Where's My Kill Streak? Exploring Women in the FPS Genre

     As we all know women gamers are here and we are here to stay. This is not a new concept, and the majority of the video game industry has embraced us with open arms. If you want to see my views on that subject check out my February post on "Bad Ass Females in Games". When doing my research for that post, though, I couldn't ignore the fact that there was one genre that had a lack of women so deep it could be called a void.  In the world of the first person shooter women are often deliberately left out. There are a lot of theories as to why this is, I wanted to take a bit to explore some of these reasons.

     First I want to make a distinction in the verbiage that I am choosing to use. Technically, as far as the genre goes, a "first person shooter" game style is any game where you are looking through the eyes of your character and your main weapon is a firearm. With that said, there are a few games that deserve a shout-out for the inclusion of strong females. Zoey in Valve's hit series "Left for Dead" is one great example. Zoey's main weapon is a shotgun. She is a very well-rounded female character who mixes a tough tomboyish personality with a very caring heart. She will take out zombies just as brutally as any male character, but is unafraid to show emotion when a friend or teammate dies or is injured. Plus she wears Converse (I have a fondness for any fellow Converse girl). Also, "Borderlands" and "Borderlands 2", by Gearbox, are chock full of some great playable female characters. The spunky Mechromansor is by far my favorite female in the Borderlands series. Being a geek of small stature myself, I like the idea that so much power and strength can come in such a small package. Proves that just because we are fun sized, some of us girly geeks can still carry a big punch :).

     With that said, the void that I spoke of is overall very apparent when we take the time to look at the war-themed first person shooters. This genre of games is one of the top selling in the world with blockbuster games like Activision's "Call of Duty", EA's "Battlefield", and Bungie's "Halo" games leading the way.  Each of these games make the top selling lists with every new release and none of them have a single (make sure you understand that...not a single one!) playable female character. With the pure number of women gamers out there, I find this very hard to fathom—so I spent some time looking into the reasons behind this.

    There is a very interesting discussion on IGN that addressed the lack of women in the upcoming title "Call of Duty: Ghost" (scheduled for this November on current and next gen systems), entitled "Call of Duty Ghosts: Discussing Lack of Women". The link to this video is listed below, and I highly recommend watching the full discussion. For my purposes here, I am going to point out a few of the important points that were made. The main argument in this discussion, against women in a FPS situation, is that people will protest against the use of violence against women. Cali, the only woman present in the discussion, points out that "the idea that women are too fragile to get shot in the face is sexist in itself". This I agree with. Why are we still living in a world where women are treated with kid gloves, like we are to sit around waiting for our knight in shining armor? In America we send thousands of women into battle everyday.  We have brave women serving our country actually facing death and proudly representing us on the battlefield. But in these war-based FPS games the developers seem so afraid that someone will protest the violent acts against women that they are, in my opinion, diminishing the important role that female combatants play in our military. This is true even more now that America has changed the rules regarding women being unable to fight in the front lines.  Cali, in the video, goes as far as to point out how proud Activision is that they have included dogs in the new COD, but can't make a single female playable character. Come on guys… really?  Any time social norms are pushed in any form of media, someone is going to be upset.  My question to the big blockbuster game developers: are you really so afraid of a little backlash about women characters that you will sacrifice your supposed 'realistic portrayal of war'?  All three of the big games developers mentioned above brag on a regular basis about the realism of their games.  If you are so focused on a realistic representation of war… then I call your bluff, and say sorry fellas, but where are the ladies?

     The other main argument supporting the lack of women in the classic FPS is the lack of women who play this genre, which brought up some questions for me.  Is the lack of women in FPS really because women don't play them, or do fewer women play them because they have no playable character to relate to? In my quest to answer this question I found a very good article by Lori May entitled "Female Gamers and FPS Genre: Ladies Speak up".  In this article Lori spoke to six different  women gamers regarding their thoughts on playing FPS games, and found that most of the women avoided the FPS genre. This seems to support the idea that the lack of women could be because of the lack of women players. Lori found that the women she spoke to avoided the genre mainly because of the first person camera angle causing them headaches and motion sickness.  They also stated that they often experienced negative reactions from fellow gamers. This being in the form of rude people on the mics regarding there being woman playing multi player along with the boys.  Lori quotes one of her interviewed ladies as saying "When I indulge in an online FPS title I receive far more shocked responses to my obviously female voice than in any MMO or other Coop/competitive online style of video games.". Now we do have to of course recognize that she asked 6 people which is no where near a representation of all women gamers as a whole.

