Shadow of the Colossus Art Book

Amazon.co.jp has a listing for a Shadow of the Colossus Art Book that includes pictures of unused colossi. Pretty neat stuff, as shown by this forum post on Games Are Fun. Again, I wish more merchandise like this would reach our shores (without having to import).

Nintendo DS lite

What the heck just happened? Didn't Nintendo just say that there's no redesign in the works for the Nintendo DS? And yet, here we are with a new announcement that the Nintendo DS lite will be released on March 2nd.

Now, I don't mind the redesign all that much. Sure I'm annoyed that Nintendo keeps releasing better designed handheld systems after I buy them, but it's something that I should be used to and expect from Nintendo by now. I was never really happy with the NDS design anyway. To me, it's too bulky and heavy to be a portable system. The NDS lite's design is not all that dissimilar to the design that I drew in a previous post. The main point of my drawing was to show that the new design would be slimmer. My guess was correct (I even guessed correctly about a brighter screen!).

Based on the image that Nintendo provided, it seems as though the directional pad and face buttons will be made of the same plastic that is used for the GameBoy Micro's buttons. Good choice. Something that I don't like is how the bottom LCD screen seems to be elevated (or at least have a ridge around the screen). This ridge/elevation is on the original NDS design as well, but it seems more pronounced in the NDS lite.

Sony could learn a thing or two from this design (another of Nintendo's seemingly Apple inspired designs). Note that the Nintendo DS can no longer be powered off by accident (power button is now in a similar position as it is on the GBm - or seems to be at least). I've never had that problem with the NDS myself, but others complain about it now and then. And while Select and Start have been moved, they seem to be very easily accessible still.

The real question to me is: Will it continue to use the old GBA SP/NDS charger or use the GBm charger? Hopefully it'll be either one. Yet another charger would suck. I also think Nintendo has learned its lesson about not having a standard headphone audio jack in their systems, so there should be no problem about that. I'd also like to know if Nintendo is going to replace the crappy volume slider in the NDS. I hate the volume slider on the NDS. It sucks - I can never adjust the volume to a level that I like.

Looks like I'm replacing my bulky NDS afterall.

Six days...

I haven't posted lately about Shadow of the Colossus. I haven't lost interest in the game yet - I've just been busy with other games. I only write about SotC today to inform everyone that in less than six days, SotC will be finally released in Europe. Those poor gamers had to wait a long time for this game. Believe me Europe, it's worth the wait. Sony has officially updated the Shadow of the Colossus website for those new languages.

The one thing that bothers me though is that the European version of the website has a much more artistic design that fits the SotC universe. It is far better than the Japanese and American versions. This leads me back to my previous complaints about box art for American games. Why does America get these cold and unartistic designs? Is it just a matter of getting the game logo in as big a print as possible? Or is it that publishers (or marketers) think that artistic designs won't sell the product?

At least give us something relevant to the game's universe and subject matter, okay guys? Let there be no more fiascos like that of ICO. Thanks.

My week in review

My week has been pretty eventful. The majority of it was spent playing Spartan: Total Warrior - a game I recently received in the mail. I'll be reviewing it in a day or so.


If you didn't already notice, I achieved my first Onyxia kill on Friday. It's something I'm very proud of. The battle seemed very basic overall due to Onyxia's limited AI. Don't get me wrong, the battle was still challenging - she hits very hard. You try playing as a priest and keeping your group healed along with the main tank. =D

The battle did remind me of fighting the dragon boss from Phantasy Star Online. In either case, it was damn cool. I can't wait to go to Onyxia's Lair again.

While I was out shopping earlier this week, I got the chance to try out the Black demo from EA. Hmm... I suppose I should choose my words carefully from here on. Let's put it this way. Based on what I played, Black seems like an average FPS. The only differences I saw were an AI system that is seemingly loosely based on AI found in Halo and that hiding behind objects is now out of the question as bullets now destroy windows, walls, cars, barrels, etc. Of course, while I did find it neat that games like Black now have more realistic bullets and physics, I should point out that Black seemingly does not do anything else to push the envelope of the FPS gameplay style to make them interesting again. We'll have to wait to see if Black offers anything more than just faster paced gameplay. I personally wouldn't hold my breath - but then again I'm not a big fan of FPS games.

I'd also like to point out to everyone that it was proven that shooting cars won't cause them to explode (as proven by the Mythbusters). I'm sure this is true for barrels as well.

