Before we get down to my rant against the abomination that is Sonic Generations, a quick update. Early this year, PSN and XBLA were hacked and the information on their respective services were compromised. For the former however, PSN was down from April to mid-late May, causing much outcry and backlash that Sony somehow managed to recover from.
But now, it seems the Steam service itself was hacked. The following message is from Gabe Newell.
Dear Steam Users and Steam Forum Users,
Our Steam forums were defaced on the evening of Sunday, November 6. We began investigating and found that the intrusion goes beyond the Steam forums.
We learned that intruders obtained access to a Steam database in addition to the forums. This database contained information including user names, hashed and salted passwords, game purchases, email addresses, billing addresses and encrypted credit card information. We do not have evidence that encrypted credit card numbers or personally identifying information were taken by the intruders, or that the protection on credit card numbers or passwords was cracked. We are still investigating.
We don't have evidence of credit card misuse at this time. Nonetheless you should watch your credit card activity and statements closely.
While we only know of a few forum accounts that have been compromised, all forum users will be required to change their passwords the next time they login. If you have used your Steam forum password on other accounts you should change those passwords as well.
We do not know of any compromised Steam accounts, so we are not planning to force a change of Steam account passwords (which are separate from forum passwords). However, it wouldn't be a bad idea to change that as well, especially if it is the same as your Steam forum account password.
We will reopen the forums as soon as we can.
I am truly sorry this happened, and I apologize for the inconvenience.
Gabe.
I smell a conspiracy theory here. This sounds like it could lead to XBLA, PSN and Steam going the WiiWare/eShop route in the future: Tying all of your purchases to 1 system/computer/handheld and requiring you to punch in your Credit Card info every time. Ether that or their security was shoddy in the first place.
Now folks, early this month Sonic Generations debuted on the 360 and PS3, with nary a Wii version in sight. But what caught my attention were the scores it got.
Console Monster: 8.8/10 Everything about Sonic Generations oozes excellence and while some of the traditional annoyances remain, it is hard to deny the crazy speeds and pure enjoyment Sonic's latest adventures reveal.
IGN: 85/100 It feels refreshing to be able to say that Sonic is good again. His upward trajectory over the last year continues and he's only gaining momentum. Sonic Generations is largely a game for the most hardcore of Sonic fans, but for the millions who have fond memories of narrowly dodging spikes, grinding on rails, or even that time he was a pinball, Sonic Generations is a game made for you.
GameTrailers: 81/100 Sega finally appears to have learned from its mistakes. Sonic Generations' thoughtful mishmash of the hedgehog's distinct incarnations delivers the best of both worlds. Though it's a bit on the short side, the fundamentals are undeniably well executed. Sonic hasn't been this good in years.
PlanetXbox360: 83/100 A few hiccups here and there stop Sonic Generations from being a classic, but it's definitely a huge step in the right direction for Sonic Team and Sega, especially considering how cluttered the previous titles were. It's a throwback to the carefree days of Sonic platforming fun, while still packing the kind of modern components that will keep you gazing at the screen in sheer delight.
Games Radar: 80/100 Easily the best Sonic game since the hog's Sonic 2 glory days. Surprisingly, modern Sonic's levels are the more impressive and fun and, while low-speed control is still clumsy, the wealth of quality action scenes cherry-picked from the past two decades make the overwhelming majority of Sonic Generations an absolute blast.
What are you reviewers doing? You're not suppose to praise this game like you did with Sonic Colors(And break the Sonic Cycle at the same time). You're suppose to bash this game as if it were the reincarnation of Sonic 06.
But the biggest insult comes from Jim Sterling, who last year bashed Sonic Colors on Wii, only to give this game his blessing
Destructoid: 80/100 While it's not quite the stunning triumph that many had hoped for, Sonic Generations is a truly great game that provides some of the best Sonic action ever seen and pays fitting tribute to Sonic the Hedgehog -- highlighting both his successes and his failures.
How DARE you, Jim Sterling. After having such high hopes, you went and slapped me right in the face. You all know the Sonic Cycle is one of the most Sacred relics of gaming. Breaking the Sonic Cycle is blasphemy and the punishment for breaking said cycle would including playing endless rounds of Ninja Bread Man.
But unfortunately, that's not the only game to break its own cycle. Last month, Activision released a new Spyro the Dragon game called "Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure." With snipe directed at this game, I had hope this game would end up being smashed down as one of the worst Spyro games ever. Unfortunately, that didn't turn out too well for me ether. And even Jim Sterling added insult to injury to me.
Game Chronicles: 90/100 Skylanders signifies a new start for the franchise – a step back to Spyro's roots, yet a step into the future.
Nintendo World Report 90/100 An extremely well-designed game that is perfect for kids. Unfortunately for parents, this game is wonderful and addictive, meaning that most kids who get their hands on this will crave more characters to collect them all.
IGN: 80/100 Yes, ultimately the content in the game is already on the disc and you have to pay money to unlock it, which sounds like BS. But even without the extras, Skylanders is a pretty substantial action game for kids (with a small cast). It's fun, it's challenging, the story is cute, and there is co-op.
Destructoid: 80/100 It's not the most complex game on the market, but the innovative gadgetry and authentic thoughtfulness on the part of the developer stands out in a market so used to churning out the same old crap.
Planet X-Box 360: 83/100 The design is quite inspired for a product designed for younger players, and the presentation is surprisingly high in value.
Worth Playing: 90/100 Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure is so specifically targeted to children and the unique way they approach games, often vacillating back and forth between tightly focused and wildly erratic in under half an hour, it's difficult for an adult to fully and fairly evaluate this game's entertainment potential.
What is going on here? First Spyro and now Sonic? What is with bad gaming franchises becoming good again? There has to be something to counter this. But what?
The only thing I can think of is the user reviews on the new Modern Warfare game. Though many patriotic critics have chimed in on MW3, many User reviews have slammed it down. The reviews are at Destructoid compiled by Jim Sterling himself(Who I now have a grudge at. *Wink Wink*).
Jim, you give Sonic Generations and Skylanders a 4/10 and maybe I'll forgive you. I mean, it's not like I have and enjoy both games and even have the toys for Skylanders and....uhhh
*Makes a beeline for the exit door*
More info on the Hack at:
Kotaku
Select MW3 reviews at:
Destructoid
Works Cited:
Metacritic(Sonic Generations)
Metacritic(Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment