Man, what a week thus far. First off…
FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!!!
That was my initial reaction when I discovered yesterday that, once again, there would be no podcast, despite a rather successful recording session on Sunday. Oh yeah, I guess there’s been no real update since then: I went over to Mike’s that day, and with a semi-warm six pack by our side, and the smell of chili on the stove, we had our second session, which this time it was “for real.” And instead of just an hour’s worth of dialogue, we got two! Basically, staying on topic is just gonna happen with Mike & I. But believe it or not, quite a few of those two hours were actually quite good. At least usable… we did go off topic a lot, but for the most part it was somewhat relevant to the discussion on-hand.
Which is why stuff needed to be trimmed down, and that was my job, to figure out what got chucked and what stayed. And I should have gotten that done later in the evening. Or at least the next night. At the very least the night after, since I knew Mike was heading to Ireland for a few weeks. But a few days prior I got a freelance gig that was supposed to be super easy and just one day to bang out, tops, and I was working on yesterday. And when the end finally seemed in sigh, I asked Mike if it was too late to pass along notes, and when he said yeah, I basically erupted with the above in bold.
Needless to say, I’m pretty pissed. At this freelance assignment that too way too long to finish up, though the reasons as usual were way out of my hands, but I still blame myself for not managing my time effectively… I could have found time, in the really wee hours. I just wished the computer I was using (Katie’s) allowed both the rendering of digital video and the messing around of audio (yet I had relatively no problems surfing the web, so I could still goof off online). At least this ordeal has finally given me enough justification to go out and get a new computer…
… Speaking of, not sure if he wants to be mentioned by name, but thanks to my good buddy at Apple for hooking me up with his sweet employee discount!
Anyhow, Mike mentioned the idea of just passing it along, or at least parts of it (I guess the original plan was to split it up into halves… even trimming the fact would leave well over an hour of audio, and that’s a bit much, even for friends, I’m well aware) when he got back, but I’m afraid some (well, actually, most) of it will be “old news.” You know how time sensitive news is, video games or not, and at least the written word can be easily scanned for stuff. Not so much with audio, which requires so much more from an audience. Yet the two core debates, one about the supposedly conspiracy surrounding Nintendo’s supply and demand dilemma, which I know I touched upon last time around here, but I knew Mike, having quite a bit of common sense as well as some business acumen, would have plenty to say, and he did, as well the controversy surrounding the Resident Evil 5 trailers, whether the game is indeed racist or not, might still be worth a listen to in a few weeks time. I said I would do this before, but this time I really am going to pass along an audio file, the most recent one obviously, to trust colleagues, to see what they think.
Though the timing could not be any worse; a few of those whose opinions I would greatly appreciate are all super busy getting ready for MoCCA Art Fest 08 later this weekend. I already mentioned how I’m less than thrilled going in without a new UNLUCKY mini. Well, not only is the first installment of HARVEST not going to be there at this upcoming show, but it won’t be present at SPX later this year as originally anticipated; Katie has officially passed on working on the project. Reasons? There’s a couple… for one, she’s super busy on various other projects (like her space medical odyssey NURSE NURSE for one), but Katie also expressed a certain degree of uncomfortableness with the subject matter. Which, at the end of the day, is less than shocking. Hence why Mike, even during the podcast, when I mentioned HARVEST a few times went “Dude, you’re lucky she still talks to you!”
On a coincidental note, at that exact moment, Katie was at Hilary’s to go over the script, which is when it hit her “Man, this is NOT my thing!” She always knew it was gonna be out there, but I guess it finally sunk in right then and there.
Needless to say, I’m a bit heartbroken. And what does this mean in the end? Will the book ever happen? God willing, yes. Even though I’m hesitant about promises that I personally cannot keep, I have spoken with Hilary, who was going to handle part two, and she has expressed interested in the idea of doing the whole thing. Granted, her schedule is even crazier, but the project is not dead yet. It might just take longer… and while some might believe that I should just give up on it, I refuse to. THIS STORY NEEDS TO BE TOLD! Well, illustrated at least. And by a woman. Why? I dunno… I just think it would be cool, maybe even necessary, to have a woman’s touch. Hence why already one person, a dude, has volunteered to fill the missing shows, and I kindly passed.
