Editorial: 2011 - Year of the PlayStation (Part 3?)

Numbers don't lie. Well, they can. Ask a mathematician why 1+1=3 and have your mind BLOWN. But most of the time, numbers don't lie. In four years of competition, the Nintendo Wii has dominated worldwide console sales, and it hasn't even been close. Even with a year's headstart, the Xbox 360 has only managed a about 60% of the sales of Nintendo's motion gaming juggernaut.

And lingering in a (comparably) distant third place is the console you know by now is dear to my heart, the PlayStation 3.

(A quick aside: if you're not altogether excited for my views on the PS3, or think I'm being biased in my overall game coverage, go back and read my formal introduction, then go read some of the Gamerologist's other pieces. I'm probably not going to be your cup of tea.)

New Year, New Games to Play, and a Look Back

In just under six hours, Pacific Time, the year 2010 will be over. It's been a pretty big year for me: new home, new relationship, new responsibilities at work, and a brand new blog that has been so much fun to work on (as infrequently as my brethren and I make the effort to do so).

2011 is poised to be a stellar year in the gaming industry. The first full year of the Xbox Kinect, the arrival of the Nintendo 3DS, a metric ton of stellar first- and second-party exclusives for the PS3, and who knows what else is on the horizon. In the next week or so, I'm going to share my thoughts on what I envision as the Year of the PlayStation (shocking, right? Me, writing about PlayStation). But before I do that, I thought I'd share what games I played this year, and what still need to play more of next year:

Games Finished
Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed II
Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
Enslaved: Odysssey to the West
God of War
God of War II
God of War III
God of War: Chains of Olympus
Guitar Hero 5
Heavy Rain
inFamous
Red Dead Redemption
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves

Games Played But Not Completed
3D DOT GAME HEROES
Battlefield 1943
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Brutal Legend
Burn, Zombie Burn!
Civilization V
Critter Crunch
Flower
Ghostbusters: The Video Game
God of War: Ghost of Sparta
Grand Theft Auto IV
Gran Turismo 5
LittleBigPlanet
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2
MLB 10: The Show
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
Mushroom Wars
Shatter
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions
Transformers: War for Cybertron
WipEout HD
Zen Pinball

That's WAY too many games in a year! But just wait, 2011 looks packed too! And there's still a lot of games out there from before I bought my PS3--and quite a few from 2010--that are still worth a look.

What did you, my gaming friends, feast upon in the virtual world for the last 365 days? Let us know!

Written Gamerology: Afro Samurai

"Did I wake you mutha fucka?" - Ninja Ninja

In the Afro Samurai world there are many headbands and they signify the best fighters in the world. If a person should hold number 1, they are referred to as a god among combatants, killers, and assassins. Afro Samurai's father was number one. That was until a cowboy mutant gunslinger named Justice shot him in the head. Now as number two, Afro seeks sweet, pure, and bloody revenge.

During our thorough play through we found the gameplay to be very generic. You'll notice the game explains itself in the first level. The functionality is simple, the map buttons are your basic attacks, the movement is fluid, and Afro does have a movement list longer than most street fighters. Every villain, other than cheap bosses, will fall to Afro's katana in only a couple hits. In addition, there is an instant kill that works in combo's which makes the game far too easy.

This samurai's presentation is lacking a bit. The cell-shaded colors are fitting for a video game based on an anime and the locales are varied and unique. However, the levels are fairly small and the enemies are recycled abundantly. The funky samurai beats save much in the way of appearance though. Rza has definitely given this game a funky soul!

Should you buy it? The answer is: probably not. Afro Samurai has many fun-filled moments of action slashing in it. There's gruesome bloody death galore as well as several funky filled bass beats. Nevertheless, once the generic combat and recycled enemies in small levels becomes apparent, the player soon realizes they don't have much to accomplish. I'd suggest renting this game if interested, but don't buy it for more than 20 dollars.

What do you think of the review? Leave us some feedback! SuperGamerology loves the feedback...

*Edited by The Hybrid

Written Gamerology: Scott Pilgrim vs The World.

There are millions of women in the world and Scott Pilgrim finally found one. The catch is Ramona Flowers, his new love interest, has 7 ex's that want to make her love life a living hell for anyone she would like to date. If Scott wants her heart, he's gonna have to step up his game and defeat them.

Scott Pilgrim is a retro beat'em up game at its heart. Punishing enemies in your way while collecting the coins they spit out when defeated is the overall design of the game. Once the player has moved to the end of the level, an evil ex awaits to battle it out with the chosen character. The sweet addition of shops along most of the levels adds a slight layer of depth to the game. It's a tried and true formula.

Didn't you get his email?

The formula for the aesthetic and score are that of a pure old-school pleasure. Fully pixelated backgrounds with 8-bit beats draw the player back into the 80's. This presentation feels fresh in today's saturated world of next-gen graphics and orchestral scores. Anamanaguchi's chip-tunes brings life to this already exciting game.

Aurora (Meet Me in the Stars).mp3 by ✰ ☃ ANAMANAGUCHI ☃ ✰

The gameplay is almost an afterthought. However, it's not at all complicated or nonfunctional. Players won't have trouble moving their characters around with D-pad and face buttons, which is reminiscent of the classic Nintendo controller.

Simply put, Scott Pilgrim is worth the money. A ten dollar download such as this shouldn't be passed up. There are a few hiccups here and there in the difficulty when starting this game, but it's all for a playing standpoint and not a functionality issue. Go check this out for a preview: Scott Pilgrim vs The World.

*Edited by The Hybrid

Greetings and Salutations

Hello, Internet-land. James T. Skywalker*, here! That's right, you saw the name... your friendly neighborhood clone, hero of not one, but TWO galaxies!

Of course, by day, I'm just mild-mannered Brien Bell, a 25-year-old Star Wars fan, comic book reader, and--as you might have guessed--video gamer. Since 1999 I've been known as James T. Skywalker on about a dozen different websites, including the Official Star Wars Site, starwars.com, where I have served as a forum moderator since 2002.

I am currently working two jobs while trying to find time to get back to school to finish my degree (maybe I'll create a poll, once we get some followers, to decide exactly what that degree will be). In the meantime, my life is pretty great: good friends, good games, and hopefully some good feedback from you, the reader.

So here we go, James T. Skywalker joins the Super Gamerologist. Let the mayhem begin!

Live Long and May the Force Be With You!**

(* This name is not related to any person, real or imagined, and is not endorsed by Lucasfilm Inc., 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, CBS Productions, or any entity or subsidiary related to Star Wars and/or Star Trek.)

(** Ok, maybe that was somewhat related to both aforementioned properties. Think they'll mind?)