2.5D issue number 2 is up and ready for Download

I've got the new issue of 2.5D the fanzine up and ready for download.

Download it here in PDF form.

I couldn't get the reviews to display the way I wanted them to when I saved it to PDF form for some reason.

Here is how I wanted the reviews to look:

Is it Just Me.... (Random Thoughts)

Or are there just too damn many games, and gaming platforms out nowadays? I'm not talking about the big three platforms so much, because last gen turned out just fine, but with the extreme amount of games coming out nowadays for not only the main consoles, but all the handhelds (aside from the DS, and PSP, I'm talking I-phone, I-touch, and a ton of other none gaming specific devices like cell phones), and then you can factor in the downloadable service for each console as a platform to itself for the most part. There are literally thousands of games released each year. It makes keeping full track of all the good to great games of this generation nearly impossible, and if you do manage to keep up, that means that any game that's over a week old is ancient in your world. To be honest, I sometimes wonder if the industry isn't going to crush itself due to it's sheer size.

Yes, having more platforms means more possible chances for your game to sell, but unless you've got millions for advertising to hype your game up, it's just not going to get noticed. It's a wonder why many of the smaller to medium sized 3rd party developers have either died out (RIP Midway, and Free Radical), or have switched to the so called casual games out there, because they take a lot less money to make so even a small number of sales can turn a profit.

It's that same hype machine that makes some games multi-million sellers, and buries other just-as-worthy games. Between the huge number of games on the market each year, and the giant hype machine, I foresee a future where most 3rd party developers either go out of business, or just get eaten by the big guys like EA and Activision. The market is completely bloated right now, and I don't see that changing.

I get the feeling that the future is Call of Madden, and pet games with a "Z" in their title.

A Clarification of When I Use the Term Underrated

NOTE: I'm probably going to be linking to this on my future Underrated Gems vids.


I have my underrated gems videos posted on youtube, and every so often there's some idiot there spouting review scores to me as to why a game isn't underrated. What those people need to realize is that I'm not talking about review scores. Granted, with the huge amounts of review score worship going on in today's gaming world with sites like metacritic (A site I personally can't stand because it breeds mindlessness), it doesn't surprise me that gamers instantly think of review ratings. What I really mean is overlooked, but hence why I say in the description:

This is a series of gameplay vids I'm doing highlighting overlooked games for the PS2.

The argument should be ended right there, but apparently people can't read.

Now you may ask, why don't I call them overlooked gems, well, because it essentially means the same thing in the modern vernacular. It's just a different way to say it.

Lets take for example the flip side of underrated. Lets say that Someone says "Green Day is the most overrated band of all time." is that person saying that Green Day is overrated because critics in a magazine or on a website gave Green Day a review score of a 10 out of 10? No of course not. They are talking about the massive hype and over-excitement of the fans who hype Green Day up to be the best band ever. It has nothing to do with review scores.

On the flip side, if you say another band is extremely underrated, is it because critics somewhere gave that band a bad review score? Again, of course not. It's because they can't get attention hence underrated and overlooked are used in the same way here.


Perhaps the best way to show that the common vernacular of the day uses underrated in the same manor as I do in my vids, lets go to the Urban Dictionary definition of Underrated. Here are the six most popular answers:

1. Cooler than most people think.

2. Something or someone that deserves much more respect than people will allow.

3. A website, film, television show, book, etc that is so good that the public barely notices how good the product really is.

4. Something or someone not well known by the mass public but of high quality.

5. Something that is better than most people think it is.

6. Means good but not publicized as much as other sh**,opposite of overrated.



Son next time I post one of my Underrated Gems vids, don't mindlessly spout review scores to me, and say stupid stuff like "This game got such and such score on Metacritic. NOT UNDERRATED!!!"

I'm talking about the amount of attention a game got from the general gaming public, not the review scores from a few magazines or websites. I'm looking broader than what you can apparently comprehend. It, believe it or not, goes beyond metacritic.