But the thing that kills me about it not being there this weekend is how I just found out there’s ANOTHER comic called Harvest debuting at the show… instead of it being about naked girls being molested and covered in slime and molested, it’s about Star Wars. And it would have been so much fun to ride it’s coat-tails and steal its thunder. Oh well.
The Long Awaited Revealing Of The Goods On Soul Calibur 4
Hey speaking of Star Wars! Another portion of the podcast I’m disappointed to see vanish into the ether somewhat is how I finally spoke about some of the stuff I found out about Soul Calibur 4, but wasn’t able to discuss previously due to an NDA with Bandai Namco (which I somewhat mentioned already in the forums). Though as also noted during the podcast, the most frustrating thing about keeping my lips sealed is how it seems like everyone else wasn’t holding up their end of the bargain. But I didn’t want to dare break the agreement and be “that guy”, the one who got went after. Plus, I haven’t been paying that close attention, so maybe not everything has been disclosed?
Anyway, yeah, I played both the PS3 and Xbox 360 version of SC4 a few weeks back. Naturally, I tried out both Darth Vader (exclusive to the PS3, since both are black) and Yoda (since he’s green, and that’s the 360′s color)… now, another reason why I was thinking of getting a PS3 before a 360 was because of this. I simply find Vader cooler. I guess I should also mention that, yes, I’m still a fan of Soul Calibur. I loved part one, like everyone else, and while it’s still king, I also enjoyed part two, and actually had fun with the universally reviled part three. So yeah, I was willing to make a choice on purchasing a system based upon part four. Crazy, I know.
But the thing is, Vader while being cool and all, was not fun to control. I guess it’s no surprise that he was big and slow and controlled like a tank, in stark contrast to the much smaller and more nibble Yoda. Though as a result, Yoda was just a lot more fun to play as, with him being able to jump around and do all sorts of wacky maneuvers… So yes, this isn’t the Yoda of old, the one we grew up with from Empire Strikes Back, but the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon-inspired flavor from Episode 2. Which sucked in the movie, but at least works great in a game!
And in addition to fighting with lightsabers, both can utilize the force to pick opponents up and push them around. Which is neat, though it was tricky to pull off, but I’m sure with practice, it won’t be any big deal.
The other big thing this time around is how each character’s armor can be damaged and done away with. Not with the Star Wars dudes. Granted, Yoda doesn’t have any, but Vader does. When I asked why this was the case, aside from how Yoda doesn’t have any, so that would make things uneven, it was explained that Lucasfilm is very protective of their characters and how they are portrayed, and would feel comfortable with the idea of them being all banged up, let alone trust Bandai Namco with the responsibility of figuring how it would look like. But the thing is, we already know what Vader looks like all fucked up! Duh, Return of the Jedi! Christ…
Also, there’s finishing moves in the game, which can be pulled off at any time if I’m not mistaken. Yeah… I know. MORTAL KOMBAT!!! Anyhow, I’m hoping to get a review copy in the near future, so I’ll be able to talk in greater detail in the near future.
THQ’s Pleasant Surprise
Yesterday THQ came to town, to show off their upcoming holiday releases. They had a bunch of games on-hand, lots of kids stuff, based on licensed properties, mostly Nickelodeon shows, which as a Nick Mag writer, I had to check out. Though one that is based on an original IP deserves special mention, since it is getting buzz from a few other places…
de Blob has you as, you guess it, a blob, one that paints the town red… literally… as well as yellow, green, blue, and purple. The story goes something like this: some evil corporation has sucked the color from the land, by leaving everything a drab shade of gray, so it’s your job to make things right, and bright.
You mostly move around via the stick on the nunchuck, plus you can jump by flicking the Wii-mote. By jumping you can get to higher ground; the level I played around in, pictured above, was a city, which meant hopping onto various rooftops, and it became trickier as things goes on because you growing bigger as you collect color, making you heavier, but more on that in just a sec. You can also bounce off of things, which in my case was off the side of buildings; which just a little bit of finesse, I was able to bounce between one side of the street’s buildings to the other, back and forth, which was lots of fun actually. You also use jumping to attack foes; when an enemy is in sight, hit the Z button to target (just like Zelda, I know), then flick the remote for a stomp attack.
