It's been way too long interweb
So it's been forever, I know this. But I am back and will be updating regularly. I've had a lot to talk about but just didn't know where to start, however I'm just too hyped about E3 and the upcoming Revolution(Wii) news that I had bring back the unfunnybone. So buckle up, it's gonna be wild.
New Releases
Today is a pretty great day for gamers. We get five games today which all look to be entertaining and excellent titles.
Ninja Gaiden Black - XBOX
Battalion Wars - Gamecube
We Love Katamari - PS2
Ultimate Spiderman - All
Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks - All
Gitaroo Man: One of my faves
It's kind of a slow news day, so I thought I'd drop some knowledge about one of my favorite games from this generation, Gitaroo Man. Gitaroo Man is a rhythm game based around teenage boy U-1 and his gitaroo. A gitaroo is a mystical guitar used for good. The music in a rhythm game is vital to the success, and while some will find the music here irritating, I love it. The same can be said for the visuals in this game. The graphic style is Japanese to the end. The look and feel is as quirky as it gets. All that aside, what is really compelling about this game is the control scheme. Playing with U-1's gitaroo, you can actually use the analog stick to bend notes. In my opinion that is a pretty innovative gameplay idea and certainly adds depth to the somewhat lacking rhythm genre. The downfall of Gitaroo Man is the ridiculous difficulty. You will be retrying all the levels, no doubt about it. Regardless, I highly recommend Gitaroo Man to all rhythm game fans. The gameplay alone should be enough to keep you coming back for more.
Here is a link to an excellent editorial/essay about Nintendo's Revolution strategy. It touches on how Nintendo thrives on innovation. It is an excellent read for anyone confused about the recent revelation of the Revolution controller. It's actually an excellent read for anyone.
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It's been a while, I know. No excuses, there's too much to talk about with the Tokyo Game Show in full effect. Mostly we finally get to see the Revolution controller. I will rant and rave another day. Of course, I'm shocked, confused, and excited all at once. There's tons of other goodies from the show coming in the next few days.
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Whoops!
I enjoyed labor day so much, I just forgot to post. Whoops!
Linked here is an article where the creator of Katamari Damacy speaks very candidly about the upcoming Katamari sequel and his feelings about the state of the game industry. I'll save the summary for the article itself, but I absolutely love what he had to say. More designers need to stand-up and realize that gamers won't pay for the same crap forever. We crave innovative and original titles. Actually, it's not just the designers but also the publishers who greenlight most of this crap. Give indie games a chance instead of Dynasty Warriors 23. I just know every designer out there has an original idea or three that just needs support. I know they won't all be the next Katamari Damacy, but you won't find out unless you take a chance. I could go on forever, but I'll save it for another day.
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I just came across this feature on 1up.com. It's an editorial that goes into detail about all the controversy around sex and violence in video game. I know I have touched on this before, but this article brings up many interesting points. Basically, read it.
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Chat it up
I added my new msn screenname to the right so anyone can bother me anytime they want. I am planning to only use "unfunnybone@hotmail.com" as a screenname, not for email.
Ever since the release of Ninja Gaiden on the Xbox there has been a swirling debate about whether games have gotten progressively easier since the golden days of Atari, nes, and sega. I came across an excellent article on this at tomshardware.com today and it really got me thinking about this. This generation of gamers are definitely spoiled by the idea of game saves and checkpoints. This is proven by the fact that when we do get a classic game as an unlockable or as part of a collection we now have the option to save. I'm just as bad about this as the next guy because I threw, broke, and exploded many controllers in my day, so I'm gonna save dammit. Frankly, I NEED it to get through many games. But ya know what, that just proves to me that I too have gotten caught up in this generations lack of difficulty. Just go ahead and go back and play some old faves from the nes or genesis. Good luck. You'll see how much satisfaction you get from beating just one level, let alone the entire game. I remember when I finally finished the original Legend of Zelda after like 2 years of frustration, I was so excited I told every person I talked to. Now look, I'm not saying let's up the difficulty and games this generation are too easy, I'm just purely saying I agree games have gotten easier and that saves and checkpoints have spoiled the once cancerous phrase "game over."
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Reportedly Nintendogs sold over 250,00 copies in it's first week here in the states. Yowza, that's a lot of dog crap.
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Rumors are all around the internet saying PS3 games will cost around 70 bucks. This should be no surprise seeing how much Xbox 360 costs. Sony is basically saying we know our system will be in high demand so let's milk these gamers, and just like I said about the 360, it sucks. Mainly because I can't do anything but pay these high prices. Of course, this is only a rumor so maybe the money gods will shine upon us and not raise software prices.
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Nintendo released their first podcast earlier today, and let's just say it blows. Very disappointing. It's just basically an infomercial for Nintendogs. I had a sliver of hope that there might be some Revolution news, but alas, no such luck. There's a link to it here, if you care.
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Live update
I've lost every game so far. The rest of the world is really good, and I'm really bad.
Finally have Live
I finally caught up with the gaming world and set up xbox live. That's all, no time for post.
The linked article here proclaims that the gaming era from 1983-1993 is our "greatest game generation." As much as I loved the NES, SNES, and the Genesis, I think it is a bit premature to call any generation of games the greatest. The way the industry is going we have a lot of gaming left. I'd put my money on the fact that the greatest generation of games is yet to come.
