First and foremost, I'm a toy guy. I like buying action figures, it's a blast to track down super-cheap Playmobil toys, and who doesn't like stumbling on the odd figure marked only a penny? It's good times. Lately, though, I've been getting more valuable game time in, which sucks away the time I have to write about toys (bad) but keeps me from going out and buying lots of new toys I may not soon have the space for (good). The key enablers for this change aren't just the parade of above-par software. No. It's because they managed to get "collecting" into my gaming, damn them.
Toy runs-- that is, the long drives to multiple stores to attempt to score cheap clearance toys or new releases-- were spectacular training for game runs. Lately, numerous retailers (specifically, big box ones) have started to reward patience with obscenely low prices. You say you want to try Virtua Fighter 5 but don't think it's worth more than five bucks? You say you you don't think anyone should pay more than $9.98 for The Orange Box? Well, apparently someone out there agrees with you. I'm now seeing recent games like Soulcalibur IV for as little as $15 on the Xbox 360 and $34 (and falling) on the Playstation 3. The game came out about seven months ago.
So now there's a "collecting" aspect in just running around to score a good deal. I was curious to try LEGO Indiana Jones, but not at $50. So I waited around and got it last November for $12.50. And yes, that's new. Also, I blame achievements for giving me a sort of a meta-game on top of the normal games. If you've got weird little compulsions to unlock everything in a game, this is a painful experience as some of these are nearly impossible to get, but I guess the good thing about them is that getting them won't take up any extra space in your home.
Unfortunately, I still have yet to find a good (or any) fighting stick, so Virtua Fighter 5 seems to be borderline unplayable.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
5 Unreasonable Video Game Demands for 2009
I've got my video game itch back. I had it pretty bad before college and it's been coming and going since I got the Xbox 360. (I'd have it more if Konami had more Castlevanias or Nintendo did more 2D Mario games.) Here's what I want to see released or announce in 2009, dammit.
5. New Super Mario Bros. 2 (Nintendo DS)
The original New Super Mario Bros. was a 2D game with 3D graphics, and it came out in 2006. It sold millions of copies worldwide and continues to sell very well at full price nearly three years later. So where's the sequel? Nintendo has been downright awful at cranking out Mario platformer sequels since the early 1990s-- there was never a second Super Mario World, and the portable Super Mario Land series stopped at #2 before Wario took over. This is not really an unreasonable request.
4. Gradius (Something new, please)
Again, not really all that unreasonable. Gradius Rebirth was released in Japan last Fall, and there's no US release of the Wii Ware game. There haven't been any announcements of Xbox 360 or PSN or Wii games in the USA, and I'm particularly pissy about the lack of the Salamander games on online-enabled consoles. Why the heck aren't these available?
3. Bring Back Vs. Fighting Games (any, Xbox preferred)
Japan gets it-- specifically, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. There have also been "dream match" games featuring Optimus Prime (Convoy) fighting various Japanese heroes and villains. You may even recall the various Marvel vs. Capcom games and, to a lesser extent, the Smash Bros. series. What happened to this awesome level of creativity? The best we've seen is Soul Calibur and its myriad guest stars, which included the likes of Spawn, Link, and Darth Vader. These are nothing to sneeze at, but we need more. Why can't I get a game with Spider-Man, Batman, Shredder, Lion-O, Skeletor, Ryu, and the German Mechanic from Raiders of the Lost Ark all wailing on each other? I love my Street Fighter IV, but I want it to get absolutely nuts next time.
2. 2D Castlevania, Metroid (any)
The last 2D Metroid we got was Zero Mission in 2004. Castlevania got its last classic outing on the PSP in 2007. MORE PLEASE. Interestingly, Capcom seems to be one company consistently performing here with the Mega Man series. Between the two PSP titles and the amazing Mega Man 9, things have been good. I'm old, I like my games in two dimensions and want more.
1. A Retro Collection I Care About
There haven't been all that many collection discs I get genuinely excited about. The classic Super Mario All-Stars was and remains a shining example of what to do-- give people good games at a good price, without being annoying about it. Capcom's Mega Man 20th Anniversary Collection was also great. The various "Intellivision" or "Atari" collections largely suck, if for no reason other than I see these games as having zero actual appeal once the novelty of booting them up wears off. Where's Metroid All-Stars or The Complete Donkey Kong Collection? Why haven't we seen some sort of collection of the classic Dragon Warrior (or Quest) games since the GameBoy Color's bundle of I and II? Is it too much to ask that video games get some sort of box set treatment like some of the more popular classic bands out there? Probably. But I can't be the only one who'd shell out for the means to play classic or even slightly updated versions of the original few Zelda games in a big box with an action figure and let's say a few maps, right?
