Yet another week passes, yet another entry. Where does the time go, huh? Every time I sit down to post an update that I assume will be super short at last, I end up typing up a couple thousand words or so. And I’m not expecting this time to be any different, but here’s hoping no one minds me being lazy and simply list stuff as they went down in order this week, relatively speaking, instead of organizing and piecing together some kind of cohesive narrative as I normally try to do….
Last Saturday & Sunday
- In addition to a rather pleasant Valentine’s Day, the highlight of last weekend was the chance to hang with Mathew Kumar and his gf Kate, who were both in town on vacation. But instead of it being Matt & Katie and Mathew & Kate as originally planned, I had to fly solo cuz my gf had to visit family back home. Anyhow, I took them both to Grassroots, which I had no idea had live jazz on Sunday evenings. Many topics were touched upon, in particular, sh*tty cinema. They both sold me on some wacky sounding flick called The Room, which I have since purchased from Amazon and I am expecting my copy any day now. Expect a review shortly thereafter!
Naturally, I countered The Room with Nothing To Fear.
- I guess I should mention the other highlight from last weekend, which still frankly blows my mind. Nowadays, bitching about the subway has seriously become old news. Yet, as tiresome as it might be, I still feel the repeat the obvious: each and every day, especially on the weekends, the subways keep getting worse and worse and worse. Many others are noticing this well, and it of course flat out sucks. To the point that Katie and myself no longer feel like leaving the apartment most weekends. Which is infuriating, because the whole point of living in Manhattan is to take advantage of the city.
Anyhow last Sunday, on the way to Grassroots, I got on the C train near my place, at 181st Street station… which is an A train stop, the C train NEVER goes there, so I had no idea what it was doing there, but by this point, I kinda don’t care to bother the subway system out anymore. After a few stops, which took forever to reach (I could have easily covered the same distance on foot, and by walking slowly), I was at the 145th Street station. One important detail here was how I was in one of the very first cars Anyway, after just sitting there for a good amount of time, and for no real reason, the train at last began to move, BUT THE DOORS WERE STILL OPEN. None of us had ever witnessed this before, and every single person had the look of “what the hell is going on here?” I always thought that the doors were hardwired to the engines so the train couldn’t ever move without the doors being totally shut. We didn’t get very far before the train came to a sudden halt, but because we were in the first car, our section of the train was already in the tunnel. The MTA should thank their lucky stars that no one got hurt that day.
But yeah, I’ve seen a ton of insane bullsh*t on the subway courtesy of the MTA, primarily in the past year or so, but the moving train with doors wide open is definitely up there. Can’t wait for the fare increase! I was actually going to details regarding own ideas for how the MTA can actually save money and improve service, all without needlessly jacking up the price for a ride, and I’m not just talking about doing away somehow with all those janitors that get paid $64,000 a year that still do absolutely nothing (for those that think I’m making that number up… I’m not), but something more radical, like getting rid of express trains entirely (again, I’m not joking). But I think all that might be best saved for later this year, when it actually goes down.
Monday
- So I finally got myself a flash cart for the DS. Am I dirty, filthy, stinking pirate? I’ve been so in the past, but in this case… no. Long story short, as some folks might recall, in addition to writing about video games, I also design them. And I’m currently consulting on a retail DS title and needed one to play the latest build, which changes by the hour, instead of dealing with the hassles of burning a new EPROM. Though it goes without saying that there are some definite fringe benefits…
Like the ability to finally play Mother 3 in a form that it was originally meant to be played in. Sorry, but the idea of going through any portable game in an immobile manner is just pure nonsense to me. Well, how is it thus far? Honestly? I’m seriously bored to tears. But I know if I give up this early in the game… still in the middle of chapter one… I’m going to totally lose indie cred and some folks will even stop talking to me. So I will trudge forward, cuz everyone sez it’s slow in the beginning. Though if it stays this way after the two-hour mark (some will say that’s not enough time to make a proper judgement call on a game, and to that, I say “bullsh*t”), I’m calling it quits, especially since I have so many other, more pressing games to focus on. Thank God the subways are so f’d up that I’m willing to play anything to keep myself distracted. Oh, and another neat thing about the flash cart? The ability to play old NES games as well. When I first showed Katie Ducktales running on the DS, her jaw literally dropped!
