Malik
(8/1/05)
Well, if I cared
about Square Enix anymore (my last bit of hope in that company was
dashed with a nice one-two combo from the suckiness of Sword of Mana
and Star Ocean 3), it would be a good time for Square Enix news.
After all, they had their big shin-dig in Japan to highlight their
current projects. Gamespot
has some coverage for those who haven't been jaded by their
massively large levels of crap over the recent years...I'm sorry,
but Square Enix titles of today are just no where near the quality
that they were before they learned how to program eye-candy
(eye-candy does not make a good game...quality game play makes a
good game).
There's news along
the lines of World of Mana being bastardized across every possible
platform (from potential novels and films to actual games), FF12
coming out next March in Japan (wow...wasn't this game supposed to
come out a couple years back?), and plenty of FFVII being whored out
in all possible forms (PS3 tech demos, Dirge of Cerberus, Advent
Children...aka, the $50 movie). I think I could care a little more
if it wasn't just Square Enix squeezing extra money from a bunch of
former cash cows that are well past their prime.
It all reminds me
of Star Wars. While the SW universe is a cool thing, and there are
some cool levels of potential within the background plot (as KOTOR
1&@ showed us), it can't do too well when under the watchful eye
of it's creator. In this case, Square Enix would be playing the role
of George Lucas, and eye-candy would be the role of Jar Jar. Until
Square Enix is ready to back up their products with something deeper
than a cliché story of a brooding boy getting together with an over
or under emotional chick, I think I can easily say "no
thanks".
Anyway, I spent
the weekend giving my PSP some long needed love. I hit up some
homebrew apps (I've decided against upgrading to 2.0 or anything
higher than 1.5 until I have a good game in my hands that requires
it...probably that will be October 2nd, when I get GTA) and I bought
Mercury. Basically, for those who ignored this game, it's Marble
Madness with some variations to the concept. Instead of a marble,
you have a mass of mercury which can split and reform itself.
Instead of levels being giant races, the levels are more of puzzles
on how to get as much of your mercury glob from the start to the
finish, while completing a few objectives. Sadly, the biggest
difference over Marble Madness (which is one of my favorite
old-school games) is that the mercury glob is slow as hell. If only
the speed was kicked up a bit, this would be an awesome game. It's
not bad...but it's just not awesome.
Anyway, the We
Love Katamari review is essentially done. I need to do some
Photoshop work on some screen shots, but that's it. I expect the
review to be up tonight or tomorrow...ok, I've dragged my feet long
enough. Here's the We Love Katamari review! Well,
I feel like I got food poisoned last night, so I'm going to keep
this short and sweet (before my keyboard is made less sweet by
escaping food). So, as I go and feel ill, I just want you all
to think about something...maybe I was wrong on the
whole Hot Coffee thing.
Malik
|
Malik
(8/2/05)
I love it when
overblown crap just keeps getting dragged out. Case in point, how
Take Two was first being attacked over Hot Coffee. When the dust
finally settles, there are more than one lawsuit
against the game over stupid grounds. In fact, both lawsuits, I
can say with almost certainty, are the products of over-liliaceous
lawyers who simply have looked for the right pawn to take the face
of a lawsuit that has almost no merit.
I like, in
particular, the false advertising claim on both lawsuits. Seriously,
when did a GTA:SA ad say "there is no sex in this game, and
there's definitely none locked in unused code that should never be
accessed"? I don't recall it, but maybe I slept through
that...oh...wait...no, I would've seen or heard that. There was no
false advertising. Even if you want to say how they said the game
was rated M turned into a false statement...well, it was never
false. They said it was rated M when IT WAS RATED M. Their ads even
changed to say rated AO after the rating changed.
I just hope these
people lose nice and quickly (the lawsuits) and that the media
coverage is nice and small. I am a fan of GTA and know this type of
publicity will only help to sell games, but at the same time I just
don't want to hear any more of this shit. It's like the two lawyers
involved in these two cases are trying to be Jack Thompson...a man
who was required to undergo a mental evaluation when he ran for some
political position quite a few years back. Yeah, that's a good guy
to emulate.
On the note of
Jack Thompson and stupidity, on that same link you probably saw the
part about the upcoming game Bully. It's going to be protested by a
group of school children from DC, it's been attacked by the British,
it'll be a nice target for Mr. Thompson. Is there anything this game
can't do?
