Hardcore Boss Style

After completing DMC3 I can say that it wasn't as enjoyable as I thought it was going to be, there are by far way too many boss battles and the levels at times just seem so short and pointless. They are at times just designed to lead to another boss. However when you are fighting enemies though out the game, it's great. The moves and combos you can pull off make for some great gameplay. Like wise the battles against Virgil are also one of the highlights of the game. It's not a bad game when you consider the puzzles, secret missions and overall style and gameplay. It just seemed like such a slog at times, and just boss after boss, gets a little repetitive. Though the bosses themselves are quite good, and the fights interesting so I'll give it that.

I think I might try and complete MGS3 next as it was getting quite good up to where I stopped playing.

I noticed that Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory is now available, though I think I'll leave this for the moment. I'm not too concerned with it even though I do like the Splinter Cell series. The thing I know I'll be able to pick it up in a few weeks for just fifty, so I'm fine with waiting for now. Plus I don't know if I can handle any more stealth action at the moment.

Devil May (Make You) Cry

I don't think I'm particularly bad a Devil May Cry 3, I even finished the first the original in one night. However after playing DMC3 for a little while, dying a few times, and then the game telling me that "Easy Mode" was now unlocked, I took it as a hint.

DMC 3 is hard, not even Ninja Gaiden hard, it's frustratingly hard to a point where you have to play though a chapter again just too try and beat some insanely hard boss. Oh and this game likes it's bosses, almost obsessive compulsive, one in each chapter.

Because I don't enjoy replaying the same level over and over, mainly because it hampers my enjoyment of the game, I decided to start the game over on easy. It's easy alright, too easy in some parts and Devil May Cry 1 easy in others, but it's a lot more enjoyable. If they had made the game slightly harder than easy mode, then it would have been perfect, this game just isn't right to be overly hard.

In the end though, it's still a fun game eve on easy mode, plus it's stylish as hell and worth a look.

Fudal Fun

After buying Otogi 2 over a week ago, I finally got around to checking it out today. While I did like the original Otogi, there was something about it like it wasn't polished enough. Otogi 2 takes the original, throws in more of what made it great, and tops it with so many needed extras. Making it quite good.

First of all, after playing about 5 levels or so I can say that it's not as hard as the original Otogi, which is a godsend. Otogi 2 is pretty much more of the same as Otogi, mainly being complete a mission objective which is usually killing, or destroying everything in a level. This time however you are able to select your next mission, usually from 3 or so on the screen, and then select one of 6 characters to use in the mission. Each character is very different from the others, each with very distinct attributes and weapons. This is a great help as certain characters are better suited to specific missions.

The graphics and effects are improved greatly over Otogi also. The graphic have been polished and the effects have much more style to them, making for some truly great battle scenes.

The controls are a little more solid this time round, though I still have issues with the camera control. It's a little slower to refocus behind your character when you tell it to, and also there seems to be a limit to where you can look which can hinder things at times.

The new Havoc mode is also quite interesting. It's basically a load of side missions where you are giving a set task to do usually in a giving time limit. Going by the name you can pretty much assume that these missions focus on you destroying a lot of things in a given mission, and they pretty much seem to be that. A nice break from the main game.

Overall I have to say I'm much more impressed with Otogi 2 than the original, it's just more fun and enjoyable. Also having the extra characters is a blast, they are so varied that you get so much more satisfaction when using the right one for a mission.

Zombie vs Shotgun

After completing Resident Evil 4, I cant honestly say that no game, for a long time has possed such a force that has compelled me to play it until it was complete. Now I don't get around to completing many games, I usually come to a part that really tries my patience and stop playing it with either the intention of going back and just don't or going onto another game.

I just couldn't put RE4 down. Maybe it was because there was never a section that I didn't think I could beat, even the boss battles. Sure some were challenging, like most of the game was. Just due to the fact that you are rationed ammo through out, which makes you cherish what you have, and crave more like some kind of gun junkie. There is also plenty of replay value there, especially once you complete the game and the extra options that come with that.

I threw in Devil May Cry 3 today, just to see how that fares. All I can say is Jesus Christ. Sure the first game was probably a little to easy, but damn this is just insane hard. Just on the first boss I got owned about 3-4 times, the FIRST boss. What the hell is that about?

Though I do have to say, the cut scenes are great, just the wicked style and attitude that DMC is. Once you see them you'll understand. I didn't play a great deal of it, just until the end of Stage 2. Though it's pretty much standard DMC gameplay, sword, two guns and totally insane carnage. There are the new "styles" now though, I'm not sure how much bearing they have on the overall gameplay, I just know that they affect what your certain "stylish move" is. I'm not sure though, I really hate games that make me play the same goddamn level over and over because I died fighting the boss. Sure replay the boss fight, but why the whole level, I don't have time for that shit.

Oh some pics of the RE4:Collector Edition.

Quatre

I managed to pick up Resident Evil 4 Collectors Edition and Devil May Cry 3 tonight. I managed to score a free t-shirt with DMC3 which isn't bad, for some reason these things are always a large, go figure? I haven't touched DMC3 yet because of the goodness that RE4 embodies.

The RE4 Collectors Edition is the standard RE4 game, plus an extra movie disc that has a load of movies from previous Resident Evil games, and a making of RE4. I thought it was just going to be a DVD, but it's actually a Gamecube disc. This disc also comes in it's own case, and is packaged with the game in a cardboard sleeve. It looks quite smart, I'll post pics tomorrow.

On to the game. Let me say this, after I started playing RE4, I didn't want to put it down. The only reason I did was because it was getting late and I wanted to type this. You can't compare or even think of other RE games when you play RE4. It's in a class of it's own, Capcom have gone all out and made this game something to marvel, they pioneered the survival horror genera and now they have kicked it up a gear.

RE4 seems to do everything right and doesn't miss a beat. The atmosphere is fantastic, aided by great sound effects and excellent visuals, you always seem to be wary of what's around the next corner just waiting to impale you with a pitchfork. One thing that makes this game so great is that is just feels solid, movement and control are great. I've had a few issues getting used to the controls but it's just learning curve. However the way the game feels when you fire the shotgun, you just know you are going to do some damage.

While I so far haven't found the game to be hard, it can be quite challenging. I have been constantly low on ammo, desperately searching barrels and boxes for another red pack of those lovely projectiles. It's not from wasting ammo either, this game makes your work for those kills.

After playing the game you can see why it has acquired the acclaim is has. This is Resident Evil, this is what survival horror is all about, surviving.

In The Jungle

I got around to playing a bit of Metal Gear Solid 3 last night and also tonight. I'm only two hours into the game but so far it's been really great. Because you are now in an open jungle with no radar the game seems much harder at times, but after you adapt to the gameplay change everything seems to click. There are now many more gameplay elements as well. Simple things like healing are now more involved, though nothing complex. The new hunting for food concept is also quite interesting, as you now have a knife, you can kill pretty much anything that moves, which isn't as hard as it seems. Also the new camouflage aspect is well implemented and requires you to select the right camo depending on your environment.

For what I have played so far, quite a bit has been movies, story establishment and codec talk, though most being interesting. One of the best cut scenes was an excellent one around an hour and a half into the game, one of the best I've seen in a game for a long time, classic MGS.

I wasn't sure if I'd really get into MGS3, as I'm a fan of the series just not a huge one, but sure enough it has pulled me in again.

Hitting Today

Just got a call from EB to let me know that Devil May Cry 3 and Resident Evil 4 Collectors Edition are now available. Two whole days before their release dates, not bad. As far as I know neither of them have street dates so that’s why they are available now. I probably can’t get to my local store until Thursday, so I’ll have to wait till then. On the plus side, extra long weekend this week, 4 days of gaming goodness!

Is More Less?

Not too much to report today. I went back to Big W on Sunday and managed to pick up Eternal Darkness for $30, not a bad price since it's quite a hard game to find new. I've heard that it's quite good, but I've yet to check it out.

I haven't really been playing much since I'm really into GT4 right now, but I will get into MGS3 soon and post some impressions.

One other juicy titbit for all you out there. My good friend at EB told me that starting Thursday, they are having a two for $50 sale. Basically it's a load of assorted games, that vary in price, but if you buy two of them you get them for $50. Bargain! I meant to mention this in my last post but it totally slipped my mind until today. So get down to EB Thursday and check it out.

I also mentioned Initial D Battle 9 DVD in my last post. Well I had a chance to watch it and found a interesting surprise. The last episode on the Battle 9 DVD, is actually the first episode in Initial D: Second Stage. As much as I adore Initial D, and after the first episode of Second Stage I'm still hooked. It's just they have refined the animation so much that it now looks strange. I loved the gritty look of the First Stage, now it's just really bright and far too clean. Sure it's still Initial D but it's lost some of it's feel. Though the CG is now much tighter.

Speaking of Initial D, there is a live action movie in the works. You can check the site here for a trailer. Doesn't look too bad, and if it's done well I guess it could be a pretty decent movie.

Fellow Gamecubers...

Lend me your ears, and I will tell you of good morrow. Urm, kinda. Anyway I found out today from my good friend in EB, that Big W has got (and has had for the last 2 days) 50% off all their Gamecube games and accessories. Oh!. I kinda wish I had of know when it had started, but hey I couldn't have gotten their until today anyway.