- Back to Mother 3 real quick, for those wondering, I did give Earthbound a shot back in the day. But it was a rather half-hearted attempted, and before I could give it a proper chance, I had to part ways with it along with all my other SNES games, along with numerous other items, both video game related and not, back when I was dirt poor and facing homeliness. Which didn’t work, since I did end up becoming homeless after-all! Anyhow, ever since the Wii and the Virtual Console came to be, I’ve been waiting patiently for it, along with several others, to make an appearance. And I know others have waited and waited and waited. Well, the wait is not so much over, but simply needs to be called off.
That sucks, I guess. But in the end, all I really care about is Starfox and Pocky & Rocky.
- My favorite game related pic of this past week is courtesy of Kotaku. Actually, it’s originally from the Japanese gaming news site Gpara, but since I saw it on Kotaku first, they get the credit. Anyhow it’s of one of my favorite game designers of all time, Toshihiro Nagoshi, looking ridiculously tanned…
… Why do I like him so much? Because he designed one of my absolute favorite games of all time, Daytona USA. Though him looking like a total Yakuza-esque bad ass these days doesn’t hurt either. And remember when I said I saw Takeshi Miike in the flesh at the New York Comic Con? Nagoshi basically looks like the dude’s younger brother or something.
Also courtesy of Kotaku, from Mr McWhertor to be exact, comes word of an upcoming line of totally hawt looking Sega arcade machine gashapon! Though I’m embarrassed to admit that I don’t recognized the top secret machine. It’s After Burner, right? Can’t wait for Daytona USA! Or better yet, the deluxe Virtua Racing set-up with the widescreen.
Tuesday
- Can anyone guess what finally came out that day? Grand Theft Auto 4′s Xbox 360 exclusive episode, The Lost And Damned. And did I download it? What do you people think? I wouldn’t touch it, even it didn’t emphasize riding bikes, which was easily the worst vehicle to deal with in the main game; that stupid mission where you’re on a moped chasing down a dude on a Harley from Coney Island is where I gave up, after wiping out literally fifty times (which apparently is where Joe Salina stopped playing as well).
- Saw Harvey Pekar speak at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research that evening. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to sneak my camera into the lecture hall, though many others were far luckier than I when it came to dealing with security. Anyhow, it was a real thrill; American Splendor was one of the very first indie comics, alongside Cerebus, that I explored as a kid (mostly because of his epic Late Night with David Letterman appearances at the time). Right off the back, I was rather shocked by the lack of familiar/contemporary cartooning faces in the audience that night.
Pekar touched upon a number of topics, including his Jewish background naturally, primarily his extremely short parents. From there he moved onto his long lost and very extensive jazz collection, the Cleveland Indians, his lack of love for Letterman that still exists to this very day, and his pioneering work in the field of indie comics, of course. On one hand it was sad that the cool comics kids of today were not in attendance, yet at the same time, I’m not sure how they could have handled his complete lack of pretension and entitlement that’s so sadly pervasive in the scene at the moment. Hearing Pekar talk about the financial hole that self publishing ultimately is, as well as all the hard work that naturally comes along with just the craft itself, but without any of the bitterness or narcissism that so many wear on their sleeves today, was beyond refreshing. Even more appreciated was hearing him talk about his menial 9-to-5 job as a file clerk at a hospital without an ounce of shame, but instead pride; so many these days act like regular jobs is something completely beneath them or the like. Maybe it’s because of my own difficulties dealing with the freelance lifestyle has made me actually miss my old job at SVA. There’s nothing more stressful than not knowing when the next check is coming, or the fact that going to see the doctor, unless it is an absolute emergency, is just out of the question, due to a total lack of insurance. Then again, much of my agitation towards this is a direct response to those that claim to be living the carefree artist’s life, but is in fact simply mooching off their boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife/parents, as well as an overall tendency to either deny or lie about the facts. Cuz, its not like fellow cartoonists/artist in general don’t know that there’s actually not that much money to be made in indie comics. Yeesh…
Back to Pekar, at the end was a Q&A, and the best response to a question was some girl at SVA who thanked him for inspiring her, despite the fact that he helped to remind her how “bleak” a future it was when it comes to self-publishing comics. To that, he responded rather cheerily with, sales of graphics novels rose 5% last year, so it isn?t all that bad!
