30 Lives

Making the plunge: PSP

2008-12-02T12:28:00.002-05:00

I decided to make the plunge and get a PSP in January. If the current bundles are still available, it will be difficult to choose between the God of War bundle and the Ratchet and Clank bundle. The GoW one interests me more because I love GoW and think that the red PSP is gorgeous, but the R&C one has a 1GB memory card and a downloadable game (not to mention National Treasure 2), so it's a better value for the same price.

I guess that nonetheless, my choice will be thus: GoW first, Ratchet second (if the GoW bundle is no longer available anywhere).

If anyone wonders why go for the PSP when I have a DS and an iPod for movies, well, it's simple. There's one genre sorely lacking on the DS, and it's hack-and-slash. Another advantage to having 2 portable consoles is that Eric could play one while I play the other when we're on the go -- it's not fun to watch someone else play videogames all the time (granted we could do that with the GBA SP...).

Happy 10th anniversary, Penny Arcade!

2008-11-18T11:21:00.004-05:00

I recently bought the first two reprints of Penny Arcade's webcomic in book format (btw, they're highly recommended, if only for Tycho's comments with hindsight and the practical factor of being able to read PA anywhere). Incidentally, the first PA comic was published 10 years ago, November 18, 1998.

It is weird to re-read about older games -- sometimes it feels like it was yesterday, and sometimes, like it was eons ago.

I just read the following comic from March 2006:

2 1/2 years later, Bioware announced that they were making a KOTOR MMORPG...

The saga of trying to play Baldur's Gate on a G5 iMac

2008-11-03T11:20:00.005-05:00

So, in keeping with my resolution to play through my gaming backlog, I decided to start playing Baldur's Gate last night. I have the original Mac version on 5 CDs plus the expansion pack (CD 6). I had an old install from 2004 on my external hard drive (from back in the days when I'd use my ex-boyfriend's iBook to play the game) and tried running it on my G5 Mac with Panther.

I double-clicked on the BG icon. Classic booted up, the BG icon appeared in the Dock, and then... nothing. The game wouldn't boot. I tried inserting Disk 1, thinking that it might be required to play, but my computer actually kept on rejecting the CD. After some online research, notably on insidemacgames' forums, I found out that some older CRPGs have issues running under Panther.

I didn't give up though. With a further search, found Bioware's support page for BG with an outside link to Graphsim's 1.02 update. After checking my app's version (1.0), I downloaded that update and rebooted Classic, following the instructions in the read-me file. This time, I got a "Cannot run .ini file" error message. Trashed the .ini file, but it still didn't work. I then decided to give one last try by trashing the old game install, reinstalling the game from scratch off the first CD, and rebooting Classic via the 1.02 launch icon.

It did work this time, at long last! Of course, since my computer is much faster and much more powerful than the Macs that were on the market 10 years ago, there are some overperformance issues (the game runs too fast, as my character doesn't walk but runs; also, the sound is off -- women's voices sound like men, and men's voices including the narrator are really deep; this is an issue that I might be able to solve by tweaking the Mac's sound prefs), but the game is basically playable.

After playing the game for a bit, I can say this though: in the world of CRPGs, it's difficult to go back in time. I find that CRPGs have evolved a lot more over the years than their console counterparts did -- all the tweakings and improvements in gameplay mechanics make later games run more smoothly. It also means that you expect an older game to behave in a way it does not. For instance, in BG, I expect to be able to keep my character moving in a given direction by clicking and holding at a point in the map or ground, as in Neverwinter Nights. Not so in BG... This said, doesn't mean that the game won't be enjoyable (especially if I manage to fix the sound issues). But I need to adapt much more so than I did with NWN 2 (although with the latter game, there were elements that I found frustrating compared to NWN, such as the delays in combat).

My gaming resolution

2008-10-27T14:02:00.004-05:00

No need to wait until New Year's Eve to make a resolution!

I have an extensive gaming backlog, and my portable games are the only ones that get completed. Therefore, I decided that I should take at least one hour per evening for gaming at home, whether on console or on the computer. For instance, I'm pretty hyped about Fallout 3, which I will likely get when I have a 360, but how about Fallout and Fallout 2? I own both games but never played them.

I also never finished Zelda: OoT, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, nor Dragon Quest VIII. These 5 games alone total dozens of hours of gameplay combined...

So, here goes: I am making a list of games to play and finish, which you can see below. Maybe that will encourage me to play through what I already own...

Games to play (note: I only list games with a clear beginning-middle-end storyline, rather than more open-ended and arcade-like titles like sports games):

PS2
Dragon Quest VIII
X-Men Legends
X-Men Legends II
Marvel Ultimate Alliance
God of War
God of War II
Okami

Mac
Diablo II + expansion -- offline only
Baldur's Gate
Baldur's Gate II + expansion
Neverwinter Nights + expansions + premium modules -- offline only
Icewind Dale
Knights of the Old Republic
Fallout
Fallout II
Freedom Force
American McGee's Alice

PC
Neverwinter Nights II + expansion

GameCube
Paper Mario 2
Ocarina of Time + Master Quest
Majora's Mask
Wind Waker
Twilight Princess
Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime 2

DS
New Super Mario Bros. (priority, as it belongs to a friend)
Yoshi's Island DS
Dragon Quest Heroes
Dragon Quest IV (have technically finished the game, only have the post-game dungeon left)

GBA
Final Fantasy IV Advance
Final Fantasy V Advance

GBC
Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
Zelda: Oracle of Ages

Dragon Quest IV

2008-10-05T10:20:00.000-05:00

I've been playing through Dragon Quest IV ever since I bought it (no, I never played it on the NES, so it's really a new game for me). I've done something I never do: I changed the language preferences on my DS to French and been playing DQIV in French from the very beginning. The translation is actually excellent. Only qualm: later in the game, there is less hand-holding about where to go next. Problem is, the town names are different in French. So, as I'm trying to use Gamefaqs to figure out where to go next, I find it challenging since the names aren't quite the same (some are easy to figure out but it's not always the case). Fortunately, I found the world map with the locations indicated on someone's Blogger blog. :)

All in all, it's a pretty good game. Highly recommended if you like old-school turn-based RPGs. Incidentally, the touch screen is not used at all; however, the top screen is used to display the world map or the characters' stats during fights. I'm really looking forward to DQV and DQVI, whenever they come out in North America (still indicated as TBD on the official North-American DQ site).

Am I just blasée or?...

2008-07-04T05:59:00.002-05:00

For some reason, yesterday I was in the mood for some dungeon crawling. I remembered that I have a copy of Dungeon Siege installed on my computer, but unplayed. So I decided to give a try at last, thinking that it should be a pretty decent game, since reviews at the time (circa 2002) were pretty positive.

I seriously wonder if they played the same game I did (ok, granted, it was the Mac version I played, but it's supposed to be a direct port). Had it come out a couple of years earlier, I would be more lenient on my judgement, but this is a game that came out the same year as Neverwinter Nights? The AI is unbalanced, your party has to be raised from scratch (or almost) when they join you (even though you may be stronger) and I just hate how the potions can only be used by the person carrying them.

To be frank, I'm not really impressed. Maybe it's just because there has been so many good action and RPG games released since then, both on console and PC, but it feels like it's missing something in its gameplay mechanics. Don't get me wrong, I love hack n slash games (I'm probably the only person to have finished Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance several times on the GBA), yet I'm disappointed by this game and find it to be overrated. Is it just me?

OMG! Boobiegate over at the Age of Conan game!

2008-06-05T16:56:00.004-05:00

O noes, horny male gamers who like to confuse their videogames and their pr0n fantasies are pissed off because the latest patch to the Age of Conan MMORPG accidently shrank the boob size of the game's female characters...

http://adweek.blogs.com/adfreak/2008/06/gamers-will-not.html (warning -- the link's links lead to serious sanity points-draining nerd territory and are also be NSFW)

You know... this is completely unacceptable! After all, only young, single, straight adult males play videogames! You know, why have flat-chested girls like Olive Oyl (Popeye) or Pauline (Donkey Kong) in videogames? Heck, Mario dumped Pauline for Princess Peach! Or what about that plus-size gaming queen of the 80s, Ms. Pac-Man? Totally unacceptable in this age of so-called obesity crisis! Keep her away from the power pellets and put her on the Wii Fit asap!!!

Seriously, I'm getting really sick and tired of videogame designers thinking that there must be only one gamer demographic out there. There should not be a correlation between a female videogame character's boob size and the quality of the game. Would have Tomb Raider been as popular has Lara Croft been a plain-jane type? Dunno. On the other hand, the bra size of Samus does not impact the quality of the Metroid series. I couldn't care less how sexy and eye-candy a character is, if the game is good. However, if it serves as a lazy cop-out to cover the fact that the game is crappy, then go back to the designing board and come up with a game with solid gameplay.

Personally, if you're threatening to cancel your subscription to a MMORPG just because the female characters are suddenly less male-porn fantasy material, either you're not a gamer, or the game itself actually sucks.

It's days like this where I really like my CTRL-ALT-DEL webcomic t-shirt featuring the series' Lilah, saying "Girls play videogames too. You'd know this if you went out of the house sometimes".

Neverwinter Nights' origin

2008-04-29T10:30:00.003-05:00

Did you know that Bioware's Neverwinter Nights is not the first game of that title?

From 1991 to 1997, there was another Neverwinter Nights (which was also a Forgotten Realms licensed title), from a joint project involving AOL , SSI and TSR. It was the first graphical MMORPG (originally at a full $6/hr rate!). Of course, compared to Bioware's NWN, it looks pretty basic... Nonetheless, it's interesting to see the origins of the online component of NWN.

For more details about the original NWN, I recommend the site http://www.bladekeep.com/nwn, which has lots of screen grabs and other info.

Happy April's Fool!

2008-04-01T12:57:00.001-05:00

Since it's April's Fool and this is a gaming blog, I found on Wikipedia the full list of EGM's April's Fool pranks. Interestingly enough, some of those pranks became true later on, such as the inclusion of Sonic in Super Smash Bros. (except that it's in Brawl, not Melee)...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EGM_April_Fools'_jokes

Read Trigger Happy for free!!!

2008-02-08T12:22:00.001-05:00

Read Trigger Happy for free!

Trigger Happy is one of the rare essays about videogames that I don't own and haven't read. Already read good reviews of it, though, just never got around to buying the book.

Anyways, the book's author Steven Poole has announced on his blog that the book is now available for free in pdf format. It's a small download, a mere 2.5MB (for a 450-page book!), so even if you're on dialup, it's accessible without too much effort.

2008-01-27T19:32:00.001-05:00

Something weird happened to me this afternoon, as I was playing Zelda: Twilight Princess on the GameCube. At one point, I got a static shock on my left hand, and right after that, the controller's joystick stopped responding properly. I was afraid I might have damaged my controller but no: disconnecting the controller and connecting it back was all I needed to do to get it to work again. Phew!

Happy 35th anniversary, Pong!

2007-11-29T15:08:00.000-05:00

Pong, the first commercially successful videogame (not to be confused with the first videogame made or released, or even the first ping-pong videogame) turns 35 today. It was originally released on Nov. 29, 1972, according to Wired.

So, go on, fire up whichever game compilation you have that has a Pong game on it, whether the Atari Flashback, one of the many Atari compilations or even a vintage pong unit, and don't forget: avoid missing ball for high score...

