Tug Your God Out

NHL ENTRY DRAFT DAY 2 LIVE BLOG

2009-06-26T22:45:00.001-05:00

NHL 2009 ENTRY DRAFT DAY 2

NHL ENTRY DRAFT LIVE BLOG

2009-06-26T18:00:00.000-05:00

Games of the Week: Week RE5 er 10

2009-03-09T18:01:00.003-05:00

I believe just about everyone will be getting Resident Evil 5 this week. It took me about a year to pick up RE4. Actually I never got around to any of the RE releases until well after the hype had died down (for example I never played the original RE until the GameCube remake believe it or not...I actually played it after I had played the second and third gmes.) I don't know. I like zombies as much as the next guy but outside of what Romero did and only a small few of select others, I don't see what the fuss in zombies is usually. And RE has sort of evolved out 'zombies.' Dead Rising is damn fun, I'll give you that. And if you can find some people who aren't pricks or take their games too seriously, Left 4 Dead can be a great experience.

I do think RE4 and RE2 are probably locks for anyone's greatest games list, top 100 easily. But I never got into the original or any of the other games. And even RE4, as amazing as it is, took me forever to slug through. At least I can see its merits and enjoyed it. I probably would have blown through it if not for it being my last semester of college.

But the main line of thought coming out of RE5 early seems to be this being an evolution for the series into a new direction, so that piques my interest slightly. It felt like RE4 was the beginning of the break away from survival horror. Prehaps a full break is what I need to really get into the series.

I'll eventually get it but probably not until I'm done with a couple other things. Mainly Star Ocean.

RELEASES FOR THE WEEK

PS3: Resident Evil 5, Trivial Pursuit

360: Resident Evil 5, Trivial Pursuit, NCAA 09 March Madness Edition

Wii: Madworld, Marble Saga: Kororinpa, NPC Pikman, NPC Mario Power Tennis, Trivial Pursuit, MySims Party, Totally Spies! Totaly Party!

PSP: Mana Khemia: Student Alliance

PS2: Trival Pursuit, Moomin

NDS: MySims Party, Avalon Code, a bunch of crap

Also out on multiple platforms is Trivial Pursuit. I know a lot of people that just love the board/DVD games but then there's people like me that have one friend that just cleans up on Trivial Pursuit and hasn't lost a game of it dating back over 100 matches. Games are only fun when you stand a chance.

I believe we've already talked about my love fest for XSeed. It's something I can't explain but I've picked up everything they've put out so we already know I'm picking up Avalon Code. Sounds like an interesting concept where you're not charged with saving the world because the world is already doomed. Instead your job is to catalog everything in the world that you deem worthy for when the world is destroyed and reincarnated.

I also believe we've talked about my love for the PSP and the PSP gets another one, this week a very overlooked late PS2 RPG by the name of Mana Khemia. There's apparently no major changes between this one and the original so don't feel the need to buy it again if you already did on the PS2 but its a fantastic little game with one of the best battle systems we've seen in a while (turn base is not dead) and a lot of likable characters. The ending is kind of ...meh...and abrupt but a school for alchemists? I want to see more of this place. I want it to rival Harry Potter across several mediums. Too bad we'll never see it.

I admit it, I like the MySims franchise. The second one was a lot more focused than the first and I was hoping for the series moving forward. The third game really doesn't do that. It's yet another Wii mini-game collection just featuring characters using the MySims art style. I'd advise to stay away, or find MySims Kingdom if you haven't already.

Marble Saga is a ton of fun and its a definite purchase but it'll go down in price and can wait. The big must-have for the Wii this week is MadWorld, which would be the automatic game of the week if it wasn't going up against the wrecking ball that is Resident Evil 5. Like a lot of brawlers it looks like the gameplay could potentially become repetitive but most of the reviews so far seem to dispel that worry. This one looks like a keeper.

And finally going back to the Wanted demo that came out last week. Finally spent some time playing around with it and learning what I can do. It's pretty good, much better than my intial impressions. But not anything I'm looking to buy out right. It's moved itself up to rental status though.

3-5: 4 Demo Impressions

2009-03-05T15:55:00.004-06:00

Nothing like spreading things out over the 52 weeks of the year as there were four new demos waiting for download on Live this morning. Gamers got a nice sneak preview of not one but two Vin Diesel vehicles in The Wheelman and one of my most anticipated games of 2009, Chronicles of Riddick: Assualt on Dark Athena. WWE Legends of Wrestlemania also came out with a surprisingly good demo and Wanted: Weapons of Fate also saw release.

I spent about 20 minutes to a half hour with each and because this is the internet I believe my opinion matters and that other people desire to hear it.

WWE Legends of Wrestlemania

Probably the most surprising of the demos. I'm a huge wrestling fan, although I go through weird cycles of attention. Over the past couple years my on-again, off-again affair with wrestling seems to be more off than on and I can only stomach a couple months at a time before needing a break. I only buy Wrestlemania now (instead of the 'big four' I was buying a few years ago) and this is down from once buying each and every WCW and WWF PPV event in the calender year.

But I've always kind of had a hate-relationship with wrestling video games. Outside of the Fire Pro series there just was never enough there to keep me statisfied. Yeah we played the hell out of WCW/NWO Revenge and WWF No Mercy was good enough to throw parties to play but the Smackdown series has just been horrible in my eyes. I'd play them for a few hours and either get bored or have to go to the optomitrist as the first three were wretched eye sores.

Some how Legends of Wrestling (of which there are three games in the series) actually wound up capturing my gamer attention, after all it had Mil Mascaras, Man of a Thousand Masks and the wrestler I could beat anyone with. The games weren't particularly amazing in quality but we put several sessions into the games nonetheless. After a small hiatus apparently its now WWE Legends of Wrestlemania. The license somewhat limits it in terms of roster and that one of the appeals to LoW, the insane amount of wrestlers at your disposal not under WWE contract. Flying Brian Pillman for shit's sake. Rick Rude. That alone made it awesome.

