Malik
(2/12/07)
Not much to say today.
This weekend was one which was a good lesson in seeing what all
could go wrong in life. I saw how some real estate agents can be
dicks and lazy (not my agent, but the other side of my current
negotiation), and how some people just refuse to do their jobs.
I also tried to go
to a rather swanky party. I was decked to the nines in a suit, and
was ready to drop some money on gambling and drinking. Of course it
doesn't help when any plans involve needing to park in or around
downtown Seattle. To find parking on a Saturday night in Seattle is
about as easy as finding a good new job when you want one...or
finding a good house on the market without dealing with asses who
refuse to do their jobs.
At least I did get
a few precious hours with Rogue Galaxy. Now that is a great game. I
was getting frustrated with the insane difficulty (weapons just were
way too weak to kill enemies efficiently). However, that changed
when I finally got to the "Alchemy Pot" (for Dragon Quest 8 fans,
that should be familiar) equivalent in RG. Basically, you eventually
find a frog who will eat two experienced weapons (you have to gain
weapon experience to unlock this ability on them) and spit out a
more powerful weapon in their place.
Let's just say I
went from weapons that had level ratings around 3 to using weapons
with a double digit level rating. Now that is one way to make the
game go from frustration to enjoyment in a hurry. I'm all for a good
challenge, but being under-powered, despite being in my 20's
(level-wise) is a bit annoying to say the least.
Not much else to
say right now. So, I'll just drop off and hope for some cool news or
something to bitch about tomorrow that's not real estate related.
Malik |
Malik
(2/13/07)
For those saying the Wii
drought needs to end, I agree. At least some good news is in the
pipeline. Namely,
Super Paper Mario is coming April 9th. This will be a great time
for the Wii to finally stop the launch drought and show off a little
of what the Wii can do. I just hope it goes better than the
GCN Paper Mario did.
I also hope the
times of Virtual Console releases being crap ends soon. I understand
that some people have fond memories of Kid Icarus, but I have some
bad news to break to you; Kid Icarus and Ice Climbers really weren't
that good of games. Not good enough to drop $5 on and then to play
on hardware that could smoke this type of game play. It's about time
we see more than 2 N64 games, more SNES love, and maybe we should
finally see an honest RPG experience. Afterall, the Genesis and SNES
had some of the greatest RPG experiences that any console ever
showed. Even the NES had some great RPG love with the birth of
Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, and some of those sleeper titles
(Destiny of an Emperor!).
Plus, why not show
some Majora's Mask, Phantasy Star, and real Sonic love right now? I
know I would have no problem paying even double the regular Genesis
price for Sonic 3 and Knuckles on the Wii. It would be beyond ideal.
While we're at it, where are some of the classic fighters, classic
platformers, and all of the others that helped to sell the NES,
Genesis, and SNES. I would also include the TurboGrafix, but I never
had one as a kid, so I wouldn't know. However, it would be a good
time to show that side of the gaming world to those who missed it
the first time around (like me).
I guess I can't
complain too much now that a non-launch game that shows the real Wii
fanbase (Super Paper Mario) some love is coming along in less than
two months. I just wish the good games could come a little faster.
Anyway, I'm
keeping this short today since there's not much to say. However, as
I walk off into another sunset, a personal thought; Happy
anniversary, Velveeta! It's been eight years since we hooked up, and
here's to many more!
Malik |
Malik
(2/14/07)
Nintendo released
another new Wii channel today. I woke up to find that magical blue
glow coming from my Wii. It's like it wanted to give me a special
Valentine or something. So, now I have the absolutely pointless
opportunity to use the "Everyone Votes" (or something like that)
channel to vote on polls.
Not to sound like
I'm trying to be ungrateful to Nintendo for offering more content,
but this seems like a complete waste of time and space. I can vote
on the same sort of polls you find everywhere on the Internet. I can
vote what I think a good Valentine present or day is, if I like cats
or dogs more, and other things. However, what I would've liked to
see would be voting on things with more "importance".
Why not have polls
that include "What system needs more VC love?", "What Zelda game do
you want on the VC?" or other such questions that Nintendo could use
to help gauge what VC games to release. How about a question on what
features should become new Wii Channels? There are so many
possibilities to make this a fun diversion, but instead it's only a
waste of time and a waste of space on my tiny Wii memory.
There's also a new
update included with this channel. I don't know the down low of it,
but I think the bulk of this update enabled the voting channel and
there was probably some more parental control settings or better
implementation of these controls. In the end, it was another day of
wasted Wii updates. Maybe if I had children I would find more use in
them...but maybe if I had children I would watch what they play (and
play with them) instead of relying on Nintendo to be the guardian of
my children in one aspect (the geeking aspect) of their lives.
On a different Wii
note,
Brunswick Pro Bowling is coming to the Wii at some point in the
future. All I can say is that it's about time that someone saw what
I've been seeing for several months...a large amount of those who
normally don't play games who I've seen buy the system are doing so
over Wii Sports. In particular, I've seen Wii Bowling win more Wii
fans than anything in gaming history. Casual gamers love Wii
Bowling, and it's about time that someone jumps on this line of
thinking with a full bowling game.
