So what's up with our site?

A letter from the editor:

F@#% Yeah Gaming was and is a great example of what a few people can get together and do in a short amount of time with limited resources. I’m incredibly proud of this little project, and firmly believe that we have produced some fantastic original content and fascinating creative pieces.

So, it’s with a heavy heart that I announce that we’re essentially closing shop.

I created this site and suckered my friends into writing for it so that we could use it as a place to, simply, write about videogames. My goal was to create the sort of videogame blog that I would love to read, and I think we accomplished that. By mixing up your standard reviews and news items with creative essays, game quotes, and the occasional game-related video or Snuggie, I think we managed to bring something fresh and new to the table of videogame journalism.

For the most part, we were using a free image hosting service for our posts, which means that as time passes, most of our images will disappear from the site (many already have). All text content, however, will remain up indefinitely, as well as our comment system.

If you’d like to follow my own work, there are several places you can find it. I’m now writing a regular videogame column for Naked City Magazine, and I’m also contributing to Pixelated Sausage, as well as adjusting to the podcasting world as a co-host of the Distributed Failure gaming show, which is now featured on All Games Radio.

All of the other writers for FYGaming have been invited to contribute to Pixelated Sausage as guest writers, as well, so hopefully you can check out some of their work there in the future, too.

Again, thank you all for checking out our little videogame site. If you have any questions, comments, or want to get in contact with anyone involved here, you can send me an email at fyeahgaming [at] gmail [dot] com.

Peace, love, and videogames,
Dustin Deckard

PSA: These are the winners of the Spike TV Video Game Awards

Best Voice Actor – Jack Black for Brutal Legend
Best Action Adventure Game – Assassins Creed 2
Studio of the Year – Rocksteady Studios
Best Team Sports Game – NHL 10 from EA Sports
Best Performance by a Human Male – Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in X-Men Origins
Best Cast – X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Best Independent Game – Flower
Best Individual Sports Game – UFC 2009 Undisputed 
Best Role Playing Game – Dragon Age: Origins
Best PC Game – Dragon Age: Origins
Best Performance By a Human Female – Megan Fox in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Best Downloadable Game – Shadow Complex
Best Downloadable Content – The Ballad of Gay Tony
Best Wii Game – New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Most Anticipated Title 2010 – God Of War 3
Best Shooter – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Best Multiplayer – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Best Fighting Game – Street Fighter IV
Best Handheld Game – Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
Best Driving Game – Forza Motorsport 3
Best Soundtrack – DJ Hero
Best Xbox 360 Game – Left 4 Dead 2
Best Original Score – Halo 3: ODST
Best Game based on TV Show – South Park Lets Go Tower Defense Play!
Best Music Game – The Beatles Rock Band
Best PlayStation 3 Game – Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Best Graphics – Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Game of the Year – Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

For more information, see spike.com.

PS3 firmware update to include support for playing PSP Minis

The official European Playstation blog has confirmed that the PS3 will soon be able to play PSP Minis, which were launched back in September. The blog confirms a December 17th release date for EU territories but does not mention a US release date.

PSP Minis are bite-sized games similar to iPhone and iTouch games from the Apple App Store, with similar price-tags. For example, the massively popular iPhone game Fieldrunners is also available as a PSP Mini for $6.99.

No more details have been announced yet, so we’re not sure whether these games will be accessible from the “Game” option in the PS3’s XMB or from some other menu option. It was also rumored earlier this week that many of the Minis would be receiving a resolution boost for when they’re played on an HDTV. We assume that this rumor is true, considering that the Playstation blog mentioned that the “majority” of current Minis will be ready on launch day, and that all Minis following will be required to have the PS3 functionality built-in. It also mentions that the PS3 will be playing these Minis through an emulator, which makes us wonder: how far away is a an official PSP emulator for the PS3?

It makes sense, has huge potential, and would seemingly be a good business decision. Imagine buying a new PSP game from the PSN the night it releases, playing it on your PS3 for a few hours, then continuing your adventure with your synced saved files on your PSP Go during your morning commute the next day.

It seems to me that this would be a great selling point for the PSP platform, especially for the PSP Go.

You want to curl up in this Street Fighter 4 Snuggie

Unfortunately, we couldn’t find an online retailer to link to for you to purchase this sleeved blanket, but we know one thing for sure: it’s real. Your best bet is to try and find one at your local retailer or mall kiosk. Call us crazy, but we imagine it’s not the best selling Snuggie ever, and they just might have one sitting on a shelf all by its lonesome.

We probably don’t have to point out that a gaming-related Snuggie is a distinctly awesome gift idea for that geek closest to your heart.

Vote for your best of the 2000's

Adweek Media has created a website dedicated to polling the internet in 33 different categories to determine the winner of “best of the decade” awards.

Video games make a few notable appearances in the polls, especially in the “Best Commercial (non-Superbowl)” category, where both Sony and Microsoft are nominated. The “Mountain” PS2 commercial makes the list, as well as Xbox’s Halo 3 “Diorama” commercial. Both of them are excellent and awe-inspiring, and can be viewed on their category’s page along with all other nominated commercials.

Also noteworthy is that the Playstation, Wii, and Xbox are all up for the “Product of the Decade” award, but face stiff competition from the likes of Blackberry, Google, iPod, and Red Bull, to name a few.

