Posted by Evan at 10:52 PM 3 comments
Monday, March 23, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Evoker Shot!
For some reason when I logged on today our blog wasn't displaying the last post. Not sure if that's a blogger issue, something with the layout or just a random error. Either way, sorry for any inconvenience.
Right now I'm stuck on Persona 3 FES. The game has actually surpassed when I expected of the series. Of all the major Japanese RPGs out the, I believe that Shin Megami Tensei has been one that I've just never really played. I had demoed Nocturne once before while working at Gamestop but I had never really invested the time in the game. This is what I've been looking for in a RPG recently. The gameplay, active choices, cutscenes all flow together creating a style that never feels forced.
Also, King of Fighters XII has been given a firm release window of July 2009. So, who's excited? I know that I am. For once I don't think that summer can get here fast enough. Here's to the revival of 2D fighters.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
ITT: You Fall in Love, You Lose!
I finally am giving my 360 a rest and have hooked my Wii back up. First Item on the chopping block is De Blob. I've only played around an hour and a half and it has already melted my heart. I expect nothing but smiles from this game, so be prepared to read some gushing write up from me somewhere down the line. Ktnks to THQ Anon has Epic Lose.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Get Eqipped.
Anyone who knows me knows my love for Mega Man, the classic video game series that began on the Nintendo Entertainment System. This very low budget but altogether beautiful looking fan film set to release this summer causes my heart to burst with joy.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Decade installment vol. 1: The year 2000
2000: not exactly a great year for console games. The Dreamcast was alive and kicking but most kids preferred to play their PC shooters. Its really a shame that Final Fantasy 8 and the Dreamcast port of Soul Calibur weren't released a few months later, then I'd really have something to talk about for this year.
Shenmue: This is definately the game of this year that I'll remember most. While of course it seems dated now, when Sega dropped Shenmue on us in 2000 not many gamers had seen anything quite like it. Shenmue didn't really fit into any particular gaming genre and it was one of the first games that would shape the development of real-time fully explorable worlds. Sure in this game you only explored the confines of a Japanese city and a day in the game was an hour in real time but it was still a pretty innovative idea to a gamer like me. Sega paid painstaking detail to what went on in the game's environment as well. You could literally follow around a civilian and watch them go about their daily routine which would change depending on factors like weather and holidays. The gameplay itself? Well some may find it boring to play a game in which you spend alot of time asking people questions and working at your forklift-driving job, but I thought that it was an amazing experience nonetheless. The story had to do with a young Japanese man named Ryo discovering the details of his father's murder, which if I remember correctly leads him to getting him into some trouble with a Chinese crime organization of some kind. The fighting was damn fun, and the button response action sequences kept you on your toes. Overall the game certainly had enough to keep you busy, even if you weren't focusing on the main story, keep in mind that this was also before GTA San Andreas and GTA 4. And don't forget those gorgeous graphics, there wasn't a gamer out there at the time that didn't think the game looked beautiful. This game is definately one of the main reasons I'll always have fond memories of the Dreamcast.
Perfect Dark: I was a bit iffy on selecting this game as one of my favorites of 2000 since I, like everyone else, realize that Perfect Dark was a sheerly blatant re-hash of N64 shooter Goldeneye: 007. Not that I'm complaining, Rare were smart enough to milk the aspects of Goldeneye that everyone loved and update them just enough to keep things interesting. Ok so the single player missions weren't as fun as Goldeneye and the story was ridiculous, but you know you had a blast doing those four person deathmatches for hours on end. The innovative weapons made for some pretty classic multiplayer stuff, the graphics were good for the time (even though things did get really choppy and pixelated if there was too much going on on the screen), and the solidity of the gameplay itself still makes it one of my favorite shooters ever. Its not Goldeneye but I'll take it.
Thats really about all that I have for this year I guess although I thought that MDK2 for the Dreamcast deserved a mention as well. The next installment will be next month. Until then everyone go and play Street Fighter 4.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Arcade Perfect!
