While I am certain there are quite a few video game companies that have less-than-stellar ratings with the Better Business Bureau, I was informed about a few companies in particular that seem very relevant given how their major MMOs have fared here within the last year or so.  You see, there is an awful lot of hubbub going on recently in regards to Cryptic and Perfect World‘s latest MMO venture “Dungeons & Dragons: Neverwinter,” particularly in regard to a slew of game-breaking bugs.  Yet, it’s not simply that some of these bugs make the game easy or exploitable (which many do), but they simply have destroyed the game’s economy.  This matter is a subject worthy of it’s own post at a future date, but essentially the big problem resides in the fact that entering a negative bid on items in the game’s auction house results in the money being given to you as a refund.  This has completely devalued the Astral Diamonds, which were the game’s premier tier of currency that would be used on the Auction House, could purchase special premium items, or be transferred into Zen, the global currency of Perfect World.  In short, this has pissed off a ton of people who purchased the $199.99 founder pack because all the premium items, their Diamonds, and etc are no longer unique and are completely worthless, and this isn’t something that can be rectified in any sort of amicable way.

Anyway, as Aristeia was reading through all the gripes on the forums, he noted that someone pointed out that both Cryptic and Perfect World Entertainment have a score of “F” from the Better Business Bureau.  This is no surprise given all the stuff with Neverwinter, but they’ve had similar issues with “Star Trek Online” and “Champions Online,” and in both cases it was obvious that the company (now companies) cared little for the community at all, or really cared much about the quality of their games.  Their customer service was (and still is) absolutely horrible (they “lose” tickets all the time and just don’t care about complaints), and they apparently have the mindset of needing to release a new game every 6 to 12 months.

Want to know another surprise that, well, probably shouldn’t be all that surprising?  BioWare Mythic also has a score of “F” from the BBB.  Obviously, BioWare itself is a large company and has three distinct entities, all of which fall under the umbrella of EA, and it isn’t clear if this rating reflects the other two branches as well.  However, the other two divisions aren’t rated at all, so it very well could.  The big problem with this company’s rating is that they haven’t responded to 90% of the complaints lodged against them, though if that is representative at all of how they dealt with customer service issues (particularly how BioWare handled “The Old Republic”), this shouldn’t be a surprise at all.

Interesting, isn’t it?  It makes me wonder what other businesses in the gaming world have very sub-par scores.

This video came from the third episode of ‘The Retro Play Show,’ recorded on May 17, 2013 and focusing on “Bionic Commando” (NES, 1988).

This was a game that I heard of when I was much younger, but for some reason never had a chance to play. Odd, right? If you know how much I love Capcom’s Mega Man franchise, you would find my lack of having played this one quite strange. Regardless, it was a fun run, though I underestimated how long it would take to complete and it will need to have a follow-up session.

Please excuse any audio looping you hear during the video as Warren did not have a headset available for use at the time of recording.

Regardless, Warren Bennett (@warrencbennett) was an excellent guest and our viewers were quick to comment on the excellent enthusiasm he had for this game. Me, on the other hand? Well, I was a bit less talkative as I was trying to stay alive!

Still, you can find Warren’s blog here to keep up with his goings on:

http://warrencbennett.wordpress.com

To see other live-streaming fun, head on over to:

http://www.twitch.tv/allahweh_tv

Part of dealing with people in general means that you will have to deal with some unsavory folks every now and then.  This is merely a statement of fact.  However, the volume with which you meet this kind of individuals seems a bit higher when dealing with the online world, likely due in no small part to the fact that the internet is like alcohol: It can bring out who people really are and lower their inhibitions.  The internet also is somewhat anonymous and can create a feeling of anonymity.  You can often join a group, get what you want out of it, and then never speak to any of those people ever again.  Many people, in fact, create a distance between their time spent online (as part of a forum group, an online game guild or clan, or whatever else), never giving out any personal details and being willing to disengage from them once they are ready to move on to other things.

