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Ok guy so I my be new to the site but im a gamer never the less. i plan on doing many video game walkthrews like final fantasy call of duty halo blue dragon breath of fire and so many more and if you want to see them here a link to my channel www.youtube.com/deathmog91
right now i only have part of final fantasy 6 up but that not going to well because my computer crash on me so i will start over. If you like yugioh i have over 50 game upload already. I hope to see you guys on my channel
www.youtube.com/deathmog91
I know it's not over yet, but this sure has been an interesting weekend. Not quite as diverse as I originally thought, being that I only played Super Mario Brothers. If I played it on multiple formats does that count? No?
My first goal this weekend was to try to find a way to capture the gameplay. This was inspired by our own Crabmaster2000 (of course), as well davidr64yt, who has over 400 videos of his gameplay to watch (with audio commentary).
At first I decided to try capturing the gameplay with my old capture device. The video was nice but the lag was so great that it was unusable. Basically it would be great for a traditional JRPG but it is useless for action. Next I tried using a VCR, but no usable VHS tape busted that (which is ironic considering that at my current work I find old VCRs all the time). My final was to record it while playing on an emulator. I'm not super hip to this, mainly because NES games just don't interest me unless I'm playing with an original controller (though I don't have this problem with any other platform). While I was able to get some usable video in this manner, I'm not going to post it, due to the fact that it is ugly (the colors are off).
While I did spend a large amount of my gaming time jerking around with production, I did manage to sneak in some SMB action. Despite my confession of not playing it in a long time, when I picked up my NES controller it felt like I never put it down to begin with. Within a few moments of adjustment (primarily to get the controller into a comfortable playing position) I was able to play quite competently. I did have some difficulty remembering where the second set of warp pipes were located (though I found the third quite easily). Once I remembered (watching a speedrun of the Vs. SMB game jogged this memory) I was able to skate to the end pretty quickly. I still haven't beat it though. For some reason I can get to World 8-2 very quickly, but once I get there die. Usually I can get to 8-4, but once that happens I die again, loosing my fireball, then I waste the rest of my lives (which are usually three) at Bowser.
I think that I end up using the VCR option to record, though I would love to find an encoding box under $60 that can record in real-time (probably hopeless). I think from now on I will start recording gameplay the first time I fire up the game, just for fun. Any tips that you, the fine folks of RF Generation, would like to share would be much appreciated.
Have you ever wanted to use your Game Boy Game Genie on your Super Game Boy, but found that you couldn't because it wouldn't fit? Well, today, I'm going to teach you how to mend that with this extremely simple Mod. It's so simple, that even I can do it, and I know this, because I did do it.
1. Take note of the circled points in this picture. Use a pair of Pliers, preferably Needle Nose Pliers, to tear those parts off of the Game Genie.
2. Once they're off, your done! It should look like this:
3. The Game Genie will now fit into your Super Game Boy and work perfectly!
Simple, right? I hope someone out there can make use of this tutorial. 
Since my wife will be working the entire weekend, I've declared a Weekend of Gaming for all in my household. While my son observes this every weekend (and many days of the week), in between taking care of the items on my honey-do list and scraping my daughter off the ceiling I plan on sneaking in a few hours at the least, assuming that the power stays on in this windstorm. I guess we will see, huh?
I don't know exactly how long it has been since I played Super Mario Brothers, but I'm getting some serious 1986/87 flashback twinges. Even playing the Virtual Console version (which I don't remember buying) and playing on the Wii-mote is making me nostalgic. There is one odd thing though: is the game supposed to be that fast? I'm thinking it might be a combination of the television (a 40" LCD) and the Wii (which I swear must be using some sort of smoothing), but it seems just too fast. I'm not a big fan of smoothing and graphical enhancements on my old games (generally), so I might hook up my NES to an old CRT I have laying around and see if my theories pan out tomorrow.
I just may end up throwing in the towel on Stellar-Fire. I've hit a snag and can't seem to progress. Worse, I'm having serious problems getting past the second stage, even though I had already progressed to the fourth. Either the game is just too inconsistent or I really suck at it.
