Toadofsky

M is for... Mario Paint

That's exactly where it seemed to start from E3 that had Wii Music. They couldn't stand Cammy (okay, I didn't really enjoy her, she WAS better this year though), there wasn't a new Metroid, Mario, or Zelda (even though all those titles came out in as little over a years time frame), and when they show new ones this year? "Ugh, no new franchises! BORING! Two new Mario games? Peach needs boob physics! Blah blah blah!". In one of Maelstrom's articles, he cited how many developers, so called "journalists" and "analysts" hate the Wii. They don't get it, and they never will. They don't like competing with Nintendo because Nintendo can (and most of the time) sell more quality titles. Instead of thinking, "Huh, maybe I should make my games better" or, release them in a time frame AWAY from an official Nintendo release, or market the title BETTER, then maybe it would sell. Most developers are more into making the games THEY want ALL THE TIME. They want to push Digital Distribution down our throats, and kill used game sales. I don't think making a game YOU want to make is a bad thing, nor do I dislike digital downloads (though I do feel that they need to make customers feel more empowered over their purchase, that doesn't make sense does it?) but what do the gamers want? The customer? You know, the people that play games? I hate the term Hardcore anymore. It's been thrown around way too much. And the funny thing to me is this, people sneered at the Wii Remote. Called it a gimmick, it won't sell. Well surprise surprise, it did. And the beauty of it, is that it got people who wouldn't have wanted to play games to start with, or maybe even come back to it. And Nintendo didn't just show it to gamers, they showed it to the news, TIME magazine, places where that to many in the "industry" wouldn't even bother or even think to reach out to and thus losing out on a golden opportunity to expand the market and it's potential. But the "hardcore" dismisses these potential new long term gamers, they want big, "mature" titles (Now don't think I don't wanna play Mass Effect 2 ). Heck, I've known some that won't play anything below rated M, seriously. They want games to be classified as an art form. They want them to be like movies. Why? Because the developers want to, and they tell these hardcore gamers that that's what the hardcore REALLY want, and they believe it. It's funny how well the Wii sold, and has nearly outsold the PS3 and 360 combined (and no, I'm not obsessive over numbers), and now, Sony and Microsoft want a part of that money. And the hardcore and the fanboys to those consoles are lapping it up. Will they succeed? Depends on the developers, who, ironically, are all on board for it, when motion control has already been around. And largely, it depends upon whether or not Microsoft and Sony market their new technologies right, because if they don't, Nintendo's sales dominance won't budge. Sorry for the rant....

I guess this is a shameless plug, but I've been reading into this guy's articles lately, and honestly, I have to agree with him on SOME of it. http://seanmalstrom.wordpress.com/2009/08/24/email-why-nintendo-should-abandon-the-hardcore/ And no, he also criticizes some of Nintendo's moves both past and present as well so don't think it's blind Nintendo fanboyism. Don't go judging too far into it, you might need to read some of his other articles from the past few months as well just to see where some of the points are coming from.

Darwinia isn't half bad...

I remember when it was coming out, and being completely blown away by Sonic Adventure. Something is STILL special to me whenever I hear that music from that level. That was the console I wanted at the time. My parents almost bought it, but when the console ceased production, that was it. Now, after years of pining for one, my former room mate gave his to me. I haven't fired it up lately (Metroid Prime Trilogy is what I'm focusing on right now), but I'll definitely track down a copy of Sonic Adventure, Ecco Defender of the Future, and probably Adventure 2 and Crazy Taxi....

I'll admit, I like new games. Heck, I want to play Arkham Asylum RIGHT NOW, but can't cuz I just bought Metroid Prime Trilogy.... I have to say though, I find myself enjoying simpler games. I'm getting to this point where I kind of suck at newer games, especially the ones where you play online multiplayer. Online multiplayer could be a great experience, but probably 80 percent of the time, I'm getting tea bagged by some stupid 11 year old who plays 24 seven, or being bested by someone who knows every combo, studied every glitch or trick to expose, just to have some sort of street cred... I honestly enjoy my classic games a bit more. Something about the constraints developers had in making the game, I enjoy. Yeah, the game could be extremely crappy by todays "standards" but it's completely unfair to compare a new game to an old one, and that goes the same way round for old games to new. Heck, I've been having fun going back and forth with Wii Sports Resort lately. I'm even contemplating getting Brain Age 2 (I traded Brain Age 1 in, and never bought 2), or maybe even Picross DS since it intrigues me (any suggestions would be good if ya don't mind).... Yeah, I guess I'm the bane of the gaming "industry", a "casual" gamer. Honestly, I don't care anymore. I think if you like playing games, no matter how simple, or complex, is fine. But doesn't anyone ever think that maybe the industry is moving backwards? Whoa, I'm REALLY going off topic, so I'll stop....

