Mainly because they are seriously slacking off on their Xbox live service recently. Two weeks have passed without a new Xbox live arcade game. Sure, we got a couple of sweet demos like Battlestations: Midway and the brand new Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 demo that was released this week, but live is looking pretty shoddy when Wii gamers get classics like Link to the Past, Contra III, Comix Zone and Mario Kart 64 just in the past two weeks, and MS has countered with virtually nothing. Live Arcade was initially a big reason I was interested in the 360. But so far the original content is pretty uninspired and the classic games are all horribly butchered ports that reek of laziness and incompetence.
So what's coming and when? Well MS has released a list of 10 coming soon titles, but no indication of when they are out, or in what order. This seems like a giant fuck you to 360 owners (especially ones like me who have been drooling over Worms for the past month and are wondering what the FUCK is the holdup for a game that could be done on a SNES) who have been patiently waiting for something truly worthwhile to spend their Microsoft points on (which reminds me, where the hell is Castle Crashers?).
As much as we've bagged on Nintendo for their somewhat flaky release schedule, I own 3 very worthwhile VC games (and it would be a few more if I didn't still have my Genesis and a few classic games) and the console has only been out two months, so that's a pretty solid average. I own no Xbox live arcade titles and am only interested in one that is supposedly coming out sometime in the next two & a half months. That's well over a year of offering this service, so that's pretty appalling that I can't find one truly appealing game out of the current crop.
Finally I did pick up Rogue Galaxy, but I honestly may not get too much into it until I lighten my load a little bit (namely by finishing off FFXII, which I probably still have a good 40 hours to go on. But I'll certainly get a few hours in and give you some impressions in my next post.
Stand up of the week: George Carlin-The 10 Commandments
2/01/2007
1/29/2007
No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public...
As proven this weekend by Epic Movie's winning 19.2 million opening weekend. Granted, that's not really giant blockbuster status, but the movie couldn't have cost more then 10 million to make and it actually did better than it's horrific predecessor, Date Movie. This virtually guarantees a third film of similar quality next year. Thanks America, you've proven we have a leader worthy of us...
At least Smokin Aces managed to pull in a respectable audience as I saw the film and thought it was very entertaining. It's certainly far from original and throw in a few too many twists just for the sake of twists, but it's slickly edited, with great action and strong performances by just about everybody.
And one other film I was able to catch this weekend was the documentary This Film is Not Yet Rated. It pretty much confirms what every cynical cinephile has suspected-That the MPAA is a complete joke and needs to be reigned in badly. This is extreme censorship plain and simple and they should be held accountable for it.
I forgot to mention that buying Link to the Past earlier this week forced me to break down and buy a Classic Controller in order to play it. I honestly always thought of the classic controllers as unnecessary when GC controllers are supposed to work just as well, but I obviously forgot to take into account Nintendo's generally great design. Aside from having to be attached to your Wii Remote, It works and feels better than most standard controllers. I wish it could work on my GC games as well. And as a reminder for you VC nuts, the legendary classic Mario Kart 64 will be available tomorrow. Buying this means I'll actually own 3 versions of Mario Kart. I plan on adding any more that become available as well.
Is it the apocalypse? No, but it might well be with the launch of Windows Vista on Tuesday. Usually, I couldn't give a crap about new applications, even ones as ginormously important as the long overdue Windows update. But this one has some pretty cool features that gamers will actually care about (assuming it doesn't cripple your computer the minute its installed). Namely, being able to wirelessly access your computer from your 360 so you can save and load files from there along with being able to stream music and movies from your PC wirelessly. It also marks the coming battle between PC & 360 gamers, as they will be able to game together on certain titles (with the new Shadowrun game being the premiere title). It may be the start of a scary new era for the MS faithful...
Looking to own every NES game ever made? This guy is selling all 670 of them. The current bid is over $12,000 and growing. Not that I had nearly that many, but I had quite a few NES games when I finally gave the system away to charity. I feel really fucking stupid for doing that now...
Free Game of the Week: Prince of War
At least Smokin Aces managed to pull in a respectable audience as I saw the film and thought it was very entertaining. It's certainly far from original and throw in a few too many twists just for the sake of twists, but it's slickly edited, with great action and strong performances by just about everybody.
And one other film I was able to catch this weekend was the documentary This Film is Not Yet Rated. It pretty much confirms what every cynical cinephile has suspected-That the MPAA is a complete joke and needs to be reigned in badly. This is extreme censorship plain and simple and they should be held accountable for it.
I forgot to mention that buying Link to the Past earlier this week forced me to break down and buy a Classic Controller in order to play it. I honestly always thought of the classic controllers as unnecessary when GC controllers are supposed to work just as well, but I obviously forgot to take into account Nintendo's generally great design. Aside from having to be attached to your Wii Remote, It works and feels better than most standard controllers. I wish it could work on my GC games as well. And as a reminder for you VC nuts, the legendary classic Mario Kart 64 will be available tomorrow. Buying this means I'll actually own 3 versions of Mario Kart. I plan on adding any more that become available as well.
Is it the apocalypse? No, but it might well be with the launch of Windows Vista on Tuesday. Usually, I couldn't give a crap about new applications, even ones as ginormously important as the long overdue Windows update. But this one has some pretty cool features that gamers will actually care about (assuming it doesn't cripple your computer the minute its installed). Namely, being able to wirelessly access your computer from your 360 so you can save and load files from there along with being able to stream music and movies from your PC wirelessly. It also marks the coming battle between PC & 360 gamers, as they will be able to game together on certain titles (with the new Shadowrun game being the premiere title). It may be the start of a scary new era for the MS faithful...
Looking to own every NES game ever made? This guy is selling all 670 of them. The current bid is over $12,000 and growing. Not that I had nearly that many, but I had quite a few NES games when I finally gave the system away to charity. I feel really fucking stupid for doing that now...
Free Game of the Week: Prince of War
1/25/2007
The Big Hit
I'm just not sure what to think of this weekend's biggest opener, Smoking Aces. The trailer and premise seem awesome, with a really well-rounded cast, but the reviews so far aren't very strong. But it seems like easily the best bet out of a incredibly painful-looking weekend...
Starting with the guaranteed crap fest that is Epic Movie. I'm almost tempted to suffer through it just to see if it could actually be worse than Date Movie (which in case you are lacking detective skills equal to that of Inspector Gadget, was made by the same team). But not really...
And finally for the romantic crowd, we have our first of many banal romantic comedies on tap in Catch & Release. It may fool a few guys with it having Kevin Smith's first major role where he actually talks at length in a movie, but the mere fact that in every single add all they do is advertise the name and don't let us actually know a single thing about the movie tells you just how bad it is.
Finally, where the hell is Worms? I and just about every Xbox gamer I know have been waiting for this live arcade title for weeks, and it was virtually guaranteed to be in our hands by the end of this month, but it doesn't look like that's happening. Apparently, blame it on the approval process. I'm all for fine tuning, but according to the very article I linked, this game has been done for at least a couple of months now. It better not suck after all this "adjusting"....
Stand up of the Week: PABLO FRANCISCO
Starting with the guaranteed crap fest that is Epic Movie. I'm almost tempted to suffer through it just to see if it could actually be worse than Date Movie (which in case you are lacking detective skills equal to that of Inspector Gadget, was made by the same team). But not really...
And finally for the romantic crowd, we have our first of many banal romantic comedies on tap in Catch & Release. It may fool a few guys with it having Kevin Smith's first major role where he actually talks at length in a movie, but the mere fact that in every single add all they do is advertise the name and don't let us actually know a single thing about the movie tells you just how bad it is.