On a additional note, while looking through the janked-up Netflix menu on Wii (without much hope, I might add), I couldn't help but see Stephen King's Bag of Bones down near the end. Could it be possible that they made a movie (actually a two-part series) of one of my favorite King novels without me knowing? I guess so (obviously). I've decided to click on the damn movie and see what happens, though I won't be expecting much. I mean, I really loved It and Rose Red, but... I don't know. Why do we even want to watch movies made from our favorite novels? If some crazy bastard managed to secure the rights to Mark Z. Danielewsi's House of Leaves or Dan Simmons' A Winter Haunting or even [insert favorite novel here] would you go see it?
I'm going to stop being a cynical jerk now and just watch the movie.
UPDATE: The movie sucked. Oh, well.
Hey everyone!!! Here is another Game Hunt Chronicle! My brother and I went shopping today and decided we wanted more NES games!!! Originally we were just going to get Rainbow Islands in box for $38.00 but my bro decided he wanted more! And well so did I! We bought a few brand new games. Addams Family, Silent Assault, Wall Street, Caesar's Palace, and Shinobi!! All at low prices in comparison to eBay and Game Gavel. As you all are away my brother and I are on a Capcom kick so we also purchased complete in box in great condition 1943! We need the box for 1942 if anyone has it!!! I know I have done a list but I am more awake today so I will do so even though you can see the games in the pictures.
"Our Favorite Place" Purchases:
*1943 - CIB - $35.00
*Addams Family - BRAND NEW - $40.00
*Addams Family: Pugsley's Scavenger Hunt - CIB - $16.00
*Bug's Bunny's Birthday Blowout - CIB - $10.00
*Caesar's Palace - BRAND NEW - $25.00
*Defender of The Crown - CIB - $6.00
*Gauntlet II - CIB - $17.00
*Infiltrator - CB - $8.00
*Legacy of The Wizard - CIB - $10.00
*Rainbow Island - CIB - $38.00
*Shinobi - BRAND NEW - $35.00
*Silent Assault - BRAND NEW - $35.00
*Tombs & Treasure - CB - $10.00
*Wall Street Kid - BRAND NEW - $20.00
We Also Purchased a Brand New Game Boy game from "Our Favorite Place"
*Brain Drain - $10.00
Now on to our eBay Purchases these were pretty sweet deals I bought a few instruction manuals we needed cheap one including Mega Man 2. Sorry no picture for those I forgot. I have a few more things on the way so keep an eye out for that blog soon! My brother purchased these from eBay:
*Ultima: Exodus
&
*Ultima: Quest of The Avatar (bought together) Both are CIB!!! for a whopping $32.00!!!!
* Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego? - CIB (YES even has the World Almanac!) - $16.00!!!
I Purchased another copy of Jetson's because it came with the manual that I needed to complete my box copy (keep an eye out we are going to be selling this and quite a few others on eBay. We will be posting a blog on what is for sale and where you can go to get them! Most will be BIN and some Bids).
My brother purchased from Shopgoodwill.com - Age of Empires III Complete Edition with EVERYTHING! For $37.00!!
Then we went to GameStop and Purchased Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland - Premium Box for $30.00 Brand New sadly a GameStop "gutted" copy.
SO here are the pictures! Please spread the word around and Please Comment!! Thanks!
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Posted on Mar 1st 2012 at 10:47:59 PM by ( SirPsycho) Posted under Beer, beer, booze, pale ale, 8 bit pale ale, 8 bit, 8, bit, pale, ale, awesome, can |
So I visited my place of employment today and go to check the backroom to see if there are any new systems I need to fix that totally aren't Red Rings. My eyes quickly gaze upon a box full of these and my first thought is, "My boss ordered Mario energy drinks?" I pick one up only to find that the truth is much better than I possibly imagined. These were brought in by a local brewing company (so local its in the same town) and I can't wait to film myself trying one of the cans. I grabbed 2, I'm keeping one for posterity. Enjoy.
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Hey everyone! Going to keep this short but sweet. Today I decided I wanted to buy some more games especially NES games in their boxes! My brother and I decided we really need the Mega Man's complete in box on NES to complete our Capcom NES collection. ALSO if anyone has an extra Mega Man 5 manual I would be willing to buy or trade for it, and I need a Complete Mega Man 1 & 6, so if anyone could help out that would be great. But today I went to what I am going to call my NES heaven store and purchased Gun.Smoke CIB, T&C Surf Designs CIB. Then I went to it's sister store and purchased Mega Man 2, 3, & 5 CIB. Then I went to CD Tradepost and purchased Mario Is Missing on NES Cart only, and Diablo in minty condition for PS1. My brother purchased a couple of Super Famicom games on eBay Monopoly and Sim City CIB. Today I purchased on eBay for $40.00 Mega Man 4 CIB. So anyways hope you all enjoyed this blog!!!
