While Afro Samurai the game clearly draws quite a bit from the source material, prominent differences between the two mediums create a different atmosphere and style of storytelling. This comparison aims to dissect the changes in terms of what was…

Merciful Allah here we go again. You may have caught some of the discussion on the recent “Islam is the light” debacle surrounding Baby Pals for the DS. I agree with the conclusions drawn on other gaming sites that have covered this, mainly that this woman needs a hobby and is hearing things that aren’t really there. What I want to add to this discussion is to focus on the other inflammatory aspect of the coverage. Clearly any news outlet that runs a story like this has little credibility to begin with. However, the viewpoint represented exists and, as gamers, we should not laugh this off when there are those who will take it seriously. We need to understand biases such as these if we are ever going to overcome them.

When looking at the best selling games of 2008 it is quite easy to find yourself lost in a sea of numbers, mainly the overwhelming dominance on both the handheld and home console dominance that Nintendo seems to hold. However it is defiantly important to look at the historical context of what these sales mean, because without the context it is impossible to see how over or underwhelming this dominance by Nintendo is. Certainly if you have not seen the sales figures put out by the NPD group illustrating the top sellers of 2008 it is an important list to look over and analyze:

While not the complete family tree, this diagram will give you a good idea of how insane and large the history of development studios really is.

In August of 2006 Kaz Hirai was quoted saying he and Sony saw the Playstation 3 as “having a 10 year life cycle.” By the time the PS3 was released that November, Sony was being attacked by many and defended by only a few stalwart cheerleaders of the brand. At that point Sony’s public relations nightmare was only beginning. The high price point, the missing exclusives, the lack of rumble—the internet critics found much to despise in the former golden child. Fast-forward to more than two years later, and the PS3 is trailing the Xbox 360 by a significant margin.

Whether you love them or hate them, there is no denying that achievements have had a major impact in gaming. With the apparent success of Microsoft’s Xbox achievements everyone seems to be jumping on the bandwagon. We now have PlayStation 3 trophies, Steam’s achievement system, achievements in World of Warcraft, and various other achievement systems in games. If achievements are used correctly they can add both fun and challenge to a game, but what makes for a good achievement system?

Each year brings new and exciting moments in video games. Be it experiences within actual games or pieces of news from the industry, 2008 was packed full of memorable moments. Below, in no particular order, are my ten most powerful moments of 2008. Read them over, share your opinions and tell us your favorite moments in the comments section.

One of my favorite games on the NES is Final Fantasy. To this day I can still play the game through savoring each moment. Most recently I have been playing the 2003 re-release for the PS1 which may diminish the nostalgia factor but definitely not enjoyment. Which got me to thinking, there are many more powerful, better looking, insanely more complex games available to me. Yet, out of all the games out their and all the ones I own, I’ve never played through a game as many times as Final Fantasy. For that matter, in my top five most played games of all time the only one made recently is Katamari Damacy for the PS2.

Epic surprised gamers last night during the VGA’s by announcing that the Combustible Multiplayer Map Pack for Gears of War 2 would be hitting the Xbox Live Marketplace just a few hours later. As no price was officially announced during the VGA’s, fans began speculating that the map pack would be free. This, of course, turned out to be untrue, as the map pack costs 800 Microsoft points ($10 USD). Cautious optimism turned to palpable rage as angry gamers voiced their opinions on forums and blogs everywhere.

When the issue of sick children gets brought up, it is predominantly thought of as an international problem, often being identified as one that traditionally plagues the third world. It only takes a single personal experience to remind you that, in addition to all those suffering beyond our borders, there are also many children suffering here in the United States. While I have nothing against the many charities and organizations that strive to help those in other countries, I can’t help but recognize the importance of taking care of those who are suffering here.