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One Thing Right, One Thing Wrong: Sony Edition

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In our final edition, we get to talk about everyone’s current whipping boy, Sony and it’s uber-beast of a console, the PS3. Oh boy, how the might have fallen. In one fell swoop, the Playstation brand went from the de facto system for anything “video gaming” to some machine that costs way too much. But, it’s not all bad.

Ummm. Hmmmm.

Yeah, let’s start with the bad things first.

Well, one thing that I can’t understand for the life of me is what you have to do when updating the PS3’s firmware. You have to connect your wireless SIXAXIS controller into the system with a USB cord. Can someone please tell me why? What the hell does the controller have to do with a firmware update? →  Sounds amazing, I must read it now!

Virtual Console offers more obscure titles

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Today, a few low profile games were released on Nintendo’s Virtual Console (Gradius III, Wonder Boy in Monster World, Battle Lode Runner). Many gamers’ reaction was, “This sucks, when is Nintendo giving us Super Metroid and Super Mario RPG?” or the other side of that coin, “Ha ha, enjoy your crappy VC games losers. I’m glad I don’t have a Wii.” It’s an alarming situation but provides insight into the minds of many gamers.

Square Enix recently announced it would be remaking every game they’ve ever thought about making. Many of us wondered why consumers will no doubt validate this developer’s decision to not develop games. This desire to play and replay the same game isn’t limited to Squeenix fans, though. →  Speak softly and carry a big post.

One Thing Right, One Thing Wrong: Microsoft Edition

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Continuing our week-long series of “One Thing Right, One Thing Wrong,” today we turn our attention to Microsoft and it’s rather sleek-looking Xbox 360 console. Compared to the original Xbox, the 360 is leaps and bounds better, but still isn’t exactly perfect, which we’ll now discuss.
Xbox 360: So smart, yet so stupid.

In a move that Nintendo should probably take a lesson from, Microsoft gives each person a Reputation rating on their Gamercard, which is represented by a 5-star rating. It lets players that play games online know what kind of people they are playing with. The lower the rating, the more obnoxious the player will be while playing with him/her. All you have to do is view that player’s Gamercard and check the Reputation rating, which is to the right of their Gamer pic. →  It’s time to read and chew bubblegum… and I’m all outta gum.

Virtual Console Previews/Reviews – Week of April 16th

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Wii Virtual Console:
Glass Joe, you were so misunderstood.

Punch Out!! (NES): Not Mike Tyson’s Punch Out, but I actually liked this one better anyway. Quite possibly my favorite NES game of all time. At 500 points, this is a complete no-brainer. Go get this … now. Japan has had this on the VC for about a month and a half now, I wonder what the hold up was? We have it now so I guess it doesn’t matter.

Virtua Fighter 2 (Sega Genesis): The reason I purchased the infamous 32X for the Genesis was for Virtua Fighter 3D and it was well worth the money (at the time). This, sadly, is not the 32X version but the pseudo-3D version for the Genesis. →  I can has post?

Joe Scarborough even more of an asshole than original tests indicate

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He has the honor of being the first person I’ve heard mention video games in regards to the Virginia tech shooting. Looks like Joe has found the culprit. Joe closed this case tonight on his daily crime against humanity called Scarborough Country.

Seriously though, it was only a matter of time before someone hinted that games may be partly to blame and for all I know, he isn’t the first to do so today. Funny what things are ripe for picking as causes. If someone crazy is Islam, likes game or listens to metal, it’s those things fault. If they are ex-Marines or extreme conservatives waging war against secular America, they are portrayed as just nuts.

How can Joe, knowing nothing about the killer, bring up video game violence? →  There is only one really serious philosophical problem, and that is games.

One Thing Right, One Thing Wrong: Nintendo Edition

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This week I’m going to introduce a new segment on vl. Called “One Thing Right, One Thing Wrong,” I’m going to talk about about two things, one good, one bad, that a respective console maker has going for with their current generation console. And to start it all off, I decided to go with fanboy heaven, Nintendo and its Wii system.
Wii: next-gen home for Channel surfing.

First, the good news. In keeping with this whole “non-gamer” kick that Nintendo’s been on, they’ve implemented the now-famous Channel system with the Wii. Essentially, you have upwards of 48 “channels” that can be viewed on the Wii’s main menu, be it specialty programs like the “Everybody Votes” channel, or full-fledged games from the Virtual Console service. →  SNK Article Classics Vol. 1

Virtual Console Previews/Reviews – Week of April 9th

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Wii Virtual Console:
30000 high score? n00b.

Galaga (NES): I don’t really need to explain this one to the people who would be reading this article. Galaga was an awesome arcade game and the NES conversion was good enough to recommend this purchase to any fan of classic shooters.

Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle (Sega Genesis): A horrible game. I have no idea who is deciding what titles are released for the Genesis, but they should be fired. Seriously … Alex Kidd?!? Before Earthworm Jim, the NHL series, Road Rash, etc.? This game is worthless.

Bravoman (TG16): Another good game for the TurboGraphix this week. Bravoman is a platformer that moved between classic side-scrolling play and pseudo-3D shooting levels (think 3D World Runner for the NES) with some great level design and perspective tricks. →  Hot Shots Post 3

Wii Shortages Will Continue

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Next-Gen has reported through an interview with Nintendo of America’s Perrin Kaplan that it may be awhile before the Wii Shortage of ’07 ends. Perrin stated that they are at maximum capacity right now in terms of manufacturing the system, but the demand for the system is still at a fever-pitch, making it very hard to keep an amble supply on store shelves. The Internet community has known about this situation for some time now, but it’s surprising to see that even Nintendo themselves can’t predict when the shortage will come to an end.

But let’s think about this for a second. Even though the Wii is doing gangbusters right now, you can’t call it a complete success when the demand for it far exceeds supply. →  Frankly my dear, I don’t read a damn.

Best Game No One Heard of: Pac-Pix

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If there is one game I could say that everyone should play at least once, it would have to be Pac-Pix. It showcases the DS in a fantastic way, and it is a really fun game. But sadly, it sold very poorly, and got only average review scores. Basically, everyone put on their “stupid caps” and didn’t pay any attention to the game.

The major reason for this was the time it was released. It came out in the first six months of the DS’s lifetime. Everyone was still waiting for that one game to justify their purchase for the system, and Pac-Pix didn’t live up to that. If the game came out now, it would be received much better. Right now though, you can’t even find it on GameStop’s website. →  You’re tearing me apart lamers!

Virtual Console Reviews/Previews

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XBox Live Arcade:
This cutscene was awesome when I was younger … it still is.

Luxor 2: I played the first one on my PC and it was quite fun. Pretty much the same game as Zuma but with some added special effects and an Egyptian theme. The new version has almost 90 levels and supports HD 1080i, which is a great deal for the price. Plus, I love when games like this have a plot they want the gamer to care about. “You must save ancient Egypt from the terrible wrath of Set” … by shooting colored balls into a snaking line.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (arcade 1989): I know this one was technically released a couple of weeks ago, but I had to throw it into this list because it’s that good. →  Sounds amazing, I must read it now!