Hi guys! Long time, no post I suppose. I was trying not to post back to back as I'm only a game reviewer for this group and have been trying to wait for another blogger to post before I did again. I guess that's just the way it goes though.

REVIEWS:
I don't have anything worth reviewing, not yet anyway. I just recently got a hold of Deus Ex and haven't seen enough of it to pen a review I feel would be fair. I'm pretty sure you all have heard just how amazing it is though. hehe

I have, however, been playing Parasite Eve: 3rd Birthday for the PSP. I have mixed feelings on it. Square-Enix gives off that vibe that they don't know what direction they want that series to go in. Going from straight RPG, to 3rd Person shooter RPG, to what feels like is mainly a 3rd person shooter right down to the 'take cover' walls. The first Parasite Eve was a great 'new' take on RPGs. Somewhere between Survival horror and Sci-Fi fantasy. I was hooked the second I heard the opening theme song honestly. 3rd Birthday seems to have dropped the mainstays of an RPG and gone to the shooter side. Each area/chapter/level has you customizing your guns and taking cover behind half walls.
If anyone is actually interested in hearing more I'll officially review it. I have over 6 hours or so on it and feel pretty familiar with it. I will say one thing.. it's pretty hard.


EVENTS:
Pax I believe just ended. Seems like we have a lot to look forward to. Of course we know the big names like Mass Effect, and Bioshock infinite are gaining hype. Dead island has my attention...aside from the guy hanging himself from the palm tree... I don't know that  would be very effective. I've never tried it so what do I know?
What are you guys looking forward to seeing come out this holiday season?

Oh! One more thing. . .Anyone else heard the rumor that Nintendo is working on a new version of the 3DS? I was entertaining the idea of getting one this holiday season since the price drop but now I'm on the fence. . .again. Nintendo refuses to comment but we've all learned that's just their way of dodging. At the same time releasing another version so soon seems like they think they made a mistake. Then again, so does the price drop.

I have my qualms with the 3DS (I have bad vertigo, 3ds makes it worse, not that eager to buy a system that I have turn off the main feature to play it) and I've never really wanted one.  I still feel that perhaps they just need to give it time. There are some interesting games slated for it. Maybe patience is all it needs.
Hi hi! I'm new. I'm on of the new Game Reviewers. I've done a few game blog entries before but this is my first time blogging for a group. I'm not sure if this is where I'm supposed to pen my reviews but no one really told me otherwise so I figure this is good for now and if it should be deleted then that's alright too. ^^ I'm aware this is kinda late and I'm sorry but I've been sick with something I can't describe as anything other than the creeping crud. I really don't know I've just been bed ridden and feeling really awful the past few weeks. Before that I was playing Marvel VS Capcom and before that I was just diving into infinite undiscovery...and it was during a quick run in Army of Two that I remembered I needed to do this.

If you would like any particular game to be reviewed feel free to leave a comment and I'll see what I can do. I try not to be biased and too opinionated and try to get a few other views on the game before making a review. Especially if something really ruffles my skirt. Now, on with the review.    


                                                               Marvel Vs Capcom 3




               Ah, the fighting genre.... I can't tell you how many blisters and calluses you've lead to. Not being able to draw because my fingers are too sore and beat up to pick up a pencil. Capcom has been around a long time.They've brought us some iconic characters and fun nostalgia filled memories. I remember learning how to do Chun-li's lighting kick even before I was taught feminine modesty. Marvel too, Something that has been with all of us since our childhood. I wasn't even aware of how much I was into until I was floating through the character roster getting slapped with nostalgia. Getting up at 6am to watch Xmen. You know, the good one with banshee and moira. Remembering the Phenoix arc and how much I hated Jean Grey. Ah, Marvel. Of course there's Superman and Wolverine all those icons America has grown up with. Dating back to when Superman was racist and encouraged the American public to 'slap a jap'.

            I didn't play much Marvel Vs Capcom in the early years when it was new and shiney. My husband and my best friend on the other hand have been pining for this latest installment of East Vs West brawling since it hit the internet that it was in development. Enough about that. Anyone who has ever played a game knows who Capcom is and if you live in america and watch TV at all you know what Marvel is and who or what a superhero is. Let's talk about the game....

            I love the idea. Two great mediums battling it out. Bringing two worlds together. Maybe even bringing people together who would otherwise never play together... if the online gameplay wasn't seriously lacking that is. I hate when a fighting game lacks in the online brawling department. It was great fun on the Dreamcast so you'd expect with the excelling of technology it'd be even better. There's so much lag and just serious lack of innovation in the online fights. Watching two names bump up against eachother like word porn is not what I was expecting while waiting to fight 'tournament style'. Part of the way I play is watching my opponent fight other people. Considering fighting games are mainly purchased for the group play options it's sad that this is where the game falls short. It really shortens your play time unless you have neighbors or friends in town that enjoy playing enough to come over for a few rounds.

