Achievement Unlocked! (Rant Version)

Thank you for indulging me. Now that I've had a couple of nice days off, I'm ready to get back into ranting before the REAL holidays begin.

Most importantly, graduation. It is a very strange feeling, not having school to worry about. Ever since I started school at Georgia Tech it was like all I ever did was worry about school: what's that next project? When's the next test? What's my grade? What classes am I going to take next semester. Limitless questions, endless options, tons and tons of problems and always something new to look out for meant that even holidays were spent doing homework, working on group projects, or studying for tests. Now that I'm done done - not just "done with this semester, on to worrying about the next one" done - life seems so much more... enjoyable. Not that life at Tech wasn't enjoyable; while it was grueling and taxing it was also loads of fun and I made a plethora of new friends that I still talk to on a frequent basis. But when I was in school, I could never seem to really enjoy myself because there was always that other thing I knew I should be doing: studying, working, organizing, updating, researching.

Even though this week hasn't been easy on me - finding an apartment, setting up internet/gas/electricity, changing addresses and phones and all that moving nonsense - I've actually found that I enjoy myself even though I still feel rather busy. Maybe my mind has finally released its death grip from my emotions and allowed me to enjoy my free time with friends and family for a change, but after being home for the holidays it makes me half wish I had just taken a job here to be even closer to home because, aside from a few people, I really miss them and they are all people I really enjoy being around. Things have been so hard on my family recently - mother getting engaged, grandmother dying, my moving, brother bombing in college, lawsuits and financial issues and all that jazz - that I'd feel better being able to keep up with them week to week instead of month to month.

But, I know I'll enjoy myself in Austin - I still know quite a few people there, and I'm really near to 2 great friends - and being close to Houston will at least give me the capability of coming home if need be, even if $4 gas starts to scare me away from doing so.

It is odd to think of myself as a "adult", and I suppose that on some level I will never feel that way. I've always been a "son" and even though now I'm out of college and well on my own I still find a need to have a "parent" watching over me to make sure I'm not screwing up. Not of my own necessity, but just as a matter of... it has always been there and feels odd when it isn't. Finding an apartment on my own was probably the first LARGE decision I've made without ANY input from my parents, and while I know I did my research and know that I made the "right" decision, not having someone there who knew "the ropes" to look towards for a thumbs up or thumbs down kind of approval was very strange.

We'll see how life takes me from here: next up is actually moving - which should happen sometime before I start work on the 7th. Once I do start, my family swears up and down I'll be clamoring to go back to college... but at this rate, I sincerely doubt that.


In staying with the title, I'd like to take a few minutes to talk about Microsoft's "Achievement" system, which is a cross between the most genius and most fiendish thing I've ever seen added to a game system. While at first it seems like there isn't much to it, just some "score" to tell you what you've done in the game, if it is done right it really adds a lot of value and replayability to a game, not to mention challenge and, perhaps, bragging rights. There are several games that I've played on 360 that had their "game lifetime" extended significantly because I was trying to get more achievements points. XBLA games benefit from this especially, since theses kind of games tend to not have "goals" or a purpose and I would have quickly lost interest otherwise.

I am mesmerized by Hexic HD, stuck trying to get 75,000 points in timed or multiple black pearls simply because they are achievements. Kameo (which I'll talk about later) has some replability to it.... assuming it is not next to impossible to get "A" rankings in the score challenge mode. Carcassone was fun on it's own, but achievements made me play it more to try and get better and to challenge others online. Marble Blast Ultra (also later) gave achievements for both just beating a level and beating it on par time, which made me more likely to give levels several attempts when otherwise I would've just moved on (see: Mercury Meltdown). And while games like Metroid Prime: Corruption for Wii added an achievement-like system (basically playing Corruption gives you a type of "currency" you can spend on bonuses to the game depending on what you do), the system is not as well thought out or goal oriented as the 360 seems to be. In a day where games are taking fewer and fewer hours to beat (because they are charging you more for less), it is nice to have these extra "goals" to try and accomplish that add replay value and challenge to games I already own. Overall, it is an incredible system, and while it is not as "revolutionary" in terms of gameplay as the Wii was, it is still an incredible addition and I wish that all Wii games had the same thing.

Speaking of my 360, Rock Band has seen an INCREDIBLE amount of play recently. My roomates and I at GT became "Hall of Fame" inductees on medium (with me playing guitar), my other friends and I ended up getting about 3/4 of the way to Hall of Fame (with me singing), and even now my friends and I in Houston are attempting to play through the game on hard (with me playing drums). For the record, drums are HAAAAAARD. However, I find the drums the most fun to play, only because A) I'm already very good at singing so there is no real challenge aside from not falling asleep B) Drums are much more involved than singing or guitar and, while difficult, not as annoyingly difficult as guitar can be and C) because drums just feel more like playing a real instrument. My arms are flailing everywhere, sweat dripping down my brow, foot spasming from trying to do double taps without also tapping on the drum... all very difficult, but also very entertaining. I am getting better at them, but there are 1 or 2 rhythms that I just cannot for the life of me seem to be able to do, mostly revolving around alternating hitting the drum pad and tapping the foot petal during fast songs. Here's a hint, though: DON'T PLAY METALLICA. Songs are so much fun to play, but you basically just lose fans left and right because they are so hard. I mean, for us anyways. Not like we are the best of the best, I guess.