But all was not lost, upon hearing of this info I took a few paces into the Big W and purchased Metroid Prime 2 for $46, bargain get! Then I went to my local Big W and managed to pick up Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles for $46 also. So if there is a Big W near you go there now and have a butchers! They have a few titles in the two I checked out, though nothing great. Things like Paper Mario, Donkey Konga and such, I think they are just clearing stock, who knows.

Intial D Battle 9 is now out if your into that. I haven't watched this one yet, but will tomorrow since I've been waiting the last two months for it. Don't miss it!

Limited Metal Edition

Well here it is, the much anticipated Limited Metal Edition of Metal Gear Solid 3. I picked this up in EB tonight but haven't had a chance to actually play the game yet, I'll check it out over the weekend. With regards to the metal case that this game comes housed in, it's quite similar to the metal case for Halo 2. It also comes with a very nice game manual, contained within are plenty of the usual MGS offerings, with artwork and the such. Sorry about the rubbish picture, but because it's metal it just reflects everything.

How hard it is to acquire these limited MGS3's I have no idea. One of the guys in my local EB I know quite well and who has no reason to try and put the hard sell on me, mentioned that they are only available through EB. Since none of the online retailers that I peruse seem to list it I'm lead to believe that it may in fact be true. I'll have a look around some other local stores and see who's got what. One interesting thing to note is that the case has a PEGI rating on it (partially covered by the Australia rating sticker) which means it's from Europe, usually the UK. However the only mention of this metal edition I've seen thus far is that it's available from some French retailers, and the case just says Made in Austria, which to be honest doesn't mean much at all. So as to it's availability I have no idea, but for coolness factor and collection sake, try and pick one up ;)

More GT Love

Yes, I know I keep on about Gran Turismo but, hey it's a big game. I promise I'll start posting about something else soon, maybe the Metal Gear Solid 3 Limited Edition Tin which is supposed to be available from EB via Pre Order only, well we shall soon see.

I started on the Special Licence the other night, and after doing the first eight or so I though that it was pretty easy, pretty straight forward. It was at about the test that is a full lap of the Gran Canyon that things went west. For some reason after that point, some of the tests are just a lot harder. I think it's because the tests use cars with a lot more power and thus the test requires that you get a much better time on that course, oh and the Special Licence tests are all full course time trials. It's always the same with GT test though, you either do it the first or second time, or spend a fair few goes at it. Anyway I've got 4 more test to do, which I hope aren't going to be a hassle, just the Nurburgring.

Oh, a couple more quick images from Photo Mode, I really need to spend some time with it, but it's like some kind of time eating mode...

More News or Just Hype?

Sorry for the late post, I was going to do it last night but after a session of Gran Turismo 4 I looked at the clock and realised how late it was, then remembered I hadn't posted anything.

I've been putting most of my time into GT4 at the moment so I don't know if Metal Gear Solid 3 is going to get any playtime when it's released in Thursday. Even with all the time I've put into GT4 so far I'm still not at 20%, though I am starting to unlock some decent cars. I'll try and post some more pics from Photo Mode later tonight.

I don't know if everyone has seen the bad news, but the PSP has been delayed in Europe for several months, yes this sadly includes us. How long several months is, who knows, but I would say it would be over 3, which is a goddamn long time.

With the recent GDC, there has been a lot of talk and speculation surrounding the next gen consoles. The reason I haven't really posted much about this is because in all honesty, it's still just speculation. None of the big three companies are willing to reveal what the current hardware plans are until E3, so everyone seems to be kicking off about something that at the moment is just pure speculation.

The article that Xbox.ign posted which has some nice info, is just based on Alpha and Beta kits. I'm sure the info of the final Xbox 2 is going to be extremely powerful, but why not just wait till E3 and not just guess on these things. I know the IGN article does have info that will undoubtable be true, but these days there is just too much info that's just nonsense.

In all reality though I do still lap all this info up like some kind of animal depraved of next gen info, and usually find myself disappointed because everything just gets so overly hyped these days. I am very excited to see how things pan out at E3 this year though, it's going to be one of the biggest E3's ever, and it's only a couple of months away.

Many Hours Ahead

After putting a few more hours into GT4, I still have to say that it's an excellent game. At times the difficulty seems to oscillate between very easy, and just frustratingly difficult. One thing that does annoy me is the penalty that is imposed in certain races. I've only noticed it in the Rally stages so far, and I can see why it's there, however it's not implemented extremely well. On the rally tracks if you hit the other car, or a wall at a certain speed you receive a penalty of 50km/h for 5 seconds. That's fine, it's when the other car hits me mid corner and I still receive the penalty and the AI just races off, or I get hit from behind and the AI still doesn't receive a penalty. On the plus side though the rally stages are great, and the first few a fairly easy and get you into the flow. Though Cita Di Aria reverse is still a real shocker.

I'm loving the music in the game, there is a really great variety from a selection on genera's and artists. Plus the jukebox mode is also very useful so you can customise the music you race to and such.

The Arcade mode now seems to just be that, an arcade mode. Unlike previous GT's there isn't anything to complete, you can just go in there and race a range of cars on various tracks.

One thing I can't get over is that the amount of cars you need to own for certain races. Now that there are manufacturer, county, size, era, etcetera you need to own far, far too many cars. I just hope the money get a lot, lot better.

The Real Driving Simulator

Well it's finally here, Gran Turismo 4. After so many delays and many, many promises was it worth the wait you ask. Yes, yes it was.

When you first start this game you realise how big it has now gotten. There are just so many countries with different car manufactures it takes about 20 minutes just to check them all out. There are many extra tuning options now, and more specific tuning companies as well, like Spoon Sports, Blitz, HKS and many others. They all seem to have the same parts, so I don't know if there is any difference, but you can only go to certain tuning shops depending on the current car your using.

There has been an explosion in the evens categories in this game, some you can't even look at until you meet a required condition. There are now more licences, but they are pretty standard, one nice thing though is that once a licence is complete you get a car as a reward. As a bonus to fans also, is that you can transfer up to 100,000 Cr. from a GT3 save, and the first two licences from GT4: Prologue, I didn't bother as I really didn't see the point. Sure you get a head start in the game, but GT is about building up you cars and cash.

Second hand cars are now back in the game, and allow you to grab a bargain. I picked up a Honda Civic Type-R '97 for 9,990Cr which is a great starting car. After an oil change and a new engine management chip I was blazing.

I only got around to completing the Sunday Cup, which is very easy and only 5 races long. How ever GT4 has a very solid feel to it now. Cars respond much more realistically now and have a much better sense of speed to them.

I also checked out Photo Mode, and have put a couple of quick images below from it. If you want to loose hours from your life this is the thing to use. It's very easy to use, but just offers so many options and locations you want to keep trying new things with it. Defiantly worth checking out once you acquire some really hot cars.

Another thing that is just a minor peeve of mine is that there are so many utterly useless cars in this game, yet the one that I really wanted to be included, the Mazda SP23 isn't there. Once you see some of the cars you really just wonder, sure there are 700 cars, but I really don't know how many version of the Skyline you need in one game.

Just One More Day

My copy of Capcom Vs SNK 2 for PS2 arrived today, I played a match or two and all I can say is what the fuck is Capcom playing at?! Is it so hard to add a 60Hz mode to a game, really?! I thought game companies had go the memo that PAL gamers HATE ugly big black boarders, obviously the people at Capcom took that day off, because Capcom vs SNK has fucking huge black boarders. There not as bad as FFX, but they are still some of the biggest I've seen in a while. Maybe I've been spoilt by the Dremcast version of the game, but shit, what with the pixelated characters and then the black boarders, it's bloody sloppy. Sure it's playable, and the speed seems ok, but it's still inexcusable that half the screen is missing.

Gran Turismo 4 hits tomorrow, and I'll be there cashcard in hand picking it up tomorrow night, thank Christ for late night shopping. I just got an email from Sony Press Center saying that in one day, GT4 has shipped 3,182,535 units in PAL territories, that's a lot of games.

One good thing is I just got a 256MB USB mem sick, which you can use to save photos to from GT4's new photo mode, bargain! Can't wait to check it out!

Also seems like they have updated the GT World Site at last, it's running slow at the moment, but looks like there is some interesting info on there.

Anyway I'm out, back tomorrow with some GT4 goodness!!!

An Ultimate, Ultimate?

I decided that I was time I finally purchased something to store my games in, so today after work I made a trip to Ikea and purchased a Robin Multimedia unit. It's quite nice looking, and holds about 110 DVD size cases, more than the supposed 80 that their site says it holds. It's got adjustable shelves so you can configure it for CDs if you like. I'll post some pics of it soonish. I quite like Ikea stores, but not having been there before to buy anything, I didn't realise that after paying for the unit I then had to drive to their warehouse, about 13km away. WTF is that? I really shouldn't have to drive that far to pick up a goddamn DVD storage unit. Crazy.

When I got to work today my copy of DOA: Ultimate was waiting there for me, it arrived late Friday so that's why I didn't have it over the weekend. Not that it mattered I wouldn't have had time for it, what with Wind Waker and also the F1 being on.

So DOA: Ultimate, to be honest I wasn't even sure what the hell this game was, but for all who don't know it's a 2 disc set and contains a remake of DOA2 with a load of extras running on the DOA3 engine, and a port of DOA1, which looks a lot cleaner than any version I've seen before, but it still sucks. I first played DOA1 on the PSX when it was released and loved it, but now it just feels dated, and I really don't know why you would want to play it, well besides the online play.

