Extra Awards

Biggest dissapointment 2005: Nintendo Gamecube

I hate to dish this award out, but sadly the Cube was at its weakest in 2005. It missed out on some good multiplatform releases (Burnout Revenge, Psychonauts), and had no good exclusives. When Nintendo's best 1st party games are 3d versions of Fire Emblem and Advance Wars that play almost the same as their 2d counterparts, you know you're in trouble. Even its greatest assest, Resident Evil 4 could be played on another console.

Nintendo is lucky that their fans are so loyal. We know the Revolution should bring some great new things to gaming, and we know that Twilight Princess will be better off thanks to the delay. But in return Gamecube fans were left high and dry this year, so much so that I could no longer rely on it as my primary console for this generation. Let's hope things speed up in 2006.

Biggest Surprise 2005: Nnitendo DS

And in the blue corner we have Nintendo again, this time with the DS. I have been harsh on the handheld since it was announced way back when, but this Christmas I finally got my hands on one for an extended period of time. The system is really well designed; it is sturdy in construction, has plenty of buttons, and the touch screen is very well implemented. The wireless setup is simple but very robust, and the menu systems have a very slick design. Oh, and it had a staggering list of original and entertaining games this holiday season. The PSP may have have the horsepower and the gizmos, but the DS manages to provide a fun, sturdy system for a great price.

The Christian Eats Crow Award: Slim Playstation 2

I've bashed the PS2 more than anything this generation. Everything from snide remarks to outright loathing. But when I had some extra money at the start of the summer, I passed over both and iPod and an Xbox in order to pick up a Slimline PS2. While I don't think I would have been dissapointed with the other items, I think I made the right choice.

First there is the size. The slim model is easily one of my favorite console designs ever. It fits perfectly between my phone and TV, and is incredibly portable. Plus it has the network adapter built in, and the console is finally toploading. Sure it allegedly has some hardware issues, but so does the regular PS2 and the Xbox and the Xbox 360. It is practically the norm these days...

Then there are the games. I've already got 16 of them by year's end, with more to pick up in 2006. I still believe that Sony broke the rules of competition with the PS2 (by making gaming a war of "just good enough" rather than "the best"), and that a great deal of its library is junk. But with a sharp eye and an open mind you can find some knockout titles. I finally managed to complete my fighting game collection, and found Metal Gear Solid 3, Ico, Beyond Good and Evil, Burnout 3 and Devil May Cry all for $20 or less. Plus all three of my game nominees can be played on the console. You're still a rat bastard Sony, but I think now I can live with you around.

Best game I played not from 2005: Ico

It is the spiritual predecessor of Shadow, which alone puts it in high esteem. But Ico manages to stand on its own two feet as an addictive platformer that is both surreal and emotional. It is a completly different beast than its brother, but one that is just as worth playing.



Game that needs to go away (at least for a little while): Katamari Damacy

I feel bad giving this award to Katamari Damacy. It really didn't do anything bad. I actually like the game a lot, and I'm glad that to this day people are still discovering it. The problem is that people just won't shut up about the damn game. It is always the same thing; some otaku stumbles across the game, finds the unique concept to be fun, and the quirky japanese style to be so kawaii. After that they continuously proclaim that it is the best game ever, that nothing else is as original, that the music is so amazing, and those who haven't played it are some form of gaming slug. Katamari quickly destroys any internet debate dealing with innovation or game design, and I've literally seen people break out into the game's theme song at every chance they get. Yet half the time they can't even explain why they like it beyond the reason of "its so wierd and cool." One of the best games of last year also happens to be perfect otaku bait.

I understand you all like the game, but there is plenty of other good stuff out there. No it isn't all wierd and Japanese, but that shouldn't matter. And no, you aren't some wisened sage of gaming lore because you stumbled upon the one under the radar game that actually managed to garner a lot of press time. Why don't you spend some of that energy looking at the import scene? I promise you'll find lots of other good titles, and it just might convince some studios to release more Japanese games over here.

Worst of all, the fans are beating the horse dead. One Katamari sequel is fine. One main sequel and two handheld games in a little over a year is overkill. If they all start complaining that their favorite series has "sold out", they won't have anyone else to blame. In five years, when the PS3 is beginning to get a bit old, I would love to see another Katamri style game. But right now I think it could use a little break.


So there you have it everyone. The first Gaming Retrospective is over, and I hope you found it enjoyable. If not, well, I didn't mean to offend anyone either (not even the Katamari fans. I think they just need to calm down a bit). Have a great New Year's celebration, and I'll see you in 2006.

Gaming Retrospective 2005 finale

And now for the end of the Gaming Retrospective. The time to dish out some silly awards and choose just what was my favorite game of 2005. I guess it is appropriate to have the final segment be posted on the final day of the year. Let's conclude....

