Video games and online tough-guys

Over the past few years, I have grown increasing interested in playing multiplayer video games online. It really started with Battlefield 1942, playing with Ross and Phil. Upon hearing that DICE would be releasing Battlefield: Bad Company on consoles, it cemented my desire to purchase a Playstation 3. The game was/is awesome. The single-player campaign was entertaining and the online play was flat-out absorbing. The following summer, they released BF:1943 as a download-only game on PSN and XBL. It brought the WW2 look and feel of 1942 to the console level. Just over 2 months ago, DICE upped the ante by releasing what I feel is one of the greatest games ever, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (BFBC2). This was easily the most anticipation I ever felt about the release of a video game. During this somewhat brief history of my game playing, I started visiting online forums to get more info about the games. And that's where things kinda head downhill....

It seems there is only a very, very microscopically small community that actually visit these forums to praise said games. The rest of 'tards simply bash the fuck out of anything and everything they can think of. Either they aren't happy about how powerful a certain weapon is, or they are pissed that the game has a small, nearly inconsequential bug in it, or they are simply mad at life. Nothing seems to be good enough for them.

Here are some 'arguments' that I've encountered: (Note: these are not direct quotes, but you get the idea)

"[insert gun type here] is too powerful. Some n00b shot me twice and I died. That's not right."
"Stop working on giving us more content and work on fixing bugs that only affect a small portion of the players."
"OMFG you are promoting stuff as DLC when its already on the disc!!! WTF?!?!?!"
"Why are you only giving content to [this platform] and not [that platform]? Do we not matter to you?"
"Give us [insert content type here] NOW!!!"

... and the best of all:
"DICE/EA this is the last straw... I'll never buy any of your games again!!!"

The last quote was something I encountered in forums/comments about the original Bad Company... and then BF1943 went on to become the highest selling download only game EVER. Again, the same thing was said about BF1943... yet, somehow, EA just announced that BFBC2 has now sold over 5 million copies in less than 3 months.
As for the others, I love how people demand that the devs do something for them. I can assure you that 99.99% of these online tough-guys have never designed or worked on a game, yet somehow they feel like they know exactly how DICE/EA should run their companies. A lot of times, the devs take the time to supply answers to these questions and provide reasoning as to why certain actions are being taken and other actions aren't, but unfortunately, the assholes on the web don't take the time to look for or read these statements. They'd rather just cry about it.

Despite all of these douches bashing the BF games, I can sign on at any time of the day and play in a full 12v12 match. The way I see it, just appreciate the game for what it is. Don't demand that they make it exactly what you want. You're not their only customer. I have great respect for all of the guys who have worked on these games. I even follow some of them on Twitter. Like you and me, they are only human.

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badcompany.ea.com
battlefield1943.com
battlefieldbadcompany2.com
ea.com
dice.se
twitter.com/officialBFBC2

::crickets chirping::

I know its been nearly a month and a half since I started this, and, alas, still no new posts as 'promised.' Trust me, I am planning on reviewing some books. School has kind of gotten out of hand and I want to be able to do any book I write about the justice it deserves. So, if anyone is reading this, please bear with me.

A quick side note...

As mentioned in my first post, I occasionally visit a bookstore in uptown Whittier. It is called Little Old Bookshop and is located on Greenleaf Avenue. They carry both new and used books. You can even take in your old books for store credit. While the selection doesn't nearly rival that of a large chain store such as Borders or Barnes&Noble, they do have some hidden treasures on the shelves.
According to their website, due to a lack of business/sales/profit/whatever, they are facing having to possibly close the store. Now, while I don't go there all the time, I would hate to see a cool little independently owned bookstore close its doors. So all I am saying is that if you are in the area and need a book to read, stop by and check them out. You might be surprised by what you can find there.

All of their details (address, phone number, hours) can be found at their website: www.littleoldbookshop.com

Books, books, and more books

Just over a year ago, I decided to keep track of how many books I read. Well, now that a year has passed, I can say that I read 72 books over the course of one year. That is an average of 6 books a month, yet I was kind of hoping to hit a higher number than that...

Granted, I had returned from my "extended vacation" in Knoxville on March 20, 2009, so I figured I would use this as my starting point, but I'm not sure exactly when I started reading my first book of the year. That being stated, I could possibly boost the number to 73 because I finished a book on the 24th (or even 74 if I count the audiobook I listened to while at work.)

This 'quest' I embarked on has since created a problem for me... I can't stop buying books. I currently have 8+ books in my closet waiting to be read, yet I still took a trip to the Little Old Bookshop in Whittier and proceeded to buy 4 more books!

I signed up for a Borders Rewards card a while back, and receive weekly coupons, which only feed the problem. I have had to limit myself to only using them if the are for 30-40% off.

Now, I know a lot of you* are saying, "what's the big deal? Books aren't that expensive," and you're right... but if they were, I'd be in some serious trouble.

So...... I've decided that, in addition to posting random/stupid thoughts here, I'll also review/recommend books from my list that I read over the past year (and ones that I end up reading in the future.)

*Who am I kidding? Like there is even going to be a few people that read this, let alone "a lot of you."