GTA V Trailer Is Here! But…where is CJ?
WATCH THE NEW GTA TRAILER HERE:
You know, as an African American, I have to admit…I know its gonna rub people the wrong, and I hope there are intellectuals that can TRY to understand where I am coming from…: I love that its only been a few hours since the release of Rockstar’s GTA:5 trailer and every single person…is asking….”Where is CJ?”. LOL!
San Andreas, to me has to be THE greatest game out of the GTA franchise that Rockstar has ever released. Heck, they Rockstar EVER released period! lol! CJ is THE only black game character to have such a HUGE beautiful RAINBOW fanbase. People want him. People love him. People want to be him. People want to see how he’s doing! It just makes me very proud of him and far he has progressed these past few years. He may be a stereotype, a thug from the streets. But, that is not the way his character is presented and remembered. That’s not why people love him.
I really do hope CJ is somewhere mentioned, seen, or heck, played in GTA 5. They’ve already confirmed that the setting is indeed San Andreas. That is a VERY good sign!
Happy Afternoon, everyone! I tell ya, I feel great! Just had the most fun workout I have ever had in my 24yrs of life! Dance Central 2 came out in stores yesterday and as I explained before, I was testing it today. Ya’ll, this is why I love being a gamer! Check it out:
1: I started out with Mary J. Blidge’s “Real Love”: The dance moves for that song were AMAZING! I was working up a sweat just doing the “Learn The Moves” session! Plus, I grew up jamming to Mary’s song and it was just great to even do Mary’s signature “dance move” in the song! That session was just freakin’ fun as heck!
2: Then, after Mary’s song, I did “This Is How We Do It” by Montel Jordan: The dance moves to THAT song was so 1994/1995! LOL! I’m telling you, it brought back memories and I was bustin’ it out like I did when that song came out when I was a itty bitty girl! It was ALWAYS one of my most favorite songs from Montel and its a great party song! I am so glad it made it into the game! It was like God made this game just for me! lol!
3: After learning the moves to BOTH songs, I then had to perform each other individually. Boy, you are about to fall over, in a GREAT way, after performing the songs!
I love the game has a “fitness” section on there so that you can see how much calories you have burned, PLUS choose modes of levels to see how strong you are in dancing: Hard core, Easy, Crazy dancing, all kinds of stuff! Dance Central franchise is just an ace in the hole in getting people more healthy while have the time of your life! I thank God for that game, I really do!
Now, its rest time. I am eating a breakfast hotpocket that forgot to eat this morning. After that, its a lean mean I am going to have as well. I am burning so much like crazy right now, that I am STARVING! lol! My tummy is growling like a man right now. But, I don’t plan to eat to get full at all. I just want to get my food in before I quit eating all together before 7:30pm today as always.
I think what I will start doing now is posting my weight loss journey with Dance Central right here on this blog. Yeah…I think that is what I will do. ^__^*
Discipline! Discipline! ^___^*
Would You Buy A Game Like “Brink”?
As you know, the game “Brink” published by the great “Bethesda” cooperation is coming out in just four more days and I am BEYOND excited! So, I went by the official Xbox forum for the game Brink, which is something I rarely do, hoping to find some mature gamers who would probably like shooting it up for a good time on release day next week.
One particular thread caught my attention and it was written by someone under the name “LandShrkk” and he was stating his reasons as to why he wouldn’t by Brink, which is quoted below:
“2 simple reason.
1) No split-screen gameplay. I own a gaming console which grew from it’s roots of being a split-screen gaming option for TV use. However, so many games come out these days with lack of local multiplayer gaming (meaning using 2 or more controllers on one console). I really think Brink will be a fun game to play, but with no split-screen it’s a definite NO BUY for me, since about 85% of my gaming at home is with my wife or friends (yes, she plays first person shooters). Why game developers refuse to make their games with split-screen options I’ll have no idea, it completely goes against the whole idea of a gaming console.
2) No female characters. Yes, possibly trivial to some, but where are the females? I know it’s a developement choice since it simply a re-skin of player models. My wife hates that there are no female characters to play, which is another major reason why I will not be buying Brink.
Honestly, add the above 2 items and I’ll be happy to buy or even pre-order.