Favorite Game of the Year:

To be honest, it isn't easy to pick one game that I enjoyed above all else. All three of the nominees (as well as a few unmentioned titles) were a joy to play, and gave me a lot to think about the nature of game design. If you choose to pick up any three of them I personally believe you will be more than satisfied. Still, if I had to choose just one that stood out the most as a shining example of the medium, it would most definitely be Shadow of the Colossus.
It is said that during E3 2005, Shigeru Miyamoto stood with Shadow's director Fumito Ueda, watching the game in action for a while. Not long after, Miyamoto made his announcement that Zelda: Twilight Princess would be the last traditional entry in the series for quite some time. After finishing the game, I (as well as many others) believe that Shadow had some part in that decision. It is not obvious at first, but SOTC invokes the spirit of the original Legend of Zelda better than even the Zelda sequels. Games like Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time are about the classic Zelda dungeons (with their classic Zelda puzzles), expanding your arsenal of tools, and progressing the story. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing (otherwise OOT wouldn't be my second favorite game), but after Minish Cap and Wind Waker, perhaps the formula is getting a little old. Nintendo can put the same puzzle in every new iteration and say "it doesn't matter; its Zelda and you like it", and we fan(boy?)s will happily nod our heads and play through it.

But Shadow reminded me (and perhaps Miyamoto) that the original Zelda was a completely different beast. Yes, you cleared dungeons, and yes you geared up. But the focus was on something completely different. It was all about exploration, and growing as a character. Link has little to no assistance in his journey, save for clever quips like "dodongo hates fire". You don't know where do go, or where anything is. When you encountered a dungeon, you didn't even know if you had the tools to explore it! The Legend of Zelda is a cold, lonely world, and the player is supposed to feel a little bit scared and overwhelmed. But they are also supposed to feel determined to succeed, no matter what the cost. And so they will explore the land of Hyrule, and slowly but surely they will find new weapons and new strength. They will solve every puzzle and defeat every boss. Finally Hyrule isn't so big and intimidating anymore. Link has climbed the mountain, and now he is master of his domain. And yet even the most diligent players will surely find more secrets to uncover and places to explore.

It is the same in Shadow of the Colossus. Every boss is a dungeon distilled into an intense battle. The world is a multitude of lakes, forests, plains and deserts. And even after all sixteen beasts are slain, there are countless corners to search and new things to uncover.
In the absence of a new 3d Zelda game this year, Shadow was more than a worthy replacement. It has captured the soul of one of the most famous games in history and inspired the master to go back to his shop. It reminded me of the unlimited potential of the videogame medium. And that is the best praise I can possibly give.

Part 3

Dragon Quest 8 : Journey of the Cursed King (PS2)

Okay, so this is the one game on the nominee list that I haven't actually managed to finish. Considering it is a 80+ hour RPG, I hope you can excuse me (and I'm already about 40 hours in, meaning I've still played it for longer than a lot of other games this year).

If you know me well, it may seem odd to find a Square Enix game being nominated for favorite game of 2005. But remember: the company is Square Enix now, and this happens to come from the Enix side of business (along with Level 5, the developers behind the whimsical Dark Cloud 2). The result is a perfect blend of old and new designs that reminded me of just what makes this genre worthwhile. Forget Final Fantasy: this is the game that will save role playing.
Dragon Quest 8 is a game that is unashamedly old fashioned. You travel the overworld, fight random battles against classic DQ monsters, and level up. You can only rest in save in a village, and you just might have to do some level grinding to conquer that dungeon. The story is the simple tale of a boy and his friends on a journey to stop an evil mage and aid his king. It is the textbook example of how to make a Japanese RPG, but the game feels far from generic. Dragon Quest director Yuji Hori has been making this type of game for twenty years now. He knows what works and what doesn't, and as a result, Dragon Quest 8 tastes like a finely aged whisky (pardon the bad analogy) rather than really old saki. Battles are quick, status ailments work, and there is room for both strategy and "mash x till they die" styles of play. It feels old, but it feels right. I'd much rather play a proven, battle tested combat system like this than the hit or miss flavors that mark every Final Fantasy.

As great as Dragon Quest's foundation is, it still isn't enough to push the title out of the realm of "fans only", where the series has rested all these years (on American shores that is). What pushes it over the edge is its ability to join the old with some new and very refreshing design choices. The biggest of these is the overworld which, as you can judge by the screenshot, actually is an overworld. It has forests, mountains, lakes and valleys, and it is all yours to explore. It is also large without being massive (*cough*Morrowind*cough*) . The level grinding that is famous in this series is practically transparent thanks to the huge overworld. By the time you've explored a new region, you'll find yourself more than prepared for the next area. It just works so well; the aggravations of old style RPG overworlds are gone, and the genre is better for it.