On other 360 news, Kameo (a launch title for the 360 back in 2005) is a rather fun game. I am not quite as sold on the way that their scoring system works, though. Basically, there are three different types of score multipliers: Carnage, Brutal, and Frenzy. As an action-adventure style game, there is alot of sort of free-range fighting with waves of enemies and mobs of trolls for you to dispense at your leisure. Every time you kill a troll, regardless of the circumstance, you get a "carnage" multiplier added. When you kill them in creative or especially brutal ways (for instance, pushing them off a cliff or throwing them into lava) you get a "brutal" multiplier. If you two trolls within 5 seconds of each other, you get a "frenzy" multiplier. So, obviously, it is better to get a hoard of trolls together and try to dispatch them as quickly and mercilessly as possible. Sounds easy, right? Ha. Think again. If you get hit, you lose multipliers. You also have a very limited set of movements and number of times you can use them before you have to wait for your power to replenish. By the end of the game I had somewhat gotten the hang of it, but I'm probably nowhere near to getting "A" scores on levels (required for Achievements), especially considering how many levels have random projectiles or awkward platformer-esque sequences. The game was certainly worth the $15 I paid for it, but at only 11 or so hours for game completion (if that, I'm being rather generous) and how bland the game looks (although for a launch game of the first "next gen" system, I may have been more impressed 2 years ago) I might have felt a little cheated if I had purchased it for $60. I'm glad I played it, but it was certainly no Banjo-Kazooie... which makes me worried about Banjo-Kazooie 3.

Marble Blast Ultra was a cheap little XBLA game that I purchased with some left over MS points after purchasing the Metallica songs for Rock Band... and a new Gamertag Avatar. (P.S. Can we please stop it with the point systems already? What am I going to do with that random 20 MS points or whatever that I have left?) The game is not nearly as difficult as Mercury Meltdown - most levels were beaten under par time on first attempt until I got up to the last 10-15, as opposed to Mercury Meltdown which has taken 3+ attempts since about the first 15 levels or so. Some of the last few Marble Meltdown levels, though, would be nigh-impossible for me to even consider getting under par time on. Just finishing them was impressive to me. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes marble-type games, it is fun and the online multiplayer could really extend its life, and for $5 or whatever the equivalent is you can't go wrong with a purchase. It is one of those games that I may play for a few minutes once a week or every other day just to have some fun and (slowly) work my way towards the online point collection achievement.

Lastly, let me leave you with a few impressions of Assassin's Creed. Having not played it extensively myself, but at least having a bit at a friend's, the game is quite fun and really achieves a good mix of "Prince of Persia" and "sandbox". I am amazed at home much fun simply climbing walls, running on roofs, or (my personal favorite), jump-assassinating guards can be even without following the actual plotline of the game. The game looks AMAZING in HD and, while it did have issues with freezing and glitching at first, it seems to have been fixed since then. Personally, I cannot wait to get this on my 360... but I'll have to hold out on playing until I get my HDTV so I can play it like it was meant to be played. No worries, though... I'm sure Super Mario Galaxy will keep me MORE than busy until then.

Achievement Unlocked!

I'll actually write the rant later (once I'm not busy graduating or driving back to Texas) but here's a little something I threw together in honor of my graduating:



P.S. In case you want to know - and so I don't forget - the next rant should cover graduation, 360 achievements, Hall of Fame in Rock Band, Assassin's Creed impressions, Kameo, and Marble Blast Ultra. (Plus, of course, whatever else I think of.

Please don't review this (my advertisers will fire me)

Wow. Talk about a very important week (at least to gamers). Two huge stories that have interesting and widespread implications. But first, what you are all waiting for: my latest game impressions!

Mercury Meltdown Revolution - Wow this game is both fun and hard at the same time. I'm only about 1/3 of the way through the game and already I'm pulling my hair out and having to stop myself from tossing my Wiimote out the window and on to the interstate. Of course, that's how I like my hybrid puzzle/marble/goo games... difficult. It's somewhat hard to play in my room, with the TV so low compared to how I stand. It strikes me as funny that even Wii games that do not require throwing your hands around the room or taking large swings require significantly more space than a standard game controller would. I suppose I could play the game with "standard" controls - i.e. just using an analog stick and moving the blob around, but really that takes all the fun out of the game. For $20, though, you CAN NOT go wrong picking this up.


Beautiful Katamari - If you've played one you've played them all, yet this game still does not seem stale to me at all. The music is significantly better than it was on We Love Katamari and the gameplay is just as solid. Only one of the levels is annoying to play, and that is merely because there is no "please make the king stop talking" option. $40 may seem like a steal, but downloadable content almost makes you feel like they held back on what they could have placed into the game in order to charge you even more to download stuff. That is sort of how downloadale contend has always been, though: skirting the fine line between expanding your gaming experience and finding clever ways of taking even more money from you. EA has certainly done well in overcharging, going so far as to ship items on disc and yet still requiring you to pay extra to merely 'unlock' it. HD graphics make the game look alot nicer, despite thinking that the simple graphics would not translate as well as more complex graphics would. Things look alot crisper and there's just more on the screen to see (and roll up!). This comes with a price, though, as there are some points where you will see huge drops in framerate. Not enough to destroy the gameplay, but you do notice it. Can't wait for the soundtrack to come out!

Rock Band - Finally, the choral equivalent to guitar hero. Sing, play guitar, play drums... whatever you want! Here's a hint, though: drums are HARD. Really, really hard. Guitar I picked up pretty easily (at least on medium), but drums on medium still feels very hard. This is more because my brain refuses to differentiate between my foot and my hand, but it's still very fun to play. Get 3-4 people together, make a band, tour the world. Singing is a blast, especially if you know the song. I'm already a vocal expert, but hey, I've been in choir over 11 years. Everyone I play with who claims they "can't sing at all" can do just fine even on medium (well, except 1 person, but he seems to be the exception to the rule). Just... don't try and sing the Coheed and Cambria song. EVER. It's like they just recorded a banshee wailing and force you to try and decipher a pitch out of that nonsense. Definitely my LEAST favorite song in the game.