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Mind your own business
I am so sick and tired of Jack Thompson and Hilary Clinton putting their nose in the game industry. I understand that "Hot Coffee" is a bit inappropriate, but I mean c'mon they're fully clothed. Not only that, you have to enter codes and hack the pc version to see it. Get over it. And yeah I will acknowledge that San Andreas along with tons of other games are really violent and shouldn't be played by young kids, but that's what ratings are for. Maybe if the parents in this country actually payed attention to their kids, 10 year olds wouldn't be playing San Andreas or any other M rated game. The ESRB does a great job, it's the parents that buy anything and everything for their kids without looking at it that are the problem.
360 Bundles
Quick note that yeah, I do hate the Xbox 360 bundles. More on that tomorrow.
Problem Solved
Regular posts resume tomorrow.
Internet Issues
Don't freak out because I haven't posted in a few days. I have been and still am having internet issues. When all is resolved posting will resume as usual. Holla.
According to this article, 8 yr olds are quickly becoming addicted to Nintendogs. Sounds like Nintendo might have another pokemon on their hands. PSP better get their GTA out and fast.
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The Day After
It's been about 36 hours since I heard about the 360 price scheme, and just for the record I want to say I'm still pissed.
Microsoft = not so smart
It was announced today that the Xbox 360 would start at a base price of $299. There will also be a $399 deluxe version with a hard drive, wireless controllers, and an ethernet cable. Wow. Someone should be fired for this decision to split the demographic from the get-go. Let's forget the ridiculously high price for a minute, and just think about the two different versions. The $299 is only the console and one controller. 300 bucks for one damn controller! It will reportedly cost around $50 for another controller. Retarded. Ok but then there's the $399 version. No details about the importance of the additional hard drive have been revealed. So we don't know the point of paying the extra hundred bucks yet. The worst thing of all is that you have to pay $400 and you don't even get wi-fi with the xbox 360. Just make you feel worse about it, they laugh in your face by giving you an ethernet cable. Jerks. Actually, the worst part is that games like Gears of War look so damn good that I'll probably still pay the $400 anyway. I'm such a tool.
The new Zelda game has been delayed until April 06. Lame. I'll get over it in a few days because in the long run this will make the game that much better.
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John Singleton does it again
Okay here's the deal, Four Brothers is awesome. I will throw fists with anyone who disagrees.
Epinions.com is a great place for up and coming writers and bloggers to go and review anything and everything. The site has been around for a while, but it's new to me. So, go check it out and start making a name for yourself and if you get a chance look for reviews from unfunnybone.
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Here's a link to some wallpapers for the upcoming We Love Katamari. It's a japanese site but all you have to do is click your resolution and soak in the love. Katamari do your best!
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Nintendogs
I am so stoked about Nintendogs coming out in a few weeks. I recently played the demo and I was blown away. The touch-screen controls are so intuitive. It's been two days since I played and I still can't believe how well it worked. It was like petting a real dog. The demo is only five minutes long but those were the best five minutes of the month so far. Yeah I'm a nerd, so what.
For the past few days, I've been hearing about this National Lampoon satire about Adult Swim. I just watched it and it's totally ridiculous and completely unfunny. It's sad really how far National Lampoon will go in an attempt to be funny. Dropping F bombs doesn't mean funny, and neither does taking cheap shots at a network they're jealous of. I'm sure Adult Swim doesn't even care, I mean what is the last successful thing Lampoon has done? Vacation? They should've quit a long time ago. And besides they should support a network like Adult Swim that essentially carries the same values Lampoon used to back in the golden days. Lampoon should just pass the torch and give up now before they embarass themselves even more.
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Bad News Bears
At work tonight I realized I hadn't mentioned anything about how I saw Bad News Bears a few days ago. Basically, it's hilarious. It's not a movie for everyone, it's a tad offensive. It might have a pg-13 rating, but be warned the language is very strong. If you don't mind that then I highly recommend it. I guess I'm a bit partial because I loved the original and this one stayed extremely close. They only changed small details. Point is this movie will make you puke your popcorn. Go now.
According to an article on Yahoo Entertainment, Chappelle Show is officially over. As much as it sucks, it's not much of a surprise with all the arguing and speculation surrounding the show recently. I guess if Daves not happy, nobodys happy.
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Start screaming now. Today on Gamespot there are new details for the next-gen Resident Evil 5. I can't stop giggling, I'm so excited.
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Me So Sorry
I've been real busy lately with my new job and various other things, so I'm sorry for the lack of love my blog is getting. Soon enough I'll get used to working full-time again, and start posting on a regular basis. Until then, deal with it.
Australia is Stupid
That's right, I said it. The Australian government's recent ban of GTA:San Andreas is ridiculous. The game has a rating for a reason. It's the parents responsibility to make sure their kids don't play inappropriate games. Ban the idiot parents, not the game. I guess I should re-phrase. The Australian government is stupid, not the whole country.
Alright, by now most of you have probably seen the "Super Bowl is Gay" video by Andy Milonakis, if not click the link. It classifies as hilarious to me. What's even funnier to me is that the kid in the video, Andy, has his own show on MTV now, mostly because of this video. What a great country this is. You record a video trashing one of the most beloved events in our culture and they pay you to do it some more on cable tv. What's strange about Andy's show is that most of it isn't laugh out loud funny but I can't stop watching it. You'll sit there and actually say, "That's funny" but seldom fall on the floor laughing. Anyway, the whole point of this is to wonder why I still watch the show? Is it because I expect the next segment to be hilarious, and I don't want to miss it? Is it his terrible voice-overs? Maybe his over-the-top facial expressions? I guess it's a combination of all of that along with the fact that he realizes it, and frequently makes fun of himself for the crappy production and other things. Glad I got that figured out.
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