If Brunswick
handles the Wiimote even half as well as Wii Bowling did, then this
game is sure to be an instant hit with the casual gamer crowd, while
drawing in many of the Nintendo core audience. This is the one game
that should have been in the works since day one. At least, despite
being a little late, this is some damned good news for those of us
who feel that too many developers are not utilizing the Wiimote
correctly. Now we just need to see some Tiger Woods love already.
Malik |
Malik
(2/15/07)
The people behind
Okami (in other words, the people who used
to form a backbone of Clover studio) have started plans to
reunite as Seeds. It's hard to know what this will entail for
the future, since it's a new brand with a new name, and probably
none of the intellectual properties that Clover once held. However,
if there is any chance of this leading to an Okami sequel or another
game in the same vein as Okami, this is good new indeed.
With how many
different unique and innovative studios are folded or devoured by
big business each year, it's a rare treat to get one of the studios
back into the light of day. Even if it's a new name and a new set of
IPs, it can only hold good things for the future of non-franchised
games (in other words, games that EA and Ubi would never touch).
In fact, if there
was anything that held a bad prospect for the future of gaming, it's
the lack of creativity allowed into the marketplace. The usual
direction of game industry work and politics sees us losing more and
more of the creative side each day. With games costing more to
create as the hardware becomes more advanced, there is not nearly
enough influence out there to keep a constant stream of fun and
fresh games in the public eye. It's well known that too many of the
more novel of games (Okami, Beyond Good and Evil, Katamari, and so
on) are just neglected or ignored nine times out of ten.
The only hope that
even remains for the smaller companies is to find a well known name,
be it an old studio or a famous master of the craft (like Mistwalker
did), to carry any new games or projects. This is not the way it
should be, but since games cost a lot more than movies, for example,
we can't just count on independent studios and developers to take of
the slack without something to carry them.
Anyway, I'm still
playing Rogue Galaxy. I know, that transition in subjects sucked. I
had nowhere else to go with novel games, so I subject leaped like a
madman. It's my post and I'm fine with it.
I have to say that
my first impression of RG is completely wrong. I thought the game
was too hard. While some areas do throw in excessive challenge, the
majority of the game is simply far on the easy side of things. For
example, if you're ever under leveled going into an area, you just
need to hang out around a save spot (which also heals you for free)
and fight a few battles before touching the save spot to refresh all
your strength. Plus, as you gain experience with weapons, you can
fuse them to make more massive of weapons and soon you'll decimate
anything and everything you face.
For example, I had
to grind a few levels in the last dungeon I played. However, by the
time I was ready to progress, I was so damned powerful that I was
able to slay the boss at the end of the place with only one
character ever taking damage, no heal potions used, and it took
about 8 seconds. Not too impressive for an epic game...but it beats
battles being so awkwardly hard that you never want to progress in
the game.
I think even with
the lack of challenge, that Rogue Galaxy will keep me entertained
for a while. The plot is not exactly brilliant, but it's fun enough
to enjoy. However, the true fun comes from battling and fusing new
weapons to make your average party into a group of battle hardened
assassins.
Anyway, it's
another short post today. I didn't come into this thing aiming to be
short again, but sometimes there just isn't enough to talk
about...and this is a week of that.
Malik |
Malik
(2/16/07)
I really don't have
anything useful to say today. It's a shame, but it's been a crazy
and crappy week for the most part. Nothing like being rejected by
two different jobs (well, rejected by one and almost getting another
and then seeing it canceled due to the supervisor leaving the
company...damn!), losing out on a perfect house to buy, and not
getting much time to play games.
The little gaming
I've been up to has all been in Rogue Galaxy. That's all well and
good, but one thing needs to be kept in mind; it's not a fun game to
talk about. It's addictive to play, because of the weapon leveling
system...but it doesn't make for much fun when all I can say about
what I played last night is this;
I ran in a circle
for about 3 hours. Every 15 minutes or so I'd teleport to town, buy
some new weapons, and then I'd run in a circle again to fight more
enemies. Every 15 battles (how long it take to fully level a weapon
to it's fusing potential) I'd equip a crappy weapon on each
character and fight 15 more fights. After 30 fights, I'd have two
leveled weapons and I'd fuse them to make a new weapon...that I'd
equip and use in 15 fights before equipping another crappy weapon
for 15 fights and then...yes...they would be fused into a new
weapon.
That's it. And
when I say "run in a circle", I mean I'd hit up on on analogue stick
and left or right on the other and make tight little circles. That
way I'd just get into fights and remain near a save/heal/teleport
location. Also, the fights I'd get into would typically end in about
2 seconds with my using my most powerful special attack to destroy
everything in one hit.
I figure I'll stop
and adventure more soon, but I just enjoy making new weapons too
much for my own damned good. It's addictive and it can't be
explained. However, until I reach that special point (when I feel
like I've done enough to over power my party), I don't aim to go
anywhere.
Maybe I like it
since it seems like a good analogy for my life. I feel like I'm
running in circles and until I get a new job (which I am trying to
do), I'll just keep running in circles. Ahhhh...video games are
great when you can tie them into life lessons.
At least I aim to
have a good drunken Wii (and NBA All-Star) party on Saturday. The
one use for the Wii I still haven't been able to properly utilize;
drinking assistant.
Malik |
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