Today is the day, the long awaited release of Street Fighter IV for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3! I picked the game up as soon and I rolled out of bed and have been playing it nonstop since then. Well, I did take an hour break but only to watch the SFIV movie that came packaged with the collector's edition. If you're a fighting fan at all then you need to get a copy of this game. As a genre fan and with a lot of wins (and losses) under my belt, I can say that this is the most fluid and solid fighter that I've played. I can already tell that the next week weeks will mostly be occupied by competing with friends, completing challenges, and trying to master all the characters.
Also, Corey and I have been discussing a possible fighting tournament with several games. SVC Chaos, Capcom vs. SNK 2, Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix, King of Fighters XI, and of course Street Fighter IV. There can be games added to our idea for sure but I'd really like to know if anyone is interested in the idea.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
So...How Good Are We?
Heather Campbell, associate editor of Play, brought up an excellent point concerning the difficulty of today's videos, or, rather, lack thereof:
Developers just dial down the difficulty, and we breeze through a game we're not particularly good at playing....I miss the old-school challenges, as represented by games like Megaman 9. Though I may not like a game as much if I can't get deep into it, a difficult game allows me to feel better about myself after I master a particularly tough section. Reward used to come in the form of personal pride, not Trophies and Achievements. Taking on a game was its own reward.
This is something I've been thinking about for a while. It feels as if the gaming community is getting the shaft these days in that respect. Go back and play some of those games you used to as a kid. Go on. Try it. I'll wait... Continue...
Get raped?
Atrophied skills after the coddling of today's games will have that effect on you. To clarify, it's not that today's games are better or worse than yesterday's games nor is every game easy. There's some challenging stuff out there. You won't see me decrying the state of gaming or that it's become a dumbed down culture (though I'm certain you could argue aspects of both).
Instant gratification is the victor of the day. Somehow along the way, after the great boom in gaming at the turn of the century, slithered the idea, as Campbell recognizes, "if a game is too difficult, it's not going to sell well." Why?
If I want to breeze through something with no challenge or difficulty whatsoever, then I'll just was a goddamn movie or anime. I don't need my ego stroked by "achievements" I didn't really earn, I've got MySpace, Twitter, and Facebook.
Developers need to understand that there's more to difficulty than adding ten more assholes between you and your goal. Fine the line between nuisance and challenge may be, but that sort of laziness sure belongs on the side boldly labeled: nuisance.
I feel this played a huge part in both the critical and commercial success of 2008's Megaman 9. Word of mouth concerning how brutal the game was piqued the interest of many gamers (I can't find a concrete, reliable source for sales numbers at the moment aside from that they were very high) all around the age bracket and its aesthetics brought in a number of hardcore and retro gamers.
Even though the game featured Trophies and Achievements, Megaman 9 was the first I've played in a very long time where I felt they were well earned, and the clearing of a level was a badge of honor rather than a point up on a gamer score. This game broke platform gaming down to its core: shoot and jump (let's add "pray to the gods" for good measure). From there, the unbalanced men and women who gave us this gem sent us through grueling hours serving as a wake-up call to many players.
To advance in this game you have to face two very sobering facts: a) you are not as good a gamer as you thought and b) you are going to die...a lot.
Those with too much pride in their self-attributed skill will likely scoff at the notion, but games like these separate the men from the boys and the women from the girls. Beating levels in Megaman 9 aren't simply feats of skill, but acts of sheer will.
Bryant and I traded a flurry of texts to one another, updating our progress any moment we advanced even slightly forward. And I thought to myself, "Why can't I have more experiences like this?"
Skullfuckingly difficult as the game may be, I felt invigorated playing that game. Suddenly, I was the age of ten again, dancing wildly at my victories and restraining myself from throwing the controller at my screen at my very many failures. I finally felt like I was playing a goddamn game.
Creating challenges that require a bit more skill than that of an infant doesn't seem like too much to ask. And I have to wonder if that's why everyone's obsessed with certain games' multiplayer capabilities. If the game itself won't offer us the proper challenge, we can only hope our fellow gamers will. The Halo 3 campaign was downright insulting and I went from being a "meh" casual fan of the series to a pure, unadulterated hatred for the game and its bro-gamer cult.
Competitive gaming is fun, but I don't want to have to rely on rolling the dice on others' skill every time I want to play a game, especially for those I'd rather just play by my lonesome to begin with.
