Suggestions for the Space Race

Below is a list of a few games that have been suggested for the Space Race. They're listed in alphabetical order, so as to not add in my own potential biases. Add your own comments if you would like to suggest any other games. (NES and SNES games work best).

• Chrono Trigger
• Dragon Warrior 2
• Final Fantasy
• Final Fantasy 3 (Final Fantasy VI)
• Secret of Mana

Additionally, it has been suggested that, instead of "real-time," we use game time played as the measuring stick by which to determine the winner of the space race. Obviously this would disqualify any games that don't have that feature integrated, but would balance the competition between people who have different schedules. However, it would also change the way I play the game, and I imagine that's true for others as well. Additionally, we would want a cap on how long it can take, so we're not waiting for months and months to find out who finished fast enough.

In the end, it will be up to the eventual participants as to how we'll measure victory/defeat. Again, post a reply or contact me in some other way to express your interest.

Space Race

Not really a "space race," but a race. I challenge Chip (and whomever else might be interested) to a race to beat any long-term RPG game that we have or is easily obtained. I have most NES and many SNES role-playing games. It'd be awesome if we all had Final Fantasy X, because that's a great game to play through, but neither of us even has a PS2, let alone the game.

So what say you, cowards and weaklings? Do you dare rise to the challenge made by someone who's got a glorious amount of free time?

Final Fantasy - Voices of the Lifestream

For those of you unfamiliar with it, OC Remix is a site dedicated to remixes of video game music, new and old. Among the most entertaining remixes are songs from Megaman 2, Super Mario Brothers, and the topic of this post, Final Fantasy. These songs are always available free of charge, and without any registration requirements.

From time to time, OC Remix conducts larger-scale projects involving the collaboration of a number of artists. These collaborations produce "albums" of music from the same game. The newest such album was released today, and is based on Final Fantasy VII. You can see the information about the project here, including download links. Or, if you use a BitTorrent application, you can download a torrent of the project by clicking here.

Enjoy!

Super Paper Mario

This game surprised me. I had absolutely no intention of purchasing this game when I first heard about it. I didn't know much about it either. I got bored at work one day, read a review, watched a quick preview, and that has made all the difference. It ranks high among Nintendo Wii games too. Its incredibly unique controls, story, and gameplay make for a great experience.

The best way to describe Super Paper Mario is "role-playing for beginners" with the nostalgia from the 8-bit Nintendo days. However, there are some added twists that make things a little more exciting. With all that in mind, let's get started.

Gameplay: For as simple as the controls are, this game does a great job at keeping things interesting. The controls only utilizes the Wii Remote. For most of the game, it is held sideways in the "traditional" style, and you don't use more than 3-buttons (a 4th to access the menu/pause) and the control pad. I'll let you guess what the control pad does. One button jumps, the other will perform the action that your selected Pixl does (more on that soon), and when you're Mario, the 3rd button flips into the 3D view. Like I said, very simple controls.

As I said before, this is a role-playing game. As you defeat enemies, your score increases. Remember that score from the first Super Mario Brothers? It didn't mean anything, but kept tallying up as you hit blocks, jumped on guys, and picked up items. In Super Paper Mario, those points actually mean something. Once your score reaches a certain point, you level up. Typically during a level up you'll either increase your hit points by 5 or you'll increase your attack by 1 point. As you keep getting points, it gets easier to face your opponents. Its the RPG at its most simple and raw form.

The one thing I tend to enjoy about any action, RPG, or shooter (1st or 3rd person) are the puzzles. Its rare to find good puzzles in games these days, but Super Paper Mario really makes it interesting without being too overly frustrating. Like Zelda, whenever I got stuck, I had to just step away from the game for a little, give myself a break, and come back a little later. They took some paying attention, knowing what your Pixls can do, and knowing how you can take full advantage of your Pixls.

Okay, by now you're probably wondering what a Pixl is... these little babies, each with their own name, give your character (typically Mario) the ability to do different things. Thoreau looks like a little hand and allows you to grab objects and throw them. Boomer is a bomb and lets you drop/explode one bomb at a time at your will. Cudge is a hammer that lets you slam enemies and blocks. There are a number of these guys and they are necessary to solving puzzles. They're pretty fun. The only catch is that you can only use one Pixl at a time (but you can switch anytime during gameplay). You will see the one you're currently working with as it flies around you as you move.