Then there are the graphics. Dark Cloud 2 proved that Level 5 can do cel shading as well as anyone else in the industry. Couple this with the character designs of Akira Toriyama, and you have an incredibly beautiful game, the closest thing to an interactive anime without all the annoying anime cliches.

Rounding out the whole package are all the little things that add some polish to DQ 8's new coat of paint. The skill point system adds deep customization with little hassle. The alchemy pot allows those power gamers out there to create strong weapons and armor far before they are supposed to gain them. There is a plethora of extra things to do, everything from uncovering chests to cleaning out the casino to completing the Monster Arena, which is almost complex enough to stand as a separate game. And of course the American version has been given unorthodox (but entertaining) British voice actors, and a fully orchestrated score to replace the midis of the Japanese original. Square Enix wanted this game to do well across the pond, and their hard work shows.

Ever since Final Fantasy VII and the Playstation Generation, Japanese RPGs have gone down a path much different than the one they started on. They are often pretentious, always crammed with overly long cutscenes and story sequences, and are based on some of the worst stereotypes of anime (ie. angsty villain with a flowing coat and silver hair) . They also come with convoluted and often inane combat/magic systems that are either easily broken or not fun to play. Dragon Quest 8 throws this all out of the window, in an attempt to bring the genre back to its roots, all the while trying to push the state of the art. It is a simple and rollicking adventure, one that manages to be epic without forgetting to be fun. There are very, very few jRPGs I enjoy, but this has given me hope for the genre. Square Enix, forget about Final Fantasy, and cut out the crap with Kingdom Hearts. You've got the best thing you've made in years right here, and I can't wait for the next one.

Part 2

Shadow of the Colossus(PS2)

No minions to fight. No moves to learn. No coins to collect or gates to open. Just a horse, your bow and arrow, and sixteen boss battles to be fought in a huge, beautiful world. The concept behind Shadow of the Colossus is as minimalist and unorthodox as you can get. Everything is there to set up an "interesting but failed experiment" kind of game. But Shadow does not fail, not in the slightest. Nor is it in any way perfect (no game is). What we have here is one of the most unique and emotionally powerful pieces of interactive entertainment I have ever witnessed.

Despite what seems to be a rather low polygon count, the landscape in Shadow is gorgeous. Every plain, every lake, every forest grove and hill seems so natural. It really feels like a virtual world, rather than the artificial microcosm of a videogame. It beckons the player to explore, to strike out on their own and find their foes. Hyrule Field is officially out of date, and so is every bump mapped corridor in every Sci Fi FPS that reminds me more of a Disney World attraction than a space station.

And yet the world is only half of the equation. The magnificent Colossi that inhabit it make up the rest. Simply put, the thrill of facing these giant beasts is incomparable in the gaming world. Some are no bigger than a bull, while others are the size of a small mountain. The objective is always the same; find its weak spot, find a way on it, and give it a taste of your sword (or bow). Completing these steps, however, is never quite the same. There is always a strategy to each battle, always a clue to help you out, and then of course there is the matter of executing it all. It is part puzzle, part platformer, part action game, and it is always thrilling. Just watching the noble beasts roam the land is a sight to behold. Then you find yourself launching your attack and climbing across their bodies, jumping from limb to limb and holding on for dear life as they try to shake you off like a pestilent flea. Finally you get a chance to strike, and they will scream and they will bleed. SOTC makes you feel truly small and humble in the wake of these powerful creatures. When you finally defeat them, you feel as if you are on top of the world, as if you could conquer it all. Yet this feeling is only fleeting once you witness the slain Colossi fall to its death. Suffice to say, it is a sad and sobering moment. I personally couldn't defeat more than one of them a day, so powerful was each encounter.

But the game will continue, as will your quest. Pay attention, and you will learn more about the nature of your quest, and about the consequences of your actions. Eventually you may question the morality of what you are doing, and yet you, like the hero, won't stop. The rollicking adventure changes into something far different, and when the ending finally comes you may not know what to feel. But when it is all over, you will have felt something, and that is far more than I can say about a great many games.

This is certainly not a game for everyone, but for those that can understand it, Shadow of the Colossus transcends being just a videogame, and becomes an experience, one that every gamer should at the very least see with their own eyes. I've seen friends become enthralled just watching me play it, and I know that I personally enjoyed every second of it. Games can be art, and yes, there is hope for innovation and originality. Shadow is proof positive of it.

Gaming Retrospective 2005

Aye, it figures that as soon as I created that new banner image,the server that LC1201 is hosted on goes kerplunk. And since I won't be back at school for a little while, I don't know when it will be back on. As a result, the 2005 Gaming Retrospective will be posted here, on the blog (which is probably for the best, since it is so darn easy). Let's begin.

