*pauses*

*shakes junk in Monkey-King's face*

*continues to streak*

---

*tap*tap*

 

Is this thing on?

Just wondering...

Anyway, I'm back...or at least I'm going to make the effort to try and be. Not that I haven't been around, I just haven't felt the need to post anything and I don't really know why. I have the feeling that it's some kind of misplaced guilt for having not bought a PS3 yet (or even a Wii for that matter), but I've pretty much resigned myself to the facts that a PS3 still isn't really for me until-

1. They put rumble back in

2. Home is launched

3. Metal Gear Solid 4 has a release date

The Wii just needs to become more compelling. It needs its version of an Elite Beat Agents before I jump on board. It needs that hand full of titles that makes my inner light go on and tells me "I finally get it". To me the Wii is shaping up to be the MTV/American Idol/pop music of the gaming world. I know it's out there, I know it's huge with all the kids, it doesn't bother me in the least, but it's ultimately not the games/music that I want to listen to/play.

---

As for the things I am enjoying/playing-

 

I finished God of War 2 fairly quickly, ~wrote my review~, and can pretty confidently say that this game is going to be in my top 10 games of '07. It's everything a good sequel should be, it's God of War only more and only bigger. Really epic feeling hack n slash and worth every penny.

I also stepped back in time and finally did a through and complete playthru of Final Fantasy IX. When I mean through I mean all sidequests complete and maxed out character stats. I went ahead and wrote my ~review~ for that one too. It's Final Fantasy, so you know my prejudice is pretty strong walking in. In all honesty, of the three FFs on PS1 I think IX is my favorite. It just has a lighter tone and sense of humor, something that's missing from a lot of RPGs now-a-days.

I am also madly and deeply in love with my PSP right now. I recently bought a 4GB ipod Nano and still use my PSP for podcasts more than I use my Nano. The wifi feature and ability to delete files on the fly just makes my PSP more practical than an ipod, IMHO. I can download a podcast at home, listen to it at work, download a new one while still at work, and repeat the cycle. I lurv it.

I also picked up a cheap copy of GTA: Liberty City Stories for PSP and I'm stunned at how cool this game is. The mission system is perfect for a handheld and I don't even care that the locale is the same one I played to death on the PS2. Really, GTA: LCS is a great game. I would love to see Rockstar do a version in this **** but with GTA IV as the theme. I think it would sell like...a GTA game probably would anyway.

Outside of that I've been playing offline versions of Catan and Double Dragon on XBLA. Double Dragon really gives me a major "I used to think this game was cool?" vibe. Totally not the game I remember...it's actually pretty crappy. Catan is a really fun board game that is completely janked in offline play. You absolute can NOT beat the AI in this game and, oh how I have tried. It isn't even that the AI is that smart, it's just that once you reach a point where it looks like you might have the slightest chance of winning (you need a score of 10 to win), the dice just simply refuse to roll your way. They only roll the numbers that benefit your opponents, your opponents simply refuse to trade with you, and you just stand back and watch as one of them laps you and wins. I HATE Catan, but I haven't tried in online yet.

I'm also trying to complete Dead Rising for 360 and I also think I HATE this game too. I hate the timed missions, I hate the save system, and I hate the escort missions. I think it might be one of the most overrated games of all time. It seems to be averaging about an 8, but I'd put it much closer to a 5 or 6. A total disappointment.

---

Watch ~Deadwood~.

 

Listen to ~Neon Bible~ by Arcade Fire.

Read ~The Road~.

You'll thank me later.

Well?

~I smiled the entire time I watched~ Totally NOT what I was expecting and I couldn't be happier. Watch it once, then watch it again. This game is pushing a lot of stuff and you'll barely notice. Add in what looks like 4 player co-op and I think PS3 might have it's first "must play" game (at least for me).

Discuss...

Really, where DOES the time go?

From a grand epic "big picture" type of outlook not that much has really happened in my life and yet I haven't been able to find the time to even post something blog worthy in quite some time, but I'ma gonna try somethin' right-about-now...

---

Music: If you haven't listened to it, I highly recommend giving Bloc Party's new album ~A Weekend in the City~ a listen. If you're a fan of slightly arena rock, slightly pop, slightly emo, slightly electric this is the album to get behind. It feels a little top heavy, the first seven songs kind of eclipse the last five, but those first seven are some of the best music I'm most likely to hear for the rest of '07. The tracks I'm digging the most: -Hunting for Witches -Waiting on the 7.18 -Uniform -Where is Home? REALLY good stuff going on here. And if you know Bloc Party from their first disc "Silent Alarm", you best put your expectation in the back seat because Weekend really sounds nothing like Alarm. At all. But that by no means make this a bad album, just good and different.

