tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46709271808509602292024-03-13T19:26:29.124-07:00Public enemy number #2M.C.Dillingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06279147337292595698noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4670927180850960229.post-29738112152509599812013-07-11T13:38:00.000-07:002013-08-22T22:29:18.395-07:00 Captain Falcon's body isn't ready yet. . .<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">So during this year's E3 Shigeru Miyamoto got interviewed about stuff. This isn't necessarily rare or commonplace but usually when he is interviewed he says something interesting or illuminating about his workplace. like this quote about why there hasn't been a new F-Zero in 10 years.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">"I certainly understand that people want a new </span><em style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; outline: none;">F-Zero</em><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> game. I think where I struggle is that I don't really have a good idea for what's new that we could bring to </span><em style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; outline: none;">F-Zero</em><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> that would really turn it into a great game again. Certainly I can see how people looking at </span><em style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; outline: none;">Mario Kart 8</em><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> could see, through the anti-gravity, a connection to </span><em style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; outline: none;">F-Zero</em><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">. But I don't know, at this point, what direction we could go in with a new </span><em style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; outline: none;">F-Zero</em><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">."</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"> Considering Nintendo's accusations of “not intervening enough” this is an unusual and interesting thing to say. I felt most people </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">would</span><span style="line-height: 18px;"> be excited just by the announcement of anything F-Zero but </span>Miyamoto feels it won't be enough to remake <span style="line-height: 18px;">F-Zero X. This got me thinking and it has some ideas. I'll just dump them here on this blog before they get stolen by ghosts.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Even after the third dimension F-Zero has a very basic and squarely way of driving. I think this is what </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Miyamoto</span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"> means when he says F-Zero needs a new direction. If this user is returned away it was a mighty feel overly simplistic. The best I can think of is to emphasize what makes this your unique; you can take out the other racers.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">The thing is I never felt that aspect of the game works very well in </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">F-Zero X</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18px;"> and GX. The spin attack introduced in X always felt uncontrollable and you rarely got right next to people in GX. When you do manage to score a hit one is enough to make most of the supersonic hovercrafts explode. I feels underdeveloped. What if the next S0 exercise not only speed but “dirty driving.”</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18px;">Shield energy and boost energy would be separate.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18px;">Shield</span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"> energy is restored upon completing a lap. Boost energy is restored like in past F-Zreos.</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18px;">You boost as long as you hold the button down. You still get it after the first lap.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18px;">The spin attack from X and the side ram from GX would be gone.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18px;">You can vier left and right with the shutter/trigger buttons and press both to break. You can use this to push lighter vehicles into the side of or off the track or force them to break to avoid it.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18px;">You can damage other vehicles by boosting into them.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18px;">There be some kind of rear attack to stop people from tailgating you/punish people from boosting into you.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; line-height: 18px;">Maybe it's because I'm a huge fan of fighting games but what am getting at is a racing game where you're fighting to control space on the track and force others to take slower routes. Unlike a Mario kart game however you would be able to anticipate what other drivers might do and counter it. At least that's what I would propose if I was working at Nintendo.</span>M.C.Dillingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06279147337292595698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4670927180850960229.post-42904378976997585872013-06-07T11:33:00.001-07:002013-06-07T12:16:20.551-07:00 The pre-E3 coaching post thing! You mite have read those “E3 wish list” articles before but this ones different because 1) I say so and B) this isn't about what I want to see as much as what I think the big three need to convince people to buy their little box. People are much more skeptical about next-gen hardware this time. many “console” games run and look great on my PC. Many business analysts even say that mobile is the be-all end-all future of videogames. (Which is ridiculous but that's another topic for another blog thing.) If you disagree with me, post a comment about it by rolling your face on the keyboard. But remember that I'm never wrong (except when I'm incorrect.)<br />
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Oh, one more thing before I start though. . . This is like, coaching and stuff. . . So only read my “advice” for the company are most invested in emotionally by highlighting the wall of text below their name. No peeking or I'll know. . .<br />
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<b>Microsoft</b></h2>
<span style="background-color: white;"> Your fucked. The kind of people who watch the "Price Is Right" will never buy something branded Xbox. Also, they know what Halo is and they don't care and Steven Spielberg doesn't change shit about it. Everything you said so far makes the Xbox One the sum of all gamers fears. A 1985 playground run by big brother where you can have fun as long as the La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo says so. Use whatever you have, and I mean WHATEVER you have, too pull their attention away from it.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"> You need exclusives more than Sony and even Nintendo. After all, everyone heated Steam when it started, A but put up with it just to play Half-Life 2. They need to cover a broader range of tastes too. Multiplayer shooters won't be enough this time.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"> You also need to convince everyone that your focus on TV is justified. So far you haven't been clear about how the Xbox One makes TV better. You especially need to be clear how the Xbox One is better at watching TV than the Wii U.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"> You could also remove most or all of the restrictions on sharing games, allow the system to play games without an Internet connection and allow the system to operate without a Kinect sensor. Most consumers would forgive you if you did.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"> Also, set a reasonable price for the damn thing.</span><br />
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<b>Sony</b></h2>
<span style="background-color: white;"> You need to convince people that they wanted the social networking features all long. This is the age of Facebook and YouTube, of let's plays and tournament streams. More and more people are watching the Game Grumps and Legal Legends tournaments. Show people how you're going to facilitate it. Make sure it streams and captures video at a good resolution and frame rate. Make sure they can edit it on there PC. Reassure people that strangers won't watch them masturbate with that WebCam (you can't get away with it, you're not Ceiling Cat.)</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"> Also, a lot of people think that streaming is not a good enough for backwards compatibility. Either convince everyone that you've got fast, high-bandwidth servers in everyone's closet or don't talk about it. If you going to give up on streaming, fans made good PSX and PS2 emulators for the X86 architecture. Use them. The volunteers who work on them might even help you do it.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"> The Vita is important to. It needs more games and a price cut, to both the hardware and the memory cards. Indie games are cool but you need more of those big "console like" games that smartphones and tablets can't handle. The iPad was laughed off as a giant iPhone when it first hit the market. Convince people that the Vita has luxuries over the iPhone or the iPad.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"> Also, set a reasonable price for the damn thing.</span><br />
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<b>Nintendo</b></h2>
<span style="background-color: white;"> You need to cut the price of the Wii U. It starts at $300 for only 8 GB. What if Sony and Microsoft's systems start at that? You're offering similar features from both so you'll have to undercut them to be competitive.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"> Pikmin 3 and a new Smash Bros. is a good start but you still need more. Make sure you have at least two big new games that we haven't seen yet. Ideally make one of them a brand we haven't seen in a while; like <i>F-Zero</i>. It's been 10 years since <i>F-Zero GX</i> so a new game is bound to feel fresh and exciting. Or maybe something else like. . . I don't know Mother 3 or something. . .</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"> You should also take some time to explain Nintendo TVii and Miiverse. TVii makes me understand what Microsoft is trying to do a SmartGlass except you got it right; like your haunted by the ghost of Steve Jobs or something. With Miiverse you have a Reddit clone for every TV show movie and game I like; complete with silly doodles! (Well, Wii U games anyway.) Point is that Nintendo TVii looks really cool to the average (non-gamer) consumer. You should flaunt it. You should flaunt it like a peacock hooke</span><span style="background-color: white;">r. You also want to expand its reach to other big entertainment providers like Crackle and smaller ones like Crunchyroll.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"> You did a phenomenal job turning around the 3DS. Any more big game announcements would be overkill. Go for overkill. Overkill is fun.</span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">This one goes to all three</span></h2>
Keep the casual games to a minimum. Show one or two and take just enough time to explain what they are, then move on. The people who are going to early adapt to your new products to care about them. The average customer will still find out about them through the mainstream news.<br />
Expect the next year to be a little slow. People will hold out for whatever there killer app happens to be or a price drop (or saving up.) Business analysts and computer engineers who know nothing about video games will continue doomsaying. They're mostly stupid. Valve is a bigger threat than Apple. What can your little box do that I can't already do on your old little box or my PC. If you don't have a good answer to that. . . I don't know, eat your ass goodbye or something. . .<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"> Cheating bastard. . .</span>M.C.Dillingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06279147337292595698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4670927180850960229.post-64310243857305561912013-02-12T20:18:00.002-08:002013-02-12T20:18:16.299-08:00Dead Space 3 is bad and its fans should feel bad
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What? You want to know what I think
about the Metal Gear Rising demo? It's sexy good! I placed a
pre-order weeks ago and will probably give it a proper review. Dead
Space 3, however, is that kind of AAA game that I am too much of an
alien cat-thing to like. One thing I've learned over the years about
earth folk is that they love negativity and only creepy people like
Mr. Rogers actually like things.</div>
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So . . . yeah . . . Dead Space . . . My
only experience with the franchise is playing the demo of the first
game. I didn't even bother to finish it I was left thinking “what
is this Resident Evil 4 ripoff and why should I care.” Dead Space 2
came and went without me even noticing. This time I'm getting EA's
AAA thing my full and undivided attention (for the parts that I can
play without spending money.)</div>
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Sometimes I think Electronic Arts is
deliberately trying to make most boring and annoying games possible.
