Yup, the blog layout has been changed around a bit. I hope people like it, I may update more often with gadgets and such as they occur to me. Also, the image in the header was most definitely not by me as my drawings often look like something out of XKCD. That was made by the genius who draws the webcomic, Extralife, Scott Johnson, and as you can see it is utterly awesome.
Moving onto the crux of today's post, we have a combination that would make many a geek swoon. The Tenth Doctor and Captain Jean Luc-Picard doing HAMLET. Granted, it's hard to get me to watch Shakespeare after being forced to endure so much of it in high school (especially the massively over-rated Romeo & Juliet, why that's considered a classic is beyond me), but assuming I have a few free hours, this would definitely be the way to get me and tons of other people to watch it.
And I would've had my review for the not at all anticipated Kick Ass game that was released today on PSN excpet that there wasn't even a demo for it. Now lots of games don't have demos, so that isn't necessarily a bad sign in and of itself, but the combination of no demo and almost no press about the game lead me to believe it's a desperate money grab specifically designed to screw a few unwitting fans of their money before everyone catches wind of how awful it is. Oh well, hopefully other promising tie-ins such as Iron Man 2 and Toy Story 3 will deliver.
That's really all I have for you today, but I leave you with a completely awesome TRAILER OF THE WEEK: JONAH HEX
4/28/2010
The Curse of the movie-tie in...
Oh the poor movie tie-in. Often developed on an incredibly tight schedule with the only thing of concern being that it's out in time to cash in on the property it's based on, almost instantly guarantees failure. Really, the best you can usually hope for is something that isn't entirely painful to play. I mean seriously, the last not horrible game based on a movie I can remember was Kung Fu Panda and that was really just adequate. But there are those lucky few, who somehow manage to get it right. And I'm not talking about games that come out on established properties, I'm talking about those lucky few that manage to come out in roughly the same time frame and not only not suck, but be surprisingly good. I can really only think of 3 that have managed this off the top of my head- Spider-Man 2, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and in a virtually unheard of case of actually being far superior to the sucktackular movie it's based on, Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. Probably the one thing those games all have in common is that they were at best loosely based on the property itself, serving as side stories or prequels. And in the case of Spider-Man 2, yeah the movie plot is in there somewhere, but you're too busy doing side missions or swinging around Manhattan just for the hell of it.
With that in mind, there are three upcoming movie tie-ins games that are taking varied approaches to hopefully change the mindset that in general, licensed games aren't worth your money. First up is Kick Ass: The Game, which hits the PSN tomorrow for download. This seems like a good direction for movie tie-ins to consider. To be honest, many of them command the $60 price tag and look and play like a budget title, so releasing games such as this within a much lower price range (a very reasonable $14) seems like a good idea. They did this with 2 Watchmen games last year, in what seemed like a good move. Though the games themselves were arguably not worth the combined $30 price tag at the time, it was a step in the right direction. Hell, I was able to grab them included with the blu-ray edition of the movie for the PS3 for $20, which essentially means I got the games for $5, well worth the price as they are perfectly decent if repetitive beat-em-ups. Kick Ass unfortunately seems to be going down the same path, with little to no press and looking like a poor knock-off of the X-Men Legends/Marvel Ultimate Alliance games (and lacking the gigantic cast). So while I highly doubt it'll be worth the money now, a sale later or being included in the blu-ray release will probably make it worthwhile. I do intend to at least download the demo tomorrow, so I'll let you know my thoughts on my next post.
Then we have the more interesting beast of Iron Man 2: The Game. The game based on he original smash hit was an umitigated disaster. But this time, Sega claims to have realized the error of their ways and promised a game that goes the route of covering the story but expanding the universe including villians such as the Crimson Dynamo and Ultimo. This sounds like a promising set-up for what could be the next gen equivalent of Spider-Man 2 if actually handled correctly. We'll see if it lives up to its potential when it ships next week.
And finally, we have Toy Story 3: The Game. Normally this is a game I wouldn't even glance at, but after ready the lengthy article in this month's Game Informer, I'm very intrigued by the fact that it's basically an open toybox, and you can just go nuts with the toys rather than awkwardly cramming the plot of the movie into the game. Whether or not this will actually transform into an enjoyable coherent gameplay experience will have to be seen, but the fact that they are almost completely seperate from the movie is a really good step in the right direction.
Of course the real issue is that tie-in games are always seen as something to quickly churn out and make a quick buck off of usually unsuspecting fans, and until the every day casual user/kid wises up and only buys the few good games based on movies.
That's really all I got for today, but here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Super Mario Crossover
With that in mind, there are three upcoming movie tie-ins games that are taking varied approaches to hopefully change the mindset that in general, licensed games aren't worth your money. First up is Kick Ass: The Game, which hits the PSN tomorrow for download. This seems like a good direction for movie tie-ins to consider. To be honest, many of them command the $60 price tag and look and play like a budget title, so releasing games such as this within a much lower price range (a very reasonable $14) seems like a good idea. They did this with 2 Watchmen games last year, in what seemed like a good move. Though the games themselves were arguably not worth the combined $30 price tag at the time, it was a step in the right direction. Hell, I was able to grab them included with the blu-ray edition of the movie for the PS3 for $20, which essentially means I got the games for $5, well worth the price as they are perfectly decent if repetitive beat-em-ups. Kick Ass unfortunately seems to be going down the same path, with little to no press and looking like a poor knock-off of the X-Men Legends/Marvel Ultimate Alliance games (and lacking the gigantic cast). So while I highly doubt it'll be worth the money now, a sale later or being included in the blu-ray release will probably make it worthwhile. I do intend to at least download the demo tomorrow, so I'll let you know my thoughts on my next post.
Then we have the more interesting beast of Iron Man 2: The Game. The game based on he original smash hit was an umitigated disaster. But this time, Sega claims to have realized the error of their ways and promised a game that goes the route of covering the story but expanding the universe including villians such as the Crimson Dynamo and Ultimo. This sounds like a promising set-up for what could be the next gen equivalent of Spider-Man 2 if actually handled correctly. We'll see if it lives up to its potential when it ships next week.
And finally, we have Toy Story 3: The Game. Normally this is a game I wouldn't even glance at, but after ready the lengthy article in this month's Game Informer, I'm very intrigued by the fact that it's basically an open toybox, and you can just go nuts with the toys rather than awkwardly cramming the plot of the movie into the game. Whether or not this will actually transform into an enjoyable coherent gameplay experience will have to be seen, but the fact that they are almost completely seperate from the movie is a really good step in the right direction.
Of course the real issue is that tie-in games are always seen as something to quickly churn out and make a quick buck off of usually unsuspecting fans, and until the every day casual user/kid wises up and only buys the few good games based on movies.
