A Look Into The Mind Of A Camper, With Professor Rushalot

I am pleased to announce that we have secured an exclusive interview with the prestigious and widely cited Professor Beastman Rushalot. Based in the internationally recognised, Shewter University, he commands a wide range of specialisations in the Video Game Psyche department where he is acting head. He is frequently invited to gaming events around the world, giving talks and lectures on the state of the industry and more importantly, the nature of gamers today.

After a quick cup of tea and some crumpets, we settled down in our comfy lounge chairs and had a superb chat about camping, campers and pretty much any golden nugget we could gleam from Professor Rushalot's vexing mind.

Enjoy!

Ninja Gaiden 3 and Itagaki's Fluffing Fanboys

With the rapid approach of Ninja Gaiden 3, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on my thoughts about Ninja Gaiden as a reemerging franchise and where I think it is heading.

It goes without saying that Ninja Gaiden set the benchmark for brutal fantasy action adventures when it released in 2004 on the original Xbox. It brought me in to a franchise that was both familiar and fresh. As a game, it personified a developer's ability to take risks in the right places and invent something that was really adored by fans all over. The driving force behind this was of course none other than Team Ninja, spear headed by the infamous Tomonobu Itagaki. Itagaki had his greasy palms in more than one game series of course.

The Skyrim Christmas Bubble

I think we all know of the mega hot Skyrim price plummet that ended not too long ago.

It was so big that even a skeptic like myself who still loves gaming related bargains, dipped in for a second copy of the game. What harm could a spare copy do? You could easily flip it for a bit of pocket money for Christmas to brighten up a little kid's holidays.

But what people didn't bank on was the shear quantity of bulk stock that was distributed

The Season Pass Conspiracy

Microsoft has already begun employing the Season Pass DLC philosophy across a host of games.

Gears of War 3, Forza Motorsport and Mortal Kombat already have this 'pay up front' tactic successfully implemented. And while it's key advertising pull is to essentially save a lump sum from the total DLC cost in the long run, there are factors that you need to consider before you dive in and sign up to this up and coming DLC marketing strategy.

Can Skyrim Be Too Easy At Times?

Small observation here from my time with the game thus far.

I've done many quests so far in Skyrim. Already well into 100 hours and think I have a fair scope of the game to start judging it.

It was after one particular quest relating to a Daedric artifact (that shall remain unnamed), that my eyes were opened to something I just did not like.

Workaround For Skyrim 1.2 Patch Bookshelves Problem

Since I recently acquired a house in Solitude as a result of my ongoing adventures in Skyrim, I thought it appropriate to do a little bookshelf testing.

As previously noted, bookshelves seem to glitch as a result of Bethesda's second title update for Skyrim. The shelves can swallow whatever books you just placed in them and then become unusable. I have found a workaround for it.

Skyrim's 1.2 Patch Breaks Resistances and Bookshelves

The next patch from Bethesda has gone live for a few days and seems to have broken more than it fixed. Thankfully, they have actually fixed the texture problem so the game can finally be enjoyed to its fullest from the hard drive install.

However, I've noticed 2 new problems induced by the patch.

Skyrim's 360 HDD Install Texture Problem

I have been looking forward to this game for a good chunk of the last 3-4 years and now that it's here, I am blown away by the advances Bethesda have made from Oblivion (and Fallout). The interface, the design and even the storytelling is already going from strength to strength.

But what really left a sour taste in my mouth from the start were the graphics.