Here are the pictures and please comment!
Well, after a long time, it seems I'm finally gonna get back to writing some more (maybe).
To start out, I thought i'd bring up a recent strike from the backlog: Pinball quest
if you are not familiar with pinball, come back and read this when you turn 5.(and on a related note, wait a little longer...im pretty sure swear words will lurk their way in here somehow)
I picked pinball quest up right before Christmas at my local game store (....shameless plug => http://levelupentertainment.com/) since i had some extra $ on me and it looked pretty bad ass (and for 2.99 you really cant go wrong)
Bad ass this isn't.
Lets start out at the top: you have 3 separate, multi tiered levels which handle like basic nes pinball games should, albeit a little choppier. The real meat and potatos is the "RPG mode"
This screen above me is where you will spend most of your time...trying to hit that damn left ramp! Once you pass that, you have to kill some skeletons...which 9-10 times bump you back down after 1 hit. Then after you kill all of them, and the giant skeleton king that pops up, its on to the shop with its over priced stuff!
as you can see, "steal" is actually an option: and it becomes a requirement...
after the shop, you fight a witch, who is impossible without upgraded flipper damage...she keeps healing, and although you can break her healing fountain, you just keep getting knocked back >.>
eventually, my game devolved into fighting on the first two screens, and trying to steal from the shopkeeper in between. eventually, i stole the permanent blockers and the best flippers in game....which made quick work of everything after that...kinda felt like cheating though.
for the 3$ i spent, it was funish...if nothing else, it makes a decent paperweight.
Till next time, stay classy San Diego
~ Neo
Backlog = 239
I haven't been playing very much in the way of games this past week. Part of it is because I upgraded from a basic cell to an Android phone and the rest is lack of sleep due to my daughter's illness. I've spent a lot of time watching Netflix and Youtube (Gamecenter CX and Crab's videos) while sitting in a rocking chair. And thinking.
I want this to sound not like a confessional but a realization: I may have been neglecting my retro roots. I have been neglecting my retro roots. This came to me in the forums when Apollo.Boy kept telling me how much better older games look on a good CRT rather than an LCD. While I was trying to think of another way of reinforcing my point I began to wonder: when was the last time I really enjoyed playing a retro game on an old television. When was the last time I enjoyed playing a retro game at all? I had no idea. Sure, I've playing a lot of games (some of them old), but I was looking more at my backlog as a whole then as individual games. I was playing my games with the goal of completion, not enjoyment. This was the essence of my problem with Stellar-Fire, I think.
In the spirit of this I will be republishing two of my earlier articles, neither which appeared on RF Generation (that I can tell). I will also be once again be revamping the way I choose games to play. From now on I will choose both a game that closer fits with the overall spirit at RFG as well as a game that is more in character with, well, me.
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Post Mortem
GTA: Episodes from Liberty City: I haven't finished these games yet, but yet I have. Let me explain. Because of the content I cannot play these games around my children I am limited to after they are asleep, which basically means that I am playing about two missions a night. I am satisfied with this, so I feel that I can put these games on the Post Mortem list and walk away. Anyways, I think I have more pressing issues to confront.
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Games For This Week
Stellar-Fire
Platform: Sega CD
Purchase Date: 1998
Cost: $1.00
Despite what I wrote at the beginning of this article, I still firmly believe this is not a good game in any capacity. Regardless, I shall strive forth. I've found a somewhat decent recorder (Hypercam 2), but I am having some sound issues. Below you will find one of my earlier experiments with Hypercam (as well as Stellar-Fire). Sorry about the fumbling sound.
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The goal for each level is to collect a certain number of crystals scattered about the landscape while fighting and avoiding enemies at every turn and finally facing a boss. The problem is that the crystals are scattered in a very non-linear pattern that only gets more spread out with every level, eventually bordering on the ridiculous. To add to the difficulty there is no compass, so you are forced to rely on the background landscape. Very interesting. If I can ever beat this game I plan on writing a FAQ.