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance

2007-09-24T11:15:00.000-05:00

I recently played through Dark Alliance on GameCube and Dark Alliance 2 on PS2. DA2 is one of those games that sell for a high price because of its low print run. Now, if you're the completist type of collector (one who must have all RPGs or all PS2 or Xbox games, etc.), fine, do pay the extra money if you really want to add the game to your collection.

However, if you consider yourself to be mainly a gamer rather than a collector, I suggest to either wait to get lucky and find a cheap copy of the game or to opt for one of the many other hack n slash RPGs that were released on console or computer. Don't get me wrong, I like the BG: DA series. But these 2 games are pretty short (about a dozen hours each) and have low replay value (unless you just wanna hack and slash around). So you get relatively low value for the buck if you pay market price for the game.

DA 2 sells for about $50. Let's see what alternatives you could go for, for about that price (provided you're a PC user, or an Intel Mac user with Windows installed, although I've read that it's possible to install NWN Diamond Collection on a PPC Mac -- see bioware.com's forums for more info):

Neverwinter Nights Diamond Collection + NWN 2
X-Men Legends + X-Men Legends 2 + Marvel Ultimate Alliance
Diablo Battle Chest

Playing through my games / Paper Mario: TTYD

2007-09-24T11:11:00.000-05:00

*Cross-posted on my Livejournal blog*

In my quest to try to play through all my videogames (before I spend money buying more games), I decided that, after beating Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2, I would play through Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. So far, I like the game a lot but it is tedious at times and I do wish that it were possible to skip through cutscenes (but at least it's possible to save after said cutscenes).

There's quite a few puzzles in the game, and I've had to use gamefaqs a couple of times to find out what to do next (that's usually how I use gamefaqs anyways -- to guide me when I'm stuck). I'm currently in chapter 5 (where Mario gets stranded on an island).

In a way, it's surprising that Nintendo never advertised Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga as a sequel to Paper Mario, because it borrows many elements of the game (minus the paper transformations). In fact, it borrows so much that I had no problem integrating the whole fighting system since M&L: SS uses the same fighting system -- turn-based and in real time at once (I played through M&L before playing Paper Mario: TTYD).

I dunno what game I will play after I finish TTYD. Probably the 3D Zelda games, as I never finished any of them (might as well play them in order: finish OoT first, then Majora's Mask, then Wind Waker, and then Twilight Princess. Of course, at the rate that I've been gaming lately (especially since I'm busy on Tuesdays and Thursdays with my aquagym class), by the time I'm done with the 3D Zelda games, we'll probably be in 2008. :P

Then again, if I really wait till I play through all my games before buying any more (more open-ended games like Battlefront 2 and Tony Hawk 4 don't count), I probably wouldn't buy any more games before 2010 if not 2012, if I include all the computer games I haven't played or finished (American McGee's Alice, Star Wars: KOTOR, Neverwinter Nights and its expansion packs + premium modules, Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 incl. expansion, Diablo 1 and 2 + expansion, Dungeon Siege, Icewind Dale, Fallout 1 and 2, Star Trek: Elite Force and its expansion pack, Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy -- that one I must still send my extra copy of disc 1 to Aspyr so I can have disc 2 and install the game!!!). As you can see, tons of hours of fun ahead between my Mac and I! Whoever said that games don't exist for the Mac, well the choice is more limited, but I wouldn't consider the above games unworthy.

Pictures from the Namco Wonder Tower in Kyoto

2007-07-17T10:32:00.000-05:00

OK, they're not that great because I couldn't use flash and there are probably as many crane game shots as videogames because so many of the games were just blah looking Astro City cabs. But, here's a bunch of photos I took yesterday at Namco's big Wonder Tower Arcade in Kyoto.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/captainwrong/sets/72157600870372302/

Enjoy.

Greetings from Akihabara

2007-07-14T20:16:00.000-05:00

Man, it's been a long time since I've posted here. Mostly that's been because all my stuff is in storage and if it's not on PSP, I haven't been able to play it. But here we are in Japan and Kristen and I both wanted to do a little videogame shopping first and foremost.

So, Akihabara. Yeah, it's everything you've heard. In fact, we're planning on making a return trip, even though we spend several hours there already. To put it mildly, the place is completely overwhelming.

This was a random corner we were at. It was raining all day, which sucked, and there were lots of people everywhere inspite of the rain. Perhaps not as packed as I'd anticipated, but based on how dense the stores were stocked, I don't see how many more people you could put in here.

This corner was a little more empty, for the moment. I can't remember where any of these pictures were taken. Sorry.

Most of the stores don't allow photography. I took this one on the sly, just to kind of give you an idea of what a store looks like. I'm pretty sure we bought some stuff here, but I don't remember what it was.
So, what neat gaming stuff did we find?

Well, first off, I love capsule machines and they have these Namco ones that are little keychain fobs with classic game sounds.

Got 'em all except Xevious. Believe me, we tried. Plenty of duplicates. *sigh*

The coolest thing I bought so far was this Space Invaders Anniversary set:

but here's a highlight:

I'd seen this before, but become it came out so long ago, it was off my radar. You get a PS2 game with all the Space Invaders games and this cool little controller thing:

The top opens up and you put a dual shock in there and you can play it like an old Space Invaders cabinet. Neat stuff. I managed to get this used for cheap (750 yen) so I'm really happy.

Which brings me to a little bit about shopping here. You might think you'd be able to save a ton buying Japanese stuff straight from the source. Well, not really. For instance, I saw Radiant Silvergun and the price was about what I would have expected form eBay, maybe a little less depending on the bidders.

Where you go right is on the shipping. For my Space Invaders set, the shipping would be killer. Purchasing it here means, I can actually afford it because I'm not paying several times the item's value to get it home. Granted, I still have to get it home, but we brought mostly empty luggage for just such a thing.

The other thing I'd mention is the language barrier. Most people here speak a little English and they try to be very helpful. Unfortunately, I spent most of my ten hours of college Japanese paying more attention to a girl than class, so I'm floundering a bit here.

Game store arrange games by genre, not necessarily alphabetically. Once you figure out what you're looking for, you're golden. Fighting games seem to be filed under "Vs." and shmups are strategdy or stg. There's a little bit of romanji on the shelf dividers, so that helps.

Problem is, space is such a premium, games are lined up spines out. There's usually very little English on a Japanese game spine, so you're fumbling and hoping once you get in your correct section. It's a little frustrating.

Used games, however, tend to be alphabetical. That's the biggest bummer, looking at a shelf packed with Dreamcast and Saturn goodies and I haven't the foggiest idea where to start.

The other thing is just finding your way around. While most stores seem to have a little game stuff, if you're looking for a particular store, it can be tricky. I'm still trying to figure out how we apparently walked right past Mak Japan, a store dealing with arcade boards.

So, that's all I have for the moment. Even though it's hard not to feel a little frustrated knowing everything you want is within a mile or so and you have no idea how to ask for it, it's a trip being here and I look forward to going back. For now though, I'm going to crack open some Lode Runner DS.

Spring Training

2007-06-09T08:33:00.000-05:00

Classic Gaming Expo is coming up next month in Las Vegas. The last time I made it to this fantastic event was in 2004 and I'm looking forward to going this year, meeting some online mates, and plugging the outstanding R2 holes in my Atari 2600 collection.

One of my fonder memories of last CGE was playing 2600 Missile Command. Sounds routine, I know, but bear with me: Part of the floor area of CGE2K4 was set up as a 1980's-style living room complete with big plush couch, a floor-level RCA console television, a bunch of 80's LP's liberally scattered across a coffee table and of course the ubquitous Atari 2600. When an opportunity came I plopped down on the couch and fired up Missile Command. I racked up about 150,000 points: not my best game, but not my worst either. The funny thing was that I had attracted a small audience who offered up a couple of compliments on my play after the world exploded. In over 20 years of gaming, this was the first time something like this had ever happened. I don't consider myself an egotist or anything, but it was actually sort of nice to be recognized for gaming skill in the context of the surrounding event.

So now that a certain standard has been set, I feel compelled to meet or exceed it in 2007. Towards that end I am polishing up my Missile Command skills in anticipation of CGE2K7. Try to imagine, if it helps, a montage of the Pantechnicon slamming carts into consoles, meticulously cleaning the electrical contacts on his CX40 joystick, sweatily thumb-wrestling with his 9-year-old son, praying before a shrine to Rob Furlop and bench pressing 4-switch woodgrains, all with "Gonna Fly Now" playing in the foreground.

Well, I'm not doing any of that. Just playing a couple of rounds of Missile Command per day, getting into a rhythym and trying to hone an intuitive feel for the game so that I don't look like a total boob come showtime.

If you make it to CGE and you see someone hogging the couch playing Missile Command, feel free to come by and say hello, or to snicker appropriately if I'm completely choking in public at one of my favorite games of all time.

I finally beat an N-Gage game!

2007-06-07T15:30:00.000-05:00

That's right folks. Out of all the absolute shit released for the engage, I finally found one worthy enough to be finished. And the winner is...........High Seize!

High Seize is surprisingly a pretty good game. It's a turn based strategy game, similar to Advance Wars. You play as a pirate hunter, out to rescue you father. Along the way you meet many interesting folks that have no bearing whatsoever on the game. Eventually you can team up with some of these people, but for the most part they just appear then a battle happens. Each battle gives you points which you can spend to increase the effectiveness of your troops, be they land, sea, or support. I actually played through twice, because when I got to the end I discovered that life would be much easier if I had used my points differently.

Overall, I'd say the game was fair. however, on the N-gage that makes it a shining star. After I beat it I decided to give some others a shot so I put in Rifts. Man what a piece of crap. Good ole N-gage.

The Joy of playing MAME with a PS2 controller

2007-05-28T05:55:00.000-05:00

It's been a very long time since I last played MAME. So long, in fact, that I forgot how to make MacMAME recognize my PS2 controller (which is connected via a USB adaptor). The problem is that, back in the days of OS 9, using any USB controller to play MAME was child's play, thanks to a utility called InputSprocket, which allowed you to easily map keys to the controller. Unfortunately, when Apple switched over to OSX, they did not include an equivalent to InputSprocket.

As a result, it became difficult to use any USB controller with any emulator. Some people did come out with third party utilities, but they didn't always work that well (I'm thinking of USB Overdrive in particular).

However, my problem got solved pretty easily: I downloaded the latest version of MacMAME (v. 0.103) et voilà! I was able to use my PS2 controller!

Incidentally, what games did I play? I cycled through many different games in a relatively short span, but I played 1942, 1943, Puzzle Bobble/Bust-a-Move, Galaga, Galaga 3/Gaplus, Tetris, Tapper, Donkey Kong. I wanted to play Moon Patrol, but alas i will need to find a compatible ROM (that's maybe my only true qualm with MAME: can't they update the software without losing ROM compatibility???). In times like this, I miss the good ole Mame.dk and its easy-to-use website that indicated exactly which version of a given ROM was compatible with which versions of MAME.

One thing I like with MAME is the possibility to add screenshots, game flyers, marquees, cabinet art. I see that my collection is still somewhat lacking on that front, but eventually I will add screenshots to all the game as well as all the art I can find (obviously, that may prove more difficult with more obscure titles...).

Happy Birthday Duke Nukem!

2007-04-27T03:03:00.000-05:00

Noooooooooooooooooo! Not THAT Duke Nukem, sillypants! That's the one from Captain Planet!

As I am writing this, it is officially April 27th 2007, the Decaverssary of the announcement of Duke Nukem: Forever!

Probably the most aptly titled game I've come across, because we have been hearing about this game FOR...EVER.

