Monday MUpdate: Death of a Disco Dancer

For the start of this Monday MUpdate, I figured I'd collect every bit of E3 I was involved in for the convenience of all the fanciful readers, just in case anyone was curious. I ended up doing/writing a lot about it, so if for no one else, this acts as a nice way for me to have a collection of me-related E3 things to enjoy. So here is my official E3 Wrap-up:

Halo 3: ODST "Firefight" Write Up - bam
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 Write Up - ka-pow
DC Universe Online Write Up - thwap
IGN Game Scoop! E3 2009 Podcast - snikt
E3 Write Up for BGE (including full descriptions of hands on games) - zap
E3: A Travel Companion's Perspective - epa
IGN E3 Wrap Up Write Up - (link missing)
IGN Editor For A Day Video - vjjjwommmvvvvvvb

So with that out of the way I can get on to other videogame related things, which will be split into two parts:

1. Things I Own: The most I played at E3 turned out to be my Nintendo DS. I don't think this is a huge surprise considering this is what I had in my hotel room and on the plane, but I finally managed to take out a good chunk of Crono Trigger. I love this game beyond loving it, but having played it a million times already I am admittedly slow. I know all the plot points, the twists, and the things to be wary of already. I've even taken a stab at fighting Lavos just to get one of the different endings (although I did fail). E3 did get me playing it a lot in my down time, and for anyone that knows the game, I am now in the Underwater Palace fighting the twin Golems. I had started, I believe, right as you enter 65,000,000 BC. That gives you a good estimate of all that I did in just three days! I really would like to sit down and give it a good honest play soon, with the hopes that I can finish, because I'm not that far from the end at this point. I still have The World Ends With You and Final Fantasy IV to play, in that order.

On my XBOX 360, the game I've been playing the most is 1 vs 100. It's in it's Beta stages and I was able to sneak into the first Beta the night before I went to E3. It was so much fun. Two of my friends and I sat around shouting out answers and making the avatar dance on "live" TV. It's probably one of the most fun experiences I've had in a group oriented game on XBOX in a while. It's too bad you can't win prizes yet or I'd be rolling in Microsoft points! 1 vs 100 was an idea I was doubtful on, but when it coems down to it, it really is a winner. I believe you can still play the bonus trivia rounds every night, so if you get the chance, play. The actual game is much more fun and I'm looking forward to the full season where you can really win prizes. And with Sam and Max coming out sometime this week, you can be sure that I'll be spending a lot of time in front of my TV.

Other than that, though, I haven't played much. I'd like to, I really would, but I have so much on my plate these days that sometimes it's hard to bring my priorities straight. I want to focus on so much that I end up focusing on so little. It's kind of a tragedy, in a way. All that, however, leads me to my next topic of discussion, which is...

2. Things I Don't Own: One thing about BGE is that we all have our systems. Nate and I have our Nintendo DS', we all have the XBOX 360, Kara has her PC, and Nate and Kara share a love for the simple pleasures of the Wii. But in the big four of the video game wars, where is our representation of Sony? I have a PSP sitting in my closet, but it hasn't worked in months and I've never cared enough to get it fixed. The only games I had were Metal Gear Acid, which I didn't enjoy, and Gitaroo Man, which I loved. However, the PSP just randomly stopped working one morning, and as I said, it was never a big enough part of my gaming life that I felt I needed to replace it. On top of that, I sold my PS2 to Game Stop a while ago in order to pay for XBOX 360 games! So is Sony doomed to a fate of no love whatsoever from us?

Not anymore. At E3, I developed a slight love for the PS3 and some of it's games. I found that there was more to love than I originally assumed and decided, why not? At the very least I get a blu-ray player out of the deal! Besides, I really want to play The Last Guardian (pictured) like nobody's business, and LittleBigPlanet is high on my list of wants as well. So I have begun saving away a little bit at a time and have decided that I will buy a PS3 for myself at the end of July, sometime after my birthday. This will act both as a birthday gift and a moving gift to myself from myself, and the longer I push it off, the more I will feel as if I really earned it. Or something like that. So look forward to some sort of PS3 related news towards the end of next month as it becomes more relevant in my life.

