This is one of the many reasons why I like Kotaku. This video made me burst out with laughter, so I just had to post it on my blog as well. Who didn't like love the first season of Pokemon?
Upon looking at related videos, this one made me bust a gut. It starts off really funny and gets kinda repetitive but, 5:21 of the video makes it all worth it.
After seeing that video I was reminded of this Newgrounds classic. Splash Attack! Best moment is at 2:43. You'll see why once you hit it. If you don't laugh then something must be wrong with you.
Ah, Pokemon. How I love thee.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Play! Write! Hurry!
An oddly honest article came out via Gamespot today. This article acknowledges that most reviewers don’t finish the games that they review. While not surprising to me, I found it satisfying that Gamespot would admit that this is an on-going practice among most reviewers. However, upon reading the article, I realize that most of the quotes were from "freelance" journalists saying that they didn’t finish games, NOT Gamespot journalists. To top it all off, there is a little disclaimer at the bottom of this article from the friendly editor.
“[Editor's Note: It is GameSpot's policy to not review a game unless the reviewer has completely finished its main storyline. For more on our review policies, practices, and experiences, check out Under Review, the GameSpot Reviews Blog.]”
Lolz. Yes, as readers were are to believe that Gamespot does no wrong, even though this article was written by a Gamespot employee. Well done Mr. Editor, well done.
For my personal take on this, I really do not care that the reviewer didn’t finish the game as long as they don’t say that they played through all of it and lied to me. I understand that making video game reviews is very competitive among different sites. However, I also understand a reviewer not admitting that he or she did not finish the game. If I consistently saw that Gamespot did not finish the games they review, I would not trust them and look elsewhere for reviews. It’s a business; I get it.
That being said, if I give a review, I’ll tell you where I am in the game if I have not beaten it yet. As a journalist, I rather be completely honest than hide the truth in order to gain more readership. I think my readers will have more trust in me as a result and respect my opinion more because of it. And just so you know, for my readers out there, I love you guys. It makes me happy to see comments.
*glee*
Fishing for comments? Me? No....
“[Editor's Note: It is GameSpot's policy to not review a game unless the reviewer has completely finished its main storyline. For more on our review policies, practices, and experiences, check out Under Review, the GameSpot Reviews Blog.]”
Lolz. Yes, as readers were are to believe that Gamespot does no wrong, even though this article was written by a Gamespot employee. Well done Mr. Editor, well done.
For my personal take on this, I really do not care that the reviewer didn’t finish the game as long as they don’t say that they played through all of it and lied to me. I understand that making video game reviews is very competitive among different sites. However, I also understand a reviewer not admitting that he or she did not finish the game. If I consistently saw that Gamespot did not finish the games they review, I would not trust them and look elsewhere for reviews. It’s a business; I get it.
That being said, if I give a review, I’ll tell you where I am in the game if I have not beaten it yet. As a journalist, I rather be completely honest than hide the truth in order to gain more readership. I think my readers will have more trust in me as a result and respect my opinion more because of it. And just so you know, for my readers out there, I love you guys. It makes me happy to see comments.
*glee*
Fishing for comments? Me? No....
Saturday, July 12, 2008
VG Advanced Strategies: Final Fantasy
Well, I did a Board/Card game strategy section; only makes sense to do a video game strategy segment as well. Depending on the game, this segment may have different formats, but the general idea is that I will share with you some of my personal strategies on current and retro games. Again, I don’t claim to be an expert on the things I will be sharing with you, but I will back up my ideas. In addition, in most cases for this segment I will not be going through the entire game, but rather some tricky situations and decisions. However, if I cover a game and you have a specific question about it that I didn’t cover, feel free to comment on the post and ask. Hopefully I can help you out. And even if you haven’t played the game I am talking about in that week, read the post anyway, you’ll gain some insight into a game you never played before and maybe even have a new game to play as a result. This week’s game will be the original Final Fantasy for the NES.
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The most important decision you make in Final Fantasy is at the very beginning of the game, when you are choosing the four party members you will keep for the entire game. You have six possible candidates: Fighter, Thief, Black Belt, Red Mage, White Mage, and Black Mage. I’ll give quick character descriptions but the best character guide I’ve ever seen is from GameFaqs.
Fighter/Knight: He’s your tank. He does a crapload of damage with swords and can wear every piece of armor in the game once he gets the class change to Knight. He won’t dodge many attacks but most things will only scratch him even during the end-game. In addition, as a Knight he gains some white magic spells which gives your party extra cures after battle. He is a must for any party.
Thief/Ninja: A peculiar character with interesting benefits. Unlike most thieves, this one can’t steal from enemies. He uses only daggers and light swords and can wear medium armor. He dodges a lot of attacks but when he gets hit, ouch it hurts. His run ability rarely fails, which is useful since you do a lot of running from battles in FF1. Once he becomes a Ninja, he can wear almost any armor (except for the strongest) and almost any sword (except for the mighty Xcaliber). He stays second-class to the fighter in terms of damage and absorbing damage. However, he does gain some black magic spells after class-change and can cast Fast (best spell ever, more on that later) on your main attacker.