But for what it loses in roster it does make up for in presentation and official music. I wish I knew more about the match types and how multiplayer works but so far impressive and the game has moved up my board into potential buy realm. Even with just two available matches I had a lot of fun.

Relive mode appears to be where it's at as you get to relive some of the greatest matches in Wrestlemania history (well other than Macho v Steamboat WM3, probably the greatest match in the history of the event) and there seems to be a sort of 'scorecard' where you have to meet objectives for that match, do things that actually happened in the real match. Sometimes you'll even be asked to take the job and lose to get the points. It's piqued my interest and hopefully someone has a list of matches before it hits retail.

+ Excellent presentation
+ Official WWE theme music
+ Commentary by JR and The King is hilarous
+ Build-up videos to sort of set the context for the 'Relive' Wrestlemania matches
+ Controls seem fairly easy enough
+ Relive mode sounds interesting
- Glaring omissions on the roster. No Macho? No Dragon?
- Time Action events. Thanks, Shenmue.....
- Wrestlers look so good they almost look strange in movement
? Multiplayer
? Variety in matches

WANTED: WEAPONS OF FATE

So much for getting the video game out to tie-in with the movie. For a product all about super-accurate marksmen they've missed that mark twice with the theatrical release and the DVD/BR release. Maybe they're aiming for the USA Network release? Starz? Here was to hoping that it meant they were trying their best to make a good game.

I spent by far the least amount of time with this demo than any of the others. The opening didn't grab me and for some reason there was no chance to look at the control scheme so I didn't really exactly know which button did what or what any of the on-screen HUD meant. The obvious stuff yes, but the two bullets up in the corner? Not a clue.

If I had adjusted my brightness I guess it may have been better but game looked too dark (yes, again I know stealth is an element but I should still at least be able to see something) and the coolest part, maybe the only cool part of the movie was the bending of the bullets, which I couldn't figure out at all. If that's really the only thing you have going for you, cool bendy bullets, give me that shit right off the bat. But I didn't get cool bendy bullets right away and I got discouraged. Call it adult ADHD, cal it whatever. I call it boring. With so many games coming out in 2009 and competing against three other demos (and the Halo Wars demo I still haven't played) you needed to come out the gate swinging. And didn't. I'll probably still rent it and see how it is knowing what I can do.

+ I'm sure cool bendy bullets are there some where
- But I didn't find them
- No choice to change control scheme
- No bendy bullets to be found
- Didn't hook me at all
- Based off a movie that wasn't that good and tried to be edgy to only cover up for being piss poor

WHEELMAN

I have a secret to admit to. I'm secretly in love with Vin Diesel and pray that there's an alternate reality somewhere in the fabric of space-time where he's won an Oscar. And there's like 20 Riddick movies and the release of Pitch Black was a culture changing event. And Babylon AD led to world peace....ok that last one is stretching it a bit but maybe The Pacifier did the trick instead. Either way, he's kind of a guilty pleasure of mine. God, he's so horrible but so good at the same time.

I'm looking forward to Wheelman the movie, but the game....maybe not as much. I ended the demo right after I completed the first mission and there's some things to like and some things where you just shake your head and you know this game might be on the boring side. But hey, its built around car chases and car chases are awesome, even the bad ones. Combine them with Vin and I'm sold. Fast cars and Vin Diesel has it failed before?

Not really much to say other than you're the Wheelman for a woman that's robbed a bank in Barcalona and you have to escape from the cops, ditch your car, find a new car, escape from a rival gang and shoot people while driving. But only bad guys. Can't shoot civilians , cops or anything, wrong game. Just other gang members.

There's no dialog from Vin during the game until the cutscene you're rewarded with upon completing the first mission. And OMG I HEART THE CHEESY VIN-TASTIC DIALOG!!! HE TRUELY IS AN ARTIST IN SUCH THINGS!

"You know where to find me - behind the wheel."

Get it? He's the Wheelman. Get it? Get it? Fuck yeah. I feel so flithy for marking out over that shit.

There's a few 'cinematic' moments during driving like when you crash through shit or go over the ramp where I'm thinking it might be best to get this on the PS3. I think there's going to be a lot of eye candy appeal and right now I only have the PS3 on HDMI.

Apparently the game will feature an open world and side-missions. I'm not entirely against the sandbox format but it almost makes me groan. I'm sure others the words 'sandbox' makes them whet in various places.

+ Vin Diesel
+ Cheesy dialog
+ Game + Movie = a new franchise
+ Shooting people on motorcycles
+ Car chases
+ Looks good, probably more so in HDMI
- No Vin oneliners while driving
- Has the potential to be maybe a bit boring in gameplay
? How the sandbox format will work out

CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK: DARK ATHENA

Do we need to go over how awesome Riddick and Vin Diesel are again? I think we do. Vin Diesel is the man Superman, Paul Buynun and Chuck Norris look up to. He is the original Bill Brasky and he created the Earth in just two days. Then wrote Strays and Multi-Facial with the other five.

Escape from Butcher Bay proved two things to the X-Box crowd in 2004. Of course all things featuring Vin Diesel (besides Babylon AD) are amazing, and that someone could make a great video game based on a movie. Thanks mostly belongs to Vin but Starbreeze Studios I guess deserves some credit.

Assualt on Dark Athena is the sequel to said game but it also features the first game, completely redone in HD graphics and alongside the new Dark Athena campaigns. So even if the Dark Athena campaigns suck you still have Butcher Bay which was, even without Vin, completly fun to play. I would tell you to go find Butcher Bay and see for yourself but now I can tell you just buy this and you'll get both for the price of one.

+ Vin Diesel
+ Features the original game redone
+ Essentially two games for the price of one
+ Knife to the muthafuckin' skull
+ You can buy it twice. Once for the 360. Once for the PS3.

So what did everyone think of the demos? Which was your favorite and which demo maybe conveinced you to give its game a look upon release? Likewise, did any of the demos turn you off on something you thought you may have bought?

Games of the Week: Week 9

2009-03-04T18:55:00.003-06:00

Better late than never I guess. Most of this is out already but I've been busy and the NHL trade deadline required my full attention for twelve hours today.

