Another Great Source of Music

Sorry I couldn't post something more substantial this week. I'm a little busy with school work and...work work. I will leave you guys something though: Check out this Youtube Channel. The sheer amount of videos and awesome is mind boggling.

Panda Explosion

Well, it's here. World of Warcraft's fourth expansion has been released into the wild, and with it comes loads and loads of the much-sought-after Pandaren. I have no bad blood or regrets with WoW and me quitting, and yet, here is the boat to Pandaria, sailing away in front of me while I wave a fond farewell.

Aside from my personal reasons as to why I'm unable to play Mists of Pandaria, I'm finding this day a little bit bittersweet. I have fond memories of my guild and all the friends I made through the game over the years, and through good times and bad, I definitely had a lot of fun and I wouldn't have changed a thing if I had gone through it all again. Still, even today, I follow the same news feeds and websites that I always followed when I played, just to keep up with the current times, though I have to admit, I skimmed over the new talent system and some other major features.

Regardless, tell me this: Don't you think it's strange that I'm both glad and sad about not playing WoW anymore, and yet, I'm still following the game along however I can? Why do I even care anymore about recent events and news involving this game when I don't even play it anymore out of boredom?

This is something I think is truly cool about video games, especially games that are designed to last a long time like MMOs or games with a lot of DLC (however expensive and annoying that DLC might be), or even a series of games like Sonic the Hedgehog or the classic Mario titles. Even after you quit playing or you "leave" the series, you're still compelled to follow it along because you loved the time you spent with it. As much as you might deny it, you care enough to see what's going on because it's something that interests you, and you just might want to return some day when something really, really cool happens that cures your boredom.

That is the feeling I have. That is what I want from World of Warcraft. Even today, this god of MMOs rolls on, and even though it may have begun to show its age here and there, like I've said time and again, it's still a fantastically designed game and is loads of fun when you really get into it. Even though I'm bored and I probably won't be there to fight for these newly discovered lands in the name of the Alliance (sorry Horde, but I gotta stick with my friends!), I'll be watching them every step of the way, right here in my computer chair.

Another New Playstation 3

Really tired right now, so this one's going to be a short one. :(

Recently revealed at the Tokyo Games Show is this new, third rendition of the Playstation 3. It comes in two sizes, 250GB and 500GB. The former will cost you $270 and comes bundled with Uncharted 3 (which I will probably never play because I'm not a rich bastard), and the latter hasn't had a price announced yet, but it is being released on the same day as Assassin's Creed III (again, not a rich bastard).

This is pretty cool and all, but I wonder how much time could have been spent on making the theoretical Playstation 4 instead of a second redesign of their console which already worked out alright. Or, even better, create and release this sleek model in the first place instead of a big bulky monster of a system.

Maybe I'm just ignorant or I don't know enough information, but as far as Sony goes, they were never a company to think of the customer first in my eyes.

Games I Haven't Tried Until Now: Ratchet & Clank

I was admittedly not a big fan of the Playstation 2 outside of Final Fantasy X and Kingdom Hearts when it was at it's prime. It was the most dominant console at the time, but I mostly stuck to my Gamecube and my Gameboy Advance. I look back at this time and wonder what I might have missed, and frankly, I'm a bit saddened that I did miss this one.

I've only recently started playing Ratchet & Clank, and while I'm making my way through the game slowly (read: busy college guy), I somehow find it entrancing. Every new level comes with a new weapon that you can only guess at what it does when you see it, and using them all is even more fun. Saying there are too many weapons in this game is ludicrous, because you choose which you want to use the most and that defines your playstyle, which in a way defines your experience with the game. That's amazingly awesome. The platforming, the shooting, the hidden items, and the puzzles all combine into something seriously addicting.

The characters are wonderfully enjoyable as well. Ratchet himself seems a little stubborn but with a good heart, Clank is probably the bravest tiny animated robot I've ever seen anywhere, and Captain Quark, according to one of my good friends that has played through most (or all, I can't remember) of the Ratchet & Clank games describes him as an "egotistical, clumsy oaf, but hilarious". While some characters in some games are remembers by players solely for their heroism and actions, you'd definitely remember these ones not just from that but from their one-liners and ridiculous scenes they get themselves into.

