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. →  You think about everything.

I may need more than my Wii

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I’ve recently been known to say that even if no other companies support the Wii, I will be very happy with it. With first and second party titles like Metroid Prime 3, Wario Ware Smooth Moves, Mario Galaxy, a new Super Smash Brothers, a new Mario Cart, a new Fire Emblem, a new Advance Wars, and the prospects of a new F-Zero, Starfox, Pikmin, and Paper Mario, how could I ever be at a loss for great games to play?

After some deep meditation (unless meditation is thinking about nothing, then it probably wasn’t that), I have concluded that while it is true I will always have good games to play on the Wii, the idea of not having a lot of interesting smaller games on the system saddens me. →  The gamers have only interpreted the games, in various ways. The point, however, is to change them.

Review – Gears Of War

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With a game that has so much hype grabbing onto to its heels and biting violently, it’s difficult to even know where to begin with such a review. I feel I should be writing an equally monumental review to represent the game: a 3,000 page mini encyclopaedia describing every minute detail that would no doubt spoil the game when you eventually pick it up, and lead to you sending me brown stuff in paper bags through my letterbox. Seeing as though I don’t want large amounts of waste dropping on my doorstep, I’ll refrain. So, where in the hell should I start?

He’s a man’s man (but still straight).

Let’s start at the obvious place — the graphics. I doubt you need me to tell you how pretty this game is, because we’ve all seen the screenshots. →  Go ahead, read my day.

We don’t play games the way they should be played

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Over the last few years, I have come to realize that I, like many of you, play video games incorrectly. We don’t play them the way they should be played. And this goes double for you RPG nuts out there (I’m looking at you, videolamer staff). I bet that most of you just blaze through games, trying to either beat them as quickly as you can or leveling up to a point where only Cartman and the South Park gang can top you. Well stop it. You’re missing out on an enjoyable experience with your games if you think getting to the ending credits is the reason we play them.

This guy really knows how to enjoy a game.

I remember playing Ocarina of Time for the N64 way back in 1998. →  What is a post? A miserable little pile of secrets.

Review – Rampage: Total Destruction (Wii)

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Thanks to GameFly, I’m able to get my hands on games like this for a negligible cost, taking some of the sting away. I guess I wasn’t really expecting much from this game but I was still rather disappointed. I enjoyed playing the past iterations of the series… I mean, as much as one can enjoy this type of repetitive game play, and I was looking forward to some sort of innovative control scheme with the Wiimote. Nope.

The Wii functionality was obviously an afterthought, as you can only execute two movements with the motion sensing (a ground smash and a swipe attack). Movement in general was pretty sluggish, and there were times when I could barely get my monster to do anything let alone pull off the unlockable fancy combo moves. →  Rule of Read

Series Retrospective: Wild Arms

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As far as RPG series go, one of the smaller ones you don’t hear too much about is Wild Arms. They are the only RPGs I’ve heard of that try to tackle the Wild West as an overall theme, and tend to blend in fantasy and science fiction elements to keep the game interesting for more traditional RPG fans.

Although the plot and setting differ significantly between any two members of the series (with one exception), there are some trends, such as the Guardians, which are summons characters can equip and use. All of the games also have the blessing of Michiko Naruke’s composition talents. Although she was not able to do the full composition for 4, all of the games have excellent music which adds greatly to the atmosphere – in fact, it was hearing the music that brought me to revisit the first and go on to try the rest of the series. →  Readalations: Persona

Matt’s Take on Episodic Content

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In a Gamasutra interview earlier this week, Scott Miller of 3D Realms gave his input on episodic content. Ya know, that thing that Valve seems to love right now.

He seems to dislike the fact that new episodes take too long to be released after each other. And judging from the fact that Half-Life 2: Episode 2 has been delayed until Summer 2007, he does have a valid point. He also thinks that they shouldn’t end with cliff-hangers.

And you’re probably dying to know what I have to say on the subject. Hey, that’s why I put my name in this blog entry’s title:) Well, I won’t keep you waiting any longer.

I completely agree on both points. I think that episodic content has a long way to go before becoming a stable form of expression in the video game market. →  Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing memory cards.

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. →  There is only one really serious philosophical problem, and that is games.

Weekly News We Care About Wrap Up – 12.1.06

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Analyst predicts Sony will leave the hardware business
This may be completely stupid and absurd, but then it just may make sense. The recent management shuffle at Sony, some believe, is an indication of things to come. Kutaragi, the Sony hardware guy, has been promoted out of the way and now Kaz Hirai, a software guy, is in charge of Sony’s game division. The theory goes Kutaragi has fucked things up too much and the PS3 may cost Sony money, so by removing their hardware guy and putting in a software guy, they can transition out of hardware and focus on developing software only.

This is slightly hard to believe if only because I was completely unaware that Sony has a significant software division. →  Read more? No, I’ll read it all.

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. →  A reader is you.