Juggling Mike

It has been a while since my last post. I try to post regularly, but sometimes days pass by way too fast and next thing you know a month has passed since your last entry. For shame Mike.. for shame. I guess I’ll end this stagnation with a summary of my month of October. For starters, I’m house hunting, although that hasn’t kicked into full swing yet. I have also spent a lot of time with Dharti (not enough time, but the house should help fix that). I have been spending some time with friends and vacation plans have been made. I practiced my unicycle and I am finally starting to “get” what it is supposed to feel like. If I can ride it properly by Spring, I may have to invest into a 24 incher. Wow, that can be totally misinterpreted…

Besides that, I have also been playing games. I didn’t touch much of my consoles over the summer, but lately I have been giving them much attention. I bought three games this month, which is a lot more than I would normally buy/play. I started by playing Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune which a friend lent me. Awesome game, but that playtime has been interrupted by the arrival of Brutal Legend.

Brutal Legend is the newest game from Tim Schafer, one of my favourite game designers. I own every one of his games, and have played pretty much all of them at least twice. His days at Lucasarts produced some of the finest adventure games, and his first platformer Psychonauts remains one of my favourite games ever. If you’ve ever played Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, Grim Fandango, or Full Throttle.. you have this man to thank. Brutal Legend takes place in the world of metal music. It is a universe imagined based from covers of old heavy metal albums, and a lot of music love went into the game. You play Eddie (voiced by Jack Black) who can slice enemies with his axe, electrocute and burn people with his guitar, or drive through them with his Druid Plow. It is a mix of all sorts of genres such as action, racing, and RTS, and it is all blended well. The humour is excellent and the pacing is well done. My only gripe with the game is that I’m not a huge RTS fan, so a good portion of the game loses some interest over the other sections. Still, overall it is a lot of fun and I recommend it. I am not finished the single player yet, but I hope to get through it soon.

The next game I bought was Borderlands. I originally knew nothing about this game, but when Wal-mart announced that they were selling it at a reduced price, it peaked my interest. I bought it along a couple of friends and we started playing together. I like to think of it as a Fallout 3 - Lite. It is a FPS with RPG elements. It has a very original art style and is quite addictive. The coop play is a lot of fun and well implemented. I keep wanting to play to reach just one more level. If you like shooters and want something different, you should check Borderlands out.

The last game I got was a bit of a guilty pleasure. I had posted about it before and then said I would not buy it, but I caved today and picked it up. I’m talking about DJ Hero. I never bought Rock Band because I would always be playing it alone, and I can’t start banging on the drums in my apartment. I was pretty excited when DJ Hero was announced since it is a relatively quiet game (regarding the instrument) and is mostly solo. Also, it is my kind of music. I love this stuff. I wish they would release a soundtrack, since a lot of the tracks in this game are just simply awesome. My biggest gripe about the game is the price. It costs over a hundred dollars which does not make it easily accessible to everyone. It has a new plastic peripheral, but compared to a plastic guitar, this is the kind of toy I wouldn’t mind having on my living room table. The turntable controller works really well and feels great. I haven’t played too much so far, but from what I’ve seen, I love it. Hearing Queen mashed with Daft Punk is simply (excuse the pun) music to my ears. If I didn’t work tomorrow, I would probably end up pressing plastic buttons and scratching plastic records for a good portion of the night. If you like music games, and you like the sounds DJs produce.. you need this game.

Anyways, I need to get to bed. Till the next post!

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What happens when you mash up two of my favourite bands?
You make me want to buy your damn game.

I just hope the price in Canada will not be too high…

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Last year marked the first year I bought an Apple product. This year is the first time I buy a Sony gaming console. After skipping the Playstation, Playstation 2, and PSP, I have decided to purchase a PS3 Slim. It was never the size that prevented me from buying one; it was the price.

As a gaming machine, I found the Xbox 360 to be overall superior. While each have their pros and cons, it all comes down to the main element: the games. Very little games on the PS3 interested me, and those that did were often available on the Xbox as well. The PS3 was also too expensive (in my opinion) as a bluray player. I’ve seen players drop down to 150$ on sale, which meant dropping a minimum of 400$ for the PS3 was too much. That said, Sony does have some interesting exclusive games on their console, but everybody have their own tastes, and their line-up did not whet my taste buds. Even today, there are only three games that are exclusive to the PS3 that I would like to play.