Oh, and I can’t help but mention that there was still plenty of douchebags in the audience, many of them diehard fans of the man. It’s funny how ?ber fans cannot wait to see and hear whatever, but once the opportunity arrives, they’re almost too busy jerking themselves off, mostly by going toe to toe with a fellow jerk-off by going back and worth with factoids and like, dueling banjos-like, to be bothered with the subject at hand. The guy I was forced to sit next to… think Toby Radloff, but a bit more animated and also dressed like a yuppie… who was accompanied by his mom as well… was particularly annoying, due to his need to laugh way too hard at every single stupid little statement. Then there was the two yuppie dipsh*ts behind me that kept going “uh huh” to every single thing Pekar had to say, or once again, dueling banjos-style, inform one another how he had read each story mentioned in the talk. But as stated many times previously, despite how chic or empowering the term nerd has become, at the end of the day, they’re still wretchedly annoying at times.
Wednesday
- Well we all knew it was coming, but finally, details behind the upcoming North American release of the Nintendo DSi have emerged. Or should I say, when I saw this, I knew details were finally allowed to be revealed. I actually got a chance to get my hands on a unit a few weeks back when Nintendo stopped by the Nick Mag office, but couldn’t say a word due to an NDA… whose expiration date I failed to note. Which obviously has happened since everyone’s talking about it! So time to share my two cents. But first: what sets it apart from what we already have? This video is required viewing before moving forward.
I have to admit, I found myself enjoying all the gimmicks revolving around the camera and microphone far more compelling enjoyable than I could have ever expected. I was especially impressed by the ability to isolate and change colors in an image, along with being able to both slow down and increase the speed of someone talking that you’ve recorded, yet maintain the person’s pitch. Though I personally, as well as most folks I know, will find all these novelties worn out in a few days, or perhaps just a few hours. Yet I can still understand why Japanese schoolgirls have gone gaga for such features, and I expect their American equivalents to follow suit.
As for the unit itself, it’s pretty nice overall… I guess going with a matte finish all over was not a bad move, since the DS Lite’s exterior is ultimately a smudge collector. Though the top closed down is rather boring in comparison; I really wish it featured the DS logo, aka the top boxes that’s on top of the current model’s lid. Inside, I have no real complaints, other than skepticism that the now only two sound holes will do a decent job delivering audio. The move from the many of the DS Fat to the far less on the DS Lite has made using headphones a perquisite (what I heard during the demo seemed fine, but I was in a quiet office environment). The DSi is indeed lighter and thinner than the DS Lite, but it’s hardly noticeable. As for the much-touted bigger screens, again, even side by side there’s barely a difference. The only thing I’m interested in is how it compares when it comes to image quality, specifically color saturation and refresh rate. The main reason why I held onto my DS Fat for so long was, despite its screen’s ultra darkness in comparison to the Lite’s, was how primarily first generation titles looked really gaudy on the Lite because they weren’t designed with increased brightness and color definition. Which I guess I’ve grown accustomed to, but still, even the current crop of games look a tiny bit gaudy to me.
I just think it stinks that only black and blue will be the only available colors available. I have no idea why Nintendo is not going with white, since, you know, that’s the same color as the Wii. Yes, it not being glossy on the outside means the match is less than perfect, but still…
Back to its underpinnings: as everyone already knows, GBA support has at last been dropped with the loss of Slot 2. I guess it had its time under the spotlight long enough. In its place as a secondary input is a SD card slot, and as someone that’s a massive fan of standardization of writable media, this is something pretty fantastic in my book. Though you really can’t do much else other than back up pictures, audio, and DSiWare. But still! Speaking of, I got the chance to play a bit of a mini WarioWare game from the service (I’m assuming it’s Utusu! Made in Wario as mentioned here), which I found to be loads of fun. Just think WarioWare Touched or Twisted, but this time utilizing the system’s player facing camera (with zero interaction with either the buttons or the screens, just motion tracking of the player on-screen). Unfortunately, none of the Art Styles games were handy, which is what I’m most interested in. All the games and additional applications are managed in the same manner as they are on the Wii; the interface between the two in certain spots is near identical. I guess the one thing that bothers and concerns me is how, for the first time ever, games will be region coded. Which I guess is a nature of the beast, given that the system will heavily rely upon a download service, plus there are parental controls, and each part of the world has its own standards. But still… I fear the days that you could at least buy any random portable Japanese game on Play Asia and only be worried about understanding the game’s instructions and not if it’ll even work or not.