That's really all I got for today, but here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Super Mario Crossover
4/22/2010
The A-Team is a bunch of expendable losers...
Am I the only one seeing triple here? I mean, yes these films all have some distinguishing elements, but they are essentially the same story about some good guy meercenaries who are betrayed. All of them are releasing this summer, starting with The Losers out in theatres this weekend. And though it's not the most star-studded, it looks like the most enjoyable one of the 3 to me, mainly due to it having Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chris Evans and Zoe Saldana. The A-Team looks like it might be veering into XXX territory with ridiculous stuff like landing a tank out of an airplane. Expendables boasts the most star-studded casts with the big guns of Stallone, Statham, Li, & Willis just to name a few, but already seems to lack any cohesion. When everyone is talking about movie trends like sequels or 3D or talking animals, it seems odd that no one has picked up on this seemingly biggest actual trend this summer. At some point when they all come out on video I want to watch them all in one sitting and see if I can tell where one movie begins and one ends after.
Anyone remember me talking about the fan made Mega Man film being worked on awhile ago? If not, check out this incredibly awesome trailer:
Now, it's a sad truth that most fan projects die, whether it's because of a pointless cease and desist from the company that actually owns the property, or the creators just stopped having the time or the energy to finish it. But Mega Man is finished. That's right, the movie is finished and will premiere on May 7th. Granted, that's the same weekend as Iron Man 2, so if you only have time for one movie, It should probably be that. However, this will be online and free so if you have the time there's no reason you can't check out both. This will hopefully be a shining example that companies should let the fans express themselves as long as it's not sullying the license.
All right, that's really all I got today, but I'll send you off with the FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: War Spheres
4/21/2010
Do you want to date my Avatar?
In case you have no idea what the header refers to, check out this awesome video from the cast of the awesome web series, "The Guild".
But however today's post really has nothing to do with the epic web series about a bunch of nerdy MMO obsessed shut-ins, it's about TEH BIGGEST MOVIE EVERS! I am of course talking about the imminent release of James Cameron's tribute to Fern Gully, Avatar. Except it's not the real release. No, Mr. Cameron has decided that any ultimate or 3D version shall be held off til some uknown date. Hell, they are even planning a re-release in theatres. Because, you know, already being the top-grossing film of all time already apparently doesn't qualify as enough money, they need to make more. In all seriousness, I saw the film twice, both in 2D & 3D and really enjoyed it. The derisive comparisons to films like Dances with Wolves and Fern Gully are probably fair, but it's a fun special effects blockbuster, not a serious dramatic film and should be taken as such. I'm fully aware it's gotten even beyond Twilight-esque levels of scary fanboyism what with people reportedly getting depressed about Pandora not being real and people throwing on facepaint like it's a big football game, but that shouldn't take away from the film itself. And as this is the fiance's new favorite movie ever I'll be at least picking up a dvd copy tomorrow because I'll probably be buying the blu-ray proper when it finally does hit.
William Shatner as Dictator for Life of Canada? Ok, really it's just a ceremonial title, but frankly us Americans are more likely to respond to Captain Kirk talking about Canadian concerns than whatever unimportant official is actually doing the job. I say we respond by electing Adam West to some unimportant ceremonial position, and then have the two debate each other. It doesn't matter about what. I guarantee those would be the most watched debates EVER.
Ok that's pretty much it for today, but before I go, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK:
But however today's post really has nothing to do with the epic web series about a bunch of nerdy MMO obsessed shut-ins, it's about TEH BIGGEST MOVIE EVERS! I am of course talking about the imminent release of James Cameron's tribute to Fern Gully, Avatar. Except it's not the real release. No, Mr. Cameron has decided that any ultimate or 3D version shall be held off til some uknown date. Hell, they are even planning a re-release in theatres. Because, you know, already being the top-grossing film of all time already apparently doesn't qualify as enough money, they need to make more. In all seriousness, I saw the film twice, both in 2D & 3D and really enjoyed it. The derisive comparisons to films like Dances with Wolves and Fern Gully are probably fair, but it's a fun special effects blockbuster, not a serious dramatic film and should be taken as such. I'm fully aware it's gotten even beyond Twilight-esque levels of scary fanboyism what with people reportedly getting depressed about Pandora not being real and people throwing on facepaint like it's a big football game, but that shouldn't take away from the film itself. And as this is the fiance's new favorite movie ever I'll be at least picking up a dvd copy tomorrow because I'll probably be buying the blu-ray proper when it finally does hit.
William Shatner as Dictator for Life of Canada? Ok, really it's just a ceremonial title, but frankly us Americans are more likely to respond to Captain Kirk talking about Canadian concerns than whatever unimportant official is actually doing the job. I say we respond by electing Adam West to some unimportant ceremonial position, and then have the two debate each other. It doesn't matter about what. I guarantee those would be the most watched debates EVER.
Ok that's pretty much it for today, but before I go, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK:
4/20/2010
Finally we can have The Red Bee vs. Matter Eater Lad Match we always dreamed of!
That's the trailer for the virtually certain to be completely awesome Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Where yes, Chris Redfield actually stands a chance of beating the Hulk. But in case you have no clue who I'm referring to in the header, those are two of the worst marvel super heroes ever to exist. Red Bee was just literally a guy who carried around a trained bee in his belt. So unless you were allergic he didn't pose much of a threat to anyone. And Matter Eater Lad sounds just as lame his name. He could eat anything. That was his goddamn power. Eating crap. God I wish I could get paid to come up with lame ass heroes like these, there's literally a ton in the comics universe still floating around in some capacity. Anyways, as insulting to character accuracy as it is, the Marvel vs. Capcom series has long been one of the few fighting franchises I continue to enjoy to this day, so I am very excited to see that final roster (anybody from the Runaways would be awesome, but unlikely).
Ok pretty much only one other thing I want to talk about is really something that's should be a non-issue and was pretty much only done to get gamers panties in a bunch. Roger Ebert has decided to poke the bear once again by claiming video games are not art. Why anyone is giving this man any credibility on a medium he is clearly out of touch with is beyond me. And why he would bring up the argument again only to say the same thing as last time means he's just going for what they refer to in wrestling as "cheap heat", like insulting the crowd's hometown to get a rise of of them. This is a desperate attempt to try and stay relevant, and should be treated as such. Are games art? Who the hell really cares? I just care that they are worth my hard-earned cash.
4/18/2010
The Hunt Begins...
Ok, firstly, I did see Kick Ass yesterday, and while it might not be for everybody with the over the top violence and swearing, it is an absolutely brilliant film that celebrates as well as lampoons super heroes very cleverly.
