Doctors Warn that Steam Sale Could Lead to Possible Health Concerns
By Halolz Senior Budget Gaming Correspondent Mike Moore
Valve recently announced that they will be running a sale on a large number of the game available on their downloadable game store Steam, which is slated to run from June 24 to July 4.
While Valve says on the Steam storefront that, “While we do not keep statistics on groin pain, there are no reports of injury or death as a result of playing games on Steam.” Some Doctors are still wary.
“While players are unlikely to break a bone playing a game, they should be concerned with other possible health issues that could arise,” said Dr. Farnsworth, who studies nerd and gamer health issues. “Playing all these games indoors could lead do a vitamin D deficiency, as well as something I call ‘lazy fat-ass syndrome.'”
He suggests that anyone playing to play games for a long period of time should invest in vitamin supplements or, “Move your gaming outside. Pick up your DS or PSP and go play under a tree, or if you have to play a Steam game play it on your laptop outside.”
The doctor also noted that gamers should be careful not spend all their money on games during this sale, otherwise they might not have enough for food or electricity. “Sometimes we forget how expensive things can be because they are on sale. How terrible would it be to lose your electricity, or pass out from malnourishment, because you spent all your money on games that you now can’t play because you have no electricity or are unconscious?”
When asked about gaming outside on an iPhone the Dr. Farnsworth stated, “That’s not a real gaming device. The games are so short of that thing that if everyone was playing games only on that, we wouldn’t have all these gamer health concerns.”
|
Posted by Shawn Handyside on June 30, 2010 · 9:16 PM
   (83 votes, average: 3.61 out of 5) Loading ... |
|
Categories: Articles, Health & Fitness, Serious Business, Valve Software · Leave a comment (40 Comments) |
 Share  |
![[CONTEST] The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition](http://www.halolz.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/halolz-dot-com-thesecretofmonkeyisland-specialedition.jpg "[CONTEST] The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition")
Hey remember when we had that Halo Reach beta code giveaway a while back? Well we’ve got another giveaway for you fans of classic adventure games, ghost pirates and three headed monkeys!
We have two copies of The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition (for Steam on the PC) to give away, and to enter all you have to do is follow @Halolz and @StacMasterS on Twitter and tweet the following:
I've entered to win a copy of Monkey Island:SE by following @Halolz and @StacMasterS! Follow both and retweet this for two chances to win!
Copy and paste that in a tweet, and you’ll have two chances to win! We’ll be picking the winners at the end of Monday!
Good luck!
|
Posted by Shawn Handyside on June 27, 2010 · 4:34 AM
(50 votes, average: 2.44 out of 5) Loading ... |
|
Categories: Contests, Games, LucasArts, Monkey Island, PC, Pirates, Retro, Uncategorized · Leave a comment (19 Comments) |
Share |
New Instrument for Rock Band 3 Leads to New Guitar
Hero Instrument Announcement
By Halolz Senior E3 2010 Correspondent Mike Moore
During E3 Harmonix announced a number of improvements that are coming to their latest edition to the Rock Band series, Rock Band 3. Perhaps chief among them was the inclusion of a new keyboard controller, and a pro difficulty mode that more closely simulates actually playing the actual instrument.
Upon seeing the positive reception these additions have gotten from the press, Activision has decided to incorporate a new instrument into both the Guitar Hero and Band Hero series of games, the vuvuzela.
Activision hopes to take advantage of the instruments new found popularity at the World Cup in South Africa saying, “Everyone has been talking about this vuvuzela horn instrument lately. So we thought since it’s obviously so popular that it would make a great addition to our Hero franchises.”
From what we were able to discern from the Guitar/Band Hero designers, the vuvuzela will work much like the singing does. But instead of matching the pitch of the singer vocals, the player will need to match a varying level of loudness.
“We are also looking to possibly have harmonizing of the vuvuzelas, if players have multiple vuvuzelas hooked into the system at the same time,” the designers also noted.
