Last month, I was filmed for a documentary film on the down side of video games and the rapid integration of technology into modern culture. The movie is titled Your Computer is Killing You: The Side-Effects of a Techy Lifestyle, a labor of love by filmmakers Brian Bentow and Solomon Rothman. I was asked to contribute my thoughts on video game addiction.

For this week’s (month’s?) Robot Punch!, I’ll share my experience from the other side of the screen to give some insight on its progression.

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For countless generations it has been said that the children are our future. But exactly what does this mean? A superficial interpretation will merely state that the youth will take over the roles of tomorrow.

However, as older generations are physically replaced by newer generations, there is also an introduction of new ideas, new values, and new perspectives that result in an overall change that expands throughout all social, cultural, political, and economic spectrums.

Often times, popular culture plays a large role in influencing future values. So, this begs the question of how will the generation of current popular culture, which also includes video games, come to view the world?
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The anticipation of Blizzard’s upcoming releases has most gamers restless. With the Starcraft 2 beta on the horizon, one should have high hopes we will see it by year’s end.

But during this time, one should be extremely wary of Blizzard’s latest antics, some of which may have you spending extra amounts of hard earned cash to play the next great release.
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Rock Band has its fair share of editions. Since the initial November 2007 release, we’ve seen Rock Band 2, as well as five track packs, one of which features AC-DC. There are also plans for Lego Rock Band and Beatles: Rock Band.

Et tu, Guitar Hero?

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Sometimes the word “stop” evades the ears of certain people. The people I’m talking about are those who seek to capitalize on a successful franchise by releasing a half-assed sequel.

While these people are no murderers or rapists, I still feel like smacking them in the face for selling out some classics. At least then I can pay back some of the pain those developers have forced me to endure.

Anyways, here’s an ode to gaming sequels that should be shot, sterilized, and blasted into space so we may never see them again… God help any aliens that get their hands on these games. (Okay that was an exaggeration: These sequels aren’t necessarily bad, just disappointing — with exception of the first game on the list.)

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The Terminator series of movies, comics books, and associated canon-related texts have always been an interesting read. From Wiley, another entry in their philosophy series, this time various philosophers discuss the universe that the characters in the Terminator movies reside in; in comparison with philosophical theories.

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Let’s be honest – Sacred 2: Fallen Angel has plenty of flaws. It’s repetitive, the story is a footnote, and it showcases lame voice acting, absurd quests, and a host of glitches to boot.

However, the game has upsides that will keep you coming back to its massive world, managing to instill a bit of Diablo goodness within the world of Ancaria.
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We just got videos of King of Fighters XII Focus Gameplay. While the title is still using sprites, the action looks quick and strategic. It just goes to show that the third dimension still isn’t required for great fighting games.

Should the fighting game genre leave the sprite-based graphics?

King of Fighters XII says no.

Videos after the break.

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