Round 'em on up

Here's some thingies that I should post about before I forget:

My review of Black Static #3 is now live over at The Fix Online. A very stylized magazine that focuses on horror fiction. I really liked a few stories, and others did absolutely nothing for me. Or the genre, if you want to look at it that way.

This week, I pushed past my 300th comic for MyLifeComics. Kinda neat.

I, um, also beat Final Fantasy XII. Was easier than I expected, but then again I put a good 100+ hours into my characters, making them beefier than a field of cattle. I probably could've finished the game a long time ago, but my OCD kicked in and I needed to beat every hunt, find every magic spell, get the best armor and weapons, and so on. Anyways, I loved this game. The story is strong, the world is spanning, and its details are plentiful. My only complaint is that they make Vaan out to be the main character when, in all truths, Lady Ashe is the focal point of the story. But that's minor stuff. The battle system has even gotten me interested in MMOs. Not that I'd ever play one, but it has sparked my gamer's heart.

Hmm, movie-wise I've seen the following:

• No Country for Old Men (2007) - A quiet, slow-moving piece about violence out West. A bag of money is stolen from a deal gone bad, and a crazy, psychotic killer is tracking it down. What ensues is a methodical cat-and-mouse game that ends as it should, both depressingly and inexcusably real. Quite disturbing and quite beautiful, if that makes any sense. Definitely a film worth watching.
  
• I Am Legend (2007) - Vampire flick that really, honestly, was a big letdown. CGI monsters? Come on. This would've been so much more successful if they stuck with live-action actors. Will Smith is fine though, carries the film well enough, but I don't know. This just didn't scare me like I had hoped it would.
  
• The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) - This is the story of two drag queens and one transsexual woman trekking across the Australian outback on a mission to perform at a casino in Alice Springs. Hugo Weaving stars in this one, and thank the heavens above I saw this before The Matrix or Lord of the Rings because seeing him all donned up in makeup and groovin' to Abba has forever changed his appearance to me.

And I think that's all for now.

One game beat, 7,938 to go

Holy spinach dip, I just finally beat Rogue Galaxy.

Whew. When I say finally, I mean finally. Hours logged: over 75. I became too OCD with this game, having to complete nearly every aspect before taking on the last boss. That meant making every item in the factory, forging every weapon I could, and finding the nine rare artifacts spanning the galaxy. Plus, the last time I took on the end boss it kicked my ass and I was so frustrated over losing that I never went back until I finished up some other things.

Hmm...watching the ending right now. Most overly dramatic part of the game, for sure. Kisala decides she wants to be the queen of Mariglenn. Jaster's response? "Oh, you're totally not queen material!" Ha!

Dang. Seems the game isn't technically over. There's a Ghost Ship to explore.

Feck.

More DS games

Well, I've gotten a few more Nintendo DS games since my last roundup. Here's what I've been playing (and not playing) over the last few months.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass - Mmm, Zelda. This is a very fun game that truly uses the stylus and touch screen to its best capacity. Drawing on the map and making teeny notations is fun, and besides...it's Zelda! ZELDA! Hack-and-slash, baby! Rupees galore! The storyline is connected to the Gamecube game Windwaker, but I never played that one. No matter, really. There's lots to do, such as sailing, deep sea diving, and constructing one kickass boat, among other things. It can be quite challenging at times though, especially when it asks our young protagonist to be sneaky rather than stabby. Haven't got to play the multiplayer WiFi mini-game, but it looks tough. I'd rather slice at grass and buy bombchus, you know?

Flash Focus - There's a whole slew of these "training" games for the Nintendo DS, and from what I've seen they are more or less the same game. This one splits the daily tasks between sports and miscellaneous goals. Personally, I don't turn this on every day and train my brain like they'd like me to. I have my favorites--volleyball, soccer, box tap, boxing--and that's about it. Each time you play you up your stamp count, which eventually opens up more things in the game. There isn't a whole lot here, but for the price and the time it takes to do what one wants to do within it works out just fine. However, I absolutely hate ping pong on the Harder difficulty. It's enough to make me want to jump out my window.