I'm currently still playing though, so I haven't experienced this entire game yet. Good news though, because I also now have Going Commando and Up Your Arsenal, the two sequels that took place on the Playstation 2 alongside the original, and my goal is to finish all three before the end of this school year.

Best of luck to me I guess...

WillU Buy the WiiU?

Yesterday held the well-sought-after announcement of the release date and price of Nintendo's next console, WiiU. It will be available for purchase in North America on November 18th, and will come in your choice of one of two packages. $299 for the console, a touchscreen controller, a sensor bar, an AC adapter for the controller, and an HDMI cable. An extra $50 could net you everything in the cheaper package plus increased console memory, a console stand, a recharge stand for your controller, a subscription for discounts on online game purchases, and a copy of the Nintendoland game.

As always, Nintendo seems to be pulling out all the stops when it comes to launching a console. Bundles and media coverage aside, I am fairly impressed that Nintendo is becoming a little more modern with their home consoles, and I think the touchscreen controller could be used for a ton of innovative games. However, there are some things that I'm finding rather annoying about the WiiU.

First though, the positives.

First of all, Nintendo appears to be marketing the WiiU for more than just "making everybody a gamer". I did like their previous outing with the Wii and how they completely flipped gaming upside down by inviting everyone to be a gamer, but it alienated the hardcore crown to an extent, pushing them away to their competitors. This time around, Nintendo is bringing some well-known genre-specific games to their console early on, like Mass Effect 3, Batman: Arkham Asylum, and even the exclusive Bayonetta 2. Even Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is coming to the console. If they continue to include the same sort of games that appeal more to the hardcore crowd, then the WiiU might be as successful if not more than the Wii was.

Not only is Nintendo bringing in content for the hardcore crowd, but they're trampolining off the Wii's beginning of third party application usage by having users be able to watch video content. Not only that, but they can watch it directly on the touchscreen controller too! Netflix makes a return, and Hulu and Youtube are now officially on board as well. According to Nintendo, you can even pull up content that you have saved on DVR with TiVo and watch that as well.

Still, as with any recent Nintendo product, and as much as I think they're great, there is always a select few details that are nitpick-worthy. First of all, $300 might be a decent price considering the technology at hand, especially the controller considering by itself it may cost half the entire console (that's another nitpick there). However, this breaks a long tradition of Nintendo consoles launching at around $250 for years. It's understandable considering the innovative and new technology, but it defies the long-standing "affordable" Nintendo console trope that has stood against competitors before. Even the games are going to be $10 more expensive now, which is on-par with Xbox and Playstation titles.

The storage space might be an issue as well. With all the content and files that people must save from games nowadays, I doubt 8 GB will be enough. The deluxe version ($349 bundle) is 32 GB, but that is still in the grey area in my opinion, and even if that is enough storage space for some people, that is nothing compared to the monstrous 250 GB storage of the Xbox 360, which if you remember, is a console of this current generation and not the one the WiiU is kicking off and setting the bar for.

 EDIT: You can apparently attach an external hard drive through USB to the WiiU. Hello infinite storage space! :D Yay for me being dumb.

I'm certain the WiiU will at least be successful, because as nitpicky as I and many fans of Nintendo are, they come pretty close to perfection with their games and hardware. It's a little strange though when we are able to compare this upcoming next-gen console with previous ones and wonder why the WiiU isn't better or at least equal to it in every way. Regardless, I do want one of these, and while I probably won't be getting one straight away (i.e. I'm a broke college student and memories of trying to get a Wii early years ago haunt me still...), I can't wait to at least try it out at the local retailer.

Overreaction

EDIT: Wow, so uh... I guess I was sort of wrong. Regardless,  I still stand by my choice that the vile behavior that was displayed was not the right way to go about doing things for the gaming community. The link above explains that the decision process was out of the creator's hands and in someone else's. Frankly, in my opinion, if you must be a child and throw a tantrum, do it at the new studio bringing it to the console, not the PC guys. Thanks.

The developers of the game Terraria, available on steam for a very worthy $10, announced today that their game will be arriving on the Xbox Live Arcade and the Playstation Network. This is something you don't see every day, that being a very popular, very affordable PC game taking big steps. However, many gamers are angry at this prospect, specifically PC gamers, who in their supposedly all-knowing and "master race" stances, believe that they have been left behind and have been forgotten, and they will now jump ship and cleanse themselves of all things vile, i.e. anything having to do with Terraria and Re-Logic software. WHAT A RIGHTEOUS CAUSE, RIGHT?

