"To hell with the handkerchief."
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What Games Today Really Need, and Why Little Big Planet is Still on the Store Shelf
May 31st
I am a total pain in the ass in online games.
Awkward, Frozen, and I have started playing Little Big Planet online and I’ve gotta say, it’s really fucking fun. We’ve only been playing fan-made levels so far but we’re going to go through the campaign (for the second time, but first time online together) soon.
What’s really cool is that while you’re in a fan-made level, other random players can join you until there are four people in the room, and A, F, and I all have mics, and the random players who join mostly likely don’t, and what ensues is just total and complete pain-in-the-ass-ery. Most of the other random players join in by typing through their gamepad or keyoard, so no real hard feelings. But god, this game is just awesome . Why are there not more multiplayer games out like this?
I think what makes it pretty unique is the ability to make the sackboys (the characters you control) move their arms, heads, bodies, and facial expressions at will, (and even their mouths when you talk through the mic). The level of expression possible while playing is just amazing and it really does a good job at involving you More >
Hello, my name is Dev, and I have a problem.
Apr 30th
I have an addiction. Now, that’s nothing new. I’ve always had one, to comics and animation and whatnot, but this. This is something I can’t even explain. I mean a full-strength, life-debilitating addiction. For work by Rumiko Takahashi, and most recently, particularly her romance series Maison Ikkoku.
I got access to this manga series about…a week ago? Two weeks maximum. I hadn’t even planned on reading it in the first place, but a lot of users on myanimelist.net have it rated highly, and many in the manga/anime community in general claim it’s the best romance series out there. Now, I don’t know about that – I haven’t read enough romance manga to make that claim, but that statement got me to look into it and holy smokes, if it’s not the best, it’s damn high on the list.
Briefly, the series is about a group of people living at a boarding house. You have Mrs. Ichinose and her son and husband; Yotsuya; Akemi; and Godai. They’re an eccentric crew, and the story opens in chaos – which is also where the story ends up staying most of the time – and chaos is the first thing that greets Kyoko, the brand new manager More >
Dr. Jones!
Apr 13th
I love Indiana Jones. He is my hero. He has been since my dad put Raiders of the Lost Ark on for me when I was like, five. Shortly thereafter, I had watched the whole trilogy (as far as I’m concerned, the 4th one is simply a reunion movie), and then my dad got me the computer graphic adventure game Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
I only have images from the beginning of the game because I don’t have any save files throughout the game and I’ve got too many game reviews lined up to play this one through for a 100th time, so keep in mind that this looks like a First Impressions Review, but it is actually a Full Retro Review.
This graphic adventure was released in 1989 by LucasArts, then called LucasFilm Games. It was a companion to the release of the third movie of the series and it came out on a number of computer systems, all of which are now collecting dust on the shelf of some guy who’s collecting them – or trashed somewhere.
The game does a great job of closely following the movie without seeming redundant. The players get to involve themselves in Indy’s More >
2010 Most Wanted List
Feb 16th
All right! I’m stealing the idea from Railz and the title from AwkwardS. I’ve turned Railz’s post about video games he’s looking forward to this year into a meme for my affiliates and anyone who might want to participate.
The rules are simple: post six unreleased games that are scheduled to come out this year that you are most looking forward to. AwkwardS is going to try not to do doubles, but it’s not a rule – it’s fine if yours overlap with another person’s list. Now, if you want to add AwkwardS’s rule as an extra challenge, go for it. If you choose to do this meme, put a link in the comments section of this post so I can read your list.
Anyway, let’s begin!
(I can’t get these images to center for some reason…Yes, I’ve tried all the usual methods. Oh well.)
Update: There are now trailer links in the description for every game listed. You can thank AwkwardS for making me feel guilty about being lazy earlier.
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1. Final Fantasy XIII
Poor Snow is largely overlooked as a main character when standing next to Lightning. (God, these names... -_- )
I just had to put this first after my last post. You can More >
How am I sick again?