Anyways, I have been happy so far with my Xbox 360, but with the arrival of the Slim this week at the tempting price of 299$, I caved and brought a Sony into my home. I haven’t had much time to play around with yet, but so far, it is pretty impressive. I purchased the new Batman: Arkham Asylum game to go with it, but after playing with it, I think I would have preferred it on the 360. My problem lies not with the game itself, but with the Playstation controller. I am just not a big fan of the layout. I know, I know, the layout has been used for so many years now, how can it be anything but perfect? Maybe it is great for others, but in my case, I much prefer the 360 controller and its layout. I find the thumbsticks more responsive and the triggers easier to use. That said, the Dualshock controller has better shoulder buttons and a dpad that actually works like it should. Hopefully overtime I will appreciate it more.

There are some benefits of the PS3 over the 360. It has integrated wifi, free online, and of course, the bluray player. I already own the 360 HD-DVD player, but since my Xbox is an older generation, it does not come with a HDMI output. My TV goes up to 1080p, but ONLY with a HDMI cable. The Playstation is the first console in which I can actually use my television to it’s full potential. I’m not a car simulation fan, but Gran Turismo 5 Prologue looks damn nice. I still haven’t tried a Bluray disc yet, but I’m hoping to remedy that this weekend.

While I still love the Xbox 360, I am happy to finally own all competing consoles. I’m a little poorer, but my entertainment system is much more richer.

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A bunch of years ago, I had read about this new MMO called City of Heroes. It was different from the rest of the MMOs, particularly since it didn’t exist within the usual fantasy realm. Instead, you were given the possibility to create a superhero and fight criminals and villains. It had won multiple awards back when it came out in 2004, but even then, I had never gotten around to trying it out.

Since then, I have dabbled in the online worlds, starting with a galaxy far far away, to fighting Murlocs, and finally saving Middle Earth. I had gotten sick of MMOs in general, and thus never bothered to go back and check out City of Heroes. Not too long ago, I was reading about City of Hero’s latest patch; Issue 14. The biggest change in this patch was the ability for the user to create missions and other creative content. To be honest, I do not know much of what the user is allowed to do, but it definitely piqued my interest. I love it when gamers create content as it always extends the life of a product and often the user material can surpass the original. (Just look at all the mods available for shooter games and you’ll get a good idea at what I mean) Since they had a 14 day trial, and a Mac version of the client, I decided to don my cape and try out the game.

I am not very far at the moment (only level 4), but it is quite interesting. There are endless options for creating your superhero, and the universe feels like a metropolis, although the graphics are a bit dated. The usual fantasy creatures are replaced by street thugs and criminals trying to snatch purses or vandalizing the town. I’ve had to venture into the sewers to fight off zombies, and my first “epic” quest is to go visit the zombie leader. It should prove interesting.

My current superhero has gotten fire abilities through a scientific experiment, which she can use to unleash fire punches or create a sword composed of flames. The animations are pretty cool, although, the fights act out exactly like in other MMOs. There are a lot of options when creating your superhero, so I’m sure that there is no lack of variety when choosing your powers. I may create a couple of other superheroes, just to see what is available.

Sylvania

Included in the game is the offshoot MMO, City of Villains, where you play as the bad guy! I have not yet tried it, but I am assuming it is more or less the same. Anyways, all that to say that it is pretty cool, but I don’t think I will continue playing on a monthly basis. I have enough games I need to finish, and with summer here, I don’t have the time to dedicate myself to worlds without an end.

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To many people, when board games are mentioned, they immediately think of games like Monopoly or Trivial Pursuit. While those are both excellent games (I own three copies of Monopoly), there is such a varied selection out there, that playing a board game among friends usually yields an entirely different experience. I got “back” into board games a couple of years ago. I had several friends who played them on a regular basis and I realize how much fun was hidden among these cardboard boxes. Nowadays, I love getting together with some friends for a night of board games.