Meanwhile the C button acts as a mini radar, letting you know the general direction of various things throughout the level, such as color chips. So, about that, there are these things that you can either roll over or smash to change the color of your blob. And when you roll around, you leave a trail, plus when you touch a building, the whole thing changes to that color (which obvious lends itself to not just mission objectives but all sorts of other mini-games). The thing is, you can create colors by mixing; if you’re red and run into a yellow color chip, you naturally become orange. Now, if you then run into a yellow chip again, end result is yellow at last. Though if you run into a third color, the result is a muddy looking, which can only be changed when once again, you run into the same color twice.
As stated previously, you start small, but as you collect color, you become bigger, which allows you to access certain spots within the level, while making it difficult to access others. Mind you, the change is not dramatic; we’re not talking Katamari-levels of scale. The basic goal of the level I tried out was to color as much of the environment as possible, with some optional side missions along the way, such has hitting a certain tricky spot of a building with a time limit. Another part of the game that I simply watched had the blob bouncing off the side of building, high in the sky, via timed button presses, similar to Twilight Princess, so once again, there’s a tinge of Zelda.
But yeah, it’s definitely a game to look out for! While the game could work on another system (the waggling to attack works just fine, but could be just as satisfying with a simple button press… perhaps I’d feel different if it was a bit smoother, but the game is a work in progress), it still just feels kinda at home on the Wii. Though the other THQ game tucked in the corner is what really got excited…
Deadly Creatures has you assuming both a tarantula and a scorpion in a fairly realistically rendered world, where one deals with all the hazards that those creatures routinely deal with as they try to survive in the wild. You alternate between the two, with a story connecting them. Basically there’s a common foe… the most deadly foe, which I guess anyone can easily assume the identity of (it’s people for those who can’t)… which in the end requires them to pool their resources. How that’s done, I’m not too sure off.
Okay, right off the back, I know the graphics aren’t the most impressive in the world. But for whatever reason, I was just floored by the concept, plus the ambiance was definitely there. Thanks mostly to the camera angle, which is very low, with a slight panoramic feel as you look around, gives one the impression that you?re this tiny thing in a very big, big world. Activities included traversing hostile terrain (in the desert, there’s sharp cacti needless to be careful) of, as well as large predators, such as bugs and reptiles to give one trouble (the smaller ones are there to be munched on). Sound is also a key component; again, nothing cartoony here, as well as no real soundtrack to speak off… just ambient sounds of nature, which at times was rather creepy, and absolutely effective.
I saw the THQ rep go through one stage as the tarantula, which culminated with a stand-off with a rattle snake. Again, the graphics was nothing to shout about, but dear God, it was TENSE! It’s definitely a game to keep one’s eye on.
I guess it might also be worth pointing out how I gave the THQ RP people shit for not mentioning the game to myself and my editor when we were seeing all the other kids games. I only happen to stumble across Deadly Creatures when I opted to stick around on my own accord. My point was, yeah kids like games starring their favorite Nicktoons characters, but they also like bugs! Duh.
Oh, and for your wrestling fans out there, I also spent some time with the upcoming Raw Vs. Smackdown 2009, which I wrote about for the Figure 4 Weekly, and can be checked out here.
Screw Love In An Elevator, I Wanna Hear Some Buggie Running Beeps
Once again, there’s no shortage of news this past week, but also once again, I’m not here to talk about the real news, but stuff that I find interesting, and so should you!
- In the battle of the (games that allow you to be part of) bands, you have Guitar Hero signing up Aerosmith (mega lulz) and most recently Metallica. And what about Rock Band? Well, these decided to illicit the help of… the creator of Rez! Naturally, this has be all hot and bothered. I also wonder how those folks that hate Guitar Hero and Rock Band, as well as still hold onto the train of thought that Guitarmania and Drumania are still superior, but mostly have American music/love J-tunes will react towards this.
- Kotaku also had the goods about some kid who got Amy Winehouse to autograph his copy of Donkey Konga and his bongo controllers.