Awarding a Game of the Year is a tricky thing. Just what is it that makes one game stand out above all others? Is it the most fun? That's a very subjective thing to base a selection on. Is it the most impressive on technical levels? An achievement to be sure, but that doesn't seem to be enough. Maybe it is the one game that the largest possible audience can enjoy. If that is the case, then the Game of the Year isn't all that special.

Actually, that last point is the one that I think we can all agree on; no one really cares about the GOTY outside of fanboys and marketing execs. I can't even remember when or why they began in the first place, which goes to show how unimportant they are in the grand scheme of things. Nevertheless, while I don't have a choice for Game of the Year, I certainly have a choice for my favorite game from 2005. The one title that, on a whole, provided the single best experience. One that reminded me of exactly why I love this hobby. It pushed the right buttons, and did the right things. I don't expect everyone to agree, or to even understand. But maybe I can give you some insight into what I think are some of the year's true treasures. I'll be listing the nominees in individual posts, as soon as I finish each of them. Here we go:

Resident Evil 4 (Gamecube, PS2)

The Resident Evil series has been accused in recent years for being stale and uninspired. This is of course due to the fact that Capcom can never let a popular thing go away, but I'd like to think there's more to it than that. I thought back to all of the older entries, all games which I have loved despite the criticism. I came to the conclusion that Resident Evil 4 is the culmination of the lessons learned in every RE game before it. Every entry since the original had really been a playground for creator Shinji Mikami, a chance for him to experiment with new, small ideas in a relatively safe and successful franchise that retained its core gameplay throughout.

Longtime fans will remember just how much bigger and more epic RE2 was compared to the first. In the third game we were introduced to constantly respawning enemies, a very handy dodge maneuver, and the ability to create your own ammunition (which in turn made your weapons more poweful). Code Veronica changed things up with a fully 3d world and an even greater focus on action than even 3 had. The REmake showed us just what kind of graphical splendor the current generation could bring, and Resident Evil Zero introduced the concept of managing two characters at once (clunky as it may have been).

All of this can be found in RE4 in one form or another. The staggering mix of (fully 3d) environments takes the game far away from its roots in an old American mansion (aside from the one part that does take place in a mansion....). Our hero, Leon S. Kennedy, is armed with the most robust control scheme this series has ever seen, one that makes it so that you can't blame the game anymore when you screw up. You can always see what is in front of you in the thanks to a camera system that is even more conservative Ocarina of Time's. Inventory is restricted but generous; you actually have control over it this time. The weapon selection is large and varied, and they can all be upgraded as the game progresses, thanks to the "ph4t l00t" you can acquire throughout. Before Resident Evil 4 I never would have thought it possible that I could be followed around by a helpless teenage girl in a videogame and not have it get in my way. Thanks for proving me wrong Capcom.

Now all of these things are great. They all help bring the experience together into a very good game. What makes Resident Evil 4 rise to the level of greatness is how it is always throwing something new at you. You will take on an entire village, and later return to said village only to find a new batch of villagers and bear traps on the ground. As soon as you grow tired of blasting away at large crowds of villagers, they begin to mutate. Once you learn to handle the mutations, the villagers are replaced with an entirely new set of enemies. The game will throw chainsaw wielding maniacs at you. It will throw trucks at you. You will fight a boss early in the game, and fight two of the same creature later on as if it was nothing. You will engage in sniper battles and take on a small army with an attack chopper as backup. Oh, and you will never look at mine cart levels the same way. Resident Evil 4 is a twenty hour roller coaster ride featuring some of the most varied and interesting action gameplay ever crafted.

All of this, and I haven't even mentioned the graphics engine which, even a year later, makes RE4 one of the best looking games out there. The story is still cheesy, and the game is surprisingly not scary, but as an action game Resident Evil 4 has few equals. Greg Kasavin from Gamespot put it best by saying that he never expected such an incredibly fulfilling experience from any game this generation. Personally I have seen my own copy be played no less than ten times through by myself and friends, and that doesn't even include the unlockable minigames. A year later, some of them still want to go back to it. It is that fun.

Hands down the best Gamecube game this year, and one that sits right up there with Metroid Prime for best game on the console.

Home Stretch 2005

You may notice the new banner at the very top of the blog. I know it doesn't look very good, and it is very squished, but it was yet another attempt to improve my gain some skills in digital art. Being a computer geek, I of course follow the Golden Rule: You probably can't break a program, so keep playing with it until you figure it all out. This is sound advice that has helped me learn practically everything I know, even in college. But it only seems to go so far wtih this artistic stuff. I know a lot of the gizmos and features in your Photoshop and Fireworks or whatever it is one might use, but I always struggle with knowing just how much color to use here, or what combination of filters and saturations might work best. I've tried asking more artistically skilled people for advice, and generally they just refer me to the Golden Rule. I know all the tools, I just don't know how to use them. I guess that kind of skill isn't something that can be taught to someone; you just need to have it in the first place. If that is so, then I'm screwed, but damn if I won't keep trying, just in case.

