Sites You Must Check Out: Akiba-Station.com

Before the week's done, there's one announcement I'd like to make.

I've been ask to be a contributor on my friend's awesome blog, akiba-station.com. Think of it as the more refined "Otaku" site that pushes beyond the typical layer of general hype on all things anime, games, and gadgets. There are a lot of news that never gets reported enough, and akiba-station.com is the place to find all of that.

If you like reading my stuff on my blog, you have to check out my articles over there. Here are a couple links of my stuff (under pen name "GameOrDie") below for you to peruse:

Capsule Game Review: Ring of Fates
Capsule Game Preview: Kimi no Yuusha
Low in Energy? Have a Mega Man "Energy Tank" drink!
"Time" to "Watch" Out for Chrono Trigger This Year

As you can tell, my spectacular wit carries on to their site well. And don't worry...I'll be frequently posting on both blogs at once, and so far all posts (from my blog or my friend's blog) are different. So, for the full experience, hop on over to akiba-station and check out what you're missing!

Zero Punctuation review: Braid

Kicking off Gameritis' first anniversary is Yahtzee's review of Braid. While I still have yet to purchase a 360, the reviews for this game seem to be very positive for me to make a decision faster.

Despite whether you've played the game or not, the review is worth the watch. As long as you're not named "Adrian."

Gameritis...Level Up!!

*pop* *pop* *pop* *pop* *pop* *pop* *pop* *pop*

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, GAMERITIS!!

Today officially marks the very first day this blog came to be, and I'm so excited to be still here blogging after one year! From the very beginning, I made the site to be a personal gamer's diary of sorts, posting my thoughts and ideals about everything in gaming. Soon afterwards, it festered into more posts a day, more game reviews, the "finished" stamp, and "Lazy Wednesdays."

Still can't believe I've been able to consistantly post for one year. That's a record in my book. Expect to see lots more new things in the coming months!

Oh, and the cake above? Not mine. In fact, I'm the only one here celebrating. And I have to resort to only a picture of a cake that wasn't even for me.

Pre-Celebratory Jitters

Sorry for the lack of posts, but the anniversary celebrations will officially start tomorrow, since August 27 is the official start of Gameritis. In the meantime, I need to get the ball rolling...

PS3 purchase...justified!

I've finally placed the order for Disgaea 3 and its strategy guide over the weekend, thus justifying the main reason why I have a PlayStation 3 now. In doing so, I've set an unprecedented goal for myself: to finish Disgaea 1 and 2 before I receive the third game.

Yes, I've never finished either game completely yet.

I have mentioned in the past my progress in Disgaea since its PSP release, freeing myself from the shackles of television-constrained play sessions, but even the liberation of portable gaming on the go has only taken me so far. How did I ever get myself into this mess?

Strategy RPGs are an entirely different breed, one that I will someday tackle. Thankfully, there's not so much emphasis for story continuity in these titles, so I probably won't ruin anything in playing these games concurrently.

Nearing the One-Year Anniversary Mark...

I can't believe that it's been almost a year since I started Gameritis, and since then I've been glad to have shared with you my views and excitement on everything video game related. This blog has been a goal to myself to voice my opinions for all to view, and, while my reader following ranges from low to nil, I still grind away making post after post, just for my own sake. I just wanted to be the star of my own blog, committed to making at least one post per weekday on anything at all. Sure, there are some weeks where I fell short, due to personal events and issues, but my major concern overall is to bring you my perspective on video games.

Since then, I've tried to add pictures to posts when possible, created a "finished" stamp for any games I've finished (which began with Zelda DS, by the way), and established "Lazy Wednesdays" all centered around the Zero Punctuation reviews, to name a few. In the coming months, I hope to introduce more intriguing sections into the mix.

But rest assured, next week will be a week focused on Gameritis as well as the regular gaming news.

Zero Punctuation review: Soul Calibur 4

Let's start this "Lazy Wednesday" with Yahtzee's review of Soul Calibur 4, the latest fighter in the series.

Personally, I never was really into the games, though I did play up to the second installment before I thought, "man, which ending is the right ending?" I mean, you have individual endings for every single character, and yet they only focus on one of them for each new game that comes out. Which begs the non-rhetorical question "why?"

Now, if they chained fighter games through whatever character and path you took via save files throughout the series, then there's a justified reason why they made the plot a "Choose Your Own Adventure" route.

Anyways, Yahtzee's NSFW (because of tits) below.

Strong Bad's first day at Telltale Games

You can tell that Telltale Games have a lot of love in what they do, and it shows in everything they touch. Like the interactive online comics that they had for Sam and Max, Telltale Games now started their little videos showcasing Strong Bad and his visit to Telltale Games about starring in his own game. Hilarity ensues!

Hey, that game is still unopened!!

I'm sure other gamers can relate when I say that at one time or another, you've overloaded your gaming queue. Maybe you took on too many games at once and not finish any of them, or purchased games on sale that you haven't touched...but it has probably happened to you at least once in your game-playing lives. But the industry has only been pumping out more and more as the years roll by, giving us gamers less and less time to actually enjoy their 60+ hour games. (That's another rant for another day...)