[Image courtesy of Olybop]
|
Posted by Michael Moore on June 24, 2010 · 4:44 PM
(141 votes, average: 2.58 out of 5) Loading ... |
|
Categories: Accessories, Activision, Articles, Bad Ideas, Conventions, Guitar Hero/Rock Band, Harmonix, Musical, Sports · Leave a comment (71 Comments) |
Share |
Gamers Mistake Riot for Zombie Apocalypse
By Halolz Senior E3 2010 Correspondent Mike Moore
Many gamers, upon leaving some E3 after parties Thursday night, were confused to find a large police presence out on the streets of LA. The swathes of police in riot gear, and the prevalence of police helicopters, led many of these gamers to conclude that a zombie outbreak had occurred. It is reported that some offered their services to the police, boasting their Left 4 Dead stats and skills.
“We weren’t really sure what they were talking about,” said one unnamed police officer about his experience with one group, “They seemed pretty drunk, and seemed harmless so we left them alone. Eventually they went away yelling about umbrella and looking for pills or something.”
Reports seem to indicate that most of these after parties had open bars, which possible led to the gamers’ mistake in understanding the situation.
Additionally from what we have been about to piece together the police presence was due to the winning of some sort of non-video game event which occurred at the Staples Center arena. This was the same location Activision used for their press conference a few days earlier. We have contacted Activision, and are waiting to receive word if the two events were in any way connected.
|
Posted by Michael Moore on June 22, 2010 · 3:11 PM
(242 votes, average: 4.71 out of 5) Loading ... |
|
Categories: Articles, Capcom, Conventions, Drugs & Alcohol, Left 4 Dead, Paranoia, Party Time, Resident Evil, Sports, Valve Software, Zombies · Leave a comment (67 Comments) |
Share |
If you’ve been following the site for a while, you’re most likely familiar with Brentalfloss and his musical stylings. But for those of you unfamiliar with his work, the man has been putting out some of the finest comedic video game music adaptations around (with maybe Duane and Brando as a reasonable second).
So needless to say I was thrilled last month when I heard he had put together his first official CD featuring updated versions of his popular hits with some new songs as well.
What I wasn’t prepared for however was the insane jump in production quality of the music on this disc. To say that old favorites like Tetris With Lyrics, Duck Tales With Lyrics and Dr. Mario With Lyrics have “been improved” is a gross understatement. The newest versions of these tracks run longer (with additional lyrics) and are so silky smooth that I can’t imagine them being done at a higher production quality.
And the new stuff doesn’t skimp on the bells and whistles either… even the new songs like Bubble Man With Lyrics and Mushroom Kingdom (a parody of Sister Christian by Night Ranger) feature lots of well timed sound effects, quick little lyrical side beats and other subtle nuances that help to make up for the visual gags that are lost in the transition from YouTube music video to audio disc.
Then on top of all that you’ve got two surprise crossover songs… the new Paperboy With Lyrics featuring music by The Konami Kode, and Gotta Run/Be The One which creates a unique lyrical duet merging Floss’ original Mega Man 2 With Lyrics and Mega Man cover band The Megas I Want To Be The One (which in all honesty, I can’t even describe how epic this song sound).
Of course I wouldn’t say every track of this twenty song set totally blew me away. There are a few non video-game songs (The Roommate Song, Good Example) which are kind of funny, but aren’t the kind of thing I would listen to on a regular basis; Corey is kind of over my head because I’m not familiar with the material at ScrewAttack; and Final Fantasy IV Love Theme With Lyrics sung in the voice of Eric Cartman is cute but again not something I’m going to put on a playlist.
Also not making it on to my playlists any time soon are the couple of super short original instrumental clips (Gypsy Tetris, Introspective Duck in Space) which are very well done, but a little too short to fully enjoy. Oh and speaking of which… A Boy and His Blob Mini-Lyric, I know it’s kind of a joke track… but God part of me just wants it to go on FOREVER. I can’t imagine how he could extend the lyrics any farther than he does in this rendition, but I would love to see him try.
