JohnnyBGamer

Shank: The Demo

Ultra violent. Gritty. Extreme.

Awhile back I downloaded the demo for Shank, an old school side-scrolling brawler of sorts, on the PS3 (also on PC and 360). The game follows the title character through the dirty streets of some nameless town (at least in the demo). Shank is after THE BUTCHER, a luchadore that beat the crap out of him and stole his girl. Wrought on revenge, through any means necessary, Shank battles to win not only his pride but his woman back. Sound like a typical Tarantino script? I’d say yes!

So the demo starts as Shank begins his road of bloodshed and violence. Ultimately ending with him killing the wrong masked wrestler. “WHERE IS HE?!?”, Shank yells questioningly in rage. Fueled by Shank’s anger, I can only assume that he completes his mission by the game’s end.

Overall I enjoyed the demo and wish it had been longer. The game’s M rating has me questioning just how much sex and language are in the rest of the game (the demo really didn’t showcase anything but violence). As of right now, I’ll be passing on Shank.

Video Game Addiction Quote

“Greater amounts of gaming, lower social competence, and greater impulsivity seemed to act as risk factors for becoming pathological gamers, whereas depression, anxiety, social phobias, and lower school performance seemed to act as outcomes of pathological gaming.” – From an article in the L.A. Times

Fridays with Nathan

Awhile back, Nathan Drake and I set out on a whirlwind trip to discover some secrets related to a relative of his. We found an ancient temple, a submarine in a waterfall, and even back tracked through the same ancient temple just to escape with our lives. Exciting stuff huh? Not really. From there our relationship, and adventure, started to get complicated. You see, the difficulty, in Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, has suddenly spiked. I went from killing a handful of goons to small jungle legions of them. Certainly not cool. For now my adventures with Nathan have come to an end…but I am sure they are only just the beginning of a long and frustrating future. Cheers!

1:50pm Update:

There is that scene in The Matrix where the character Trinity suddenly finds herself in need of being able to fly a helicopter. Almost instantly, the knowledge is given to her via download, and she is ready to fly!

After posting earlier this morning, I now realize I was having a Trinity-like moment. My gaming skills had yet to adapt to the game, Uncharted, at hand. After spending a few hours playing, I finally have the feel of the game and am flying quite nicely. Massive gun battles, crazy stunts, and a love to rescue are just the order of the day. Good times.

Battle: Los Angeles

This movie looks like an amazing mash-up of Independence Day, Transformers, and every other Earth invasion film I have ever loved. The music at the end…all robotic and creepy…is amazing! Also, does Michelle Rodriguez seriously need to be in another action film? Wonder if she has ever thought about doing a romantic comedy? 🙂

Intent

Last night I happened to hop onto the Twitter’s and discovered this tweet:

cwgabriel cwgabriel

Sarah Pain lecturing us on civility is like Jenna Jameson lecturing us on chastity. (No offense to Jenna Jameson is intended.) (via @wilw)

14 hours ago

Now I do note that this was not from one of the Penny Arcade guys but was originally tweeted by Mr. Wil Wheaton. That said, while I do not agree with everything Sarah Palin says, I also do not think that she is the dimwit that the media makes her out to be. To compare Sarah Palin to Jenna Jameson, a modern day whore, is just plain insulting.

I hate, HATE, it when gaming personalities try to inject their brand of politics into the gaming arena. I have never followed the Penny Arcade guys for their politics, no, I have for their interesting comics. In other words, the package I was sold long ago, about a few guys making a web comic, has suddenly transformed into something else. Something sinister. I don’t give a pigeon’s fart as to what Penny Arcade, 1up editors, and anyone else in the gaming industry thinks about a particular political topic.

Intent is everything. Clearing defining what one intends to do, from the beginning, lets the audience know what to expect. Johnny B Gamer is all about integrating faith and gaming. There it is. Nothing out of the ordinary. I have talked about this since 2003. However, you will not see me making political statements here because this has never been a political platform. JBG is about faith and games. Nothing else. Ever.