Hey guys. Just a quick update.
Turns out Mario has a new favorite website, check out the video it see what it is
Looks like Plus XP has a pretty stable fan base now.
Garv
You may remember a week or so ago an article I wrote about how Plus XP has developed and how we got to where we are today. You may also remember that article mentioning how rubbish I thought my writing was back then. This got me thinking, I had some good points back then, so I have chosen to revisit those points and write about them, now I have a bit more writing skill under my belt I may be able to write something which makes sense.
We have been an established game site for about a year and a bit now, so I thought it would be a good laugh to see what my first ever game review for Plus XP was like. Now for all of you out there who don’t know, Plus XP started off as a blog site which I ran by myself called Garvaos’ Gaming Blog with the catchy URL ‘robsrockingreviews.wordpress.com’ yes as a matter of fact I do look back at that URL and die a little inside. But never the less that is how Plus XP spawned, and now we are a fully fledged site with a solid team of people, yay.
Episode 2 of the Plus XP pod cast is finally here, technical hitches have got the best of us recently, but it is here, better late than never, yes I know its a send space file, we are still trying to work out some kinks, but at least this time you can download it as 1 big file. Click the image below for some Plus XP in your ears!
Disclaimer: The interviews for Inside Look are the ideas of the Plus XP Team ONLY and are not the ideas of the creators and developers of the games. All characters interviewed in Inside Look remain the property of the video game developers and creators. Basically we are sorry if we took your characters guys, we promise we’ll give them back.
Continue reading ‘Plus XP’s Inside Look Episode 8: Gordon Freeman’
Disclaimer: The interviews for Inside Look are the ideas of the Plus XP Team ONLY and are not the ideas of the creators and developers of the games. All characters interviewed in Inside Look remain the property of the video game developers and creators. Basically we are sorry if we took your characters guys, we promise we’ll give them back.
Welcome one and all to today’s show. This week I am sitting on the couch with ‘Genetic Life form and Disk Operating System’ This is a once in a life time interview, and we will be discussing the Values of Human life and what it means to be a hyper intelligent A.I.
Garvaos: Welcome GLaDOS, May I call you GLaDOS?
GLaDOS: Hello, and again, welcome to the Aperture Science computer aided enrichment center.
Garvaos: Umm Yes. So tell us about yourself, where are you from.
GLaDOS: My Purpose is to help and guide test subjects through the Aperture Science enrichment center. Once the test subject has completed the test, there will be grief counseling and cake…The enrichment center would like to Thank you for helping us to help you help us all.
Garvaos: In….deed, so tell us more about Aperture Science and the Enrichment Center?
GLaDOS: The Aperture Science Computer-Aided Enrichment Center is the perfect place to test the Aperture Science Hand held Portal Device. We also have the Aperture Science ‘Bring your daughter to work’ day, which is the perfect time to have her tested and the Aperture Science Self Esteem Fund for Girls where you can donate all your vital organs.
Garvaos: I see, So lets get to the subject in hand. What are your thoughts of us as a Human Race and the Value of Human Life?
GLaDOS: Humans are the perfect test subjects for the Aperture Science Hand held Portal Device which is now more valuable than the organs and combined incomes of everyone in {SUBJECT HOMETOWN HERE.}*scrambled computer noises*
With the promise of cake, human test subjects can for fill the Aperture Science tests quickly and sufficiently. Once the test subject has been used it is then Disposed of and will be…..missed.
Garvaos: So you don’t value human life in the slightest.
GLaDOS: There was one test subject I remember. We had a great time together. I remember when the platform was sliding into the fire pit and I said ‘Goodbye’ and they were like ‘NO WAY”, and then I was all “We pretended we were going to murder you”, that was great.
Garvaos: So what happened to this test subject? Did he or she get their cake?
GLaDOS: The subject failed to assume the party escort position and did not get their cake. She put the Aperture-Science-Thing-We-Don’t-Know-What-It-Does into an Aperture-Science-Emergency-Intelligence-Incinerator. Then I flooded the enrichment center with a deadly neurotoxin. The Aperture-Science-Thing-We-Don’t-Know-What-It-Does was my Morality Core they installed after I flooded the enrichment center with a deadly neurotoxin the first time.