There certainly the only company in the industry to ask you to agree
to a terms of service and sign in with an origin account just to play
a demo. (I played this on my PS3) Fortunately I was able to remember
my Origin account's password so I could torture myself with a bad
Resident Evil 4 clone.
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Somewhere along the line densities
protagonist Isaac became dissatisfied with being a space suit and
decided to grow a face go figure. Unfortunately for him, he looks at
every hero I see one of these Western AAA games. If you could legally
change his name to John Smith the lofty title of “the most boring
man in the universe” could be his. It's sad to see such
(un)potential go to waste.</div>
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You're probably thinking “but
Dillinger is a videogame! The event is to shoot monsters and have fun
violence and stuffs!” First, my hypothetical straw man is a retard
with shallow and narrow taste. Second, Dead Space 3 is no where near
scary but tries desperately to be so. While the game has tanklike
controls you move fairly quickly. It's easy to survey your
surroundings and the game is so linear but there's no need to look
around anyway. Enemies always come from in front of you and you fight
them in well lit areas. Clearly structured like an action game. But
when you fight the “spooky” monsters pretend horror movie music
plays. The game also semi-frequently engages in bad jump scares that even
a Hollywood movie wouldn't do. Also, because all weapons use the same
ammo you're doing no incentive to use anything they didn't start
with. Why bother using the new gun when you can use the same
resources to upgrade the old one? The two guns I had in the demo were
more than enough to dispatch monsters I completely forgotten about.</div>
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Playing this mere demo has reaffirmed
why I hate mainstream gaming. This game has nothing to offer but
flashing shiny keys in the player's face. </div>
M.C.Dillingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06279147337292595698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4670927180850960229.post-31959975051659125012013-01-19T20:38:00.000-08:002013-01-19T20:38:04.584-08:00 So I played the DMC demo. . . . . . And it's a mediocre game that surprised me with how well it copys the combat of a proper <i>Devil May Cry</i> game. That is the nicest thing I can say about <i>DMC</i>. Since this was a beloved Japanese franchise being shipped off to Westerners with a dubious reputation to give the brand more “global appeal” I had low expectations. I played the demo mentally prepared to see all the life drained out of something I liked. Unfortunately, I was not pleasantly surprised by what developer Ninja Theory has to offer.<br />
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<i>DMC</i> has what might be the most boring, easy and safe villain I've seen a video game since <i>World of Warcraft's</i> Deathwing. He is a creature of Internet myth that I like to call Mr. Burns-a-saurus. Is the demo's story synopsis explains, he is responsible for everything they love to bitch about on r/politics. Fox news, student loans, those stupid energy drinks. All the bidding of a grumpy old rich guy who's literally the devil himself (and spying on you all the time because apparently has security cameras everywhere.) This is the first thing I bring up because it's the best example of how hollow the new <i>Devil May Cry</i> is compared to the old one.<br />
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I could complain that Dante now looks like some creepy stoner who sleeps under a bridge somewhere, but something more fundamental about the character is lost. Dante used to be a fun-loving rock star mercenary with a job that took him out on all kinds of awesome adventures in ass kicking. he's the kind of action hero every man, at least once in his life, wished he could be. However the new Dante is a power fantasy that can only appeal to b-torts. This Dante is too cool to have fun. He's on a crusade, a mission, man! He's a soldier in a war against the men and his and his captain is a creepy dude in a mask who produces awful YouTube blogs. Now that's Way past cool!<br />
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I'm even feel like writing about how boring that scripted segment where you're running through parts of the city that crumbling in on you; or how stupid all the other story changes Ninja Theory decided to make; or certain bad decisions they made about the controls. I just want to drink until I forget this game ever happened, like Sonic 06 or my ex.M.C.Dillingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06279147337292595698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4670927180850960229.post-74350678371184914632013-01-04T12:50:00.001-08:002013-01-04T12:54:24.277-08:00Re: How To Play Video Games Peacefully<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Normally, when you find someone who is wrong on the Internet you ignore it. Odds are, that person thing is either trolling or a 12-year-old. I know this person isn't a trolling 12 year old. I know this because I read it on psychology today and he's a PhD who uses his real name. Michael Chorost might have written the <a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/world-wide-mind/201301/how-play-video-games-peacefully">dumbest thing I've ever read about videogames.</a></span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Persona 4</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">All of these offer substance beyond dangling some shiny keys in the player's face.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> For those of you who are too lazy to read the piece, he said that he was bothered by killing people in <i>Half-Life 2</i>. To </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Chorost the average combine (humanoid) </span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">soldier as a family to go home to, a wife and kids who look forward to seeing him and maybe hobby on the side. Instead of having suspension of disbelief for a sense of role-play Chorost instead opted to clear his conscience by using the "no target" command in the debug console. Then, despite clearly having not played anything made in the past eight years, suggested that all future action games should provide a name for every person you kill and who there "family" is. All this adds up to so much stupid that Psychology Today's comments form can provide me enough space to rebuttal it.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/world-wide-mind/201301/how-play-video-games-peacefully"></a></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">First off,</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Michael Chorost decided the best way to experience one of the greatest action games ever made was to turn it into the world's most boring theme park ride. Half-life two had better pacing and mission design in any first-person shooter before it (unless you're a diehard fan of <i>Doom</i> or <i>Painkiller</i>.) There's a rid him of helplessness and empowerment. Within a few minutes of starting, you are being chased through an apartment building, unarmed. It's only then your saved by the first friendly person to show up, Alyx Vance. Your commonly threatened with something way to retaliate before you give it away to fight back. This is best exemplified by a helicopter that menaces you early in the game. For much of your journey to Black Mesa East this attack helicopter is searching for you. You have no way to fight it. At all. All he can do is run from cover to cover and even continues his pursuit when you try to pick up the pace on a hovercraft. When you get closer destination, however, the same type of weapon the helicopter uses against you is mounted on your hovercraft. After being threatened by for so long to finally given a way to defend yourself from and even defeat it. One of the best things about <i>Half-Life 2</i> h</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">as moments of</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> of weakness in contrast your triumphs.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Second, Michael's proposal is ludicrous and he shows ignorance about videogames in general. Showing a message about the name, spouse and children of every enemy character “killed” by the player would be feature creep at best. First, you're saying that valuable screen real estate should be wasted on nonessential information. Second, not only is this unnecessary information that risks confusing the player but in most settings it wouldn't make any sense (unless you think every first-person shooters shouldn't hunger games.) Third, this useless feature would waste everyone's time programming, bug checking and debugging it. However, I suspect that this isn't a sincere recommendation to game designers. This is the sort of bleeding heart liberal drivel I encounter on psychology today time to time. This is someone who knows close to nothing about video games (he was impressed by the technology of an eight-year-old game) and describes them with political spooky talk like “kill-fest games.” This, of course to say nothing of his (most likely deliberate) ignorance of the game's own storyline. (Even if those combine soldiers were fully human I have a hard time imagining that they could stay married or be a loving father/husband.)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white;">He also had this to say, which is probably all he needed to write to discredit himself.</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">But now that I'm 48, I'm less interested in adrenaline and macho</span><a class="pt-basics-link" href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/fantasies" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-family: Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: initial;" title="Psychology Today looks at Fantasies">fantasies</a><span style="font-family: Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"> of power and destruction. My focus has changed. What I now most enjoy about games like </span><em style="font-family: Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Half-Life 2</em><span style="font-family: Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"> is that they are spectacularly beautiful and immersive. They are fully rendered, photorealistic worlds in which you can walk around and peer in all directions, enjoying the way water is rendered in flowing brooks and the play of sunlight off of rock and wood.