FORT90

I noticed this gas smell at work about twenty minutes ago, and then everyone else began to notice it, which I figured was just contained to the building. But then a coworker who had just arrived mentioned how the smell was not only there in the subway station, but outside on the way to work. She then called 311 to report this, and the response was “Yeah, we know.” And another coworker who just checked online says the smell is now all over the city, from Times Square to the West Village.

So if this is some big terrorist plot, or just some big freak accident, that’s set to kill everyone in Manhattan, let me just say real quick: I regret nothing.

Oh, and I really hope it really is nothing serious, or… as they say in Scooby Doo, zoinks!

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Last night I organized a little get-together for Colin since it was his final evening here in NYC/NJ, who’s going to West Virginia to purse a degree in journalism (I believe the guy is on his way down this very moment). The guy wants to gets serious about video game journalism, and given how virtually zero “professional” game writers out there have a lick of classical journalistic training, I’m betting he’d do just fine. So I got Dave (Mauro), Joe (Salina), and a few other folks together to chat and drink (though I myself have cut alcohol out for the time being, as part of my New Year’s Resolution, plus I’m starting to come down with something, hence why I just had pineapple juice). Among the many topics touched upon, I got to explain why Koreans are considered the Irish among other Asian nationalities, plus Dave finally got to hear my anal sex with my crazy ex-girlfriend story which most everyone knows by now and loves.

But the real highlight was when he pulled out his DS Lite and, via a flash cart, fired up a GBA version of NiGHTS, a mini-game to be precise, which was downloadable bonus if you completed a special mission in the GameCube version of Phantasy Star Online. I’d seen vids of the game in motion via IGN I think a couple years back, but had never seen it running in front of my eyes. I’ve been entertaining the notion of finally getting a flash cart, but last night its been completely cemented. And thankfully, Dave has a spare unit, so I might be getting my feet wet into that scene much sooner than later! At least I’ll be able to play stuff like NiGHTS, as well as all the import GBA games I’ve missed out on (though at this point, I’ve pretty much played, and even own, everything I want… though I’ve yet to try out Starfy). Oh, and that pocket NES emulator would be nice to have.

Though its now 2007 and I still find myself struggling with the issue of whether to get a PSP or not. Joe had Every Extend Extra with him, which I wanted to give a try, but just never got around to it. That’s one game that’s definitely keeping me interested in the system. And I understand Exit is like $10 at Best Buy, and I again I find myself tempted into getting a game that I wouldn’t be able to play. Once more, Lumines Plus for the PS2 might end up being the deal breaker (‘sup Job).

Meanwhile in the rest of the word… also, real quick, its funny how a million things can go down in the blink of an eye, at least in the world of games (at Jeremiah?s party, Katie asked me “So, what?s new in video games?” and I had to tell her that I honestly did not know). As mentioned many times previously, I really haven’t been able to keep track of all the headlines over the past few weeks, due to the holidays and trying to wrap stuff up, and now that I’m trying to play catch up… Jesus. Its like a jungle out there.

Well, over on the Sony side of things, I’m just really confused. I believe the plan was for all 7,000+ PSone games to be downloadable and playable on the PSP by the end of 2007. But when the PS3 was unveiled, it was revealed that… and perhaps I don’t have all my facts straights, or things have changed and I just don’t know it, but… you needed that system, a PS3, to buy PSone games, for your PSP. Confusing, eh? As for playing PSone games on the PS3, that’s coming… I think? BTW, all this is only possible in Japan… I believe.

Anyway, on Christmas, a hacker released a hacked version of Sony’s official emulator to alone anyone to play any PSone game-rip, via a memory stick (and without the hassles of dealing with the PS3). Sounds neat, right? Yeah… especially since the games, for the most part, play flawlessly. But, maybe I’m just getting old, and unfortunately am becoming more and more of a dinosaur with each passing day, but the shit that’s been outlined in this NeoGAF thread makes me believe that the process is hardly as easy as some claim it to be. Plus the bottom-line is, there’s a possibility that a system might become “bricked” in the process… that’s when something goes wrong and the entire system is fried, and more or less turns into a brick, something that just sits there and does nothing. Oh, and of course, aside from dealing with firmware headaches (which is where all the bricking can stem from), you need a system that?s able to handle such things in the first place, which at this point, Sony doesn’t manufacture anymore. Yet another reason why I shouldn’t even bother getting myself all excited… the last thing I need is to deal with eBay in search of a compatible system (and deal with those assholes, and dead pixels, and all that crap).

