It’s fairly obvious by the above image that some of us at Kezins are not big fans of the insane ramblings of Zero Punctuation. Despite our lack of positive feelings for the videos, they seem to continue their popularity. The fact that nearly every episode of Zero Punctuation makes it to the front page of Digg.com certainly says that there’s a lot of people who continue to support the series. Hopefully no one takes this too seriously. We’re just poking fun at Yahtzee who seems to poke fun at all games. If you’ve never seen one of the crazy videos we’re talking about, here’s an example:

written by Will Snizek \\ tags: com, crack, Digg, Episode, fact, fun, gamer, image, Kezins, lack, lot, page, popularity, Punctuation, Zero

People have been suspicious of this for years now. Accusations are always made, but nothing has ever been done about it. Does GameStop sell used games as new? I am 100% convinced that they do in fact sell used games as new games. I was suspicious of this practice several years ago when I bought a few new games that seemed to have “used level” scratches on them. When I took them back to the store, the manager apologized and replaced the discs. I got what I wanted, so I was satisfied for the time being.

Over the years, I have questioned GameStop’s reasoning for new games coming in cases that were already open. Most of the time, you will hear that they like to keep empty cases on the shelves to prevent theft. While this makes sense, it also makes it real easy for them to pull off the shady business practice they are accused of. With the numerous complaints all over the internet concerning this activity, I am sure the corporation is aware of the complaints, yet they do nothing about it. Would it be too hard for them to just put cardboard inserts on the shelves and give you a new unopened game when you get to the counter?

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written by Will Snizek \\ tags: Accusations, business, fact, game, Gamestop, level, manager, New, nothing, practice, sell, shopping, State, store, time

I’ve finally had the time to run through the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed demo on Xbox LIVE a few times.  The demo starts you out with “the apprentice” having a conversation with his master, Darth Vader.  This really sets the tone for the demo and hopefully we’ll see many conversations like this in the full game.  

You start the level oboard a giant ship and your goal is to kill everyone and everything.  Before you go on your rampage, it’s a lot of fun to start picking up random containers and throw them wherever you please with your powers.   The demo also starts you off with numerous force abilities including dash, defend, the saber attack, high jump, Force Lightning, Force Push and Force Grip.  While nearly all work flawlessly with the simple control scheme, I wasn’t too thrilled with the defending ability.  While standing still, it’s easy to defend against blaster attacks, but it’s a little tricky to defend yourself while moving.  Other than that, movement is fairly fluid and feels right.  Flinging objects at your whim is probably the #1 aspect of the demo.  It’s definitely a fun feeling to fling a canister at a moving Tie-Fighter to take it out of the sky.

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written by Will Snizek \\ tags: Apprentice, AT-ST, Demo, dread, end, fact, Force, fun, game, level, saber, something, Star, time, Unleashed

Our partners in crime at R3Match just finished recording their podcast show #2 last night featuring our own Juan Perez and Carlos Macias. Carlos writes for R3Match in addition to his work here on Kezins. In this edition, C4 (the host) made things work despite the fact we were having audio issues.

If you want to find out what games the guys are currently playing, definitely give the podcast a listen. Feel free to leave comments or suggestions below as well and we’ll make things happen. If tournaments and ladders are your thing, definitely pay R3 a visit. You will not regret it. Click on the link for the podcast below!

Download the podcast here.

written by Will Snizek \\ tags: addition, Carlos, Carlos Macias, crime, Edition, fact, Feel, host, Juan, Kezins, match, night, Perez, podcast, radio, show, work

Kalypso Media today released the first Making Of Video of the upcoming adventure CEVILLE. We’ve certainly been looking forward to the game and it looks like things are coming along nicely. In the thirteen minute video, the developers talk about the story and how they financed the production of the game. CEVILLE looks like it’s shaping up to be a very weird adventure title. Fortunately, weird is good in a world where too many games have standard stories. What’s really interesting about this video is the fact that they show us how the developers and publisher first met and how the deal came to be.

More “making of” videos will be released by Kalypso Media in the near future. Some of the topics include characters, game development, voice recording and music composing.