       Lori's article was written in 2011. I decided to do my own poll of 6 female gamers to see if I came up with a similar result. I asked 5 girl gamers whom I respect greatly on Twitter and counted myself as my 6th person (because it's my blog and I can do what I want ). The gals I polled regarding this are a lot of fun to follow and I highly recommend you do so. Their handles are found below in the link section. When talking to my group of 6 lovely ladies I also found that most of them choose to stay away from war based FPS games. Though almost all of us will play a first person view game if the story is good enough. Of those of us that do not play the war games our reasoning tended to fall more into the lack of story not the lack of female playable characters. Most stated that the first person view causes them problems, but they are willing to play a first person view game if the story and characters are worth it.  Some of the ladies I asked do play the online war based shooters.  To this group I asked the follow up question, based on Lori's discoveries, of whether they receive any negativity on the servers when they sign on as a female.  None who I asked this question thought they ever really got negative reactions from their fellow players.  So at least this leads me to believe that in 3 years our fellow guy players have finally gotten used to hearing a lady's voice on the mic in multi-player.  That is a great thing in my opinion.  So once again this seems to support the idea that they lack of female playable characters could be do to the lack of females who play the games.

     Well I looked into a lot of the reasons people blame for the lack of females in the war based shooters, but don't think I came up with any definitive answers to the cause or blame for this.  I do have to say that I personally still think that the big blockbuster companies are doing a disserves to the industry and to their fans by not at least including a female in their games.  To these companies I say whatever your reasoning for not including this female character you are not showing an accurate representation of our society or our military.  I think the controversy that may come about by including a female military figure would be greatly overshadowed by the good that proper representation of society within your games would do . As always all my sources are listed in my link section.  I would love to hear your comments and feedback.  Until next time geeks...may the force be with you.

Follow me on Twitter @JessicaRocco

Links
Valve
Gearbox
Activision
Electronic Arts: EA Games
Bungie
IGN "Call of Duty: Ghosts' Discussing Lack of Women"
Lori May article
Follow these ladies on Twitter:
@Sephrin
@HarleyQuinn_N7
@CmdrButtface
@SarahJLA
@ReflectiveStrip

Celebrating Video Games Bad Ass Females

So it is February and that means three things in my world: 1.) It is so cold where I live my limbs may freeze off soon. 2.) It is my birthday month although I think this may be the last year I celebrate it (getting old stinks). 3.)We are a month away from the video game release I am most excited about for the entire year, Tomb Raider! That is right guys and gals if you did not know that Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics were rebooting our favorite archaeologist then you have been living under a rock my friend. I am so pumped  for this new imagining of Lara Croft that I can barely contain my fan girl enthusiasm. So while bubbling over with excitement for my Collector's Edition to arrive (yes of course I got the C.E. and yes I will post pics on Twitter) I decided to take a look back at all of the great female bad ass characters that have kept all of us playing games. Now I do have two disclaimers going into this post. First, I love how much feedback I got from all of you regarding your favorite female characters and regret that I cannot work all of them in this month.  The blog would be way to long. ( Maybe I should write a book on this topic? hummm) Second, while plotting out my thoughts on the topic, I realized that I really have two things that I want to speak on.  So this will be a two part blog. Next months post is going to be a kind of follow up to this month. I am a firm believer that both girl and guy gamers want a mixture of strong male and female characters in their games. I don't live in a world that is all male, but I also do not live in a world that is all female.  I want a game that models my real life interactions. In this months post I am going to point out a couple of game genres that have been getting this right, and doing so for a long time.