Recently, a guy who I will call Indie, appeared on “The Gaming Goddess” podcast.  Indie actually first contacted me earlier this year to tell me about an indie game he had helped create and wanted to get some good press for.  I played the game, was mildly entertained by it, and reviewed it with a decently favorable write-up.  A bit of time passed and he began to email me casually, talking about some of the projects I had been working on and how much he appreciated them, and then brought up the idea of wanting to come on the podcast in order to talk about the indie gaming world, game design in general, and the problems he saw with game journalism.  While I felt that he was a bit forward with his request, I initially otherwise saw nothing wrong with it, discussed it with Rob, and we decided to let him on.  The episode was pretty good and we got some good feedback about it, though a few people did not care for the guest very much and thought he came across as arrogant and overbearing.  But, whatever – that’s not the point.  Again, a little time passed and then he started to get a bit more personal with his emails.  He talked some about his work, his past, and then moved on to ask about sexual kinks, fetishes, relationship beliefs, and other things.  He eventually went on to talk about his own sexual fantasies regarding voyeurism and crossed a line by saying he wanted me to send him a bunch of information and personal photographs.  Obviously, that wasn’t an acceptable request to me, and I felt kind of used that he would even ask me to send him anything like that.  I mean, let’s face it: Outside of some casual emails and him being on the podcast one time, I didn’t even know the guy.  What the heck was the deal there?

It gets more complicated though.  So, after having been pissed off by that whole affair, I decided to look into the guy a bit more.  Indie claimed on the show to be 42 years old, having been born in 1971, and I  had seen a couple pictures of him from his social media sites.  However, typing his real name into Google and finding his YouTube page, things didn’t really add up.  The person in the one video he had posted there did indeed sound like him, but there was no way that he was 42.  I would believe that he graduated in 1971 before I’d believe that he was born in 1971.

Want to know what the real kicker was though?  The one video up on his YouTube account is what seems to be a video that was like a brief personal bio given for a job he was applying for.  The date on the video was from just a couple months ago.  That was around the time he claimed to be working for that one indie studio and wanted me to play the game.  So, why is it that he apparently was applying for a job when he seemed to be happily employed with this other company – a company, I should add, that at least has decent revenue coming in?  In our first real correspondence, he claimed to have contacted me because someone had told him that I liked indie games and giving indie studios a chance, and now I wonder if all that was merely a pretext?  Did he really work for this company, or was it all just some weird little game to try to get me to get personal with him?

Ick!

Obviously this isn’t the first time this has happened.  This seems to be roughly a yearly occurrence, with some minor infractions spread out here and there.  Back in March of 2012, I became friends on Twitter with a guy we will call Retro.  Retro seemed nice enough and was really into, as you might guess, older video games.  He even did a ton of videos and such on YouTube that he would try to get me to watch (which were admittedly well-done and fun to watch, though he hardly had any views on them sadly) and eventually he got to be on the show.  In fact, he was the first real guest the show had.  His personal issues though weren’t really related to that, but more that he got very creepy, started sending me very personal information about his life and his desires, and then getting sexual with the nature of his correspondence, despite that, though he obviously did not recall this, I told him initially early on that I wasn’t going for any of that type of stuff.  So, he, too, had to go the way of Indie and get himself deleted and blocked so he could no longer cause any problems.

Then, back when I played “RIFT,” there was a guy I’ll dub G who was very stalkery and got overly personal and harassing after a while.  With G, it got to the point that he would make new characters in the game to continue the charade, and when he was kicked out of the guild I was in for doing this to myself and other players, he created an alternate character, played them completely differently and acted like a different player, just to get back in and then get booted out again.  Then, not satisfied with any of that, he tracked down my email, got blocked, then used alternate emails to find me, got blocked on all of them, and then left notes on my YouTube and other sites.  Yet, at least his story has a somewhat decent ending: He later apologized, earlier this year in fact, for his actions and now at least he and I are on speaking terms and I’ll get the occasional, normal, casual email from him.

There are obviously other cases that I could cite here, but the thing is that when these things happen it really is terrible.  It’s easy for someone on the outside to think that it isn’t a big deal, but the fact of the matter is that if you are the person being targeted by others, it is a big deal to you.  Yet, my good friend Rob pointed something out: The fact is that if we play a numbers game and assume that 99% of people are at least somewhat normal and non-creepy, and only 1% of the folks out there are creeps, stalkers, and/or trolls, the larger a following you grow, the more of these creeps you will come in contact with.  It isn’t a matter of there being more of them, really, but the proportion of them is increasing as your followers grow.  So, if you only had 100 followers then you may only have to deal with 1 creep now and then.  Yet, in my case, where this blog has around 4,200 followers, that means there are potentially 42 creeps somewhere in the mix there to deal with.  Ultimately, it is true that having a larger following also means that there are more good people that I can come in contact with, and that is a good thing.