The characters involved throughout the game are the classics... Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Bowser. BOWSER? Yep. Each has their own special ability that is critical for progressing. Mario is the only character that can flip from the side-scrolling 2D view to the 3D view (looking down towards the end of the side-scrolling board). This allows you to pick out things you can't see in 2D. Its a real fun twist and you have to "flip" often to help you throughout the game. You'll find pipes hiding behind stairs, coin boxes and items, a means to avoid enemies, and a way to get through the game. Luigi can jump really high... surprise, surprise. Peach can "float," just like in Super Mario 2 and when she ducks, she protects herself with her umbrella. Bowser, who joined the team to help prevent "all games from ending," is the slowest of the bunch, but does twice the damage and can blow fire. When the game starts, its just you, Mario. As you go along you eventually pick up the rest of the characters at different times, then you lose a few, then you get them back... etc. etc. You never lose Mario though, who you use the most anyway.

As for the story, I tended to enjoy it. I don't want to go into it too much, but here's how it all starts out. The villain, Count Bleck, has read this book, the Dark Prognosticus, which tells its reader how the future will bring an end to the world if he can do a few things to set it all up. To battle this, a Light Prognosticus was created to combat it. The first step require the creation of the Chaos Heart, which is created when Peach marries Bowser. This puts the whole story into motion. Its a pretty bizarre start to a good adventure. As you go along, there are some funny jokes about the plumbers and how ridiculous the whole premise is, which keeps things light. I do think the game/story goes on a little bit longer than I'd prefer.

There are side missions that are optional too. They have "Capture Cards" that you can collect throughout the journey. There is one for each enemy and most characters involved. I think there are over 250 cards to find. I opted not to, but have fun with that. They also have maps that you can purchase. Each map has a different screen shot of a place you've been. Once you go there, you use a Pixl named Fleep to reveal a treasure. The only problem is that you can't find the treasure at all until you purchase the map. There is also an arcade with some fun mini-games too.

Graphics: For trying to hold onto what Mario has been, this game does a great job at bridging the gap between old and new. Its a very clean and crisp looking game. I think they did a great job here. Its obviously not a realistic as Zelda or any other game, however, that isn't what they were going for when it was created. I think they hit the nail on the head here.

Sound: One major downfall with the Wii games I've played so far is their sound. I guess I shouldn't expect much from Super Paper Mario though. There isn't any dialog, but I think its important to leave that out with these characters. There is the occasional "Ooh!" and "Yea!" from Mario, but that's about it. I don't have a lot of good things to say, but then again, I don't have a lot of bad things to say either.

Replay-ability: Like most all Mario games, this game does have some replay-ability. Not as much as Zelda, and the length of the game doesn't make it as replay-able as any of the old Marios, but I would probably pick it up again to search out those maps or play some of the mini-games.

Wrap-Up: Overall, I enjoyed playing this game. The story kept me intrigued, the puzzles kept me thinking, the levels were unique, the characters were fun. Its a very casual game to get involved with. Even my wife enjoys playing it, which is always an added bonus around the house. Either way, I recommend picking it up at some point.

Battlefield 1942 Mods

What is a "mod?" A mod is an add-on to a game, usually created by a third party, adjusting the game in some fashion. Sometimes it involves only a small change, such as adding blood to a fighting game, or changing weapons or vehicles in a first-person shooter game.

But sometimes the mods are more encompassing. For example, Counter-Strike was originally a Half-Life mod. It offered completely new weapons, levels, characters, and a completely new goal. It used the Half-Life engine to run a completely separate game, one that millions of gamers enjoyed.

A couple years later, Battlefield 1942 came out, and not too long afterwards, its own mods began to surface. While there were many, many mods, there's no question the strongest performance was by the Desert Combat mod. It integrated flawlessly into the Battlefield 1942 environment, changing weapons and vehicles, and adding its own maps and missions for a completely new gaming experience. I have played Desert Combat for years, and I've always enjoyed it.

But there are so many different mods out there, why would I limit myself to just this one? Sure, it may be the most notorious and best-received mod for Battlefield 1942, but surely these other mods offer another new experience. It's a great way to avoid paying for a new game.