Finally, where the hell is Worms? I and just about every Xbox gamer I know have been waiting for this live arcade title for weeks, and it was virtually guaranteed to be in our hands by the end of this month, but it doesn't look like that's happening. Apparently, blame it on the approval process. I'm all for fine tuning, but according to the very article I linked, this game has been done for at least a couple of months now. It better not suck after all this "adjusting"....
Stand up of the Week: PABLO FRANCISCO
The Virtual Console is finally getting good....
Ok, we all know it had a rather weak start, but with the release of the classic Legend of Zelda: The Link to the Past this week and the confirmed release of the legendary Mario Kart 64 next week, The VC is really starting to hold its own for quality releases. NOW WHERE THE HELL IS KID ICARUS????
I tried the much-anticipated Crackdown demo yesterday and I was far from impressed. The game is essentially like GTA if you removed all the depth. Literally all you do is shoot gangbangers. You get stronger and can do interesting stuff like lift vans with bad guys and throw them off cliffs as well as leap tall buildings in a single bound, but the aiming sucks, you have one hand-to-hand move (a super spin kick of doom!) and that's it. I know a lot of people are willing to put up with a crap game for a surefire entry into the Halo 3 beta, but I'm not wasting my hard-earned $60 on this sub-par crap.
Much more pleasant was the Rogue Galaxy demo I was able to try out today by pre-ordering. This is from the geniuses at Level-5 who also made the tremendous Dark Cloud 2 & Dragon Quest VIII. It has a great look and I really like the flow of the real-time combat. This will probably be the last great rpg on the PS2, so everybody should pick it up.
Games radar has published a list of the top 7 game franchises that have been run into the ground. I'm honestly a little disappointed because it's an obvious and safe list that no one in their right mind would argue with. I mean c'mon, Tomb Raider & Dynasty Warriors weren't even good to begin with...
For you Firefox game nerds, a new Mario 3 theme is available, I'm using it now, and it's beyond awesome.
And finally for a bit of nerdy fanboy awesomeness: RYU vs. SCORPION-WHO YA GOT?!?
I tried the much-anticipated Crackdown demo yesterday and I was far from impressed. The game is essentially like GTA if you removed all the depth. Literally all you do is shoot gangbangers. You get stronger and can do interesting stuff like lift vans with bad guys and throw them off cliffs as well as leap tall buildings in a single bound, but the aiming sucks, you have one hand-to-hand move (a super spin kick of doom!) and that's it. I know a lot of people are willing to put up with a crap game for a surefire entry into the Halo 3 beta, but I'm not wasting my hard-earned $60 on this sub-par crap.
Much more pleasant was the Rogue Galaxy demo I was able to try out today by pre-ordering. This is from the geniuses at Level-5 who also made the tremendous Dark Cloud 2 & Dragon Quest VIII. It has a great look and I really like the flow of the real-time combat. This will probably be the last great rpg on the PS2, so everybody should pick it up.
Games radar has published a list of the top 7 game franchises that have been run into the ground. I'm honestly a little disappointed because it's an obvious and safe list that no one in their right mind would argue with. I mean c'mon, Tomb Raider & Dynasty Warriors weren't even good to begin with...
For you Firefox game nerds, a new Mario 3 theme is available, I'm using it now, and it's beyond awesome.
And finally for a bit of nerdy fanboy awesomeness: RYU vs. SCORPION-WHO YA GOT?!?
1/24/2007
5 TV musicals that don't suck
Ah, the dreaded musical episode. Many-long running shows have tried it, and with a few exceptions, they've failed quite miserably. Take last Thursday's musical Scrubs episode, aside from a couple of key songs (namely Dr. Cox's Musical Rant & Guy Love), I felt it fell way short of the usual high quality you see in a Scrubs episode. But not every musical episode needs to be a disaster, as here's 5 that actually work (with clips!):
Oz: Variety
Arguably the hardest setting to pull of an even halfway decent musical epsiode. Oz was pretty much known for being a serious, violent & harsh show. So this is the last place you'd expect a musical. I'd honestly expect one sooner out of 24 or Deadwood than Oz. Which makes the fact that it's actually good all the more surprising.
Chicago Hope: Brain Salad
Screw ER. Chicago hope was a much better show day in & day out. And a lot of that has to do with Mandy Patinkin (you can tell cause the show was almost cancelled when he left briefly). This has all the basic elements of a strong musical episode. It has strong character development, good acting, and good singing (even if the songs included weren't originals written for the episode).
Xena: Bitter Suite
Before Xena became a ridiculously campy show with ridiculously unsubtle lesbian overtones, it was a ridiculously campy show with slightly unsubtle lesbian undertones. Nevertheless, it's rather goofy format make it perfect for a musical, as this was the first of two actually pretty good episodes. It manages to be weird, play with the audiences expectations, satisfying finish off a long arc, and balance comedy & drama pretty well (and the effort didn't go unnoticed with 2 emmy nominations). Looking back it was fairly obvious the show could only go downhill after this, and boy did it ever...
Xena: Lyre, Lyre
But even in a downhill slope an occasional gem shows up in this much lighter 100th episode. This breaks a lot of the rules I have about really good musicals as the plot& characters don't develop, and it's essentially a completely stand alone episode apart from any storylines. And if you are going to do that, you'd better be extremely entertaining, which luckily Lyre Lyre happens to be.
Buffy: Once More with Feeling (all the songs!)
Easily the penultimate musical. It develops characters & storylines. Has fantastic singing by the actual cast members & great original songs, and manages to deftly blend comedy & drama masterfully. It should've been nominated for an emmy. Oh wait, it actually was supposed to be...
All right that's the list. I'll be back tomorrow with thoughts on the Crackdown demo and several other things. After all this musical stuff, I feel the need to do something a little more manly, like chainsaw someone in Gears of War....
Oz: Variety
Arguably the hardest setting to pull of an even halfway decent musical epsiode. Oz was pretty much known for being a serious, violent & harsh show. So this is the last place you'd expect a musical. I'd honestly expect one sooner out of 24 or Deadwood than Oz. Which makes the fact that it's actually good all the more surprising.
Chicago Hope: Brain Salad
Screw ER. Chicago hope was a much better show day in & day out. And a lot of that has to do with Mandy Patinkin (you can tell cause the show was almost cancelled when he left briefly). This has all the basic elements of a strong musical episode. It has strong character development, good acting, and good singing (even if the songs included weren't originals written for the episode).
Xena: Bitter Suite
Before Xena became a ridiculously campy show with ridiculously unsubtle lesbian overtones, it was a ridiculously campy show with slightly unsubtle lesbian undertones. Nevertheless, it's rather goofy format make it perfect for a musical, as this was the first of two actually pretty good episodes. It manages to be weird, play with the audiences expectations, satisfying finish off a long arc, and balance comedy & drama pretty well (and the effort didn't go unnoticed with 2 emmy nominations). Looking back it was fairly obvious the show could only go downhill after this, and boy did it ever...
Xena: Lyre, Lyre
But even in a downhill slope an occasional gem shows up in this much lighter 100th episode. This breaks a lot of the rules I have about really good musicals as the plot& characters don't develop, and it's essentially a completely stand alone episode apart from any storylines. And if you are going to do that, you'd better be extremely entertaining, which luckily Lyre Lyre happens to be.
Buffy: Once More with Feeling (all the songs!)
Easily the penultimate musical. It develops characters & storylines. Has fantastic singing by the actual cast members & great original songs, and manages to deftly blend comedy & drama masterfully. It should've been nominated for an emmy. Oh wait, it actually was supposed to be...
All right that's the list. I'll be back tomorrow with thoughts on the Crackdown demo and several other things. After all this musical stuff, I feel the need to do something a little more manly, like chainsaw someone in Gears of War....
