sootoutofservice-blog-blog

[sootoutofservice-blog-blog]

if you are still following this tumblr...

STOP. Follow this blog http://sevenoutoften.tumblr.com/

[sootoutofservice-blog-blog]

Off the top of your head, the three video game series you think you spent the most hours playing over the course of your life!?

1. Super Mario (been playing it since I was three!)

2. Legend of Zelda (Spent a lot of time replaying Link to the Past, a LOT of time.)

3. Advance Wars (hundreds of hours, seriously.)

[sootoutofservice-blog-blog]

Just reposted a Pokemon article I wrote last year. Give it a read why don't ya?

[sootoutofservice-blog-blog]

This might be the game to get me into First Person Shooters

But can someone please put some feathers on them raptors? I thought FPS games were all about realism!?

[sootoutofservice-blog-blog]

Is Flip the Core the best shoot-em-up ever?

For only two bucks it sure is. It's like dropping eight quarters on Raiden or Gradius back in the ancient days of the arcade. It's out on DSiWare/3DS eShop this week.

The game features five stages, three weapons each with three upgrade levels. Sounds pretty straightforward so far, but the 'flip' mechanic forces you to put some forethought into those flying patterns, much like the polarity shift from Ikaruga. Another surprisingly fun mechanic is losing weapon strength every time the weapon is fired, forcing one to be stingy with the bullets, and make every shot count.

[sootoutofservice-blog-blog]

Rune Factory 4 producer says exactly what I want to hear.

- you can choose to ignore the evil king and just farm - you can also fight the evil king and then go back to farming

This sounds like exactly the game I want to play. Thank you Yashimoto Hirofumi, for letting me just ignore my problems, even in a video game. Even if I am the only one that can defeat the evil king. I don't care, I need to think about me for once. I've got a farm to run.

[sootoutofservice-blog-blog]

Conversations Between Two Generations of Gamers: Modded Controllers

Cousin: "These assholes on Xbox keep saying I'm cheating and got a modded controller."

Me: "Isn't that just what they do on Xbox Live?"

Cousin: "Well if they report me for cheating I won't be able to play online anymore."

Me: "Don't they need someone to like, investigate that?" 

Cousin: "But the modded controllers are undetectable."

Me: "If they are undetectable, than how are the people you are playing think they are detecting it?"

Cousin: "Because they are 180 dollars and have a kind of aimbot built into them."

Me: "So basically, you are afraid of being so good you get banned from Gears?"

Cousin: "That would suck."

[sootoutofservice-blog-blog]

Smash Bros, Sakurai, and Namco Bandai

Everyone calm down. I assume you have already read this. A few folks are already flipping out about the announcement that Namco-Bandai is involved in the production of the next Smash Bros. I'm going to say it again, calm down. As long as Sakurai is on board everything is going to be fine. I have no doubt that the man would never release a game that didn't meet his high standard of quality. This is likely why all his games get delayed and end up getting released in spring rather than the holiday release window they are usually announced for. 

How can a few folks suddenly turn on Sakurai after he has proven again and again his ability to create fun and new experiences to every game he creates. Hideo Kojima of MGS fame has even stated (back in 2005) that he would want Sakurai to continue the Metal Gear Solid series if Kojima himself decided not to work on it any longer. 

Some might be saying that Namco Bandai is the issue, and not Sakurai, but that doesn't add up. Sakurai has several times taken a band of disparate parts and hastily gathered resources to create some very amazing games and I doubt the new Smash Bros will be any different. He worked with Q? for Meteos on DS. He threw together his own company Sora and kicked off game production with that crew immediately to bring the world Super Smash Bros Brawl.

You don't gather this many higher ups for one project if you are simply going to half ass it and not work together. Namco's crew isn't made up of triple-A producers but the development heads do have the credentials to contribute to the series in knowledge, and development skills. With the upcoming games, Smash Bros is now a flagship brand for not only Nintendo, but Namco Bandai as well. Namco has diverted a lot of resources to Nintendo, and I am sure they do not do so lightly. I expect the Namco side to contribute strongly to the effort, especially in the graphical department.

In fact, considering the pedigree of the folks going in, I think that Sakurai will be able to focus in on managing what is sure to be the largest project he has ever worked on. Not only is he creating a brand new entry of Smash Bros for the brand new Wii U, but also delivering the first handheld Smash Bros experience ever. It's a tall order, and Sakurai needs all the help he can get. He also has to deliver these games with the ever watching glare of a planet of fanboys over his shoulder, judging even the most innocuous statements and announcements.

So take a deep breath and relax, it's all going to be OK.

[sootoutofservice-blog-blog]

Damn you Capcom, just sell some stateside. Don't hold out on me!

It's like Capcom took a lesson from how Nintendo treats Mother/Earthbound fans and is applying it to fans of their Mega Man franchise.

[sootoutofservice-blog-blog]

Why Nintendo needs to update the 3DS before releasing the Wii U

Nintendo is in an interesting position, they basically have an advertisement machine in the palms of millions of gamers with the 3DS. I think the best way to get the word out about the Wii U is to update the 3DS to the Wii U infrastructure (whatever that may be) about a month before the arrival of the Wii U. Especially including Miiverse into the 3DS. 

If Miiverse came out fully formed on the 3DS, then you are already showing off the tech of your new console in the hands of the customers who are probably the most likely to be early adopters of a new system. Not only this, but you would be able to do a final test run of bugs and hiccups for your online service to work out the kinks before launch day when you are inundated with a ton of folks trying to log on all on the same day. 