Since my girl Lara is what started my thought process on this topic, I will start the discussion with her. Tomb Raider was not the first action adventure game to have a female protagonist, (hold onto your panties we will talk about her in a minute), but she was the first bad ass female to really turn the video game world on its head. In 1996 developers at Core design and publishers at Eidos Interactive gave me what I had been dreaming of for years, a female Indiana Jones! I have loved video games since I got my hands on my first NES controller the year it came out in America, but until Miss Croft entered my life I had no idea where games where gonna take me. Lara was the first truly bad ass female in games. She has everything! She is smart enough to figure out all the crazy puzzles left behind in tombs ( I mean really, who knew opening a tomb was so damn hard). She could duel wheeled pistols while flipping around rock faces and dangerous terrain (She killed a dinosaur, come on, that's BA). Plus she is hot! Girls wanted to look like her, guys wanted to date her (OK, some of us girls wanted to date her too).  She has everything. If somehow you have gone through your whole life without playing a Tomb Raider game pull out your retro systems and start, please. You will have plenty to chose from. Edios did 6 games from 1996-2009 and Square has done 4 since 2010, with the new Tomb Raider (coming out in a North America on March 5) being the 11th installment in the series. Now in the new game Lara has switched out her pistols for a bow, but I am still super excited to see what adventures I get to go on with her.

As I mentioned above Tomb Raider was not the first female lead in an action adventure game.  Nintendo actually brought us the first female protagonist way back in 1986 (once again feel old saying way back to "86). Listen closely though kids, there's a kicker, no one knew that she was a girl until you beat the game! Seriously. Developers at Nintendo introduced us to a bad ass space soldier named Samus Aran in their game Metroid. We played our NES all night long watching Samus clad in the coolest 8bit armor and weapons we had seen so far on the system. We used Samus' arm cannon to take out aliens left and right, and gave orders to all our underlings. Then we beat the game and Samus takes off her helmet and low and behold, it's a girl! Now this was an amazing moment for me as a little kid gamer (ha ha, not telling you how old I was, but will tell you it was probably "88 before I played the game). I was so excited that Samus was a girl. But, I do have to stifle a giggle when I think what it must have been like for the average male gamer when they found out they had been playing a female soldier the whole time :) Now Nintendo has continued the Metroid series throughout their various systems since the NES. Some are worth a look, others I think fell a little short of the mark. But, no matter what the current games are like, Metroid and Samus will always hold a little place in my heart for being the first female action game bad ass.

The second genre that has been bringing us bad ass females without fail for years is my favorite game genre, role playing. And my favorite game developer makes my list twice for games that have strong female leads (gee maybe that is why they are my favorite?). Bioware has been giving us amazing RP games for years and they have also given me some of my favorite female characters. The first Bioware series worthy of note is of course Mass Effect, first introduced in 2007, (don't act so surprised, anyone who knows me or my writing knew they'd be on my list). The ME trilogy is a wonderful story driven action game that brings us so many strong female and male characters that in my limited space all I can really do is list them.  Ashley, Liara, Tali, Miranda, Samara, Jack, Aria, Samantha, Edi, and of course FemShep help make the series what it is ( the best game series of all time, my opinion of course). Bioware does an amazing job of writing both the male and female characters in ME as actual people (or in some cases aliens) that you would want to be around.  The women in the game are not just pretty things to look at. They are just as strong, if not stronger than most of the male characters in the game, both in personality and physical strength. If you are looking for a great starting point in the RP gaming world. Start with this game. You will never look back.

As I mentioned the second RP game to make my list of strongest female leads is the Dragon Age series, also from Bioware. Now I have to admit I have not played this game yet ( I know, I know I have no idea why either, it is next on my list). I actually did not realize how many strong females it has in it until beginning my research for this post.  This is where I thank all of my Twitter followers for their suggestions of their fav. game characters. It is you guys who introduced me to the overwhelming desire to stop everything and play this game. Apparently DA has two very powerful female mages, Morrigan ( a shape shifter) and Wynne who are both part of your party. You also have a strong female rouge who has both physical strength and conviction in her beliefs, named Leliana. Like ME you are also able to chose your playable character (The Grey Warden) to be a female as well.  I have no idea how this game has not been on my play list, (give up my RP geek card willingly), but rest assured that it is now.  If you, like me, have not played this series yet, grab it and we can play it now. I am excited to meet all of these amazing characters.