5. New Super Mario Bros. 2 (Nintendo DS)
The original New Super Mario Bros. was a 2D game with 3D graphics, and it came out in 2006. It sold millions of copies worldwide and continues to sell very well at full price nearly three years later. So where's the sequel? Nintendo has been downright awful at cranking out Mario platformer sequels since the early 1990s-- there was never a second Super Mario World, and the portable Super Mario Land series stopped at #2 before Wario took over. This is not really an unreasonable request.
4. Gradius (Something new, please)
Again, not really all that unreasonable. Gradius Rebirth was released in Japan last Fall, and there's no US release of the Wii Ware game. There haven't been any announcements of Xbox 360 or PSN or Wii games in the USA, and I'm particularly pissy about the lack of the Salamander games on online-enabled consoles. Why the heck aren't these available?
3. Bring Back Vs. Fighting Games (any, Xbox preferred)
Japan gets it-- specifically, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. There have also been "dream match" games featuring Optimus Prime (Convoy) fighting various Japanese heroes and villains. You may even recall the various Marvel vs. Capcom games and, to a lesser extent, the Smash Bros. series. What happened to this awesome level of creativity? The best we've seen is Soul Calibur and its myriad guest stars, which included the likes of Spawn, Link, and Darth Vader. These are nothing to sneeze at, but we need more. Why can't I get a game with Spider-Man, Batman, Shredder, Lion-O, Skeletor, Ryu, and the German Mechanic from Raiders of the Lost Ark all wailing on each other? I love my Street Fighter IV, but I want it to get absolutely nuts next time.
2. 2D Castlevania, Metroid (any)
The last 2D Metroid we got was Zero Mission in 2004. Castlevania got its last classic outing on the PSP in 2007. MORE PLEASE. Interestingly, Capcom seems to be one company consistently performing here with the Mega Man series. Between the two PSP titles and the amazing Mega Man 9, things have been good. I'm old, I like my games in two dimensions and want more.
1. A Retro Collection I Care About
There haven't been all that many collection discs I get genuinely excited about. The classic Super Mario All-Stars was and remains a shining example of what to do-- give people good games at a good price, without being annoying about it. Capcom's Mega Man 20th Anniversary Collection was also great. The various "Intellivision" or "Atari" collections largely suck, if for no reason other than I see these games as having zero actual appeal once the novelty of booting them up wears off. Where's Metroid All-Stars or The Complete Donkey Kong Collection? Why haven't we seen some sort of collection of the classic Dragon Warrior (or Quest) games since the GameBoy Color's bundle of I and II? Is it too much to ask that video games get some sort of box set treatment like some of the more popular classic bands out there? Probably. But I can't be the only one who'd shell out for the means to play classic or even slightly updated versions of the original few Zelda games in a big box with an action figure and let's say a few maps, right?
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Macindeath + Cheap FM Adapter
Tonight's Sunday Night Slog is special, because the computer which has been the core of my projects for the past three years up and died last week. Last Sunday, my G5 tower started to act up. And die. I got to spend most of the last week troubleshooting and fretting rather than writing or, heaven forbid, sitting around and having a good time. This is particularly troubling as my Apple hardware is traditionally pretty sturdy. As far as I know, the Apple II+ at my parents' house still boots. The Macintosh IIsi I had worked fine for its seven years, ultimately getting traded in for a G3 tower (which is still here and still boots), and seven years, later, I got a G5 tower.
Which freaking died in less than four years. Very disappointing.
My iPod's FM transmitter broke the other week. (I kinda cracked it open and enhanced the antenna in 2005, and it just snapped off a few weeks ago.) So it's been fuzzy driving around, and I was more than a little surprised to see an iPod FM adapter at Target in their cheapo gift area for ten bucks. I bought it and early quick tests seem that it's actually just fine. Interesting. I'll post more later, I want to know if I should hate it or not yet.
Which freaking died in less than four years. Very disappointing.
