http://www.realpoor.com/ Where Internet drama can cost you your job! 2009-11-20 17:28:50 -0500 Gamers love their weapons. No matter if the game is a shooter, an RPG, or even a racing game for every player (and every character) there s a favorite weapon. From shotguns and chainsaws to turtle shells and Light Sabers, the weapons we use in games have become almost as iconic as the games themselves. Let us take a look at some of the best and baddest weapons around in this top ten round up. Number Ten: The Line Gun (Dead Space) In a game where the whole point is to take your enemies apart piece by piece, there s no other weapon that works quite as well as the modified IM-822 Ore Cutter. This upgradable machine was designed to cut chunks of ore into smaller chunks for ease of handling but with a little tweaking and a little malevolence the tool works just as well against the hideously mutated freaks that took over the Ishimura. Not only is the line gun one of the most deadly weapons in gaming, it s also on e of the coolest looking and its deadly beam can be rotated both vertically and horizontally. Number Nine: Blades of Chaos (God of War) Kratos is one bad mother@#*!1 so it would have been a little self-defeating to limiting the God of War to swinging a sword or axe. It s a good thing Sony decided to give the man his kusarigama (chain ball sickle) inspired implements of death. These whirling blades sweep through the air rhythmically and slice flesh like those Ginsu knives they sell on TV infomercials. They re the perfect thing for taking on an entire Greek Pantheon to get your revenge. Number Eight: The Crowbar (Half Life) I may be biased (half Life is my all-time favorite video game ever) but Gordon Freeman s crowbar definitely deserves to be on any top ten weapons list. Why? When other characters were using knives and baseball bats for melee weapons, Gordon thought outside the box and picked ... http://www.realpoor.com/articles/Top_10_Rampant_Weapons_in_Video_Gaming_History_a274.html http://www.realpoor.com/articles/Top_10_Rampant_Weapons_in_Video_Gaming_History_a274.html http://www.realpoor.com/articles/Top_10_Rampant_Weapons_in_Video_Gaming_History_a274.html Robert Palmer 2009-11-02 07:37:29 -0500 Fall is the time when the leaves fall off the trees and our fancies turn to bobbing for apples and scaring the pants of ourselves so what better time to take a look at the Top Ten Scariest Video Game Monsters of All Time! Let s face it, the level of immersion that video games afford make everything more intense so it s no shocker that video game creators have been responsible for coming up with some the most horrifying creations of all time. Here we go . . . you got your flashlight handy? Number Ten: Nemesis (Resident Evil) Not only were these buggers near impossible to kill, they were just plain ugly. What made it worse was the fact that they were once normal humans just like you and me before the Umbrella Corporation got their greedy claws into them. One thing s for sure, you see one of them coming down the hall at you, you want to be running the other way. Number Nine: Pyramid Head (Silent Hill 2) This huge nemesis skulk around the nightmarish landscape of Silent Hill like sadomasochistic bondage fiends, always just around the corner and half a step away from cleaving you in two with their humungous knife/sword/axe contraptions. But playing as James, you re not the pyramid heads only prey as they hack and slash their way through the dreamscape s lesser haunts. This muther is one seriously freaky dude and if there were any monsters on the list prone to appear in your nightmares, this would be the one. Number Eight: Chainsaw Guy (Resident Evil 5) This baddy is like a sack boy on crack and takes his fashion tips from Jason Voorhees. Resident Evil 5 is a fairly difficult game with some challenging bosses but one of the most challenging by far comes early in the game when you run into this one-eyed freak skulking around the village. He s lean, mean, and got a seriously bad attitude. There s no talking to this fella as it ... http://www.realpoor.com/articles/10_Scariest_Video_Game_Monsters_a267.html http://www.realpoor.com/articles/10_Scariest_Video_Game_Monsters_a267.html http://www.realpoor.com/articles/10_Scariest_Video_Game_Monsters_a267.html Robert Palmer 2009-10-20 02:40:27 -0400 Video games have gotten a lot of flak from detractors, especially recent titles. They ve been decried as subversive, wastes of time, and downright evil. Many games feature adult situations such as gore, violence, and partial nudity and they, unfortunately, garner the lion s share of attention while many good and wholesome games are overlooked. However, because of the unique entertainment properties that digital media embodies, video games have long been excellent tools for the advancement of education. In fact, some of my fondest memories of grade school are of the times I spent crossing the country in and 1800 era covered wagon on the Oregon Trail. Here s a list of games that proves gaming is not just for thick-headed goons. 