One thing I hope to do is reviews again, which I haven't done in a long time. Once I finish some other projects I'm going to go out and rent a bunch of games I've wanted to play for a while and give them all playthroughs and do reviews on all of them. None of them will be all that exciting or well known I suppose since I want to play games like Afro Samurai, but still. And as soon as I complete Sam and Max, I will definitely type up a thorough review of that, so keep your eyes and ears peeled as I do my best to get more involved in the videogame community once more.

NEW Super Mario Bros. Wii

New Super Mario Bros. Wii. I want this. Period.

I have the DS version and I played it to completion (collecting every coin and unlocking every whatsit). It was a fantastic little game that brought back a sense of nostalgia that one does not often get to experience in video games these days, and people still buy it as the staple game when they first pick up a new DS. The versus mode on the DS was also great allowing you to fight for coins against Luigi (which I was notoriously good at).

The Wii version looks to be the same game, mostly. It has the same music, the same look and feel, and most of all it is just as cute. Of course, it will look to add some new abilities for Mario, namely, the, as I will dub it here, the penguin freezing suit. It looks like it will have that same coin-dueling multiplayer and overall it looks to be a pleasurable romp. It is possible that it will be that staple game for picking up with a Wii - at least it will be for me - provided the game is longer than the DS version or priced accordingly if it is not.

I do not get excited for many Wii games, as I still do not own one, but I am excited for this. Just one more reason to own a Wii.

Monday MUpdate: Uncaged Edition

In case the title is not indication enough, my game for this week is the X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie tie-in game. On May 1st, the game came out and a demo for it popped up on XBOX Live!, just in time for the release of the movie. I, being the comic book reading nerd that I am, downloaded it as soon as I could and sat down to play it with little to no expectations. We've had Wolverine games before (such as X2: Wolverine's Revenge), and they have never been much of anything to write home about. Right off the bat, however, Wolverine sets out to prove that it is nothing like the games of the past.

The game opens with an absolutely brutal cutscene in which Hughverine fights off several attackers with absolutely no detail spared. An initial fear of mine is that Wolverine's naturally blood lust would be toned down so that a younger demographic could find the game accessible, but as soon as Wolverine had a whole blown through him and I watched the wound heal, full view of his organs and all, I got excited. As the actual gameplay started, it thankfully turned out that it wasn't just the cutscene that had all the cool brutal features of being the best at what he does. You can pick people up and impale them on a stick or pipe jutting out of the wall. You can pounce on someone and punch their face in to a bloody pulp. You can do to these people stuff you've only dreamed of seeing in a Marvel MAX series. It's a great feeling.

So to say that I recommend the Wolverine game to Wolverine and gamer fans alike is to put it lightly. This is not the deep and moving storyline you've been craving. This is the bad ass kill 'em all game you've been looking for that isn't called God Of War. It's loads of fun and definitely worth at the very least a rental so you can run around slicing and dicing. At it's very basics, it's just a fun and gorey action game.

Aside from the Wolverine game, I'd recommend the Wolverine movie itself, and you can read my review for that in another blog I write for, Multiversity Comics. I've also been plugging away at Chrono Trigger still, but to a much lesser extent now that I have Wolverine. I do have a lot more free time now that most TV shows are over for this season, though, so I guess when I'm not filling that free time with TV show catch ups and movies, I can play more. I'd really like to give Final Fantasy IV a shot, and I just heard news about a steampunk DS game called Nostalgia that's coming out. There's also a game called Borderlands that Kara told me about, it looks to be the next post-apocalyptic/Final Fantasy epic. It'll never replace the Fallout series in my heart, but I am definitely looking forward to this game, especially with all the new screenshots that they have debuted.

That's it from my front.

Game Diary - April 28, 2009: Where We Go From Here

Yesterday I was privy to an experience that I do not often have anymore. I wrapped my hands around my 360 controller and I played COD4 on Veteran. I progressed myself far enough to net myself another achievement and though it is slow going I think I am going to make it through [the game on Veteran]. The only level I am worried about is the one following 'All Ghillied Up' because I know waiting for that Heli is going to be shit. I know that some people find it torturous to play these hard difficulties and a lot of time I agree with those folks but when it comes to shooters - most of the time - I feel that the challenge makes the experience more enjoyable. I know that when I was talking to Jarvis on one of our more recent podcasts he said he hates it and I know that Kara (Mercy Medical (we will get to that)) probably does not fancy it either. What is your opinion folks (seriously, drop a comment, I know your reading, where are your comments)?