So let's consider this the abridged version of the Games of the Week.

X360: Major League Baseball 2K9, SBK: Superbike World Championship, Halo Wars, Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X., Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard

PS3: Major League Baseball 2K9, MLB 09: The Show, SBK: Superbike World Championship, Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X., Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard

Wii: We Ski & Snowboard, Major League Baseball 2K9, Sonic and the Black Knight, Grey's Anatomy

PSP: Phantasy Star Portable, MLB 09: The Show, SBK: Superbike World Championship

DS: Major League Baseball 2K9, Littlest Pet Shop: Spring, SpongeBob vs. The Big One: Beach Party Cook-Off, Grey's Anatomy

PS2: Tomb Raider Underworld, Major League Baseball 2K9, King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match

So Eat Lead was pushed back to this week. Which was enough to allow me some time to get my head straight and skip it. Apparently its not very good.

I downloaded the Halo Wars demo and never played it. Even if 2008 was the year I got into RTS games I just can't get excited for mawr Haloz. And I even actually like the series, believe it or not. I think I may try it tonight after Buffalo and Montreal.

Ditto goes for HAWX. It's been sitting on my Harddrive for a bit on two sysytems and I haven't gotten around to it. Again I'll probably boot it up after Buffalo and Montreal.

Last year MLB The Show was one of the biggest surprises and now its definitely not sneaking up anyone but it looks like, from early reviews, that this year's offering knocks another grand slam and actually improves on the formula. Also on the baseball circuit is 2k9 but judging from last year and the demo (which I actually did play) then I'd stay away. If you only own a 360 and you're a baseball fan....I'm sorry but you're going to have to buy a PS3.

Like everyone else I'm cautious on Sonic and the Black Knight. It looks good but so did Secret Rings and Unleashed. I liked Unleashed but it didn't come close to saving Sonic. Reviews aren't everything but IGN's 3.9 awarded to Black Knight makes one cringe.

Tempted to get Phantasy Star Portable but I'm happy with my PSP library right now (seriously get LocoRoco 2 and DJ Max Fever) and with Phantasy Star Zero on the way for the DS in a couple months, I think I'll pass.

But of course KoF '98 is definitely the buy this week. I was sadden that the Orochi Saga collection didn't have the Dreamcast port of KoF '98 which was the far superior version by a Texas mile. I guess because they knew I'd pay separate just for this version. Plus there's a sneak peak look at KoF XII on the disc.

Outside of the Show and KoF I'm probably not picking up anything this week but that's good I'm still working on SFIV and Star Ocean. What's everyone else picking up on the week?

Games of the Week: Week 8

2009-02-22T19:20:00.004-06:00

February 22-28

NINTENDO DS

Legacy of Ys: Book I&II
Puzzle Quest: Galactrix
Peggle Dual Shot

I've always been anamored with the Ys series. Maybe it's because of its odd name or the fact that you don't wind into too many people who are versed in the series. More than likely its because I could never get my parents to burn the money for a TurboGrafx-16 and the series became sort of this unobtainable object put on a pedastool. I finally got ahold of Ys III thanks to the SNES port and played it through several times....despite the fact that now Ys 3 probably is my least favorite in the series that I've played.

Legacy of Ys gives you the first two games (Vanished Omens and The Final Chapter, which was far from final) on one cart and a nice little soundtrack CD, which by itself is worth the price. But if you're looking for a short action RPG to take on the road and don't mind throwing retro-googles on you'll find a pretty charming classic.

Puzzle Quest was one of the bigger surprises two years ago and it went from an obscure DS and PSP title to released on everything. The sequel combines Bejeweled with RPG elements with a sci-fi setting (unlike the medievel setting from the original) and adds a slight twist to making the game board a circle rather than a box. Except the sequel to suck up 100+ hours of your life....like the original.

PLAYSTATION PORTABLE

Uhm nothing this week. Moving on.

PLAYSTATION 2

Ski & Shoot

Moving on again.

PLAYSTATION 3

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard
Killzone 2

Blood on the Sand...yeah. Apparently its fun but repetitive. I'm just going to stay away for the most part.

According to Sony fanboys Killzone 2 will be the last game you'll ever have to buy. The Beta has been fun and its a very, very good FPS but it doesn't really reinvent the wheel or do anything out of the ordinary. But it does it all very well, outstanding even. I don't think it will be changing anyone's lives, but its the start of a lot of good PS3 exclusives this year.

NINTENDO WII

Dead Rising: Chop Til You Drop

Dead Rising was a great little game on the 360, and it still is but now its coming to the Wii and I don't know what to think. Killing zombies is always fun but so much has been made of the Wii's lack of graphical horsepower. I already have Dead Rising, why spend money to get the game again but with worse graphics and even worse control scheme? I'm sure if you're just a Wii owner then it's a game that you need to pick up but Dead Rising can be found for in and around $20, there's little excuse to not own the game if you have a 360.

XBOX 360

Star Ocean: The Last Hope
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
Stoked
Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard

I may have to wait and see on it but Eat Lead seems to be a neat little idea of a 'sequel' to a series of games that never actually existed. You play Matt Hazard, a washed up video game character who's popularity is years behind him, now he's been given another shot to prove he's the king of shooters as a publisher has decided to make him the star of their next game. Looks to be filled with all sort of meta-humor and such. But will it be a good enough game to slap down $60 on remains to be seen.

I can't really tell you much about Stoked but maybe TCO can (if he ever reads the damn thing) because snowboarding games are his bread and butter. From the way he talks about it Stoked may be a pleasant surprise for the rest of us.

I'm still playing through the first two Star Ocean thanks to the PSP rereleases of both. Last Hope looks amazing but the thought of (supposed) 30-40 minute cut scenes, a cliched, corny story and bad voice acting has me a bit worried. And the 300+ hours to collect every single Battle Trophy. Still Star Ocean's battle system is one of the finest (and most fun) around making it very easy to overlook the bad stuff.