Final Fantasy 12 was announced in 2001 and released in 2006. Think that wait was long? This has taken TWICE the time, and there's still no end in sight! Hate that development time between Halo games? Watch the sequels fly right by while DN:F lingers in development hell!

It's switched game engines four or five times (it began on the original Unreal engine), developers twice, and been shown at FOUR E3's looking completely different every time. Its official release date is "When it's done." Somebody do the math. What the hell must the dollar sign on this thing be by now? Building the game, scrapping it and rebuilding, the manhours, development kit costs. There's no way they can regain their losses. They're going to have to market it to their original demographic's kids. This thing is the most colossal waste of programming, time, and money since ET on the 2600 or, dare I even say, the 3DO.

When Duke Nukem Forever was announced, I was a sophomore in High School, Clinton was president, and Chris Farley and Princess Di were still alive. During this game's lifespan, Family Guy was thought up, cancelled, brought back, cancelled again, brought back again, and stopped being funny... with TWO YEARS ON EITHER SIDE. Hell, the Playstation ONE was pretty damn new! We've been through two ENTIRE CONSOLE CYCLES while this game has been simmering in a rich broth of lies and missed deadlines. Let's get Hal Sparks and Michael Ian Black in here to talk about how long we've been waiting for this game to be finished and we'll air it on VH1.

Duke Nukem Forever is so old that when it was announced, the dead sea was just sick. Rainbows were still in black and white. If it ever comes out, it'll only be sold in antique stores. It owes Ben Franklin a nickel. This game is so old, that when it was announced, Guns N Roses were still recording Chinese Democracy!

Oh wait... never mind.

Just don't tell the ESRB.

2007-04-25T15:43:00.000-05:00

The following conversation was overheard this morning in a house that may or may not have been my own.

“Wake up, son. It’s time for school.”

(sleepy voice) “Can I please lay here for five more minutes? I’m so tired…”

“Why? You went to bed at 8:30pm last night.”

“I went to bed at 8:30 but I didn’t go to sleep until about 12:30.”

“Why was that?”

(looks guiltily at the Nintendo DS on the nightstand) “Guess I was playing too much Pokemon Diamond.”

(standard parental blather about 9-year-olds playing videogames all night in the middle of a school week)

(The boy responds) “I know. But what were you and Daddy playing last night?”

“Excuse me?”

“About 11:00. I kept hearing you and Daddy grunting and saying ‘Yes! Yes!’”

“Uh….”

“Did Daddy teach you to play Advance Wars? Were you in linked mode?”

“Uh…maybe you were imagining it because you were so tired.”

“Could be. So then can I please can I sleep for five more minutes?”

“Yeah, sure.”

With computer gaming, always back up your save files.

2007-04-23T21:22:00.000-05:00

I have been playing Neverwinter Nights since late 2004 or so. Yes, I am still in the original (offline) campaign and I've been waiting till I finished it before I install the expansion packs.

However, I learned quite a lesson today: my NWN savefile got corrupted and disappeared. When I looked into the save folder, nada. It's as if I never played the game, ever. And I was so far in the game too! My character was in the middle of fighting a dragon and all...

The only good news is that I don't need to restart from the very beginning. I found an old savefile of the game on my external hard drive (since I've had the game longer than my iMac). However, this still means 2 years of gaming lost and gone.

The lesson to be learned? When playing an epic computer game, make sure to keep an extra copy of the save file just in case the main copy gets corrupted or deleted.

At this rate, I won't install the expansion packs before 2010...

Portables Win!

2007-04-21T16:43:00.000-05:00

Over the years I have often gone back and forth between preferring portable games and consoles. Not unlike a blip in Pong, I would bounce to and fro, buying games, letting them sit, buying systems, letting them sit. Every generation of consoles I go out and buy what looks neat. After a few months I promise myself that I will only buy portable systems and games from now on.

The fact of the matter is that I prefer portable games. A recent thread at Digital Press got me to thinking about the reasons why. For the first time I think I may have nailed down the why for me. The reasons are varied. Shall we examine each on it's own? Yes, let us.

Obviously, they are portable. I like being able to take a game with me anywhere I go. Be it the bathroom or the dentist, there is no reason to stop a game. Many systems fit easily into a pocket, so you can whip one out when an opportunity presents itself. If my city had decent public transportation, this would be an even bigger plus. As it is I am still able to use one regularly at work during breaks. So, whether it is a planned use, or only when an opportunity presents itself, portables win.

Another plus is no set-up time. Unlike a lot of the folks I know, but more like most normal people I suppose, I do not have a dedicated game room. At most, I have one or two systems hooked up at a time. When I want to play a console, I have to take the system out of it's little hole, change channels/other TV settings, turn on the game, return TV to original settings(or feel the wrath of the old lady who come sin after to watch TV), and put the system back into it's little hole. If I want to play a system that's not hooked up I need to add the steps of digging the system out/putting it back, and hooking up/de-hooking. I'm lazy. A portable the steps, at most, include finding the system, turning it on. When I'm done I turn it off and set it down. Portables win.

This kinda goes with the previous plus, but, there is no fighting over the TV with a portable. As I said, I do not have a dedicated game room of any type. I am forced to use the TV in the living room. While this is nice and comfy, there is another problem with it, sharing. I am rarely home alone. Due to this I rarely have lone access to the TV. Occasionally, I get to play some games. When schedules conflict, in particular. Seldom when others are home. With a portable, all I need is a spot on the couch. Turn the sounds down and I can have all the fun I like, and the old lady can watch her Forensic Files. Portables win.

The last reason for me is that portables can offer a more personal game experience. I know this reason is a bit out there, but let me explain. When playing a console, people can watch. They will comment, tell you "That was Awesome!!", explain how you did that wrong, etc., etc.. Some will want to join in if the game allows, or wish to change the game if not. These are all intrusions into your experience. With portables the most you get is an occasional "What're you playing?". No comments, no whining. You are left to enjoy your game. Now, if you can play your consoles alone, good for you. My situation does not often allow that. Portables win.

So, you see, portables are better than consoles. Sure, some say the graphics suck, you get simpler games on portables, or the screen is too small. To that I say, you're a dope. Portables are often just a generation or so behind consoles in terms of graphics capabilities, and portables often enjoy a lot of ports from console games of last generation. Games of all types are released for portables. Portables can even offer some unique experiences.

The screen is small, I'll admit. However, at the distance the screen is from my eyes, it looks about as big as my 30 inch TV from where I sit. The big problem is resolution. The latest generation of handhelds are making great strides in this area, but I suspect they will always lag behind real TVs. Oh well. Consoles win. punks.

I Am The Very Model Of A Modern Armchair General

2007-04-15T08:26:00.000-05:00

Honestly, if more Marines looked like this, I'd have never left the Corps.

Now here's a fun series of games that's recently come to my attention: Advance Wars for the GBA and DS.

Yeah, yeah, I know: "Advance Wars was a GBA launch title. Welcome to the year 2001, old man."

Maybe I should have jumped on it then. The premise sounded interesting but you know what put me off to it? The screen shots on the box art prominently showed this one screen where the display is split between two groups of enemy units who fire at each other to arrive at an outcome involving a change in unit hit points. While it looked graphically nice, this screenshot gave me the impression that this game was actually some sort of bizarre 2D fighter, which is not my kind of thing, and so I never picked up a copy of the game until recently.

What did in fact motivate me to eventually pick up the first game was the other late discovery on my part that some GBA titles, including Advance Wars I, support linked modes of play using only one cartridge (alright…stop laughing at my “revelations”). Always on the lookout for a game to play with 9-year-old son, I decided to invest in a copy of Advance Wars since the only other title I had that supported single-cart linked play was Virtual Kasparov (zzzz....).

Turn-based military tactical games are something I’ve always felt I should be more interested in but my initial experiences with the genre left me mostly hesitant about further exploration. These experiences usually involved myself around at around 15 years of age being dragged through one of those 50,000-piece Avalon Hill bookcase games like Squad Leader by my friend Daryle, who was into that sort of thing. After initiative resolution, deduction of terrain modifiers to the move base, calculation of line-of-sight, determination of maximum firing arcs, addition of terrain modifiers to the fire base, movement phase, fire phase, and the ammunition expenditure recording phase something like three hours would have passed and I’d be begging Daryle to go play Montezuma’s Revenge on his Colecovision instead.

(I have the same mindset about flight simulators. Keep it simple. I just want to roll, pitch and use weapons…maybe be able to land. If I wanted to really learn how to fly a plane then I would have learned to fly a real plane, kthx).

Luckily for me Advance Wars in not a 2D-fighter, nor does it require a degree in accounting to understand the action happening in the game. The tutorial section of the game is of the perfect depth to master everything you need to know. Most of the action happens on a simplistic map, with the amusing split screen graphics to depict the close-up resolution of your combat encounters. Simplified logistical information is available for each unit, and the objectives are pretty clear for each level. The individual unit commanders you pick for different missions have unique advantages and drawbacks. Individual unit strengths follow a very easy to grasp rock-paper-scissors logic: e.g. - Destroyers beat subs, subs beat battleships, and battleships beat destroyers. (The use of sea, air and land units in a combined setting makes the game series even more fun).

Turns out the game is just as much fun to play against the GBA as it is against another human. But I did buy a second cart so that my son could have his own save file, as well as allowing for better gameplay options when two carts are linked. Usually when I beat a game of any one type I try to switch to a different game style for the next game just to change things up. Unfortunately (or not), I had already found a good deal on a copy of Advance Wars 2 shortly before beating AW1, so I started the second game more or less right after the first. To my mind it’s been one long game for the last three or four weeks. And now that I’ve recently fixed my broken DS, Advance Wars for that console will be coming round the corner next. Endless warfare, at least until May.

Easily a must-have for all GBA fans, the replay value is nearly limitless. Gamestop will probably have them in the neighborhood of $10-$12 dollars. Pick either one up and prepare to give up sleep, food etc all in the name of victory.

Hi My Name is Chris, and I am a Nintendo / Xbox Fanboy.

2007-04-12T09:01:00.000-05:00

*THE FOLLOWING IS AN OPINION PIECE. Just because you like PSP, PS3 or whatever, it's still cool with me. It's all video games. I just don't really like the current SONY products.*

I have never liked Sony video game systems. Ever. Period. My brother got a Playstation on launch, I got a N64 on launch. I didn't get what the hype was about Playstation. Oh hey look it's crash, it's a platformer on rails. Well hey with this Mario 64 I have I can go anywhere I want! Metal Gear was cool, so was Castlevania SOTN, played both on my Bro's PS1. But I played the hell out of Goldeneye. Never got into Gran Turismo. Ridge Racer was good, but there was Cruis'n USA & Mario Kart 64 on my N64. My friends and I in High School were Nintendo People. We went straight from Super Nintendo to Nintendo 64.

Fast Forward - Fall 2000.

Playstation 2 launch. I am now at this point a collector. I make a very hard decision to sell off some pretty rare NES games to make this $300 purchase at 18 years old. Mainly because Dynasty Warriors 2, SSX, NHL 2001, Time Splitters, and the awesomely promised Metal Gear Solid 2 look fantastic. I make said purchase with said games (Except MGS2, that was not on launch, duh.)

Fast Forward January 2001

My Playstation 2 broke. It starts to give occassional DREs. I'm pissed. I called SONY, it was still in warranty, they "fix" it, send it back. DREs occur 2 months later. Warranty has run out, they wont fix it unless I pay somewhere around the tune of $130. I say screw it. I took it to a local shop. Store owner gives me $150 cash for the system, and around $100 cash for the games. I am done with Sony. Screw Next Gen, I am sticking with collecting for classic systems.