Hopefully everyone had a good Christmas (and Chaunuka !) this year. I got Band of Brothers on DVD, which made it a success no matter what else. I still feel as if the gift pile was far larger than I actually needed, even if it was paltry compared to the average Loyola student. I guess I still prefer giving over receiving, though I will be thankful for what I have and will use it in good health(and get your minds out of the gutter...).

There are a whole lot of End of the Year Gaming Retrospectives going on in all the usual places, and I can't say I like most of them. It is generally the same stories repeated over and over again, with a healthy sprinkling of smarmy jokes and comments (mostly directed at Nintendo; I know you didn't play Cube much. Its collecting dust. I get it). Yet hyopcrisy be dammed, I kind of feel like doing one of my own. Nothing large mind you, just a simple article on my favorite games and biggest surprises during the year.

Tonight is the final game of Monday Night Football on ABC. While it isn't ending as much as simply moving to ESPN, it still feels like the end of an era. However, I feel that it is a necessary end; while the idea of a Monday night game might have been a good idea originally, these days no one has the time or the energy to stay up and watch a football game on Monday night that is guaranteed not to finish before midnight. On cable, diehards can still tune in, while ABC can air something else during the timeslot. A pretty good compromise if you ask me.

I rented Million Dollar Baby tonight. I must say, between this and Return of the King, the Academy is getting pretty good at picking these Oscar winners for a change. Maybe they can keep it up.

Why sir, its Christmas Eve!

Yes it certainly is, and thankfully I got all of my gift shopping done in just one day. Not too shabby (or stressful), though I should count my blessings. The only reason I did so well is because my list consisted only of my four family members. Come ten years from now, when the word "family" encompasses four times as many people, perhaps I'll be saying "humbug" to holidays like so many others....

So around this time of year it seems I always try to come up with some deep holiday message, or something like that. I can't think of anything this time, but I think that's a good thing. Everyone seems to be arguing about the commercialization of the season, the "war on Christmas", and lots of other topics that just aren't in the spirit of the season. Instead of tryign to grasp such weighty topics, I think that, for now, we should all just take it easy, and be thankful that the holiday season is one where many of us can spend some real, quality time with friends and family.

I thought of this after reading all of the news surrounding the death of Tony Dugny's son, which was an apparent suicide. Dungy is on the top of the sporting world with his 13-1 Colts, is an incredible coach and a great family man. Now comes the Christmas season, and his son is dead, and he may never know the reason as to why. I can't think of many things that could be worse for a parent to face, and it is horrible to think that such a promising young man had to take his own life.

This holiday season, I'm thankful more than anything for having my family with me, safe and sound and together. And for those who cannot be with loved ones, or who have lost them recently, they'll be in my thoughts and in my heart.

Take it easy everyone, and be safe (I know, everyone says it, but its important). After the holiday rush you can expect a lot more psots by me, since I'll have plenty of free time to do so. I'll even crank out some reviews. Yay!

Oops

To anyone who has tried to comment on any blog posts in the last month; my bad. Apparently I had enabled comment moderation, which does not publish comments unless you allow them too. I had no clue that the feature was enabled, or that it worked like that. The moderation is off now, so comments should appear as normal.

I'm back at home for Christimas break. Or is it "holiday break"? I really don't know. Just make sure that whatever you choose to celebrate is fun and safe. That matters far more than any sort of names we attach to the season.

Eh?

First off, here's an interesting GIF made by an insert credit forumite parodying Working Designs..using Zero Wing. I know all the fans out there are going to dig it.

Okay, I promised to talk about Kingdom Hearts 2 here, but I realized its kind of pointless. Instead I'm going to try to finsih my long lost review of the original game. Yeah, that sounds good.

That's a wrap.

Today I took my last exam, returned my library books, and turned in a final paper a day early (don't think it was due to overachieving; I thought it was due today and stayed up all night working on it). The semester is now officially over, and I can let out a small sigh of relief . It is only a small sight because I still have a busy day of cleaning and packing tomorrow, and I'll be spending the holiday break looking for summer work and logging in hours for my on campus job. Then there's the looming (and dooming?) grades that will come in sooner than later. Nevertheless, being able to rest my head on a pillow without having to think about assignments looming over my head is a truly great feeling.

I wish there was more to discuss in this space, but I've been so out of touch with the world this last week that I don't really know what's gone on. I do know that Kingdom Hearts 2 is out in Japan, and the fan(boy)s are in a fervor. Actually, maybe I'll get to that later tonight...