Rock Band is $170, which is worth it if you have a few friends that will play it with you. If you'd rather go solo, you can always buy just the game ($60), a USB microphone if you have one, and a Guitar Hero II or III guitar will work fine for Bass or Guitar (unless you buy the PS3 version). The drums should go on sale separately in Q1 of 2008. Downloadable content really makes this game shine, adding in songs of your choosing for a modest price (like $5.50 for 3 song packs, not too shabby). I will definitely be purchasing the Metallica song pack as soon as possible, but other big names like The Police, The Who, David Bowie, and Weezer will round out the offerings for this year and who knows what next year may bring. Party game must have, solo player is more up to you. I'd certainly recommend it, though.

Carcassone - A free Xbox Live arcade game in honor of their 5 year anniversary, it's actually quite fun. A "board game" style using tiles where you try to gain points by building roads, cities, monestaries, and more. Online play is really annoying, though. It seems to take several attempts before you can finally get into a game with someone and even then people tend to leave the game if you seem to be handily beating them. It was a no brainer for free, but I'd suggest giving the demo a whirl before you shell out cash for it. Unless you plan on playing with a friend consistently or it just strikes you as alot of fun, the replay value may not go beyond what you can squeeze out of the demo.

Hexic HD - Another free Xbox Live arcade game (came with the 360), this puzzle game is fun but somewhat annoying. At later levels it seems to be nigh impossible, dropping colored bombs in areas that do not have a single matching color within 5 or 6 tiles and forcing you to hope that 2 colored tiles will fall into play so you can get rid of it. Also, screw whoever decided that 75,000 in timed mode was a good achievement - I'm convinced that score is either impossible or requires alot of luck. This is definitely a good "relaxing" puzzle game... so long as you don't let the exponentially growing difficulty get to you.

But enough of games, let's talk news. First off, the one I don't really care to comment on right now: Activision Blizzard. Mega-publisher Activision - who was arguably larger than EA this year - has merged with Vivendi Universal (owners of Blizzard, known for Warcraft/Starcraft/Diablo) to create Activision Blizzard, perhaps the largest gaming monster and now EA's biggest rival. I cannot imagine that having yet another huge powerhouse game publisher will be good for the industry - EA hasn't exactly been known for it's stellar titles - but perhaps the people at Blizzard will teach Activision a thing or two and finally show the industry what it takes to make a quality product. Not that Guitar Hero and Call of Duty haven't done quite well for Activision, but the Tony Hawk series has been on a steady decline in recent years and fans of Guitar Hero II will tell you that Guitar Hero III is showing the same signs. Will quality finally prevail over quantity (edited from "quality", sorry), or will Activision Blizzard become the new EA and drive the games I love into the ground for the sake of a few extra dollars? Only time will tell, but Blizzard is known for it's dedication to quality, so at least there is SOME hope.

The biggest news this week, undoubtedly, is Gamespot's firing of Jeff Gertsmann. While it is not certian that he lost his job due to his scathing "6.0" review of Kane & Lynch, a game that was being HEAVILY promoted on the site to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars, it seems unlikely that it was for any other reason than to make an example of him. Jeff has been known for being harsh to games that generally get good reviews - he game Twilight Princess an 8.9, still a good score, but Nintendo fans have cursed his name ever since - but apparantly slamming the game when a company is paying you thousands of dollars for advertising doesn't sit well with the developing company.

This has always sort of been the giant gorilla in the room in the game industry - if a game you are advertising is bad, what do you do? If you give it a low score, then that advertiser might not come back to you. If you give it a higher score, you are basically cheating the people who are making a purchase decision on your seemingly unbiased review of a game. Tycho and Gabe over at Penny Arcade learned this the hard way, with Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, but they chose their integrity and their readers over their advertiser. They have since changed the way that they advertise on their site, only choosing ads for games they have played and enjoyed. Not something that could very well work for a site SOLELY dedicated to games and who relies heavily on ads (I'm sure the PA guys make quite a bit of money on shirts and books), but it does beg the question of what do these sites do now? How do they prove they are unbiased aside from sheer faith on the part of their readers?

I'm proud of Jeff for remaining faithful to his personal review and not caving in to management and advertisers to fudge the numbers, but can you really blame someone who is trying to make ends meet or feed his family for taking precautions when it comes to keeping his job? "Reviews" have always seemed like such an awkard and nebulous valley of entertainment - how do you rate feelings or "fun", especially when different people have fun at different things? My mother could care less about Ocarina of Time, but is actually interested in Wii Sports and Brain Age. Does that mean that Zelda is "bad", because she can't enjoy it? Do you simply rate it when compared to other action-adventure hybrids involving fairy boys and lost princesses and triforces? How do you "rate" horror films to someone who hates the genre? These aren't physical objects, with technical specs and tangible characteristics that can be measured and rated based on other similar pieces (This TV displays 720p and has a contrast ration of 10000:1, etc).

This, of course, makes for a troublesome paradox. You don't know if the game is good without playing it, but you need to play it to tell the game is good. You need some sort of review system in place, but to break games down into thousandths of a point and try to place all these hard numbers on such an intangible experience as enjoying entertainment is a very fickle game, indeed. I check reviews of games more for my own enjoyment (and read up to make sure the graphical glitches and technical hurdles do not take away from the experience). Personally, downloadable demos and playing games at a friend's house are my ways of finding that diamond in the rough, but I know it's tough for people who don't know others with game systems or who are friends with people like me that purchase games when they are 75% off and in a bargain bin (I jumped into Resident Evil 4 after getting the game used... it didn't even have a cover! THE SHAME!).

It doesn't help that in this industry, it seems like anything below an 8.0 will tank in sales. Which is odd, because I've played plenty of 70-80 range games and still enjoyed them (Beautiful Katamari and Mercury Meltdown both lie around there on Metacritic). Honestly, if you look at a '60' score for a game, you immediately feel "this must be terrible", whereas saying the game got 3 out of 5 stars (or, more simpler, a "thumbs up") would leave you with a better impression. Which is fine, because there shouldn't be a ton of AMAZING games out there. Many do end up being mediocre or small steps forward while the big fish wait in the wings, taking years to create and giant stockpiles of money to produce only to completely revolutionize the genre. Why does every RPG have to compare to the likes of FFVII (or, if you prefer, FFVI) and Chrono Trigger? Why must every platformer live under the shadow of Mario, and every FPS be compared to Halo and Half-Life?

