ITT: Talk about your fave character/shot type for gameplay
(Palm/Abnormal)
(Palm/Abnormal)
December 2nd, 2009
November 29th, 2009
So I guess all the cool kids do this during this time of year, right? Don't expect to get much (or really anything) off of it from random LJ passersby, but hell, why not. I primarily made it so I'd something easy to give to my sister and other relatives who know the kinds of things I like but not exactly what I like.
(Though my #1 wishlist item is actually "Vanessa pictures." Maybe I should just ask for that from LJ buddies instead?)
(Though my #1 wishlist item is actually "Vanessa pictures." Maybe I should just ask for that from LJ buddies instead?)
November 26th, 2009
I am stupidly excited for a game about a girl who rides a bug and shoots pew-pew lasers! Also doujin
Things I should be thankful for: A shipping notice for Mushihimesama Futari
Things which are not in my inbox: A shipping notice for Mushihimesama Futari :(
In more interesting/better news, however, Deb Aoki of about.com's manga section asked me to do a guide for Comiket first-timers. This ought to be a fun project, but considering how wordy I tend to get when I'm writing about things I like, I think the finished piece will be a fair bit bigger than Deb initially conceived.
Things which are not in my inbox: A shipping notice for Mushihimesama Futari :(
In more interesting/better news, however, Deb Aoki of about.com's manga section asked me to do a guide for Comiket first-timers. This ought to be a fun project, but considering how wordy I tend to get when I'm writing about things I like, I think the finished piece will be a fair bit bigger than Deb initially conceived.
November 24th, 2009
Hey guys - if you're going to send me an LJ message (which, I admit, I don't check as regularly as I should), it's a good idea to fix your settings so that I can actually send a response to you. Just sayin'.
November 23rd, 2009
Busy times last week... The newest issue of Gamepro just went off to print, so be sure to read my updated Super Street Fighter IV impressions and the big Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers reviews when it hits... please? :3
And some other stuff: A review of the very under-the-radar Adventures to Go and some serious talkin' about Super SFIV (again).
Hopefully I can use the holidays to catch up on some communications I had to sideline most of last week. Especially since the holidays mean I won't be getting Mushihimesama Futari until NEXT week at the earliest unless I want to get killed on shipping costs. >:(
So is anyone doing the Black Friday store-camping thing this year? I might want to ask a few friends if they could help snag some cheap goodies - but only if they're going out of their way to fight the crowds to begin with. (I'd help make it worth the extra effort, of course...)
And some other stuff: A review of the very under-the-radar Adventures to Go and some serious talkin' about Super SFIV (again).
Hopefully I can use the holidays to catch up on some communications I had to sideline most of last week. Especially since the holidays mean I won't be getting Mushihimesama Futari until NEXT week at the earliest unless I want to get killed on shipping costs. >:(
So is anyone doing the Black Friday store-camping thing this year? I might want to ask a few friends if they could help snag some cheap goodies - but only if they're going out of their way to fight the crowds to begin with. (I'd help make it worth the extra effort, of course...)
November 18th, 2009
Man, this week was really awesome up until now. I mean, just yesterday I was asked to do something SUPER HUGE and SUPER AWESOME for Gamepro in print in the morning and went to the totally awesome Monster Hunter Tri event with Aria in the evening.
And then I wake up this morning to SUDDEN RANDOM GUILT TRIP in my email inbox and now I kind of just want to huddle up in the corner and cry for a while :(
And then I wake up this morning to SUDDEN RANDOM GUILT TRIP in my email inbox and now I kind of just want to huddle up in the corner and cry for a while :(
November 12th, 2009
Apparently Tekken 6 - both versions combined - sold a bit less than 200K in October, by a guesstimation. Ouch.
Admittedly, T6 was only available for four days during that month, so things could improve a lot this month, but considering the numerous complaints about the lagtastic online play and the single-player item grind that have become common knowledge, I'd say it's fairly unlikely.
And remember: Bandai-Namco announced shipping 2 1/2 million T6 units worldwide. They were clearly expecting a title that would do as well as - if not better than - SFIV right out of the gate. Apparently SF nostalgia >>>>> Tekken nostalgia.
(Also, launching the game between Borderlands (which actually was something of a surprise hit) and MW2 was definitely some terrible timing! Echoes of putting VF5 against Bioshock...? But yeah, a Q1 2010 release might have been better in hindsight - more time to fix the netcode, too!)
