tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73042931306508196372024-03-05T18:39:59.988-08:00MASSIVE DAMAGEA blog for gaming, movies, music, TV, and whatever the hell else we want.Helmholzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14735818813129771707noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7304293130650819637.post-10487705553207371922010-12-16T03:45:00.000-08:002010-12-16T03:45:15.811-08:00How to feel good about yourself today.<i>[As originally posted <a href="http://your-shoes-and-the-world.blogspot.com/2010/12/how-to-feel-good-about-yourself-today.html">here</a>] </i><br />
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Who doesn't like feeling like a good person once in a while ? And who doesn't like getting something for it to boot ?<br />
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Well, guess what, for a little more than 6 days still, that's exactly what you can do !<br />
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Here's the deal : you buy 5 great games for any price you want, then decide who gets the money. Sounds good? Head over to <a href="http://www.humblebundle.com/">the Humble Indie Bundle #2 page.</a><br />
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Still not convinced ? Then please take a couple of minutes to <a href="http://your-shoes-and-the-world.blogspot.com/2010/12/how-to-feel-good-about-yourself-today.html">read about some specifics after the break</a>...<br />
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As last year, 5 independently-developed PC games are being offered as a downloadable pack, which you are invited to buy for any price you decide. This can be as low as $1, and right now the top contributor is Notch, developer of the hugely successful <a href="http://www.minecraft.net/">Minecraft</a>, with a whopping $2.000.The average donation is currently a little above $7, and I paid $30 for mine... So really, your call.<br />
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Then, once you decided on the money you wish to donate, you get to choose how it gets splitted. You can divide it between :<br />
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<ul><li><b>The game developers</b>. Remember, those games are made by very small teams, and they need the support.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://www.childsplaycharity.org/">Child's Play</a></b>, a charity started by the guys over at <a href="http://www.penny-arcade.com/">Penny Arcade</a>, with the intent of bringing toys and games into hospitals to make the lives of children there a bit better.</li>
<li><b>The <a href="https://www.eff.org/">Electronic Frontier Foundation</a></b>, whose goal is to defend people's liberties and rights in the digital age.</li>
<li><b>The organisators</b> of the bundle, via a "humble tip", to help cover the hosting and related costs, and to give them the opportunity of creating another bundle next year.</li>
</ul><div>Now, what about the games? Because helping charities is all well and good, but this is still a game bundle, right ? Last year, you could have gotten World of Goo, Aquaria, Penumbra: Overture, Lugaru HD and Gish (four of which have subsequently been open-sourced, mind you). And this year, the lineup is just as great :</div><div><ul><li><b><a href="http://www.braid-game.com/">Braid</a></b> : A platformer/puzzle hybrid in which you'll need to make use of the character's various time-bending abilities to grab puzzle pieces and unravel the story. Very unusual, and some of the puzzles are sure to keep you thinking for a while...</li>
<li><b><a href="http://www.datarealms.com/games.php">Cortex Command</a></b> : Buy artificial bodies and remote-control them to gather resources in a game that is still under active development (fear not, your purchase make you eligible for all future updates), but already impresses with extremely detailed physics, excellent 2D graphics, and more (also, multiplayer !).</li>
<li><b><a href="http://machinarium.net/demo/">Machinarium</a></b> : A point-and-click adventure which is as gripping as it is beautiful. Superb art style, inventive challenges, and a wonderful soundtrack. Speaking of which... Said soundtrack is even included in the bundle !</li>
<li><b><a href="http://www.hemispheregames.com/osmos/">Osmos</a></b> : Very soothing physics-based gameplay. Absorb creatures smaller than you while avoiding the same fate, to complete various objectives. And if you're stuck, you can always try a randomized version of the level giving you trouble... A mini-album with some of the game's music is also included, but you won't listen to it, because you'll still be playing the addictive game.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.puppygames.net/revenge-of-the-titans/"><b>Revenge of the Titans</b></a> : Like Tower Defense games ? Good. Like real time strategy games ? Even better, because Revenge of the Titans is a mix of both. Another game still under active development (and again, you'll get all the updates for free), RotT is also available for the first time inside the bundle, so be hype and play it before anybody else !</li>
</ul><div>So there you have it, a very, very nice way to do some good during this holiday season. Oh, and not to forget, <b><i>all games run on Linux (32 and 64 bits), Mac OSX and Windows !!!</i></b> All. Of. Them. Isn't that awesome ? And one last word for the competitive among you : checking the stats at <a href="http://www.humblebundle.com/">http://www.humblebundle.com/</a> , you can see that the most (on average) generous people are the Linux folks with $13.55/sale on average, before Mac users with $8.12/sale, and finally Windows guys give $5.96 on average. So go increase the gap or turn the tables ! Buy the Humble Indie Bundle for yourself or a friend. Or both. Game on !</div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15626218255385913316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7304293130650819637.post-63964413875205485962010-11-29T15:03:00.000-08:002010-11-29T15:41:14.368-08:00I can see how you may have confused thoseI was chatting with a Spanish-speaking friend a bit ago and I was trying to remember how to say "I am lonely." So I googled it hoping for the best, and here I found this...<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i.imgur.com/omS41.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 859px; height: 773px;" src="http://i.imgur.com/omS41.png" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />My personal favorite is 'I am in business school at Victoria and eventually want to do chinese business," but "I am going to rape you" is pretty funny, too.Helmholzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14735818813129771707noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7304293130650819637.post-64223325510359994872009-03-29T20:05:00.000-07:002009-03-29T22:06:40.860-07:00Donkey Kong Country 3 GBA RipDave Wise was brought back to do the soundtrack for the GBA port of Donkey Kong Country 3, and it was epic. There isn't a direct format rip circulating and a soundtrack was never released, but here's a game rip. Spread it around.ZeaLitYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02347238679710551283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7304293130650819637.post-72082456710247823212009-01-27T03:29:00.000-08:002010-11-29T15:42:05.717-08:00It's better with no shirt onOriginally posted on <a href="http://www.insertcredit.com/">insert credit</a>, I literally cannot stop watching this video every few hours or so the past couple days because it brings me that much joy. What is it? Well, judging by the <a href="http://es.youtube.com/user/retsupurae">author</a>'s tags and what we see, it's a guy playing Galaga in New Jersey in an arcade with his shirt off...and <span style="font-style: italic;">really</span> getting <span style="font-style: italic;"></span>into it:<br /><br /><center><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ChumLD7D8lg&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ChumLD7D8lg&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></center><br /><br />There are so many minute happenings in this glorious 0:26 second clip, but let's start at the beginning. 