When stuff like this happens, though, I always consider simply deleting any social media accounts, any information about myself that exists online, really trimming out contacts from my inbox and in other venues, and quitting making videos, podcasts, and any other public media.  It just doesn’t seem to be worth the trouble.  Yet, apparently there are a decent amount of people out there that would be really sad if I quit making these things.  A few people told me that by disappearing and cutting out any fun stuff like that, I would be allowing people like Indie to win and proving to them that they will just get their way.  Also, it wouldn’t just be punishing me, but it would punish all the people out there that actually have fun reading the blog, watching videos, listening to the podcast, or joining on on a live-stream.  And honestly, I have fun doing that stuff too.

After some deliberation on the matter, upon the suggestion of my guest co-host Rob, I’ve decided that in the case of Indie, I would remove his episode from the internet entirely as well as delete all traces of it from my computer.  So, if you were curious about Indie and wanted to go back and look him up, unless you kept the MP3 on your computer or some other device, you’ve missed your chance.  And that’s good – he doesn’t deserve to be affiliated with the podcast in any way, shape, or form.  And, for the sake of principle, I’ve gone and done the same for the Season 1 episode that Retro was in.

So, what will be done with these episodes now that they are gone?

I plan to have these replaced with two special episodes that will deal with Cyber Stalking, Cyber Bullies, and other forms of harassment.  These are very big topics in today’s world anyway, and I think it is only appropriate that at least some good rise from the ashes of those two dark stains.  These episodes are ones that I will plan to record sometime in the coming weeks, and it is possible I will draw from people that I actually know to have them come on and talk about their experiences.  I might even make it a special show where I will get people to prerecord a message that they want played on the show, talking about their experiences or as a note of warning or hope for anyone else troubled by this stuff.

I am definitely curious as to what experiences others out there have had.  Please, if you are okay with it, feel free to share them here in this article’s comments.

This video was taken from a Retro Play live-stream from the afternoon of May 14, 2013.

We last left off with having met the Duke of Mercator’s brother, the supposedly evil wizard, who informed us that his brother was plotting to take over the continent and was seeking the treasures of the famed King Nole. Yet, this time, we go to confront him about his plans and he has us thrown (or rather, dropped) into the castle dungeon and he flees to whereabouts unknown. We embark on a mission to escape the castle, locate a kidnapped princess, and make our way through an annoying hedge maze as we try to figure out what’s really going on.

Guest commentary this time around was provided by Mark Matthews.

To see more streams like this and other unique live content, check out:

http://www.twitch.tv/allahweh_tv

I realize that I have been remiss in mentioning upcoming streams as much as I could, and although I do have a schedule set up on the site, I know not everyone is going to read that or knows that it is there.  So, I figured I’d at least plug the two upcoming streams!

Today, at 2:15PM Pacific / 5:15PM Eastern, Mark and myself will be continuing our adventure through “LandStalker: The Treasures of King Nole” for the Sega Genesis.  This time, it sounds like we may be ready to confront the Duke of Mercator to get answers about why he sent us to kill his brother.  And, who knows, maybe some other strange hijinks will ensue!

On Friday, May 17, at 2:15PM Pacific / 5:15PM Eastern, The Retro Play Show will be continuing with Warren Bennett joining me as the guest host as I play and we talk about the awesome NES classic “Bionic Commando.”  Fun times!

These and all other streams can be found on my Twitch account, so be sure to “follow” me there and stay tuned for more gaming!

This video was taken from a Retro Play live-stream from the evening of May 8-9, 2013 that was like a mini-marathon, clocking in at almost four hours!

Our journey through the Sega Genesis classic continues as we explore more of the island, helping out seemingly useless people, working our way up the social ladder of the city of Mercator, and trying to figure out just what the Duke is up to. We travel to some really interesting dungeons, including an old tomb filled with riddles (and pokes at the real-world), the guts of a large tree, and a huge, labyrinthine tower! Oh, the joy!