Well, yesterday I downloaded 4 different mods, with the hope that at least one of them would turn out to be a real enjoyable one. To say I was mildly disappointed would be something of an understatement.

HomeFront
Noted as the "Halo mod," I was excited to see what this one had to offer. Sadly, anytime I tried to get into a game using this mod, the game crashed. So while the interface had me feeling optimistic, I never actually saw the game. This would be a problem for most of these mods.

Pirates
With this one, I was able to get into a game, and the GUI clearly was adjusted to represent the pirates game. However, the actual gameplay, including weapons and vehicles, was exactly the same as the BF 1942 game. I tried to find an online game to see if that might offer the true gameplay, but best I could tell, there were simply no servers running the Pirates mod. So screw it, I said. Uninstalled.

Galactic Conquest
This is it, the Star Wars mod I had heard about for years. I figured, finally, I'll get to see if it's any good. Wrong-o. This was another one that didn't work at all. It's possible that I have a new version of BF 1942 that is incompatible with the older mods, but shit, I don't want to have to roll back my BF 1942 just to check to see if that's the case. So no go.

G.I.Joe
This was the only one that seemed to at least offer a glimpse of what it's supposed to be. All of the player skins were changed to standard "Joe soldiers" or "Cobra troopers," which is okay, though I had been hoping to take on the cold visage of the opportunistic Destro. But maybe that's too much to ask for in this kind of game. The vehicles and weapons were adjusted to be more like the original G.I.Joe gear, though the vehicles were a little limited. Two jeeps and two helicopters, no heavy vehicles of any kind. Also, on the custom G.I.Joe maps, the AI seemed to be simply missing. The enemy soldiers would just sit there, in their bunkers, waiting for who knows what to happen. In the end, a deleter.

So I'm back where I started. I've got Battlefield 1942 and the elite mod, Desert Combat. I'll have to ride these waves for now. I hear Battlefield 2 has some worthwhile mods, maybe I'll check them out if I ever get that game.

Cooking MaMa: Cook-Off

This will be probably one of my shortest reviews and probably the most useless. I can't imagine why anyone reading this blog would be interested in this game at all, but, I've had a chance to review it, so here goes. Before I begin, let it be known that I have only played the game maybe twice. The rest of my review is based on watching Alissa play it (who really likes it for some reason).

Gameplay: This gameplay is probably the only positive here and its a slight positive at that. The gameplay is kind of entertaining. You move the Wii remote around to move tools causing you to prepare and cook food. You do everything from open cans, crack eggs, peel potatoes, stew, fry, and anything else you can think of. Its gameplay and multi-player setup doesn't go much further than any of the other party games that have come out for the Wii. The actual game involves going head to head with the computer making meals faster and better than the computer. It sucks.

Graphics: The graphics are absolute crap. I'm sure they tried really hard to make this work, but its a long shot. They can't even make all the food look like its supposed to.

Sound: Also awful. You get some elevator music throughout the game and after you've completed a certain part of preparing the meal, Cooking MaMa rates how you did based on time and quality. It sounds like an Asian voice and it is hard to understand.

Replay-ability: Unless you are a perfectionist, you only have to go through things once. Even if you completely bomb a meal, it still lets you continue the game and adds recipes no matter how you did on the selected meal.

Wrap-Up: As I read before my wife purchased the game, its not worth the $50 they ask to own this game. I wouldn't own this game if Alissa didn't purchase it. And I definitely recommend that you rent it before you consider purchasing it. She still enjoys playing it though, so I guess I can't complain too much.

StarCraft II

So StarCraft II is coming out, and I've been thinking about how to feel about it. I mean, I enjoyed the original StarCraft during its time, and I've been delighted with the improvements from WarCraft II to WarCraft III. Not to mention the fact that Blizzard hasn't made a bad game that I've ever seen. Logic says that the next iteration of StarCraft is going to be a hit.

So why am I feeling unsure about how this thing comes through? I think part of it is that I just don't have the same interest in the science fiction world as I do in the medieval fantasy world. I like the Star Treks and Star Wars, but I like the Lord of The Rings a lot more. A lot of StarCraft II's appeal for me is going to be dependent on how they handle the "interstellar" concept. Are there going to be space battles, or just battles in the air slightly above the ground? While I'm sure that'd be fun, it wouldn't really be any different from WarCraft III if you just changed the graphics.