The problem is, during these moments, I take on more games faster than I can play them. The result? Games that aren't even opened.

In reality, I don't have much time to play games as long as I wish to. Sure, in the past couple of months, I've finished a number of games, but all of them are short relative to completion times. 12 hours? 21 hours? We're talking about almost a complete day's worth of gaming, stretched out in the span of 2 months. You do the math.

So a game that's still in its plastic casing, sitting on the counter collecting dust is not gaming negligence; it's merely in hibernation until there's an open slot in my schedule. My ideal, ultimately, is that if I open a game, I'll make sure I have the right amount of time to give it my full attention. I may or may not finish the game, but I want to be able to give it my all before I give up.

I'll save you the "treat it like a lady" bullshit. If you're coming on to your games, you have more pressing issues to deal with.

Zero Punctuation review: Prince of Persia Perspective

This week's "Lazy Wednesday" starts off with Yahtzee's perspective over the Prince of Persia Trilogy. In one of probably rare moods of video game affection, he goes through the good and bad of what he believes to be the components of his "ideal" game.

In all the Prince of Persia games, I've only completed the first one, Sands of Time. I thought the game purely rocked, and the story was stellar. But somehow I feel that the next two games might usher in a wave of crap that I wouldn't be able to wash off. I just hope Warrior Within is not like the Matrix Reloaded, putting me off so much that I don't want to endure through the third installment.

SBCG4AP Season 1 begins now!

Today's WiiWare update brings one of the few anticipated titles I've been looking forward to this year, Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People, brought to you by the folks at TellTale Games. While I've yet to check out the highly popular Sam and Max seasons, I'm really excited to playing a game centered around a flash cartoon that I've practically grew up.

If you haven't checked out HomeStar Runner yet, you're missing out on a really odd and quirky web phenomenon that has a very cultish following. While the site centers around the lovably dumb HomeStar Runner, its true star is Strong Bad, the rebellious "odd couple" to HomeStar. I highly recommend checking out the Strong Bad email section, where he takes actual emails to him and answers them in flash cartoon style.

In fact, it's probably good to check out a few of those "emails" before checking out the game, so that you're familiar with the characters and humor that you will most certainly stratch your head over without doing so. That being said, this game will cater to longtime followers - but with the reputation of TellTale Games behind it, SBCG4AP is looking to please new gamers as well.

FF CC: Ring of Fates...finished!

This week has been a good week for completing games. At a little over 12 hours, I've just completed the DS game Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates. What began as a simple game review turned out to be a game I just couldn't put down. Basically, if you enjoy the simple action/adventure game, you will enjoy Ring of Fates.

To be quite honest, this game is probably the first DS game I've ever played where I did not mind using my fingers to interface the touch screen. And that's extremely uncommon for me, since I almost always use a stylus for most other games. It's all thanks to the game's very intuitive control scheme, making all commands and controls within thumbs reach.

While the game is fairly short and most gameplay elements aren't used enough, the story is classic SquareEnix and is well told. If there should be any drive to play a game, it's for the story.

Metal Gear Solid 3...finished!

After 21 long hours, I can finally put Metal Gear Solid 3 behind me. Out of the three games, this one offered the most challenge thus far, with smarter enemy AI and more intriguing food and camouflage system. Not to mention the endless cut scenes...thankfully, the 4th installment remedies this with a much-needed pause feature for cut scenes.

Speaking of which, I've already begun my romp through Metal Gear Solid 4, and the controls are kicking my ass. Everything's all screwy, but I think I'll have to play it a few more times to manage. In the meantime, I'll add an extra "finished" stamp over the entire collection, just to cement the deal.

Zero Punctuation review: Ninja Gaiden II

And, while we're on the Zero Punctuation bandwagon, here's this week's Zero Punctuation review on Ninja Gaiden II. I'm labeling this as really NSFW simply because of one word: titties. That is all. Enjoy the review!

Zero Punctuation review: The E3 Trailer Park

Today's "Lazy Wednesday" is anything but. Since I missed out on last week's Zero Punctuation, I'll be making two posts. Here's last week's, all based on the entire E3 hoopla that everyone's been bitching and moaning about. Make no mistake...Yahtzee cuts no corners when he's delivering his final verdict over this year's travesty. NSFW, of course, but highly recommended viewing. Enjoy!

Drill Dozer...finished!

There have been many games that have escaped my radar, and for a long while Drill Dozer was one of them. This gem of a game didn't receive much notice in the gaming world, but for those that have played the game, it is one that offers the fun and challenge that most current-gen games lack.

While the main game itself isn't too long compared to today's video game standards, the real meat behind the title comes from its replay value. You have the option to purchase hidden levels within the game which cater to the extremely hardcore player. Combine that aspect to one of the most innovative gameplay elements in controlling a motorized drill, and you have the makings of the most challenging and pleasantly frustrating game to make you forget that there are other DS titles to play. Definitely worth the time and money, and highly recommended.