Sim City DS - Okay, yet another impulse buy. Unlike Animal Crossing: Wild World, this one didn't turn out to surprise me in the end. I used to love playing Sim City on my SNES and part of me was hoping to relive those nostalgic moments. But it didn't happen. And won't any time soon. For one thing, the screen is way too small when it comes to mass planning a city. You can only zoom in once, and even then it is very difficult to see what is what and what is where. Just not what I thought/hoped it was going to be, unfortunately...

Drawn to Life - A very standard and linear 2D platformer that offers the unique ability of allowing the player to draw and create many pieces within the game itself. You can create the main character, the gun-like weapon he or she will carry, the clouds, flowers, submarines, rockets, and so on and so on. You are the Creator, an artistic god to the Raposa, a very anime-ish race of people that ask for your help in repopulating their village. And that's basically it. You go level to level, drawing things, jumping on enemies, searching for some items, and then back to see the mayor and learn about the next mission. I'm only halfway done with the game, but the fun, at least for me, and I suspect the reason most people bought the game, is drawing via the stylus. It doesn't make a subpar platformer brilliant, but it does help it shine a bit. The visuals are decent, the music is good, and seeing something you've created implemented (no matter how lightly) in a videogame is a whole lot of fun.

Professor Layton and the Curious Village - My latest purchase. Half a mystery adventure game and half a bottomless pit of puzzles, Curious Village is remarkably well done. The puzzles, the real meat of the game, range from super easy (almost downright silly) to oh-my-goodness-I-need-to-be-mauled-by-rhinos-I'm-so-dumb ones. Yup, they really test one's thinking. I've only gotten up to Chapter Four, which means I've found about 50 puzzles and have solved maybe 35-40 or so. There are a couple of other tasks to do in the game to keep things interesting, but really it is just puzzle after puzzle after puzzle. I suspect, by the end of it all, I'll be sick of the people in the village much like this. Still, the art style, animation, and voice work is all phenomenal, a real triumph for the system. Sometimes that's all that is stopping me from hurling the game against a wall in frustration simply because I can't figure out how to move ten quarts of orange juice into two other beakers so that they all have a specific amount and whatnot. Ugh! Good and frustrating, indeed!

So, there you have it. See you again in a few months? I can't stop buying DS games. They are too much fun.

Professor Layton and his puzzles

I'm pretty positive that Professor Layton and the Curious Village will be the next purchase for my Nintendo DS. Need to see why? Watch below:



Oh god. Did you see those puzzles? There's like a thousand of 'em. Yes, yes. And it's like some sort of weird cross between anime and a Victorian tale of mystery. Mmm. Hurry up and be released! I wanna play.

Animal Crossing: Wild World, a second look

Back in July, I did a sort of roundup of my Nintendo DS collection and said this of a game titled Animal Crossing: Wild World:

I can't even figure out why I bought this. I think, possibly, maybe, who really knows, that I thought I was buying a Harvest Moon game. You know, the farming simulation thingy. Instead, I got the Sims with all the fun ripped out of it only to be replaced by animals with enormous heads, a town more dry than a patch of sand, and tasks that would bore a dead guy.

Time I owned up.

I was wrong about game. Complete and utterly wrong. You see, while preparing for my Christmas vacation and trip to Arizona, I looked through my stack of DS games trying to decide which ones would be most excellent to bring along. Certainly Zelda (of which I played very little) New Super Mario Bros, and Puzzle Quest were immediate duhs. Spying the box for Animal Crossing: Wild World, I paused. This was an impulse purchase that I had played maybe once or twice, didn't really get (by that I mean understand), and abandoned for nearly six months or so.

I popped the game back in, found my town infested with weeds, and that just about every villager hated me and suspected I'd been in jail since we last talked. Ugh. So I got to work, caught up on my letters, sent out presents, paid off some of my loan, and slowly--and I guess inevitably--understood what I was to do. Anything I cared to.