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"> If you're reading this, Michael <span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Chorost, here is a somewhat thrown together list of some of my favorite games that I love that i don't think of as power fantasies.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Gravity Rush</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Silent Hill 2</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Deus Ex: Human Revolution</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Cathrine</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Tales of the Abyss</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Any of these would offer substance beyond flashing some shiny keys in your face.</span>M.C.Dillingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06279147337292595698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4670927180850960229.post-15679760754997488492012-12-14T11:31:00.004-08:002013-08-22T22:33:36.723-07:00 Something, something about YouTube, something, some other thingSo, YouTube updates their essay ever is complaining again. This is nothing new, of course. I remember this happening at least three times. Each time they tried to make improvements to the site I was feeling some features missing (why can't I see all of a channel's videos without going to that channel page anymore?) However there is a feature that YouTube sincerely needs. Without it the site has become a terrific mass.<br />
<a name='more'></a> But first, I'm going to stall for time until I can remember what it is.<br />
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YouTube, I know you make your money by adding new music people procrastinate. Watching videos of laughing babies and talentless hacks trying to make celebrities out of themselves (sometimes successfully.) I understand you need you to be profitable to feed your <strike>expensive habits</strike> children. I understand, I really do, but it's no excuse to mix recommendations with uploads from my subscriptions. It means I spend more time looking for content I want. That means it means I watch less stuff and you make less money <strike>for prostitutes</strike> to provide for your families.<br />
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No, wait! Now I remember. . .<br />
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I LOVE fighting games and the community around them. Some of the channels in the fighting community are very prolific. For the past few weeks my front page on YouTube has been dominated by videos of competitive matches of Blazblue Chronophantasma. Some days I'm really in the mood for this. But sometimes I want to watch cute pet videos, videos about other games or a lecture about classic literature. If I'm in the mood to watch something specific I have to search around everything else. YouTube has always had this problem but it's been made worse by what I mentioned in an absent-minded tirade a paragraph ago. The solution is so obvious you to should feel embarrassed at the thought of this three years ago.<br />
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Let me create filters for my own subscriptions. The end-user groups or subscriptions into categories they specify. For example, I would trade one specifically all the fighting game stuff, another one for gaming in general, yet another one for educational channels etc. etc. etc.<br />
YouTube can call them “networks” to keep with the television analogy, and allow users to share them like playlists. Videos recommended to me by cold unfeeling statistical analysis can be it's own network as well.<br />
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This way, I can get to the content I feel like watching faster. I'm subscribed to nearly 70 channels on YouTube. The current user interface for the site starts to show limitations at that point.<br />
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(Also, give me easy access to the "shows" section. I have no idea how to reach it without searching for a specific channel name.)M.C.Dillingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06279147337292595698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4670927180850960229.post-7830637258053016072012-11-04T12:07:00.002-08:002012-11-04T12:07:17.775-08:00Something, something something! Recently, I realized I haven't posted anything on this blog in nearly a year. This is because 2012 has been a very bad year for me. And by “bad” being tracked by assassins from the Vatican because I know too much about Jesus Christ (and by “too much” I mean the wrong kind of too much.) So get that out of the way first.<br />
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JESUS WAS A ZOMBIE WHO THREATENED TO DO OVERRUN THE WORLD WITH UN-DEATH, UNTIL HE WAS STOPPED BY A TIME TRAVELING DRACULA. HE THED FORMED THE CATHOLIC CHURCH TO COVER IT UP. ALL CATHOLIC CLERGY ARE<br />
ACTUALLY VAMPIRES.<br />
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Now that I disclose this publicly on the Internet there is nothing they can do. Because Google thinks there a sovereign nation. (And by trying to censor this they would admit that what I'm saying is true.)<br />
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<br />M.C.Dillingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06279147337292595698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4670927180850960229.post-3640030666931026682012-01-23T12:23:00.000-08:002012-01-23T12:23:16.627-08:00I know you won't read this caresYes imaginary audience are not dead that's the good news. The bad news is I'm pretty sure none of you readers exist. While I do have an opinion about recent events of a certain website irony know that no one on the Internet wants to hear it. it's just too inconvenient and uncomfortable to hear. So instead of my unpopular opinions and political views regarding the Internet here is a cute girl in a furry suit!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.maridah.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/IMG_5689.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.maridah.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/IMG_5689.jpg" width="213" /></a></div> More pictures of her adorable furry suit are available at her website (and really good cross play is as you readers are part of my imagination I declare you all furrys.)M.C.Dillingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06279147337292595698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4670927180850960229.post-15453408980623837372011-11-12T20:07:00.000-08:002011-11-12T20:07:16.227-08:00Sonic Generations is the work of the devil<style type="text/css">
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</style> <div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> I refuse to accept that <i>Sonic Generations</i> was made by Sega. Not because it's another disaster like Sonic 2006, but because it's simply too good. Apart from being a fan service compilation and during nothing embarrassingly stupid (Hoverboards, turning into a werewolf, superpower granting jellyfish aliens etc.) Sega(?) might have hedged their bets by adding different Sonics, but I feel like a good deal of care went to both of them. In case you don't know what I suppose is the gimmick this time is that there is the current Sonic and Sonic from the early 90s. They're both treated equally for better or worse.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"></div><a name='more'></a><br />
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<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">I never remembered Sonic from the early 90s looking quite this cute. I certainly don't remember “Green Hill Zone,” “Chemical Plant” and “Sky Sanctuary” being this blase. His levels improve dramatically once he is out of his element (the later two thirds of the game) left to interpret the 3-D Sonic games as a 2-D one. “City Escape” and “Rooftop Run” seem to be ripped from a side scrolling masterpiece form a parallel dimension. Both have a strong sense of a end goal and an adversary.As great as they are, they still can't make up for classics Sonic's controls. Classic Sonic is more or less like in improved version of <i>Sonic 4</i>. He doesn't stick to everything like he's made of Velcro but he still can't carry momentum and can't pass through the loop unless he's at full speed. It's as if the Phantom Menace was “fixed” by removing Jar Jar Binks; it's still a big improvement but still disappointing.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Modern Sonic however holds up better. While he also inherits weaknesses from past games (this Sonic still doesn't handle well in tight spaces and by “tight” I mean the size of your driveway) and generally feels more like a car than someone running on foot. His stages are still my favorite, and they are surprisingly fun to speed run, mostly thanks to their multi-route nature. I do, however, wish that boosting would be toned down. Boost meter is far too easy to get. You collect rings and defeat enemies all the time so I'm often feeding my boost gauge while boosting often making me nearly invincible. Modern Sonic his share of poor levels as well; mainly “Chemical Plant” which ends too abruptly and “Seaside Hill” half of which feels like a chaotic mess of stuff. He does have my favorite stage in the game; Speed Highway is as awesome as I remembered it.