This month in Joystick Division - August 2011

The Lord of the Rings Online - My Journey Home
Hopping into LOTRO after a long break, a return to my first days of play stirs up some unexpected emotions.

Top 10 vampires in video game history
Vampires have gotten a bad rap in recent years. I take a look at 10 from video games that remind us why blood-suckers can be awesome.

Video games: There's no escape
No matter what device you're fiddling with, chances are you can play video games on it. I ponder how gaming continues to seep further and further into the mainstream.

The 5 worst mission types in video games
From the fetch quest to the escort mission, we ponder why these tired staples of gaming remain in our favorite titles.

10 of gaming's most memorable songs
It's hard to get into a game if it doesn't have good music. Here are 10 of the best songs to ever appear in a video game.

This month in Joystick Division - July 2011

Top 10 worst video game box art
Check out some of the video game box art designs of all time. Fair warning: It’s about to get ugly.

Chinese couple sells children to fund gaming lifestyle
Believe it or not, these types of people actually exist. It's a sad, sad world we live in sometimes.

 Five games to play during Comic-Con
Can't hit the road to Comic-Con this year? Play these five comic book games instead.

Remembering the good ole' days of gaming
How an obscure Japanese cooking game called Ore no Ryouri helped me remember the simpler days of my gaming life.

Microsoft Pours $15 Million into U.S. Classrooms
Microsoft looks to help improve the U.S. educational system by providing funding for equipment, training and more.

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This month in Joystick Division - June 2011

Uncharted 3 beefs up its online offerings - Hands-on
Naughty Dog has injected a whole lot of "stuff" into the Uncharted online experience. Find out how it's shaping up.

The top 5 biggest babies in video game history
Babies pop up in video games from time to time, usually as some demented monster looking to kill you. Check out the five best video game babies here.

inFamous 2 Review
Find out why I think inFamous 2 pulls off the concept of "karma" better than any other game on the market.

E3: Press conference report card for The Big Three
Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo each had their moment in the spotlight during the 2011 E3. Here's what I took away from each event.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim steals the show at E3
Bethesda's newest Elder Scrolls game looks to improve on Oblivion in every way.

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This month in Joystick Division - May 2011

Paper Cuts shows off creative gaming art
Check out these awesome shadow portraits of characters from all over pop culture.

PlayStation's Welcome Back Package: A look at the games
Need help deciding which free games to get once the PlayStation Store is back up and running. Read up on your options here.

Terraria will ruin your life (in a good way)
Terraria released on steam last week. Find out why I've already sunk 24 hours into this more action oriented, 8-bit homage to Minecraft.

MotorStorm: Apocalypse an explosive good time
I got to spend some quality time with the PlayStation 3's latest extreme racer, tearing up the tracks in a world that is literally falling apart around you.

3DS Fan gets Altered Reality Card tattoo
This extreme 3DS fan took his love of the portable console to a whole new level, opting to permanently tattoo his left wrist with one of the images that activates the Altered Reality games.

Sony responds to the US House of Representatives
Following the PlayStation cyber attack, Sony looks to be facing multiple legal battles, including a not-so-happy House subcommittee.

PSN Outage - Gamers talk back
Check out some of the buzzing going on around the interwebs regarding Sony's hacked servers and the events that followed.

Sony offers identity theft protection
As Sony works to rebuild its servers, get the details on the latest branch of their apology package here.

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This month in Joystick Division: April 2011

Free Realms sugary sweet, great for the right age group
I spent a few days with SOE's latest family-friendly free-to-play MMO and report back with my findings.

Top 10 Video Game T-Shirts
If you're going to wear a shirt, it might as well be a cool one. Check out 10 of the best video game shirts the world has ever known.

10 Badass Video Game Tattoos
These folks have already worked past the questions of whether or not video games are art and permanently inked said art onto their bodies.

10 PSP Gems You May Have Missed
Sony's portable console is home to loads of great games. Before the NGP buzz starts building, here are 10 classics that may have flown under the radar, but definately should be played.

PSN Still Down, No ETA on Fix
Following an attack on PlayStation servers, PSN has remained down for about a week with little word on a fix or what, if anything, was compromised.

Top 5 Hardest Video Game Bosses
These guys are the reason controllers get broken, TVs get busted and swears get shouted.

This month in Joystick Division: March 2011

A protagonist, but not exactly a "good" guy

The top five movies based on video games
In honor of the Oscars, I take a look at the video game movies that were the most enjoyable; or, more accurately, those that sucked the least.

Supremacy MMA brings women into the fight
Women fighters finally get their chance to stand in the spotlight and kick the crap out of each other thanks to the upcoming Supremacy MMA.