Reviewers are obviously in a tough position. How do you help those who do not keep up with the industry (or the games) a quick-and-dirty answer to whether or not they buy a game, while still working together with advertisers to make money? Is it even possible anymore? Maybe we should only see ads for Full Sail Gaming College from now on (let us hope not!), but I certainly don't believe that reviews should go away: they are one of those necessities that just needs a little bit of tuning. Some of the best reviews I have ever read/heard were either from friends who have played the game, or from Tycho and Gabe over at Penny Arcade (who, also, have played the game). Even they, though, will be smart in a review. "This game isn't for people who don't like card games. For Card gamers, it's a 10/10. For everyone else, it's a 0/10". Something like that. My friends know that I don't like First Person shooters, so when I tell them Half Life 2 is crazy fun... they know that means something (they also know it means that it involves some kind of puzzle or exploration other sort of gameplay, because there's no way I'd be interested in it otherwise).

This may just is a hard lesson for both reviewers and consumers. Reviewers need to find a new way to monetize their business, one that does not place their "journalistic integrity" into question, and consumers need to make sure to read the fine print and see just who is paying the bills before you trust something that someone says. Or just use metacritic.com and take an average of several dozen reviews in order to make sure you wrinkle out any of the crooked numbers. Whatever your choice, you've alot of games to choose from this holiday season, 9.545424647473 out of 10 or no.

The Sands of Time

Between my last two plane rides - once to go home to Houston for vacation, and once to go to Austin for an interview - I have completed The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass. The game is alot of fun, and while it may be "short" it's a lot longer than Minnish cap was, not to mention all the extra stuff you could do to really extend the life of the game.

To say that the entirely touch screen implementation was a complete success would be lying - movement still seemed odd, especially when my right hand would cross in front of the screen because I was trying to quickly move left. Things like rolling on the ground felt awkward and never seemed to work right 100% of the time; instead, I'd end up just slashing in that direction or making Link walk like some drunkard. It did not get me killed or anything serious, but it did prevent me from using those moves, especially when in the heat of battle, and provide a little frustration here or there.

However, to say the touch controls are a complete flop is not only a lie, but a great disservice to the game's greatest strength: it's uniqueness. How Link handles items in game is so refreshing and so much "fun" that it can take some of even the most basic puzzles and give a smile while you are playing it. It's hard to not enjoy drawing your own path with a boomerang or guiding a bombchu directly into an enemy or switch. It's hard to not draw on the map, and allows the game to drop you far more "clues" throughout the game for you to piece together, instead of having to rely on writer's hand-feeding you choice pieces of information over and over again to make sure you don't forget it. When you've beaten a dungeon or explored the ocean and you see all your notes scribbled everywhere with notes like "How do I reach this?!?!" or "big treasure here" it just makes interacting with the world much more fun and less running around at random or memorizing enormous dungeon maps.

If you own a DS, you owe it to yourself to get this game. It's a breath of fresh air, and proves once again that the basic Zelda formula can be applied to a new game mechanic and feel like it's a completely new experience unlike any other Zelda you've ever played. I guarantee, you would not be disappointed.

But enough about Zelda, let's get to ranting. This is something I've wanted to talk about for a long time, but have never found the right opportunity to do so. This past week has given me the spark I need to finally get this out in the open.

Consoles. These mystical, magical devices provide some of the greatest gaming experiences of my time - Final Fantasy VII, Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess - but at the same time it seems to have created a sub-culture in the gaming industry, where everything is a war and you must fight tooth and nail at every moment to prove your console of choice superior to all others in every single way possible, simultaneously, and watch them bow in shameful defeat whilst you gloat about your amazing "exclusives" and praise those whom provide you your daily sustenance of electrons. Why someone would take this insanely high level of devotion towards a video game company is striking at best, and annoying beyond all reason the rest of the time. Reading Digg's gaming stories (or IGN... or Slashdot... or basically anything that has to do with gaming and allows comments), you would think that this was the Presidential election (wait, nevermind, there's more interest than that seems to garner) or some religious debate (although, to some, gaming may indeed be a religion of sorts).

But, no, it is just some lost fool's completely misguided devotion to a single, "do no wrong" entity. What drives these people to such madness? What creates "X-bots", or the "Sony Defence Force", or Nintendo "Fanboi's"? The only thing I can even begin to compare it to is Apple's loyal following, who (though small in number) have created a community so tight knit and engulfing that once Apple released a product that was actually a commercial success, it seems to have spread like a freaking disease, turning normal people into completely unreasonable product zombies. What causes such a crazy, innate desire to defend a company at all costs?

Well, I have my theories, although most of them are drawn from my own experiences. While I try to stray away from the usual "I love company X and they can do no wrong", I am not without my preferences when it comes to games. Certian companies - namely, Blizzard, Square-Enix, and Nintendo - do get some benefit of the doubt because they have proven time and time again that the games they make will be top notch, AAA titles that will define genres and stay in my console (or PC) for years or even decades without feeling old or boring. When a company has several franchises that it consistently performs well with (Starcraft, Warcraft, Diablo... or Mario, Zelda, Metroid) it's hard to treat these masters of the business the same as one might treat, say, Electronic Arts, who's only legacy is that they have stockpiles of money and can buy you up whenever they start running out of ways to profitably resell the same Madden game each year for $60.