Actually, the
important part of this is that a school yard bully should be of most
importance to children in school. Meanwhile, I'm betting this will
be an M rated game. So, if anyone wants to go off about how this
game will corrupt children into learning the arts of school yard
brawls, I just want to point something out ahead of time; blame the
kids, blame the parents, blame whatever you want...but make sure
it's a responsible party. The game will be M (this is not set in
stone, but I'd put money on it coming true), and it shouldn't be
played by children. I am sick of hearing about all of these damned
kids playing games rated for a higher age group, and then the games
are blamed. The game, being rated M, is not demanding the kid to
play it. It's the kids who want to play it (a lot of children also
want to see porn, and parents would get hell for buying a XXX tape
for their kids), and some adult who either supplies the game or the
money to get the game...it's not Take Two who supplies it to the
kids.
Anyway, all I'm
trying to say is this; almost any other age related item would not
be treated this way. It's about time that society realizes that an M
rated game should not be treated any differently than any other age
restricted item. I would not want to see a kid walking out of a
store with a freshly acquired gun, sword, R rated movies, booze,
smokes, or whatever other age regulated item seems inappropriate. If
this did happen, it wouldn't be Smith and Wesson, Camel, or Jack
Daniels who gets the blame...it's be the adults, who should show
some responsibility, who get blamed (and rightly). However, change
that to a game, since they have some antiquated notion of being only
for children (bullshit), and the rules change. This is a double
standard, it's hypocrisy, and it's pretty damned ignorant of the
masses. It also leads to me either being looked at like an evil
amoral ass for playing games at my age (almost like how a grown man
would be looked at for playing with a Barbie), or it leads to the
wasted time and news space of supposed news stories (like Hot
Coffee). Enough is enough. It's time for the media, the parents, the
stores, and the children to all take some responsibility and admit
that not every product is intended for every person...and especially
the media should admit that children who have GTA:SA (or whatever M
or AO games) did not get them from Rockstar/Take Two...they got them
from parents, or friends, or stores, or grandparents (to the
grandmother who started the first GTA:SA lawsuit; for shame...take
some responsibility and quit this lame attempt to make an easy buck
for both you and your lawyer).
Malik
|
Malik
(8/3/05)
Well, before I go
off, August 12th the is the big day that us American PSP owners can
face the decision; upgrade to a browser or keep our homebrew apps.
It's a tough decision, and I think I'll chill until October (GTA
release month), but if you have 1.51, you might as well go to the
update that has substance.
So, I'm about to
go off. I have a shitty day yesterday, which mainly included my
apartment complex taking a giant crap on me (too bad I'm not a fan
of the Cleveland Steamer), and then they finished with an R. Kelly
(a little number one to add insult to crap-tacularness). Basically
they decided that sometime to be named later, I will have to be
kicked out of my apartment for three weeks. During that time, which
won't come until September 1st or later, I may not even have such an
important thing as Internet. F#$% that! Then, to make things worse,
they took my name off the front door box so I can't even allow
visitors into my building. All of this, perfectly enough, comes only
a week after I extended my lease. Thank you so f#$%ing much!
Anyway, I have
been looking at HDTVs for a while. Mainly it has been a pastime
since they are way too damned expensive to afford. However, since
I'm a game geek, HD will soon be almost a requirement for really
enjoying the next era of games. So, while looking at all of this, I
am now faced with further knowledge that I feel like going off
about. It's the fact that in 2009 all TV broadcasts will have to
have dropped analogue in favor of the
new standard. This is not too bad...in some regards. I mean the
old standard is just that, "old".
However, this
requirement is still something beyond expectation and reason when it
comes to the fact that someone as dedicated in getting HD in his
home as myself cannot afford to do so. What does this mean for those
who are not lucky enough to be part of a two (non-poverty) incomes?
What does it mean for the less wealthy of the American
population?
TV is not just the
"brain killing" device that it has been touted as by
groups like the PTC. TV is an important tool for people to get news,
education programs, and the basic relaxation that is needed after a
labor intensive day of slaving away at work has come to an end. TVs
(the old school TVs) are cheap enough for the populace to own. I
could go down to a drug store and buy a 10+ inch TV for easily under
$75. When the big Thanksgiving sales roll along, I can drop this
price to under $40 with no real effort. However, at the rate that HD
sets are dropping, this will not be true with the new standard in
2009. In fact, in 2009 the poorer of people will have three options.
The first is to pay more than they can afford for a HD set. The
second is to buy a decoder device for about $50-$100 that will only
serve the purpose of forcing the person in question to waste money
that could be saved for HD. Lastly, these people could go without TV
(which includes news, and more important are those usually
annoyingly tested public emergency broadcasts). None of these
options look good.