So essentially you are shoving a new Wii U style architecture into the hands of every 3DS player, showing off these fanciful "try it to understand it" ideas that Nintendo is known for, and get people on the mii trading and easier friend codes bandwagon ASAP. For the consumer, we get an idea of what the future of online Nintendo looks like to get us nice and hyped. Nintendo gets the ability to win over consumers and keep things running as smoothly as possible (for Nintendo at least). Win-Win.

[sootoutofservice-blog-blog]

Outrageous! After Heavy Rain kicked so much ass they don't even get a nod. What are these critics even doing with their time?

Beyond: Two Souls is up for Best Original Game and Best Action/Adventure Game, and it had better win both categories unless video game journalists love looking ridiculous and out of touch.

[sootoutofservice-blog-blog]

And then something about Lollipop Chainsaw

Sorry, but it has been a while since I looked forward to a game so much. Not to mention this is the opening of a tad of free time, so my thoughts are running wild with ideas and themes of a game I have only played three and a half levels in. I like to think though, if you haven't noticed. Today it is about the length of games. Though I have only gotten a few levels in, I have sunk some time in this game. Discounting the restarts from dying, I have also repeated my way through the prologue to reach better scores so that I can defeat the other thirty or so people playing online. 

The biggest reason I bought this game? Likely because Suda51 is attached to it. I feel that Suda51 has grown up in the same way many of us gamers have and he uses that knowledge and past to paint a picture that resonates with precisely the narrow set of rock music loving, high score getting violence fans that want these games. People like me. Suda51 games feel like an indie developer got a hold of AAA developer money and it is awesome. 

It's interesting to see Suda coming into his own in this era of gaming. He had some odd ideas with Killer7 that started to come to fruition with the No More Heroes series, but now that his games have stepped up to high definition, it seems that Suda has gained a niche that he can call his own. I am already wondering what is in store next for him. 

[sootoutofservice-blog-blog]

Bomb Monkeys in this day and age?

Bomb Monkey is a puzzle game, check it out. 

Can you believe it? A puzzle game. The very audacity of it. In between being let down by various E3 announcements, developers Renegade Kid have unveiled the falling block puzzler Bomb Monkey.

This is a good thing because puzzle games are fun. I very much endorse the idea of fun video games. , especially on consoles. I suppose $60 for a set of puzzles does sound unreasonable now. I guess that is why they have been relegated to the realm of downloadable only, and the dreaded iOS, territory of the vile casual gamer. 

I am glad that a relatively large developer like Renegade Kid has decided to reach out to the forgotten genre, especially in the overcrowded 'falling block' category therein. If their prior work is any indication, then this should be a strong showing in this category, and maybe the kick in the pants the genre needs, because I haven't dreamed of blocks falling since all those late night sessions of Lumines II a few years ago.

[sootoutofservice-blog-blog]

Giygas lives on Saturn!

So that's why the Mr. Saturns had to come to earth! It all makes sense! This is the real 2012! Prepare for the end times!

That sound was radio waves leaving Saturn, recorded in 2003. And below is the ominous sounds of Giygas.

Play both tracks at the same time and you'll start hearing alien messages telling you to pick a fight with any kid you see with a baseball bat.

[sootoutofservice-blog-blog]

More and more about Lollipop Chainsaw

It's been a while since I have had a game I have been able to delve into so thoroughly. The kind of game I think about when I am away. Waiting to get home and play like a grade school kid. Right now that game is Lollipop Chainsaw.

It is just over the top in so many strange ways. The kind of game I have waited for theis generation. I place it with the smarmy camaraderie of other Suda51 classics as No More Heroes and Shadow of the Damned, as well as House of the Dead: Overkill. It makes me wonder what other games fit into this over the top category. I certainly wish more folks would throw their hat into the ring of this strange genre of character driven, ahem, overkill. 

As a fan of terrible 1950s sci-fi movies and Mystery Science Theater 3000 reruns, there is most definitely a market for these games. I'm not sure how large of a market, but that is not my problem. 

I also enjoy that there aren't many people playing Lollipop Chainsaw on PS3 and I am in the top 20 of the leaderboards for several game modes. Awesome.

[sootoutofservice-blog-blog]

Lollipop Chainsaw

Lots and lots of Lollipop Chainsaw. I wish I was playing it right now but I am currently stuck at school for most of the day. A man can dream though...

So far the game has been everything I could ask for. Great dialogue, amazing music, fun combat, and that irreverent yet contemporary style that Suda51 injects into all his games. I'm just glad a guy like Suda51 is able to make the games he wants on such a large scale. I was worried after the poor sales of the (also phenomenal) Shadows of the Damned. 

I hope I have time to write more about this game in the future, but for now I just want to mention I really enjoy the off beat main characters in Suda51 games. The nerdy Travis Touchdown and his strange cohorts (especially Shinobi) in No More Heroes. Shadows of the Damned's Garcia Fucking Hotspur (The first Mexican American main character in game history? Correct me if I'm wrong) and his demon gun Johnson. Now we have Juliet Starling and her decapitated and confused boyfriend. Although, to be fair, these days I will enjoy any main character that isn't  a stubble faced white guy with brown hair. I am very glad that Suda is willing to kick things up a notch in that category.