That's not to say, however, that these companies are flawless. Nintendo has more than it's fair share of mistakes - Virtual Boy, Cartridges, Online, Friend Codes, to name very few - so when someone feels the need to complain about these things, I can whole heartedly agree. Currently, Nintendo's greatest faults (despite it's numerous successes) is the butchering of the Gamecube to promote the Wii (Twilight Princess, Super Paper Mario, etc), the insistence on using "Friend Codes" instead of something halfway reasonable like personal name tags, and lack of true High Definition gaming.
I'd even settle for 720p - a good step forward without the price tag of forcing 1080p - but instead I'm stuck playing games in 480p which we've had available for almost the past 5 years. Yes, HD adoption rates are still relatively low over all, but that number will more than likely swing the other way within the next year or two, and the Wii will start to look worse compared to the crisp, vibrant picture of even a 720p output. Halo 3, which only runs at 640p, may not look much different from Halo2 in terms of style, but seeing it on a HDTV makes everything like crisper and significantly better than the bland, blocky look of Halo 1 and 2. I won't even go into games like Gears of War or MGS4, which look simply stunning visually. And while I'm glad I didn't have to shell out $300 or (even $500 or $600) for my Wii, I do wish that some more horsepower could've been placed into the Wii to at least push out 720p content once developers got familiar with the platform.

Does this make the Wii terrible? No. I still love the system, and play it frequently. Nintendo has certainly proven it can still innovate and be creative in a business that was slowly stagnating into "the same old with more power!", and significant credit should be given for the Risk they took in marketing the Wii (and, before it, the Nintendo DS). But why do Nintendo "fanboys" have to act like the Wii will make incredible looking games, or that the friend code system is "great", or that any of the other flaws Nintendo still suffers from don't exist? It's the same with Sony fans trying to justify the flaws of the PS3 (let's not go THERE) or an "X-bot" shrugging off the Red Rings of Death as though massive failures in hardware units should be acceptable. These are still companies, and the only thing that they care about (WARNING: Generalization ahead. Not to be taken to be 100% accurate for everyone it encompasses) is making money.

So why are there people who, day in and day out, fight for these entities as though they are their best friends? Are they afraid they will feel foolish or laughed at because they bought a flawed product? Or that explaining away abuses of power will someone cause other people to jump ship and fight for the "just cause"? Why can't I just enjoy my games and you enjoy yours?

To me, having more than 1 console is a great thing, contrary to EA's desire to have only one. Let's face it, name the last time that an industry turned into a monopoly and it was GOOD for the consumer? If Sony was the only game in town... we'd have to still be using Betamax, UMD, or any other of their failed standards that try to lock you down (Rootkits, anyone?). If Nintendo was the only game in town, we wouldn't be playing games via the internet and would probably still have sweat coming out of our enemies when we hit them. Microsoft, well, we wouldn't have any products that actually work on a reliable basis. ;) But because Xbox Live was such a big hit, Sony and Nintendo are now providing online gaming. Because Sony has been pushing HD, Microsoft updated the 360 to run games at 1080p (or is it 1080i?) and to add an HD-DVD addon. Nintendo has been there to once again completely reinvent the wheel, and to show us that gaming, when marketed correctly, can become a mass-market entertainment device.

So I don't understand when someone wishes for their brand to succeed and the others to fail. Are PS3 owners glad that Sony had to have Microsoft Mop the floor with their Internet offerings before finally getting serious about online? Are Nintendo owners hoping that Microsoft and Sony will disappear so Nintendo can focus on Nintendogs 2 and lose focus on games like Project HAMMER and Disaster: Day of Crisis? Or, perhaps, be stuck at 480p NEXT generation too, with friend codes? Or maybe Microsoft's fan base would love to send their 360's in for repair every 6 months and severely over-hyping even the blandest of games through powerhouse marketing and running billions of dollars in debt every year.

Personally, I want all 3 companies to succeed. Competition will continue to breed better results, and Nintendo's return to the top is already causing Sony to take desperate action and Microsoft to extend it's warranty. Maybe Next generation Microsoft will draw the luck of the cards and it will be Nintendo's turn to once again play second fiddle while it improves it's offerings. Whatever it is, competition has given us all the things that make consoles great today - online functionality, improved involvement (via Wii or Sixaxis), better graphics and expanded ideas.

But please, fanbois, give it a rest. It's great that you love your system, but it's not flawless. Just stay at home and enjoy your games in peace, and hope that this generation stays close so that NEXT generation, we'll see even better improvements as each party fights to win our support and our money. And that, end in the end, means that we gamers will be the true winners. I just hope we aren't winners just in the month of november (seriously, couldn't they release some of these games earlier or later instead of dropping 120+ titles onto the market in 1 month?).

School, Loss, and... Metroid?

For those keeping track, I download Super Metroid for the Wii's Virtual Console (I felt bad, having never played such a 'classic') and didn't regret it. The game is great, even for someone who doesn't necessarily like the genre, and I even beat it in under 7 hours (hey, 6:59 counts as "under"!). I don't think I'll ever try to beat it in under 3 (needed to get the "best" ending), but it was definitely a very enjoyable experience. That aside, on to more "important" things.

Georgia Tech is officially back in session for my (now final) semester and things are looking... interesting, to say the least. Our Senior design project has somehow become my brainchild (this can't be a good thing) and is definitely going to be fun to make (although it may take a lot of work). Internetwork Security (a.k.a. hacking) will either destroy me because I don't know enough networking or prove to be the best elective class I've ever taken. PUBP 4803 (regulations) is kind of interesting, but with 100+ pages a week to read I'm definitely swimming in text. PST 3127 (humanities, technology and ethics... or something like that anyway) looks to be an easy course, with <50 style="FONT-STYLE: italic">know that she understood less than half of the stuff I told her she always sounded so impressed or thrilled at what I was doing. She would never bug me about women, money, about "being sociable" or any of that other stuff that (I think) most people get from their parents. Instead, she would just be interested in exactly the things that interested me, and it gave me someone to springboard ideas and thoughts off of without worry for negative reactions or "well what I meant was..." double-back explanations.