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">If a level had a particular landmark, gimmick, or geographic tendency it's likely re-created in Generations' interpretation of it. The levels from both Dreamcast games have billboards for a move called “Chao in Space.” Seaside Hill has you shooting yourself out of cannons and running through those three-way loops (alone this time.) </div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Most of the levels also have fantastic arrangements of original music. While some were disappointing (both versions of “Chemical Plant”) Others surpass the originals (modern “Speed Highway” and “City Escape”) while still others are the most creative interpretations I've ever heard (classic “Speed Highway.”) You even unlock more arrangements of classic Sonic music and songs taken straight from older games in the series 20-year history. Many of those arrangements are a little underwhelming but still neat. Stardust Speedway and Route 99 are unusual musical fits for Speed Highway.While the music is satisfying, the only thing that seems to fail in the fan service department is the story.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>Sonic</i> <i>Generation's</i> story is about a shadow blob monster abduets Sonic and his friends and drops them in limbo. Sonic then meets his past self and discovers they restore the past by running through stuff. I am not making this up, and no, Sega(?) hired two writers to write this. Also Sonic's friends seem unable to tell the difference between the Sonic they know today and Sonic form 1993. It's like I have been reunited with the lobotomized retards of <i>Sonic Heroes. </i><span style="font-style: normal;">By the time the cast figures out the obvious, I am alredy fluent in Klingon. I also don't remember Rouge, Vector, Charmy Bee, and Cream the Rabbit ever been Sonic's friends. If anything, I remember sonic avoiding having to talk to them. I know this is kind of stupid and nitpicky but does the sonic fan base really hate Big the Cat so much that they would rather put up with a motormouth bee with nothing to say? This story has few throwbacks to older games. A major missed opportunity, especially when the game's levels are such detailed re-creations. It's not much of a story anyway; it sets itself up, does nothing, and ends itself with a stupid plot twist. This leads to the moment that brings back everything been wrong in the series for the past 10 years. Supporting characters being incredibly annoying, a boring final boss battle with bad controls, and a thoroughly unthreatening villain. It makes the end of Sonic Generations feel strangely cynical.</span></div><div style="font-style: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="font-style: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">All the boss battles or disappointing in some way. “Perfect Chaos” is an improvement over the original as is the showdown with Shadow the Hedgehog but they both end too soon. Meanwhile Classic Sonic has two boss battles that are too boring for me to even mention. All the bosses have a hard mode but even then they are to easy and too short.</div><div style="font-style: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="font-style: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">After you suffer through that schlock however, <i>Sonic Generations</i> offers great replay value for a game that can be played start to finish in 4 to 5 hours. Each Sonic gets 5 side missions per stage. My favorites are easily the ones involving the supporting characters, especially the ones where they help you. While some of the side missions forget the limitations of the game's controls, most of them are enjoyable. They almost feel like a prototype for a future game (or least I would like it to be.) While the game has 80 of these missions, most of them are quite easy. The real longevity in this game is from perfecting your speed runs for the leader-boards. Finding the fastest routes and how to quickly bypass normally time-consuming obstacles can be harder than it looks. It's the only way to get a challenge in this game. Only the most dedicated fans can get a time of 1:50 on “Green Hill” or break two minutes on “Speed Highway.”</div><div style="font-style: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="font-style: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">I can't deny that I love <i>Sonic Generations</i>. My biggest complaint is that there is enough content. This is definitely the best sonic game since <i>Sonic Adventure 2</i> (2001). It even made me remember <i>Sonic Heroes</i> fondly for a brief moment. That however is all the proof I need that some kind of satanic magic was involved.</div>M.C.Dillingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06279147337292595698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4670927180850960229.post-85460856404845058382011-10-03T20:43:00.000-07:002011-10-05T15:00:13.300-07:00Constructive criticism for EA and DICE. While I had some fun with the Battlefield three beta I ended up uninstalling it in a fit of rage. After playing less than five hours it just frustrates me too much to warrant spending dime. Instead of spewing hateful bile on my blog about how much I hate EA's new origin service going to offer constructive criticism on how to improve battle through three instead. After all, they insist that this is a beta and not a glorified demo.<br />
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#1) Battlelog is the biggest inconvenience I've encountered in a game since blizzard's new battle net service. Only losers care about stat tracking and there is no excuse for not having a server browser in game. Make a in game server browser and export the stats tracking to Facebook were there are losers who actually care about this.<br />
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#2) Operation Metro is a terrible map. The first section that takes place in a city park is especially awful. Thar are bushes everywhere that prone snipers can hide in making it extremely frustrating. speaking of snipers. . .<br />
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#3) Nerf the recon kit. snipers in general are overpowered in this game. Yes, you can see a lens flare from them but by the time you see it already killed you. They never need to go into harms way and can camp in a bush all day. I don't care if it's realistic or not it's frustrating and most importantly NOT FUN.<br />
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#4) Having any kind of unlock system in a competitive multiplayer game is retarded. I stopped playing the beta for two days and suddenly I'm been killed by players with far superior guns than mine. Of course I couldn't play the game longer to get better stuff but that takes forever. Meanwhile I die constantly to camping snipers who get stronger every time. I stayed weak and they get shorter; in addition to their inherent advantage of better map knowledge. There is no excuse for this it's bad game design.<br />
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#5) Origin sucks. I can't think of a single nice thing to say about it is like using Steam in bizarro world.<br />
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#6) I can never see a server's ping, ever. There is absolutely no excuse for this even shooters made for consoles (which are inherently junk) will show ping so what does that make this year's AAA PC game?<br />
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#7) Killing Floor has a better model for recoil. In Killing Floor, a guns recoil moves your viewpoint up which feels surprisingly natural. In Battlefield 3 however my gun shakes around like am in a bouncing castle. Just copy what tripwire interactive did and claim that you thought of it I'll let the plagiarism slide if I could shoot something several yards away for once.<br />
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#8) When I and killed by another player copy their freeze frame from Team Fortress 2. Showing an enemy player run around for several seconds does nothing to inform me as to why I died. On the other hand, team Fortress two shows me a freeze frame of mind murderer a brief moment after killing me giving me an idea of how my demise happened.<br />
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I really did find a game that I like underneath all the bullshit. I like the pace of the game and where it stands on a scale of realism. It feels like it's right in between accessible but spastic garbage (call of duty) and in army sim for the insane and unemployed (Arma and Red Orchestra.) This game has fantastic audio that gives it an uncommon sense of atmosphere for a multiplayer game. It feels like raw, helmet cam footage of war as opposed to a Michael Bay movie. Problem is, is buried under a lot of bullshit.M.C.Dillingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06279147337292595698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4670927180850960229.post-67838410232306091532011-09-10T13:20:00.000-07:002011-09-10T13:20:15.202-07:00Too lazy/busy to write stuff, read this instead Yah so as the title suggests I'm not going to be writing any new material for while. Instead I'm going to link to some personal essays I found by people whose lives were positively affected by video games. Since video games are blamed for roughly every ill in society if I would be nice to send some more traffic its way. I'm going to link to them by game for no apparent reason.<br />
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<a href="http://gamessavedmylife.tumblr.com/post/9966216922/how-final-fantasy-tactics-helped-me-forget-my-name">Final Fantasy Tactics</a><br />
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<a href="http://gamessavedmylife.tumblr.com/post/10002787662/the-golden-sun-at-the-end-of-the-rainbow">Goloen Sun</a><br />
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<a href="http://gamessavedmylife.tumblr.com/post/9634490868/making-real-life-social-links">Persona 3</a><br />
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<a href="http://gamessavedmylife.tumblr.com/post/9721957999/how-persona-4-taught-me-to-open-up-to-people">Persona 4</a><br />
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<a href="http://gamessavedmylife.tumblr.com/post/9839126953/the-roof-is-on-fire">Suikoden</a><br />
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Just pretend that I wrote them, somehow... <_<M.C.Dillingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06279147337292595698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4670927180850960229.post-49144624486097315222011-08-24T16:22:00.000-07:002011-08-24T16:22:58.976-07:00God dammit I can't think of a clever title, why can't I think of a clever title!So there was an earthquake on Americans eastern coast yesterday. I didn't realize it until I read about it on NPR. I was wondering why my chair was swaying back and forth. At the moment I thought it was a work of crew across the street somehow.<br />
