Introduction and Notes

Introduction

Welcome to One Extra Life, a blog created for the sole purpose of detailing game reviews for anyone interested in purchasing old or new games, consoles, and accessories. I'm Joe Cotnoir, and unless otherwise indicated, all of these reviews are written by me, and updated when I deem necessary.

I'd like to start this blog by stating my purpose for writing here--to give people an informed, impartial long-term view of video games so that they can purchase or download games that will keep them entertained for as long as possible.

You won't find numbers or rankings on this blog. I don't believe you can really qualify a game with such a label. Instead, I'll include, at the beginning of each post, a quick summary of the game, including days (not hours) worth of game-play, and whether or not I would recommend a purchase or not. In some reviews, I may compare two games to each other, in which case, I will give you my preferred choice, and be sure to list the differences between each.

A few quick disclaimers about these reviews--above all, these are just opinions. Please understand that I respect all game designers and their jobs, and will treat each, as well as each of their products, with the respect they deserve. You, the reader, are welcome to disagree with me, and if you have a strong opposition to anything I write, please leave a well-written comment to my review letting me know.

A Bit About Me
I'm Joe Cotnoir, a undergraduate student of Worcester Polytechnic Institute majoring in Interactive Media and Game Development. I work as a writing tutor and have held jobs in various summer camps as well as at the campus Helpdesk. For hobbies, I enjoy gaming (obviously), writing fiction, composing music, and singing (and occasionally drumming) for a garage band with my brother and friends. I'm a life member of the service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega.

I've created art assets for two game projects: Telekinemesis and Renaissance Man, as well as the websites that contain the games.

As for my gaming bio, I own the following current-gen consoles and portables:

• Nintendo Wii
  
• Microsoft Xbox 360
• Nintendo DSi
• Sony Playstation Portable

I also own the following:

• A gaming laptop strong enough to run Crysis and Mass Effect decently
• Playstation 2
• Gameboy Advance SP
• Gamecube
• N64, SNES, Genesis, Game Gear, NES

You'll notice that I don't own a Playstation 3. Why don't I? In truth, over the years, I've had roommates with PS3s, and while I find the console to be absolutely fantastic, I really don't need one. Most of the games I would be interested in playing on it are available for the Xbox 360 or for the PC, and I already own those. To be completely honest, I prefer a lot of the features of the PS3 (the interface, online features, and controllers, mainly) to the 360 counterparts. Still, it's not enough to justify the fact that I don't need both consoles.

If you have any questions or comments, you are welcome to email me at infinitelyloopingjoe[at]gmail.com, or just comment on this post.