- One thing which I forgot to mention when going over my Christmas was the music. Naturally, we listened to WFMU, and on Christmas Day they were playing beatnik carols. And I’m talking
But WFMU redeemed itself (at least in my eyes) later in the evening with William S. Burroughs’ “The Junky’s Christmas”, which is an extremely dark and depressing tale of some poor sap who’s desperate for a fix on Xmas. The attention to detail is quite… intense. Then later on, we listened to the Cheech & Chong’s “Santa Clause and His Old Lady” during the Jake Fogelnest, who I now find out has the weeknight evening shift with a co-host whom I’m a big fan of. So K-ROCK… sorry, FREE-FM, has lost Howard Stern, but they’ve gained Jackie Clark. Seems like a good deal!
Also, for the holiday season, I tried downloading “Santa Claus Has the AIDS” by Tiny Tim (its a real song folks), but Limewire was acting like a total bitch, though that might be just because I’m on a Mac (and that’s for a rant for another time).
Actually, I spent a good deal of my vacation trying to find and download shit but had major problems, mostly due to the flakiness of BitTorrent (again, I’m certain that its mostly a Mac thing, but the inherent overcomplicated world of networking sure doesn’t help). I got so frustrated that I ended up vowing to never deal with such shit ever again, mostly because I was livid that even after over a week, I simply could not completely download a six and a half gig file because I was missing the last twenty megs (I was trying to get all the cut-scenes from every Metal Gear Solid game), despite there being a seed…BT users will know what the hell I’m talking about… so I trashed everything, all apps and incomplete downloads in the trash.
But the other day, and right after I told Jason of my “fuck this shit” stance, I finally got an invite to IndieTorrents, so I guess I’m back on that train, albeit reluctantly. Though as you can tell, I’m really in a music mood all of a sudden.
Perhaps my renewed in checking out new music might be due to all awesome music videos I’ve checking out as of late, thanks to insert credit of all places…
- My personal favorite has to be Mr. Roboto by the Polysics. What’s more awesomer than a robot going nuts and beating up little kids, knocking over bikes on the street, or disco dancing? You’re right, nothing.
- Then there’s this super cute vid from the Blue Hearts, which everyone needs to see.
And here’s another one, but it has teh boobies, so its NSFW, but only slightly so.
- Here’s one from a band called the Bloodthirsty Butchers, with their song Jack Nicholson.
- This one isn’t a music vid, but it features two superstars of J-Pop: Puffy AmiYumi facing off against Gackt. Too bad Glay or Mr. Children couldn’t get involved…
- Here’s some concert footage that’s worth only for the hair.
- And even though Christmas is over, dancing Xmas trees are still neat.
- Again, this one isn’t a music video. This one’s a live action reenactment of a climactic battle from an old Gundam episode, retaining the same exact action, direction, sound effects, and even special effects from the cartoon (sorta). Again, anything made with real film is instantly super-cool.
- Hey what do we have here? Another HARD GAY video of course!
BTW, I just discovered that the guy who plays Hard Gay, who despite being a bona-fide superstar of Japanese television, may not be necessarily rolling in the dough as one might think.
… And finally, here’s a trailer from the American version of Hey Mikey, a.k.a. The Fuccons, that talking American mannequins in Japan show that I’m such a super huge fan of. I’ve been dying for the domestic release since forever (the Region 2 DVDs are hell expensive), but I gotta, I am NOT digging the American voices.
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- Well now that things have slowed down a bit on my end, I’ve finally been able to catch up with all the video games news and curiosities that have gone over the past couple of weeks. As expected, its been a bit tricky to keep abreast of the things of genuine interest amidst all the usual end of the year hoop-la (basically, everyone comparing their notes as to what was the best from the year).
I’ve already mentioned my pick for favorite game of the year… I guess I could go the distance and pick out best graphics, sound, design, controls, blah, blah, blah, but at this point I just don’t have the interest or energy… besides I’m not IGN or anything. Also SotC would win across the board anyway. So what about the worst thing that happened all year? Well, there’s so much choose from…
I guess the top of my list (much like everyone else’s) would be the Xbox 360 debacle. Never has something been such a resounding failure and on so many levels. It’s practically comical at this point. Its always been sort of funny, starting with all the wacky stuff that the chief architects, J. Allard and Peter Moore have said every step of the way:
“…a world of games that are fueled by high-definition graphics and sound, a world powered by a new generation of video games inspired by human creativity and driven by human energy. It is a world where our partners will create unbelievable game experiences that will transform the very idea of entertainment….”