Black Belt/Master: At the end of the game, there is no greater damage dealer than the Master. With a critical hit and Fast casted on him at level 25, it is possible for him to do 1,000 damage in a single round, which to put that into perspective, is HALF the total HP of the final boss. However, at the beginning of the game, he is awful. He has a lot of HP but does mediocre damage until about level 9 or 10, when he starts matching the fighter. He also takes a lot of damage, for pretty much the entire game, so he needs protection. However, the great perk about the Black Belt/Master is that he is best equipped with absolutely no equipment. No weapons and no armor is when he at his strongest. This is especially useful in the original Final Fantasy since each character only has four weapon and four armor slots, and assuming you have everyone tricked out in armor, you have almost zero space for loot if you don’t have a Black Belt.
Red Mage/Red Wizard: The Red Mage seems awesome at first. He can cast both white and black magic spells, and he can use most of the weapons and armor the fighter can use early on. However, after class change he cannot use most level 7 spells and cannot use any level 8 spells which include Nuke, Fade and Lif2. However, his defense is higher than that of a standard mage and still can hit for 100-150 with the Sun sword to most end-game enemies. He is as balanced as they come.
White Mage/White Wizard: Ah, the healer. Crappy defense, crappy weapons, but he/she is a must for any good party as he/she can heal your party members the most effectively. He/she is also the only party member to get the Cur4 spell which heals any party member to the max. He/she is also the only party member to get the useful Harm spells which absolutely destroy undead enemies. And, if you give him/her the Masamune end-game she can deal damage just like anyone else.
Black Mage/Black Wizard: You like setting things on fire? The Black Mage is your man. Rated last in physical defense and weaponry but the Black Wizard can cast all black magic spells including the all-powerful level 8 Nuke spell. However, your Black mage will get hurt, a lot, even if put in the last position in your party. He also can’t do any physical damage worth noting. So he is excellent for bosses with powerful magic spells but having him get through regular enemies is a chore. It’s worth it for Nuke though. It hurts things.
Fighter/Knight: He’s your tank. He does a crapload of damage with swords and can wear every piece of armor in the game once he gets the class change to Knight. He won’t dodge many attacks but most things will only scratch him even during the end-game. In addition, as a Knight he gains some white magic spells which gives your party extra cures after battle. He is a must for any party.
Thief/Ninja: A peculiar character with interesting benefits. Unlike most thieves, this one can’t steal from enemies. He uses only daggers and light swords and can wear medium armor. He dodges a lot of attacks but when he gets hit, ouch it hurts. His run ability rarely fails, which is useful since you do a lot of running from battles in FF1. Once he becomes a Ninja, he can wear almost any armor (except for the strongest) and almost any sword (except for the mighty Xcaliber). He stays second-class to the fighter in terms of damage and absorbing damage. However, he does gain some black magic spells after class-change and can cast Fast (best spell ever, more on that later) on your main attacker.
Black Belt/Master: At the end of the game, there is no greater damage dealer than the Master. With a critical hit and Fast casted on him at level 25, it is possible for him to do 1,000 damage in a single round, which to put that into perspective, is HALF the total HP of the final boss. However, at the beginning of the game, he is awful. He has a lot of HP but does mediocre damage until about level 9 or 10, when he starts matching the fighter. He also takes a lot of damage, for pretty much the entire game, so he needs protection. However, the great perk about the Black Belt/Master is that he is best equipped with absolutely no equipment. No weapons and no armor is when he at his strongest. This is especially useful in the original Final Fantasy since each character only has four weapon and four armor slots, and assuming you have everyone tricked out in armor, you have almost zero space for loot if you don’t have a Black Belt.
Red Mage/Red Wizard: The Red Mage seems awesome at first. He can cast both white and black magic spells, and he can use most of the weapons and armor the fighter can use early on. However, after class change he cannot use most level 7 spells and cannot use any level 8 spells which include Nuke, Fade and Lif2. However, his defense is higher than that of a standard mage and still can hit for 100-150 with the Sun sword to most end-game enemies. He is as balanced as they come.
White Mage/White Wizard: Ah, the healer. Crappy defense, crappy weapons, but he/she is a must for any good party as he/she can heal your party members the most effectively. He/she is also the only party member to get the Cur4 spell which heals any party member to the max. He/she is also the only party member to get the useful Harm spells which absolutely destroy undead enemies. And, if you give him/her the Masamune end-game she can deal damage just like anyone else.