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What disturbs me about this is that this is not my most prominent memory of yesterday. What I remember most is playing <i>Street Fighter 3</i> and how beautifully animated it is. It really is some of the best animation I've ever seen in my life. No, seriously!<br />
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Now that I think about it I would probably be the last person to know if there was a zombie apocalypse...<br />
<_<M.C.Dillingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06279147337292595698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4670927180850960229.post-80186144579553130502011-08-06T15:07:00.000-07:002011-08-06T15:07:25.980-07:00Some thoughts about C/KatherineSince Atlas' <i>Catherine</i> has already been widely reviewed to critical acclaim I'm just going to share them thoughts of mine that most critics are to occupy their usual junk to notice.<br />
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It's story definitely lives up to the hype. Vincent's affair with his girlfriend doesn't just complicate his fear of commitment but quickly gets out of control. Is also has quite a few different endings despite its somewhat binary morality (business actions and confessions are judged under the D and D alignment or law or chaos. A preferable alternative to other games hilariously childish karma meter.) The ending you get will change the meaning and significance of events in the game. I also appreciate that there is an ending for players that end up in between the two extremes. And that both extremes have good and bad ending. While the affair and Catherine might've been in average story without the weird stuff it really is a “romantic horror” as they put it.<br />
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Catherine also has some nice arrangements of famous classical music. Incorporating electric guitars, drum kits and jazz piano conveying the puzzle games frantic pace and strange nightmare setting. A particular theater mine is a jazz version of Chopin's funeral march, it fits that particular part of the story perfectly.<br />
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I need to say this again, this game has a story about a thirty-something man's fear of commitment and an affair he knows is wrong. It plays it straight and doesn't back down from the ethical ramifications. Catherine also doesn't take sexuality as a novelty (despite some of the marketing making it look like a erotic dating Sim). This is the first video game I played about a common human experience. The most impressive part is that this is achieved while being very game like itself. Vincent has very quick jumpy animations and he says “alright I got it” as he picks up piles of coins by walking over them. There is also power ups and leader boards for high scores. This is a game that, according to hacts like David Cage, should not be possible.<br />
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Atlas claims that <i>Catherine</i> is their biggest release to date which I find very encouraging. Hopefully this will encourage other developers to take time to fit more humanity into their games. I also can't wait to see what lessons from Catherine be applied to a <span class="st"><i>Shin Megami Tensei </i></span>game.M.C.Dillingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06279147337292595698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4670927180850960229.post-82763707037149431802011-07-23T13:23:00.000-07:002011-07-23T13:23:58.927-07:00Stuff I Didn't Even Knew I Had<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.techeblog.com/images/rifle_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://media.techeblog.com/images/rifle_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Yesterday when I was cleaning out some unwanted junk I stumbled upon some long lost compact discs. Compact discs that were missing for so long I almost forgot I ever have them.<br />
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First was the soundtrack for Sonic Adventure 2 which had objectively listened to since high school. Since then I discovered the great metal bands of the 80s and developed a much deeper appreciation of music. It's not that I don't like it anymore but even compare to Sonic Adventure (one) it feels like Senoue saved his best guitar riffs for his band. As a similar problem to Daft Punk's “human after all”is that it often feels more like a demo reel than an actual album/soundtrack. The music for Knuckles' stages are hilarious in that 90s parachute pants kind of way.<br />
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I also found the soundtrack for Jet Set Radio but more importantly I found my old discs for Roller Coaster Tycoon. Amazingly the game will run on my Windows 7 PC (after flipping a few switches in compatibility mode). 12 years later across the tycoon is still fun and without 3-D, motion controls, touch controls, being made for a smart phone or tablet, being on Facebook were being designed as a service (I could write a whole post about). But then I particularly like is its Windows desktop-esque interface. I can bring up information of any writer attraction by clicking on it and sorting through the tabs and pop-up window. Anything I want to know is readily available and I could look as much as I can fill my screen with or as little as one thing at a time. It's like Chris Sawyer knew that anyone who can use the installer wizard already knows how to use a PC desktop. So yeah it's a lot of fun and makes me wish a lot of old trends in video gaming would come back at once.M.C.Dillingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06279147337292595698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4670927180850960229.post-84220425670998923952011-06-23T05:11:00.000-07:002011-06-23T05:11:33.133-07:00no, I'm not giving this post a title you make one up your damn self!Over the course of my life I think I've played about 300 different videogames (more or less). I've had a PlayStation 3 for for almost 3 years now and I ready own 36 games And Steam lists 132 games under my username (it's actually a little bit less than but it's still a lot).* The Sonic The Hedgehog series stands out because it's kind of my “first love”.<br />
<a name='more'></a>I can't remember what it was that made me love sonic so much and why still call myself a fan.As a child I found a certain kind of “magic” that I still can't articulate this day. It isn't childhood nostalgia, I've played the “classic trilogy” (sonic the hedgehog one, two and three) in every stage of my life and I still find that same feeling; I only look at them differently as I get older.<br />
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Whatever is it makes me love sonic the only thing I know for certain is that it's gone. I've already said before that Sega had given up trying to do anything with the character. Sonic Generations not only proves this but that Sega lacks confidence in that strategy. Half of sonic Generations will use the mindless and spastic gameplay pioneered by Sonic Unleashed a few years ago (which was well-received by its virtue of minimal cast and nothing else). Sonic adventure might've been a unfinished, broken and often ill-conceived game but I still like it more than Sonic 4 or Unleashed.<br />
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Sonic adventure had the heart and character of sonic 3 (most of the time) while moving the series forward. It expanded on Sonic 3's back story while introducing a new concept; there is a world that sonic lives in. It's sequel even approached basic literary competence (a script was average for a game published in 2001). Both games creating new memories for fans without relying on nostalgic fan service (except for Sonic Adventure 2's secret level but that was to mark sonics 10 anniversary). Many people don't want Sonic to talk saying that his speaking voice and dialogue are annoying. But it has been proven in the past that you can have good acting and writing in a videogame: Silent Hill 2, any Sam and Max game, the first half of Brutal Legend, the Metal Gear series, Final Fantasy Tactics, Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 and 4, Half-Life 2, Dragon Quest 5 are all well-written and there are a set of uniform character traits for Sonic despite depictions of the character varying wildly so it is possible for Sonic game to have a good story.<br />
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The problem is fans and especially Sega lack the confidence and objective thinking to do anything but replicate from memory. However this is still a special occasion for me, so I'll go someplace nice for lunch today. Hopefully I can drink enough to forget the 10 years that come after Sonic Adventure 2, at least for a little while.M.C.Dillingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06279147337292595698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4670927180850960229.post-76721586789835261712011-05-25T11:05:00.000-07:002011-05-25T11:05:48.513-07:00How I wasted a perfectly good weekend and why I am planning a funeral for my Sega Genesis.<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"> As soon as I saw the title screen for Sonic The Hedgehog 4 I realized that I had wasted $15. It looks like classic sonic, he's standing in a big gold ring waving his finger at me with the title in front of him. But everything about it seems boring. Its title theme sounds like it was written by John Williams evil twin who is suffering from every intellectual disability known to man. And the overall look which is the most bland and lifeless I've seen the character since Sonic Heroes (2003). Sega promised I would feel like Christmas morning circa 1993, instead I feel dead inside.</span><style type="text/css">