---

Games: I beat ~Kingdom of Paradise~ and it can take the slot as being the FIRST PSP game I have actually finished for the platform. Before this I guess unlocking all the skins in Lumines was as close as I've come, but I don't really consider that a game that can actually be "beaten". Anyway, Kingdom of Paradise is a really fun game, should have been played by more people, corny voice acting, but still totally worth the 20-30-ish hours it takes to beat. I picked up, and am playing, ~Hotel Dusk~ for the DS. I'm up to Chapter 5 and, while I think it's an interesting and very unique game for the platform, I can't help but think that a lot of people have a hard on for this just because it's differences. The actual game and story really stands out to me as being something not at all special. The only real challenge comes in all the reading because the actual game can practically play itself. You talk to someone, they tell you they need this thing or that thing done, you go do that thing, then you run into someone else and the process repeats. There are a couple of pretty clever puzzles, but all in all it's pretty much nothing more than an interactive novel. A novel, that in all honesty, I wouldn't find all that interesting if it were bound and printed. Guess I should save some of this for my eventual review. I've also picked up and dabbled with ~Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops~ and, for the time being, I LURV IT.If Snake were an actual flesh and blood man, and I were an actual flesh and blood female, I would have his babies. there are two things that this game does right. One it's an actual MGS game with a truly fleshed out story, and two, it stands as a true beacon to all comers as to what the PSP can and should do. It legitimizes the PSP like no other title before it. When I warmed it up and played it, it was like the sun was rising on the PSP for the very first time. Ordered (but haven't received) ~Elite Beat Agents~ for the DS and a super cheap (new) copy of ~Star Wars: Republic Commando for Xbox. I also put down a preorder for ~God of godamn War II~ and can NOT wait for this one. I knew the game would look pretty hot, but dammit, not THAT hawt and where's my demo?!! It would be nice of Sony to actually get on the stick and do something like, I don't know, offer up a free demo download of GoW2 via their PlayStation store ala XBL Marketplace or something. Talk about instant gratification and something that would help push Sony's PS3 agenda. Speaking of Sony, I really liked what Phil Harrison had to say ~here~. Particularly the stuff about SingStar, not because I really want to play the actual game, but because it kind of validates what I posted ~here~ and is a major step in the right direction for these guys. On the other hand I was reading the newest issue of EGM (#213) yesterday and couldn't help but feel more than a little mad at their interview with Jack Tretton (SCEA's CEO and Prez). Mad isn't really the correct word, more annoyed. It was the same poo slinging that they tried pulling on Peter Moore about 12 months ago. Nothing but super negative, cry-baby questions about mistakes that were made with the PS3's launch. It reads as if EGM is PS3's ex-girlfriend and EGM caught PS3 on a date with Game Informer. Places like Penny Arcade pick up on the interview and cherry pick the "I'll pay anyone $1200 for a PS3 that has sat on a store shelf for more than 5 minutes" comment without paying much notice to information that this interview was done in EARLY January, when seeing a PS3 on a store shelf was still pretty rare. All in all, if you read the WHOLE thing, I think (like Peter) he held his own pretty wellcan . Especially his comments about being number one putting a huge target on their backs and if they were actually dead last the nostalgia train would roll back around and people would pine for the days when Sony was number one again (as it would seem is happening right now with Nintendo). He also kind of points the finger at the press for trying to sensationalize and blow things out of proportion. It's a good read if you can get past the super jaded slant of the questions.

---

VGA, are you still planning on picking up Crackdown?

Nuff said.

Hello all. Got into an argument with a friend over the battle for the next gen consoles (I'm actually quite tired of hearing/talking about it) and thought it would make for a decent entry. Everyone seems to be harping on the idea that Sony is currently losing a lot of it's once exclusive titles to other platforms, be it due to the expense of development costs or because some poeple think that Sony is trying too hard to become the new Nintendo with great first party titles. I really don't see this at all because this generation has something that the last one didn't, downloadable content. I think that the real winner of the next gen will come down to who can offer up the most compelling exclusive content. It could hinge not on a thing like, "ZOMG! GTA is coming out on 360 too!" as much it could be, "I can only download the Vice City Stories level on PS3!" or, "I can only download the MMO-GTA function on the PS3!". No doubt first party titles are going to be the last of the genuine platform exclusives, but if Sony can shore up the support of the third parties and get them to offer up some really mind blowing, heavy hitting, exclusive content, the PS3 could pull out into the lead very quickly. With the 60GB HD it's going to be an even more tempting proposition for developers. The standard HD in every unit is going to be a pretty large piece of that pie and it could end up being a win/win for the third parties. They get to go multi-platform and appeal to a wider audience, but at the same time they'll be more willing to make the more outstanding downloadable content for the customers that they KNOW can handle it. The sun is setting on platform exclusives, but the sun is rising on unique downloadable platform content. The PS3 (from my point of view) is the system most likely to take advantage of this new era.