1) The Oregon Trail Released in 1985 by Broderbund software, this epic game features historic situations and places young minds in the boots of intrepid settlers who struggled across the nation s inhospitable mid-section to start new lives on the west coast. As a player, you must assemble your party, purchase supplies, and plot the best route to get safely across the country while facing obstacles such as dysentery, the Rocky Mountains, and finally the Colorado River. This game is unique in that it tries hard to bring a realistic portrayal of a pioneer s life to young children. It s one thing to read about wagon trails in a boring book but an entirely different animal to be on one of those trails with the fate of your family hanging on your choices. That said, I used to get perverse pleasure from inscribing the tombstones of my fallen. 2) Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego Another Broderbund title released in 1985, this game feature an archetypal sticky fingered filcher in a red trench coat and hat that globe trotted around the world always one step ahead of the Acme Detective agencies agents (the players) ... http://www.realpoor.com/articles/Best_Educational_Video_Games_a262.html http://www.realpoor.com/articles/Best_Educational_Video_Games_a262.html http://www.realpoor.com/articles/Best_Educational_Video_Games_a262.html Robert Palmer 2009-09-26 04:07:55 -0400 Video games characters are considered heroes, no matter if their methods aren t always righteous. Heroes are generally flawless, awesome and good, but sometimes it is more interesting to play characters that have darker nature, who have moral dilemmas or plenty of wrong methods in order to get their job done. This article includes subjective list of 6 great anti heroes that ever appeared in video games. 6. Conker the Squirrel How could cute and furry squirrel be an anti hero? If you ever played Conker's Bad Fur Day, then you should know the answer. If you didn t then don t let this cute appearance fool you. He's rude and alcoholic squirrel that besides booze and swearing, likes sex and violence above all other things. The cutest anti hero 5. Agent 47 from Hitman Another hero who must reach his goals over the dead bodies. However, dead body could be only his target, or pile of collaterals could be included in the bloodbath, depending on his stealth skills. But, we still like his suit and his attitude, as same as we liked Javier Bardem or Leon the Professional. The coolest anti hero 4. The GTA Characters GTA characters are generally working on the other side of law. They steal cars, sell drugs, escort prostitutes, and kill people on their way of success. Tommy Vercetti is almost closest rip-off of Tony Montana ever. He starts out like a delivery boy, and ends up like a king of Miami. Niko Bellic comes to America in his quest for better life, but soon he has no other choice than to take care over the family business and that isn t making matches. Majority of us has dark dreams about glory and power that come as a result of not-so-legal activities. That s why we love Tommy and Nico. The most badass anti heroes 3. Torque from The Suffering Torn between moral decisions given by inner voices of evil who lead him on a wrong path, and the perso ... http://www.realpoor.com/articles/6_Great_Video_Game_Anti_Heroes_a218.html http://www.realpoor.com/articles/6_Great_Video_Game_Anti_Heroes_a218.html http://www.realpoor.com/articles/6_Great_Video_Game_Anti_Heroes_a218.html windshell 2009-05-29 05:15:08 -0400 Being hardcore gamers, many of you probably use cornucopia of slang words, but some of you probably wonder what some of these slang words and abbreviations mean. This short guide will try to present and explain some of the most important words from gamers vocabulary, their meaning and origin. Let s start with the well known abbreviations. PWN, PWNED If the players have been pwned that means that they suck. Word pwn is nothing more than common typo mistake of the word own , arising from the proximity of the 'p' and 'o' keys on the keyboard. Another explanation says that this typo was introduced to get around the limitations of game servers using insult filters. However, pwn weights more than simple own , especially after being introduced in South Park episode, and to pwn someone is superior to own someone now. Variations: pwn/pwned/pwnd/pwn3d/pwning/pwnage/pwnt (misspelling of pwned) 1337 1337 is hacker speak for leet, which is an abbreviation of elite . This term was derived from 31337 ( eleet ), which was the UDP port used by the Dead Cow Cult hacker group to access Windows 95 using a notorious hacking program - Back Orifice. By employing various numbers as letters, they were avoiding censorship, trying to look cool. This word is mostly used to describe experienced players, whether other call them that way, or player praise their own skills. Also, 1337 can often be a person who pretends to hold Xtr3m H4x0r abilities, but in fact is camper n00b, who is about to be pwned by real 1337. 