Spending Time On Gaming News Sites...

IGN has posted pictures of the peripheral to be used with the upcoming Guitar Hero game for the Nintendo DS. Seems workable, if you can get your other hand in a comfortable position to strum the touch screen. And as long as bumping the shoulder buttons with your gripping hand won't disturb the game.

But I wonder...

There's no mention of whether this will only work with the DS Lite or not. Do they presume everyone has moved on from the DS Fat which is why they just say "the DS"? Maybe it will work on the old models. But will it work on the future ones? Rumors have been flying for months about another redesign of the DS, one to be removing the GBA port, which is precicely where this Guitar Hero peripheral plug in. Sales figures for this game may well determine the future of the DS. And if sales are really strong, Nintendo may make their redesign in a whole new direction... using their work as a jumping-off point to creating a new system. I'm still waiting for an analog stick.

There's no reason this portable Guitar Hero version shouldn't be great. Perhaps a bit easier than it's big brother, due to the fact that there's only four fret buttons. Sound quality may be a bit compressed, sure. And there probably won't be any downloadable content. Oh, and with just the four buttons, it may actually feel like you're playing a trumpet. Which might not be a bad thing. It's not too late to change direction on this game. I could go for rocking out to some Herb Alpert's Lonely Bull on my portable Brass Hero DS.


During my websurfing, I made my way over to the gameblog on UGO.com, which is more of a compilation of news from other sites than one of its own. But that's what blogs are, I suppose. It's what I do, to a lesser extent. And Wombat is more entertaining than I.

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Before I go on, I've been wondering about website names. UGO? IGN? Sure, it's convenient, but those initials don't really explain their content to me. UGO stands for UnderGroundOnline... which still doesn't explain anything to me.

UGO's "about us" page says their a site for people with "gamer DNA"... and I think GamerDNA.com would have been a better choice. But it would have been shortened to GDNA eventually, and that would have defeated the purpose.

IGN... I'm not sure what those letters stand for. I presume it's something along the lines of "Internet Gaming Network," although that sounds like a MMO hosting site or something. Whatever it means, they've moved past initial meaning and are now just IGN, and part of a big corporation. So IGN is just nonsense now, but at least it's short. Which I suppose is everything.
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Anyhoo, Wombat's blog post links to a post on Destructoid about a fancy new storefront for Rock Band's downloadable content. It looks nice. I especially look forward to the "preview" feature so I can hear how bad the Monkee's cover singer is before I waste my money.

I hope they left room in their new store for things other than songs. The song selection from the last couple weeks has left me unimpressed, even if I had my 360, I probably wouldn't be getting any of those songs. With this new store layout, they're in prime position to toss some additional content our way. I'm talking new outfits, new faces/body options, new venues, new guitars and perhaps something totally new... like some sort of feature to make your own videos? Be able to go through a replay and choose all your camera angles and visual effects and then save it all! You can even do that on Boogie. There's no reason that Rock Band should be upstaged by Boogie. It's Boogie, after all.

Smash Bros Bobble

I've been playing a lot of Super Smash Bros Brawl the last two weeks. A lot of people have. And I enjoy it a lot, I just wish I could get more variety of enjoyment out of it.

I have to say I'm about 50% disappointed with the game. The best parts of the game are the parts that haven't changed. The new stuff, for the most part, fall flat. The new characters are great, the more the merrier, but the new Adventure mode... ugh.

There's no real story to The Subspace Emissary. No dialogue. Just running through short stages to get to short battles. There's just enough substance to it to make me really yearn for a full-on Kingdom Hearts-esque game with these characters (perhaps it's because the generic enemies resemble the Heartless). It could really be great. This game, however, is bland and repetitious. With some of the worst platforming ever. With speedy characters that were never meant to be platforming.

The horrible two-player co-op version of this mode is even worse because it is obviously tacked on. The second player can only ever choose on character (you'll usually have about 4 per stage), and that's the limit to their control. The camera will never follow them (and they'll be injured just by being offscreen); they can't open doors; and if player 1 dies it's game over, regardless of player 2's wellbeing.

And one of the biggest crimes of this sorry mode: all of the characters can be unlocked just by completing it. Sure, they can also be unlocked by playing hundreds of round of standard brawls, but this way is quicker and it takes the challenge away. Why fight for the same reward if you can just walk up and take it? They should have divided the rewards so you'd want to play both. Maybe unlock secondary costumes in one mode and characters in the other? Nintendo really dropped the ball here.

I only lash out about this, because I am truly disappointed in face of the awesome potential sitting here. There is a spectacular game waiting to break away from this great little fighting game. They both can co-exist, I just know it.

Waiting for Mass Effect 3-D

While reading about Mass Effect 2 presumably being a Xbox-exclusive "at least for a while," it got me thinking about a couple things.