The last game I want to bring to our discussion is Witcher 2. Withcher 2 is a RP game originally for the PC that has recently been ported to the Xbox 360 (this being the version I play). Atari and Namco Bandai immerse you immediately into a world of magic and war from the moment you first enter the game. The thing I like most about this game is that it is a prime example of what I started the blog out saying. I do not have to have a playable female character in order for me to relate to the strong female influence in the game.  Geralt is a male witcher and the only playable character to chose from.  But in no means does this take Witcher off my list of bad ass female character games. Along your journey you come across some of the most powerful woman I have seen in RP games. The first female you come in contact with is Triss. She has a strong mix of both confidence and beauty, not to mention an overwhelming loyalty to your character. There are two female warriors that you meet along your journey. Ves, who is one of the strongest fighters in the game (often outmatching the males in her squad), and Saskia, who was a commander during her homeland's civil war. (She also killed a dragon, yep, she's my favorite). The female sorceresses that you meet in the game are often considered some of the most powerful and ruthless female characters you find in the genre. They bring bad ass to the magical plane. Sheale de Tancarville combines her beauty and power to get pretty much anything she wants done, but with that said she doesn't seek out any kind of suitor. She is strong enough on her own. Filippa Eilhart on the other hand balances her powerful magic with her strong and often edgy personality. If you love RP games, Withcer 2 is a must play. I applaud Atari and Namco for blending female strength so seamlessly into a game that could easily be solely male driven.

So that is my celebration of all my favorite female bad asses in video games. As always I would love to hear what you think. Do you agree, disagree, think I left a ground breaking game of this list? Let me know. There is a list of links at the end of the post for everything I mentioned in this months blog. Until next time, may the force be with you. Your favorite Girly Geek Jessy.

you can follow me on Twitter @JessicaRocco

Tomb Raider

Crystal Dynamics

Square Enix North America

Square Enix Europe

Nintendo

Bioware

Atari

Namco Bandai

Favorite Comics of 2012

So since we all didn't die at the end of December, I guess it is time for my January blog. This month I wanted to take the opportunity to share with you guys all the wonderful comics that I think you should have read last year.  Point being if you missed these get on it.  You got some comics to buy.  I have many comic series that I read monthly, all of which I love. In this months post though, I am going to narrow it down to what I consider to be the best of the best from 2012.  My must read list.

I'm going to start with the comic series that wins my gold star for 2012. Of all the series I've read this year the "Angel &Faith" series from Dark Horse Comics is by far the best and most powerful story arc of the year.

I do not want to go into to much of the story line for fear of significant spoilers, but I will do my best to do it justice.  The amazingly talented Christos Gage is the head author of the A&F series this year.  He has brought one of the most dynamic Buffyverse characters, Faith, back to the forefront of the action.  Gage has shown a tremendous amount of growth in the Faith's character in a situation where the tables have turned and she has gone from the reckless teen she once was to being the one responsible  and level-headed character while those around her spiral into chaos. Gage does an amazing job of keeping the ever loved Joss feel of apocalyptic drama mixed with witty commentary and real to life characters.  Plus every Buffyverse fan will be glad to see various cameos spreed throughout the series of fan favorites Drucela, Willow, and Conner. If you have not read this series yet. Do yourself a favor and pick it up.

My second must read goes to the single most under-rated comic book author of our time (in my opinion of course), Gail Simone.  Simone took on the mantle of "Batgirl" in DC Comics "New 52" series and has done an wonderful job with it thus far, making it one of my favorites of 2012.

Simone has brought Barbra Gordon out of her wheelchair and back into action.  All of the story arcs have been well worth the read throughout Simone's run on the series, with the book coming to a climax at the end of 2012 with the "Death of the Family" arc.  Simone stays inside Barbra's head throughout the story so you actually feel for Batgirl as she faces such things as rekindling a relationship with her once absent mother, trying to balance a "real life" and her super hero life, and most importantly coming face to face with the Joker (who was the one who put her in the wheelchair in the first place). I find myself caring deeply for Barbra in these stories, to which I applaud Simone, for this is a difficult and rare feet in the medium of comics.  There was a slight scare for fans at the end of 2012 when it was rummered that Simone was being taken off of the Batgirl title, but rest assured she is still writing for it. Thank goodness!  There is still a lot to look forward to in this series.

I have two comic series that get my honorable mention for 2012.  They are not my all time favorites, but without a doubt make the Girly Geek must read list. The first is Marvel Comics "Ultimate Comics: X-MEN". While I feel that most of the Ultimate Comics series are floundering, (Sorry Marvel I just can't buy Captain America as the president of the US or Tony Stark with a brain tumor that talks to him) Brian Wood has taken X-MEN out of the ashes admirably.  I love how Wood is handling the character of Kitty Pryde while introducing us to several new mutants. Without spoilers I will say that I am excited to see how Wood will use Kitty and Rouge to make a new start for the X-MEN. 