You don’t have to vote for all 33 categories to get your opinion in, so head on over to bestofthe2000s.com to check out the full list and tip the scales in favor of your preferred corporate entities.

PSA: I'm on the Distributed Failure podcast again

At the end of this week’s episode, the guys asked me if I’d be interested in being a more permanent member of their team, and I said yes!

Alright, so it’s not a marriage proposal or anything, but exciting nonetheless. FYGaming will continue to team up with Pixelated Sausage in any ways that can benefit independent gaming blogs like ours.

In other news, the FYGaming team is still interested in getting our own podcast off the ground, so be on the lookout for that.

And again, check out this week’s Distributed Failure podcast here, or subscribe and listen in iTunes.

Editorial: Who can stand against MW2?

Modern Warfare 2 has been hailed by everyone as an amazing game. The idea of it automatically winning game of the year seems to be split, though. With the first Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, it seemed to be a near unanimous decision that it was the game of the year winner.

I have played through the campaign mode of CoD4 and have put hours and hours into the online play. I am a bit of the way into Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and have put close to 16 hours into the online play. Let me preface this by saying that both of the stories are complete and utter shit. Everyone seems to be outraged by this, though I see no reason to be. Both games are known for their online play, so why would a good story be expected? Especially since Call of Duty has never really had all that great of a storyline. I figure if you want a story, play an RPG. You’ll then have more story than you know what to do with. What I find odd, though, is that people are not chomping at the bit to give Modern Warfare 2 the game of the year treatment. From what I can tell, the stories are not all that different in quality, and Modern Warfare 2’s online play is a vast improvement over CoD4’s.

From the people who do not think it deserves game of the year, I would like to hear what other options there are. If going off of pure sales, I think it would definitely have to be, as it is one of, if not the highest grossing games of this year and will perhaps be of all time. While there may have been other great games released this year (coughBorderlandscough) I do not see them being able to stand up to Modern Warfare 2’s giant following. While I would like to see another game receive game of the year, I have very little doubt that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will the popular vote. What do you think? What other games do you think have a chance against Modern Warfare 2?

Ninja TD review

This was yet another game that I downloaded on a whim off of my genius tab. Unlike my previous review of Moonlight Minions I felt that Ninja TD (by Crazy Carpenter) was definitely worth the $2 spent. Ninja TD has beautiful artwork, as does Moonlight Minions, and the same amount of towers. The striking artwork seems to have become a tower defense game staple, and that’s fine with me. The way the game plays also shows that it has some order and thought put into the progression of the game.

The progression of the game is masterful, as it unlocks towers and magic powers while you play through the game. You begin with two towers and can eventually expand your repertoire to five. There are also special powers in the game, five in total, that each have their own use. There is one that returns an enemy to the beginning and another that nets you more gold per kill, for example. I cannot say enough about the art style of this game, because I simply love it. Each tower has three evolutions and each one improves upon the look.

There is not much bad about this game. Almost nothing irks me about it or makes it difficult to play. It is very well designed, and it shows. I cannot stop playing this game, and have played it for close to two weeks straight now, and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. Whether you are a tower defense game fan or not, this is a definite “buy it” for the $2 asking price. It is a great intro to those new to the genre, and even provides a decent challenge for those seasoned veterans.

Old Bits, New Beats

Imagine a fusion of Pong, the iconic paddle ball game, and Rez, the synesthesia-inducing rail shooter, and now you’re looking at Bit.Trip Beat. The game is the first in a series of six published by Aksys Games that uses basic Atari-esque graphics set to pulse-pounding tunes that progressively improve as the player performs better.

More important than Bit.Trip’s fusion of old and new is the revolutionary way in which the game approaches the player. Rather than try to one-up (gaming pun fail) the competition in graphics, music or style, the Bit.Trip series focuses on combining all these elements in a way that works for each game’s unique direction. Prior to Electronic Arts’ big turn around in recent years, gamers complained that the video game developer giant was churning out the same games year after year simply because there was profitability there. Bit.Trip wants to be the kid in class that convinces all the other students that essays should not be written to receive an A; they should be written to express how one feels. With game franchises like Call of Duty, it can be important to make certain caveats to an expected audience, but with the advent of games like Bioshock, even EA has shown us that artistic expression and financial success are not mutually exclusive.

While Bit.Trip Beat has style in spades, it does lack a sensible and albeit tangible storyline. As well, the controls on the Wii can be a bit finicky even though precise movement and continuing the beat is highly valued. Despite a few drawbacks, this game and others in the series stands to herald another turn for the industry to more artistic times. Bit.Trip Beat is available now on WiiWare along with sister titles Bit.Trip Core and Bit.Trip Void.

A new hero has joined our party!

Hey everyone, I’m Andrew and I’m the newest contributor to FYGaming.

I have been on the internet since I found a laptop with a connection, and am well versed in its ways. I have my own personal blog here and keep it mainly for myself. I am very big into graphic and web design, and I plan on going into that field when I get older. And of course, I love gaming.

I play all different types of games, from flash browser games, to DS games, to iTouch games, to console games. My favourite type of games, though, are definitely MMORPGs. I love the community that comes with them and RPGs have always been a love of mine. I’ll often post reviews of them when I get the chance, and love trying out games in closed beta.

Some favorites:

Final Fantasy XI (Xbox360), Guild Wars (PC), Borderlands (Xbox360), Team Fortress 2 (PC), Warcraft 3 (PC)