0:01 in, where is that left leg going? It looks like the machine's pushing him away or he is a runner ready to bolt at the start of a race. How this helps him or is natural at all to anyone playing games baffles me. 0:03 in, there it goes again, but this time it looks like he's playing Twister and he just got left foot yellow and the only yellow dot left is somewhere in the back. He then plays pretty intently for about 9 more seconds when at 0:12 he does some sort of swatting motion with his right arm, which could possibly be construed as a fist pump. It's hard to say. He resumes playing and whoever keeps pulling the rope on his left leg tugs it just a little, and then again at 0:20. But then something changes, and he closes the gap between himself and the machine. Knees bent, torso mostly parallel to the arcade cabinet's upright position, he begins to rock and thrust his pelvis toward the coin slots, 3 pumps perfectly synchronized with the 'wahs' coming from the game. Soon after, the 26 seconds of pure voyeuristic pleasure ends. Great stuff. (Also worth mentioning is his presumably sweaty tee hanging over the Pac-Man machine.)Helmholzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14735818813129771707noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7304293130650819637.post-30726648861872081912009-01-19T17:50:00.000-08:002009-01-19T17:51:59.838-08:00Hori Fighting Stick EX2 Get!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHketY3F-XECcI_20cYcOw4rcCKubKNzFGXkTncIbRyWprbSL5qgTaHKTh-odAX2mmj7YIPvi2fPx8z-IPGUsgXDGa_2qakLgjzvgx1mtoB3R9pFSwflyzJs7GhfMIpC1387U2pz_yBRo7/s1600-h/Hori+Fighting+Stick+EX2.png"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 344px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHketY3F-XECcI_20cYcOw4rcCKubKNzFGXkTncIbRyWprbSL5qgTaHKTh-odAX2mmj7YIPvi2fPx8z-IPGUsgXDGa_2qakLgjzvgx1mtoB3R9pFSwflyzJs7GhfMIpC1387U2pz_yBRo7/s400/Hori+Fighting+Stick+EX2.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293187709600413362" /></a>Slayer01http://www.blogger.com/profile/04287940815543662836noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7304293130650819637.post-40514095974057012462009-01-19T07:48:00.000-08:002009-01-19T12:42:06.139-08:00Best 15 Dollars I've Ever SpentDoes anyone remember the days when a little money could go a long way if you were careful and considerate? I sure as hell don't, but some people do, if the many hours spent accompanying the elderly down Memory Lane (or perhaps Dementia Boulevard) are any indication. In the modern world of entertainment, people are somehow managing to warm up to the idea of spending more and more of their (sometimes) hard-earned money to get less and less of the actual entertainment. Video games are a perfect example, with 60 dollars or more rarely earning more than 15 hours of gameplay. That's 4 dollars per hour of fun. Would you pay 4 dollars for an hour of fun? If so, you probably won't really appreciate what I'm about to tell you.<br /><br />Just three days ago, I spent 15 dollars on a somewhat esoteric side-scrolling action title for Xbox Live Arcade called Castle Crashers. The next day, I started said game with my friends and ended up playing a total of about 12 hours over the duration of the weekend.<br /><br />Let's see... that's 12 hours of fun for a 15-dollar game, and the fun is only just beginning.<br /><br />I think we have a winner.<br /><br />To put it simply, Castle Crashers is a masterpiece of the modern gaming age. Deceptively simple and elegant, it slid its way onto the online stage and quickly took the spotlight as one of the best selling XBLA games ever, if not the best. Full of wit and nonstop hack-and-slash action, the game's controls never get in the way of a good time, and the difficulty is enough to make you pay attention, but not so challenging as to marginalize that always-feared "casual gamer." The designers know their sidescrollers, and used their knowledge well to keep the fast-paced game varied enough to avoid it growing stale or repetitive. Possessing a myriad of unlockables, tunes any Newgrounds fan should recognize, and a general air of out-of-this-world enjoyment, Castle Crashers has impressed me more than at least 90% of the 60 dollar games I've paid for in the past few years. I recommend it without qualification, although the game becomes leagues more enjoyable with friends to play with you.<br /><br />After a weekend of this refreshing game, one can only hope that projects from these kinds of developers continues to flourish, and that the consumer may finally decide that big price tags don't always equate to big fun.<br /><br />Best 15 dollars I've ever spent.Nathan Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163373858564208718noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7304293130650819637.post-20871147825350946942009-01-12T13:43:00.000-08:002009-01-12T13:48:29.023-08:00On Assassin's Creed's "Interruptions"In storytelling, there is a pattern where suspense is built, then released. Once established, the degree of suspense built can be increased with every iteration of the cycle, until the storyteller reaches the climax of the story and the plot is resolved. Alternatively, he or she, after having established the pattern, can deny the release until the pressure has built to a fever pitch, making the release that much more intense whenever it comes.<br /><br />Normally I'd be talking about a movie, not a game in this respect (just a personal peeve, each seems too disparate a medium to be trying to compare directly), but in this I think that this principle can be applied very well to the flow of modern games. I'll use Assassin's Creed as an example (it's been a while so bear with any inconsistencies): Going into the scenes where you actually slay your marks, everything is calm and quiet (though it is possible to bust in the front door most of the time, it isn't the most successful strategy and not the one I'll use for an example here). Tension builds as you near the target (and you're forced into seeing an example of the exact kind of villany the mark is about to die for). The release comes when you drop in on your target and deliver the neck stabbin', while the chase afterward (however tense) is, in fact, the falling action.<br /><br />Now, that's the cycle for the actual assassinations. After each one, however, the overall stakes are raised: The player's equipment gets upgraded or he learns a new attack, and the guards in the game become just a little more aware of Altair's appearance. In this, the tension of the entire game is raised, and a release from this is also required for the cycle to be complete.<br /><br />I'd argue that being booted out of the memory after a successful execution provides that release for the overall tension being built by playing through them. Some called it an interruption; I call it an intermission. When I was playing through, I found myself actually looking forward to these sequences (not just for the curiously faithful representation of the deliciously demure Kristen Bell). Maybe it was only for the bits and pieces of story it meted out at a very deliberate pace or the light adventure game elements it put before me, but whatever it was, I think the entire game might have been a little bit flatter without them.Slayer01http://www.blogger.com/profile/04287940815543662836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7304293130650819637.post-69933861594564127302009-01-08T08:12:00.001-08:002009-01-08T08:12:58.440-08:00On Game ReviewsThe most important thing a review can give me is an idea of what I’m going to be doing while I’m playing the game. If it’s Metal Gear Solid 4, I don’t need to know how ridiculous the story is going to be. I need to know if it has multiple axis inversion options, if the control scheme is conducive to the activities I’ll be doing through the course of the game and if not, if the control scheme is at all customizable. If it’s SoulCalibur IV, I don’t need to know that the story mode can be finished in fifteen minutes with a scrub character like Yoda, I need to know that the online is riddled with lag, the options for customizing a character have actually been scaled back from the previous installment, and that game balance in general will need some severe tweaking before the game can even be taken seriously. And for Burnout Paradise, I don’t need to know how immersive DJ Atomica’s blurbs help make the game, I need to know whether I can silence him if I find him annoying without changing the volume of my vehicle’s engine, if I can retry events I just failed, or if I can even cancel events I’m currently participating in that I already know I’m going to fail (for the record, you can’t do any of these things–but you could in previous Burnout games. Progress?).<br /><br />It’s all about what I’ll be doing and how I’ll be doing it, what impedance I’ll face from bad design decisions, poor programming, or what have you. These are the things that make my controller fly, as opposed to anything having to do with story, setting, themes, graphics, etc. In a well-written review, those kinds of things can have a place, but for what I play games for and what I get out of games, these things are completely tertiary to me, as is an arbitrary number with no meaning or value to me placed on the sum total worth of the game.