It ties in to a theory I have about the so-called "fighting game revival" of 2009:
There is no "Fighting Game Revival." They're still struggling to win back their mainstream popularity from the 90s. They have fallen out of favor against other types of competitive games like FPSes. In terms of interest, there has only been a STREET FIGHTER revival, and only in the West.
I'm honestly kind of worried that this will discourage further development of console versions for big-name, AAA fighters that aren't Street Fighter-related. We've already seen Sega forgoing a VF5R console release due to disappointing sales, and if things turn out as bad as they seem right now for T6, we could have a similar wound that stings Bamco for a while.
EDIT: Wooooooooooooow
Admittedly, T6 was only available for four days during that month, so things could improve a lot this month, but considering the numerous complaints about the lagtastic online play and the single-player item grind that have become common knowledge, I'd say it's fairly unlikely.
And remember: Bandai-Namco announced shipping 2 1/2 million T6 units worldwide. They were clearly expecting a title that would do as well as - if not better than - SFIV right out of the gate. Apparently SF nostalgia >>>>> Tekken nostalgia.
(Also, launching the game between Borderlands (which actually was something of a surprise hit) and MW2 was definitely some terrible timing! Echoes of putting VF5 against Bioshock...? But yeah, a Q1 2010 release might have been better in hindsight - more time to fix the netcode, too!)
It ties in to a theory I have about the so-called "fighting game revival" of 2009:
There is no "Fighting Game Revival." They're still struggling to win back their mainstream popularity from the 90s. They have fallen out of favor against other types of competitive games like FPSes. In terms of interest, there has only been a STREET FIGHTER revival, and only in the West.
I'm honestly kind of worried that this will discourage further development of console versions for big-name, AAA fighters that aren't Street Fighter-related. We've already seen Sega forgoing a VF5R console release due to disappointing sales, and if things turn out as bad as they seem right now for T6, we could have a similar wound that stings Bamco for a while.
EDIT: Wooooooooooooow
November 3rd, 2009
Two new things I did recently: a review of Magna Carta 2 for Gamepro and a list of 7 awful games with awesome soundtracks for Topless Robot.
For whatever reason I tend to become very emotionally volatile whenever a time change hits. It's like tampering with my biological clock just that little bit throws me completely out of whack. A big time shift (say, going overseas or to the East Coast) doesn't do that to me for whatever reason - I think because I'm not trying to simultaneously adjust and go through my daily routine. (I do get jetlag from going all the way across the country, though, strange as that is.) So I've been anxious and depressed a lot since the weekend. I took today to go out and shop at Target a bit rather than mess around online, and that seemed to help. I've got some text due tomorrow so I'll likely write most of the day. I'm still a bit wound up, so maybe that will help me finally calm down.
Also, it appears my PS2 is no longer reading discs. This is a problem, because it's what I use for debug code and import games. I'm supposed to get a preview build of Sakura Taisen V soonish and roomie wants to replay some RPGs, so I should try and find someplace nearby that'll fix it. Any SF folks have console repair recommendations, perchance?
For whatever reason I tend to become very emotionally volatile whenever a time change hits. It's like tampering with my biological clock just that little bit throws me completely out of whack. A big time shift (say, going overseas or to the East Coast) doesn't do that to me for whatever reason - I think because I'm not trying to simultaneously adjust and go through my daily routine. (I do get jetlag from going all the way across the country, though, strange as that is.) So I've been anxious and depressed a lot since the weekend. I took today to go out and shop at Target a bit rather than mess around online, and that seemed to help. I've got some text due tomorrow so I'll likely write most of the day. I'm still a bit wound up, so maybe that will help me finally calm down.
Also, it appears my PS2 is no longer reading discs. This is a problem, because it's what I use for debug code and import games. I'm supposed to get a preview build of Sakura Taisen V soonish and roomie wants to replay some RPGs, so I should try and find someplace nearby that'll fix it. Any SF folks have console repair recommendations, perchance?
October 31st, 2009
This might sound bizarre to anyone who knows me personally, but for the most part I don't go into particulars about my stupid game/character obsessions to my parents. Really, most folks rarely, if ever, understand just all the craziness fandom entails, and I'd rather not hurt my parents' brains by trying to go into details.
So when Dad called me up last night if I was doing anything for Halloween like "dressing as Vanessa, because she's your character, right?" I was pretty taken aback. I don't think I've ever mentioned Vanessa to them at all - I mean hell, dad was asking me just a week earlier who the woman in my Skype picture was.
