I'm attacked by WHAT???

And to end the week on an odd note...

I did some info seeking for Culdcept DS, and found this site (translated by Google). What I found near the bottom was this.

What if it could talk?

Wait...if my colon looks like a mushroom, then why do I urinate from it?

Here's the original link, if you want to check it out yourself. Have a good weekend!

Playing a game = buying milk?

I'm probably the last person to realize this, and I don't understand why it took me three iterations of the game to figure this out...but the Grand Theft Auto series is a set of games where you run chores. That's it.

I remember, though, that the commercials for these games in the past made the game much more appealing than they actually are, placing lots of emphasis on the wow factors and the manipulative plotlines. Reviewers from everywhere tout the game's use of a free-roaming world, where you're allowed to do anything, anywhere, anytime. And, for the most part, all this contributed to a purchase worth buying where you go around doing harm and malice to the city (or cities, in later games).

But, in the end, all you are doing is performing little "chores" in a world where you were ironically given free roaming.

Sure, if you boil down to it, all video games are "chore-like" in that you play a level that gets you from point A to B in a certain time or by performing a particular action. But, in Grand Theft Auto games, they literally give you a virtual playground to play in - and then take it away by slapping you with missions to do.

Of course, since the game gives you that freedom from the start, you can choose to not do anything at all and just run around causing pain and destruction everywhere. But then, it becomes even more time wasting than you actually playing the game.

Maybe this is why these games never gave me enough substance to progress the storyline. There's not much return value when the only thing to do is run quick errands to gain more plot. I like a game that rewards you for precision, accuracy, and the occasional awesome thing you did. Plus, random awards don't hurt, either. Just save me from the grocery list of missions that plague most games.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

It's "Lazy" Wednesday here in Gameritis, and you know what that means...

New Zero Punctuation review on the latest F.E.A.R. expansion. Take it away, Yahtzee!

Hey...at least it's not black. Or grey.

For those of you that are still waiting for Nintendo's faithful sequel to Duck Hunt, keep waiting. But, if you guys want a handle on their new Wii Zapper holster, it's out this week. Also out this week is Ghost Squad, just in case Link's Crossbow Training doesn't hold on its own.

Me? Well, this'll stay under the radar for now. The games are probably fun, of course...but I'd rather bite when there's a worthwhile game out...like probably when this hits stores. Or, they should just bring these games to the Wii.

On a side note, what's up with the whole Wii Zapper controversy? Why are people bent up on the accessory now, when it was much worse a few years back? What, can kids safely prance down the street waving around GunCons in the air as they go over to their friend's house to play some shooting game?? And you're worried they'll learn to shoot with this? Please...they probably got that down with their Super Soakers, Nerf guns, lazer tag arenas, carnival games, slingshots, rubberband rifles, etc. I bet you the people that worry the most are the parents that actually do own firearms. In the end, it's just bad parenting.

Brains...brains...50% off...

Last Friday was the most intense Black Friday I have ever experienced.

First of all, never ever go to an outlet mall for Black Friday. Ever!! I've been to my fair share of Black Friday rush sales, but never have I seen such a scene as I did at midnight in an outlet mall. I should have brought a tape of zombie noises, or played some club music and hosted a rave. The crowds and ridiculously long lines were bad enough, but to drape everything in the dark just made the damn mall creepy and dangerous!

After an hour and a half trying to exit the freeway, and another half hour trying to park, my wife, brother and I finally stretched our legs and did some walking amongst the throngs of crazy shoppers. After about 2 hours of cold walks and long lines, we finally hit the road again for the hour-long trip back home. But not before hitting up the Best Buy at the end of that hour-long road trip. And after that, we hit the Circuit City nearby.

After a quick breakfast at McDonalds, we finally get back home around 9 am and went straight to bed.

The final outcome? Two PSP games for $20, Resident Evil 4 (Wii) for $20, and about $87 in DVD savings. Not bad for someone who survived the zombie-creating Black Friday.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Like everyone else, I'm gonna take it easy this 4-day weekend, so I'll be back Monday refreshed and new.

Okay, I'm gonna be hopped on tryptophan and alcohol. But I'll keep the posts coming.

Sony's marketing people are assholes.