<br /><br />That said, I haven’t been reading reviews much anymore. If I do, I’m looking at them after I’ve played a game to see what the person writing the review got out of the game compared to what I did. As for choosing what I spend my time with, I play demos, I rent, and I talk to people whose opinions I understand. I know my own tastes and what I want from a game well enough that trusting someone else’s opinion I’ve never met and never will meet or understand (however valid it may be by being published or on a website) is both counterproductive and a waste of time. I think I remember an ad from a gaming era past, and it’s still a valid quote: “Trust no one. Play it for yourself.” Really, if we aren’t playing for ourselves anyway, who are we playing for?Slayer01http://www.blogger.com/profile/04287940815543662836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7304293130650819637.post-27103343143905622362008-12-15T13:20:00.000-08:002008-12-15T13:33:46.685-08:00Left 4 DeadFinally played it last week. I tried playing through "No Mercy" with the first party I found. Two of them dropped out, and after we failed the in-hospital segment, the last human player dropped as well. While having four humans proved entertaining (even if only one of them had a mic), having just one flesh-and-blood ally wasn't as much fun, and I didn't even last a minute playing it on my own.<br /><br />I was able to play all the way through "Blood Harvest" with three other humans, and while the last portion was very exciting, it all felt very similar to the previous scenario. The scenery changed, but the enemies didn't, and the environmental differences weren't drastic enough to change the nature of the combat to an appreciable degree.<br /><br />Then I played Versus, and I was in love. We started as The Infected, and I a Hunter. It took me a bit to get the hang of it, but once I did, I was pouncing survivors left and right. I kind of hate the Belcher or whatever it's called, and the Smoker isn't much good to me either, but that Hunter is the business. I spawned as a Tank at the end of the scenario (this was Blood Harvest again), but I didn't like that much, either.<br /><br />Altogether, I enjoyed the game, but I can see that it's pretty thin for me; fighting the AI infected isn't entertaining to me. Someone's going to tell me to ratchet up the difficulty, but challenge isn't what's lacking here, it's variety. Zombies do not make everything better to me. Ninja swords, maybe. High-powered explosives, destructible surfaces, energy weapons, and other things, sure, they <span style="font-style:italic;">can</span> make things better, but zombies? Stupid enemies who rush you constantly? I never understood the nerd attraction to them, but they don't do it for me, and without that, there just isn't enough in this game to do it for me, either. Enjoy it while it lasts, zombie fans. I think I'm going to have to go back to Call of Duty 4 for my multiplayer jollies.Slayer01http://www.blogger.com/profile/04287940815543662836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7304293130650819637.post-44924801978766343092008-12-08T01:05:00.000-08:002008-12-08T01:14:55.380-08:00Living on the edgeI know I'm a little behind regarding new games (probably due to me not owning a "no-longer-next-but-now-current-gen" console), and I should have spotted it earlier, but yesterday was the first time I played Mirror's Edge. Not even the full, game, only the demo, but still...<br /><br />And boy, was I blown away. Even on a smallish SD television, it was completely awesome. Not only did it look great, it's fun as hell to play. After only a couple of minutes, you find yourself jumping around everywhere almost without a pause, and it feels pretty kickass. It's somewhat like the feeling I got when trying Assassin's Creed for the first time.<br /><br />I could go on and on about how much I like the environment the game takes place in, or pretty much every other aspect I could taste during the demo, but I think I'll save that for a future post about the game when I'm done with the full thing. So I'll rather go back to listening to "Still Alive" (NO, not the Portal one, the one sung by Lisa Miskovsky for my new addiction :D ).<br /><br />Oh and I can't wait for one of my friend to come around with his PS3 to play the demo again, but on my 40" HDTV. THAT will be a treat!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15626218255385913316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7304293130650819637.post-73161185974801896042008-12-07T12:45:00.000-08:002008-12-07T19:57:34.909-08:00The Top 10 Broken Crap Fighting Game Bosses of All TimeThis post is for all the fighting game players out there who have ever had to invest in replacement controllers that were destroyed in a fit of rage because you just couldn't beat that one impossible boss that you could swear was omnipotent. I too, have felt your pain. Many times have I expressed my negative sentiments for overpowered bosses by cursing the gods in anger and asserting my superiority over my controller for its insubordination. The following is a list of those broken crap bosses that provoked my aggression, from the least frustrating to the most ridiculous:<br /><br />10. Shin M.Bison - Street Fighter Alpha 3<br />This guy isn't so bad until he uses the X-Ism super exclusive to him; the Mega Psycho Crusher. This is a screen-filling super that decimates your entire life bar in one fell swoop, and the CPU just happens to be smart enough to use it as a counter attack in most cases. His other attacks don't have nearly as much priority, thankfully, which makes him manageable in comparison to the other guys on this list.<br /><br />9. Baiken - Guilty Gear<br />Baiken is a one armed, one eyed samurai chick, but don't let these handicaps fool you. She will kick your ass all over her stage and stain her sword with your blood. She literally has many tricks up her sleeve, which allows her to deal damage in a big way. Her specials have insane priority, and she practically has an infinite number of ways to set up her most damaging combos, but then again, even her smallest combos inflict ludicrous amounts of damage. She's a blast to fight with provided you can meet the requirements to do so.<br /><br />8. Zankuro - Samurai Spirits/Shodown III<br />Zankuro is probably the coolest samurai to grace a fighting game ever. As if his towering presence wasn't intimidating enough, this guy's normal attacks do incredulous amounts of damage, and even if your attack was to come out first, he could perform one of his specials at the last possible second and it would still counter your attack. He has tremendous reach with his sword, and his heavy slash attack is faster than anyone else's in the game, so in a sense, the fight is over well before it starts. This battle will truly test your patience.<br /><br />7. Omega Rugal Bernstein - The King of Fighters '98/2002<br />Rugal is adept at picking you off at a distance with his incredible amount of projectile attacks, namely the Kaiser Wave, which is a screen filling special that must be rolled through or jumped over at the last possible minute. And just when you get close enough to mount an offense, Rugal will simply perform his classic Genocide Cutter anti-air, which has godlike priority over every single special and Desperation Move in the entire game, to send you flying across the screen, forcing you to play his little keep-away game all over again. However, his priority and projectile attacks would actually be manageable if it weren't for the amount of damage they inflict when they score a successful hit, coupled with Rugal's extreme defenses against your own attacks and combos, which is really what makes this battle so irritating. Perseverance is key, here.<br /><br />6. Magneto - X-Men: Children of the Atom<br />Magneto is, perhaps, the only opponent in CotA that actually requires some strategy to dispatch effectively. Normally all you have to do is spam the same combo over and over again, like any versus series game, but Magneto doesn't even give you the chance to get in close enough to set one up. He has two unblockable techniques, one special, one super, and they are both frustrating as hell for you. This guy can also generate a force field around himself to nullify your attacks altogether, which lasts a little too long for its own good. If you can't beat this guy, don't sweat it, just turn the game off and say fuck it.<br /><br />5. Igniz - The King of Fighters 2001<br />I hate this guy. Supposedly there's some weakness in the A.I. you can exploit, but I never found out what it was. He has a standard projectile attack that negates and passes through other special and super projectiles, and has priority over everything else in general. He has an infinite combo that he can and will use against you whenever he feels like it. His DMs may as well be instant kills, which still doesn't say anything about the rape his SDM opens up when he lands it. This guy literally is broken crap because there's just no strategy you can implement that is effective against his brokenness.