Dear reader,

first off I'd like to say that I was just going to dedicate an entry to my puristic, pac-man inspired halloween pumpkin, but as I could not find the link cable to download the pictures I had taken from my camera to my PC I decided to let my thoughts roam free upon the topic as listed above.  Lets both hope that my mind can come up with something coherent worth reading eh?

The essence of gaming.  What exactly is it, this subject that intrigues me so?  It is clear to me that it is the core of each game, that which drives us to keep, and triggers the enjoyment we receive from, playing.  Aside from that little is clear though. 
There is no way in defining it, as it balances on the edge of metaphysical, just out of reach of comprehension.  It's the link between psychology and gameplay.  It is what connects to our primal instincts.  The drive to compete, to survive, to nurture.  The will to interact with others, to achieve.

In the early days of videogames this urge was given a very tactile form.  Be it the opposing paddle, the badly drawn motorcyclist overtaking you or the anamorph fungi in your path.  Due to the restrictions of the available hardware, achievement was embodied through conquering the competition.  To this day it still embodies the bulk of the available games.  On the other hand we've got a rather younger take on the essence of videogames, in which the main goal is to interact or to nurture.  At the core it's still about survival, but on a different, less tactile plane.  It lies on the level of social interaction and personal achievement.

Both simulate life through a very different perspective, the former being extrovert and agressive, the latter introvert and peacefull.  Achievement through conquering or through gentle manipulation.  The first has a genuine male touch to it, the latter is more often affiliated to the feminin. 
It is upon these 2 cores that game developers built the foundations for their designs, the genres as we know them now.  These cores are the first in a series of design decissions that will determine the gaming experience. 

Should the goal be to stick as close to the core as possible, only adding that what is neccessairy to give the core idea a physical appearance?  Clearly this will result in the purest and most accessible gaming experiences.  But how can repetitiveness be evaded, how to differentiate yourself from the masses?  Back in the days of the pre-8 bit, 8 bit and 16 bit era it was sufficient to add a different graphical overlayer.  Beyond that point it seems as if differentiation was achieved by adding elements that complexified the whole, to a point at which it now takes a mastermind to strip a game from all its excessive mechanics down to its bare core and to produce a quality title from that. 
As with everything it is easier to add quality through additional ornament instead of creating a quality piece that needs not for such artificial upgrading.  It is also here that lies the eternal question: which joy is the most rewarding?  The enjoyment you get from the sum of the details, which is superficial and wears thin after all has been explored, or that of the exquisitaly excecuted essentials?

While one would lean towards the latter answer, it is to be noted that with the short average hours of play put towards each individual game, the enjoyment received from the first might last long enough to satisfy the gamer.

I shall leave it at this for today.  I've only explored the surface of one facet of the essence of gaming after pondering about it for over an hour.  I do not know if what I said made sence to you, the reader, but if you have any commentaries at all, please be free to post them and perhaps we could get a discussion going?

Not that I expect a lot of feedback through this entry, but my journal seemed the most apropriate place to spread the news from.

I've decided, unless some forumites insist that it should stay semi-annual that the GoScers shall be hold annually in March as of now. This decission is based on animpression I've got, hosting them over the years. Namely that twice a year is too often for them to be seen as a big event. Instead of me looking forward to hosting them, it's becoming more of a repetitive drag. If that's how I'm feeling then I can only assume that long time partakers feel the same.

On the other hand I've just got less time for these things. Hosting an award always takes many many hours of preparations, accompagnied by many more during and post-show. It's not that I couldn't pull it off, it's just that it's a lot of time for something I see as overkill.

Anyway, what are your opinions? Would the GoScers be better of as an annual thing, or do you feel that an awards show hosted on such a fleeting media should be hosted twice a year in order to keep up?

For me at least :D

It has finaly happened: I have purchased a new TV. And not just any TV, no. I decided to go all out and buy me a set that ought to be way out of my pricerange in order to make sure that my most beloved hobby gets to marvel in the graphical splendour it deserves. Have a look yourself ;)

Honnestly, have you ever seen a game look that good, that sharp, that happy?