Animal Crossing: Wild World is unique in that really, truthfully, do what you want. Unlike the Sims where if you do not feed your person they will die an agonizingly slow yet assumable death, here you never have to worry one minute about your little dude's tummy, bladder, or heart. You can spend your time fishing and selling said fish to make money. You can dig all day long, looking for bugs or dinosaur bones. Not your thing? Plant a garden. Chop down some trees. Write letters and form friendships.

Simply put, the game gives you a ton of things to do, and every new day is just another great reason to turn it on, whether you are looking for that magical money-giving rock or interested in what new pieces of furniture can be bought at Tom Nook's place. The tasks are not boring, especially when you realize that there's a present at the end. I will complete all the catalogs and museum exhibits though some things won't be possible till I can visit Bitsy's town.

But really, I hope this is a lesson for me. I generally do give everything a sporting chance, but some times I'm quicker to give up than others.

Top 10 Videogames Not Played in 2007

I don't have any of the latest generation gaming systems. Yay, poor wins! It's just me and my Playstation 2/Nintendo DS hanging out. That's okay. I still like 'em a lot, and there's plenty of fun games to play on them. But this does mean I miss out on the big name games of year as I don't know anyone with a Wii (keep your comments and thoughts clean!), an Xbox 360, or a Playstation 3. So, I present to you my Top 10 Videogames Not Played in 2007:

10. Bioshock (Xbox 360). As a hardcore RPG fan, this one sounds yummy. A vast and rich underwater city, with role-playing elements mixed comfortably against shooting elements. Graphically, it looks stunning. I'm curious about the big dome-headed monsters and the little girls that follow them around all doe-eyed. This one hurts not to play.

9. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS3). I play guitar and yet have never played a single one of these games. They do appeal to me, but forking over the money for the game AND the special gigantic controller make me a bit hesitant to pick these up. Still, they look like a lot of fun and from what the Internets tell me...they are.

8. Mass Effect (Xbox 360). I want to play this for the story. Epic space opera, blue-skinned aliens, and multiple dialog threads. Looks pretty, too. Alas, this is almost as far away from me as the moon.

7. Crackdown (Xbox 360). The YouTube clips of people leaping buildings in a single bound and tossing flaming cars across highways make this less-than-serious action-adventure romp look like a whole lot of fun.

6. Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings (Nintendo DS). Um, a portable semi-sequel to one of my all-time favorite RPGs? Thank you! This one was released a little too close to the holidays to allow my budge for splurging, but it looks interesting. Not a straightforward RPG, but one mixed with some strategy elements. Makes me think back to the good ol' days of playing Command & Conquer for hours upon hours. Only this time you probably get to control some Moogles. Win-win, I say.

5. The Eye of Judgment (PS3). Yes, I play card games. Yes, I play videogames. Yes, I've been waiting at least ten years for the perfect blend of the two to come around. Is this it? I don't know. But it sure looks like a good time, depending of course on who you are playing and how fun the rules are. Plus, Penny Arcade likes it and that's good enough for me.

4. Odin Sphere (PS2). I'm an old-school gamer at heart. Sure, one could argue this as choice as well, seeing that I choose not to spend the money of the big, fancy systems...but I really do like simple gameplay and 2D graphics. The crisp colors and amazing animation make this side-scrolling RPG desirable to me. It looks like a living, breathing piece of manga or something. Gimme, gimme, gimme.

3. Halo 3 (Xbox 360). I'm notoriously horrible at FPS games. That said, I've only ever played the single player portion of the first Halo and did moderately okay. Never tried the second one. Seemed like the trilogy's end got a lot of hype. I just sat and watched like a rock.