Black Mage/Black Wizard: You like setting things on fire? The Black Mage is your man. Rated last in physical defense and weaponry but the Black Wizard can cast all black magic spells including the all-powerful level 8 Nuke spell. However, your Black mage will get hurt, a lot, even if put in the last position in your party. He also can’t do any physical damage worth noting. So he is excellent for bosses with powerful magic spells but having him get through regular enemies is a chore. It’s worth it for Nuke though. It hurts things.
Now that you are familiar with the characters I’ll explain my favorite party. I think this the most effective party both for the beginning of the game and for end-game:
Fighter - Black Belt - Red Mage - White Mage
Most people’s favorite party is this one, with the change of a Red Mage to a Black Mage. The popular way makes sense too. You have two main attackers, A Black mage to cast Fast and Nuke and a White Mage to cover all the healing. However, the Black Mage creates a problem for about the first 10 levels of the game. With that party you will only have one reliable attacker for about ten levels and you will have the three worst defensive party members. Early on you can’t do much damage or take a lot of damage.
This is where the Red Mage comes in. The Black Belt needs time to level to get strong. Once he gets there, the Black Belt is a force to be reckoned with. The Red Mage will cover the Black Belt’s negative early attributes by being second in the marching order. The Red Mage can afford to take damage early on because he is wearing the same equipment as the fighter for the most part. Around level 10, after you finish Astos and are completing the Earth Cave, the Red Mage tails off a bit in physical damage while the Black Belt suddenly gets powerful. They naturally switch roles and now the Red Mage can focus on using attacking magic when necessary or finishing off enemies that the Black Belt or Fighter don’t kill in one-shot. The Black Mage would not be able to so this.
Okay, so that covers the beginning and middle of the game. What about the end of the game when this party suddenly doesn’t have a powerful Nuke spell? Well, you don’t need Nuke when you have the two best attackers in the game. Even when you face Chaos, the Black Wizard’s first responsibility is casting Fast (which in essence doubles the amount of damage a physical attack does) on the Knight and the Master. Honestly, by the time you finish casting those spells, the game will probably be over with your Black Belt doing 700-1000 per hit and your Fighter easily doing 400-500. Nuke may not even get a chance to get off. It rarely does after I cast two Fast spells. The Red Mage also gets Fast, just like the Black Mage. The difference? The Red Mage has better defense and physical attack power and still gets Fir3, Ice3 and Lit3, which aside from Nuke, are the only useful black magic spells past level 5 magic.
In addition, don’t forget that the Red Mage has healing spells also. He can help heal along side the White Mage for the entire game, giving the White Mage more leniency in casting those useful Harm spells against the undead. The Red Mage gives you options in casting a powerful magic attack, healing party members, or by finishing off enemies the Knight and Black Belt don’t kill. The enemies will die faster and the White Mage can just spam the Heal Staff without having to use magical healing since with a Red Mage your party will take less damage overall.
So if you’ve ever played Final Fantasy share your best party with me or tell me why you think this party sucks. If you haven’t played this game and you like RPGs you really should play this NES classic.
Friday, July 11, 2008
BC Advanced Strategies: Hearts
This is another one of my planned weekly segments entitled the Board/Card Advanced Strategies. In this segment, I’ll pick a game that I am familiar with and show you what I would do in different, usually particular situations. I’ll give tips and advice along with deep analysis. I do not claim to be an expert in the games I will be featuring here so feel free to debate with my ideas. This week’s game is Hearts.
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Hearts is a trick-taking card in which the player’s goal is to collect as few points as possible. Any card with a Hearts suit is worth one point and the Queen of Spades is worth a whopping 13 points. In a four-player game, each player is dealt 13 cards and each player puts down one card at a time in clockwise fashion for each trick. Every player within that trick has to follow the suit of the first player or they may play a card from another suit if they have no more remaining of that suit. (e.g. If Player 1 starts with Diamonds and Player 2 has no Diamonds, Player 3 may play any card he or she wishes). I won’t go into the basics of Hearts since this is an advanced strategies segment. However, if you want to familiarize yourself with the rules, look at this Wikipedia article. Also, you can play online Hearts with any Windows PC in the Games Folder from the Start Menu.
Here just some tips before I get into more juicy stuff:
1. Know your players. With any card game, knowing the person you’re playing against can be the difference between winning and losing. Maybe you know your friend across from you likes Shooting the Moon (taking all the points) or maybe you know the person to the left you likes to have the Queen of Spades. Keep track of tendencies and strategies of the people around you from the current and past games. Make sure you don’t have a pattern either. Change the way you approach some games; maybe sometimes focus on giving people points than just avoiding them.
