After a supremely stellar last weekend, it’s been back to the grindstone all this week. For the most part I’ve been working on the book (I’m still behind schedule, but I’m at a more comfortable place), working on freelance work, and chasing down future work. Though other stuff has been going on…
- First up, something non-video game related: on Tuesday a coworker passed along something which I was totally not expecting: the first two episodes of Trailer Park Boys season 6! Apparently the new season doesn’t premier till mind April, but the producers decided to give a sneak preview by releasing episodes one and two online. I haven’t watched them yet…. I’ve been holding out till this weekend when I meet up with MK… but the second episode is called “The Cheeseburger Picnic” so you just know its going to be awesome.
The film comes out later this summer, and I have no idea if it ties in with the show, and if so, how. I also don’t know if there’ll be simultaneous US/Canada release, but if not, then MK and I will have to make sure our trip to Montreal coincides with the premiere.
- On Wednesday Sega stopped by the Nick Mag office to show off Super Monkey Ball Adventure, and I have to admit, it wasn’t that bad. I still feel that “adding context” to the earlier games, which were purely action/puzzle driven, so therefore everything was super abstract, is sorta dumb, but they are doing it in a rather neat (and dare I also say logical?) manner. It was nice to see some of the old, tried and tested (yet still very much fun) stuff incorporated with some rather neat new concepts, such as a multiplayer Jenga game that looks totally hot.
- Later in the afternoon I met up with Joe (Salina) for a trip down to the Chinatown arcade, because of a tip we got stating that Senko No Ronde had returned. But it turned out to be bullshit; the game was nowhere to be found, which fucking pissed me off, primarily because it was the first chance I had to listen to Katie’s radio show and I had to cut it short.
At least I got the chance to test out Neo Geo Battle Coliseum, which was pretty fun. And now more than ever, I seriously need to be my PS2 modded.
- Afterwards I went to Jeff Rovin’s for movie night. Watched some Buster Keaton, as well as a few scenes from Aleksandr Nevskiy. The feature was CQ, which is about a young American film editor who’s living in France that attempts to “discovery the truth” by making a documentary about his mundane life, all the while talking the helm of a crappy big budget Barbarella-esque spy flick. It was pretty good, though I dare say its strictly for folks who love cinema, and therefore don’t mind semi-masturbatory movies about people who make movies.
- Speaking of films, (co-workers) Steve passed along an article earlier this morning stating that Shia LaBeouf will be playing the lead human in the live-action Transformers flick. Hey, not a bad choice, but then again, I’m naturally biased towards anyone who’s an Even Stevens alumni. And the conversation which sprung forth led to me explaining to a student who couldn’t see what all the fuss is about, but that’s because she wasn’t a fan of the show, that the upcoming film will in fact be very relevant to her, as well as everyone else in our culture today, simply because it will mark the ultimate attempt at cashing-in on 80′s nostalgia, ever. In fact, the live-action Transformers movie will be what makes 80′s nostalgia jump the shark and finally put it to rest.
We also talked about another upcoming film adaptation, the Da Vinci Code. I haven’t read the book, nor will I probably ever, but I’ve already figured out the ending: Tom Hanks running away from the Pope, who’s angrily shooting at him, while the Vatican is burning down (the fire was started by the burning bush, right after Hanks spoke with Jesus Christ, who’s been locked away as a prisoner for the past 2000 years). The dramatic escape will be Hanks flying away on that one man, flying device that’s drive by bicycle pedals and bat wings that Da Vinci designed way back (you’ve all seen it and know what I mean), with the 20 year old clone of Mona Lisa by his side. BTW, the wings of the device will be made from the Shroud of Turin. And to that, Steve mentioned that its actually extremely close to the ending of Angels and Demons, the other book from the same author, save for the Jesus still being alive part, which is apparently in Code.
- Because I’ve been so busy, I really haven’t had much chance to keep tabs on gaming news. I have heard that Sony is going to offer PSOne games for download to the PSP, taking a cue from Nintendo (and Microsoft) obviously. That’s neat, but I have to wonder how games which used both sets of shoulder buttons, as well as the other analogue stick might fare, meaning they won’t be straight-forward ports.
I also know that some folks were getting all excited over the new of a PSP port of Cave Story, that also had with the blessing of the game’s creator, Pixel, but the whole thing seemed like bullshit to me (mainly because the cover art that was shown screamed fake to me… check out the jaggedy font for instance). Though I believe its was proven fake yesterday from Pixel him(or her?)self.
Some are speculating that it was just a big joke, and given what day tomorrow is (April 1st) its hardly not surprising, and certainly won’t be the last. The same exact song and dance takes place this time of year: a shitload of fake news items gets thrown about and various folks read, believe and spread them. And you have the Bob Ross people announcing a Revolution title, you just know its gonna be particularly hellish this year.
- For you Michael Jackson fans out there, the latest chapter of his adventures in the world of old Japanese Nintendo games, Michael Forever, is now available. This time around, Princess Peach goes totally nuts!
- Check out this super neat guide that shows how you can turn any NES cart into a portable USB drive.
- Time for some NSWF content: here’s an overview of some random sexy mahjong game features a bunch of awesome animated gifs (again, its NSFW). Notice how all… defeated the women look.
- And finally, I know its super old at this point, but those who’ve missed it, here’s a video of some kids who’s go totally fucking batshit insane on Christmas morning over their new Nintendo 64.
Obviously the star of the show is the boy, who’d head your convinced will literally explode at certain parts, but notice what the girl does to the box near the end, while the boy is looking at the remote control car. It’s a little…. ummm.