For yet another example of PSP firmware related ridiculous, check out this recently updated page at the GAF that lists all the demos that are available, along with the necessary firmware version required for each one noted alongside.

As a bonus, check out this one guy who went through all the trouble to get this PSP to play his old games and realized that it wasn’t worth it in the end. Pretty silly, but he kinda makes a good point.

And not to be outdone in the area of ease of use, regarding the PS3, the promise of Xbox 360 Live downloadable games has somewhat been full-filled with the release of Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection for the system. Only in Japan of course. But US gamers can play the game as well! Provided they created a new account, list Hong Kong as their country, then create a fake HK street address, plus a couple of other annoying steps.

Granted, gamers are going through similar hassles with the Wii and 360 to taste a bit of the good stuff from far off territories. But it all just goes to show that one key promise that the next generation of gaming that’s been continually drilled into our heads, that being able to access and experience a multitude of games by simply the touch of a button has been kinda b.s. And the silly thing is, in most instances, its totally unnecessary. I mean, what’s the point of not releasing Tekken 5 DR worldwide simultaneously? Its not like there’s any licensing issues to deal with. Plus since its a virtual release, there’s no concerns about shipping them into stores either or stuff that nature. And given that game companies more and more these days are servicing the hardcore quotent of their audience, they need to be smarter and not to suh teases. They’ve got to understand that hardcore gamers not only pay attention to EVERYTHING, but they are smarter than them ultimately; if there’s a game out there, they had better give it to them ASAP, or at least be smart enough to cover all their bases, otherwise examples like Tekken 5 are just going to keep poppping up.

So yeah, I’ve finally had some time to surf the GAF, and here’s some other bits of goodness, including…

- Anyone who’s been to an art museum in recent times are probably already familiar with the use of portable audio devices for tours. Well in Japan, one musuem is using Nintendo DS to allow people to learn about, and even interact with, the works of M. C. Escher. Neat!

- I’ve passed along pictures of what the Super Famicom was originally designed to look like in the past, and here’s more of the same, but there’s also additional pics of a Famicom redesign that was supposed to come out along-side, and it looks beyond sexy as hell!

- Interesting in learning what its like to be a gamer in Irag? Check this very informative look at what its like to live in a world that’s apparently very video game like… Grand Theft Auto that is. At the very least, you will NEVER complain about your electricity bill ever again.

- And on a similar note, check out what “our boys” are doing station ever there. Playing Halo 3!

Though as another bonus, if you want to know why I don’t spend that much time at the GAF these days, just scroll down for some crazy guy’s anti-soldier’s sentiments (for the record, I believe the war in Iraq to be complete bullshit, but there’s no reason to get on the case of the poor folks that’s forced to serve down there… its not they’re fault, the men and women in our forces are only following orders, bullshit ones at that… so its really great that MS and Bungie is helping to make their time in hell on earth a little more comfortable).

- Want even more proof why its so much better to be a gamer in Japan? Check out Club Nintendo’s recently holiday present: Tingle’s Balloon Fight. As a big fan of both Balloon Fight and that creepy green guy that soars in the sky, colored me sad…

Real quick, over at Insert Credit, there’s rumors going around that Radiant Silvergun 3 is in the works, as is NiGHTS for the Wii. At this point, I refuse to allow myself to get my hopes up, especially for follow-ups for those two games (after many years and years for hoping for sequels and nothing). But if either is true, let alone both… oh man. Though truthfully, a RS3 does seem totally plausible, given Gradius 5′s existence. Though given how Ikaruga turned out, one has to wonder how Radiant Silvergun-y RS3 will actually be.

Speaking of shmups, here’s something I forgot to mention last year (which at least was less than a week ago); yet another last Dreamcast game is on the way! This one is called Karous and its from the folks behind Radirgy. And according to IC, its simply “okay”, but the soundtrack is supposed to be decent, and that’s good enough for me.

And also, you’ve probably already read about it elsewhere, but since I’m looking at it right now, may as well pass along the link to IC’s mention of the recent fan-made Streets of Rage remake. Its basically all three Streets of Rage game (I prefer the original name, Bare Knuckles, cuz I’m leet like that, thank you very much), all without updated, SoR3-level graphics. Looks nice! Though I recall a few folks at Gaming Age complaining about the music (and yeah, no reason to touch it, the soundtrack was already genius).

Hey there’s more, but I seriously have to go, like, right now (so apologizes in advance for any glaringly bad grammar and/or broken links). Later!

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