There really is no excuse to not have the above 2 things for Brink. Halo Reach has all of the above, so do several other games. Honestly though, the lack of local multiplayer is really a shame on any game released for the current gen consoles. “
Of course, after he posted that the hate come onward towards him from all sides. But, I was compelled to speak my own mind on what I thought and I think this should be an anthem or something for ALL gamers to grasp about when dealing with decisions like this in the world of gaming:
“I can understand your arguments. You don’t have to buy a game if it doesn’t fit your style of gaming. Being an african americ female who have been gaming since 1989 (I’m a veteran Lady gamer, which is a status that I developed myself which is hard to reach. But, that’s a whole nother conversation for another time.), I would, personally, like to see more black female heroines in games, in all honesty. Asian women, White women, and even hispanic women have heroes in games. But, black women do not as much.
BUT….being a huge advocate of equality among EVERY female and male gamer of any race out there….
The lack of black women does not stop me from playing games with women in it who do not look like me. That would be stupid of me to feel that way and I don’t think that way. Thank goodness. So, the lack of women in Brink, which would have been nice if there were women, yet I saw an interview from a Brink rep who spoke on why they didn’t add females made me understand why they didn’t put them in there, shouldn’t turn you off from not buying it. Your wife and yourself could be missing out in a great game because you refuse to allow yourself to step out of your comfort zones and enjoy the game for what it really is trying to be.
That’s the key word. ADAPT. Let me be honest with you, I am not good at first person shooters. How come, you ask? Well, its because instead of focusing on the game and the task at hand like I would LOVE to do, I am too busy trying to re-adjust my aim so that I can shoot, keep the camera level, and most importantly, trying not to be put off at the fact that if I spend hours (And I do spend hours.) making the perfect character for myself, I want to be able to see them but can’t because all I see is my gun and not ME. I am a third-person shooter fan. I am VERY good at it. I can see where I am shooting, I don’t have to mess with the camera as much, and I can be a BETTER asset to my team of fellow gamers. I feel like I can contribute more. In first person shooters, I feel like I can’t keep up with everyone and therefore it makes me look like I am not contributing or just someone who isn’t good to play with when there is much more to my skills than can be seen with the naked eye.
But, when I first found out that this game was a first person-shooter, I was REALLY put off by that….AT FIRST. When I started studying the game, watching more and more gameplay vids, reading about it more, drooling over the BEAUTIFUL character and gun customizations videos, I started feeling more and more confident about giving first person shooters a try. I WANT to get better at handling my gun in first person view, ya know what I mean?
So, the point I am trying to make is, don’t let the lack of female personas and the lack of split-screen ability stop you from getting this game. A true gamer can allow themselves to adapt to any challenge a game brings them. The potential of what the game has is most important out of everything else that’s important and you don’t want to miss out on that, Landshrkk. If I am willing to step out of my love for third person shooters and allow myself to work better at aiming in first person shooters, then I KNOW its possible for you to allow yourself to step out of your comfort zone and give this game a shot. The decision is ULTIMATELY yours, but I just wanted to give you different perspective of how you can better yourself when gaming and maybe, just maybe, compromise with certain things. I think that’s what makes a truly great gamer.”
Wouldn’t you agree?
Yes, through and awesome source: Jem Is Truly Outrageous!
Jem is coming back on tv on the beloved and awesomely awesome channel “The Hug”! She will be airing some time in May, particularly May 28th with a 6 episode marathon with a regular time-slot starting on May 31 at 7 p.m. ET! WOOOOOOOOOO!! A dream come true! This is what I am talking about. I LOVE the hub channel and I knew it was made for us 80′s loving kids! I have all the seasons of Jem (Bought the box sets when it was released on dvd!) and I am so glad that the FIRST girl I ever looked up to as a little itty bitty girl is not back on tv! YES!!!
And what’s freaky is that I called it before it was ever announced. I was talking about it with a friend at how great it would be is she came back on tv and low and behold, there she is! I don’t think I can explain how much this cartoon means to me. But, its helped me through many a trials in my life as a little girl and I am glad that she is back with me again. Now, all the girls of today can learn how to have a role model who is not built up on sex. Jem was sexy without having to show her body in any way shape or fashion. I wish you young girls would have the same respect for yourselves and Jem does.
However, I must be honest….
I am seeing people speculating that this could produce a “Today’s version” of Jem and that it would….ugh….”cool”…if she was like Lady Gaga…
I am going to be honest with you….I HATE Lady Gaga and everything she stands for and I will tell you why….
Jem should not be compared or even spoken in the same sentence as Lady Gaga. To me, Lady Gaga is a demon…and Jem is no demon. Jem is pure and good and ORIGINAL and UNIQUE and she talks about equality ways that brought EVERYONE together she and doesn’t try to ram equality of one specific group of people down everyone’s throats whoring them out like Lady Gaga does. Comparing her to Lady Gaga is along the same lines as statutory rape to me. It is dirty and unsanitary.