Back to Black for a moment, I'd like to point out that while playing I found myself struggling with the PS2's controls to keep up with where I wanted to move and aim. It could be that the movement speed just needs adjusting or the controls are not yet tuned to perfection yet. Of course, those are developer's reasons (if they were to respond to my comments). The real reason is that the controller just doesn't feel right for the FPS genre. I'm sure there are some that will disagree with me, but those people are Halo fans and thus their stupid opinions don't count. Console FPS games should give the user the option to use a mouse and keyboard - the only way to play a FPS (unless the Nintendo Revolution can do better).

I also found it awkward to have the crouch button placed on the L2 button. In my opinion it should be placed on one of the face buttons where it can be accessed easier. Customizable controls will fix that problem.

Also, at the same store where I played the Black demo a customer was chatting with the salesclerk about the Xbox 360. Naturally, I listened in on their conversation for a while. Basically, the customer was non stop praising the Xbox 360. He even boasted that once the Xbox 360s are more available, he'll buy a new one and sell his old one so that he'll have a system that doesn't have any hardware problems. He never really mentioned how great the games for the Xbox 360 are - he only mentioned the graphics. Beautiful graphics. Is that all the system has to offer? He didn't mention any game titles. The closest he came to mentioning a game was when he said "that football game." In any case, this type of "gamer" pisses me off the most. Games shouldn't be played for their visual appeal. To me, gameplay rules above all.

I also found it funny that he's going to buy Burnout Revenge for the Xbox 360 even though he has it already for the Xbox. Not that I think he played it all that much though - he said that there's only one track in Burnout Revenge and commented that Burnout 3 had a lot more tracks. But whatever, I just think that if you're going to praise a game you should at least play more than the basic unlocked levels.


Moving off the subject of video games, I'd like to complain about DVDs. More specifically, DVD releases from anime publishers. I once complained about how many different DVD releases Neon Genesis Evangelion was getting. There was first the standard edition (8 discs), then the compilation package (all 8 in one package), then the director's cut DVDs, then the platinum edition (7 discs), and finally the platinum compilation package. There might be a remastered eidtion in there somewhere... I don't remember though. I thought it couldn't get worse than this. I was wrong. The Robotech series is now the king of re-releases. It first had the standard releases, roughly 4 episodes per disc (85 episodes total, Robotech audio tracks only). Then three compilation packages, one package for each "generation" in the Robotech series. Then came the Macross/Southern Cross/Mospeada editions that have both the Robotech audio track and the original Japanese audio tracks. Then came the Remastered editions, followed by the Protoculture Collection package (Robotech audio tracks only). And now finally, the most recent release with the original Japanese audio track and a new English track.

I don't care much for the new English audio track - it just doesn't sound right since I'm so used to the Robotech audio track. What I'm most pissed off about is why they have to release so many god damn versions of Robotech. I can understand the reason for the Macross releases - Robotech is basically a huge cut and paste of the Macross, Southern Cross, and Mospeada shows. I don't know about the rest of you, but it pisses me off to buy a series on DVD only to find out that the studios are going to release a (usually) better version of the same series you just bought. Maybe it's just me...

(If you're curious, I own the non compilation Neon Genesis Evangelion Platinum Edition DVDs and the Robotech Protoculture Collection. I'm really interested in seeing the original Macross story though - I hear it's quite different from the Robotech story.)

Crappy American Box Art

Yet again, North America is screwed out of the beautiful box art featured on the Japanese release. Just take a look at the Japanese box art for Street Fighter Zero 3 Double Upper.


And now take a look at the box art for Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max.


Why do game companies change the box art when they release the game over here? Why?! I'm sure some marketing guy would say: "the box art is changed to better catch the eyes of American customers" or some garbage like that. I just hate it when they ruin the artistic value of a game's box art just so they can make the game's logo stand out more. I hate it. It's garbage. It looks awful. Give me my Japanese box art.

Phantasy Star Online Returns

I have found myself drawn back into playing Phantasy Star Online ever since I found this site. I've always wanted to play PSO online with my friends, but was never willing to pay a monthly fee to do so (I didn't have a Dreamcast at the time the first PSO was around and thus could not play on those free servers). It wasn't until PSO Episodes 1 & 2 was released for the GameCube that I really got to sit down and play PSO. And while I had fun, I still didn't get to play multiplayer - on or offline. World of WarCraft ended my PSO playing. Now that I've found a free server to play on, some of my friends and I have found ourselves being drawn back to PSO. We can finally play online now. And I must say that, for it time, PSO did online multiplayer beautifully. Now where can I get my character one of those Spread Needle rifles?

