I start the final term of school tomorrow, NOOOOOO!!!! Oh well, at least I got sometime catching up with friends and spending time outside (something that I almost never do on holidays) and I got a fair bit done gaming wise. Oh well, at least this year I leave my current school, which is a bad thing, but the worst is that I have tests and assigments coming out of nowhere. And of course annoying and pointless tasks, the basis of all work, be it school or in any game!

EDIT: I got a new badge, WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!

In most genres, EA dominate with their sports games. Their sports games, ranging from Soccer, Gridiron, Boxing, Racing, Baseball and others and always manage to entertain. But heres the problem with EA, they seem to be biased more towards America. You see, EA release online play for their sports titles, but this is in America ONLY, and seeing as most of their sport games are popular worldwide, you would think that they could at least do it, but they don't.

Now, I'm not much of a sportsman, and I'm sure as hell not much aof a sporting gamer, but I know what a crap game is. In a attempt to get more money out of isolated Australia, EA released games about Cricket, AFL and Rugby . Unfortunately, these games suffer from the fact that these sports aren't popular in America, so EA doesn't really think that people will care, so they use other studious, not the real EA, to make games with less than standard gameplay.

The AFL(Australian Football League-Aussie Rules) game is pretty poor, featured shocking graphics, and the players didn't move well, fortunately, a Melbourne based company released a much better game (Melbourne being the AFL capital), but suffered in the fact that the players looked nothing like their real life counterparts. Sadly, the publisher of the newer AFL games was Acclaim, and they went out of business. Perhaps EA can pick them up?

The Rugby game is one hell of a lot worse. While it followed the rules, the game was really poor, looked utterly terrible, ON A PS2! And it got even worse, the AI was stupid, meaning that you could get 100-0 (or more) Thankfully, Acclaim made a MUCH better game, and their recent bankruptancy doesn't ruin the fact that it's much better than what EA could do.

The Cricket game was a little better than the Rugby one, but it was made by the same people, meaning that it was doomed to be bad. It was, poor graphics, poor gameplay, I've got no more to say on the topic.

On the brighter side though, the EA-EA sport games are still a delight, I love Fight Night and Tiger Woods, but still EA, other people love American sports than just America, so please, give us all the same slice of pie!

Well, today I bought Pokemon Leaf Green (came out today, used my bros money) and I pretty much decided that my next entry in this journal would be about the former.

The thing about Pokemon that really irritates me is the whole idea of it. Here are the games in a nutshell, you are a unknown trainer who gets his/her first Pokemon and then must become the greatest trainer of all time, by catching all the Pokemon (hence the tag, Gotta Catch 'Em All) and by defeating all your rivals. Now tell me, how the hell can a game, with a concept that is REPEATED CONSTATNLY still be so popular? Is it cause the games are actually fun and addictive, or are people that moronic to realise that the games are 100% completly different.

However, what Pokemon loses in story, it makes up in Gameplay. Needless to say, the features of the last games are great and innovative (which were 2 on 2 battling and a clock that changes when you can get certain Pokemon) and the new Wireless Adaptor that comes with the new games (I've never tried it, but it sounds interesting)

The first English exposure to Pokemon came in the form of fadime (my term for Animes that sell products), and I reckon that it's the single worst show ever created. Now I'm no expert on anime, I'm sure as hell I'm not, but if you repeat the same plot structure for 6 years, it's either a sign that people don't really take notice of just how crap the show is, or people just like to watch it.

I don't blame Pokemon for going on for so long, I read once that it took 5 years to make! Which is quite a feat, as most games don't take half a decade to make. However, the impact that the original games had on gamers is still impressive, and one of the best ever portable games.

And the beat goes on...

Is it just me, or is the entertainment industry running out of ideas now? I have never seen so many remakes of a movie or a game before in any year. Hell, even the toy industry is coming up with 'remade' franchises to get parents to shell out cash again. Two of the more prominent (and my favourite) resurrected franchises are Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Lets begin with TMNT, I'm sure many cartoon fans and old-school gamers (like yours truly) will know about this one. It is essentially the story of four Turtles, who after being mutated by Toxic ooze, are brought up in the ways of the Ninja. The story was originally based on a comic book, and became very little known in the 80s, the 90's however, was when they became uber popoular. Most people have heard of the franchise due to the TV show released at the time, which wasn't based on the comics, but instead mostly orignal stories. The games released during this time though, became legendary amongst gamers, and many peoples reason why Konami are one of the best game developers around. However, in the mid 90's the show died down, and it wasn't until recently, that the franchise was reborn, this time, with a TV show that actually was based on the comics, and games that were around this story. These are just a few reasons why TMNT is popular.