Street Fighter IV

2009-02-17T17:50:00.004-06:00

Looks like I've got a bit of catching up to do after the nice 12 hours at work today. As some of you may know the rumour is (and apparently confirmed) that Commodore 64 games are coming to the WiiShop Channel. More useless stuff for you to spend your spare Wii points on. I will however be doing a list of the ten C64 games I want to see on the Wii Channel by the end of the year. Thanks to work don't expect the list until Thrusday afternoon.

But on to the main focus -- I finally caved and put the money down for Street Fighter IV on Sunday. My original line of thinking was that I don't like playing online and if I were to play it multiplayer it would be over at any number of friend's houses that are already getting the game and are "tourney-fags" so no matter how many hours of practice I put in they'll probably still kill me.

But the thing that was stopping me was the fact that they're selling a product that really can't be enjoyed out of the box for the $60 you spend. Now I know yes, there are people that will get it and be happy with the game but the only way to play Street Fighter (or any game in the fighting genre) is with an arcade stick, which doesn't come cheap as the tournament edition stick runs about $150 at retail and good luck finding that now. There's another stick for about $70 and then there's the 'fight pad' that still gives you the blister enducing d-pad but at least you get a 6-button layout. That runs about $40.

I'm not trying to be a smug elitest for the genre but honestly you can't play a fighting game on the 360 controller or even on the PS3 sixaxis (although its slightly less horrid.) So at the very least you're spending around $90-100 to enjoy the game at its fullest. That's my problem. But I reasoned if I spent close to double that on something like Guitar Hero or *sigh* Wii Fit, then why am I whining about a game, that at its fullest, I'll actually enjoy.

I got the fight pad but I assume I'll quickly upgrade to a stick if I find one. I also got the game for the 360. I'm trying to figure out if I did so out of habit or are acheivements really that big of a selling point for me.

So seeing as everyone is picking this up tomorrow, are you going to deal with the regular controllers or did you splurge and pick up one of the sticks?

Quick Updates 2/16

2009-02-16T17:58:00.005-06:00

--- I haven't yet tried Burnout Paradise since the 1.6 update but finally the Legendary Cars DLC pack should be coming Thrusday for both the 360 and PS3. Still no word on a price point or I just missed it and need someone to fill me in.

For those who are unaware the Legendary Car pack will add the General Lee (Dukes of Hazzard), the Ecto-1 (Ghostbusters,) the DeLorean (Back to the Future) and KITT (Knight Rider) to your garages around Paradise City. Not only is this prehaps the coolest DLC ever but everyone knows Criterion has been extremly awesome with after market support with four or five (IIRC) free updates since the game hit stores in early 2007. And major updates at that.

Seeing as they've continued to be so cool to us I expect everyone with Burnout Paradise to buy all this DLC to give back to them. And if you haven't experienced Paradise, what the hell is wrong with you? The game's down for $20 on both platforms so you have no excuse. I bought it just after I got my 360 back in August and I put about 80-90 hours into it by the time Christmas rolled around. It's rocking.

--- Also awesome in the DLC newsphere is new content for The Maw, my game of the month for January, is scheduled for Wednesday. For 100 MS Points you'll get a new level entitled Brute Force. Hopefully it's a fairly long level but for 100 points, you can't go wrong.

--- Of course I need to do some sort of post about wrestling for Dave to actually read this so thank god the roster for Legends of Wrestlemania has been released. And can be found here via videogamesblogger. A couple of glaring omissions but licensing rights and such always causes problems as we saw with the Legends of Wrestling games a couple years ago. No Macho Man nor Ricky Steamboat are the most glaring. No Owen either....or Benoit but both are for good reasons. Tito and Harley Race also kind of make me sad. If you like tag teams you're kind of shit out of luck.

Here's to hoping that the list isn't final or DLC rectifies some of these problems. Who else are you guys hoping to see?

--- With Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction and Valkriya Chronicles already in hand and MGS4 already 'watched' online, what PS3 should I pick up next? Any suggestions?

Quick Updates 2/15

2009-02-15T18:56:00.005-06:00

--- Man it took three years but I finally found a copy of the Adventures of Cookie and Cream in an EB Games bargain bin for $6.99. I probably could have gotten it off ebay all this time but it just gave me something to always look for any time I was in an EB Games (we have 5 of them in town, 3 of them within a square mile of each other.) Now I don't know what I'll do when flipping through the piles and piles of used games they can't give away. Honestly if you missed a bunch of the PS2 generation, go thumbing through their PS2 bins. The problem isn't the quality of titles, it's just the fact that I played or owned just about everything remotely interesting in the bins.

If you never got around to Cookie and Cream, don't let the cute exterior turn you off it is prehaps one of the best co-op game experiences of all-time, if not just for the PS2.

--- Speaking of EB Games, they have Moon for the DS for $20 already. I don't know if this will be the regular price point or just a limited thing but rush and grab it. I've always maintained that for $20 you rarely can go wrong with a title. What's strange is Moon was 2009's first must-own title just last month.

--- Going back to last week I said I wasn't entirely sold on Retro Game Challenge. Well slap me once more because it's pretty darn good. But the final selling point for me? XSeed games saying that the chances of localizing Fragile: Sayonara Tsuki-no-Haikyo hinged entirely on the sales of Retro Game Challenge.

Localizing games takes a lot of bank and apparently they need money still even though I've bought Populous DS, Shadow Hearts: From the New World, Wild ARMs 4 (sadly still in the shrink wrap,) Wild ARMs 5 (not in the shrink wrap but not beaten,) Valhalla Knights, Dungeon Maker: Hunting Ground, and Brave Story: New Traveler from them. That's essentially everything XSeed's published in the US. I put up with Valhalla Knights and Dungeon Maker. I want my damn Fragile, but at least RGC is actually a much more enjoyable game than the chore that was Dungeon Maker.

So the short of it -- BUY RGC SO I CAN PLAY FRAGILE!

--- QuickJump Network has details on the handheld port of Disgaea 2...obviously in celebration of the impending relase of the new Prinny game on the PSP. The 'article' can be found by clicking.