DOA2 Ultimate on the other hand is great, since it's been revamped and is now running on the DOA3 engine it looks excellent and plays with the fluidity of DOA3. The one thing to really note are the impressive multi-tear environments, which are even better looking and much more detailed than those of DOA3. Plus the game has plenty of items and costumes to unlock, so it has a lot to keep you busy with. I only played through story mode and few times and a bit of time trial, but it feels like a solid game, worth checking out, maybe not at say $80 though. Try $50 odd.

Not much else has been going on. I picked up a copy of Capcom Vs SNK 2 for PS2 from CD-Wow, it cost me $35 with a voucher which was nice. I've only played it on the Dremcast before, so I'm hoping the PS2 version is similar. Oh and that release date I put up for Metal Gear Solid 3 is wrong (sorry!), according to EB it's going to be the 17th of this month, that date was from DVD Crave but they might be getting stock from the UK which is why the earlier date.

It's Finally Happened

Well it's happened, I now I far more games than I have time to play, it's just plain out of hand at the moment. But being the way I am, I'm still picking stuff up. I was in EB today, talking to one of the guys I know and he mentioned that there is a Limited Edition of Metal Gear Solid 3 exclusive to EB on pre-order. Then I mentioned that Devil May Cry 3 was out soon, and he then said that you get a t-shirt if you pre-order it. I then handed over $20, and secured two pre-orders.

The thing is there are about 4 games due out in the next month that I intend picking up, I don't have time to play the ones I have at the moment, let alone all these must have new release. Have a look at these:

Metal Gear Solid 3 - 09/3
Gran Turismo 4 - 10/3
Devil May Cry 3 - 25/3
Resident Evil 3 - 23/3

Though to be honest I'm most looking forward to GT4, and have been for, well since it was announced. I'm happy that the game is finally getting released, god knows I'll probably be speechless when I finally play it.

Well after a goddamn long week, something good happened. I managed to get hold of my 1019 Gamecube mem card, and my copies of Wind Waker and Metorid Prime.

Since I also had a copy of F-Zero which I hadn't played I checked that out first last night. It's not a bad game, I find it fairly difficult though even at the start. I played one tournament on Novice which wasn't too bad, but the second chapter on Story mode took me far too many tries.

Today I spent a bit of time playing Zelda: Win Waker, damn I love that game. I don't know why people complained about the cel-shading in it at first, it's so well done and suits the game perfectly. I played it for a few hours but will definably play it all the way through. I love the way Zelda games are structured, and it's just a joy to play. It's also got the bonus disc with Ocarina Of Time, which I only looked at quickly, but it doesn't look that bad, brings back some memories as well.

I also played Metroid Prime for a few hours tonight as well. I'm really getting into the game, it took me a while to grasp what the hell I was doing and how to go about things, but now I've worked it out I'm really enjoying it. I'm not sure about the controller though, at times it just seems a little sluggish and slow. The game has great visuals though and the music at times is really wicked.

Done and Done!

I've just finished ICO, and what a fine game it is. A little frustrating at times, mainly from dying right before you solve a puzzle, but apart from that it's an excellent adventure game. Not too hard, and always provoking you to try and solve the puzzles it presents. The storyline is very, very strange, but you expect that from a game who's main character is a boy with horns. It's too bad it's so hard to get hold of, it's worth playing just to see some of the landscapes in it.

It appears that Microsoft is trying to position it's self better this time round in the Japanese market. After getting Hironobu Sakaguchi the creator of Final Fantasy to develop games for them, they have now also signed Yoshiki Okamoto (ex Capcom executive) and Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Sega Rally and Rez). Now if they have such great talent as this developing games for their new console, and they design a decent looking box this time and market it right, there is no reason why they can't get the next Xbox going in Japan. Saying that though, having Hironobu Sakaguchi on your side, and having the actual Final Fantasy franchise on a console are two totally different things.

An Adventure In A Box

I managed to finish Gitaroo Man last weekend, it has to be one of the hardest and most frustrating beatmani style games I've ever played. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who throws controllers, it's just that damn hard at times. Though in saying that it's a very cool game, with a totally unique and quirky style, and if you can manage to get past the two or three really hard stages it's offers some great gameplay and a decent replay value.

I've also been playing mainly ICO, I really want to complete it before I move on to something else. I'm bout 6 hrs into it, and have a feeling it's not that much longer. It's quite a decent action/puzzle solving game, one nice thing is that there is very little back tracing if any with the levels, and the puzzles are never that hard you can't figure them out without either looking around and putting some logical thought into it, or just trying a few different things. It's not Myst hard is what I'm trying to say.

All I can say is that Gran Turismo 4 is out in one week and I can't wait !!! I've had this goddamn thing pre-ordered for so long now that I think they chiselled the preorder into a piece of stone. You can expect a few posts on that as well as some pics from the Photo Mode, w00t!

So Many Accurate Colours

Yesterday my component cable for the Gamecube turned up, and as you would expect it's a vast improvement over the composite cable. If you own a Cube, you really do need this cable. The only thing I find fairly ridiculous about the whole thing with the Gamecube is that the component cable has only the red, green and blue connectors, no audio? So you have to also hook up the composite cable into the analogue port for the audio, it just seems so badly engineered. Anyway it all works fine so it's not a huge problem.

Because I'm not in Brisbane this week (I'm doing some Qrestron training on the Gold Coast) I can't pick up anything that gets delivered there, which is a dilemma to say the least. Why couldn't that memory card have turned up yesterday, damn Australia post.

I also managed to score a copy of Dead or Alive Ultimate from eBay, I had considered buying it for $80 but picked it up for $50 or so, which I thought wasn't bad. As long as it has more unlockable content that DOA3 I'll be very happy.

MEGA Game Haulage

I took a trip down to my local Games Wizards today, I wanted to check out their Gamecube section and see if they had a copy of F-Zero GX. Which they didn't, plus their Gamecube section was very limited.

So after looking around for a while I wander to the rear of the store and suddenly notice that a few games were $10 each, mainly some Xbox Classic titles. Now $10 for a game is a win, so I kept looking along the shelf. As you can see from the picture I ended up buying a few games, but they weren't all $10.

I picked up 6 games in the end which included:

Project Gotham Racing (Xbox Classics) - $10 - I picked this up because it was only $10, I usually don't buy "Classics" games, but hey when they are say under $15.

Rallisport Challenge (Xbox Classics) - $10 - Again cheap at only $10, so I thought why not! I don't currently have any rally games, and arcade style rally is always fun.

R:Racing (PS2) - $10 - Now I thought about this for a moment when I was in the store, I hadn't read anything great about it, but the cover art is slick so I picked it up. It's not a Ridge Race game so the racing is very different, and it has a fairly realistic physics engine. I haven't played a great deal of it, but it's not awful, and it's quite playable.

Beyond Good & Evil (PS2) - $10 - As soon as I saw this I grabbed it. I've heard people say that it was a great game but ignored it as just being another "adventure" style game. At $10 I thought what the hell I'm going to see for myself. Well, it's a pretty fine game. The action component of it is great and combat works really well, you're also encouraged to explore more and analyse creatures with a camera which you can use to take pictures of living things for cash. The game as a whole is just very well done, many of the sequences from gameplay to voice action and cinematics just work very well. For anyone into action type games this is highly recommended, even if you do pay more than a tenner ;)

Shenmue II (Xbox) - $30 - I have no idea if I will even like this game, but I just picked it up because I'm tired of seeing it around and not having played it. Plus it's a nice addition to my collection either way.

Project Gotham Racing 2 - $35 - This wasn't so cheap, but I like the game because it's just so slick. I know you can pick it up for $44 from DVD Crave but hey it was just there and I wanted a copy anyway.

So in the end I spent just over a $100 for 6 games, which I thought was quite good. There were quite a few titles on sale but most of the others didn't interest me or I already owned them, though they did have OutRun 2 on Xbox for an amazing $20. Games Wizards do have the best sales, I'll give them that. I have contemplated going to another GW that a little further away from me, though I don't know if they are open on a Sunday, and I also don't know if I want to spend any more cash on games this week.

Your probably wondering about the F-Zero GX in the picture, well I actually ended up getting it in Target for $50, I would have picked it up in EB but they manhandle their stuff at times and the case was all rough.

I tried a little of F-Zero, but because I currently don't have a memory card or the component cable I only played one race. Anyway it's a slick looking game, even from bootup it just has that arcade feel to it, which I would say SEGA would probably be responsible for. I can't wait to get into it as it seems like a really decent racer. Though I must say, I never did think I would see that day that a SEGA logo came up on a Nintendo console, makes me a little sad really.

It's Not Broken

Well this week has finally come to an end, I was wondering when it was going to happen, especially since it seemed to insist it was going on indefinably, I don't think the lack of sleep helped.

So what's new, well the Gamecube is still sitting here not being used. Why? WHY! you ask? Well I'm still waiting for things to be deliver, I recently ordered a component cable from Nintendo, the woman who I spoke to and took my order was lovely, so I can't put down Nintendo's customer service. Though I did order it on Wednesday and she told me it would ship Monday at the latest, which does seem like quite a long time. Though it doesn't matter because I'm also waiting for my 1019 memory card anyway.

Luckily I managed to pick up a couple of games I was after from eBay UK. They just happened to be the Limited Edition Zelda Wind Waker, the one with the bonus disc, and Metroid Prime. They cost me $60 including shipping which I thought was quite a bargain, especially since the SE Wind Waker goes for over $50 on eBay AU quite often. They both came from the same seller so it worked out quite well.