- Sorry to skip ahead, but I guess the selling point of the system for me will be the DSiWare service. Recently announced was a round of titles from Namco, including… Katamari Damacy! Many wondered why in the hell there was never a DS version of the game back when the iron was still hot. But if you read the description in the 1UP article, you’ll see that it’s essentially a port of Pac-Attack with a new coat of paint, which itself was nothing more than a lame Tetris-wannabe. Lame. So yeah, things are not looking all that hot thus far with the service, which hopefully won’t be as lame as WiiWare (which has a few neat titles, like World of Goo, but otherwise, is a vast sea of mediocre browser games, and can’t touch the pure variety and flat-out stupendous offering found on XBLA).
Also, for those interested in some of the behind the scenes might want to check out Iwata Asks, where the Nintendo head honcho has a chit-chat with designers of the new system. Included is how the DSi at one point was supposed to have two card DS card clots, as well as how it was Miyamoto that pushed the use of SD cards, even when others were not at all interested.
- Back to Katamari real quick, yet another article on (the finally just released… thank goodness) spiritual follow-up, Noby Noby Boy. The best part here is finding out that it was inspired by… the trailer (not the actual game itself) for DIRT? Okay! Also, yes, those trailers that Codemasters whip up for their racers, especially all Colin McRae racers, are generally speaking supremely awesome.
Not to jump forward in time yet again, but it was also recently revealed that Panic, makers of some of the finest Mac applications out there, and the folks who created those ultra stylish Katamari shirts, now have ones based on guess what?
- For those Persona fans out there who still don’t know the news, the first game is being ported to the PSP. Siliconera just (re)posted a few brief clips of the redux in action.
Upon first hearing about this a while ago, you wouldn’t believe how excited I was (hardly a shock, I know). But the more I learned about the game… specifically how Persona 1 (along with 2) is nothing like 3 and 4… the more my interest level began to wane. Especially when I discovered that all the high school sim stuff, like making friends and dating girls, to establish Social Links, was all introduced in 3, and how the original is nothing more than a straightforward (and very hardcore) dungeon crawler. Plus it’s not the massive re-imaging as I had hoped; I appreciate sticking close to the source material, the game’s graphics looks extremely outdated. I guess if I were a fan of the original, I’d find it all a loving tribute.
At the very least, the new presentation (and sounds) is super sexy, as evidenced by the game’s Japanese homepage. And despite those gameplay vids looking less than exciting, the trailer still gets me pumped. Mostly because of the updated soundtrack: check out the new battle music, which is basically a remix of P4′s.
Though ultimately, I’m mostly just waiting for the DS version…
Thursday
- Most folks might also recall that I have a strong penchant for vinyl toys and figures and the like. I finally scored a Tokidoki cactus girl, and for dirt cheap on eBay!
The best part? Included in the box for whatever reason was…
… It’s hard to tell, but that’s a bag bursting with assorted Cardcaptor Sakura gashapon figures! Much like Ducktales on the DS, you wouldn’t believe the look on Katie’s face. Anyhow, thanks Response Import Auto Fashion! Don’t ask my why a site that specialized in Japanese auto parts (for all of those that are into drifu-ing) is selling such stuff. And a head’s up for this who might not know already…
- As previously noted, the one hot item that everyone was looking forward to on the XBL marketplace, that being The Lost And Damned, I could not give a rat’s ass about. Instead, what I cared the most was the grand arrival of the legendary car pack for Burnout Paradise! And man, was it ever worth the wait! By far, the coolest car, which I guess was hardly a surprise, was the Back To The Future influenced Jansen P12…
… With it, the game totally plays like Wipeout! Meanwhile, over at the Rock Band side of things, White Zombie’s “More Human Than Human” was also released, which I naturally nabbed as well.
- Speaking of Rock Band, I’ve finally given up on Guitar Hero: World Tour. As already explained, playing the songs themselves is the best part, the ONLY good part (again, GH4′s normal mode > RB2′s normal mode, plus I love the little new things, like keeping one finger down on a fret the entire time during a sequence while interacting with others independently). Otherwise, the selection of songs, which isn’t so much bad but more “been there, played that” and most especially the mind numbingly ugly art design, as well as the ridiculous amounts of product placement, makes the entire thing such a chore to deal with.