Guest commentary this time around was provided by Mark Matthews.

To see more streams like this and other unique live content, check out:

http://www.twitch.tv/allahweh_tv

The 2008 release of “Mega Man 9″ sparked a trend to make “new retro games,” and while some are quite good, others are barely worth paying any attention to.  These days, enough quality game-design engines exist out there that just about anyone with enough time on their hands can put in the effort to make a platform title, and just spending a few moments scouring YouTube will serve as a testament to this fact.  There are tons and tons of 8-bit style Mega Man fan games in the works, yet only a few of them are good enough to be highly anticipated among fans (notable games include “Mega Man Unlimited” by MegaPhilX and “Mega Man X: Corruption,” an X3-style title that allows for a lot of open exploration).

Until late last year, I was unaware that “Mega Man Revolution” existed.  I think I came to learn about it by searching for some other Mega Man related title and came across images of this game in Google Images and then thought it was worth looking into.  At the time, the game seemed to be in a state of transition, being retooled and worked on again after a fairly large hiatus.  I got in touch with the game’s developer and had a fun dialogue going over GMail and learned a lot about the project, and now that I have played a set of stable builds, I can say that he has a gem on his hands.  In short, Mike Crain has done pretty much on his own what Capcom as a company has failed to do recently (outside of “Street Fighter X Mega Man,” though technically that started as a fan-game as well).  I played a very stable build of this game last night for a good while and it managed to spark a sense of interest, fun, and excitement that I simply haven’t gotten from a MM game in some time now.

The game seems to take place sometime after “Mega Man 10,” when Dr. Wily manages to recapture some of the “Evil Energy” that came to Earth in “Mega Man 8″ and uses it to reprogram and strengthen some of Dr. Light’s own creations.  Now, these robots are running amok across the world and it is up to Mega Man to step in to save the day.  And, Bass too!  You actually can play as either of those characters in this latest game.  And, just like the much-celebrated “Mega Man V” on the Game Boy, these robots are strong enough that Dr. Light needs to outfit Rock with the “Mega Arm” weapon to be able to damage them.  It results in a neat journey of nostalgia, mixed in with lots of new features (special weapons hidden in the stages, a very unique stage select style, and more!).

The game has its own built-in updater and is constantly being worked on.  I highly suggest, even if you aren’t a Mega Man fan, that you visit the site and give the game a look!

When I recently started doing some live-streams of my gaming experiences, I decided to use Open Broadcaster, which is a freeware, open-source live-stream and recording utility. Obviously, part of the reasoning behind this was that the program was free, though some people advocated it saying that it had better features and performance than other tools on the market.  And, for what it is, it actually does a good job.  There are built-in features to capture your entire desktop, part of your desktop, or to (when it works) hook into a DirectX application and only record it.  It is pretty non-intensive when it comes to hogging resources, and it does a good job with its quality.

However, the program isn’t without bugs.  One major hang-up on my end has been that it refuses to let me directly capture from DirectX applications, even with modern games like “Guild Wars 2.”  Instead, I have to capture the entire display, and that is a bit more demanding on the system.  Also, this proves problematic when a program runs at a non-native resolution, such as playing an NES ROM that runs at 640×480, but trying to capture the entire display.  Since the monitor itself is 1920×1080, it captures the monitor and then the output is 1080p, which results in less than one-quarter of the broadcast screen being used to display the emulation program.  That’s rather annoying.

Another unfortunate issue lies in how some of the output files from the recording portion are formatted.  OBS makes use of H264 and produces MP4 videos, which is great, but sometimes something is messed up in the encoding process, resulting in a failure to be read by most video players and most video-editing suites.  Thankfully, a work-around has existed in the form of a program called Handbrake, which can resample the video and re-encode it into a recoverable file, but this adds considerably to the post-production time when I want to make professional-looking videos for YouTube.

Last night’s mini-marathon of “LandStalker” was nearly four hours in total, and a hiccup with Twitch resulted in there being technically two streams and thus two videos.  Both MP4 files had issues with the audio encoding and the second video wouldn’t even play in most players.  This meant I had to spend a couple hours fixing these videos, and as a result, this wore my patience quite thin with the program.

