Random Crap

Stuff that doesn’t fit into one of the other categories goes here.

Final Fantasy XI OST

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Many people have probably already figured out that I am a huge video game music buff. More than half the music on my computer is from one game or another. And after much contemplation, I hit up iTunes and purchased the complete Final Fantasy XI OST for $16. For 51 songs, I couldn’t afford not to buy it.

I can already hear you moaning over the fact that I went the iTunes route, but I have to say they have a great selection of Final Fantasy music. They have all the major OST’s, covering the entire series. They also have some Black Mages in there for the hardest of the hard core. It’s also really good that I don’t have to wait like two weeks before I get the music, like you do with importing. →  The happiest post on Earth.

videolamer’s Holiday Shopping Guide

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Knowing what game to buy for whom is a job all in itself, especially for out of touch parents. If reading review after review of technical mumbo jumbo sounds like too much work, the videolamer Holiday Shopping Guide is for you. Simply identify which grouping best fits the lucky recipient of your gifts then follow every word of advice to the letter and Christmas/ Chanukah/ Kwanza / Ramadan/ Festivus/ Dhanvantari Trayodashi will be saved.

The Indiscriminate Eye

Who they are: We all have that friend or relative who seems to have had their taste assigned to them by pop radio, Howard Stern and MTV. While it would seem these people should be easy to shop for, they actually react quite violently to anything that is unpopular. →  50 Cent: Readproof

The Wii-Hunt Is Over

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I’ve just spent since the UK launch (8th Dec) searching for a Wii. I’ve traipsed all the websites, and clenched my fists at the mocking “out of stock” signs. I even let it drop when I walked into another game shop yesterday to find out that yes, they do have stock, but no, they aren’t going to give me one because they’re for the people who have pre-ordered. And not turned up four days later.

Then I got a hot tip. Virgin Megastores at a shopping mall a fair bit away from me (an hour on a train) would have them in some time early this week. £30, 15 wasted hours and way too much time spent on public transport, I finally have one. →  You fool. Don’t you understand? No one wishes to read on…

Possible Megaton – Dragon Quest IX Exclusive to Nintendo DS

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In a surprising move, Square-Enix has announced that the next installment to the uber-popular RPG series, Dragon Quest IX, will be made exclusively for the Nintendo DS. Most people assumed that it was destined for either PS2 or PS3, but with the Nintendo DS’s soaring popularity in the Land of the Rising Sun, Squenix saw gold in them thar dual-screened hills.

Level 5, which developed last year’s enjoyable Dragon Quest VIII, will be reprising their role as developer for the Nintendo DS outing, with close supervision from Squenix. The full name is Dragon Quest IX: Defender of the Starry Sky, and is looking at a mid-2007 release date.

Even though the DS has been immensely successful without the help of the Dragon Quest series, this move will easily make the DS the system of choice in Japan for years to come. →  It’s dangerous to read alone, take this.

How to write a Holiday Shopping Guide

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If you are running any sort of successful games website, you should already have your Holiday Shopping Guide up and collecting income. These guides are essential for grabbing a nice chunk of holiday web traffic and advertising money from online retailers. If by some chance you still haven’t made yours, videolamer is here to help with this easy to follow step by step guide.

1) Start Early:
In the last decade, we marketing folk succeeded in eliminating Thanksgiving from the collective minds of everyone but grocery stores and the NFL. And, if our research is correct, people are glad that the stress and frustration of holiday shopping can now go on for an even longer stretch of time. This means that you can publish your guide at any point in November. →  Lamers so loved the world that they gave their only article, so that everyone who believes in reading won’t perish but will have eternal lives.

Wii: The Lazy Gamer’s Console

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The Wii is like the full spectrum of gaming. You can play like a non-true-gamer and make minimal movements. You can also play quirky little games like the upcoming Cooking Momma: Cook Off, as well as the big hitters, like the Legend of Zelda. Whatever you want, Wii’s got it. It’s like the Wal-Mart of gaming. Just less evil.

One thing that is also really cool, even though it’s just a side-effect of Nintendo’s ultimate aim of getting non-gamers into the gaming fold, is the fact that you can hold the controller in a really comfortable position. Because the two essential pieces of the controller are separate and tethered with a fairly long wire, you get to move your arms farther away from each other than you would with traditional controllers. →  The Last Readment

Fear the Mystic Balloons

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I find most freeware games to be temporary distractions, but every once in a while I get hooked on one longer than usual. Such is the case with Mystic Balloon. Originally a cooperation between two Japanese developers, this puzzle game was translated a few days ago by Derrick Sobodash.

Mystic Balloon’s plot is simple, as are both music and graphics. But the puzzles are rightfully the heart of the game, and there are a lot of them.

Our forecast for tomorrow is mostly cloudy with a chance of ice and springs.

In this puzzle game, you make your way through individual 2-dimensional puzzle map-areas – similar to Lolo – but in Mystic Ballon, gravity has an effect and there aren’t enemies – the game is pure puzzle, and controls are tight so mistakes are the player’s fault. →  Think outside the post.

Untranslated Games on Gametap

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So I was cruising through Gametap the other day, looking for new additions I might have missed out on. During this time I came across an interesting little game called Battle Golfer Yui. What makes it surprising is that the game was never released in America, but instead was a Japanese only release on the Sega Mega Drive. I’m not sure how or why Gametap included it, but they do acknowledge that its quite impossible to play through all the modes without understanding Japanese, and even tell you how to navigate to the quick play mode.

Anime Babes and Golf.

Upon further investigation, I discovered that it isn’t alone. There’s also at least one Wonder Boy release from Japan as well, and this time they warn that it might not even be possible to play without knowing Kanji. →  This better not be as bad as everything else here.

Thinking about my Wii

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When will WiiDS (pronounced “weeds”) games come out? I am looking forward to making my girlfriend hold the DS, which I can assume will display only a map for about every game with connectivity, while I play Wii games. She has tried to explain maps to me before and it never works out because we both have terrible senses of direction and tempers. Threatening to kick her out of the car will probably be less effective when sitting in the living room playing video games so I’ll have to come up with a new threat for getting me lost. Not knowing where I am while driving costs a few minutes, but in a game can cost me my life.

Here is a good idea for a game. →  These are the games I know, I know. These are the games I know.

Faxanadu and Crystalis

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I’d like to bring a couple of old games to your attention. To me, these games pioneered the Action/RPG genre, which sadly has not received the attention it deserves.

First on the list is Faxanadu. An offshoot of the Dragon Slayer series in Japan (of which we received Faxanadu and Legacy of the Wizard), Faxanadu has much in the way of fantasy stereotypes: your character is an elf, and your mission is to make your way to the World Tree and track down those crazy dwarves who keep shutting off the elves’ water supply (thereby bringing about the deterioration of the world, etc, etc).

Although the plot is there, it is not particularly interesting. The important part is that you keep exploring, crossing vast expanses of diverse terrain, and you fight whatever gets in your way with magic, swords, and items. →  Sly 3: Honor Among Reads