1/21/2007
I got lots of nothing....
Ok, not entirely true, But this was a rather dull week, most of which I was sick of, so hence the extreme lack of posting. There's not even anything to really talk about today, but I got a few noteworthy links to check out(I'll be back Tuesday with thoughts on several things like the long awaited Crackdown demo):
Mass Effect Interview-God I cannot wait for this game. Hopefully, they really deliver on a deeper experience than Jade Empire, which was good, but really just KOTOR in Japan.
What is the Wii missing (ok aside from online multi-player)? PORTABILITY. I present to you, THE Wii LAPTOP:
And finally, to prep you for Monday's pure awesomeness of 24, THE 100 BEST MOMENTS OF 24
Stand Up of the Week: Dane Cook
Free Game of the Week: Islander Boys
Mass Effect Interview-God I cannot wait for this game. Hopefully, they really deliver on a deeper experience than Jade Empire, which was good, but really just KOTOR in Japan.
What is the Wii missing (ok aside from online multi-player)? PORTABILITY. I present to you, THE Wii LAPTOP:
And finally, to prep you for Monday's pure awesomeness of 24, THE 100 BEST MOMENTS OF 24
Stand Up of the Week: Dane Cook
Free Game of the Week: Islander Boys
1/15/2007
Burning Crusade? Don't they make a cream for that?
The WOW community is preparing for what will arguably be the biggest PC release this year: Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. It's almost sort of a good thing I still have a long list of games to plow through or this would be an extremely tempting way to fill my gaming void. But while a whole new land and things like flying mounts are pretty cool, it still doesn't solve a lot of lingering issues as to why I quit in the first place (the near impossibility of getting a group together for a long raid, the worst travel system in gaming, etc.). Oh well, there's always the next 50 expansions....
Of course those looking to actually socialize with their games will definitely want to pick up Wario Ware: Smooth Moves for the Wii. It's what I like to call a great equalizer, because no matter who you are, everyone looks ridiculous playing this game, and that really is part of the fun. I played it at the Nintendo Fusion Tour back in October and it's a complete blast for anyone who isn't afraid of looking a little foolish. The only thing I think it could obviously use is an online mode, but maybe that will be on the way once Nintendo finally gets online gaming going.
Finally, aspiring lawyers who don't want to deal with all that fancy legal knowledge can just go pick up Phoenix Wright: Justice For All, the sequel to the sleeper hit on the DS. I missed out on the first Phoenix Wright game, but I admit I might wait til the inevitable Wii version before getting into this as it just seems a little on the short side and hopefully a full blown console version would feature a lot more cases (possibly with additional downloadable ones in the future).
1/14/2007
The Jack Bower Power Hour
So after finishing my blog update Thursday, I finally finished off Twilight Princess. It's a grand 50-hour epic that no gamer should miss out on. You'd think that I might have nothing left to play, but thanks to my buying frenzy over the last several months and my rather lethargic progress I still have a large backlog and plenty of titles that I want to pick up as soon as they are out not far in the future (namely Rogue Galaxy), so back into the grindstone I go.
Of course aside from several weekend playoff games (GO CHARGERS), there's plenty to distract, namely the long awaited premiere of 24. Now, if you are the least bit internet savvy, odds are you at least had the opportunity to download and watch the 4-hour 2 part premiere already like I have, and I can say that it's easily 4 of the best hours of TV I have seen in my lifetime. This also at least seems to be a more straightforward terrorist plot than last year's rather muddled conspiracy storyline, so that should help keep the action moving. It's amazing how the writers usually manage to top every opening, let's hope this time they can keep up the pace all season long. Of course the real challenge will be people choosing between 24 and the new smash Heroes, which returns the following Monday.
That's really all I got for today, but several big games are coming out next week, so I'll be sure to address those tommorow. Until then, to prepare for the premiere, THE BEST MOMENTS OF 24:
Of course aside from several weekend playoff games (GO CHARGERS), there's plenty to distract, namely the long awaited premiere of 24. Now, if you are the least bit internet savvy, odds are you at least had the opportunity to download and watch the 4-hour 2 part premiere already like I have, and I can say that it's easily 4 of the best hours of TV I have seen in my lifetime. This also at least seems to be a more straightforward terrorist plot than last year's rather muddled conspiracy storyline, so that should help keep the action moving. It's amazing how the writers usually manage to top every opening, let's hope this time they can keep up the pace all season long. Of course the real challenge will be people choosing between 24 and the new smash Heroes, which returns the following Monday.
That's really all I got for today, but several big games are coming out next week, so I'll be sure to address those tommorow. Until then, to prepare for the premiere, THE BEST MOMENTS OF 24:
1/11/2007
JT goes ghetto
That's right people, though not his first acting role by a long shot, Justin Timberlake's big screen debut where he plays a flunkie for a drug dealer, Alpha Dog opens this weekend. Suprisingly, most reviews of Timberlake's perfomance are solid, but it's with the agreement that it's a strong performance in a bad movie. So hopefully maybe he'll be able to shine in a much better movie.
As that's the only big movie worth talking about this weekend, I thought I'd move on to one of the first big releases of the year-Lost Planet for the 360. Problem is, it's still in the shadow of the runaway success of Gears of War. It's also got a somewhat similar theme, as you are mere humans going up against giant insect-like monsters, albeit on another world. I played the multi-player demo and it was underwhelming. Good thing I have plenty of backup games to work on until Mass Effect surfaces...
FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: CAT FLING
As that's the only big movie worth talking about this weekend, I thought I'd move on to one of the first big releases of the year-Lost Planet for the 360. Problem is, it's still in the shadow of the runaway success of Gears of War. It's also got a somewhat similar theme, as you are mere humans going up against giant insect-like monsters, albeit on another world. I played the multi-player demo and it was underwhelming. Good thing I have plenty of backup games to work on until Mass Effect surfaces...
FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: CAT FLING
1/10/2007
No such thing as a free lunch...
Luckily the same thing doesn't apply to downloads, as in a rare showing of generosity, Gears of War owners get two free maps tomorrow to download for nothing. Named Raven Down & Old Bones, hopefully they will extend the life of the multi-player, at least til the Halo 3 beta is in full swing and us 360 owners are playing nothing else.
Sony is caught lying once again. In a press release, they claim that their "innovative" Sixaxis controller for the PS3 has won an emmy. Certianly seemed odd that Sony of all people would win an emmy for innovation. Turns out they are, but not for the Sixaxis, it's for the dual analog controller for the PS2, which shares the emmy with Nintnedo's original controller for it's influential D-pad design. Nice try Sony, but you might want to account for the fact that nobody takes anything you say at face value anymore before you keep trying to lie. Well at least they are smart enough to just not comment on the fact that they missed their worldwide sales goals by over half a million...
That's really all I have news-wise for today, but I also have a brand new feature to talk about. I was wanting to do some kind of weekly clip deal to replace the weekly Scrubs clips I was doing, and I came up with the idea of stand up comedy. Some will be short bits and some will be full-length depending on what I can get my hands on, but we'll start off with one of my personal favorites: STEPHEN LYNCH
Sony is caught lying once again. In a press release, they claim that their "innovative" Sixaxis controller for the PS3 has won an emmy. Certianly seemed odd that Sony of all people would win an emmy for innovation. Turns out they are, but not for the Sixaxis, it's for the dual analog controller for the PS2, which shares the emmy with Nintnedo's original controller for it's influential D-pad design. Nice try Sony, but you might want to account for the fact that nobody takes anything you say at face value anymore before you keep trying to lie. Well at least they are smart enough to just not comment on the fact that they missed their worldwide sales goals by over half a million...
