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Role-playing games and trading cards rule in this edition of the Community Spotlight.
Sport: The RPG
By Alex Martin
Sports are a mess of statistics and seasonal averages that can put even the most intelligent passing observer in a daze. Those stats come from the player's in-game performance. But what if athletes were graded on actual physical ability, like attributes in RPGs? Under Armour, a leading developer of sports equipment, intends to do just that with their new athlete rating system called Combine360.
ESRB Game Rating Tips for Parents
By Louis Garcia
Louis brings up several good and beneficial points in this article aimed toward haggard parents and their gaming children. I've worked in game stores for many years, and whenever a child insists that an M-rated title is not as bad as Grand Theft Auto, I try very hard to convince the parents that they should do a little more research before buying it. Louis wants parents to be more aware of what they buy their children, and that is the real purpose of ESRB ratings.
The Groan-Inducing Humor of Dragon Quest 9
By Mark Saldana
Mark just discovered the thing a lot of Dragon Quest players have known for years: Most of the monster names are incredibly silly puns. They are charming, right?
Through the Looking Glass: The Game of Lost
By Thomas Sheppard
I had never seen an episode of Lost before the game Lost: Via Domus came out, but I told my overeager co-worker then that he was an idiot for pre-ordering it. Eventually he agreed with me, but not before he whined about the digital atrocity. Thomas was similarly disappointed with the game, and wants to know why it was so bad when the subject material just screams video game to him.
Metal Gear Solid Acetate Trading Cards
By Juan Martinez
Trading-card collecting is often an unrewarding pastime. Most cards never sell for much, and by the time you give up on collecting, you're several hundred dollars poorer thanks to all the damn booster packs you bought. This disappointment isn't applicable to the Metal Gear Solid trading cards, which could be the most mind-bogglingly rare tie-in items ever created.