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<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">This game fails in every way possible; graphics, audio, level design and especially the controls. Sonic feels heavy and slow as if friction with the air is weighting him down. He's slow to accelerate but fast to slow down. The homing attack from the 3-D Sonic games is also included, which makes sonic home in on objects like a heat seeking missile. At first I thought it was for the Wii sports “ games are too hard” simpletons but I quickly realized that it's a cover-up for sonic's stiff jump and inability to carry momentum. If you let go of left or right on the Dpad, sonic stops on a dime and if he approaches a quarter pike with so much as a brisk walk he will run up the walls like he's Spiderman with Velcro shoes. In fact Sonic feels like he's made entirely of Velcro. This game's physics are inferior to Sonic 1 in every way. That was 1991 and this is a game from 2010.</span></div><br />
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<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is where I should just stop. I own plenty of other games that don't make me want to hang myself: Team Fortress 2, Killing Floor, Little Big Planet, Street Fighter 4, BlazBlue etc. are all better ways to spend a weekend. Plus I have a test coming up and the last thing I need are thoughts of suicide. However I am in awe at the incompetence on display. This was developed by <span style="font-weight: normal;">Dimps who has been developing sonic games for portable systems since 2001. Like sonic team they have actually gotten worse over time! I don't understand how that is possible, but it's too much of a train wreck for me to look away.</span></span></div><br />
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<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"> This isn't just lazy, it's reminding me how many different ways I can play sonic the hedgehog one or two. Sega has ported them to: Wii (virtual console), PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 (Sonic's ultimate Genesis collection), Xbox live arcade, PSP (another Sega Genesis compilation), Game Tap and Steam. Each of these, excluding the two Genesis compilations and subscription to Game Tap, cost less than Sonic 4 and is a better gaming every way. Worst of all (or best if you will) Sonic the Hedgehog one, two and three are available on steam for five dollars each. For the same price as Sonic 4 you can get three Sonic games each of which is easily twice the length of Sonic 4.</span></div><br />
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<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"> I've already wasted my weekend with this game so I'll wrap this up quickly. It's incredibly boring to look at, it's music is annoying, the level design is frustrating and it is far too easy. You get extra lives constantly and rings are so abundant that the only thing that will kill you is bottomless pits sonic team's favorite standby for proper level design. The Kirby series, for example, is made with small children in mind and it still harder than this. Much of this game is clearly meant to capitalize on the “neo-retro” trend popularized by Mega Man 9 and New Super Mario Bros. But Sega completely missed the point. Mega Man 9 was deliberately made to feel like an old NES game and also happen to be an excellent (and very hard) action game. New super Mario Brothers might have been incredibly bland but it was still competently assembled. Sega has achieved neither.</span></div><br />
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<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Sonic The Hedgehog 4 isn't just another bad sonic game or a lame cash in it shows a complete surrender. With this game Sega admits that they can't do anything new or interesting with Sonic The Hedgehog and in the process of surrendering prove that they no longer understand what is good and endearing about the character. Of course they don't Sega hasn't been sure about what they wanted with the characters since at least 2005. It's not just Sonic's corporate owner that has given up this is the game many fans have asked for and received above average reviews and was warmly received by players.</span></div><br />
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<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"> If this the future of the franchise I am holding a funeral service for my Sega Genesis.</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Little do you know that I am so awfully publishing schoolwork to my blog so that you think I am providing you with new content when I am actually playing Shogun 2.</span> </span></div>M.C.Dillingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06279147337292595698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4670927180850960229.post-8981075955225339382011-02-18T19:53:00.000-08:002011-02-18T19:53:18.666-08:00Random post!POWERS OF RANDOMNESS ACTIVATES!<br />
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My preordered copy of Tactics Ogre arrived and so far it looks like it might be one of the greatest RPG's I've ever played and might switch places with final fantasy tactics on my top shelf. In a world where everyone plays call of duty this is what I call a "real" videogame. It's script is intelligent with well-written dialogue and it wont progress unless I think about the decisions I'm making. It's the exact opposite of the junk most people are into these days.<br />
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Despite promising myself that I will, I haven't tried making anything in Little Big Planet 2 yet. Of course I should make a level. The game has grapple hooks now and grapple hooks are always awesome!<br />
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Marvel versus Capcom 3 is a lot of fun but I have my concerns. The game isn't even a week old and people are finding zero to kill combos. Also, I still think that characters like storm and magneto will still take over the game like they did in Marvel 2. On an unrelated note the players guide very useful. Not only does elicit basic strategies for every character and explain the core mechanics but it also has the frame data for every character in a glossary of common terms. Every fighting game music players guide this in depth.<br />
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I just finished reading Ozzy Osbourne's biography and it is fantastic. Whoever the ghostwriter for this book was he's very good in every second sitting down with Ozzy while he tells me his life story. It also happens to turn out that Ozzie's life played out like an epic comedy written by Don Bluth.<br />
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And finally I decided that I actually enjoy <i>Gran Turismo 5's</i> B-spec mode. And no I don't know why I enjoy watching a racing game play itself.M.C.Dillingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06279147337292595698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4670927180850960229.post-33274132541192994302011-01-09T14:59:00.000-08:002011-01-09T14:59:32.037-08:00Obligatory (and kind of pointless) team of the year discussion that no one cares about! Since no one can like everything that's released discussing what is objectively the best team of the year is simply impossible. For example you might claim that the new <i>World of Warcraft</i> expansion is the best RPG of the year but have you played <i>Dragon Quest IX</i>, <i>Golden Sun: Dark Dawn</i>, <i>Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey</i>, <i>Resonance of Fate</i>, <i>Alpha Protocol</i> or <i>Final Fantasy XIII</i>? All of these games have supporters who would say that their game is a prime were better candidate for best RPG or even game of the year. So when I write about game of the year it's about MY game of the year and for May 2010 is a three way race for game of the year: <i>BlazBlue: Continuum Shift</i>, <i>Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker</i> and <i>Bayoneta</i>.<br />
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<i>BlazBlue: Continuum Shift</i> Is definitely a big enough improvement over its predecessor to be worth buying another disk. Continuum Shift Is definitely a more tightly balanced game and calamity trigger (the first version of <i>BlazBlue</i>) however it still feels like the game is one or two versions away from addressing all of its problems. I also greatly appreciate developer Arc System Works efforts to make the game more accessible through teaching rather than extreme simplification, but they are also at least one retail release away from realizing it. <i>BlazBlue: Continuum Shift</i> is certainly my pick for best fighting game of the year there is a big balance patch is coming that could make a game of the year but would be 2011 not 2010.<br />
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<i>Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker</i> was designed for multiplayer but has all the qualities of a metal gear game. It's still a slow-paced action game for meticulous players and story is still a big part of the experience. Using a simplified version of Metal Gear Solid 4's controls is also the first 3-D shooter to genuinely work on a handheld even if they do suffer when any kind of speed is required (anytime you set off an alarm and any boss battle). <i>Peace Walker's</i> only real shortcoming are the boss battles which are dull and betray everything about <i>Metal Gear</i>, that and Quick Time events they don't belong in any game to be honest. but it's particularly offensive in a metal gear game especially when asked to mash a button faster than 40 times per second. This is the one big thing stopping peace Walker from being my game of the year. It's inexcusably stupid and really stands out when it's in Hideo Kojima's most progressive games since Metal Gear Solild (1998). While Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker it's just shy of my game of the year I feel safe to say that objectively this game has the best script (and ironically the most restraint and editing).<br />
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By process of elimination this leaves <i>Bayoneta</i> as my game of the year for 2010. <br />
