Happy New Year!!

Okay, so it's not a bottle of champagne, but it's still bubbly. What can I say...I likes me some sparkling cider!

In any case, what better day for "Lazy Wednesday" to land on than New Year's Eve? And being such a drunk-indusive night, you'll understand me posting Yahtzee's game review tomorrow instead of today.

So for now, celebrate the last of 2008 in style! Happy New Year from Gameritis!!

Kingdom Hearts 2...finished again!

It's rare when I finish a game for a second time on my own accord, and rarer still to enjoy the process of playing through a game again. However, Kingdom Hearts 2 was one of those very few instances where I enjoyed doing both. While the reward for me this time was a simple hidden video that I could've probably searched for on YouTube, the satisfaction of unlocking a tucked-away treasure on my own through a game I wholeheartedly enjoyed playing was a treat in itself.

You see, in Kingdom Hearts 2, there's this hidden video that, under normal mode, you can unlock if you complete everything - and I mean EVERYTHING - in Jiminy's Journal. Since that was almost a near impossibility for me, my other alternative was to complete the game in hard mode, with all of the worlds completed, which also unlocked the video. Seeing the simple (yet daunting) task of just finishing the game again before me, I decided to finish what I had started years ago.

And today marks the day I've finally finished Kingdom Hearts 2 once again, in hard mode, while successfully unlocking the hidden movie alluding before my very eyes.

Yes, I believe this was all worth the trouble NOT seeing it on YouTube.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

No one knows more about how difficult it is to get me gifts than my wife. With me pretty much on the ball when it comes to what games I want and when, video games are out of the question. So my wife, being the creative spirit she is, gets me the awesome gift of Jenga: Donkey Kong Collector's Edition! Gives new meaning to "high score," huh?

Oh, and that box is not ridiculously huge next to my GameCube - that's the other gift in my stocking (yeah, my stocking's HUGE), a gummi-filled GameCube. It also plays something when you press its power button, some horrible mishmash of nintendo sound effects in unison. Like someone obnoxiously playing all Nintendo-themed toys in a store at once and recording the horrendous audio.

Happy Holidays, everyone, from Gameritis!

Zero Punctuation: The Year in Review - 2008

This week, Yahtzee is taking a much needed rest and has now resorted to dispensing a clip show of sorts of his best material. For someone who has brewed so much hate for games and their genres, a brief overview into why we enjoy his video reviews is certainly a nice change of pace.

Enjoy your NSFW Christmas Eve Year in Review, everyone!

When holidays and blogging collide

Given the amount of free time I have to actually interact with my blog is already a brief window, adding the holiday spirit to it makes it much worse. It's not that there's not enough articles to post...I'm just lazy, is all. Just know that it's rare for me to hit 5 posts a week (under the self-imposed one-post-a-day minimum), and that my average is about 4 posts a week. In other words, I'm posting to show that I'm still alive, so to speak. Asleep on my ass, perhaps, but still alive.

And yes, I realize the irony of me posting about my laziness to post, especially at such an early time. The only thing that trumps my laziness is cool technology, and blogging from my Blackberry at 7 AM will do just fine.

Persona 4, spoiler art book acquired!

Yes, I purchased Persona 4, through a finally-processed order. I also remembered to not peruse through the art book due to its spoiler-rific pages, so that's safely stowed away.

And yes, I own and still haven't beaten Persona 3. What's your point?

Zero Punctuation review: Sonic Unleashed

There was a point, I remember, when I was really excited for the new Sonic game, when they mentioned that the gameplay, while still employing the 3D environments, will retain the 2D level layout charm.

Then they revealed his "werewolf" form.

*sigh*

Anyways, it's nice to know that my negligence for such random plots is well rewarded with Yahtzee's thorough gutting of Sonic's latest game, Sonic Unleashed. In fact, I feel like rewarding myself again later today, just to feel good about myself.

NSFW video below, enjoy! And be sure to check out Yahtzee's latest internet video venture!

Club Nintendo is working! No wait...yup...nope...

While I'm happy to report that you can finally sign in for Club Nintendo and hoard your coins for many coveted Nintendo swag, not everything is easy sailing on their site. Here's hoping it's a small hiccup on their end, but with reports that people have trouble re-signing in (myself included), a lot of potential mishaps can occur.

But from what I've seen, it seems pretty simple to start earning coins. Just as long as you enter the registration code from Nintendo games and complete their survey, you get coins. I'll be spending most of my spare time updating my list.

What do you guys think of the new US Club Nintendo?

Playstation Home is...*yawn*

Even though this was a free download, I STILL feel like I paid too much for Playstation Home. Sure, you have your own place, you can wander the mall or plaza, or you can even sit down and partake a meh movie trailer...but in the end, that's all you can do.

What I'm really disappointed in is the lack of the one feature I was looking forward to: your own trophy room. I mean, wasn't that the purpose of these achiev...er, trophies I've been collecting?

At least my character can accurately portray my overall feelings for Playstation Home. I'd give them more points if they had a "face down in palms of hands" disappointment emotion.

Mobile blogging = more activity

Some of you guys (okay, probably nobody) might be wondering why some posts come with cruddy pictures. Well, due to my lost camera in Japan and me being lazy searching for the right images online, I've taken up mobile blogging from my Blackberry. I've been doing this for about 2-3 weeks now, and it rocks!