Then she got really ill starting in Februrary or so, and when I would call she would often be sleeping or unable to muster the strength to talk. But she would always make sure that my grandfather (or whomever had answered) put the phone up to her ear so she could at least hear my voice. She had a few weeks where she was really feeling good, and would actually be able to talk, but it wasn't many. It was then I realized just what she - and in turn, I - were really going through.

By June, she was gone. It seemed like such a long time that we were making hospital visits, or coming over just to see that she was trying to sleep because she didn't sleep well that night. With my family around me, the only hard times were the funeral. With enough people around - and enough work to be done - I really never thought about what I was missing until now. I even catch myself sometimes wanting to pick up the phone and let her know of something that was going on - of scholarships and friends, or of academics and work - but I can't.

So while I can highly suggest that you spend the time with those closest to you while you still have it, I know that when the time comes, it won't really matter (except to ease feelings of guilt, perhaps). It'll be hard, and perhaps it won't hit you right away... but one day, you'll stumble into it and then it's just a giant, uncontrollable flood. That's not to say it's all bad... after all, she is in a "better place" and, one day, I hope to see her again. But "one day" just doesn't cut it when it isn't "today".

So, in acknowledgment of her birthday, I felt I should do something. One day I plan to finish the last puzzle I bought her and hang it in a frame, but what better way to let a loved one live on than to acknowledge that they are gone? It sounds backwards, I know, but to really remember all that she meant to me helps me to remember that I am where I am - and who I am - because of all the things she has done for me. And it's time to show her, wherever she is, that she will always be remembered and always be loved. I wish I had more time with her in this life, and it definitely makes me regret going to school so far away and not getting to come home as often, but I will always have the wonderful stories and great memories of the time we did spend together.

So, Grandma, for your birthday: Thank You. You meant so much to me. I miss you.

It's Prime Time!

In honor of the (rather amazing looking) Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, as well as the interesting stock market tumble on bad news from the sub-prime markets, the title receives the hackneyed phrase treatment.

For those of you who aren't gamers, skip this paragraph. I never got into Metroid Prime 1 and 2, although I did eventually beat both of them after buying them on the cheap, but Metroid Prime 3 looks deliciously tempting, almost to the point that waiting until Christmas to get it may be a bit too much. Keep an eye on this one or, if you have a Wii, go download some of the promo videos for free off of the shop channel. You will not be disappointed.

As for the sub-prime market, I really don't know where to begin on this one. Part of me feels sorry for the people suckered into the credit marketing scams and buying into those "low, low rates!" and "no money down, no interest for 1 year" fiasco's. To think that people still fall for these schemes - knowingly or unknowingly - is a testament to the failures of our society on a level greater than I can begin to even detail. On one hand, you are either such a consumerist and a spend-a-holic (both scientific terms, I assure you!), and you deserve all the trouble you put yourself into for your stupid "instant gratification" life style, buying beyond your means because you need to impress other people or somehow feel "entitled" to living the lifestyle of a white collar life style on a blue collar paycheck.

I understand that people need to spend a little, and that it's hard to avoid debt right after getting out of college, getting married, buying a house, having a baby, health issues, etc.
But when someone who is talking on their iPhone while they drink their $5 frappacino and filling up their sporty new BMW with premium gasoline and talking about how they "can't afford to pay that kind of money" on some basic necessity or talking about how their credit card company is "screwing" them on interest rates and late payment fees... I really feel no pity for you. Sure, I've never been left "wanting" on the basic necessities of life; my parents have worked hard to provide for me in my early life as well as even helping out a bit into my college education. But I've also had a job since I first hit working age (no one would take me at 15, I tried) and have done my part to provide those little 'extras' for myself because my parents were working hard enough just to provide for me.

But I never owned an iPhone. I don't drive some sporty, flashy car. I don't buy my clothing at Hollister and certainly don't look to purchase Oakley's when I need new glasses or Rolex's when I need a new watch. I have some basic phone that isn't even a camera, and try to make sure to never go over on minutes or send too many text messages. I drove a Chevy Malibu and, after an accident, a Nissan Sentra. My clothing looks good... in a Target (read: not to most other people), my sun glasses were $10 at Wal-Mart and I've never worn anything fancier than a $15 timex.

Do I live better than, say, 75% of the world? Probably. But that just means I don't starve. And don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with owning any of the above things. If you work hard, earn your way in life, and really want those, it is completely within your power to do so, and I congratulate you. But too many people now a days feel "entitled" to the same lifestyle as Bill Gates and Donald Trump, and who cares about the consequences! Next thing you know, they are defaulting on mortgages, being hounded by creditors, getting evicted from apartments and being turned down for loans and credit.

Then, what do they do? Complain more. They curse the credit industry for "harsh practices" and for being "inhumane". They toss up small-percentage occurrence anecdotes about poor old ladies who cannot use their social security payments to pay off their medicine and still get to eat. All this while blogging from Disneyland on their new laptops from the fancy on-site hotel. I don't ask that you live without a few luxuries in your life; some people will never understand how I can spend money on video games, but it is that which I enjoy most.

I just ask that, as one billboard I have seen suggests, you "act your wage". Save for your future (or at least your freakin' kids). Give to charities or those needier than you (I assure you, they exist). Stay on top of credit, stay out of debt, and keep yourself from all those impulse purchases. Learn to be happy with what you have, not what other people have. But don't feel afraid to spend on a few luxuries (within your means); you worked hard, you earned it. Just make sure, you know, you did that "working hard" part. Sometimes, the only times people will work hard is when they are fighting their creditors and finding a new way to scam the system for free money.

As for those of you still getting suckered into these scams legitimately: take that as a hard lesson learned. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Work hard, fly straight, and you'll get the chance at that life you want. Will you live getting everything you want? No. None of us do. But living with what you have, and being happy with it; that's where the hardest part of human financing comes in.