My second honorable mention is for all my fellow horror fans. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten you guys and gals. Paul Tobin is writing a wonderfully grotesque comic called "Colder" for Dark Horse Comics.  As of right now this is only a four issue series, but I am crossing my fingers that due to its success it will be picked up as a monthly book. (Any hopes of this D.H.? please, I'll bat my eyelashes).  Being only a four issue series it is virtually impossible for me to talk of the actually story without spoilers. So just know if you are a fan of horror and all things that make you squirm in your seat, go pick this series up.

I also want to send out some artist love.  I mean this is really why we read comics, right?  Ohhh I love the pretty pictures! DC Comics makes my list again with their "New 52 Justice League".  Throughout 2012 I looked forward to every issue of J.L. because it always was filled with vibrant colors and  wonderfully detailed artwork of my favorite superheros. There are many artist that have contributed in these comics but the team of Jim Lee on pencils and Scott Williams on ink have managed to create pages that I wish I could just wallpaper my walls with they are so amazing.  If you are an artist (or a fangirl of artists like me, I sadly can't create anything) then you need to check out these books. I also want to send some love towards Dark Horse as well.  "Willow" is a short spin-off series of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9" and is jam packed with amazing artwork.  Brian Ching (pencils), Michelle Madison (colors), and Jason Gorden (ink) have come together to make some of the most whimsical comic stills of the year, and I love every bit of it.  Thank you so much guys for making a comic that can be labeled as nothing other than beautiful in my book.  Also in issue 2 of Willow appears my favorite cover of 2012.  The alternate cover of issue 2 is done by artist Megan Lara, and is one of my favorite comic moments of last year. (It is currently waiting for a frame to be hung up on my wall).

So that is 2012 in review for me as far as the comic world goes.  I have many things to look forward to in 2013.  I can't wait to see how all of the comics I mentioned above play out through this year. Not to mention two comics that are starting this year. Brian Wood has been announced as writing a new series for Dark Horse in the "Star Wars Expanded Universe" (scheduled for release on Jan. 9), that is said to have a very strong Leia element. This makes me super happy.  And of course we are all waiting on the edge of our seats to see what Dan Slott has in store for us in Marvel's "Superior Spider-Man".  Please guys take the time to check out the links below on all of these books.  Also I would love to hear what you think.  Do you agree, disagree, or feel I left one of your favs out of my 2012 list?  Let me know.  As always until next time may the force be with you, from your favorite girly geek, Jessy

Follow me on Twitter @JessicaRocco

Dark Horse Comics

DC Comics

Marvel Comics

Girly Geek Gift Guide

Yikes that is a lot of alteration in the title this month! Don't get your tongue tide too terribly. OK, sorry I'll stop. This month I am going to spotlight some of my favorite places to buy everything you need to get your geek on and still be the beautiful woman that you are.  So friends if you are a Le Fem geek like me and still have some holes in your Holiday list hopefully I can give you a few places to help you out.  As always guys don't feel excluded  I'm sure you have a special girl in your life that would love to have some of the things off my list.  If your lady friend sent you to this blog...take the hint.  I do apologize in advance, due to space issues, I am not posting pics of the items in my list. Please go visit the websites below and check them out for yourself.  You will not be disappointed.

Let's start big.  Often to my wife's dismay, I am a firm believer that the best way to decorate a home is with collectibles.  My first set on my list comes  from a wonderful company, Medieval Collectibles. They are an Indiana based web company (Woohoo Indiana) that sells everything from Ren Faire garb to LARP gear. The thing I love most about them is they have some of the best quality movie and TV collectibles around.  Two things that are on my list are the "Bellatrix Corset from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ($110.00)" and the full sized "Lothlorien Longbow ($475.00)".  If you are looking for something a little less pricey and not so large, I steer you to the Urban Collector.  This is a great site that will meet all your statue needs.  My three favorite statues will help you bring a since of girly geek to any space.  For the comic lover, the "Wonder Woman Bishoujo Statue ($54.99)" is designed by the artist Kotbukiya and is the perfect mesh of Diana's strength and beauty.  If Star Wars is more your style then check out the "Female Stormtrooper Statue ($199.99)".  This stormtrooper is bringin sexy back, sorry Justin T, you've been out done. Last but not least from the Urban Collector is my favorite Fem Shep statue.  The "Female Shepard Mass Effect 3 Play arts Kai ($57.99) is currently only available as a pre-order, but it is where I plan to put all my Christmas money.