Transformers is much more recognised than TMNT (if not equal) due to it's infamous phrase "More than Meets the Eye". The Transformers are essentially Toy Cars, that you can move certain areas about, making up a robot underneath, of course, this came from the land of the rising sun and the land of the crazy ideas, Japan! Unlike TMNT, Transformers had more TV exposure, and actually lasted longer than TMNT due to more idea for the toys, but alas, no video games (or lack of good ones). Transformers has gone on for 20 years, and the game (based on recent events) has gone to make it more popular (even more so for me, as it was made in my home city of Melbourne)

Ok, people are wondering why I just wrote that, well, I'm a fan of these two old-school franchises, and for once, I wanted to explore and write down just how good they are!

"In my gaming travels....I have become a Master of the Iron Fist, Multiple Champion of Mortal Kombat, expierenced the joy of the Final Fantasy, and saved the Mushroom Kingdom many times..."

There are a lot of great games coming out in the last part of this year (eg. Mortal Kombat Deception, GTA: San Andreas, Gran Turismo 4, Burnout 3) but possibly, the most popular one is Halo 2. Now, I'm looking foward to it, like nearly every other gamer on earth, but for some reason, I really can't seem to enjoy it as much as most gamers...

What is so good about the original Halo anyway? It's just another FPS, with nothing special up it's sleeve. Ok, the enviroments are large, thats good for multiplayer. You can control the vehicles in more ways than driver/gunner? Whoopdy-Doo, thats really nothing special, actually makes it harder, plus, the control of the vehicles are crap anyway. The only thing that I can actually say is good about it is the multiplayer, thats pretty much all I've played of it anyway.

A lot of people say that it's the one of the best shooters ever, thats bull, I have played shooters that are much better than that, to me, Halo is average.

Well, I know now that most Xbox gamers are probably gonna damn me for writing this, but really, there are more shooters that are much better than Halo, believe me.

And the beat goes on...

"Outnumbered, but never outgunned"
"Legendary, but never acknowledged"
"Mortal, but not dead"

Those are my words, not anyone elses, basically, my gaming philosophies

Anyway, with the upcoming release of Mortal Kombat Deception, I though that I might as well add my thoughts to the game. I've been a fan of the MK series, but I only got into it at the insistance of a good friend of mine. I played MK3 at a friends house (SNES version) and I liked, even though I got owned badly! Then, a few years down the track, I played MKs 1,2, Trilogy and 4. But for some reason, they never really stood out to me.

A lot of people say that MK2 is the definitive MK game, thats bullsh*t, that game is cheap! I once played a emulated arcade version of the game at another friends house, my opponnet get using a cheap sweep move the entire fight, locking me from pulling off any moves! I'm not kidding you, THAT SERIOUSLY DID HAPPEN

With the newer releases though, I've been able to get into them more, because they are more accessible to me (the Playstation versions) and they removed the move! (well, some characters do have it still) Deadly Alliance blew me away, it's a great game, lots of fun, and has the best unlocking system I've seen in any game, when I played that game, I got a little more enticed by MK, and with the addition of online play and all the cool new features (the puzzle mini game will own) I'm placing it as my pick for fighting game of the year

And the beat goes on...

Isn't it funny, that life can make you feel like the top sh*t, and suddenly make you feel like sh*t?

Don't know where that came from, made it up.

One of the things that have drawn me to gaming is the idea of concept, which is, what exactly is the game about. The idea of a game is to escape from reality, and the better the concept for me, the better the game. Sure, games allow you to experience fantasies of being a Martial Arts legend (Tekken or similar), a racing legend (Gran Turismo or similar) or just create something interesting, like a city (SimCity) or a massive RPG world (Neverwinter Nights)

One game concept that I deem as brilliant, is the Sims. The idea of the game is to create a family, and guide them through life, thats the game, no endings, no bosses, no confusing storylines, it's just life, well, a simulation of life. While most American games have almost no original concept (which is what I see in games) even the most simpliest of concepts can get you far, the Sims is one of those reasons, and it deserves it's title as "Best Selling PC game of all time"

However, the Japanese take the cake for best concepts. Most American games have what we define as "normal" ideas, like save the world from some evil person, or race till you drop, the Japanese concepts are one hell of a lot different, like I once read about a game where the character uses his gigantic lips to cut through opponents. Weird? Well, most Japanese games are based on a concept that we Westeners define as "weird"

However, there are only a few games that are made in Japan that actually gained lots of popularity, games like Mario and Sonic gained lots of popularity because they were different. I'm not going to count Final Fantasy as one, because thats a story that anyone could've come up with. However, the best concept I've seen in recent years is the formula of Ape Escape.