2. Watch your players. Most people think Hearts strategy starts with passing. It actually starts right before that. When you get your cards, pick them up but don’t even bother looking at them. Look at other player’s faces and cards before you even think about your own. Most people don’t like getting the Queen of Spades, so they might give off a facial twitch and then pass off the card. Also watch how people organize their cards. Someone may be moving a lot of cards to their right side, meaning they may have a lot of that suit. Then during the game, see what suit they pull out from that side. Each twitch or card placement could mean more information for you and then you could trap them within that suit and have a better chance of giving them more points. That being said, don’t organize your cards in the same way every time, change up the order of your suits and try not to react to your cards.
3. Low Spades rock. The Two of Spades to the Jack of Spades are lifelines if the Queen of Spades has not been played yet. If you have a plethora of low Spades (4-5 of them) use the higher ones in that set first and try to force the player with the Queen to get caught with it. If someone uses the King of Spades or the Ace of Spades and they are not the last person in that trick, then they probably have the Queen of Spades as well since they would not want leave themselves vulnerable to 13 points. If you’re trying to flush the Queen out, gain control of the tricks early and burn your Spades. If you are given the Queen on a pass and you have low Spades, those low Spades are now lifelines if someone if trying to flush the Queen out of you. If you have the Queen of Spades, gain control of the tricks (even take some Hearts if need be), and finish out the suit that has the least amount of cards in your hand ASAP. Then you’ll be able to use the Queen out of turn. This strategy also applies if you don’t want to be forced using the King or Ace of Spades. In addition, if you’re not dealt the Queen, King of Ace of Spades, chances are it’ll be passed to you, making those low Spades really important to your survival.
4. The cards passed to you before the game starts are hints. If you get three high cards (Aces, High Hearts, the Queen of Spades), then that person is probably just trying to unload some junk. If you get at least one high card and the other cards are from the same suit but a low number, then that person is probably trying to eliminate an entire suit from their hand. Watch their reaction when they get their cards in this situation, because if they traded you low Diamonds and get more Diamonds, they’ll most likely be pissed or give off some sign of stress. If you get low Spades and/or other low cards, then watch out, that person may try to shoot the moon. Take a Heart when available to prevent this from happening.
5. Suited cards in order in your hand are of equal value. If you have the Ten, Jack, Queen and King of Hearts, they are all worth the same to you in terms of power. The Ace will trump all of those, but will only happen once, if that. That means at some point, you will have the three highest Heart cards in the game. Trade at least one of these if possible, since it may be difficult to get rid of all of these. Remember that the distance between cards is more important than the cards themselves. A Ten of Hearts doesn’t look bad, but it is really bad in this situation.
6. Be wary of playing low Spades in an attempt to flush out the Queen with the leader to your right. You always want to try and give the leader the Queen of Spades to knock him or her out of first place. However, when the leader is sitting to the right of you and you lead with the low Spade, the leader to your right might get a free pass to unload the King or Ace of Spades since everyone else will probably play low Spades to avoid getting the Queen themselves. Don’t help the leader.
Now let’s look at some tricky situations and analyze the choices.
Case #1
Let’s say you are dealt the hand pictured below and it is the first hand of the game. Passing is to the left and the player to your right quickly put one card on the table as soon as she picked up her cards. What should you pass to the left?
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Hearts is a trick-taking card in which the player’s goal is to collect as few points as possible. Any card with a Hearts suit is worth one point and the Queen of Spades is worth a whopping 13 points. In a four-player game, each player is dealt 13 cards and each player puts down one card at a time in clockwise fashion for each trick. Every player within that trick has to follow the suit of the first player or they may play a card from another suit if they have no more remaining of that suit. (e.g. If Player 1 starts with Diamonds and Player 2 has no Diamonds, Player 3 may play any card he or she wishes). I won’t go into the basics of Hearts since this is an advanced strategies segment. However, if you want to familiarize yourself with the rules, look at this Wikipedia article. Also, you can play online Hearts with any Windows PC in the Games Folder from the Start Menu.
Here just some tips before I get into more juicy stuff:
1. Know your players. With any card game, knowing the person you’re playing against can be the difference between winning and losing. Maybe you know your friend across from you likes Shooting the Moon (taking all the points) or maybe you know the person to the left you likes to have the Queen of Spades. Keep track of tendencies and strategies of the people around you from the current and past games. Make sure you don’t have a pattern either. Change the way you approach some games; maybe sometimes focus on giving people points than just avoiding them.
2. Watch your players. Most people think Hearts strategy starts with passing. It actually starts right before that. When you get your cards, pick them up but don’t even bother looking at them. Look at other player’s faces and cards before you even think about your own. Most people don’t like getting the Queen of Spades, so they might give off a facial twitch and then pass off the card. Also watch how people organize their cards. Someone may be moving a lot of cards to their right side, meaning they may have a lot of that suit. Then during the game, see what suit they pull out from that side. Each twitch or card placement could mean more information for you and then you could trap them within that suit and have a better chance of giving them more points. That being said, don’t organize your cards in the same way every time, change up the order of your suits and try not to react to your cards.