That's what I want, I guess. I want a game that's truly different from what I've already played. I don't expect to buy StarCraft II when it comes out, but I'm happy to check out a demo before committing to waiting until it's $30 for the battle chest.

Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

I touched on Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess on the Nintendo Wii about a month and a half ago. I wanted to expand on that now that I'm approximately 60 hours into the game.

Gameplay: I'm incredibly impressed with the controls. It requires the use of the Wii Remote and the Nunchuk. The Nunchuk is used for movement, Z-targeting, and looking around in first-person mode. The Wii Remote is how you use items, select menus, point at objects with items (like shooting enemies with the bow when you aren't Z-targeting), and for swinging the sword. The sword play involves swinging the Wii Remote or Nunchuk (for the spin move). Its pretty basic, but it gets the job done without having to over exert yourself.

The puzzles range from being easy to kinda hard. Everything can be pretty easily figured out, though there have been a few times where I've gotten stuck and needed to "dumb myself down" in order to realize what I needed to do to progress. If you've played Ocarina of Time or Majora's Mask, a handful of puzzles will be solved in similar fashion. For example, shooting your bow at the diamond thing opens a door. However, there is enough new content to keep things fresh.

The overall timeline/plot of the game is pretty linear. The recent Zelda series have done a great job at giving players enough to do on the side that they don't realize they're progressing through the game plot exactly as planned. All in all, the puzzles, side games, and side searches for poes, golden bugs, and heart pieces give this linear plot a different adventure for each player. The plot is a bit confusing and hard to grasp. I'm not sure I've fully gripped what is going on. I have a better understanding now then I did when I started, so I'm hoping that everything clears up before I finish the game. The story is dark, though not as dark as Majora's Mask. I still find it entertaining.

Graphics: The unfortunate thing about the Nintendo Wii is that the graphics do not get any better than 480p. There are some Xbox games that do better than that. I know that's not the draw, but it definitely lowers a game's potential. For what the Nintendo Wii can offer, the graphics are done pretty well. Compared to other titles coming out for the Xbox 360 or PS3, it is going to always come up short.

Sound: The sounds are pleasant. Some music throughout the game can be recognized from Ocarina of Time. The quick song that plays when the sun rises or sets is exactly the same as Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. There is enough new music that it doesn't sound like they just stole an old score. I wish the voices were audible instead of read. I think it'd add more personality to each character. Characters will blurt out random onomatopoeias, like Link's, "Waaaaa," when he's surprised, but I want more.

Replay-ability: There is very little replay-ability. There is nothing different that you could do that would prevent you from hitting the forest temple first, then the Goron Mines, and so on and so forth. You could probably do it faster, get items sooner, or finish searches faster. The earlier you have those items doesn't necessarily make the game any easier. However, now that I'm on the verge of completed Twilight Princess, I'd be tempted to get a Virtual Controller, download Ocarina of Time, and replay that one. So let's put it this way: immediate replay won't be very exciting, but if you let some time pass, the game play and puzzles will bring you back.

Wrap-Up: For as poor the graphics and sound compares to other next gen systems, the overall game play is second to none. As far as Wii games go, I rate this as one of best, especially since most Wii games are party games.

Is World of Warcraft a reasonable investment for the casual player?

I think you'll find that most World of Warcraft (or "WoW") players would tell you that if you can't invest at least an hour or two on most days, you're wasting your money on a subscription. And sometimes I think they're right.

But recently, since I'm right at the end of my semester, I've only played for a total of maybe 3 hours over the past two weeks. I don't feel like I'm wasting the money I've spent on my subscription (which at $14/month is rather paltry when measured against a single meal at Outback Steakhouse). I have a few characters at varying levels of accomplishment within the game, and they each offer different opportunities for gameplay. If I have all day, I can play with my higher level characters and undertake long, group-oriented quests. If I've got a few hours, I can use a mid-level character and complete a few smaller quests or a single run-through of a low-level "instance" (dungeon). And if I've only got an hour, I can hop online with one of my beginner characters and do an early quest, or use any character to peruse the auction house for valuable gear.

My point is that, as video game players, you are only restricted by the limitations you place on yourself. If you refuse to have any lower level characters after you've built up other characters, then it's your own fault that you have to set aside 5-hour blocks in order to enjoy playing.

