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Being a little kid means having lots of free time and an unrealistic understanding of how the world works. Especially when it comes to money, economics, and practicality.
Since I was a little kid, I had an ambitious goal.
[img width=700 height=393]https://timpickens.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/tim-pickens-riding-rocket-bike-ii-ride.jpg[/img]
Not pictured; me or my panicked mom. Pic from timpickens.com
And once I realized how terrible an idea it was to attach rocket boosters to my bicycle, I got another bicycle and a new goal; the ability to play any video game my nerdy heart desired, be it an arcade machine, home console game, or PC title.
Fast-forward many decades and hoping my back doesn't go out due to whiplash, and I still can't shake that little-kid voice. Especially after sharing so many games with so many people over the years. If I see a game for a few bucks that we don't own, my natural inclination is to pick it up for our collection or run through a list of folks I think may appreciate it.
Continue reading Thoughts And Suggestions About Collecting On Modern Systems
Slackur, you most certainly didn't ask, what are your opinions of Sony's newly announced (er, named) 'Move' motion controller?
*stares blankly at Dance Dance mats, Wii balance board, Rock Band drum kit, Playstation Eye, Playstation Eyetoy, Gamecube bongos, various plastic guitars, Odyssey 2's The Voice, Virtual Boy, NES Power Pad, Zapper (new and old), various Wii remotes, nunchucks, and classic controllers, Beatmania controllers, Dreamcast mics and keyboards, Taiko drum master, 360 live vision camera, various console mice, SNES Super Scope, Genesis Menacer, Master system 3d glasses, and the Xbox Silent Scope Sniper Rifle literally littering the space between my living room and utility closet*
Eh. Good for them. I'll try it after a price drop or on sale.
Now I'm not a motion control hater, or one of those 'Wii doesn't count as a next generation console' fanboys. I may hate waggle, but the Wii reintroduced light gun games to the mainstream, one of my favorite genres. I still enjoy the challenging and competitive simplicity of Wii Sports and Resort. Raving Rabbids and Wario showed how hilariously fun well done multiplayer party games can be with motion control. Despite being a port, Okami showed worthwhile gameplay enhancements. Metroid Prime Trilogy, Dead Space: Extraction, Trauma Center, and Silent Hill used intuitive and immersive controls that helped develop atmosphere.
My vote for the best use of the Wii remote?
Boom Blox. An incredibly fun single and multiplayer experience that completely requires Wii's (previously unique) controller. This critical darling failed at retail, yet it was the best case to me for what Nintendo was going for; experiences unachievable by conventional controller methods, while leveling the playing field so anyone could learn to play with ease.
Not shaking my stupid plastic wand to jump or hit something.
I love my Wii for those exclusive experiences, along with around twenty or so others that don't rely so much on new control methods. But the Wii has been on the market for several years now, and there are very few games that pull off the requirement of motion control to sell the experience like Boom Blox or even Wii Sports.
The Move has more accuracy, better graphics, and a cool color-changing snowcone controller. But to what end? The Wii's biggest fault for me is not the absence of these things (though I'd rather have the rainbow snowcone than better graphics.) The problem is that the Wii has more proof-of-concepts than new gameplay experiences. I don't want the same light-gun, pull-the-bow-and-arrow, and steering wheel in space experiences I've done all those many times already. Prettier pictures and more responsiveness aren't going to justify the presence of another set of sticks my kids think change the TV channel.
Oh, I'll see some games I'll want to play eventually. Nothing they've shown so far looks very breakthrough to me, but I know I'm a sucker. I buy everything with the word 'Halo' in it despite knowing exactly what I'm getting; an experience whose core hasn't changed much since Wolfenstein 3D. I still enjoy them.
(btw. When purchasing everything with the word Halo in it, you don't end up with as many religious books as you'd think. You even end up with some Nine Inch Nails.)
If Sony wants to sell me on its new "forget we shipped without rumble, made fun of you for wanting it, then shipped with it after we settled our lawsuits" technique, they have to show me what new thing they are doing with it.
I actually have to give MS credit here, because the Milo demo showed me a new and interesting direction for motion control (Seaman and Hey You! Pikachu mixed with EyePet through a hype-mode Molyneux filter.) There are rumors that the protos have lag issues, but even if the final product ships requiring one to douse themselves in molasses so the HAL electronic eyes can keep up , if there is something new to experience beyond popping virtual bubbles and pretend-punching the screen, I'm in.
But if Sony, and later Microsoft with Natal, are going to go anywhere with these newfangled air-guitar imitators, we need to see why we NEED them in the first place.
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Thoughts on video games, gaming culture, concepts intertwining interactive media, my attempts at sounding intelligent, and other First World Problems.
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