“… Kameo will be better than Zelda because you can control more than one character…”
“… you can play X360 games with our remote control, so it’s really not that special…”
“… Xbox 360 is like a lucid dream…”
“… Well, you know what, with Xbox 360, the age of the jaggies is over…”
“… “Xbox360: 1 billion consumers…”
Then there’s the system itself, many of which are dropping like flies. A now common problem is discs being scratched by the system itself. And how at least one MS customer service rep has explained the cause of the problem as being the design of the system itself, as in, it was never meant to play discs vertically in the first place.
And of course, there’s the whole HD era, which is not going well at all. Take for example King Kong, in which the game’s creator is telling everyone who doesn’t have a HD set to get the game. I love this quote from Yves Guillemot:
“When you play on an Xbox or a PlayStation 2, you start to see that it is beautiful.”
Finally, there are the games. Here’s a quiz: which game do you think is running off a standard PC config that’s been around for a bit and which is a game that’s running off the state of the art system that will define the future of gaming?
OR
The game on the top is Frame City Killer, Namco’s next 360 title, and to say that it looks like a first generation Dreamcast game is not an exaggeration. You see other screens here, and none of them are any better. This game comes out next month btw.
Oh, and for those who couldn’t guess, the other game is Trackmania, which you can learn more about here.
Okay, I’ve said it before, but this time I mean it: no more 360 bashing. I know its long grown old. Besides, its not like I wasn’t secretly hoping that someone got me the system this past Xmas…
- So its safe to say that the 360 is the biggest embarrassment of the year, right? Not really… because then there’s the PSP. Talk about missing the mark and failing to make an impact. Some decent games are finally trickling in, but at this point in any other system, we should be seeing at least one or two “Oh My God!” games, and there’s still nothing of the such on the horizon for the Sony handheld.
One of the biggest problem it would seem is Sony’s apparent inability to know what to do with the damn things themselves, especially with the marketing. I don’t watch my television, but I have seen the ads that are running, and holy shit are they bad. Like the animated one about the squirrels (all for some retarded as hell “playing with one’s nuts” joke).
And hey, remember all that stink about Sony’s graffiti-slanted ad campaign? Well Philly is taking Sony to task to clean their shit up. And by the looks of things, Sony seemed to have gone way overboard with their faux-street culture bullshit.
– Back to the games, here’s a lengthy trailer for the Mega Man X redux. I will admit, the game does look much better in motion, and when viewed in its intended screen size, it’ll look even better. But I’m still not pleased with the, IMHO, lazy graphical overhaul. It just reeks of 3D for the sake of 3D, much like one of those atrocious Sega 3D Ages titles, mostly due to the rather lackluster backgrounds. Though I am intrigued with the fact the games seems to mess with the original’s story a lot.
- 2006 is barely a week old, and we already have our first report of Apple possibly working one a new game console, and maybe even helping out Nintendo with the Revolution. This would be far more compelling if such conjecture didn’t come up at least once a week.
- And the one title for the GameCube which I had long assumed was long gone is definitely on-track, as proven by the recent unveiling of the box-art for Odama (you know, the strategy/pinball game):
- Meanwhile, GiFTPIA, the RPG where you play a kid who sleeps in on the coming of age festival, which is a pretty big-time crime, so one has to assume numerous jobs and responsibilities to pay off the million dollar fine, which was supposed to come out west but slowly faded from the release list is now indeed seeing an outside of Japan release… but in Europe.
Well, in that case, this might be enough reason to finally pick up Doshin and figure out how to play PAL games on my Cube.
- Thank God I never got Devil May Cry 3 when it first came out. There’s now a new special edition coming out, which will not only have extra stuff like new modes and characters, but its going to be easier as well! I figured that I would cope with the challenge by waiting till it was cheap, like $20, but this new edition will retail for $20! And with a Best Buy coupon, that makes it only $15!