And on to the big release of this week, one of several really awesome-looking ones out for the Wii this year (that will no doubt be virtually ignored), Monster Hunter Tri. While not extremely well-known outside of Japan, it's following is extremely rabid, and it's pretty easy to see why, with it's constant upgrading and true challenge along with a strong online component it is a unique hardcore title that seems an odd fit for the Wii. Hopefully if this doesn't do well it may convince Nintendo to finally rethink that stupid friend code system they have in place now. I did try a demo and wasn't all that impressed, but admittedly that was with the wii remote controls, when this is something that is obviously built for the classic controller (as it is even bundled with it), and the reviews are nothing short of stellar so far, leading me to believe I should probably give it a real shot, which I fully intend to do.
That's all I got for today really. but I leave you with both the Trailer & Game of the Week til next time:
TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Dinner for Shmucks
Free Game of the Week: Flaming Zombooka
And on to the big release of this week, one of several really awesome-looking ones out for the Wii this year (that will no doubt be virtually ignored), Monster Hunter Tri. While not extremely well-known outside of Japan, it's following is extremely rabid, and it's pretty easy to see why, with it's constant upgrading and true challenge along with a strong online component it is a unique hardcore title that seems an odd fit for the Wii. Hopefully if this doesn't do well it may convince Nintendo to finally rethink that stupid friend code system they have in place now. I did try a demo and wasn't all that impressed, but admittedly that was with the wii remote controls, when this is something that is obviously built for the classic controller (as it is even bundled with it), and the reviews are nothing short of stellar so far, leading me to believe I should probably give it a real shot, which I fully intend to do.
That's all I got for today really. but I leave you with both the Trailer & Game of the Week til next time:
TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Dinner for Shmucks
Free Game of the Week: Flaming Zombooka
4/13/2010
Movie Adaptations that will probably never happen (but should)...
Seems like everything is getting a movie these days. Hell even the goddamn creepy ass e-trade baby has a frakking movie in development (and why not? The Geico Caveman had a fantastically awful TV show). But despite nearly everything and everyone at least getting a shot at developing a movie based off something (you know, instead of coming up with original ideas for the screen), there are some perfectly good ideas that will probably never see the light of day in anything other than their current incarnation whatever that may be. So here are 10 I think should be made into movies that probably never will be.
The Question is probably my favorite DC B-Lister, and while it would be great to see a movie about him, I can see why there may never be one. He's an even more eccentric Batman, not the most likeable hero, no super powers and also just an incredibly tough role to cast. Ok, you could have Jackie Earle Haley do it, but since the question is basically a less psychotic version of Rosarch, I don' know if he'd want to. Probably just a little too outside the mainstream yet too close to Batman for people not familiar with the Question to see it as anything but a rip-off.
Admittedly I have a rather unhealthy fondness for Disney's own answer to the Dark Knight, but that doesn't change the fact that it was a fantastic cartoon and would make an excellent family film if handled correctly. Alas, the fact that the last time this was even on the air was years ago and again it may be seen as a "mere Batman knock-off" put it solidly in the highly unlikely column.
The Goblin series is one of the smarter books about adventuring, hence while it will probably be never be made into a movie. Jig, the protagonist, is neither handsome nor brave, nor has any special abilities. Except that of common sense, which many heroic adventurers actually lack. Hence why audiences would probably hate him, even though this could be a brilliant smart alternative to all the overrated teen fantasy popping up in cinema lately.
SPOOON! Though the delightfully naive Tick is the complete opposite of Jig, being strong, brave and incredibly stupid, the series itself has always been a rather brilliant send-up of the superhero genre in general. But it would probably be Spinal Tap all over again, with the joke being too smart for the room. Audiences as a rule are stupid and like their heroes clear cut and simple.
Arguably the craziest superhero to ever exist, Freakazoid would be nearly impossible to put to film and make any sort of sense, but damn it if somebody wouldn't try. Sort of like if Superman had a psychotic break, but still did good deeds. Again, too smart for the room, also probably too smart for Hollywood. Though frankly since Spielberg has gone insane, I'd rather he leave this creation untarnished.
Ok that's pretty much the list. I realize I've been slacking a little bit on movie trailer of the week and game of the week, but those will continue on the next post, which should be either tomorrow or Thursday.
The Question is probably my favorite DC B-Lister, and while it would be great to see a movie about him, I can see why there may never be one. He's an even more eccentric Batman, not the most likeable hero, no super powers and also just an incredibly tough role to cast. Ok, you could have Jackie Earle Haley do it, but since the question is basically a less psychotic version of Rosarch, I don' know if he'd want to. Probably just a little too outside the mainstream yet too close to Batman for people not familiar with the Question to see it as anything but a rip-off.
Admittedly I have a rather unhealthy fondness for Disney's own answer to the Dark Knight, but that doesn't change the fact that it was a fantastic cartoon and would make an excellent family film if handled correctly. Alas, the fact that the last time this was even on the air was years ago and again it may be seen as a "mere Batman knock-off" put it solidly in the highly unlikely column.
The Goblin series is one of the smarter books about adventuring, hence while it will probably be never be made into a movie. Jig, the protagonist, is neither handsome nor brave, nor has any special abilities. Except that of common sense, which many heroic adventurers actually lack. Hence why audiences would probably hate him, even though this could be a brilliant smart alternative to all the overrated teen fantasy popping up in cinema lately.
SPOOON! Though the delightfully naive Tick is the complete opposite of Jig, being strong, brave and incredibly stupid, the series itself has always been a rather brilliant send-up of the superhero genre in general. But it would probably be Spinal Tap all over again, with the joke being too smart for the room. Audiences as a rule are stupid and like their heroes clear cut and simple.
Arguably the craziest superhero to ever exist, Freakazoid would be nearly impossible to put to film and make any sort of sense, but damn it if somebody wouldn't try. Sort of like if Superman had a psychotic break, but still did good deeds. Again, too smart for the room, also probably too smart for Hollywood. Though frankly since Spielberg has gone insane, I'd rather he leave this creation untarnished.
Ok that's pretty much the list. I realize I've been slacking a little bit on movie trailer of the week and game of the week, but those will continue on the next post, which should be either tomorrow or Thursday.
4/10/2010
Glee Video Day
That's right, Glee returns this week! Easily the best new comedy of the TV season returns and what better way to celebrate than a bunch of videos!
4/06/2010
The short, short version...
Admittedly calling any version of Peter Jackson's epic nerdgasm that is the Lord of The Rings Trilogy short is a rather laughable idea, but I would think most ringers would be very unsatisfied that after a wait that seems like forever for a blu-ray release, all we get is the original theatrical cuts out today. Assuming I ever do pick it up, I will definitely wait for the extended cuts. Admittedly though since watching the extended cuts is an undertaking equivalent to trying to do a speed run on Fallout 3 I may never get around to it, I just don't have the endurance.