Title: Super Mario Brothers
Platform: NES
Purchase Date:2002
Cost: $1.36
Like many of you, this was the first game I ever played on the NES. I first played back in 1987 after a friend, who spent many days mowing lawns and selling rebuilt bicycles, purchased one. Initially I sucked quite a bit at this game, despite my arcade experience. I kept dying at the elevators in World 1-2. Later when I received an NES for Christmas I was able to get better, but only a bit as I also received The Legend of Zelda as well.
I've never actually beaten this game. Did I say that already? I've seem most of the game, but for some reason I never saw it to the end. Very strange, though I have been assured by a friend that this is actually pretty common. I am reluctant to believe him, but I guess it could be true.
While I will be challenging this game on my NES, I might do a playthrough on an emulator so I can record it.
Title: Boku No Natsuyasumi 4 (My Summer Vacation 4)
Platform: PSP
Purchase Date: 4/2011
Cost: $45
The Boku No Natsuyasumi series revolves around a boy (Boku?) visiting relatives during summer vacation in Japan. The game is considered very nostalgic and features many games and activities Japanese men would have enjoyed during their childhood in the eighties (such as bug collecting, beetle-fighting, and toy collecting). There is a story, but since I don't understand Japanese I don't know it, though I've been told that the series is perfect for those wishing to learn to read Japanese.
I've never tried to beat the game, but instead just putter around the island, collecting things, sticking my nose into everything, and enjoying the atmosphere of nostalgia the game creates (even though I don't have a cultural reference for it).
Will there ever be a game about a nerdy kid in the eighties as he trolls around the woods and roadside looking for returnable bottles so he can play arcade games at the laundry-mat and 7-11? I sure hope so. Then again, there is always Shenmue.
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In The Bag For 2012
Alan Wake - 1/25
Dead Space 2 - 2/4
Portal 2 - 2/10
Enslaved - 2/17
This is truly an amazing world we live in - modern technology allows us to carry around in our pockets a device which would make the tricorder from Star Trek seem out of date. Our televisions are 1/2" thick and 80 inches across. Our video games look so real that someone stepping out of 1982 probably would not be able to distinguish real combat footage to that of Modern Warfare 3. But today I'm astounded by how small we've made our world through travel.
I dropped my wife off at the airport here in Dallas this morning at around 9:30am and went to work. At 12:45 I received a text on my better-than-Star-Trek iPhone telling me that she's landed and taxiing to the gate, but of course I knew that already. I use the Flight Tracker websites that are fairly abundant on the internet to see exactly where the plane is in real time. It took her McDonnell Douglas MD-80 approximately 18 minutes to cross the entire state of Mississippi! 18 minutes!! She crossed a STATE in less time that it takes to make Au Gratin potatoes in the oven! She crossed the remaining states of Alabama and Georgia is just over 45 minutes! I can barely get home from a Dallas Cowboys loss in that amount of time!
Watching that tiny jet-shaped icon move across the states in real-time like that illuminated to me how much we take travel for granted. The flight from Dallas to Jacksonville, Florida had a gate-to-gate time of 1 hour 56 minutes. This would have taken the pioneers 2 weeks or more! Our great- grandfathers in their locomotives could make that trip in a "speedy" 2 days. I have driven much of this country on vacations and would never give up those road trips for anything, but knowing that my 17 hour drive from Las Vegas to home would only take me 2 hours is always tempting.
You may be asking yourself "what the heck does this have to do with gaming??" Well, nothing really. But I did flashback to playing early Flight Simulators on my Atari 400 computer in 1984, and when I get home from work tonight, I am going to sit with my two boys and pull that Atari out of the closet. We will pop in some vintage games, maybe play some Submarine Commander or Beach Head. But eventually I'll pop in the Flight Sim so I can see how far we've come from playing a game that simulates showing you real-time flight stats to watching my wife fly from Texas to Florida in a true "God's Eye View".
Hey all, this is my newest series! Here's the first episode! I hope you enjoy it!
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You read that right, but may not be thinking about it correctly. As much as I would love to go to Japan one day, I don't know Japanese, nor will I probably ever have the funds to do it. That being said, I must resort to Video Games that let me explore Japan. The problem? I don't know too many. 
