[From my Feature forum post.]

Had to vote for Pac-Man CE. So many of the great games are "just" straight ports with achievements (SotN), or cleverly improved over their earlier showings on other platforms (AHHD; PQ:CotW) . That's awesome, but it doesn't push XBLA as a platform for growth and opportunity. Pac-Man CE is a truly worthy sequel, and takes the best ideas of competitive individual challenge and makes it an event. With the death of brick and mortar arcades in North America, I don't think P-MCE would've ever been successful or honestly even created without XBLA.

-V-

(Also, Billy Mitchell got owned. :D)

[video=dicyl2T55bwNvDbW]

Mass Effect.

LCE.

See you next year.

-V-

[edit 18-Dec: OH NOES RRoD! The inevitibility!!]
(But thank you Mr. Moore. Merry Christmas.)

Wii game cases have the best disc holders in the entire world.

I just had to say that up front. My copy of Metroid 3 finally arrived today. And I won't get any chance to play it until next week when I'm exhausted. That's the problem with working for a living... no time to appreciate a good old fashioned waste of money!

What I find notable is this is only the second Wii game I've actually purchased. Sports doesn't count as a pack-in (yay pack-ins!), and of course there's Zelda... and... where exactly did I miss out here? Games I've nearly bought include Metal Slug, WarioWare, SPMario... and... I decided to wait in line at 7am to pre-order this console precisely a year ago and I've got two games to show for it? wtf.

I caught myself thinking about this delayed-value-effect recently with all the excellent titles coming out for PSP. I absolutely want to buy a second PSP. I want to have a full-firmware PSP2K to actually buy new retail games to play. That's something I haven't felt since 2005 with Ridge Racer. Where did this renaissance come from?

This is exactly the reason I'm holding off on the PS3. More price drops are inevitable, and the amount of crap I don't give about PS2 hardware emulation could fill the Makuhari-Messe. Once there are 4 games I want to own, once I have the time to enjoy the money it will cost to get the full-meal-deal..... oh boy.

On the other side, I love my red DS Phat, yet the lure of bright and shiny new red+black is... just a luxury really. Won't improve the gameplay... but it may improve the experience..?

Just pondering which is more important to me right now...

Awh hell, just an hour of Metroid maybe.

-V-

Oh, and I Love Bioshock. A bushel and a peck... and a drill arm through the neck.

Truly the question of our era. I have been fed so much Bioshock media over the last six months that I feel like I can play the game in my head. I know what all the essential Plasmids do. I know how the weapons and ammo should feel and sound. I know about the "moral" choices I get to make. I know how to telekinetically transplant crossbow bolts. I know there's water.

Naturally I'm excited about the story. I'm proud to play a game that takes the first-person and solo-player experience seriously. Naturally I'm excited about getting the collector's edition. Metal Daddies and Moby remixes are like peanut butter and chocolate. Naturally I'm excited to play the same levels in different ways. Probably juggle a run on Normal and another on Hard dictating how I grow my character and treat the Little Sisters.

Now the reviews are REALLY in, and not just the cowtowing, I'm wondering if there is anything left for me to gush over. When I encounter the first of many System-Shock-2-plot-twists, will I be amazed? Has the efficacy of Irrational's publicity machine sucked all the surprise and delight out of Rapture? Can I really bring myself to assassinate hundreds of pitiable psychopaths in self-defence to end their misery?

Let's find out...

-V-

Sir Howard Stringer is a jolly jellyroll of a man.Wealthy in ways most of us cannot imagine.In fact, when he speaks money actually falls out of his mouth, which is why his interviews are so rare (and coveted!) It is therefore amusing to read his words and imagine the tinkle of coins, because his words are rarely worth anything.In this GameSpot article, S.H.S. tempts us fence-sitters with a price-drop by Holidays'07.

Gee, there's an idea.

Let's get deconstructing, shall we?

Sony chairman and CEO Sir Howard Stringer has told the Financial Times that he is aware that there is "no question" that consumers want a lower price tag.

Something Kaz could've told him two years ago, but they didn't "communicate" so good.