Other than that I continued playing The World Ends With You on my train ride yesterday, that was, until my DS died.

But what I have been playing is really taking an aside to the other things that I have been working on regarding this blog. Matt, the author that steals news posts from me as of late (kidding of course), has been updating. As a result, more updates equals more site traffic. It is an obvious direct correlation but nonetheless I am happy about it. As a result I am adding a PC centric author: Kara (Mercy Medical), another author who can steal all of my delicious glory (again, kidding). I am enthusiastic about branching out and I think it will only mean future growth for this blog.

Lastly, I have been thinking about the site's design and the lack of an iconic logo and if there are any volunteers out there please feel free to contact myself using any way you know how. I can write the blog but I do not have the tech side of it down.

That's all for now, be sure to check back often or subscribe to our RSS feed so that you may enjoy this site on what I can only hope will be a daily basis.

Mupdate 2: Batman Arkham Asylum Collector's Edition - Is It Worth It?

Nate said earlier that he is getting excited for the Batman game, and me being the intense comic book reader that I am (I spent almost $50 on comic books alone last week, and I wonder why I'm so poor) also look forward to it with bated breath. I mean, someone said that it'll essentially play like the BioShock of super hero games. Awesome, right? Combine that with Mark Hammil as the Joker and Kevin Conroy as Batman (the guys who did the voices on the 90's animated cartoon... remember that?) and it looks like we'll have a great Batman game.

Now, I'll only pre-order a game if it's got some kind of special limited edition to it, because otherwise I could just go get it normally at any time. What's the rush? But when the Batman: Arkham Asylum special edition specs were released, I came up with a conundrum. Let's break it down.



Here is the $99.99 collector's edition of Arkham Asylum. With it, you get a 14" batarang for your display case, Arkham's journal in a nice leather dust jacket with information on all the inmates, a behind-the-scenes DVD, and exclusive levels. Sounds great... but almost $100 great?

Let's be honest - 9 times out of 10, super hero games fail. Most critics agree the best super hero game was Spider-Man 2, which took GTA sandbox gameplay and let you sling webs around the city. Awesome. I for one am of the opinion that Marvel Ultimate Alliance is the best super hero game, and if Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 has a pre-order package, you can be sure that I'll get it. But outside of this, what do we have? Crappy Batman games, crappy Iron Man games, crappy Hulk games, crappy X-Men games... the list goes on and on. So while Arkham Asylum might be fun, it might also just be worth one play through and then a shelf forever life span. Hell, it might just warrant a rent for a weekend play through and then return it life span. Let's be honest here - in the world of Next Gen gaming, there has never been a good Batman game. Granted, the only attempts were with Justice League Unlimited (which was fun to an extent, but the lack of Hal Jordan annoyed me) and the Batman Begins movie tie-in (let's just not talk about it). Add that to the fact that most TV/movie/comic tie-ins aren't worth the dough (I STILL haven't bought Afro Samurai, even though I loved the demo), the odds are stacked against Batman in this one. So is it really REALLY worth it to spend $100 for a 14" batarang?

I don't think I'd ever call myself a die-hard Batman fan. I know there are some people who are Batcrazy, and I look at them and judge them as I often do (considering I have mountains and mountains of comic books in my closet) and I say, "Ok, we're living in a post-The Dark Knight world now where everyone seems to think Batman is the greatest hero ever (even though he isn't), it's the perfect time to spring a hyper expensive shiny toy for all the nerds to want." And I do want it, I do. But when I hold my $100+ GameStop credits in my hand and I look down the road at all the games coming out (Assassin's Creed 2, Mass Effect 2, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 for sequels; Prototype, Brutal Legend, Darksiders for firstquels) and then I look at my brand new DS (thank you, girlfriend), I gotta say that no matter how shiny and cool that Batarang looks, I don't think I can justify spending $100 on a 14" replica that DOESN'T LOOK LIKE THE ONES FROM THE COMICS.

There. I said it. I'm an elitist comic book snob, and The Joker looks goofy.