First, while usually being swallowed up by a giant corporation usually results in being creatively kneecapped, I have high hopes that EA's acquisition will actually fix the supposedly-great RPG maker. Bioware's strength is in the writing (although not so much in proofreading for typos), but their technical skills are asleep at the wheel. EA should have plenty of knowledgeable people to handle that side of Bioware's projects so the excruciating loading time and stutterific framerate will not mar the sequels as it did the first Mass Effect.

Secondly, Mass Effect is supposedly conceived as a trilogy. That causes my ears to bleed. Not that I don't wish to have a couple more games in the franchise (Now that they're past the generic exposition of the introduction to the universe, they can get on to more interesting things), I just dislike the notion that being a trilogy is something to strive for. It's just an overused buzzword. Whatever happened to creating something to stand on its own, or allowing this creation to make its own ongoing life to see where it leads. If you set out to make a trilogy, I believe you're either limited your project unnecessarily (what if a new character pops up in the 3rd act that could take the series farther?) or adding crappy filler in a desperate attempt to stretch it out. Either way, it becomes very obvious when you do such things. Games series should be given room to expand as they would naturally and end when they hit their apex. They don't need to be saddled with a Godfather 3 to taint the whole franchise. But I probably shouldn't worry about this. This is EA publishing the games now and they won't stop 'til the money runs out. Even if they have to change the title to Madden Effect.

Hurry Up, Sony

God of War Chains of Olympus came out this week for the PSP, but the special edition God of War PSP bundle doesn't come out until June. Who needs slapped upside the head for making this decision?

This game is a system-seller. The God of War franchise is huge on the PS2, and will be huge on the PS3 eventually. But informed consumers can easily see $170 for basic PSP system plus $40 for the game = more than the $200 price tag for the to-be-released bundle.

I can see the initial marketing thought behind the delayed bundle... get all those diehard fans who MUST HAVE THIS GAME NOW to pay extra, then swoop in with the bundle later to pick up any stragglers. But the delay is not a good thing, not for the PSP.

For one thing, Sony usual tracks sales for a game's first five months, to see if it will qualify for their Greatest Hits collection. So if you're an interested buyer and you're already waiting three months... what's a few more if the price is going to get chopped in half? And by then, you could just wait to see if a friend will get this for your for Christmas.

And even worse for PSP... their track record for good original PS2 spin-offs is that they are then ported to the PS2. The GTA Stories and Ratchet and Clank Size Matters are such examples. So if you're going to make GOW fans wait to invest in the handheld system, a lot of them would just go ahead and wait a bit more and get the version they can play on their already-owned console.

I have been down on Sony's marketing strategies for a long while, and things are not improving. Get in it to win it already!

The Red Light Spectacle, Part 1

As I mentioned before, my Xbox 360 suffered its inevitable hardware failure. It is still dead.

The Red Horseshoe of Death is an interesting thing to witness.

I had never seen one in person before. Of course, there have been an overwhelming number of stories about them in the past couple years. Two podcasts I listen to over on cheapassgamer.com (The CAGcast and CAG Foreplay) both have recently discussed their own dead-console sagas. But to see it in person is a bit unbelievable. There's not a lot of shock or anger or sadness. It just fills you with a state of disbelief.

And it fills your friends with joyous wonder, since they get to see the lights firsthand and know they won't be the one to deal with getting it fixed.

My surprise was that the Xbox's death had no real precursor. I thought the system would crash a few times, or start making funky noises, or have some sort of problem leading up to total hardware failure. But just a couple hours before I had downloaded the free Aerosmith song for Guitar Hero 3 and tried it out. Then I uncharacteristically decided to turn off the Xbox and play some board games with my friends. Apparently Microsoft doesn't build its hardware to withstand rejection. It never worked again.

A couple days later, I finally got around to calling the Xbox service line. (First I had to verify that Microsoft had extended the warranty coverage to three years, since I had just passed my second year.) I expected busy signals or long waits on hold, but I got through right away.

The phone call was mostly unremarkable. I couldn't tell what the guy said his name was, but his accent didn't affect the clarity of the rest of the conversation to much. The call was mostly marred by the overwhelming noise behind him. Was he providing customer support while tending bar at a cocktail party?

As he was going over details of the repair process, I kept thinking "It sounds like he's calling me Kevin." He had me spell my last name, but not my first. But I had registered my Xbox when I got it, so surely he had that information in front of him and either misspoke, or I was misunderstanding him. And since I didn't know his name, it might be awkward to inquire to see if he really knew mine.

So, a few days go by and a white box shows up on my front porch. One step closer to playing Rock Band again, or so I thought.

That's when I looked closely at the label. He was calling me Kevin. And that's the name he put on the work order. Unfortunately, that's not my name. And that could possibly cause a problem when I had to sign to receive my repaired/replacement console.

Another call to 1-800-4MYXBOX. I spoke with a woman this time. Same accent, same moment of non-clarity when she spoke her name. Do they train them not to be clear with their name, thus cutting down on personal complaints?

I told her about the problem with the incorrect name on the mailing label. She hunts down my information with my work order number, then I'm placed on hold while she confers with her supervisor.

