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About Me: I knew at an early age that I wanted to make a career out of writing about games, and now I have. You'll find most of my stuff right here on HonestGamers, of course, but don't be surprised if my name pops up elsewhere. Living out my dream keeps me very busy, and I wouldn't have it any other way! |
Recently, a moderator on Eurogamer ignored his non-disclosure agreement and posted on the forums to say that Too Human--a title he was only able to play because he signed a legally-binding NDA indicating that he would not discuss the game until a date sometime in the future--is the worst game he has played in the past five years.
There are a lot of regulars on that site who are praising him for doing the right thing and breaking the agreement. It got me wondering how some of you feel about the matter. Should non-disclosure agreements be honored? Do you think more of someone who breaks them to report exclusive news ahead of his competition? Less? Do non-disclosure agreements interfere with the free market system so many of us value?
When this year began, I was fresh off a busy holiday season of reviewing games like crazy. In November, I believe I reviewed somewhere around 13 games in just the one month and I was dangerously close to burnout.
"I won't do that in 2008," I vowed to myself. "I won't review as many games in 2008 as I did in 2007. I won't do that at all."
For the first week or two, I was as good as my word. My first review in 2008 wasn't posted until January 9, when I reviewed MX vs. ATV Untamed for PlayStation 3.
Then things fell apart. Today, at the year's halfway point, I decided to see where I sit. Last year, I reviewed my usual number of games... around 60. So this year?
Well, I've posted my most recent review and it happens to be for a DS title...
Summon Night: Twin Age (DS) review
Sometimes, I think the reception to DS reviews is quite lukewarm. That probably has a lot to do with the perception that the DS isn't a 'real' gaming machine, that it simply plays host to a bunch of gimmicky games that won't appeal to any serious gamers.
I wrote another review tonight, this time for Time Soldiers.
The main reason I wrote the review was Leroux's challenge on the forums, wherein he'll respond to any new staff or user review of an arcade game on this site by writing one of his own.
That's just an awesome idea and I'm glad he thought of it (and is willing to follow through). It inspired me to download Time Soldiers for MAME, which I'd been meaning to play seriously for quite some time.
The problem I ran to immediately was that I couldn't get my Xbox 360 controller working with the emulator. This is because by default, MAME32 disables joysticks. Dumb decision, if you ask me. But whatever.
I am fortunate in that I don't get head colds very often. When I sense one coming--maybe I have sniffles or my throat irritates me slightly--I self-medicate with echinachea (not how you spell that, I'm sure) tea and orange juice. It has staved off one cold after another.
Two nights ago, I went to sleep feeling great and woke up with an absurdly sore throat and the sniffles. I started drinking the tea and orange juice as usual, but I knew it was already too late. What do you do when a cold begins while you're asleep?
The game I most want right now is Street Fighter IV, and I don't particularly want to wait.
When I was in my early teens, Street Fighter II: The World Warrior was the battle I chose to fight with my mother. My dad was usually on the road, smack dab in the middle of his 'owner/operator of a long-haul semi truck' phase, and that left my sister and I mostly alone--except for every other weekend or so--with one figure of authority and moral guidance.
I knew that my mom didn't like Street Fighter II and I knew why: she simply needed an education.
Tonight, I accessed my old e-mail account, which hadn't been in proper use for weeks but which still has old messages and contact info stored. I'm trying to slowly move over important PR contacts to my Outlook account, but it takes awhile.
Anyway, I was going through old messages and there were some from FAQ contributors who had written back to me and granted permission to post their stuff. This was from nearly a year ago. At the time, I was living in a motorhome. Then I didn't have Internet access dependably for a bit, then I was moving into my apartment, then I was distracted with prolonged unemployment...
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