Noting that, could some of you recommend games that let you explore Japan? I know Shenmue, Yakuza, and Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3 (that one only sort of lets you) let you do it, but I need more than those. So...anyone?
P.S.
If I can customize the Character in the game/Make my own Character, even better! 
On another note, here's an excellent song from Wangan Midnight!
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Hello Fellow Gamers! My brother and I did a little more shopping today at a couple of our favorite stores. IF you haven't read the previous blogs please do so! We bought probably our last bulk lot of NES games for a while. Most of these titles are hard to come buy especially complete in the box such as DIE HARD & Metal Storm! We have spent quite a bit of money accomplishing something we are excited to have a good quality and quantity of NES games in their boxes. Sorry none of these are for trade or for sale. We might be getting rid of some loose games and maybe some games we have duplicates in their boxes. But anyways we went to a Comic store which sells a ton of video games and then we went to Goodwill's GoodBytes. We also went to Nebraska Furniture Mart so I could buy a bundle PS Vista! Now my brother and I both have one! And I also purchased a couple of games Army Corps From Hell & Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus. My brother purchased the system and a couple of games on the day it came out he bought the same bundle pack and the games he purchased were Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 & of course Uncharted: Golden Abyss. This month has been great and this lot of games is a good way to end the month. Especially with the boxed NES Games Die Hard, Mighty Final Fight, Metal Storm, Barbie (yes I said Barbie), Pac-Mania and a few others. Another side note my brother bought Star Wars on NES complete in box in an earlier blog from eBay and today he surprised me with the sequel Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back on NES complete in box! Also purchased from eBay. So hope you all enjoyed and here are the pictures please comment!
Also the Game Genie is Brand New Sealed.
This week marks the North American release of the PlayStation Vita, Sony's second handheld gaming device and the follow-up to the PlayStation Portable. As a PSP enthusiast, the Vita has me quite excited; in fact the Vita is the first system of any kind I am picking up on release day in over a decade (the PS2 was the last time I had a system from day one). Since I also happen to run a blog that focuses, in part, on system launches (I've previously chronicled the launch of the Game Boy Advance, the NES, the SNES, and the VCS), I figured it would make sense to share my thoughts on the Vita's debut.
There are several interesting considerations when analyzing the Vita launch: the machine itself, the launch lineup, and its place in the current gaming landscape.
The Hardware
The Specs. As was the case with the PSP before it, the Vita comes onto the market as the most impressive handheld gaming device ever created. It has a blazing quad core processor (vs. the 3DS' dual core), the ability to push 33 million polygons a second (vs. the 3DS' 15.3 million), a relatively small 512MB of RAM (vs. the 3DS' even more paltry 128MB), a beautiful 5 OLED screen with 221 pixels per inch (vs. the iPhone's superior 320ppi retina display), and a host of ways to connect the device to wireless networks, computers, the PS3, etc. The unit is backwards compatible with PS1 classics and PSP games downloaded from PSN. The price point of $250 for the base system, considering what you are getting, is quite impressive. It would seem that Sony is probably selling these at a loss, which follows their standard model.
The Features. Easily the most maligned design choice of the original PSP was the absence of a second analog stick, forcing many genres to abandon the platform altogether or to be adopted with hit-or-miss work-arounds. The most obvious addition to the Vita is the inclusion of a second analog stick, an addition that places it more comfortably in the hands of gamers who prefer a dualstick or a 360 control pad. In addition, the rear touch pad on the Vita allows for both interesting gameplay mechanics as well as way to incorporate L2 and R2 buttons (via touch) into the unit. Like most handheld devices made in the past several years, it also sports a pair of cameras, a touch screen, and a gyroscope, all of which further expand the potential to do lots of different things with the Vita. Battery life over time is yet to be determined, but 3-5 hours of gameplay at a time seems to be typical for most users so far and is pretty close to what you can get with a 3DS or with more resource-intensive iOS or Android games.
The Media. One questionable design decision Sony has made with the Vita is the lack of substantial on-board storage memory. Instead, users are required to purchase a separate proprietary flash card (between 4GB and 32GB) if they want to store PSN downloads, media, or game data. Sony also will continue to publish games at retail, abandoning the UMDs used for the PSP for flash cards that are similar to (but smaller than) what is produced for the DS/3DS. That means that most users will have two cards - a game card and a memory card - in their system at any given time. Sony is also pushing digital distribution of all Vita games for users who want an experience closer to what was available on the PSPGo, Sony's less popular UMD drive-less version of the PSP.