Fast Forward

Metroid Prime comes out. OMG. It looks amazing! Gotta have it. But, staying true to my classic system promise, I don't purchase a GameCube. But then it happened. They Bundled it with the system. Okay you almost have me.... They dropped the price of the Cube, and it included Metroid Prime (If you could still find said bunde) I found said bundle. I love my Cube, in the future I played Metroid, Super Mario Sunshine, Mario Baseball, Strikers, Soul Calibur II, etc.

Playstation 2 is still getting a bad rep for DREs, load times, but continues to sell out the butt. It has some really good games for it. BUT. Something is coming out in the Fall of 2004. Halo 2. Holy Crap that looks great!!! I have to have it. E3 2004, MS drops the price of their Xbox system, I run out and grab Halo,Marvel Vs Capcom 2, Ninja Gaiden, and some others. Still not interested in a PS2.

FAST FORWARD Summer of 2005 - CGE2K5

I meet some people in San Fran from DP. Jibbajaba has a PSP. I make fun of him because my Nintendo DS has way more fun games like Kirby's Canvas Curse than his PSP. Plus the PSP is priced too high, I won't be getting it at this time.

Fast Forward

Sony announces their redesigned Slim PS2, less prone to DREs. It's pretty solid, and sleek. Kinda cool, no need for it though, I can get almost everything I want on an Xbox and Cube. VGXPO 2005, I am a vendor. A company called Red Octane is there. Some new guitar game is coming out. A Huge crowd around the demo. I hear Queen and Franz Ferdinand. WTF? I ask Drexel to watch my table as I walk over to see what all the fuss is. HOLE-LEY CRAP. I gotta have Guitar Hero. I grab a PS2 Slimmy, and Guitar Hero, and an extra guitar. This is now currently my Guitar Hero 1/2 & God of War 1&2 machine.

FAST FORWARD - Summer 2006

Drexel convinces me (and helps me) get a Xbox 360. Dead Rising is about to come out which looks amazing, and Battlefield 2 looks really fun. I played Full Auto in Gamestop which I thought looked amazing. I played Call of Duty 2 which also looks promising. I buy both. I also purchase a DS Lite and New Super Mario Bros. Both great purchases.

Fast Forward - Fall 2006

Nintendo Wii looks amazing. The Naysayers call it a gimmick, the rest of the world calls it fun. PS3 graphics aren't as good as the E3 promises. PS3 overpriced. Played Genji in Gamestop on a PS3 kiosk. Not impressed. Played Excitetruck on a Gamestop Wii kiosk. VERY IMPRESSED. The Wii is a must buy. Purchase the Wii (With Drexel's help again, thanks buddy) and Excitetruck, Zelda, Monkey ball, and Red Steel. All great games IMHO. Nothing on PS3 looks good.

Fast Forward - Present Day.

Guitar Hero II released on Xbox 360, despite the song packs costing way too much money, I have less and less reason to play my PS2. The only use it gets is an occasional play of Rez or God of War II. I will still keep it, cause I am a collector. PSP price drops to $169.99. Still not enough. I think to myself, "Sony just doesn't get it. They shoot themselves in the foot by adding unnecessary firmware to their system to prevent emulators, which is always broken. Software support for PSP is dying. PS3 is gettting critically panned. Price is too high, software unimpressive." Sony is losing exclusives left and right to the XB360.

I have to currently restrain myself from jumping into internet convos to not say things like "Well, that's because Sony sucks." My 360 gets tons of play with games like Crackdown, Worms, and still older titles like BF2. My DS Lite is currently playing Kirby: Squeak Squad and Contact. I have no need for a SONY video game machine ever again.

Until 1 of 3 things happens.

1. I want to collect for it. (PSP you are getting close.)
2. It drops in price (PSP, looking at you.)
3. A Killer Ap comes out, unavailable on any MS or Nintendo system. (???)

However, I don't see any of those three things ever happening anytime soon.

Current Collection Comparisons:

Xbox - 250+
PS2 - 40+
Cube 60+
DS - 30 +
PSP - 0
Xbox 360 - 20+
Wii - 6
PS3 - 0

-Chris-

YOU WA SHOCK!

2007-04-03T05:05:00.000-05:00

God bless you, Sega. God bless you, Japan. God Bless you, Play-Asia.com. God bless you, Karl for selling me your Japanese PS2. God bless us everyone.

I am generally not a big fan of the fighting genre. This is because I am not good at them. Then the creative geniuses behind Guilty Gear decided to lend their talents to one of the most ball-punchingly awesome anime franchises in the history of mankind. It's like a little miracle baby was delivered to me today in a bubble wrap envelope. HOKUTO NO KEN: GODDAMN STREET FIGHTER STYLE.

Now for those of you who have seen Fist of the North Star you may imagine a gloriously mapped Tekkenesque fighter with intense button combinations and complex counters. *BUZZ* WRONG. What we have is the most beautiful sprite-based 2-d fighter with one of the most inventive fighting systems I've witnessed. Can you throw a Haduken? Then you can perform 90% of the moves in this game. There's no time for complex button combos because the fighting is so fast and furious you'll be dead before you could input one of them. Only good with Hworang or Paul in Tekken? Doesn't matter in this game, everyone here has the same button combos, they just do different things. What may be an aerial nunchuck attack for Kenshiro may make Rei grab his opponent by the nutsack and throw him across the room, and it may make Jagi pull a barrel of oil out of nowhere and leave it on the field. Yup, Jagi has a move where he just leaves a barrel on the field. He also has a move where he dumps a gallon of gas on the ground. Both of these moves are pretty stupid until you figure out the move that makes him throw a match.

Toss in the fact that there's 2 ways to win each match, either to pummel your opponent's life bar down to naught or to skillfully land moves to wear your opponents, um... blue squares down to one shiny blue square and then perform the NANTO SEIKEN BATSHIT CRAZY PLUMMETING DOVE F'IN DEATH STRIKE and just end that shit right there.

You've got typical Arcade mode, training, PVP, and a story mode that actually makes you re-enact the fights as they happened in the series. Did Kenshiro win this fight? OF COURSE KENSHIRO WON THE FIGHT. But did he use the hundred punch heart-explosion thing or stick his thumbs into the side of the guy's head? You'd better remember. You're not gonna though. I've seen most of the damn show, they all blend into one big bloody episode. I'm hoping the DVD included with the game has selections to help me out.

I've been getting figuratively plump and lazy on the rpg's too much. Pop'n is like eating well and maybe jogging on Sundays, but THIS game is telling your spotter to quit being a pussy and put more weight on the bar. It's been a long time since I've left a good amount of thumb skin on a D-pad and it feels GOOD.

A Genesis Mess Is This.

2007-04-02T22:24:00.000-05:00

It’s a Wonkavator. An elevator can only go up and down, but the Wonkavator can go sideways and slantways and longways and backways (and frontways?) and squareways and frontways and any other ways that you can think of.... Just press a button and ZING you’re off.
-Willy Wonka, apparently explaining Sega Genesis compatibility issues to Charlie Bucket

Sega Genesis aka - The Collection That Creeped Up On Me.

Having long prided myself on being a mostly 1st-generation gamer, I was quite surprised to find one day that my collection of Genesis titles had become the 2nd largest collection after the Atari 2600 . The "Genny" stack presently sits at 88 titles. How that happened I can't really explain.

That figure of 88 is an aggregate of Genesis carts, 32X carts and Sega CD titles ("Aggregate eighty-eight". C'mon, say it out loud. You know you want to...). But getting to enjoy all those titles at any time is a little tedious owing to the constant need for hardware swapping. Genesis fans know what I'm talking about, but here's a quick rundown for you non-fans:

1. A Model I Sega CD only works with a model I Genny.
2. A Model II Sega CD works with a Model I or II Genny, but takes a separate model I power adapter.
3. A 32X expansion fits a model II Genny but takes its own Model II power adapter.
4. A 32X will fit a Model I Genny but only if you have the metal shim.
5. If you lose the cable connecting your 32X to your Genny of either model then you're screwed.
6. Power Base Converter only fits a Model I Genny.
7. You can't have a Sega CD, Genny Model I or II, and a 32X all hooked up at the same time.
8. A Model III Genny can do nothing but play standard carts, yet ironically commands the 2nd most resale value of all Genny models...
9. I wish I had a Sega CDx.

Got all that straight? If so, then welcome to the wonderful world of Genesis hardware, or welcome to the insane asylum. Six of one, half dozen of the other.

So a few days ago I found myself torn between the wholly understandable and healthy urge to watch Dana Plato bounce around in her tight stone-washed jeans in my uncensored copy of Night Trap and an utter lack of motivation to accomplish this goal because that meant sifting through a Gordian knot of adapters and cables to slap together a Sega CD package when finally it hit me: "Stupid. You've got enough Genesis hardware around here now to build every possible combination once, hook them all up en masse, and be done with it forever." By jove, he was right!

After rooting through my whole pile of Genny hardware here's what we've got ready to go:
1. Model I Genny on a Model II Sega CD. The cart slot contains the memory save cart for Sega CD and will never see a regular cart again, forever and ever, amen.
2. Model I Genny with a Power Base Converter (Heresy to some Sega fans, pure practicality to me).
3. 32X on a Model II Genny (32x carts only, although I know it will play regular ones, but this is an exercise in excess).
4. Model III Genny for plain old 16-bit carts.
4a. Sega Nomad ready to travel whenever I do.

...and everything running into one four-way A/V switch. Click. Click. Play. It never felt so easy to ogle Dana before this...

It's purging time!

2007-03-30T09:41:00.001-05:00

This year, I decided to reduce the clutter in my apartment by getting rid of the stuff that I don't use as much. Among other things, I took a look at all the videogames I owned, and I decided to keep only the few consoles and games that I do play. As a result, I'm only keeping my PS2, my GameCube, my GBA SP, my SNES and my Atari Flashback 2.0. The rest is already gone, sold to friends during a recent swapmeet. I still have at home the Colecovision and the Atari 2600 Jr. that I sold to Dan "Newcoleco" Bienvenu, but they'll be gone as soon as I get to see him, which will probably be in July (a snowstorm kept him from attending our swapmeet last weekend).

The reasoning behind getting rid of my consoles is that 1. all these consoles and games took a lot of space -- I had a big Rubbermaid box full of them, plus random stuff in cardboard boxes. 2. I played very few of these games (in fact, the PS2 is the console that sees the most play). 3. The nostalgia buzz that I had 5 years ago is all but gone now. Yes, it was lots of fun to find those consoles and games from my childhood (and to discover new ones too), but I have to say that I'm back to a point where emulation can take care of most of my retrogaming needs.

Next up: purging my music CDs. That's gonna be another huge step...

Shooter Newb, in da hisouse!!1

2007-03-23T09:45:00.000-05:00

Here's the story. I think shooters may be my favorite genre. Problem is, I just came to this realization, and I know next to nothing about them. The only shooters I've played are Nemesis (Gradius) on the Game Boy, and the two Iridions on GBA. I have other shooters, but the systems are packed away. So, I am pretty much limited to Game Boy and PS2, via my girlfriends niece.

I went out and bought myself Gradius V for the PS2. Either I really suck or the game is really hard. My first time out I didn't make it past the first boss, and that's With my continues. I'm slowly getting better, but it's still not pretty. Luckily, the power-up system is the same as in Nemesis, so at least I'm not fighting with that.

