As someone who has played, and watch someone else beat Portal, I have a strong love for the game. It's awesome, and hopefully they release a development SDK so that other people can create some awesome custom maps. For now, there is Garry's Mod, which allows for some pretty hilarious videos to be created. Take for example the video above. A day in the life as a turret. Who didn't love the turret? Creepily awesome. It sucked to have to destroy them, but it was completely necessary. This video is craftily done, and I encourage you all to check it out.
Julian, we Nintendo fans were crushed when you decided to jump ship to the PS3, and release the motion sensitive Wii. You delighted us with Rogue Squadron, but you just had to crush our hearts with the jumping ship to the PS3 front. Well, how did Lair end up doing, huh? I hear it was pretty bad, Julian. So, today we hear that you are officially developing at least one non Virtual Console game for the Wii? Given your last release, I don't know if I should be excited, but none the less here you are, back at the doorstep of Nintendo, developing some unnamed game. Hope it is better than Lair, but hey, that should be easy, right?
Well, I am sort of excited. Factor 5's games were, and are, visually stunning. Factor 5 also was a provider of middleware solutions for the Nintendo 64 and GameCube. Knowing this, I hope that Factor 5 puts other developers to shame with graphics. If anyone can push the envelope, it is them.
At the same time, they might be, like many other developers, in for the quick cash in. I certainly hope such is not the case, but I guess we'll find out for sure once we know what exactly it is that they are developing for the Wii.
Julian, please do not disappoint us. You've already done that once before.
[img align=right]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/repository/1905459161478ababbd43edPS3360.jpg[/img] People have been sneering at the price of the PS3. They say it is expensive. You know, this statement is correct. However, I find it troubling that many of these people that say the Playstation 3 is overly expensive have no problem laying down the money for Microsoft's 360. I find such actions humorous. Let's analyze what I perceive as the true costs of these two systems, in terms of what they have to offer and what hidden costs lie with the system. Perhaps, we'll be enlightened after this discussion. Perhaps you'll be enraged. Chances are though that my arguments are pretty decent, and perhaps it will make take a second look at which system you ultimately end up purchasing.
[img width=400 align=right]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/repository/16635149954789349d7b290SonicMassEffect.jpg[/img] So, it has been known for some time that Bioware was going to be working on a Sonic RPG. Today, we have more news about the Sonic RPG that is sure to make fans of Sonic and Bioware squeal with excitement. A couple of highlights are as follows:
Watercolor Style of Animation
4 Members in you Party at once, 11 party members total.
No random battles, in a definite homage to Chrono Trigger
Turn Based Fighting
Special Moves play like Elite Beat Agents
If you wish to see more than a few highlights, perhaps scans hosted at Jeux France will tickle your fancy. Those scans are bright, colorful, and look as good as graphics seen in Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. I'm certainly impressed by the graphics... are you?
Certainly, this game has the potential to rock one's socks off. I am predicting pure awesome. We'll find out for sure when this game is released later in 2008.
[img align=right]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-027/ss/ex/U-027-S-00510-A_05.jpg&sizex=174[/img] As I sit hear, listening to the Future of Rock and Roll, I was pondering what my next article should be. I sit hear, enjoying the music, listening to the smooth melodies of the indie rock scene. Feel the emotion, the magic, the rhythm. Music is a powerful medium. Music can be one of the best ways to convey emotion and mood without saying a word. Truly, music is an important part of games. From the 8-bit era to today, music has been an integral part of games. Think of the classics. The Mario Theme. The Zelda Theme, and many more, they're all great. Let's take the time to reminisce on the past, and identify the history of game music as it is today.
2007 is dead. Long live 2007. Looking back, there were some nice games. Bioshock, The Orange Box, Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Mass Effect, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters- certainly, there were some good games that came out. But yeah, such things are now in the past. The question now becomes what are you looking forward to in 2008? I've got a few games that I am looking forward to, read about them after the jump.
So yeah, some homebrew is too damn cool to ignore. Take for instance Extra Mario Bros. I only hope that it is real. Someone thought it would be pretty neat to take Mario and place him in a Metroid Type Universe, complete with remixed Metroid Music. All I can say is -- Pure Awesome. Check for yourself:
[youtube=425,350]AbPbvl6g4rc[/youtube]
Again, damn, DO WANT!. Awesomeness of Mario... awesomeness of Super Metroid... combined, wow. Someone find me that game.
So, yeah, Ben Eberle, if that is his real name, has done it again, publicly shaming us with his awesomeness. How the hell do you get 95% on Through the Fire and Flames on expert mode, anyways? Someone should buy that kid a real guitar and hookers, so he can live the real rock life. Okay, maybe not, but yeah, perhaps he can be recruited into a Rock Band? Time shall tell. All I know is damn...