Crap, I just noticed someone already is talked about it, can the mods lock this? Sorry....

I've just beat this game twice, and I'm probably going to go through it a 3rd time. So, what I want to ask, has anyone played it, and what do you think? I honestly love it just as I love Super Metroid, Cave Story, and a few other great platformers... I hope for more games to raise the bar for XBLA like this.

I honestly have been trying to keep myself in the dark on what this film is about (I like to be surprised at the movies, I restrict what trailers I watch since they show too much in them anymore), but after seeing the trailer listed at Youtube, I had to watch it. I really like the way it looks. It's very interesting. Not too mention, how realistic the cg looks. Not necessarily the characters visually, but just how they feel real, kind of like Davey Jones in Pirates of The Caribbean 2, if you know what I mean. I went to Chicago Comic Con and got to go to Michelle Rodriguez's Q & A panel, and COMPLETELY FORGOT she was in this movie, I would have asked her about it instead of being on LOST.

Well, I don't hate them, I just don't get all OCD over them. Granted, I did get them all in Banjo Kazooie. And I'll probably get them all in Monkey Island. If they're possible to attain without being a strain, then I'll try to get them.

I get ya, but honestly, I'm not THAT attached to them. I just really like their games, after all, most games in my set, are Nintendo's...

Sorry, I changed that now... I meant a fanboy that hates every other console, which I'm not... does that make more sense?

This is in no way putting anybody here down intentionally.... I've gotten to this point where I honestly don't care what a game is categorized. If it's fun, and I'm having fun playing it, that's all I care about. I don't care about achievements, they're nice, but they don't add anything to me anymore. And I'll RARELY complete the ridiculous amount of stuff to do in the games unless I REALLY, want too (Hint, that won't be often). Graphics? I've said it once before, the further they try to make things look as photo realistic as possible, the more fake it looks. Granted, some games look good "semi-realistic" but not when they try to look as real as possible. Only the fewest of exceptions do I ever support realistic graphics (Mass Effect, Gears of War 1 and 2, a few other I'm too lazy to think up of). But see, we have these people, who just a bunch of pinheads half the time, that "HAVE" to label what a gamer is, or what a "casual" gamer/title is. They scour every website, looking and blogging to justify they're "passion", or, how addicted they are to games and have to justify the amount of time they waste on them. They're the ones trying to classify games as art. And are more than likely game critics (some of them). And they whine, cry, and moan about how Nintendo has left their core audience when most of said audience left Nintendo a long time ago for not having breast physics and showers of blood, language, and violence. And when "core" games get released, they're too cheap to pick them up, and then wonder why those games tanked, or make cheap shots at them... Here's a clue Sherlock(s), VIDEO GAMES ARE A BUSINESS. A Business is where products are made, AND, are purchased. If something isn't selling, it's not profitable to keep covering that area the ENTIRE TIME is it? If Nintendo did the exact same thing as Microsoft and Sony (aka, big processor graphics, Blu Ray disc blah blah blah), they'd be dead last. I honestly believe they would be. Do I like SOME of the casual games they've put out? Wii Sports? Yes. Wii Sports Resort? Oh yeah. And yeah, I did just download Marvel vs. Capcom 2 for my 360, so I don't mind being a Nintendo fanboy. I love Nintendo, and always will, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy other consoles... Sorry for the rant...

Well apparently at Comic Con, the original cast didn't show. Groening only said that they were working it out with the actors. And from the sound of it, they asked John Dimaggio about it, and pretty much gave a "No Comment" response. I really don't think the cast is coming back after all... One can only hope...

That picture will haunt me forever.... Because I've done that...

I get the feeling they'll have a "emo" character, dancing down a village street, with James Brown in the background. And said emo character will cry ALOT....

This. Thank goodness somebody is doing a song from that game. Nekofrog, please tell me you're doing a song for this from Plok!...

Hearing this brings fond memories.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z3MzUZ5isQ So does this... (You cannot deny the awesomeness of the ska sound there) Nostalgia is ALWAYS a factor when talking about how good old games are. Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 are still good games, sure, neither has aged that well, but VERY few games ever do. I can't stand hearing people complain about the "butt rock" of the recent Sonic games. Honestly, I think that it actually suits the game. (If your thinking yeah cuz they're crap, please DON'T reply). Especially if we're talking SA 1 and 2, and Sonic Heroes...