<br /><br />4. Magaki - The King of Fighters XI<br />This little shit is broken garbage. He can have like, eight projectiles on screen at once, projectiles that can and will cross you up if you don't anticipate their direction, his LDM is a screen-filling super that has priority over everything, does outlandish amounts of chip damage when blocked, and may as well be an instant kill otherwise. If you manage to get in close enough to deal any real damage to this bastard, he has an invincible multi-hit explosion attack that covers the area in front of him that hits for major damage, and sends you flying across the screen, just like Rugal's Genocide Cutter. Avoid this guy at all costs, he's taken the fun out of the game for me many times.<br /><br />3. Goenitz - The King of Fighters '96<br />We're entering the top three broken crap bosses now. Goenitz is one of them. Many people believe this guy is actually the penultimate broken boss, but I'm not giving him the satisfaction. For starters, his DMs are normal specials. He loves to just walk up to you until you're cornered so he can spam his Yamidouko unblockable grab, which does like, 25% damage. But, what makes him so cheap are his tornadoes. This guy can erect a vertical tornado in four different places on the screen, and he spams them with impunity. And when I say vertical, I mean these tornadoes extend from the bottom of your screen all the way up to the top, they can't be jumped over. And he can TELEPORT. He plays the most dangerous game of keep-away in fighting game history. After a while, you will have memorized his signature taunt, "Koku desu ka?", meaning, "Right here?", whenever he erects these tornadoes. Its fun attempting to bypass these tornadoes for a time, but after a while, it becomes too difficult to keep your cool. Goenitz is classic broken crap.<br /><br />2. Shin Shishioh/King Leo - Neogeo Battle Coliseum<br />Shin Shishioh is one of my favorite characters of all time, so major kudos to SNK for creating him. His first appearance was in a little known game called Savage Reign, where there was a selectable version of the character called King Lion, or Kage Shishioh, and an unplayable(without a secret code) final boss version called King Leo, or Shin Shishioh. He has since returned after a 12 year hiatus in Neogeo Battle Coliseum, and he's back with a vengeance baby. Shin Shishioh has two exclusive moves that King Lion does not possess; the Hunter Killer, and the King Upper, and various properties on his other specials are different as well. In particular, his Beast Blow hits LOW, meaning it cannot be blocked from a standing position at all, and he will use it to completely pass through mid and high level projectiles unharmed. His fierce Earth Chopper is completely unblockable, and can OTG if you don't quick recover after a knockdown. The Hunter Killer is an extremely fast horizontal kick attack that he uses to hit you out of slow start-up specials and supers, but the big kicker is that it doubles as an overhead. You can imagine how difficult it becomes to remember to block his Beast Blow in a crouched position and the Hunter Killer in a standing one after a while. And the King Upper is a vertical projectile attack that does 50% damage if all three hits connect. This guy is seriously one of the coolest guys ever, and fighting him is a true test of your skills as a warrior. King Lion owns you for free.<br /><br />1. Shin Akuma - Street Fighter Alpha 2/Street Fighter Alpha 3/Capcom vs. SNK 2/SNK vs. Capcom: Chaos<br />And last but not least, Shin Akuma takes his rightful place at the top of this list for being THE original broken crap boss designed to test your skills. His double aerial Zankuu Hadouken attack is easily one of the cheapest attacks in fighting game history, his Shungokusatsu, or Instant Hell Murder super art is usually enhanced in some way to make it even more devastating than regular Akuma's, and he's always so fast that he can pull a combo out of his ass at any moment. Shin Akuma easily earns his place on this list for being such a classic character, and I don't think he'll be dethroned anytime soon. Long live Shin Akuma!Kyiorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03064071461857450097noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7304293130650819637.post-18613678559188325682008-12-06T23:31:00.000-08:002008-12-07T00:08:59.445-08:00Deck the halls, bitchesWell, 'tis the season or so they say, though I've never felt jolly around the holidays so much as I come down with seasonal affective disorder. But the video gaming industry has never looked better than it does this holiday season, which is definitely something to feel good about because this year's hottest new games are worth their weight in silver and gold.<br /><br />Don't just deck the halls, deck your friends too! The fighting game front is finally starting to make a comeback, with titles like Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix and Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, which despite its criticisms, can be a blast to play with your friends. Street Fighter IV is all the rage these days it seems, but SNK's working King of Fighters title may just be enough to break Capcom's chokehold on the genre once it hits arcades here before long, which I'm eagerly anticipating. Namco's Tekken 6 is shaping up to be something truly promising, and while some people's hatred for Namco's "scams" discourages them from playing their games, Tekken is an awesome contributor to the 3D fighting arena, so if your arcade has it, pump a few quarters into it, your opinion may just change. So dust off those older titles like Capcom vs. SNK 2, SNK vs. Capcom: Chaos, and Neogeo Battle Coliseum, because its time for Street Fighter III to step aside!<br /><br />Persona 4 will be hitting store shelves on December 9th, and having gotten into the MegaTen games myself here recently, I can certainly recommend this title to any serious RPG player out there looking for something different outside the realm of Final Fantasy.<br /><br />The only front I can honestly say is still lacking is the action/adventure genre. Games like Mirror's Edge and Tomb Raider: Underworld are refreshing new additions to the genre, but as a whole, it just doesn't have as much to offer you as you might think. Devil May Cry 4 is still the best action title I've played on a next-gen platform, and I'm not sure if that will change anytime soon, so keep your eyes peeled for something that truly stands out.<br /><br />Merry Christmas and happy holidays everyone!Kyiorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03064071461857450097noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7304293130650819637.post-416757830211360252008-11-07T09:15:00.001-08:002008-11-07T09:15:54.823-08:00It's 2008 And I Still Can't E-mail Game Saves Without Hassle.Microsoft runs Hotmail, a free e-mail service. Hotmail gives you five gigabytes of space. Microsoft also runs Xbox Live, which gives you no online space, but does require you to associate your Xbox Live Gamertag with a Microsoft network account.<br /><br />What I'm proposing is a way to use a portion of your online free e-mail storage as dedicated Xbox game save backup space. You would be able to see what game saves you have in your online space from Hotmail or whatever service you're using, but you wouldn't be able to download them to a PC. The only places the files could exist would be in the online storage or on your Xbox. Sharing game saves wouldn't even have to be included in this feature, though in a perfect world that would be integrated into the data management system as well.<br /><br />I understand why this kind of thing isn't being done right now: Primarily, allowing game saves to be backed up online could cut into Xbox Memory Unit sales. Second, sharing game saves is already being done, but mostly so that people can cheat their way to high gamerscore or other nefarious ends.<br /><br />If there were a way to sign a game save with a player's information (the way that Microsoft signs Xbox executables so that only authorized code can run on the Xbox), then we could share saves through Microsoft, we just wouldn't be able to earn Achievements with someone else's saves.<br /><br />What do you think? Do you see anything wrong with the lack of some kind of game save backup and/or sharing service from Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft?Slayer01http://www.blogger.com/profile/04287940815543662836noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7304293130650819637.post-2322701085797404102008-10-31T08:16:00.000-07:002008-10-31T08:19:49.694-07:00Demo Impressions: Mirror's EdgeI was happy with the demo, but one thing that irks me to no end in first person games cropped up: When a scripted story event happens in your normal view, the game suspends your control of your character and forces your view to where they want you to look. Someone called this "eyejacking" once, and I think the term is appropriate for something so intrusive, so annoying, and so unfair. When Valve wants you to look in a particular direction, they design their geometry so that you are encouraged to look in that direction, though you are at all times free not to. It takes a whole helluva lot more time to construct things that way, but it also never, ever, ever robs you of your own "free will" to look where you like. Here though, you have no choice. I felt like I was back playing Haze during those portions.