Penfold

Hahaha, wow. I dunno if they went all out to simulate the "old school" experience or if it was just cover art that didn't make the cut back in the day, but that's extra special .

That's a really good point. There are always other opportunities to target the "core gamer," as they love saying, but big events like this are the prime times to capture the attention of those who don't read IGN.

I agree - holding judgement for the time being, mainly because I don't fully understand at this point how it's supposed to work. The way it has been described in articles really has me confused, in that there seems to be no particular rhythmic component or means of specifically generating the desired note. So far it sounds like an electronic version of air guitar, which would make it more of an unarticulated toy than a game. 1337 1 - The SD card slot is basically useless at this point. Still hoping they'll add function to it soon, instead of it just being attic space (which is hardly useful for that even, considering the data transfer rate seems to be about as fast as just re-dling the content you're moving to the card).

What he said.

I'm curious to hear more about WiiMotion. Am I right in assuming it just basically refines the use of the accelerometer? I think it's a good thing that can then both tighten up controls which use that function, and also make other controls (1:1 motion) viable. I really liked Wii Sports, so I know I'm going to be getting WiiMotion with Wii Sports Resort. I'm looking forward to trying out WiiMotion with older games as well, to see if it does tighten up those controls or if works differently. I will most likely get Animal Crossing, since it sounds like it could be fun (having never played a game in the series before). A thought I have is, are they going to make a "nunchuk 2.0" now using whatever tech from WiiMotion? In my experience, it's the nunchuk's motion control that has always been very hit-and-miss; unless all you have to do is shake it (and in not any specific direction), it's not a viable control method. Anyway, no hard drive/storage solution announcement suprised me, no Pikmin 3 announcement was a downer, and I'm a bit concerned about titles like Disaster being off the radar. All in all this press conference was rather disappointing, but at least games like the new Wario have already been announced so we know some good stuff is coming down the pipeline.

I agree with this. Toki Tori and Pixeljunk Monsters spring to mind as good examples of this trend with digitally distributed games. I would also agree that if they came out with a new MM game annually for download like this, I would get it every time. Also, looking forward to MM1 and 2 being available on the Virtual Console.

Tried the demos for both PixelJunk Monsters and Echochrome last night. Echochrome is really cool...in principle. The controls were just not responsive enough - either you use the analog sticks and the stage would rotate too slowly, or you use motion controls and you don't have the precision necessary. Playing it, I thought, "This is a time where Wiimote pointer functionality would really make this design work." It may just require more patience to get used to their motion control, but that'd be time and frustration I'm unwilling to put into a play mechanic that should otherwise be intuitive. PixelJunk Monsters is rather simple, and really fun. In essence, you build various types of defensive towers on trees, which cost coins. You unlock further types and can upgrade individual towers using another resource type, which is rarer. Basically, different types of enemies come in waves to your town and it's up to you to build defensive structures to defeat the enemies prior to reaching your town. After playing through the demo, $10 still seems a little steep, but after I'm through MGS4 I'll probably get it.

This is awesome news! :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D CT is my #1 RPG, and I've only played the PSX port so this will be great to not have to have a 5 second load time before the battle begins.

I'd agree that at the very least that's good logic to start with MM9 on WiiWare. I'm of the opinion, though, that when it comes to a higher-profile release like this through digital distribution where the overhead is lower they'd still benefit from multi-platform support (barring any technical limitations between platforms).

I don't have any opinions on this game at this point...but I just wanted to say how much I love Venture Bros.

I guess the silly thing about it is this would be a game that would be entirely equal on all three systems, yet it's only slated for one (though personally it doesn't make a difference to me because it's coming to the system I'm gonna get it for anyway). You know how Capcom has been though. "Viewtiful Joe, Gamecube Exclusive," "Resident Evil 4, Gamecube Exclusive..." I don't think these are the only cases where they turn a system-exclusive into a multi-platformer, and wouldn't be too suprised if this became another instance.

If you wanna get your numbers up, do tabatas once a week. It honestly won't take long to get the pushup and situp numbers with proper training, but I personally think it'll take longer to get to the point of doing 2 consecutive 6-minute miles if you're not from a track/field background. Btw, on the bright side you have 2 hours to do the PFT within right? A little recovery between each goes a long way. I'm also assuming that's for a perfect score judging by the required run time, if it works the same way as USMC PFTs (the other bright side is that it's not quite as bad as a USMC PFT ). Also, http://www.crossfit.com.. If you can find a place that gives you access to the equipment you'll need (a lot of substitution can be done to keep the equipment even more minimal) and follow that system, it'll definitely help get the PFT score up. -- Anyway, I've gone down to every other day WODs in preparation for the STP. Did just over 100 miles on bike Saturday morning, legs still sore from the previous day's workout, and with breaks it took between 6.5 and 7 hrs...not terrible for a solo ride, but not quite my goal time (originally wanted 13 hours for the 202.4 miles, inlcuding breaks). Thanks to the winter-like weather we had going for a while, I didn't get the training rides in before like I wanted, but now it's officially summer in Seattle and I still have 9 more trainable days left before my pre-event recovery period. 13 hours is pretty unlikely at this point, but so long as I get at most 15 hrs I'll be happy. July 12th .

I'll be getting it for the Wii for that reason...I don't really care so much about gamerscore/achievements, and I think part of what's so interesting in it being 8-bit is there should be no difference visually from one system to another (I'd also assume there'd be no console-specific differences). I'm really hoping this game comes out soon...maybe there'll be a release date announcement at E3. I'm also really hoping the rest of the series (or at least 1-7, and X-X3) will be available via digital distribution in the not too distant future, just because I want the easy access to the games.

They'd better, to all three! EDIT: I'd imagine we'd get R-Coil for sure, but it'll be interesting to see what other abilities Rush will have.