The misconception that all gamers are some sort of hand-eye coordinating savants is far outdated and the idea conditioned ourselves with games for so long that we've become used to handling difficult games is borderline retarded.
Not all gamers are The Fucking Wizard. At best, I would consider myself a decent gamer, but one in love with gaming and its culture. So when someone like me is dancing through Devil May Cry 4 with little to-no-challenge in two sittings, something's amiss. Megaman 9 was the slap in the face I desperately needed and once again made me long for passionate, innovative developing.
The hardest game conceivable isn't necessary, but something that will exorcise my skills or lack thereof would be nice.
I select "Normal" for a reason, a difficulty selected to serve as a challenge for competent players. If I want someone to hold my hand, I'll select that shy little "Easy" fellow over there.
So..how good are you?
Stories welcome.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Greetings
I decided to finally post something so here goes. I actually got the idea to do a decade list of my favorite games after I began working on its music equivalent on my myspace blog (yea I know how that sounds but I don't have contributors for a real music related blog, maybe I'll start my own). I usually write very little except for show and album reviews, but after entertaining the thought of a video game decade list I came to the conclusion that it might be a fun way to pass the time, this is of course if I actually get the time to sit down and work on this which I certainly plan on.
Its not necessarily a list of the greatest or most important games of the decade, so I have no doubt that there will be disagreements, of course feel free to share your opinion since I will only be sharing mine. I plan on posting a year every month starting with 2000, that one will be coming Feb. since this month is almost over. I still might bring forth a rant every now and then, but other than that this will probably be my only contribution for a while. I hope everyone finds it entertaining to read, after all its just my opinion. There will of course be games on the list that almost everyone agrees on but I don't doubt there will be some that I feel were overlooked and underrated that might surprise you. Until next time.
Friday, January 23, 2009
In To The Vault
So, it's been a while since this has been updated, right? I've been staving off sleep for days now and have a few articles in the works. However, they are saved on my MacBook and I'm stuck here at work for right now.
I'm thinking about picking up Fallout 3 sometime later this week. I've heard such positive things in print as well as personal reviews. Also, I didn't know this but Fallout won the 2008 GOTY on IGN. Very exciting stuff and only makes me more excited to play it. It might be the first Bethesda game I actually beat...
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Arcade Culture, I Miss You, Dearly.
(Bryant and I at Tilt, December 2008)
Unfortunately, home console gaming dissolved arcade culture at a far more alarming rate than video did the radio star. While many fun parks helped keep arcades going in the late 90's, even these establishments let out a death gurgle shortly after the turn of the 21st century. But that hasn't stamped out my love.
Bouncing about a darkened building light bu rows and rows of screens, I remember calling "I got next" more than any other phrase in my youth. A gamer's stamina against an onslaught of opponents of varying skills was measured in numbers. How long could you last? Could your arcade's best player beat the best player of the arcade's across town? In was a healthy competition, not quite gang mentality, and a testament to why I loved arcade gaming so much more than the online options we're offered now. Continue...
Time was, the arcade was the premiere place to play the cutting edge in gaming. Keep in mind, at the time (early-to-mid-1990's) the cutting edge was dedicated primarily to gaming's biggest cash cow: the fighting game. Now there were plenty other of genres getting love, particularly the side-scrolling brawler (e.g. X-Men, The Avengers, The Simpsons, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). RPGs in the States, with the exception of perhaps Cadash in '89 were a console-only thriving cult genre and didn't really come into prevalence as far as being in the eyes of the mainstream until the release of Final Fantasy VII on the Sony Playstation.
Before someone jumps down my throat with Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana and Final Fantasy VI (III US), yes, there were both quality and successful RPGs that did penetrate larger audiences, but those were exceptions. The genre itself did not explode into popularity until FFVII. All of a sudden people started "remembering" these classic games from their childhood that they more than likely initially ignored. But don't get me wrong, I love the genre. One of my favorite games and stories of all time is an RPG (Final Fantasy VIII. I'm aware I'm in the minority on that one).