Looks like some new weapon skills, a new Magi-Change and some new playable characters -- including Asagi, the Red Prism Ranger and Marjoly. It's Disgaea on the PSP, did you really need any more motivation?

--- Pwn or Die Blog presents 10 video game athletes that probably used steroids. Much more interesting than debating the morality of A-Rod.

--- Monster Hunter G for the Wii had its newest trailer released yesterday. I honestly hope Monster Hunter can make it big over here in America. Obviously it'll never reach the same level of fever as in Japan but Monster Hunter back for the PS2 is one of the few online community games I got 'hardcore' into. I don't do MMOs and I don't do FPS deathmatches but Monster Hunter was just darn right addictive and I shed a tear when Capcom finally closed the servers last year even though I had sold the game a while before.

The PSP Monster Hunter games though just never reached the same level thanks to only supporting (to my knowledge) ad-hoc local. It was hard enough finding people around here with PSPs when the game cam out. The complications became ten fold in finding someone with a PSP and a copy of the game.

I hate to rag on the Wii but a huge part of Monster Hunter is playing with other people. Is this really a game the Wii's majority target audience will be into? Will Friend Codes once again detract from people picking this one up? Anyone thinking about picking this up once (if) it comes Stateside?

--- Pretty good article from Final Fantasy Union about the decline of SquareEnix since they merged in 2003. You can click here for it. I'm guessing not too many people realized it was that bad.

But yeah, a year ago Last Remnant was probably my number one most anticipated title of 2008. I knew there was room to be letdown but I didn't expect it to be that bad. Horrible load times and stupid, uninspired gameplay 'strategy' killed it quickly. The other big release, Infinite Undiscovery is also considered a dissapointment but there's at least a few things I can point to there and say I enjoyed the title. Would I tell you to buy it at $60 retail? No, but it's easily worth the $30-40 most retailers smartly slashed it down to after its release.

Game Developer's Choice Awards

2009-02-14T21:10:00.002-06:00

I'm a little late in posting this as this news is from the 9th of this month but they're late in picking the best games of 2008. Honestly, February? It took you guys that long to figure out the top games from last year? Better late than never I guess but we'll indulge and look.

The list can be found here

As several major blogs have pointed out, there's a strange lack of Nintendo titles on this peer-based list. But it's nice to see Far Cry 2 get some due. Sure the game was a bit buggy but it was always fun and always engaging.

You already know I'm rooting for World of Goo and Sins of a Solar Empire. I think SoSE actually might win despite coming out close to a full year ago. The game got absolutely no press until December lists came out and now people act like they knew about it all the time.

Games of the Week: Week 7

2009-02-14T18:57:00.005-06:00

February 15th - 21th

This week brings us a couple must haves.

NINTENDO DS

Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Roogoo
Martial Arts: Capoeira Fighters

If you're an RPG fan you already know the DS is probably the best system for you and this week you have two top heavyweights duking it out. Dragon Quest V comes to America for the first time ever and despite over a decade of waiting, it holds up amazingly well. It's an instant classic and if you haven't played it -- either by learning your kanji or by...other...means then for shame on you and here's your chance to rectify it. This is one of the top 30 games of all-time. Bar none.

Sorry Justin, but I'm just not into Fire Emblem. I admit there's things I like about the games and I loved Sacred Stones but that's the only one I've had the patience to trudge all the way through. Shadow Dragon is yet another remake of the original Fire Emblem game and America's introduction to Marth -- you know that guy you didn't know (or used) in Smash Bros. Melee. The remake looks like an impressive package though and if you're looking for a solid strategy RPG or your store is inexplicably doesn't have DQV then it's a pretty good second option. Fans of the series definitely would be wise to pick it up.

One of the best games no one played last year was Roogoo on XBLA. It was a puzzle game where you had to guide meteors through a series of rotating discs to save the planet of Roo from destruction. It finally comes to the DS but at $20 (opposed to the $10 on XBLA) it just depends if you really want to take it on the go. Multiplayer modes do allow for up to 6 players to play on a single cart though.

PLAYSTATION PORTABLE

Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero?
Martial Arts: Capoeira Fighters

I heart Disgaea. I've still yet to finish the three games in the series in entirity (I did finish the first game but if you've ever played a Disgaea game you know there's quite a bit more to it than that) but its zany and well-designed characters keeps bringing me back to the series. But what originally drew me to the series were the "mascots" of the Disgaea world, the Prinnies. Demonic penguins that explode upon being thrown? And they say 'dood' all the time. They're too cool and aborable to ignore.

Finally the mascot gets its own game and it looks pretty good. Advance reviews state this slick platformer might turn some people off with its insane difficulty level (you start with 1000 lives, playing on the jokes that the Prinnies are interchangable and mere cannon fodder.) But those charming Prinnies might be worth tearing out some hair. It grows back.

PLAYSTATION 2

Disney Sing It! High School Musical 3

Moving on....

NINTENDO WII

Evasive Space
Disney Sing It! High School Musical 3
Martial Arts: Capoeira Fighters
RooGoo
Battle Rage

Outside of RooGoo (mentioned above) the Wii line-up is a bit thin this week. Evasive Space might be worth a look as a WiiWare pick-up and Battle Rage is a mech-fighting game but its not quite a huge genre for the Wii crowd. If you're looking to get your mech fight on I'm sure ebay has copies of Virtual On (for the Dreamcast) or Senko no Rondo (for the 360, also called WarTech in the States.) It'll probably go completely under the radar thanks to its generic name and horrible box art, but it might be something worth keeping an eye on if you see it in a bargin bin in a couple months (or years.)

PLAYSTATION 3

Disney Sing It! High School Musical 3
Noby Noby Boy
Street Fighter IV

Nobi Nobi Boy looks amazing. I'm really excited to make it my first PSN purchase (although everyone's saying Flower is worth picking up.) Katamari was one of those games that could be equated like crack. There really wasn't much to it but the great music, the fantastic art/characters, and quirky concept made it a game that you couldn't help but have fun with. It induced smiles everytime you booted it up.