For those of you interested in the specs: It's a Samsung LE26(inch)R51B. Fully HD compatible, with a 500 candela luminance, 3000:1 contrast (basicaly it can go from white to black in 3000 shades of gray), some image enhancers, ... And the most important bit for gamers:

• 1 PC in (go revolution!)
• 1 S-video/AV port
• 2 scarts, of which one RGB scart
• 1 component in
• 1 antena port
• 1 HDMI in

For those of you thinking "Weren't LCD displays too slow for gaming?", well, you're both right and wrong. It is true that the crystals used in LCD monitors have an inherent delay, causing ghosting onscreen. With current gen high-end LCD TVs however, the delay is only so minimal that it is hardly noticable while gaming. This screens' delay is officialy 12 milliseconds, less then on image at 60Hz. It is noticable when starting an action (moving image) from doing nothing (completely still image), but only barely.

As to what this baby has cost me: 1199EUR, or for comparisions sake: the price of 20 fully priced games. It's a lot, but it sure doesn't stop me from smiling like a loon while playing my GC games at 60Hz through a component cable :)

And show the world your cra-zay skillz right here!.

Or if you'd rather brag about something else, create a high score thread of your own :P

No, it's not because I'm one of those millionaires who own 2,000+games. No, it's not because I'm a multi-platform gamer. No, it's not because I only buy games who rank 9.5+ at gamerankings and GS...

It's because I have a very well balanced collection. With over 30 current-gen games you'll be hard pressed to find more then 2 pair of similar games. Racers, platformers, shooters, adventurers, games that make you want to throw your controller at something, games that soothen the nerves, ... For every occasion, for every mood I'm in, there will always be a game I feel like playing.
I hear a lot of you multi-console owners thinking: "But why only own one good game in a genre? Don't you feel like you're missing out?". Well I don't. While that specific game in my collection might not be thé best game in its genre, it's still darn good and not owning a better game in the genre ensures that even after 2 years of owning it, it could still very well be taken out to be played, since it hasn't had to bow down to a superior version. How's that for value eh?

Anyway, I could go on and on about why I think my relatively small collection owns all those much bigger ones, but all arguments I could bring up would most likely only make sence to me, as is ussualy the case. Fact is, I'm as happy as a gamer as any of you out there, and chances are I've spent way less hard-earned cash on my hobby then you did.

It's been a while since my last journal entry, and I really don't have much to contribute to it at the moment but this topic seemed to belong no where in particular.

I've been toying with this idea for a while, ever since some really obscure rumor came to my attention, and the more I pondered over it, the more I could see its great potential. It would make Nintendo's vision on connectivity 100% more accessible, as no cables would be needed and would slice the price of the Revolution, which is assumed to be rather low as it is, by another 80EUR, the price of a wireless router.

I had given up hoping though, as Nintendo almost never does what seems best for them. However, a recent thread about DS's online system made me cross my thumbs once again. The article stated that the DS would go online through hotspots and Nintendo-approved routers. Nintendo approved routers? What hardware could get more approval from Nintendo then their own?

Sounds like an acceptable idea to anyone? And if such would be the case, would it change your views on the Revolutions' chances?

Innovation, how we all crave for it, how the industry does spit on it.

In the early days of gaming there was single-screen gaming, throwing mystical obstacles at you as you tried to reach your goal-beyond-all-reason. There was only challenge, no how, what or why. And thus not much need for innovation, since the emphasis was put on self improvement rather then on just beating the game.
As the NES and SNES came by, bringing us the wondrous joys of 56-color graphic chips and the save feature this emphasis slowly shifted towards seeing all the game had to offer and moving on to the next one, eagerly awaiting to be exchanged for your hard-earned cash at your local toy store. The industry took a liking towards this view on gaming and throve off this new consumentalist approach and all was good.

The 64-bit era brought us innovation in the way of a 3rd dimension, enabling for radical new game designs. While development costs rose, so did the market thanks to Sony's interest in entering the market and once more all was good. Experiencing the game became increasingly important in favor of challenging the gamer, but we were all too busy watching these new 3D graphics in utmost awe to even notice or care.

Fast forward to the current day and what do we see? Development costs that would make Spielberg blush and an industry that has become unforgiving to whoever fails to sell his product to an increasingly unpredictable market. This results in a very unfriendly environment for developers to test their creativeness, forcing them to create a cookie-cutter game in one of the select genres that are currently received best by the bulk of the market, or face a near-certain demise.
This basically means that we're stuck with last-gen games, coated in a new layer of paint. The only development teams to ever get the chance to try and innovate are those owned by big publishers, who are willing to risk a few million dollars for the sake of producing something different, hoping to find a rough diamond amongst the pebbles.