3. Low Spades rock. The Two of Spades to the Jack of Spades are lifelines if the Queen of Spades has not been played yet. If you have a plethora of low Spades (4-5 of them) use the higher ones in that set first and try to force the player with the Queen to get caught with it. If someone uses the King of Spades or the Ace of Spades and they are not the last person in that trick, then they probably have the Queen of Spades as well since they would not want leave themselves vulnerable to 13 points. If you’re trying to flush the Queen out, gain control of the tricks early and burn your Spades. If you are given the Queen on a pass and you have low Spades, those low Spades are now lifelines if someone if trying to flush the Queen out of you. If you have the Queen of Spades, gain control of the tricks (even take some Hearts if need be), and finish out the suit that has the least amount of cards in your hand ASAP. Then you’ll be able to use the Queen out of turn. This strategy also applies if you don’t want to be forced using the King or Ace of Spades. In addition, if you’re not dealt the Queen, King of Ace of Spades, chances are it’ll be passed to you, making those low Spades really important to your survival.
4. The cards passed to you before the game starts are hints. If you get three high cards (Aces, High Hearts, the Queen of Spades), then that person is probably just trying to unload some junk. If you get at least one high card and the other cards are from the same suit but a low number, then that person is probably trying to eliminate an entire suit from their hand. Watch their reaction when they get their cards in this situation, because if they traded you low Diamonds and get more Diamonds, they’ll most likely be pissed or give off some sign of stress. If you get low Spades and/or other low cards, then watch out, that person may try to shoot the moon. Take a Heart when available to prevent this from happening.
5. Suited cards in order in your hand are of equal value. If you have the Ten, Jack, Queen and King of Hearts, they are all worth the same to you in terms of power. The Ace will trump all of those, but will only happen once, if that. That means at some point, you will have the three highest Heart cards in the game. Trade at least one of these if possible, since it may be difficult to get rid of all of these. Remember that the distance between cards is more important than the cards themselves. A Ten of Hearts doesn’t look bad, but it is really bad in this situation.
6. Be wary of playing low Spades in an attempt to flush out the Queen with the leader to your right. You always want to try and give the leader the Queen of Spades to knock him or her out of first place. However, when the leader is sitting to the right of you and you lead with the low Spade, the leader to your right might get a free pass to unload the King or Ace of Spades since everyone else will probably play low Spades to avoid getting the Queen themselves. Don’t help the leader.
Now let’s look at some tricky situations and analyze the choices.
Case #1
Let’s say you are dealt the hand pictured below and it is the first hand of the game. Passing is to the left and the player to your right quickly put one card on the table as soon as she picked up her cards. What should you pass to the left?
The card that was quickly put down to the right of you is coming to your hand, and judging by how fast the decision was made, you’re probably going to get the Queen, King or Ace of Spades. This is really bad because you only have one low Spade. This is definitely a tough hand but with a little luck you can save yourself.
I would suggest passing the Jack and King of Diamonds, along with the Three of Clubs. In the way I play Hearts, the Two of Clubs starts the tricks so, having the Ace of Clubs will guarantee you go first on the second trick. And remember, you can’t give out point cards in the first trick, so you’re definitely safe. Hopefully you will not be given any Clubs, cause then starting on the second trick, you won’t have any Clubs, giving you an out for that possible high Spade. Trading the high Diamonds will also probably protect you in the second trick, assuming you lead with a low Diamond. Since you have so many Diamonds, the person with the Queen (if it isn’t you) may not have Diamonds. Passing the high Diamonds may cause the player to your left to use it in the second round, as the Queen doesn’t usually come out in the second round. The player to your left could get caught right there in the second trick.
If you are given Clubs on the pass, burn one of those out on the second round. Just clear a suit as fast as possible. On a hand like this, you might get caught with the Queen of Spades and take 13 points. Going for the quick kill is probably you’re best bet though and clearing the Clubs is the fastest way to do it. You could trade the Ace of Clubs on the pass but I would not suggest that since you want to gain control at the beginning and protect your Spades. And hey, if you aren’t given any high Spades (that quick card put down might have been the Ace of Hearts), then this hand is a breeze. In that case get rid of your Clubs and Spades and burn your High Diamonds out of suit.
Case #2
Let’s look at one more situation. This time it is the second trick of the game, and you were passed the King and Ace of Hearts along with the Queen of Spades from the player on your left. On the first trick everyone used Clubs (including you). It’s your turn. What should you play in this situation?
Having the Queen is dangerous, so your first instinct may be to gain control and change the suit. However, I would roll the dice on this one and play the Four of Spades. You already got rid of Clubs, and you have two other low Spades to cover your Queen. In addition, only the player to your right knows you have the Queen of Spades; the player across from you (who would win this trick under my strategy) has no idea that you have the Queen. Let the player across from you have the trick and pray that they play Clubs. If they don’t, just wait patiently. You have two more Spades to cover you. Besides, if two more rounds of low Spades are played, the only Spades left will be high ones. I think you’re safe by playing the Four of Spades. Not trying to take control of the suit may also cause the player across from you to think you have nothing to worry about with Spades, maybe causing them to change suit.
