SexBox and PorkStation?

Hey, guys!

In an effort to maintain my writing regularity (i.e. keep me writing as much as possible) I'm going to update this blog at least once a week. This means that I'm going to have to shift the focus from strictly reviews of gaming, movies, and books to a broader spectrum of my brain dribblings. Or, in other words, turn it into an actual blog.

So, first off, today, USA Today (which doesn't include the parental accounts of the situation like the other articles do) has recently reported that sexual predators have "officially" migrated from chat rooms to gaming. Which means, ultimately, that Chris Hansen is going to have to open an account on World of Warcraft or perhaps start an Xbox Live account (his gamertag could be iCatchPervs). The fact of the matter is that this isn't really "news" and the article--and the few others I've read like it--come off as yet another attack on gaming in general.

The sad truth of our world is that anywhere you have a group of people (predominantly between the ages of 10 and 30) you are going to have any number of perverts swimming through the anonymity like sharks...great whites with leather chaps and a giant rubber ball between their teeth. It's inevitable. But, that said, there are steps you can take as a parent to prevent the sort of devious activities these men (and I say men, because, let's face it, how many 10-year-old boys are going to complain about a hot chick sending them screen-caps of their "bewbz"? Shit, most of the time, their the one's asking) are looking to perform. The problem comes from the fact that most of these so-called parents are more worried about using their kid's gaming as a way of keeping their demon spawn out of the way. They'd rather buy their kid a nice LCD and an Xbox or a new PC and a WoW account and put them somewhere dark and forget about them and then run to the nearest camera crew when they walk in to tell them their mac & cheese is ready and see a giant cock on the screen than actually be proactive about preventing that kind of thing.

Now, I'll be honest, I'm guilty of using my Xbox and Wii as a babysitter once in a while. That said, though, I limit the amount of time my son holds a controller and, since he's six, he's never played anything online. But, when he does get old enough to engage in the teabag-fest that is online gaming, I will take those steps I mentioned to keep him from being exposed to that giant cock. Though, I am smart enough to know that he will be exposed to somethings I don't necessarily want him to be exposed to; he will see a naked woman far before he knows what to do with one. It happens. But, instead of running to a lawyer and news station and throwing all the blame at Microsoft of Blizzard, I'll make sure I've done everything I can to prepare him for it. I have faith in my ability to teach my children the difference between right and wrong and the dangers of believing every line of text from "MyJugzRNyce".

And, Logan, if they really are, you should share with Daddy.

Seriously, though, I find it hard to believe that there's a parent alive today who doesn't get the inherent "dangers" of allowing their children to partake in online gaming. I mean, hell, half of these people are probably the mom's and dad's responsible for that angry f-bomb dropping, prepubescent, racist asshole I run into every time I log on, anyway! Maybe instead of suing Xbox or whatever it is they want to get famous for, they should do what this kid's mom did. Your kid's not a saint, lady. I'm just sayin'...

Anyway, Mass Effect 2 is rapidly shaping up to be the greatest game of all time. Well, of course, that is strictly my opinion...which, of course, is the only one that matters here. :P

(in my best Magic Johnson voice) Naw, but seriously, though...it really is a fantastic game that improves 100% on what the first one started. The textures are far more detailed, the conversations are cinematic, even the side missions are improved (dropping you on a fully rendered world each time instead of shitting you onto yet another mountainous bland planet). Truth be told, this game is so good that it has shown me just how flawed the first one was. But, again, I'll do a full review when I'm done.

In other gaming news, IGN gave a review of MAG that pretty much mirrors my opinions of it. The game is nearly perfect; marred only by the fact that S.V.E.R. is ridiculously overpowered. Yet, the game's core mechanics are so good that I still have a blast even when that loading screen shows up and the Wolf's Head logo of S.V.E.R. is mocking me from the bottom right hand side of my screen. Sure we're going to get our asses handed to us, but that just makes every enemy kill that much more exhilarating! In fact, I experienced my first Zen Gaming Moment while playing against SVER (you guys don't need the periods, do you?):

I had managed to stay alive--ducking in and out from behind a deserted building near our spawn--long enough to run out of ammo for my AR. Not wanting to purposely die and give them the satisfaction of yet another kill, I switched to my practically useless sidearm and began taking potshots from my safe little corner. It was with this single-shot peashooter that I managed to wrack up my highest score against SVER to date and ended the match with 8 pistol kills and 3 AR kills. The game really is a lot of fun and, unlike when I played CoD:MW (1 not 2) and Halo's 2 and 3, I really don't care about losing so much as I do the next kill.

Again, if you have a PS3 and 60 buck to spend (and aren't busy being seduced by a over-weight 30-something from his mom's basement) then you need to pick up MAG and look for me. My PSN username is the same as my Xbox Live Gamertag: Neomyn

Well, that's pretty much it for today. More on Jennifer and the Bean when we get her to the doctor--a process that's been nothing short of complicated given her lack of insurance. But, she should be in by the end of the month. Also, I'm finally writing a novel and have finished the first chapter and part of the second as well as contacted a graphic designer to bang out some designs for me to work with. That, however, is all I'm going to say about it since it seems the more I talk about a project, the less I work on it.

So, for now...

Later!