Time for another, kind all over the place post. Starting with…
- Christmas came early this year! Very early.
To be honest, I can’t tell if posting pics of clothing almost anyone can find if they simply venture to their local UNIQLO is all that special, but then again, they’re only in NYC, London, and Tokyo, right? Anyhow, these four fine shirts were an early Xmas present from Katie! I myself got her a dress from the very same location.
My original plan was to simply check out this dress that she really liked and wanted last then, then go back the next day (which would have been today) to then buy it, and then wrap up for the holidays. Problem was, it was the last one in her size (everything else was just too damn big), and like all trendy clothing shops in SoHo, you snooze you loose. Which meant having to purchase it right then and there, but how festive is that, me buying her Xmas present in her presence? Never mind how she knew what she was getting…. I guess I could have made her wait outside, but that would have been way too silly. But there’s also the simple fact that Katie kinda doesn’t like Christmas. In fact, she actually hates the holiday, which might sound sacrilegious to someone who totally goes bonkers for the holiday, such as myself, though her reasons are totally valid. Among other things: she hails from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, which apparently calls itself the Christmas City and its Christmas everyday of the year or something. I’d have to be up there, like living across that one house that has all those Xmas lights, the kind people drive from miles away to see, resulting in noise and congestion, as well as a strong distaste for the holidays. So I said whatever, here you go, and Katie did the same; I had no idea what I want, she spotted some awesome shirts, then went “Do you want that?” And I did!
- Because I’m posting pics of shirts, here’s one I forgot to pass along a few weeks back; its for the special limited edition Street Fighter Club shirt that Capcom had Meat Bun (sup Mike W.) produce for the event…
Every attendee got a pretty fat (and phat) shwag bag, including a poster, comic book, dog-tags, headbands, and a some fruity energy drink called Dragon Punch, though by far the neatest was a bar of soap, since you know, Fight Club…
- Speaking of games, been more or less playing non-stop these past couple of days; the entire weekend was dedicated towards Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe on my end (in case you missed it, my review can be found here) and Mirror’s Edge on Katie’s (her review is the next post up!). Though Joe (Salina) did stop on Saturday and enjoyed a bit of my most recent “best of” cable access tapes, highlighted by beat poetry by some big dude named Big Mike who yells and screams in the middle of a park about wanting to bang some crusty, over the hill lesbian documentarian who still has massive “gozongas”. Needless to say, and as expected, Joe was supremely jealous (Queens cable access is apparently abysmal, though it can’t be any worse than Brooklyn’s).
- Unfortunately, Dave (Mauro) was supposed to join us, but the trains were so messed up that he got frustrated at the halfway point while trying to get here and simply went back home. Honestly couldn’t blame the guy. Swear to God, the subways simply get worse every damn day, no exaggeration. Did I mention how last weekend Katie and I, while trying to get to Marc’s birthday, tried to get on a F train, but for whatever reason R trains were running on the F line, which we got on, but had to get off when it all of a sudden decided to turn into a D train, one stop before we needed to get off, naturally.
- But back to games, thankfully, crappy fighting/awesome fan fiction theater hasn’t been the only thing on my plate. Also played quite a bit of this…
… Or at least the demo that Atlus was kind enough to pass along. And how is it thus far? Awesome, simply awesome. It’s basically everything that you loved about part 3 but even more so, and better for the most part. The setting, which is some rural town in the middle of nowhere is definitely more interesting than just another part of Tokyo, the mysterious force that drives the action is this time far more compelling (though also a great deal more confusing), and the cast is also way more interesting (like the kid whose family runs the Wal-Mart-esque business that’s slowly sucking the life out of the tiny little town). With the best part being the girls, who are even cuter this time around than in part 3…
… I simply cannot wait for the full game to completely get my mack on. Though just like before, the one you’re always with is easily the hottest and will the most difficult to win over. But given how she’s totally my type (short hair, loves athletic wear), Chie (that’s her name) will be SO worth it. Oh, and there’s this guy…
… His name is Teddy and his inclusion made one realize the vital component that was missing from part 3: bears!
Persona 4 is pure sex; the already awesome front-end is now absolutely beautiful, thanks to a strong retro vibe throughout. Graphic design nuts will surely wet themselves, even when just accessing the menus like I did. As noted, the story is pretty neat, at least the set-up: you’re a kid whose family has to conduct business across the globe, so you’re sent to live with your uncle whose a cop in a small town in the outskirts for the year. There you must attend school and be a good student, which means doing your homework and joining clubs, as well as become a popular one, which in turn leads to girls liking you (the dating aspect was a real high-point from part 3), while also fighting monsters in another world that is accessed by walking through television screens (which may or may not have a connection with the gruesome murders happening in the real world). Things are a bit different this time around: some might be relieved to hear that summoning helpful monster (or Personas) to aid in battle is no longer achieved by pulling a psionic gun up to your character’s temping and pulling the trigger, which made quite a few people feel uncomfortable. Instead, you just dish out cards, which I find comparatively boring, but at least it works. There’s also less of a mystery as to why the things are, which is nice, but I found the explanations rather confusing and unnecessary. There’s also a few changes which I wish were made but weren’t; the game is running off the exact engine as the preceding game, which isn’t horrible per say, but because everything is supposed to look bleak and dreary (it rains a LOT in this town), everything appears at bit too gray and drab. Also, there’s this weird ghosting effect whenever anything moves that’s supposed to look cool but I found somewhat distracting.
Sorry for being all over the place, and I wish I could say more, but it?s a demo after-al. But there is no doubt; Persona 4 is guaranteed to be the RPG of the year and an absolute must have title when it comes out in December. Be sure to pre-order to ensure your copy! Yes, that means dealing the monkeys that work at Gamestop, but trust me, it?s totally worth it. Though you don’t have to pre-order to get the bonus soundtrack, which will be included in each copy, and which is just as fantastic as it was before, but again, simply more so!
I also received a preview build of Moon for the DS, that supremely fluid looking FPS for the system, though truth be told, I haven’t had much of a chance to touch it due to MK vs DC and Persona 4 (along with some Rock Band 2, of course). So next time I guess. Also, finally got my hands on GBA flash cart, so I can finally get to work on Mother 3. But back to Person for just one last thing: here’s a piece of Persona 3 fan art from a friend of Hilary’s that she mentioned during dinner earlier this evening.
- Also today, a bit of follow-up from an earlier post: Dave alerted me how someone overt at GameFAQs went and found out who hold the rights to the various characters that appear in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, which in theory is the one thing holding back a potential release. And the answer is apparently nobody, at least when it comes to the video game rights.
Well, my previous post on the subject matter, which includes a conversation with Seth Killian, Capcom?s senior community manager, can be found here along with an update; I forwarded the link GameFAQs link to Seth and got a response, which is included.