Stringer praised the success of rival Nintendo's latest console, the Wii, saying that the company "has been a successful enterprise, and a very good business model compared with ours."

Nintendo is, in fact, an older company than Sony. And the vast majority of that history has been manufacturing games. (Sure, there was that crazy carefree period in the 60s, but let bygones be bygones...)

However, he vehemently disagreed that the Wii was more fun to play. "No, no, no, no," the executive replied to the question.

Difficult to know for sure when you can'tfind oneon store shelves to purchase. That's not a sign, is it? Now that they've established the Wii has outSOLD 3 to 1?

He also attributed much of the difference in sales between the two consoles as due to the fact that the Wii was significantly cheaper,

O RLY? YA RLY.

and that the two systems were "complementary and supplementary," to each other, and not in direct competition.

Absolutely true. There is no competition. On any level. Including annual profit forecasts. And user play-time.

In light of this, Stringer confirmed that Sony would be looking to cut the price of the PS3--he gave no specific amount, but indicated that the company was looking to make a decision about this before the holiday season. He said, "[The amount of the price cut] is what we are studying at the moment. That's what we are trying to define."

Here's a start: Lower v.intr.

1. 1. To move down:
2. 2. To become less; diminish:

Stringer added that current games for the console were using only 20 percent or so of the machine's capabilities. "Once they use the full bandwidth the games experience is stunning...it's dazzling."

And this is where he's off the tracks, over the bridge, and into the gully. Precisely what games are you playing, Sir, that have let you see 100% of the system's capabilities? Precisely how good a programmer are you to reverse engineer the code in your head by watching a demo? Precisely what mathematical degrees do you posses that allow you to do more than read and regurgitate a report that says "Lair: Processor loadrunning at average 20%."

Now, it's been weeks since I wrote these comments on the original story, and we've had the Price Drop Bait and Switch voted Most Disappointing E3 announcement. It's no mystery that the Sony Executives and Sony PR don't exactly eat in the same lunch room together. Each finger is oblivious to t'other. The HotSpot had it right on, Sony was trying to fake-out Microsoft, and MS is all: "pshaw to that, son!" The Elite360 offers more default storage, enough content to fill it RIGHT up, and all the visual accoutrement you could ask for. Sorry PS3, see you in 2008... probably.

-V-

(Anti-Fanboy disclaimer: The only console I do not own at the moment is a PS3.I have very nearly bought a second PSP on more than one occasion to sit next to my v1.5 and two PS2s. Glad I waited for the Slim!)

GameCakes.com

-V-

(If I could link media files, you'd see this CTrigger video right here.) 

I've been with Canflix for 16 weeks now, so it feels apt time to write a review. In short, they're a perfect fit for me.

Canflix is a Canadian dvd-by-mail service based in Alberta. I'm not really a movie buff. I like popular stuff, camp, "special-interest", and b-movies; eclectic taste you might say. (Same goes for games.) I do like foreign, claasics, anime, and games from all systems. When I was researching the companies, the only complaint against Canflix was their comparably small selection. I find what they lack in quantity they compensate with diversity. [sic for stopwords]

Of course the main reason I chose them is proximity. I don't understand people who sign up for a company with a warehouse 2000 miles away and then complain about turnaround speed. It's First Claas Mail, folks. One stamp does not a magic carpet make. GameFly in the states just opened up a east-coast warehouse, so these things take a certain amount of demand to make real. [sic for stopwords]

Selection wise they have PS2, PS3, Gamecube, Wii, Xbox, and 360 titles, heavily favouring the newest consoles. This is not a place to find greatest hits or obscure PS2 titles. Their main lack is for portables, but it's hard to expect a sizable rental market for those, seeing as they're so cheap to buy, and I still want a reason to visit my local game specialist. Also, unlike what I've heard about GameFly, you cannot simply "buy" the title you've rented. Previously-enjoyed titles are a separate option at the moment.

