2010 Spoiled Us

Just a few days after this new decade began, we were graced by the arrival of Bayonetta. Her sassy attitude and pure sex appeal made many question whether they or not they could fall in love with pixels. Mere weeks later, Mass Effect 2 was unleashed upon the unwashed masses. It was bold, it was compelling, it felt fresh, and it was just so gosh darn fun! On the very same day, MAG and No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle landed on store shelves and wedged themselves into the cockles of our hearts. March effortlessly brought back the grizzled veteran Sam Fisher, while May introduced us to a struggling writer and an outlaw turned into an honest man. Let’s not forget about July and the return of good old Jim Raynor.

"This is Jimmy."

Do you see what I’m getting at here?

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2010
12/01
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Hello Readers

This blog is not dead. I promise. I miss you, Internet.

Love,
Marty

2010
10/14
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Pressing Issue: August 2010 Release Calendar

Originally written for Bitmob.com

Bitmob.com regularly hosts writing challenges to help budding writers cut their teeth on various situations they may encounter. My task for the “Pressing Issue” challenge was to research and assemble a release calendar for August 2010 including major retail releases and notable Blu-ray releases for a fictional gaming magazine. Read more

2010
07/26
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First-Person Narcissism

Originally written for Bitmob.com

The first-person shooter is one of the oldest genres in the videogame industry. Regardless, it still seems to be one of the most financially viable; just take a look at Modern Warfare 2. While developers continue to create both new franchises and installments of old ones, some people within the industry are left wondering why. Why is the genre so popular? Why are publishers more likely to take a risk on a new franchise if it’s a first-person shooter as opposed to an RPG or adventure game? Why do gamers come out in droves and put down their money for another first-person shooter?

Implicit in the name of the genre itself, the first-person shooter is a first-person account of the action on the screen. You are the (sometimes nameless) badass who can take on hundreds of enemy soldiers, against all odds, and come out the victor. You usually do not have any dialog and rarely interact with other characters unless you are firing bullets into them. In the end, you are lone the champion of this conflict. Not Marcus Fenix, not Nathan Drake. You.

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2010
07/13
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Best Xbox 360 RPG: Mass Effect 2

Originally written for Bitmob.com

Role-Playing games have gone through quite a renaissance since the days of Final Fantasy for the NES. In the modern age of consoles, developers are no longer tied to the older conventions of turn-based attacking and mana bars. Instead, they are taking this powerful genre and shaping it and creating fantastical universes with sprawling stories. One developer that has taken this framework and crafted one such masterpiece is BioWare and the masterpiece in question is Mass Effect 2.

The title “role-playing” takes on the assumptions that you will play a role in the story and act as a force that can change the direction that story takes. Many RPGs fail miserably at this, constantly tugging the player along a linear path that they have no control over. However, Mass Effect 2 allows you to make choices that can drastically alter the reality inside your Xbox 360. Furthermore, these choices will carry over into Mass Effect 3, making the far-reaching consequences of your actions unknown. You hold both the fate of your crew and the fate of the galaxy in your hands.

On top of all of this, the gameplay is superb: Gears of War-style cover mechanics, unique ability trees and solid shooting. Not to mention the totally engrossing world full of talkative aliens that you can get lost in for hours. Couple all that with a compelling story and production values that rival major motion pictures and you have the best RPG for the Xbox 360.

2010
07/05
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Review: Alan Wake

From the exciting and foreboding opening lines to the blood-curdling revelations just before the credits, Alan Wake is a nonstop thrill ride. Remedy Studios, the developers behind the acclaimed film-noir series Max Payne, has put five long years of hard work into this story-driven horror project since its announcement in 2005. Many were skeptical that Remedy would ever deliver an actual game, much less a good one. Luckily, I can safely say without a shadow of a doubt that those skeptics were dead wrong.

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2010
06/29
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Why Does Nintendo Continue To Repackage My Childhood?

With the announcement of the Nintendo 3DS, a DS that renders in three-dimensions, the company is looking for some killer-apps to sell the contraption. While they have some original titles coming down the pipe, there are only two that stick out in my mind: Star Fox 64 3D and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D.

“But Marty,” you say, “aren’t those games over a decade old?” You would be correct, Internet! In fact one of them still has the iconic “64” stuck in the title. Regardless, Nintendo is giving them a James Cameron makeover and releasing them on their new machine. While this isn’t the first time they’ve double-dipped, this one really hits home: I consider Ocarina of Time one of the greatest games of all-time. Period.

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2010
06/16
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Changes Coming To Pixel Rated, Also E3 Is Happening

Hello again, Internet! As you may already know, my name is Marty Hess and I run this modest videogame blog. I have not posted in a while due to work and school taking up a majority, if not all, of my time during these last few weeks. However, some things happened behind the scenes during this past few weeks that I think you, the readers, should know about. I am switching the focus of Pixel Rated. No longer will it be a blog dedicated to bringing you up to the second news on the industry and its products. You can read about that stuff elsewhere.

Instead, I will be focusing on creating unique editorials and reviews and various opinion pieces. By doing so, I will be expanding my portfolio of writings (because I want to do this for a living one day) and promoting myself while entertaining you with witty quips and engaging discussion within the, albeit small, community. I hope that this approach will allow for a more personal experiences for both of us!

Also, E3 is happening today! E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo… get it?) is the videogaming industry’s largest trade show that is held in Los Angeles every year (well, almost every year). Lots of crazy things have already been announced (Xbox Kinect, Nintendo 3DS, Zelda: Skyward Sword, Playstation Plus, etc.) and I’m sure there are still plenty of megatons left to behold. I’ll probably have a lot of things to say about this spectacle of magic and pixels soon. Stay tuned!

2010
06/15
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Robbie Bach And J Allard To Leave Microsoft

In a massive effort to restructure their Entertainment and Devices Division (E&D), Microsoft announced that Robbie Bach, president of the division, and J Allard, senior vice president of Design and Development for E&D, will be leaving their positions at Microsoft this fall. Robbie Bach will be retiring in order to enjoy more personal time with his family and non-profit work while J will take on an advising role for Steve Ballmer (Microsoft CEO). These departures signal the first in many changes in the way Microsoft runs E&D. The goal is giving Steve Ballmer more direct oversight of the division and the way it operates.

With a combined experience of over 40 years at Microsoft, Robbie Bach and J Allard have essentially shaped the way the company has evolved into a major competitor in both the video game industry and the consumer electronics industry. Robbie was an instrumental piece of the push to launch the Original Xbox while J was one of the early pioneers of Xbox Live, DLC and Achievements. It will be interesting to see how this restructuring and loss of two key players will affect future decisions at Microsoft. However, one thing is for certain: no one will rock the suit-jacket-and-hoodie combo quite like J Allard.

Source: Press Release

2010
05/25
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Preview: Halo: Reach Beta

Halo: Reach, Bungie’s final Halo game, is ambitious. It takes the old Halo formula and adds some new gameplay mechanics to bring the game into the post-Modern Warfare world of multiplayer shooters. In order to make sure that the game launches without a hitch this Fall, Bungie has released a public beta to people who bought Halo 3: ODST. The beta contains only a small portion of the multiplayer component of the game including a few new gametypes and three maps. However, it is enough of a sampling to recognize that Halo: Reach needs some work. Lucky for all of us, this is only a test.

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2010
05/15
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