2. God of War II (PS2). Though I've yet to beat the final boss in the first God of War, I enjoyed everything leading up to it. The puzzles are fun, not too challenging, and a good break from the button-mashing battles. I'm a sucker for Greek mythology, and I thought about getting this one the day it came out, but thought the price tag was too steep for a PS2 game. I'll wait for this one to turn into a $20 Greatest Hit.

1. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PS3). This one looks to be everything I'd ever need in a videogame: an open-ended fantasy world, lots of towns and cities to visit, hours of gameplay, total freedom, magic, great graphics, replay value, you name it. Why, cruel gods, why haven't I played it yet? WHY?

There you have it. What game came out in 2007 that you want to play, but haven't yet?

LOTR: The Third Age

So, I bought this for $6.00 on a splurge of boredom over the weekend:



It's pretty insulting to the films, even more so to Tolkien's work, but it's mostly entertaining. In this linear-as-a-line RPG, a second fellowship follows the path of that of the original one, fighting most of the same baddies and really just making more or less of the same comments that Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, or Boromir might've made. The battle system is similar to Final Fantasy X, with characters taking turns based on actions, and the leveling up system is tediously mediocre. You gain a level, you get two points, you assign them to whatever attributes you desire. Rinse, lather, repeat.

And repetition is key here. I'm not even out of Moria yet and I've fallen comfortably into using the same battle tactics to defeat goblins and trolls. So I do that, gain a level, go to the new battle, gain a level. There's no towns to wander and shop in (isn't that, um, consider a sin in an RPG?), and everytihng is loosely tied in by cinematic movie montages narrated by Gandalf. Which, I'll admit, are nice to listen to.

I guess I'll be fighting the Balrog soon. Yeah, you know...the one that fell down the chasm. I wonder how'll EA will work that into the second fellowship's journey into sore losership.

So, $6.00 well spent? Probably not. But it gives me something to do when I don't want to do one of my 7 billion others things needing finishing.

Here's some thingies

Finished reading Isaac Asimov's The Gods Themselves. This is now the fifth Hugo-winning novel I've read and, well, I liked it so-so. The book is divided into three sections, and each reads like a standalone novelette. This probably because each was published as a single story before being compiled into a novel.

Regardless, the plot deals with a race of aliens living in a parallel universe, or para-Universe as Asimov calls it, that plan to turn Earth's sun into a supernova, reaping energy from it once it's been destroyed. Section one is about scientists and their slow discovery of the para-Universe and the endless source of energy dubbed the Electron Pump. Kind of boring, and only made interesting because Asmiov choose to start things off further ahead than necessary.

The second section shows us the alien race; a fascinating culture, built on triads and the obsession for melting, we follow a trio of three immature aliens. One is a Rational, one is a Parental, and one, Tritt, is an Emotional. She's different than other "mids" in that she wants to learn, a desire only found in Rationals. This is where The Gods Themselves shine, here with the aliens, where Asimov fully explores a civilization where gender roles are tossed to the wayside (much like Le Guin does in The Left Hand of Darkness). Amazing stuff, and the surprise revelation at the end of what the triad really is--or rather who--caught me by complete surprise. I can see myself going back and re-reading this section alone: it's that good.

The final section has us on the Moon, where a purely functional society of Lunarites live. A somewhat cynical physicist named Denison has come to the moon to put into effect a theory he has that will both stop the sun from exploding while helping humanity even greater. He meets Selene, a woman born on the Moon, a native so-to-speak, and together they work toward a common goal. Some of this section was pretty interesting; mainly common stuff, like how a human from Earth would adjust to living on the Moon much differently than someone born there. The ending, while complete and fulfilling, felt a bit out of left field. As with anything that deals with para-worlds or time-traveling, some of it had me scratching my head, but otherwise it was a decent read. The aliens make it worth it for me.