The whole idea of that game is to catch monkeys, I kid you not, but it's done in a way that is immediately enjoyable and memorable (a guy I knew in my class mentioned it because my Social Studies teacher was talking about attacking monkeys) It was even the first time that you actually used the Right Analogue stick in a controller to play the game, instead of using it to rotate the camera!

Oh well...still, the beat goes on...

Possible Next Journal Entries: Mortal Kombat, Arcade Games etc.....

Theres one thing that used to bother most gamers, the inevitable movie tie-in game. These games were usually rushed in time for the movie to be released, and (in some cases) were probably worse than the movie itself! But then again, times are a changin'

In recent years, EA have become a massive juggernaut of movie tie-in game releases, and the majority of them have been REALLY great products, just go play their Return of the King game and you'll see what I mean, that game alone is worthy of the LOTR name, epic battles, great sound...it's got it all!

Activision are also another company using licenses well, this time, creating games based on recent Marvel films, which range from ok, to really impressive (i am of course, referring to Spiderman 2)

Still, some times the games go too far, and Enter the Matrix is a result of this, you see, when the Matix Reloaded was released, the way to understand the story (well, elements of it) was to watch the Animatrix (the anime shorts) and to play the game. While the idea was executed well, a lot of people hated the game, and a equal amount of people hated the film!

However though, some times game companies like to be creative with the licenses, and release side products if a major film isn't released, these side products may involve a really exciting part of a series (i.e Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup), or a side that we never see of the license (i.e Goldeneye Rogue Agent)

And the beat goes on...

Well, I never though that it would happen so soon, but for many gamers, it was a delight, Acclaim finally declared Bankruptcy.

This is pretty bad news, but I already hear most gamers shouting "OMG IT'S ABOUT TIME" or "Good Riddance", which I think is really bad to say about the company. Yes, I know of how the fact that most of their games sucked....badly, but what of the games that they published which were good? I'd say they're masterpieces. Incase you're not sure of what I mean, Acclaim published MK2, NBA Jam, WWF Attitude, the Turok games, and my personal fave, Burnout 2.

For now, lets go back 10 years ago. Back then, you could consider Acclaim the equivelent of EA today (all divisions) although not having as much success as them. They made games for a lot of licenses, and the majoirity of them were really bad. The most significant license they held (in my opinion) was The Simpsons. Although I can say only one game of them is better than the Konami game (said to be the best ever, only Hit and Run is THAT good) the majority were some what ok.

I read a little while ago a article saying that Acclaim were in trouble, and that their game Juiced would probably save them. I think it was Showdown: Legends of Wrestling that sealed the companies fate. Although the game had a good amount of wrestlers, it had almost nothing to do, no unlockables or anything special within the game. And now that Acclaim are gone, most of their line up for the rest of the year is gone too, and the line up seemed pretty interesting as well..

Heres to you Acclaim, the first and last salute that I shall ever give you! May you rest in piece..

Well, I was kind of bored so I decided to continute writing in here. This time though, I'd thought that I talk about one of my other sides, Music. Music plays such a intergral part in my life, that I can't function without it! I won't get any work done unless I've got some really good music in the background!

Mainly, I listen to all sorts of music from any period of time, like Classical, Rock, some Pop, Hip-Hop, RnB and others. The only two genres I can't stand are Heavy Metal and Rap, I think that all the songs are the same for those two genres, and that I despise anything that isn't original.

Mainly, I'm into the Red Hot Chili Peppers, since most of their songs own. In fact, all it took was one song and I was hooked, Under the Bridge, and thats one of the best songs that has ever been made, beautiful lyrics, great guitar, the Red Hots got it all!

Nirvana is also a great fave of mine. Even though in the short time the band was around, they created some of the greatest rock songs ever, just listen to their defining tune, Smells Like Teen Spirit, and you'll see what I mean

I could write more, but not feeling in the mood, as one of the songs in the Simpsons goes "Bart was feeling mighty blue, it's a shame what school can do, for no reason heres Apu, those were the days!"

And the beat goes on...