Racey

While my closest friends will tell you that I reach near "fanboy" levels with two companies - Blizzard and Nintendo - my love for games is obviously not limited to just the two companies. Some find it ironic that even though I seem to drool over new Nintendo items and games, or have day dreams about playing Blizzard games that don't even exist yet, my favorite game of all time is Final Fantasy VII on the Sony Playstation. While I have usually found myself perfectly content staring face-down at the stunning list of Nintendo and Blizzard titles that I own and perhaps even covet, some of my fondest memories (or biggest surprises) comes from third party gaming. (stay with me, this all connects together, I promise).

After playing (and enjoying) Resident Evil 1, 2, and 3 on the Playstation, it was really hard for me to get into any of the later games. Not owning a Sega System since the ill-fated purchase of the SegaCD made it hard to enjoy the games on those systems (Code Veronica, right?) and playing through REmakes just seemed like a poor waste of money. I even bought RE0 for the Gamecube for a low eBay price of $7, but couldn't talk myself into finishing the game. So when people kept telling me how awesome Resident Evil 4 was, I just tuned them out.

After breaking down and buying the game for some super-discounted price after several friends prepared to disown knowledge of my existence for not playing, I was shocked to see that, once again, the genre was new and innovative and, while it made me pull my hair out and freaked me out sometimes, a very entertaining experience. So, when I heard that Resident Evil 5 was only coming to PS3 (and, later, Xbox 360), I was somewhat disappointed (currently, my only "next gen" console is the Wii). Still, I followed the game because I wanted to see just where RE5 would take the series, and how Capcom could take this new formula and really polish it up into a true blockbuster.

So, when capcom finally realeased the trailer for Resident Evil 5, I was stoked. I tried frantically to find a live mirror and sat down to see just what "next gen" could do to the already stellar looking RE4 formula. This may not be for the "squeamish" of you out there, and while the HD trailer is really the only trailer to do the game justice, here is the trailer just to see what I am about to get into. Basically, we take RE4, remove Leon and replace him with Chris Redfield, throw in some really stunning visuals and place us in what looks like Africa with, you guessed it, zombies. Except, something is a little different...

When I first watched the trailer, I will admit I immediately notice that the zombies were not white. Then, I immediately knew what else would come along with it: the "race" card. Apparently, someone honestly believes that making these zombies "African" (as I doubt the are also American) is some form of white supremacist racism in it's most potent of forms. From the article written by the obviously crazed "Kym Platt",

"This is problematic on so many levels, including the depiction of Black people as inhuman savages, the killing of Black people by a white man in military clothing, and the fact that this video game is marketed to children and young adults. Start them young… fearing, hating, and destroying Black people."

Honestly, the only thing "problematic" is this post. Firstly, I don't see a "problem" with a game that is about zombies to appear both inhuman and savage, on any level. I've seen more inhuman savagery in Resident Evil 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, Code Veronica, Outbreak Files, REmake, and all the other Resident Evil spin off and side story games that I pretty much know what happens. Considering that the game takes place nearly every game within America (RE0-3, RE4 is in Europe, I don't knnow where the others take place), it is kind of expected - and accepted - that the savage things attacking me are white zombies. But - ho ho! - they are still just that: zombies. I don't care that they are white. I wouldn't care if they were purple and green. I also don't care if the are Dog Zombies, Scorpion Zombies, giant-zombies, or even invisible ninja-bug zombies (screw you, RE4): if they want me dead, I'm gonna fight back. They want my brains, and, honestly, I kind of like keeping them. I've never noticed - or cared - what the color of the zombie was that I was killing, so why start now?

And what is with the military clothing comment? Would she have preferred a white guy killing black people... in a clown suit? In the nude? No, I doubt it. I really see no basis for this. In the first few games, you were a member of a police squad (S.T.A.R.S.), was this an outcry and police brutality at the time? No! So what's the point now? Is our military so known for killing innocent Africans that someone feels this is directed towards them? Apparently this twisted human being thinks so, because she claims the game is targeted at children to "Start them young… fearing, hating, and destroying Black people".

Ok, really folks, now this is just nonsense. Apparantly a game written, directed, and programmed by a japanese company is being used to encourage the mass extinction of a race? Last I checked, Japan didn't have that significant of an look into "racial issues", which may be best for them considering the kind of idiotic reverse-racism that we receive over here from time to time. Really, the only thing this person is looking for is someone else to try and blame for a heap of problems and situations that cannot possibly be pinned on one place, time, person or thing.

But for someone who is so concerned about a game that is promoting "racial hatred", she sure does live in a messed up family. First and foremost, she believes that Resident Evil 5 is geared towards "children". Uh, since when? This ain't no Trix cereal, lady: We aren't talking about silly rabbits or chasing leprechauns for item-shaped marshmallows. We are talking about a "Mature" rated genre of games.

She later goes on to say that she had never even played Resident Evil, but that she would "love to play Resident Evil 4. I’ll go borrow it from my 10 year-old nephew". What is your 10 year old nephew doing playing a Mature rated game about killing significantly human-like creatures with guns, huh? Where is your high-and-mighty morality now, talking about how your family openly allows 10 year olds to play games like this, and yet you think this kind of material is geared "towards children"? Are your nephews also listening to Howard Stern and watching The Playboy Channel? Are you seriously concerned about the material seen in Maxim because your 5 year old niece uses it to learn how to read?

No, obviously not. And despite her obviously snobby attitude towards gamers, she seems to mean well on some level, right? I mean, if I read her correctly, she wasn't trying to say that they let her 10 year old nephew plays these types of games, instead what she was really trying to do was insult anyone who plays Resident Evil 4 because, apparently, she is above this "child-like" genre... but not enough to pay close attention and get riled up about it. Seriously, if you never played Resident Evil 4 - and need to go ask your "10 year old nephew" for a copy as a snide dig to those of us who honestly enjoy the game - what are you doing even looking at trailer for Resident Evil 5? Obviously you are not concerned at what we do at all, until you think you can turn it around as some vicious attack on the "white man" even though the game isn't even created within the United States, but in freaking Japan? Get serious.

