Duke Nukem Forever by 2K Games

Recently I was lucky enough to take part in the Gearbox release of Duke Nukem Forever. I remember this being the first computer game that I played as a young 8 year old gal. My Dad’s best friend had it on his IMB/PC , and each time we paid him a visit I would beg for him to let me get my game on. This assembly of my body and his computer convened regularly till I was 11.

It was no surprise to me that a new Duke Nukem was coming out this year. I was excited, thrilled and quivered with anticipation at the fact I’d get to be holding my stick hailing to the “King???, once again, but in 3D!!

I agree with those who say that the palpability that DNF actually made it to my local game store is an attestation of the industry’s insistence. I’m all about games in 3D, assuming they’re done in the style I can enjoy. Well, after being at the release party, and playing this game before the general public I stopped quivering and started groaning with disappointment. Really, I won’t be dazed if this game is definitely remembered as one of the biggest let downs of this year if not years. Let me break it down with the whys:

Controls:
Anyone familiar with shooter games should have no concerns with getting right into the game. The basic button employments are alright in regard to running and jumping, but the aiming pissed me off more than ever. There’s an obnoxious lassitude with Duke’s aiming. I’m not braggin; but I do well with shooters, especially well and tend to be accurate. Using Duke’s crosshair aim is pretty pointless and anesthetized. I found this out in just the first few minutes of the game.

Gameplay:
The game seems to take place maybe a decade later with the aliens back to have their vengeance by pilfering Earth’s [presumably] hot women. It’s pretty ridiculous and this storyline lost my interest quickly with my want to push forward to the next level.

Speaking of pushing forward; instead of progressing on from one stage to another, the shooting segments are copiously separated and had me roaming around aimlessly trying to find the next clue. I hate that, it turned boring, fast!

Busy Gamer Gamette Taffeta Darling

Again I found myself forcing the momentum. There’s some subjection to awfully long loading times when Duke runs out of his “Ego??? [HP] during fighting sequences. Not to mention the hiding and waiting for those health points to power back up. I thought the fact that Duke has to run and hide to wait for his “Ego??? to boost up was pretty lame, not so fearless. Now, there are some interesting [not so much enjoyable] skirmishes, including the bout with the Alien Queen, which again, is pointless and tedious. However; it does lead to an awkward and unsettling lap dance. The rest I won’t spoil, I’ll let you pick out highlights for yourself, if you make it that far.

Art Design/Graphic Styling:
Obviously they’ve jolted the graphics up on this version, but it no way stands on common ground with the likes of modern day shooters. It preserves the visual aspect of first generation xBox titles. It reminded me of a motion comic that had little variation to the maps. Even the Titty City of Las Vegas failed in detail, most uninspiring.

The voice acting isn’t too bad. I mean, I met the guy who does the voice and I totally got into his shtick. He has good energy and passion for the role. But alas, the over the top one-lines are either lifeless or in bad taste.

Moving on to bad taste:
When Duke accidentally kills a woman, he makes a remark which I thought was inappropriate and somewhat tasteless. There is another stage when Duke stumbles upon two ladies and they beg for their lives. Instead of saving them, he gives them a stupid explicit filled pun and watched them explode. I’m no prude and can play hard with the rest of the ballers but there is a point at which my liberal mind says “Just stop, dude???.

It is my opinion, and it is only an opinion; that Duke Nukem Forever is for neophyte gamers looking for mindless play. After 15 years of anticipation, hype and months of facebook posting; this game finally dropped and I’m totally sorry that I picked it up.

Duke Nukem has become his own lampoon and I can’t imagine this “relic??? being good for any era.

The Taffeta Darling
www.curvesandcomics.blogspot.com
www.thetaffetadarling.com

Here we have another one of Coin-Op TV’s installments of some E3 coverage with Hailey Bright (Busy Gamer’s Gamette of the Year 2009). Hailey talks with Toys For Bob’s executive producer Jeff Poffenbarger about Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure. Check it out!

Thanks to Coin-Op TV for sharing this video from E3 with us, you can check out more of their E3 coverage here at www.coin-op.tv.

We get uber delighted when our past Gamettes are out covering gaming events, especially the major ones like this interview over at E3 this year in Los Angeles. Take a peek at Coin-Op Tv’s Hailey Bright (our Gamette of the Year 2009) interviewing Radical Entertainment’s Chris Ansell for Prototype 2. Good stuff, and keep your eye out for the return of the BG Crew at SDCC in July 2011. Pending court dates of course (just kidding, we’ve been good this year).

Thanks to Coin-Op TV for sharing this video from E3 with us, you can check out more of their E3 coverage here at www.coin-op.tv.