There are a ton of situations of Hearts, but hopefully my tips will help you out a little bit. I consider myself a decent Hearts player, but remember that I’m not an expert. You may disagree with my strategies, and if you do, comment on this post and tell me why. I want to improve my game as well!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Telepathic Destruction...Kinda
The most innovative controller may be one that has no buttons at all. My girlfriend's roommate linked me to a product that quite possibly could change the way we play games ten years from now. The OCZ Neural Impulse Actuator actually reads the electronic activity in your brain by using sensors on a headset and then translates those activities to affect the on-screen play.
"If X area of the brain lights up, do Y. If this muscle contracts, do Z. That's the short version. The first time you use the NIA [the thing that reads your brain function] in a game, it's a struggle to make your first movement, but then you twitch forward, accidentally fire your weapon, and twitch backward again as you create a feedback loop between yourself and the NIA. Eventually, you figure out how to move in all directions - it happens instinctively and, paradoxically, when you stop struggling to make it happen" (Decker, gamesradar.com).
"If X area of the brain lights up, do Y. If this muscle contracts, do Z. That's the short version. The first time you use the NIA [the thing that reads your brain function] in a game, it's a struggle to make your first movement, but then you twitch forward, accidentally fire your weapon, and twitch backward again as you create a feedback loop between yourself and the NIA. Eventually, you figure out how to move in all directions - it happens instinctively and, paradoxically, when you stop struggling to make it happen" (Decker, gamesradar.com).
According to the article, found here, one the main problems with this gadget is that it takes a long time for the user to become accustomed with the technology and to use it effectively. However, this product holds great promise since, if you have ever played a first-person shooter before, every second counts. And if this product was perfectly wired to your brain, your response time would become quicker, giving you that much more edge in a gun fight.
It's currently listed at $169.99, so it is a bit pricey for now. However, I'm flabbergasted at this new piece of technology, and if it becomes more user-friendly and cheaper, I may have to buy one and kill things...with my mind!
It's currently listed at $169.99, so it is a bit pricey for now. However, I'm flabbergasted at this new piece of technology, and if it becomes more user-friendly and cheaper, I may have to buy one and kill things...with my mind!
Mwa ha ha ha.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
E3 2008: Preview
E3 2008 starts in 5 days. E3 is quite possibly one the biggest events in the gaming industry as almost every major developer shows off their stuff to the media and the world. Commonfolk like us used to be able to go to this event in Los Angeles but, now it is a media & business only event. Fah. Anywhere here are some brief previews of what I think are the biggest games being showcased at E3, in no specific order:
Gears of War 2: This upcoming third-person shooter makes me slightly upset when I see it since I do not own an Xbox360 and the original Gears of War tempted me to buy the system. Gears of War 2 looks like it could live up to the glory of its predecessor as the single-player campaign is supposedly longer and co-op is still available. One new gameplay element is the ability to use fallen Locusts (the bad dudes) as shield against incoming fire. Here is a trailer courtesy of gametrailers.com. (The guy with the Yes shirt will talk for awhile, but there is some decent footage here).
Release Date: November 2008----Console: Xbox 360----Developer: Epic Games
Gears of War 2: This upcoming third-person shooter makes me slightly upset when I see it since I do not own an Xbox360 and the original Gears of War tempted me to buy the system. Gears of War 2 looks like it could live up to the glory of its predecessor as the single-player campaign is supposedly longer and co-op is still available. One new gameplay element is the ability to use fallen Locusts (the bad dudes) as shield against incoming fire. Here is a trailer courtesy of gametrailers.com. (The guy with the Yes shirt will talk for awhile, but there is some decent footage here).
Release Date: November 2008----Console: Xbox 360----Developer: Epic Games
Final Fantasy XIII: I am a huge fan of the Final Fantasy franchise and this game is one of the reasons I bought a PS3. However, and I’ve been saying this for years, when Squaresoft merged with Enix to become SquareEnix, the quality of their games across the board have lessened. I could not even play through Final Fantasy XII, I hated it so much 20 hours into the game. Yet, I am excited for the newest installment in this series because it looks outstanding and I have faith that the story and gameplay will capture me just as the previous ones had. Check out this trailer from gametrailers.com; oh man is it pretty.
Release Date: ???----Console: PS3----Developer: SquareEnix
Street Fighter IV: I have always enjoyed the Street Fighter series. Quarter-Circle+Punch is etched into my brain for all eternity. However, the last Street Fighter I enjoyed was the one for the Sega Genesis: Street Fighter II Turbo. Can this game bring back Street Fighter to the top of the fighting genre? They have to show something BIG at E3; we’ve all been waiting too long. Oh look, another trailer from gametrailers.com. I like that site. This one is an anime-inspired piece, NOT gameplay footage. Still awesome though.