I never got into Sonic until much later. When I had a PC, I bought the Sonic 3 and Knuckles game disc for like 10 bucks at a Best Buy. It was in one of those giant boxes for PC games, and was Y2K compliant!!! Heck, had a bunch of audio and screen savers/desktop pictures that I loved fiddling with. From then on, I loved Sonic. Even finally played Sonic CD when I found it for PC. But after Sonic Heroes, for me, Sonic has never been as good. Sure the DS and GBA games are good, but not much else has been good. I love how the main editor in Play Magazine still defends the new Sonic games, he's gotta be crazy.

If this is true, I have to say, it's a deal breaker for me.... http://tv.ign.com/articles/100/1004973p1.html The original cast is what made the show (not just the writers, at least to me), but if they aren't returning, I can't say I'd be that interested in it. History may repeat itself when the Simpsons cast had a renegotiation with their pay, but I worry with this show.

Right. Now don't get me wrong, I love a big budget title. There's a good lot of those I love, but it's becoming more and more of a problem (so it seems to at least me), when you're budget is pouring more and more out, and the results aren't going anywhere. I appreciate the work that goes into any game, because I'm too lazy, and not smart enough to make a video game. I'd be lucky to even make a simple game as Super Mario on the NES, if that shows the lack of capability in my part. But it's like the industry is plowing into a potential crash, AGAIN (I'm not saying that it's going to happen anytime soon, if ever). This past year, we've had like, what? Almost 300 games coming out. That's a lot of games, and not enough time, nor the want to play that many of games. And that brings me to game reviewers. I've consistently been trying to tell myself to quit listening to them. Too many critics have double standards in games. One game is built and intended to for you to go areas a few times again, and when another does that, it's ridiculed. But that argument is for another time and place, not here.

This. There are FEW, FEW, games I consider to be that realistic. So much focus on making things look like reality, when they look even more fake. Heavy Rain is a mighty impressive looking game, but every time I've watched that teaser video of the girl, I keep thinking how "dead" her eyes look, thus taking the illusion of realism away. For me, Mass Effect is probably my top game in terms of realistic graphics, heck maybe even for this generation of consoles (at least until the sequel comes out ). But that's my viewpoint only, and I'm not going to call anyone out for disagreeing. Could the game be just as good without the hyper realistic graphics? Probably, might not have as much impact. You also bring up another good point, the fact of all the work that could be pulled into better aspects of the games. I feel that many games this generation and their music, don't have the same memorable tunes like many older games. Of course, that could be a generational thing, but when I see the list of songs on OCR, I don't see many current gen games, let alone a VAST array of them from the XBOX/PS2 era (of course, if we're going to count Final Fantasy X, there's a good point). I've said it from the start, 60 dollars for a game is TOO MUCH. Heck, I'd go as far as to say 50 dollars is, but I think it's a little better pill to swallow at times. When I had a 360, I never bought a game brand new. Right now, I'm playing one of my friends' 360, and I've had more entertainment coming out of the VC/WiiWare/indie/XBLA games than a large portion of the retail games (currently enjoying Secret of Monkey Island SE).

Of course, the recession is hitting everywhere. How many companies have we seen go under or get absorbed (non gaming and gaming companies)? But heck, most of the games I've seen this past year or so haven't been that great for me. I think I've bought more games on VC and XBLA then ACTUAL disc based games alone. And there's only going to be a handful of games that I'll be buying this year as well. Some of those being Metroid Prime Trilogy, Wii Sports Resort, New Super Mario Bros., maybe a DS game or two, and possibly Shadow Complex. I'm at a crossroads with new games. So many of them get boring to me quickly, or I don't enjoy them as much as I do with older games, and yet, some of the older games I don't care to go back through again (confusing? Yeah I know). I know games are a changing medium, that's fine, but I guess I'm letting myself be left behind. Honestly, I'm wanting more in my life than just games. It's why I've been at least keeping an open eye for a potential girlfriend.

Agreed. SOME of the time, so called block busters aren't that great,

No problem in my book, I feel the same way about Heroes. I've had people tell me I'm crazy for not liking it, and I'm a pretty good fan of comic books/super heroes. I have yet to watch either the new Spiderman, Wolverine, or Batman cartoon right now. I honestly liked THE BATMAN, 'till they starting turning Bruce into a babysitter (bringing back Robin and Batgirl), which wasn't a choice I'd have made. The ORIGINAL intro to the show was pretty cool too.