Now, I think the best bet is to simply pay the money and get the licensed version of XSplit, as I hear that it is far more stable and ultimately would meet my needs.

What do you guys think?  Do any of you have any experience with these programs?

I’ve owned a Samsung Galaxy Note II since the beginning of April. When I first bought the device, I did a quick first impression of gaming on the phablet. I found that I enjoyed it quite a bit and using the Note II as a gaming machine worked very well. After a month of use, does the phone still hold up as a good gaming machine?

Controlling it all

I am not someone who loves the idea of virtual controls. Gaming on a mobile phone has been slow to win me over. It was the small screen combined with often unresponsive and finicky onscreen buttons that would quickly wear on my patience. Some games worked well with them, but others did not.

Since owning this massive beast of a machine, I’ve come to realize that some of my issue was just a lack of screen real estate. With the increase in screen size, many of my issues with virtual controls have disappeared. Although I have small hands, it seems that finding these buttons on a large screen is much easier for my fat fingers. I’ve been playing multiple action games that require quick reflexes and great timing. I’m not the best at many of these games but more often than not, my death is my fault and not the controls.

Saying that, there are some games that just don’t lend themselves to virtual controls. I still haven’t become used to playing old school action games like Metal Slug 3 or Sonic. I often press down on the control spot and nothing seems to happen.  Or the action I desire is delayed. This is just annoying, but also doesn’t happen with every action game.  This makes me think this has more to do with how the game is ported than the hardware.

DeSocializing Gameplay

One section of games that I enjoy more on the phone than online is so-called ‘social games.’ Or, as they are commonly referred to, Facebook games. I am not a huge fan of playing games on Facebook. Often a fun game is marred by over ambitious social mechanics that get in the way of gameplay. Like a message that pops up every time I take a turn and asks me to share that turn with my friends. I’ve found that when these games are released as mobile apps, many of the social ‘features’ are stripped away. This often leaves the core gaming experience without many of the irritating social trappings. For instance, I’ll play Words with Friends all day on my phone, but I won’t touch the product on Facebook. I’ve also played games like Candy Crush Saga and other Facebook mainstays on my phone. This is a pleasant discovery, though I can’t say that all Facebook game conversions take away the dreaded social functions.

Online Competition

Online coop and competitive gaming is one area I didn’t think I’d really do much of on my phone. However, I am finding that my phone is the perfect device to fire up a good fragfest or a game with online questing. When I originally bought the device, I started playing Order and Chaos Online. This full fledged WoW clone works well and scratches that MMO itch I have once in a while. I can play it in bed in small bursts, so it is a good game for a mobile platform. Another game that fits the ‘Questing’ mold is Arcane Legends. This is the best of the Spacetime Studios offerings, giving the player a fun game that can be played in bite-sized chunks. I also just discovered Shadowgun Deadzone, a full on PVP death match style shooter for the phone. I am not the best at this game, I have had fun going on-line and killing people in five-minute long matches. I’m slowly ranking up and unlocking various weapons and upgrades. I do have some quibbles with the game, but it really makes me long for an HD port of the original Unreal Tournament for mobile systems.

Classics on the go

I’m also making my way through many ‘classic’ mobile games. I have every Angry Birds game ever made, from the first offering by Rovio to the newest Angry Birds Star Wars download. I also have the amazingly fun Bad Piggies, a game that reminds me of a 2D version of Banjo Kazooie Nuts & Bolts. In it, you don’t fling birds, but build vehicles for the Piggies to find various items. It is fun and I highly recommend it. I started playing Jetpack Joyride on my Playstation 3, so I downloaded that on to my phone as well. I’ve never been a huge fan of endless runner games but I really do enjoy this one.

Another classic I just downloaded in Scribblenauts Remix.  It is a port of the DS game, mixing stages from both the first and second game.   I’ve not played a Scribblenauts game before.  I’m finding the gameplay to be fun, if a tad frustrating. Sometimes I don’t get what I write down and other times it comes out different from I expected. However, that doesn’t keep me from playing.   I’ve made it through almost two worlds very fast. They are selling more worlds for 99 cents, I am already thinking about buying the expansion.