And now to get to the main point of this entry: The downwards spiral and irony of innovative games. This means that once a big publisher frees up the money for a financially risky endeavor there only seem to be 2 possible outcomes:

• the game bombs financially, possibly achieving critical acclaim on the way to gaming history.
• it turns out a (moderate) success.

This second outcome will nearly always result into this game becoming a franchise, often destroying the simple premise that formed its core gameplay and made the game so enjoyable and further depleting the available funds for experimenting with modern day gaming. Recent history is laden with such examples:

• Pikmin2. Diminishing from a search for ship parts in original and interesting scenery to a collect-a-thon in which every obstacle is a hindrance instead of a challenge.
• Wario Ware Twisted/Touched. While the original was insane and refreshing the latter installments are nothing but insane and redundant.
• Viewtiful Joe 2. A new game that added nothing new to the formula implemented in the first
• Advance Wars 2. Same sin as VJ2.
• Advance Wars DS. Possibly guilty to overcomplexifying and tipping over the refined balance that made the original such a great game.
• Monkey Ball 2. Instead of relying on skill to beat the game, focusing on luck and analysis of the level design.

And the list continues... It is because of the financial successes of the first games in these 'series' that the sequels were allowed to exist so that the publishers could cash in further on a winning formula, forcing developers to stray from the initial core mechanics and design ideas. Are these games as satisfactory as the original? Hardly ever.
So we can ask ourselves this question: "what outcome is to be preferred?" Have the game sell abysmal but ensuring it a fond place in our memories as we sigh upon the potential of a sequel. Or be stuck with an endless series of sequels, each next one with the potential to be worse then the previous while those funds could have been put to better use as to develop new content?

Very few developers can break through this pattern as doing so means taking the humongous risk of going belly-up with every new release, yet it is also a testimony to the great minds and craftmanship that are combined within these development teams.

[color=white]Since the game I reviewed isn't released in the US yet I can't upload it just yet, which is why I'm keeping it here for the time being. I hope you enjoy it, and if you have any comments whatsoever, I'm more then willing to improve on my reviewing skills. I will most likely also be editing it a lot since I'm not quite satisfied with the result just yet.

“Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat” for GC Reader review

Overall Score: 8.9

Gameplay: 10 (unique in this day and age, a modern day update of a classic genre. )
Graphics: 9 (beautiful. Words won’t do it any justice)
Sound: 8 (entertaining enough)
Value: 7 (a tad too short)
Tilt: 8 (it’s not a title you must have experienced, but don’t pass it up if the opportunity arises)

Difficulty: A tad too easy
Learning curve: about an hour
Time spent: 5 to 10 hours

Donkey Kong reacquaints with the classic 2D platforming genre and updates it to today’s standards.

Donkey Kong was Shigeru Miyamoto’s first brainchild and has been entertaining gamers, you, and possibly even your parents before you ever since he sprung to life in the arcades, back as early as 1982. During the eighties and early nineties he showed up in an array of games undertaking a myriad of things. From swinging from vine to vine and teaching your kids maths as DK Jr. to battling erect crocodiles as the prerendered ladykong-killer in Rare’s Donkey Kong Country series on the SNES, the mighty ape did it all.
After his huge SNES successes with the Country series the top banana took a step back and served as little more then character roster-filler in various Mario spin-offs for nearly a decade. Now, his "average at best" N64 adventure excluded, DK is finally back with a home console game of his own that lives up to his SNES adventures in terms of sheer quality and fun.

At its core, Jungle Beat is little more then a 2D platformer of the kind that we saw 13 in a dozen of in the early nineties. But as with most Nintendo games the brilliance lies within the execution. The emphasis on high-scoring through combos, the marvellous graphics, the fine-tuned bongo controls, the clever camera angles, and level design showing off Nintendo’s 20 year spanning experience in the genre, all combine to create a truly unique experience that blends some of the best of last century’s gameplay with modern day techniques.
The gameplay is divided into 16 levels, referred to as kingdoms, and lasting between 3 and 15 minutes each. They all answer to the same basic template: 2 stages, both followed by a bonus round and concluded by a boss battle. Stages are your basic point A to B affair in which you go around collecting bananas, which double as your health, and pummelling enemies until you reach the end. Bonus rounds enable you to further up your banana-count and typically last about 3 seconds.
By the time you reach the kingdom’s boss you should have garnered a healthy stash of the yellow fruit and your objective will be to take out the boss with minimal damage, as your remaining health determines your final score. Beating a kingdom will earn you a bronze crest, the game’s equivalent of medals. Reaching the 400 mark will garner you silver, toppling 800 gold, and finishing with a total of over 1200 will bestow upon you the elusive platinum. It’s these crests that, when collected in sufficient numbers, unlock new kingdoms for you to tackle.

