On Pre-ordering and the like...

As many of you know, I have a special place in my heart for gaming companies, but as of the last few years, I've being getting more and more disillusioned with the whole getup. There's the problems with the premise, the lack of quality in some areas(Although graphics seems to be uncompromising), and such... but there's one thing that gets me more then all of these: Pre-ordering.

Let me explain. Pre-ordering is one of those funny ducks when it comes to games, that I feel conflicted about. For large companies like Electronic Arts, it's evil, plain and simple. Usually these games are offered at a 20$ premium to thier standard price, and the extra content is... sad, at best. For a small company, I could understand how if you're struggling to get the resources off the ground(Like Mojang), it's vital... but when your game already has a multi-million dollar development budget, it's small beans... it's almost to the point of exploitation of the gaming public.

Let's look at a case example: Fallout New Vegas. I admit, I like to pick on this game for various reasons, some of them founded, some of them not. One of the boggest things I hate is the pre-order bundle. It's basically a cheat: You get one of five sets with your purchase that makes the early game drastically easier. For the same cost of the pre-order bundle, you can buy all five for the cost of what it would have sold for on pre-order on Live Marketplace.

It's things like this that make it seem like the companies are more serving their board of directors then their customers. I hope they all start to shape up.

Ink: Why I hate and love this movie

I've just tonight be introduced to what will be my most hated and loved movie: Ink. This movie is spectacular, the actors are great, and the visuals are awesome. It has a story, and it sticks to it until the end. It keeps you guessing, and the characters all have qualities that make them redeemable in the end.

"So, then why do you hate it?"


This movie revolves purely around the story of how the main character screws up his life. From first glance, it seems to be a chaotic mixture of the after life and the real world, and this one man who is having the worst time of his life. We enter the movie just as he makes his ultimate failure: He has a car crash and is knocked unconscious.

From there it's a nauseating flurry of flash backs, and we learn more about his family. His wife just recently passed on, and thanks to a alcohol problem from his high stakes job, he looses custody of his daughter. The visuals are spectacular, and the ending ties it all nicely together. This is a masterpiece that, although visibly low budget, is of a quality that has not been rivaled in Hollywood in many, many years.

So, why do I hate it?

This movie suffers from a syndrome that affects all great movies, called Self-Referential Bullshit, or SBD. There is so much symbolism, twists, plot points and turns that it's far too much to be stomached in one sitting. At the end, you feel like you've just eaten a black forest cake the size of a tire; Happy, somewhat fulfilled, and about to throw up.

This being said, I urge you to see this movie. It's produced by a indy company Double Edge Films, and I sincerely urge you to check it out. There's a lesson here for all of us, but be careful. Read a light book first or watch some Ren and Stimpy... you'll need as empty a mind as possible to take in all of the awesome.