Right now 2010 seems to be shaping up to be one major money drain for gamers. The variety of games seem to have something for everyone. For me, Heavy Rain had some flaws but largely lived up to my expectations. Splinter Cell Conviction is looking like Sam Fisher meets Max Payne which, if so, will be awesome. Speaking of Max Payne, Remedy looks prepared to surpass that series with Alan Wake. Valve has announced Portal 2 for release this year. Halo Reach looks to be at least a solid and potentially outstanding entry in the Halo franchise. Crysis 2 should be a solid follow on to that series. There is even some talk of Gears of War 3 and I'm still hoping for Half-Life 2:Episode 3 news at E3.

Then there are some lesser publicized titles on the horizon - Alpha Protocol, The Secret World, and Singularity. All are games I want to play and some could be major time investments.

But maybe, just maybe, the biggest launch for me this year could be Deus Ex: Human Revolution (aka Deus Ex 3). Deus Ex still stands as my favorite game of all time. An action (or stealth) RPG (shooter) where your choices were reflected in the way NPCs treated you and whether or not some of them were around later in the game. Deus Ex: Invisible War (aka Deus Ex 2) was a good game that I enjoyed but there were flaws. It was simplified from Deus Ex and it attempted to incorporate all the endings from the original game. So I'm nervous about Deus Ex: Human Revolution and the following is just a teaser. But I'm starting to get excited (the Icarus imagery doesn't hurt) and this game is the one I most want to learn more about when E3 comes around.

"If you want to make enemies, try to change something."

Hey just got two beta keys for Blur on the 360.

Just tossing them up here if anyone wants to use them.

MYPE-X7M4-YNXC-9MTC
Y9UV-JEMP-MJZY-7WVE

Just go to http://www.blurgame.com/beta/ and input the code there.

On a recent episode of Talking About Gamers I voiced some of my strong opinions on Mass Effect 2 and proclaimed that I still hold Mass Effect 1 to be the superior game. In this series of blog posts I'm going to go into even more detail and hopefully get more thoughts out than I was able to on the show.

This is part three in my continued analysis. If you missed either previous section you can find them here:

Part 1 - Powers
Part 2 - Squad Members

For this post I'm going to look at how the side missions have changed between both games.

It's very fitting that on Chris "SugarFree" Snider's show (Just Talking) episode 21 that I'm on it. Seeing as though 21 is when a kid "becomes" an adult......well on this episode I shed the curtain down on what makes me tick. The interview was very odd for me simply because I'm a very private person, I LOVE podcasting and my fellow co-hosts. I've always wanted to do this and now you see the man behind the scenes. I would like to see what the community thinks about the show. Leave feedback here or email feedback@justtalkingpodcast.com.

Saw this video on how Transformers Revenge of the Fallen should have ended, laugh out loud funny!

Portal has updated on Steam. According to the press release they "Added Valuable Asset Retrieval." What does this mean? Well, the ending has changed. For those who might be playing Portal/The Orange Box on the 360 and not Steam here's the video.

Can you say Portal 2? I'm sure you can (hopefully packaged with a certain other anticipated Valve title).

UPDATE: After thinking about this, Valuable Asset Retrieval sounds like something from the G-Man (doubt I'm the first that thought of this) though it may be Aperture Science. Opinions?

On a recent episode of Talking About Gamers I voiced some of my strong opinions on Mass Effect 2 and proclaimed that I still hold Mass Effect 1 to be the superior game. In this series of blog posts I'm going to go into even more detail and hopefully get more thoughts out than I was able to on the show.

This is Part Two in my series of who knows how many. If you missed Part One you can check it out here.

This time I'm going to be looking at how your squad characters have changed in Mass Effect 2.

Recently PSN online wasn't allowing users to get on to their online profiles to play games

http://gizmodo.com/5482365/error-8001050f-takes-down-playstation-network

A community leader said they hope to have the problem fixed in the next 24 hours. In the meantime just don't turn on your Playstation fat.

http://gizmodo.com/5482914/sony-warning-dont-turn-on-your-fat-ps3-if-you-have-error-8001050f

In further bad news to owners of the most awesomest best ever radical hyper space age dudeness console is your online service might be pay to play soon.

http://gizmodo.com/5482914/sony-warning-dont-turn-on-your-fat-ps3-if-you-have-error-8001050f

There are those games that serve as little more than a slight diversion on a lazy weekend.  Where, once completed, leaves you with the feeling of an unsuccessful night on the town.  Sure you got your drink on, had a little fun, and feel great for just having left the house.  Then there are those games that, when all is said and done, stay with you and become talking points for conversations with friends.

Then there is Heavy Rain.

To call this a game is to miss the point entirely.  Nor would it be correct to dismiss it as just a six to eight hour quick-time event.  Heavy Rain is an experience that defies classification and flies in the face of all you think you know about gaming.  This is heady stuff and not for the faint of heart or those with a traditionally itchy trigger finger.

When a series of horrific child murders spreads its shadow over a small unnamed city, four strangers find their lives irreversibly altered.  Their fates inextricably entwined.  Ethan Mars is a sullen divorced father, coming to grips with the death of his eldest son.  Scott Shelby makes his way as a private investigator, doing his best to help the families of the victims of who the media have dubbed "The Origami Killer."  Norman Jayden is a Federal agent who is beyond driven to not only find the killer, but to calm a beast that resides in himself as well.  Madison Paige, a journalist, struggles with crippling insomnia and terrifying nightmares.

As their paths leads them to their respective fates, the narrative forms around the choices made with respect to their given situation.  Forget Mass Effect's nuanced morality scheme and dialogue wheel.  As impressive as that game is in regards to how the player's choices affect the world around them, it doesn't carry the same level of weight that Quantic Dream has given to their story.  There are genuine consequences to every little choice made.  This isn't about picking something that's shaded in red or blue and working to fill a set morality scale.  David Cage and company have found the nerve to respect their audience by freeing them from an arcane penalty/reward system and giving them the opportunity to react and respond as though these things were actually happening to them.  The ultimate reward is by going with your gut and living with the outcome.

A few caveats must be forwarded to those interested in this title, however.  First and foremost, THIS IS NOT A GAME.  Not in the traditional sense, at least.  This is, as the very first trophy you will earn will tell you, an interactive drama.  There are no hordes of enemies to defeat, item management to be hassled with and not one experience point to be had.  Heavy Rain is a cerebral exercise that is solely intended to tell a story and allow you to truly be a part of it.   For anyone even remotely interested, but hasn't quite got the right idea of what this title actually is, download the demo first.  Give the demo a spin, try approaching the scenarios in a different way each time, and see just how everything works before deciding to drop your money.  There will be many people crying foul on this one because whatever they are expecting, this will not be it.

Here is the the uncut and live edition of Remember When Episode 30, look for the official podcast on March 1st