<br /><br />Otherwise though, I was pleased. Playing well is rewarded with a smooth play experience--a lot like an evolved Dragon's Lair where you have to hit a linear series of points, but leaving how you hit those points up to you. I was pretty pissed that you couldn't skip first-person story sequences, though. In training, I had to keep playing the bit where you bound off of a wall to hang on another surface then pull yourself up onto it over again because I was landing <span style="font-style:italic;">on </span>the surface I was to hang from. Even though I was ending up in the same place, the game wanted me to hang, so I awarded a "FAILED" message and forced to watch the other runner go through the exact same sequence before I could go in. There were a couple of other segments where I had to watch that stuff--I halfway expected a valkyrie to come down and lift my dead carcass off of the screen before the next retry. I'm hoping that the finished game will allow you to skipping scenes like these, but considering the fact that several triggers or events need to happen in-engine for other things to play well, I'm not expecting it.<br /><br />I did like it, though!Slayer01http://www.blogger.com/profile/04287940815543662836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7304293130650819637.post-5593989697872565962008-10-13T16:05:00.000-07:002008-10-13T16:09:46.294-07:00Ninja Gaiden IIOkay, so I read this <a href="http://www.edge-online.com/magazine/review-ninja-gaiden-ii">really great review</a> at Edge Magazine Online. After doing so, I decided to give Ninja Gaiden II another chance.<br /><br />It may be one of the most incredible modern games I've ever played, even as it's one of the most infuriating. You must learn to play it, not just jump in and expect to be the HNIC (Head Ninja In Charge). But after giving myself to it completely (and having the tar knocked out of me time and time again) I can see why one would cotton to its thrills and challenge more than any of the other would-be end-all, be-alls of modern action gaming. Both God of War games are pretty good, and the Devil May Cry games I've played can be fun, too, but both of those series seem tame when Ryu Hayabusa Flying Swallows into the room. I'll never say another bad thing about the Ninja Gaiden series again, except that if it doesn't hit the bar with the next one it'll be a sad day for all of us.<br /><br />P.S. Make that two things, the camera really is bad.Slayer01http://www.blogger.com/profile/04287940815543662836noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7304293130650819637.post-64380853435360482302008-07-11T21:22:00.001-07:002008-07-11T21:22:27.399-07:00Fine Gaming Theatre 101Today's Subject: Mr. Bill Ritch, and our namesake.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2g1fr5vk72M&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2g1fr5vk72M&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="349"></embed></object>Slayer01http://www.blogger.com/profile/04287940815543662836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7304293130650819637.post-87530066838727953002008-07-10T18:23:00.000-07:002008-07-11T21:35:50.963-07:00Fine Gaming Theatre 101Today's Subject: Resident Evil.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5XyghKl72R0&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5XyghKl72R0&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="349"></embed></object>Slayer01http://www.blogger.com/profile/04287940815543662836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7304293130650819637.post-26597905628168452112008-07-09T18:21:00.001-07:002008-07-09T18:21:46.533-07:00Fine Gaming Theatre 101Today's Subject: Devil May Cry.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/obPYsLZwhxE&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/obPYsLZwhxE&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="349"></embed></object>Slayer01http://www.blogger.com/profile/04287940815543662836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7304293130650819637.post-78667119212344142882008-07-08T16:28:00.000-07:002008-07-08T16:36:20.294-07:00Fine Gaming Theatre 101Today's Subject: Metal Gear Solid.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/S3nzuv87ik4&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/S3nzuv87ik4&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="349"></embed></object>Slayer01http://www.blogger.com/profile/04287940815543662836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7304293130650819637.post-9630763758449755502008-07-07T21:08:00.000-07:002008-07-07T21:30:40.312-07:00Fine Gaming Theatre 101Today's Subject: Mega Man X4.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/LISmPmdUhYA&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/LISmPmdUhYA&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="349"></embed></object>Slayer01http://www.blogger.com/profile/04287940815543662836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7304293130650819637.post-17762810464652176442008-06-17T23:12:00.000-07:002008-06-18T15:51:01.544-07:00Doujin Spotlight 00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYhXJc-mVUANwwFqS8XFg30GRaNcRhFLI4yuUvEhlKKzalX1oMsPthMrYLfFK5eEfWI9vdvYx5XMKDmkdoUDRSrSanox8oWr8BbiFLfLKJuSZ7TtGrBqrUdQlIvxZ3PW55MRQZ0sHgvJW/s1600-h/megamari+2008-06-17+18-18-45-21.png"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213105562837873586" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYhXJc-mVUANwwFqS8XFg30GRaNcRhFLI4yuUvEhlKKzalX1oMsPthMrYLfFK5eEfWI9vdvYx5XMKDmkdoUDRSrSanox8oWr8BbiFLfLKJuSZ7TtGrBqrUdQlIvxZ3PW55MRQZ0sHgvJW/s200/megamari+2008-06-17+18-18-45-21.png" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">The following is an excerpt from the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Wikipedia</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> entry for the term "</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doujin"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Dojin</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">".<br /><br /></div></span><br /><blockquote><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>Dojin: often romanized as doujin, is a general Japanese term for a group of people or friends who share an interest, activity, hobbies, or achievement. The word is sometimes translated into English as clique, coterie, society, or circle (e.g., a "sewing circle").<br /><br />In Japan the term is used to refer to amateur self-published works, including but not limited to manga, novels, fan guides, art collections, music and video games. Some professional artists participate as a way to publish material outside the regular publishing industry.</em><br /></span></blockquote><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-W5syp_flXyAvgkLLhO74ttfft13KXqLE3GnXH_s8ipedbzvOZhjFpTJxt-LxMaAXtSu4rQ8VH1TgniXQV-SaclXQb7XJ7c83_QFY03RF_1m9dtO3aF3uKUkTkgWxGYwtdwNmAJuZ_vSh/s1600-h/eXceed+2008-06-17+18-31-26-26.png"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213105552156811778" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-W5syp_flXyAvgkLLhO74ttfft13KXqLE3GnXH_s8ipedbzvOZhjFpTJxt-LxMaAXtSu4rQ8VH1TgniXQV-SaclXQb7XJ7c83_QFY03RF_1m9dtO3aF3uKUkTkgWxGYwtdwNmAJuZ_vSh/s200/eXceed+2008-06-17+18-31-26-26.png" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">So you're a fan of games like Street Fighter and Guilty Gear, but are frustrated by the lack of other quality 2D fighters on the market. What are you to do? Or you're a fiend for old-school shooters, in the vein of Gradius, R-Type, or Thunder Force. Where do you go for your fix now that these series' entries have slowed to a nearly dead state? How about if you like classic action platforming action to the tune of a Contra or a MegaMan, but can't find anything to sate that appetite in today's gaming market?<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsckDPhjS7_Lyf9wrmzCUN5_AylqzKCQtZ-0QNqJQqvSyhJ9OeJ55i-7hlN_Y-a8doKnT2NmY2W0grUIbVIvNKaEZG07FQ4lzOsqmK0PuIipPTcvyWQAzPcvU19jx3K3lQvyi00VVuWeTj/s1600-h/hinokakera+2008-06-17+17-53-07-49.png"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213105565207341170" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsckDPhjS7_Lyf9wrmzCUN5_AylqzKCQtZ-0QNqJQqvSyhJ9OeJ55i-7hlN_Y-a8doKnT2NmY2W0grUIbVIvNKaEZG07FQ4lzOsqmK0PuIipPTcvyWQAzPcvU19jx3K3lQvyi00VVuWeTj/s200/hinokakera+2008-06-17+17-53-07-49.png" border="0" /></a><br />If you live in Japan and are somewhat talented, you get together with some like-minded individuals and start making your own games. You go to events like Reitaisai and Comiket and show your wares along with other groups (doujin circles), where people less talented but no less interested will pay good Yen to purchase your hard work.