           Another qualm I have, with most fighting games really, is the lack of story. I don't expect to be enthralled and I've heard all the, "If you want to story go play a Squaresoft game".  This is the age of blu-ray and smartphones... we can't get an actual animated ending??The characters look fantastic and actually interact with eachother. Calling out to eachother when swapped in or out. It's great to hear Morrigan shout to Wolverine or Jean actually call him Logan. The intro and other videos you can unlock are great to watch and are full of the capcom/marvel goodness we've all grown up with and love. Everything is over the top and brimming with character! Which is why I was so bummed about the endings. You know they could have done it. Theres so much potential to bring all that life and spunk the characters are vomiting all over the screen during a match to a simple 3 to 4 second story interlude after so many fights or a 20 second ending after beating Galactus. No flashey way to go out after fighting Galactus!? I mean c'mon... you just beat GALACTUS, eater of WORLDS. But no, all you get is some pictures ala the days of the Sega Genesis. *sigh* I don't need all of the characters to have a path of revenge or some deep plot to follow but if I'm throwing down $60 I'd like to see some effort. Something more of a reward rather just a slideshow ending, Especially after I've unlocked all the other characters and am on edge waiting to play with the new cat like Jill Valentine.

         One thing my friend also had problems with, aside from the lack of story and online options lacking, was the character roster. We were promised a lot of characters and didn't get them. The Characters were no where near as obscure as we had hoped and there were no where near as many as we were used to getting from a Marvel Vs Capcom game. I'm aware that hardware limitation led to certain characters being impossible and the shear amount of balance started to make adding characters a challenge they just weren't expecting. It's sad though... in this day and age we sacrifice things like this so the game can be flashy and aesthetically pleasing. Personally, I never thought there was any other way to do a Street Fighter or Capcom fighting game than to make it sprite based. Don't get me wrong it looks good but I hate that to get all that shiney goodness we had to loose Human Torch, Frank West, and who knows what else. I am estatic about the characters they did decide to work with. Taking Mega man out was a shocker to my husband but Okami is a fantastic addition. My personal favorite. After some messing around my husband realized Okami seems to take Mega Man's place. The idea behind how you play Mega Man is very similar to how Okami is played now. It's also nice to finally see Hsien-ko and Morrigan after so many years of absence. Dead pool is just silly, yeah...silly, and Dante while being waaaay over the top is quick and dangerous. My group goans whenever my husband pulls Dante on his team.

         The game is loads of fun regardless. If you do have friends close by or your spouse/roomate/significant other enjoys fighting games at all you should definitlely try ordering a pizza, greasing up those fingers, and getting some blistery fun on.The 'simple' mode is really interesting to mess around with. I used it to get a taste of some of the newer characters and then switch to normal mode to really dig deep into their strategy. If you can stand the 2 to 3 second lag between commands and loosing a matching because your were actually standing around doing nothing the online play isn't abhorrent either. I'm hoping most of the things that bring this game down are things they can improve on in an update or something of that nature. They have stated they are still trying to add more characters but it's annoying we'll have to shell out more money to get them unlocked.

         Overall, it's a fighting game.You can't expect much in the way of a story. As long as it does the fighting part well and makes you push through those blisters and pain it's doing it's job. I'd say on  scale of 1-5 it's a solid 4. I'd like pretty graphics and great online gameplay but apparently you can't have your cake and eat it too.

I wonder if they could somehow bring Travis Touchdown into the roster...      





Thanks for reading!
Does anyone else think our 'tagline' is a little depressing? "Have you lost the game today?" It's not exactly the tagline that pops in my head when I read "Gaming Nation". Which I love the name of the group.
Why not, "Gamer's United", "The Art Of Games", "Where Gamers Live", "A Place to Pause".... Maybe something Art and Game related as we are an art group first.
Just a thought. ^^
Yes, GamingNation is looking for moderators for both the group and chat. Recently, you may have noticed that our leader, TragicArmadillo has a little ! next to his name. Don't worry, he wasn't banned, he just had to deactivate due to some issues beyond his control. But never fear, we still have mods who can run this place. However, we do need some help.

Right now, we are looking for:

- Chat Mods
- Gallery Mods
- Game Reviewers
- Researchers for latest games and technologies
- Twitter Managers
- Fund-raisers (as in points)

And of course, there may be other positions that we haven't thought of. If you have any suggestions, don't hesitate to note the group.

To be eligible for these positions, we ask that you:

:bulletblue: You must be over 13 years of age. We are not going to violate COPPA, and we will report anyone underage who applies.
:bulletblue: You must have been on dA for more than two weeks.
:bulletblue: You must be in the chats to show that you have an interest in them. We're not going to give you a mod job off the street if we've never seen you before (Note: If you're applying for a group position, this may not apply. We'd still like you to show interest, however).
:bulletblue: You must be an upstanding deviant (no pun intended).
:bulletblue: You must have basic knowledge of how dAmn chats and deviantART groups work.
:bulletblue: You must show good leadership potential.
:bulletblue: And one of our most important requirements, you must have time to devote to the chat/group. Some positions require more time than others. If you don't have much extra time, consider applying for a group position instead of a chat one.
:bulletblue: If you are applying to be a game reviewer, we ask that you are able to write clearly and with good grammar/spelling. Other mods can proof-read, but we're not in the business of rewriting your submissions for you.
:bulletblue: If you are applying to be a researcher, we ask that you provide a sample of news stories that you've found, with sources.