Is the PSP a doomed platform? Of course it is. Hell the only reason I hang on to mine is because of the long overdue Birth By Sleep. The weak software lineup and moronic redesigns have basically doomed this thing to be a joke compared to the Nintendo juggernaut. There is hope however, as the fellows at Destructoid point out in Fixing the PSP in six easy steps. Of course these steps are so glaringly if obvious that if Sony hasn't picked up on hem by now, they probably never will.
It is a general agreement that Dr. Horrible is awesome. It is also a general agreement that 8-bit is awesome. Someone put these two incredibly awesome things together in an explosion of pure awesome:
And finally, yes I did catch the season premiere of Doctor Who over the weekend and Matt Smith was absolutely brilliant in the role and really made it his own. It actually was quite a bit stronger debut than David Tennant's, who actually took a few episodes to really grow into the role. It seems like a good sign that the show will survive without the wonderful Tennant, which was a certain worry at the time. I'll most likely post tomorrow or Thursday.
Is the PSP a doomed platform? Of course it is. Hell the only reason I hang on to mine is because of the long overdue Birth By Sleep. The weak software lineup and moronic redesigns have basically doomed this thing to be a joke compared to the Nintendo juggernaut. There is hope however, as the fellows at Destructoid point out in Fixing the PSP in six easy steps. Of course these steps are so glaringly if obvious that if Sony hasn't picked up on hem by now, they probably never will.
It is a general agreement that Dr. Horrible is awesome. It is also a general agreement that 8-bit is awesome. Someone put these two incredibly awesome things together in an explosion of pure awesome:
And finally, yes I did catch the season premiere of Doctor Who over the weekend and Matt Smith was absolutely brilliant in the role and really made it his own. It actually was quite a bit stronger debut than David Tennant's, who actually took a few episodes to really grow into the role. It seems like a good sign that the show will survive without the wonderful Tennant, which was a certain worry at the time. I'll most likely post tomorrow or Thursday.
4/04/2010
Compilations I'd like to see
Compilations are a tricky thing these days. Clearly people are still willing to pay for fondly remembered genuine classics such as FFVII, which is one of the most downloaded games on PSN, and at $9.99 (and yes, I still contend it's a very over-rated game, but that doesn't mean it's not very good), definitely a bargain when you consider it would be at least twice as much for a used physical copy. And let's face it, many "classics" of our youth are seen through rose-colored glasses. Owning Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection has awakened me to a harsh reality that several games I have fond memories of playing in my 16-bit days suck (namely Kid Chameleon & Ecco the Dolphin). But being inspired by collections such as that and the God of War collection have made me think up my own list of compilations I'd really like to see.
The Shining Force collection: Admittedly the fact that the best of this series is already on the aformentioned Ultimate collection would make it a tad redundant, but this would be the entirety of the classic turn-based series (with none of those craptacular PS2 titles included). This collection would include not only the Sega Genesis classics, but also the game gear iterations as well as the Saturn ones, ideally with the chapters that never made it stateside. It would be any strategy-rpgers'dream come true, especially at the currently popular compilation price of $20.
The Ratchet & Clank collection: Much in the spirit of the God of War Collection, these magnificent PS2 titles should be given a re-release as a collection on PS3 with a full HD upgrade. Imagine all 5 R & C games, with Secret Agent Clank thrown in for good measure. It's ok, go ahead and wipe the drool of your chin, nobody is judging you.
The Sly Cooper collection: Sly and the gang really never got the recognition they deserved, being an excellent trilogy games buried by the slightly superior Ratchet & far more mediocre Jaxter. This was an excellent trilogy of games, and the developers have said they would like to do a next-gen version. A collection of the PS2 titles would be a great way to at least test the waters as well as hopefully get some new fans in there.
The Mutant League Collection
Granted, there are only two games here, but they are two marvelous games. With their insane cast of characters, cartoonish violence and being able to either bribe or kill the ref (as well as the opposing team) if you didn't like they way the game was going, this is another classic series that they should release as a compilation if for no other reason than to test the waters for a new curent-gen entry.
The Wing Commander Collection: Why this has never been re-released when we get anthologies of classic pc series all the time is beyond me. The first 4 games and their expansions, along with the Privateer games, would make this the best space combat sim collection this side of the tie-fighter games (and I'd argue the Wing Commander games are superior anyways). If your only experience with this franchise is the headache-inducing movie, you owe it to yourself to track down a copy of at least one of the original 4 somewhere just to know how much of an insult it was to the property it was based on.
The Earthbound Collection: Though only one game of the series known as "Mother" in Japan was released here, it has an absolutely ginormous cult following, and nothing would make the rabid fanbase go into a frenzy than a compilation of all of the games released stateside (including yours truly, Earthbound was one of my favorite SNES games). Hopefully we'll at least be tided over with an eventual virtual console release as has been heavily rumored, but being able to own the whole series would be any rpg geek's dream come true.
The Panzer Dragoon Collection: Arguably the greatest shooter series of all time. Few series deserve another shot like this critically acclaimed oddball masterpiece that never seemed to find the mass audience it deserved, probably mostly having to do with that majority of it being on the ill-fated Saturn. Having the 3 Saturn games would certainly be a worthy collection, but the critically-acclaimed Xbox entry Orta certainly deserves to be included as well. People should pretty much be having letter-writing campaigns to Sega to release this in some form for a whole new audience to enjoy (especially Saga, which can go for a couple hundred on the used market).
And that's pretty much my list. I'll most likely be back either tomorrow or Tuesday with a new post. Until then, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: (Don't) Save the Princess
The Shining Force collection: Admittedly the fact that the best of this series is already on the aformentioned Ultimate collection would make it a tad redundant, but this would be the entirety of the classic turn-based series (with none of those craptacular PS2 titles included). This collection would include not only the Sega Genesis classics, but also the game gear iterations as well as the Saturn ones, ideally with the chapters that never made it stateside. It would be any strategy-rpgers'dream come true, especially at the currently popular compilation price of $20.
The Ratchet & Clank collection: Much in the spirit of the God of War Collection, these magnificent PS2 titles should be given a re-release as a collection on PS3 with a full HD upgrade. Imagine all 5 R & C games, with Secret Agent Clank thrown in for good measure. It's ok, go ahead and wipe the drool of your chin, nobody is judging you.
The Sly Cooper collection: Sly and the gang really never got the recognition they deserved, being an excellent trilogy games buried by the slightly superior Ratchet & far more mediocre Jaxter. This was an excellent trilogy of games, and the developers have said they would like to do a next-gen version. A collection of the PS2 titles would be a great way to at least test the waters as well as hopefully get some new fans in there.