Release Date: Fall 2008----Consoles: Xbox 360, PS3----Developer: Capcom
Spore: This game is going to be a huge deal. Spore is a strategy game developed primarily by Will Wright, who was the creator of The Sims. To call Spore a strategy game does not do the game justice since the span of the game goes far beyond just strategy. Based on what I’ve been reading about this game, Spore encompasses the full spectrum of life from being a single-celled organism, to taking over tribal camps, to becoming a space explorer. Taking simulation to a whole new level, Spore could change the way sim games are conceived. Watch this game closely at E3, since we haven’t got a lot of information about this game so far, so it should be making a splash. Hey hey, what do you know. Another trailer from gametrailers.com. Awesome.
Release Date: Sept. 7, 2008----Consoles: PC, Nintendo DS----Developer: Maxis
Prince of Persia: Ah, the dark horse of E3 in my opinion. Not many people are talking about this game but I believe this title deserves more attention. The original prince from the previous games is supposedly gone and the game will be far less linear than the others. Climbing walls and cool sword-fighting will still be there but Ubisoft is changing the formula around and taking a chance with giving less direction to the player. This game could surprise people at E3 so look out for it. And yes, another trailer from gametrailers.com.
Release Date: Late Fall? 2008----Consoles: Xbox 360, PS3---Developer: Ubisoft
Other notables I’m excited about:
Animal Crossing Wii (Wii)
Call of Duty: World at War (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PC)
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)
Diablo 3 (PC)
Doom 4 (PC, Xbox 360)
Final Fantasy IV (DS)
Gran Turismo 5 (PS3)
Guitar Hero: World Tour (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii) $190!?!?
Kid Icarus Wii (Wii)
Little Big Planet (PS3)
Resident Evil 5 (Xbox 360, PS3)
SoulCaliber 4 (Xbox 360, PS3)
Starcraft 2 (PC)
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (PC)
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Top 52: Star Fox 64 (#52)
Every week on Tuesdays, I will be sharing with you my top 52 favorite games. Yes, I know, putting games into a rankings list is now a cliche but I love it. This will also give me a chance to review my favorite games and share my opinions with you. The reason I have a top 52 list is so that by next year on this date, we will reach #1.
This list is not meant to be the best games of all time, but rather my favorite games. This list is also subjective, so you will most likely disagree with many of the choices. Feel free to share your opinion on the list as it progresses; I'd love to hear what you think.
Console: Nintendo 64
Release Date: 07/01/97
Genres: Flight Simulator & Rail Shooter
My Ranking: #52
Star Fox 64 just barely made it onto the list but I couldn't leave if off because I lodged so many hours into this game. I had to always try and beat my top score and I had to get all the high score medals for every planet on the Normal difficulty and on Expert.
Star Fox 64 shines above hundreds of games primarily because of its level design, as each stage has a smooth progression of difficulty. A new player can most likely beat the first couple stages before losing a life, as the game teaches you the basics of shooting and dodging mid-game. The gameplay is simple and easy to pick up. Aim the crosshairs at enemy and fire or simply hold down the A button to lock on and deliver a powerful homing laser shot. B will fire gigantic a limited amount smart bombs, wiping out tons of enemies in a large area. Also who could forget the infamous Barrel Roll that teammate Peppy Hare teaches you. “Do a barrel Roll!” is one of those famous quotes in video game history. For whatever reason, the way Peppy emphasizes his voice makes me crack up.
The Star Fox team consists of 4 party members: the protagonist Fox McCloud, and supporting members Peppy Hare, Slippy Toad and Falco Lombardi. Each member pilots their own aircraft called an Arwing, which is a single-manned vehicle that can shoot lasers and perform quick turns and mid-air somersaults. All the controls for the player’s perspective are incredibly smooth; each action only requires minimal input and the Arwing moves directly with the control stick.
As for the story, Andross is an evil scientist of sorts, and he is launching an attack on the Lylat System (the galaxy in which the game takes place). The story is a non-factor for me however, as the gameplay is enough to keep me playing this game for hours on end.
The game starts off with the Star Fox team flying through the planet of Corneria taking out enemy personnel that try to shoot at you and/or ram into you. Your party members do occasionally take out some guys for you but most of the time you have to protect them from being shot at from other flying enemies. Your party members will lose health if they are shot at, and they may be out for a certain levels if their life bar goes to zero. This is pertinent if Slippy happens to be out since he gives you the ability to see the Boss’ health bar.
