Do A Barrel Roll!

The City of Metronome

2007-01-21T10:47:00.000-08:00

How is everyone? Good, I hope.

There's been a lot of hype for this PC game called "The City of Metronome." First unveiled at E3 2005, the game combines a beautiful art style similar to American McGee's Alice (an awesome game, but extremely trippy) with innovative gameplay where sound is your guide.

From the website: "In the game, you take on the role of a young train conductor. You get to venture into the city of Metronome, a sprawling mass of haphazardly built houses and huge steam engines where the outlandish inhabitants are carrying out their chores day and night. A city where the life of every citizen is dictated by the Corporation, a single bureaucratic entity that owns all the land, the entire infrastructure and all the industries.

It looks extremely fresh and creative. I'm loving the visuals. I can't wait until its release. Just giving you a heads-up on it.

In other news, I have yet to give you my impression on the Wii and the games I have gotten my paws on. It's coming soon. I'm so sorry! I've been swamped with homework. ;_; It's horrible. But I'm graduating this year so I can't complain.

Voting for Miss Video Game 2007

2007-01-19T12:48:00.000-08:00

...is something no one should do. What a waste of time.

DABR! Back from Temporary Hiatus

2006-12-31T12:50:00.000-08:00

Hello, all! I apologize for the reprieve in entries. I've been gone most of the holiday season, visiting family and shopping. Now that my Christmas break's drawing to a close, I have much to share with you all.

In the coming weeks I will cover my impression of the Nintendo Wii and the newest games I have obtained.

Also I will give an overview of the newest releases I am most looking forward to in 2007. As always, thank you for coming and thank you for the wonderful comments and encouragement! It warms my heart to see that people actually read what I have to say. I know it's been a little while. But don't worry. There's new stuff coming soon.

Thanks for reading and have a safe and happy New Year. 2006 has been a hell of a party.

New Brute Video

2006-12-14T15:52:00.000-08:00

It's a rumor, it's coming from a totally unknown source, so yes, of course I'm going to print it.

Supposedly, on December 20 a new Halo 3 video will be hitting the Xbox 360's Live Marketplace.

The 7-minute video will, according to the story, dig more into the Brutes, showing their skills, origins and some behind the scenes stuff about how they are being made for the game. The video will also include about 2 1/2 minutes of gameplay footage. The story also says that the video will "unveil" that Brutes are playable. Something we already knew. Maybe he means they will be playable in single player as well.

I'd take this rumbling as just that, at least until we can squeeze some more information out of Microsoft.

SPANISH VIDYA GAEMZ

2006-12-14T15:50:00.001-08:00

I decided that I might want to start posting in English and Spanish to brush up on my Spanish. Please comment if you think this would be a good idea. =D Sra. Weinrich is nodding her head. I'm only posting this because she asked me to.

(I really couldn't give a damn.)

And as always, thanks for visiting my fledgling blog.

Newest Miss Video Game Atrocities

2006-12-13T17:51:00.000-08:00

Because I am a firm believer in the fair and just, I want a REAL gamer to win the Miss Video Game contest, er...pageant. So here I will be showcasing the bimbos who seem to be whoring themselves for a trip to the beach. It embarrasses me and appalls me but...hope it entertains you.

"Raychul"

"Anya"

"Federica"

If you take the time to read these girls' profiles, it becomes painfully obvious that MVG is sadly just a beauty pageant. Too bad there's no way to contact these ignorant masses and spread the gospel that is INTELLIGENCE. Ne?

Twilight Princess, FFVXIII, etc.

2006-12-13T17:34:00.000-08:00

Yesterday this fabled entry to the Zelda series was FINALLY released after the longest wait for the GameCube. I'm going to pick up a copy as soon as I possibly can. When I get it, I'll give you my first impression, seeing as I am without a Wii. Damn the people who have one. Damn them.

In other news, it has come to my attention that there is a new trailer for Final Fantasy Versus XIII. It looks...shall we say, interesting? Oh, Square Enix...I wish I had the pockets that you guys do.

And finally, I just wanted to add in as a side note that the "Final Sin" chapter of Trauma Center: Under The Knife is a real bitch. I finished the entire game before but I tried to finish it again today. The result? Sweaty, sore palms and trembling hands. Yeah. If you don't believe me try it yourself, buddy.
It may be a DS game but it's a damn challenging one at that. I had to give it back to my buddy Kevin. =/ I miss it...but I DID have it for over a year.

Cheers!

FFVII: Crisis Core

2006-12-03T10:04:00.000-08:00

You are quite familiar (I suppose) with the names Sephiroth and Zack that are two identified characters in FFVII, but now another addition has been done to the companionship of twos with Angeal as well in the character of a soldier to work with Zack. It would be your high idiocy if you didn’t catch me up till now; I am talking about FFVII: Crisis Core developed and published by Square Enix for PSP.

You can check out that new character here.

PS2, we hardly knew ye

2006-12-02T21:20:00.000-08:00

With all the recent buzz surrounding the PS3, Wii, and 360, it's going to become difficult to remember all the wonderful time we shared with the now seemingly obsolete PlayStation 2, the console that truly introduced us to the next generation of gaming. Sadly, the PS2 will be nothing but a memory, everyone having moved on to bigger (and better?) things. With that said, I am going to revel in the PS2's final moments of glory as I showcase some of the games I am looking forward to that are hitting the PS2 in the near future.