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You won't notice this games the average graphics and poor script as it's action steadily escalates into greater heights of absurdity. While there are some events they do little to slow the action down and they are few and far in between. You certainly won't care about the games minor problems when its title character dances in sexually provocative poses to summon a demon from hell to eat her enemies alive (I'm serious). Unlike a similar action game from 2010 (God of War III, Dante's Inferno or Lords of Shadow pick your favorite) <i>Bayoneta</i> offers many options in combat and doesn't punish you for using them. And if that wasn't enough this game is harder than his competition but has less frustration. I was offered a fair challenge throughout, enemies are never healed because of a failed QuickTime event (like in God of war) and I was never lost and confused because of objectives and puzzles being lost in expensive graphics (like Lords of Shadow). <i>Bayoneta</i> was released in January and set me up for disappointment with every other action gaming 2010, except for vanquish but that's because it was made by the same company.<br />
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And since I'm sure you love bitterness and hate my pick for worst game of 2010 is <i>Castlevania: Lords of Shadow.</i><br />
<i> </i>all I'm willing to say is: this is a God of war clone where Emo Belmont is stalked by an old man voice by Patrick Stewart and eventually becomes Dracula. And if that's not stupid enough the ending sets up a sequel where our new emo Dracula fights Satan.<br />
Those two sentences are all the proof anyone needs that developer Mercury Steam are a load of hacks. (and that's if <i>Clive Barker’s Jericho</i> wasn't proof enough.)<br />
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In more positive news I have finally reached the end of <i>Persona 3</i>. However I fear that even if the average American player gets past their bias against Anime this game would be too intelligent for them. Also I find the game's message of fighting strength in friendship/comradeship to be very ironic for a game that has taken me 90 hours to complete.M.C.Dillingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06279147337292595698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4670927180850960229.post-71149572114095335072010-12-11T14:40:00.000-08:002010-12-11T14:40:22.093-08:00There are recent games that I actually like?!Version:1.0 StartHTML:0000000167 EndHTML:0000006764 StartFragment:0000000454 EndFragment:0000006748 <style type="text/css">
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">After I published my negative review of Lords of shadow far better games were released in November the problem is too many good games are released into short timeframe. Because of this, (and to being a little lazy), I never got to write a full review or what I've played in the past month. So instead of simply writing nothing hear are a bunch of small reviews. It's better late and slothful than never!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"></div><a name='more'></a><br />
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<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Vanquish</div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Vanquish is a third person shooter that fixes everything stupid about third person shooters. Its story is stupid on purpose. think of it as Starship Troopers meets Gundam with added mockery of the “America versus the bad guys” theme Prevalent in Hollywood since the 80s (and a hilariously stupid plot twist) all served completely straight faced. Vanquish is also much faster than other shooters, you won't be camping behind cover because: A.) the AI is usually good at flushing you out and B.) you can move to new cover very quickly. You can also activate what most would call bullet time almost whatever you want. It seems also wonderfully well paced it's always building up to a big action set piece. In fact it's so well paced throughout that I can only compare it to Half-Life 2 and yet Vanquish was made in only nine months. (It runs on the same technology as Bayonta which was made by the same developer and was released in Japan December last year.)</div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">No Heroes Allowed</div><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">No Heroes Allowed is exactly the kind of game I expected to find on the iPhone (and didn't). You dig, what I can best describe as an ant form of evil, to protect the overlord of the evil “BadMan” from heroes to seek to kidnap him. It's very simple to control (you dig and creatures come out of the dirt) and it has enough substance to be worthy of my time (you're really managing a simple ecosystem if one creature over populates they were inevitably starve to death). There is also a charming sense of humor that holds back to Japanese role-playing games of the 80s early 90s. From subtle animation details, silly creature names and funny dialogue No Heroes Allowed puts other games attempted s at humor to shame. This also the most accessible gaming series (the name's been changed because as a new publisher in America) with a new “evolution” mechanic; creatures can “evolve” to adapt to something that keeps killing them (starvation, predators, heroes etc.) becoming more shorter AND better adapted to what has been threatening them with extinction. That and a new easy difficulty also helps (humorously calld “noob”).</div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Rock Band 3</div><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> While it didn't quite teach me to play music as advertised this game leaves me wanting to take music lessons very badly. The closer I get to expert the more fun the new pro mode becomes. My only major problems with the game, besides the lack of music to play to keep new keyboard, is that learning assault can be very frustrating things to overly simplistic notation and the inability to practice a song slower than 70% speed.</div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Gran Turismo 5</div><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">More than a racing game Gran Turismo 5 is a celebration of cars. You not only drive the latest sports cars but also popular consumer cars, famous race cars, older sports cars and classics so old they're more like museum pieces. My favorite thing in the game right now is my 1971 Ford Mustang which, after some tuning and upgrading, I have turned into a high-performance monster. It has over three times the stock horsepower and outperforms modern sports cars! And if that's not enough if they have freaking go karts! A great and sometimes silly looking way to get accustomed to Gran Turismo's more realistic approach to driving. Worth it for any car lover.</div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
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</div><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Civilization V</div><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">While some people are down on it I absolutely love Civilization V even in its current and broken state. Everything I disliked from Civilization IV (religion, espionage, happiness/unhappiness) has been either removed or redesigned into a more manageable state. The new interface is both gorgeous and much easier to use than before. You can quickly bring up any information you need and hide when you don't need to know at the moment. V also feels far more epic than IV. At the start of every game there is a narration about how great your nation was (or is) and how awesome you are (by “you I mean Washington, Napoleon etc.) and always ending with the series tagline “can you build a civilization to stand the test of time?” It feels epic every time. There are some problems however for example the AI will sometimes stay in character to a fault (Napoleon sticking to a military or cultural victory when he clearly can't win that way). While I love the new social policy system there is no way to reassign them if my current strategy isn't working For example; if a cultural victory isn't working I might want to switch policies favoring science. However unlike Starcraft 2 none of Civilization V's problems are caused by its core systems or unit design and I am confident that <span style="font-weight: normal;">Firaxis Games</span> will fix them.</div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
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</div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> I am also in the final month of persona 3, It is truly a under-appreciated classic.</div>M.C.Dillingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06279147337292595698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4670927180850960229.post-64576303112553849552010-11-20T15:02:00.000-08:002010-11-20T15:02:19.066-08:00This post has no video games in it I swear!<iframe frameborder="0" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/KHyUwbBbrag?fs=1" width="480"></iframe><br />
Apparently this is what happens when you post a comment Roger Ebert's bog: a filmmaker from Poland with the name I can't pronounce (Grzegorz Cisiecki) sends me an e-mail politely asking me to either review or for my readers to one of his short films. This is the first time have been asked to review something that isn't blogging software. yey!<br />
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“Smoke” Is about six minutes of hazy ambiguity forming what appears to be an incomplete picture of a young man's love-life. at least that's what I think it is, It's hard to tell exactly what's happening and what you see in the film might not had happened at all. While it is not my favorite independent move, I enjoyed it and even reminded me of Silent Hill* that always cheers me up (Which actually find disturbing). Although I prefer to feel as if I've lost my mind as opposed to lost in someone else's but that's just personal preference.<br />