But as I mentioned before, the level design is where this game prevails. In the Solar level, which is the sun in the center of the level select screen, the bottom of the level is covered with lava and the closer the Arwing is to the lava to more damage you take over time. Fire worms and bugs shoot from all sides of the screen and wave of lava attempt to devour your ship and do massive bits of damage. Not only is the level difficult but it looks really pretty with the red sunset in the background. Challenging and clever, Solar is just one of many levels in Star Fox 64 that made me appreciate the game as a whole.
Simply put, Star Fox 64 game is fun with a fair amount of difficulty. It’s not too hard but it’s definitely not too easy. The control is smooth and the graphics were proficient for its time. I spent so much time on this game that when I turn on this game now I wonder how in the world I achieved such high scores. Needless to say, I was obsessed with this game for a good long while. The only thing that hurts this game is that the one-player campaign is short, and while there are plenty of different routes to take and different worlds to explore, I felt myself wanting more areas to fly through. However, whenever I finish a game and want more, I often consider that a positive, since that feeling meant that I enjoyed what I already had.
Star Fox 64 is currently available on the Wii Virtual Console, so if you never played this game, I highly suggest that you pick this game up, especially if like shooters and/or rail shooters.
… “Do a Barrel Roll!”
------------------------------
My Top 52:
#52 --- Star Fox 64 (N64)
#51 --- Revealed on 07/15
This list is not meant to be the best games of all time, but rather my favorite games. This list is also subjective, so you will most likely disagree with many of the choices. Feel free to share your opinion on the list as it progresses; I'd love to hear what you think.
Console: Nintendo 64
Release Date: 07/01/97
Genres: Flight Simulator & Rail Shooter
My Ranking: #52
Star Fox 64 just barely made it onto the list but I couldn't leave if off because I lodged so many hours into this game. I had to always try and beat my top score and I had to get all the high score medals for every planet on the Normal difficulty and on Expert.
Star Fox 64 shines above hundreds of games primarily because of its level design, as each stage has a smooth progression of difficulty. A new player can most likely beat the first couple stages before losing a life, as the game teaches you the basics of shooting and dodging mid-game. The gameplay is simple and easy to pick up. Aim the crosshairs at enemy and fire or simply hold down the A button to lock on and deliver a powerful homing laser shot. B will fire gigantic a limited amount smart bombs, wiping out tons of enemies in a large area. Also who could forget the infamous Barrel Roll that teammate Peppy Hare teaches you. “Do a barrel Roll!” is one of those famous quotes in video game history. For whatever reason, the way Peppy emphasizes his voice makes me crack up.
The Star Fox team consists of 4 party members: the protagonist Fox McCloud, and supporting members Peppy Hare, Slippy Toad and Falco Lombardi. Each member pilots their own aircraft called an Arwing, which is a single-manned vehicle that can shoot lasers and perform quick turns and mid-air somersaults. All the controls for the player’s perspective are incredibly smooth; each action only requires minimal input and the Arwing moves directly with the control stick.
As for the story, Andross is an evil scientist of sorts, and he is launching an attack on the Lylat System (the galaxy in which the game takes place). The story is a non-factor for me however, as the gameplay is enough to keep me playing this game for hours on end.
The game starts off with the Star Fox team flying through the planet of Corneria taking out enemy personnel that try to shoot at you and/or ram into you. Your party members do occasionally take out some guys for you but most of the time you have to protect them from being shot at from other flying enemies. Your party members will lose health if they are shot at, and they may be out for a certain levels if their life bar goes to zero. This is pertinent if Slippy happens to be out since he gives you the ability to see the Boss’ health bar.
But as I mentioned before, the level design is where this game prevails. In the Solar level, which is the sun in the center of the level select screen, the bottom of the level is covered with lava and the closer the Arwing is to the lava to more damage you take over time. Fire worms and bugs shoot from all sides of the screen and wave of lava attempt to devour your ship and do massive bits of damage. Not only is the level difficult but it looks really pretty with the red sunset in the background. Challenging and clever, Solar is just one of many levels in Star Fox 64 that made me appreciate the game as a whole.
Simply put, Star Fox 64 game is fun with a fair amount of difficulty. It’s not too hard but it’s definitely not too easy. The control is smooth and the graphics were proficient for its time. I spent so much time on this game that when I turn on this game now I wonder how in the world I achieved such high scores. Needless to say, I was obsessed with this game for a good long while. The only thing that hurts this game is that the one-player campaign is short, and while there are plenty of different routes to take and different worlds to explore, I felt myself wanting more areas to fly through. However, whenever I finish a game and want more, I often consider that a positive, since that feeling meant that I enjoyed what I already had.
Star Fox 64 is currently available on the Wii Virtual Console, so if you never played this game, I highly suggest that you pick this game up, especially if like shooters and/or rail shooters.
… “Do a Barrel Roll!”
------------------------------
My Top 52:
#52 --- Star Fox 64 (N64)
#51 --- Revealed on 07/15
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