If you browse certain sections, especially anime, you'll be amazed at the selection, but those are mostly the "dreaded reds", meaning the title hasn't been purchased, and won't be until enough people add it to their list to indicate demand. I'm hoping/planning for a Greasemonkey script to hide these, so I don't have to wade through my personal list of 200+ reds. The website itself is clean and easy to navigate, with a bit of AJAX but not enough to be time saving and make single-operation clicks worthwhile. Better to reorder your entire list the first time and confirm after the refresh. If a TV series has multiple discs, you can most often click once to add the entire set, or scroll down to add individual discs.

I really have no inkling of how many copies on hand they have available. Excitetruck and Red Steel have been borrowed solid since the Wii came out. Yet I received both Elebits and Metal Slug immediately after release, so it's really a matter of list priority. In the mornings they process returns, so you can get an idea of what is available and coming next on your list. In the afternoons you can check what's been sent out, and between 3-5pm you'll get a status e-mail. The speed is fine, and the as-is-standard "Flix Return" feature makes for an interesting bit of strategy. If you Flix Return, your free spot won't get filled until the next day, so you can usually narrow the next title down to a top-three of "greens", with higher priority "yellows" above those, just in case one gets returned and you're next.

I have not yet had a reason to contact their support staff, as there have been no issues. So I can only say another reason I chose them was generally good comments online from other reviewers.

If you're tired of late fees, remembering what to return when, leaving your house, or just having to talk to the clerks at your video store, rental-by-mail is the way to go. If you're in western Canada, give Canflix a try. You'll want to search around for "coupon codes" to bump up your free trial by a week or two.

-V-

[edit 30-Mar:second paragraph] 

Nearly at level 21 now, I can almost taste it. Now if only we could change our aliases, essentially copying our profiles to a new account. I can pay to have my XBL Gamertag changed, I can pay to migrate my WoW or FFXI character (if I played them). Is the GameSpot database really so sprawling that it would cause grievous glitches?

Yesterday I had a marathon game session with a buddy. The last time we had the chance was back at Hallowe'en for the FFXII launch. I've maybe played 10 hours of FFXII since then... /busysigh. Anyway, I brought my Wii360 and got to try out his PS3, so we had all the current-gen machines in one room and I was expecting the walls to start bleeding! What's the term.. Wii-pee-sixty-ess-three? :P I'm pretty good at Resistance, and not so good at GranTHD, which is to be expected. I find flOw for the PS3 is about twice as enjoyable as the PC Flash version, so that's excellent. The Sixaxis is far too light for me, and I'm looking forward to a model with rumble I'm sure is in the works now. I suppose one can just crack open the houseing and add weights to it. Maybe ball bearings for a little tactile feedback?

On the Wii side I pretty well convinced him that it's worth getting one. Sports stole the show, and Virtual Console sealed the deal. I really like that 60-80 year folks are enjoying the Wii. Nintendo as usual has met its goals of diversity and been profitable to boot! Thanks Nintendo! You make the world a happier place.* I rented Sonic and we were bored to death with the tutorial. Yes it's a new control scheme, and yes we like a practice area, but please don't lock the beginning of the game and make the tutorial required. Twenty years ago I didn't need to read the manual for Metroid. Visually it's great. Nice save pulling the license out of the gutter, Sega! No hard feelings, k? I can forget about the Phantasy Star IV guidebook incident.

On the 360 side I really love SotN. The fully pixelated graphics are more to my taste. Two glitches I find on the menu screen: on a VGA display the XYBA button icons are miniscule, and I still can't get the morph buttons to remap. It just doesn't take. TMNT 1989 plays really well but I think the conversion is a hatchet job. The sound is tinny without any bass, the intro was cut for size, and the controls become broken at game over. Got continues left? Can't enter your initials. Got more than one player? You're entering the same initials for everybody.

Note to Digital Eclipse: Either your game testers suck, or your testing budget does. No excuses.

Okay, now I need to reconnect the 360 so I can try Earth Defence Force. Mmmm, rockets + bugs = fun.

-V-

*Nintendo enthusiast. With pictures of me playing my DS, standing in front of the Kyoto HQ. ;)