Nintendo also sucks

As usual, once we spend our money on one of their handhelds, Nintendo announces either a new handheld or an update to the current one. In this case, roughly a year and a half ater after its launch, the Nintendo DS will see an update. My guess is that the new design will look very similar to the GBA SP. It won't have a bulky and curved clam shell design that it currently has. I expect the updated Nintendo DS to be slimmer and flatter if not totally flat. It should keep it's current size screen, if not improved (brighter, slightly larger, more pixels). See my crappy concept illustration below.


This would make the Nintendo DS a much easier and lighter handheld to carry around - one of my biggest complaints about the Nintendo DS. It'll still have the GBA slot thanks to using left over parts from the GameBoy Micro design. Watch me sell my old style Nintendo DS and buy the slimmer one like the idiot that I am. Stupid Nintendo. =D

Apple Sucks

I hate Apple. No, not because there's a lack of a gaming scene on their Macintosh platform. It's because they make everything so god damn sexy, people think that they just have to own one or look uncool.

Now, I don't own an iPod. This is because I only listen to the music that is being played while I'm playing a game. There are some exceptions of course. I'm just not interested in the iPod. Plus, I don't like how freaking everyone, especially teenagers, walk around with those damn white iPod ear-buds stuck in their ears.

Anyway, the Apple product that I am really interested in is their computers. I like the sexiness of the operating system. It just seems so simple. It just seems to do everything right that Windows has gone wrong. I was actually thinking about buying a Mac Mini, but decided against it because I'm not looking for another desktop system. I have been looking for a notebook though, I for a while I thought that the Power Book was the way to go. Of course, the only thing that really stopped me were the facts that the Apple platform is just too expensive and Apple just announced the new Intel based notebooks - the MacBook Pro. And yes, the new notebook is the king of Apple sexiness.

I really want to start playing around and working with Macs. It seems more and more jobs require knowledge of the Mac platform nowadays. There is the illegal course - VMware plus finding the developer ISO of x86 Mac OX. But I don't want to screw up my main computer - and if I can't play a Blizzard game, I'm not a pleasant person to be around. I guess I'll just have to wait until I have more disposable money.

Arcades dead? Not yet.

I'd like to respond to this article, posted at Slashdot, that states that the arcade scene in the U.S. is dead. He justifies his claim by leading towards the notion that Dance Dance Revolution dumbed down the gamers at arcades.

If you actually think about it, arcades were already declining in attendance by the time that DDR came around. In fact, DDR probably re-energized the arcade scene for a good 5 years. It brought gamers back to the arcades. It gave them an experience that they could not find at home.

And that's just it. Arcades are a place for gamers to play games that they cannot play at home. Arcades have low attendance now because, quite frankly, home consoles can now offer arcade like experiences at home. For a while, DDR did just that.

When will the next re-energizing arcade game come out? Hard to say. Home entertainment systems and video game consoles are so powerful now, there's no technological peripheral that can make arcades stand out. The fact that all next generation consoles are going to have online gaming doesn't help arcades either.

But for now, Mario Kart Arcade GP is good enough to get me back into the arcades.

Blu-ray for the win!

Microsoft, in all its wisdom, has decided that the Xbox 360 will be compatible with HD-DVD. But it's not what you think. Rather than screwing over early adopters of the Xbox 360 and release a new version with a built-in HD-DVD drive, they screw over everyone and have them buy an external HD-DVD drive for at least $300.

Naturally, it'll be an awesome peripheral as it is attached to the console via USB 2.0 and its blazing fast throughput. Yeah, right.

As any gamer should know, external perihperals are supported immensely by 3rd party developers. Granted, not all of the peripherals I linked to were accessories intended to be a major part of that console's gaming, but keep in mind that some were. The HD-DVD peripheral falls into the latter category.

For an extra $300, Microsoft is going to have a hard time influencing people that they need that drive. Especially if they want to further promote the Xbox 360 as the wave of the future. Hmm... I wonder... $400-500 would get me a PS3 that already has the latest optical disc technology while for an additional $300 (on top of a $400 console) you could get the other format for your year old Xbox 360. Yeah, tough choice there.

How much you wanna bet that Microsoft will screw themselves over and release Halo 3 only on the HD-DVD format? I can only hope... I'm dying to see the Halo series die. If not Halo 3, definitely Halo 4. Keep up the awesome work Microsoft! Way to let Sony walk all over you.