That's really all I have news-wise for today, but I also have a brand new feature to talk about. I was wanting to do some kind of weekly clip deal to replace the weekly Scrubs clips I was doing, and I came up with the idea of stand up comedy. Some will be short bits and some will be full-length depending on what I can get my hands on, but we'll start off with one of my personal favorites: STEPHEN LYNCH
1/08/2007
Microsoft's secret weapon
Odds are MS may have to come up with something big to retain their lead in the console wars. Halo 3 and big titles like it (along with a heavily rumored new 360 with some new bells and whistles) will certainly help, but potentially, they already have their biggest weapon if marketed properly, and all because Nintendo and Sony have chosen to ignore this rather lucrative idea for some insane reason. What am I referring to? Look at my gamercard. See that little number that has been ever so slowly going up since I got my 360? For those not in the know, that's referred to as a "gamerscore". Every 360 title has "achievements" which are worth varying amounts of points. Some are fairly easy, such as completing a level of a game on any difficulty, and others are truly hardcore, like getting 10,000 kills online in Gears of War. What are these points good towards, you ask? Absolutely nothing relevant. But then why do they matter? Simply put, they are gamer cred. Despite the different approaches by the three companies, each seems to agree that gaming is becoming more and more of a community thing, and what better way to let other players know exactly what type of gamer you are than a number that represents your level of achievement.
The more casual may scoff at this, after all, it's just a game, but the real gamer crowd relishes this kind of stuff and as someone who is definitely a little more laid back about this than your average hardcore nerd, it's incredibly addicting and infectious. I don't beat hidden bosses, I don't spend 50 extra hours to get the "best" ending, but I feel one hell of a buzz when I see that "achievement unlocked" symbol flash across my screen, and I miss it not ever showing up when I'm playing my other systems. It makes me want to if not get as many achievements in one game as possible, at least rent every possible game in order to rack that score up.
The thing is, this is not something Microsoft has actually made that big of a deal out of, and I think that's a huge mistake. This is one thing they can truly claim as their own, something at this point only an owner of the 360 can proudly proclaim, and aside from babble from internet geeks, you don't really hear anything about it. If Microsoft really stepped up and made gamerscore and achievements a major part of their marketing, that could easily be the edge they need to stay on top. I mean after all, people usually brag about how good they are at certain games, what better way to prove it than simply point at your gamerscore?
Free Game of the Week: WORLD DOMINATION BATTLE
The more casual may scoff at this, after all, it's just a game, but the real gamer crowd relishes this kind of stuff and as someone who is definitely a little more laid back about this than your average hardcore nerd, it's incredibly addicting and infectious. I don't beat hidden bosses, I don't spend 50 extra hours to get the "best" ending, but I feel one hell of a buzz when I see that "achievement unlocked" symbol flash across my screen, and I miss it not ever showing up when I'm playing my other systems. It makes me want to if not get as many achievements in one game as possible, at least rent every possible game in order to rack that score up.
The thing is, this is not something Microsoft has actually made that big of a deal out of, and I think that's a huge mistake. This is one thing they can truly claim as their own, something at this point only an owner of the 360 can proudly proclaim, and aside from babble from internet geeks, you don't really hear anything about it. If Microsoft really stepped up and made gamerscore and achievements a major part of their marketing, that could easily be the edge they need to stay on top. I mean after all, people usually brag about how good they are at certain games, what better way to prove it than simply point at your gamerscore?
Free Game of the Week: WORLD DOMINATION BATTLE
1/04/2007
The new year's resolutions for the big 3
Ok, I realize it's a tad late to be doing a post about resolutions, but what the hey, we're only a few days into the new year here, so let's look at what the big 3 in gaming should resolve to accomplish in order to improve their situation, good or bad.
Nintendo:
1.Get the hang of that wacky online deal. Seriously, you offer internet browsing, downloadable games, and up to date weather, but I can't play any multi-player anything against my friends? That's seriously lame, fix it and fix it soon. If Super Smash Melee has no online, look for people to start abandoning the Wii in droves.
2. Fixing the Virtual console-There are three major problems with the VC-First, the selection is mostly crap. I understand you don't want to release all the good stuff at once, but one truly classic title a week would be a great idea (hint, Urban Champion & Baseball, both released this past Monday, DO NOT QUALIFY). Second, leaving all these games "untouched" is just stupid. Virtually every single game can be enhanced to include simple things like leaderboards on online multi-player. Leave those classic graphics alone, sure, but there's no reason no to upgrade the games a bit. Finally, there is also no reason Nintendo shouldn't offer a quick playable demo of every VC game, much like MS does for all their Live Arcade titles. Just a couple of quick levels so we can see if we'll like these games.
3. Unleash the real power of the Wii. It's a well established fact that the Wii is maybe about as powerful as an Xbox, so I'm not expecting anything on the level of Gears of War, but most of these games could easily be pulled off on a Dreamcast, let alone maxing out the graphical power of the Wii. I'd be very happy with games that looked as stunning as Resident Evil 4 or Halo 2, but I'm not seeing anything close to that level in this line-up or in the near future. The PS2 was easily the least powerful console last time around, but it's still pulling out stunning titles now like Okami & FFXII. The fact that the Wii should be able to pull out something better-looking and hasn't just screams laziness on the developers part.
4. Quality & Quantity. Gamecube had some great games. Too bad they were nearly all from Nintendo and only amounted to a few select titles every year. I'd like to say the outlook is more rosy for the Wii, but the next 6 months are looking incredibly slim in terms of enticing titles. Nintendo & their 3rd party support need to deliver plenty of games and make sure most of them don't suck (i.e. do not just port over something without adjusting it for the Wii's controls or you get crap like Splinter Cell, which is great on every system but the Wii).
Microsoft:
1. Broaden our horizons. You want to play shooters or sports games? 360 is the place to be. You want anything else? Try another console. I know there are a couple of unique gems like Viva Pinata & Oblivion (which won't be all that unique when the PS3 version is out anyways), but the 360 is severely lacking in variety. And they wonder why they fell short of the 10 million they swore they'd reach by the end of this year. I'm not saying they need to appeal to the broadest audience like Nintendo is trying to do, but more than two rpgs in a year (especially when one is the rather mediocre Enchanted Arms) would be nice, and you can't have Live Arcade delivering most of your original content, that'll really make people wonder why they paid $400 for a machine where most of the original stuff is made by two guys in a garage and can be pulled off on a 16-bit system.
2. Quality Control of Arcade. Maybe I'm just picky, but I've demo'd just about every single live arcade title and I don't think a single one is worth purchasing so far. There are a couple I'm extremely excited about (like Worms & Castle Crashers), but the fact that the current offering is so underwhelming is troubling. I have trouble justifying paying for arcade classics I can usually find on flash websites for free these days. And the original offerings aren't too inspiring to say the least. I mean, most of the free games I post at this website are far superior to anything offered on live arcade. Not only that, but the 360 has been out over a year, and Nintendo's Virtual Console has already surpassed them in sheer number of titles in just a couple of months, which is fairly embarrassing, quite frankly. Though it wouldn't be if some of the titles were actually good.
Sony:
1. Truthiness. Bottom line, either get better at lying or stop bullshitting us. We've had more than enough of your racist ads, fake blogs, and blatant lies about what your console is actually capable of. The big three all lie, Sony just seems to be the worst by a long shot and also the worst at covering it up. Bottom line, you promised gamers the world and basically delivered on nothing, and it's biting you in the ass big time. Man up, admit your mistakes and try to move on before it kills you completely.
