5 Most Frustrating Video Gaming Elements of My Childhood (That Naturally Still Piss Me Off Today)

Video games are supposed to be fun, not frustrating.  Challenging sure, but when you’re seven years old and your parents are helping you fill out your first Anger Management class application because you just pushed over your dad’s brand new Zenith television set after activating real-life beast mode, something is wrong.  Blowing in the ends of NES game cartridges to make them work?  That was fun!  Seeing your AOL Internet connection time out just as your engineer in Command & Conquer was about to capture your opponent’s MCV because your family only had one phone line?  Completely not fun – and you know what, it is still frustrating to think about today.  Come to think of it – I can count five of my most frustrating video game moments from my childhood that still irritate the heck out of me, some twenty plus years later.  Some may classify this as a recurring rage problem; I like to call it simply my passion for (un-interrupted, frustration free) gaming.

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Funniest Duke Nukem Forever Review Ever

We’ve all played crappy video games at one point or another in our lives, and hopefully we didn’t lose too much money – not just by the game itself, but via broken controllers, etc – in the painful process.  Duke Nukem Forever, released in 2011 and took only 15 years to make, promised to be the long-awaited sequel that Nukem fans had been craving for since Duke Nukem 3D became the “it” game in 1996.  While I never played Duke Nukem Forever, I did play its predecessor, and I remember really enjoying it – especially the hilarious one-liners that you really couldn’t find in any other game or genre at the time.  In the spirit of humorous one-liners then, it is appropriate that we feature arguably the funniest Duke Nukem Forever review that has graced the Internet, as this is short, not-so-sweet and directly to the damning point.  Hit the link below and enjoy.

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Dear Pixel People, I’m Moving On

Dear Pixel People, I'm Moving On

For the past year here at SQ we have highlighted some of our favorite, and the mobile gaming industry’s favorite iOS games, from Ridiculous Fishing (2013 GOTY award winner) to Mutant Mudds.  One game that we have not mentioned however, is a dangerously addictive title called Pixel People.  Released almost a year ago on January 31st, 2013, Pixel People is a very cool cross between Sim City and The Sims, and has garnered an immense following on the App Store with some excellent reviews.  Is it a great game?  Yes, phenomenal even – but I had to recently banish it from my iPhone for one huge reason with the game’s design.  It was a sad day, but a necessary one.  Hit the linkage below for the full break-up letter.

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Kid Avoids Banana Peels, Drives Grandma to Safety

Grandma Driving - SlightlyQualified.com

Yes, I said banana peels.  Just over three weeks ago, a 10-year old gamer from Colorado was riding with this grandmother when she unexpectedly experienced a heart attack behind the wheel.  With his 4-year old little brother in the back seat of Grandma’s Buick sedan, Gryffin Sanders grabbed the steering wheel and calmly steered the speeding vehicle off the highway and into safety.  What does he credit for his successful driving skills?  Mario Kart.  Chalk one up for the “I told you video games are useful!” crowd.  Full awesome story below.

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Video Games and Blanket Forts; Yes, Blanket Forts

Video Games and Blanket Forts Funny Picture - SlightlyQualified.com

Alright fellas, raise  your hand if you ever built a fort in your living room or basement when your buddies came over as a kid.  Yeah, we all did; ladies, many of you probably did the same.  We also probably both played a crap load of video games when we had our friends over.  Since I am now at the ripe age of 30 years, it was primarily the NES, then SNES, Sega Genesis and N64 which carried the bulk of the gaming load, with quite a bit of PC gaming in there as well, courtesy of the entire Command & Conquer franchise (which I dominated, naturally).  But when does the slumber party/fort building/male or female bonding go a little too far?  Oh, there are lots of ways; I won’t let your imagination stop running.  If you really want do laugh, or maybe shudder is a better word, then click below for the oddest slumber party/male bonding experience you will likely ever witness in your lifetime.