Hence the decision to finally try out the unlock all songs cheat that was given out to all those that pre-ordered the game with Gamestop. BTW, didn’t those folks realize that said info would be available online almost immediately afterwards? Anyways, I tapped the right fret buttons in the right order, and then headed over to Quickplay to discover… not every song had been unlocked! WTF? Apparently, I still have to beat the game to access the ONE song I really want, that being Dream Theater’s “Pull Me Under”! Jesus Christ. First off, I know it’s pretty lame to complain about false advertising for a cheat code, but I’m going to anyway. But more importantly, why of all songs to rewards players with, is one from DREAM friggin’ THEATER?!?! I thought I was their only fan?
- My favorite thread from the forums this past week would have to be this one on Anne Frank/Dragonball Z fan-fic, if only for The Drunken Samurai’s response. Sup TDS.
Friday
- This week’s “man, I gots to play that, but will probably never get the chance” title hails from Japan of course, and is for the Xbox 360 of course. It’s some kind of game involving a cabaret filled with hot chicks…
… They all work at some super ritzy place, one that’s way out of your means, so you’re forced to work odd jobs during the weekday so you can blow everything on the weekends. Naturally, this being Japan, there’s a dating element involved: if one of the girls takes a real liking to you, a relationship of some sort can develop. Now, you would think that getting just one of the hotties there to pay attention to you outside of work would be the ultimate goal, but you also need to keep working to shower them with gifts, so I’m guessing that a real deal girlfriend is out of the question, which means that dating multiple girls won’t be the most jerky thing in the world. But here’s the best part, according to Canned Dogs, that’s got me the most interested:
“They?ve got an interactive drinking system called IIS where you use the analog stick to control your drinking and try to get the girl drunk to get to hear stuff she?d normally not talk about. Also if they really like you, you can order for karaoke where the girl will go on stage to sing for you.”
Coming in at a close second is Death Smiles 2: Hell’s Merry Christmas…
… As Dave Mauro put it best: “Automatic win for best title ever.” Though I have no idea just yet if my debug will be able to play import titles (I asked and all I got was a “maybe?”) so there might not be any Death Smiles 1 for me, nor Do Don Pachi Daioujou Black Label Extra, which just came out.
- Also this week comes word that, sadly, there will be no Resident Evil/Dead Rising crossover. Oh well.
- Well the reviews for Halo Wars are finally pouring in. At least I think? They’re supposed to since today was the day the embargo finally lifts. And mine is sadly absent, despite having the final, full version for some good time now. EPIC FAIL. Sorry Microsoft.
Meanwhile, most folks out there are playing the hell out of Street Fighter 4, but I can’t touch my copy. Because? It requires a debug unit to operate! Though my brand new one, to replace the first one that went kaput, finally arrived early today! Which I was assured was totally up to date, OS-wise. And it’s not. Because SF4 still won’t fun. F*CK.
Actually, I now have detailed instructions on how to update the system, but considering how I screwed that up last time, I’m pretty afraid of making another attempt. Mostly because I can’t make heads or tails of the documentation. Yes, lol Mac user indeed. So I’ll just wait till Monday. As for my SF4 fix, there’s supposed to be a tournament going on over at Dave’s place tomorrow, via his Astro City cabs naturally.
- Speaking of Dave, here’s an exchange between the two of us in the afternoon:
dmauro: Party at my place tonight!!!
fort90: Awesome! But what time?
dmauro: Party time.
… Which I didn’t go to. Because Katie and I already had plans to hang out with Miss, which is precisely what we did. Hung out at this crazy Korean hot dog joint in the West Village that franks topped with kimchi and even bulgogi! Insane. And note to self: make a copy of Nothing To Fear for Miss (she was one of the very first folks to bear witness to the majesty that is Karate Ruler, way back in the day… like around 2001 or something).
Well it’s now technically Saturday, in the wee hours, as I type this, so time to wrap things up. Have I forgotten anything? Oh yeah, the WWE PPV from this past Sunday! I’m too tired to go into details, other than it rocked. And what’s the plan for this weekend? Again, SF4 @ dmauro’s tomorrow afternoon, then some other party in Willamsburg later in the evening, and on Sunday, Katie will finally bear witness what happens when you mix the Academy Awards plus myself and Joe Simko along with copious amounts of booze. Time to see if this supposed leaked list of winners is legit or not.
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