The Mutant League Collection
Granted, there are only two games here, but they are two marvelous games. With their insane cast of characters, cartoonish violence and being able to either bribe or kill the ref (as well as the opposing team) if you didn't like they way the game was going, this is another classic series that they should release as a compilation if for no other reason than to test the waters for a new curent-gen entry.
The Wing Commander Collection: Why this has never been re-released when we get anthologies of classic pc series all the time is beyond me. The first 4 games and their expansions, along with the Privateer games, would make this the best space combat sim collection this side of the tie-fighter games (and I'd argue the Wing Commander games are superior anyways). If your only experience with this franchise is the headache-inducing movie, you owe it to yourself to track down a copy of at least one of the original 4 somewhere just to know how much of an insult it was to the property it was based on.
The Earthbound Collection: Though only one game of the series known as "Mother" in Japan was released here, it has an absolutely ginormous cult following, and nothing would make the rabid fanbase go into a frenzy than a compilation of all of the games released stateside (including yours truly, Earthbound was one of my favorite SNES games). Hopefully we'll at least be tided over with an eventual virtual console release as has been heavily rumored, but being able to own the whole series would be any rpg geek's dream come true.
The Panzer Dragoon Collection: Arguably the greatest shooter series of all time. Few series deserve another shot like this critically acclaimed oddball masterpiece that never seemed to find the mass audience it deserved, probably mostly having to do with that majority of it being on the ill-fated Saturn. Having the 3 Saturn games would certainly be a worthy collection, but the critically-acclaimed Xbox entry Orta certainly deserves to be included as well. People should pretty much be having letter-writing campaigns to Sega to release this in some form for a whole new audience to enjoy (especially Saga, which can go for a couple hundred on the used market).
And that's pretty much my list. I'll most likely be back either tomorrow or Tuesday with a new post. Until then, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: (Don't) Save the Princess
3/31/2010
Doctor Who video day
Blargh. Lots of family related heavy crap going on this week, so haven't had much of an urge to post. But hey, the 5th season premiere of Doctor Who is Saturday! David Tennant was fairly brilliant the last few years, but Matt Smith seems ready to do the role justice in his own way, and what better way to get pumped for the premiere than with a bunch of Dr. Who vids?!? Enjoy and I will definitely post again this weekend:
3/28/2010
Would you like to supersize your DSi?
Yeah, today's the day the DSi XL is out. And I really can't see it as anything more than a DS for people who are practically blind or just have a problem handling your normal everyday portable systems. Cause frankly, most people want their portable stuff to be smaller, not bigger to the point of obnoxiousness. Seeing Gary and Alison on Nintendo Week handling it made it look extremely awkward frankly (admittedly that horrible show is a guilty pleasure, seeing as there isn't a real network for gamers anymore, even though I enjoy a good amount of programming on G4, it's become Spike lite).
I got Red Steel 2 in the mail from Gamefly, and after playing a little over an hour, my initial impressions are that it's a good example of a great action game on the Wii. Problem is that pretty much all reviews are saying it's only about 6 hours long. So a rental is all it will be as I have better things in the near future to spend $50 on (i.e. Super Mario Galaxy 2). I mean I'm pretty accepting that with the exception of rpgs, most games will net you around 10-15 hours of play time, that's well established, but anything less than 8 is really unacceptable in my book. I get that you can play through more than once for extra stuff, but for most people they really just want to get their money's worth out of one play-through, especially with so many games vying for our attention these days.
I should be back tomorrow with a look at this week's notable releases, til then:
I got Red Steel 2 in the mail from Gamefly, and after playing a little over an hour, my initial impressions are that it's a good example of a great action game on the Wii. Problem is that pretty much all reviews are saying it's only about 6 hours long. So a rental is all it will be as I have better things in the near future to spend $50 on (i.e. Super Mario Galaxy 2). I mean I'm pretty accepting that with the exception of rpgs, most games will net you around 10-15 hours of play time, that's well established, but anything less than 8 is really unacceptable in my book. I get that you can play through more than once for extra stuff, but for most people they really just want to get their money's worth out of one play-through, especially with so many games vying for our attention these days.
I should be back tomorrow with a look at this week's notable releases, til then:
3/25/2010
The arcade inside of the arcade
Totally meant to do a post yesterday, but was incredibly exhausted. Anyways, yesterday Xbox Live's "game room" service was launched yesterday, apparently with a few bumps. But this isn't really about that. My question is what the hell is the point of this? The 360 is a system that's all about the latest technology and even updating older games with HD graphics and online capability. These "untouched classics" just seem like the closest they can can legally get to the Virtual Console service (and frankly, that Nintendo leaves the VC games untouched is pretty stupid). And those "classics"? They might be fun to spend a quarter on once and awhile, but for the most part they are better left in the past. Granted, this is my thoughts on the initial offering, if they can throw some of my personal favorites in there (hint: THE SIMPSONS ARCADE GAME), I may soften my stance, even if I'd prefer an updated HD version. Though to be fair, I'll take an untouched original over atrocities like Turtles Reshelled.
Is a sequel to Moonwalker on the way? Probably not, but With Sony having recently purchased the estate of Michael Jackson, seeing his ghost on your PS3/PSP in some form seems like a distinct possibility.
Ok, that's all I really got for today, but expect at least one more post this weekend. Until then, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: POLEDANCE HERO
Is a sequel to Moonwalker on the way? Probably not, but With Sony having recently purchased the estate of Michael Jackson, seeing his ghost on your PS3/PSP in some form seems like a distinct possibility.
Ok, that's all I really got for today, but expect at least one more post this weekend. Until then, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: POLEDANCE HERO
3/23/2010
Is Nintendo cannibalizing itself?
That's the question I really have to be asking. We are mere days away from the launch of the DSI XL, aka a DSI seemingly for octogenarians due to the significantly larger screen, which makes a total of 3 Nintendo portables on the market. And yet they just announced what is hopefully the real successor to the DS, the 3DS. Now, the features sound great. A analog joystick? Awesome. 3D on the go without goofy shades? Fantastic. Backwards compatible? I'm pretty much sold. And probably so is anyone who has not yet entered the portable market or not yet upgraded their DS. Why would you bother with a flashy new 3D model on the way in just about a year? Admittedly, I have no desire to upgrade from my current DS as is. I got my fiance a DSI and we barely use the extra features (we've downloaded Oregon Trail, that's really it), making me think it certainly was not worth the extra money. And to be fair, the DS took a long time to really find it's footing, I'm willing to bet the 3D version will have similar struggles the first year.