It was not even a good 5 minutes since I opened my "piano black" PSP when disaster struck! Well, not really, but in general it's a poor decision by Sony. I mean, where the fuck was the memory stick duo in this system? Not even any piddly 32 mb card or anything? Were they concerned with the extra weight that massive memory card would add to the already-slimmed-down PSP system? Or did they think the consumer was too "hardcore" to even save, thinking that gamers are so bad-ass that they can finish every game by playing it 2 days straight with no break?

I guess Sony's PSP marketing slogan is appropriate - "Dude, get your own."

Welcome back, PSP! You look different...did you lose weight?

If you're new to this site, chances are you haven't read my short PSP story about 2 months ago. Well, go ahead and read it. I'll wait.

Done? Good, welcome to now.

So, over the weekend, I finally went and bought the PSP slim (piano black, not the white or silver shit), and a copy of Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions. Being an early (but not smart) adopter of the PSP 1.0, I know what to expect when I eventually open this package, with the obviously new thing being the fact that it's thinner. Plus, I've never played the original Final Fantasy Tactics, so it's an added new treat to me.

Now, I'll keep this short and simple since this subject warrants its own post in the future, but SRPGs (Strategy RPGs) kick my sorry ass. Not that the game itself is hard to complete, mind you, but the sheer time it takes to detail every intricate battle is so mind-blowingly awesome that sometimes it's a bit taxing on the ol' noggin. Eventually, SRPGs just wear me down.

That being said, I think the combination of portability and SRPGs is a winning one in my book.

Playing (and still playing) Final Fantasy Tactics Advance on GBA is an excellent example. I think all together, I spent about 70+ hours in that game...more time than I've ever spent on SRPGs that I've played at home on my PS2. The reason? I could take the game anywhere.

Anywhere.

As for attention? Well, it still has to wait in line behind my DS for now.

Super Mario Galaxy...finished?

Apparently so. Well, finished the story, that is. But to finish the most anticipated Wii game so quickly surprised me. Well, there's definitely replay value to be seen, since I didn't collect all the stars yet.

And all this without my wife as my Star Helper. Well, there's still time for her to help out with the rest of my star collecting.

Still, don't think that quickly finishing this game makes this game not worth the purchase. In my defense, I was playing this game every chance I had last week and couldn't put it down. Well, for now, I can officially lay this game to rest for a bit...until I have that star-collecting vibe again.

[UPDATE] For the record, this was suppose to be Monday's post, not Sunday's.

End of the week, finally!

It's Friday again, and I'm keeping this post short and sweet: What are you guys gonna play this weekend?

My wife, the greatest, concise game reviewer ever!

Happily enjoying Super Mario Galaxy now. I'm in the nice mindset of "just one more star, just one more star, just one more star," and every journey has been riddled with lots of clever platform elements that make every galaxy visit a great one.

But the moment that struck a cord with me was when I first popped up the game before my wife's eyes, to which she exclaimed, "Woooooooooooow, it's so...beautiful!"

There was no hint of sarcasm in her voice, nor any bored expression on her face when she said it - she earnestly loved how the game looked. The cute little star people and wonderfully-happy music also won her heart as well, not to mention the fact she really loves the mushroom toad people.

A lot of game reviews out there already gave the game high praise, but the highest marks that meant the most to me came from my wife.

It's only a matter of time until she becomes my Star Helper.

Missed a great geek opportunity

It's been a sad, sad day for me today, even though I got my Super Mario Galaxy game and my pre-order coin bonus.

Why? Because I forgot this:

I felt so defeated when I made my purchase. I slumped all the way back to work, wondering "what if." Oh well, there will be other chances at geek-dom...

Commemorative coin get!!

Today's a special day. Oh sure, Super Mario Galaxy is out today, and people who got pre-orders get a special commemorative coin at launch, and I have a pre-order ready to pick up the game today...but that's not what makes this day special.

What's special is that I'm bringing this along:

If you're not familiar with this, this is a Soundrop (no, that's not a mispelling, that's what it's labeled as in Japan.), and this one in particular plays the coin sound effect.

See where I'm going with this?

Yeah, this is beyond uber-geek...and I know I'll probably be the only one laughing when I unleash this fury of sound upon purchase. I'll report the results when I return!

Super Paper Mario...finished!

And another game is finished! Just in time for Super Mario Galaxy, which comes out this week! I have to say...this was one of those games where my level was ridiculously high, and all I had to do was continue to the end.