Steampunk is an alternate history movement that is sweeping through the geek world, and I love it! If you are just getting into this wonderful form of cosplay then here are a few must see sites to get your new Steampunk gear.  Your first stop should be at Clockwork Couture. I suggest browsing this entire site. Everything on it is fun and whimsical  While paging through you can amuse yourself with a fun game of find Felicia Day. Our favorite Flog host did a photo shot with Clockwork and is sprinkled throughout the website as a beautiful model for their items. I have three must haves from this site.  When serving drinks in these "Gears of Progress Shot Glasses ($49.99)" your table top game nights will be the envy of all your friends.  Clockwork also has everything you need to put together your new Steampunk cosplay costume.  You can get an entire outfit for an incredibly reasonable price. My favorite is the "Dr. Barlow's Dinner Ensemble ($42.95)". That is right I said $42.95, that is not a typo friends. You can top off this new outfit with the "Hunny B Spat Topper ($194.95)", because what outfit is complete without a good hat.  Before moving away from Steampunk I do have to throw out a shameless plug for my wife's amazing Steampunk jewelry line, Urban Steam Trinkets. She makes amazing hand crafted pieces of art with mostly recycled material.  You can like her page on Facebook (Urban Steam Trinkets) or follow her on Twitter (@UrbanSteam). Love you babe, OK, moving on.

Cloths! What self-respecting girl doesn't want more cloths?  Her are a few of my favorite places to get my girly geek duds. Do you love wearing t-shirts that glorify the beautiful geek you are inside, but are so tired of them being cut for large men who never leave their basement (guys you know who you are)? I know I am.  If so, you need to check out Her Universe. Her Universe is a girly geek clothing line designed for women.  It is an amazing site filled with great t-shirts.  I would love to own them all.  But you can show off your galaxy exploring side with these two must haves.  First you can "everyday cosplay" with the great "Princess Leia Hoodie ($60.00)", when you put the hood up you have Leia's trade mark buns...come on guys, it doesn't get much cooler than that.  With the second item you can show off your love for everyone's favorite badass female BattleStar Galactica pilot in your "BSG Starbuck Rain Vneck Tee ($28.00)". While on the Her Universe site be sure to take some time to read Ashley Eckstein's (the voice of Ahsoka on Star Wars the Clone Wars) blog, because the whole site is hers and is all worth a look through.

What's that you say...You have a Holiday office party coming up and you can't geek out in T-shirts.  It's alright, I have some evening wear choices for you too, never fear.  If you want a geeky alternative for the classic black dress to wear out on the town, check out the company Black Milk.  You can get your very own "R2-D2 Dress ($130.00)" and a designer "Darth Vader Swimsuit ($120.00)" for the after party. Star Wars has never looked so good, thank you Black Milk.  Of course you will need some amazing shoes to make the outfite pop.  Check out Jelly Fish Shoe Studio for some amazing pulpcomic hand painted heals (ranging from $500.00 to $1000.00) or get Super Mario and Legend of Zelda themed painted shoes at Magic Bean Buyer ($75.00 to $160.00). Check out these sights and you will be ready for the red carpet my friends.

So here is my Holiday list and gift guide.  Be sure you check out all of these websites.  They are wonderful and deserve your business.   Also I want to give a quick shoutout to Denise on the Lesbian Lounge for choosing the Girly Geekout as the blog of the week on their Dec. 5th podcast.  I am glad you like it and I hope you will continue to keep reading.  If you missed it you can link to it at mylesbianradiopodbean.com.  Also be sure to check out their radio cast every Wednesday night on mylesbianradio.com.  It is always a fun time.  As always you can find links to everything a I mentioned today at the bottom of the screen.  Have a wonderful holiday season and until next time may the force be with you.