On to other news however, NewsCorp buying Edios, it's just not a good thing. Let me try and explain why I think so. Game developers are businesses and thus need to make a profit, right. However at times they might want to go out on a limb and be creative with a title they know may or may not sell well, but are willing to risk it. Think things like Rez and Ico. Sure neither of those games probably sold in huge quantities, but they gave the developers a lot of respect from gamers. Now think of EA, there not half as bad as NewsCorp are when it comes to things. But NewsCorp would run a game company like EA does, based on pure profit margins. Now there is nothing wrong with wanting to make money from a business, but at the cost of polluting a creative industry is where I draw the goddamn line.

You just know what they are thinking, just churn out what the average teen wants, to achieve maximum profit for the share holders. The industry doesn't need another EA, it really doesn't. Hey maybe NewsCorp will be different and put to use the creative talents of Edios and bring out some amazing games, after all a company the size of NewsCorp can afford to takes risks, weather they want to or not is another thing.

Games Get!

These all turned up in the post yesterday, which I was very happy about. Being curious I played a bit of Ridge Racer V, just to see how it compares to Ridge Racers on the PSP, it doesn't. Ridge Racers is such a smooth, playable and enjoyable game it makes RRV seem like you are driving bricks around, I couldn't believe how bad the controls are in it. I do really love the presentation of it which is excellent, very Designers Republic.

ICO, well it's the rare classic that everyone raves about. I only played till the first save point, mainly because it was late and you never know how far until the next save point. Any way I'm sure I'll put plenty of time into it this week, or on the weekend.

Gitarooman, probably one of the strangest, most colourful yet frustrating games I've played in a long time. I was only on level 3 and wanted to throw the goddamn controller. It's beatmani style, so timing is important, though this game has no room for error, if you miss time a few things, this game will end you! It's bloody hard is all I can say. Though it's great looking and the music in it's great, so I can't wait to see the rest of the levels. A little more practice and I should be fine.

Small, Square and Silver!

Sitting here listing to my puter server up random music to me, I'm in quite a good mood strangely. Maybe because I am now the owner of a shiny new Gamecube Platinum, yay! Though I don't have any games, a memory card or a component cable isn't an issues, because I'm sure I'll sort it this week. I mainly picked up a "Cube" to play Resident Evil 4, which everyone is raving about. I'll pick up a copy of Wind Walker this week, the Limited Edition one, that has the extra disc with Ocarina Of Time, I just have a urge to play it.

Now I could of saved myself some cash and just picked up a copy of RE4 for the PS2, but I don't really feel like waiting a year to play what is probably going to be an inferior port. Also there is the new Zelda and all that, so yeah a Cube was needed. Plus the platinum cube does look quite nice, all the grey marries quite well with the silver.

On the Phantom Brave side of things, I've put about 10 hours into it now and up to about Chapter 6. Now the box says it's 20 chapters game to I'm about 1/4 into it, which isn't a great deal. The main thing I have found is that you really do need to level characters quite a bit so you don't get mashed in a new chapter. But having a decent team is great because it makes those chapters much more enjoyable when you don't have to play them over again. I actually quite like doing the random dungeon thing, since you get more cash, extra items, loads of experience plus you get titles which you can assign to your characters and weapons to upgrade their stats. The only problem is once you complete a dungeon, you always feel like, ohhh ok just one more ;)

Pretty Cover Art

Sorry for the recent lack of updates to anyone who might read this on some kind of strange regular basis. It's just with work and a few other things it's been quite hard to get around to posting anything especially once I get home.

My copies of Space Channel 5 and Jet Set Radio arrived today. I didn't bother booting up JSR, I've played it plenty before, though I did open it just to check out the manual. Space Channel 5 on the other hand I did have a bit of a play with, and discovered that I am fairly crap at it. It's quite a hard game at first but after a few tries you get the hang of it. I've played plenty of music/rhythm games before, but SC5 is even hard than some Beatmania stuff I've played. I put it down to the Dreamcast D-Pad and the fact that the game commands some kind of wavering demonic beat. I only played it a couple of times and then decided I wasn't in the mood. On the upside I only payed $3.99USD for it, and I'm sure I'll get into it at some other time. JSR cost me $8.99USD, and was worth every cent, for some reason just finally owning a copy makes me feel more complete. Now that Japanese Dreamcast games are so cheap I might add a few more to my collection, I really love JPN DC games for some reason.

I'm definably going to pick up a Gamecube this week, and you can be sure it's going to be a Platinum one, wether or not it's a US or Australian model is the deciding factor at the moment. I'll have to wait and see.

Apart from that I'm going to try and put some decent time into Phantom Brave this weekend, as I haven't had much time with it recently.

There are some news articles I want to discuss but not right now as it's jus hit midnight. I'll grab some RedBull tomorrow and post something up then.

Phantomy

I managed to put a few more hours into Phantom Brave, not many but enough to discover classic Nippon Ichi goodness. In the game you get access to certain more characters after you beat them in a battle. A couple of interest are the Dungeon Monk and Titlest. The Dungeon Monk will create random dungeons similar to the item world in Disgaea. The dungeons have so many levels and enemies up to a certain lv., this makes them ideal for levelling characters and earning extra monies. With the first few levels I was having an issue with lack of funds especially after completing a battle but taking a beating, usually the cost of healing all my characters was more than what I gained from a battle. So the random dungeons really make the game much easier if you are in a bind. So for anyone who enjoyed Disgaea, Phantom Brave is highly recommended, it's a very different game, but also a very enjoyable one once you get into it and realise what there is too it.

I also FINALLY managed to get hold on the highly regarded and very sort after ICO. I've only ever played a demo of this and with NICO coming out in so many months I really want to experience the full game. So I picked up a copy and will post some impressions of it here for anyone who has never had a chance to play it. I also managed to pick up a copy of Gitaroo Man, for anyone wondering what the hell that is, well it's a Beatmani game, sort of rhythm/music style. I've never played it so I have no idea what it's like, but after watching some videos of it, I just had to have it. So impressions will get done as soon as they arrive.

So Many Changes

I picked up a copy of Phantom Brave today and managed to put a few hours into it, after that I needed a rest. I haven't really payed that much attention to Phantom Brave's release, for some reason I was more interested in La Pucelle Tactics and forgot that it's release was so soon, so I didn't really know much about the game. I'd read a few impressions and some reviews and knew it was different to Disgaea, but this is a very different game, and I mean very.

If you think Disgaea is hard or complicated, it's a proverbial walk in the park compared to this. It's not that Phantom Brave is particularly hard or complicated, it's that it involves such a different strategy from Disgaea that at first it seems overwhelming. The one aspect I find that is responsible is the "Confine" mechanic. In Phantom Brave you have to confine your Phantoms to certain objects on the battlefield, yeah sure that's easy right, Wrong! First off, each object on the battlefield has different stats and thus effects your characters stats. Secondly, certain objects can add extra benefits if you confine a phantom to those. Lastly, and this is the one to really watch for, a phantom can only be confined to an object for so many of their turns, once they are all used up, they disappear and can't be used again. So you really have to be careful not to waste a turn and use A LOT of strategy while keeping all that in mind. After all it is an SRPG. Though there is a lot more freedom for movement now, your not confined to just squares and can more anywhere in a certain radius.

Overall the game is really good, it's just very different from Disgaea and takes a bit of getting used to. I actually like the change, and am glad that it's a different game to Disgaea, there wouldn't be much point if it was the same. I'll put some more time into it and see how it fairs, for the first three episodes it wasn't too hard, but that could all change.

Semi Retro

I've been doing a bit of eBaying recently, trying to pick up a few games for my collection. I haven't had a great deal of luck, esp. with being sniped and outbid on items. You can find a lot of rarer item on eBay UK, only problem is with the pound against the dollar items can quite easily cost a bit, plus with extra shipping costs it gets quite expensive.

Though I did manage to pick up 2 bargains, Jet Set Radio and Space Channel 5 for the Dreacmast. It cost me $30 for both including shipping which was great. I've never played any of the Space Channel games so I'm interested in that, JSR however I have played to death but wanted it for my collection.

If I manage to finally get any of the other items I'm after, I'll be sure to post some info.

A Delay To Remember

You've all no doubt seen the bad news about a possible delay of the PSP in Europe territories. As disappointed as I am, I really cannot say that I am surprised. Sony sight it as not being able to produce enough of certain components, which I can see happening, especially as demand in Japan, the US and Europe grow.

It doesn't really annoy me, besides not being able to buy games locally it's not a concern. I can even buy games from the US for $39, so it's not even that. I just can't really see why Europe gets the ruff end of the stick again. Sure the US is a large market, but then again so it the Europe/PAL regions, and they could be larger if games companies stopped this current trend of treating us as second rate gamers. Why games still don't get released here is a total goddamn mystery to me, it sure as hell isn't for lack of a profitable market, and yes I am aware of any localisation costs, issues and the rest involved.

Though the PSP doesn't require anything to be changed for different regions, except maybe just firmware to alter the region coding on movie and music UMD's and any extra language's to be added for the menus.

Who knows, maybe the extra factory that Sony has opened with be able to produce enough parts to stem any shortage before they start.

Next post I might bitch about next gen consoles and any region coding that they might be burdened with. Oh, and I haven't heard back from Nintendo, yeah they really care about their consumers.