Now, some are saying that should be KINDA like Katy Perry. I am not a fan of her either, but I can stomach her more than Lady Gaga. I can handle a little bit of Katy Perry. Just a little bit. But, Jem needs to stay true and if REAL 80′s fans still know any better, they won’t let Jem be too commercialized to today’s standards. Just my opinion on that. I’m entitled to it.
See, I feel sorry for young folks today. Not only do you all not have “REAL” music today, but you are so synthetically programed that you can tell the difference between authenticity of “realness” and the fabricated likeness of “fakeness”. So, as a young person physically and a wise person mentally, I am trying my best to set an example for you all to go by. I don’t expect everyone to grab it or accept it or understand it. Just be aware of it.
So, with that said, I am very, very excited about my girl Jem coming back. She is my role model, my super hero and I always wanted to be like her. But, if the day, and I sincerely hope it doesn’t, comes and they try to make her like today’s lame artists….trust and me, I will have the loudest mouth about it.
The Moral System: Is It Ruining Our Games? (Not To Me!)
A woman by the name of Hilary Goldstein may be one of the most…confused women gamers of all time. In her article, she makes a statement about, in general, having the moral system is ruining our games and how some games just can’t balance the system right. Here is where I have to step in and take that ridiculous notion down a peg or two…or three. You can read the article for yourself here: “Get Your Game Out Or My Game”
Now, I saw this article from a forum post at the Bioware forums for the games Mass Effect and the person posting agreed with the article written by Hilary. Since everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I believe I am as well, as it’s alright if you do or don’t like the moral system, but consider this when you are trying to have the unmitigated gal to trash (And not speak intelligently) about the moral system in games. This was my response to the poster AND to the writer of the article (While basing my reasoning around the game Mass Effect, which the poster was basing their opinion from.):
I respectfully, but HIGHLY, disagree with you and the article.
The whole point of the paragon/renegade system, in MY OPINION, I want to make that clear to everyone who is reading what I am saying right now-IN MY OPINION-was to appeal to you emotionally when dealing with those on your ship and who you encounter. This is key when they allow YOU to be able to customize yourself so that you can put YOURSELF into the game. If having morality in a game is becoming a problem for gamers, then that is something that I feel that is very, very disturbing. That tells me that the person(s) playing have no morals in real life as well.
You are the captain of a ship and have to make sure that you have the utmost loyalty from ALL of your people, no matter what situation you are in, heck, working at a job in a corporate business, it is imperative that you understand the people working with and under you in order to achieve a goal that you are working towards. So, the impression I am getting from you is:
1: You’d rather go into the game with no emotion what so ever. You’d rather everything was planned out without any consequences to anything that you do.
2: You don’t want to hear or see the emotion in your characters face when you insult them about the problems or issues they face in life.
3: You don’t want to use your imagination to put yourself in the game and imagine if YOU were the commander of a ship and worry that what you do shows how people will admire or hate you as a person.
4: You want your character to do what a hundred million other RPG games do and have done for years: Have your character just go in and do the right thing or bad thing because that’s how they designed it and leave it at that.
I could be absolutely wrong about this, but this is what I am getting from you as well as the person in this article. I can’t imagine meeting a man like Thane who is going through a unique situation with his family and not have any kind of moral effect for the man. With no morals in a game like this is like telling a man like Thane with his problems:
“I’m sorry for what you’re going through, Thane. I hope it all works out.”.
You actually mean to tell me that you wouldn’t want to say to Thane:
“Thane, I am so, so sorry. I couldn’t imagine what it is like going through so much pain. Going through not being able to be there with your wife when she was killed, how that is effecting your relationship with your son…I just can’t imagine that and what hurts me more is that there is NO ONE else willing to help you. Granted, you are a bit late in wanting to stop your son from making the same mistakes as you have, but you want to get involved and because of that….I want to help you.
You don’t have much time to live and even though you weren’t being the mose desirable dad to Kolyat, you are going out of your way to stop him and reconcile with him and I am seeing no excuses from you when you tell me so. Thane, I want to help you and I truly believe we can set things straight between you and your son.”
You wouldn’t want to feel any kind of emotional connection with a character like Thane if you had the option to say something like that? I don’t think its corny or stupid or weird to feel emotion when playing a game that was designed for you to work on relationships with people you who’s lives that are your hands and plus who trust you and you trust them. This is a LESSON we should be learning in REAL life. Working with people whether we like that or not. I just don’t see how taking that away from a game like this makes the game better, in my opinion. I would have never gotten into Mass Effect A MONTH AGO and spent ALL OF MY MONEY trading in games to get ME1 and ME2 had there been no moral aspect in a game with such dynamic storylines like this. There aren’t many games designed like this and it’s a breath of fresh that there are games like this! I get sick and tired of being pre-programed to do just the right or bad thing all of the time. It’s nice to get away from that for a while and play something where I have a choice and my choices, like in real life, not only effects me but it effects everyone else around me who are connected to me.
