THURSDAY
- I stopped by an EA event where they had all their major holiday releases on hand for the press. Since I don’t like sports, James Bond games, or first person shooters, plus I’ve already seen the Sims 2, I spent most of my time on Burnout 3. I’ve been a big of the series and after seeing a brief clip from the game, I had to see if it was for real; it just seemed impossible that something like it could be running of the PS2.
But seeing (and playing) is believing and the game was insanely fun. I was able to take my time and get a good feel for the handling and soak in plenty of eye candy. Even though I often try to say something nice about whatever crappy game I’m demo-ing to at such events to at least seem nice to the PR folks (and trust me, it ain’t easy), I couldn’t shut about how awesome Burnout 3 was, especially in regards to how it looked. I also had fun talking (and playing) with Burnout’s PR rep; not only was he super cool (as are most EA people I’ve noticed), but he was genuinely excited about the game (well, he does have good reason to be) and turned out to be a diehard arcade racer fan like myself. Most PR reps, while able to proficiently demonstrate whatever game they’re suppose to are still often nicely groomed robots, but not Steve Groll.
The funniest thing Steve said was when he quoted one of the game’s producers: “It’s the best looking Xbox game you’ll ever see… and it’s on a PS2.”
I also got a chance to check out the Urbz, which is basically the Sims in the city. Even though it isn’t entirely such a bad idea, the whole notion that your Sim (or is it Urb in this game?) can avoid rest of sleep by drinking Red Bull is just retarded. Gotta love EA and their commercial ties. When I asked the rep if Will Wright was at all involved in the game (sure doesn’t look like it), I got a very nervous, “Why of course! A Sim game just wouldn’t be a Sim game without Will!” Interesting. I’ll take that as a “Well he knows about it, and was probably even cool with it… at a certain point.”
There was also Brooke, the totally cute PR chick who used to work for Maxis before it became totally dissolved into the EA machine. She was demo-ing the new Goldeneye game, but she was far too busy, and I was running far too late, for any flirting to take place.
- Later in the evening was class. The last class actually. The plan was to have the students go over their final game design documents and then afterwards play some actual video games (yeah, I know it’s lame that there hasn’t been any at all thus far). So after returning to my office after the EA event, I went about the task of installing about 5,000 MAME titles and over 8,000 NES games onto my G4. And of course I had to test the emulators and control configurations, and coworkers were more than happy to oblige by giving an old arcade favorite a run or two. The best part was that all the action was projected onto the big screen in out department’s mini-theater. I also brought with me my trusty PSone (since my PS2 is still dead) with a good cross section of classics (like Resident Evil 2 and Tekken 3) and some games I knew no in the class had ever played, let alone heard of (Suicide Boys and Slap Happy Rhythm Busters anyone?).
Once 6:00 arrived, it was time to hear all the game concepts which every student has been working on for the past few weeks (or at least were supposed to). Some were pretty good, while others were so bizarre that they bordered on genius (the best one being a food fight simulator with accompanying screenshots that are unbelievably hilarious). Also, halfway through, I had to give them instructor evaluation forms so they could rate me so SVA can know if I was indeed a decent teacher or not. This I was pretty nervous about actually; my main wish for the class was that I showed each person a different way of viewing or approaching video games. But at the very least, I just hope I didn’t waste anyone’s time or money.
As I’ve admitted in the past, since this was my first stab at teaching, I knew things would be less than perfect the first time around; I almost had make mistakes (which I did) as to learn from them and be better prepared for the next time I teach (which I will be). And thankfully, everyone has been extremely supportive, from friends to the departmental chair, and therefore understanding (even expecting) that the first attempt to be a rocky one. Plus I really did enjoy myself and I do believe that certainly helped. But there’s still expectations, from others and myself, to meet, and in end, I think I did a fairly good job.
After all the ideas were heard, I thanked the class for their hard work, and there was a nice pleasant round of applause. Then came the realization that class time was almost over, and therefore no time for video game playing. I invited anyone who was interested to stick around and play, and three people did, but that was just for one game of Love Love 2, which I simply had to show to somebody. It’s the world’s first and only mine-cart racing, sandwich/relationship building simulator, and hails from Japan (of course).
FRIDAY
- I discovered that the guy who created Mega Man vs Ghosts ‘n Goblins created another game: Mega Man vs. Metroid. This one, like the first, is an awesome idea that looks amazing and controls like crap. In fact, it’s actually worse than before; now Mega Man jumps super high, to emulate the distance covered by Samus, but without the summersault, it’s really awkward, and the mixed controls certainly still aren’t helping. The game reminded me of another Metroid variant which I’m a big fan of, Metroid Cubed. The guy’s 115 Mario’s demo is still a lot of fun even though it’s rather mindless.
- I had planned on checking out the Del Close Marathon at the UCB starting that evening, but I just wanted up for it (plus I still had plenty of work to attend to) and decided to skip it. On the way to my friend Joe’s apartment, who happens to live a block away from the theater, I noticed a massive line outside of people waiting to go in, but at that point it had already begun. I’m so glad I chose to skip it; I’d be pissed if I paid $20 to see sketch comedy any time I wanted but was forced to wait outside due for the crowd to thin out.
