Project Thursday

Last week’s E For All convention out in Los Angeles marked a new chapter in the world of gaming. Last year, the Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) was scaled down dramatically and pretty much closed it’s doors to everyone except for media personnel and industry big-wigs. Average Joes like you and I were forced to either travel all the way to Tokyo, Japan for TGS or stay glued to our computers and check out all of the third-party media and "awesome" text updates.

But what about those of us who like a more hands-on approach? What about those of us who dream of being immersed by awesome games that few have ever played, meeting the B-grade celebrities of the gaming world, and (most importantly) lots of amazing booth babes standing around pretending to be totally into what you’re saying and doing while raining tons of free swag upon you? What are we supposed to to?! Enter E For All: a four-day convention open to the public that provided all of these things and more. Despite a lot of media criticism, the convention actually did a pretty decent job for it’s first time around the block.

As I’m sure you’re already aware, I’m a bit of a gaming advocate. I love them all, from PC to console. As such, I like to keep up-to-date on what’s going on in the gaming world, in part by reading a few select magazines that I think are all the bees knees. That is at least until recently.

Yes ladies and gentleman, PC Gamer officially sucks. There was a time where this magazine was the end-all, be-all of PC gaming news and reviews. But lately, a majority of the editorials and a good number of other articles are spent taking cheap sucker punches at their console brethren.

We here at Project Thursday feel that it is our duty to let you know that if you don’t already have the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for your Xbox 360 or PC, you are officially not a gamer and have no soul. This game truly redefines what an RPG should be, as it is incredibly immersive, visually breathtaking, and highly addictive.

Fortunately, those of you who have yet to purchase this monumental epic can redeem yourselves and actually get a leg up on current Oblivion owners by picking up the "Game of the Year Edition," which arrived in stores today. It includes the original Oblivion content plus both the Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles expansion packs; definitely worth the $60 cover charge. Just thought we’d let you know. You can thank us later.

Ah, a soft breeze, warm sand between your toes, and the gentle lapping of the ocean. Wait, not really your thing? How about the crisp mountain air and the cozy feeling of a roaring fire? Still nothing? Fine, let’s go to the Orient. The silk kimonos, ethnic cuisine…and teleporting ninjas.

Whatever your poison, the Sims 2: Bon Voyage expansion pack aims to deliver. Not only does the game offer three new locations for your Sims to travel to, it also gives you all new social interactions and objects. Hell, your Sim can even own a personal vacation home.

Eight years; that’s how long I’ve been waiting for this game to be released. Eight years. As the spiritual successor to System Shock 2, this game has been highly anticipated by both myself and, thanks to some great marketing and feedback from the media, the rest of the world (the part that owns a killer PC or an Xbox 360 that is).

With such high hopes resting on a single game, it’s easy to fall short of the high mark that hype tends to set for all of us. So does Bioshock rise above this mark, or fall short like so many other games that get wrapped up in hype?