The Launch Lineup
The U.S. launch of the PS Vita includes a pretty strong selection of games from different genres, and at 24 titles, features about 25% more games than the PSPs launch seven years ago (by comparison the 3DS launch featured about 18 games and the DS launch featured only 6 games). A few things stand out about the launch lineup:
Racing Heaven. Even though the Vita is the first PlayStation system of any kind to launch in the US without a Ridge Racer title available on launch day, there are five racing games available for the system at launch ranging from futuristic racers (Wipeout 2048), to Kart Racers (ModNation Racers and Ben 10: Galactic Racing), to more standard racing fare (F1 2011 and Asphalt: Injection). Racers are traditionally good at showing off system horsepower, and most of these titles have features which are only possible on the Vita (ModNation's use of the rear pad for design, Wipeout's cross-platform play, etc.). If you are at all a fan of racing games, odds are there's something for you in the Vita's launch.
Lack of games that benefit from the second stick. One surprising component of the Vita launch is that the vast majority of the games are in genres where the second analog stick - one of the Vita's major selling points - is rarely used. Uncharted and the PSN-only downloadable game Super Stardust Delta are the most obvious second-stick required games, but the majority of the games available at launch could have worked with the inputs available on the original PSP. There are no FPSs and only a few games that would require the second stick to navigate the camera (e.g. Touch My Katamari).
Target Audience? Given Sony's past emphasis on attracting a different demographic than those who play on Nintendo's handhelds, it is surprising that there are only three M rated games at launch (Ninja Gaiden, Shinobido 2, and Army Corps of Hell). Furthermore, there's an abundance of 2D titles (BlazBlu: Continuum Shift Extend, Marvel vs Capcom 3, Lumines Electronic Symphony, Rayman Origins), a few games aimed at children (Ben 10 and, arguably, ModNation Racers and Little Deviants), no first person shooters, only one RPG (Dungeon Hunter: Alliance), and no sports titles from the four big leagues in the USA (NHL, NFL, NBA, or MLB). Many of these games are currently in the pipeline, but so far the Vita hasn't done much to differentiate itself as a platform to attract those audiences that blindly throw down $60 on any iteration of Madden, Call of Duty, Final Fantasy, or other "core" franchises.
Spin-Off and Port City. Though the Vita lacks a lot of the big name franchises at launch, it does feature a lot of familiar titles. Only 3-4 games are representative of new IPs (the PSP only had two at launch), with the rest of the launch library representing a port of a preexisting game or a new entry in a previously established series. This is probably a safe bet for Sony, as new consoles need to have familiar names associated with them. Still, it is a strategy that could backfire given the PSP's (perhaps undeserved) reputation amongst many gamers as a home for titles that were (sometimes inferior) ports and for less impressive entries in existing series.
The Vita's Place
The hacking question. Undoubtedly the PSP's life was shortened and sales were hurt by rampant piracy. But, on the other hand, the ability of the machine to emulate a wide range of retro consoles and to play those pirated games certainly contributed to hardware sales. I personally have little interest in playing pirated Vita games, but the prospect of playing PS2, GameCube, or Dreamcast games on the device via emulation and homebrew was enough to make me drop some extra dough on the largest memory card for the system. As with any console, it is only a matter of time before hackers figure out how to do some interesting things on the Vita (some have already posted some exciting video clips of early work), and the thought of playing virtually every console game from pre-2005 on one handheld device is a tantalizing prospect.
Do Smartphones = Death? A frequent point raised by the media at the launch of the 3DS last year and with the Vita this year is the question about whether or not there's still a market for handheld gaming devices given the widespread adoption of smartphones with excellent touch-screen gaming capabilities. The argument goes something like this: "The Vita has to compete against not only Nintendo, but also against Apple and Android devices. Many quality games can be had for free or $1-$5, take up minimal storage, and are stored remotely for download as needed. In addition, smartphones can handle a lot of other tasks (web surfing, GPS navigating, etc.). Given that an iPhone can do so many things well, why do we need an additional device that does one thing better?" These questions have some merit, and the answers remain to be seen, but it is hard to imagine Sony sees the Vita as a direct competitor to any of these devices or to the 3DS (which, incidentally, has now moved over 5 million units). The PSP was certainly financially successful for Sony despite not eclipsing Nintendo in the handheld market, so is it unreasonable to expect that the Vita can be successful without being as successful as its competitors? The question, for me, is less about whether or not the Vita can surpass or stay close to the sales of the 3DS or smartphones manufacturers, but whether or not it can carve out enough of a niche for itself to have a successful run in its own right.
