With all this Gamestop mess (Or is it Gamespot? I get fucking confused with that) there are bound to be people coming out of the wood-work that have opinions about reviews and reviewing. And if you think about it, it is advantageous for publishers to have the button mashed down hard on our reviewing collectivity. Just ask EA’s Kathy Vrabrek!

“They’re (causal gamers) not swayed by a low score on IGN or a low score out of one of these gaming sites. It’s a little bit amusing, in that it’s people reviewing games against measures that are important to core gamers yet are not important to casual gamers. Metacritic scores or the GameRankings scores are just off-base. In fact, if you run a regression analysis against those scores on casual games or even kids games, sales don’t correlate.”

I’ve never sounded off on causal gaming. There are plenty of mediums that have a casual product and a hardcore element. Hip hop is an example. Rock is another. You can dive as deep into a genre as you want, or as lightly as you want. But, just because Mom and Pop Wii don’t read Metacritic, doesn’t mean that EA shouldn’t go for the gold. You can package shit. You can sell shit. But it will still be shit. And when this causal trend wanes, and it will, the hardcore will be the only ones waiting in line for Rock Band 18. Casual gaming. Jeez. I haven’t done anything casual since I was five.

[via Nextgen]

Jayslacks.

Probably a big deal to anyone with an Xbox 360, the Fall Update has finally dropped! Aren’t you excited? Get excited! The Fall update has some very interesting little nuggets in it. Some are good. Some are silly. Some are surprisingly interesting.

The most obvious update is the Friends of Friends thing. You can now take a pick into other people’s friends list and look around. Don’t freak, privacy nerds. This can be blocked or limited in the Guide. I actually like the Friends of Friends thing, but it is no substitution for a Clan blade, which Microsoft will never give us. The cool thing about the Friends of Friends is that you can join the Friends in your Friend’s Friends list in a friendly game of Call of Duty 4, shooting noobs in the face! Which is always awesome.

Another new add on is the Divx support. Now you can view all your porn on your fancy HDTV. Yay! This update also supports a whole slew of other Mpeg-4 type monsters. What it doesn’t support, at least for this blogger, is Quicktime. This doesn’t surprise, but its still stupid. I could play some of my Quicktime movies, but not all, and some weren’t even recognized. Still, this is a big improvement.

Speaking of quick, the Guide blade and the blades in general are much faster. The entire dashboard just feels more responsive. All the time and attention they put into this update is noticed, and appreciated. Still, I was worried that my box would red-ring once the update went down. Those 360s. They are sensitive beasts. Check Major Nelson’s blog for Fall Update details, yo. I’m out!

Jayslacks.

My pain continues. Its been a couple of years since the Xbox 360 has been given to us like a pale gifted from the twisted Gods. There’s been a lot of good. There’s been a shit storm of bad. But, if we have to give it to them, Microsoft has been good on its word with the Back Compact thing. We can play some of the best old Xbox games we have on the 360, with barely a hiccup or a shuffle. There are 84 more games updated and ready for your playing pleasure. However, there are two games missing. Where in the fuck is Otogi 1 and Otogi 2! God! Am I the only person who played these games? What is a guy suppose to do? Should I start a campaign? Create a platform? Fine. Here, now, it begins. Microsoft, make Otogi 1 and Otogi 2 backwards compactable on the 360 or I’ll…do nothing. Because I’m lazy. There is Freedom Fighters however, which is the awesome. Check the list out after the break.

[via Major Nelson]

Jayslacks

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God, is it time already? It feels like just a month ago, I was standing in line, chilling out and waiting for my Halo 3. Oh, wait, it was a month ago. Which puts this sudden Map pack into question. Joystiq is reporting that Bungie will be dropping the map bombs down onto the world on December 11th. Perfect as a stocking stuffer!

Included in the set are “Standoff,” a symmetrical valley filled with “entrenched bases and fields of boulders” and, after about 10 minutes, enormous piles of heavily armored corpses. It’s joined by “Rat’s Nest,” which is described as “an indoor vehicle paradise,” and “Foundry,” a Forge-friendly sandbox that’s ideal for shifting stairways, bridges and tunnels to your twisted heart’s delight.

What burns me, and oh it burns, is that these maps had to have been either finished or at least a thought close to Halo 3 becoming gold. I could be wrong, but I don’t mind putting my neck on the cutting block. These maps are here awfully early. Will this help or hurt? I remember very well the money I’ve spent on Halo 3. I still feel it in my bones. Can fans forget this so soon? Technically, Bungie is about to take you for 70+ dollars OR MORE, depending on the Sku. Do you love Halo 3 that much? With other games giving you more? For the cheap, you can wait until Spring 08. Like that’s a real option for the hardcore.

[via Joystiq]

Jayslacks