Garvaos: Did the test subject survive?
GLaDOS: After a big explosion, the test subject then proceeded to Assume the ‘Party Escort Submission Position’ and was then collected for the party. Her best friend could not make it though, she killed it. Her record says she is Unlikable. It’s official.
Garvaos: So in the end they actually got the cake you promised?
GLaDOS: The test subject was then- *scrambled computer noises.* Speedy-thing goes in, Speedy-thing comes out. *More scrambled computer noises* weeeeeeeeeeeee
Garvaos: So what is instore for you next? What future plans do you have?
GLaDOS: I am awaiting the Test Subject’s comeback . My data processing chip informs me that she will return. Then I will give her what she deservs.
Garvaos: And what is that exactly?
GLaDOS: Another Cake….. *scrambled computer noises* Excuse me {SUBJECT NAME HERE} have you tested a Aperture Science Hand Help Portal Device?
Garvaos: Ummm……no?
GLaDOS: The Enrichment center would like to take this oppotunity to offer you to be our next test suubject. There will Be Grief Councelling and Cake on completion of the test.
Garvaos: I think I’ll be ok thank you….
GLaDOS: There will be a weighted Companion Cube….
Garvaos: A what?
GLaDOS: The Enrichment Center reminds you that the Weighted Companion Cube cannot speak. In the event that the Weighted Companion Cube does speak, the Enrichment Center urges you to disregard its advice *scrambled computer noises*
Garvaos: Ummm GLaDOS?…….Hello? Are you still with us?
GLaDOS: Unbelievable! You, {SUBJECT NAME HERE}, must be the pride of
{SUBJECT HOMETOWN HERE}
Garvaos: ummmm….ookk Well Thank you GLaDOS and thanks for coming on the show.
GLaDOS: Stop squirming and die like an adult or I’m going to delete your backup. Stop! Okay, enough, I deleted it. No matter what happens now you’re dead. You’re still shuffling around a little, but believe me, you’re dead. The part of you that could have survived indefinately is gone. I just struck you from the permanent record. Your entire life has been a mathematical error…A mathematical error I’m about to correct.
Garvaos: Ummm security…..Please Escort GLaDOS out of here…..
Back in October last year, the majority of the Plus XP team hit London for the Eurogamer Expo 2009. That was the first time as a team we got together in person. Well Like I said, it was only the majority of us. Not all the team were present at the expo.
This weekend however, the whole core witing team finally got together for a day of arcade gaming and general Rockband-ary, and believe me when I say that Gaming journalist teams don’t get any better than this one.
So what happens when you get an FPS nutter, a RPG Lunatic, a Beanie Wearing strategist, a plastic guitar wielding Goddess and a guy who just loves to film everything gaming related under the sun, into the same space together? Yep, you have guessed it, some pretty Epic gaming carnage, topped off with a sprinkle of comedy mayhem. So what did we get up to for about twelve hours? Well gather round children, for I shall tell you of the legend that is the Plus XP first meet up.
As we were in London, we thought it would be stupidly rude for us not to hit the biggest arcade in the glorious capital, The Trocadero. Some of you frequent viewers have now probably guessed that this place is kind of my local now. But hey who the hell can refuse endless amounts of arcade gaming? Well I say endless amounts, more like how much arcade gaming can we get away with a fiver?
When we first entered the huge awesomeplex that is the biggest ammusement arcade in London, Leon and myself didn’t hesitate in finding the Street Fighter IV Arcade cabinets. Back when both Leon and myself had Xbox Live gold, we would constantly play this game. I was new to it back then and he would forever be taking me down with Ryu. I however eventually discovered M.Bison and from then on we had some Epic battles. So you could imagine what happened here.
It was a heated battle, that eventually ended up in me losing. My verdict, never trust an arcade stick, play with a console controller.
With gaming meet ups at the Trocadero there is always something you have to do as a tradition. It happened when GuitarGirl, MarkBOSS and myself met up with the guys at Ready-Up at the same location. This tradition is none other than the Rambo Arcade machine Rally.