The thing is, I think I like it all the more because I suck at it so much. It's a challenge. Eventually I will bend this game to my will. It will speak my name with the greatest of reverence.

Question to all, what games are must haves? I have most systems and can pull em out of storage if need be.

10 Wishes for the Current Consoles

2007-03-19T09:39:00.000-05:00

The next generation is officially on. The last generation is fading into the sunset. Being the jaded gamer I am, I'm a little surprised to see my interest has been piqued by what's going on. I can say I've officially gone from no interest to the point of having a wish list. So here it is, in no particular order:

- The return of the lightgun game

The Wiimote would be a natural for this (with a gun-like attachment.) If they wanted to make things more kid friendly, the Point Blank series is a natural. Hopefully, we could see House of the Dead and the like.

- Seaman on the DS

Mind out of the gutter, please. Seaman was a pretty cool game on the Dreamcast (not to mention ahead of it's time.) The DS has a built in mic, which is a leg up, and the dual screen seems like it would work really well for this game.

- Samba de Amigo on the Wii

Again, the Wiimote + Nunchuck seems like it would work well for this game. Kids love the rhythm games. Let's have it, Sega.

- Sin and Punishment on the Virtual Console

Funny, since I'm not a Nintendo fanboy that I'm leaning on them so hard in this wish list. Still, Nintendo cockteased us with this game in the end days of the N64 and I, like many others, held off on importing it because a US release seemed like a lead pipe cinch.

- An official reason to play my PSP

Don't get me wrong, I love my PSP. I really do. However, I love it because of all the home brew emulators available for the system. Now, I have a ton of discs for the system, but they don't get played much. Not that there aren't good PSP titles, it's just that so many of them are console ports. Let's see some great titles tailored for the system for a change.

(Conversely, Sony could just admit the hackers have it going on and stop trying to lock them out. Make the PSP open. I wouldn't mind that either.)

- Xbox 360 Zephyr, please be real

Of all the new consoles, the one that looks like it's going to need an upgrade to match it's designer's intentions is the 360. Not including HDMI outs was curious but the small hard drive was really baffling considering MS wants people to download HD movies and whatnot. Peter Moore denied the existence of the Zephyr, but I'm waiting anyway.

- Fewer interactive movies, more games

I'm afraid that the HD generation is only going to encourage developers to go further in the direction of letting their inner Spielberg out. While I don't mind cut scenes and the like, the game play should still be concern #1. If a game can't stand alone with the movies stripped out, I don't want it.

- Fewer sequels, more new ideas

Not all sequels are bad but, personally, I'm just tired of franchises. I'm hoping for new ideas and someone with the stones to take chances. So far, I'm not seeing a whole lot to really make me feel we're on the verge of radical new gaming ideas.

- Bring on the PS2 budget titles!

I loved all the late era PS1 games that got released here. All the Simple series (at $10 a pop) along with lower cost titles such as RC de Go, Power Shovel and Incredible Crisis. Granted, not all of these 11th hour releases were great, but a lot of them were interesting enough to be well worth the $10-$30 bucks.

- More shmups!
A given, but I needed to round out the list. :)

Defining 'RARE'

2007-03-13T08:10:00.001-05:00

RARE. That one small word has a lot of weight behind it. Using that word in conjunction with any common item can cause folks to stand up and take notice, since it usually implies that you really have something special or unique. But, by declaring that common item as RARE, you've ousted yourself as a complete and total asshole, or at the very least an ignorant asshole.

To avoid said ousting, take heed of these guidelines.

1. It sells for a lot of money. That automatically makes it RARE, right?

No. Typically, items that are in demand or sought after sell for a lot of money, regardless of how many are in circulation. Take, for example, Final Fantasy VII for PlayStation. There's a metric ton of these games floating around. It met Sony's 'Greatest Hits' criteria by selling over one million (1,000,000!!!) units. Checking eBay will bring up a long list of them. Most game stores have a copy of it. But they're asking an arm and a leg for it. Why? Because the release of Final Fantasy Advent Children rekindled people's interest in the game, not to mention the fact that it's commonly referred to as the greatest RPG ever made by human hands. About 5 years ago, game stores couldn't clear them out at $12.99 apiece. And while we're at it, the same holds true for Final Fantasy I, II, III, VIII, IX, X, X-2, XI, XII, Anthology, Chronicles, Origins, Tactics, etc. This common misconception is apparent when shopping at most any game store, be it a large chain or an independent-that's why you see copies of Earthbound and Mega Man X2/X3 for SNES selling for over $60 and Dragon Warriors III and IV for NES topping $40 each.

2. I've never seen this game before. It has to be RARE.

If you assume this, you will be incorrect 99%(or more) of the time. The chances of finding a truly RARE game are very, very slim. If you do run across something you've never seen, or seen once long ago, it's probably uncommon. That's just an easy way of saying 'they're everywhere, but not quite everywhere', if that makes any sense. Distribution of titles and their current presence in the marketplace vary according to region. I learned quite a bit about this while compiling a list of hard-to-find PlayStation 2 games. Things that may be harder to find in here in Cincinnati may be everywhere in Chicago. When hunting for NES games, a trip to New Jersey yielded masterful bounty, while visits to the local store here are disappointing, with common-filled bins everywhere.

3. It's old, so it's RARE.

At least 95% of the entire combined libraries of the Atari 2600, NES, SNES, and Genesis are very, very, very common. If you're of this mindset, you're confusing 'monetary value' with 'nostalgic value'. People might exclaim 'I haven't seen that in AGES' when you show them that Super Mario/Duck Hunt cart. But you know why they haven't seen it? They've never put any real effort into looking.

4. Old Mario and Zelda games are RARE since everyone knows what they are.

See point #1, and point #3 to a lesser degree.

5. It's out of print now, so it's RARE.

Not really. This belief is to blame for the recent reprinting of some hard-to-find games on PlayStation 2. Rez, Gitaroo Man, and Disgaea: Hour of Darkness were both 'sleeper' hits and niche titles, which is a perfect combination for a game to become uncommon-and all three games did so. However, a large company seized the opportunity and reprinted all three of those titles. They even supplied a large chain store with numerous copies of each so they could get in on the turn-a-quick-buck action, too. I can almost guarantee that if you walk into one of these large chain stores(there's only one major one now, or so it seems), and you'll find all three games on the shelf. Nothing is safe from a reprint, especially anything disc-based. Older stuff not so much, but I wouldn't discredit the thought completely.

Of course, you're always going to have exceptions to these guidelines. But if you're in doubt about what you have, your best bet is to do some research first. There are plenty of online groups (like the Retrogaming Roundtable, for instance) that can help you appraise your stuff.

If you're looking to buy, don't be duped. Research a system's game library before you undertake the task of buying up everything in sight that's related to it. Inform yourself. You'll be glad you did.

Tah-fut Chidi*

2007-03-04T09:48:00.000-05:00

Saw this at a local art exhibit and thought it was way cool:

The fact that the teaser boxes for GTA IV popping up at Lamestop as of late don't give any hints as to the plot or locale of the upcoming game suggests to me that maybe the folks at Rockstar haven't come up with anything yet. Maybe they should take this idea and run with it. I'd play it, for sure.

* Navajo for "Big-steal vehicle"

Table Tennis on a budget

2007-02-27T12:03:00.000-05:00

I don't even have enough space to unfold a ping-pong table in my house, let alone play a game with one. My dad owns a table...it's in a room with a low ceiling, and the threat of stepping on Lego Bionicles or self-impalement on the foosball table hangs in the air.

So I buy ROCKSTAR GAMES PRESENTS table tennis for my Xbox 360.

This is one of the most beautiful games to look at in the entire history of the oft-maligned art form. If you added some insipid commentary and crowded the screen with the latest MLB scores, it'd look just like watching table tennis on ESPN2 at 2 in the morning. The player's clothes actually move with the player, which is something we've been dreaming about ever since 3D models showed up in games.

The audio is superb. No corny music, except for unobtrusive house-ish beats that seep in when you get a good rally going. The crowd gets in on the action without ever being annoying.

The controls, while suprisingly complex, make for probably the deepest game of Pong ever made.

HOWEVER...

None of this excuses the vein-bursting difficulty curve. The AI runs at 2 speeds: Mildly Retarded and Roger Federer. Online play against random humans doesn't solve this problem; I played a single match against someone that was so good it seemed they were cheating. Reading around the internet reveals an alarming amount of difficulty complaints.

So, if you got friends, buy this. If not, wait until it drops to $10 and gaze at its beauty, but for God's sake don't play tournament mode.

30 Lives On Xbox Live

2007-02-25T06:46:00.000-05:00

Or, how I spent my weekend.

(other authors: edit this post and add yours)

My dinner with EB games.

2007-02-23T13:24:00.000-05:00

Having this for lunch would be more pleasant than spending another lunch hour at the worst EB in Indy.

Maybe this is just an Indiana thing, but it seems like post EB/Gamestop merger, the number of stores in the chain tripled. Every damn strip mall out here has either an EB or a Gamestop, no matter how small the space is. Like there's one Gamestop in a white trash neighborhood that I swear I can stand in the middle of the store and touch both walls. And it's not because I have gorilla arms either.

Even that store, as cramped and trashy as it is (it's next to a bar called "The Puck Around". Need I say more?) doesn't hold the prize for worst EB/Gamestop in the city. No my friends, it gets worse.

The EB I hate most is actually on the Northeast side of the city, up in the more monied area of town. Maybe being in a more affluent area explains why the store is always pitifully understaffed. There's never any lack of customers, that's for sure. No matter when I've been in there, there's always a line at least four customers deep and only one register jockey manning the till. On one occasion, I've seen someone else, possibly a girlfriend, but I'm assuming another employee, sitting down behind the counter, but that's the closest I've ever seen to more than one person on the clock there at a time.

The store is always a wreck. It's like every day is inventory day there or something. Finding stuff is always a bit of a crap shoot at EB/GS, but several stores in Indy are very organized. This one nearly as bad as stumbling into some old timer's flea market booth. Clusterfuck and small wonder, with only one person on the clock ever and a high volume of customers, when would anyone ever have time to straighten?

Make this room about the size of a phone booth, and that's what this EB feels like.

For some reason, this also seems to be *the* store to bring stuff to trade in. Not just that copy of last year's Madden, but like every game released in the last year. Last time I was in there, I was about six deep in line and the kid at the top of the line pulls out a PS2 and a stack of games. I'm thinking "just great." Then he pulls out the Xbox and TWO! Xerox paper boxes full of games! Needless to say, I dropped the handful of games I was going to buy and booked.

(Maybe that's why the place is always such a mess. Surely I'm not the only one to bail on a purchase after standing in line for ten minutes.)

So I went back today to reclaim what I didn't have patience to purchase on Sunday. I thought, logically enough, maybe I was just going there at a bad time and during the week would be better. (OK, it is Friday, but still.)

How wrong I was.

I've been on a PSX kick since EB/GS is blowing them out and this particular store is the last one around here to still have PSX games. Specifically, they had a few I needed, so I figured I could brave whatever for the cheap games.

I should have known I was in trouble when the lady at the counter was trying to get back a Madden disc she'd allegedly left in a PS2 traded in last week. For fuck's sake, couldn't the guy just have given her a Madden disc and sent her on her way? Those things are nearly worthless and they've got dozens of them.

Now, they had all the PSX games in these Rubbermaid bins on the counter and they were nowhere in sight when I cased the store. I still saw a handful of games on the accessories ghetto, but I knew they had more. I walked over by the counter and bingo! There they were under the counter. They actually put something away! Wonders never cease!