2. A price gamers are willing to pay. Surprisingly, I'm not talking about lowering the cost of the console, I don't think that's even that much of an issue if handled correctly, and the way to do that is to really show what this supposed uber-powerhouse can do. We've seen glimpses of it in upcoming games like Lair & White Knight Story but we need to see something concrete, and soon, or Sony will never regain any ground here. Stop focusing so much on Blu-ray. The whole format war is confusing and off-putting to most consumers, so don't bring it up and focus on the games and other features. People will pay pretty much whatever you want if they think it's worth the asking price, so make the PS3 worth our while.
3. Get the hang of that wacky online deal. It's amazing to me that Microsoft seems to be the only one with a solid online plan here. But at least we know Nintendo is trying this time around. We don't even really know what Sony's plan is for online. Sure, they have online play for a few games and have released some downloadable games, but how are they going to differentiate themselves here? Nobody seems to know, and everybody seems to more or less be flying blind on this one, which is exactly what happened with PS2 online and why it never caught on. Sony needs to come up with some sort of universal system for this. If they offer free yet incredibly messy internet play, nobody's going to go for it. And if all they are offering is just a weak copy of what everyone else is offering, no one will go for that either. Sony badly needs to establish a unique online plan if they really want to stand a chance against 360's massively slick Live.
And that's what the new year's resolutions of the big 3 should be. Since there isn't anything even remotely noteworthy opening up this weekend, I probably won't post tomorrow, but almost certainly sometime this weekend, until then, enjoy the BEST FANVID EVER: COLLEGE SAGA!!!!
Nintendo:
1.Get the hang of that wacky online deal. Seriously, you offer internet browsing, downloadable games, and up to date weather, but I can't play any multi-player anything against my friends? That's seriously lame, fix it and fix it soon. If Super Smash Melee has no online, look for people to start abandoning the Wii in droves.
2. Fixing the Virtual console-There are three major problems with the VC-First, the selection is mostly crap. I understand you don't want to release all the good stuff at once, but one truly classic title a week would be a great idea (hint, Urban Champion & Baseball, both released this past Monday, DO NOT QUALIFY). Second, leaving all these games "untouched" is just stupid. Virtually every single game can be enhanced to include simple things like leaderboards on online multi-player. Leave those classic graphics alone, sure, but there's no reason no to upgrade the games a bit. Finally, there is also no reason Nintendo shouldn't offer a quick playable demo of every VC game, much like MS does for all their Live Arcade titles. Just a couple of quick levels so we can see if we'll like these games.
3. Unleash the real power of the Wii. It's a well established fact that the Wii is maybe about as powerful as an Xbox, so I'm not expecting anything on the level of Gears of War, but most of these games could easily be pulled off on a Dreamcast, let alone maxing out the graphical power of the Wii. I'd be very happy with games that looked as stunning as Resident Evil 4 or Halo 2, but I'm not seeing anything close to that level in this line-up or in the near future. The PS2 was easily the least powerful console last time around, but it's still pulling out stunning titles now like Okami & FFXII. The fact that the Wii should be able to pull out something better-looking and hasn't just screams laziness on the developers part.
4. Quality & Quantity. Gamecube had some great games. Too bad they were nearly all from Nintendo and only amounted to a few select titles every year. I'd like to say the outlook is more rosy for the Wii, but the next 6 months are looking incredibly slim in terms of enticing titles. Nintendo & their 3rd party support need to deliver plenty of games and make sure most of them don't suck (i.e. do not just port over something without adjusting it for the Wii's controls or you get crap like Splinter Cell, which is great on every system but the Wii).
Microsoft:
1. Broaden our horizons. You want to play shooters or sports games? 360 is the place to be. You want anything else? Try another console. I know there are a couple of unique gems like Viva Pinata & Oblivion (which won't be all that unique when the PS3 version is out anyways), but the 360 is severely lacking in variety. And they wonder why they fell short of the 10 million they swore they'd reach by the end of this year. I'm not saying they need to appeal to the broadest audience like Nintendo is trying to do, but more than two rpgs in a year (especially when one is the rather mediocre Enchanted Arms) would be nice, and you can't have Live Arcade delivering most of your original content, that'll really make people wonder why they paid $400 for a machine where most of the original stuff is made by two guys in a garage and can be pulled off on a 16-bit system.
2. Quality Control of Arcade. Maybe I'm just picky, but I've demo'd just about every single live arcade title and I don't think a single one is worth purchasing so far. There are a couple I'm extremely excited about (like Worms & Castle Crashers), but the fact that the current offering is so underwhelming is troubling. I have trouble justifying paying for arcade classics I can usually find on flash websites for free these days. And the original offerings aren't too inspiring to say the least. I mean, most of the free games I post at this website are far superior to anything offered on live arcade. Not only that, but the 360 has been out over a year, and Nintendo's Virtual Console has already surpassed them in sheer number of titles in just a couple of months, which is fairly embarrassing, quite frankly. Though it wouldn't be if some of the titles were actually good.
Sony:
1. Truthiness. Bottom line, either get better at lying or stop bullshitting us. We've had more than enough of your racist ads, fake blogs, and blatant lies about what your console is actually capable of. The big three all lie, Sony just seems to be the worst by a long shot and also the worst at covering it up. Bottom line, you promised gamers the world and basically delivered on nothing, and it's biting you in the ass big time. Man up, admit your mistakes and try to move on before it kills you completely.
2. A price gamers are willing to pay. Surprisingly, I'm not talking about lowering the cost of the console, I don't think that's even that much of an issue if handled correctly, and the way to do that is to really show what this supposed uber-powerhouse can do. We've seen glimpses of it in upcoming games like Lair & White Knight Story but we need to see something concrete, and soon, or Sony will never regain any ground here. Stop focusing so much on Blu-ray. The whole format war is confusing and off-putting to most consumers, so don't bring it up and focus on the games and other features. People will pay pretty much whatever you want if they think it's worth the asking price, so make the PS3 worth our while.
3. Get the hang of that wacky online deal. It's amazing to me that Microsoft seems to be the only one with a solid online plan here. But at least we know Nintendo is trying this time around. We don't even really know what Sony's plan is for online. Sure, they have online play for a few games and have released some downloadable games, but how are they going to differentiate themselves here? Nobody seems to know, and everybody seems to more or less be flying blind on this one, which is exactly what happened with PS2 online and why it never caught on. Sony needs to come up with some sort of universal system for this. If they offer free yet incredibly messy internet play, nobody's going to go for it. And if all they are offering is just a weak copy of what everyone else is offering, no one will go for that either. Sony badly needs to establish a unique online plan if they really want to stand a chance against 360's massively slick Live.
And that's what the new year's resolutions of the big 3 should be. Since there isn't anything even remotely noteworthy opening up this weekend, I probably won't post tomorrow, but almost certainly sometime this weekend, until then, enjoy the BEST FANVID EVER: COLLEGE SAGA!!!!
12/31/2006
Medium Entertainment's totally pointless year end wrap up!
I didn't really mean to go this long without updating, but as can be expected, not a whole lot happened in the last week, but I thought I should post at least one more time and what better way than to offer my insanely unqualified opinion on the best in entertainment in the year that was 2006.
Best Movie I saw:
This movie was cynical, harsh and totally freaking hilarious. I was busting a gut the whole way through as Aaron Eckhart pulls of the role of a lifetime flawlessly as a complete scumbag that you try to hate yet find yourself rooting for because he's so good at what he does and is completely unapologetic about it. It's incredibly hard to do cynical, biting comedy that doesn't turn preachy and, Thank You for Smoking makes it look easy.
Runner up: The Departed
Favorite new show:
There have been numerous attempts to do some sort of live-action comic book over the years on TV, the result have usually been disastrous at best. But so far, Heroes manages to have a compelling plot, mostly great characters, and manages to put a new twist on what could've been a cheap X-men rip-off.