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*By “Silent Hill” I mean games one through four the movie and everything after it is junk. (except the comic book sinners reward)M.C.Dillingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06279147337292595698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4670927180850960229.post-14510457539032578272010-11-15T13:16:00.000-08:002010-11-15T13:16:04.012-08:00World of Boar-craft Recently I watched the new cinematic intro to the new World of Warcraft out of curiosity despite quitting the game a month ago and having no interest. This piece of animation stands as a testament to blizzard's increasingly stupid writing.<br />
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It starts with this years token big-bad “Deathwing” (a well-established figure in Warcraft lore) having molten hot armor welded to his skin (also established in the lore) mentioning how angry he is. We then see some natural disasters and Deathwing mentions that he is not only angry but emo. We then see more natural disasters except this time things are breaking as Deathwing flies around. He eventually lands in Stormwind (a city from the game) and roars at the viewer because blizzard is creatively bankrupt and that's the best they can do.<br />
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And yes, blizzard is trying to get me back into wow by telling me everything will break and be destroyed. TAILS DOLL DAMMIT THE VIDEOGAME INDUSTRY IS SO STUPID!M.C.Dillingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06279147337292595698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4670927180850960229.post-50372084684568098512010-11-05T13:40:00.000-07:002010-11-05T13:40:29.175-07:00Hello Internet I'm not dead!I was planning on writing a review of Vanquish but instead I find myself holding my breath over the current Supreme Court case. I've already written about why this is a bad thing twice so just look for the post listed under "politics". And for those of you too lazy to read those articles Google “comics code Authority” and imagine something similar against videogames but in the form of economics and social stigma.<br />
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In slightly better news Lords of Shadow made me realize just how much I loved <i>Castlevania</i>. I guess this is what they mean when they say "you never know what you have until it's gone”. It left such a bitter taste with me that I found a used copy of Portrait of Ruin over the Internet. While I am enjoying it, I also feel that it will be the last <i>Castlevania</i> game I will enjoy for while (unless <i>Harmony of Despair</i> gets released for PS3). It's depressing to see such a solid action series with an immense love of classic horror movies and literature to turn into a complete <i>God of War</i> clone.M.C.Dillingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06279147337292595698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4670927180850960229.post-24299629435193547762010-10-12T15:10:00.000-07:002010-11-05T13:17:55.083-07:00Contemporary Game Review: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow When I saw <i>Castlevania: Lords of Shadow</i> at E3 last year I couldn't care less. It was being developed by some no-name studio out in Spain with enough minimal involvement from the famous (if controversial) Hideo Kojima so that his name can be on the box. I didn't become interested until this years TGS. The trailer showed a <i>Castlevania III</i>-esque journey with the quality of narrative I would expect from a game with the name “Kojima” it. After watching the trailer I thought that this game might be a positive future for the series. <i>Castlevania</i> has lived under the shadow of it's great success for the past decade (Symphony of the night). I wasn't expecting this to be a success story on par with <i>Metroid Prime</i> but I certainly thought it would fare better than what happened to <i>Silent Hill</i> (I get angry just thinking about it).<br />
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Unfortunately it turns out that's Castlevania Lords of Shadow has as much substance as a rich chocolate cake courtesy of aperture science.(In layman's terms completely hollow)<br />
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For example that story had such a good feeling about, I can explain all of it in one sentence: beat up some big bads to collect the pieces of a magical doodad to revive your dead love interest/fix everything. Only the middle portion of the game feels like <i>Castlevania</i> and that's because you happen to be in a castle inhabited by vampires. Every character in this game including its hero is concerned about one thing, and I mean only one thing; furthering the plot. I mean that in the most robotic way possible every single character either doesn't have the time or can't be bothered to emote. There's Too Much about the Script in this game for me to complain about here it is my new poster boy for bad writing in video games.<br />
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While Lords of Shadow borrows some good ideas from “<i>Devil May Cry</i>” and “<i>Ninja Gaiden</i>” it lacks the strengths of either game. Instead it inherits all the weaknesses of <i>God of War</i>. The game opens up with a variety of ways to attack but if you try to play aggressively, like in <i>Devil May Cry</i>, you will fail. This is because there is no such thing as “hit stun” in <i>Lords of Shadow</i> unless of course you are getting hit. And against big groups of weaker enemies there not even needed, it's faster just to grab every individual enemy. You even unlock the ability to grab at range early in the game! The only attempt to “address” this problem is phasing out smaller enemies for bigger ones who can block. The only way to beat them is to play defensively, like <i>Ninja Gaiden</i>. except the time it takes to kill them is within the range of “soon” and “when it's done”. If you somehow fail the QuickTime event that enemy will heal itself and you have to fight even longer. This applies to boss battles to accept you HAVE to do there QuickTime events. (One boss recovered half his life gauge because I failed the QuickTime event after the fight.) And sometimes the camera is pulled so far out I might as well be playing <i>Starcraft</i>.<br />
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There only two things <i>Lords of Shadow</i> is truly good at: looking pretty and stalling for time. While the environments look really good even the aforementioned castle only feels like <i>Castlevania</i> by coincidence. Because it just happens to be, you know, a big imposing Gothic castle that's inhabited by vampires and other monsters. The rest of the environments feel like you're made by artists who spend their entire lives up to this point playing <i>Diablo</i> while listening to <i>Lord of the Rings</i> audio books. (The enemy design also reflects this.) The enchanted Forest and ancient ruins especially feel like they been pulled from a canceled game. <br />
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And on the topic of stalling for time, there is no excuse to have no less than three levels that amount to collecting keys to open a door, to play hide and seek with a little gremlin creature because it stole my magical toy things, regular enemies with enough hit points count as med boss, pointless puzzles that can be solved through trial and error, insultingly easy puzzles that take longer than needed because something important was hidden and puzzles that involve the use of an ability that is never explained.<br />
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While past attempts at making a <i>Castlevania</i> game in 3-D were far worse than this game they have the saving grace of a wonderful musical score by Michiru Yamane, Lords of Shadow does not. Since Ms. Yamane no longer works at Konami what we get instead is generic Hollywood background noise. The only music from the game I can recall is a music box rendition of “vampire killer”. Otherwise I think I heard some violins and trumpets at certain points.<br />
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<i>Lords of Shadow</i> is ultimately guilty of one inexcusable thing: everything I do is to fulfill a preset script. There will always be only one way to climb up/around an obstacle and even when you are fighting sometimes you will be required to do a Quick Time event (a staple of slothful game design). I progress through the game because I guess what the developer wanted me to do rather than finding a solution to a problem.Worse yet I've been penalized for even slightly deviating from this script. You better pass a QuickTime event at the end of any boss fight or be prepared to suffer close to half of the fight over again.<br />
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<i>Castlevania Lords of Shadow</i> is supposed to be the start of a new castle being a series. This new series is showing about as much promise as the future of <i>Silent Hill</i>.M.C.Dillingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06279147337292595698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4670927180850960229.post-55043397103899735072010-10-05T12:00:00.000-07:002010-10-05T12:00:02.261-07:00In import(?) AnnouncementDue to suspicions about the size of my fan base I will now upload new articles on a “when I feel like it” basis. Anyone who actually reads my blog will not complain however as they watch this video.<br />
<object height="344" style="background-image: url("http://i4.ytimg.com/vi/gvQn_fKsslI/hqdefault.jpg");" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gvQn_fKsslI?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gvQn_fKsslI?fs=1&hl=en_US" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>M.C.Dillingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06279147337292595698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4670927180850960229.post-70833770695959545072010-09-29T11:20:00.000-07:002010-09-29T11:20:13.425-07:00Got nothing watch this instead<object height="344" style="background-image: url("http://i3.ytimg.com/vi/2vBUaGP7L3w/hqdefault.jpg");" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2vBUaGP7L3w?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2vBUaGP7L3w?fs=1&hl=en_US" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>M.C.Dillingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06279147337292595698noreply@blogger.com0