Sorry ladies, you won't wrangle Star Wars away from us!

Recently I came across this article through one of my facebook friends…

It’s basically about this book this chick wrote saying that most men live in “pre-adulthood” in their twenties, not really settling down, with their love of “Star Wars” and childish mannerisms… leaving many single women to wonder where all “the good men” have gone.

I guess what surprises me the most is the writer’s claim that since most young adult males have found “distractions” for growing up like video games and nights out with the boys… we aren’t in a hurry to grow up, and that since we aren’t “growing up” we aren’t the “best parts” of manhood.

Seriously?

Unlike the writer in this article… I won’t belittle you dear readers by generalizing one gender over another. I can only speak for myself and my friends. But since I’m commited to this, let me attack this thing in numbered “points”

1. Don’t talk trash about Star Wars (the article did it twice) It isn’t a movie for kids, it’s a movie for everyone, and it changed movie making and imagination for generations of kids to come. It’s a tale of good versus evil and is enjoyed by creators, writers, and cool people all over the world… I’m sorry if your unsatisfied ovaries can’t handle that nugget, but I know plenty of gals who also love the holy trilogy and well… that’s rude lady.

2. She states “a guy’s idea of a perfect night is a hang around the PlayStation with his bandmates, or a trip to Vegas with his college friends….” Yeah no kidding… It’s called balancing life out hon… He can’t be with you 24/7 we call that crazytown. And the guy only wants to live in Crazytown if he has to. (That’s about the time you pressure him for marriage) Truth is… you drag him to places he doesn’t want to go.. you make him wear that sweater, and he does it for you because well… you’re pretty, you cook better, and you’re pretty. But he can’t be with you all the time. He has these pesky things called friends, and see men as a whole usually keep their friends from childood (studies show more women change out friends after puberty, go figure) Truth is… wouldn’t you like to go to vegas with your friends and leave the sheltered life ? Yeah. we thought so double standard.

3. Hollywood started this. They made Slacker movies.. this is true. But if its one thing we learned from movies… it’s not real and an exaggerated view on life. Yes “40 year old virgin” was funny, but truthfully their wasn’t one cool geeky nerd in the audience who didn’t secretly want that collection of action figures. “Knocked up” featured a bumbling “hero” who stumbled through the movie… but honestly… it doesn’t just end with single dudes. They make our dads look stupid too… look at Homer Simpson, Peter Griffin, and even Al Bundy… Hollywood seems big on making all men look stupid. We put up with it. Why? Because it’s the norm. Maybe… but let’s not blame this on young single people, Homer has been married for over 20 years now.

4. I find it hilarious that the writer makes the claim that with women’s rise to success… we have deteriorated. Here’s a news flash… America is becoming dumber in public schools with standardized testing. More people get their love advice from Cosmo than from a trusted advisor, and most people can’t even tell you who the vice president is… It’s a societal problem honeybunch… Men have just gotten stupider with everyone else.

5. I also find it funny how in the video of this article, the writer says that men do play a role… “financial”.

Look man.. here’s the rub. Who is to say that marriage, kids, and a career is everything? I don’t. And while I’m certain that may not qualify myself to score Ms. Ivy League I’m ok with that. Truth is… I will spend time playing video games with my band, I will go on trips with my boys (comic conventions mostly) and we will have a blast. I will also spend time with my lady, and if she is the right kind of lady whe will want to adventure with me. The thing is, I don’t see why being complacent is the “right thing to do.” I don’t want a boring job. Dear God no. I like my Star Wars stuff. I like reading comic books, it’s an escape. I love video games. I don’t see why “manning up” means being boring.

To be fair… I also like girls who like the same thing…

And maybe that’s their problem. Maybe instead of looking for us in bars, concerts, parties (you know fun places you like to go to) Maybe you should find the person you’re looking for where he will be found. Like Conservative singles websites or volunteer centers… Cause you sure as hell won’t find people like us there. But let’s be honest.. most girls (Cosmo told us) are looking to hook up with Mr. Bad Guy anyway.. So why are people surprised when he doesn’t change.

“Women marry men hoping they will change. Men marry women hoping they wont.”

. . . Don't take the babes away!

‘ChinaJoy’, China’s country’s premiere gaming show, has been rolling out the girls in skimpy outfits to promote games for years. But lately it seems the game’s sections continue to move farther into the background, and the ChinaJoy booth ladies are moving more and more to the forefront (but hey were ok with that, arn’t we?).

