Getting Your Money’s Worth: A Look At Rewards Programs

In a world full of online passes and additional DLC, many gamers may be feeling a little sore in their wallet regions.  To remedy this, some companies have started offering rewards programs to help consumers feel a greater sense of investment, and get a little extra bang for their buck.  Read On »

Breaking the Illusion of Control – Did Mass Effect Gamers Expect Too Much?

Four and a half years ago, Bioware released the most ambitious undertaking in the history of gaming to date: to give gamers the ability to choose their own destiny in a videogame, making choices that would have repercussions rippling throughout an entire trilogy. Read On »

Misguided Video Games Bill To Do Some Good?

Having played video games for the better part of my 33 years, most of them violent, I staunchly believe that violent video games don’t make people more violent; and regardless of the numerous debunking of “studies” that supposedly proved the point, many people still believe otherwise.  One Oklahoma State Representative by the name of William Fourkiller would be one of those people who do not believe as I do.  However, rather than trying to put a ban on violent video games, attempting to impose a government bureaucracy in the place of the ESRB, or threatening to call the FBI on every media outlet and entity on the planet with an opposing view (like some disbarred Florida attorneys we know), Mr. Fourkiller is trying to pass a law that will do some good; and yet I feel strangely conflicted. Read On »

Shunning Used Games Will Be Bad For Business

 

Rumors have been running rampant lately that the “Xbox 720,” that is, Microsoft’s next generation console, won’t be able to play used games.  Microsoft, of course, has dismissed this as merely “rumor and speculation,” but without denying it outright, and the internet has most certainly become lively regarding this possibility.  Most recently, Volition designer Jameson Durall spoke out about the rumor saying, “Personally I think this would be a fantastic change for our business and even though the consumers would be up in arms about it at first…they will grow to understand why and that it won’t kill them.” Read On »

Sony’s Cross-Play Capability Will Connect Gamers Everywhere

In less than a month, Sony’s PlayStation Vita will be hitting the Western markets, much to the gaming populous’ anticipation.  Sony’s next generation handheld has received a lot of hype about its added features over the existing PSP, such as the rear touch pad, dual analog sticks, front and rear cameras, and the Six-Axis Motion Sensor.  These are all very exciting additions indeed, but there’s one that truly places Sony above its competition in the innovation department, and has received far less emphasis than it should have.  And what is this understated aspect?  The cross-platform capability, of course! Read On »

Megaupload Shut Down For Piracy – Proof That We Don’t Need SOPA or PIPA?

Fox News has just reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has shut down Megaupload.com and charged it’s “ringleaders” with racketeering, conspiracy to commit copyright infringement, money laundering and other charges related to violating piracy laws.  So this begs the question, “Why do we need SOPA again?” Read On »

The Internet Protests SOPA – And Gamers Should Too

We here at Wanderson75.net firmly believe the SOPA/PIPA bills that are currently being considered by our government will not only damage the security of our public internet, but will also hurt small groups and businesses in favor of large corporations.  Furthermore, bills already passed such as the Digital Millenium Copyright Act already protect the intellectual properties and interests of content creators.  While we agree that protection of intellectual property is necessary, SOPA/PIPA is simply not. 

 

Wikipedia.org, N4G.com (News for Gamers), Google and other popular sites are banding together and protesting these bills by going dark for 24 hours in order to raise awareness and get their readers engaged in the conversation regarding the controversial bills.  As a result, former U.S. Senator Chris Dodd, Democrat and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America had this to say:

“Only days after the White House and chief sponsors of the legislation responded to the major concern expressed by opponents and then called for all parties to work cooperatively together, some technology business interests are resorting to stunts that punish their users or turn them into their corporate pawns, rather than coming to the table to find solutions to a problem that all now seem to agree is very real and damaging.”

We have seen in the past how the residents of the internet can band together to make real world changes.  Today, as millions of people use Google, they’ll be greeted by a black censorship bar covering their logo.  Wikipedia will not be accessible to those who are looking for information contained within its servers.  Gamers will not be able to get all of their news on a single dashboard from N4G.  All of these sites have a shared purpose, and urge people to do the same thing – contact your Congressperson, and tell them you want them to vote NO on SOPA/PIPA.

The steps are easy.  Simply go here, fill out the form, and hit submit.  Or you can call your congressperson’s office.  Enough calls and emails, and they will either listen to us now…or they can listen to us in the next election.

Microsoft’s CES 2012 Keynote – All Good Things

CES has officially begun for 2012!  Yesterday’s media day gave us a sneak peek into the future of technology and how it will change life as we know it.  Press conferences, behind the door meetings, and keynotes from industry notables have journalists moving furiously across the city of Las Vegas, taking notes, knocking back energy drinks and posting the latest news of the day.

Read On »

Call of Duty: Well Developed or Well Marketed?

Call of Duty is a gaming powerhouse.  An instantly recognized name that attracts millions of gamers with every release, earning accolades from players and critics alike.  It’s arguably the most well-known franchise on the market today, able to attract and keep a diverse and dedicated fanbase.

But is it really as good as all that?  Call of Duty, despite its mammoth popularity, is a franchise that has offered little to the industry as a whole.  Though its sales figures are enviable, other first-person shooters surpass it in terms of gameplay variability, technological progression, and storytelling ability.  Call of Duty is, at its core, a ten-year-old game wrapped in a modern package. Read On »

Wanderson75.net Staff Picks Best Games of 2011

With 2012 rapidly happening upon us, we here at Wanderson75.net took a few moments to reflect on those games that impressed us the most and decided to jot down our top picks for 2011.  Afterwards, we looked at the best of the best, and voted for the singular most influentual game of the batch to list as our 2011 Top Pick.  And the nominees are… Read On »