posts by matt
matt

Face it: Gears of War sucked

by

I’m sorry my fellow videolamerians, but I’m gonna be the first one to say that Gears of War was a big disappointment. After going through the game twice, I can safely say I will never play that game ever again. I traded it in, got $20 for it, and picked up Condemned: Criminal Origins with my winnings. And amazing as this may sound, I’m having a far more enjoyable time with C:CO than I ever did with Gears.

I know, it sounds like complete blasphemy what I just said. But let me explain my heresy before you stick that spike up my pooper.

Gears of War seemed to cater to the more hardcore shooter fans, and while I do like those kinds of games, I was hoping to see a little more innovation. →  Read the rest

Top 3rd Party Wii Titles

by

It’s a fact that most people who own Nintendo consoles buy Nintendo-branded titles, like Zelda or Mario. This seemingly great position that Nintendo has put itself in is actually one of its biggest problems. Ever since the N64, 3rd parties have reduced the amount of games they release on Nintendo platforms. This then shifted the consumer populace to competing consoles like Playstation and Xbox.

Lately, Nintendo has become more attractive to many 3rd parties, with the DS and Wii becoming break-out hits. But that’s just the first step. The second one is getting consumers to actually purchase the 3rd party titles. If no one buys them, third parties will soon lose interest in Nintendo again. So to help reduce the likelihood of the N64/GameCube days from happening again, I have compiled a short list of the best 3rd party Wii titles that are now available. →  Read the rest

How the UMD could have won

by

Last week Gamestop had a Memorial Day weekend sale where they sold all their UMD movies for the awesome price of $4.99. And seeing as how I actually own a PSP, I jumped on that one like….well, something that jumps really fast.

For only $50, I got 10, count ’em 10, UMD movies, and all of them are actually worthing of being watched. I’m talking Snatch, The Fifth Element, and one of my all-time personal favorites, Ghostbusters. Now my train rides won’t consist of me reading a book. Phht, like books are ever gonna catch on…

So after having a full week of watching movies on my PSP, I have to say that it’s actually pretty damn cool. The quality of the video, as well as being formatted in a widescreen ratio, makes watching movies on my handheld a very enjoyable experience. →  Read the rest

The Wii Has Won!!!! Wait, What?

by

Fortune has apparently deemed the Wii as the winner of the next-gen video game console race, featuring the Wiinner’s Circle on their cover, along with a fairly lengthy article talking about everything Nintendo has done right with its system.

It’s a fascinating read [via CNN], but one thing struck me as odd though, and it was a quote from Jack Tretton:

“But if you look at the industry, any industry, it doesn’t typically go backwards technologically. The controller is innovative, but the Wii is basically a repurposed GameCube. If you’ve built your console on an innovative controller, you have to ask yourself, Is that long term?”

He does have a point, but let me ask you this: how old is this industry? It’s really only as old as the NES (Atari nearly killed it, so I’m not going to include it), and that’s about 22 years old. →  Read the rest

Lucasarts alumni set to spray the Insecticide

by

In a near-ZOMG moment, GameCock, the game-cocky indie publisher, has announced the new adventure game Insecticide for the PC and DS, which is being developed by the same people that brought you Grim Fandango, Curse of Monkey Island, Full Throttle, Day of the Tentacle, and Sam and Max Hit the Road. If that pedigree doesn’t get your panties all in a bunch, I don’t know what will.

Set in a future where insects have become the dominant race, “Insecticide’s gameplay puts players in the shoes of bug detectives charged with the task of investigating a mystery of epic proportions.” Color me ultra-tickled pink on that one.

I really am proud to see the once legendary gaming genre come back with such vigor these days. And I’m gonna have to say it’s all because of the DS. →  Read the rest

Geometry Wars to break your wii-mote and DS this Fall

by

Bizarre Creations, in a bizarre move indeed, has announced their plans to bring the amazingly difficult old-school XBLA shooter Geometry Wart to Nintendo’s Wii and DS systems. Handling the conversion will be Kuju Entertainment, which you might remember as the developer for Nintendo’s Battalion Wars.
I HATE those little green bastards.

Titled Geometry Wars: Galaxies, it will now include a single-player campaign, as well as a new multiplayer mode (which includes both co-op and competitive modes) and the original version that’s currently available on Xbox 360. It will also include the requisite online leaderboards, although it’s unclear if both the Wii and DS will have them. Rounding out the new additions will be Wii-DS connectivity that unlocks new content. It is scheduled to come out this Fall for both systems.

If anyone has actually played Geometry Wars, then they can attest to how fucking hard the game is. →  Read the rest

Would the Wii be as successful without Wii Sports?

by

After hearing how successful the Wii has become in the last few months (which is unbelievable for a Nintendo fanboy such as myself), I’ve been trying to figure out why. I mean, it’s Nintendo we’re talking about. They’ve been in third place for some time now, but to see a such turn-around in that short amount of time is literally awe-inspiring.
Wii Sports: the most expensive game on the market.