--

I watched Saw III the other night. Eh. More "games" were played, this time with no hope for redemption. People talk about films like Hostel being goreporn, but no one dares say a word against this franchise. Sure, the first one was pretty original when it came out, but now I have to wonder what's happened to the magic. Is the purpose just to torture folks? I see there's a fourth one coming out. Spoiler alert! Spoiler alert! Jigsaw is dead. Gee, I wonder if it'll be a Jigsaw wannabe and that there will be more bloody games to play and that no one will really learn anything throughout the experience but limbs will be lost and guns will be shot and the average consumer will feel cheap, dirty, and dumb. I will not watch Saw IV. Ever.

--

Two rejections this weekend. One called my story "charming," which is a new one for me.

--

And yes, I picked up The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. It's quite fun, and makes me want to break out my SNES and ol' Link to the Past cartridge. The graphics are solid, but it's the gameplay that's damn addicting. Hack and slash and cuttin' grass! Bring on the rupees, baby. The sailing though is going to get tiresome, I predict.

I CAN HAZ ZELDA

Woo! Phantom Hourglass! IT'S MIIIIINE.

Things I've finished lately

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. This was good. Very, very good. A heavy read, and I'm still absorbing a lot of it. I think I enjoyed the myths of Winter and the Ekumen far more than the actually relationship between Genly and Estraven. The whole gender-changing race was quite interesting, and I can see how it would've impacted the field so effectively nearly thirty years ago. I'm glad I finally read this--though it's not the first work in the Ekumen series I've tried--and now I can say I've read four Hugo-winning novels.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. I picked this up for the PS2 a few months back, but never got around to finishing it up. The combat system is fun, but lacking in variety of attacks and enemies. The game was more frustrating than not, but after dropping to my death five times in a row I'd figure out the solution. Still, the end level/boss was complete crap and totally disappointing. I know this is the first in the series, which gives me hope that the later entries got better, but this one wasn't too great.

A new short story. Tis called "More's the Pity," and it clocks in at a chomping 2,500 words. I still need to give it a second read through, but otherwise I'm pretty pleased with it. Yet again I find myself writing about a neurotic journalist in the near-future that goes to parties where it is clear he doesn't fit in. Write what you know, they say, write what you know...

Some DS games

I haven't had my Nintendo DS for very long, but I've already started growing my collection of games. Some I definitely enjoy more than others, and one of them I have no idea why I bought it because I quickly discovered I don't enjoy the sort of gaming experience that it offers. Anyways, here's me thoughts:

Mario Kart DS - Classic gameplay that is even more addicting on the handheld. I've played a few games using the WiFi connection (and some dude in China really kicked my butt using stupid Bowser), and am slowly working my way through all the little bonus challenges. There's a ton of options here, the music is slight but good, and racing has never been so good. Seriously, a gem, one I'll continue to play for many, many days.

New Super Mario Bros - I think that as the years continue to pass by and next-gen systems become nexter-gen systems that I'll never play that I'll always remain an old-school gamer. Meaning, I like my Mario, Zelda, and Metroid 2D games the best. Something so pleasing about them. Anyways, here we have a 2D/3D sidescroller that is just as much fun as its previous incarnates. You run and jump your way to the end of the level, collecting gold coins along the way, and travel across a map in order to save the princess. The level design is colorful and creative, and as a bonus there's more than two handfuls of mini-games to keep you entertained using the touch screen. My mother's favorite is the one where you have to sort red bombs and black bombs to their alloted containers without messing up. She's actually quite good at it.

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin - Another old-school gamer game that is a lot of fun. Big, huge castle to explore with two different characters. Lots of items and missions to accomplish. Cool graphics, non-important storyline, and awesome boss battles. Though, currently I am lost and don't know where I'm supposed to go next. That's okay. I can walk around and slay baddies for hours. Or at least until my battery needs charging.

Animal Crossing: Wild World - I can't even figure out why I bought this. I think, possibly, maybe, who really knows, that I thought I was buying a Harvest Moon game. You know, the farming simulation thingy. Instead, I got the Sims with all the fun ripped out of it only to be replaced by animals with enormous heads, a town more dry than a patch of sand, and tasks that would bore a dead guy.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge Of The Warlords - My latest addiction. I can't think of a simpler way to describe it other than Bejeweled with fantasy RPG elements. And yes, that's all it takes to hook me. Everything you do is based around a game of Bejeweled: moving around the map, fighting monsters, acquiring steeds, making items, and learning new magic spells. Yet, it never gets tiring (though the music certainly does).