<br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBw8S4iB3DZdrU-vd2w3SmwRoGKdNKSj_xFet0IjGSQ9H5MCzm4NtDZg7KxKDBqDkuH7i-dDi50i6zsB2QB3BgCW0-bNSjpDVzo-Y6lQylShivYAoVI3thNLuU8t4tyz-qRMvnVS4XwugN/s1600-h/TroubleWitches+2008-06-17+17-26-39-56.png"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213105572678366946" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBw8S4iB3DZdrU-vd2w3SmwRoGKdNKSj_xFet0IjGSQ9H5MCzm4NtDZg7KxKDBqDkuH7i-dDi50i6zsB2QB3BgCW0-bNSjpDVzo-Y6lQylShivYAoVI3thNLuU8t4tyz-qRMvnVS4XwugN/s200/TroubleWitches+2008-06-17+17-26-39-56.png" border="0" /></a><br />If you don't live in Japan (and aren't talented) though, you just play these doujin works. But what doujin games are out there? That's where I come in. I will be doing a series of posts on my favorite doujin titles. These posts will not so much be reviews, but I hope to show all interested where the fun resides in this very niche hobby of mine. </span></div>Slayer01http://www.blogger.com/profile/04287940815543662836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7304293130650819637.post-76283389159460111252008-06-04T03:10:00.000-07:002008-06-04T03:51:13.976-07:00The World Ends With YouI have some kind of a bad habit. Once in a while, I'll go into a store selling books, video games or CDs, and there I'll look through the available items to finally end up buying something I know nothing about. That is, a good cover art and an unusual title can be enough to make me buy something. In this day and age, many would consider that a little dumb. Surely enough would it be better to write down the title of the interesting discovery, then check on the internet to see if it's really good or if it's just a cool package with a boring content.<br /><br />But I only rarely do that, and when I do that doesn't mean I make the right choice: I researched before buying Electroplankton, and that was a quite expensive mistake. On the other hand, random buying introduced me to After Forever, Ayreon, the "His Dark Material" trilogy from Philip Pullman, and countless other great stuff.<br /><br />So, not long ago, I walked into one of the video game stores I regularly go to, and browsed through the DS games they had for sale. I was almost done when one of them caught my eyes. Its title was rather unusual, and the art on the box looked classy enough. Only after I was out of the store did I take the time to read what was written on the back of the box, and find out that what I got myself was a new game by the RPG giant Square Enix : <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The World Ends With You</span>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiMvQYOucAQiAbdocutlyl06bgh5dbZGCVXYN2J3ektwRlb9uj6M4m5g36XinWb5NEuwZuZkl0QnRnFw_Twg_qZkjPJjZhuPyiwMQPXVK4JnDv6H7FjND86ogr6d1lrOF2CA4np49_iJI/s1600-h/boxart.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiMvQYOucAQiAbdocutlyl06bgh5dbZGCVXYN2J3ektwRlb9uj6M4m5g36XinWb5NEuwZuZkl0QnRnFw_Twg_qZkjPJjZhuPyiwMQPXVK4JnDv6H7FjND86ogr6d1lrOF2CA4np49_iJI/s320/boxart.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207655104753826162" border="0" /></a><br />I skimmed through the instruction booklet on my way home, and the more I read, the more it intrigued me. Square Enix, a company best known for their classic fantasy-styled RPGs, seemed to have come up with something really fresh, set in an urban setting.<br /><br />The World Ends With You is about Neku Sakuraba, a teenager which is your typical angsty protagonist, unwilling to get to know those who are around him, in a fashion somewhat reminiscent of FFVII's Cloud or FFVIII's Squall at the start of their respective games. But at the beginning of his story, Neku wakes up lying in the middle of one of the world's most famous crossroads in the middle of Tokyo's Shibuya. Quickly, Neku gets attacked by strange frogs, and runs into Shiki Misaki, a girl with who he has to make a "pact" in order to be able to defeat those weird frogs. As the battle dust settles, things get explained a little : he's part of a game run by people called the "Reapers", and must complete a mission each day. And if he fails, he'll be "erased".<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHoF62WXigGFFtivRhnjo_2DY-XppHaOiPKwtCD1YEhPlnj1-o_tjiu9Cqgifeb4tjARhiydTNoKtpKqAgFVxBNp89FtJe5m5XqueO6rTa-GQsJnL5v6rULR2XOi59kV0VDPHAhn8Leok/s1600-h/cap1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHoF62WXigGFFtivRhnjo_2DY-XppHaOiPKwtCD1YEhPlnj1-o_tjiu9Cqgifeb4tjARhiydTNoKtpKqAgFVxBNp89FtJe5m5XqueO6rTa-GQsJnL5v6rULR2XOi59kV0VDPHAhn8Leok/s320/cap1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207658519252826498" border="0" /></a><br />That's the basic plot of this modern tale, and believe me when I say there is a lot more : the story will twist and turn in many ways, some of them you can see coming, some not quite. But the plot, great as it is, isn't the first thing that'll grab your attention.<br /><br />First is the overall "look and feel" of the game. Everything, from the characters' designs to the environment, including the in-game menus, are made to make the game feel "urban", or "in". And that works extremely well. Even if you didn't like Tetsuya Nomura's work for Final Fantasy X or Kingdom Hearts, here it really fits well, giving the various protagonists a trendy look fitting for the game. As for the places you'll visit, they're pretty close transposition of the real Shibuya landmarks (you could find some of the places on a real map after playing the game), albeit with slightly changed names - the 109 building is 104 in the game, HMV becomes AMX, etc.<br /><br />Your ears won't be left alone either. The game's soundtrack really compliments the visuals, with a great variety of style represented. Takeharu Ishimoto, a really talented up-and-coming Square Enix composer that worked on FFVII Crisis Core for example, put together a score composed of rock, electronica, pop and hip-hop, with around half of the songs having vocals performed by various artists. And that choice was really a good one, as it help you get immersed in the lively Shibuya.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrRSHT-xoRmpTdRjb7qMPGJIx3EJCGibUyzZl6x6u_KfrYeLlbVzfN7cmEUuAV9xkWAU0Bq5ajyhalKxYyRUCi6qKxT05aON-ireyqQMi3QSdbIqKsPHs07H_loOmp4pFXLjnFa1Aaf8I/s1600-h/cap2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrRSHT-xoRmpTdRjb7qMPGJIx3EJCGibUyzZl6x6u_KfrYeLlbVzfN7cmEUuAV9xkWAU0Bq5ajyhalKxYyRUCi6qKxT05aON-ireyqQMi3QSdbIqKsPHs07H_loOmp4pFXLjnFa1Aaf8I/s320/cap2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207770244237097362" border="0" /></a><br />And lively the game's Shibuya certainly is: dozens of sprites walk around the screen, making you feel like you're really making your way around a busy retail district.<br /><br />As you progress through the game, the overall design continue to be spot-on, and fun, but what'll keep you playing are the countless great ideas that Square Enix put into their title. It is so full of neat gameplay elements that it's difficult to know where to start...<br /><br />For one, the game's designers have succeeded in using two modern crazes to add to the experience : mobile phones and pins, or badges. The former is used as your menu, and is integrated nicely into the plot, so that you constantly use it, as would any other japanese teenager. The latter are one of the core aspects of the gameplay. Because to find the monsters (called the "Noise"), you'll need to use psychic powers contained in collectible pins. There are more than 300, so you'll have quite a bit of choice, from bullet-firing badges to healing pins.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkSousCG68Ts7SrYGJA1YCOSbVEOMkSZGOIqByXy6P5W9h5P-zrgKzkkNTNKrwXMQ-1ZZut42NeBUsHC7pNI07O_fX5hyzsfl-HUq3xWTc6JCB759jj915_WsVEBccYtRiBD3XtfElrS4/s1600-h/cap3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkSousCG68Ts7SrYGJA1YCOSbVEOMkSZGOIqByXy6P5W9h5P-zrgKzkkNTNKrwXMQ-1ZZut42NeBUsHC7pNI07O_fX5hyzsfl-HUq3xWTc6JCB759jj915_WsVEBccYtRiBD3XtfElrS4/s320/cap3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207773383858190754" border="0" /></a><br />And those pins are activated by doing various moves on the DS touchscreen. Drawing lines, slashing across enemies, tapping a spot repeatedly, shouting or blowing into the microphone, you'll have to do all that, and more. And even if that alone would make for a fun battle system, you'll also have to control your partner, who'll be fighting on the top screen.