But how? How has Nintendo gone from the little unknown guy to the one that has captured even your grandma’s heart? That question is easily answered with one thing: Wii Sports. This little piece of software is the main reason why the Wii is so successful, if at all. It’s a game where anyone can play without any inhibition. People like my mom would shy away from video games, but when it comes to Wii Sports, she’s right there beside me, trying to figure out every nuance the game has. →  Read the rest

Capcom hates smear campaigns

by

This interesting piece of news is from Colin Campbell’s editor blog on Next-Gen.biz, in which he talks about a particular fear that Capcom has in doing normal day-to-day business in the video game industry. And it’s not something that anyone would have expected.

Basically, Capcom is worried that the sales of their games that have “explicit violence or gore” will be impacted negatively by what the mass media has to say about them, concerning the much debated topic of violence in video games and what it may do to young players. Capcom believes they could be on the receiving end of a smear campaign with these kinds of games.

From a business standpoint, it seems logical. If they make a game that can be construed as a “murder simulator”, then the press might get ahold of it and give Capcom some bad publicity. →  Read the rest

Better than a full day of sex: Deus Ex being revitalized

by

During a recent interview with Quebec’s MusiquePlus, Eidos France’s director general Patrick Melichor revealed that they’re planning to revisit the Deus Ex series with a new installment that will be developed by Eidos’ newly-formed Montreal studio. It isn’t official, but they’re very close to getting it approved. They’re basically just waiting for the go-ahead.

As a loyal Deus Ex fan, this is a great announcement. I loved the original Deus Ex for the PC, but felt a little betrayed when Eidos seemed to give PC players the finger by releasing a bug-ridden Invisible War and telling us to “just play the Xbox version.” Yeah, I was inconsolable for days after that one.

For the uninformed, and therefore stupid, Deus Ex was a FPS/RPG hybrid set in a futuristic cyberpunk society that is on the verge of an outbreak of a deadly disease. →  Read the rest

Fucking Finally – PSP to have iTunes-like Store

by

It’s taken Sony two years to finally figure out that there’s gold in them thar downloadable content hills. Sony revealed this week at their Gamers Day conference that they are now actively planning a PSP Store, an online marketplace where handheld users can download multimedia content to their PSP’s.
Matt’s fluorescent beauty.

The real deal that users are getting will probably come in the form of downloadable video content, which is basically non-existent right now. iTunes holds the majority stake for all kinds of content right now, but Sony looks to compete with them in supplying movies, music, and possibly games on their PSP Store. Of course, this is all just speculation, as nothing has been officially announced, other than that Sony will have a store where you can download stuff. →  Read the rest

Best Game Ever – Lumines 2

by

When deciding upon which system to purchase next, many people will look for that one game to satisfy their needs almost immediately. Xbox had Halo and GameCube had Smash Bros. Melee. Well, you can add Lumines 2 for the PSP to that list. I’m here to tell you that you should buy a PSP for Lumines 2. Even if you never play another PSP game, you would still have spent your money wisely.

You’re probably asking yourself, “What makes Lumines 2 so special?” Well I’ll tell you, smartypants. Lumines 2, although somewhat of a Tetris clone, does some amazing things with its sound design. Things that I can say, without hesitation, are perfect examples of art within games. There are moments in Lumines 2 that I did not think could be created in a video game. →  Read the rest

What are you blind, Halo 3 looks like shit

by

I just love how mainstream media can tear our little industry a new one with their annoying, but effective “gatekeepers of information” mantra. Apparently reporters for the powerful Reuters news service were on hand for the private unveiling of Microsoft’s Halo 3 beta on Friday, and they immediately went for the graphics jugular with their story.

Third sentence in, “the graphics could use some work.” Now, I don’t argue that fact (which was quoted from a journalist from evilavatar). If we compare all the footage and screenshots for Halo 3 that have officially, as well as unofficially, been revealed to the public, with last year’s Gears of War, we wouldn’t be wrong in saying it looks like complete shit. It’s like they took Halo 2, and just spruced up the textures. →  Read the rest

Rumor Factory: Music Downloads on Wii?

by

If you’ve been keeping up to date with your voting on the Everybody Votes Channel on the Wii (which you should be, btw), then you have seen a particularly interesting question that Nintendo is asking all of its American users:

“How do you prefer to buy music?”

The possible choices Nintendo has supplied are a) download or b) CD. Now, this can just be labeled as a seemingly innocuous question that tries to get more users to vote on the channel, but what if this were the first indication that Nintendo might be in the planning phases for a Music Download Channel, something akin to Apple’s iTunes store?

The Everybody Votes Channel is the perfect venue for Nintendo to better understand its customers, as well as to test out any ideas it has up its sleeve for the future. →  Read the rest

Miyamoto could make Halo, but doesn’t wanna

by

In a pretty enlightening interview on EW.com, Shigeru Miyamoto openly says that he could design a game like Halo for the American market, but that it’s just not what he wants to do.