Which leaves me wondering: where did he hear this? The only place I even mentioned the idea of dressing as Vanessa for Halloween was on Twitter, which I doubt my tech-inept pops even begins to comprehend.
TOTALLY WEIRDED OUT HERE, GUYS. D: And also wondering if I should cut back on talking about fannish pursuits stuff in general...
So when Dad called me up last night if I was doing anything for Halloween like "dressing as Vanessa, because she's your character, right?" I was pretty taken aback. I don't think I've ever mentioned Vanessa to them at all - I mean hell, dad was asking me just a week earlier who the woman in my Skype picture was.
Which leaves me wondering: where did he hear this? The only place I even mentioned the idea of dressing as Vanessa for Halloween was on Twitter, which I doubt my tech-inept pops even begins to comprehend.
TOTALLY WEIRDED OUT HERE, GUYS. D: And also wondering if I should cut back on talking about fannish pursuits stuff in general...
October 29th, 2009
Based on a discussion I was having...
Poll #1478068 Death of creativity
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 17
My vote? Vampires, easily - there's still a lot of clever, enjoyable stuff being done with zombies. Vampires, however, have this stupidly romanticized image that dumb goth kiddies cling to like they're still totally awesome. Truth is, they're not cool or interesting in the slightest, just overplayed. I thought this way even before fucking Twilight hit the scene and made it all a million times worse. Even Japan's often more interesting takes on vampire concepts are starting to draw very little new blood these days (totally on a roll here guys).
In short: Vampires utterly suck. In a bad way. How about making use of a mythological monster trope that allows for a bit more creativity, guys?
(also, if you disagree in whole or part and want to recommend fairly recently made vampire-related material that you actually like, go for it!)
Poll #1478068 Death of creativity
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 17
Which pop culture undead obsession do you hate more and wish would die (GET IT? oh man so clever)?
11 (64.7%)My vote? Vampires, easily - there's still a lot of clever, enjoyable stuff being done with zombies. Vampires, however, have this stupidly romanticized image that dumb goth kiddies cling to like they're still totally awesome. Truth is, they're not cool or interesting in the slightest, just overplayed. I thought this way even before fucking Twilight hit the scene and made it all a million times worse. Even Japan's often more interesting takes on vampire concepts are starting to draw very little new blood these days (totally on a roll here guys).
In short: Vampires utterly suck. In a bad way. How about making use of a mythological monster trope that allows for a bit more creativity, guys?
(also, if you disagree in whole or part and want to recommend fairly recently made vampire-related material that you actually like, go for it!)
October 27th, 2009
Have you ever been in a situation where you've seen a lot of people around you suffer through something that's clearly emotionally painful for them, but you're not really close to what happened, so you can't offer sincere support and condolences? And you feel like kind of like a stupid jerk as a result?
Yeah.
Yeah.
October 24th, 2009
You ever have a business issue that just doesn't seem to want to get resolved? I've been trying to follow up with a certain company on a problem I needed handled a while ago. I think it's handled now, but it's just been a huge pain to take care of, with me having to keep badgering them just to make sure what I requested was actually understood. I think it's resolved now, thankfully.
Still, argh.
Gaming stuff:
- Finished Half-Minute Hero. Well, technically, anyway, I still have the optional Hero 3 left to clear. I also need to figure out how to unlock the "Another Goddess" stage in the main story - I keep on hearing conflicting conditions. It's definitely a contender for my 2009 game of the year, which probably goes to show how removed from the mainstream my tastes are, heh. Also, I need to get the soundtrack for this one, it's great.
- Magna Carta 2 is also really good! The visual style is nice, the combat's fun, and despite all the cliched plot elements (AMNESIA?! NO WAY!!!!) it's an entertaining story. I gotta say, though - I really wish there was a bigger pool of experienced English videogame VO dubbing talent out there. I can pick out Yuri Lowenthal, Crispin Freeman, and Wendee Lee in, like, every RPG ever these days. They're talented folks, but I'd like a bit more variety in the casting.
- Also playing Space Invaders Extreme 2 for review. It seems faster-paced than the first, but that might just be my memory acting up - I should put the original in again and compare them a bit more closely. I'm seeing a lot of people saying it's too similar to the original, but I'm feeling like there are a lot of nuanced changes, so I want to do a more direct comparison.
I'm wondering, are there any impressions of the Tekken 6 Special Edition wireless joystick yet? I know a few copies of the game have broken street date...