<br /><br />I could go on and on about the myriad of things that make The World Ends With You an atypical yet awesome game. Like how brands and trends are important (you'll have to dress with the right attire if you want to be at the top of your abilities), how you can eat to raise your stat, but with a real-life time limit, how you gain experience by not playing the game (I'm serious ^^), how you can make the game as hard or easy as you like, or the huge replay value.<br /><br />So if you want to test something fresh, with great concepts and with the careful attention to details that Square Enix can put into their games, do yourself a favor and buy The World Ends With You, you won't be disappointed. Even if you don't own a DS, I think this game alone would be a good enough reason to get one.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15626218255385913316noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7304293130650819637.post-508065254149614182008-05-08T21:47:00.000-07:002010-11-29T15:42:05.718-08:00My Windows Misadventure: Older Games with Dual Core (or More) ProcessorsSeven months ago I finally got a PC that was capable of playing games from say, oh, the last 7 years. (My last computer had 4 MB VRAM. Yeah.) It's a Dell Inspiron 531 and it came with an AMD64 X2 3800+ 2.0 GHz Dual Core processor, 1 GB of RAM and Vista Home Basic installed, and shortly after getting it I installed a GEFORCE 7300GT video card which is fairly outdated now but it's still not a bad card by any means.<br /><br />So now I say to myself, "Well, now that I have a relative beast compared to what was needed in the last 15 years, I can play whatever games I want," and for awhile this was true. I had trouble getting some games working properly such Command & Conquer, Red Alert and SHOGO: Mobile Armor Division, and they were certainly far from stable, but with some updates and compatibility mode toggling they ran and I was happy.<br /><br />More recently <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/18386172773517553735">PerfectCircle</a> suggested that a few of us at the blog here play Serious Sam: First Encounter together, so I installed First Encounter and when I went to run it, it was chugging/stuttering majorly. So much so that I could barely manage the menus. I poked around on the internet and found a couple forums saying that the first two Serious Sam encounters won't work on Vista, and after months of contemplating it I came to the conclusion that it was finally time to install Windows XP.<br /><br />What I decided to do was make a partition on my main drive (which involved a lot of tinkering around with settings, see: <a href="http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/working-around-windows-vistas-shrink-volume-inadequacy-problems/">http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/working-around-windows-vistas-shrink-volume-inadequacy-problems/</a>) so I could install Windows XP and dual boot so that I could keep Vista around, too. Well, that didn't work out too well as the XP install went awry, and I formatted the whole drive thinking that it was some sort of conflict. It wasn't, and I determined that the problem was the XP installation disk, so I had to get another one and that one did work. However, it wasn't smooth sailing after that.<br /><br />The XP disk had no drivers for my nVidia network controller or my onboard Realtek soundcard, and this is where I delved into Linux head first for the first time. Before I tried dual booting I made an Ubuntu Live CD (Gutsy build, for those curious), and I didn't plan on using it but it really came in handy because running right off the CD I could do everything I needed to including go online and download drivers onto my other hard drive. It was really convenient and saved me the trouble of switching computers and burning those drivers onto a disk. For anyone who hasn't tried Ubuntu, it's really rather impressive how great it is 'out of the box' and can be useful for troubleshooting something that could be wrong in Windows, and I liked it so much that I'm now dual booting Ubuntu and Windows XP instead. Moving on...<br /><br />So everything's installed, I get XP running and a bunch of the programs that I usually use installed and wow, I am impressed. XP users out there might be wondering why, but after using Windows 2000 for the past 5 years and then jumping to my Vista setup directly, I entirely skipped Windows XP except for when I had to use it at work and at school for mostly non-intensive things. It's not as lightweight as 2000 is, but it runs one hell of a lot faster than Vista did for me.<br /><br />Anyway, I get around to setting up Serious Sam, and it installs fine, but when I go to play the framerate's jumpy, and it's not nearly as bad as when I installed it on Vista, but bad enough to the point where it hampered gameplay. So what the hell, right? Why wouldn't this work? I've literally spent all this damned time trying to get shit to work and it STILL won't work properly!? I had remained amazingly patient throughout this whole learning experience and process, but god<span style="font-style: italic;">damn</span> it I wanted things to work right for once. I was all out of answers when <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/13509388190001103906">Dirkmenace</a> found a forum post that suggested that <span style="font-weight: bold;">the reason why the game wouldn't run smoothly was my dual core processor</span>. In order to get it to work properly, what it said to do was hit Ctrl+Shift+Esc during gameplay to bring up Task Manager, right click on the program's .exe process, select Set Affinity and uncheck one of the cores. And...it worked! Hallelujah!! No more stuttering framerate: it was incredibly smooth, it was perfect, huge success, etc.<br /><br />However, as I moved on to some other games, I noticed that it was pretty much every game that I wanted to play that seemed to have stuttering problems. From both First and Second Encounters of Serious Sam to Call of Duty 2 to even a game as recent as NHL 08 (side note: EA doesn't really care about their PC sports ports), none of them seemed to utilize my dual core processor without any hiccups. It gets kind of annoying to do that process every single time you start up the game, and by chance I discovered a way to make the game's executables start up using one core every single time.<br /><br />This permanent method (it changes the executable, so be sure to make a backup of the .exe before trying anything) involves using <span style="font-weight: bold;">imagecfg.exe</span>. I grabbed it off a site via searching on Google (<a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=download+imagecfg">http://www.google.com/search?q=download+imagecfg</a>) which probably isn't the safest thing to do, but if you want to pull it off certain Windows CDs you can.<br /><br />What imagecfg.exe does is hardcodes the affinity a program starts up with and uses. Here's how I did it for CoD2 (after backing up the CoD2MP_s.exe and CoD2SP_s.exe files to another location, of course):<br />1. I copied imagecfg.exe to the main CoD2 folder where the executables for both single player and multiplayer are located.<br />2. Made 2 new .bat files, one for single player and one for multiplayer. (Right click in the folder, make a new text document, and just save it as something like cod2mp_affinity.bat. The .bat is the important part, and you can name it whatever you want.)<br />3. I edited those .bat files in Notepad, and inside the multiplayer one I put:<br /><blockquote style="font-weight: bold; font-family: courier new;">imagecfg -a 0x1 CoD2MP_s.exe</blockquote>That's it, and saved the changes. The single player one's the same except you change the name of the .exe to CoD2SP_s.exe.<br />4. I doubleclicked on the newly edited and saved .bat files and just like that my CoD2 executables now load up and run with just one core instead of two.<br /><br />Basically the <span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;" >imagecfg</span> is what calls the imagecfg.exe in the folder, the <span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;" >-a</span> sets the affinity, <span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;" >0x1</span> chooses my first core, and <span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;" >CoD2MP_s.exe</span> is the program this batch file is doing all this to. If you want more information about how this works and what these commands mean, I suggest you look at these links because they explain it pretty well:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://forums.speedguide.net/showthread.php?t=187768">http://forums.speedguide.net/showthread.php?t=187768</a></li><li><a href="http://windowsitpro.com/article/articleid/74860/jsi-tip-3542-how-can-i-permanently-set-the-processor-affinity-for-an-application.html">http://windowsitpro.com/article/articleid/74860/jsi-tip-3542-how-can-i-permanently-set-the-processor-affinity-for-an-application.html</a></li><li><a href="http://www16.brinkster.com/salvage/thief/darkengine.htm">http://www16.brinkster.com/salvage/thief/darkengine.htm</a></li></ul>After all this, it made me wonder if maybe the problem in Vista was just the dual cores since it was running, although it was far worse in Vista and unplayable unlike in XP. I'll probably reinstall Vista some day but for now I think I'll enjoy my games actually working properly.