This 2011 ChinaJoy event is going to be tightening regulations regarding booth babes and game companies. Reports from event organizers say things will be stricter about the ‘booth companions’ outfits and the booths themselves. ChinaJoy is actually not the first gaming show to toughen up over the amount of skin on display.

Los Angeles E3 cracked down on their “booth babes”, totally banning them from the event in 2007. E3 2006 was sporting rock bands, fire juggling, and ladies in skimpy clothes. Although booth babes did return to E3 in 2009, somewhat in a tamer display of power.

China has also recently cracked down on sex in online game advertisements, issuing notices that allows officials to force game companies to ‘delete content in online game promotions that is deemed inappropriate’ (what what what??). This not only bans the use of sex, but also gambling and violence in game promotion.

[Source]

Well, due to some scheduling issues (mainly hangovers and too much late night WoW), we’re a little late on introducing the first Gamette of 2011… an oversight we’d love to apologize for but we think once you meet her, you’ll be willing to let us off the hook.

Little Miss Liv is no stranger to nerdom and professes a love for all things zombie and a distinct desire to run with the Hulk should they ever actually get it together and cause that whole Zombie Apocalypse thing they’ve been plotting for years now.

Harboring a not-so-secret crush for the NES game console and MIDI soundtracks, we’re fairly certain Little Miss Liv is going to blend in just fine with the rest of the geeks… except she’ll be the one sporting the Harley Quinn costume and making it look good.

So, without further ado and just in time to be an early Valentine’s Day gift from us to you, we are proud to introduce our readers to Little Miss Liv.

What is your current favorite game right now?
Well, I currently have 3 favorite games that I have been cracking out on. 1st would be Worms 2: Armageddon. The reason I LOVE this game is because I love blowing worms up and it actually takes some thinking and strategy. Now that being said, I am also completely addicted to Plants VS. Zombies. I don’t know what it is about this game but it is such a happy game! I love the disco zombies!! I would love to dance and eat brains! The last game which I just honestly discovered 2 days ago is ZOMBIES on COD! I LOVE ZOMBIES! I guess I have anger problems or something ’cause I love killing shit.

We hear you like dressing up as comic book and fantasy characters…
I love Harley Quinn, she’s hands down the best! She is the craziest, sexiest FREAK EVER! She is a lot like me (I decided that if I ever have a little girl, I’m naming her Harley Quinn, HAHA). But really I love dressing up like any fantasy or comic book characters. My dream job would be to get paid to go to conventions and dressing up like sexy characters. My life would truly be complete. <3

You get to be someone, real, fictional, or otherwise for one day. Who is it and why?
Michael Jackson, because I like touching little boys, too…. JUST KIDDING! If I could be anyone for a day, I would be Superman! But with tits… so I guess SuperWoman. LOL I think it would be awesome that I could fly anywhere in the world and not have to pay for over priced airplane tickets or go through security check points. Just the fresh air in my face as I fly to a tropical island.

What can the geeky man do to get your attention and keep it?
I love it when guys talk geeky to me. Start talking to me about games or technology and I am hooked. I worked as a tech agent for T-Mobile and then Google for years and was completely in my element there. Tech Geeks EVERYWHERE! It was heaven!

After looking at some of your pics, we have a sudden fondness for fuzzy leg warmers. Is this normal?
Absolutely! ‘Cause I have quite the fondness for them as well .

Complete this thought: “There comes a time in every man’s life when he must…”
“Get belligerently drunk, light his fist on fire with rubbing alcohol, and scream ‘Falcon Punch’ while striking his nemesis in the face.”

Read the full interview & see the complete pictorial with Little Miss Liv here!

I typically reserve this face for when I've had too much to drink but today, I'm making it when I read the comments and emails.

For the site, today should have been about congratulating the Gamettes who took time out of their busy schedules to promote themselves for our Gamette of the Year contest. It should have been about congratulating Jade and Katrina for their efforts and for thanking them for the photos they shared with us. Instead, it marks two firsts for me.

It will be the first time I’ve ever disallowed comments on a post as well as the first time ever that I will not be replying to emails sent to myself and the site.

We’ve been overwhelmed by the support and enthusiasm we’ve seen from the fans of the Gamettes in this year’s contest. It’s amazing how many of you took the time to show the ladies some love by stopping by the page, voting, and/or using the various social networks at your disposal to promote them. We’ve seen links coming from just about everywhere and you’ve proven that there truly is a world wide web when it comes to just how far away you can be and still show your support.

All of that being said, however, we’ve determined that the best course at this time is to disallow comments on the announcement post and just let the announcement stand on its own. For one thing, some of them were getting a little personal and for another, they were getting completely off the topic of congratulating the ladies. We’re all for free speech but we’re not going to sit by and condone verbal attacks on others by allowing them to continue.