1337 is also used with words juice or sauce to describe something exceptionally skillful and awesome (1337 sauce). It s used mostly by Counter Strike players, assuming that sauce is misspelled source . NOOB Noob is opposit ... http://www.realpoor.com/articles/Brief_Guide_to_Gamer_Slang_a200.html http://www.realpoor.com/articles/Brief_Guide_to_Gamer_Slang_a200.html http://www.realpoor.com/articles/Brief_Guide_to_Gamer_Slang_a200.html windshell 2009-03-20 05:32:55 -0400 There are places in video games you wouldn't like to see in real life. While they could offer a chance for survival in games, in real life they d be just places of desperation and terror. Behold some of the worst locations in video games. Abbott State Penitentiary on Carnate Island (The Suffering) Compared to this prison, Marion looks like Disneyland. Prisoners executed through experiments rise undead hunting you throughout the penitentiary complex. Visions of past events and your inner demons just make the things worse. Prison is hell, indeed. Labyrinth (Pac-Man) Four angry ghosts aren t really a trouble. You can always eat some fruit and then chase them away. Being trapped in a never-ending maze, without a chance to get out is a real horror. Omaha Beach (Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, and other WWII shooters) In real life, this was one of the most hellish places on Earth. Unlike in WWII shooter games, there were no health bags on the beach, and each barricade was 50% a cover, and 50% an object that could ricochet the bullet in your head. Umbrella Mansion in Raccoon City (Resident Evil) Everything related to infamous 'allergy' of Racoon City residents started here. This mansion hides the underground passage to Umbrella facility, and it's literally a doorway to hell. Red Mountain (Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind) Whole Ashlands region is utterly depressing, but this place behind the Ghostgate is worse. However, there is an exit. You just have to take care of Dagoth Ur and his minions. LV-1201 (Alien vs. Predator 2) All started as a routine call for inspection of an incident on this calm planet. Soon you realize that it's actually infested with xenomorphs having nasty habits like climbing on walls or moving in groups, and of course, biting your head off. Also, there is invisible hunter that will join the party later. Yes, the ... http://www.realpoor.com/articles/The_Worst_Video_Game_Locations_a197.html http://www.realpoor.com/articles/The_Worst_Video_Game_Locations_a197.html http://www.realpoor.com/articles/The_Worst_Video_Game_Locations_a197.html windshell 2009-03-06 05:35:04 -0500 Instead of writing a list of best games in 2008, I ve decided to do something a bit different. How many of you remember which video games were popular 10 years ago? 1998 was a great year for video games: titles that shaped the future of gaming industry were released that year. Of course, it is silly comparing games released decade ago to modern titles such as Fallout 3, Crysis or Gears of War 2, but without those oldies world of video games would be much poorer and probably wouldn t be the same. Also, considering the fact, that we have bigger choice of gaming platforms today, that there are more companies producing games, 1998 was a great success. This article will try to retrospect some of the best video games that were released 10 years ago, in 1998, which is known as one of the most successful years for gaming business. Half-Life According to many sources, HL was the best game of 1998. This revolutionary game was father of later Counter Strike, one of the most popular shooter games ever. Half-Life s advantages were fantastic storyline, visual effects and superb voice acting. Half-Life offered gamers an amazing story-based experience, where they felt like taking the lead role in a well-written action movie. Starcraft There were a lot of good strategy games in 1998, but no one can beat StarCraft, which is probably one of the best real-time strategies ever. With a great multiplayer mode, Starcraft's single player and multiplayer mode were both long and compelling. Players could choose from one of three races: the insectlike Zerg, the humanoid Terrans, and the technology based Protoss. In 1998 Starcraft was synonym for addiction. Many players spent hours playing the game three times in a row just to experience it from the perspective of all three races. Baldur s Gate Year 1998 gave birth to some of the finest role-playing games ever seen. O ... http://www.realpoor.com/articles/The_Best_Video_Games_10_Years_Ago_a178.html http://www.realpoor.com/articles/The_Best_Video_Games_10_Years_Ago_a178.html http://www.realpoor.com/articles/The_Best_Video_Games_10_Years_Ago_a178.html windshell 2008-12-30 05:57:16 -0500 5 Reasons why soda is bad and can affect your health! YOUR TEETH! Soda Has acidic Acids, They ruin and root your teeth, causing your enamel to root out with your teeth. Can make your teeth root out of your skull. Can Ruin Your taste of things. YOUR HEART! Soda Can cause serous Heart problems. It can affect How you exercise, run, walk, and basic needs. Leading your heart to get in bad pain Possibly. TERRIBLE WITHDRAWAL! Some people when not drinking soda