If you meet these requirements, great! Go ahead and apply. If you don't, then we may be able to make arrangements, but don't count on it.

Here's the application. Now, remember, send this in a note to the group. Comment submissions are void, and will be hidden and ignored. Also, do not note our mods. Group notes allow all involved mods to see the note, personal notes don't. Please, make this look nice. You are trying to show us that you can be organized and prepared.

Name:
Age:
What position are you applying for?
Why do you feel that you would be good for this position?
How long have you been on deviantART?
Do you have any experience with moderating a chat/group?
Do you know basic commands in the dAmn system, and/or basic workings of a group?
Have you read our rules?
Have you ever broken any of our rules?
Is there anyone on dA who can attest to your skills in modding? (Optional)
If so, who? (Optional)
Do you have any hobbies or interests that might be beneficial to the group/chat, other than gaming?
What are your favorite games?
What systems do you own?

If applying for a game reviewing or researching, please provide a sample below. You can do this via copy and paste of text itself, or link.


Now, before you ask questions about that application, let us explain some things. We ask your name, age, how long you've been on dA, hobbies, favorite games, and systems so that we may get to know you better. This allows us to get a feel for how you are. Since this is your first impression, we are trying to give you as much opportunity to make it good as possible.

You don't have to put your real name. If you want to, that's your choice. We just want to know what you like to be called. We ask your age to make sure you're not under 13; you'd be surprised how many kids under 13 tell us their real age. As a group policy, we always report violators of COPPA to deviantART employees. It is a matter of law and safety. We don't discriminate against age (or ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, etc, for that matter). Though, we do take age into account when assessing your maturity.

We will never publicize any information that you include in these applications without your expressed permission. We do, however, reserve the right to report you to dA if we find that you are breaking any of the ToS.

After you've applied, your application will be processed by our staff, and Evlwolf will probably reply. If you have any concerns, please talk to her. Your application may take several days to process, but you will always get a definite reply as to whether or not you're being considered. You may be asked to take part in an interview, where the mods will further asses your personality and abilities.

If you've been turned down, please do not apply again.

Thanks everyone, and happy gaming!

PS: Remember, those applications are to be noted to the group, not commented on this blog.
Every now and again, we're gonna feature blogs and forums and whatnot that our users run. Today's, we look at testzero's blog testzerosblog.blogspot.com/(Ab… Zero).

Absolute Zero has a few different features, including reviews (both video and text), Let's Plays, rants, and some more. Go check it out. He's a funny guy.
I really, really wanted to put up a review of Halo: Reach this week, but the game is just so massive that I haven't been able to experience enough of it to confidentally write a true review. So, in light of current circumstances, you'll just have to wait for Reach next week. The game for this week?

Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II


Dark Forces II is a PC first person shooter, developed by Lucas Arts, and released on October 9th, 1997. This particular game holds a huge place in my heart for one big reason. This game was the very first FPS I had ever played. What a game to initiate me into a wonderfully full genre.

DFII places you in the boots of Kyle Katarn, a mercenary who was introduced in Star Wars: Dark Forces. You take Kyle on a quest to find out how and why his father was killed. Throughout the game, you fight countless aliens and dark jedi with a veritable assortment of weapons ranging from stormtrooper rifles to a lightsaber.

Two major features of this game set it aside from other FPSs out there. The first of tese is the light/dark meter. Depending on your actions in the game, Kyle will become either good or evil. This balance effects how events unfold later in the game, and it also effects what force powers Kyle has access to. Now, you may say that this has been done time and again, but this game was one of the first to incorporate something like that, and really, this meter is picky. If you've watched the movies, you'll know that Jedi do not kill unless their life depends on it. Well, since you can't leave anyone alive, the only way to become good is to let every enemy strike first. However, if you want to be evil, you might as well just let the lasers fly. This really adds an extra bit of challenge if the player decides to be good.

The other big perk of this game, as briefly mentioned before, are force powers. Depending on Kyle's path of choices, the player has access to light or dark powers. Along with these are neutral powers that can be accessed regardless of alignment. As you complete levels and find secrets, you'll receive points to upgrade your powers as you see fit. This adds another bit of strategy, as you can now push, choke, heal, jump, dash, shoot lightning, and daze, among other things, all based on which points you place where. This really changes up the gameplay, as it allows you to handle situations in many different ways.

I really enjoy the graphics in this game. They're obviously horrid compared to the technology we have now. But seriously, seeing those blocky stormtroopers fall from a lightsaber slash is just fun. The cutscenes of this game really shine, though. The cutscenes are live action, and this is one of those few games that actually has good FMV cutscenes. They're great to watch, and the great acting just pulls it all together, helping the whole experience feel real.

Like I said, Dark Forces II holds a huge place in my heart. It was my first FPS, and it was a really great one. I find so much enjoyment in revisiting this awesome title all the time. It's now on Steam, so if you've got $5, I highly recommend grabbing it.

Score: 4.5/5

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