This weekend, I got together with Foonpool since he had just picked up a couple of board games to expand his collection. His choices had been Ticket to Ride: Europe and Blokus, both excellent games. I had recently picked up Pandemic, so we tried that as well. Pandemic was a lot of fun and we played it twice, just to try to beat it. It was a really great evening and we ended up leaving their place at 3am.

Since many people don’t know what games are out there, I have decided to write small reviews on the games I own and possibly on other games I have played. I continually expand my collection over time, so you can expect this feature to go on for a while. If anyone has any boardgames they recommend, please include them in the comments. Board games can be a tad expensive (they usually float between 30-60$), but they are a very worthwhile purchase when you conside how it will last you for years to come and bring friends together for a great socializing time.

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I love my Xbox 360. It has become my entertainment hub, allowing me to watch dvds, watch hd-dvds (all 7 that I own), watch videos from my computer, and of course, play games. It has been a good machine, always ready for entertainment. That is, until Friday…

First, a little history. My Xbox originally was owned by a friend of mine, who really enjoyed it. Then one day, it died. He was angry, so he sent his Xbox for repairs, bought himself a PS3, and sold me his Xbox when it returned from the Microsoft docs. That was back in 2007. I have been taking good care of it ever since. That is, until Friday…

You see, the Xbox 360 is a very loved console. Primarily in North America, but it is gaining ground in Japan due to bigger interest by companies. They are starting to realize that exclusives do not always bring more money, and that by spreading your game across multiple consoles, you can generate more sales. Just look at one of the biggest news at the last E3… Final Fantasy XIII will be on Xbox 360! I am exalted to hear that, while I am sure Sony is very sad. Speaking of Sony, I was never really tempted to buy a PS3 before… that is, until Friday…

Well, that is kind of a lie. See, I find the PS3 to be a great machine.. I just still find it too expensive. Also, it has no exclusives that really grab my attention, with the exception of maybe Little Big Planet. Some other games like Jak & Dexter and Uncharted look cool, but aren’t enough to make me buy a second console or to convert into Sony’s cell. It has Bluray, but it is not enough for me to switch. Yet, everybody did try to convince me to switch last Friday.

You see, Friday was the day my Xbox died. It asked me to update the firmware, which I obediently did, and then restarted the box. I started up a streaming video only to have it freeze in the first minute or so. It wasn’t responding to anything, so I did what anybody would do, and reset the console, only to have the dreaded red ring flash me in the eyes. Ironically, I was just telling my girlfriend how a lot of people have gotten the red ring of death, when it happened. Irony of irony, but even being a master of foreshadowing cannot fix my Xbox.

Luckily, I am still covered by the red-ring warranty, so I get to have my little white box (okay, not so little, especially compared to my Wii) repaired by those technicians at Microsoft. Now, if I am really lucky, they will send me a new one with a HDMI output, but I doubt that will happen. It’ll take 2-3 weeks before I get it back, but at least it won’t cost me anything. I just hope my returned Xbox 360 will last me a long time and continue being a great multimedia center.

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I figured I would do a quick summary of what I have been playing lately. I’m not a huge gamer anymore, so I only play every now and then. Even at that pace, my list spans several consoles, so it may seem like a lot.

Xbox 360:

Braid
This is a quirky Xbox Live game that just came out. It is a puzzle platformer which lets you handle time to solve the puzzles. While the time gimmick has been done before, never has it been done so well. Each world has different characteristics that force you to think outside the box. In one world, walking forward (to the right) advances time, while walking to the left reverses time. Thus baddies that had died are brought back to life if you walk too far to your left. Some items are not affected by time change and continue moving as usual. While it is a short game, I had a lot of fun with it and the ending is really well done. It is a bit steep at 15$ for an Arcade title, but I highly recommend it!

Naruto: Rise of a Ninja
I picked this up for 10$ while I was in Nova Scotia for Ride the Lobster. I have not gotten very far in it, but it is a fun adventurer mixed with a fighting engine. While sometimes the cpu feels cheap, the pay off from winning is always a great feeling. There is also a lot of “fetch x amount of y items” quests, but somehow, it does not really become annoying, which is a feat in itself. I would recommend it if you are a Naruto fan, otherwise try it out first to see if it is your cup of tea.

