What's So Great About Online Multiplayer in Video Games?

This is a somewhat prickly topic for me to discuss, because I feel like I'm on the opposite side of the issue from everyone else. But, this is something that's bugged me for a long time, and now that I have a blog, I figure, "Hey, why not?" Also, it's relevant to the blog's topics, so...Anyway, this is a look at my biggest pet peeve in the the gaming industry, the growing trend towards online multiplayer.

Yes, this is also a game blog. AND DON'T YOU FORGET IT.

Blogging Bonanza! The End - Blog Spotlight

     Well, it's been a lot of fun doing this. I plan on resuming my normal blogging schedule (when I get more post ideas - this definitely took a chunk out of my reserves) in the coming days/weeks, but I may do this again sometime. It was certainly an...interesting way of dealing with Writer's Block (as you may remember, this project was originally started because I had trouble writing the NWN review). I hoped you enjoyed the Blogging Bonanza (title aside) as much as I did. To wrap this project up, I thought it would be appropriate to point my readers in the direction of some other awesome blogs. The purpose of this "Blog Spotlight" is to go over in detail some of my favorite blogs but more importantly why I like them. These blogs may or may not be in my blogroll, but that shouldn't really matter. This isn't trying to promote great blogs for you to read, but rather to go over some of my personal favorite blogs (or ones that I just really enjoy reading) and talk a little bit about why I like them. Let's jump right in, shall we?

Blogging Bonanza! Pt. 7 - Fallout Review

Fallout is a CRPG developed by Black Isle of Interplay and released in 1997. The game is set in a post-apocalyptic nuclear winter sometime in the 22nd century of an alternate timeline. (This is a long review, so buckle up.)

Blogging Bonanza! Pt. 6 - Style vs. Substance: Which is more important?

So, I recently watched the first episode of Mononoke, a rather esoteric anime. The show has a number of people who love it, a large amount of people who've never watched, and people still on the fence like me (and I guess people who dislike it, too). But, in watching it, I started thinking about what it was that made those people love it so much. I didn't really think it was the story, because, honestly, it was pretty uninteresting (not bad, mind you, just...uninteresting). Instead, I believe it has to do with the show's style. No one can deny that Mononoke has a unique art style, but the style I'm talking about goes beyond art. It's the element lurking behind all others, sort of similar to atmosphere.

Blogging Bonanza! Pt. 5 - (Music Post #1): KOKIA: Balance

Originally, this blog was meant to serve as my platform to talk about three things: Anime, Games, and Music (in that order). Since then, it's direction has changed somewhat, and I've added the topic of Blogging to my repertoire and made a number of editorials, but I have yet to make any posts about music. Since this project was meant in part to have a little bit of everything (remember, it was originally going to be called a medley), and because I started this blog over four months ago, I've decided it's high time that I make a music post. And as it happens, I just recently ordered an album by one of my (if not my all-time) favorite artist, KOKIA (yes the name is supposed to be in caps). I won't give you much background, because I think her work speaks for itself, but the basic details are:

1) She's a singer.
2) She's a solo artist - that is, she isn't part of a band (and I'm pretty sure she doesn't have any one set group on instruments, though I may be wrong). No, not "solo" in the sense that it's only her voice and no instruments.
3) She has written all of her songs herself since her second album, and occasionally composes the music as well.
4) She's a quad-lingual singer - she has sung in Japanese, English, Italian, and Irish.

Anyways, I won't bore you by trying to analyze her music or anything like that. My plan is to just share a few of my favorite tracks of the albums I bought, as well as a few of my favorites that aren't on them. I don't expect you to keep your eyes glued to this page while you listen to the songs, so instead here's what I ask you do: keep this post open in a tab, play the songs in it, and do whatever else you want while you do. Read some other Blogging Bonanza posts on this blog, read some other blogs, read a manga, read something has nothing to do with Japan, play a game, surf the web, whatever. Just keep these songs playing in the background (in whatever order you like), and if you like them check out some more of KOKIA's works. Even if you don't, though, please just enjoy the songs here. With that out of the way, onto the post!