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">EDIT</span>: Seeing as how CoD2 uses the Punkbuster cheating/hack guard, CoD2 prrrobably isn't the best game to change your MP .exe, seeing as it got me booted off the server when I failed the MD5Tools check. So yeah, don't do it.Helmholzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14735818813129771707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7304293130650819637.post-22952890877338270582008-04-21T01:01:00.000-07:002008-05-06T02:51:30.346-07:00.hack//MISSLately, I've been in ".hack" mode, as I played through the first game (.hack//INFECTION), bought the first .hack//Roots DVD and am downloading again .hack//SIGN (can't find the DVDs anywhere :( ). I plan on playing the second game soon, and get the novels and so forth. So you see, I don't even know why, but I'm now, years after the launch of the whole project, enjoying it a lot.<br /><br />And thinking about it. Because there's a lot of things going on. For those who don't know, the .hack project is a way for Bandai to sell many things at once : Anime series, video games, mangas, novels, OVAs, ... A lot of things. What's special about it is that all those medias are linked to each other, each part revealing new aspects of the .hack universe, which is centered around "The World", a fictionnal MMORPG. And, of course, strange things happen in and around the game.<br /><br />And it was a good idea, as there are many great things about it :<br /><br />- The overall idea is pretty neat. Playing a game set in "The World", and watching an OVA depicting some of the same events, but seen from the "real world" gives you the feeling that something bigger is happening.<br />- "The World" is a good MMORPG. From what you can see in the anime series, at least. The landscapes are vast, the concept is simple but it works, and the idea of using separate areas generated by keywords is pretty cool. Watching .hack//SIGN (first anime in the project's timeline) really makes you want to play it.<br />- Who wouldn't like the idea of playing a game and then suddenly coming across something really strange, before trying to solve the mystery ? Doesn't happen in real life, but would still be cool ^^<br /><br />So with that, you'd figure that making something awesome would be easy enough. Unfortunately, I think that Bandai missed a really really big opportunity. And what's to blame for this is the overall story. Even if the various medias interact pretty well, the whole plot is too slow to develop. Granted, I've yet to see and play everything, but I've read numerous reviews, and the vast majority of them agrees with what I'm already feeling. If the second game is like the first, it will consist of around 15-20 hours of dungeon crawling with little progress in the scenario. Granted, it'll be some good dungeon crawling, but not much than that.<br /><br />It's really a pity though, what Bandai should have done is maybe not making that many games or anime series, but focus on like two games, with OVA's and one anime, and then get the whole thing online. Yes, I'm aware there was a semi-online game called .hack//Fragment, but there could have been so much more...<br /><br />Imagine a game where there is not one monolithic server (like in most MMORPGs), but a myriad of servers, with anyone able to run one. What would be on each server is a Root Town, that could be created by the server's admin, maybe by building it from basic blocs so that it is easier. Then, from those, players can either teleport to combat fields (as it is done in the games, in fact) or to another server's Root Town. Now, add the possibility to have some kind of "Game Masters", who have the possibility to modify things in the world, or control NPCs at will. Then, include big incentives for people to roleplay properly (like a moderation system that can get one banned or something). With that basic concept, you could have a game where "strange things" COULD happen. People could set up servers maybe organize special quests for their friends or something, with maybe others caught in the middle because they were there and happened to see something fishy was going on. As an added bonus, this kind of gameplay would enable users to introduce new content to the game, keeping it fresh.<br /><br />Well, enough daydreaming, something like this didn't happen. But I still think it would have been awesome...<br /><br />Now if you'll excuse me, I still have plenty of .hack material to go through. And who knows, maybe I'll change my mind about the whole project afterwards!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15626218255385913316noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7304293130650819637.post-43532644941887275612008-04-20T13:32:00.000-07:002008-04-20T13:36:52.014-07:00Thanks Xbox Live!<title></title><meta name="GENERATOR" content="OpenOffice.org 2.4 (Win32)"><style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { size: 8.5in 11in; margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --> </style> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Remember the days when online gaming consisted of playing on a dedicated server with a good connection? When map packs were free, or came included (in good number) with new gameplay features? When you could play in a server with 48 people with ease? When you could play a game without a bunch of kids shouting racial slurs and swears? Thankfully, there is no longer a need to worry about any of that, thanks to the wonderful Xbox Live.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> Xbox Live has allowed a wonderful world where you can play a game with someone on the other side of the country using his 768k DSL line on his non-dedicated Xbox. Afterall, a ping less than 150 and some people may have trouble keeping up. Sure the entire game is only going on as long as he feels like playing, or his Xbox still functions; afterall, who needs redundant power, right? The best thing is, they are practically giving this service away. A mere $50 annually isn't too much to ask for to play in high ping unstable matches. Match making is a very heavy function for a server and it connection, I'm just glad that my 50 dollars is helping to handle this incredibly trying task.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> Another great thing about Xbox Live is how companies are able to give new content to their customers for a price. Anyone can tell you, after you've played the same maps enough times 10 dollars for 3 maps, well, maybe 2 good ones, is fair. Afterall, I'm sure a great deal of company resources were spent to make those maps, as a matter of fact, I'll bet that they did what they could to reduce costs and passed the savings onto the consumer, 3 maps is a rather heavy financial burden on a company. Actually, it makes me think of all the people in the modding community that make maps and release them for free. They're just taking money away from the company, money that could be used for more games, and why make a total conversion mod of a game? If its worth doing the company will make it, and give me the pleasure of buying it from them.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> Before the wonderful advent of VoIP people were reduced to typing out words and acronyms. When you're dodging bullets, this can be difficult without practice. Thankfully, VoIP was created, but it was limited in use, someone would have to host server, and only people with the right software (and an invitation) could join. Who would want to play a game, but only talk to friends or clanmates, you ask? Exactly, no one. Thankfully Valve got the ball rolling by putting integrated voicechat into all of their games, of course for this to work everyone would need a microphone, you can see the problem can't you? Microsoft had the foresight to give everyone microphones for free and make sure all the games have voicechat, even the ones not made by them. Remember, communication is important in battle, I'd much rather hear JMoney307 talk about how he got head from my mom last night than the footsteps of my enemy behind me any day.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> Remember, whenever you pay to play with lag, get a few maps, and be insulted, just think of Xbox Live.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> Thanks Xbox Live!</span></p> Don Robertohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18331870499500508512noreply@blogger.com0