I. Need. My. Games.

Do you ever have those weeks where you don't have enough time to talk or play enough games to relieve your stress?

This week is a very, very good candidate.

See you next week...hopefully with something more insightful than this pictureless post.

More painful than brain freeze

Video games are, for the most part, well known to be instruments of entertainment - an "escape" from reality, if you will. In our younger years, it's another reason to sit in front of the TV; in our later years, it becomes much more, depending on what type of person we are. Some people turn to video games as a stress reliever. Others do it to achieve things that they would normally fail at in real life. And then there are those that rather play more than anything else.

Why am I getting all psychological all of a sudden? Maybe I'm trying to make up an excuse for not putting up a real post. Maybe there's nothing interesting in the gaming news for me to post.

Or maybe I'm trying to fill up a normally-game-filled post with something more insightful, more substantial than just a post about electronic devices built purely for the purpose of wasting our time.

Holy crap...my mind hurts. Gotta play more games...

Another post about a person getting their feather stylus and more...

Blah blah blah blah got my feather stylus blah blah blah.

Blah blah nice packaging blah blah heavier than I thought blah blah feels nice blah.

(I saved you from another mindless post. You're welcome.)

What I will write about, however, is the packaging - which felt like a fucking Matryoshka doll. Opening up a box revealed a bubbled envelope, in which the stylus box resided in. Then, sliding the white box out, I still had to get that lid off. I pried open stubborn oysters easier than this box.

Too bad I already finished the game. Oh well, at least I'll object with style now.

And, to sum it up, here's Yahtzee's review for the game below. (Coincidently, it's the video game for this week!) Enjoy!

Today's post...check!

Let's see what's on the video game menu as of today:

-Super Paper Mario
-Metroid Prime 3
-Ar Tonelico
-Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations

Wow, looks like it's gonna be filling for the next couple of weeks.

Sorry for the shallow post. Better ones tomorrow, I promise.

VC Monday: Nintendo finally did something right

What better way to get everyone psyched (yeah, you heard me...psyched.) about Super Mario Galaxy than releasing one of the most popular NES titles of the Mario franchise! Not since seeing it in its own movie have I been this excited about the game's release...well, the actual release was also just as great. I feel bad for the other two that are out today with Super Mario Bros 3...considering that this bad boy's sporting the cheapest price of 500 points out of the three. Oh man, I'm gonna get my SMB3 game on for the entire week!

If this was intentional, Nintendo, then I'd like to see a certain original released for Virtual Console before another anticipated title.

I haven't played a good point-and-click adventure game since...

I'm a LucasArts fanboy.

There, I said it.

But, before you accuse me of worshiping everything that George Lucas walks on, I'm only a fanboy of their classic point-and-click adventures. I miss my Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle, Grim Fandango, and, of course, all the Monkey Island iterations. The combination of logical puzzles, good story development, and heaping spoonfuls of humor and wit made each game absolutely a joy to play and reminisce about.

Nowadays, however, the need for more blood and violence seems to take center stage, while the need to laugh is left backstage.

Lucky for you guys, Capcom released Zack and Wiki.

I have to say, I wasn't following the game too closely before its release because...well, it looked childish. I admit that appearances made me less interested in a game. Now, after playing a few levels, the graphics are the farthest concern in my mind.

This is the most clever way of disguising the Wii Remote as a puzzle-solving device, without making yourself look like such a tool. Thanks to the different scenarios and hilarious outcomes that each level brings, you really feel like you're accomplishing something wonderful. Also, despite that the voice acting is mostly gibberish, the main characters' calling of each other's names in a playful, Japanese tone makes it all the more unique.

And don't let the kiddie look put you off - the difficulty is pretty deep in this game. I'm not ashamed to say I've died a few times trying to figure out a puzzle, but I'll be damned if I used any of the Oracle dolls to give me any hints.

Oh, and did I mention that this is all just $39.99? No? Well, it is. Yeah, I know! Definitely a recommended purchase, in a sea of crappy Wii titles.

You didn't get the game yet? OBJECTION!!

Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations review.

Short version: Buy it now.

Slightly longer version: If you like the first 2, you're gonna like the third. Trust me.

Longer version: You have 5 more cases to solve. Plus, this is the third and last of the Phoenix Wright saga before they start the Apollo Justice one that's due next. If you enjoy a good mystery/court drama story, then this game is for you.