She soon returns and tells me that I can still use the box and labels and that she's updated the information on my work order to reflect the correct information. She also calls me "Kevin" three times during all of this. I correct her each time, and she assures me that she has changed my name in her computer.

She asks if there's anything else she can help me with. I mention there's a two inch hole that has been ripped in the corner of the box, and wonder if I can simply use a different box, or should I patch this one? This leads to a much longer conference with her supervisor, and I spend a few minutes playing "Guess That Xbox Muzak."

Finally, my Customer Service Rep With No Name returns with a shiny new work order number for me to write down. She lets me know they'll be sending me a brand new box. One step closer just became one step back.

Five more days pass, and my new plain white box arrives. I inspect it for any gaping holes. Nothing looks chewed or soggy, that's good. There's a dent in the side, but it is UPS, there's always a dent in the side.

I finally proceed to package my Xbox in the plastic wrapper that was provided. I was careful not to suffocate any babies with the bag as it explicitly instructs me to do. I added the green foam diapers to both end of my console and took a final picture, in case I never see it again.

The Xbox then was placed securely in the box and sealed with Microsoft's own personal line of tape (Scotch be damned). I drove it to a nearby UPS Store where I was ready for witty banter with a clerk. But instead, she simply processed my box and dismissed me. Perhaps my casualness made it seem like perhaps there wasn't a beloved Xbox inside the package, or maybe UPS employees have been instructed not to mention anything after experiencing a heated encounter with a touchy fanboy or two. Either way, this part of the story was concluded. Now I wait. And hope I will be home when they try to return my system.

P.S. My Xbox went to Texas. Is this normal? Other stories I have heard had them going to Mexico. I guess it won't be coming back with a tan and Montezuma's Revenge. Mesquite, Texas doesn't sound as exotic as a foreign country. But it does sound tasty.

Nothing Else To Do...

It's been a lonely time for me since my last entry. My Xbox 360 has succumbed to the Red Ring... make that Horseshoe... of Death. This obviously derails my attempt to plow through the backlog of 360 games I never finished. I now instead sit around waiting for The Coffin to arrive.

This is the ideal time for me to get back into work on my various comic projects and fix up my Video Game Review site... but my mess of an office is in disarray, as it is the slow process of changing location. And the paint fumes aren't really helping productivity.

This time away from the 360 will result in some more updates to this blog, including the customary chronicling of my Repair Saga. I'll probably dig out my original Xbox and play some games on that. And there's some PS2 games I never even opened...

Boo on THQ!

First video game publisher THQ started off the year announcing they wouldn't be continuing the Stuntman or Juiced franchises... and now they're responsible for giving me 1000 embarrassingly easy achievement points.

I had heard that Avatar The Last Airbender: The Burning Earth had easy points... but I presumed that meant the game was short and easy, thus you'd get completion points quickly. I had never imagined someone would release a full retail game where you can get all the points available within the first two minutes of the game by just pressing the B button about fifty times.
But that's what happened.

Now, what's the point in continuing the game? It seems to be nothing more than a cheap, generic licensed game. The three minutes it took to complete Chapter One were quite dull. Even if I were to finish it, I wouldn't have anything to show for it. No one would be able to see that I beat it. I have no record to see when I beat it. As far as I know, I could have beat it and simply forgot.
Thanks a lot, THQ, for being a bunch of lazy jerks and catering to your kind. I'd like to put some effort into being rewarded.

This should not have happened so far into the life of the 360. At launch, sure. Achievement Points were a new concept and developers gave them out for basic tasks. But there's no excuse for that any more.

Points should be given out for completion of each game mode, as well as occassional level rewards to string players along. These points should total no more than 600. The rest should be for completing tasks above and beyond the requirements for completing the game.

Finding hidden items: sure.
Exceeding a certain amount of damage: yeah.
Dying an extraordinary amount of times: why not?

But the only time any achievement should exceed 50 points is the completion of the game award, which should top out at 150. That means... game publishers & developers... it is your responsibility to the gaming public to be creative. Let us see at least a couple dozen of unique and interesting Achievements on every game from here on out, lest your name be mud.

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An Update on my Completion Quest:

Finished: Rock Band Jan 27, 2008
Actually, I probably should have listed this one before because my requirements were to beat one game mode... Being given the credits counts as the "end"... which happened after I got into the Hall of Fame in World Tour Mode. But I hadn't played the Endless Setlist yet... but now I have. So Achievement Achieved.
(Side Note: I was disappointed that the Endless Setlist did not include any downloaded content. I'm glad it didn't include ALL of the DL content, but I would have liked some to be in there... in place of the "bonus songs" anyway.)

Finished: Mass Effect Jan 30 2008

Total Xbox 360 Games Finished: 25
Total Xbox 360 Games Played: 114
Average Achievement Points per game: 188

Now Playing: Saint's Row (ironically, a THQ game), Tony Hawk Proving Ground & Burnout Paradise