GamerNode: Jason Fanelli's Columns

Sex or Violence: Which Is The Lesser Evil?

I've been working in gaming retail for some time now. I see all that there is to see, from hardcore, passionate gamers to the sports-game-only crowd. One of the most interesting things about the job is this all-too-famliar scenario: a kid getting a parent to buy a M-rated game. Sometimes, my explanation of why the game is 17+ is met with thanks (and the loss of a sale, but that's preferred to the loss of my conscience). Other times, it's pre-empted with "He/she can play whatever he/she wants." Most parents, though, wait to hear exactly what is in the game before making a decision. It is these parents that are the most interesting of all, though, because it raises an interesting question: what is the make-or-break point of a parent's decision? What is it that has parents wary of what their ...

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Nudity Not Needed: Loving The Love of Mass Effect ...

There are a lot of things Mass Effect 2 does very well. Any review you read will tell you just how well done the game is, from gameplay to the soundtrack to, and perhaps most importantly, the story. BioWare creates an epic tale of saving the galaxy from certain doom and intertwines it with characters, both teammates and random encounters, that allow the player to become fully immersed in this world.

There's one part of the story that I believe showcases the incredible skill of BioWare's writing team above all others, and that's the numerous possibilities to fall in love. Whether one plays as a female or a male Shepard, the player can pursue 8 different characters as a potential love interest (5 for male Shepard, 3 for female). Each one is written to perfection, almost on the level of art: b...

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One Year With GamerNode and The First Annual Jason...

Today marks one year with GamerNode. I can hardly believe it's already been a full year of writing for a website. I remember being fresh out of college and not knowing what the hell would happen to me, and now here I am, writing for a great site. 2009 was certainly an eventful year, not just for games, but for me as well. Thanks to this sweet writing gig, I live-blogged E3, conducted my first real interview, wrote my first feature series, and got my first press pass to a gaming con. Writing for this site has made me feel like I'm finally a part of the industry that I love so much, and I hope it's something I can keep doing for a long time.

Enough about me, though, because there were certain things about the past year in gaming that really stuck out, things that many of us overlook or take f...

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An Open Challenge to "Fair Journalism"

Hello Journalism,

I am Jason Fanelli, one of your newest members. I'm not very happy with you right now. 

One of your media outlets, declaring itself a "fair and balanced" representative of yours, is being exactly the opposite. It has once again skewed the perception of the gaming world from one of entertainment to that of barbarism and lawlessness, breaking one of your most important rules in the process.

The first time, Mass Effect drew the ire of this establishment. This time, it is Modern Warfare 2 that is the victim. 

Both times, the game in question has a scene taken completely out of context. Both times, a nervous representative of the gaming world, unprepared for the barrage of accusations about to confront hi...

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Live From GameX 2009!

Hey there everybody!

I am currently sitting in the cafeteria of GameX 2009 in Philadelphia! I'll be reporting about what is going on during the event's festivities. So far, I've competed in the Rock Band tournament twice (yesterday and today; check out www.bingegamer.net for video of yesterday's masterpiece), played some Street Fighter 4 and BlazBlue at the fighting game station, and was tempted to buy the PSOne classic Mega Man Legends. So far, sounds like the con experience.

I'll be updating throughout the event, so remember to keep checking!

Game On! 

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Who Will Capcom Face Next? You Could Decide!

Recently on the Capcom-Unity message boards, a question was raised about the next installment of the wildly popular Vs. series. With the re-release of Marvel vs Capcom 2 doing very well and the growing excitement for Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, what other Vs. ideas could the fans come up with? The very question leads to a lot of interesting possibilities. At first, my mind couldn't get off of my longing for Marvel vs Capcom 3 and Capcom vs SNK 3, but I finally found a company that could potentially stack well with Capcom and make a brilliant fighting game: EA. They own a TON of other gaming companies, so there is a wealth of possibilities there. How about these for some EA possibilities?

Isaac Clarke (Dead Space)Eddie Riggs (Brutal Legend)Urdnot Wrex (Mass Effect)Kane (Command and Conquer)Faith (...

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Kitty Got Wet: The Ad-Lib To End All Ad-Libs

It was a simple enough question.

Nolan North, voice of Uncharted's hero Nathan Drake, was asked about his favorite ad-libbed moment during voice acting for the upcoming sequel Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. North then asked creative director Amy Henning if he could talk about "KGW." Henning agreed, and he explained

And that explanation may have just started the next great Internet catch phrase. 