Miyamoto says he tries to bring something new to the end-user experience, something that fans didn’t even know they wanted. That may sound a bit egotistical, but it makes perfect sense. Most people want a game that they’ve played before because they know it was fun, like someone saying they want a sci-fi FPS. But if developers always followed what the consumer wants, we would never get something like Katamari Damacy or the Wii.

That’s what Miyamoto was trying to say. It’s not like he thinks Halo is a simple game that anyone can design. It’s just not his style to do something like that. →  Read the rest

Doctor, I can’t find a (WipEout) Pulse!

by

If there’s anyone out there that had a bad day today, I’ve got something to bring that smile back to your face. It’s a Eurogamer interview with Clark Davies, the designer on WipEout Pulse, the sequel to Sony Liverpool’s uber-awesome PSP launch hit, WipEout Pure.

I’ve talked about my chronic love for all things WipEout in a previous blog post, but my heart went through the roof this morning after hearing all the new things they’ve managed to fit in the sequel. Better get some Vicodin for this one, it may knock you into a joy-induced coma.

First off, we have a funky new gameplay element called “Mag-Strips” that keeps your ship grounded to the track. This opens up things like loop-de-loops and other such crazy track formations, but Davies promises it will be utilized for more than “the obvious corkscrew or roller-coaster ideas.” →  Read the rest

System Shock 2 OST Impressions: SHODAN scares me

by

I recently got a chance to listen to the official soundtrack of Irrational’s cult-classic, System Shock 2, which was released for PC’s back in 1999. I’ve never play the game before, but after going through the entire soundtrack multiple times, I’m dying to experience all that is Von Braun.

The game is an RPG/FPS hybrid that takes place on an experimental space ship, the Von Braun, the very first space ship that is capable of traveling faster than the speed of light. But of course, with something this amazing in terms of technology, something has to go wrong. And it does. I won’t spoil the rest though, as it’s possibly the coolest plot-line I’ve heard in quite awhile.

As for the OST, it’s filled with a lot of ambient and moody tracks. →  Read the rest

Xbox to make its first dollar in 2008

by

Yeah, seven years after the original Xbox was released. If this was the plan all along, there would’ve been no way in Hell that the Xbox project would have been green-lit had it been anyone but Microsoft. It has cost the company billions already, which isn’t a very favorable position when dealing with shareholders.

From eWeek via Next-Gen.biz, Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division, states that through peripherals, software sales (1st and 3rd party titles), and Xbox Live, the Xbox platform will finally see a profit next year. Welcome, Microsoft, to the club that Nintendo has been a part of since, well, forever.

This fact just goes to show you how much money Microsoft can afford to waste on something like a gaming console. They’ve lost billions of dollars in the last seven years, but are still going into the console market with all guns blazing. →  Read the rest

Wii VC Sales in Decline, But Not by Much

by

Nintendo of Japan recently held a press conference where they detailed a whole mess of… crap. One of the bigger chunks of news to come out of the conference was the sales figures for the Wii’s Virtual Console service.

In the first two months of the service’s life, 1.5 million games were downloaded. In the last three, only 1.8 million were downloaded. If we extrapolate this info, we can see that the VC’s sales are starting to decline. It’s not by a huge amount, but it is enough to warrant a dissection on the situation.

So why did it start to decline? Well, we have a few reasons why. First, the lucky gamers that had a Wii in the first two months were most likely hardcore gamers, and would gladly pay for a Nintendo game that they had already purchased nine times before, including myself. →  Read the rest

Console logos throughout the ages

by

This year, 2007, marks the 30th anniversary of the Atari 2600 release, which is what many consider to be the very first commercial video game console. And since then, the gaming populace has been privy to 21 major home consoles. To celebrate this momentous year, I have painstakingly researched and categorized each of the 18 home consoles’ logos. Yes, I have nothing else better to do with my time. So, with that in mind, let’s take a quick stroll through history, shall we?

Atari 2600: Here we have the granddaddy of them all: the Atari 2600. I don’t really understand what this logo stands for, but it must mean something cool, as it can still be seen on t-shirts and stickers everywhere. If you’re trying to convey the fact that you’re a retro gamer, you probably have the Atari logo somewhere in your gaming bordello. →  Read the rest

Pokemon Sells a Lot. Noooooo, Really?

by

In the most unsurprising bit of news to come along in some time, Nintendo has announced that their flagship DS titles, Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, have accumulated over 1 million units sold in little less than a week’s time. Seriously, was there ever a doubt that this wouldn’t happen? Pokemon is the crack for gaming: everyone knows it isn’t good for you, but it’s so hard to quit.
Aww jeez, we doin’ this Pokemon thing again?

Not to say the games suck (the original GameBoy one was uber-good), but I’m not sure how many times Nintendo/Game Freak have to make the exact same game over and over before fans finally realize that the series needs a revamp. Personally, I’m still holding out for the console MMO that everyone seems to wish for. →  Read the rest