Red Steel 2, arguably the only release this week worth caring about, is an interesting beast. The original was a half-baked launch title, a rallying cry for Nintendo haters to point at and say the Wii remote didn't work as promised. This new one wisely ditches nearly everything about the original with the exception of the concept of using both a sword and gun, and from all reports is markedly improved thanks to the use of the Wii Motion plus (one of the few games so far to use that). It makes one wonder why they would have it bear the original's name, given the negative connotations that go with it. Yes, the discerning Wii gamer finally has something to play this year besides No More Heroes 2, but the more casual audience that makes up a large majority of Wii owners will most likely remember their unfortunate experience with the original and pass it by. I certainly plan on picking it up as soon as I get around to finishing NMH2 myself, but FFXIII is pretty much dominating my gaming time atm and will continue to do so til its done (which at the rate I'm going will be another month or so).
That's it for today but look for another post tommorrow. Til then, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: MEGAMIND
Red Steel 2, arguably the only release this week worth caring about, is an interesting beast. The original was a half-baked launch title, a rallying cry for Nintendo haters to point at and say the Wii remote didn't work as promised. This new one wisely ditches nearly everything about the original with the exception of the concept of using both a sword and gun, and from all reports is markedly improved thanks to the use of the Wii Motion plus (one of the few games so far to use that). It makes one wonder why they would have it bear the original's name, given the negative connotations that go with it. Yes, the discerning Wii gamer finally has something to play this year besides No More Heroes 2, but the more casual audience that makes up a large majority of Wii owners will most likely remember their unfortunate experience with the original and pass it by. I certainly plan on picking it up as soon as I get around to finishing NMH2 myself, but FFXIII is pretty much dominating my gaming time atm and will continue to do so til its done (which at the rate I'm going will be another month or so).
That's it for today but look for another post tommorrow. Til then, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: MEGAMIND
Note to Hollywood: MAKE THIS HAPPEN
I'll do a full post later today, but this awesome fake trailer for a Weird Al biopic is far too awesome to not post immediately upon my discovery of it:
3/19/2010
The Top 10 Worlds I would like to see in future Kingdom Hearts games
Having recently beat the most recent Kingdom Hearts Chapter, 358/2 Days and with Princess and the Frog coming out this week, I've been thinking a lot about worlds I'd really like to see in future KH games. Granted, the fellows over at Topless Robot pretty much already did this not very long ago, but since my list vastly differs from theirs and I've been thinking on this quite awhile off and on, I thought I'd go ahead and post my own list.
#10: New Orleans (Princess and the Frog)
I will agree with TR on the exciting possibilities of a world set in Disney's return to hand-drawn 2D animation. Facilier would be an extremely fun boss if done right, and the lush world of old timey New Orleans would be a fantastically fun place to go. This seems like a really obvious and easy idea, so hopefully it'll be in whatever is coming up after Birth By Sleep so the wait isn't too long.
#9: Middleton (Kim Possible)
Ok, I know some head scratching is going on here, but the world of Kim Possible is perfectly set up to be a Kingdom Hearts level moreso than many Disney properties. It has fun characters and settings, and virtually any of Kim Possible's nemeses would make a fun and exciting boss (my personal pick would probably be Senor Senor Junior, but Drakken or Monkey Fist seems far more likely were this to happen). Even getting Rufus or the Tweebs as a summon would be pretty awesome. I think the odds are decent, but it's sort of become a forgotten commodity now that it's off the air, and hardly considered classic Disney.
8: Municiberg (The Incredibles)
Any Pixar film seems like a really obvious idea and would be great to see, but there is one thing I feel nearly all Pixar films are lacking-A strong villain. Hell some don't even really have an actual villain. Syndrome pretty much solves that problem (although I'd be more excited to fight the Underminer). Plus having any of the members of this fantastically powered family (or Frozone for that matter) would arguably be cooler than teaming up with virtually any other Pixar character (though I could certainly see an argument for Buzz Lightyear). And I posted the Miami Vice mashup just because it's cool.
7: Camelot (Sword in the Stone)
Merlin's already an recurring character in the Kingdom Hearts series, this seems like a fairly natural idea. Madam Mim admittedly probably wouldn't be drastically different than Ursula, who we've already fought a couple times, but it would still be an incredibly fun world to explore.
6: Galatic Alliance (Buzz Lightyear of Star Command)
This series never really got its due in my opinion, it's got a vast universe which makes any number of settings possible, the characters are great (especially XR) and Zurg of course is a fantastically hilarious villain, but there's a large roster of equally fun bad guys to deal with, plus this would ideally allow you to team with Buzz without having to play a Toy Story level, which in my opinion would be fairly dull.
5: NY/Scotland (Gargoyles)
It's easy to see why Gargoyles hasn't been included. New York isn't all that mystical or fantasy-like and Gargoyles is easily the darkest series Disney has had a hand in to my knowledge. But it's such a fantastic story and brilliantly told. Hell you could theoretically place it in Scotland, before most of Goliath's clan was destroyed, and even end the level right at that point. Though that would remove any possibility of fighting some of the better villains of the show like Demona or Macbeth. Still, the Kingdom Hearts games do like to include little suprises for us every now and then (i.e. Tron) so this would be a great oddball choice.
4: Duck Berg (Ducktales)
If you grew up in the 80s, you know the theme song by heart. Duck Tales is arguably the greatest animated show ever. Sure Scrooge and his nephews have appeared in the KH games, but they deserve larger roles, and who wouldn't want to fight heartless in Scrooge's vault, possibly also dealing with the Beagle Boys and well as Flintheart Glomgold just sounds like an incredible level. Also Gizmoduck as your companion FTW.
3. Gummi Glen (Gummi Bears)
There are better shows on this list than Gummi Bears, but it's high placement is due to its potential as a Kingdom Hearts world being so rich. Bouncing around with Gummi Juice while fighting those moronic trolls and Duke Igthorn (with any of the Bears being a good team mate) just seems so screamingly obvious it's kind of a shock they haven't done it already.
2. St. Carnard (Darkwing Duck)
Admittedly this choice is a heavily personal one. Darwking Duck is easily my favorite Disney animated series. But that doesn't make it any less of a great idea for a Kingdom Hearts world. Darkwing would be an incredibly fun ally to fight alongside, and his rogue's gallery has a rich variety of bad guys that would serve as great bosses (with Megaduck being the obvious choice). I would never want or need another Kingdom Hearts game if this world was ever included in one.
1. Rescue Rangers
Yeah I tried looking it up, I don't know what city they are in. But anyways, the reason this takes place over my personal favorite is I think the possibilities are better. The world would be very fun, having Monterey Jack as a party member or a summon would be awesome, and the idea of wailing on either Fat Cat or Professor Nimnul with a keyblade pretty much just gives me goosebumps. Much like Gummi bears, this one also seems almost blindingly obvious to anyone with a decent knowledge of Disney properties.
And that's the list. The universe of Disney is ripe with possibilities, hopefully Square will pick the best ones for future titles. As long as I don't see a High School Musical world I'll be happily playing them all (although wailing on Zac Efron is a tempting idea...)