I just wanted to post a quickie to say that I had an oppurtunity to buy a PS3 last night, at retail (2, in fact, 60 Giggers), and I walked away. Didn't even feel that guilty. Maybe a little sad that I'm buying this wave of consoles bass ackwards, but no real regrets. Last generation I bought a PS2 first, Gamecube second, and then an Xbox. This generation it looks to be 360 first, Wii second, and PS3 last. The Wii and PS3 may switch spots before it's all over (I already own the 360), but I can remember a day not that long ago when such a scenario would sound ridiculous to me. I also beat the (Hardcore) campaign on Gears of War last night. Good stuff. They definitely saved the worst for last because General RAAM is one nasty mofo. I busted my ass for an hour and a half just trying to beat him and finally got luck with a grenade toss. Gears is definitely a must play for anyone who's a fan of shooters. Lots of good stuff to enjoy along the way, and I'm now tempted to try and hook up with one of my GAP buddies (maybe even a Gamespotter) for a little co-op fun. If there was one major flaw it had to be having to put up with Dom's dumb ass A. I.; I would imagine that this game is a totally different experience with a worthy partner. I know VGA and Linc have Gears...anyone else?

I just got home and had a very small life changing gaming related moment and thought I needed to get it down if only for my own amusement. My nephew celebrated his 7th birthday today and had the mandatory birthday party. He has literally (like EVERY TIME we meet) been bugging me about Lego Star Wars II. When did it come out? When is my birthday? How many days away is that? Will you get me Lego Star Wars II for the Gamecube? Needless to say I've been anticipating this day as much as he has. I told my sister that he was REALLY looking forward to getting this game (he and I literally turned the first game upside down), so I thought it was only right to let them give it to him (as a real surprise) and not his uber-nerd uncle. Little did I know I was going to unleash ~the N64 kid~. The poor little guy went absolutely BERSERK and had a look on his face like the weight of the world had been lifted from his wee little shoulders. Kinda creepy, but at the same time kind of a generational wake up call for me. Here I am, in my little world, where everyone is excited about the next gen, the PS3, the Wii, and here's a kid who has all his hopes and dreams hanging on a last gen game, on arguably the weakest platform of the Big 3. For some reason it kind of made me examine my priorities. Not so much on giving up on gaming all together (*pfft* like that would ever happen), as much as trying to find the pure joy in gaming and not just in chasing "the next big thing". Here we have a kid who is quite happy playing a very basic game (the damned thing can practically play itself) on old-ish hardware and I have to stop and think, "Where is the joy?". Why, as late teen and adult gamers, do we always seem to have our eyes on the horizon, on the next big thing? Why do we hang all our hopes and dreams on things like the Wii or the PS3? Why do games that came out 5 or even 15 years lose their luster against the unproven "just around the next corner" new hotness? Films, music, and literature don't fall into this vortex of irrelavance, why do games? Why do we as a collective fanbase always seem to crave that magical unknown carrot? Is the ancipation actually more fun than the actual arrival? Because it seems to me (at least with the PS3) like people are claiming ~loss and failure~ not even a full month after the new hotnesses arrivals. As if five to ten years in the future can be predicted by one three week window. Why, if a person were to say that they were just now playing a game like FFVII be kind of looked down upon by the current crowd who had played that game "years" ago? Why are old games looked upon as sometimes being "not as good as we thought" when, at their time, they actually were? It's just all really made me think about enjoying that moment in a great game (or life really) for what it is, that moment, and not trying to chase down or make that great moment happen over and over again. Letting that moment just happen instead of trying to force it or relive an old one. Too many factors affect those future moments to hang all ours hopes and dreams on pie in the sky stuff like PS4, Wiicube, or Xbox Vista. Stuff that we hope and dream will recapture the thrill we felt the first time we played Lego Star Wars, or the like, with somebody special or a Resident Evil 4 with no one around. Enjoy your moments, don't force them, don't try to recreate them, just enjoy them and shove your bloated ancipation and expectation in the closet.