North told of a Wii Tennis session with his 8-year-old son Cooper in which Cooper, after embarrasing his father again, yelled out "Awww, kitty got wet!" 

As most humans would be, North was both amazed and shockedat what he heard, and immediately asked where his son heard such a thing. His son answered simply this:

"He told me he had just made it up. Kitties don't like getting wet. He thought he was in tro...

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Man, Is It Good To Be Back...E3 '09 Predictions!!

Hello people!

How I've missed you all these long days without GamerNode. I think I speak for everyone here at the website when I say that I missed writing about that which I love: gaming. Now that we're back, I'm gonna get the ball rolling ASAP.

Which reminds me...

Next week is E3 2009!!!!!!! If you're a gamer, you're giddy. Next Tuesday, I'll be doing a up-to-the-minute live blog of the Nintendo and Sony press conferences, with all the news, announcements, and (my) reactions to what the the two titans have to say (For the Microsoft fans, I work during their presentation, or else I'd be blogging that one too). Feel free to follow along with me if you like. In preparation for next week's extravanganza, I, like everyone else, have my own predictions (and hopes). If what I write here comes true,...

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Mass Effect 2 Teaser: WTF?!?!?!!?!!?!?!!?

So I'm perusing the gaming sites on Friday night, and after I check my writing to see if anyone else commented, I go to my primary news source, and what's the first story I see? "Your first look at Mass Effect 2."REEEEEALLLLYYY???!!!!

So of course, I throw the headphones on and click play. For anyone who is unfortunate enough not to have seen it yet, watch it first.

Done? Good. Let's discuss.

Of course, there's not a whole lot to discuss, I suppose. It is only a minute after all.

The first 35 seconds contains all information from the first game. Notable Service: Liberation of Eden Prime, Citadel Siege, First Human Spectre. Known Alien Associates: Liara T'Soni, Garrus Vakarian, Tali'Zorah Nar Rayya, Urdnot Wrex. All things I remember fondly.  

It's the Status window that starts to make things ...

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Nintendo and Hardcore Gamers: Who Abandoned Who?

I hear a lot of people say that Nintendo forgot the hardcore crowd. The Wii is majorly successful, and it is mostly attributed to their embracing the casual gamers. But the hardcore insist that they've been abandoned, that Nintendo forgot about, as one person put it, "who made them who they are." I have three major problems with this.

First, and this is the common retort, there are plenty of great games, either already out or on the way, that can appease the hardcore. Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles are all excellent examples of what's already out, and House of the Dead: OVERKILL, MadWorld, and The Conduit are all on their way, loaded with hardcore-quality goodness. The g...

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The Resident Evil 5 Collector's Edition BONANZA!

When I saw the $90 RE5 Collector's Edition price point, I was a little concerned. The only other limited edition at that price I could think of was Madden '09, and that came with three games. I knew we weren't getting three RE games, so what in Tyrant's name could they put in there to justify the $90?

Behold!

For $90, you get:

RE5 Game in Steelbook CasingBonus DVD in Steelbook CasingBSAA PatchKijuju NecklaceChris Redfield FigurineTri-Cell Messenger BagInstruction Manual

That's a whole lot of stuff, but how much of it will you actually use? Are you going to wear that necklace of Africa around? Sew that patch to your favorite Army jacket? Carry stuff around in the Tri-Cell bag instead of the Mirror's Edge runners's bag you may already have?

As cool as it is, it is a lot of stuff that most people ...

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Hello GamerNode, Welcome...to Me.

Well well, what have we here?

Hello GamerNode. You're probably wondering who I am. Well, I'll tell you.

My name is Jason Fanelli. I represent the East Coast, hailing from just outside Philadelphia.

That's me holding up Disney's Castle in Orlando. Charming, eh?

Anyhow, that's not how we'll get along, GamerNode. You and I will write about, of all things, sound. Sound heard in games, whether it be music or sound effects. We'll talk about the songs that stand out and the songs that shouldn't ever have been written. We'll look at how certain games use sound to make their point. We'll do all of this...in the column, Listen Up! Here? This will be my ramblings, my ravings, about anything and everything. Mostly gaming based, obviously (the website is GamerNode, after all), but sometimes there will b...

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