#10: New Orleans (Princess and the Frog)
I will agree with TR on the exciting possibilities of a world set in Disney's return to hand-drawn 2D animation. Facilier would be an extremely fun boss if done right, and the lush world of old timey New Orleans would be a fantastically fun place to go. This seems like a really obvious and easy idea, so hopefully it'll be in whatever is coming up after Birth By Sleep so the wait isn't too long.
#9: Middleton (Kim Possible)
Ok, I know some head scratching is going on here, but the world of Kim Possible is perfectly set up to be a Kingdom Hearts level moreso than many Disney properties. It has fun characters and settings, and virtually any of Kim Possible's nemeses would make a fun and exciting boss (my personal pick would probably be Senor Senor Junior, but Drakken or Monkey Fist seems far more likely were this to happen). Even getting Rufus or the Tweebs as a summon would be pretty awesome. I think the odds are decent, but it's sort of become a forgotten commodity now that it's off the air, and hardly considered classic Disney.
8: Municiberg (The Incredibles)
Any Pixar film seems like a really obvious idea and would be great to see, but there is one thing I feel nearly all Pixar films are lacking-A strong villain. Hell some don't even really have an actual villain. Syndrome pretty much solves that problem (although I'd be more excited to fight the Underminer). Plus having any of the members of this fantastically powered family (or Frozone for that matter) would arguably be cooler than teaming up with virtually any other Pixar character (though I could certainly see an argument for Buzz Lightyear). And I posted the Miami Vice mashup just because it's cool.
7: Camelot (Sword in the Stone)
Merlin's already an recurring character in the Kingdom Hearts series, this seems like a fairly natural idea. Madam Mim admittedly probably wouldn't be drastically different than Ursula, who we've already fought a couple times, but it would still be an incredibly fun world to explore.
6: Galatic Alliance (Buzz Lightyear of Star Command)
This series never really got its due in my opinion, it's got a vast universe which makes any number of settings possible, the characters are great (especially XR) and Zurg of course is a fantastically hilarious villain, but there's a large roster of equally fun bad guys to deal with, plus this would ideally allow you to team with Buzz without having to play a Toy Story level, which in my opinion would be fairly dull.
5: NY/Scotland (Gargoyles)
It's easy to see why Gargoyles hasn't been included. New York isn't all that mystical or fantasy-like and Gargoyles is easily the darkest series Disney has had a hand in to my knowledge. But it's such a fantastic story and brilliantly told. Hell you could theoretically place it in Scotland, before most of Goliath's clan was destroyed, and even end the level right at that point. Though that would remove any possibility of fighting some of the better villains of the show like Demona or Macbeth. Still, the Kingdom Hearts games do like to include little suprises for us every now and then (i.e. Tron) so this would be a great oddball choice.
4: Duck Berg (Ducktales)
If you grew up in the 80s, you know the theme song by heart. Duck Tales is arguably the greatest animated show ever. Sure Scrooge and his nephews have appeared in the KH games, but they deserve larger roles, and who wouldn't want to fight heartless in Scrooge's vault, possibly also dealing with the Beagle Boys and well as Flintheart Glomgold just sounds like an incredible level. Also Gizmoduck as your companion FTW.
3. Gummi Glen (Gummi Bears)
There are better shows on this list than Gummi Bears, but it's high placement is due to its potential as a Kingdom Hearts world being so rich. Bouncing around with Gummi Juice while fighting those moronic trolls and Duke Igthorn (with any of the Bears being a good team mate) just seems so screamingly obvious it's kind of a shock they haven't done it already.
2. St. Carnard (Darkwing Duck)
Admittedly this choice is a heavily personal one. Darwking Duck is easily my favorite Disney animated series. But that doesn't make it any less of a great idea for a Kingdom Hearts world. Darkwing would be an incredibly fun ally to fight alongside, and his rogue's gallery has a rich variety of bad guys that would serve as great bosses (with Megaduck being the obvious choice). I would never want or need another Kingdom Hearts game if this world was ever included in one.
1. Rescue Rangers
Yeah I tried looking it up, I don't know what city they are in. But anyways, the reason this takes place over my personal favorite is I think the possibilities are better. The world would be very fun, having Monterey Jack as a party member or a summon would be awesome, and the idea of wailing on either Fat Cat or Professor Nimnul with a keyblade pretty much just gives me goosebumps. Much like Gummi bears, this one also seems almost blindingly obvious to anyone with a decent knowledge of Disney properties.
And that's the list. The universe of Disney is ripe with possibilities, hopefully Square will pick the best ones for future titles. As long as I don't see a High School Musical world I'll be happily playing them all (although wailing on Zac Efron is a tempting idea...)
3/18/2010
Ferelden is a nice place to visit....
Right back into the swing of things, the biggest release not starring a vengeful bald shirtless Spartan (which I will touch on in a minute) is the new Dragon Age expansion, Awakenings. Now computer users have been used to the big expansion that costs close to what the original did for awhile now, but to my knowledge this is the first time console gamers have had something like this offered to them. Now granted I really enjoyed the 60+ hours I spent with the original, but I really felt like I was done at the end. Ferelden was saved, the big dragon was killed (I even managed to kill the optional one) and the Darkspawn were more or less dealt with. Dealing with some second fiddle general a mere months later doesn't really seem worthy of my time, and frankly there are a lot of other rpgs vying for my attention that offer new worlds to explore. I may come back at some point (most likely after they are bundling the two games together in a discounted bundle), but it's down pretty far on my gaming to do list at this point.
God of War III also seems to be something I'll dedicate a few hours to when I feel like getting around to it. The production values are extremely high and the demo was fun, but when co-workers are talking about beating it a mere 2-days later (and I'm not really all that much of a trophy/achievement whore to beat it more than once) it goes straight onto my gamefly queue to enjoy at a later date.
My most recent pick up is the highly controversial Final Fantasy XIII. I did get the PS3 edition mainly due to only having to put in one disc, and frankly my PS3 gets the least use gaming-wise since I usually prefer achievements over trophies, so getting another game for it seemed like a good idea (seriously, my last PS3 purchase was probably Arkham Asylum). And in case you weren't aware it's controversial in that even for a series that tries something different with every entry, this entry strips away nearly everything that you would usually consider a FF game to contain (including the iconic theme all Final Fantasy fans know so well). There are no towns to shop in and talk to reasidents, sidequests don't even appear till very late in, and the game is extremely linear when rpgs are usually all about exploration. Frankly I enjoy the game, but I do concur that had they slapped some other title on this and made a few minor cosmetic changes, we would indeed have no inkling that this was ever a FF game. On the bright side, the last time they did something that divided their audience so fiercely(that'd be FFVIII, easily my lwast favorite) , they followed it up with FFIX, which is still my personal favorite of the series, so a return to the roots for the inevitable 15th chapter (XIV has already been announced as a new MMO, an obvious successor to XI) would be very welcome indeed.