So, how's it going EA? Find any new developers to buy up? You broke my heart when you bought Maxis. It further disintegrated when you guys dissolved Maxis into EA Games. You bastard. I hate you. Luckily for you, I am still a die hard Will Wright Fan, and for that reason I'll have a reason periodically to buy a game developed and published by you.
Recently, you released Harmonix's Rock Band to the masses in "North America". It was shortly around launch that you clarified "North America" to mean United States. Now, I am American, but when I think North America, I think three countries:
Canada
Mexico
United States
In addition, Latin America is part of North America, even if we tend to ignore those countries. I feel honored to bring you that geography lesson for today, brought to you by NAFTA. Someone should have given Harmonix / EA this lesson when they decided to announce a release date for Rock Band. If I was Canadian, I'd feel pretty slighted by the fact that EA does not find you part of North America. I'd be even more ticked that Rock Band was delayed all the way to yesterday. But, perhaps EA would make amends by giving you guys a decent launch. Eh? Eh?! Nah, that's not EA's style. Turns out most retailers in Canada did not get a shipment yesterday, much to the disappointment of fans camping out for the game. Furthermore, those retailers that did get a shipment got a horribly reduced release. This slighting would infuriate me if I was Canadian, and I've come up with some conclusions about EA:
EA, you have an identity crisis. I believe that you think that you are Nintendo. Furthermore, I think you have confused Canada with the continent of Europe. What's the deal? Did you guys get hit on your head? Snap out of hit! Stop shafting our friends to the North, where some people call themselves Tan and some people like to say 'Eh?'. It's a lovely country. Stop screwing the pooch. Give them the game. Don't be jerks. It only hurts your sales. Ask Activision, I bet they could give you some pointers on alienating fans.
Sorry Canada, I couldn't snap EA out of their trance. Before you know it, you'll start seeing EA published minigames out the wahzoo and more casually focused games! My God, help us all.
[img align=right width=200]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/repository/13487935904766ca8debe7fBig_Brother.jpg[/img] Let's get this straight - Manhunt 2 is not a good game. Don't believe me? Well, why not believe the composite score as told by Gamerankings.com. Gamerankings is respectable right? It is a cNET property after all, and cNet is nothing but at the pinnacle of journalistic integrity. So yeah, now that we've got that out of the way, let's talk.
James, AndyC, Belgarath, Alabama Shrimp, any other British Member we have that I am not aware of - I feel sorry for you guys at times. I hear that in London the police can actually yell at you via the security cameras. Here in the US, we we use cameras just for observation. We are harassed via the telescreen, that two way bastion of mind control that we Oceanians have come to know and love. Lest we also not forget about . HAIL BIG BUSH... err... BROTHER!
Britain, we Oceanians are impressed. You have the beginnings of the Thought Police that we Oceanians have had for so very long. It appears as though your government feels as though you are not competent to make your own rational decisions on certain matters regarding these... video games. I know not of such things, for fun here in Oceania we relish in the two minutes hate. Hail Big Brother. But yes, I hear that video games are... fun. Truly it is a shame that we are not blessed with such devices.
Manhunt 2. Ah yes, we Oceanians have that game. Officially though, it is not a game, but rather a training exercise required of all Oceanians by Minipeace. I am more prepared now to fight in the unending war now that I have experienced that training exercise. We Oceanians find it strange then that your Thought Police would try to ban such an effective training exercise. As such, Rockstar, the creator of the exercise, successfully filed an appeal with the appeals committee in your country. Luckily for you guys, Rockstar was successful in the appeal, but for some strange reason your Thought Police wish to stop its release. Need we Oceanians remind Britons of the hallowed statement:
WAR IS PEACE FREEDOM IS SLAVERY IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
We Oceanians hope to guide your Thought Police in making the right decision here. Forfeit the judicial review. Approve this training exercise. It is an essential tool in fighting the unending war. Join Us in Our Quest. That is All. Hail Big Brother.
The Author of this Post assumes no responsibility for any thoughtcrime that may have occurred while reading this article. Hail Big Brother. That is all.
So, you're a PS3 owner and you happen to own both Guitar Hero III and Rock Band. Harmonix said that the Guitar Hero III Controller would work with Rock Band. Almost a month after release though, it still does not work. Blame Harmonix? Don't be so quick to blame, as this release by Harmonix explains:
Quote from: Harmonix
Hi Everyone,
As we have said in the past, Harmonix and MTV Games believe in an open standard philosophy of hardware and game compatibility. We think that there should be interoperability between music instrument controllers across all music games. This is clearly in the best interest of consumers, game developers and console manufacturers and will only help to grow the music game genre as well as inspire innovation and creativity.