My favorite part
is that HD is a luxury. At the same time, so are cable and satellite
services. So, when cable and satellite both offer such increasing
levels of HD channels as they currently do, why force those who
probably can't afford cable (and for those damned ignorant asses who
say "but everyone has cable", many people don't because of
the outrageous price of companies like Comcast) to have to get a TV
that's even more expensive? Until HD sets can actually be afforded
by the masses (and to assign a year like 2009, now, is ridiculous)
this type of action should not be forced. This is not just some
blind decision by the networks, this is a congressional act.
I have news for
congress, as someone who has seen plenty of poverty (unemployment
checks were once a part of my household income, along with begging
relatives for money), not everyone has the income of a political
figure, or the advantages that come with it (like an insanely high
pension). Until those with money can accept that not all of us are
as lucky (I've been saving money for about 4 months, and I think HD
may be in my future only after all of that time saving), the balance
of entertainment and information will be unbalanced. The Internet is
almost a requirement for daily lives, but many people cannot afford
beyond a dial-up provider, HD is expensive, but it will soon be
required. This is incredibly wrong. Before these forms of media (and
more) are corrupted and made to be out of the common man's reach,
maybe the government should look into lowering prices of these
almost-basic needs (by that term I mean they are things that are not
needed in most of the world, but in our corner they are as tied into
our lives as being able to purchase food and to find out about
threats to our way of life).
Anyway, I'm pissed
off at the fact that people are being shat upon. I'm pissed off at
my apartment shitting on me. I'm pissed off that so many people can
live in such excess while other are not allowed what is taken for
granted by these people. I'm just pissed off today...so I'm going to
poof before I go off too much more.
Malik
|
Malik
(8/4/05)
I love this crap
about the motivations
behind Rockstar. I mean these protesters decided to bring in a
bunch of school children to protest a game which has almost no
information available on it. I'm talking about Bully.
I mean it's a
little hard, in my opinion at least, to try to complain about a game
that has only the tiniest bit of information available on it. After
all, it'll be more likely to see Jack Thompson playing GTA:SA and
loving every minute of it than for this to happen, but Bully could
end up turning into a happy educational tool on how to properly
handle a bully at school (with game play that includes reporting
trouble to teachers, using the US legal system to get restraining
orders, etc). So, while that will almost never happen, it's still
complete hypocrisy to complain about a game that hasn't been seen in
the real world...wait, maybe these protesters are time travelers and
know the game from the future! We should seek answer from them about
a cure for cancer, how to solve the the gas crisis, and how to take
apart terrorism! Wow! We have real mother f#$%ing heroes among
us!
So, getting real
about this, when the hell did Rockstar market games towards
children? I mean the advertisements for GTA games have even included
music which is less than well known by today's youth, but is wholly
known by the real target audience (males, ages 18-35). Plus, just
because it's a game it doesn't mean that it's for children. If we're
going to think this way, then we should also say that only boys are
playing games (after all, the stereotype says games are for BOYS
ages 5-16). So, on that note, I say we protest against Mary Kate and
Ashley Olsen games since they are obviously corrupting the boys they
are aimed at by trying to make them too effeminate. Damn, I try to
stop being sarcastic, and look what these protesters keep pulling me
into.
However, Rockstar
may advertise their games with big explosions and firefights, and
even fast car chases. Last time I looked, that was the same shit
that R rated movies use to advertise themselves, but with a movie it
is somehow ok to aim it this way at adults...just not with
games.
I can even see
exactly who Bully is aimed at. It will definitely be M rated, as in
not for children. Why? Because many people seem to forget, but
Rockstar remembers, that bullies have been a factor of life for
longer than the last 2 years. So, this game is obviously aimed at
the people who were once school age, but are now adults, who either
were victims of a bully, or at least witnessed the mayhem caused by
a bully. It's a way for adults to escape into nostalgic events and
still have fun with it. Like with GTA games, it's a chance to have
some fun and to play out something they never could in the real
world.
My favorite part,
beyond how these people are claiming that Rockstar advertises to
children (f#$%ing ignorant idiots), is how the people behind these
protests are bringing in children to do their dirty work. This is
brilliant, since it's always an emotional tear-jerking angle on any
protest or news. Show a child that has "had it's life ruined
by" whatever is being protested or reported. However, these
kids are not the target audience for Bully.