So given that there are in fact 2 major rpg releases and the latest installment of a mega-franchise out, it would seem nearly suicidal to release brand new IP. Yet here we are with Resonance of Fate; an offbeat rpg by the same guys that did the Star Ocean series (I still haven't quite finished the last game on 360, I plan to someday...). The reviews are mostly solid, but it seems destined to be a undiscovered gem at best. I certainly don't plan on even giving it a rental til way later down the line.
Speaking of renting, it really does seem like online services like netflix and gamefly may be the only way to go (and those rental kiosks that are suddenly popping up everywhere, but in my opinion they suck) as Blockbuster is almost assuredly filing for bankruptcy. Now companies have emerged from bankruptcy to be successful again, but there doesn't really seem to be a light at the end of this tunnel. Now, I have both gamefly and netflix and enjoy them thoroughly, but there is something nice about the instant gratification going down to the nearest video store and grabbing exactly what you want rather than waiting for it in the mail. Oh well, progress is a mean bitch sometimes.
And finally, Twisted Pixel is quickly becoming my favorite Xbox Live developer, as I really enjoy both The Maw and Splosion Man quite a bit. They just posted some vids for their latest project, Comic Jumper, so I'll leave you with those til my next update (most likely tomorrow).
God of War III also seems to be something I'll dedicate a few hours to when I feel like getting around to it. The production values are extremely high and the demo was fun, but when co-workers are talking about beating it a mere 2-days later (and I'm not really all that much of a trophy/achievement whore to beat it more than once) it goes straight onto my gamefly queue to enjoy at a later date.
My most recent pick up is the highly controversial Final Fantasy XIII. I did get the PS3 edition mainly due to only having to put in one disc, and frankly my PS3 gets the least use gaming-wise since I usually prefer achievements over trophies, so getting another game for it seemed like a good idea (seriously, my last PS3 purchase was probably Arkham Asylum). And in case you weren't aware it's controversial in that even for a series that tries something different with every entry, this entry strips away nearly everything that you would usually consider a FF game to contain (including the iconic theme all Final Fantasy fans know so well). There are no towns to shop in and talk to reasidents, sidequests don't even appear till very late in, and the game is extremely linear when rpgs are usually all about exploration. Frankly I enjoy the game, but I do concur that had they slapped some other title on this and made a few minor cosmetic changes, we would indeed have no inkling that this was ever a FF game. On the bright side, the last time they did something that divided their audience so fiercely(that'd be FFVIII, easily my lwast favorite) , they followed it up with FFIX, which is still my personal favorite of the series, so a return to the roots for the inevitable 15th chapter (XIV has already been announced as a new MMO, an obvious successor to XI) would be very welcome indeed.
So given that there are in fact 2 major rpg releases and the latest installment of a mega-franchise out, it would seem nearly suicidal to release brand new IP. Yet here we are with Resonance of Fate; an offbeat rpg by the same guys that did the Star Ocean series (I still haven't quite finished the last game on 360, I plan to someday...). The reviews are mostly solid, but it seems destined to be a undiscovered gem at best. I certainly don't plan on even giving it a rental til way later down the line.
Speaking of renting, it really does seem like online services like netflix and gamefly may be the only way to go (and those rental kiosks that are suddenly popping up everywhere, but in my opinion they suck) as Blockbuster is almost assuredly filing for bankruptcy. Now companies have emerged from bankruptcy to be successful again, but there doesn't really seem to be a light at the end of this tunnel. Now, I have both gamefly and netflix and enjoy them thoroughly, but there is something nice about the instant gratification going down to the nearest video store and grabbing exactly what you want rather than waiting for it in the mail. Oh well, progress is a mean bitch sometimes.
And finally, Twisted Pixel is quickly becoming my favorite Xbox Live developer, as I really enjoy both The Maw and Splosion Man quite a bit. They just posted some vids for their latest project, Comic Jumper, so I'll leave you with those til my next update (most likely tomorrow).
3/17/2010
Yikes, was it really way back in 2008 when I took a break? So much has happened in the year and a half since I've been gone, both personally and in the entertainment industry. My life is as crazy as it ever was if not more so, but like most people who like to write mainly just for the sake of it, I kept feeling that pull to come back, especially anytime something big and controversial broke. And ironically enough, it was getting a fiance (who is just as nerdy as I am, if not more so) that led to me coming back. Her near constant obsession with the likes of Kingdom Hearts, Fable, and more recently Splosion Man & Catan (I know that's been out forever, but we have both just really discovered it playing the actual board game at a friend's house recently) have actually given me time where I really don't have much to do but write.
So hopefully this will be a return to form in most ways, I definitely plan to update at least twice a week, more often if time allows, and my new background will be more consistently updated (probably every few months). My links are definitely going to be reworked, and features such as free game of the week, trailer of the week, etc. will most likely return along with new ones as they occur to me. So look for the first real news post a little later this week, possibly even tomorrow.
So hopefully this will be a return to form in most ways, I definitely plan to update at least twice a week, more often if time allows, and my new background will be more consistently updated (probably every few months). My links are definitely going to be reworked, and features such as free game of the week, trailer of the week, etc. will most likely return along with new ones as they occur to me. So look for the first real news post a little later this week, possibly even tomorrow.
9/25/2008
Ahahahahah Fuck You Jack Thompson!
Yeah, I had to post this: JACK THOMPSON IS DISBARRED! PERMANENTLY! And he has to reimburse the courts legal fees! And yes he can appeal, but only through another lawyer in good standing with the Florida Courts (yeah I can see tons of lawyers just lining up for this one)! Granted, this probably will be far from the last we hear of Thompson. Stopping him from being a bat-shit crazy lawyer doesn't stop him from being able to protest stuff in moronic ways (and even if it does, I'm sure the occasional slow gaming news day will have a "where is he now" story), but as a lawyer, the guy has & could've still caused serious headaches for the industry as a whole, now he's just another loon with no real weight. Ok, back to sabbatical....
9/19/2008
Sabbatical
I think it's time for a break. It's just that I've basically been doing this blog for a few years non-stop and it is like a second job sometimes. And honestly as long as it was fun, I didn't mind, but with increased hours & responsibilities at my real job in addition to trying to have some sort of life outside of work on occasion, it's become more & more like a job I have to do rather than a job I enjoy, so rather than infrequent updates whenever I actually have the time and energy to write something, I'd just take a chunk of time off, recharge the creative batteries, and revisit this sometime in the future and see if it's still something I want to do. I'll most likely be back, just need to take some time & a little distance.
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