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:

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

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

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...)

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).



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.