should not be allowed to set bandwidth limits and should not be allowed to dictate what we connect to the internet with. The internet right now is essentially the wild west. If there is any justice in the world it will stay that way. Many major companies would rather see our freedoms online restricted. If it was up to them, we would buy internet like we buy our cable TV. We would select from packages which contain websites we could visit and games we could play, but we wouldn't be allowed to access anything outside that package. I don't want this, you don't want this.

Here is the email I got this morning, along with a couple steps you can take to show your support for net neutrality.

Dear Sean,

On Friday, January 8, 2010, .S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia seemed to question whether the Federal Communications Commission has the authority to enforce Net Neutrality. While a final decision has yet to be issued, the court's questioning indicates it will find that the FCC lacks the statutory authority to enforce Net Neutrality. If that becomes precedent, it becomes even more apparent that Congress is the one that will have to act to ensure Net Neutrality is the law of the land.

Net Neutrality is the principle that ensures that Internet users are free to go where they want, and connect with whom they choose online.

Though a final court decision to settle the FCC's ability to enforce Net Neutrality may not come for months, there's no time like the present to make your voice heard. Make sure to write your Congressman and tell them you support Net Neutrality. It takes just a few seconds to do so.

There are numerous other things you can do to make your voice heard and ensure Net Neutrality becomes the law of the land, allowing us to enjoy our video games online unfettered.

1. Write your Representative and tell them you support the principle of Net Neutrality
2. Become a Gamer for Net Neutrality
3. Spread the word and tell your friends to get involved
4. Join the Gamers for Net Neutrality Facebook group and share it with your friends
5. Tweet about this subject "I'm a gamer and I support Net Neutrality http://bit.ly/16E7gY #netneutrality #eca"

The political landscape has never been better to see Net Neutrality passed as law. After this November's elections, the opportunity may not be as good to move it forward. Please, get involved and speak out!

Thanks,

Brett Schenker, Online Advocacy Manager

Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA)

The steps outlined above will not take you more than 5 minutes to complete. The most important one though, is emailing your congressman. If you click that first link I provided for you, it will take you to a page with a pre-written email that all you have to do is sign and send. It's so easy, you'd be a fool not to do it. Please help support Net Neutrality, it could be the most important thing you do all day.

There has been much fervor on display in the gaming community for the recently released Modern Warfare 2. And with good reason, the game is quite possibly the best interactive depiction of modern war that we have yet seen. It’s also a ton of fun to play. However, there was another recent release in the Call of Duty franchise that hasn’t gotten a lot of press. I’m talking about Call of Duty: Classic for the XBLA and PSN, a port of the original Call of Duty for the PC. I’ll be reviewing the XBLA version of the game.

Call of Duty: Classic is available for 1200 MS points or as a free download if you buy the Hardened or Prestige editions of Modern Warfare 2. So is the game worth the money? Well, yes and no. If you’ve played the PC version of Call of Duty, I’m going to go right ahead and tell you to pass on by. There is nothing new to this version of the game. It comes will all the same levels, weapons and characters that you’re already familiar with. The only difference from the PC version is the save system. On the PC you could save at any time during the levels. This port only saves after checkpoints.

This new save system fails for two reasons; first, it makes the game more frustrating than it has to be. Some of the latter levels have checkpoints that are simply too far apart, which forces you to replay large sections of the game should you fail. Secondly, the game doesn’t save in between levels, only at the start of each level and at the checkpoints during the level. So if you beat a level and turn the game off without letting the next level load, the next time you load up the game you will find yourself at the last checkpoint of the level you just beat. That’s just unacceptable.

Besides the save system and HD graphics, the game is identical to its PC counterpart, however it is vastly different from all the Call of Duty games that came after it. The difference that you will notice right away is the lack of regenerating health. In Classic, you are forced to replenish your health with med kits that are either dropped from enemies or found around the levels. The way they drop from enemies is a little weird though. In my experience, I saw more med kits dropping when I was only slightly damaged, and hardly any dropped when I was a couple shots away from dying. This was rather frustrating as you never seem to get a med kit when you really need one but they are all over the place when you don’t need them. Another big difference is the grenades in the game. Now they are a selectable item in your inventory, so you can’t throw them when your gun is out. Also, there is almost zero grenade spam from the enemies in Classic, which is a good thing because there is no grenade indicator either. In this game, you have to be ultra careful when you hear a grenade drop, because unless you saw where it landed, it can be hard to tell where it is in relation to your character. The last major difference is the fact that you can now hold four weapons: one pistol, your grenades and two rifle sized guns. This allows for some great weapon combinations that you just can’t have in the later games of the series. Other than those few things, Classic plays just like the Call of Duty that you know and love.



All in all, Call of Duty: Classic is a lot of fun, if you can get past the annoying health and checkpoint systems. It doesn’t have as many over the top set pieces as the later games in the series do, but the set pieces that are there are pretty awesome, considering the tech they had to work with at the time this game was made. The last three levels of the campaign are especially cool and provide great insight into what the creators had in mind for the series. A lot of the best set pieces in Call of Duty 2 and the two Modern Warfare games have their roots in set pieces from Classic. Plus, a few familiar names pop up in Classic, such as Captain Price, who you should have been expecting, as well as some you won’t expect, such as Sergeant Makarov, an NPC who you follow for a brief time in one of the Russian levels. Could this Makarov have any relation to the terrorist in Modern Warfare 2? Knowing Infinity Ward, I’m going to say yes.

So if you have never played the original Call of Duty, this port isn’t a bad way to do so, however, due to the wacky save system, I can’t recommend it over its PC counterpart. If you have a way to do so, play the PC version. If you simply must play the game for its achievements (all but one of which can be unlocked on the easiest difficulty) then at least wait for this to go on sale, 1200 MS points is quite a lot for such an old game. Altogether, I give this game a 6 out of 10 on the Destructoid review scale.

A green box...Is this what I think it is?


Styrofoam, hmmm, must be important.


FUCK YES! IT'S MY VERY OWN MR. DESTRUCTOID!

These are the places where Mr. Dtoid might end up in my apartment.


On my desk where I keep various things I like to play around with.


Keeping watch over my current generation portable games.


Or on my bookshelf with my other gaming-related figures.

Vote in the comments on which place you like the most and help me decide Mr. Destructoid's new home!