My iPod's FM transmitter broke the other week. (I kinda cracked it open and enhanced the antenna in 2005, and it just snapped off a few weeks ago.) So it's been fuzzy driving around, and I was more than a little surprised to see an iPod FM adapter at Target in their cheapo gift area for ten bucks. I bought it and early quick tests seem that it's actually just fine. Interesting. I'll post more later, I want to know if I should hate it or not yet.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Star Wars Comic Pack Figures Wave 4 Video
I really like this one. I'm using a Playmobil potted plant to act as "forest". At some point I need to actually try making something like this that isn't an ad.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Target Revises Scanners
While on my travels today, I am going through different cities and made a fun discovery for toy fans-- Target now has updated price scanners. There are two models you may have seen-- one with a tiny LCD screen, and another with a larger screen and number buttons 0-9. The latter allows you to punch in various codes to check the stockroom.
A new third version has shown up, and here's the kicker-- the screen is positively huge, and it lets you search for things. Like, I can punch in "Transformers" and it will show me every DPCI with Transformers stuck to it. No joke. I was trying to find the as-of-yet unseen Transformers Combiner gift sets, but was not able to do so-- but you will be able to find Hasbro Wolverine toys and some other stuff I haven't yet seen talked up much.
So this holiday season, be on the lookout for this. Given how much data is leaked via DPCI, like new names and new secret products, I can't imagine a greater gift to the toy collector and rabid consumer this holiday season. Thanks, Target, for reminding me why you get more foot traffic from me than other plastic retailers. (And "thanks" for having those very expensive exclusives showing up today.)
A new third version has shown up, and here's the kicker-- the screen is positively huge, and it lets you search for things. Like, I can punch in "Transformers" and it will show me every DPCI with Transformers stuck to it. No joke. I was trying to find the as-of-yet unseen Transformers Combiner gift sets, but was not able to do so-- but you will be able to find Hasbro Wolverine toys and some other stuff I haven't yet seen talked up much.
So this holiday season, be on the lookout for this. Given how much data is leaked via DPCI, like new names and new secret products, I can't imagine a greater gift to the toy collector and rabid consumer this holiday season. Thanks, Target, for reminding me why you get more foot traffic from me than other plastic retailers. (And "thanks" for having those very expensive exclusives showing up today.)
Monday, November 17, 2008
Fire
LA is presently on fire. This is one reason I'm looking forward to going out of town for a few days. I just got 16bit.com and GalacticHunter.com update for the night, and it isn't even midnight yet. Aside from the fact that I feel and smell awful due to the burning, I'm pretty happy about this.
My various buzzings-around online have resulted in something interesting-- it's entirely possible there will be two Target-exclusive Black Friday or post-Black Friday Transformers 25th Anniversary sets. (Knowing Target, this means they'll be out by the first week of December.) That, or they're 2009 items, but it's looking like it's a 2008 rush job. Being a sucker, I'll likely get them if the price is right (it's 4 $7 toys and a $10 toy per box, so I'd shell out $30 without too much complaining. But in this market, that's unlikely.)
But yeah, we went out and about today because it was unpleasant at home, so going out didn't seem like too big a hazard. For November, the 90-ish weather isn't entirely unexpected but the overall feel in the air right now is not unlike staying up for two straight days while someone dumps sand in your eyes. And that's before you stop to consider the parade of misery that's going on just miles up the road.
As you can see, my priorities are in the right place with blog postings about toys meant for small children and the horrors of losing one's home in a fire. I don't personally know anyone who has been evacuated but I know a couple of people that are likely in miserable places, and so far they seem to be OK. It really is astonishing how awful it seems to get at least one or two times a year here with just the fires alone.
My various buzzings-around online have resulted in something interesting-- it's entirely possible there will be two Target-exclusive Black Friday or post-Black Friday Transformers 25th Anniversary sets. (Knowing Target, this means they'll be out by the first week of December.) That, or they're 2009 items, but it's looking like it's a 2008 rush job. Being a sucker, I'll likely get them if the price is right (it's 4 $7 toys and a $10 toy per box, so I'd shell out $30 without too much complaining. But in this market, that's unlikely.)
But yeah, we went out and about today because it was unpleasant at home, so going out didn't seem like too big a hazard. For November, the 90-ish weather isn't entirely unexpected but the overall feel in the air right now is not unlike staying up for two straight days while someone dumps sand in your eyes. And that's before you stop to consider the parade of misery that's going on just miles up the road.
As you can see, my priorities are in the right place with blog postings about toys meant for small children and the horrors of losing one's home in a fire. I don't personally know anyone who has been evacuated but I know a couple of people that are likely in miserable places, and so far they seem to be OK. It really is astonishing how awful it seems to get at least one or two times a year here with just the fires alone.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Star Wars Ecliptic Evader TIE Fighter
The latest video I made for work. Oh, those rascally giants, always knocking things over...
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