Here you control a worm-like creature (named Boy) and you move around controlling both ends separately. The longer Boy becomes the harder he is to control, but he gains some new, groovy moves. It's hard to explain but so was Katamari Damacy. Just give it a try.

XBOX 360

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and the Damned
RacePro
Street Fighter IV

If you have GTAIV you're probably already either commited or dead-set against picking up the DLC but if you're not commited already I'm surprised. Although I wasn't blown away by GTA4 (and still stand by Vice City and GTA2 as the best in the series) as some people were, I still had a lot of fun and what you get for the cash with this DLC seems to be nice bang for the buck. If you're still against it after seeing the trailers, you probably already sold off GTA4 anyway.

The same generally goes for Street Fighter IV. What can I say that hasn't already been said? You're either getting it already or you have no passing interest it...and probably suck. To just see it in motion is a feat to behold. And to feel it as you control the characters is simply amazing. It has a long way to go in knocking off 3rd Strike as my favorite Street Fighter (and I'm still pissed that 3rd Strike is completely unrepresented on the roster) but expect for it to remain in my top 10 games of the year until the end.

The only question now is do you really want to spend the money to track down the tournament edition stick (prepare for a second mortage on the house because this thing is going to be hard to find even for the people that pre-ordered.) The gamepads (retailing for around $40) don't look too bad with a six-button set-up and a decent d-pad on the 360 and probably are the next best option if you can't find the tournament stick. Yes, there is the fighting stick by Hori but its not exactly a great option either.

Flair v Bear

2009-02-12T19:06:00.002-06:00

Posting this only so Dave will wind up reading the damn blog. Ric Flair's scheduled to play the role of some general in Red Alert 3: Uprising expansion pack. He also shows that he may be the 16 time 16 time 16 time 16 time world champion but he's definitely no Zangrief

Quick Updates 2/12

2009-02-12T11:09:00.003-06:00

Most of these can be found originally on my twitter, and slightly expanded here.

--- First my PS3 arrived yesterday, right as I was going out the door for work. I wouldn't say it was the most agonizing 10 hours of my life but it was up there. Thankfully it works great but kind of wished I spent a little bit more for the exclusive PS2 backwards compatibility. With the honking size of the PS3, the PS2 doesn't really fit in the area we have. I'm almost tempted in dropping $60 for a PS2 slim just so it'll fit. But I still need to pick up HDMI cables, a remote, a DualShock 3, and well a game that isn't SingStar.

--- Why do I own SingStar for the PS3? Circuit City's slow, painful death allowed us to pick it up for around $47 and it was the last copy. Regular video games are about 30% off, which means that you're still paying $42 for a game. I had about five games in my hand before I started to do the math. I'm waiting until March until they're a little more desperate. Still merchandise like that they can find someone to buy in bulk for the price they want. I can't imagine the games getting too much cheaper.

--- Well SquareEnix has announced Dragon Quest IX will be delayed until July in Japan. Seems like the earliest it'll hit the US is 2010 now. Apparently there were a lot of bugs in the final version that they didn't believe they could fix by the March release date.

Pushing the game back over three months should do the trick, hopefully, but its localizing all that text. The turnaround on translation is getting smaller and smaller, provided you have a budget and has no ethical or moral hold-ups in slave-driving the localization team. There's a small gleam of hope that DQIX will see the light of day in this market by Christmas but I'm still saying we'll have it 11 to 12 months from now. Until then enjoy Dragon Quest V -- it's going to take IX a lot to top it.

--- The rumours now seem to believe that DQIX's push back means we will see Final Fantasy XIII be pushed to a 2010 Japanese release as SquareEnix wouldn't dare put out two huge titles in the same calander year. In the West, I doubt there would be any competition between the two. And you know what? I doubt there would be much competition in Japan either. The fans are too ...hardcore... about the franchises I don't think they would see it as a pain to shell out money for two games they REALLY want to play in the same calender year.

We all want to play these two games. We'll fork over the money whenever you tell us. So just get them out already (while making sure they work at a high quality.) What you should be more concerned about is if people are going to be willing to fork over money for three FFXIII titles on the same day? At least the time between DQ and FF is staggered. So far I haven't heard any plans of staggering the three games that will make up the Fabula Nova Crystallis banner.

-- Speaking of SquareEnix they've made a $119.8 million pitch for Eidos Interactive. Some of us who didn't have a Playstation One originally may remember Eidos did the somewhat shitastic PC ports of both Final Fantasy VII and VIII. So there's some connection here.

It's a 258% hike on Eidos's stock value, so I can't imagine them turning this down with the economy the way it is and Eidos's portfolio the way it is since SCi took over. SquareEnix wishes to increase its presence over in the Western market. So Final Fantasy isn't big enough in the West? And you think the Eidos name brand is going to help?

So you get Tomb Raider....which I do like and actually have been a strong support of each title released in the series despite the major bugs in some of the middle entries. The 'reboot' of late I thought was genius and the only reason it hasn't worked so far is because they had managed to kill off their audience. Winning back that trust and audience wasn't going to take just two decent games.

I don't believe they own too many of the games they've published over the years. I think the only studios they fully own are Crystal Dynamics, IO Interactive, the pretty much worthless Beautiful Game Studios, and the three branches -- Montreal, Shanghai and Hungary.

--- Gametrailers has announced that fighting game BlazBlue will be coming exclusively (right now) to the PS3. Maybe it's a sign.

-- Gametrailers also released their 2nd part of their Resident Evil retrospective. Covers RE2 and RE3 in just under 20 minutes. It's actually pretty damn good (as most of their retrospecs are.)

--- While I'm still excited for all the titles Platinum Games plans to push in 2009 and 2010, the NY Comic Con coverage kind of worries me when it comes to MadWorld. Its an important title for the Wii without a doubt and as much as I enjoy the hack'n'slash genre, I'm not sure the combat is really going to hold anyone's interest for more than a couple minutes. Once you're past the whole shock that there's actually blood on your Wii, then I think it's going to wind up being fairly shallow. Copious amounts of blood seem to be just covering up shit.

That said *gimme gimme gimme* Bayonetta and Infinte Space are still on my hot list. MadWorld may soon drop into the 'wait and see' category.