Kinect to connect with PCs
Microsoft opens up Kinect's features for the PC so even more creative mods can be built with greater ease.

The top five protagonists we love to hate
From Nico to Kratos, these protagonists aren't exactly the hero type.

Mortal Kombat brings the pain- Hands-on impressions
Judging by my time spent with the game, Mortal Kombat is shaping up to be a fighting fan's dream come true.

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Curtains down.

I've been doing my best to avoid this post for three months now, but there's no point in drawing it out any longer: staticEchoes.com, as it currently exists, is closing shop.

I began this entertainment blog a few years ago in order to practice a type of writing style my 9-to-5 journalism job doesn't lend itself well to. It also gave me the chance to write about the stuff that truly interests me: Movies, music, video games, comics, etc.

With a full work load and a second job writing for joystickdivision.com, I find those needs are now being filled elsewhere and, sadly, I no longer have the time to commit to staticEchoes.

Starting today, you'll notice the blog's mission statement has changed; as now it will primarily serve as an archive for the bigger pieces I write for JD. In the event I put together some freelance work for another entity, this is where I will document that as well. Think of it as a digital resume'.

It seems oddly appropriate that this, my 500th post on staticEchoes.com, wrap up what has truly been a three-and-a-half year joy to put together.

None of this would have been possible without you readers, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for going on this journey with me.

staticEchoes as it used to be may return some day but, for now, it's time to ride off into the sunset.

Thank you once again for joining me. Be excellent to each other.

Monday mini-movies: Boxing cat edition

I’ve always held that violence on television doesn’t hold any real sway on the behavior of any half-normal, decidedly decent human being.

As for cats, well, they were already pretty crazy to begin with. Now, as this video proves, some are crazy AND learning how to put up a decent fight.

I don’t know about you, but I think I’m gonna go prepare for the now certain enslavement of the human race by a highly trained group of feline oppressors. Tootles.

Movies to miss in March

I'm clearly not the target demographic for most of this month's un-recommendations, but that doesn't mean I can't spot a crappy piece of cinema from a mile away. Here's the rundown of what not to see in March.

Beastly
I usually try to avoid looking at reviews before I blindly bash these films, as it kind of takes all the fun out of predicting whether or not they'll be terrible, but I couldn't help it with Beastly. According to the consensus, while love is never ugly, movies certainly can be. My favorite comment pretty much verifies what I feared this film would be: "starring 20-year-olds playing 17-year-olds penned as 12-year-olds." Lovely! And for you 13-year-old Twi-Tweens out there, you get two movies aimed at cashing in on your adolescent emotions in one month! I give you...

Red Riding Hood
This one's actually directed by the guy who directed the first Twilight film. While taking more of a fantasy approach, Red Riding features an emotional yet strong young woman who is torn between two love interests, both hunky dudes and one who might be a murderous creature of the night. This is just shameless.

Take Me Home Tonight
You're better than this, Topher Grace. Or, at least I hope you are. Take Me Home Tonight is about 10 years late to the party. These movies were all the rage back at the turn of the century but, unless you have something new to offer (which TMHT doesn't appear to), I'm not sure why anyone would even bother.

Mars Needs Moms
Aside from just looking unfunny and uninteresting in every way, I think what scares me away from Mars Needs Moms the most involves the infamous uncanny valley. Most of the animations look cartoony, which is fine. But the animators clearly used some sophisticated face-tracking tech for their characters, making it look like an almost human face is talking in the middle of a silly character. It gives me the heebie-jeebies.

Games to get in March

March is here and the constant stream of (hopefully) quality games continues to flow freely. Here are the titles that should be somewhere on your radar for the next 30 days.

March
6th- Pokemon Black/White Version (DS)
8th- Dragon Age II (PS3, 360)
15th- Homefront (PS3, 360)
15th- Yakuza 4 (PS3)
15th- Okamiden (DS)
22nd- Dissidia Duodecim Final Fantasy (PSP)
22nd- Crysis 2 (PS3, 360)

Apparently the market hasn't hit its FPS threshold just yet, as two more big titles for the genre make an appearance in March. Mid-month will bring the intriguing and primarily online-driven Homefront with a mere seven days separating this gritty shooter from the over-the-top craziness of Crysis (It Looks so Purdy) 2.

The DS has a couple solid offerings in March with the latest Pokemon (we're still doing this?) and Okamiden on the horizon. If the portable counterpart to the PS2's charming Okami can be even half the game of the original, gamers on the go should be in for a treat.

Then there's Dragon Age II, which I probably don't have to talk about. If this is your cup of tea, you already plan to drink deeply of its action-RPG goodness.