Limited Edition Goodness

On one of my daily treks to various gaming related sites, I stumbles upon this tasty morsel of goodness. It is a Limited Edition Resident Evil 4 Platinum Gamecube, quite a mouthful. The thing that makes it so good, is it's getting a Europe release, which would make one believe that it is also going to receive an Australian release. I've emailed Nintendo Europe regarding it, so I'll see if I get a reply.

It's set for a price of £89, which you can't really translate into Australian dollars (poor exchange rate), but it's something like $200. At the moment you can buy a Gamecube in EB for $137, so even at $200 it's not a bad deal. What would make it boss, would be if it also included a memory card, but it doesn't.

It's dated for March 18, which isn't quite far away, though I do have a dilemma of sorts. I recently made my mind up and was going to just buy a black Cube and be done with it. However, now I'm thinking about waiting for this to be released and to see if it's released in Australia. At the moment I only really want a Cube for RE4 anyway, so it's not too much of a problem. I'll wait and see what Nintendo have to say.

Making Things Hard

It looks like SCEE have announced another release date for the PAL release of GT4, it's now scheduled for March 9th. As always with dates for GT4, it's hard to say if they are going to stick, even though the game is only being translated now for various European languages any number of numerous delays could push it back. But here's hoping that the date is the final one, after reading about the Japanese version of GT4, I'm quite keen for it.

With Resident Evil 4 soon to be released here and the new Zelda on the horizon, I've been thinking of picking up a Gamecube. I was thinking about maybe the Platinum version or the Black, but the colour isn't that important. One of the things that's been putting me off is the lack of hook-up options for the Gamecube. Now most people know that the PAL GC doesn't support S-Video, I have no idea why, even the Sega Saturn had an S-Video option for it. This creates a sort of dilemma for me, I can only run the Gamecube Composite of Component. Composite makes everything looks like arse, so it's going to have to be Component. Problem there is I would then have to buy a component switcher, because my TV only has one set of component inputs and my DVD player currently uses them. So that just creates more expense, especially when I have a perfectly good S-Video switcher. I could just run composite an save myself a lot of hassle but, it just looks nasty.

Apart from that the audio options on the Gamecube are also pretty average, with no optical out, the Gamecube is again an effort to hook into my current set up. It's as if it was made to not integrate into my set-up. A right effort if ever there was one.

Anyway, I think I'm going to wait for the moment and see if Nintendo bring out any sort of package with RE4.

Ancient Lore or Average Play

I managed to put a bit of time into Otogi today, well I managed to play the first 8 levels over twice. Your probably wondering why, well it's one of those I wasn't paying too much attention things. It all started when I got to level 8 in Otogi and had to fight some goddamn boss, that I couldn't beat. I ended up getting the arse with the game and turning off my Xbox thinking that the game had autosave, like most games do these days, you complete a level, it saves, simple! Well Otogi displays a message saying "Saving Map Data", which I simply took that it was also saving the game, it wasn't of course. So later I go to load my game, and the save says "Lv.1", great! Anyway I already knew what to do so I played through the first 8 levels again, and then beat the goddamn boss I was having problems with anyway.

The reason I go so pissed with the game in the first place is because I was quite enjoying Otogi, until that boss. It's such a lame boss as well, one of those where you nearly beat it, then you die, and that keeps happening until you perfect a formula. This game is frustrating at times, and also seems like it can get fairly repetitive.

Anyway onto Otogi itself. The main problem I have with the game is the whole magic/health meters. It's bad enough that you have to monitor you health most of the time, but with Otogi you also have to monitor a magic gauge with depletes over time. It's a real hassle, destroying enemies is supposed to refill the magic gauge, and while for the most part it does, you can still find yourself running out of magic near the end of a level. Also the way the heal gauge works could have been better implemented, it is also quite frustrating. You have so many green orbs of health which are supposed to refill overtime if you are injured, problem is that if an orb is depleted totally then it doesn't refill, so the whole life recharge thing just seems like a total waste.

The destructible environments are great, and it's a nice effect when you smash an enemy through a stone wall or house. The graphics are solid and smooth, with some really nice effects the usual for the Xbox. Though the levels are destructible and quite nice, the can be quite simple and void of life at times. The sound is also quite good, with music that fits the game perfectly and also decent sound effects.

The gameplay elements are interesting. The game has semi RPG elements to it, like character stats and the ability to acquire and purchase new weapons, accessories and magic. It's nice to have these sorts of elements in an 3rd person action game, simply because it adds a little something extra. The game also give you the ability to go back to a stage an complete certain aspects of it, things like destroying everything in the stage. You can also choose to revisit the level in it's "Current State" which is how it was when you were last there, or "Original State" which is the level as it was the first time you played it.

The control in the game is probably best put as ok, it can be clumsy at times. You notice it especially when navigating, or attacking an enemy. The camera can also be quite wild and at times just seems to go where ever it feels like. The main problems arise with aerial moment, as this game allows you to float, but at times with the camera moving around it just becomes a hassle.

I'm more interested in Otogi 2, mainly because sequels of this nature usually improve on aspects of the original game. I don't know if Otogi 2 does, but it does have something like 4 playable characters, that alone makes it seem interesting. From what I've played so far Otogi it a decent action game, but I would say you could probably just pick up Otogi 2 and be just as satisfied.

Gaming On A Budget 7

Because Wednesday was Australia Day and I didn't have a great deal to do (besides playing Lumines) I decided to take a trip to EB. Now I was in the mood to purchase something, but I had no idea what. I remember seeing a game called Gregory Horror Show laying around the shelves for a while, and I had read a few little thing about it being quite good, but that was all, I had no idea what the hell it was about. So I picked it up and looked it over again, contemplating if it was the $29.95 price tag. I decided it was and discovered a very wacky Japanese game.

Gregory Horror Show is first and foremost extremely strange. I played it for a little over and hour and even that was enough to surprise me. At it most simplistic level it's a puzzle solving game. The story is that you are trapped in a hotel and must collect the should of the other guest, give them to Death and then you will be free to leave. It's got a quite interesting style to it, sort of a 3D cartoon look. It's got a great cast of characters and the English voice acting is actually quite good. It's also got a 60Hz mode which surprised me as well.

I'm no sure how hard it is to get hold of, but it's not that old. On a plus side it buy those crazy guys at Capcom, so you pretty much know it's going to be interesting. I'll get into the game some more and see if there is anything else worth mentioning.

I also managed to finally get a copy of Otogi, I've been wanting to play this game for a while now but it's always been quite expensive or hard to find. Anyway I managed to get a copy for a song, so I'll post something about that soon. I know it kind of an old game, but it does seem kind of appropriate since Otogi 2 is coming out soon.

Lumini !

My order from Play-Asia arrived yesterday, it took just over a week which isn't bad.

I picked up Lumines and a Professional Screenguard which is just the name for a PSP screen protector.

First of all the Professional Screenguard is much better than another brand I previously used. The reason being is that this one was much easier to apply. Now if you have ever put screen covers on anything like a PDA you know they are a bitch to apply. The great thing with the Pro Screenguard is that is first of all it has a covering on the front and back. You peel off the backing to expose the adhesive, then align it on the PSP, smooth it down with the soft little thing they give you, then peel of the front. The great thing is you can't even tell it's on there. It's one of the clearest protectors I've seen, I would highly recommend it to anyone with a PSP, plus it's under $10.

Onto Lumines though, this one of those games I can see being launched with the PSP in Western territories and not getting the recognition it deserves, or people will just ignore it like Rez. This is in the same vein as Rez, where really you have to play it to really understand and appreciate it. Every mode in this game is great, from Single Player Challenge, Puzzle Mode and CPU Challenge. One of the best things in the game is unlocking new Skins, which are basically the name for each level, which include a different background and colour scheme and also different soundtrack.

Puzzle mode is quite interesting but also very challenging. You are given a picture of something, like a cross, you have to make it out of the falling blocks in a giving time limit. Sounds easy, but isn't not. Some of them you get first go, others I've spent nearly an hour working out, but it's great fun.

CPU Challenge mode, is basically VS mode against the PC. The screen is split into two, and you go head to head with the PC trying to beat each other. The catch is, the person performing better, and creating more combos make their opponents side of the screen small, making it harder to move and position falling blocks and causing them to pile up faster. It's a lot faster than the main challenge mode, and a lot harder.

There are also some other modes I haven't played, including Time Attack, Human Vs and Single Skin mode, but they are all pretty self explanatory.

The funny thing is I normally don't like these types of games, but the first time I played Lumines I was hooked, if you own a PSP you really must at least try it out. Plus it's quite cheap at only $65.

PSP Pics

I finally got around to taking some pics of my PSP. These pics are nothing flash or different from the thousands you have already seen on the PSP, I even contemplated not posting pics of my own PSP, because really in all essence what's the point. But hey this is a blog, it's gotta be full of useless crap, right?

PSP Front


PSP Back


Ridge Racers Box


Two cheques arrived in the mail the other day, from Microsoft. I cherished the moment upon seeing them, just knowing this is probably the only time Microsoft in going to give me any sort of currency. They are actually just cash back cheques from some Xbox pack I bought after mine packed up a while ago. You had to buy specific Microsoft Xbox game to get the cash back, which was quite disappointing. But hey two $40 cheques isn't too bad.

That's about all my game related news, I'm really hoping some decent games get released soon. I know Phantom Brave, Otogi 2 and GT4 are out in the new few months, but I need something now. I've nearly completed Ridge Racers, which is a very fine game and a must own for anyone who purchases a PSP. I just hope that Lumines arrives on Monday, I need a fix of it.