For some reason, YouTube isn’t cooperating with us today, but the video in .ZIP format can be downloaded HERE.

written by Will Snizek \\ tags: adventure, CEVILLE, fact, game, Kalypso, Media, minute, production, publisher, story, thirteen, title, Today, video, world

Most of you have heard about how the Red Faction: Guerilla Beta is now free to play.  Originally, it was going to cost players $15 to take part in it.  Now they have a deal where you can play it for free, but have to fill out a lengthy survey at FilePlanet.  Before you waste your time filling out the survey, keep in mind the fact that they are out of keys.  They will also not tell you this until you have completed the long survey.  It’s kind of shady if you ask me, but that’s how companies are sometimes. I certainly felt misled by the promotion and wasted 5-10 minutes of my time and got nothing in return.  They should really mention that keys are out prior to having you waste time…

Here’s the link but don’t expect a key:

FilePlanet

written by Will Snizek \\ tags: beta, deal, fact, Faction, FilePlanet, Guerilla, Keys, kind, mind, part, promotion, Red, Survey, Temporarily, time, waste

DC Universe is one game that we are certainly looking forward to.  It’s unfortunate that it will not be on the Xbox 360, but PC and PS3 gamers still have a shot at playing the game.  

Fact Sheet

ESRB:                                   Rating Pending

Developer/Publisher:        Sony Online Entertainment LLC

Platforms:                           PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and PC  

Game Description

DC Universe^™ Online for the PLAYSTATION® 3 computer entertainment system and the PC is currently in development by Sony Online Entertainment LLC in collaboration with DC Comics and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.  DCUO brings high-energy action to the forefront with a combat system designed to deliver a fast-paced action experience with the extraordinary powers of  DC-styled super heroes and villains at your disposal. DCUO has the dynamic art style of renowned comic book artist Jim Lee of DC Comics’

WildStorm Productions, who as Executive Creative Director is ensuring that DCUO is visually compelling and authentic to the DC Universe.

DCUO offers a dramatic online setting where players battle for and against their favorite DC Comics heroes and villains including Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and The Joker.  For the very first time, players and fans will be able to enter this fabled world as an active force for good or evil. The action and drama will play out in such well-known locations such as Gotham City and Metropolis.

 Key Features

• DCUO is an action-focused super-hero game in a fully realized DC Universe
• Players can experience the intensity of a 3D world created in the artistic vision of legendary comic book artist Jim Lee
• DCUO uses a state-of-the-art physics engine that turns the world into your weapon
• Extreme customization allows players to create their own custom hero or villain
• Players will embark on story-driven adventures penned by famous DC writers
• DCUO game-play is being optimized for the PC and PLAYSTATION 3 system
• The DCUO game world’s depth will span the entire DC Universe 

DC UNIVERSE and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © DC Comics.

written by Will Snizek \\ tags: action, artist, book, computer, DC Comics, DC Universe, DCUO, Entertainment, Executive Creative, fact, game, Gotham City, Jim Lee, LLC, Metropolis, Online, Playstation, sheet, Sony, system, world

We just received ten screenshots from Namco Bandai’s cheerleading sim, coming to European Wiis next year. Considering the fact that the game will only be released for the Wii, I think they should have titled it ‘Wii Cheer’, but I guess Namco knows what they are doing. I thought one cheerleading game was enough, but apparently there’s some sort of desire for the genre out there…

written by Will Snizek \\ tags: Bandai, Cheer, cheerleading, desire, European, fact, game, genre, Namco, Nintendo Wii, Screens, sim, sort, Wiis, year

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People have been saying that the value of a college education has been declining for years. I’m finally starting to believe it. Currently, I’m searching for a new career to help make ends meet. I make a little money writing about video games, but it’s not enough anymore. During my job hunting experiences over the past few months, I have realized that my degrees don’t mean a whole lot. I’m still competing with people who have no degree at all for entry level positions. While the value is decreasing, I still feel like having degrees is an important thing. There are still quite a few jobs out there that require them. It’s just a sad fact that a degree isn’t worth what it once was…

written by Will Snizek \\ tags: career, college, degree, Degrees, education, entry, fact, hunting, Job, level, lot, money, thing, value, video

This week, Adam Sessler discusses the racist homophobes we run across too often while playing games online. He’s right about the fact that it’s usually the young 10-year old gamers taking part in this and they are honestly ruining the fun of playing online. It’s gotten so bad in Halo 3 that I simply have it set up so the other teams are always on mute and I very rarely play with random people on my side. It’s sad that people are like this online. I have always felt like the anonymous nature of the internet brings the worst out of people. When it comes to the children acting like this, I’d like to know where the hell their parents are. When I was a kid, if I had used the language and racist terms these punks are using, I would have been beaten senseless.

written by Will Snizek \\ tags: Adam Sessler, attention, Bigots, fact, fun, Halo, Hell, Internet, nature, Online, part, right, side, Soapbox, Week, year