- God damn, there’s too much shit going on!
First off there’s the Negativland show going on right now at GAS, which is a parody of Disneyland called “Negativlandland”. Then there’s Resfest which starts tonight, with St?phane Sednaoui as the big guest start this year (though nothing’s ever going to top seeing Michel Gondry a few years back). But ultimately, the main reason why I wanna hit this year’s fest is to see this on the big screen.
But tonight I’ll be at Demo Night 3. Sans Spready Bear unfortunately.
- As for this weekend I’ll be in Jersey putting together minis for the SPX. Some bad news to some, or at least just one person (Joe, actually): I won’t have a story available for the show. There’s just been too many things going on, with Spready Bear taking priority, which I would like to think is understandable given that I’ve wanted this game to happen for at least two years now. Plus something else has come up, but I’ll explain that bit later… Hey, there’s still the ultra solid contributions from Joe and Katie which I can’t wait to show the rest of the world!
- Also happening this weekend is the Tokyo Game Show, one of the year’s biggest video gaming events, just a notch under E3 (though most agree that its much better since you don’t have 14 year old fatties who work at Gamestop running around trying to snag as much freebies as possible clogging the hallways).
Aside from the upcoming next-gen systems (including the first solid bits of info regarding the Revolution, such as maybe what this pic is about), one game that will be under the spotlight prominently is Metal Gear Solid 4. You can check out what it looks like here, here, and here. And damn… it looks pretty fucking sweet. The idea of Snake being old and grey not only looks cool but opens up plenty of gameplay possibilities, I especially love seeing Metal Gear Rex and the “Chibi” Metal Gear from Snatcher.
Then there’s Metal Gear Acid 2, which I guess is coming out with some weird night-vision accessory that snaps right up to the PSP. Interesting…
- Mizuguchi’s got a new PSP game coming out called Every Extra Extend. Its actually a port of a freeware shooter from Japan, Every Extend. Here’s what the PC version looks like…
I heard its awesome, but I wouldn’t know since I’m on a Mac. But still… can’t Kenta Cho games be that behind? I wouldn’t surprised if he wasn’t already working on that actually.
- Plus there’s also Katamari on the way for the PSP. And it looks just like the PS2 version, which is guess is cool (and hence why I’m not bothering with. But…
What about a DS version? Well, apparently it was never officially announced, despite the fact that it seems like a perfect fit, plus the creator had been quoted on several occasions that he loves the DS hardware. Personally, and I’m a super huge fan and all (got the game when it came out in Japan, talked everyone’s head off about it, even in my game design class, then tried drumming up interest once it hit stateside) but unless it brings something new to the table, then a third game might be overkill, and I’m just echoing Keita Takahash’s sentiments.
- Oh, and that report from 1UP that Treasure was making a 2D game? Well here’s an interview from IGN that follows up on this tidbit:
IGN: It’s been announced that you’re making Xbox 360 games, and we’ve heard some buzz that your first game for the platform will be 2D. Can you tell us what you can do with 2D games on a powerful system like Xbox 360?
Maegawa: Your information is incorrect.
Ouch. Note how the original 1UP story has mysteriously vanished. Though they aren’t totally wrong; Treasure is making a 2D game, just in gameplay, and with 3D graphics. And I hear that one of them will be a shooter! Plus there’s rumors of a Sin & Punishment 2, which would also be hot (though I’m a tad bit skeptical on that one).
- BTW, you can also download a demo for the Bone game starting today.
People who have already installed it say its a nice and simple point and click adventure game, so the word’s good thus far.
- Remember the holy grail for NES collectors I mentioned last time? Well here’s one for Saturn collectors…. easily.
Sonic Xtreme, the game that was supposed to usher Sonic, and the Saturn, into the 3D spotlight, but was eventually canned, and which many regard as one of the key points marking Sega’s long and painful downturn? Well now you can buy a piece of history.
The auction is set to end in a few hours, and one guys has offered $3,000 which, in my opinion, is pretty damn low. And this person has offered to sell copies to people for “research” for $40, which I’m certain Sega will not be happy to hear about. Still, if this was to be made public… just wow.
- So I finally watched FFVII: Advent Children last night. I won’t bore anyone with how needlessly complicated it was to get the hottest film on the internet. What else has to be said other than you can’t do shit on a Mac these days, whether it comes to downloading (I think BitTorrent sucks as is but on a Mac its twenty times worse) to viewing films (QT, VLC, and MPlayer seem to have a mind of its own, especially when dealing with subtitles files).