Need to get back into/play:
Grand Theft Auto 4
Stranglehold

Wii:

Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Tresure
This is a really fun puzzle game which fell completely under the radar for most gamers. It features characters that were not in any prequels and had a more relaxed thinking approach to gaming. I don’t think it will be picked up by many mainly because it is a new IP, but it definitely needs to be checked out. If you want something different and you have a Wii, check out this game!

Need to get back into:
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
SSX Blur
Smash Brothers Brawl

DS:

Pokemon Pearl
I bought this game about a year ago, yet I never played it. Reason was that when I bought teh game, it came with a free copy of Spectrobes. I had been curious about Spectrobes so I played it first and then other games came out on DS and well, I never went back to Pokemon. I kept it in view all these months and I finally decided to give it a chance. So far, I am quite liking it, but I find it very slow (fights need a fast forward button) and I am hit with a huge sense of “I’ve played this before”. Pokemon Blue back in the day was really fresh and original and every other iteration felt like a copy. Nonetheless, it still sucks you in and you end up enjoying it.

Civilization Revolution
What can I say about this game? It is just like the other Civilization games we played in the past, but finally made for consoles. This game is addictive as hell, and I have to be careful playing it. Often I go to sleep way too late since I want to play just one more turn. I tend to always finish a game on one session. If you like Civ and want to play it on the go, you pretty much need this game. Very awesome and lots of fun.

Need to get back into:
Puzzle Quest
Spectrobes
Guitar Hero
Picross DS
Crosswords DS
(I have way too many DS games.. but it is the best gaming machine out there)

PC:

Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People - Episode 1 - Homestar Ruiner
I am a huge fan of Sam n Max, and I really enjoyed the episodic variations that TellTale games came out with for the series. Being a fan of Strong Bad, I pretty much HAD to pick this up. So far it has not disappointed. It feels exactly like the cartoon (in a good way) and the humour is jam packed. It does seem a tad slow, but it is the first episode. If Sam n Max is any indication, the other episodes in the season will simply get better and better!

On the Rain-slick Precipice of Darkness - Penny Arcade Adventures - Episode 1
I picked this up on Steam since it was half price. I’m not the biggest fan of Penny Arcade, but I love the whole mythology idea behind the series. The game feels very accurate to the web comic and the humour is the same. It is an rpg and while I would have preferred an adventure game, they did a good job incorporating the role playing elements with the Penny Arcade universe. I’m not far enough to fully give a rating, but I like what I see so far.

Need to get back into:
Toonstruck (I need to replay this game.. thanks Jiahui)

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Aw hell YES! Beyond Good and Evil was an awesome game!
Apparently the trailer was done with an in-game engine as well.
I can’t wait!

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This is hilarious.

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I have a bunch of shortcuts for games on my desktop. Most are simple time wasters, eleven of them consist of every Sam n Max episode (which I heartily recommend!), one is for LOTRO, and a couple are pure dedicated pinball games. Ever since I started playing games on my 286 (that’s before Pentiums kiddos), I have been fascinated with pinball games. I loved real pinball machines, but since I did not have that many quarters for the local arcade, I was satisfied with the great shareware that would come on PC Gaming magazines. I don’t remember the game that started my love for the genre, but I do remember getting introduced to Epic Pinball at my uncle’s house (on his mighty 386). It wasn’t the best game, but still. Then one day I found Pinball Fantasies. It was bliss.

I remember breaking my arm (in half) that year and spending most of my summer playing Pinball Fantasies. I was able to move my index finger on my left arm, so while it was difficult to shift keys to tilt, it was playable. That game wowed me with its amazing graphics and great sound. There were four tables, with my favorites being Party Land and The Billion Dollar Show. I tried my best to win the billion on that table, but it was near impossible. I lost countless hours practicing and practicing and racking up the points. I LOVED that game.

Just on a side note, while I am floating in my clouds of old memories, other (non pinball) games that come to mind from that “era” are: Theme Park, Theme Hospital, Worms, Syndicate, Ween: The Prophecy, the Gobliiins series, Lucas Arts adventure games.. oh god.. such great games.. woo! *pant pant* ok, I’m good. If I’d smoke, I’d need a cigarette now.
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