Two games I know I want the minute they are released: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and Contras 4 DS.

Top 5 Videogame Intros

Over at Games Radar there's a list of what that team deems to be the Top 7 Rockin' Intros. Meh, I only enjoyed a couple. Games.net responded with what they thought were three better videogame intros. I liked their list better, mostly because I have played all three games and remember watching those things a bunch of time. But for you, my adoring fans, I give you my Top 5 Videogame Intros...

5. Resident Evil



I knew it was bad when I watched it all those years ago, but that didn't matter. This game freaked me out and I refused to play it alone. Now it's so cheesy and far from being frightening. It's like a botched episode of Ghost Hunters on the Sci-Fi Channel. And did I just hear an elephant in the background? But I have wonderful memories from it and that's why it's on the list.

4. Jumping Flash! 2



Just watch it and absorb the awesomeness...

3. Tekken 3



This was one of my favorite fighting games. I pretty much mastered just about every character, and come on, that techno music is horribly catchy. I still never understood why all these people needed to fight, and despite the intro's attempt to clear that up, it's just more fun to not think and watch all the fun stunts.

2. Suikoden



While GamesRadar picked Suikoden III and Games.net went with Suikoden II, I prefer the original. Just hearing the game's music brings me back in time...truly, a classic.

1. Final Fantasy 7



This game took over my life. And the intro FMV flick literally brings you right into the action. I still have my copy somewhere around here, and one day I'll replay it. That is, of course, when I have another 70+ hours to spare. Sure, the graphics don't look as great as they did...wow, ten years ago...but still, it's all about atmosphere and setting the scene. My favorite.

And there you have it. Yes, I know they're all Playstation games...that's my BFF. Well, got me through high school at least.

To blame!

I blame the lack of substantial updates on the fact that I've gotten back into the habit of heavily playing Final Fantasy XII. I'm at the point where my next destination is the big and final battle, which means I'm trying to complete as much of the sidequests as I can before I head into the unknown. Hmm...I have about 20 or so hunts left to do, seven Espers still to find, fight, and conquer, and a small number of random quests for those extra hard-to-find weapons. I really do love this game.

Anyways, actual content forthcoming.

Puzzle Quest demo

Infinite Interactive has put out an interesting product. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords is a hybrid of the overly familiar Bejeweled formula and the OCD-ness of every roleplaying game ever made. The result: addictive fun! The game has been released for both the PSP and the Nintendo DS, but to get fans foaming at the mouth its developer has released a fairly involving demo for the PC.

The game opens with a character selection, letting the player select either a druid, a knight, a warrior, or a wizard. As is assumed, each class comes with their own specific stats, traits, and special qualities. I'm a druid; always have been, ever since the days of Diablo II. From here the story opens with some cutscenes, a map, and a booming soundtrack. Your character travels the world, accepting quests and battling monsters all while gaining experience. This is where the puzzle game takes heart.

You and your opponent take turns swapping tiles to get a row of three of the same. A row of coins gives you money to buy equipment and weapons, green and purple and blue add to your mana pool, and skulls deal damage to your opponent's life total. Four of anything gains you an extra turn. The addition of spells and chained attacks adds a lot of variety to the game, and though the beginning battles are very easy and basic they begin to gradually get harder.

So far the puzzle parts outshine the RPG parts. The story is quite ho-hum and nothing really to get excited about. It's just a means to an end, that's all. The only problem is that anyone can play Bejeweled online for free so you have to really like the RPG aspects to consider purchasing this for either the PSP or DS. Unfortunately, I'm content playing the demo (though there's a level cap for your characters in it). Still worth checking out though.