Is anyone else picking up a Vita this week/month? Are you enthused or bored by the launch lineup and by the potential of the system? Is handheld gaming on its way out? Share your thoughts below!
I've decided to start using a numbered system instead of just associating my post titles with dates, partly because it will enable me to add a secondary post and title it in a more intuitive manner (Backlog Gamer 4.1, 4.2, etc), but also so I won't feel so guilty when I post the main article in the middle of the week.
Not a whole lot to say this week. Due to my Game 2 selection last week I am starting to regret not being more selective with my game collecting. If I would have just put the crap down my sense of self loathing would be at an acceptable level, instead of the gargantuan level it is at now. Is this how Emo-folk feel all the time? If I go stand in the corner with my crappy game(s) and cut myself with a game manual will I feel a accomplishment? Man, that was dark.
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Post Mortem
Enslaved: I really enjoyed playing this game, even though I have to recognize its often glaring flaws, but instead of focusing on camera angles, proportionate bodies, and the quirks of the Unreal Engine, I think I will instead view the game as a whole experience, because I feel that taking this game as a whole is the only way to truly enjoy it (much as I felt about Jak II).
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Games For This Week
Game 1 Title: GTA IV: Episodes From Liberty City
Platform: PC (Steam)
Purchase Date: 11/25/11
Cost: $2.49
I was pleasantly surprised to see this chosen as a random game, especially as I had started playing it anyway as a pallet cleanser to the piece of trash below. So far everything is fine, though in the beginning I had quite a bit of trouble with the controls. I just don't feel that I will ever be comfortable playing a GTA game with a keyboard and mouse. It just doesn't feel natural, almost like I am contorting across the keyboard like a damn Twister-nut just to powerslide into a turn. I suppose that I could just play Lost and Damned on the 360 and come back to the PC for Gay Tony (that sounded awkward), but the game looks so much better on my computer.
The only downside is that the main characters swear so much during gameplay that I can't play this during daylight hours. While this doesn't kill it, these games will take longer to complete.
Title: Stellar-Fire
Platform: Sega CD
Purchase Date:1998
Cost: $1.00
I spent around three days trying to beat this game and only managed a few levels. On the plus side I learned how to beat the game, and on the negative side I don't think I want to go through the effort. Dare I explain? In the game the goal is to collect gems, which can be easily located by following the white bar displayed on the radar. The problem is that the gems seemed to be scattered around the level, so that in some stages following the radar will almost ensure repeating the level (meaning that you will die). However, if you make a map you can find a better, more optimized route than the shitty GPS route the game gives you. This way of playing is just not an option in some of the latter stages. Should I give up? Should I pull an "Arino" and call in a AD to finished the job for me (which means using a cheat to see the ending)? Only time will tell. Likely I'll end up just giving in and making the damn maps.
Once I find an acceptable recorder I'll try to record a playthrough.
Title: Treasure Adventure Game
Platform: PC
Purchase Date: N/A
Cost: N/A
I found this little title while mindlessly clicking on links in my Bookmarks Toolbar. Even though I spend a lot of time on the Internet, I had all but forgotten that I have a Fileplanet link. Weird, huh? Although it is described as a platformer, I find it to be a pleasant combination of platforming, action, and RPG. I especially like that the game has fully customizable controls (a rarity amongst free Indies games), so I can finally assign my movement to the WASD keys and the action buttons to the arrow keys. I know you don't understand this but just believe me that it is important. I might even be able to use a gamepad. Oh, the possibilities.
Please play this. You will be surprised then you will have fun. You will exclaim the first time the character hook-grabs onto the edge of a platform, then you will want to play longer.
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In The Bag For 2012
Alan Wake - 1/25
Dead Space 2 - 2/4
Portal 2 - 2/10
Enslaved - 2/17
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