You’re saying that taking away the moral system will make it the best game in history, right? It already IS one of the best games in history and that’s WITH the moral system already in it. So, wouldn’t taking the moral system away from the game make it go a notch down into the category of cliche’ hero games as opposed to taking it a notch UP on the later for being an innovative emotion driven game? A characteristic, as I said, that has won is over 100 gaming awards as it is? That doesn’t make sense to me.
Maybe I am a strange gamer for wanting to feel that emotional connection or wanting to be blown away by memorable characters like Thane or Garrus or Kaidan because, personally, I don’t like being evil. I like being the hero, the one with good morals because in REAL life, my good morals do outweigh the bad most of the time. Like everyone else, I am capable of being renegade in real life, lol! But, what keeps me being the person that I am and that draws people into my direction with no effort is because I am a sweet and compassionate person and act that way towards other people who ALLOW ME TO BE, and the characters that I am allowed to customize and play in games will behave the same way. Does it get boring being good all the time? No. Not for me because I will not let others dictations jepordize how I carry myself–in real life or in a game.
So, the main point I am trying to say is, they need to KEEP the moral system in there. It differentiates the game from so many others because of the storylines and the characters we encounter. Taking it away takes away the emotion and the connection we have with it.
That’s just how I feel about it and I humbly, humbly apologize if you feel put off by what I have said. But, this is the kind of round, brown, lady gamer that I am and I won’t make any apologies for that.
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Now, if you still agree with the article, fine. That’s alright! But, if I was able to make you think, be intrigued, by what I have I said, that’s even better. Share your thoughts if you’d like!
Spreading Confidence: Be Who You Are!
Just wanted to give some word of advice to all of you out there as this has been one beautiful first week of Spring and being a new year, we need some encouragement to help her get along our days! So, listen very closely:
1: Don’t kiss anyone’s @$$ on the internet. If they don’t want to respect you, heck, you don’t have to respect them back! Respect is earned, not a privilege.
2: Don’t let anyone speak to ill to you and let them get away with it. This is clearly targeting the artists on deviant art who feel that they have this right. I sure as heck don’t take it and neither should YOU!
3: Finally, don’t ever let anyone tell you “No”! If you want something in this life, it is out there for your taking. Don’t let anyone discourage you from having what it is you want and don’t let anyone else try to make a fool out of you for wanting it. The best response to them is to have them kiss your round behind and move it right on along!
So, in point, no one on here or no one there is work belittling yourself. Let other people develop their own perspective of you, but don’t let those perspectives define you. Because is there is one thing I DETEST with a passion is someone who doesn’t know a thing about you, try to tell you about yourself. I love making those kinds of people look foolish in the end. Trust. It’s an ability that isn’t easily gained. But, it can be mastered.
Mass Effect: Beauty In Shepard…
In 2 weeks, I have beaten Mass Effect 1 and 2. LOL! I was playing the HECK out of that game and I hate that I was so late in getting into the franchise. I am so glad I invested in it. But, this picture is representing something else. Something I needed to address that I have seen lately:
UGLY SHEPARDS.
The one thing people need to know about me is that I am a pure perfectionist when it comes to games like The Sims, Saints Row, Fallout series, Little Big Planet, and now the Mass Effect series, pretty much all games that allows full customization. My character has to be respectfully attractive because in MY EYES, I am not ugly and my character is a representation of ME. So, whether I am playing a male or female, no matter what race they are, they have to be as beautiful as I am. I take pride in how my characters look.
So, here I am looking on youtube seeing these Mass Effect 1 and 2 videos and all I see, not to toot my own horn or sound full of myself (I work hard at what I do, so I guess I earn the right. lol!), but do people not take pride in how their character looks as they play? That character is suppose to represent YOU. Make it take it so seriously because I have always work hard in creating sims and how much time it really takes to make them. It sounds strange, but I guess it takes someone who does what I do to really understand where I am coming from.
Anyway, this is my character “Whitney Shepard” from Mass Effect 1 and 2. Oh, as on a side-note I am in LOVE with Thane. I tried to keep my relationship with Kaiden, but the way he came at me on my first mission, that was enough to just let him go and fall inlove with a man who was really understood where my character was coming from. Gah, stupid Kaiden. I loved him. >____<*