---

And speaking of moments, I enjoyed the hell out of watching ~Kung Fu Hustle~, and ~Casino Royale~ for the first time this weekend. Both are top notch and Kung Fu Hustle in particular was a really pleasant surprise. The movie is full of more imagination and thought than any movie I've seen in a long time. It's THE kung fu movie for people who don't like kung fu movies and you'll most likely be laughing at it more than you'll be pumping your fist. Casino Royale was also a surprise because you could take the James Bond name out of the movie and call the main character "Joey Fisticuffs" and it would still be an EXCELLENT action movie. Daniel Craig is not Sean Connery, Roger Moore, or Pierce Brosnan, he's Daniel Craig and he's quite possibly the coolest/toughest James Bond of the bunch. The best James Bond movie of my lifetime (and think the first was ~Diamonds Are Forever~). I have also been finding myself enjoying the hell out of finally giving ~Kingdom of Paradise~ a spin. Some laughably bad dialogue in this one, but the actual gameplay is pretty damn fun. Think Dynasty Warriors, but as an RPG, and with a boatload of customizable attack combos. It's a pretty unique original and what I would consider a hidden gem on platform that is in desperate need of more them.

Or maybe I should title it "My Likes and Dislikes" or "What Sony Could Learn and Unlearn" or maybe just "+/- 360"? Anyway, I'm coming up on the 30 day anniversary of my 360 purchase and I can honestly say that I have more positives to say than negatives about MS's Xbox sequel. The positives are things I hope that Sony can emulate and improve upon with the PS3. +#1: Wireless controllers This was one thing I've always wanted, but only after exposure do I realize just how radically it effects how I play games. With wired controllers I always had a ritual of pushing my gaming chair (i.e. office) to the television before every game. With wired controllers I would always give the controller a flick in order to make sure that the cord clears my legs whenever I want to stand up or walk away. That 360 cordless has changed everything. Now I play where ever my butt lands. Couch, recliner, the next room, I think it's safe to say that I'm now finding myself really aggravated by the PS2 controller when trying to play FXII or even Giutar Hero II. Once the PS3 hits I think it may be safe to declare that I am never going back to wired controllers. +#2: The Online Setup And this is something I haven't really used that much at all. The only experience I've had in online playing is my brief stint with Uno, but I think it has something more to do with the idea that it's ALWAYS on. I actually like seeing that little prompt light up whenever someone logs on. I actually like watching DVDs on the 360 (something I never thought I'd say) and getting that prompt at the bottom of the screen whenever someone logs in. It's an odd sense of comfort for some reason. +#3: Live Arcade One part comfort and one part hopeful. The comfort comes from seeing old standards getting a new lease on life. The hopefulness is the thought of the really awesome untapped potential within the idea. It's an awesome outlet for some big name publishers to use as a testing ground for some really wacky gameplay ideas. I mean, ~Castle Crashers~ for Kutaragi's sake! Who wouldn't like to see more from Behemoth? Who wouldn't like to see the little guy succeed? Who wouldn't like to see 8-bit and 16-bit sequels to old 8-bit and 16-bit games? I might be a lemming, but I would absolutely buy a 16-bit version of FFVI-2 in a heartbeat. I would buy a 16-bit remake of FVII. I would buy just about any 16-bit episodic RPG that Square may deem neccessary. There should be a very low and very high reward risk under a model like this. Some may look at it as a step back in tech, but if Sony could follow this model, and make these games downloadable to PSP, I think the least they can gain is a new market of old gamers (see: Wii strategy). -#1: The Size I don't really get it, people want to b**** about the size and weight of the PS3, but if you take a 360 and duct tape the HUGE power brick to it's side, you've got an item that is equal in girth and weight to a PS3. Add in the HD-DVD add-on and it just gets ridiculous. The 360 is easily (with everything included) the same size as the original and that just bugs me. When a console doesn't easily fit into a duffle bag, I start longing for the simplier days of my extreme youth. NES, SNES, and even the Genesis had a more portability vibe to them that the 360 and PS3 do not. I don't ever see me packing up my 360 to take it to a friend's house. Ever. That makes me a little sad. -#2: The Noise The noise of the original Xbox was slightly understandable, the noise coming out of the 360 is kind of insulting. If there was one thing I thought MS would really work on I thought it would be the console's noise factor. The damndable thing buzzes like fridge when accessing the disc and really detracts from an otherwise slick design. Of the things I find myself the most indifferent about I think #1 is the idea of achievements and points. They really don't do anything for me. Maybe if a player was to obtain them all and it unlocked something at the end of the game (a character, a weapon, a special cutscene, hell, even a desktop theme), maybe I would find the joy in any of it. But I could really care less if I "achieved 10 perfect reloads in a row" on Gears of War and I sure as hell could care less if you did. Points and achievements are like the new magic beans. It's ultimately a path to nowhere. If they would start making them achievements that eventually give out some gameplay altering reward, then maybe I'll hope on board. Until then it's much ado about nothing, IMHO.

---

I think I'm about 52 hours away from the US release of the PS3 and I'm thinking about doing something evil. Something very, very soul alteringly ~evil~. (don't tell me that none of you haven't been thinking the exact same thing)