Watch this space.

Finals Status

Two finals down, three more to go. Here's how it has gone so far:

Macroeconomics: I actually studied a lot for this one. The class was rather easy, but either because of my neglicence or my picky professor I hadn't performed as well as I wanted to. The final took some thinkin' to get through, but with the exception of one short answer and a handful of multiple choice, I think I did well enough. Expected Grade: B, which is about what my average is. It could be a B+, maybe even an A-, but I don't want to jinx myself.

English Lit: We had a final paper in this one, and damn if it didn't consume my entire life for almost two days. I got about four hours of sleep on Wednsday night, and proceeded to work on it for all (and I mean all) of Thursday and didn't get a wink of sleep. I'd say that tossing it on the stack at 11:30 was a great feeling, but I was so weary that I don't remember much beyond putting it there and leaving. Now that I realize that it was the last English paper I'll ever have to write, that good feeling is starting to finally come. Expected Grade: Can't tell really. I definitely could have used more time to refine the research and drive the thesis home, but by the end it was looking much better than I thought it would. This could either be one of those knock out papers that nets me an A-, or one that is so far out there that it doesn't scrape out a B. I'll cross my fingers and see what happens.

Round 3 is tomorrow. Place your bets folks.

Linkage time.

Dragon Quest 8 prequel all about Yangus. Hopefully it gets a U.S. release; I love that cockney bastard.

Kingdom Hearts 2 is out in Japan, and my the man behind my favorite review ever chimes in on it. Of course, if you loved the first game, I don't suggest you click on that link. Thems be fightin' words.

And lastly, I'm about to pull the pin and throw a huge grenade of awesomeness for all the indie game fans: Katamari Damacy T-Shirts designed by the creator himself. A bit pricey, but I know of at least two people that will love this. Enjoy guys.

Steam at Work(ing Designs)

U.K. cult classic Darwinia is being released today via Steam. Since the actual relese time is measured in Pacific Standard, it was still technically availibie for preorder this morning, which means one could technically get the $2.00 discount. Despite being backlogged with games to play (my roomie's got a lot of Xbox titles), I went ahead and purchased it. One, because the game looks great. Second, I would like to see online content delivery at affordable prices become a serious reality in the games industry, and this is the best way I can think of to support that goal.

Even more interesting gaming news lies in the closure of Working Designs. In case you don't know, Working Designs is a company that worked solely in licensing and localizing obscure Japanese games for release in the States. If you've played any of the Lunar games on Playstation, you've seen their work. However, their releases during this generation have been slow as shit (only three games in five years), and failed to get the green light from Sony to localize the latest Goemon game after a very long time trying, and either one or both of these things combined to create a bad situation.

In the aftermath, I find myself fascinated by all of the debate being waged about the company. The fans blame the entire ordeal on Sony's insistence on cool, cutting edge games, and cite that WD was an incredible company that released incredible games and really cared about their fanbase. To them, the company has had a huge impact in the localization of Japanese games, and the loss is a huge one.

On the other hand, the non fans(naysayers and people who just didn't care) claim that it was all WD's fault; their infamous head honcho Vic Ireland took the company from a bad situation with Sega during the Saturn era and moved it into an equally bad scenario with Sony, all the while completely ignoring Nintendo and Microsoft as possibilities. They claim that WD took far too long localizing any games, and seemed to be more worried about their small fan base than about the rest of U.S. gamers. Finally, this camp claims that none of WD games were really amazing, but rather were "otaku bait", titles that were quirky and wierd for the sake of being so that would appeal to the "otaku-wai-wai" group of people that unshakingly believe Japan = better. To this side, Working Designs was great for its fans, and had the passion, but their business sense wasn't very good, and thus they were the product of their own downfall.

While I have never played a game made by Working Designs, I would say that, based on what I've read (and it is quite a lot), I would prob. side with the latter camp. I'm sure everyone at the company, including Vic, are great people who loved what they did. But wihtout a good business sense there is no way a group like them could last forever. And based on the amount of otaku bait products I have seen, I wouldn't be surprised if most of their games weren't really up to snuff. In the end, I think Ferricide puts it best: WD was basically a man and his associates getting paid to do their hobby for ten years. Not that bad if you think about it.


Finally, this is another good article, discussing how the RPG genre is so stale. The author cites how 4 games (one being Dragon Quest 8) managed to break the mold and really stand out, yet none of them will have much of an impact in the long run. This guy is is wondering why the genre is facing problems, but he managed to answer his own question. As long as unique, or just plain solid RPG's that do not follow the Final Fantasy mold are ignored, the longer it will be before the genre becomes fresh again. But as a great man noticed, Level 5's Rogue Galaxy will be outsold by a long shot by Kingdom Hearts 2 in Japan this month. I think we've got a long way to go...