More Handheld Nonsense

Since there is very little going on gaming wise at the moment, and there hasn't been any decent release lately, I thought I would post a bit more about the PSP and the DS.

Now that I've had a chance to check out the PSP a lot more I can honestly say that it is an excellent device. The only annoyance that I have with it, is a times the D-Pad can squeak but it's easy to fix that with a little upward push. I can't really find anything I dislike about it. One concern that I do have though is, even though the unit seems fairly solid, I wouldn't want to drop it. Say you happen to find it heading towards hard floor, maybe tiled, you are seriously going to brick it.

I read somewhere that the face of the PSP is supposed to be coated with a substance that is similar to what the new Blue Ray discs will use. It's utter crap, simply because my unit already has a few very small light scratches on the screen, which is what the coating is supposed to prevent. I did have a screen cover but it looked horrid, so I've ordered another from Play Asia, plus a copy of Lumines so that should be here soon.

Onto the Nintendo DS though. I recently got to play this a little more with Mario DS. No matter what, I just can't find anything to like about it. I know it has it fans, and that's fine, but unlike the Nintendo SP it just doesn't do it for me.

First of all it just doesn't look that great, it's a grey slab. It's just not impressive to look at, but I guess it's robust and suited for it's intended market. The D-Pad on it is awful, and much too shallow, it doesn't feel right and a little more travel would have been much better, it feels like it should go further.

The unit has two screens, which seems like a good idea, but they both seem too small. Maybe it's from using the PSP so much but the DS's screens just seem smaller than even the SP. The other thing, rehashing something like Mario 64, adding a few minigames, and the touch thing just isn't cool. It doesn't look too bad considering, but I really wouldn't get worked up about it, it's still very pixelated and the control for it is loose and uncomfortable.

I know I said I would post pics of my PSP, and I will soon.

Dragon Uppercut with Ease

I just noticed this over at EuroGamer. I remember when these pads got a US release and I thought it would be nice to seem then available in the Aus and the UK. Well now it looks like they are going to be. I'm unsure of the Australian release but you can bet that if a UK release is going to happen, someone like EB will release them here.

More PSP Love

After spending a bit more time with the PSP, you really do get what all the fuss is about. When you hold the PSP, apart from the screen, the first thing I noticed was the weight. It's has a great feel too it, and the weight it just right, giving it a quality feel. The build quality of the unit is great and I've yet to notice anything I dislike about it, besides the D-Pad squeaks sometimes when you push it too the right, but I'm sure it will ware in. For the price of the unit, it is a quality piece of kit, from the look, the feel and the build it's fantastic.

The screen on the unit is simply beautiful, it's bright, sharp and vivid, everything just looks fantastic on it from the menu, to games and movies.

Sound from the unit isn't great, it's ok and you can play games on it, but it's just tinny. Likewise are the headphones from the Value Pack, which I am sort of disappointed in. They are very light and don't seem to be of a great quality, there ok but they just have no bass to them. I've just been using some Sony headphones that came with a quite expensive walkman and they work a treat. However I would recommend something like Sony's Fontopia Headphones which are pretty affordable.

Wireless play works a treat. The first day I had the unit, I tried it out with a friend of mine and after setting up a game in Ridge Racers we were set. Wanting to see how far it would work, he walked off to another part of the office, which was good few meters away, and there was no signal drop at all. Though were yet to really test how far it's will go, but I'm sure we will soon enough.

With regards to MP3 playback and movies it's great. I've seen people going on about the process of putting movies on the PSP, trying to make it seem all complex, it's not! All you need it something like DVD Shrink or DVD Decrypted to rip the part of the DVD you want, once you have the VOB file from the DVD you use the 3GP to convert that to an MPEG4 then put it on the PSP. It's only 2 steps, it's not that hard. It's easy and video playback looks great.

I'll post some pics of the unit soon, and also write up some impressions of Ridge Racers.

PSP, In My Hands!

I know I said I was going to wait for an Australian release of the Sony PSP, but when your offered one at the Japanese retail price, it's kinda hard to resist, and I folded faster than a house of cards.

This is all due to one of the guys I work with going to Japan, who then decided to purchase a PSP for himself. This just pushed me over the edge and I had to have one. So I now have a PSP Value Pack and copy of Ridge Racers.

I spent most of tonight fiddling with the unit, putting video and MP3's onto it and just messing around. Video looks great and the sounds awesome. I ripped some footage from the Ministry of Sound 2003 DVD Annual and it works a treat. Also spend some time on Ridge Racers, and I also borrowed a copy of Lumines from my mate. Jesus that game is insane, I just kept playing it, trying to get to the next level. I'd played it for an hour before even knowing it. But it's a great game and definitely worth picking up. So I'll consider grabbing that later.

I'll post some more impressions of it in the next few days as well as some pics.

Ridge Racers Exclusive Extras???

More Ridge Racers/PSP news (I know, I love it too). Just read this article over at GameInformer and saw this interesting piece of info.

GIO: What sort of features are you planning on adding for the US release?

RT: There are going to be some new gameplay elements, but I can’t go into detail about them. It’ll be soon when we can talk about them. But, they’ll elements that will add to the overall gameplay as well as replay value. They’ll also be exclusive to both the US and European versions.

GIO: So you’re basically talking about things like unlockables?

RT: Yes, that’s the idea.

Very interesting, it's nice to see that the US and Euro releases are getting some extra goodies.

Nintendo DS Hands On

Just this morning I was down at my local EB, and one of the guys there asked if I had seen their DS. With a cappuccino (plus extra shot) in hand I was fairly shocked to seem him being out a Nintendo DS with a copy of Metroid running on it, especially since it's not released here till March.

I put down my coffee, took hold on the DS and looked it over. The first thing I noticed is that the thumb stylus which you put on your thumb to touch the screen is horrid. All it is, is a loop of material with an oval shaped piece of plastic in it. It's just uncomfortable and difficult to use.

Trying to play Metroid is like trying to goddamn juggle, it's an unnecessary mess. Now I'm sure people who are interested in the DS have read reviews on Metroid and know all about it, I haven't so it's all new to me. In Metroid you use the thumb stylus on the bottom screen (with an image of a map) to look around. The D-Pad you use to move around, and then the shoulder buttons to fire your weapon. Now maybe if I had a little longer to get used to the unit it might have been fine, but it's just too goddamn hard to hold this unit and try to play something like a FPS.

I know before that I said the DS with it's two screens and touch feature seemed like a gimmick, and that was kind of unfounded since I hadn't used the unit. Now after seeming and using the unit, I know it's a gimmick. Graphic wise Metroid looks ok, but Jesus I thought that Nintendo might make an effort hardware wise and give the unit a bit more power. The whole touch thing in interesting, but it just seems to me that the DS is an SP with an extra screen and a touch feature. It's not really an advancement in the handheld realm, the screens are too small and the graphics on the unit and uninspiring. I might seem a little towards Nintendo, but the just don't give me anything to like at times.

Another thing which strikes me as strange is that handhelds are supposed to be portable units designed for a quick game when your out of the house, the DS with this whole touch thing just doesn't gel with me there, it's too much effort, playing Metroid is just too hard. I don't think it's just me either I remember Gabe from Penny Arcade saying something similar and he's a fairly big Gameboy fan.

I've seen a few people mention that the face of the Sony PSP gets marked with fingerprints easily, well the bottom screen on the DS is worse. The unit I used today was already in a bit of a state, and I can't see it not happening to most units when you are constantly touching the bottom screen. The build quality of the DS also isn't as hot as the SP, it feels loose and a bit cheap. It's just not as solid.

Maybe if I had more time with a unit I might change me mind, but as it stands now with first impressions I wouldn't buy one or recommend it too anyone.

Interesting Info

I was just checking out Eurogamer and noticed some interesting info.

Firstly, in this article Sony has apparently confirmed the Euro release date for Gran Turismo 4, and it is to be 25th of February. Which seems reasonable, and if holds true is great because it's not too far away.

Secondly, this article says that Otogi 2 is apparently getting a European release. For some reason I didn't think this was going to get released but is great new and a title definitely worth checking out. Now we just have to wait for confirmation and a release date.

Please Sit Patiently ?

With Sony's recent CES presentation I like everyone else feel a little disappointed at the lack of any solid information on the PSP. If the rumours hold true that a US and European release are to be in March, I would have thought that they would let people know now what's going on, because to be honest March isn't that far away.

Maybe it's not a big deal with the PSP, localisation wise. They don't have to change the hardware at all, or any of the OS because it's already multilingual. The only thing that needs to be altered is the language in the PSP games, and maybe the manual for the unit itself. Maybe Sony don't need that long to get it ready for launch, and they'll let people know when they think it's nearly time.

One of the titles I'm most looking forward to on the PSP is GT4 Mobile, since there has been such little info on this title I really can't wait to see how it's going to turn out. Hopefully it will have some decent interaction with GT4, where unlocking something in one game opens up other items in the other.

The FragDolls

After reading this great interview with the girls that make up the gaming team FragDolls, I can't believe some of the bullshit that they have had to put up with from people, people who might consider themselves gamers. I can't see any problem with girls/women becoming gamers and taking up the hobby of gaming, in fact I think it's fucking great. I am so sick an tired of all these "kiddies" who think that they are the proverbial "bizomb", getting online and just talking trash to other people. When girls game, they do just that, they game! They take it seriously, it's so goddamn refreshing.