This is why sometimes I despise my own kind. We overreact to the most simple things and it extends the life of the most common stereotypes about us, such as being short-tempered basement dwellers that don't know how to properly interact with people. Why must we not think before we speak?

To be fair, I already have a PC copy of Terraria myself, and I love it. Console gamers will enjoy this just the same I feel, and while the advertised "extra content" does sound nice, it seems that is one of the primary reasons that people are angry. I propose to anyone reading this the following extremely simple, logical thoughts:

First of all, Re-Logic isn't a big large corporate giant like EA or Activision. For the love of all that is good, they are selling you their game, which contains hours upon hours of play time, for $10! Being such an independent developer, and a popular one at that, you'd think they wouldn't favor one audience over the other, especially with the well-known conflicting views between hardcore console and PC gamers. Giving one extra content and leaving the other out to dry would be a monumentally huge dick move on their part, and I'm fairly certain that they would not only not want the negative PR, but seeing as how they seemingly care so much for their game and their fans, it would be a huge 180 degree turnaround.

Think about this: You're an indie developer, and in today's world, your game must stand out like nothing else in order for people to notice it. In a world where AAA titles reign supreme on the price charts and many other indie games are set at lower prices. Aside from the lower price, the number one thing that people will notice is how you treat your game and the community that surrounds it. Re-logic has released several updates for Terraria that have added an awesome amount of content to an already vast and time-consuming game, and if they didn't care about their players, then they wouldn't be working on their game anymore, let alone working on a console version.

Anybody who is a passionate gamer with a broad horizon knows about the kinds of issues that happen with big companies and their games, and even though fans often voice their feedback, we don't always see a lot done about them (case-in-point: EA). Indie developers have always been those teams in my eyes that want to change the gaming world from what it is right now, which is a fat, lumbering giant of corporate semi-corruption that spits out sequels and rehashes like there's no tomorrow. Terraria is a game that clearly doesn't embody this, and because of how it's been cared for, it gives me faith in the developer that they will deliver for PC gamers as well.

I fail to understand why some people (not only gamers) cannot think this kind of stuff through. I believe firmly that they're just complaining for no reason. Save the protesting for the time when they announce that the content is console-exclusive (knock on wood of course), and don't be a stupid dick about it. Treating people like this is just wrong, and I don't know why people constantly forget that mutual respect is supposed to be common courtesy.

I'm not saying I'm perfect myself, but I've got the mind to know all of this, and you should too.

The (possible) End of an Era

The days of X-Play, Attack of the Show, and Cinematech will be remembered fondly, because according to Variety, the gaming channel known for the past ten years as G4 might be recreated for "the more modern male", or more accurately, the magazine GQ.

I honestly have mixed feelings about this. While I love G4 even today for what it is and what it stands for as a television channel for gamers, I think it's lost some of its original luster.

The channel had originally launched in 2002 with programs primarily aimed at gamers, but over the years, it seemed like it grew further and further away from that. While still today shows like X-Play are around for gaming coverage and even Attack of the Show for nearly everything related to pop culture and technology, other programs such as American Ninja Warrior with adrenaline-fueled action skewed the channel's target audience away from gamers and more towards SpikeTV's territory. Even with this in mind, their daytime schedule is dominated by reruns of their original programming from the previous day's evening (when new episodes usually happen), and then either lots of gaming-unrelated filler content for the late night, or a string of old pop culture-esque movies, or Cops, or Cheaters, or Cops again, or Cheaters again, followed by a Cops marathon, followed by a Cheaters marathon. Ugh...

Honestly we should have seen it coming after some of the longtime, big named hosts left the network for their own pursuits. Kevin Pereira, Olivia Munn, and my personal favorite, Adam Sessler, were the hosts that I looked forward to every time I watched Attack of the Show or X-Play. With them gone, it's just not the same.

I've grown apart from G4 for these reasons. They still stand today, a shell of their former selves, a channel for gamers, but frankly I'm filled with a bittersweet feeling not only because of their fall from grace, but how the channel as we know it will probably not exist, if ever again, by this time next year.