Runner up: Studio 60
Best Wii game I played:
No big surprise here. Twilight Princess is simply one of the finest games ever made. It improves on every facet of the classic Ocarina of Time and delivers a wondrous, haunting experience only enhanced by the Wii's unique setup.
Runner Up: Rayman Raving Rabbids
Best PS2 game I played:
It's rare that you have a game that can stand up to the best Zelda ever, but Okami is arguably the finest PS2 game ever made. The brush-style look is just incredible, and proves that even the aged PS2 can surprise you in this age of much more powerful next gen systems. The combat is actually much deeper than Zelda as not only do you learn many new and actually useful combat maneuvers, but the magic brush is much more than a gimmick as it has battle uses as well.
Runner up: Final Fantasy XII
Best DS game I played:
As cool as all these fancy new graphical or revolutionary games are, sometimes nothing beats classic gameplay, and DS easily had the strongest line-up of ANY system this year. But as he does nearly every year he has a game, Mario jumps right to the top by sticking to what made him a star in the first place-classically perfect 2D gameplay with just a bit of tweaking here & there. Add in some kick-ass multi-player minigames and you've got the best Mario title since Mario 64.
Runner up: Brain Age
Ok, that's really all I feel somewhat qualified to give an opinion about this year. Since I've only had my 360 a little over two weeks, I decided not to include anything on it as I obviously haven't played much.
Free Game of the Week: Ivan Drago: JUSTICE ENFORCER!
Best Movie I saw:
This movie was cynical, harsh and totally freaking hilarious. I was busting a gut the whole way through as Aaron Eckhart pulls of the role of a lifetime flawlessly as a complete scumbag that you try to hate yet find yourself rooting for because he's so good at what he does and is completely unapologetic about it. It's incredibly hard to do cynical, biting comedy that doesn't turn preachy and, Thank You for Smoking makes it look easy.
Runner up: The Departed
Favorite new show:
There have been numerous attempts to do some sort of live-action comic book over the years on TV, the result have usually been disastrous at best. But so far, Heroes manages to have a compelling plot, mostly great characters, and manages to put a new twist on what could've been a cheap X-men rip-off.
Runner up: Studio 60
Best Wii game I played:
No big surprise here. Twilight Princess is simply one of the finest games ever made. It improves on every facet of the classic Ocarina of Time and delivers a wondrous, haunting experience only enhanced by the Wii's unique setup.
Runner Up: Rayman Raving Rabbids
Best PS2 game I played:
It's rare that you have a game that can stand up to the best Zelda ever, but Okami is arguably the finest PS2 game ever made. The brush-style look is just incredible, and proves that even the aged PS2 can surprise you in this age of much more powerful next gen systems. The combat is actually much deeper than Zelda as not only do you learn many new and actually useful combat maneuvers, but the magic brush is much more than a gimmick as it has battle uses as well.
Runner up: Final Fantasy XII
Best DS game I played:
As cool as all these fancy new graphical or revolutionary games are, sometimes nothing beats classic gameplay, and DS easily had the strongest line-up of ANY system this year. But as he does nearly every year he has a game, Mario jumps right to the top by sticking to what made him a star in the first place-classically perfect 2D gameplay with just a bit of tweaking here & there. Add in some kick-ass multi-player minigames and you've got the best Mario title since Mario 64.
Runner up: Brain Age
Ok, that's really all I feel somewhat qualified to give an opinion about this year. Since I've only had my 360 a little over two weeks, I decided not to include anything on it as I obviously haven't played much.
Free Game of the Week: Ivan Drago: JUSTICE ENFORCER!
12/22/2006
Don't play it again Sam
Though thankfully nobody's been stupid enough to try and make a straight up remake of the legendary classic Casablanca, The seemingly inseparable team of Soderbergh & Clooney are trying to emulate the same feeling with The Good German. Problem is it isn't the 1940's anymore, and as good as Clooney is, he's no Bogey (though to be fair, nobody is). But there's just a certain magic in that legendary film that you can't emulate, and it's being shown in force with the overall critical response for The Good German being pretty low.
Almost as high profile and getting nearly the same critical response is The Good Shepard, all about the beginning of the CIA. It's sort of hard to believe a modern spy tale with such a high-profile task could be boring, but the 3 hour running time does seem fairly daunting to keep interesting.
Ben Stiller stars in his latest completely unfunny movie (which is saying plenty considering it also has Robin Williams and Owen Wilson), A Night at the Museum, which basically seems to be another lifeless Jumanji rip off.
And finally we are mining the sports field once again, this time with a the twist of a real tragedy! How touching! Let's make a big Hollywood movie to make money off of it!!! Seriously, aside from the rather depressing aspect that it's based on the tragic tale of rebuilding a college football team after a plane crash killed nearly every team member. We are Marshall just screams another sappy run of the mill manipulative piece of drivel that every other sports film has been over the last several years.
That's pretty much it for today, and probably my last post until after Christmas, so happy holidays and for your last Christmas... Thing of the year: MR. HANKEY THE CHRISTMAS POO!!!!
Almost as high profile and getting nearly the same critical response is The Good Shepard, all about the beginning of the CIA. It's sort of hard to believe a modern spy tale with such a high-profile task could be boring, but the 3 hour running time does seem fairly daunting to keep interesting.
Ben Stiller stars in his latest completely unfunny movie (which is saying plenty considering it also has Robin Williams and Owen Wilson), A Night at the Museum, which basically seems to be another lifeless Jumanji rip off.
And finally we are mining the sports field once again, this time with a the twist of a real tragedy! How touching! Let's make a big Hollywood movie to make money off of it!!! Seriously, aside from the rather depressing aspect that it's based on the tragic tale of rebuilding a college football team after a plane crash killed nearly every team member. We are Marshall just screams another sappy run of the mill manipulative piece of drivel that every other sports film has been over the last several years.
That's pretty much it for today, and probably my last post until after Christmas, so happy holidays and for your last Christmas... Thing of the year: MR. HANKEY THE CHRISTMAS POO!!!!
12/20/2006
Punch Drunk Love
We all made jokes about this. Who the hell actually expected there would be a Rocky VI? (or a Rambo IV!). But the seemingly impossible has happened, and Rocky steps back into the ring tomorrow in Rocky Balboa. And granted, the initial reaction is to think Stallone's just embarrassing himself at this point, but to be honest, the trailers have looked surprisingly good and the general critical response is that this is best Rocky since the original. Let's face it, everyone loves a good underdog story, and Rocky is the heavyweight champ of underdogs. I'm planning on checking it out this week, so I'll let you know what I think when I get around to seeing it.
In other probably unnecessary sequel news, the trailer for Shrek the Third is out, and although this maybe dipping into this well way too often, I think it looks hilarious:
In gaming news, seems like Nintendo is starting to get their act together on this online stuff as the weather channel became available today and the internet browser should be available on Friday. I'm not really sure how much practical use anybody would get out of the weather channel, but it would be interesting if it could be implemented into gameplay somehow (i.e. when Animal Crossing for the Wii comes out, you could have the local weather be the weather in the game). I'll give my impressions on the Opera Channel after I've downloaded and fooled around with it some, but my guess is it will be a generally cumbersome experience without a USB keyboard handy.
And the release list for the VC downloads isn't completely out, but it has been confirmed that TOEJAM & EARL will be available Christmas day. If you don't appreciate the pure awesomeness of that statement, you need to turn in your gamer card. I still have this on the Genesis and it is simply one of the greatest titles of all time (and it could use a freaking online mode! Get a goddamn clue Nintendo!!!).
