Gimme an S!

Sony did today what many thought they were incapable of doing, they innovated. They created this impossible mash-up of Second Life, Xbox Live Achievements, and Nintendo Mii's. By taking the social experience further than either of the other two game console manufacturers, they have cemented their place in the grand parade of gaming innovators. Which is all well and good.

But can they deliver? My experience with the Playstation 3 so far has been less than stellar. Heck, it's pretty much been stuck below sea level. The high definition era did not start with PS3, it ended, because the Playstation 3 banished my HDTV to the dark ages of 480p. This is in stark contrast to the glistening gorgeousness of Xbox 360 1080i. (480p and 1080i are a measurement of detail, the Playstation 3 on my HDTV sports half the resolution of the Xbox). And with a klunky interface, buggy software, and strange inconveniences, I'm half convinced Sony will fail to deliver.

But I'm a sucker for hope. And I want my $599 game machine to be worth a damn. So I'm going to take out my pom-pom's and wave them in the air and give them an S, an O, an N, and just to be fair, a Y. Go Sony! Go Sony! Go spend my 600 bucks to make my 600 bucks worth spending!

Games are a waste of time...but not for long!

I grew up on video games, and one of the things I am finding as I gain levels in the game of life, is that I have less and less patience with repetition in games. I despise games that make me wait to save, or make me repeat an entire level because I had the nerve to actually go and die. I used to spend hours in these games, like Mega Man, Ghosts & Goblins, and Battletoads. And most of the time was spent doing the same thing over and over and over and over. It literally sucked the life out of me! Not that I regret it, though, there was nothing else to do in the eighties. Madonna notwithstanding.

Arriving to save the day, and my precious time is a new game. If you think that innovation in video-games is dead, and you value your time, take a look at Braid. That is, if you dare click through and "spoil" yourself. I won't spoil you, that's your grandmother's job.

Braid looks to redefine challenge, and actually respects my time. I went ahead and read it, and it makes my brain hurt. Which is exactly the experience I am looking for in games these days.