With the explosive success of Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat, fighting games became the flavor of choice and we saw and outflow of countless 2D, and soon, 3D, fighting games based off of or improving upon either MK or SFII: Samurai Showdown, King of Fighters, Darkstalkers, Tekken, Battle Arena Toshinden, Soul Edge (leading to the Soul Calibur franchise), Art of Fighting, Killer Instict, Fatal Fury, Virtua fighter and the list goes on and on.
It was these games that drank my quarters away as a kid. And it was at these arcade locations that gaming culture thrived. Before the boom of users on the internet, the arcade held the role of a hub for gamers who were constantly swapping rumors, information, and news on the latest games. Like comic books, video games weren't the staple in American pop culture they are now. People primarily raised in the 21st century aren't cognizant to the fact that comics and gaming used to be associated with a pastime outsiders, geeks, and nerds participated in. It wasn't until about the late 90's that gaming became more accepted into the social consciousness as something people (particularly so-called "cool" kids) did. So having a place such as an arcade was an important place for gamers. Many kids didn't know anyone in their class who played games, so the only people they related to were the ones they met at arcades.
It was like physically being inside a message board.
Once the internet took off, gamers had more of an outlet to discuss games, one of the redeeming qualities of the arcade outside the games themselves. The latter factor soon followed.
Beginning with the Playstation, consoles began to catch up with arcades graphically. Again, a lot of people take for granted the fact that arcades used to be ahead of the curve when it came to graphics, which helped them stay alive and well along side console gaming. Games were engineered for a specific game, not a console, so developers could push the envelope for what was available at the time. But arcade life post-16 bit systems began looking bleak and arcade culture all but vanished once Playstation 2 and Xbox took over the scene. Sure, some fighters and shooters still survived, but those games could be (and were) easily ported to home consoles and looked just as good. Why would someone drive to a location to pay per game when they had the game in the comfort of their own home?
Especially when they had the cloak of anonymity. They could hurl insults and act as dishonorable as they wished with no consequence. It turned millions of otherwise decent gamers into blithering barbarians. Microsoft's Xbox Live sees the worst infestation, but it's everywhere. This more than anything else brings me to mourn the passing of the arcades.
Of course, Japan didn't quite suffer the arcade collapse that we did. It's only now that arcade attendence is starting to falter a little. Mostly what remains popular now are interactive games, though various shooting and fighter games from tried and true companies and franchises are still released. It's from this still-existing scene that we got games such as Dance Dance Revolution, which helped kickstart a near revival in the States.
Arcade gaming has become the cult culture now. The fun parks that do survive and thrive still keep arcade culture alive, but these places are few and far between and many of them do not get newer games such as Street Fighter IV, which will finally come to home consoles in February. A number of arcades have begun popping up across the country, mostly in urban areas as they can survive and deliver the more popular games.
For places like Spartanburg, we get establishments like Tilt. Tilt, despite it's obviously lower budget, is a valiant effort to bring arcade gaming back to the local Spartanburg area. Now it's overall selection may not be perfect, but they have one of my favorite fighting games Marvel vs Capcom. Really any game from that pitted the Marvel characters against Capcom franchises won my heart (X-Men vs Street Fighter, Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter, Marvel vs Capcom:Clas of Heroes, and Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Ageof Heroes). And it is this game that I have been frequenting over the past few weeks.
In a sense, arcade gaming serves as a religious experience of sorts for me.
Unlike when I'm gaming at home where the lives of my roommate and mine coincide with one another and my escapist concentration is temporarily broken, I enter an urban setting when I'm in the arcade, within the bowels of WestGate Mall. The muzak, the symphony of teenagers and their cell phones and the sizzling of the nearby Japanese fast food restaurant crash with the rings, buzzing and caffeinated soundtracks of the arcade's games. Upon entering this chapel of activity, I turn a mental noise filter on when I reach the lone Marvel vs Capcom machine nestled in the darkened corner of the arcade. The moment I press the button after inserting my quarter, the world around me melts away.
As I bask in the blue-lit glow of the screen, I am absolved.
All the problems plaguing me fade. My frenetic financial status, my dissatisfaction with my job(s), my disintegrating social life, and my everlasting creative rut...all of that ceases to exist for the brief moments I'm playing.