Your Favorite Girly Geek,   Jessy Rocco

Follow me on twitter @jessicarocco

Medieval Collectibles
Urban Collector
Clockwork Couture
Her Universe
Black Milk
Jelly Fish Shoe Studio
Magic Bean Buyer
The Lesbian Lounge

November: The Gamer's Month of Blockbusters

"Remember, remember gamers will have no money left by the end of November."  OK so that might not be the actual quote but if you are like me...it might as well be. The last few years November has been the month of choice for many of the Blockbuster video game makers.  With games like Call of Duty, Assassin's Creed,  Halo, and Battlefield/Medal of Honor coming out this month at 60$ a pop almost every year, it leaves many of our pocket books empty by the time Christmas rolls around.  But are these games really the only ones worth spending that hard earned money on?  I beg to differ.  I say if these are really games you want, then put them on your Christmas list, because your non-geeky friends and family will have no trouble walking into a store and finding them for you.  This month I give you my non-blockbuster picks for holiday games that get lost in the shuffle of the big multi-million dollar releases.

First off Sony has a few great deals that are way worth your money this month.  Throughout the last year Playstation has been putting out several HD collections, some I will have to say I really don't think are worth the money, but there are two that are a must buy.  First off is the Mass Effect Collection from Bioware.  That's right my PS3 fans, you can finally play Mass Effect 1!  If you have not played this series all the way through from 1 to 3 then you are missing out on one of the best action role playing games out there.  With Mass Effect 1 being a 360 exclusive up until now, this is the best opportunity that you Sony fan-boys and girls have of jumping into a great series.  My only regret in this collection is that it will not include all the story DLC, which in my opinion adds a great deal to the game.  So if buying this for the first time, be prepared for the inevitable, once you fall in love with your character and story line you will be shelling out more money to continue your story.  Don't get me wrong I have bought all the DLC and find everyone of them worth it, but just take it as a warning.  Now I don't want to leave my XBOX360 and PC fans hanging.  This collection came out this week for you guys too.  And if you don't already have the whole series this is by far the best way to go.  The only reason I am not buying it on my 360 is because I already have all three collector's edition with the steel book cases :). If you do follow my advice on picking up this amazing collection then also keep your eye open for "The Omega" DLC for Mass Effect 3, which is coming out very soon.

My second must buy Playstation HD collection is Sony/Capcom's God of War Saga.  This is a two disc collection that contains 5 complete games: God of War 1, 2,(both from the PS2)  and 3 (PS3), Ghost of Sparta, and Chains of Olympus (Originally PSP).  Despite the fact that the God of War series is one of the best large scale hack-n-slash blood baths out there, this is the first time that Kratos' whole story can be played in order on one platform. If not having to own three different Sony systems in order to kill with your favorite anti-hero Kratos isn't enough to get you excited, the very low price of 39$ should get your blood flowing.  And for those of you who may have just gotten your PS3, for only 59$ you can get the whole collection plus a red PS3 dual shock controller.

My last pick off the month is the newest addition to the Lego game series. Lego Lord of the Rings by developers Warner Bros Games and Traveler's Tales Games is a simple but fun look into Middle Earth.  The game does have a few glitches that can be a little annoying. Such as, invisible trees and studs flying into places impossible to reach. With that said though, this game keeps the charming feel found in all the Lego games, while bringing to life many of our favorite LOTR characters.  It includes all three of the LOTR movies. Though, you can get a young Bilbo as a playable character, you do not play any of the Hobbit story line.  I would go out on a limb and predict that Tolkien fans can expect another Lego game in the near future.  One thing I love is that the game holds surprises not just for fans of the movies, but also to fans of the books.  My favorite of these being the ability to gain Tom Bombadil along with his musical attacks as a playable character in the game.  If you don't know who I'm referring too, then I suggest picking up Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, because he is my favorite character.

So while your in your local Gamestop buying your favorite blockbuster game this November, take a minute to check out these games as well.  You will not be disappointed. As always you can find links to everything I have mentioned this month at the bottom of the page.  I hope you have a great November with lots to be thankful for.  Until next time may the force be with you.
~Your Favorite Girl Geek Jessy

Follow me on Twitter @JessicaRocco

Links:
 Bioware
Playstation 3
Sony
Capcom
Lego
Warner Bros Games
Traveler's Tales Games

All-Hallows-eve

It is October!  And that means along with the nasty cold rainy weather it has brought with it,  one of my favorite holidays is just around the corner.  Thats right, Halloween will be here before you know it.  The time of year where we geeks can pull out our favorite cosplay outfits without being laughed at by our co-workers.  So put on your best Femshep armor or your most revealing Wonderwoman skirt because it is time for my October Girly Geek picks.