Plus, for these
people to complain about Rockstar is beyond simple minded. Maybe,
instead of saying Rockstar has no freedom of speech in being able to
make whatever game they want (while these people exercise the same
first amendment to protest...no hypocrisy there...) they should try
to take up getting game ratings to be a better way of limiting
access of games to children. This, however, would involve going
after a less prolific target, like either the government (this group
is from DC and chose to go to New York...maybe they could look in
their own backyard) or trying to spread the word to parents that
they need to watch out for their own children. Either way, attacking
the first amendment of a business by using the first amendment is a
little beyond wacky.
Anyway, there's no
other real news out there. I haven't been playing many games lately
(except FF6), and the only other thing I can even think of going off
about is how FF7: Advent Children characters look so damned metro
that I think I'd have to castrate myself to believe that these
characters are actual bad-asses. I keep seeing previews and while
the action may look pretty intense and skillfully animated, the
characters are just not believable to be behind this action. It'd be
more believable if the sword fights were actually performed all by
moogles (at least I would believe seeing Mog swinging a sword or
thrusting a lance more than these characters doing the same). The
only character that doesn't look completely unbelievable is
Vincent...and that's only because he's almost completely covered, so
we cannot see what he really looks like. Blah.
Malik
|
Malik
(8/5/05)
Well, I'll
probably be talking less about the games I'm playing for a short
while. I'm now spending a good deal of my gaming time with the beta
of Ratchet: Deadlocked...which means I'll be working under the cover
of a non-disclosure agreement. Oh well. Once the agreement is over,
which I believe is the day R:D hits the stores, I'll have plenty to
talk about. However, for now, all I have been playing that I can
talk about is either FF6 (and we should all know this one by now) or
Mercury for the PSP...
As for Mercury,
I'm a little disappointed. The game was packaged to look a lot like
Marble Madness, but with enough new twists and turns to keep you
interesting in a new $40-$50 game. Well, so far, and I'm over 50%
done (according to the save screen) and I have to say that this is a
good game...until you factor in the price. I would only pay $20 or
less for this game. It really isn't worth a full price treatment.
For example, the game is freakin' short. I've spent only a couple
hours to be over half done. I suppose I could go back and try to get
the high score on every level, but I don't see that coming. In fact,
I could only stomach most levels for one try due to the unusual
difficulty...some levels are almost ridiculous in their easiness.
Meanwhile, some levels are either very simple (and I'm just looking
for too complex of a solution) or are as hard as they seem to
me...these levels are the ones I'll barely beat by getting the
minimum requirements per level (like how much of my mercury glob
remains, and being down to less than a second left on the clock) and
that's only through luck that I do so well. This game is not made
for the large price of the PSP games. Hell, this should be a
downloaded homebrew game if there ever was one.
On to games that I
know aren't worth their price; Metroid Prime 3 is being discussed
by Retro Studios. MP3 will continue the same damned plot line
that the first two Primes featured...in other words, more about the
overplayed phazon. Yippee...blah. It's being said that this will
serve as closure; to the series or this plot, who knows? However,
it's about time that this style of Metroid gets laid to rest.
The game play was
amazing in the first MP, however with the dark world damage, I just
found the game play to be a hindrance in Echos. If I'm going to face
massive damage from just walking around, then don't have an engine
that makes it easy to get stuck on corners. It's that simple. Also,
when ammo was thrown in for normal weapons, that crossed the line.
It made the aiming system feel greatly out of balance since an enemy
could always dodge as your final light shot goes off into the
wall.
All that's really
known beyond the plot reaching closure with an "epic
struggle" is that this will be on the Revolution. I can't even
speak about what this means since Nintendo is still sans controller
for the Revolution. Metroid is supposed to take advantage of the
unique controller, but if that's good or bad...who knows? I just am
afraid of another game with the same damned environment (there might
have been many back drops and visuals, but in the end, there were
two environments in MP 1 and 2...platformer style ledges and
platformer style ledges with weird gravity due to being underwater),
the same possibility of damaging environments, limited ammo with
lame and archaic ways to gather more (that was the worst part of
limited ammo...kill something with your precious light ammo to get
precious dark ammo and vice versa...that makes the game so damned
frustrating since it means it's hard to ever keep a full supply of
either ammo type and you waste way too much time gathering ammo
before entering a new area). I hope by being on a system call
"Revolution" that MP3 could be revolutionary and not more
of the same crap.
Malik
|
|
For Those Who Don't
Have Flash Plug-Ins...
News
Reviews
Videos Features
Forums
Archives Search
This Site Links
Contact Us The
Car Disclaimer
|
|