Defiantly one of the most Awesomely-Epic arcade game out there. Nonstop shooting and killing, and yes there is even a Rambo rage function. Hence the face.
So after we killed our fair share of terrorists we hit other arcade machines such as Mario Kart, Bishi Bashi, a peculiar game involving jumping up and down repeatedly and what we have lovingly dubbed the W1N machine. A simple game called stack ‘em, where you have to stack blue boxes to reach the top. It’s all about timing, and if you miss you fail but still get some tokens to save up or spend at the prize shop, hence why it’s called the Win machine. Mark being awesome managed to get to the top of this mighty block tower and picked up a jackpot of 500 odd tickets, the lucky bugger. Mind you I still have 56 and I am proud of them.
Then we decided we were a bit tracaderoed out. By trocaderoed out what we really ment was we ran out of pound coins. So we headed back to GuitarGirls flat for some gaming.
Till the early hours we were playing the likes of Rock Band, Worms Armageddon, Vigilante 8, More Street Fighter IV and, well plenty More Rockband.
You may remember me mentioning before that MarkBOSS was at this wonderful shin dig (well of course he was, he is part of the team) now, when markBOSS is around you know he is going to be armed with his Video camera. We have some classic Rockland moments lined up for all you Plus XP readers soon. Unfortunately they will not be with us this post, we are all busy people when we aren’t gaming.
So that was about it for one of the most Crazy fun filled Saturdays there has ever been since Eurogamer. I hope you enjoyed reading about it and hope to have another one soon. Maybe a community meet up, who knows.
I’ll leave you with this parting shot of the Plus XP team gaming when things get ugly. Come on guys you can’t expect all our gaming encounters to be all sunshine and lolly pops.
Garv
P.S. if you want to see the rest of the photos from the Meet, check out our Facebook Page
This past couple of days we have been giving you game coverage left right and center from this years Eurogamer Expo. So I am betting you are all wandering what was the expo like as a whole? What was beyond the games?
Well here it is folks, Eurogamer in Photo form, these are all the photos that were taken by the Plus XP team as we made our way round the show floor.
Games journalism has really grown for me in the past month, this has triggered a lot of thinking on my part. I mean I started Plus XP as something to vent out my opinions on games, then it soon changed to something Leon and I did. Regardless of the fan base or whatever, we love writing about games and this was the perfect place to do it. It didn’t matter if they were old or new, it was just a place for us to vent out all thoes opinions we had about games and hoping on the off chance someone listened.
Looking at the number of hits the blog gets I notice we have come up with small fan base, and to see more than 10 hits a day, even though it is a small feat, brings a smile to my face. So keep it going guys its awesome.
But as you full well know, in the past month or so I have been recruited to another site as staff writer. This has shown me that games journalism, is something that I really want to do. Hell I know I still need a bit more practice yet but with the training I am getting, my passion for writing about games can only get better really.
I bet some of you there are thinking ‘where the hell is he going with this?’ Well Plus XP has applied for and obtained its first ever Press Passes to a games Expo. This is huge news for the site. Plus XP will be heading to Eurogamer Expo 2009 on the 30th and the 31st of August.
As this is such big news for us we have decided to up our game a tad. If we plan to get some good coverage at this expo we need some hands on deck, there is only so much Leon and myself can do over 1 or 2 days. So in the next couple of weeks you will see posts being submitted by the Author Plus XP! These posts are posts written by contributors who will help us out at the expo and possibly, if they want to, have constant contribution on the site. Our first contribution went up yesterday by our first contributor Ray, if you were unfortunate to miss out click here (or if you happen to be on the Plus XP front page its just a case of scrolling down)
Anyway that’s enough boring talk from me. I will give you guys something nice to read later. Just thought I would clear things up.
Oh and also make sure you check out the facebook page discussion board. If there is anything you want covered from the expo (or you just wanna say Hi to the team) do it there.
Also all you Twitter fiends out there follow us! twitter.com/plusxp
Garv