Farewell, G4. Thanks for giving it your best with all of your video game content, and for the endless amount of Cops and Cheaters reruns.

Nah, just the video games.

The Style of Gangnam

Sometimes I think the differences between my home country of the United States and other countries are just too vast and confusing to understand, and frankly, sometimes that might be correct.

This however...might just be my favorite video to come from Youtube in a long, long time.

It's funny when you think about it, how you can compare the crazy antics in this music video and song to some other things that our country has brought out. Remember the video of Katy Perry in her song with Snoop Dogg? You know what I'm talking about.

Still, I love this video and this song, because not only is PSY funny and entertaining, but his song is so catchy that you'll be wanting to do the trademark Gangnam Style dance down the sidewalk, not giving a damn about anyone staring at you.

Now just think of what South Korea thinks of some of our music videos and imagine how much they're laughing... :P

A Short Letter to Square Enix

Note: This letter is completely hypothetical and entirely ridiculous. Also, much of my information was found here, and other links within.

Dear Square Enix,

I recently saw your revelation of your next Final Fantasy game, and I would be lying if I said I was surprised.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is the next game you are planning on releasing in 2013, and while I'm very sure you're putting a lot of effort into it, I am very confused in multiple ways.

First of all, this is the third game associated with Final Fantasy XIII. I understand if you're wanting to take the game in a new sort of direction, as you've now made a trilogy out of the thirteenth installment of your critically acclaimed series, and I'm even fine if it breaks the long standing tradition of a new world with new characters in every game (even if my nostalgic sense feels otherwise). Why though, must we keep enduring these characters from XIII that were just carbon copies of character tropes in the first game? Why did you choose to start making a trilogy out of the installment that everyone and their mom hated? I don't understand at all why you keep battering us with sequels to this game series that I and possibly the rest of your fans don't want anything more to do with.

Secondly, your description of this game is a little strange to me, or I suppose if I were to be more accurate, it sounds hit-or-miss. You mention that Lightning will be customizable and that everyone will have their own version, both aesthetics and playstyle-wise. While I like this in theory (since it was practically absent in XIII; I'm not sure about XIII-2 since I haven't played it), you also mention character control being more dynamic, such as being able to "hang off ledges", "jump", and "pull yourself up". I'm sorry, but even though this is technically uncommon in a Final Fantasy game, I don't like that part of your pitch are features that have been part of other games for decades. That just bothers me personally, and while I guess I can say it's cool you're finally adding more control, there should be more to this game than that. Unfortunately, there might not be, because again, this is the third game about a character that I and many of your fans are having difficulty caring about.

Third, and lastly, I can appreciate you're trying new things such as a Majora's Mask type of "doomsday clock" and a real-time day/night cycle (combined, I wonder if that means the player has 13 actual, real days to beat the game. Uh...wow.), but without a new world and new characters to explore as well as two past games with mediocre to horrible reviews overall, I'm finding it hard to care about them with the aforementioned hanging in my conscience. I'm sure that they are cool in their own right, but right now, with your initial explanation of some supposedly major features, which includes customization of Lightning, the timer, the time cycle, controls, a bunch of possible location screenshots, and heavy emphasis on this being "the end of Lightning's trilogy", I'm nowhere close to being sold. I guess I could wait a ton of months for you to reveal more information, but in my opinion, this wasn't much of a reveal, and as far as gamers go, I'd think first impressions are pretty important.

Look, your graphics look impressive, and you guys seem to have a general grasp on how to make a video game (Note: You can know how to make a game but that game isn't automatically good), but you guys can do better! I'll admit that I'm anxious to find out more about this game, and I really want to like it, but your methods are confusing your fans, including me, and we're in the dark over here as to what is going on. For the love of chocobos, you've had Final Fantasy Versus XIII in development for six years, and yet you're showing us this new game just now that's being released next year when you refuse to tell us anything about Versus!

Please, Square Enix, be a little more informative with your fans. Tell us what is going on, or at least that you're having some problems. Telling us nothing is only making you look worse, and I'm sure that many of your former fans want to enjoy your games just like they used to, including me.

Sincerely,

A Frustrated and Confused Fan