Still, argh.
Gaming stuff:
- Finished Half-Minute Hero. Well, technically, anyway, I still have the optional Hero 3 left to clear. I also need to figure out how to unlock the "Another Goddess" stage in the main story - I keep on hearing conflicting conditions. It's definitely a contender for my 2009 game of the year, which probably goes to show how removed from the mainstream my tastes are, heh. Also, I need to get the soundtrack for this one, it's great.
- Magna Carta 2 is also really good! The visual style is nice, the combat's fun, and despite all the cliched plot elements (AMNESIA?! NO WAY!!!!) it's an entertaining story. I gotta say, though - I really wish there was a bigger pool of experienced English videogame VO dubbing talent out there. I can pick out Yuri Lowenthal, Crispin Freeman, and Wendee Lee in, like, every RPG ever these days. They're talented folks, but I'd like a bit more variety in the casting.
- Also playing Space Invaders Extreme 2 for review. It seems faster-paced than the first, but that might just be my memory acting up - I should put the original in again and compare them a bit more closely. I'm seeing a lot of people saying it's too similar to the original, but I'm feeling like there are a lot of nuanced changes, so I want to do a more direct comparison.
I'm wondering, are there any impressions of the Tekken 6 Special Edition wireless joystick yet? I know a few copies of the game have broken street date...
October 23rd, 2009
I don't care if it's belated, this is SO ADORABLE ♥♥♥
Aksys Games is actually publishing a Cho Aniki game here. Well, maybe not "publishing" in the traditional sense, since it's going to be PS Network-only, but still. Cho fucking Aniki.
For those unfamiliar: It's basically one of the most homoerotic games ever made that's not a visual novel intended for fujoshi and/or gay men. Pretty much everything in the game is a thinly-veiled phallic metaphor (aside from the single obligatory female player character). It's amazing.
(Would you believe this image is only the tip of the iceberg?)
Aksys also took the time to write up a really great press release: ( SO WRONG )
One thing I'm interested in seeing: What in the hell is the ESRB going to make of this one?
Completely unrelated but still awesome: Everyone who does some sort of writing (academic or professional) needs to follow Fake AP Stylebook immediately.
For those unfamiliar: It's basically one of the most homoerotic games ever made that's not a visual novel intended for fujoshi and/or gay men. Pretty much everything in the game is a thinly-veiled phallic metaphor (aside from the single obligatory female player character). It's amazing.
(Would you believe this image is only the tip of the iceberg?)
Aksys also took the time to write up a really great press release: ( SO WRONG )
One thing I'm interested in seeing: What in the hell is the ESRB going to make of this one?
Completely unrelated but still awesome: Everyone who does some sort of writing (academic or professional) needs to follow Fake AP Stylebook immediately.
October 21st, 2009
So! I've started getting stuff published over at GamePro, which is currently undergoing some big editorial changes to get far, far away from the "exploding heads" magazine we all remember from the 90s and turn into something much more interesting.
So what did I review? Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga and A Witch's Tale.
Kinda funny that the first review I did for the site, Valhalla Knights, is one of the lowest scores I've ever handed out. Seriously, I have to wonder how in the hell that series continues to go on - the PSP games are awful, too, albeit in somewhat different ways.
At least XSEED sent me Half-Minute Hero this week, almost as if to apologize. It's like the exact goddamned polar opposite of Valhalla Knights: The game just makes me feel good while I'm playing it, like they somehow managed to distill gaming happiness and burn it directly onto the UMD. Maybe it's a good thing I'm not attaching a score to the review I'll do of this one - it manages to push all of my buttons so well that I'd likely wind up giving it something really, really high.
Apparently I'm getting Magna Carta 2 in to review tomorrow. What're the odds that it's better than the first, I wonder?
So what did I review? Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga and A Witch's Tale.
Kinda funny that the first review I did for the site, Valhalla Knights, is one of the lowest scores I've ever handed out. Seriously, I have to wonder how in the hell that series continues to go on - the PSP games are awful, too, albeit in somewhat different ways.
At least XSEED sent me Half-Minute Hero this week, almost as if to apologize. It's like the exact goddamned polar opposite of Valhalla Knights: The game just makes me feel good while I'm playing it, like they somehow managed to distill gaming happiness and burn it directly onto the UMD. Maybe it's a good thing I'm not attaching a score to the review I'll do of this one - it manages to push all of my buttons so well that I'd likely wind up giving it something really, really high.