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The Last of Us Reviews Look Good (Really Good)

The Last of Us Reviews - SlightlyQualified.com

We, like most folks throughout the gaming world, are excited for The Last of Us.  If you are new to SQ Nation, welcome; those of you who have been hanging out with us for our first few epic months in the Internet’s backwoods have likely seen the slew of trailers we’ve posted about and drooled over, and four days ago, the long-awaited “Uncharted-on-Steroids” title has finally arrived.  Have we picked it up yet?  No.  I blame my 9-5 job, as I’m constantly traveling, but as soon as I’m back home I plan on picking myself up a copy and giving it the attention it most definitely deserves.  Speaking of attention, the reviews from the major gaming media outlets have all thrown up synonymous scores, and they all rhyme with perfection: 10.

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iOS Games We Like: Nimble Quest

Nimble Quest Logo - SlightlyQualified.com

Out of the four of you that read this site, who remembers the old school cell phone and TI-83 calculator game, “Snake”?  Remember that pixelated game of addiction, or am I alone on this?  Well since my high school math days in Algebra I, video games, and calculators have come along way.  Now kids are playing on iPhone 5’s and Samsung  Galaxies in junior high math class, when I didn’t even have my first cell phone until I was a sophomore in college, but I digress.  Fast forward to just a few weeks ago, when I dropped a measly $.99 cents on an intriguing little iOS/Android game called, “Nimble Quest”.  If you couldn’t guess by the post title, we like this one – a lot.  Hit the link below for more on this awesome electronic addiction.

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It’s Science: Majority of Gamers Could Be Women By End of 2013

British Gamer Girls - SlightlyQualified.com

With the American media dominated by CNN and Fox News, many of us turn to other country’s news outlets for a more objective approach to not only what goes on over in our hemisphere, but throughout the entire world.  So like many Yankees (or White Sox fans; no offense, New York), I have news sites like BBC in my regular web rotation; it is through their recent technology news archives that I come across this incredibly interesting news story: gaming experts in the UK are predicting that by the end of the 2013 calendar year, the majority of British gamers will be female.  Shocking?  Yeah, I would say so.  Hit the link below for the full report!

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Shadow of the Eternals Effectively On Pause

Shadow of the Eternals On Pause - SlightlyQualified.com

Approximately 31 days ago, well I guess that would be “exactly”, but whatever; a month ago Precursor Games dropped the video gaming bomb that they were resuscitating the long-awaited Eternal Darkness GameCube sequel under the name, Shadow of the Eternals, which followed with this stellar game trailer.  Precursor went the route of a Kickstarter campaign in a courageous attempt to crowdfund $1.5M to get the sequel out of a financial hope and into developmental reality.  Today, Precursor CEO Paul Caporicci released a disappointing statement that the Kickstarter campaign would be pulled since they only raised 1/5 of the funds needed.  But hold up: there may still be hope for the Eternal Darkness sequel.  You just have to hit the link for the details, because we’re cool like that.

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5 Video Games That Destroyed My GPA

5 Games That Destroyed My GPA - SlightlyQualified.com

I have been a gamer since my grandmother bought us an NES for Christmas back in the late 80’s, and it’s been a passionate hobby ever since.  Sure I don’t get to play nearly as much as I did when I was a kid growing up (I miss summer break), but that’s life, and I couldn’t be happier right now.  That being said, it’s always fun to get a little nostalgic, especially when we’re talking about retro gaming.  Now that I’m pursuing my MBA, and taking school seriously (thank you Marine Corps!), it makes me laugh pretty hard at how much gaming took priority over my grades, whether I was in eight grade or a senior in college.  Narrowing my list down to the most influentially, GPA-degrading games from my past was hard; my initial brainstorm list totaled 12 pretty prominent games from my school days, so it was pretty tough to pick a Top 5.  But enough with the intro; let’s check out the games!

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Games We Want: The Last of Us – New Footage

Back on April 3rd, which seems like a long time ago (this is our 100th post, believe it or not!), we published an amazing trailer for Naught Dog’s upcoming adventure game, “The Last of Us“, which may look like a new Uncharted, but according to the developers, it’s quite different.  Not like that would be a bad thing, but you know what I mean.  Looking ahead to the near future, “The Last of Us” will hit store shelves on June 14th, and will be an exclusive title for the PS3; sorry Xbox’ers.  Like you needed more depressing news after Monday’s debacle?  Naughty Dog has released brand new demo discs to many of the latest news outlets, which means savory new, HD game play footage that you absolutely must-see.  Did I mention the game play video is more than 15 minutes long?  You’re welcome.

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