Christmas... Thing of the DAY: Mr. Garrison's MERRY FUCKING CHRISTMAS:
In other probably unnecessary sequel news, the trailer for Shrek the Third is out, and although this maybe dipping into this well way too often, I think it looks hilarious:
In gaming news, seems like Nintendo is starting to get their act together on this online stuff as the weather channel became available today and the internet browser should be available on Friday. I'm not really sure how much practical use anybody would get out of the weather channel, but it would be interesting if it could be implemented into gameplay somehow (i.e. when Animal Crossing for the Wii comes out, you could have the local weather be the weather in the game). I'll give my impressions on the Opera Channel after I've downloaded and fooled around with it some, but my guess is it will be a generally cumbersome experience without a USB keyboard handy.
And the release list for the VC downloads isn't completely out, but it has been confirmed that TOEJAM & EARL will be available Christmas day. If you don't appreciate the pure awesomeness of that statement, you need to turn in your gamer card. I still have this on the Genesis and it is simply one of the greatest titles of all time (and it could use a freaking online mode! Get a goddamn clue Nintendo!!!).
Christmas... Thing of the DAY: Mr. Garrison's MERRY FUCKING CHRISTMAS:
12/18/2006
Eradicator30 is dead. LONG LIVE Eradicator31 !!!!
Yep, I got my 360. Eradicator30 was my old Gamertag, so I just changed it a little bit to Eradicator31 and as you can see it's now constantly displayed to your left. If anybody wants to add me be my guest, but I give fair warning that I probably won't accept friend requests from someone I've never heard of. Anyways, although I technically bought a 360 last year, since I immediately sold it on ebay I never have really tried it out. I'm actually very impressed with the overall new setup of Xbox Live and just how well everything works. As far as games, I did end up picking up Gears and Halo 2 because well let's face it, the alternatives pale in comparison right now. Halo 2 is still awesome, but I am definitely extremely rusty, as I haven't even really played a competitive game of anything other than a few relaxing DS games in the last 18 months or so. My initial impressions of Gears are that it's pretty awesome, but also that I completely suck at this more strategic style of duck and cover play as I'm getting destroyed even on the easiest setting (Hopefully that'll improve with practice). But so far I'm just really enjoying the whole marketplace aspect. I can keep myself busy with unimpressive demos for weeks (seriously though, most of the demos are uninspired at best).
Really the only other thing I have to talk about today is the release of The Simpsons Season 9
out tomorrow. I was heavily tempted to pick it up as got several really good episodes, but the cracks definitely started showing in season 8 and are gaping wounds in season 9 as the several good episodes are mired in a number of fairly mediocre ones that just don't make the entire season worth it. And it only gets worse from there, so it's safe to say my Simpsons collection is complete.
I'll be back tommorow with my thoughts on a certain boxing movie coming out on Wednesday, until then, your christmas... thing of the day: CHRISTMAS WITH THE JOKER!
Really the only other thing I have to talk about today is the release of The Simpsons Season 9
out tomorrow. I was heavily tempted to pick it up as got several really good episodes, but the cracks definitely started showing in season 8 and are gaping wounds in season 9 as the several good episodes are mired in a number of fairly mediocre ones that just don't make the entire season worth it. And it only gets worse from there, so it's safe to say my Simpsons collection is complete.
I'll be back tommorow with my thoughts on a certain boxing movie coming out on Wednesday, until then, your christmas... thing of the day: CHRISTMAS WITH THE JOKER!
12/17/2006
Jumping in
I'm probably picking up a 360 this week. I was going to wait til Mass Effect actually hit, but with Toys 'R US offering a $100 gift card if you buy one before Christmas Eve, and it seems like way too good a deal to pass up. I'm also highly anticipating Blue Dragon, the 360's first real big Japanese-developed RPG, which should hit stores next month. I know the biggest games on the 360 are Gears of War & still Halo 2, but I am definitely way overloaded with actual games on the single-player side to dive into online real soon, so I may hold off on those titles and the almost mandatory year of Xbox live till my game to do list clears up a bit.
In the "let's hope it's a momentary lapse of judgement" category: Pokemon Battle Revolution apparently uses the dreaded Friend Code system. What this of course implies is that every game for the Wii might use the friend code system. Which means in addition to your Wii console number, you may have to register a code for each & every online game you buy. This is beyond moronic, so I really hope that Pokemon is the exception to the rule here, because it would pretty much be a shining example that Nintendo just has no clue when it comes to online and never will.
Of course, Sony's racking up so much negativity they it may balance out things like Nintendo's online ineptitude. Their latest offense? Creating imaginary fans out of thin air. The said thing is this is hardly the first time something like this has been tried. and without exception every single time it comes off as lame and inauthentic and most likely something set up by a overpaid advertising company before it's even revealed to be exactly that. Did Sony just not get the memo that this crap never works? Maybe they should just go back unsubtle racist ads....
Free Game of the Week/Christmas... Thing of the Day: ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN OLYMPICS
In the "let's hope it's a momentary lapse of judgement" category: Pokemon Battle Revolution apparently uses the dreaded Friend Code system. What this of course implies is that every game for the Wii might use the friend code system. Which means in addition to your Wii console number, you may have to register a code for each & every online game you buy. This is beyond moronic, so I really hope that Pokemon is the exception to the rule here, because it would pretty much be a shining example that Nintendo just has no clue when it comes to online and never will.
Of course, Sony's racking up so much negativity they it may balance out things like Nintendo's online ineptitude. Their latest offense? Creating imaginary fans out of thin air. The said thing is this is hardly the first time something like this has been tried. and without exception every single time it comes off as lame and inauthentic and most likely something set up by a overpaid advertising company before it's even revealed to be exactly that. Did Sony just not get the memo that this crap never works? Maybe they should just go back unsubtle racist ads....
Free Game of the Week/Christmas... Thing of the Day: ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN OLYMPICS
12/14/2006
Let's make some bacon!
Quick site update-From now on, whenever I'm promoting something (like say the premiere of 24) on my site, instead of posting just one video, I will try and post something new every update until I stop promoting it, so check what I like to refer to as the "header video" every update as it should be something new.
Seriously, I am getting a little tired of these cutesy animal films, especially ones starring pigs. Sure, Babe was charming, but that was the rare exception. And although Charlotte's Web has obviously been around way longer than that movie, it's obviously taking most of it's inspiration from it in this new remake. This almost must be Dakota Fanning's 400th movie in the last 5 years, somebody from child services may want to check in on her to see if she's being overworked.
Sadly though, it's probably not nearly as desperately sappy as Will Smith's latest: The Pursuit of Happyness. Smith is a tremendously gifted actor in my opinion, but the utter predictability & ridiculous amount of tearjearking make it pretty much the equivalent of a tired sports movie, only without the sport.
One movie I was initially excited about this weekend was Eragon, as I have read and really enjoyed the novels, but the mostly unappealing cast (aside from Jeremy Irons), lackluster trailers & overwhelmingly negative reviews will probably make me skip it this weekend.
In case you haven't checked your virtual console yet this week, Ice Hockey, Gunstar Heroes, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine and Alien Crush should all be available for download. I highly recommend Gunstar Heroes as I still have it for the Genesis and it's one of the best action games to ever grace a console.
CHRISTMAS.... THING OF THE DAY: A Charlie Brown Christmas, READ BY THE CAST OF SCRUBS!!!!
Seriously, I am getting a little tired of these cutesy animal films, especially ones starring pigs. Sure, Babe was charming, but that was the rare exception. And although Charlotte's Web has obviously been around way longer than that movie, it's obviously taking most of it's inspiration from it in this new remake. This almost must be Dakota Fanning's 400th movie in the last 5 years, somebody from child services may want to check in on her to see if she's being overworked.