I don't want it too seem like I've got it in for other people who game online, because there are many guys out there that take gaming online a bit more seriously and have some fun. But there are some people who have to ruin it for others, I've been in online games that are more like a fucking chatroom that a game.

The other thing that got me was that they were castigated for being sponsored by UbiSoft?! So what! A team of gamers has a sponsor, what the hell is wrong there! Maybe I've got it wrong, but if it was a team of guys who had just gotten a sponsor they would be praised and congratulated.

Anyway, I hope that we see more female gamers in the future and that people start to take them seriously and give them the respect that they deserve. Because to be honest it can't be easy when your trying to get noticed in a predominantly male dominated hobby.

Gaming On A Budget 6

After checking out the sale at a couple of EB stores and finding nothing of real interest, I decided to pick up Crimson Sea 2 for the PS2, $25 and I thought what the hell. I had no idea what it's like at all. It's a sequel to the original that was relapsed on the Xbox, which incidentally I've never played. I don't really know what it is with sales in game stores, I always want to buy something but I'll be buggered if the stuff on sale either doesn't really interest me or I already own it. Sure EB had a few good titles going and at some decent prices, but shit I've already got them. Not many other stores were any better, with Target actually having a sale but still not reducing the 15, yes 15 copies of Ridge Racer V. Now recently I've been wanting to buy a copy of RRV, but there is no way I'm paying $69.95 for it. Sure maybe $30, but damn it's a 5 year old game. Another Targe had 5 copies of it, so it's sure to be reduced at some point.

The thing is with Crimson Sea 2, is that it could probably be a great game if for one it wasn't so god damn hard, and two the camera was batter.

I found out about the difficulty only after finally getting passed the fist stage, and getting owned on the second. Now I like a game that is a challenge, shit I play Ninja Gaiden, but this game is just way too intense at times. Even on the first stage which has the easiest rating, is goddamn hard. I decided after that I didn't want to spend half my time replaying the same goddamn stage and decided to restart the game on Easy. The game is much more playable and fun on Easy, which is how it should be. Having to replay the same goddamn level over and over because you die right at the end just pisses me off and ends up making game more frustrating that enjoyable.

I'll play through a little more of the game and see how it works out, some of the combat isn't bad but at times with the awkward camera you find yourself in a position which is less than advantages. The weapon upgrade system is ok, I'll see how that pans out.

Initial D

Since there is nothing going on in the game industry at the moment, making there nothing worthwhile commenting about, I thought I would write up a little about one of my favourite anime shows, Initial D.

I think most people have heard of this anime by now, especially since Toykopop managed to get the US rights to it and Madman are releasing it in Australia. I myself have been picking it up from Madman, mainly because it's easier and there really isn't any difference to the US release. The only thing is, since it's 14 DVDs, with 3 episodes on each DVD, and Tokyopop deciding they wanted to do some stupid crap with the Dub and change the visuals and music, the could just do the dub and release the DVDs quicker, at the moment it's taking 2 months per DVD, which just isn't right.

Anyway it's getting a local release which is all that matters. I think Madman also have the rights to the Second Stage as well, though I really want to see the movie, Third Stage. Plus there is the new Forth stage to look forward to also. I guess the only reason I am so impatient is that I have already seen all of the First Stage, and want to see some new storyline, which is my own fault. Though I don't mind watching the First Stage again, I just wish I could get hold of the DVDs quicker, having to wait 2 months in between fixes is just painful.

The thing with Initial D is, it's getting quite old now. The animation is pretty rough, and the 3D animation looks a bit dated. But the music, storyline and action in this series is just awesome. A while ago I saw some of what I think was the Second Stage or might have been Forth I'm unsure, on a winamp videostream and I go excited just to see something new. Once you get into the storyline with Initial D it just hooks you. It's strange in that way, I've heard people say that they have no interest in cars at all, but really liked Initial D. Though it is a bonus if you are into cars, or have some knowledge, I think it just helps. Like playing Gran Turismo if your into cars, it's that much more enjoyable.

Avex Trax Initil D Site

What's In A Title

After watching Dead Leaves the other day, I was kind of left wondering what the titles had to do with the anime at all. A 50min OVA produced by Production I.G. for Magna it's one very strange show. For some reason I thought it was going to be more than a story about two crazy ex-spies who have lost their memories end up being caught by the police and end up trying to escape from jail. True there is more to the story, but most of it is Pandy and Retro leading the other prisoners to freedom.

It's only a couple of years old but the animation looks really rough, I don't know if it's because I watched it after watching a few episodes of Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex (which looks very slick). The problem is that Dead Leaves just looks a little washed out and just rough. Maybe it's the creators intention, because it is a very out there show, with plenty of mad action scenes and huge explosions.

In the end it's not a bad show, even though some of the jokes are a little low brow at times, and I'm not prude.

On another note, Eurogamer posted up this great review of Ridge Racers for the PSP. Just a bit more info than most of the other reviews I've read.

The Intersection

It's funny that such a simple thing, like destroying cars and creating pile-ups can give you such great pleasure. I've never played the Burnout series before, I don't really know why, it's just something I wasn't interested in. But today I decided to check out Burnout 3 for the Xbox. I've always wondered why everyone raved about it, and know I know. Destroying cars to earn medals and unlock faster, bigger, and more awesome cars is just really satisfying. Though trying to unlock something like the Semi or Firetruck is going to take a bit of time.

I got a load of new anime lately, things like Texhnolyze, Ghost In The Shell: SAC, Dead Leaves and some more Initial D, so I'll post up some impressions of those sometime soon.

Coming Soon

I've got a few weeks free from work, so I'll try and update the site once a day, just with what ever. At the moment because of Christmas and the time of year, there really isn't much going on the gaming community, so there isn't too much to comment about.

I haven't picked up anything new recently, so no thing new on that front. Finally got around to watching the bonus DVD that came with Halo 2, which includes a load of behind the scenes and making of footage. It's really quite interesting to watch how a game of that size comes together and is designed and made. The only thing really is that it could have been a little longer and maybe gone into a few more thing, but it's a nice bonus.

Game wise I've just been playing a bit of Halo 2 and also finally managed to get passed that goddamn boss Alma in Ninja Gaiden, Christ they couldn't have made that more difficult, maybe if I had of had more elixir but still.

¥50,000? Get Outta Here!

After recently thinking about getting a PSP from Japan, and then upon reading this article, I some how don't think it's going to happen. I'm still considering it, I don't mind waiting a few months for one, but Ridge Racers keeps calling too me.

If your as obsessed with Namco's Ridge Racers as I am, then you might want to check out some of the wicked wallpapers they have on their site.

Sega History Collection Complete!

Finally it's done, I now have a complete set of Sega History Collection Gashapon. As they said they would Play-Asia sent me the right ones free of charge and they arrived yesterday. It's great to see that some companies still care about their customers and will do a little extra to make sure they are happy. So I'll defiantly be buying from them again, especially with the PSP being multi region. I'll post some pics of the complete collection in the next few days.

The other thing I've been thinking about it importing a PSP. Now I was willing to wait, however one of the guys I work with is going to Japan for a few weeks. So I got to thinking, if he can find one (which he might not because of the shortage) do I get him to pick me one up at the retail price, and a couple of games. Or do I take the easier and safer route and just wait till the domestic release. The last import system I bought was the Dreamcast, and only because I was able to get it at a decent price. The thing that concerns me with the PSP is first of all and defects, including dead pixels and also the warranty. I don't want to end up with a $300 paperweight. There might even be issues that haven't become apparent yet, no one ever knows with first gen hardware.

The other thing is I also kind of feel compelled to purchase the domestic release of the PSP. I complain enough about titles not getting released here, so I should at least buy the unit locally and support the local market. Plus this is a blog about gaming in Australia, not one about gaming in Japan. Maybe I'll just leave it, then I can do a full review on the day of the PSP launch.

Heaven or Hell - Lets Rock!

I haven't played a Guilty Gear game since GGX on the Dreamcast, so a fair bit of X2 is new to me. Now I knew that the PS2 version of Guilty Gear X2 #Reloaded would look good, but goddamn. It's once of the most vibrant looking 2D fighters I've ever played. Everything in the game just looks so crisp an clean, from the detailed backgrounds to the bright effects. All in 60Hz goodness.

It's still the same old Guilty Gear that we know and love, except with X2 Reloaded it has a few more extras added that X2 didn't. Some of the modes are interesting, Arcade mode is still as challenging as always, super hard bosses still intact. Mission Mode is a nice addition, basically is just matched with set conditions, it's challenging but not too hard. Another Mode Medal of Millionaire or M.O.M, in which you fight an opponent and collect medals they drop, to me it just seems like a kinda of survival mode, but with a medal gauge. I'll play it more and see where it goes. Other modes like survival and training are also there. There also seems to be a fair amount of extras to unlock, and a whole gallery mode to view them in.

Using the PS2 controller isn't bad. The D-Pad works well, but after a while my thumbs tend to hate me. You can turn the analogue stick on, it works great for doing quarter and half circle moves, but for moving in general it's a little strange and movement seems to get a little disjointed.

Overall it's great, nice to seem that PAL territories are getting these releases.

Oh, and I pre-ordered a PSP at my local Electronics Boutique.