- Spotted this over at NeoGAF; it’s a not so hot scan (but it’s the best we’ve got thus far) of the new upcoming Wario Land title for the Wii, called Wario Shake I think…
UPDATE: Again, via NeoGAF, comes the official title: Wario Land: The Shake Dimension!
- Once again people, don’t let your kids play Worlds of Warcraft!
- I generally don’t talk about Uwe Boll since the guy, at the end of the day, simply bores the fuck out of me. But this story did grab my attention: “three fourths of the people who attended a Postal screening last week in Hoboken, New Jersey, all walked out because of his use of 9/11 antics in the movie.” Yeesh.
- Meanwhile, over in Japan, they’re still combining animu girls with WW2 machinery! Courtesy of Insert Credit comes word of Moe Moe Niji Taisen Deluxe…
- The IC also points out that (apparently) the entire run of the classic 70s game show, Starcade, is now available for viewing online!
- And via the IC forums, I came across this: the site for this year’s Famicase Exhibition…
- Guess who’s back… it’s Segata Sanshiro (real name Hiroshi Fujiioka), this time promoting Sega’s new arcade Rambo light-gun game!
… You don’t know how happy it makes me to know that he’s still on the Sega payroll.
- Moving onto to home-base: via the hacking and modding thread…
- So not only is the future of comics featuring naked girls covered in goo and cloned in question, but so are video games featuring the same. What a sad, sad week.
- Hey, check out this hot footage of Street Fighter 4 in action!
- Meanwhile, the new live-action film is going to have Chun-Li… but no Ryu or Ken? What?
- And ever wondered what’s in my video game collection? Well here’s the list… and it’s quite a big one.
- Remember, the year 2012 is when the internet dies. Like Mike sez, “dear internet: get a haircut and get a real job.”
- I alluded to it before, but here it is: here’s the tale of why my mail carrier now hates my guts now.
- My fave from the headlines that make you smile thread would have to be: “Pringles Can Inventor Buried in Pringles Can.”
- And finally, via the ART!!! and GIRLS!!! thread…
The End Of An Era…
One last thing: yesterday also saw the end of an era. My nine yearlong self-imposed exile from drinking soda is no more. Yes, I know… this is both a time for mourning and celebration.
For those who don’t know, I’ve been (relatively) soda free for the past nine years. I used to be a HARDCORE soda drinker. At my worst, during college, I was downing at least two, often three, of those two liter bottles of Coke a day. In fact, the deli near the SVA dorm at the time used to sell special three liter jugs, which I hadn’t seen before, nor seen since. It was bad. Real bad. Was I addicted to caffeine? I guess. I was never without it long enough to feel any withdrawals, nor had I even attempted to give it up. Soda was simply a major part of my life, since the age of five, and going strong ever since.
Then I got really sick in 1999 for a few days and couldn’t take anything in, including soda. So if I had any symptoms of withdrawals, it was totally lost in the shuffle. Once I was back on my feet and able to ingest more than just water, my diet went back to normal… but the heck of it, I decided to no longer drink any soda. And the result was immediate: I lost like ten pounds in one week doing effectively nothing. And I all of sudden felt a little bit healthier, able to do more and not tire out as easily.
Which is why staying far, far away from soda became and obsession, and a defining trait among friends. Some thought it was entertaining… especially when they heard me talk about how much I missed soda, and I would. Mostly the smell; I would ask friends of mine who were drinking soda from bottles if I could take a whiff of their bottle caps. I would also dream of drinking soda, which then became nightmares of accidentally drinking soda. My fear was that if I went back on that horse, I’d gain like twenty pounds instantly, and go missing for days on end, only to be found in my apartment, lying in a corner, surrounded by dozens of empty cans and bottles, dead, from a Coca-Cola overdose. I guess by drinking too much and drowning from the stuff? Some folks even tried to convince me, as the years rolled by, that I had proven my point and give it one little taste, for old time’s sake. Why not, one sip won’t hurt! To the point that folks even tried to trick me into accidentally tale a sip of my former drug. Actually, it was mostly Jason… and I will admit, it was pretty funny. But I was always able to resist.