I checked out Metallica: Some Kind of Monster with Joe instead, which turned out to be pretty damn good. You don’t have to be a fan of Metallica to enjoy the film, but if you are (or better yet, were a fan, but not any more) you’ll love it. It chronicles the creation of their latest album and all the infighting and ego trips that took place in between. Easily the best part was the confrontation between the band’s drummer and founding member Lars Ulrich and former lead guitarist (who would form Megadeth after being fired from Metallica) Dave Mustaine. Nothing better than seeing a bunch of heavy metal rock stars act like little children.
As compelling it was to watch, the documentary still wasn’t as tight as it could have been, and some issues that were brought up were never fully resolved, though the very nature of documentaries and how they are created will always have such problems. Plus the fact that Metallica had to approve the film I guess doesn’t help. Whenever I dig a documentary, I try to see if there’s much more the film didn’t reveal, and it same holds true here, especially in regards to the aforementioned Ulrich/Mustaine meeting. Hopefully Ulrich going to the bathroom to cry will make it to the DVD.
- I know a lot of my friends and coworkers chose to see the Village instead, and I know a lot of people are hating the film because of it’s lame ending (I didn’t see the movie, but I heard what it was, and it does sound pretty bad) though none of it comes at any surprise. I always thought M. Night Shama-llama-ding-dong (yeah that’s a stupid joke, but it’s my joke, and I like it) was overrated ever since the Sixth Sense, which the whole world loves, but I passionately hate. As for Unbreakable, I never saw it, but I have to admit the whole concept is pretty neat. Signs I did see in the theaters, and actually enjoyed it the first time around. But the second time I saw it, the film did not hold up, and all the plot/logic holes were too big and stupid to ignore.
But as for the film critics wanting to burn him alive over the Village, what exactly is their problem? After all, they’re the ones who put him on a pedestal in the first place. And of course the people who actually care about what mainstream film critics have to say are now following suit. From the guy who thinks every film has homosexual undertones in the NY Press (I mean, Harry Potter? C’mon!) to that fat guy who does Ain’t It Cool News, the bottom line is EVERY FILM CRITIC SUCKS.
But back to shitty endings, I now have to see Butterfly Effect. I had originally wanted to see the flick since as I’ve said before, I’m a sucker for time traveling stories, but I had heard way too many stupid things to jeopardize 2 hours of my life over. But now there’s a director’s cut ending which is so far and away retarded I just have to see if it’s true (and people are telling me it is).
SATURDAY
- With the outrageous humidity levels in NYC, I spent practically the entire day indoors enjoying an extended gaming session which head to heard games of Mario Kart, Mario Golf, Mario Party, and Wario Ware, all for the GameCube (along with a bit of Tekken Tag Tournament for the PS2). I also introduced another unsuspecting person to the brilliance that is Resurrection of the Little Match Girl.
Basically, the film is based upon an old Hans Christian Anderson poem but takes place in contemporary South Korea and is all about a guy playing a real life “video game.” His goal is to protect the Little Match Girl from dangerous and exploitive forces, ensure that she fails in love with him, and then let her die. Along the way he encounters various clich?s from the world of video games, including numerous wanna be boss characters from the King of Fighters, as well as “Laura”, who’s just like Laura Croft, from Tomb Raider fame, but is a lesbian (and is played by a Chinese transsexual). I should also mention that the movie kicks ass.
Apparently it was the most expensive film ever produced in Korea at the time and was a colossal bomb; two separate movie studios went out of business due this one movie. It’s just that good. For a more detailed description, check out Subway Cinema’s page on it right here.
SUNDAY
- Finally got some new GBA titles (Klonoa Empire of Dreams, which I’m totally in love with right now, is close to being completed): Mario Golf Advance Tour and Mario vs. Donkey Kong. Advance Tour is another fine golfing RPG that’s on par with the first, and very much excellent, Mario Golf for Game Boy Color, whereas Mario vs. Donkey Kong is just decent, and no where near the awesomeness of Donkey Kong ’94. More now than ever, I wish I hadn’t sold my Super NES those two summers ago (which included a Super Game Boy cart, with DK’94 included).
I sold the system plus about fifteen or so AAA titles for practically peanuts, though I really needed the money then; it was the summer after 9/11, I was dirt poor, and really needed the money. But still, I went all out getting those games, many of which were replacements for titles I had sold once before, right before going to college. Plus there were some true gems, like Earthbound, Tetris Attack, Kirby’s Dreamland 3, and Super Mario RPG. And all of them I bought brand new; I scoured the entire city for those copies, practically all of them the very last for each store. Granted there’s emulation, but that’s just not the same. Also, a few are available now on the GBA, but I knew I had made a bad mistake when playing the Yoshi’s Island and I discovered that the “trippy effect” (when one touches the floating puffball) is nowhere as good on the GBA as it was in the original SNES game. And once again, I got almost nothing for all those great games… at least Radiant Silvergun got me more than what I had originally paid for it (though $200 was still pretty meager, though then again, this was right after 9/11 when everyone was struggling financially).
The selling of my Super NES is something that haunts me in my dreams to this very day. I can’t tell you how many times I dream of endless SNES cart hunts in which I triumphantly buy back my entire collection, only to wake up and discover that it was only in my head….
…. I guess it’s better than having real nightmares, like falling off building or being haunted by the soul of some prostitue I killed.