Feb 5th
Seriously, come on immune system! Try harder! -_-
At least I have tomorrow off.
It’s been a while since I’ve done a photo-review on here (even though the images in my reviews aren’t really photos…). But I watched a perfect movie the other day and knew right away I was going to have to post about it.
It’s titled — hold on, actually. I just have to say, AwkwardS is near me playing MAG, and his character just told a comrade to rub some dirt on a wound. Who says that anymore?? Pfft lol.
Anyway, the movie I watched, with AwkwardS incidentally, was called The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, and it was just wonderful.
First, the film is just gorgeous. This isn’t uncommon for anime, but The Girl Who Leapt Through Time just does a perfect job visually. The animation style is a little different from standard anime, but the animation and the background detail add a level of quaintness that a lot of anime and non-anime movies fail to achieve.
Second, we have the story, and while the movie is beautiful, it’s the story that makes it shine. Makoto is your average high school girl – she’s not particularly great at anything, but she’s More >
“The old man was trying to tell the future…”
Oct 25th
Beneath a Steel Sky is a great cyberpunk point-and-click adventure from 1994 by Revolution Software and Virgin Interactive Entertainment. It’s a British game that takes place in a future dystopian Australia starring Robert Foster who has an American English accent. Really, it’s pretty brilliant.
The game starts out with Foster sitting around a tribe fire with his community in The Gap, a kind of wasteland outside of civilization. The introduction was drawn by comic artist Dave Gibbons and it does a nice job of setting the atmosphere.
The old man that Foster looks up to as a father tries to warn of impending danger not two moments before a copter comes down and demands the tribe hand over the one “who doesn’t belong here,” which is Foster. One thing leads to the next, Foster’s in the copter, and before you know it, he’s an escapee in the city being hunted by security officers.
The city reaches so high that all you can see is a sky of steel, and it goes so deep that the goal of the game is actually to get to the bottom. At least, that’s the goal at first. As the story progresses, the objective changes from getting out More >
The Fullmetal Alchemist
Oct 7th
Fullmetal Alchemist is one of those shows that from the moment it starts, you’re hooked. It’s different, and it’s hard to not be curious about what is happening or what will happen.
The storyline is very original. When an alchemy attempt goes wrong, Edward Elric loses his left leg and right arm, and his brother Alphonse (really, how great is a name like Alphonse? I love it) loses his whole body, leaving only his soul stuck in a suit of armor. The two brothers set out to get their original bodies back and meet a lot of trouble, pain, friendship, and surprises along the way.
This is an anime, and the artwork and animation for it is gorgeous. Everything is detailed and clean (I’ll post pictures later), and the scenery is just so interesting. You get a feel for the world through the art style. Fight scenes are easy to follow, not painfully chaotic as some action sequences can be (*cough*Transformers*cough*).
Probably the best thing about Fullmetal Alchemist is the character development. These characters are all lovable and loathsome, empathetic and selfish. Desperate. Conflicting emotions really add to the depth of each character as their faced with decisions – things they can’t bear to More >
Gah!
Sep 30th
Okay, so I’m on a cyberpunk spree lately and I just realized I have no clue where the first disc to my Bladerunner game is. This is highly upsetting. I think Frozen might have it, but like I’ve said, he’s a lazy ass, and he’s refusing to look right now. Does he not understand the the severity of this situation?
I just finished playing Snatcher about two days ago, which is a game by Kojima from the late 80s (ported to the Sega CD in 94 over here). It was heavily influenced by the movies Bladerunner and Terminator. And it was fantastic.
You play Gillian Seed, an amnesiac turned Junker, which is a low-level cop assigned to take out Snatchers – robots that pick a human target in the city, kill that target, and then design themselves to look like them, effectively taking the target’s role in society.
What’s really great about this game is the atmosphere and the characters. The graphics, for their time, are amazing. Detailed scenery and character design – it has the old school feel without being outdated. The characters themselves are very easy to get attached to. For how short of a game it is, it’s surprising just how More >