The main reason why I stayed away from it originally was due to the apparent heinous difficulty. – Check out this latest trailer for Sony’s new survival horror game, Rule of Rose. Easily, the most creepy-as-fuck game to come out in a long time. Hey, its got little girls with British accents, so is there any surprise?
- Does anyone remember (or even know about) Disaster Report? Well here’s the sequel. Looks more of the same, but even better; the basic premise is that there’s some sort of natural disaster that’s destroying the city, and you just have to keep your ass alive, and help others as well. Before it was an earthquake, and now its a flood. Hopefully it’ll make it stateside, though that’s doubtful. In the U.S. it sold, what, six copies?
- Speaking of bombs, this time in its native land, is the PSP game Exit. It also has the same helping other people in the midst of disaster theme as well. You can check out a very lengthy and detailed vid of the action a buy one, get one free UMD sale at Deep Discount DVD..
And of course, one of the two movies that I would even consider getting, Tron, is not available! The other btw would have to be Dark Crystal.
- I’ve been listening to the soundtrack to PSP Katamari game for a few days now, and its pretty awesome, as one might expect. I can’t really say where you can get it, but those who know where to look are sure to find it in the regular places…
- Here’s a pretty interesting find: remember how the PSP looked when it was first revealed in a PowerPoint? And how it ended up looking much different in the end? Well, it seems that the very first iteration wasn’t just some artist’s rendering, but was very real:
I sorta wish they stuck with this design..
- And it seems that the PSP is getting some new competition sometime soon (maybe), in the form of iRiver and their new WiBro handheld:
Looks to be more of a competitor for the GP2X really.
- Real quick, all portable owners, regardless of the system, are always looking for the perfect carrying case. Well I’ve already shown a few good examples for the PSP in the past, so here’s something for DS owners, yet another piece of great gaming shwag from Club Mario that us Americans will never have:
Actually, if you do live in the states, you can one from eBay right here.
- So there’s going to be an Xbox 1.5? Seems that was the plan at one point. Guess Microsoft really is like Sega after-all.
- For those who missed it, here’s the latest screenshots from Virtua Fighter 5. Everyone looks… quite plastic-y:
- Here’s a fairly interesting article about the industry’s apparent disdain to innovation. Actually, that’s not necessarily true… its not so much innovation that the big publisher dislike so much, its new IPs, though to two do go hand in hand at times.
- Remember that anti-violent video game bill that seemed like a good idea but had some crazy ramification that the Gov. Schwarzenegger was trying to pass? It has just been blocked. And thank God for that.
- And remember the Godfather game coming from EA? Here’s some more screenshots, and the game looks even worse now. My fave screenshot has to be this, simply because it features Abe Vigoda’s first appearance in a video game (and hopefully not the last):
Seriously, the game looking fucking HORRIBLE. And as someone as the GAF put it best: “There are over 200 jobs on the line for this game.”
- I totally forgot to ask this before: did anyone catch that reality show starring a bunch of Madden players?
… Time to talk about Sega for a bit…
- So, for those who haven’t heard, there’s now another “last” Dreamcast game coming out. Its a shooter (of course) from G.Rev (of Border Down fame) called Under Defeat:
Also for the DC, here’s the entire ending to Sonic Adventure 2 which was passed along by the resident archivist at insert credit. its seriously one of the dumbest things you’ll ever see.
In addition to older Dreamcast, I’m still constantly on the look-out for Saturn softs which I may have missed the first time around.
One game which I’ve been constantly kicking myself for not getting originally is Princess Crown, and right now the PSP port is on sale at Play-Asia for the super low price of $19.90! Unfortunately, in addition to the language barrier, the conversion, which I forget if I’ve mentioned before, is super fucking lazy.
Another game is Assault Leynos 2, but I just heard from fairly reliable sources that that game is sorta poopy. And I just found a place online that has a great deal on it… Guess I should just concentrate on Elevator Action Returns (my interest in Exit has a lot to with this to be honest).
Plus, Radiant Silvergun on MAME is slowly becoming a reality….