Looking at the PS3 wikipedia page, the retail configuration section outlines the variability in the different versions of the PS3 that have been available over its life span. I'm assuming that's what he's refering to.

http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSL0963707920080609 http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6572676.html I can see why some people aren't yet willing to adopt blu-ray, but I think it's a little silly when people try to predict the future in absoulte terms. All I know is the same week I ordered my PS3 (which, to my frustration still hasn't arrived...) I also ordered 5 blu-ray movies, two of which I had been waiting to purchase in an HD format, and there are a lot of movies I would prefer to have in an HD format once released.

I almost counted this (though not "Mike Tyson's" since I have it on VC), but considering I've never actually beaten it I decided against it. Still play it a lot though.

I dunno how many times I played through the original Mega Man 1-6 (especially 3 and 4), but growing up at most times a Mega Man game was in the ol' NES...until someone borrowed them and I never saw them again. I didn't personally own a SNES, but my best friend did and whenever I would come over we would so often pop in Mega Man X, Mega Man X2, or Super Metroid. We pretty much maintained that trend through sophomore year of high school. Either my sophomore or junior yr in HS, I finally got a PSX, and played through Mega Man X4 a lot, though that was the last Mega Man game I would play more than a couple times. My best friend got himself a launch PS2 (so I guess that was my sophomore yr at HS), and played the hell out of Armored Core 2 and 3. During my 2nd year at UW (2003), I got a Gamecube. From there I dunno how many times I played through Metroid Prime. Nowadays, there really aren't any games I play again all that often after beating once.

I've only played the GC version so far (still haven't found my PS1 memory card yet, so I haven't played the PS1 version that came with the MGS Collection), so without being able to compare to the PS1 version I can say I really liked it. One thought would be to get the MGS Collection, though, which would set you back $30 or $40 (I forget now) and comes with the original PS1 MGS, as well as 2 and 3. Just a quick way to pick up those 3 MGS games if you're interesting in the whole series. To answer you other question, the GC version doesn't have the original MG as far as I know.

^ While I agree that Zero and ZX are in many ways the pinnacle of Mega Man action, the open world (especially in ZX) annoyed me. It was all just busy work, feeling very forced and unrewarding, and offered no decent alternative to a stage select screen IMO. Here's hoping that this game (along with further iterations) will maintain stage select.

80gb has software emulation, so it can play at least some PS2 games (probably no trouble with any of the major releases). Still kinda pissed the seller for the 80gb I won on eBay copped out, so I ended up just going and buying a 40gb to avoid further hassle. Still have PS2 hooked up, so I guess it doesn't matter so much if the PS3 is backwards compatible at this point, but I'm just hoping they'll bring out an update to add the software emulation on the 40gb down the line (wishful thinking). Not having mem stick slots and just having 2 USB ports I couldn't care less about, personally. Thin Crust - Sorry man, I don't have the answer for your question. I wouldn't imagine all games require install, but again just guessing.

These days I pretty much only play Smash Bros when people are over and wanna play. Shortly after beating Subspace Emissary, I didn't play any single player again since it kinda lost its appeal to me, and I'll only very seldom play online due to the random lag (and even this it's only with friends). For me, Smash Bros is not the be all/end all of gaming. That said, I know while you have few to no other games you like on the system, there are and have been a lot of games that I've been enjoying on Wii. To each their own.

Yeah, to be honest I wouldn't be getting a PS3 till quite a bit later if it weren't for MGS4. As cool as the MGS4 PS3 would have been, I decided to just go with a regular 80gb since I already preordered the limited edition game. Anyway, picking up the game after work, and in a week when the system arrives I'll be playing MGS4! Very excited.

I got Wii Fit for my mom for her b-day a couple weekends ago, and I tried it out that weekend. I'm in very good physical condition and my impressions of it are you could get at least a somewhat good workout from it. I was overall impressed by a lot of what it did/how it worked, and it was fun to use/play. Clearly not everything works perfectly, as I didn't get 100 on things like running, which in real life I would have no problem with. There's also really only so much you can do with it in terms of strength excercises, and it obviously can't be used to work a number of muscle groups. I think I most enjoyed the balance games and the yoga. All in all, it's fun and there's some good stuff here, but it can't replace a solid workout system. If someone wants to get started into workout, start into yoga but doesn't want to take a class, or just wants something to have for days they can't make it to the gym and also have some fun in the process, it's not a bad investment. Anyway, not really any hidden gems, but I did get Toki Tori and No More Heroes last week and both are very good. The difficulty in Toki Tori varies greatly, from pretty easy to stupidly difficult. You can control using a point and click interface with the wiimote, or use a more "traditional" style wit hthe nunckuk (control the character directly with the analog stick). Wiimote alone felt a little passive but not bad IMO (actually reminded me a little of Zack and Wiki ), and towards the end I switched over to nunckuk. No More Heroes, as many already knew, is great. The controls are a lot of fun and work very well IMO, and the style of the game is just fantastic. As people have said before, the open world thing is not well done, and feels very forced. The backgrounds, etc are also very dated-looking, especially compared to the much nicer looking and better detailed characters. The frame rate does seem to chug when you fight several enemies at once, but more often than not it's quite smooth. As expected from the director of Killer 7, the violence and blood is pretty over-the-top. Actually, playing this makes me that much more excited for Mad World.

^ Ended up going with an 80gb. The anticipation of MGS4 got the best of me . Looks like I'll be playing MGS4 once the system arrives... EDIT: Really hate eBay sometimes. The seller of the 80gb copped out after I won and paid for the damn thing, and cancelled the payment. I just said "fuck it" and bought a 40gb cuz it was right there and cheaper. I'm regretting a little bit the loss of backward compatibility, but I still have a PS2 hooked up so whatever I guess.