Small Talk, Small Bricks

Yet Another CS assignment took me until four in the morning to complete. This time I was coding in Smalltalk, and thankfully, it was also the last one I had to do.

Let's talk a bit about Smalltalk, shall we? Its object oriented, and if we are to listen to its fans, it is the best kind of object oriented. The kind where everything in the language is an object, and you have to pass messages to those objects to make them do things. Seems simple enough, and it is, once you've written enough code. What isn't so logical is the seemingly random way in which punctuation (or a lack thereof) is used throughout the code. There you are, trying to understand what's in front of you, and Bang(literally) ! There's an exclamation mark, and you don't know why. Now there are two exlamations. Maybe Smalltalk just gets really excited. Actually, it is used to define the end of functions (or blocks of functions) in a class. Why a '!' of all things? No clue friends.

Then of course we have periods, no periods, parens and pound signs being used for what seems to be no reason at all. Sometimes you need a colon, sometimes you don't. If you are a good coder, you'll figure it all out. Smalltalk will finally make some sense. This is when you remember all the tutorials you looked up where feverish, adamant SmallTalk advocates sung its praises to the heavens, claiming that their language of choice is at the very top of the OOP mountain. Java? Its nothing compared to ST. C and C++? They never mention it! (coincidence? I think not) . If you were to listen to these Smalltalk fans, you'd think there was no reason to code in any other language. They're like die hard Mac fans (no offense) of the programming world. But they're wrong. Oh yes they are.

Smalltalk is an interesting language. It can do a lot of great things that C++ can't. But there are so many ridiculous aspects of the syntax that feel as if they're different for the sake of being so. Having code that reads more like english is great. Obfuscating it with so many oddities isn't. One thing I know about C is that no matter what you're writing, each piece of code generally looks the same, and it just makes sense. Perhaps that is why it is still so popular after so many years.



I also got to play with some old Lego Mindstorms kits for A.I. final project. It reminded me of why I used to love the little bricks when I was a kid; with enough pieces and a big imagination, there is little that you can't do. It also reminded me as to why Lego sales have been horrible in recent years; they forgot the spirit of the company. Legos are all about freedom. Sure you can build the set, but you can also take it apart and make your own. Hell, the instructions even included new ideas on the back cover! These days, however, Lego kits come with so many intricate and specific pieces that aren't meant to be used out of context. Rather than being construction sets, they've become fragile, expensive toys.

There was one more thing I wanted to comment on, and I will, but it will require a seperate post. Its just that big a deal.

Rise and Fall

Let us all mourn the passing of one of the greatest comedic legends of all time, Richard Pryor. The world just got a little less funny.

...On a brighter note, last night there was the first ever Loyola dodgeball tournament between the Computer Science and Math departments, and C.S. came out on top after coming back with 3 victories in a row to win the best of five. There is no better precedent that could have been set for future competitions, though I would be lying if I didn't say that the Math dept. put up an incredible fight. Can't wait to do it again next year.

There are a lot of reasons to love Valve software, but they never seem to stop giving us more. First they announced Darwinia being availible on Steam, and now they're making the Source engine even better than before. They just don't seem to rest on their laurels, and to me this is a good thing. Out of the three major game engines to come out of 2004, one is being replaced (Unreal engine), another has only been used by its own creators (Doom 3 engine), and one is being used by multiple 3rd parties and is constantly being upgraded and tweaked for much less of the cost of writing something new from scratch (Half Life 2 and Source of course). We need a lot more of the third example if we are to prevent game prices from continuing to rise to $60 and beyond. Good show Valve.

On a final note, the only flash game I've ever enjoyed has been given a sequel. Field Command 2 is here, and it is bigger, flashier and deeper than ever before. If you like military strategy and good music then you should check it out.

Doomdiddy Doom!!

I got to watch the last 25 minutes or so of the Doom movie last night. Here are my thoughts.

- The dialogue is hokey and forced. The kind of lines that you know must be said, but can be written (and delivered) in a better way. The best performance was from the Rock, but even that was just par for the course in Hollywood.

- ridiculous story. Something about finding a magic portal that leads to a city on Mars (how that is explained, I can only guess), and experiments are done on people that have something to do with the 24th chromosome. Now I need a Biology expert to back me up on this, but isn't that just Downs Syndrome? On the other hand, Doom's target audience is probably the last group of people who would care about that.

- I didn't get to see much action, but I did catch the First Person Scene. I'll be honest with all of you; it was pretty neat. The game is the first person shooter. Why the hell not have an homage to it? The only problem I had with this part is that I think it could have been done better. It felt slow and plodding, when it should be fast and intense.