after a period of time, Get A headache or so. Some people even get sick, throw up, Can't taste. It's best to have a normal schedule while drinking. TOO MUCH CAFFEINE! This can cause many problems. No Sleep, Too Much exercise, Problems sleeping, eating, too interjection. COCA COLA CLEANS OIL PITS! Yes, it's true, this soda is so bad, It cleans oil pits. It's so acidic, It can clean things. Wow. I Hope I changed your mind a little Coinshopcollector LOW = BAD ... http://www.realpoor.com/articles/5_Reasons_why_Soda_can_Hurt_you__a174.html http://www.realpoor.com/articles/5_Reasons_why_Soda_can_Hurt_you__a174.html http://www.realpoor.com/articles/5_Reasons_why_Soda_can_Hurt_you__a174.html coinshopcollector 2008-12-13 06:03:42 -0500 It s a perfect time to start thinking about the games to get for the Christmas holidays. Dilemma is: should you choose single player games or involve your family and friends in your Christmas gaming session? Fresh entries like Crysis Warhead or FarCry 2 cannot be avoided, but there are plenty games nowadays available that allow you to involve others and socialize a bit more during the holidays, because that s the point of Christmas. So involve others this time, don t lock your room and play alone. Choose some nice multiplayer and your fun will be multiplied. However, everyone have different tastes and wishes, but we will suggest you some nice recent titles for the Christmas time of joy. Guitar Hero: World Tour Genre: Musical Video Game/Simulation Platform: PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360 If you think that Christmas time is ideal for headbanging on the imaginary stage with your friends and family, then Guitar Hero is the game you should get. Although the $189.99 'band kit' version sounds pricey, it comes with a couple of nice plastic toys. The new drum set has been introduced with four pads plus a pair of cymbals. The slightly larger guitar has a new pad you can slap-strum and the whole thing comes with a substantial 86 master-recording track list. Also, nobody dies in this game - perfect for Christmas. LittleBigPlanet Genre: Puzzle/Platform Platform: PlayStation 3 LittleBigPlanet is great puzzle adventure with amazing graphics that can be played with your friends, either if you co-operate or compete across each level. The game can be customized, not just the characters themselves but the whole game. It is very easy to create your own levels, and the biggest fun definitely is setting up areas for fooling around and then sharing them online with other people. World of Goo Genre: Puzzle Platform: Wii, PC, Mac, Linux (in Beta) Sometimes the best things come in small ... http://www.realpoor.com/articles/5_Video_Games_You_Should_Have_This_Christmas_a172.html http://www.realpoor.com/articles/5_Video_Games_You_Should_Have_This_Christmas_a172.html http://www.realpoor.com/articles/5_Video_Games_You_Should_Have_This_Christmas_a172.html windshell 2008-12-12 06:06:10 -0500 Gaming addiction and soul sucking is term usually connected to MMORPG titles. But what was happening before their time? What games were occupying young and innocent souls, binding them in front of TV or PC screens for hours and days? Flashy arcades, space shooters, written dungeons and ancient role playing games were as same addictive as some of the later popular games like Everquest or World of Warcraft. Chance to play with thousands, even millions of players all over the world cannot be beaten by vintage games, but those oldies gave us a lot of excitement during many sleepless nights. Here is my subjective list of 8 video games that are not MMORPGs, but still had stolen the precious moments of my life. 8. Text Based Adventures Back in the 80 s, when I was a little boy without computer, my friend with brand new ZX Spectrum had special guest in his house on daily basis. I was thrilled when looking at the small black device every day, like it was a gift given to us right from the hands of deities of technology. I still have that Jet Set Willy screen and music in my head ( If I Were a Rich Man from the Fiddler on the Roof or Gwen Stefani s Rich Girl for younger readers). Alas, one day, instead of space shooters and race games we used to play, my friend started to play something weird, just plain white letters on black background (maybe that was a strategy to kick me out). That was a goad for me to buy my own computer. It was fatty Commodore 64, one of the sweetest things that ever happened to me. Shortly, I was ordering some games, and one of the first tapes I bought was labeled Adventure Games . Unfortunately (or luckily) there were no quests for diamonds, killing the monsters or such things. Games on that tape were the same sort of black background-white letters games. Well some of them had obscure graphics. But, love ... http://www.realpoor.com/articles/8_Video_Games__Not_MMORPGs__That_Stole_My_Life__a167.html http://www.realpoor.com/articles/8_Video_Games__Not_MMORPGs__That_Stole_My_Life__a167.html http://www.realpoor.com/articles/8_Video_Games__Not_MMORPGs__That_Stole_My_Life__a167.html windshell 2008-12-01 06:08:42 -0500