Pokemon

Everyone knows that Pokemon is the best contribution to society since sliced bread. One thing about Pokemon cards that most people don't know is that it helped keep children out of trouble. Kids that previously loved to cause mischief were transformed into respectful young lads that cared about nothing else aside from their rare first addition Charizard. Aside from the occasional murder over a holographic Pikachu, violence rates decreased worldwide by .80085 percent. Instead of stealing all sorts of valuable goods, criminals chose to steal only Pokemon cards. Alongside Pokemon trading cards, Pokemon video games had a large impact on children everywhere. Children would often ignore their responsibilities, homework for example, and play Pokemon until the blood vessels in their eyes exploded all over their Gameboy screens. Most Parents were also strong supporters of Pokemon. The National Association for the Silencing of Irritating Children confirmed Pokemon video games to be an official method of shutting-up annoying children. No longer were parents forced to beat their annoying children with their fists, bats, chairs, other children, and bricks. Parents worldwide could now beat their children with Gameboys containing Pokemon games. Pokemon has changed the world for the better and will never be forgotten. 

New RetroN 4 Console

Have you ever played an original NES, Super NES, Sega Genesis or Gameboy Advanced? A new company called Hyperkin has developed an ambitious new console called the RetroN 4 capable of playing any game from either of the four consoles I mentioned above. It is no surprise that more than half of the consoles created before 2006 are now broken or in need of repair. The RetroN 4 is the perfect solution; this console can play any classic game cartridge collecting dust in your closet. This console supports HDMI outputs, an S Video output, two controller ports for each individual console so you can use your old controllers, and will also include a customized Bluetooth wireless controller compatible with each console. Considering all of the prices for the original working NES', Super NES', Sega Genesis', and Gameboy Advanced consoles continue to rise in price, this all-in-one alternative could save gamers huge wads of cash that could be better spent on hot pockets and mountain dew for use while playing. As well as cash, this console could save gamers lots of space otherwise used to place each of the 4 different consoles. If i had any game cartridges to match the consoles supported by this one console, I'd most likely go out and get one of my own. 

The Gamecube

I've played many different consoles in my lifetime. From the N-64 to the Xbox 360, I've probably logged more gaming hours than hours attending school. I had to play several different consoles before I could confirm my theory; the Gamecube was the best overall console. Here are some of my reasons for this theory. #1) The controller has the perfect number of buttons and controls (not too many and not too few). #2 Super Smash Bros Melee was an exclusive Gamecube release that sold more copies than any other game of It's time. #3 The console itself was nearly indestructible; many people tested this by throwing their Gamecubes off of buildings, and almost all of them passed the test. Some of the consoles would run flawlessly while missing the entire disc cover. #4 The consoles never overheated or had internal problems such as the Xbox 360 and PS3. #5 the Gamecube was one of the first consoles to introduce the concept of system link and up to 64 player games (Super Smash Bros Melee for example). Lastly, You could hook up your Gameboy Advanced to your Gamecube to allow for Gameboy games to be played on a larger screen. 

Microsoft's Ilumiroom

The Ilumiroom is a brand new concept being testing and development by Microsoft's research team. The general idea of this jaw-dropping gaming experience is to have both your Xbox Kinect camera and an above projector work together to create an entirely new experience. Some of the lines and graphics from your video game will be projected onto any environment you are playing in to create a wide-view 360 degree gaming experience. The combination of the virtual and physical worlds is designed to create the illusion of virtual reality in your own home. In terms of first person shooters, this technology expands your field of view, enhances your awareness, and enables an entirely new gaming experience. I for one will be first in line if this new concept is produced and becomes available to gamers for a reasonable price. Despite the fact that I may never leave my man cave again, this gaming innovation seems to have no negative features or qualities. This new technology, if perfected, could grow to become the precursor to a mainstream console allowing for an all inclusive virtual reality experience. The ability of the Ilumiroom to provide a field of view much larger than your TV could also benefit gamers in the sense that they wouldn't need such a large TV to see the same amount of content as everyone else. With this knowledge in mind, the savings in price between purchasing a 30" TV and a 50" TV could easily help contribute to the purchase of the Ilumiroom itself.

Monopoly is the S**t

I don't normally play board games, but when i do, I choose Monopoly. I usually spend around 18,235 hours a day on video games, however, I will occasionally make an exception for one game; Monopoly. Everyone complains that Monopoly takes way too long to play, but why can't that be a good thing? If your board and have nothing to do all day, I can think of nothing better than crushing your stupid friends in a cut-throat and competitive game of Monopoly. If you havn't played Monopoly in a while than what are you doing reading this blog. Go to your nearest computer an order yourself a copy of Star Wars Episode 1 Monopoly right now. Why Star Wars Episode 1 Monopoly? I'll tell you why; not only is the game board way more interesting to look at then the average generic Monopoly board, the Star Wars Episode 1 game board has some awesome features that can make your experience way more efficient resulting in faster games. One of these features is a deep and enclosed dice pit so when you throw the dice they won't knock over houses, hotels, or characters. Another awesome feature is a card slot to slide the property cards in at each property space; this makes it so players can instantly know which properties have been takes, and which properties are up for grabs without having to stare at everyone's property cards for five minutes. One last feature that makes this version of monopoly stand out from the generic version is that the board itself is way more fun to look at than the original monopoly board. The old board is boring and lame while this one is colorful and interesting.

Some of the Best Old Games

I played videogames a lot as a child. I probably played more videogames from ages 10-15 than most gamers have played in their lifetime. While some games were so bad I returned them one day after purchase, others were good enough to make me want to tell you about them today. One of my all time favorite games as a child was Roller Coaster Tycoon. You were essentially playing God (if God really liked to build amusement parks). I don't know what made Roller Coaster Tycoon so fun, but I can recall countless hours of building roller coasters only designed to fail and kill the riders. Is that weird? Anyway, another one of my all time favorite games was Unreal Tournament 2004. This game was so good and revolutionary that their is still a community playing it today; 9 years after its release!. What I mean by revolutionary is, from what my brother told me, that it was the first game to incorporate rag-doll physics to players that have died. For those of you that don't know, rag-doll physics are the animation and response that your character has to the environment after death, for example, if your character gets shot by a shotgun, a rag-doll effect would be him being blown backwards from the blast. Before rag-doll physics in games, every character or enemy would die in the same way over and over; fall down as solid as a brick for example. Both Roller Coaster Tycoon and Unreal Tournament 2004 have amazing replay value to this day. If you havn't played either of these gamed then you should, they can't be more than $10 each.

RS 2K7

Many students from my generation played similar video games when we were younger (11-14). One of those games in particular, Runescape, was played by nearly all my friends. whether they will admit it or not, almost everyone gave it a try at some point. Recently, the company responsible for the game, Jagex, decided to bring back a version of the game from 2007; the year that many of us started playing. There is really only one word to describe this; nostalgia. Since 2007, almost everything about the game has changed. Some of these changes including the login screen, music, graphics, sound effects, content, ect. As a result of the numerous changes from 2007 to the present, nearly all current layers have completely forgotten what the game was like back then. I have played both the current and 2007 versions, and it is clear which is best. There may be a few good updates to the newer version, but in retrospect, the only thing that has changed is the game creator's desire for money. Unlike the 2007 version, the newer game has all sorts of in game methods of purchasing both cosmetic and useful items with real money rather than the currency available in the game. Because of the selfishness and greed of the game designers over the past few years, Runescape is much less enjoyable. In conclusion, sometimes newer isn't always better; getting greedy is a great way to kill your game and make the players that love it want to stop playing.