So were the cool nerds right about the film? Yes in that Doom is not a piece of incredibly fine cinema. But I think a lot of people were overexaggerating about how bad it is. Despite everything I've said about it, Doom is no better or worse than your typical summer action film. And considering the source material, I don't see how anyone could expect it to be anything more than that. This is Doom people. Its not exactly the most gripping narrative in the history of gaming. While I do think that it would have been better if the story revolved around opening the gates of hell, even this wouldn't have made it that much better. And if you compare it next to House of the Dead or Alone in the Dark, I'd say the Doom movie did well enough for itself.

I'd place Doom in the same category as Advent Children; lots of crazy setpieces, some stuff to please the fanboys, and not a lot of strong story or characters. If that's all you expect, you won't be dissapointed. And if you expected more, I don't know what to tell you. Maybe you should read some manga or something?:p

Pure as driven,,,

We got the first major snowstorm of the year today. When I say major, I mean just enough to cover the ground up without melting by the next morning. I'm thinking classes will be canceled tomorrow....

It was rather beautiful coming out of class today. If was around 4:30, and the flakes had just begun to fall. The sky was that dark gray that would vanish into night in just mere minutes. The Christmas lights strewn about campus and the lamps above the street gave off a soft glow that gives the whole scene that strange, dreamlike feeling. I'm not a huge fan of winter (its far too nasty and depressing, especially back home), but this time right around the start of the season always seems so...nice. It puts me in a mood where I feel good about the end of the year, something that is much needed during crunch time.

Sorry to get all poetic there. Actually, that wasn't even poetry. All the better then. Would you like to own a piece of Acclaim? You can if the price is right. Here's a nice article that diffuses some of the Xbox360 hype for some honest answers. And of course, the big question: is Rare back in business? If their two new games are an FPS that still plays like an N64 game and a shinier collect-a-thon platformer, I'm going to go out on a limb and say no.

Off to bed now. Here's something to help you drool at night.

Edit: Wait, I lied. Those specs are not good. I'm already waiting for every major gaming editor/pundit/lunatic webcomic artist to hammer Nintendo's final nail into the coffin. Like Tycho said: "I forgot that innovation was measured in texture passes."

Its up

New review is up! And just before midnight too!! Enjoy.

It cannot be

....or can it? A new review coming tonight? After months of nothing?

Oh. Hell. Yes.

Finishing that paper certainly got me out of that writing slump, and so I decided it was time to get back to some reviews, starting with one for Onimusha on the PS2. I'm still a little concerned about the overall quality of my review skills, so this one's a bit small so as to ease my way back into it.

There's also a new twist; the review has no score. That's right, I'm ditching the idea of using a score system. I found that in attempting to write several reviews in the last few months, I was more concerned about what score I was going to assign certain games than what I was going to say about them. Far too many gamers look to the final score of a review to be the sole indcator of the quality of a title, and since so many major gaming sites tend to have scores that are skewed on the high side, I have gotten some criticism by friends that my scores are far too low. In fact the very first opinion I ever got about a review was someone telling me that I was an idiot for not liking Max Payne, because said person didn't realize that a 3/5 is not at all a bad score by me. I've also been told that my reviews are sometimes wishy washy, which I beleive may be caused by me trying to fit the writing to the grade.

The solution to all of this seems clear; if there is no score to worry about, then readers have to actually do some reading to judge if they'll like the game, and I can worry about nothing more than what it is I want to discuss about it. I've also tried to shy away from always doing the "all comprehensive" review where every last detail has to be tackled. If the story isn't worth mentioning, or the graphics are just average, I may not give them much attention. Hopefully this will make things a lot less boring.

Will all of this work? I can't really say for sure, but its worth a shot. As always feedback is appreciated, and expect the review by midnight (hopefully!).

Guitar Hero

Perhaps you have heard of Guitar Hero, the newest rythm game on the market. If you haven't, you should, becasue it looks like one of the coolest things to come out this year.

So what makes GH so different than say, japanese favorite Guitar Freaks? Several reasons have been given by the game's fans:

1) two more fret buttons to play with, which leads to many more possibilities.
2) Controller shaped like a Gibson

And most importantly, 3) A soundtrack full of classic American and British rock. This is what I find most appealing. I've played my fair share of DDR, but the main reason I have is becuase of the challenge, not the music. There are very few songs there that I can honestly say I really enjoy playing to (anyone who's played with me knows I never pick the songs. Now you know why). The whole "Japanese for the sake of being so" style of the games also doesn't do much for me. Being able to play some of my favorite songs in Guitar Hero just sounds that much more appealing.

I don't think its a question of "if", but "when" I get around to purchasing this game (not for a while though; Shadow and Dragon Quest 8 sucked up my game reserves). I only hope that next time the DDR gang gets together they don't mind me blowing them to the back of the auditorium (or trying to at least. I never have played guitar).