We casual players are those who you stumble upon on your way to the top who don't know all the ropes, and maybe we take things a little more slowly, but we're the best teammates you could have. Because to us, it's just a game. So we joke and ask questions and maintain a level of politeness, because we know there's a person on the other side of that computer.

We also usually don't make the stupid mistakes like pulling aggro in an instance when we're underpowered. We are smart enough and sensible enough to be scared when we see that "Elite" designation for the first time. And we're happy to help when we can.

See you in Azeroth.

Guitar Hero II

I never played the original Guitar Hero, but I heard good things. Then my younger brother went to a birthday party and played the second installment, and the next day asked me to swing him out to the local electronics store to buy the game. I was a little skeptical, but I see now that he was right on.

The whole package of the PlayStation 2 version of the game and the guitar is a little pricey at $79.99, but apparently the new guitar is compatible with the original game, so if you decide to buy both games, you only need to buy one guitar. The game is also playable with a normal PS2 controller, but really, if you're playing with the controller, you're missing the point.

When we brought home the game, my brother immediately set it up and created our band, "Silica," so named for the gel packets that came in the plastic wrap with the guitar. (On Saturday, Mark, Mike and I created the band "Cold Knee" after I placed my milkshake on Mark's knee). We hopped right in and started to play a few songs on "Easy" difficulty.

It was fun, but you don't get the sensation of actually playing the song when you play on Easy. It's sort of like in Perfect Dark, if you set the bots' AI to very low, and they'd shoot one bullet every five seconds, and half the time would be shooting it straight up into the air. It's fun to win and kill things, but you don't really feel like a secret agent.

We bumped up the difficulty to Medium, and it was definitely more gratifying. More challenging as well, but that makes it all the more sweet when you complete a song. As a member of "Cold Knee," we began to play through the Hard difficulty level, and I'll tell you, there's a definite jump. But getting the hang of things and playing Woman by Wolfmother and Monkeywrench by Foo Fighters was a real thrill. My wrist ached this morning, but I don't regret the rockin'. What I do regret were those last four wings. Oooh.......

Tony Hawk 4

I bought the Xbox version of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 the other day, for a cool $4.99. I've been pretty satisfied with my purchase, it's exactly what I expected it to be.

However, it's almost too close to what I expected. Maybe I didn't get far enough into the third Tony Hawk, but does anybody else think this is like the same damn game? Same levels, same interface. The graphics are probably better, but I don't know that for sure. It's just a testament to the fact that video game producers don't have to blow the doors off once they've got a franchise people like. EA Sports has been rolling in money because of their sports franchises, specifically Madden. Sure, they add features every year, but I wonder how much they really have to do to generate the new game.

Not like I care, though. I'm not one of the guys who buys every subsequent copy of a franchise. I pick one, roll with it for a few years, then occasionally buy a new one. And I even more rarely buy new games. My instinct for saving money leads me to eBay or the used game section of EB Games more often than not. Why pay $50 for a new game when you can get 4 games for the same amount, giving you a better chance of buying a game you really enjoy? Maybe I'm behind the times, but I don't play video games to see the latest technologies. I play to entertain myself. As long as I'm having fun, I don't care if the game is new.

So if you'll excuse me, I'm off to play some Contra.

FIFA 2006

I've played FIFA '07. I've watched it played. I appreciate that the graphics are very impressive. It's got a lot of nice features, and I'm sure it's enjoyable for those who've decided to make the switch, or for whom the 2007 version is their first soccer game.

But for me, it comes up short in enough key areas to prevent me from spending the money to get the new version. The manager mode offers far fewer teams and leagues to choose from, when part of the fun of '06 was being able to join all sorts of obscure leagues and bring the very worst teams to international dominance. Since when is it a good idea to reduce the complexity of a game in its next iteration? Also in the manager mode, the roster limitations aren't designated graphically. So when you're deciding whether to pursue someone in the transfer market or putting a player out there for transfer, you are held to some obscure number of required active players (which by the way seems to change depending on your league), not represented anywhere in the game that I can find. Thanks a lot, EA.

So you can take your FIFA '07. I'm riding '06 into the grave, me and 1 FC Saarbrucken. Me and Hadji and El Idrissi.

Chip, you were right the whole time. FIFA '06! FIFA '06! FIFA '06!