Five minutes later, when I finally could get the drone's attention, I asked if I could see those game. "Uhh...anything we have under here, is going to be out ther." Ummm, what? I guess he meant those were all duplicates but I could tell without even trying this was an entirely different batch of games. When I pointed this out, dude got kind of snotty and made me wait in line to look at his precious batch of PSX games that no one other than me wanted to buy in the first place.

Resisting the urge to punch his lights out, I finally got up front and, yes, I found some stuff. So it was good. Of course, by this time, I've been there almost a half hour and I still haven't gotten my wallet out yet.

In the interest of fairness, let me give you an example of how it goes both ways. While I was looking through the games, the drone helped the guy after me. Fair enough. This kid had the drone pull a used PS2, memory card, Guitar Hero 1 & 2, and two wireless guitars for him, ring them up and then go "Gosh! That's a lot of money. I'm going to have to think about it." And the kid had a fucking giftcard! Still, I felt a little better since the assmonkey gave me a bit of runaround.

So now I'm ready to go, and dude starts helping the next guy after me! Luckily that guy was cool and just pointed to me and I was ringing out. Of course, one of the games on the rack that was supposedly the same as those under the counter was missing from the case and apparently gone entirely. I'm hardly surprised, half of the PSX games I've seen on my EB/GS scavenge have been missing, especially those Game Direct (or whatever the company is) reprints of PSX RPGs. Anyone needing cases for Persona or Breath of Fire should befriend an EB helper monkey. They have a lot of empties, at least out here.

So anyway, total time in store, about 40 minutes. Actual time looking at games and finishing transaction, about five. Was it worth it? You be the judge:

c-12 sealed
D loose
Alien Trilogy GH complete
Point Blank 3 complete
Pong complete
Action Bass complete
Frogger GH sealed
Planet of the Apes sealed
Top Shop loose
Street Fighter Alpha 3 GH sealed

Total: $18.07

Note: for the life of me, I don't understand how this BOGO works on the PSX games. First off, the prices marked are higher than what they ring for 60% of the time. Also, normally the cheaper items are the free ones, but this sale seems completely random when I look at the receipt.

Hit the win button!

2007-02-23T04:08:00.000-05:00

This might possibly be the first in a series of yours truly discussing what he considers to be the most underrated games of all time.

First up on the block: PANIC! for the Sega CD

Ahhhh, Sega CD. When I was in the 7th grade or so, my brother was attacked by a pissed-off Rottweiler that tore up his left arm. My parents bought him an SCD, partly to make him feel better and party because he convinced them it would be beneficial to his physical therapy. The SCD was the console of choice (because it was the only one we had) in the Lariviere household for many many years, until I finally got an N64 in high school. Being stuck with this disc-based dinosaur for so long has endeared it to me, as it is attached to many fond memories, but as an objective observer, the SCD can be widely considered a moderate failure and a bastion of either completely crappy Full Motion Video-based titles chock full of washed-up 80's celebrities, or tarted-up sports games that look slightly better than they did on the Genesis, at the cost of obscene loading times.

PANIC! Is neither. It is the Katamari Damacy of its time, not because it is as fun (it isn't) but because it is one of those games that is just SO fundamentally Japanese that one wonders what color the ganja was that the Sega localisers were smoking at the time they thought this one could be brought over and turned for a profit.

For those who haven't had the pleasure, here's the condensed plot explanation. A gigantic computer has somehow connected itself to everything in the entire world, and sucks a young man and his dog into his Sega CD. The young man then pushes buttons and things happen. Oh, well, actually that's the full version.

You, as the player, find yourself in a room with some buttons. You then select a button, and push it. Then... something happens! Sometimes the Venus De Milo grows arms and shoots at you with a machine gun, sometimes a leprechaun appears and makes a bad pun, sometimes a dinosaur will walk in and take a crap on the floor, and sometimes (actually more often than not) something will explode. If you are extraordinarily lucky (or if you have pushed all the other available buttons) a button may take you to a whole new room with a whole new set of buttons, or sometimes it will take you back into a room you've already been to.

Yup. That's the whole game. Well, I suppose I shouldn't say "game." Your only solace is that every button will always do the same thing, so the only actual skill this gam... um, experience takes, other than the basic ability to work an elevator, is remembering which buttons do what. It's like a complicated and EXTREMELY foreign See 'n Say. Once you learn that the cow says moo, the cow will always say moo. That's fine and good, we're over the cow and now we want to go and see what the chicken does. There's no map or navigation to speak of, you just push random buttons in the hope that you will eventually find the one that will take you to the end.

That's right, there is one button that lets you win. It's fairly obvious which one it is. I believe the button may actually even have the word "win" written on it. Every once in a while a button will be connected to a major world landmark like the Eiffel Tower or Big Ben, and pushing the button causes a very obviously stock photo of the landmark blow up. Absolutely hilarious at the time, still hilarious now, though in a tasteless way considering today's political climate. I don't know what function blowing up the landmarks serve, I never had the attention span to find them all. There's just too many fucking buttons.

For some reason that I don't think I'll ever be able to put my finger on, I love PANIC!. It's a departure from the typical SCD fare (or from all games for that matter), every single sound in the game is done with the human voice, and I know that it is possible to get a Game Over, though I haven't the slightest clue how. It's just a little nugget of the truly bizarre that should pepper any self-respecting collector's inventory.

Plus, you gotta love a game that literally has a "win" button.

Metal Slug 3D? Why SNKP? Why?

2007-02-22T11:20:00.000-05:00

To be fair, I've only spent an hour or so with Metal Slug 3D, but let me tell you I'm not in any hurry to get back at it. Honestly, I don't hate 3D games and I thought there was potential to make this work. But, MS3D falls far short of the legendary series it's a part of.

At it's core, you're still running and gunning, but everything feels slow. Enemies don't gang up and threaten to overwhelm you. You can even run away from them. The camera is kind of wonky, and even though the levels are kind of bare, you'll still manage to plan yourself in an area where the camera won't let you see some guy capping you.

Speaking of slow, the slugs truly live up to their name. They are sluggish and difficult to maneuver. The levels are short and uninspiring. The graphics are fairly ugly. Etc., etc.

If I felt like this was going to improve, I'd fire it up again, but frankly I'm doubtful. If you look fondly on the PSX Contra games, here you go. Otherwise, save up for the PS2 Metal Slug Anthology and hope it isn't gimped like the Wii version.

Language options for games

2007-02-17T09:15:00.001-05:00

Back in the day, games were light in text, so the language barrier wasn't a very big one to overcome. However, ever since the NES days, games have been relying more and more on on-screen text and on voice-overs. Sure, you can enjoy a shooter without understanding the backstory, but it's a different ballgame when it comes to an RPG. The worst case of them all is, of course, Animal Crossings.

As most of you know, I live in Montreal. Most people's mother tongue here is French (myself included) and many people don't speak English. When it comes to computer games, the language barrier is not really an issue: the French version of many games, such as Myst, is available (basically, the European version is imported and made available to the Quebec market. End of story.). On the console side, things aren't so bright. In my lifetime, I've seen only 2 console games made available in French: Zelda: A Link to the Past on the SNES and Sheep Raiders on the PlayStation. I suppose that some of Ubisoft's titles are probably also localized, since it's originally a French company and its main studio is Ubi Montreal... In any case, the argument against multilingual versions of console games isn't so much a question of importation but of technology -- even without the region zones, there's still the PAL vs. NTSC barrier.

However, where this situation is less acceptable, is with handheld games. Why is it that GBA and DS games aren't easily available in French here? Why wouldn't Nintendo and the GBA/DS third party publishers strike a distribution deal upon which their games are available in French on the Quebec market as soon as the Euro edition comes out? For example, Animal Crossings DS and the re-releases of the Final Fantasy games on GBA would have more success here had they been available in French, even if it meant a 6-month wait for people who can't read English.

Final Fantasy I+II Dawn of Souls (GBA) in French

This would be such a simple solution to implement -- with just a bit of market studies, I'm sure it would be easy to figure out how many Euro copies would need the North American treatment (a simple repackaging to include the ESRB rating) and that's all. If the computer game industry can do it, why not the zone-free handheld market?

Brooktown High: Senior Year

2007-02-17T08:50:00.000-05:00

Oh, it's all over for the DS.

I present you the Sony PSP's latest killer app, the very first dating sim to reach the United States Of Eagleland.

You may be thinking "But KAHL KROOGARRGH, what about Sprung for the DS? That game that everybody hates except you?" well that wasn't a dating sim. It was more like a graphic adventure. That old PC genre that the DS has saved from extinction. Also, that game is hilarious and it's worth the less than 10 bucks you'll spend on it now.

But this...3 words come to mind, and those words are "hahaha, oh wow." It's developed by Backbone entertainment, which is primarily Digital Eclipse. This could be Digital Eclipse's first foray outside of arcade emulation. That small factoid brings this game's chances of being fun down to approx. 2%, down from 8%. But....just....just read the description from Konami's website:

If you only knew then what you know now. Here's your chance to re-live your high school days by entering Brooktown High. Choose to play as male or female and create your own unique character. Interact with other students, each with their own distinct personalities and cliques. Find your niche and hang out with jocks, nerds, preppies, and more. This is your senior year and your chance to find the guy or girl of your dreams!

My one complaint about Brain Age on the DS was this: It only covered half of what I hated about high school. But now, Brooktown High completes the whole soul-crushing experience that is The Best Years Of Your Life!

Look for this game to hit the store shelves whenever at a price point of who cares. In the meantime, I'm going to work on getting a perfect score in Ganguro Girl in the fewest days possible. Wish me luck.

Hold your nose and spend.

2007-02-16T13:58:00.000-05:00

On one hand I love EB/Gamestop's current BOGO on PSX games. I also love the fact that almost all the games are actually cheaper than they're marked, making for a lot of great impulse purchases.

However, I absolutely despise the fact that they seemingly threw away the cases for 98% of the games they have left. That and the fact that there's about a 10 to 1 ratio of sports games to non-sports games. And of the non-sports games, there's a lot of Army Men, Gex, Twisted Metal and Gran Turismo.

Still, 10 games for $15 and some change. Among the gems, I got a complete Time Crisis (yay!) and loose Incredible Crisis, Soul Blade, Fatal Fury Wild Ambition, Xevious 3d/G+ (been looking for that damn thing forever,) and a bunch of other crap. Disappointing that there's a couple of desirables in there loose, but what are you going to do?

Hey, you kids! Get off my plentiful lawn of firebolt +1!

2007-02-16T06:35:00.000-05:00

I think I'm somewhere in the early stages of becoming an old gaming curmudgeon.

Games nowadays are just too damn big. I remember when you could beat a game in an afternoon if you knew what you were doing, and that's they way we liked it. Games weren't that long because you couldn't cram any more game on to copper tabs and a board with less space than modern convenience store cell phones. Now with the whole HDDVD thing developers are just going all kinds of crazy.

Recently I find my game choices tend to take how long a game is under heavy consideration. Firstly, I'm a completionist, I like to experience everything a game has to offer. Secondly, I'm an adult now. I have to go to work, do laundry, shop for groceries, do the dishes, take my car in for an oil change, file taxes, and let's not forget all the time with friends and family so they don't cry neglect. All that responsibility crap is cutting a pretty big swath out of my gaming time.