Anyway, about the movie: I have no reason to complain; I knew it was fan-service right from the get-go and wanted only to see some eye-popping CGI and amazing action sequences, and that’s what I got. Despite some iffy animation in spots and a far too frantic camera, it was fun to watch and very well done. And the music was great; hearing the old battle tunes remixed in classical and rock was pretty neat (and I totally love the ring tone bit at the end of the Tifa fight).
As for the rest, like I said, its fan-service, but it as still far more enjoyable than Spirits Within.
- Speaking of movies and Macs, does anyone know a good means to copy DVDs? I need a straight-forward rip and duplicate. And for the record, I want to make copies of obscure Asian flicks for friends (I’ve been promising a copy of Resurrection of the Little Match Girl for ages now), so its not like I’m trying to rip-off Hollywood or anything, though its not like I give a shit about that or anything. And since they’re all HK flicks, most should be single layer DVDs which should make the process easier, I think. I have two Macs to work with: a shitty little eMac (its no iMac DV SE, that’s for fucking sure) with a 1GHz, G4 processor with 1 gig of ram, and a 8x single-layer SuperDrive, and a G5 with dual 2 GHz processors, 1.5 gigs of ram, and a 16x double-layer SuperDrive. If someone can help me out, I give them something really… neat.
- And speaking of Robin, his write-up about last weekend reminded me how, besides robots, I would love to have run-ins, midgets, and other WWF-esque elements at my wedding.
- Time for more bizarre Super Mario-inspired art!
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Back to this other thing that just came up. Well…this is pretty embarrassing to talk about in public but…. I have a serious problem, one that many Americans have, and which I’ve tried running away from. And failed. That problem is credit card debt.
My problems started about four years ago. When Ubi Soft NY shut down I was out of a job, and once 9/11 happened, so were many others, making the task of getting a job damn near impossible. I had to go on unemployment, and even though I was in highest tier, the weekly check still wasn’t enough. When it came to paying bills, I had to make a decision…. pay back Visa or buy food. Can you guess what I choose?
After a while I began getting letters from the credit cards wondering where their money, so I contacted a “reputable” debt management provider (one that was recommended by my bank) and was told that they could negotiate terms on my behalf. To pay off four different cards I would only have to pay one monthly sum. And for a while it seemed as if I was on the right track. But my situation grew worse. A full year passed and I still couldn’t find a decent job, and my unemployment insurance ran out. I eventually could not make the rent, so I was kicked out of my apartment (by a zealous landlord who was more than happy to get rid of me and sell the place to a yuppie for five times the amount I was paying… I paid relatively little for a lot of space). I then had to couch surf for a few months to save up the money for a new place. Before doing this I contacted the debt management place to ask them if I could put a hold on payments during this time, but they seemed completely apathetic to my plight, and were even downright rude. So I simply stopped paying. I had so much on my mind at the moment that I just didn’t have the time or energy to think about it (when you don’t have a home, you tend to be only able to think of just the truly important things at the moment). After I found a new home, and a new job, I was ready to start paying again, but the agency was mysteriously gone… they had changed names I was told and none of their contact info work. The new phone numbers didn’t lead to anywhere, and I even became frustrated with all the follow-up involved. I’ve always known that my credit was bad, but I just never found the time and energy to get things back on track. And the idea of having poor credit has just become a reality that I’ve slowly grown to accept as something permanent.
Well its all finally caught up with me: I just received notice from a collection agency asking for the money owed and that if I don’t pay up, I’ll be sued, all my possessions will be confiscated, and all that jazz… you know, standard collection agency jargon. Its a pretty high amount, and that’s not too surprising since interest rates are high and all, but it’s actually far higher than it should be. Seems all that money that I paid way back when did not go towards my debt. Not one single cent. I was completely ripped off, and I’ve since discovered that I’m not the only one; shortly after 9/11, when a great number of folks experience financial hardships, various “organization” that were set up to help people ripped them off blind, and I was one of them. I’m pissed to be sure, but its in the past and I’m not sure what can be done. I suppose I can pursue legal action, but much like when I got e. coli poisoning, and when I was in homeless, I really don’t have the time and energy (and money) to pursue vigorous legal action.
Anyway, I owe some people lots of money. Thankfully, as you’ll hear often elsewhere, creditors just want their money and are willing to make deals to get something, anything. I’m in the process of brokering a deal, but it will mean that I will have very little money for the next immediate future. And that means I will have to be even busier than before, especially when it comes to freelance, which sucks because I had planned on scaling back after this particularly busy period. So I’ll have to stick to a strict budget, meaning no frivolous video game or DVD purchases for the next 12 months or so. Though with all the shit that I have yet to see or play, the only reason why I even feel bad is because I’m such a diligent consumer. Hey, I’m proud to be an American! Though I have to admit, this is good. To be debt free…. that will be nice.
