Time for yet another fast and furious update…
- First off, and I hate to do this, but I still feel the need waste even more time and energy towards complaining about the New York Comic Con one last time, before it finally kicks off tomorrow. As infantile as it might seem, I’m still pretty pissed about being unceremoniously booted from the behind the scenes, and despite the fact that my continued bitching and moaning could easily be perceived as another piss poor attempt by some stupid blogger to drum up cheap attention, I do believe that it is pretty fucked up (excuse my French) that the folks behind it and the New York Anime Fest could give a rat’s ass about providing a platform for blatant homophobia, and more or less condoning it in the process.
Once again, they should thank their lucky stars that someone from the Times or the like wasn’t present to witness such nonsense. Though I supposed me writing about it here was simply enough to get me reassigned to their shit list (yet, I’m pretty certain if you asked them about me, they wouldn’t have the foggiest clue who the hell I am). I guess on a smaller level, I’m also a tiny bit disappointed by the reaction, or lack thereof, among other professionals that I’ve spoken about this, though it’s not like I expected any of them to refuse their offers to speak at the show. After-all, this economy, especially for those in the field of game journalism, flat out suck, so any chance to reach out to the public, as well any potential editors out there, is one that needs to be protected. Plus, others who are closer to comics and video games have already explained to me the general attitude of the organizers from their experience, which I suppose could be best described as “a boy’s club.” Anyhow, I guess I’ll find out tomorrow… if my press credentials all of a sudden can’t be found, I will not be the least bit surprised.
- But anyways! Earlier today, I got another chance to check out Resident Evil 5…
By now, I’m sure everyone and their moms have had a chance to download and check out the demo from XBL and PSN, which was the same one I gave a spin a few months ago as some might recall. Well today I got the chance to check out a far more complete preview build, which was near final, if not a totally finished version of the game.
Capcom’s really pushing the co-op nature of the game; taking on enemies and taking advantages of resources in tandem really does take the Resident Evil formula to a whole new level. On one hand, it could be argued that the feeling of panic and desperation from being overpowered by the enemy all by yourself is now gone, and as a result, much of the visceral thrill that came along is now absent as well. Yet for the other player, the challenge of rushing over to save your partner, and all the anxiety involved more than compensates. It’s especially true if your partner is dying and you need to rush over to save his or her life, but on the flip side, there’s something really morbid, about being the one dying, and just walking around, slowly trudging towards your partner, to save them that one split second between life and game over.
The graphics are simply astounding. Everyone’s seen the barren, blindingly bright desert, but today I got to check out a riverbank that serves as HQ for the enemy, cast under dark skies. The water, accentuated with lily pads floating on top and oil running through it, looked amazing. As did the action itself; there’s a scene where Chris Redfield and his partner Shiva are on a boat, and as you’re rushing down the river, you’ve got enemies in their own craft darting around you, as well snipers positioned on towers as well. Then there’s the explosions, with the best looking smoke effects I’ve ever seen in a video game. Right afterwards was a big boss battle, again on a boat, but in the middle of the ocean, where rainwater is crashing all over the place. Though the main thing to say about this part is how it was originally a person, who then became this gigantic sea creature, whose main weak spot is his tongue, which wouldn’t you know is the aforementioned dudes face and body, flailing about. So yeah, the same awesome character designs from before are back. As is the control scheme in RE4, along with the much touted, more “traditional” control scheme that PC gamers will surely dig (which I didn’t partake in… no thank you).
Didn’t spend a heck of a lot of time on it to be honest; I had assumed that it would be playable at the NYCC later this weekend, and figured I’d save most of my play time for when I would be invariably be bored on the show floor, though I would then discover that Capcom is just in town coincidentally. Though I did get to chat with head PR dude Chris Kramer about a whole lot of interesting things. Like… how I simply suggested that they throw Marvel vs Capcom 2 onto XBLA and the such. Kramer explained to me that it’s like the number one thing that people are constantly asking them for. I guess it’s no big surprise, but still… Anyhow, long story short, Capcom does listen to its fans, though they’re pretty busy right now with tons of stuff. But you never know, right? We did get a Mega Man 9, eventually!
- So as promised last time, time for another visit to Pokemon Ranch! First off, here we have Katie with her good friend, Mr. Pringles…
And there’s Haley, the girl who runs the ranch up front, and me to the back and to the right, almost getting struck by lightening, thanks to Pikachu over there…
Each day you get a gift box, and inside there’s a random object that the Pokemon and its caretakers interact with. On this particular afternoon it was a parade drum, which led to an impromptu procession, led by Monchichi…
Hitler dancing…
Here we have the godfather of soul, James Brown, chasing after Katie and assorted Pokemen with another “gift”, the stink ball…
Then you have what’s basically just a hole in the ground. You fall in…
… And then fall down…
The other day, Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters showed up…
As did Rambo, who as you can see here, is recreating a scene of his, though instead of an enemy chopper, just some random Pokebird…
And here we have Dave Mauro, hogging the camera as usual…
And here we have Rambo dancing!
- Oh hey, remember those super keen Penguin inspired book covers? Well here we have something that I found on the < ahref="http://forums.insertcredit.com/viewtopic.php?t=10525">Insert Credit message board, regarding something found on Kotaku, which is originally from the SomethingAwful message board. Even more insanely awesome retro game covers…
- Running out of time, so I only have a pair of YouTube vids to share, one game related, the other not…
… I have no idea what this is about, but whatever it is, it’s both awesome and even kinda scary! Be sure to have your audio all the way up before it starts.
- And finally, the main reason why I decided on a quick update (which never turns out that way, I know) is to wish my girlfriend Katie happy birthday!
About to jet in just a bit, we’re about to have dinner and drinks, along with Pat in Times Square, at our favorite Japanese watering hole in those parts. And tomorrow is the NYCC, so expect a full report along with plenty of pics of people in wacky costumes after the weekend!
UPDATE: Okay, we’re all back. It’s freezing out. Yet Pat almost mooned the Hispanic cable access studio, that’s right next door to the Dunkin Donuts. But he didn’t. Oh well…