But, no, she doesn't. Instead, she says this in response to someone asking if it was OK that people were shooting at white zombies in all previous games:

"Yes… I am more comfortable with the zombies being white. In fact, ALL zombies should be white from this day forth."

Then, her reverse racism shown for what it really is, she tries to save face by saying this in her comments:

"And, it was a bit tongue-in-cheek on my part, but I do find the images of violence against Black people to be problematic even if those Black people are supposed to be zombies or whatever."

and a little later in the same comment:

"The author of the original article is white and states as much. Would your responses be the same to that article since it was written by a white person? Or would you think that she was “crying racism” as well?"

Why yes, Kim, we would. Because it is ABSURD to accept something as "OK" because it is being done to a white person, but NOT ok when it is done to a black person. Of course, this is not just limited to white/black. On the show 24, there are several times where terrorists are first revealed to be Muslim (usually Muslim-Americans), only to have outcries from groups like CAIR and what not about how this "inaccurately portrays the Muslim community" and such. But, when the true plot line is revealed, we learn that, as always, the big bad rich evil white man is the one who mastermind it all, and the Muslims end up being sad puppets who are abused in their little game over money and power. Who cries then? Who sticks up for the honor, the dignity, and the respect of my people, huh? Why is it ok that a white man on 24 can be portrayed as: dumb, evil, power-hungry, mad, crazy, twisted, back-stabbing, two faced, a jerk, greedy, selfish and violent, and no one gets insulted or takes issue?

I realize that there are still many - in both America and abroad - with some problems of prejudice (different from racism), but this is not the way to go about "fixing" things. Calling out anything and everything as "racist" and hoping that this is blanket snuffs out the problem isn't going to help, it's only going to hurt. But I do ask you to remember this: When you are trying to stand up for your own people and their honor, their "misrepresentation", their "plight".... where are you when it comes to someone else's turn? Where are you when Christians get bashed and defamed in public, called "stupid" and laughed at? Where are you when world leaders spew hate and violence against Jewish and Christians alike? Don't think that we all don't know some form of hate; we do, you just never see it, because you are too busy looking at how you think people are possibly trying to hate on you.

It's a story - just let the story be. They are zombies, created by Umbrella Corp. and their mis-managed T-virus or G-virus or whatever it is this time around. And don't worry - the main villian (Whesker) still seems to be a white man, so all is well in the world!

This post is rated AO for strong reasoning and logic

Rating systems have always really bugged me. I can see the usefulness of them - honest! In a world so incredibly overrun with media - movies, books, TV, games, magazines, radio, etc - it should come as no surprise that everyone needs a little help sorting it all out. Ratings act as a great way for parents to "quick-check" what they can let their kids experience; unfortunately, it is too often used as a "be all and end all" for some. Others takes the ideas of ratings too far and try to drag everyone else down with them, destroying entertainment for the sake of some hackneyed cause like "witchcraft" (as if kids would become Wiccan after reading Harry Potter!) or, in a more recent example, the Church of England suing Sony for having a gunfight against an alien race take place in a facsimile of the Manchester Catherdral in Resistance: Fall of Man. But the church's solution to this (rather silly) "offense" is to pull the game and sue Sony for money? How is this kind of "offensive material" even classified under a rating system? "Rated F: May contain works of fiction that possibly involve real world places".

Where does this madness end? Do we stop making World War II games because the Germans are offended that they are connected to Hitler and always end up losing the war?
(Actually, please do. I'm sick of World War II games already!) Do we stop watching the movie Independence Day because they blow up the White House? I can understand the church's position against violence (all joking about the crusades aside, considering we aren't living in the middle ages anymore - get over it people!), but doesn't it seem like they are grasping here? Resistance isn't exactly "Rated E for Everyone". It's rated "M for Mature" for crying out loud! Basically, you should be behind the wheel of a moving vehicle for over a year before playing this game, and we should ban it because it shows a gun fight in... a church? Is this what the world has come to?

And then, of course, there's Manhunt 2. Now, I haven't played the game. I haven't even played the first one. But, I have seen horror flicks... and those things can get pretty grotesque. I'm a rather empathetic person, so Horrors are about the last thing I'll watch. Ever. I only saw Saw II because it came on HBO one day at school and my roommate wanted to watch it (again). Some parts were pretty bad in terms of just sheer random-acts-of-violence go. Now, I'm not saying that we should start banning Saw - to many people, this is a perfectly valid form of entertainment.

So... what's up with Manhunt then? Sure, the game looks pretty twisted. Killing a guy by drowning him in a toilet after beating him over the head with the seat cover? Yeah, kinda out there. But if someone wants to play that, let them. Given their current "AO" rating (which, for most games, means "contains full nudity") is basically the kiss of death. Why not rate it M? Is there something in there that a 17 year old couldn't be expected to handle that an 18 year old can? Obviously, this is the ESRB sending a message: Tone it down. My message is: Do your job, let people decide. Give it an "M" rating -after all, I don't want an 8 year old playing it any more than you do - but give some people a chance. I'll probably never play it - it's not my kind of game. I'd rather sit down and spend some quality time Catching 'Em All!, but I'm not one to try and shove my standards of violence tolerance down someone else's throat. I enjoy First Person Shooters (even, on some level, Resistance), and those can be pretty violent. So all I ask, ESRB, is that you do your job - rate the games correctly (read: don't use ratings to send a message) and let me decide. Just... don't rate Pokemon "AO" because you can breed them: I need to get my hands on that fire-monkey.

Back by (popular?) demand

After receiving several personal questions about why I stopped my old "tech rants", I decided that apparently there was some market for actually continuing the ranting and the raving. Of course, with the website no longer up it needed to continue somewhere else, so here I am. I will try to finalize some kind of schedule for ranting, but until then... just keep an eye out, and send me recommendations for what you'd like to hear a rant about!