Crazy Japanese Ads

For some reason I have a real addiction to Japanese gaming ads. So when there is something that I just can't get enough media of like the PSP, and you combine it with say something like an advertisement of a Japanese nature, you have, well something no to be missed.

PSP.IGN.Com have a load of the latest PSP ads up at the moment, and you can check them out right here. Some of them are quite good, but most of them just make me want a PSP and a copy of Ridge Racers even more. But as soon as my local EB starts taking pre-orders, I'll be there, cash in hand.

Speaking of my local EB, I called them today and found out that they had 2 copies of Guilty Gear X2 Reloaded. So I'm picking that up tomorrow night and if I get time I'll post some impressions of it.

Sega History Collection Update

Well my order arrived from Play-Asia, but it wasn't what I was after. I received a Sega Saturn but no a Dreamcast, so I've hit them up about it and will see what happens. So here are a couple of pics of it sitting atop my own Saturn.

I still can get enough of any PSP info. I devour each new video and screen like some kind of addictive digital eye candy. Ridge Racers just looks like something out of a Sci-Fi movie, it just doesn't look real. I can't wait till this thing gets a PAL release, and I just hope to the Gaming Gods that it's region free.

Apart from me drooling over the PSP, I've been trying to get hold of a copy of Guilty Gear X2 Reloaded on the PS2, Christ what a mission. I might pick it up from Special Reserve, that is if they ever answer my god damn email.

The Portable War

I can't believe is rained pretty much for 2 weeks and then Yesterday and Today are two of the hottest days I can remember. I went out to do a few things on my car and it was just unbearable. Anyway enough of my bitching.

Today the PSP launches in Japan, and a new portable console war begins. The Nintendo DS and the PSP will now go head to head in a market that for years has been dominated by Nintendo. Is there room for two portables in the market? Sony seem to think yes. As a gamer you can't not get excited about this sort of thing. A now hardened console veteran going up against the king of handhelds, it's what makes gaming so exciting.

I for one can't wait, I would have purchased an import PSP but my funds are kind of low with Christmas and all. However if the gaming press are right and the launch date for the PSP in Europe/Australia is March 25th, well it's not all that long away. Just 3 months, probably the shortest time between a Japanese launch of a console and a domestic one.

I haven't been so excited about a new console in a while and I really think Sony are on to a winner here, well as long as the battery life is ok. The thing with the PSP is, it offers so much and yet doesn't cost a fortune. I'm willing to drop $300 - $400 on a portable game console, if it's decent, and the PSP seems to be shaping up that way.

I'll be honest, I haven't owned a portable game console since the very first Gameboy, yeah the brick one. The Gameboy Colour and Gameboy Advance just didn't do it for me. I nearly bought a Gameboy SP because it looked great, but still I don't want to drop that kind of money on a handheld just to play games with SNES graphics.

Now you have the Nintendo DS, which to be honest just seems like a gimmick. The games look ok, but all have to be designed to include another screen and at times the touch feature, which I can't help but think is strange. Sure it's different, but just doesn't seem right. Plus from what I've read regarding both of them, aren’t really implemented very well. If you don't need two screens for a game why have them? I don't have anything against Nintendo, but I think they have become a little lazy.

The other strange thing is that Nintendo keep stating that they don't see the PSP as a threat to their handheld business. Why then do I see an article nearly every few days about Nintendo harping on about something or just bashing the PSP. Shit I just checked Evil Avatar and saw this, crazy.

Maybe it's that Nintendo have been on top of the handheld business for so long now that they think they can say anything. I just think they might be in for a shock. Look what happened when Sega with the Saturn went up against newcomer Sony back in the day. Sure the Saturn was going well in Japan, but just got washed out everywhere else (Mostly fault of Sega America and Sega Europe).

I know the above may seem like I am very anti Nintendo, which is quite the opposite. I have much respect for them as a game company. Through everything they still carry on, they still have a game console on the market, which is more than Sega. Plus they have a thriving handheld market and many, many loyal fans.

But Wipeout Pure does look the business.

Retro a Go

I don't know what it is lately, but I've been wanting to get back into some retro games. I got my Saturn out and set it up next to the Dreamcast, I couldn't stand it being unseen in the box any longer. So finally after a few years it back out again.

I don't know if I'll pick up any Saturn games, I wouldn't mind playing Nights again or Guardian Heroes, but they are pretty hard to get hold of these days. I could pick them up from eBay, but I'm still not sure.

I've got some stuff about the new Sony PSP I want to put up so I'll do it tomorrow.

The Sega History Collection Saga

I finally managed to get a decent pic of the Mega-CD from the Sega History Collection. I don't know if it was the camera I was using or because it's fairly low res but I couldn't seem to get it to focus right. I'm unsure photography is not my thing at all, it may have been a combination of trying to take a close up shot of such a small item, lighting condition and the camera. Anyway it's not too bad, I'll get a better camera and take some other photos soon, once I get the other systems anyway.

Which is another interesting story. Because I needed the Sega Saturn and Dreamcast to complete my set I decided to buy them from Play-Asia. So I email them and ask if I could buy two of SHC and if they could be the two systems that I need. Anyway I get a fairly quick reply saying maybe but they can't guarantee it, I just have to place an order and then email them right after asking them to note the request (being a Saturn and Dreamcast) on it.

So I thought about this for a while and then today placed an order with them and right after sent and email with the request. I didn't hear any more about it until I get home tonight. I find I have an email telling me that the items shipped before the request was placed on the order, Bloody Great! So I email them again and ask that if I get two of the ones I already have could I exchange them? I get another reply a bit later saying that they understand and that if I don't get the items I want they will send the right ones free of charge! Bargain! It's a win/win situation. So anyway this is a free plus for Play-Asia who have blood excellent customer service and are a pleasure to deal with.

So as it is, once I get the Saturn and Dreamcast models I'll take some pics and post them.

Where It All Started

Well it was 10 years ago that the original Playstation was released, and for some strange reason I know it's been that long but it doesn't seem like it. My first memory of the Playstation is that one the guys my dad worked with had imported one. He took it into work and hard it up and running on a projector, and the original Ridge Racer was playing. I was in awe of this arcade style game and still remember it to this day.

I remember that he later sold the import machine and bought a domestic model. He took this into office one day and I remember spending a good deal of time playing WipeOut on it.

At that time I was into gaming and owned a MegaDrive and Mega-CD. I couldn't afford a Playstation at it's release, being about $800 - $1000 it was extremely expensive for a game console. The Sega Saturn wasn't any better and it was a similar price at launch. Being a Sega fan I ended up buying a Saturn when it dropped in price to $400 and a copy of Sega Rally. I picked up a Playsation a while before Gran Turismo was released.

I still have my Saturn, all in it's original box, it doesn't get used much anymore but I keep it for sentimental value. I kind of wish that I still had my original Playstation. Not to use it, but just to have it sitting around. It just has a lot of great memories attached to it like the Saturn does.

Anyway enough of that, I picked up King Of Fighters 2000 & 2001 for PS2 today. I've never really had a chance to get in to the KOF series before, and my only real exposure to the characters has been from Capcom Vs SNK. Both games seem like great conversions from the Arcade and the PS2 pad works a treat. I'll post some more up on it at some point.

More Is More

A lot of titles have been released recently and it seems I picked up have more than my fair share. King of Fighters 00/01 for PS2 was released today, I'll pick it up in the morning and post some impressions of it maybe Monday. I did think about getting the Xbox version but the controller is just a crime against fighting games, and I don't want to make my RSI any worse. Also it isn't getting a release till 2005 plus I've picked up a lot of Xbox titles of late, time to add a few more to my PS2 collection.

Ninja Gaidne arrived today, it's such a fine game. Hope the sequel does justice to it.

Apart from that I'm just waiting for Guilty Gear X2 #Reloaded to get a PS2 release, I'm really dying for a bit of Gear action, I haven't played a new Guilty Gear game in years.

Sega History Collection

I finally received my various Sega History Collection miniatures today. Out of the 6 in the set I received 4 different ones, and a few extras. I know they are a random assortment of 10, but I was expecting to at least get 5 of them.

Problem is now I have to try and source a Saturn and Dreamcast, that I need to have a complete set. So what I have is, Sega Mark II, Sega Master System, Sega MegaDrive and Sega MegaCD. It's not so bad having extra MegaDrive ones I suppose, because I can then set up the MegaDrive by itself, MegaDrive with 32X and Megadrive with MegaCD. So it's not bad.

I'll post some pics when I get home. They are great looking miniatures with a lot of detail, and hopefully I can get the 2 others I need.

Chock Full 'o Sprites

Finally after years SNK arcade games are finally getting mainstream console conversions that they deserve. Sure SNK games have been getting converted to the Neo-Geo cart system for years, but they are hardly affordable or easily available. Metal Slug 3 on Xbox is a testament to this. It’s one of the finest looking 2D based games around, it’s a perfect arcade conversion. The graphics are crisp and clean and the audio is clear and sounds excellent. It’s quite a hard game; the first few levels are quite short and easily played through, however the last one really throws you into the thick of it. You have limited continues on the Xbox version however, making it more challenging than the PS2 equivalent.

I’ve read comments from people saying that they purchased the PS2 version because they prefer the controller for this game. For a simple 2D arcade shooter like Metal Slug, I really can’t see the PS2 controller promoting anything over the Xbox one. For a game like King of Fighters, sure I’ll purchase the PS2 version because the Xbox controller is utter shite for fighting games. With Metal Slug however it makes no difference.