There was a point in which I couldn’t go back, since I had stayed clean during the great soda war of early 2000, in which everyone was doing all sorts of wacky things to beat the other guy, like introducing vanilla to their arsenal. If I were to go back after missing out on all that, then my resolve would have been in vain.
But yesterday, after a rough couple of days, as I’ve somewhat already chronicled, I just felt like indulging in a nice, tasty California-style burger, in this case, the Blue 9 burger joint on 3rd Ave and I believe 12th Street. And what goes better with a juicy burger and crisp fries, especially after a long, hot and humid day than a cool and refreshing soda? That’s when I decided to go “why the fuck not?” And what marked my return? An orange Fanta. Huh? Truth is, another thing that made my exile tortuous is how orange Fanta was my absolute favorite soda back during my childhood in South Korea, and I missed it dearly when I came to America. So to have to come to me, and not taste that sweet taste of my youth was pure torture.
Also, let’s be honest here… I haven’t been exactly soda free either. Aside from the time I was drinking Long Island ice teas, which has Coke in it (back when I was dating my now legendary crazy ex, the one who wanted to drink at Pizzeria Uno’s, and I drank anything that would dull the pain as quickly as possible), to when I began to drink ice tea, which is more or less the same thing as soda but without the carbonation… it all has the white man’s crack… aka high-fructose corn syrup. It’s basically why I thought it was okay to drink soda in Japan, since they use sugar, and therefore making it “healthier.” So yeah, I just simply had to thrown in the towel. Does this mean I’ll be drinking cola, now more than ever? Um… no. Ultimately, water is still where it’s at! I’ll simply indulge myself every once in a while, maybe whenever I go out for fast food, which these days is actually not that often, since I now cook for myself most of the time. Basically, I would like to think that my diet is overall a bit healthier as compared to the past, though there is definite room for improvement. Though Katie’s suggestion of dropping hot dogs just ain’t gonna happen, sorry! I’ll just walk/jog and box a bit more to make up for them.
… Anyway, I guess that’s it for now. Remember, I’ll be at the MoCCA Art Fest this weekend in the city, alongside my partners in crime Katie and Hilary, up on the 7th floor. Once again, that’s THE SEVENTH FLOOR. Yes, there is a seventh floor, actually it was there last year, but no one really knew about it. But that’s where the party will be at, trust me!
Actually, there’s been a change in plans! Look down below for some late breaking information.
UPDATE: Kojima’s Coming To NYC
This just in… got an email from the folks at New York-Tokyo stating that they’re teaming up with UNIQLO to present Hideo Kojima, the dude behind Metal Gear Solid, to the Big Apple!
Gotta admit, after many years of NY-T trying to do something for the gamers in NYC, and almost always falling somewhat short (though its not like they don’t give it an honest try each and every time… like that time they presented Rez on a huge 40 foot tall display, that was pretty awesome), they’ve finally managed to score quite the coup!
The details are this: he’ll be on hand next Thursday the 12th, the same day Metal Gear Solid 4 comes out actually, between 5 and 7, at the store in SoHo, along with Yumi Kikuchi, the actress who does one of the voices in the game, that of Raging Raven. Though the extra special news is not only will the man behind MGS be at the store, but so will those MGS4 UNIQLO shirts I mentioned last month!
Needless to say, I’ll be there to report the whole thing, and will also try to exchange a few words; I did interview him a while back for Nickelodeon Magazine, for Botkai (hey, remember that game), but that was done via email, so it practically doesn’t count. So is this Metal Gear geek excited? Take a wild guess.
ADDITIONAL UPDATE: Change of Plans At MoCCA/Where To Find Us!
This also just in… actually, literally just got in, from some pre-MoCCA partying with Pat, so I’ll make this super brief: Katie & I picked up our badges earlier tonight at MoCCA HQ and discovered that we, along with Hilary of course, have been moved to the first floor! Don’t know why, but we’re certainly not complaining.
So now our table will be located in the first room that everyone enters upon arrival, meaning we’ll be all the more accessible! And anyone having any trouble finding can simply refer to the floor plan found in the programming book, both onsite and online.
Hope to see some of you this weekend!