Searching in Confusion

A month of using the Galaxy Note II makes me realize that this cell phone, or Phablet, is a true portable gaming competitor. Not all game genres have a huge representation on the device, but I can find almost every game type I want if I do research on the web first. Some of my issues with gaming on the platform come more from finding the games I want than from actually playing the game. It seems like both Google Play and the Amazon Android market just don’t understand what the term “genre” means. They have their game catalog split in to various categories, but often the games in these categories don’t represent it. I find Hardcore RPG games in the action and adventure category, for example, or puzzle games inside the card game section. Both markets need to take a step back and truly find out how people search for their products. It isn’t easy to just browse games in these markets; I often find the game I want on the internet and then look it up in the Google Play store. This is probably the biggest flaw I can find for gaming on Android devices.

The Future Awaits

There is an obvious reason that the mobile space is bursting with games.   It is a relatively open market that allows anyone to create and publish a game.  There are many great products to be found among the mass of endless runner and puzzle titles. I believe on all mobile platforms there is a lack of focus on the side of the store, but this is an issue I don’t expect to be addressed. This leaves it up to the developers and publishers to really push their product and let the public know it is on a virtual store shelf. Yet, it is both easy and convenient for me to fire up my  phone and play a quick game of…whatever. This, combined with the rapidly expanding power of cell phones and portable devices, is why I think gaming mobile gaming  will continue to expand over the coming years.

That being said, not every gaming genre is a good experience on a device with virtual controls.  I do know I will continue to game on my Note II but that may not be the case if I ever buy a smaller phone. I look at this as a companion to a 3DS by Nintendo, not a replacement. I can imagine taking both devices with me as I travel. I do know that my phone will get more snatches of gaming time since it is easier to use on the go. Products like the 3DS and Sony’s Vita are  are less about impromptu gaming and more about specific games. That is what the mobile market has in spades – spur of the moment purchases and being able to play a game in small snatches of time. The mobile gaming age has finally caught up with me and I don’t mind it one bit.

By Warren C. Bennett

Those of you that have been reading my blog for a while know I recently purchased a Galaxy Note II. Since I’ve owned the phone a little over a month now, I thought I’d take some time and write down some thoughts. The long and short of it is the Note II is best phone I’ve ever owned. The 5.5-inch screen is just the right size to be both a phone and a tablet, letting me use the device comfortably in a number of ways. I am happy I purchased it and plan to keep the phone for at least two years.

I know the Note II might seem like it is a big phone, but the form factor is thin enough that it slips in to my pocket easily. I feel no discomfort at all when I am walking around with the device, be it at a grocery store or church or another function. I don’t like keeping it in the pocket when I am sitting down, but I am not fond of keeping much in my pocket when I am sitting. I do find that I prefer to use a Bluetooth earpiece while talking on it. However, it can be easily used as a regular handset and I do use it as such on occasion. I still prefer using the Bluetooth earpiece when I talk. As a phone, the sound is clear and I’ve had no issues with the Verizon network that I use.

(As an aside: I bought the Plantronics M55 Bluetooth earpiece. I’ll have to do a write-up on that at a later date.)

The phone is aptly named. One thing I really love about the device is the S-pen stylus. I never thought I’d go back to handwriting anything, but I find myself doing so with the Note II. I am even searching for apps that make great use of the stylus, instead of just being smart phone apps. (I’ve found a few I love and will be doing a write-up on them as well.) Since the phone has a Wacom Digitizer inside, the stylus works very well at taking notes and drawing. Since I am currently working on a web comic, this is helping me start to sketch out ideas for the characters. I am so impressed with the tech that I am going to look for a 10-inch or bigger tablet to use as a pad to draw on. Although I thought the S-pen stylus was a neat idea, I never thought I’d use it as much as I am.

Since this device is a pocket-sized super computer, I also use it as one. I wasn’t overly fond of the stock browser so I decided to download Google’s Chrome browser. One perk of using Chrome is that both my desktop Chrome browser and my mobile one sync up. I can see what I’m viewing on either device regardless of what I am using. Very nice. I want to use this device as a productivity tool. I am planning to get the Samsung Smart dock for easy plug and play monitor support. I can download apps that will let me use my desktop remotely; creating a great portable workstation, I can take with me on the go. I have several different office apps and access to Google Docs, so I have no worries about productivity-oriented applications. I can imagine taking this on the road with me, just packing a small screen and a keyboard. While in a hotel I could use it like a desktop and while out and about, I can use it like a mobile device.

