• 4Sep 08

  Full Gen Con Coverage

  Haven't really been in a GS mood lately - don't get me wrong, I like the new design well enough - I just hate the fact that I'm not torn between two sites (this and Giant Bomb) in order to keep up with all of my friends...But anyway, here's what I've been up to:

  For all intents and purposes, my Gen Con coverage is complete, so make sure to check out those articles - new articles (other than the ones I posted about before, I mean) include coverage about the new World of Warcraft board game, a couple of trading card games (Blue Dragon and Universal Fighting System) and more!

  As if I wasn't busy enough this week with finishing coverage and house-sitting once again for my uncle (meaning that I'm taking care of a bunch of dogs), I also found time to do a review for the new game in the Bangai-O franchise - Bangai-O Spirits for the DS. A huge bowl of mixed reactions with this one - while I found the game fun, I can easily see how many others wouldn't, but if you want to know why, you'll just have to read the review (See how I did that? Shameless self-promotion ftw!)

  Until next time all!

  • Posted Sep 4, 2008 7:57 am PT
  • Category: Games
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• 20Aug 08

  Reviews, Previews, & Gen Con Coverage

  Prepare for a blog of links all! And yes, the links really ARE there - for some reason, the new GS doesn't want to highlight everything - but it's not like THAT's really a surprise...

  First, GrrlGamer updated while I was busy with Gen Con, but you can find my review for Wall-E on the PS2 here (GS Version). While at GrrlGamer, be sure to check out my preview of the new Pipe Mania game set to be released on multiple platforms this September.

  Next, I'm slowly but surely getting through my coverage of Gen Con, and already have two articles for your reading pleasure. Granted, neither have pictures yet (long story involving Flickr), but the links are live to the public, so take a look:

  Gen Con Wrap-up

  Pirates of the Burning Sea MMORPG

  I've also posted my four videos from the event on Youtube, so be sure to check those out if you want to see:

  A functioning R2-D2

  The destruction of a massive city made of trading cards

  Dealer's hall hysteria

  Gary Gygax charity auction

  Until next time all!

  • Posted Aug 20, 2008 6:10 am PT
  • Category: Games
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• 11Aug 08

  Gen Con Schedule

  As promised, here is my schedule for Gen Con Indy 2008 (August 13th - 17th), for all those that are interested enough in gaming to want to know what I'm doing, or what coverage you can eventually expect (btw, any time not covered in the schedule between 10 AM and 6 PM every day is to be assumed that I am in the dealer's hall working on meetings, demos, etc):

  Thursday -

  -- 9-10 AM - Special hour in the dealer's hall, reserved for members of the press and VIG's (very important gamers - a bit complicated to explain here) - Quick stops by the Beyond Protocol MMORTS booth for a free t-shirt, the Winning Moves booth for a free board game, Fat Dragon Games booth for (hopefully) free dice and t-shirt, the Chainmaille Wench / Gamers for Humanity booth to meet some friends and donate to the cause, earning more free stuff
  -- 10-11AM - More dealer's hall goodness - continuing on booths listed in first hour
  -- 11-12PM - Pokemon Diamond / Pearl Meet-up in eGame arena (mainly to do a bunch of trading of the game specific Pokemon, and the ones that need to be traded to evolve)
  -- 12:30-1:30 PM - Meeting with Fantasy Flight Games over World of Warcraft, Starcraft, UFS, and perhaps Battlestar Gallactica board games (if there's time)
  -- 2-2:30 PM - Meeting with Seven Lights over the Continuum, an online collectible wargame
  -- 3-4 PM - Meeting with Sony Online Entertainment over Legends of Norrath and the new Star Wars Galaxies TCG
  -- 6-? PM - Dinner, Cardhalla, Consignment Store, etc.

  Friday -

  -- 10-11:15 AM - Dealer's hall goodness
  -- 11:30-1 PM - Gamer Wenches lunch (a gaming group of which I am a member)
  -- 1(ish)-2:30 PM - Gaia Online Meet-up for free goodies
  -- 3-5 PM - Women in Gaming Seminar (run by the Gamer Wenches)
  -- 6-? PM - Dinner, Cardhalla, Consignment Store, etc.

  
  Saturday -

  -- 10-12 PM - Dealer's hall goodness
  -- 12-1 PM - Animal Crossing meet-up in eGame arena (mainly to track down the fruit that my town lacks)
  -- 1-2:30 PM - Gaia Online Panel discussing new MMO entitled "zOMG!" Plus, more free goodies
  -- 4-6 PM - Costume Contest (audience member only - no cosplay for this girl)
  -- 6-10 PM - Dinner, Cardhalla, Consignment Store, etc.
  -- 10:30 PM - Cardhalla deconstruction
  -- 11-1 AM - Hentai Dubbing (simply because a few other Gamer Wenches are going, and watching something hilarious like this couldn't be passed up on)

  Sunday -

  -- 10-11 AM - Freaky Creatures meeting - PC game involved in the Dell / Intel Extreme Gaming Tour
  -- 11-12 PM - Pirates of the Burning Sea meeting - One of the highest rated MMO's to come out in recent time
  -- 12-4 PM - Lots of time spent in the dealer's hall, meeting up with friends for one last lunch, game, etc. and seeing the end of the con proper
  -- -5(ish) PM - Packing and beginning the drive home from Indianapolis

  Apart from this set schedule, as I've noted above, I have quite a bit of free time for exploration throughout the hundreds of booths in the exhibit hall, and in that time, I will have "meetings" with the following companies, or will at least stop by the booth in the hopes of receiving press kits, swag, etc.:

  -- Cryptic Studios - Star Trek Online and Champions Online
  -- Games - PC games, mostly of the war and strategy genres
  -- Atari
  -- Bioware's Dragon Age - Demo/Trailer from E3 will apparently be available
  -- World of Warcraft Darkmoon Faire - think of a simple 10 x 10 booth with a couple of posters for a game, and then blow that up to fit into tens of thousands of square feet of meeting and exhibit space; that essentially is the Darkmoon Faire
  -- 4kids - Perhaps have coverage of TMNT's 25th anniversary, along with the Chaotic TCG
  -- Cloud Kingdom Games - riddle books for free swag!
  -- Tiny Mantis - Thugs! online game
  -- Gozer Games - Collateral Damage, anime themed board game
  -- Upper Deck - anything and everything gaming
  -- Wizkids - same as Upper Deck
  -- Ape Games - duck, duck, GO! board game
  -- X360 / Fable 2 booth - self-explanatory, no?
  -- EA Mythic - Warhammer Online
  -- Darkened Sky Studios - Chron X, an online TCG that is free to play
  -- Shard Studios - RPG's
  -- Konami Digital Entertainment - Blue Dragon RPTCG (role playing trading card game)
  -- Bandai America - lots of variety in gaming
  -- North Star Games - party games with the possibility of LOTS of swag!

  There are actually a few more booths that I plan on hitting by the time the con is over, but that gives you a basic rundown of what I'll be doing once Thursday hits. I leave my house tomorrow, in order to spend the night with a friend who lives closer to Indy, and to be able to assure that I get into town on Weds to take care of press related matters before the place becomes a zoo on Thursday (over 40,000 attendees throughout the four days - I'd say that's pretty zoo-like, wouldn't you?). At any rate, I've got tons of stuff to get done between now and then, so I'll simply say: until next time all!

  • Posted Aug 11, 2008 7:06 am PT
  • Category: Games
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