Lets kick it off with Games. I am sad to say that the horror genre has a very lackluster showing this month in new game releases.  I did just pick up my copy of "Resident Evil 6" yesterday but have yet to crack open the seal on it.  Thus far it has been getting fairly decent reviews with a 7.9 from IGN (which is a "good" on their scale) and an 8.75 from Gameinformer (which puts it at a "silver" ranking on their scale).  We have sold out of the PS3 version at my store, so I am looking forward to trying it out myself.  Look for my review on the Xbox version  on tweeter as soon as I get a chance to play it.  With all of my other favorite horror games being pushed back to next year (i.e...."Dead Space 3", "Aliens Colonial Marines", and "Bioshock Infinite") I suggest taking time to check out a couple of games you may have missed along the way.  One series that is my absolute favorite survival horror pick is the "Fatal Frame" series.  It is a three game series that is available on the PS2.  Unfortunately because it is old school and kinda hard to find, it is a little pricey for a PS2 title.  But if you are a horror fan you will find it well worth the cost. Ok chica if you are not cool enough to still have an old school PS2 laying around, then you need to check out the game "Amnesia: The Dark Descent" for your PC or MAC, it will only put you out 20$ but will give you more scares than you can handle. I recommend playing it with the lights off and your favorite set of headphones on, that way with every boogie who jumps out you can scream like a little girl and wake up your whole family. At least that is what I did.

On to movies. I will of course be watching some of the oldies but goodies throughout October.  I can't let Halloween go by without a re-watch of "Alien", "The Shinning", "Scream", "The Poltergeist", and some classic "MST 3000" horror movie episodes.  With that said, there are a few new movies that you should check out this month.  First is "Possession" (in theaters now), directed by Ole Bornedal and staring a young actress named Natasha Calis.  It is not the kind of creep show that will give you nightmares for years to come, but it has a very intriguing story line and enough scares in it to keep you jumping in your seat through the whole movie.  If nothing else you should watch it for the amazing acting that Natasha gives.  I look forward to seeing her in more movies to come.  The horror film I am most looking forward to this Halloween does not come out till Oct. 12th.  Director Scott Derrickson's new film "Sinister" staring Ethan Hawke and Juliet Rylance looks so scary that I can barely make it through the trailer without jumping.  I cannot wait for this film to come out! My last pick for this month is a shout out to "Buffy the Vampire Slayers", Amber Benson ( who played Tara).  She is staring in a new Ward Robert's movie called "Dust Up". It is currently available on-demand but they are doing screenings at different locations across the country. Check out their link below to catch the showing nearest you.  I will be attending the Indianapolis showing on Oct. 18th so if you are in the Indy area I hope to see you there.

Last but never least, what to read what to read.  First, nothing scary about it, I want to give a shout out to one of our favorite trekies, LeVar Burton.  Congrats on your new Reading Rainbow IOS ap! I loved Reading Rainbow as a kid and I'm so glad a whole new generation of children will get a chance to find the joy of reading. So ladies, if you have younglings running around make sure you download this ap. In the area of comics, Dark Horse has a few horror comics that are worth checking out this month.  The three that I am most excited for are "Creepy", "B.R.P.D", and the upcoming "EX Sanguine" series. In the area of novels I will be spending my time this month reading Ray Bradbury's Halloween classic Something Wicked This Way Comes (not to be confused with the romance novel by the same name that Goodreads first put on my currently reading list when trying to add this book...oops).  I will also be getting my spook on with Sarah Waters' Affinity (this one is a paranormal romance) and Black House by Stephen King and Peter Straub.  Lets be serious, you know it isn't October without Stephen King.  You can check out my official reviews of these books on the Goodreads  forums.

So that is my g picks for October. I look forward to seeing what you guys think.  Be sure to let me know.  Until next time...may the force be with you.

Follow me on tweeter @JessicaRocco
www.ign.com
www.gameinformer.com
www.gamestop.com
www.haveyouseenhim.com
www.dustupfilm.com
www.darkhorse.com
www.goodreads.com