Since then, I've been better not only posting on a daily basis, but on more spontaneous whims. And yes, that's me below. Like my hair?

Anyways, expect more frequent (and potentially more lamer) posts now that I'm fully utilizing my smartphone.

I'm such a geek.

Zero Punctuation review: Left 4 Dead

This week's "Lazy Wednesday" is brought to you by Left 4 Dead, the latest game scrutinized under the Yahtzee microscope. I've been hearing a lot of hype from co-workers about this game, and it's interesting to see some true co-op going on in a survival horror game. Unfortunately for me, my PC has become an antique, and I am waiting to see if Santa delivers me that XBox 360 for Christmas.

And by the way, if my wife's reading this...no, this is not a hint to get me a 360.

NSFW goodness below. Enjoy!

The perils of being in 3D...

So I purchased Kingdom Hearts: Re: Chain of Memories today, and gave the game a shot. In short, if you enjoyed the GBA version of this game, be prepared to tackle another beast of a game in this 3D rendition.

(a screenshot from the GBA Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories)

The move from 2D to 3D filled in more aesthetics into the already movie-filled game. Replacing all the 2D battles and isometric map navigation with pure 3D environments certainly gave me a dizzying experience as I return to somewhat familiar ground. Adding to the already-existing 3D movies that were streamed in the GBA game are more animated movies for my viewing pleasure. Overall, the general feel of the game is made to directly map against the existing Kingdom Hearts 2 menu template.

Once I hit the gameplay, though, that's where all the pleasantries hit a road bump.

Know this - if you've played the GBA game and enjoyed it, you're not gonna get the same experience the second time around on the PS2 version. Going from 2D battles to 3D changes the rules in the field, and all the clever tricks you've employed to avoiding attacks mean squat in the 3D realm. All the remake has done has converted your safe, 2D battles into the same battles you've done in KH and KH2, except with the restrictions of the card system in play.

This brings me to another problem that I have yet to experience: boss battles. All the familiar tactics used to take them down are thrown out the window now that you have to do battle in an extra dimension. And not only that, you'll have to run around and keep them within your sights at all times if you want to dish out the damage, something you never had to worry so much in the GBA game.

(a screenshot from the PS2 version)

And this carries over to the 3D maps instead of the fixed, isometric maps that didn't move. There's extra maneuvering to be done if you want to find everything now, instead of being able to see everything at a glance. This certainly adds more playtime in the game, but more of the unwanted kind.

Despite these shortcomings, the game is still as fun as it was portably. But if you want the original experience, the GBA game is still the preference of choice. Too bad that I cannot locate my copy in my house, which is why there's a significant lack of any comparison thoughts between the two versions.

Hello again...Kingdom Hearts 2!

In lieu of this week's release of Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories, I decided to pop in Kingdom Hearts 2 for old times sake. Finished before I started this site, KH2 fulfilled everything I sought for in a sequel and more, fine-tuning the gameplay and telling a spellbounding story to boot. I was surprised just how far my last save was, since it was my second playthrough through hard mode to unlock more extras.

But this week marks the release of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, a 3D rendition of its GBA counterpart that fills the storyline between the first and second PS2 games. While I've finished the GBA version to plot satisfaction, the polishness of 3D certainly peaks my replay interest, so I'll have to pick this up this week.

The US Club Nintendo site is live

The US Club Nintendo website is up, despite there being absolutely nothing to see there. But you know you still want to click the link and check it out. Because it's there. And it only takes you a couple of seconds to acknowledge that nothing more than a message saying that the site will be coming soon is all that's there.

Just in case you ignored everything I just said, the link is here as well.

Zero Punctuation double review: Guitar Hero: World Tour and Mirror's Edge

To compensate for last week's and this week's "Lazy Wednesday," I'm posting a double feature "Super Lazy Thursday" edition of Zero Punctuation.

First off was last week's review of Guitar Hero: World Tour. While the game didn't surprise me much in its song selection or style, the drums were a delight to play with. If I had an ideal setup, I'd have the drums from GH:WT and the guitar from Rock Band 2.

For this week, Yahtzee reviews Mirror's Edge, coming to the conclusion that I somewhat expected - that the game had much more potential in it, but that Dice didn't go the extra mile to deliver it. Personally, I still find the parkour-inspired game to be unique in a developer's eye, and take great satisfaction dodging enemies with such grace and finesse.

Cubeecrafts, my money-saving toy fix

This has been a long time coming, but I just have to give some mad props to Chris Beaumont and his Cubeecraft site. For me, I discovered his site after he released his Strong Bad cubeecraft, and have bee a faithful follower ever since.

The best part about these papercrafts? No glue or tape required! And in the end, you will have made an awesome and cheap toy for yourself!

Since then, I have made tons of cubeecrafts both for friends and co-workers. But for some, like the recent Crono cubeecraft release last week, sometimes I just need to treat myself to the awesomeness.

Chris also pays homage to lots of other characters from TV, movies, games, and comics, and has even done some for Penny Arcade! You can also check on his regular updates on his blog. Just make sure you set enough time aside for the meticulous cutting ahead.