Sadly though, it's probably not nearly as desperately sappy as Will Smith's latest: The Pursuit of Happyness. Smith is a tremendously gifted actor in my opinion, but the utter predictability & ridiculous amount of tearjearking make it pretty much the equivalent of a tired sports movie, only without the sport.
One movie I was initially excited about this weekend was Eragon, as I have read and really enjoyed the novels, but the mostly unappealing cast (aside from Jeremy Irons), lackluster trailers & overwhelmingly negative reviews will probably make me skip it this weekend.
In case you haven't checked your virtual console yet this week, Ice Hockey, Gunstar Heroes, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine and Alien Crush should all be available for download. I highly recommend Gunstar Heroes as I still have it for the Genesis and it's one of the best action games to ever grace a console.
CHRISTMAS.... THING OF THE DAY: A Charlie Brown Christmas, READ BY THE CAST OF SCRUBS!!!!
12/10/2006
Gotta Catch 'em all
Several big titles out for the Wii this week, potentially the biggest being Konami's sleeper title Elebits. Sure, it's definitely an oddball title, but it could easily be the next quirky hit like Animal Crossing or Katamari Damacy. It's also the first Wii game to feature some form of online functionality as you can use the level editor to create new levels and send them to people on your friends list. But these oddball titles sometimes don't completely deliver on concept, so I may be waiting til I get some sort of general consensus, especially with Zelda & Rayman still keeping me plenty busy.
FPS Wii fans should also be excited as Far Cry hits this week. Hopefully, it'll follow in the footsteps of Call of Duty 3 and make good use of the Wii's setup as opposed to the disappointing Red Steel.
Anybody looking for some classic side-scrolling gameplay should check out Metal Slug Anthology. Metal Slug offers some seriously hardcore old school gameplay, but this is one of those titles where it seems that co-op online play would greatly benefit and help drive sales beyond those who will basically buy it for a good dose of nostalgia.
Finally, those tired of playing the fun but limited Wii Golf out of Wii sports will get a crack at a full-fledged golf game in Super Swing Golf. It's no Tiger Woods, but who wants a stuffy realistic golf sim when you can have a more fun Hot Shots-inspired game?
The Xbox 360 has a potentially huge title out this week as well as Trekkies everywhere are drooling over Star Trek Legacy. easily the most ambitious Trek game to date, as you can play several races and all the captains from the various shows (although why anyone would want to play as Janeway or Archer is beyond me) in massive ship battles. One thing that seems to be noticeably absent is anything outside of ship battles, though. Being able to beam aboard starships and have phaser fights or explore planets on away missions should be an integral part of any Star Trek game. Well, let's hope the developers got the ship combat right so they can focus on those other features for the sequel if it takes off.
Is competitive gaming going legit? As legit as something on late Saturday afternoon can be! The World series of Video Games has gotten a major broadcast deal with CBS and a couple of cable outlets to broadcast regular episodes of the competition. But aren't video games boring to just watch? I'd say the same thing about Baseball, Golf, Poker, Bowling, NASCAR, etc. Besides, geeks like me will show up in force in the Nielsen ratings to try and get this thing off the ground, so it should at least have a better chance at succeeding than the XFL.
Your Christmas... thing of today is also your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: CANDY CANE CRISIS
FPS Wii fans should also be excited as Far Cry hits this week. Hopefully, it'll follow in the footsteps of Call of Duty 3 and make good use of the Wii's setup as opposed to the disappointing Red Steel.
Anybody looking for some classic side-scrolling gameplay should check out Metal Slug Anthology. Metal Slug offers some seriously hardcore old school gameplay, but this is one of those titles where it seems that co-op online play would greatly benefit and help drive sales beyond those who will basically buy it for a good dose of nostalgia.
Finally, those tired of playing the fun but limited Wii Golf out of Wii sports will get a crack at a full-fledged golf game in Super Swing Golf. It's no Tiger Woods, but who wants a stuffy realistic golf sim when you can have a more fun Hot Shots-inspired game?
The Xbox 360 has a potentially huge title out this week as well as Trekkies everywhere are drooling over Star Trek Legacy. easily the most ambitious Trek game to date, as you can play several races and all the captains from the various shows (although why anyone would want to play as Janeway or Archer is beyond me) in massive ship battles. One thing that seems to be noticeably absent is anything outside of ship battles, though. Being able to beam aboard starships and have phaser fights or explore planets on away missions should be an integral part of any Star Trek game. Well, let's hope the developers got the ship combat right so they can focus on those other features for the sequel if it takes off.
Is competitive gaming going legit? As legit as something on late Saturday afternoon can be! The World series of Video Games has gotten a major broadcast deal with CBS and a couple of cable outlets to broadcast regular episodes of the competition. But aren't video games boring to just watch? I'd say the same thing about Baseball, Golf, Poker, Bowling, NASCAR, etc. Besides, geeks like me will show up in force in the Nielsen ratings to try and get this thing off the ground, so it should at least have a better chance at succeeding than the XFL.
Your Christmas... thing of today is also your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: CANDY CANE CRISIS
12/07/2006
Blood from a Stone
Couple of potentially huge movies out this weekend. Blood Diamond, which I've more or less said my piece about, seems primed for an awards run, but whether people will buy into it is pretty much up in the air, as reviews are a little mixed.
Even if I hadn't already seen Blood Diamond, I'd be much more interested in checking out Mel Gibson's latest-Apocalypto, about the end of Mayan civilization. I realize some people probably won't go see it because of his recent issues, but considering there are people in the industry who have done much worse than say something anti-semitic while drunk and still have a steady career (like Roman Polanski), it hardly seems like a real issue, and Gibson's efforts are always at least interesting, so I fully intend to check it out this weekend.
I will definitely not be checking out The Holiday or Unaccompanied Minors this weekend. As both seem like a manufactured mishmash of similar films, but lacking the charm and originality of those they copied from.
Maybe Joss Whedon should rename it Phoenix, as Firefly just seems to keep kicking. Granted, it's hardly been dead since it's initial cancellation, with a movie, a role-playing game and several comics, but now it's also being turned into a full-fledged MMO. Whether or not it'll actually be successful is anybody's guess, but if there's one thing that could pull me back into the MMO universe, this would definitely be it.
That's really all for me today, but I should be back later this weekend, in the meantime, here's your Christmas.... thing of the day: PINKY & THE BRAIN CHRISTMAS SPECIAL!!!!
Even if I hadn't already seen Blood Diamond, I'd be much more interested in checking out Mel Gibson's latest-Apocalypto, about the end of Mayan civilization. I realize some people probably won't go see it because of his recent issues, but considering there are people in the industry who have done much worse than say something anti-semitic while drunk and still have a steady career (like Roman Polanski), it hardly seems like a real issue, and Gibson's efforts are always at least interesting, so I fully intend to check it out this weekend.
I will definitely not be checking out The Holiday or Unaccompanied Minors this weekend. As both seem like a manufactured mishmash of similar films, but lacking the charm and originality of those they copied from.
Maybe Joss Whedon should rename it Phoenix, as Firefly just seems to keep kicking. Granted, it's hardly been dead since it's initial cancellation, with a movie, a role-playing game and several comics, but now it's also being turned into a full-fledged MMO. Whether or not it'll actually be successful is anybody's guess, but if there's one thing that could pull me back into the MMO universe, this would definitely be it.
That's really all for me today, but I should be back later this weekend, in the meantime, here's your Christmas.... thing of the day: PINKY & THE BRAIN CHRISTMAS SPECIAL!!!!
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