Since the screen is so big, I find myself using it to read books. At five point five inches, it isn’t much smaller than a typical Amazon Kindle. It is a bit smaller than the 7-inch tablets, but I find the size isn’t as big of an issue as I imagined when I read. It isn’t much smaller than a typical paperback book page, making the Note II a great device to read with on the go.

The screen size is also big enough for me to feel comfortable playing games on. I’ve played an assortment of titles from Angry Birds to The Bard’s Tale to Shadowgun Deadzone, an action oriented multiplayer online game. Not all games are perfect, some games still have a lack when it comes to touch controls, but this is the first phone I’ve enjoyed using as a game system. It helps that my thumbs aren’t constantly in the way as they were on smaller phones. I can sit back and play Order and Chaos Online with no issue or try to frog people in the aforementioned Shadowgun Deadzone with ease. I still would prefer physical controls on many games, but I am not missing them as much as I thought I would. The graphics are also very good. The system pumps out some amazing visuals that I am very happy to look at.

I also use this phone for media capabilities more than I find myself using the Note II to stream music quite a bit. I have an LG sound bar that has Bluetooth capabilities and I use this feature constantly as I am working. I use apps on my phone like Winamp, Pandora, and TuneIn Radio to stream audio from my phone to the speaker system all the time. I also find I love using my phone to control the YouTube app on my Playstation 3. I am not fond of how the PS3 YouTube app is laid out; it is hard to search/find videos and such using the app. Since I paired my phone with my YouTube account, I can use it to search and queue up videos to watch. That is a very nifty feature. I am looking in to using it to stream video to my TV set up as well, but haven’t had the chance to dig in to that.

There are two different cameras mounted on the Note II. The first is a 1.9 megapixel front facing camera, so people can show their face while chatting. The second is an 8 megapixel on the back, for using to take regular pictures. Both cameras take both video and still pictures. I think the quality of the pictures is phenomenal, matching or beating other dedicated pocket-sized pont and shoot cameras. There seems to be a bit of an issue in darker areas, but the phone also comes equipped with an LED flash. I’ve been exploring the different camera apps on Google Play while I find out exactly how the camera works. It has been fun.

The battery life is also stellar. I am what you might call a power user; I tend to use my phone constantly. When I am using the device during the day, I can get 10 to 12 hours of battery life out of it. When the phone is on standby, the battery life goes up significantly. I haven’t had any mobile electronic device with a battery life that lasts this long. I am truly impressed with the stock battery. There are aftermarket batteries that extend the time even farther at the cost of making the device a bit more bulky.

With every list of positives there has to be some negatives. There are a few issues I have, though they are minor. Although the Jelly Bean version of the Android OS is very smooth and fixes many of the issues with the previous incarnations, there are still some lingering issues. Some programs will force close for no apparent reason, leaving me to wonder why the program closed. This happens much less than in the past, but it still happens. I also wish I had a physical keyboard. I’m sure that as I use this device, I will become used to using the stylus or just touch-typing, but I still miss having a keypad to use. I also wish there was a camera button on the outside of the device, so I could use the camera functions without having to open or unlock the screen. I don’t like having to go in to the phone itself to use the camera functions.

Since this device is so complex, I am still discovering what it can do over a month after I bought it. I honestly love that, but I know many might look on the complexity as a con. I am constantly finding new tricks that are built-in to the device, from swiping your hand to take screenshots to using the face lock function so the screen doesn’t rotate when I am looking at it.

This phone can do so much, from playing games to sketching to being a useful business device. I am impressed with the Samsung Galaxy Note II. This comes from someone who vowed never to buy a Samsung phone after having use one of the company’s entry-level handsets for a few months. This phone may not be for everyone, but it is definitely for me. I’d like to do a complete review of this device, but I don’t know when I will. However, if you are looking for a great large form phone? The Galaxy Note II is not a bad choice at all.