Jungle Beat’s combo system is very simple and, thanks to some great level design, very effective at the same time. You can collect bananas simply by running into them, or by collecting those close to you simultaneously by clapping your hands together. This second manner will bag you double the score of the number of bananas collected. This number can be enlarged further by performing a series of different moves before actually collecting the nutritious fruit.
Lets say you kill an enemy. Instead of just collecting your tasty reward, you could instead backflip onto a nearby wall (times 2), walljump off it (times 3), start a groundpound (times 4) and collect the bananas all at once by clapping (times 5) before you hit the floor. Instead of bagging you a mere 3 points you get a grand total of 15. The kingdoms are carefully designed around this system, enabling you to complete whole stages by combining a string of 2 or 3 big combos. To spice things up a bit further your score won’t be added to the total until the moment at which you touch the ground and taking a hit will break your combo meaning a loss of all points collected so far, a number that can easily reach up and beyond 200. Throw a few racing sections into the mix for diversity’s sake and you’ve got yourself a genuine fun game with enough incentive for self-improvement to replay the earlier kingdoms in order to collect all the crests.

Graphically the game is stunning to say the least. Everything consists of bold and vibrant colors and all character models are very detailed. Add to this a slew of good looking special effects and for a result that looks much better then anything even the prerendered Donkey Kong Country games provided to us, now in glorious 3D! The animation too is splendidly done and matches the slightly humorous undertone of the game very well. The kind folks at Nintendo even made sure we’d appreciate DK’s facial expressions and acrobatics just that little bit more by sticking a static close-up version of everyone’s favourite gorilla to the bottom left corner of the screen. The stages themselves include various uninspired themes such as forest, fire and ice along some more unique ones like the interior of a cactus to name but one. Dynamic camera angles get up close with the action when DK smacks the living daylight out of a foe and pan out when you’re running full speed ensure that the pacing of the game is up to today’s standards.

The music also fits the game very well. While there aren’t any big compositions to be heard each stage has it’s own tune that fits the general theme. A sweet little touch is the occasional chimpanzee band you’ll encounter, playing their own lively score as you swing by. Sound effects are implemented in a satisfactory manner and each enemy comes accompanied by its own squeak, crow or grunt. It’s quite a shame to see that the grunts emitted by DK himself and the four gorilla bosses are by far the least convincing sound effects in the whole game.

The gameplay itself is designed to be genuine fun and to work well with the bongo controllers. As you’ve no doubt noticed, I have hardly spoken of the game’s most distinctive feature, namely the bongo shaped controller that comes packed with the game (optional). The reason for this is that it really works so well that there just is no need to bring it up. Running, jumping and boxing are performed by hitting the drums individually or simultaneously. Other actions are case sensitive and triggered by clapping your hands together - something that won’t make you very popular with those forced to live near you while you enjoy your daily dose of gaming. These simple commands eliminate the need for pixel-perfect control over your avatar and will have you bounce of ropes, swing from vines and navigate watery depths like it’s your second nature in no time.
The fact that your banana-count doubles both as your high-score and health, combined with enemy placement based more on enabling you to rack up big scores then posing a threat to you, makes it very hard to die in Jungle Beat and the game shouldn’t pose too much of a challenge for anyone.

In the end Jungle Beat provides us with an experience that everyone should be able to enjoy. The accessible mechanics and superb level design will comfort the less skilled, while the more experienced gamer will see a window for self-improvement and perfection in the high-scoring system. On the same note it needs to be said that the high-scoring system could have been implemented much better as there is little incentive to keep improving upon yourself once you have finished the game. A blast while it lasts. [/color]

My official Paper Mario T-shirt :D

Despite the fact that the image is smaller then promised (see 2 entries down), and that it's made of too thin cloth to wear under my Tuxedo's vest, I still think it's way cool. So much for feeling like Shigeru Miyamoto though :(