Two weeks ago, Harmonix created a software patch for the Sony PLAYSTATION 3 version of Rock Band that allowed for guitar compatibility and support for third party peripherals, including enabling use of Activision's Guitar Hero III controller with Rock Band. The compatibility patch was submitted, approved and had been scheduled for release by Sony on Tuesday, December 4. Unfortunately, Activision objected to the compatibility patch's release. The patch remains with Sony, but we have been told that it will unfortunately not be released due to Activision's continued objection.
As is the case with the Microsoft Xbox360, we believe that Sony PLAYSTATION 3 users should be able to use the peripheral of their choice with Rock Band. We sincerely hope that Activision will reverse its decision and allow release of the compatibility patch and further, that Activision will allow Guitar Hero III to support Rock Band guitar controllers as well. We welcome all third party developers who wish to support our controllers and will provide any required support in order for them to do so.
We believe that when consumers have choice, everyone wins. Harmonix and MTV Games hope that Activision and others will also adopt this philosophy.
Sincerely, The Harmonix Team
Well, ain't that a crock of shit. If I was impacted by this situation, I'd be pretty ticked off right now. Seriously, how can a PS3 Rock Band have a bassist right now? Certainly, they can not. This is a pretty douchy move on Activision's part, and I hope they realize that they are angering a lot of people who have previously been buyers of Guitar Hero. I guess they don't care about future sales of GHIV. With the Wii Mono situation, the exorbitant price of DLC and this dilemma, GHIII owners have some things to be ticked about.
[img align=right]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/repository/1342659547474245a680030Animal.jpg[/img] There is this comic hitting the internet today. It tells a tale, and it is done in a rather moving manner. To say that it affected me would be a gross understatement. I really encourage you all to check this comic out. Cherish your loved ones, for they certainly love you.
There are two ways to check out this comic. There is the ytmnd that you can check out, or you can view the comic in its entirety here.
This is the most moving thing I've seen in a really long time, I hope you find it's story moving too.
[img align=right]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/repository/4790319754737ba3ac4734old_TV.jpg[/img] So, in between my Pavement Problems I've been playing Guitar Hero, but today I noticed something as I was up close to the game. Sound was only coming out of the center speaker of my sound system. Nothing in the subwoofer, rear, or front speakers, just the center speaker. I didn't think much of it, as my receiver does DSP, which I promptly turned on. How humorous then is it when Tondog sends me a link mentioning that the Wii version of Guitar Hero III was in fact shipped with only Mono Sound. For a game that touts the music, certainly this is a low blow, and this screw up should have been caught in the really stringent QA that I guess Activision really does not have. Here's to you, Activision. Charging $90 for a gimped product, I certainly hope that the money you saved on skipped QA time will cover the costs of this screw up.
[img align=right width=200]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/repository/538275589473727706723cred-ring-of-death-rrod.jpg[/img] Well, some of you may be aware of the Spike TV Video Game Awards. It's pretty much a show of which games are the most violent, bloody games on the market, not necessarily the best, unless of course you thoroughly enjoy only violent, mature games. Certainly, this list is a reflection of our culture's Roman Tendencies. I thoroughly look forward to the day when I can watch prisoner's fight to the death against each other at the local stadium. I hope they are given random weapons, ranging from truly awesome to absolutely absurd. Who wants to fight to the death with a rubber chicken? Certainly, I do not.
So yeah, without further ado, here is are the nominations for the Game of the Year:
Game of the Year BioShock (360) Halo 3 (360) Mass Effect (360) The Orange Box (360)
Hmm... how, Microsoft skewed. Apparently Microsoft is kick ass in the violence department. The rest of the nominations are found after the jump.
I'll admit, I really dig the idea of LittleBigPlanet. If Sony wasn't so keen on dicking over consumers with each new iteration of the PS3, I'd almost be tempted to buy one. The game is so damn cute.
Asides from the innovative gameplay and graphical style, the thing I tend to have embedded in my mind is the really catchy theme that plays during the previews. It's mesmerizing. Well, I was listening to my favorite internet radio station when I heard the LittleBigPlanet theme playing, in all it's mesmerizing glory. I thought that was pretty damn cool.
Well, it turns out that the LittleBigPlanet theme is actually Get it Together by The Go! Team, based out of Briton England. I recommend that you check out the theme if you have not done so already. I've embedded it for you listening pleasure.
This is where my thoughts go and are never heard from again.
Well, maybe not, but this is the repository for all of my published thoughts and rantings. It'll make my day if you find at least 10% of it amusing and enjoyable to read.
