"I am old enough to watch the show"

Over a third of parents (39 percent) let their children play games such as Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto, despite the titles not being suitable for their age group, says MyVoucherCodes.co.uk.

According to the online discounts website, a further 25 percent admitted they had played the game with them. The research also revealed that over half of parents (53 percent) let kids watch 15- or 18-rated films such as Borat and The Saw series, while 66 percent are okay with their children listening to music with explicit lyrics from artists such as Eminem and Jay-Z.

Mark Pearson, managing director of MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, said: "I was surprised by how many parents have actually allowed their child to watch a film, play a game or listen to music knowing that they weren't old to do so. I think that every child is different and what is right for one might not be for another, but I do think that ratings are there for a reason, so parents should execute some caution on deciding what they should expose their children to." [Source]

"Are you nervous talking to girls? All you need is practice," I kid you not, is the tag line for a downloadable Xbox 360 game called Don’t Be Nervous Talking 2 Girls. The 80 point ($1) indie game is one part dating sim and tries to be one part edutainment. Don’t Be Nervous Talking 2 Girls takes it self surprisingly seriously for such a silly title. [siliconera]

Bravo...Playing a video game to learn how to talk to girls, the guy who gets this concept should be a genius, but does it actually help? "Don’t Be Nervous Talking 2 Girls" is not the only game with improving communication idea, but I think those who buy this kind of game are people what someone usually say "Need to Get A Life"

This article is written by Steve Bogda, the columnist of Damnlag. So the rules for being a gamer with good taste...I agree all of those expect the 'blizzard' one, how about you guys?

1) You must have enjoyed playing either Portal or Fallout 3. If you did not, then you should considering picking up another hobby, like archery or air guitar. Or jumping in front of trains. 

2) You must either own a PS3, an Xbox 360, or a high powered PC. If you own a Wii, then here's a yummy lollipop, and a shiny nickel for you to veer your attention towards. 

3) You must know who Peter Molyneux is, and because you do, you must find him incredibly creepy. If he seems like a normal, everyday kind of guy, then you're not so normal yourself.

 

4) You must believe that Shigeru Miyamoto can beat the hell out of anyone. With his mind. 

5) You must know that gamers who only play a mix of Halo, Gears of War, and Call of Duty are complete douchebags who should be castrated. These are the same people who blind you with their brights while driving and vote for GOP candidates. 

6) You must believe any ratings board association is a horrible immorality that destroys creative freed

Just in time to disappoint legions of juvenile videogamers for the holidays, Common Sense Media has released a list of 10 games that should be avoided for younger players. Actually we jest, because the list, entitled 10 Cool Games That Are Uncool for Kids, does a decent job of offering safe alternatives for each title it recommends that parents avoid. The full list, with substitutes in parenthesis, follows:

Assassin’s Creed (Mirror’s Edge)
Borderlands (Infamous)
Brutal Legend (Ghostbusters)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Battlefield: Bad Company)
Dead Space: Extraction (Deadly Creatures)
Dragon Age: Origins (Braid)
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony (Batman: Arkham Asylum)
Demon’s Souls (Uncharted 2: Among Thieves)
Left 4 Dead 2 (Overlord II)
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (C.O.P.: The Recruit)

[Source]

Erik Estavillo is suing Activision Blizzard over World of Warcraft. Erik Estavillo is also a funny guy.

That or he's crazy. It could go either way.

Estavillo claims the company "continues to maintain a harmful virtual environment to many of its customers by forcing them to follow [World of Warcraft's] sneaky and deceitful practices".

And what could those "sneaky and deceitful practices" be? Walking is one of them, as he feels it takes too long to get from one point to the other in the game world. Because you can only speed up through extended play or buy purchasing an expansion pack, that qualifies as "deceitful".

He also believes that, because of a litany of health problems he suffers from (including OCD, agoraphobia, depression and Crohn's Disease), he's at risk of sharing the fate of Shawn Woolley, an Everquest player who committed suicide in 2001.

The best part follows: to back up his claims, Estavillo has subpoenaed Winona Ryder (who would presumably be able to "explain the significance of alienation in Catcher in the Rye") and Martin Lee Gore, of Depeche Mode ("he himself has been known to be sad, lonely, and alienated as can be see

Watch this Youtube video clip, the dog steps on the skateboarding peripheral and just do it quite well, smart, isn't he? Well I don't buy any Xbox360 peripherals so far, so I'm not sure if the dog was actually playing on it, someone says it's staged. What do you think? Youtube Link

Ever wondered how Left 4 Dead would work out if it was created back in the 80’s for Nintendo? Thanks to Eric Ruth and his PixelForce NES de-make of Left 4 Dead, we will soon have the famous zombie fps title released as a full game free for download in early January 2010 for PC. It includes all the campaigns from the original game, 5 special infected and supports up to two players.

The best part of this project is that it’s “Valve approved”. Valve is aware of the project and finds the concept “hilarious”. Unlike most developers, they’ll have a C&D letter within your doorstep minutes after they hear you’re creating something using their IP. Source: Gossipgamers

We've seen mixtures of Roomba and Pac-Man before, but nothing like this. A team of developers have hacked five floor-cleaning bots to create a sort of OCD version of the game, with the Pac-Man bot sucking up little white rectangles whilst being chased by robot incarnations of Inky, Pinky, Blinky, and Clyde. But, when the Pac-Man vacuum finds a power pellet those ghostly rovers turn blue and start fleeing. The tech is supposed to be a demonstration of the developers' Unmanned Aerial System suite, designed for guidance of airborne vehicles, but we're too busy geeking out to care about potential real-world applications of this tech. Video below. [posted by Engadget]
 

Well, this guy looked so addicted to the DS in his hand, I wonder what game makes him on his knees. If I was him, I know I would never do that. But who can blame him?

Image description: He was just killing time while his supermodel girlfriend was shopping. I’m just kidding, his mom kicked him out of the basement to go make real friends because all he did was play World of Warcraft all day. [Peopleofwalmart]

Finally I got time to catch up with Left 4 Dead 2. It will be released soon in the next month, here is a trailer, really awesome, you can get to know the world of the game by this trailer and each character's personality will be well presented. I like how that boy said: KILL ALL SONS OF B****ES!

Video from wowriot