Brief as this reprieve may be, it is priceless.
Simultaneously, it serves as a nostalgic reminder of the bustling culture that thrived inside the confines of the arcade as opposed to outside of it. I really have no idea what kind of business Tilt does as I've never really gone on a weekend. I tend to go before what's generally dinner time for everyone else on school days when the lowest amount of people are likely to be at the mall. This way I'm pretty much guaranteed a space in front of the Marvel vs Capcom machine, which is the only game I've managed to get around to playing unless Bryant joins me and challenges me to SvC (SNK vs Capcom): Chaos (he completely buckles before my power in MvC, so SVC offers a level playing field).
All I can do is be thankful Tilt exists while it does. The gesture to revitalize a lost gamer culture should be applauded for its efforts. Here's hoping to see you at the arcade. First battle's on me.
Insert Coin.
P.S.
A sort of oral history of Arcade culture was just released entitled Arcade Mania. Not only is it a fantastic little read, but also features a bevy of vivid images to accompany the text.
Classic Gamer Brain Update and Notes
A few notes:
1. Our friends over at Classic Gamer Brain have opened up a forum over the holidays. It's a bit sparse right now, but give it time to establish itself. I've already signed up (I'm Myles, obviously) and you should as well. At the very least it will give anyone who wants some intimate video game conversation a place to cool their heels in between posts.
2. As for posting, you'll notice the "Continue" link now at the end of all our posts. It's my feeble attempt to create expandable summaries so you can browse through out articles much more quickly. I can't really claim HTML to my geek repertoire, so 1) to avoid the "Continue" link being on every single article, I personally insert it in, which means it will still be present in the full article versions and 2) apparently it's at war with Apple because Bryant's posts refuse to behave. Any experienced advice is welcome
3. Speaking of Bryant. He's taken ill, which has rendered him completely and utterly useless (as well as making him act as if he were on his deathbed). Send him "Get Well" wishes...or ridicule him into angry tirades, which basically consists of him ending every sentence with your name to indicate he's be serious.\. That's what I do.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Gamers' Jihad: The Console Holy War
I started this article last month as a testament of my relief for ridding myself of my Xbox 360 console. As I verbally meandered through the draft at various points through the Christmas season, I began to think about the state of gamers today and the ferocity with which console they pledge their allegiance.
It started as I became trading against the 360 and how Microsoft goes about managing their video game foray. Continue..
I'm sorry, but when a gaming console's colossal failures are indoctrinated and accepted into the social consciousness, a light bulb should have gone off in people's minds. Irks the living shit out of me.
But then I realized that not everyone who plays video games is as sanctimonious about their console decisions. And since Microsoft has offered a means to fix the flawed system, most 360 owners treat it like they would any broken pricey appliance and send off to have someone fix it. It's not that big of a deal to them. I get that.
And I'm not trying to shit on Seth's new toy (he got one for X-Mas, God bless him) nor am I going to decry the system no matter how sardonic my feelings are towards Microsoft a certain degree of mindless zombies they have heralding the thing like the coming of goddamn Thor. Until recently, I myself owned a 360.
When the dust settles, the 360 is by no means a bad or terrible system despite what hyperbole you'll hear from Sony, Nintendo, and the odd Apple supporters (who, I'm assuming, escaped from a top secret lab or alternative dimension in which Apple houses a gaming console).
I started this article the night I sold my 360, which I had dubbed "The Lawnmower," feeling free of the shackles of the system and angry towards Microsoft for knowing the 360's detrimental flaws in advance (and how could they not, really) and doing little to fix it before releasing the system.
But something happened between that night and now. I began to feel ashamed.
Why do we, as gamers, act like choosing a console is like choosing a Roman deity, doing everything possible to tear down another's system? Growing up, I had a Sega Genesis and my neighboring friend had a Super Nintendo. It wasn't as if we were on opposing teams at the fucking Super Bowl. He came over and played games with me when we wanted to play Genesis and when I wanted to play SNES, we went over to his house. Otherwise we shared our experiences.
So what the hell happened? When did buying a console become an act of drawling a line in the sand in this epic war for attention?