Apparently I'm getting Magna Carta 2 in to review tomorrow. What're the odds that it's better than the first, I wonder?
October 19th, 2009
Okay, guys, I'm going to ask a bit of a favor here.
The new outlet I'm doing reviews for uses a picture to represent the writer alongside the reviews - usually faces photoshopped onto a video game character, or a little sketch, a comic panel - things like that.
Naturally, I want to use a drawn Vanessa image - but I'd rather not use one that I'm not already using as an avatar somewhere else. I have pictures of her friends have drawn for me, but most of them aren't really suited to be used as avatars, or the artist in question would rather I not utilize the images that way.
So here's my request: a simple Vanessa from about the chest up. Realistic, cartoony, stylized, detailed - doesn't matter! If it's Vanessa and looks interesting, I'm super-duper happy. I don't even care that much about coloring - colors would be nice, but a strong monochrome/greyscale image is totally rad too. It'll be prominently attached to all reviews I do on the site, so if you don't like that idea, then you can safely ignore this request.
I'll be more than happy to compensate you for your time and effort, as well - money's a smidge tight right now so I can't offer large payments, but I've got a whole mess of cool stuff lying around the house, some of which I'd be happy to mail off to you in exchange should you want it.
Anyone interested?
The new outlet I'm doing reviews for uses a picture to represent the writer alongside the reviews - usually faces photoshopped onto a video game character, or a little sketch, a comic panel - things like that.
Naturally, I want to use a drawn Vanessa image - but I'd rather not use one that I'm not already using as an avatar somewhere else. I have pictures of her friends have drawn for me, but most of them aren't really suited to be used as avatars, or the artist in question would rather I not utilize the images that way.
So here's my request: a simple Vanessa from about the chest up. Realistic, cartoony, stylized, detailed - doesn't matter! If it's Vanessa and looks interesting, I'm super-duper happy. I don't even care that much about coloring - colors would be nice, but a strong monochrome/greyscale image is totally rad too. It'll be prominently attached to all reviews I do on the site, so if you don't like that idea, then you can safely ignore this request.
I'll be more than happy to compensate you for your time and effort, as well - money's a smidge tight right now so I can't offer large payments, but I've got a whole mess of cool stuff lying around the house, some of which I'd be happy to mail off to you in exchange should you want it.
Anyone interested?
October 15th, 2009
THIS WEEK IS
Only thing that could possibly make things go better right now is if there were more hours in a day and more paychecks coming in. Or if they made Virtua Cop 3 Special with Vanessa playble. And maybe if I had Half-Minute Hero. But Disgaea 2 continues to please, so that's not too huge a complaint.
Still... I've got a new pub interested in my work, and it's pretty big. That on top of everything I'm managing to get done makes me feel so very happy. I'll post more about it once more gets arranged, but yeah, it looks like more reviews are in my immediate future!
October 14th, 2009
So my first Topless Robot list went up: The 7 Silliest Fighting Game Character Backstories. Have a look! I hope it's sufficiently entertaining.
Already working on another one for the site - this one less visual and more audio.
Already working on another one for the site - this one less visual and more audio.
October 13th, 2009
There's a story (first broken by Gamepolitics) being parroted about the interwebs purporting a study that links ADD and frequent videogaming. It's something I wanted to post over on What They Play, but I wanted to do something a bit more substantial than essentially reposting GamePolitics's piece, particularly since I'm rather skeptical of this sort of research, so I contacted Dr. Christopher Ferguson of Texas A&M, who has helped me out in writing these sorts of things in the past. He has some pretty choice words about how the study and its results are being framed. I'm hoping I can get this out there as a rebuttal to some of the flimsy press release claims being bandied about before they hit more sensationalist outlets.
Meanwhile, the final set of Tatsunoko vs Capcom fighters have been shown: Joe the Condor (of Gatchaman, of course) and the original incarnation of Zero. Okay, so it's not the ORIGINAL Zero design (I'm sure![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
mega_starky and vidstudent would bring that up), and I gotta admit I'm a bit disappointed in his representation. Why is his hair so stiffly animated? :\
Meanwhile, the final set of Tatsunoko vs Capcom fighters have been shown: Joe the Condor (of Gatchaman, of course) and the original incarnation of Zero. Okay, so it's not the ORIGINAL Zero design (I'm sure
mega_starky and vidstudent would bring that up), and I gotta admit I'm a bit disappointed in his representation. Why is his hair so stiffly animated? :\