Games of the Week: Week 6

2009-02-09T18:27:00.005-06:00

Week 6: February 9th - 15th

Not really a new feature but seeing as its new to the blog and not the message board I was previously doing it at, it's all new. It's pretty self explanatory. Every week (usually on Saturday but occasionally I can't get around to it until Monday) I like to go over the games to be released this week. It helps me decide what I'm going to purchase (or rent) and what to earmark for later. And hopefully it'll help you...or someone...do the same.

NINTENDO DS

Jake Power: Fireman
Moomin: The Great Autumn Party
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction
Retro Game Challenge

Not the best week for the DS but you still probably have Moon and My World My Way to plow through so not to worry. I don't mind Splinter Cell but Conviction didn't really hold my attention when it originally hit the consoles and it just seems like a game that one would rather play on a console. I love my DS but not every type of game is prefect for it.

The gem here though is Retro Game Challenge which throws 8-bit sort of gaming conventions at you in the form of eight robust, full games. There's a Galaga clone, a Star Solider clone, a side-scroller....even an RPG if you can believe it. All holding true to 8-bit conventions. Yes, the whole thought process that retro games are a lot more challenging has reached an almost mythic plateau of late, but there is quite a bit of truth to it -- for better or for worse. What we expect out of games and conventions in games have changed immensely in the last 20 years. And I guess that's what makes this package a breath of fresh air, because a lot of us grew up on those older conventions and miss them terribly.

According to advance reviews the eight games are very fun and full experiences but at this point, with so many amazing titles coming in just the first half of 2009 I have a hard time throwing down $30 when I already have quite a few retro games sitting around my game room or on my virutal console...and the ones I uhm haven't emulated.....er....

I'm sure the games are good but so are my Mega Man games or the multiple versions of Galaga I already have. Unless you have a hankering for a real good retro experience on your DS, I'd wait until its something you can pick up for about $20 or less.

PLAYSTATION PORTABLE

LocoRoco 2

A lot of people say 2008 was a bad year for the PSP. Wrong. The second half of 2008 was bad for the PSP. First half of 2008 was amazing. Releases in the second half became a trickle but 2009 for the PSP has started out fair enough with the port of the excellent Star Ocean 2 (which I honestly didn't play the first time around) and DJ Max Fever already hitting in the first 5 weeks of the year, and now we get the sequel to LocoRoco in week 6 and for only $20. If you own a PSP and don't have the first LocoRoco...then you probably don't own a PSP and need to stop lying.

With more of the same from the sequel I believe this one is a no brainer for PSP owners. There's quite a bit of simple smile-inducing charm that comes from LocoRoco that was only equaled on the PSP by Patapon in 2008 (ok, I'm probably doing a bit of disservice to Downstream Panic.) It's $20. If you have a PSP you at least deserve it to yourself to pick it up, especially if you skipped out on DJ Max.

PLAYSTATION 2

M&M Adventure

Yeah there's still stuff coming out on the PS2. But after two of the best RPGs ever to hit the system have hit in the past two months (Persona 4 and Ar Tonelico 2 for those wanting to keep score) it seems like the system just might be finally seeing itself out the door. I'm sure Madden 10 will come out in a PS2 flavor and that'll probably be the end for a while. Until indie guys in Japan start mucking around and putting stuff out much like they do from time to time on the Dreamcast and even the Genesis still. So I suggest getting your PS2 modded if you haven't already.

NINTENDO WII

NASCAR Kart Racing
House of the Dead: Overkill
Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers
Deadly Creatures

House of the Dead actually ain't bad. I played a little bit of it this weekend and its a welcome addition to a Wii line-up devoid of titles that blend this sort of mature atmosphere and the casual feel of the system. It's probably a step or two behind HotD2 or even HoTD4 but it's definitely worth a flyer. The language could be toned down a bit though. I know you're trying for a mature title but it doesn't feel natural to throw it in every line. Still this is the Wii's first must-own of 2009.

I haven't really paid too much attention to Deadly Creatures when it was first announced; it honestly sounded like a joke title and the announcement came at a time when my faith in the platform was wanning. I think you can file it under a pleasant surprise if early reviews (#2) hold up. Just on originality it probably deserves a flyer for not only Wii owners but for those of us that claim (or bitch) nothing new is coming down the pipeline. You play either as a scorpion or a tarantula surviving in the world with this strange narrative encompassing it all. Definitely worth a look on that alone. Top it off with one of the best graphics package on the Wii and waggle controls for only secondary actions (showing other 3rd party developers how to get it right) and I think it goes alongside Overkill as a must get for Wii-owners.

Finally we have One-chan bara. Bikini-clad samurai chicks killing zombies. On the Wii. What more do you want? It looks like one hell of a guilty pleasure but I'm looking for a good hack'n'slash with Afro Samurai being a decent rental-only last week.

X BOX 360

Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad

Obviously the Wii and 360 One-chan bara games are off the same property but not the same game, with the Wii taking more advantage of the waggle controls and the 360 game taking advantage of -- you know -- graphics. I'll probably wind up getting both, but not right away.

MULTIPLATFORM (360 and PS3 titles)

Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection
Project Origin: FEAR 2

I'm not entirely sure why it's Sonic's collection but for the price ($40) this is probably the best collection (to date, seeing as I have a couple other collections like it prior) encompassing the Genesis library. I still think there are some glaring omissions but licensing isn't always the easy thing on the face of the Earth to accomplish, especially over a decade later. Not only do you get to play these games in HD but the game is worth the price of admission alone for the three Phantasy Star titles. Try finding those three on ebay and spend less than $40.

As for Project Origin, I liked the original FEAR a lot but something about the demo didn't do it for me. I can't place my finger on it but a lot of amazing games had piss-poor demos this generation so I guess it at least makes the game a rental and wait and see. Maybe a buy -- if we've learned anything from the Japanese, pale-skinned children are scary as fuck. Project Origin is also available on the PC.