One theory I've come up with is the fear that "one ring will rule them all." I think that Sega bowing out of the console business after the unfortunate death of the Dreamcast placed the terrifying thought in the collective consciousness of gaming culture that whatever console one chose could end up meeting the same fate.
Gaming, as a result, has become another religion. Nintendo, of course, is Christianity. It is the most practiced and recognized. When someone thinks video games, Nintendo is what comes to mind to most people. Keep in mind, this includes non-gamers. To this day, regardless of what I'm playing, when an older relative or passerby comments on my gaming (console or portable), 80% of the time they ask if I'm playing Nintendo. While Nintendo fans do have evangelical sects, by and large, they are happy just spreading "the good word."
Sony remains akin to Buddhism. It is the enlightened path. It is the way. It is a meditative format that consistently achieves to shed itself of suffering and flaws. You may, of course, chose to delve into the other consoles if it will aide you on your path to enlightenment, however certain sects remain strictly exclusive and isolate themselves from all others with a slight scoff.
As for the Xbox 360? Islam. While not inherently bad by any means, a handful of screaming fundamentalist douche nuggets fuck it up for everyone and give the system a terrible reputation. In the name of their console, these close-minded zealots troll message boards, loudly argue in game stores, and spread poorly conceived untruths and misunderstandings. And while every consular "religion" is guilty of this, the 360's followers put the rest to shame in terms of blind devotion.
Are we that terrified that some great schism's going to come along and smite whatever system's making the least number of sales? All three of these systems are selling. Period. It doesn't really matter who's selling more so long as someone's making a sizable profit. That's like if someone handed Bryant a million dollars and then handed me 750,000. I'm not exactly upset, here nor am I hurtin' by any stretch of the imagination.
Maybe I'm aging, but I can certainly remember a time when playing video games was not an accepted thing to do. It wasn't cool. It wasn't trendy. After a certain age, it was deemed for outsiders, losers that stood around outside the arcade, and other various people who were often picked on due to their interests. A lot of kids playing now can't empathize with this, but I assure you, the social consciousness didn't always think video games were cool and finding someone who not only shared your interest but wanted to share it with you was sort of like looking for a vinyl copy of Blink 182's The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show.
Endlessly hounding someone for a console choice when you should be celebrating a fellow gamer just doesn't make sense to me.
So, it's a new year. Let's continue to play test the future in 2009...
...and let's do so without trying to take each others goddamn heads off.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Keep Dreaming...
This weekend I've been playing and messing around with my Dreamcast a lot. It's been overstated but the system really was ahead of its time.
Even having the Sony PlayStation 2 and 3, the Dreamcast is the last system that had a true Japanese feel. While we didn't get all of those quirky and mostly insane Japanese titles, America did get Samba De Amigo, Chu Chu Rocket and Super Magnetic Neo. The system was compact enough to fit in the tiny Japanese apartments and it was a pioneer in online gameplay.
Two things killed the Dreamcast: DVD support as well as betrayed Sega fans. Back when Sega was going head-to-head with Nintendo as the console king, they pushed things too far. The Genesis was a fantastic system with great games. However, Sega ended up screwing over everyone when the 32X and the Sega CD came out. Those were expensive and unnecessary add-ons that really put them in the grave. When the Saturn came out people had already started to lean more towards the Sony PlayStation and N64. Even though the Saturn had arcade perfect ports and the best controller for fighting games, gamers were already tired of dropping hundreds on Sega. Sad story indeed.
While the Dreamcast feel to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, it will always have a fond place in my heart. For as long as I can, I will proudly keep my Dreamcast in my collection.
So, here's to Sega's last opus, the only console to truly think...
Doukutsu!
It seems that I might be the only responsible morning person sometimes at work. I usually get here around 30 minutes before anyone else and end up being locked out in the main lobby. No places to eat are open but at least I can enjoy a few minutes of Cave Story!
Cave Story is a very simple, very fun freeware game released by a programmer going by the name Pixel. It's an homage to the 8-Bit era but done in the besway possible. And by the best way, I mean totally amazing. If you haven't played Cave Story yet, what's stopping you?
Download Cave Story for any platform and read up on it a little more here!
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