God of War 2
Release Date: February 2007

I'm practically drooling over this one, folks. Unless you've been living under a rock for the last few months, you know by now that God of War 2 is coming in 2007, and it's coming to the PlayStation 2. I absolutely cannot wait! After falling in love with the gore factor and sheer awesomeness of the original, March can't come soon enough to satiate my appetite for more Kratos-y goodness. With talk of new enemies, bosses, weapons, and magic, it's hard to stand the long wait. Let's just hope it lives up to the awesomeness of the original. You can watch the trailer here.

Lumines Plus
Release Date: January 2007
Noteworthy because I am IN LOVE with the original PSP version, Lumines Plus is coming to the PS2. FINALLY. Lumines Plus is basically the original Lumines adapted for the bigger screen and with some new skins (levels) from Lumines 2 thrown in for good measure. It's slated as a budget title, which gets me all excited because I don't have a PSP and I don't want to deprive my perfect boyfriend of its shiny goodness. Buena Vista Games is also planning to release Meteos: Disney Edition and Every Extend Extra in the same manner.

Ar Tonelico

Release Date: 2007
This looks simply divine, as Ar Tonelico is one of the first musically-driven RPGs since Rhapsody back in 1997. According to IGN, Ar Tonelico mixes gameplay styles, with RPG exploration and turn-based battles. The key to winning is to make use of the singing ability of the heroines. Another gameplay system allows you to dive into the minds of the girls and learn about what she is thinking -- you can also change her costume and customize her skills. I own a copy of the 30-minute anime special that it originally came packaged ith and the art style is gorgeous. Let's see if the game follows suit.

Shining Force EXA

Release Date: February 2007

Shining Force EXA is the upcoming entry in Sega's Shining Force series for the PlayStation 2. I haven't much to comment on regarding the gameplay, as I haven't gotten to see any in action, but it sure does look nice. I see it utilizes cel-shading in the same way that Dragon Quest VIII did. If it's anything like its predecessors it will prove an exciting and engaging RPG experience to whet our appetites until the next Final Fantasy.

Breaking down the walls of "girl gamer" stereotypes

2006-12-02T16:38:00.000-08:00

Out of curiosity, I entered the term "gamer" into Google and one of the first hits I got was this little gem. It's a guide on how to get your girlfriend into video games. At first glance it seemed harmless enough until I actually began to read it. It was littered with statements such as these:

"People often assess whether or not they’ll enjoy something by referring back to their first memory. So let’s say you do give her the big Xbox controller. In short time her arms may tire, she may not be able to function the triggers properly or the face buttons might stick on her. You’ve already ruined the experience for her and she might not want to go back. Try your best to accommodate her..."
"As cliche as this may sound puzzle games are an excellent way of breaking your girl into video games. They're fun, addictive and most of them are insanely cute. I know guys, most of them probably aren't your cup of tea but there's no easier way to ease a girl into the scene. Mainly because most of them operate on the premise of logistic reasoning. I think she can understand the concept of lining up three like-colored objects as the key to success. Simple games for this are Puzzle Fighter, Puzzle Bobble and Bejeweled."

Way to make us all sound like blubbering idiots. Seeing things like this really makes me want to stop and re-evaluate the way the world views people like me. Is the female species really that hard to comprehend? Is it a losing battle to try and convince guys that we're not all simpletons who can't grasp the concept of an Xbox controller or the intricate workings of titles besides Puzzle Fighter or Dance Dance Revolution?

I'm beginning to think so. But take heart, dear reader, because as long as there is breath in my body I will work to demolish these shallow stereotypes. But anyway. Back to my point.

I've been a gamer all my life. There have been countless times, either at school or in a large group that I have witnessed people (guys, usually) mulling over the details of the newest releases or the new consoles coming out. And usually, when I offer my opinion or try to give input, they look at me like I'm some sort of alien. I've grown accustomed to such treatment, but it's still a pretty pathetic thing. Especially when there are girls out there who act like total imbeciles - breasts hanging out and dressed like streetwalkers - furthering the stereotype that we are all stupid and technological concepts escape us. It's the same with gaming. Most females that I am acquainted with are at a loss for words when you ask them about the Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, or even the PlayStation 3.

At school just a few days ago one of these girls had my buddy's DS fooling around with it. She deleted his quick save on Final Fantasy III because she "didn't get it". She just turned it off. Idiots like that give us all a bad name. I'm not sure if I'm even making sense anymore. It just gets my blood to boiling, all these small things that cannot be avoided.

I'll write some more when I am more clear-headed.

Okami - If you haven't gotten it yet, get it.

2006-12-02T15:02:00.000-08:00

Among all the other titles that were released this past year, Okami is one that shines the brightest. Clocking in at around 27 hours of gameplay for me (and I'm still not even halfway through), it has got to be one of the grandest and most beautiful experiences I've ever had the pleasure of coming across. Sadly, it has been overlooked among the gaming community and many acquaintances I know. In terms of looking at games as art, Okami perhaps epitomizes that. In this short but important entry I just want to acknowledge the fact that this is one game that should not be missed out on, and if you have the extra $40, pick it up.

Now OPEN.

2006-12-02T14:51:00.000-08:00

Hello, all. I thought it was high time for me to create a blog. And what is it going to be centered on? That's right - gaming. My passion.

Go check it out. In the meantime I am going to be working on the layout and other assorted aspects of the blog. I hope to have it up to speed sometime within the next week or sooner.

I doubt anyone reads this.