Getting the Blog back together

2009-02-06T15:12:00.001-06:00

I have a confession to make. This is probably my sixth or seventh blog. Each previous one now just a driftless piece of waste floating along the internet. It's probably time for someone to dredge the internet. Take a big fishing boat with a couple nets floating behind it and pick up some of the crap and toss it. All the piles of shit upon piles of shit stacking up in files kept on pinheads. The internet's already looking like a landfill; in ten years how many abandoned sites and blogs and twitters and myspaces whatever new fangled widget, gigget, and gizmo that comes along in that time.

So hopefully my goal, this time around, is not to add to the data cesspool and not abandon this project because of whatever half-ass excuse I give next time. Blogs are usually a bunch of work (despite the fact that nearly everyone does it now and I swear they're seemingly close to overtaking credible outlets of news; but let's digress) and putting out content that deserves to pass the eventual dredging of this place is job in of itself. One I don't get paid for despite the fact that you can actually now get paid by doing such acts. Hell you can even create an entire website and community around blogging on that nature as I point you at destructoid.com. While being paid for this would be nice, I'm not exactly ready to quit my day job and get my foot in the door as a professional....blogger.

I'm not going to look at this blog -- this time around -- as work. I'm going to still strive for solid content but I'm going to just have fun with it and we'll see, in a couple months where that leads us...or well me. And then you. And then us.

The blog title probably doesn't give much away despite the fact that it is my XBL handle (X-Box Live for those out of the know) and its a title from a chapter of Bleach, a popular shounen manga title that's not particularly great in quality but a nice 'veg out and read in chunks' book. I do tend to love mangaka Tite Kubo's chapter titles -- especially and obviously this one.

But the blog isn't going to be about Bleach or manga, although it may come up from time to time. No this is going to be one of those dreaded video game blogs. There's about 3 million and a dozen out there floating around, I'm just making it 3 million and a baker's dozen. Other geek things may or may not apply. We'll just see as it goes. Remember -- I'm just going to attempt to have fun here. Primarily video games will come up but I'll leave my freedom holding the door open for anything else.

So what about video games? Anything that catches my fancy I guess. Be it upcoming releases, stupid shit the industy is doing, companies I like, games I like, reviews, deconstructions, what I'm playing...whatever. I'm just going to do whatever and too bad for you if you don't like it. But hopefully you do. I like readers. And I implore you to leave a comment, even if it's just a 'hey' or if you just like the stuff, or heck, tell me you hate the stuff and what you'd rather see. I just want to know who is reading. Open up some conversations.

What makes me qualified to do this? Absolutely nothing. But that's the beauty and ugliness of blogs -- there really aren't qualifications. That's the shame that blogs are starting to take over for credible news sources. But I've been a gamer and a fan of gaming my entire life. I was breaking open PCs and putting them back together by the time I was 5. It kind of grew from there. Also a couple Atari units didn't hurt.

I sadly got my NES kind of later than some and my first game that I owned for that (besides Duck Hunt and Super Mario Bros.) was Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, and that game held a special place in my heart for a long time until I decided to play it again thanks to Nintendo's Virtual Console. The game's horrible. It's not one of the worst titles on the NES but it did shatter some childhood memories.

Since I've owned pretty much everything out there sans the Neo-Geo (c'mon I'm not made of money) original Playstation, which once I got my PS2 I made up for thanks to its wonderful backwards compatibility. Currently I own that aforementioned PS2, a PSP, a 360 (I'm still on my first one albeit I only got it in August,) a SmashBros. Brawl player (also known as the Wii,) both versions of the DS (and yes, I'll probably be suckered into buying a DSi,) a N64 and a Sega Dreamcast. I also have a TurboGrafx-16 but it doesn't work currently.

I also at this current moment have a PS3 being shipped to me. I hate buying consoles used but this seemed like a pretty strong deal and saved about half-off the sticker price. Apparently there's only cosmetic scratches on the surface but there's at least a 30-day money back offer and they offer a warranty to purchase. I'll think about that although I don't know anyone who's had a PS3 fail without dropping it or spilling something in it.

So yes, I will be completing the current-gen tri-fecta.

I like just about every genre, as long as the game is done well. RPGs and fighting games are probably the two genres where my expertise lies. Unlike most of the internet peanut gallery, I do enjoy FPS games if they're well done. I'm horrible at them and I refuse to play online but I still enjoy them.

I did spend my first couple years in college as a computer science major before switching to a degree in Literature, which a word of advice to the kiddos out there -- the liberal arts are fun and all but don't expect them to land you a job just with that piece of paper. MAKE CONTACTS while you're in school. The old addage that it's who you know is more truth than anyone likes to admit.

But back to computer science, I do have some sort of background with game design as well as narrative structure, so occasionally that'll get in the way of my enjoyment of a game that should just be pure mindless fun. And other times I'm actually able to put those two critical eyes away when needed. I'm still attempting to find that magical third eye that rules above the other two.

Some people have refered to me as a video game snob -- mainly because I don't gush and scream 'zomg' for Gears of War or any of the real big titles that get way too much credit on just name recognition or marketing alone. But if I apparently hate anything only on the basis that its popular, why do I actually like Halo? or find Dorito's Dash of Destruction to be a nice killer of time?

And that brings me to my last point, I like a lot of things. I hate a lot of things too. The reasons vary for whatever, but its never simply because something's too popular...except maybe Final Fantasy VII... but either way, they're just my opinions. One of the big problems with the video game community is the in-fighting over stupid things, such as opinions. We honestly can't seem to respect our fellow gamer (then again this is a hobby where we encourage, and enjoy, tea-bagging our opponents in a show of superiority) so if you disagree with me, that is awesome. Let me know in the comments. I appreciate that, I truly do. However, let's keep it civil. I'm not trying to "fanboy" for any of the three big companies. I have no real loyalty for soulless corparations that don't give two flying shits about me (if they did, Fragile would be coming stateside and they wouldn't be charging me $60 for a new game.) And guess what; contrary to your prior beliefs they don't give two shits about you either. Beyond your money. So let's leave the silly fanboy talk on another blog, keep comments civil and thought-out and just have fun.