What can I say about the emails, though? Some of our readers took the contest a little too personally. I’m not saying that’s necessarily a bad thing but we’re talking about some serious hate mail here and I’m no stranger to hate mail. We’re not the most sensitive bunch on the planet here at BusyGamer but the sheer amount of these types of emails this time around is a bit surprising. For those of you who are writing in to congratulate the girls, I’ll make certain your kudos are passed on but I’ll be sending most of these emails straight to the trash.

It isn’t because I don’t want to address the issues you’re all writing about. I can assure you we’ve considered all of the factors in regards to the voting this year and I appreciate the advice on how to conduct the contest but in all honesty, the final decision on how the contest runs is up to us. We don’t owe anyone an explanation about how it’s run. Some of you think it’s a glorified popularity contest and you wouldn’t be completely wrong. But it’s how we chose to run it and yeah, we’re going to deal with the fallout. I’m not, however, going to let the fallout from our choices be taken out on the Gamettes.

This seems somehow appropriate...

As I said, I’m no stranger to the hate mail. I’ve had complaints about the types of girls we choose to feature, the fact that some of the girls aren’t even “gamers??? despite the fact that the website has “gamer??? right there in the URL, or even about our drinking habits. So let’s just address some of those concerns in bulk.

First off, we don’t randomly choose the ladies. They come to us and express an interest in being a Gamette. We verify they’re involved with some aspect of geek subculture and work with them at their convenience. If our roster is full for the year, we ask their patience and see if they’d be interested in being a Gamette at a later date. We love to talk to the geeky women out there and we love to share their sexy geekiness with our readers. In the end, however, they determine the amount of time they want to invest in and with us. We promote any events they may be associated with, ask our readers to show them support in any undertaking they are involved in, and promote the women in general.

Are the Gamettes a marketing ploy? You’re damn right they are. We’re well aware that some of our readers visit only to see who the latest Gamette is and if/when an existing Gamette puts up a new pictorial. We’re well aware that some of our readers could care less what we have to say and just want to see the next sexy lady who has chosen to be a Gamette.

Our interviews with them aren’t exactly something we do with a straight face. We ask weird questions and they answer however they want. In the entire three years we’ve been doing this site, we’ve seen maybe a grand total of ten questions go unanswered. If that doesn’t show patience and humility on the part of the ladies, I don’t know what does.

As for the fact that some of the women aren’t “gamers???? I’d invite some of you to sit in on a few conversations with the Reckon Crew. We’re passionate about a lot of nerdy things, not just video games. We’re passionate about music, comic books, SciFi movies and shows, women, and going to conventions just to mention a few. We don’t confine ourselves to one small aspect of the geek subculture, we enjoy it all. Why wouldn’t the women who choose to represent us reflect that passion? Why would we ask them to limit themselves to only talking about video games when they mention us in the same sentence?

Then there’s the behavior of our core group, the Reckon Crew. We drink hard, we talk shit to people we’re friends with, and we’re generally the last ones to leave when there’s booze involved. Do we encourage this behavior in others? No. Will we try to talk you into drinking with us? Oh, yeah. Unless you’ve said right up front that you don’t drink or condone drinking, we’re going to buy you a drink when you sit down with us at the bar. Does that make us bad people? Maybe, but we’d like to think we’re just enjoying ourselves without doing so at the expense of others.

We’ve been called assholes. We’ve been called jerks. We’ve even been called pimps and it wasn’t meant as a compliment. At the end of the day, though, we’re still the same group of guys who sat down and decided to write about things we were interested in and see if there were ladies out there who might be interested in the same things. We’ve always suspected they were out there and we’ve been overjoyed to find out that not only are they out there but that they wanted to be recognized for their nerdcore beliefs.

It all boils down to this… you don’t have to agree with the way we do things, you don’t even have to like them or us. You can rant and rave at us all you want, we’re used to it. Hold a grudge against us, throw a beer bottle the next time you see us, whatever you want to do. We’ll still be here tomorrow. But when it comes to the Gamettes, they’re here because they want to be. I won’t let this site become a venue for belittling the women for their interest in a culture that is typically male driven.

So instead of a picture of a pretty girl gracing our front page, you get a picture of my ugly mug. I figure that even if my words aren’t enough to make my point, maybe that particular image will. Don’t worry, though. Once we’re certain our point is clear, we’ll get back to our regularly scheduled awesomeness.