I could never play Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. It's just too daunting for me to even begin. Maybe when I was twelve and I could spend every second away from school in front of the TV, but not now. It would take hundreds of hours to see everything there is to see, and I just don't have the free time or attention span for that anymore. A few months ago I played Okami on the PS2. I left a gigantic berth of that game unfinished, which is very unlike me. It took me around 50 hours just to get through the main storyline. Don't get me wrong, Okami's a great game and I loved it, but I was just plain sick of it at that point. By the time I had the choice to enter the final dungeon or continue scouring every square inch of the game for mystic beads that I don't even know the purpose of, I just ended it. And I doubt I'll go back.

Over the past couple of years I seem to be favoring turn-based or strategy RPG category because I know exactly what I'm getting. I'll still play a Resident Evil every now and again, and I've spent weeks at a time with Pop'n or Guitar Hero, but traditional RPG's are my first love. All the game reviewers who bitch about how cookie cutter Japanese RPGs are so predictable need to understand that that's actually what I'm looking for, and I doubt I'm alone in this. I want battles, storyline, some optional sidequests, and after 40 or so hours I'll watch the credits and move on to something different before I'm completely bored with it. I don't want to devote too much of my life to one game.

This newfangled continuous immersive gameplay gives me the willies. World of Warcraft? NO THANK YOU SIR, GOOD DAY. I'd rather not spend copious amounts of time standing around mining gold. That's work, and I already have a full time job. I play games to forget about work. And the world keeps changing even when I'm not playing it? And you say that like it's a GOOD thing? The real world is going on outside my door while I'm on my ass playing games in here, thank you very much. I want the imaginary world to pick up where I left off. Does WOW even end? Does the thought of a game that you can't beat not make sense to anyone else? That used to be how it was. You played a game, you got good at it, you beat it, you put a notch in your belt and bragged to your friends, you played a different game. Now it seems to be preferable to have you run around doing the same things, going to the same places, as the same person day after day for years at a time.

That's not really a game. That's just your life. Only you can pretend you're an elf.

Double Bind...coming soon to a videogame collection near you.

2007-02-15T09:20:00.000-05:00

On one hand, if you're into popular games, you're "mainstream" and supporting the part of the industry that is out to destroy gaming with ports and sequels and god knows what else.

On the other, if you're into more obscure stuff, you're a genre snob who just likes shitty games because no one else has heard of them and will abandon any game in your genre if people actually start playing it.

What to do? What to do?

Viva Pinata = Crack

2007-02-15T08:55:00.000-05:00

So I got this game for Christmas, Viva Pinata. You may have heard of it. What started as a game developed for PDAs called "Your Garden" was decided by RARE to be ported over to the Xbox in 2002. That never quite worked out, so it was announced in March of 2006 that the project would be heading to Xbox 360. Tests of the original were so good, that they contacted 4Kids network (Fox's TV childrens prgramming) for a Viva Pinata tie-in for their game. Quickly implemented, the game is one of those games where there is never a dull moment. Some may dismiss this game as "kiddie" or "ridiculous" but the game is nearly perfect. Once you start playing, it's hard to stop. There is ALWAYS something to do. The best way to describe this game is Sim Farm meets Animal Crossing meets Pokemon. The problem with Animal Crossing that I had was that it got too dull, too quickly. Viva Pinata does not allow this to happen, as there is always something for you to do.

So what's the point? Oh right. So you have this garden, and it's a dump. So you gotta clean it up. Then you start planting things, and you attract pinatas to your garden (Depending on what you plant, and how your garden is set up.) There are villagers to assist you, and bad villagers who hinder you. Eventually you start "Romancing" Pinatas and their offspring can be sold for money. And then you can create variants of species by feeding them special plants / produce, and up the value of your garden, which can result in more land, a new shovel, etc. Sometimes the town hall will call you for an order of pinatas so they can go party all over the world. These are timed challenges which require X number of pinatas to be placed in a crate before the timer runs out. (Harder than it sounds)

All in all, this is a solid game. If you at least get a chance to RENT it, you will be addicted. Like I am. Packaging is excellent and includes a nice plastic clamshell with a special design, slip cover, and bonus discs. Although it looks different than other 360 games, it still looks great on the shelf. This is a must for any Xbox 360 collection.

Adult Male Galagtile Dysfunction.

2007-02-14T08:32:00.000-05:00

A quick audit of my MAME cabinet reveals that the Galaga (fast shoot) rom is that one I pull up the most. No surprise there as Galaga has been my favorite arcade game for over 15 years. I routinely score between 250,000 and 300,000 with a personal best of around 365,000 and have long been undisputed master of my domain (or "doh-MAME", if you prefer). But recently that's all changed.

It all started about three weeks ago when one of the elders of my church caught wind of my MAME machine's existence and more or less invited himself (along with the pastor) over for dinner and a Galaga tournament. The elder also brought his 15-year old son, Tim. The old men (myself included) did better than I expected, but young Tim blew us all out of the pixellated water with a score of around 1.1 million points - the first time I'd ever seen someone roll Galaga. Well...that wasn't expected.

A few nights later we went out for sushi with a couple of younger coworkers of mine (i.e. - late twenties) and then came back to play some MAME. This is when I realized something was wrong. Not only was I losing to these young turks, but for the first time in ages I found myself unable to get past 100,000 points. I'd like to blame fatigue, alcohol, pesky kids or some combination thereof but none of these factors were present. I simply couldn't get it up, and ever since then I haven't been able to get past 130,000 points. Galaga wag.

It's not that I mind losing in Galaga (and in the case of young Tim, I was delighted to see someone less than half my age attack an old school classic with so much skill), but losing by such cavernous margins is almost more than this old gamer can take.

Do they make a pill for this, or maybe a cream? Hopefully a pill, because a cream would make the controls all slippery and right now my Galaga game needs all the help it can get.

This Game Cheats

2007-02-14T06:58:00.000-05:00

All I have to do is jump over the pit, bounce off the wall, reach the next platform, kill the dude, hit the switch, kill the guy on the other side, press the button, jump back down being careful to avoid the spikes, jump back over the pit, run past the pissed minotaur, kill the three goons guarding the exit, and I'm done with this stupid level.

So why can't I get past the three stupid goons!? Every time I kill the first two the third always manages to kill me. It's impossible. The games knows how I play, and has constructed a way to kill me that I can't beat! Dammit! Why can't he just stand up like the other two? Nooooooo. He has to be tricky and lay down. They know you have to jump to kill the second guy, and they timed it perfectly so that when you land you'll fall right into the third guys shot. WTF!? You can't wait to jump because then the second guy will kill you. It knows I'm playing. If someone else were playing it's let them do it. It's only because I've played so well up to hear that it's giving me a hard time. Piece of crap.

This game cheats.

N-Gage Collecting Milestone

2007-02-13T09:06:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a monumental milestone in my video game collecting. I had received in the mail my last N-Gage game "High Seize" This makes the collection complete. Includes All US Brick & Mortar releases, all of the Mail Order only Letstalk.com games, and the highly coveted "Sega Rally", a foreign release only. What started on a whim to get all of the regular retail games, (since they were all $1.99 at Gamestop when they were clearancing them out....) I quickly realized that there was more available via letstalk.com. If you are REMOTELY interested in the N-Gage, pick up these discounted mail order games ASAP:

LetsTalk.com

We are talking future Quadruns and Chase the Chuck Wagons here......

Also, in case you were wondering. I do NOT own the actual N-Gage system, mainly because I refuse to purchase a unit for $100. I will wait until it gets cheap.

Complete Collections: 32X, Dreamcast, and N-Gage.

-Chandler

Tretton's $1,200 offer for unsold PS3s

2007-02-13T08:05:00.000-05:00

*edited 8:37am*

Ok, I retract my earlier post, as this whole $1,200 offer actually was in the March issue of EGM (I seriously thought it'd be April, which would have explained the outrageousness of Tretton's quote to be a prank).

Alrighty, there's just no way then that the EGM people would be able to come up with an April's Fool prank that'd beat the absurd stupidity of Tretton's offer.

On being a FPS neophyte

2007-02-12T12:08:00.000-05:00

All of us are specialized in certain gaming genres, be it shooters, role-playing games, tactical strategy games, etc. My own specialties lie in hack-n-slash, RPGs (especially CRPGs à la Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights), and space shooters. There are a few genres that I particularly suck at, mainly fighting games, first-person shooters (FPS), and real-time strategy (RTS).

FPS is one genre that I never really got into until a year ago. In theory, I should have been interested by those games, since I always liked side-scrolling shooters such as Contra and Commando. But because FPS games are social in nature (best played against other players rather than against the computer or console), I've always been reluctant to get into that genre -- nothing is more frustrating than to play a game against others only to always get shot down in no time. To make things worse, I'm the kind of gamer who wants to be the best immediately, when this is a genre that requires tons of practice. Therefore, I get frustrated easily, especially when playing against a skilled gamer.

I've improved tremendously over the past year, but I'm nowhere near the level of competitiveness of some of the more hardcore fans of the genre. Sometimes, I think I should start at an easier level, like Lego Star Wars... However, I realize that the only way that I'll ever improve is through practicing again and again until the shooting reflexes become second nature.

This is the challenge I give myself: to "train" at least 30 minutes per day to improve my skills so that, in 2 weeks or so, I could dare playing online, and survive the experience.

The Neo Geo Pocket, or, "It's not a Game Boy"

2007-02-12T07:27:00.000-05:00

Back in '99 I was really into Capcom. This was almost entirely due to Dan's attacks in Pocket Fighter, which will be elaborated on in a future entry. Yatta ze.....OYAJIIIIIIII!

During the time period when I played the kinda-OK-sort-of Playstation port of Marvel Vs. Capcom for hours every night, I read about a game called SNK Vs. Capcom for this new system called the Neo Geo Pocket Color.

Oh, it would be mine.

I was so clueless about SNK that I never would have made the Neo Geo connection if not for the name of the system, but my large collection of Capcom games showed my hand....THE GAME HAS STREET FIGHTER AND DARKSTALKERS CHARACTERS, I'M BUYING IT.

3 weeks of helping remodel a family friend's garden (read: lifting heavy rocks) netted me $100 which netted me the beautiful blue camouflage Neo Geo Pocket Color and SNK Vs. Capcom: Match Of The Millenium.

I turned the game on and counted the familiar faces. Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Zangief, Guile, Dan, Sakura, Morrigan, Felicia, M. Bison, Fatal Fury guy, Samurai Shodown guy, and a few characters I knew from when I rented King Of Fighters '95 on the Playstation (which I still love, for the record)

Classic 1 on 1, Marvel Vs.-style tag battles, or King Of Fighters-style 3 on 3 battles....this is too awesome. In fact, it's STILL too awesome. With every subsequent Capcom Vs. SNK I was silently wishing for that feature to return. Naturally, I beat the game with everyone and unlocked all the secret characters. I was even fortunate enough to play some Vs. matches against my friend Guy, who was already obsessed with Neo Geo and naturally had the system with a link cable.

My next purchase was Card Fighters Clash, a game that has retained the title of Most Completely Awesome Game No One Has Played for 7 straight years. (at least until I make my blog post about Pop'n Music) There are so many great things about this goddamn game that I can't even TYPE about it because 100 ideas are fighting in my head at once about who gets to go first and it's really confusing and I need to lay down for a second.

...through this game, I received my Education in Neo Geo. 300 cards with all kinds of different Capcom and SNK characters, and as I collected them I was looking them up online and reading about the games they came from. Fatal Fury, King Of Fighters, Art Of Fighting, Samurai Shodown, Last Blade, Metal Slug, Kizuna Encounter, Psycho Soldiers, Ikari Warriors, even on the Capcom side I was discovering games I knew nothing about, like Rival Schools and Power Stone.

