A Guide to Video Game Lingo 9

1. Nerf (verb) - to change a video game that reduces the desirability or effectiveness of a particular video game feature.

"In the new patch, Blizzard nerfed the Rogue class."

2. Ding (noun) - a word used to describe the gaining of a level in a RPG game.

"Ding. Now I can upgrade my skills."

3. Toon (noun) - another name for a character in a RPG game.

"The server went down and I lost all my tunes."

The Monitor Files 2: DC Imposters

The Monitor is a DC comics character whose sole purpose is to monitor the universe for aberrations, universe-hoppers who do not belong in our universe. The Monitor Files point out individuals in the smash hit MMO DC Universe Online who clearly are not of this universe.

In the second installation, we deal with a series of characters who should be welcomed by the monitor: DC heroes. But these aren't the DC heroes that we know and love. The DC heroes we know and love are NPCs, whereas these characters are not. These DC heroes are universe-jumpers, and they must be stopped.

1. Artemis

While most of us are unfamiliar with the mysterious women of Themiscyra, but it is the Monitor's job to keep track of even the most obscure creatures of this universe. And the verdict is that this Artemis does not belong here.

2. Flash

This Flash didn't know which direction the bolt on his chest should face, so he just decided to have one of each. Any detective of worth could see through this one, and the Monitor isn't just any detective.

3. Huntress

Huntress is the Earth-Two daughter of Batman and Catwoman, and even if she's been retconned into the Earth-One continuity, this Huntress certainly does not belong.

4. Nightwing

  

Former ward of Batman, Nightwing is now a hero of his own. But there's only room for one Nightwing in this universe.

5. Red Hood

Let's hope that this Red Hood is the one resurrected by Ra's al Ghul and not the lame one who came back because Superboy-Prime punched the multiverse. Whichever one it is, it certainly doesn't belong in this universe.

The Monitor Files 1: Marvel Heroes

The Monitor is a DC comics character whose sole purpose is to monitor the universe for aberrations, universe-hoppers who do not belong in our universe. The Monitor Files point out individuals in the smash hit MMO DC Universe Online who clearly are not of this universe.

For the first installation of The Monitor Files, I would like to present to you miscreants who hail from the most adversarial universe to the DC Universe. You guessed it: today's universe-jumpers hail from none other than the Marvel universe. Certainly, there have been cross-overs throughout the years, including DC Vs. Marvel Comics / Marvel vs. DC Comics crossover in 1996 that spawned the somewhat more interesting Amalgam Comics soon after. If there's anyone who doesn't belong in the DC Universe, it is certainly the following Marvel heroes:

1. Captain America

For some reason, the Cap has clearly donned some obscure armor while in the DC Universe, but that's good old Steve Rogers nonetheless.

2. Deadpool

We all know how Deadpool got into the DC Universe, and as a result magical barriers have recently been placed on "the fourth wall."

3. Hulk

4. Human Torch

So, that's where he went...

5. Thor

 

DC Universe Online

Postcard 2010: PC Gaming

I had been to my share of LAN parties where a network cable was all I needed to connect my computer to a bunch of great friends and play video games for hours. I would spend hours playing video games and then I would go the rest of the year without thinking about starting up Warcraft III: Frozen Throne or Counter-Strike: Source. Meanwhile, good friends like Stephan, Adam and Joe were playing video games all year round. The difference in skill level between me and these other boys was gigantic, and quite often it just made playing certain video games no longer fun.

At the end of 2009, the digital content delivery service known as Steam had its first big post-holidays sale. Interesting games I'd seen friends playing in Stephan's basement were now available for incredibly low prices. I could play the same games that my friends were playing only it would cost me 20 to 40 percent of the price. At the holiday LAN of 2009 I had made up my mind: 2010 would be the year when I went gung ho into PC gaming, and particularly first person shooter. The week prior to 2010 I spent stockpiling fantastic video games for dirt cheap.

While I found myself playing a whole lot of different games, Team Fortress 2, Bioshock, Left 4 Dead, and Left 4 Dead 2 being among my favorites, it was the quirky FPS Borderlands and its brilliantly crafted DLC Zombie Island of Dr. Ned, The Secret Armory of General Knoxx, and Claptrap's New Robot Revolution that made it easy to make good on my promise to get into PC gaming. I could start up the game in Fort Worth, Texas, hook up my head set, and find myself in the company of my good friends Adam (College Station, Texas), Derek (Grand Rapids, Michigan) and Stephan (Corpus Christi, Texas). While gaming, the world that I had known prior to leaving Michigan wasn't all that far away any more.

LANs became different. I could keep up with my friends, both when it comes to computer hardware and game performance. Over Christmas, I played a CS: Source gun game mod with six or seven friends in which I was neck in neck with Joe, who had probably logged more hours of gaming in 2010 then everyone in the room combined. Rather than simply forgetting about PC gaming after the holiday LAN, I found myself trying to deal with difficult gaming quandaries such as which game to play after Borderlands (no good answer yet) and whether to subscribe to DC Universe Online or Star Wars: The Old Republic in 2011 (hopefully both, but at different times).