Gritskrieg – End of Line

If you’d like us to pass on some praise or congratulations to the ladies, you can email us at admin@busygamer.com and we’ll be happy to forward your email on. Derogatory or inflammatory emails will be printed out and used to line a bird cage.

Katrina Hill by Jim Brown

We love our movies as much as we love our video games. Since the inception of the site, we’ve tried to show that there are ladies out there with as much love for the geek subculture as any guy might have for it. With one peek at her site, it’s easy to see that Katrina Hill (aka Action Flick Chick) might give us a run for our money when it comes to movies, especially the action genre (ya know, in case you didn’t pick up on that from her nickname).

So when someone suggested that AFC should be a Gamette, it seemed like the only thing to do was see if she was interested and try setting something up. Kat agreed and now you can all see for yourselves that there are women out there who’d rather split some popcorn with you while watching kung fu and explosions on the big screen rather than some dumb movie about a love story that happens on some doomed boat. Hint: It hits an iceberg and sinks.

It is our honor and pleasure to present the original Action Flick Chick, Katrina Hill, as our first December Gamette. By the end of the pictorial, in her own words, you’ll have been kicked in the ass by Action Flick Chick.

You get to pick which apocalypse you’re a survivor of: Zombie, Nuclear, or Fuzzy Kitten. Now tell us why you’d prefer that particular apocalypse, unless it’s the Fuzzy Kitten one at which point we’re going to have to demand you turn in your License to Kick Ass.
Hey! DO NOT underestimate the power of an army of fuzzy kittens! They are only cute for a second…right before they laugh and scratch out your eyes. And, I dare you to try to take my License to Kick Ass. You will have to pry it from my cold, dead fingers .

Why is Tremors your favorite movie?
Tremors has everything: Action, horror, suspense, the film is really funny, has loveable characters, great cast, no CGI, those are real Graboids, and it’s a fun concept. There is a lot of nostalgia attached to Tremors for me as well. I’ve been watching it since I was little. My brothers and I would have the best time jumping around on the living room furniture so that we didn’t get eaten by the Graboids!

Who wins in a fist fight, Corbin Dallas or John McClane?
John McClane! He has been in at least 4 large scale terrorist situations and has taken them down each time. McClane also has more experience with fist fights than Corbin Dallas, who tended to stick with guns. I mean, McClane had to fist-fight Maggie Q! Yeowch!

What one big thing or combination of little things can kill an action movie?
Ridiculous looking CGI.

You’re playing yourself in an action movie. Who’s your leading man and why? I know it’s tempting to say me with my mental flirting but let’s give the other guys a shot.
Well, if I can’t choose you, then I’ll go with Tony Jaa. Wait, Sylvester Stallone…No! Jason Statham! Bruce Willis! Hell, I want them all in my movie!

Read the full interview & see the complete pictorial with Katrina Hill here!

Lhars Steck - BG's PAX Gamette 2010

The time has come for us to introduce you to our PAX Gamette. Yes, we know, we’re big teases, we’ve had her picture up on the sidebar for a month now but we’d like to point you to the first word in our name… Busy. We think you’ll forgive us as soon as you meet this lovely new addition to our Gamettes.

Lhars is a veteran Aion and World of Warcraft player with a wicked sense of humor and a way of making you feel at ease around her almost immediately. When it comes to MMOs (especially WoW), she knows her stuff. After speaking to her for a few minutes about her WoW character, we implemented a “no talking about WoW??? rule that had absolutely nothing to do with her having better gear than us. Really.

So take a few minutes out of your day to welcome Lhars to our site, read her interview, look at her pics, and remember… Her character is way better dressed than yours.

Give us a brief description of how it felt to be chosen as our first official PAX Gamette. We know we’re super awesome so it’s okay to faint a few times while you go over it.
Well uh… /passes out. It’s a super honor and was great to meet the group at such a fun event that I look forward to every year!

We know you’re a huge WoW fan. Tell us about your best WoW moment and your worst WoW moment. Extra points if you shed a tear while writing about either one.
Totally best WoW moments are server first boss kills, nothing feels better than progression before it gets nerfed for everyone else. Or wait… is my favorite moment wiping out a raid of the opposite faction… shit, tough call. Worst, hands down when any of your core people get hacked, especially yourself (or in my case my husband as well). Puts a real damper on things.

What’s your favorite WoW class?
Mage/ Warlock / Boomkin (I’m a DPS junkie)

Is your WoW char’s gear nasty?
She is definitely a nasty girl!!!! But in all honesty gear only goes so far, it comes down to the player themselves. Good player + Little Fire + Heroic DFO = Could probably eat people alive wearing nothing else.

Read Lhars’ full interview and see her pictorial here!