So in conclusion, this CD is a must buy for anyone who is a fan of Brentalfloss’ currently released work. If you love the songs he’s put online, this CD gives you renditions that are literally twice as good, plus all new ones you’ve never heard. And even if you’re not a Brentalfan, if you like classic video games (and their related musics) I am pretty confident you’re going to love this CD.
And in case you need more convincing beyond my amazing opinions… here’s a Halolz exclusive preview track of the new Bubble Man With Lyrics track provided by Floss! If only YouTube could really give the audio justice.
If lines like “Bubbles full of poo-poo gas! How else could anybody weaponize a bubble?” played to Bubble Man’s theme doesn’t appeal to you, well honestly I don’t know why you’re reading Halolz to begin with!
Oh and if you feel like picking the CD up (or just previewing the tracks), check out the following links:
Digital Versions
BandCamp [$7.99] • Amazon [$8.99] • iTunes [$9.99]
Tangible Actual CD Version
ScrewAttack [$14.98 + shipping]
|
Posted by Shawn Handyside on June 17, 2010 · 7:23 PM
(101 votes, average: 4.20 out of 5) Loading ... |
|
Categories: Audio Clips, Mega Man, Musical, Reviews, Robots, Super Mario Bros, Uncategorized, Under the Sea · Leave a comment (17 Comments) |
Share |
I’d been wondering when it would finally happen… even from the early beginnings of the site, I knew some day, EVENTUALLY, I would post a submission that had already been posted on the site months earlier. That time has finally come with Luigi’s Wario Waft.
I was going to remove it but I think you guys are having fun with the comments, and I’m a big boy I can accept my failure. Just keep in mind I’ve managed to keep track of what’s been posted on the site for about three years before screwing up, so you know… that’s pretty good I think!
But anyway, my apologies to the readers, and my apologies to William for resetting the text and posting his submission twice!
|
Posted by Shawn Handyside on June 2, 2010 · 1:05 AM
(61 votes, average: 4.18 out of 5) Loading ... |
|
Categories: Failure, News · Leave a comment (23 Comments) |
Share |
Hey did you guys know we have a TF2 server now? We totally have a TF2 server now! You probably saw the little box on the side there… but in case you didn’t see it, this is our server!
I just got done playing with a bunch of folks a few minutes ago, and it was a blast! If you have Team Fortress 2 be sure to join the Halolz Steam Group for announcements when we’re playing, and be sure to add our server to your favorites list! And keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming tournament featuring FABULOUS PRIZES. Yeah!
|
Posted by Shawn Handyside on May 23, 2010 · 4:47 AM
(39 votes, average: 3.77 out of 5) Loading ... |
|
Categories: Games, News, PC, Team Fortress 2, Valve Software · Leave a comment (31 Comments) |
Share |
Well, time to fly back to Chicago! This time it’s for Anime Central, a fun little convention (actually it’s pretty big) featuring anime, gaming… and a bunch of my cool friends! In fact so many friends are going this time, maybe I should list them all?
• Jen (Mystic Revolution)
• Brion (Flipside)
• Scott (VGCats)
• Karian (Moar Than Three)
• Dave (SNAFU Comics)
• Hawk (Applegeeks)
We’re in the artist alley for this one (everyone except Hawk I think), so if you’re looking for our booths be sure to swing by there! As for Halolz we’ll have all the usual goods… plus one or two new things!
See you there!
|
Posted by Shawn Handyside on May 12, 2010 · 8:39 PM
(38 votes, average: 2.66 out of 5) Loading ... |
|
Categories: Conventions, News · Leave a comment (9 Comments) |
Share |
Submissions are now closed, be sure to check out our new site!
Did you know the site has over 4,000 video game themed lolz?