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Domo arigato and bon voyage!

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Tomorrow morning I will be leaving to join Tyson in Japan. There may be fewer updates and hilarious articles while I’m gone, but by January 8th I’ll be home and within the next month or two we will be ready to think about planning preparations to return to full speed.

In the meantime, enjoy fluffy filler material I’ve preprepared. Ever wonder how the staff here has evolved and changed as gamers in the past two years (hey, that’s how old this site is, what a coincidence)? Wonder no more because this site will soon be flooded with human interest stories.

While you’re reading videolamer and doing whatever it is I assume you do with the rest of your day (hit refresh until you need to pee/eat, pee/eat, repeat), I hope to absorb the local culture by enjoying a Big Mac and Nippon Disney – who cares about what people think beyond what they think of me? →  In the beginning games created the heavens and the earth.

Am I working or playing?

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This is a common favorite topic of mine, but goddamn is it relevant to my gaming life right now. Currently I am playing four games: Rock Band (with roommates and friends), Eve Online (as usual), Etrian Odyssey (when commuting), and DOTA (with real friends, as always).

Right now, Rock Band and Eve seem an awful lot like work. Rock Band I’m being forced to play practice mode to learn some of the harder song’s drum lines so that my virtual band might succeed (also, I’d like to get better at the drums). This experience has made me want to murder anyone who thinks that Rock Band and Guitar Hero are toys and not like real musical instruments. I feel like I’m taking drum lessons as I play the song at 50% to learn the muscle memory, then slowly speed it up to full. →  All you need is read.

Revelation of Arcadia

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It’s not often that a single game has changed my outlook on games so much – especially in the RPG genre, which seems to see only occasional innovation. Usually it’s in the form of a plot twist here or a stylistic change there that is incorporated into a group of cliches. While some carry an idea out a bit better, and a cliche-filled game can still be a lot of fun, many games feel like a string of cliches in a different order with a new battle system.

For a long time, I really thought I didn’t care much. Oh, the first Persona was neat and all, and the Suikoden series’ focus on larger events was cool, but it was the nifty, well-done battle systems that I convinced myself I really enjoyed the most. →  Read Theft Auto 4

PSP Firmware – doin’ it right ways?

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When I got my PSP, the prevoius owner had it at Firmware 3.5, AKA the Magic Number. If I recall correctly, that was the latest firmware to have a simple .exe downgrader for those interested in homebrew. This is why fate coxed me into immediately upgrading the system before learning this fact, thus sticking me with firmware 3.71, AKA you need Pandora’s Battery. I vowed to leave the firmware alone at this point, hoping that in a year or so someone would finally get around to hacking the newer firmwares.

Then Sony came out with Firmware 3.8 this week, and I immediately broke my promise. This update actually has some new features, and I am hear to report as best I can. →  You had me at read more.

Sony CEO – PS3 better than Wii

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Howard Stringer is the CEO of Sony. He makes over 650k a year (very likely million/s). And he is terrible at PR.

“I’m happy the Wii seems to be running a bit short of hardware. The PlayStation 3 will come into its own because its are infinitely more fun, demanding and exciting.”

He is glad the Wii is selling out because consumers may now buy a PS3 out of frustration. He’s pleased that Nintendo’s giant safe can barely fit any more money in it because that may mean a few dollars drift down the street to Sony. He enjoys that Iwata’s back is sore from carrying bars of solid gold to the bank, and Miyamoto’s neck aches after craning to see the top of his new mansion. →  Phoenix Write: Just Posts for All

Why is my UT so pretty?

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ut3 teh sam3z0rz

I’ve got UT3. I’ve played the shit out of it. Surprised, right? I know, me too.

I’m not allowed to write a review on the thing because my editor isn’t very comfortable with sixty pages of what would likely be strikingly pornographic adulation being posted as a legitimate review. I don’t know that I could do anything like an objective review, though, so I guess he has a point. I am not kidding you when I say that I want to have sex with this game. No dinner, no movie, not even a few choice words about its pretty hoop earrings and swanky nightgown; my junk wants to be in this game’s trunk. Plain. Simple. END OF LINE.

This is the point where the adroit few of you take a small break while the remaining headshot fodder comes up with any way they can to make the above sound like I want to press up against dudes. →  Ridge Reader V

Others help SNK shoot itself in the foot

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If you are a modern day SNK fan like me, you know the company has done absolutely squat to promote its games. The only one of recent memory to get a serious push was the original Maximum Impact, which featured a collectors edition, classy packaging, and ads during sporting events. Everything else, including MI’s far superior sequel, has had anywhere near the publicity. Every game has been a near silent release, to the point where people aren’t even sure of a solid release date. I have heard the faintest of buzz about Neo Geo Battle Colliseum, but this is completely the doing of fans and curious people who have been wondering why it has taken years for a port of it to show up. →  Tokyo Xtreme Reader: Drift 2

Shameless Propoganda (and some insight)

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This blog post is a bit off topic, but indulge me. I have the pleasure of being loosely associated with an upcoming independent film called “Look,” which is opening on Friday in a few cities (NYC and LA). The premise of Look is that there are 30 million surveillance cameras in America, which capture the average American 200 times a day. The movie is a fiction that covers several intertwining plotlines, with each scene shot from a hypothetical security camera: elevator cameras, convenience store cameras, even bathroom and changing room cameras.

What does this have to do with gaming? You’ll recall about a year ago there was a great deal of outcry when the Left Behind game praised Jesus too much. →  Prince of Postia: Article Within

Rock Band – The rant

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Ever since it was released, some folks have had it in their minds that Rock Band would destroy Guitar Hero. Their logic ranged from “It isn’t being made with greedy Activision at the helm” to “four instruments are better than two, amirite?” These wonderfully spun arguments failed to recognize important things, such as the fact that Rock Band was being published by greedy EA and that Harmonix is owned by greedy MTV. Nevermind the fact that the game would be a massive undertaking and was completed in less than a year. These warnings were not heeded by many. Caution was thrown to the wind. It was Rock Band or bust.

Congratulations; you just paid to beta test an unfinished and rushed game. →  Hot Shots Post 3