More money brought more games. King Of Fighters R2, Fatal Fury First Contact, and SNK Gals Fighter. Years later I rediscovered the system through one of those EBGames bundles and found a few new favorites in Neo Turf Masters and Shanghai Mini. I still have that goofy little goal of learning enough Japanese to play Card Fighters 2. Never mind saving up the money for Card Fighters 2 in the first place....

In the meantime, I'm still playing the first one, even though my deck never loses to any of the CPU characters. Scary thing is, there's still room for improvement, tempting me to pull a Pokemon and buy a 2nd system to complete the card album and get 3 Geese Howards. And 3 Zero Akumas. Mmmmmm.

In the meantime, here's my Card Fighters Deck.

Some thoughts on online gaming

2007-02-10T07:34:00.000-05:00

Lately, my copy of Star Wars: Battlefront 2 for PS2 has been seeing a lot of online action (btw, when it comes to Battlefront 2, PS2 and PC gamers play together, while Xbox gamers are isolated in their silver XBL tower).

Since the game can be played with 2 players offline, why is it that 2 players can't play online on the same PS2? It could be as simple as having Player One control the selection of the game room. But since this is not the case, the current situation is such that only one of us plays online while the other one doesn't (thank god my computer is in the living room, next to the TV).

Why don't game developers think of that when they develop online components for their games? Is it such a crazy idea?

Fantasy Schmantasy: Episode XII - Attack of the Cloned Plot

2007-02-10T05:11:00.000-05:00

Ah the joys of blogging. To spend an hour typing up a lovely entry, only to have your browser crash the millisecond you hit "publish."

So, if you haven't played FF12 and you don't want any potential spoilers stop reading..... NOW.

If you don't really care and want to see me compose a seizure in prose form, keep on going.

I'm sure this has been discussed in other media extensively before I decided to put my own personal spin to the subject... but quite honestly I don't give a rat's balls because other media sucks and I'm hella funnier than any of those other schleps flapping their yams about it. That's not arrogance, that's a stone goddamn fact.

I was talking with The Kroogs on the phone a while back, as I am prone to do. I told him that I had purchased the twelfth entry in the never-final Final Fantasy series. He retorted, "Oh you mean Star Wars?"

Witty bastard.

I had not heard of any comparisons but, to his credit, I basically live under a rock. He assured me that there were similarities. I took this with a grain of salt, as I'm quite fond of salt. It makes things delicious.

Upon actually playing the game (perhaps with this bias already inset, perhaps not) some vague coincidences began to emerge. First and foremost, your main protagonist here is a whiny blond dipshit. This is not a rare occurrence. Show me a disc-based Final Fantasy game where you don't spend the bulk of playing time behind the wheel of a whiny blond dispshit and I'll show you Final Fantasy 8. Squall was more of a mopey brunette douchebag.

Then you've got the plot line of an evil empire oppressing smaller cultures and gobbling all the territory they possibly can, while a group of insurgents try to bring them down from the inside. Hell, George Lucas didn't invent that noise. Hitler did.

Then we come to the airships. The airships with the interiors that look suspiciously parallel to the inside of an Tie-Fighter. And the smaller airships that have strong resemblance to that cosmo-vespa Boba Fett carted his ass around in. (Unrelated side note: Why is Boba Fett so popular? Here's his entire contribution to the original trilogy; he shows up, kidnaps Indiana Jones, and then meets his demise by pain of being SHOVED OVER and devoured by a mammoth space penis. It just goes to show you that having a cool outfit will get you everywhere in life and also children are incredibly fucking stupid.)

Toss in the warrior-esque princess fighting for her birthright, the sharp-tongued (and even more sharply-vested) space pirate, his mechanic sidekick of an odd species, (though I applaud the substitution of a howling sasquatch for that of a bunny-eared furry who seems to be voiced by Bjork) their legendary astro jolly roger, and the fact that you run into a guy named GREEDO, and the juxtaposition pile somewhat becomes an elephant in the room.

Even then, for a while I was still just thinking that the themes and archetypes were being borrowed from one epic to another. Then I went to the city in the sky. And I met the leader of the city in the sky who is supposed to be helping the rebels. And then the leader of the city in the sky who is supposed to be helping the rebels turned me over to the empire. COME ON! I was sarcastically calling that asshole "Lando" in my head for an hour before he ever even went Lando on me! And then he went all Lando on me!

I'm only 10 hours in to this game and I'm just about ready to call plagiarism-shenanigans on it. I find this especially frustrating because I am that rarest of breed: The gamer who does not particularly enjoy Star Wars. (That is another rant for another time, believe me.)

All I can say is that this kid better not find out he has some secret, oh, I don't know, force-like special power. Well, that's probably too much to ask of a Japanese RPG. I suppose as long as they don't have him hone this skill with a funny-talking midget, though everyone in this game seems to have some kind of vague Eurasian accent already. Did anyone else think that FF Lando sounded like he was from Calcutta? He spoke exactly like my 11th grade physics teacher and it was very distracting.

Alright, nobody tell me anything else that happens. First, I don't want any spoilers ruining my fun, but mostly because when I find out which villain this kid is related to, I want the outburst to be pure.

The value of replay.

2007-02-09T12:47:00.000-05:00

I did something kind of crazy this morning. I dropped $300+ dollars on a game. One game. Not even some old L@@K OMG RARE!!!!!111 kind of thing. It was a shmup less than two years old, brand new even. (For those that care, it was the Ibara PCB complete kit.)

Now, part of the sting of the price tag is taken by the fact that this game is likely to keep it's value, if not go up, should I chose to sell it. Of course, that's the other part of things. This isn't a game I'm planning on selling. It's a game I'm pretty confident I can go on playing for as long as I have the ability to work a joystick.

By contrast, I recently finished The Godfather for PS2. And when I say finish, I mean finished. When I put the controller down with the game at 98% some odd complete, I knew the game would go back in the closet and the chances of me ever putting it back in the PS2 are somewhere between slim and none.

Granted, The Godfather I scooped out of a clearance bin for $17. Even at full price, this was the "limited edition", it would have been, what? $60, tops?

When I look at my collection, I have to admit it's glutted with purchases much like The Godfather. Good, not great games. Cheap impulse purchases. The kind of games designed to be beaten and then pushed aside for the sequel.

Though it's hard to pull the trigger on a big purchase like my Ibara board, the reality of it is, I'm going to get more out of it in the long run. It's the kind of thing that people around me are going to think I'm nuts for buying now, but I think is totally going to justify itself in the long run.

On the other hand, I've probably spent the same amount of money recently on cheap games, clearance rack special, used Xbox blowouts, etc., etc. How many of those will even see the inside of a console, let alone years of replay, I really don't know.

So what's worth more, having a bunch of games designed to be beaten and put away, or one game that you could go on playing forever?

Finally Fantastic

2007-02-09T08:16:00.000-05:00

I believe I've earned the coveted titles of "jaded", "crotchety" and "old" when it comes to video games. Be it Mario, be it Tekken, be it Tony Hawk, be it Capcom, nearly every new game purchase I make is actually an OLD game purchase. But currently, there is no purchase I am enjoying more than Final Fantasy VI Advance.

I consider this to be one of the greatest SNES games ever. I consider this to be the best Final Fantasy. I consider this to be the perfect introduction to RPGs, since it was the first one I played (and beat) 12 years ago.

The story revolves around an evil empire trying to revive the dead art of magic and use it as a tool to crush all opposition and rule the world. At the center of this is a young woman who somehow can use magic. She is captured and enslaved with mind control, and on an expedition to a town in the mountains, she is freed from this control. A thief ("I'm a TREASURE HUNTER!") rescues her and brings her to the kingdom of Figaro, where he and the king try to persuade her to join the underground resistance movement known as The Returners. And that's not even the first hour.

Gameplay-wise, this is one of the most fun of the FFs, with each of the 14 characters boasting a unique ability. When you get far enough in the game, you can customize your party however you like. The Esper system allows any character to learn any spell, for even further customization.

The Advance version adds all the extra features of FFIV Advance (improved translation, bestiary, music player, endless battle, new dungeon) as well as 4 new Espers, which should be enough to get any old fan to shell out their cash once again.

....if they aren't already excited by the prospect of having one of the all-time greatest RPGs in portable format.

We were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave...

2007-02-07T13:57:00.000-05:00

Perhaps you know it as soon as it happens, or maybe you look back and notice it through rose-tinted glasses. But anyone who has a devotion to the videogaming hobby has one of these magic moments. Or, perhaps it’s more than one single moment-it's a span of events that could be considered as your own personal ‘Golden Age’. Personal interpretation on the subject aside, there’s no question that said event has pointed you in a particular direction, which in turn has shaped you as a game-playing individual. You might yearn for that bygone time, or perhaps you've found a way to intertwine it with your current day goings-on, but there's no doubt that it 'defines' you. I’d like to share my personal Golden Age with you.

Back in 1982, I was weaned on the classic Atari VCS, otherwise known in popular culture as the Atari 2600. My parents enjoyed casually playing games on the machine, and thought they would be good for me to occupy my time with. I was only 3 or 4 years old, so my memory of that segment in time is virtually non-existent, but I do remember enjoying every single minute with the VCS. I may not have known what was going on with more difficult titles like Starmaster, but that didn’t stop me from having a great time. I remember going to relatives’ houses, and their collection of VCS games was astounding in comparison to my meager stack of games, and there were tons of titles I’d never even heard of. I played many, many games over the course of time that the VCS was the dominant gaming machine in the house, and my understanding of the games and their objectives grew as I became older. Little did I (or my parents) know, is that this simple pass-time activity would turn into a hardcore obsession, initiated with a visit to my cousin’s house in late 1985.

After fiddling around with their Atari, as I usually did when visiting, my Aunt told me that she had something new to show my parents and I. Of course, this new device was dubbed the Nintendo Entertainment System. I watched my cousin play Duck Hunt for about 30 seconds, tried it myself, and loved it. Nintendo was the only thing I talked about until Christmas time that year. Facing a limited initial release, my parents managed to secure an NES for me. And it wasn’t just any old NES; it was a Deluxe Set featuring Duck Hunt and Gyromite, plus R.O.B., the robotic operating buddy. Along with the pack-in titles, I also got Excitebike and Pinball. New titles followed each Christmas afterward, such as Rad Racer and Hogan’s Alley. I befriended some of the other NES-owning kids in my neighborhood, and game trading commenced frequently. Competitions took place. Much fun was had.

My wave of enjoyment with the NES crested in April of 1988, when I first got my hands on Contra. Rental shops were beginning to carry NES games, and my cousin rented Contra when he was visiting Cincinnati for my sister’s birthday. I don’t remember much of anything about that day other than playing through Contra with him. Even though I was at the wave’s crest, it was a good 2-3 more years before the wave finally broke and began to roll back. I have many, many good memories from those years, such as Nintendo Power magazine, Mega Man 2, Super Mario Bros. 2, Zelda II, Dr. Mario, the Wizard movie and subsequent release of Super Mario Bros. 3, and countless free game rentals from the Mom & Pop video store down the street.

Even as that wave was rolling back, a new one approached in the form of the Super Nintendo. And to continue with the metaphor, every game machine thereafter has had its own wave. But nothing can touch the high-water mark set by my ‘Golden Years’ with the NES.