And finally for the Genesis, Beggar Prince is finally available for purchase, and for the super low price of $46 (which included shipping and handling)!
- Folks who know me is well aware for my love for speed runs. Well here’s a site that has a bunch of truly insane time attacks for Shadow of the Colossus. Someone was actually able to beat the fifth colossi in one minute and forty-two seconds!!!
- Staying with SotC, here’s an extremely detailed breakdown as to how the graphics were assembled.
- And friends of mine are also aware of my love for video game remixes. But most aren’t aware that I also love acoustic guitar. So when the two come together, I get all jazzed up. Well here’s an excellent example of a very talent guy doing both an acoustic and electric rendition of the clock-tower song in Castlevania 3.
- And yes, there’s a Pac Man movie in the works.
- So Something Awful has ruffled quite a few feathers with their recent five worst gaming articles of 2005 article. Mostly since it goes after the video game writer that everyone loves to hate, the self-professed rock-star game journalist, and insert credit’s very own, Tim Rogers, who takes both the #2 and #1 slots. And as an IC regular, I may as well throw my two cents in the matter…
The truth is, I’m not a big fan of Tim’s writing. It just not my cup of tea. And I can easily see why it gets on so many people’s nerves. But so does Tim. And the bottom line is that it gets him attention, and he’s been able to market this skill to build up a reputation and a (supposedly) handsome payola. So, in the end, more power to the guy. Also, he seems like a genuinely nice guy, at least from my interactions with him. Granted, he’s chock full of “personality” but then again, what video game geek and/or writer doesn’t have personality quirks?
I’m pretty sure he either doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the aforementioned piece, as well as all the hate that he’s gotten over the years, or is getting off on it (either is a perfectly reasonable response). But his very vocal fanbase are up in arms, to a mostly ridiculous degree, since its Something Awful we’re talking about, they’re all about ripping things and people apart, and pushing buttons. One should never get one’s panties in a bunch over internet driven bullshit, but then again, Tim’s fans are a wacky pack. But many are nice folks, many of whom I converse with on a very regular basis, so I can’t give them too much grief.
Though I do want to point out that the piece makes some very valid points, especially with the Darwinia Review. Also, I can never hate SA because they often provide some pretty funny Photoshops, such as this this recent thread. I think the Tetris Chainsaw Massacre is pretty cute.
- Anyway, during the whole SA debate, someone pointed towards a super obscure NES game that came late in its life-span but was never released publicly called Bio Force Ape, which has led to the new up-and-coming internet phenomena known as the Butterface Ape:
Anyone interested in seeing the birth of history can simply go here.
- Also from IC, someone on the boards passed along a link to this blog-centric dojin site which recently covered a shooter called Shoot the Bullet, in which you must take pictures of the boss. Here’s a vid which shows how it works. As one might have guessed by now, I’m sucker for any game in which you have to take pictures, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be girl’s panties.
- Sticking to dojin shooters, I was poking around some old links I have bookmarked, and I noticed that the site for the fan made Thunder Force game, Thunder Future, was recently updated.
- I also came across another old, but favorite link of mine, one that details a romance gone awry, and Final Fantasy XI’s part in all of it, from Video Fenky. I love telling this story to my students.
- Meanwhile, while at the GAF, someone passed along this pic from his vacation in Hong Kong where he came across a store that had a ton of Super Mario stuff. Hey, I have some of that!
- If you were like me, someone who grew up with the Electronic Gaming Monthly as their holy scripture (I swear to you, I would look at the screenshots of games in that magazine with a sense of longing and reverence, much like a 13 year old handling a Playboy, and I was that same exact age at the time as well…. so instead of ogling a picture of some girl’s vag, for me it would be a screenshot of the Genesis version of Virtua Racing), you too looked forward to the preview section to literally gaze into the future. If so, you might recall several games being mentioned as forthcoming, but in the end never materializing. And therefore, you might perhaps remember that a game based on Akira was announced at one point, but never happened. Before I totally forgot about, I often wondered how it play, and of course, what it would look like.
And here’s some screenshots from the Amiga CD32 version (does anyone even remember that system)?
- And finally, here’s a weird-ass pic of Mega Man and company:
