This is a good bit of investigative reporting by my buddy isamu on the ORA board. I'm repeating this just for any readers not from that board...
OutRun Online Arcade is available on the Xbox 360 in any country. On the PS3 however, it's only available in the UK store. Well it turns out that he and many others have scoured the UK store to find the game removed altogether. So basically OutRun 2 is not on the PS3 anymore. What???
This isn't the first time that a downloadable game has been removed from an online store. Paperboy, Root Beer Tapper, and other Midway classics have been sucked under (Midway went bankrupt). Same thing with Yaris which was free BTW (it was a promo game). You can redownload them again ONLY if you purchased it previously. Presumably, the game is still on the server but it's not for sale for some reason which makes no sense because you're missing out on the opportunity to earn money...
I think we should all play OutRun Online Arcade on the Xbox 360 in memory. Just cause we need to do SOMETHING and give Sumo Digital props for making the game more available to a larger crowd (although it wasn't a big seller). People, you had no excuse to try out the demo cause it's right there in front of you...
To make things worse, Sega Rally Revo has been pulled from the PSN store too. Yes, I know that Revo isn't considered a powerhouse Sega title, but it's still one of Sega's babies. So that's two Sega racers gone. I'm not 100% sure this is true, but I'll let you know if something comes up.
Why would something like this happen all of a sudden? Does Sega want out? Does Sony hate Sega? Is this a stupid mistake? The last thing we need is every trace of Sega goodness to go away...look out for the future...
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And then add this just because I saw it. This is entirely in Japan. New Pokemon game on DS and new Sega Yakuza (under some weird name) game on the PSP. FIGHT! Pokemon outsells Yakuza 5 to 1 despite the fact that PB/W has been out for a week already. This is from Sept. 20 to 26. All in all not surprising. Why is Sega making all these PSP games, much less ones that'll never come out in America anyway? Who knows, who cares. Congrats on coming in second I guess, Sega has a reason to hold their heads high now.
01. Pokemon Black / White (DS) - 829,000 / 3,386,000
02. Kurohyou: Ryu ga Gotoku Shinshou (PSP) - 174,000 / NEW
http://kotaku.com/5652709/pokemon-black--white-show-the-yakuza-whos-the-boss-in-japan
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And one more thing cause I'm teeming with information. We're talking about the new Sonic games. Sonic 4: Episode 1 is coming out in mid-October so that's pretty good. I'm pretty sure it'll be 1200 MSP but I can't prove it. Made by Dimps, it's a downloadable title. Yes, Sonic's gonna be GOOD AGAIN!! And what's best is that it's just the first episode which means more Sonic titles to come!
Looks like Sonic's moving slower in this one, apparently to improve the controls. The way he runs looks funny, like his foot movement is potato-shaped or something. Oh yeah, and I know Sonic 1 had Starlight, Sonic 2 had Casino Night, and Sonic 3 had Carnival Night, but this looks like another Casino level...there's enough of those already, but whatever, that's ok, I like that... Also, didn't I see a boss battle on Green Hill zone with Eggman and the ball thing? I think it's good to "revisit" old Sonic classics, but come on, make something semi-original. Who knows, it may be good.
http://forums.sega.com/showpost.php?p=6228418&postcount=215 - Sonic 4: Episode 2 is currently not in development yet.
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Sonic Colours (yes, I like the British spelling) is coming out mid-November and Takashi Iizuka of Sonic Team says...:
This is a similar title to Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, but the similarity comes from the concept – keeping the tempo very fluid. A similar concept applies here. Is it the best since then? We always strive to make the best Sonic game yet. It’s at least on a par with Sonic Adventure Battle 2 [sic], and I’m confident it is one of the best Sonic games ever.
http://www.tssznews.com/2010/09/22/iizuka-says-sonic-colors-one-of-the-best-sonic-games-ever/
I've been looking up some info on this Iizuka guy and he's been working on most every Sonic Team game since Sonic 3... So looking at the footage of Sonic Colours, this looks just like Sonic: Unleashed except without the nighttime Werehog stages. If it turns out like Sonic Adventure 2 (which I thought was great but remember, not EVERYONE liked it), then it will be alright. I'm not too stoked though. Also, it's just gonna be on the Wii and DS which sucks too--no Xbox 360 or PS3 love.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
NASCAR: The Game CONFIRMED! Bad Daytona Days
Remember how I talked a week ago about Activision picking up the NASCAR license for a supposed "new" racing game? Well, that's not entirely true, but it's pretty much as clear as day now.
So basically, NASCAR License = gone for several years. No chance of a "Daytona USA" comeback. At least Activision isn't gobbling it up, that was just a rumor. Apparently Eutechnyx can handle this all by itself.
JUST TO CLEAR SOMETHING UP: Having the NASCAR license and the Daytona license are two different things. It's just inferred now that if Eutechnyx has the NASCAR license then they'll have the Daytona International Speedway license too which means presuming the DIS license is exclusive, then Sega can't use the Daytona name. So NASCAR leads to DIS leads to Daytona USA...you get what I mean by NASCAR license.
SOMETHING ELSE: Even if the Daytona license isn't exclusive (and I hear it isn't from others), then it would probably be too expensive for Sega to afford...so either way, Sega's in a pickle.
But the strange thing is that there's already gonna be a NASCAR game in the form of GRAN TURISMO 5...the question is will GT5's NASCAR be superior to NASCAR THE ("Official") GAME?? So why are they making the same game TWICE? EDIT: Cause GT5 only has 12 cars on the track at once, that's why.
Further instincts might say you know what, this company apparently has the guts to try something "new" with NASCAR considering their wonderful lineup of past racing games since they can't "out-sim" GT5, but it's looking pretty bleak if you read later in the interview. This is Ed Martin, Executive VP of Eutechnyx in the US of A:
...There are tens of millions of NASCAR fans and plenty of them have video game systems. So how come NASCAR video games haven't penetrated that market as far as an NHL game or a baseball game? We really believe that's because the games haven't been approachable.
There have been times where there were "over-the-top" games like "NASCAR Rumble" and even "NASCAR Kart," but there is a real disconnect there because those games don't represent the real sport. You can't go off too far off the path. At the same time, you can't get too sim-y. We want you to jump right in and have fun. The thing about Eutechnyx, this is our 24th year, and we've done nothing but racing games for 24 years. This is a company with a rich history of creating great driving games. If you turn off all the assists in our NASCAR game, this is a very real -- as close as you can come to a simulation on a console -- but at the same time, with the assists turned on, this is a very fun, approachable game for the common NASCAR fan.
Of course though, when it comes to NASCAR and Daytona USA 1/2, they aren't even close (obviously in terms of physics/driving), but also because Daytona USA never outright references NASCAR or uses actual cars, tracks, etc. Therefore, Daytona USA fans are never really NASCAR fans or vice versa so basically Daytona USA = a piece of meat to these people as far as I'm concerned. Also, Daytona USA is made in Japan and as we all know, the Japanese will butcher anything American and we can't have that.
I think though that Daytona USA 1/2 would have great "approachability" to the general public. Fun and unique, it had great audio, sense of speed, intensity, etc. If not, then what OTHER stock car games could you make that people would buy? The old NASCAR sims were unimpressive or unpopular, EA was just phoning it in apparently, "NASCAR is boring lololol," and these weirdo Mario-Kart-like games didn't stick either. Really, riddle me this--what do actual NASCAR fans think of NASCAR '09 or all these sims? Weren't they already satisfied or is this gonna be the "glorious return to NASCAR" that everyone will love? I don't know, I don't see NASCAR games being pushed any further outside of anomalies like Daytona USA.
So the guy's gonna return to the sim genre but make it a little more fun...doesn't sound new. Just trying to drum up a bit of support against GT5. My main concern is this--how will this game be that much different than, say, NASCAR by EA or NASCAR Thunder for the PC? Or is there all this hype because there wasn't a NASCAR game in more than one year?
Apparently, everyone's new mission statement is "Don't do what Sega has done," and just make a NASCAR game devoid of any Daytona USA aspects which I guess is what's going to happen. But really, if you want my advice...TAKE THIS PAGE FROM SEGA'S PLAYBOOK...make the game intense. Add great audio, music, control, sense of speed, you don't even have to put drifting/powersliding in it, just channel out all the ADHD-filth from Burnout/Split-Second and make it a PURE RACING GAME!
But it doesn't really bother me that much what these guys do. Obviously, they're gonna go for more NASCAR authenticity than GT5. If they did try to go the Daytona USA route just a little, they would probably muck it up and I wouldn't like it. Do whatever you want, doesn't bother me. I'm rambling incoherently now. I just want to get all my ideas out there now so I'm gonna stop.
In the meantime, expect the NASCAR The Game website clock to countdown in the future (Oct. 4) and we can learn more about it then (as if there were any other surprises...I'm not holding my breath).
http://www.nascarthegame.com/
UPDATE: According to the site above, NASCAR 2011 will be a pure racing sim. No surprise there.
Check out this excerpt:
Then just last week the rumor mill heated up once again about a possible deal between NASCAR and Activision. From what everyone was saying, the deal was already signed and NASCAR and Activision were ready to drop the big news any day. But as it turns out the rumors were only half true.
In reality, NASCAR has signed on to an exclusive new multi-year, multi-game deal, but they chose video game developer Eutechnyx -- creators of "Big Mutha Truckers" and "Ferrari Challenge" -- to sign the deal with, not a publisher like EA or Activision. Activision is involved, but they are acting as the distributor for Eutechnyx's game, entitled "NASCAR The Game 2011."
This is a key distinction, enabling NASCAR to be more hands-on with the game's development thanks to partnering with a company that specializes in creating racing games, rather than signing blindly with Activision for the sole sake of dollar signs and letting the publisher decide who develops the franchise.
So basically, NASCAR License = gone for several years. No chance of a "Daytona USA" comeback. At least Activision isn't gobbling it up, that was just a rumor. Apparently Eutechnyx can handle this all by itself.
JUST TO CLEAR SOMETHING UP: Having the NASCAR license and the Daytona license are two different things. It's just inferred now that if Eutechnyx has the NASCAR license then they'll have the Daytona International Speedway license too which means presuming the DIS license is exclusive, then Sega can't use the Daytona name. So NASCAR leads to DIS leads to Daytona USA...you get what I mean by NASCAR license.
SOMETHING ELSE: Even if the Daytona license isn't exclusive (and I hear it isn't from others), then it would probably be too expensive for Sega to afford...so either way, Sega's in a pickle.
But the strange thing is that there's already gonna be a NASCAR game in the form of GRAN TURISMO 5...the question is will GT5's NASCAR be superior to NASCAR THE ("Official") GAME?? So why are they making the same game TWICE? EDIT: Cause GT5 only has 12 cars on the track at once, that's why.
Further instincts might say you know what, this company apparently has the guts to try something "new" with NASCAR considering their wonderful lineup of past racing games since they can't "out-sim" GT5, but it's looking pretty bleak if you read later in the interview. This is Ed Martin, Executive VP of Eutechnyx in the US of A:
...There are tens of millions of NASCAR fans and plenty of them have video game systems. So how come NASCAR video games haven't penetrated that market as far as an NHL game or a baseball game? We really believe that's because the games haven't been approachable.
There have been times where there were "over-the-top" games like "NASCAR Rumble" and even "NASCAR Kart," but there is a real disconnect there because those games don't represent the real sport. You can't go off too far off the path. At the same time, you can't get too sim-y. We want you to jump right in and have fun. The thing about Eutechnyx, this is our 24th year, and we've done nothing but racing games for 24 years. This is a company with a rich history of creating great driving games. If you turn off all the assists in our NASCAR game, this is a very real -- as close as you can come to a simulation on a console -- but at the same time, with the assists turned on, this is a very fun, approachable game for the common NASCAR fan.
Of course though, when it comes to NASCAR and Daytona USA 1/2, they aren't even close (obviously in terms of physics/driving), but also because Daytona USA never outright references NASCAR or uses actual cars, tracks, etc. Therefore, Daytona USA fans are never really NASCAR fans or vice versa so basically Daytona USA = a piece of meat to these people as far as I'm concerned. Also, Daytona USA is made in Japan and as we all know, the Japanese will butcher anything American and we can't have that.
I think though that Daytona USA 1/2 would have great "approachability" to the general public. Fun and unique, it had great audio, sense of speed, intensity, etc. If not, then what OTHER stock car games could you make that people would buy? The old NASCAR sims were unimpressive or unpopular, EA was just phoning it in apparently, "NASCAR is boring lololol," and these weirdo Mario-Kart-like games didn't stick either. Really, riddle me this--what do actual NASCAR fans think of NASCAR '09 or all these sims? Weren't they already satisfied or is this gonna be the "glorious return to NASCAR" that everyone will love? I don't know, I don't see NASCAR games being pushed any further outside of anomalies like Daytona USA.
So the guy's gonna return to the sim genre but make it a little more fun...doesn't sound new. Just trying to drum up a bit of support against GT5. My main concern is this--how will this game be that much different than, say, NASCAR by EA or NASCAR Thunder for the PC? Or is there all this hype because there wasn't a NASCAR game in more than one year?
Apparently, everyone's new mission statement is "Don't do what Sega has done," and just make a NASCAR game devoid of any Daytona USA aspects which I guess is what's going to happen. But really, if you want my advice...TAKE THIS PAGE FROM SEGA'S PLAYBOOK...make the game intense. Add great audio, music, control, sense of speed, you don't even have to put drifting/powersliding in it, just channel out all the ADHD-filth from Burnout/Split-Second and make it a PURE RACING GAME!
But it doesn't really bother me that much what these guys do. Obviously, they're gonna go for more NASCAR authenticity than GT5. If they did try to go the Daytona USA route just a little, they would probably muck it up and I wouldn't like it. Do whatever you want, doesn't bother me. I'm rambling incoherently now. I just want to get all my ideas out there now so I'm gonna stop.
In the meantime, expect the NASCAR The Game website clock to countdown in the future (Oct. 4) and we can learn more about it then (as if there were any other surprises...I'm not holding my breath).
http://www.nascarthegame.com/
UPDATE: According to the site above, NASCAR 2011 will be a pure racing sim. No surprise there.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Valve Seems Like A Nice Guy
Today is actually a pretty good day...don't have any school work, I can take a nap, I can eat normal food again (for the most part), not bad, things are better than before...
But I was intrigued by this. Left 4 Dead loves Dead Rising 2...now isn't that classy. Stories like these make me smile.
http://kotaku.com/5650478/left-4-dead-loves-dead-rising-2
Not only did they make that image above and put Chuck Greene in one of their comics, but they also made passing references to Frank West from DR1, etc. To me, this is like if Namco made another Ridge Racer and Sega came out and said "You've got a damn fine racing game there, my good man." Although neither company seems interested in racing games anymore, but that's besides the point. DR2 isn't in direct competition with L4D (they aren't even the same genre, FPS vs. Action/Adventure), but they like zombies too. I just wonder if the feeling's mutual on Capcom's side. After Inafune said that Japanese games were five years behind US games, I think he's a bit touchy to say so.
And throw in this too. I like Valve. I like them a lot. All of their games are pretty good. Yeah, I get on violent games, but at least Left 4 Dead was on the cusp of the zombie wave so they get a pass. Plus not to mention they've come up with some unique ideas instead of spitting out these Halo/Fallout/CoD clones, geez. They have unique ideas, fun characters, different vibe, etc. Not only that, but they've really fueled the user community by releasing Garry's mod, map-making tools, and the HL source code for modification--lots of fun stuff.
Believe it or not, I actually had the chance (for a college class I might add, in Fall '09) to create a mod of the Half-Life 1 engine. I got it going alright, but my teammates didn't really follow through and I worked on it mostly myself...I'm proud of what I learned though--it's nice to get your hands dirty. I am also a huge fan of making FPS maps--I talked about that way back in a July '10 entry about Goldeneye/Perfect Dark maps in CS 1.6, but that's just the tip of the iceberg--there's more. I may touch on that someday, but don't count on it any time soon.
Overall, gotta give Valve some props. Cheers.
BTW, I actually got 1000/1000 on L4D1 (a long time ago) so that's not bad. But enough of zombies. In all honesty. Screw 'em.
NOTE: I'm sorry Kotaku that I keep borrowing your images. I hope you can forgive me someday.
But I was intrigued by this. Left 4 Dead loves Dead Rising 2...now isn't that classy. Stories like these make me smile.
http://kotaku.com/5650478/left-4-dead-loves-dead-rising-2
Not only did they make that image above and put Chuck Greene in one of their comics, but they also made passing references to Frank West from DR1, etc. To me, this is like if Namco made another Ridge Racer and Sega came out and said "You've got a damn fine racing game there, my good man." Although neither company seems interested in racing games anymore, but that's besides the point. DR2 isn't in direct competition with L4D (they aren't even the same genre, FPS vs. Action/Adventure), but they like zombies too. I just wonder if the feeling's mutual on Capcom's side. After Inafune said that Japanese games were five years behind US games, I think he's a bit touchy to say so.
And throw in this too. I like Valve. I like them a lot. All of their games are pretty good. Yeah, I get on violent games, but at least Left 4 Dead was on the cusp of the zombie wave so they get a pass. Plus not to mention they've come up with some unique ideas instead of spitting out these Halo/Fallout/CoD clones, geez. They have unique ideas, fun characters, different vibe, etc. Not only that, but they've really fueled the user community by releasing Garry's mod, map-making tools, and the HL source code for modification--lots of fun stuff.
Believe it or not, I actually had the chance (for a college class I might add, in Fall '09) to create a mod of the Half-Life 1 engine. I got it going alright, but my teammates didn't really follow through and I worked on it mostly myself...I'm proud of what I learned though--it's nice to get your hands dirty. I am also a huge fan of making FPS maps--I talked about that way back in a July '10 entry about Goldeneye/Perfect Dark maps in CS 1.6, but that's just the tip of the iceberg--there's more. I may touch on that someday, but don't count on it any time soon.
Overall, gotta give Valve some props. Cheers.
BTW, I actually got 1000/1000 on L4D1 (a long time ago) so that's not bad. But enough of zombies. In all honesty. Screw 'em.
NOTE: I'm sorry Kotaku that I keep borrowing your images. I hope you can forgive me someday.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Zombies UP YOUR Arse...
Today is a sad day for racing games. Apparently, Activision has spit out this game called Blood Drive. You drive around this post-apocalyptic Las Vegas (GEE, HAVEN'T I SEEN THAT BEFORE...?) and run over zombies. Mother of God.
Hey, let's just strangle the life out of the "racing" genre (which will soon be merged with the "action" genre, never to be referrenced seriously again). No one wants to play a "normal" racing game anymore, those are too boring! Just steal every popular idea and mash it into some half-assed game. I can't take it anymore. I know this isn't the first time they made a zombie driving game (Carmageddon), but why do they PERSIST??
I'm not an alcoholic--I've never intentionally drunk a drop of beer, wine, whatever in my entire life, but I'm starting to consider it.
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Oh yeah, and remember talking about Nazi Zombies in Call of Duty: Black Ops? We'll they're back. I must say this is the only "good" zombie news I've heard so far. I knew they'd release it. Click on this webpage...it doesn't make any sense but it has pictures of zombies so there you go. This game will probably whoop MW2's ass. I feel good for Treyarch since they've played "stupid little brother" to Infinity Ward all this time. But still, Activision gets paid so that's sad. I guess we'll get more info as we go on.
http://www.gknova6.com/index.php
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And then there's Dead Rising 2. I mean, I've reached the point where I have to take interest in SOMETHING and I'm only moderately interested in the game. But do you want to know why? Cause I really like the idea of running around in these elaborate places (casinos, malls, etc.) doing whatever the hell I want--drive a car around, play Counter-Strike, run a race, that's my idea of fun.
I like sandbox games like that. They just threw the zombies in there cause you know, everyone has a zombie fetish nowadays.
I just 200/200'd Dead Rising 2: Case Zero which I guess makes me a hypocrite but I'm losing it. I just gotta hold out for Rock Band 3 which is the only game I'm really looking forward to.
NEW STUFF: I just realized this game has this "Terror Is Reality" show which is a little minigame outside of the story mode. It's like that Fuzion Frenzy game but with zombies. It looks stupid as all hell. And there's no Survival/Infinity mode in this game (survive as long as possible before you run out of life). Maybe they'll add it as DLC. Oh geez, man. Whatever, I'm not that interested anymore. I'd rather play Black Ops now.
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And one more thing. This is about the New Orleans Saints. I'm not gonna wuss out and jump off the bandwagon. We lost. Rough game, at least I take solace in the fact that we were only 3 points behind instead of 30. Hats off to the Falcons (oh geez). And Hartley...gosh, kickers have approximately a 95% chance of making that kick from the 15-yard line... Also I wish the defense could've stopped those lame 3rd/4th downs passes to Gonzales or whoever. Better luck next time. If the Saints won every game it would be boring so just take it for what it's worth.
And the funny thing this isn't the first time that the Saints missed a chip-shot field goal to win it...
Hey, let's just strangle the life out of the "racing" genre (which will soon be merged with the "action" genre, never to be referrenced seriously again). No one wants to play a "normal" racing game anymore, those are too boring! Just steal every popular idea and mash it into some half-assed game. I can't take it anymore. I know this isn't the first time they made a zombie driving game (Carmageddon), but why do they PERSIST??
I'm not an alcoholic--I've never intentionally drunk a drop of beer, wine, whatever in my entire life, but I'm starting to consider it.
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Oh yeah, and remember talking about Nazi Zombies in Call of Duty: Black Ops? We'll they're back. I must say this is the only "good" zombie news I've heard so far. I knew they'd release it. Click on this webpage...it doesn't make any sense but it has pictures of zombies so there you go. This game will probably whoop MW2's ass. I feel good for Treyarch since they've played "stupid little brother" to Infinity Ward all this time. But still, Activision gets paid so that's sad. I guess we'll get more info as we go on.
http://www.gknova6.com/index.php
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And then there's Dead Rising 2. I mean, I've reached the point where I have to take interest in SOMETHING and I'm only moderately interested in the game. But do you want to know why? Cause I really like the idea of running around in these elaborate places (casinos, malls, etc.) doing whatever the hell I want--drive a car around, play Counter-Strike, run a race, that's my idea of fun.
Click for a bigger picture. Compared to the Willamette Mall from DR1, this is HUGE.
I just 200/200'd Dead Rising 2: Case Zero which I guess makes me a hypocrite but I'm losing it. I just gotta hold out for Rock Band 3 which is the only game I'm really looking forward to.
NEW STUFF: I just realized this game has this "Terror Is Reality" show which is a little minigame outside of the story mode. It's like that Fuzion Frenzy game but with zombies. It looks stupid as all hell. And there's no Survival/Infinity mode in this game (survive as long as possible before you run out of life). Maybe they'll add it as DLC. Oh geez, man. Whatever, I'm not that interested anymore. I'd rather play Black Ops now.
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And one more thing. This is about the New Orleans Saints. I'm not gonna wuss out and jump off the bandwagon. We lost. Rough game, at least I take solace in the fact that we were only 3 points behind instead of 30. Hats off to the Falcons (oh geez). And Hartley...gosh, kickers have approximately a 95% chance of making that kick from the 15-yard line... Also I wish the defense could've stopped those lame 3rd/4th downs passes to Gonzales or whoever. Better luck next time. If the Saints won every game it would be boring so just take it for what it's worth.
And the funny thing this isn't the first time that the Saints missed a chip-shot field goal to win it...
Sunday, September 26, 2010
NASCAR License Goes To Activision
http://kotaku.com/5648264/report-nascar-coming-back-under-activision
Why, if we have to make the Daytona USA game without the "Daytona" name then we'll do it. But it doesn't help when Sega misses out again, especially since EA was sitting on the name for years. Not like I'm that surprised by the news.
ADDED THIS: According to the article, the license is being used by Eutechnyx, this racing dev that was responsible for such classics as 007 Racing (remember this?), Big Mutha Truckers, Pimp My Ride, some Hot Wheels game, and Street Racing Synicate. We can all sleep well at night knowing that the Daytona name is in good hands.
http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/company/12789.html
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Oh yeah BTW, this is my long-time friend isamu's emulation cabinet...he plays Daytona USA on the PC Model2 Nebula Emulator. So check it out. It's quite an expensive cabinet (over $4000).
Why, if we have to make the Daytona USA game without the "Daytona" name then we'll do it. But it doesn't help when Sega misses out again, especially since EA was sitting on the name for years. Not like I'm that surprised by the news.
ADDED THIS: According to the article, the license is being used by Eutechnyx, this racing dev that was responsible for such classics as 007 Racing (remember this?), Big Mutha Truckers, Pimp My Ride, some Hot Wheels game, and Street Racing Synicate. We can all sleep well at night knowing that the Daytona name is in good hands.
http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/company/12789.html
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Oh yeah BTW, this is my long-time friend isamu's emulation cabinet...he plays Daytona USA on the PC Model2 Nebula Emulator. So check it out. It's quite an expensive cabinet (over $4000).
Friday, September 24, 2010
Goodbye Wisdom Teeth
I'm going to get my wisdom teeth removed 8 am Friday so I'm gonna go through hell for a few hours. I'll hopefully be back soon. This surgery is gonna be pretty rough.
Copyright those people in that blue box.
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UPDATE: They're gone now. From the moment they injected that sedative in my arm, I eventually woke up in my bed with no knowledge of any past events. Cool! My mouth is swollen but not that bad. Can't eat anything but soft foods like pudding and milk shakes for a few days...yeah I like that stuff but I could go for a Wendy's Double Quarter Pounder about now. I love fast food.
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UPDATE: They're gone now. From the moment they injected that sedative in my arm, I eventually woke up in my bed with no knowledge of any past events. Cool! My mouth is swollen but not that bad. Can't eat anything but soft foods like pudding and milk shakes for a few days...yeah I like that stuff but I could go for a Wendy's Double Quarter Pounder about now. I love fast food.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Sonic Adventure Shames Sega Once Again?
This Major Nelson dude posts the Top 20 list of Xbox Live Arcade games purchased each week (REMEMBER, just that week only...sales before and after this week don't count). I guess this is from 9/13 to 9/19. The list doesn't include the number of copies sold, but you can make assumptions if you want.
Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions purchased)
1 DEAD RISING 2: CASE ZERO
2 Monday Night Combat
3 SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD: THE GAME
4 Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
5 LIMBO
6 Plants vs. Zombies
7 Shank
8 Trials HD
9 Castle Crashers
10 Castlevania Harmony of Despair
11 Deadliest Warrior
12 Hydro Thunder Hurricane
13 RISK: FACTIONS
14 UNO
15 Sonic Adventure
16 Toy Soldiers
17 Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2
18 Game Room **
19 Magic: The Gathering
20 Battlefield 1943
http://majornelson.com/archive/2010/09/22/live-activity-for-week-of-sept-13.aspx
Sonic Adventure came out 9/15, but still that should be enough for it to catch up since it's new and all. 15th place? Behind Deadliest Warrior which came out two months ago? Behind UNO which came out over FOUR YEARS AGO?? And also mention this new KOF Sky Stage and Space Invaders games which also came out on the 15th...and didn't appear here either. Also Perfect Dark but that's several months old now, but BF1943 is older which really shames PD in my opinion... Also you don't have ORA or AfterBurner which I guess are not surprising in the least.
Say what you want, but even though I questioned if Sega was going to release tons of Dreamcast games, would they do it? Or is Sonic Adventure a mediocre game that shouldn't be used as a barometer for demand for Sonic/Dreamcast games? Considering many complained about game glitches, we can assume this was a speedy port simply because Sega didn't want to waste too much on it. Oh well if that's how they're gonna go it, then just don't go broke on us, please.
------------
Oh yeah, I just got this silly e-mail from Sega of America that said Crazy Taxi is coming out in "November 2010" which I guess is a good sign. Also, it says "More Dreamcast titles will be coming soon!" (in big letters) so you know Sega is diligently working to deliver video game goodness to us all!!
Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions purchased)
1 DEAD RISING 2: CASE ZERO
2 Monday Night Combat
3 SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD: THE GAME
4 Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
5 LIMBO
6 Plants vs. Zombies
7 Shank
8 Trials HD
9 Castle Crashers
10 Castlevania Harmony of Despair
11 Deadliest Warrior
12 Hydro Thunder Hurricane
13 RISK: FACTIONS
14 UNO
15 Sonic Adventure
16 Toy Soldiers
17 Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2
18 Game Room **
19 Magic: The Gathering
20 Battlefield 1943
http://majornelson.com/archive/2010/09/22/live-activity-for-week-of-sept-13.aspx
Sonic Adventure came out 9/15, but still that should be enough for it to catch up since it's new and all. 15th place? Behind Deadliest Warrior which came out two months ago? Behind UNO which came out over FOUR YEARS AGO?? And also mention this new KOF Sky Stage and Space Invaders games which also came out on the 15th...and didn't appear here either. Also Perfect Dark but that's several months old now, but BF1943 is older which really shames PD in my opinion... Also you don't have ORA or AfterBurner which I guess are not surprising in the least.
Say what you want, but even though I questioned if Sega was going to release tons of Dreamcast games, would they do it? Or is Sonic Adventure a mediocre game that shouldn't be used as a barometer for demand for Sonic/Dreamcast games? Considering many complained about game glitches, we can assume this was a speedy port simply because Sega didn't want to waste too much on it. Oh well if that's how they're gonna go it, then just don't go broke on us, please.
------------
Oh yeah, I just got this silly e-mail from Sega of America that said Crazy Taxi is coming out in "November 2010" which I guess is a good sign. Also, it says "More Dreamcast titles will be coming soon!" (in big letters) so you know Sega is diligently working to deliver video game goodness to us all!!
Daytona USA Blues
First off, I'm really getting pissed off about school again. Like I said before, I have to get my wisdom teeth removed on Friday, but at the same time, there's this quiz in one of the classes that same day. I can't miss it without taking a big hit in my grades, even if I bring in a doctor's note or plead my case. This leaves me between a rock and a hard place. The ironic thing is the professor is the nicest lady in the world and she won't budge. I really hate this garbage--you stop getting freebies this late in the game (my final semester)...no easy classes, no parking spots, no money, no friends, no good video games, UGGGGHHHH.
------------
And once again, I'm just hung up over Daytona USA and my dreams of playing it ever again. Let me just say what I got to say. Here's some "bummer" music to keep you entertained:
First of all, OutRun 2, despite Sumo Digital's efforts to port the game to Xbox, PS2, PC, even Xbox Live, sold horribly. I've heard that OutRun 2006 (C2C) sold about 100,000 copies worldwide to this day which is just abysmal considering the energy Sega and SD put into it. Like Sega is reeling from that like their Dreamcast days again. And it doesn't help that bringing back Sega's "glory days" in the form of Sonic Adventure and Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing were not as successful as we had hoped. In other words, I doubt Sega's morale is high right now, even if they tried their best.
On the contrary, look at the competition. Mario Kart Wii sold 22.5 million copies worldwide. Let that sink in for just a second--that's 225 times the number of OR2006 sales. Not to mention there exists Burnout, Blur, this Fast and the Furious garbage, stupid Split/Second, lousy Forza which can't get the PI ratings right, and Need for Speed trying to be relevant again, just stuffing the competition. That's great, Sega has very little room to maneuver now. The only racing game nowadays that I wholeheartedly support is Gran Turismo 5 which I hope does really well otherwise I'm just gonna be super-pissed on top of being pissed already.
And this leads me to my next point. I may criticize Sega and yes, they may be missing a window of opportunity, but the main reason we got no Sega racers outside of OR2 and SaSASR is because Sega doesn't see them as profitable. Gee, I wonder why? Cause no one would buy them for whatever idiotic reasoning they come to. The main goal of any video game developer is to make money. Sega's not going to go on this humanitarian mission when not only will they lose money, but no one will care. Yes, gamers nowadays are that dense. It happened with the GameFAQs board proposal, it happened in all of our desolate arcades today, it's plain as day.
Sega's only choice now is to whore out Sonic because people will buy that. And guess what happened. Large amount of crap Sonic games.
They say that one should take a walk in another person's shoes before criticizing them. That way you're a mile away and you have his shoes LOL. But I'm starting to think Sega cares just a little, but no one's buying them for whatever reason. So after getting kicked in the face from the Dreamcast, is Sega really going to go out of their way to take any chances other than the safe road with Sonic games? Probably not. If you go to a casino and get burned, you're probably not going to return any time soon.
I'm going to say this which I've always believed but I never really said it. If there exists a window of opportunity for this Daytona USA sequel to be released, it's quicking closing before it's gone forever. Hell, what am I kidding, the chances of a Daytona sequel are infinitesimal at this point! Even straight ports of Daytona USA 1/2 and Scud Race (which would be great but not satisfy my thirst for more Daytona action) have a slim chance.
Like I said before, these sucky garbage games are becoming sealed in the minds of gamers that it may never return to before. Good meaningful games are just a thing of the past. God, I hate this video game culture SO MUCH I CAN'T TAKE IT I WANT TO GET OUT I FREAKING HATE IT I HATE ALL THESE DAMN VIDEO GAMES AND I CAN'T HELP BUT LET OUT MY RAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
For all you idle readers out there--if you have never heard about these games before, read my article as to why Sega Racers are so good. I mean, I've gone over this ad nauseum in my blog before, but here it is again. Go educate yourselves if you haven't already.
I'll go down swinging. I don't care if an army of nerds tries to burn my house down, I'm not going to give up. I want REAL GAMERS who are standing up for GOOD GAMES, none of these phonies. So if you're with me, then commit now. Otherwise, just move out of the way. I've had enough of this crap. Adios, amigos. I ride off into the sunset as the Lone Ranger with a bounty on my head. Come and get me you bastards!!
------------
And once again, I'm just hung up over Daytona USA and my dreams of playing it ever again. Let me just say what I got to say. Here's some "bummer" music to keep you entertained:
First of all, OutRun 2, despite Sumo Digital's efforts to port the game to Xbox, PS2, PC, even Xbox Live, sold horribly. I've heard that OutRun 2006 (C2C) sold about 100,000 copies worldwide to this day which is just abysmal considering the energy Sega and SD put into it. Like Sega is reeling from that like their Dreamcast days again. And it doesn't help that bringing back Sega's "glory days" in the form of Sonic Adventure and Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing were not as successful as we had hoped. In other words, I doubt Sega's morale is high right now, even if they tried their best.
On the contrary, look at the competition. Mario Kart Wii sold 22.5 million copies worldwide. Let that sink in for just a second--that's 225 times the number of OR2006 sales. Not to mention there exists Burnout, Blur, this Fast and the Furious garbage, stupid Split/Second, lousy Forza which can't get the PI ratings right, and Need for Speed trying to be relevant again, just stuffing the competition. That's great, Sega has very little room to maneuver now. The only racing game nowadays that I wholeheartedly support is Gran Turismo 5 which I hope does really well otherwise I'm just gonna be super-pissed on top of being pissed already.
And this leads me to my next point. I may criticize Sega and yes, they may be missing a window of opportunity, but the main reason we got no Sega racers outside of OR2 and SaSASR is because Sega doesn't see them as profitable. Gee, I wonder why? Cause no one would buy them for whatever idiotic reasoning they come to. The main goal of any video game developer is to make money. Sega's not going to go on this humanitarian mission when not only will they lose money, but no one will care. Yes, gamers nowadays are that dense. It happened with the GameFAQs board proposal, it happened in all of our desolate arcades today, it's plain as day.
Sega's only choice now is to whore out Sonic because people will buy that. And guess what happened. Large amount of crap Sonic games.
They say that one should take a walk in another person's shoes before criticizing them. That way you're a mile away and you have his shoes LOL. But I'm starting to think Sega cares just a little, but no one's buying them for whatever reason. So after getting kicked in the face from the Dreamcast, is Sega really going to go out of their way to take any chances other than the safe road with Sonic games? Probably not. If you go to a casino and get burned, you're probably not going to return any time soon.
I'm going to say this which I've always believed but I never really said it. If there exists a window of opportunity for this Daytona USA sequel to be released, it's quicking closing before it's gone forever. Hell, what am I kidding, the chances of a Daytona sequel are infinitesimal at this point! Even straight ports of Daytona USA 1/2 and Scud Race (which would be great but not satisfy my thirst for more Daytona action) have a slim chance.
Like I said before, these sucky garbage games are becoming sealed in the minds of gamers that it may never return to before. Good meaningful games are just a thing of the past. God, I hate this video game culture SO MUCH I CAN'T TAKE IT I WANT TO GET OUT I FREAKING HATE IT I HATE ALL THESE DAMN VIDEO GAMES AND I CAN'T HELP BUT LET OUT MY RAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
For all you idle readers out there--if you have never heard about these games before, read my article as to why Sega Racers are so good. I mean, I've gone over this ad nauseum in my blog before, but here it is again. Go educate yourselves if you haven't already.
I'll go down swinging. I don't care if an army of nerds tries to burn my house down, I'm not going to give up. I want REAL GAMERS who are standing up for GOOD GAMES, none of these phonies. So if you're with me, then commit now. Otherwise, just move out of the way. I've had enough of this crap. Adios, amigos. I ride off into the sunset as the Lone Ranger with a bounty on my head. Come and get me you bastards!!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Oh No, We Suck Again! (Japan/Nintendo)
Following my post on how Keiji Inafune said Japanese games suck, we get another wonderful followup along the lines of OHWAITYOUFORGOTABOUTTHISYOUDONTKNOWWHATYOURETALKINGABOUT, in other words, Nintendo. I had a lot of time to mull this...:
http://kotaku.com/5643582/hey-nintendo-is-a-japanese-company-you-know
...BUT WAIT! Inafune did address Nintendo briefly in this article and gave them some props, so it's not like he's a ignoramus:
http://tgs.gamespot.com/story/6276630/japanese-game-makers-five-years-behind-inafune
But I kind of see what he was saying about the Big N...so here goes:
DISCLAIMER: I'm about to get on Nintendo's case here. I DO NOT HATE NINTENDO. I AM NOT A FANBOY. I'M JUST CALLING IT LIKE I SEE IT.
Nintendo doesn't appear at TGS. They appear at E3, they go "big." They're responsible for making games like Zelda, Mario, and Pokemon which are gaming icons. That's great.
Nowadays, I think Nintendo has been underwhelming. First of all, console sales. Wii sold about 70 mil, DS sold 140 mil. THAT'S A LOT. But other than all those sales, what does Nintendo have? Motion controls? Sad to say it, but Xbox 360 is quickly usurping the Wii as the most robust console of this generation. Xbox 360 costs more money, but it's very versatile--DVD player, Xbox Live Arcade, Hi-Def screen, etc. Nintendo Wii has the overstayed motion controls and lame friend codes. Ask anyone who's played SSB: Brawl online how those are working out. Besides, who wants to play Brawl with ACTUAL motion controls anyway? People pissed and moaned about playing Mario Kart Wii with the "Wii-Wheel" so they resorted to using the joypad.
And then Nintendo seems to sparsely release blockbuster games--yeah we just got Super Mario Galaxy 2, but we haven't gotten another console Zelda and it's all about random stuff like "Super Mario Vore Adventure Inside Bowser," or "Samus Wanders Around Another Planet Again," and you know. And another thing, throw out Nintendo first/second party games and they really don't have much except for the motion control gimmick which MS and Sony are slowly catching up on.
Hmm, this is interesting! As a matter of fact on this very day, a GameFAQs poll that asks "Which console has the best game library?" further proves my point... Xbox 360 - 37% , PS3 - 26% , DS - 13% , Wii - 5% ...
And for that reason despite massive console unit sales, you see Wii's collecting dust and 360's running overtime, only to RRoD apparently (lol). Seriously, if it weren't for the RRoD's, the 360 would be the runaway best console but that holds it back--lousy Microsoft with their 50% RRoD rate... The PS3 is picking up steam late now that its price is going down and its game library increases. Arguably the best graphics of this generation. Seriously, forget about games, the PS3 has a Blu-ray player which is becoming increasingly popular...
In other words, the way I see it, Nintendo seems perfectly content putting the car on cruise control cause they are freakin' Nintendo, nothing bad will ever come of them and everyone will love them. I also don't think being on their own console is helpful cause frankly, it leaves the 360 and the PS3 as cesspools where Japanese devs get little support from each other. IN MY OPINION, GUYS.
EDIT: Guess what I'm trying to say is that Nintendo needs to drum up more third-party support...
REPEAT DISCLAIMER: I'm got on Nintendo's case here. I DO NOT HATE NINTENDO. I AM NOT A FANBOY. I'M JUST CALLING IT LIKE I SEE IT.
And then like we said before, Sega and all the cohorts suck too. Of course, the only thing I don't really get about what Inafune said is that Japan is "five years behind." I think I touched on that before. Basically, they're behind on graphics (the Wii) or clever ideas? Clever ideas....?
This cuts into my next point. This will probably tick off someone. Look, I'm a patriotic American, I love my country, God Bless America. But if it weren't for Japanese game developers, gaming would be a train wreck of catastrophic proportions. You like Halo? You like God of War? You like freakin Burnout? Well, congratulations, then every single game will be like that. EVERY GOSH-DANG GAME WILL TAKE PLACE IN SPACE/THE FUTURE (or in the "classical past" like Assassin's Creed or Prince of Persia though they will inexplicably inject some sci-fi elements in there anyway). Violence and crap movie adaptations galore. People will worship at the altar of World of Warcraft and sacrifice their time in honor. Burnout and Fast and the Furious-esque racing games up your ass (Oh Dear God)! Oh, and you'd get business dudes like this calling the shots:
http://kotaku.com/5643582/hey-nintendo-is-a-japanese-company-you-know
...BUT WAIT! Inafune did address Nintendo briefly in this article and gave them some props, so it's not like he's a ignoramus:
http://tgs.gamespot.com/story/6276630/japanese-game-makers-five-years-behind-inafune
But I kind of see what he was saying about the Big N...so here goes:
DISCLAIMER: I'm about to get on Nintendo's case here. I DO NOT HATE NINTENDO. I AM NOT A FANBOY. I'M JUST CALLING IT LIKE I SEE IT.
Nintendo doesn't appear at TGS. They appear at E3, they go "big." They're responsible for making games like Zelda, Mario, and Pokemon which are gaming icons. That's great.
Nowadays, I think Nintendo has been underwhelming. First of all, console sales. Wii sold about 70 mil, DS sold 140 mil. THAT'S A LOT. But other than all those sales, what does Nintendo have? Motion controls? Sad to say it, but Xbox 360 is quickly usurping the Wii as the most robust console of this generation. Xbox 360 costs more money, but it's very versatile--DVD player, Xbox Live Arcade, Hi-Def screen, etc. Nintendo Wii has the overstayed motion controls and lame friend codes. Ask anyone who's played SSB: Brawl online how those are working out. Besides, who wants to play Brawl with ACTUAL motion controls anyway? People pissed and moaned about playing Mario Kart Wii with the "Wii-Wheel" so they resorted to using the joypad.
And then Nintendo seems to sparsely release blockbuster games--yeah we just got Super Mario Galaxy 2, but we haven't gotten another console Zelda and it's all about random stuff like "Super Mario Vore Adventure Inside Bowser," or "Samus Wanders Around Another Planet Again," and you know. And another thing, throw out Nintendo first/second party games and they really don't have much except for the motion control gimmick which MS and Sony are slowly catching up on.
Hmm, this is interesting! As a matter of fact on this very day, a GameFAQs poll that asks "Which console has the best game library?" further proves my point... Xbox 360 - 37% , PS3 - 26% , DS - 13% , Wii - 5% ...
And for that reason despite massive console unit sales, you see Wii's collecting dust and 360's running overtime, only to RRoD apparently (lol). Seriously, if it weren't for the RRoD's, the 360 would be the runaway best console but that holds it back--lousy Microsoft with their 50% RRoD rate... The PS3 is picking up steam late now that its price is going down and its game library increases. Arguably the best graphics of this generation. Seriously, forget about games, the PS3 has a Blu-ray player which is becoming increasingly popular...
In other words, the way I see it, Nintendo seems perfectly content putting the car on cruise control cause they are freakin' Nintendo, nothing bad will ever come of them and everyone will love them. I also don't think being on their own console is helpful cause frankly, it leaves the 360 and the PS3 as cesspools where Japanese devs get little support from each other. IN MY OPINION, GUYS.
EDIT: Guess what I'm trying to say is that Nintendo needs to drum up more third-party support...
REPEAT DISCLAIMER: I'm got on Nintendo's case here. I DO NOT HATE NINTENDO. I AM NOT A FANBOY. I'M JUST CALLING IT LIKE I SEE IT.
And then like we said before, Sega and all the cohorts suck too. Of course, the only thing I don't really get about what Inafune said is that Japan is "five years behind." I think I touched on that before. Basically, they're behind on graphics (the Wii) or clever ideas? Clever ideas....?
This cuts into my next point. This will probably tick off someone. Look, I'm a patriotic American, I love my country, God Bless America. But if it weren't for Japanese game developers, gaming would be a train wreck of catastrophic proportions. You like Halo? You like God of War? You like freakin Burnout? Well, congratulations, then every single game will be like that. EVERY GOSH-DANG GAME WILL TAKE PLACE IN SPACE/THE FUTURE (or in the "classical past" like Assassin's Creed or Prince of Persia though they will inexplicably inject some sci-fi elements in there anyway). Violence and crap movie adaptations galore. People will worship at the altar of World of Warcraft and sacrifice their time in honor. Burnout and Fast and the Furious-esque racing games up your ass (Oh Dear God)! Oh, and you'd get business dudes like this calling the shots:
You know what, this is all theoretical. It may not turn out that way if Japan bows out. But don't say that it CAN'T happen.
So, what can be "done" about it? Nothing really. I mean, being "five years behind" doesn't really mean anything to me. It's about selling games that are popular. And maybe with the exception of a few sparse Japanese games, they're a rare breed in the game market. You can't "force" someone to like something. This whole game mentality we have today may not change. We may be screwed already as far as we know.
And to make this come full circle, look at Sega. Daytona USA. We've got to break down the proverbial wall and freakin salvage whatever we can before the world blows up in our face. Ok, so I'm a crazy lunatic. I'm out of things to say. I give Inafune some props for saying what he did. I'm not exactly smiling on the future either. Goodbye.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Japanese (*cough*Sega*cough*) Games Suck
So says Keiji Inafune, Capcom mastermind behind Megaman and Dead Rising, said at TGS 2010.
"I look around Tokyo Games Show, and everyone's making awful games; Japan is at least five years behind.....Capcom is barely keeping up. I want to study how Westerners live, and make games that appeal to them.....the Japanese game industry isn't dead as long as Capcom is around."
Surprisingly, this isn't the first time Inafune has said this...he has beat up on the Japanese game industry more than I ever could...
Anyway, it's tough for me to call this since I live in the US and thus I mostly see American-made games. Practically everything's now American: FPS, racing (ugh), action, strategy, RPG (Japanese RPG's are becoming a niche), etc. The way I see it, it's just fighting game and a few oddballs like Mario and Zelda that Japan has on us. Who knows, I may be wrong.
I think what he's trying to say is that Japan is making less "quality" titles. Nintendo is obviously perfect with their Wii and DS consoles selling in 10,000,000's. Sega, like I've said before, is a joke. I mean, I just hear nothing about them. Let's hand off a few Sonic games to other devs to spit out on a regular basis and throw the fans some crumbs in the form of a few home ports and call it a day. Capcom and, to a certain extent, Square still have some relevance but still, I gotta give credit to Mr. Inafune for what he said. I think Megaman is good--seriously, give the blue dude credit. And despite the extreme violence, I am somewhat interested in Dead Rising 2, just to see what the environments look like lol (I love colorful places).
Look, I may have admitted I'm not Sega's biggest fan, but I like what they've done throughout history and I want them to do good. They're loveable losers. But as far as I see it, they're making games like any other normal Japanese dev so they get no separation. They're losing their "unique" qualities--like you don't see those Dreamcast-esque games anymore. Oh well.
------------
And about Sega & Sonic Adventure, I was going to say this. I think some of us thought that this game was going to be a knock-out punch that gives Sega a little credit. Well, not really. Besides the reviews, the game also had to come out at the same time as Halo: Reach. So the game got a lukewarm reception and unless Sega starts spitting out those other DC ports, then they're going to lose whatever momentum they had. And I still don't know when Crazy Taxi is coming out.
------------
And about the GameFAQs photoshop contest, I'm not entering because A. I don't have a good idea and B. there's about 200 entries so far and I have no shot at it considering the quality of some of the entries. The video contest was my closest shot. Oh well, screw that site.
"I look around Tokyo Games Show, and everyone's making awful games; Japan is at least five years behind.....Capcom is barely keeping up. I want to study how Westerners live, and make games that appeal to them.....the Japanese game industry isn't dead as long as Capcom is around."
Seems like a cool guy, we can go to Arby's and a get a Cheddar Melt
Surprisingly, this isn't the first time Inafune has said this...he has beat up on the Japanese game industry more than I ever could...
Anyway, it's tough for me to call this since I live in the US and thus I mostly see American-made games. Practically everything's now American: FPS, racing (ugh), action, strategy, RPG (Japanese RPG's are becoming a niche), etc. The way I see it, it's just fighting game and a few oddballs like Mario and Zelda that Japan has on us. Who knows, I may be wrong.
I think what he's trying to say is that Japan is making less "quality" titles. Nintendo is obviously perfect with their Wii and DS consoles selling in 10,000,000's. Sega, like I've said before, is a joke. I mean, I just hear nothing about them. Let's hand off a few Sonic games to other devs to spit out on a regular basis and throw the fans some crumbs in the form of a few home ports and call it a day. Capcom and, to a certain extent, Square still have some relevance but still, I gotta give credit to Mr. Inafune for what he said. I think Megaman is good--seriously, give the blue dude credit. And despite the extreme violence, I am somewhat interested in Dead Rising 2, just to see what the environments look like lol (I love colorful places).
Look, I may have admitted I'm not Sega's biggest fan, but I like what they've done throughout history and I want them to do good. They're loveable losers. But as far as I see it, they're making games like any other normal Japanese dev so they get no separation. They're losing their "unique" qualities--like you don't see those Dreamcast-esque games anymore. Oh well.
------------
And about Sega & Sonic Adventure, I was going to say this. I think some of us thought that this game was going to be a knock-out punch that gives Sega a little credit. Well, not really. Besides the reviews, the game also had to come out at the same time as Halo: Reach. So the game got a lukewarm reception and unless Sega starts spitting out those other DC ports, then they're going to lose whatever momentum they had. And I still don't know when Crazy Taxi is coming out.
------------
And about the GameFAQs photoshop contest, I'm not entering because A. I don't have a good idea and B. there's about 200 entries so far and I have no shot at it considering the quality of some of the entries. The video contest was my closest shot. Oh well, screw that site.
Don't Get All Emo On Me
NOTE: I changed some stuff in this article to clear up any stupid things I might have said.
There's a song that I really like that often provokes emotions in me and that is Tuesday's Gone by Lynyrd Skynyrd:
Train roll on, on down the line,
Won't you please take me far away?
Now I feel the wind blow outside my door,
Means I'm leaving my woman behind.
Tuesday's gone with the wind.
My woman's gone with the wind.
And I don't know where I'm going.
I just want to be left alone.
Well, when this train ends I'll try again,
But I'm leaving my woman at home.
Tuesday's gone with the wind.
Tuesday's gone with the wind.
Tuesday's gone with the wind.
My woman's gone with the wind.
Train roll on many miles from my home,
See, I'm riding my blues away.
Tuesday, you see, she had to be free
But somehow I've got to carry on.
Tuesday's gone with the wind.
Tuesday's gone with the wind.
Tuesday's gone with the wind.
My woman's gone with the wind.
And I was looking on SongMeanings.net and I got a good idea of what the song's about:
I think this song means he's leaving the love of his life, but not because he stopped loving her. It sounds to me like he's leaving her BECAUSE he loves her. Maybe he knew that he couldn't treat her the way she deserved and she wasn't as happy as she could be. ANd he loves her so much that instead of being with her...he just wants her to be happy. And then he wants to just get away...he still loves her and he wants to be with her...and its painful because he knows that she won't be happy until he's gone from her life. The line "Tuesday, you see, she had to be free" I think helps reinforce my point. He just wanted her to be free, he didn't want her to feel trapped with him...he wants her to be happy. Amazing song, every time I hear it I get weird feelings because there is this girl I am really in love with... I want to be with her so bad...but I don't think I'm right for her...as badly as I want to be with her, I just want her to be happy, whether thats with me or another guy. Which is strange, I always made fun of movies that said corny lines like that...but I actually understand it now.
------------
Now, what does this mean? I'm not talking about a woman, I'm talking about...get ready for it...Daytona USA 2. Yes, I miss that game that much. Haven't been able to play it in God knows how long (about five years). And I've already treated on the level of a human being, I miss it, it's gone, I cry. It's sick. I KNOW THAT. But that's how I feel. NOTE: I'm not saying that I'm romantically attracted to the game, I'm not about to marry it...geez. Also, I know that the song meaning doesn't 100% apply to the situation (we're talking about a game here) but close enough, makes me feel sad. I just picked the worst possible game to be a fan of and I think that having played this game, I think my life is worse off than it was before.
It's not about just getting the game, it's about doing it justice, and my plan has always been to get a computer science bachelor's degree (which I'm 13 hours/credits away from), going to an undergraduate video game school like Full Sail, then trying to end up in Sega of Japan's offices where I get down on my knees and plead Yu Suzuki and Toshihiro Nagoshi to make another Daytona game.
And I know, the idea is so ludicrous but that's all I can do. I can't imagine myself working for these other video game companies that I don't agree with. What's gotten worse is that over the years, I've just been sulking over Sega's decisions. I'm not going to lie--I'm a crappy Sega fan. I like what Sega's done mostly in the Dreamcast era and with their lineup of quirky, non-violent titles, but it's practically the racing games that get me. I mean, we've got a few good things like After Burner Climax, LA Machine Guns, Phantasy Star, Radiant Silvergun, etc. NOTE: I am very happy for the fans though and that's what matters. But personally, it just wasn't doing it for me.
And if I do somehow get employed by Sega, I just don't see myself getting a shot at a Daytona game. I'll probably work on these weird games that I have little interest in and I just won't like it. NOTE: This is espeiclaly because Sega's changed so much in the last couple of years. If I got to work during the Dreamcast era, it would probably be drastically different. That's how the video game industry works nowadays--one person, especially me with no experience, can't fight the current. Although I do hope that no matter what happens, that Sega can at least return to their glory days and produce good, clean titles that make everyone happy. If I can at least do my part, I would be content.
To think that I could possibly be more successful working for some other company besides Sega so basically, I'm making a risky choice by choosing to pursue my goals. I mean, I can code, I can model, I can make maps in FPS games, but I have a feeling that going to Sega will hinder my progress. Of course, this is all assuming I have the willpower to complete my video game training, travel to Japan, and somehow get hired by Sega in the first place. NOTE: Oh, and learn Japanese. And not to mention that I've completely forgot about earning money, finding a home, being comfortable, etc.
And about the song, well, Daytona USA 2 is gone like the wind...haven't played it in years. But really, how far can I take this? I mean, is it really worth bringing the game back? It's just this little arcade game with three cars and tracks that frankly, very few people seem to like. What am I doing? Should I just let the game rest in peace and go out with whatever honor it may have? Or should I take the chance of ruining my career and/or bastardizing the Daytona name (or whatever alternate title we give the game due to licensing and all) just for this little game? Can I ever just let go and move on to other things...?
Like I've said before, there's just something in Sega racers, particularly Daytona 2, which just makes me tick...like they're just magic. I can't let go. No other racing games have been so satisfying. Even if I don't play these games often, I still love to see them and reminisce on good feelings.
Tuesday's gone with the wind...oh geez, I just don't know what to do. Really, assuming that society continues to function like normal over the next few years, I have a shot at it and I believe that I can succeed, but I'm really going to bite the bullet here. I just don't know what's going to come of the future. It's in the Lord's hands.
Ok, everyone who read this probably thinks I'm crazy, but I'm a dreamer. Everyone has dreams. I'm not that good at video games, I'm not that smart (I blew my good GPA last semester), I have no physical talents, I'm not even that charismatic. But regardless of what gets in your way, you have to go for it. I mean, that's why I do ludicrous stuff like post on this blog, make Forza 3 designs, beg GameFAQs for message boards, etc...
Wow, they don't make music like that anymore. Goodbye, I'll get back to you on more Sonic Adventure stuff later...
There's a song that I really like that often provokes emotions in me and that is Tuesday's Gone by Lynyrd Skynyrd:
Train roll on, on down the line,
Won't you please take me far away?
Now I feel the wind blow outside my door,
Means I'm leaving my woman behind.
Tuesday's gone with the wind.
My woman's gone with the wind.
And I don't know where I'm going.
I just want to be left alone.
Well, when this train ends I'll try again,
But I'm leaving my woman at home.
Tuesday's gone with the wind.
Tuesday's gone with the wind.
Tuesday's gone with the wind.
My woman's gone with the wind.
Train roll on many miles from my home,
See, I'm riding my blues away.
Tuesday, you see, she had to be free
But somehow I've got to carry on.
Tuesday's gone with the wind.
Tuesday's gone with the wind.
Tuesday's gone with the wind.
My woman's gone with the wind.
And I was looking on SongMeanings.net and I got a good idea of what the song's about:
I think this song means he's leaving the love of his life, but not because he stopped loving her. It sounds to me like he's leaving her BECAUSE he loves her. Maybe he knew that he couldn't treat her the way she deserved and she wasn't as happy as she could be. ANd he loves her so much that instead of being with her...he just wants her to be happy. And then he wants to just get away...he still loves her and he wants to be with her...and its painful because he knows that she won't be happy until he's gone from her life. The line "Tuesday, you see, she had to be free" I think helps reinforce my point. He just wanted her to be free, he didn't want her to feel trapped with him...he wants her to be happy. Amazing song, every time I hear it I get weird feelings because there is this girl I am really in love with... I want to be with her so bad...but I don't think I'm right for her...as badly as I want to be with her, I just want her to be happy, whether thats with me or another guy. Which is strange, I always made fun of movies that said corny lines like that...but I actually understand it now.
------------
Now, what does this mean? I'm not talking about a woman, I'm talking about...get ready for it...Daytona USA 2. Yes, I miss that game that much. Haven't been able to play it in God knows how long (about five years). And I've already treated on the level of a human being, I miss it, it's gone, I cry. It's sick. I KNOW THAT. But that's how I feel. NOTE: I'm not saying that I'm romantically attracted to the game, I'm not about to marry it...geez. Also, I know that the song meaning doesn't 100% apply to the situation (we're talking about a game here) but close enough, makes me feel sad. I just picked the worst possible game to be a fan of and I think that having played this game, I think my life is worse off than it was before.
It's not about just getting the game, it's about doing it justice, and my plan has always been to get a computer science bachelor's degree (which I'm 13 hours/credits away from), going to an undergraduate video game school like Full Sail, then trying to end up in Sega of Japan's offices where I get down on my knees and plead Yu Suzuki and Toshihiro Nagoshi to make another Daytona game.
And I know, the idea is so ludicrous but that's all I can do. I can't imagine myself working for these other video game companies that I don't agree with. What's gotten worse is that over the years, I've just been sulking over Sega's decisions. I'm not going to lie--I'm a crappy Sega fan. I like what Sega's done mostly in the Dreamcast era and with their lineup of quirky, non-violent titles, but it's practically the racing games that get me. I mean, we've got a few good things like After Burner Climax, LA Machine Guns, Phantasy Star, Radiant Silvergun, etc. NOTE: I am very happy for the fans though and that's what matters. But personally, it just wasn't doing it for me.
And if I do somehow get employed by Sega, I just don't see myself getting a shot at a Daytona game. I'll probably work on these weird games that I have little interest in and I just won't like it. NOTE: This is espeiclaly because Sega's changed so much in the last couple of years. If I got to work during the Dreamcast era, it would probably be drastically different. That's how the video game industry works nowadays--one person, especially me with no experience, can't fight the current. Although I do hope that no matter what happens, that Sega can at least return to their glory days and produce good, clean titles that make everyone happy. If I can at least do my part, I would be content.
To think that I could possibly be more successful working for some other company besides Sega so basically, I'm making a risky choice by choosing to pursue my goals. I mean, I can code, I can model, I can make maps in FPS games, but I have a feeling that going to Sega will hinder my progress. Of course, this is all assuming I have the willpower to complete my video game training, travel to Japan, and somehow get hired by Sega in the first place. NOTE: Oh, and learn Japanese. And not to mention that I've completely forgot about earning money, finding a home, being comfortable, etc.
And about the song, well, Daytona USA 2 is gone like the wind...haven't played it in years. But really, how far can I take this? I mean, is it really worth bringing the game back? It's just this little arcade game with three cars and tracks that frankly, very few people seem to like. What am I doing? Should I just let the game rest in peace and go out with whatever honor it may have? Or should I take the chance of ruining my career and/or bastardizing the Daytona name (or whatever alternate title we give the game due to licensing and all) just for this little game? Can I ever just let go and move on to other things...?
Like I've said before, there's just something in Sega racers, particularly Daytona 2, which just makes me tick...like they're just magic. I can't let go. No other racing games have been so satisfying. Even if I don't play these games often, I still love to see them and reminisce on good feelings.
Tuesday's gone with the wind...oh geez, I just don't know what to do. Really, assuming that society continues to function like normal over the next few years, I have a shot at it and I believe that I can succeed, but I'm really going to bite the bullet here. I just don't know what's going to come of the future. It's in the Lord's hands.
Ok, everyone who read this probably thinks I'm crazy, but I'm a dreamer. Everyone has dreams. I'm not that good at video games, I'm not that smart (I blew my good GPA last semester), I have no physical talents, I'm not even that charismatic. But regardless of what gets in your way, you have to go for it. I mean, that's why I do ludicrous stuff like post on this blog, make Forza 3 designs, beg GameFAQs for message boards, etc...
Wow, they don't make music like that anymore. Goodbye, I'll get back to you on more Sonic Adventure stuff later...
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Kung Fu Rider And Sonic Adventure Review
First off, let's just say that this week was really bad--the whole GameFAQs contest mutiny, bunch of tests, sucking at video games, little sleep, having to deal with my family. So all Saturday, I just slept. I feel good now but there goes my weekend.
------------
Now I always talk about how violent video games suck and I'm getting tired of all this gore and downright disgustingness on TV, movies, video games...yeah, I like a few violent games like Call of Duty: WaW Nazi Zombies, but at some point, I have to draw the line cause at some point, the act of playing depressing games where you slice people's heads off is getting old really, really fast.
But there was this Playstation Move game that I thought was really neat and family-friendly. It's called Kung Fu Rider. What you do is ride a chair, grocery kart, etc. down a hill and try not to hit stuff. You use the Playstation Move controller to jump, speed up, duck, do airborne tricks, grind rails, karate kick Yakuza dudes trying to knock you down, etc. It's a pretty stupid idea, but I thought it was a breath of fresh air to see something interesting that didn't resort to murdering people.
The problem with the game is that it just plain sucks. It's sold for $40 when it should be just a $10 downloadable. Besides a lack of content and repetitive gameplay, the controls are horrible and it's hard to play. What's up with all these recent motion-control games that suck so bad? Tony Hawk: Ride is a good example. What a crappy game--I mean I love the Tony Hawk games of yesterday, but this is a joke. Oh man.
Oh yeah, I did read one YouTube comment about the game and it goes like this:
This game is like crazy taxi which sucks too
Clearly, this guy was neglected by his parents which explains why he is an uneducated moron I suppose.
Kung Fu Rider: Another game flushed down the toilet, never to be seen again. That's sad.
------------
And here we go with Sonic Adventure for the Xbox 360. I beat Sonic's story and it's not bad. First problem I noticed is that the graphics are quite shiny--when you take an old game and put it on a clear, crisp screen, all the polygonal character models just come into play. And yes, the cutscenes make Goldman from HotD look like Citizen Kane. Yeah, it's sort of fun to watch.
Despite being a game that came out in '98, it's not getting good reception. The number one problem is that the controls are just as slippery as more recent Sonic games like the Sonic the Hedgehog (360/PS3 game in '06). To me, I thought the controls were better in this game--less fear of dying, just zipping around, etc. The controls were still a little too slick for me though, but I think it has to do with the Xbox 360 just ruining everything cause I don't think this game was that bad on the Dreamcast.
There's some glitches in the game. I didn't run into any when I was playing, but people complained about falling through the floor and all that nonsense. I think it has to do with Sega butchering their ports to the Gamecube and PC so it's no surprise if this game's a little glitchy.
And the big question is...were we duped into thinking Sonic was so awesome back in '98? IGN gave this game a 3.5 FREAKIN IDIOTS!!!! TBQH, I thought Sonic Adventure 2 was much better than 1, that's my favorite Sonic game. Overall, my biggest complaint is that there weren't enough levels cause it's not that bad, but I zipped htrough it fairly quickly.
I think people are going to complain no matter what. As a matter of fact, it's not like people liked Sonic Adventure even when it was released in the Dreamcast Days. When Perfect Dark came out on XBLA, reviewers were like "it's no good compared to the piss-your-pants goodness of Halo/Call of Duty" which is just stupid cause that game gets at least a 9/10 in my book. Sonic Adventure for XBLA, I'd give it at least 7. It's only $10, the game's rough around the edges, obviously outdated, but it's still a decent Sonic game.
Sonic the Hedgehog = everyone's favorite punching bag these days. Get rid of Sonic, Sega sucks, etc. Like I said before, if Sonic dies so does Sega which means no Daytona USA sequels so these games mean more than just the 800 MSP you "wasted." I worry about the future.
------------
Now I always talk about how violent video games suck and I'm getting tired of all this gore and downright disgustingness on TV, movies, video games...yeah, I like a few violent games like Call of Duty: WaW Nazi Zombies, but at some point, I have to draw the line cause at some point, the act of playing depressing games where you slice people's heads off is getting old really, really fast.
But there was this Playstation Move game that I thought was really neat and family-friendly. It's called Kung Fu Rider. What you do is ride a chair, grocery kart, etc. down a hill and try not to hit stuff. You use the Playstation Move controller to jump, speed up, duck, do airborne tricks, grind rails, karate kick Yakuza dudes trying to knock you down, etc. It's a pretty stupid idea, but I thought it was a breath of fresh air to see something interesting that didn't resort to murdering people.
The problem with the game is that it just plain sucks. It's sold for $40 when it should be just a $10 downloadable. Besides a lack of content and repetitive gameplay, the controls are horrible and it's hard to play. What's up with all these recent motion-control games that suck so bad? Tony Hawk: Ride is a good example. What a crappy game--I mean I love the Tony Hawk games of yesterday, but this is a joke. Oh man.
Oh yeah, I did read one YouTube comment about the game and it goes like this:
This game is like crazy taxi which sucks too
Clearly, this guy was neglected by his parents which explains why he is an uneducated moron I suppose.
Kung Fu Rider: Another game flushed down the toilet, never to be seen again. That's sad.
------------
And here we go with Sonic Adventure for the Xbox 360. I beat Sonic's story and it's not bad. First problem I noticed is that the graphics are quite shiny--when you take an old game and put it on a clear, crisp screen, all the polygonal character models just come into play. And yes, the cutscenes make Goldman from HotD look like Citizen Kane. Yeah, it's sort of fun to watch.
Despite being a game that came out in '98, it's not getting good reception. The number one problem is that the controls are just as slippery as more recent Sonic games like the Sonic the Hedgehog (360/PS3 game in '06). To me, I thought the controls were better in this game--less fear of dying, just zipping around, etc. The controls were still a little too slick for me though, but I think it has to do with the Xbox 360 just ruining everything cause I don't think this game was that bad on the Dreamcast.
There's some glitches in the game. I didn't run into any when I was playing, but people complained about falling through the floor and all that nonsense. I think it has to do with Sega butchering their ports to the Gamecube and PC so it's no surprise if this game's a little glitchy.
And the big question is...were we duped into thinking Sonic was so awesome back in '98? IGN gave this game a 3.5 FREAKIN IDIOTS!!!! TBQH, I thought Sonic Adventure 2 was much better than 1, that's my favorite Sonic game. Overall, my biggest complaint is that there weren't enough levels cause it's not that bad, but I zipped htrough it fairly quickly.
I think people are going to complain no matter what. As a matter of fact, it's not like people liked Sonic Adventure even when it was released in the Dreamcast Days. When Perfect Dark came out on XBLA, reviewers were like "it's no good compared to the piss-your-pants goodness of Halo/Call of Duty" which is just stupid cause that game gets at least a 9/10 in my book. Sonic Adventure for XBLA, I'd give it at least 7. It's only $10, the game's rough around the edges, obviously outdated, but it's still a decent Sonic game.
Sonic the Hedgehog = everyone's favorite punching bag these days. Get rid of Sonic, Sega sucks, etc. Like I said before, if Sonic dies so does Sega which means no Daytona USA sequels so these games mean more than just the 800 MSP you "wasted." I worry about the future.
Friday, September 17, 2010
WOW GRAN TURISMO 5 HAS BLOWN MY MIND
It's gonna have the FREAKIN VOLKSWAGEN KUBELWAGEN IN IT!!!
Mind = blown. I was always like gee, I liked that little car from Battlefield 1942, it was a Nazi harbringer of death, but I still like it. BUT NOW THAT I CAN DRIVE IT IN A RACING GAME...
This is easily the best news I've heard all week. Maybe all month.
And guess what else you can drive? A Schwimmwagen or whatever. A VW Bus. Some shiny red car. You can race on Nurburgring in the rain! More than eight cars on track at once! HOLY ****. If this game had Forza's car customization, this would be the best non-Sega racing game ever made.
This guy left this comment and I wholeheartedly agree:
If any game was defined as art I'd say GT5 fits the bill. It's created by impassioned people, or at least a leader, and it defies logic in a business point of view. More effort is spent on it than is necessary. It's also pretty damn good looking, too. Using its medium to the utmost advantage to create realism. Something some oil painters try to achieve. It's also appreciated greatly. It's just not abstract art.
You know what. I know that Gran Turismo devs are taking a lot of crap for delaying the game, but GOOD FOR THEM! I'm sick and tired of these hackneyed games that are spit out on an annual basis, just rushing to the next project...give me a game that has SUBSTANCE, something that goes the distance... Even if GT5 fails, I have to applaud them for this.
And now that I've met my post quota for the next few days, I'm going into hibernation. See ya around, kids!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
GI Joe Loves Sega Rally
Woah, I'm sorry about that emo/rage bit I did earlier so let's post this funny video. This is a GI Joe PSA...just dubbed footage, there's 24 in all. This one has to do with Sega Rally cause of what the guy says at the end (it's kind of hard to make out). Damn this is like the hundredth stupid video I posted in a row, I apologize for that too.
Click here for original "Game Over Yeah" line.
Click here for original "Game Over Yeah" line.
WHY OH WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN (Sega To Blame)
I'm sorry. I'm just chilling out playing my Sonic Adventure game, playing Rock Band, everything's ok. Then I check out some more stuff on the internet. And now you know why they say "no news is good news." I'm really sorry that it has to be this way.
So anyway, Kotaku gets another interview with the guy about Yakuza zombies and this is what is said:
"We don't want to stop the Yakuza franchise. In terms of making entertainment, we're deadly serious," Kikuchi (Yakuza director) said of the bizarre addition. "We want to have the ability to branch out and create new game experiences [with Yakuza.] We've done it in the past with Yakuza Kenzan, a samurai themed game. Making differently themed games is our challenge to create new types of entertainment."
You know what. Without beating around the bush, I'm going to tell you where they got the idea for zombies in Yakuza.
http://kotaku.com/5639773/how-did-zombies-invade-segas-japanese-gangster-game
------------
And if things weren't looking up anymore for Sega, here you go, a new Kinect Sega horror game complete with all that good M-rated depressing stuff that Sega didn't stand for in its eariler days (yeah you had House of the Dead, but that was made up by the hilarious Goldman).
What we saw of it at Microsoft's TGS keynote can best be described as a dark, seemingly on-rails title that has a real Silent Hill look and feel to it. There's blood, there's screaming, there's torture.
So that's great. Let's make another incredibly violent game, that'll sell. I mean, I know I sound stupid when I say this, but...I don't even know Sega anymore. What the hell's going on? We're never getting another Daytona USA game at this rate. Plane's gonna crash into the water and we're gonna end up as castaways on an island where we will kill each other like cannibals. Thanks, Sega, thanks. This is what I get for being a loyal fan.
http://kotaku.com/5639341/sega-bringing-nightmares-to-kinect
------------
At least you're getting Valkyria Chronicles III for PSP and Phantasy Star 2 for some console, that ought to make some people happy.
------------
And here we go again. I can't believe we have to bring this up again. ANOTHER GAMEFAQS BOARD CONTEST!?!?
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/20-gamefaqs-competitions/56401288
Make a book, CD, DVD, or video game cover about the board you want. I don't even know if I want to do this. I mean, look at the last entry I made. I don't even know if the board concept I had was even good enough. Like I can make the best damn video game cover in the world, but if the judges think a Sega racing board is "stoopid," then that's it, no shot. I'm good at Photoshop but not great. I have until the 21st to do this and I'd rather see other peoples' entries first.
Please don't tell me I'm that thick-headed that I would do this...I swear, the admins are teasing me. They have me like a fish on a hook. Just flopping all over the place.
You know what, screw it, I'm just gonna take a nap I guess.
So anyway, Kotaku gets another interview with the guy about Yakuza zombies and this is what is said:
"We don't want to stop the Yakuza franchise. In terms of making entertainment, we're deadly serious," Kikuchi (Yakuza director) said of the bizarre addition. "We want to have the ability to branch out and create new game experiences [with Yakuza.] We've done it in the past with Yakuza Kenzan, a samurai themed game. Making differently themed games is our challenge to create new types of entertainment."
You know what. Without beating around the bush, I'm going to tell you where they got the idea for zombies in Yakuza.
Yeah.
http://kotaku.com/5639773/how-did-zombies-invade-segas-japanese-gangster-game
------------
And if things weren't looking up anymore for Sega, here you go, a new Kinect Sega horror game complete with all that good M-rated depressing stuff that Sega didn't stand for in its eariler days (yeah you had House of the Dead, but that was made up by the hilarious Goldman).
What we saw of it at Microsoft's TGS keynote can best be described as a dark, seemingly on-rails title that has a real Silent Hill look and feel to it. There's blood, there's screaming, there's torture.
So that's great. Let's make another incredibly violent game, that'll sell. I mean, I know I sound stupid when I say this, but...I don't even know Sega anymore. What the hell's going on? We're never getting another Daytona USA game at this rate. Plane's gonna crash into the water and we're gonna end up as castaways on an island where we will kill each other like cannibals. Thanks, Sega, thanks. This is what I get for being a loyal fan.
http://kotaku.com/5639341/sega-bringing-nightmares-to-kinect
------------
At least you're getting Valkyria Chronicles III for PSP and Phantasy Star 2 for some console, that ought to make some people happy.
------------
And here we go again. I can't believe we have to bring this up again. ANOTHER GAMEFAQS BOARD CONTEST!?!?
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/20-gamefaqs-competitions/56401288
Make a book, CD, DVD, or video game cover about the board you want. I don't even know if I want to do this. I mean, look at the last entry I made. I don't even know if the board concept I had was even good enough. Like I can make the best damn video game cover in the world, but if the judges think a Sega racing board is "stoopid," then that's it, no shot. I'm good at Photoshop but not great. I have until the 21st to do this and I'd rather see other peoples' entries first.
Please don't tell me I'm that thick-headed that I would do this...I swear, the admins are teasing me. They have me like a fish on a hook. Just flopping all over the place.
You know what, screw it, I'm just gonna take a nap I guess.
Sonic Adventure Bonanza
Alright, let's stop being a Negative Nancy and post some fun stuff. I've got a few Sega things on tap for you guys especially since I spent the last few days on that stupid video.
I'm downloading Sonic Adventure right now. It costs 800 MSP for the regular version, but there's also this extra DX content you can get for another 400 MSP. What's in it? Extra stuff I guess.
Also, I heard that the Crazy Taxi port will have more than just a different soundtrack and removed Pizza Hut/KFC logos...different voice actors, clunky physics engine, is this true? When is this game coming out anyway? Really Sega, don't kill Crazy Taxi, seriously that would be sad.
------------
And now for crappy Sonic flash movies...you might like them, I don't know. They don't have one on Sonic Adventure 1, but they have one on SA2 which is good enough I suppose:
There's also one on Sonic Battle, Sonic Riders, whatever you look them up lol.
I'm downloading Sonic Adventure right now. It costs 800 MSP for the regular version, but there's also this extra DX content you can get for another 400 MSP. What's in it? Extra stuff I guess.
Also, I heard that the Crazy Taxi port will have more than just a different soundtrack and removed Pizza Hut/KFC logos...different voice actors, clunky physics engine, is this true? When is this game coming out anyway? Really Sega, don't kill Crazy Taxi, seriously that would be sad.
------------
And now for crappy Sonic flash movies...you might like them, I don't know. They don't have one on Sonic Adventure 1, but they have one on SA2 which is good enough I suppose:
There's also one on Sonic Battle, Sonic Riders, whatever you look them up lol.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
The STATS Are A Lie
I'm looking at the "Stats" tab on my Blogspot and the numbers and here's what I got for JUST the last week:
33 hits from Italy?
32 hits from Turkey?
27 hits from Russia?
29 hits by Firefox (I use IE, shame on me)?
9/11 Post, 16 hits?
Ten Bad Driving Games, 13 hits?
New Orleans Saints Post, 10 hits?
The amount of hits on the "Stats" tab differ from the broken hits counter... So are there people from across the world who REALLY are interested in what I have to say or are these bots running around looking for blogs to infect? I checked the amount of spam messages I got in the spam filter and I only got one. Referring URLs are just a bunch of Google Images. So I don't know what's going on.
Surprisingly no hits from Japan. PLEASE SEGA COME TO MY WEBSITE AND HEAR MY CRIES FOR HELP!!
But anyway, thanks to all my actual readers...I really appreciate it.
33 hits from Italy?
32 hits from Turkey?
27 hits from Russia?
29 hits by Firefox (I use IE, shame on me)?
9/11 Post, 16 hits?
Ten Bad Driving Games, 13 hits?
New Orleans Saints Post, 10 hits?
The amount of hits on the "Stats" tab differ from the broken hits counter... So are there people from across the world who REALLY are interested in what I have to say or are these bots running around looking for blogs to infect? I checked the amount of spam messages I got in the spam filter and I only got one. Referring URLs are just a bunch of Google Images. So I don't know what's going on.
Surprisingly no hits from Japan. PLEASE SEGA COME TO MY WEBSITE AND HEAR MY CRIES FOR HELP!!
But anyway, thanks to all my actual readers...I really appreciate it.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
More Goldeneye 007 Hooray (AND YAKUZA SUPRISE)
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/14/goldeneye-007-wii-preview/
I didn't read that much into this but I saw it and I was mildly interested. Here's a quote about single-player which I don't care that much about but w/e:
"So we got the writer of [Goldeneye], Bruce Feirstein, to come on board and update the story to fit today's time, today's political climate. Today's military climate is very different, and Daniel Craig's Bond is very different. He's not as gadgety, he's more phyiscal -- his world is a little more gritty, a little darker, a little more unclear than Brosnan's world. From a story perspective, it's about tackling it from today's perspective and not the '90s. Having said that, it's still the GoldenEye story; you still have those characters -- Oromov, Sukovski, Natalya, Zenyadata -- so those characters are there. The basic story arc is there, just the new setting makes more sense today."
That makes sense, right? Every game is 100x better when you make it darker and grittier and more brutal and unhappy. Makes me feel really, really good. Oh and was it really necessary to change the setting? Really? I mean, if we made a game based on, say Star Wars or The Terminator, should we screw with everything?
Also, you play this one mission where you drive a tank and blow up a bunch of stuff in a cakewalk mission. Ok, catering to the instant-gratification element inside of us, health automatically regenerates, no skill, just press buttons and watch the pretty explosions. Then there's this lovely quote about the multiplayer:
The two levels I played, as well as my time with networked multiplayer (there will be a Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection mode, too), showed just how much time and energy has been invested in this GoldenEye 007 remake. In fact, it's not much of a "remake" at all. It's certainly not the game I remember, but it is a legitimate, hardcore FPS.
First of all, what does it mean for a game to be a NON-legitimate FPS? Name one? Oh, aren't all the FPSes nowadays like this, "hardcore to the max"? And aren't like 90% of them expendable? So yeah, that really gets me pumped about this. Oh and one more quote:
As if that wasn't enough, Stielman (Activion CEO) placed the final cherry on top of his pitch: GoldenEye 007 will be "the best Wii shooter ever made." We'll take him up on that claim when the game is released on November 2.
It may be only because I'd rather play my FPSes on the Xbox 360/PS3/PC. Sorry Wii, you've already got your work cut out for you with all that motion control crap and those cookie-cutter WiiWare games...
The way I see it, this game wouldn't be made if the devs weren't expecting a wave of nostalgia to come in and save them. Maybe I would think otherwise, but remember, this is ACTIVISION we're talking about.
Older rant about Goldeneye Wii, Perfect Dark XBLA, and Goldeneye XBLA Beta.
Original Goldeneye Dev says remake is "uninspired".
Dark violent games suck.
I want to stop with the Goldeneye ranting now, I'm gonna let it go, I got more important things to talk about.
------------
And this just came in RIGHT NOW. Mark it down people!!
From Tokyo Game Show 2010: Yakuza, Sega & Toshihiro Nagoshi's recent crime franchise, will have....zombies in it. Fantastic.
http://kotaku.com/5638240/new-yakuza-game-features-zombies
The first image Sega showed of upcoming Yakuza game, Yakuza: Of The End, depicted the in-game Kamurocho, the in-game version of Shinjuku's Kabukicho, in ruins.
The game's designer (Nagoshi) said that the theme for Of The End was "destruction". A more apt theme is "bwah?"I don't know what to say. I don't know how zombies will fit in this game but they will, I guess. Say what you will, but I think Nagoshi needs to sober up soon.
------------
Also, check out what I found. Sega's TGS 2010 Website. Not to say these games are bad, but when I look at this lineup, it's like they're ripping a page out of Square's and Capcom's playbooks. And some Sega "schwag" or whatever. Psh, not even anything about Virtua Fighter 5 home port! And let's forget about Daytona USA ports and stuff, are we gonna get any new racing games? What about that R-Tuned or Sega Race TV thing? I don't even know Sega anymore.
http://kotaku.com/5638205/the-tokyo-game-show-website-tour
I didn't read that much into this but I saw it and I was mildly interested. Here's a quote about single-player which I don't care that much about but w/e:
"So we got the writer of [Goldeneye], Bruce Feirstein, to come on board and update the story to fit today's time, today's political climate. Today's military climate is very different, and Daniel Craig's Bond is very different. He's not as gadgety, he's more phyiscal -- his world is a little more gritty, a little darker, a little more unclear than Brosnan's world. From a story perspective, it's about tackling it from today's perspective and not the '90s. Having said that, it's still the GoldenEye story; you still have those characters -- Oromov, Sukovski, Natalya, Zenyadata -- so those characters are there. The basic story arc is there, just the new setting makes more sense today."
That makes sense, right? Every game is 100x better when you make it darker and grittier and more brutal and unhappy. Makes me feel really, really good. Oh and was it really necessary to change the setting? Really? I mean, if we made a game based on, say Star Wars or The Terminator, should we screw with everything?
Also, you play this one mission where you drive a tank and blow up a bunch of stuff in a cakewalk mission. Ok, catering to the instant-gratification element inside of us, health automatically regenerates, no skill, just press buttons and watch the pretty explosions. Then there's this lovely quote about the multiplayer:
The two levels I played, as well as my time with networked multiplayer (there will be a Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection mode, too), showed just how much time and energy has been invested in this GoldenEye 007 remake. In fact, it's not much of a "remake" at all. It's certainly not the game I remember, but it is a legitimate, hardcore FPS.
First of all, what does it mean for a game to be a NON-legitimate FPS? Name one? Oh, aren't all the FPSes nowadays like this, "hardcore to the max"? And aren't like 90% of them expendable? So yeah, that really gets me pumped about this. Oh and one more quote:
As if that wasn't enough, Stielman (Activion CEO) placed the final cherry on top of his pitch: GoldenEye 007 will be "the best Wii shooter ever made." We'll take him up on that claim when the game is released on November 2.
It may be only because I'd rather play my FPSes on the Xbox 360/PS3/PC. Sorry Wii, you've already got your work cut out for you with all that motion control crap and those cookie-cutter WiiWare games...
The way I see it, this game wouldn't be made if the devs weren't expecting a wave of nostalgia to come in and save them. Maybe I would think otherwise, but remember, this is ACTIVISION we're talking about.
Older rant about Goldeneye Wii, Perfect Dark XBLA, and Goldeneye XBLA Beta.
Original Goldeneye Dev says remake is "uninspired".
Dark violent games suck.
I want to stop with the Goldeneye ranting now, I'm gonna let it go, I got more important things to talk about.
------------
And this just came in RIGHT NOW. Mark it down people!!
From Tokyo Game Show 2010: Yakuza, Sega & Toshihiro Nagoshi's recent crime franchise, will have....zombies in it. Fantastic.
http://kotaku.com/5638240/new-yakuza-game-features-zombies
The first image Sega showed of upcoming Yakuza game, Yakuza: Of The End, depicted the in-game Kamurocho, the in-game version of Shinjuku's Kabukicho, in ruins.
The game's designer (Nagoshi) said that the theme for Of The End was "destruction". A more apt theme is "bwah?"I don't know what to say. I don't know how zombies will fit in this game but they will, I guess. Say what you will, but I think Nagoshi needs to sober up soon.
------------
Also, check out what I found. Sega's TGS 2010 Website. Not to say these games are bad, but when I look at this lineup, it's like they're ripping a page out of Square's and Capcom's playbooks. And some Sega "schwag" or whatever. Psh, not even anything about Virtua Fighter 5 home port! And let's forget about Daytona USA ports and stuff, are we gonna get any new racing games? What about that R-Tuned or Sega Race TV thing? I don't even know Sega anymore.
http://kotaku.com/5638205/the-tokyo-game-show-website-tour
Sonic Adventure On Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday 9/15
I forgot about this until now. It's just 800 MSP/$10. You better buy it OR ELSE.
Also, I just realized that the Crazy Taxi 360 release has yet to be announced (I think)... Kind of sad since I want to get this one too. Didn't Sega say they would port at least ten Dreamcast games to the 360 (EDIT: At least 18)? They've only done one so far, do you really think Sega is up to the task? My gut instinct says we'll be let down, but still, gotta keep the faith...
Oh yeah, btw, I think Sega's porting some games to the iPhone/iPod, such as ChuChu Rocket, but I don't own either of those so that's just a load of garbage. See what UK Resistance says about it (including a list of features). It looks OK from what I've seen.
Also, I just realized that the Crazy Taxi 360 release has yet to be announced (I think)... Kind of sad since I want to get this one too. Didn't Sega say they would port at least ten Dreamcast games to the 360 (EDIT: At least 18)? They've only done one so far, do you really think Sega is up to the task? My gut instinct says we'll be let down, but still, gotta keep the faith...
Oh yeah, btw, I think Sega's porting some games to the iPhone/iPod, such as ChuChu Rocket, but I don't own either of those so that's just a load of garbage. See what UK Resistance says about it (including a list of features). It looks OK from what I've seen.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Happy Birthday Super Mario Twins (Also Sonic & Halo)
I still don't know the results of the GameFAQs board contest, but I'm cool about it. Guess I'll find out tomorrow or the day after. Go ahead guys, take your merry time...
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Supposedly, on Sept 13, 1985, that's the 25th Anniversary of Super Mario Bros. Technically, Mario was in Donkey Kong (1981) and Mario Bros (1983) but those don't count I guess. It's all about the original release of Super Mario Bros. in Japan.
I guess I might as well say stuff about Mario. Contrary to what a few pinheads think of me, I'm not an anti-Nintendo fanboy...to say you hate Mario is willingly ignorant. Besides Pac-Man, the guy was a legend back then and he is now. I mean, Mario games are (usually) good clean fun which is good in my book especially considering all the violent video games. If there were no Mario, there would be no Sonic. And I find it irritating that Zelda is considered Nintendo's best franchise, but whatever, that's just GameFAQs' adventure/RPG bias coming in.
My favorite Mario games were on the NES and the N64. Those two and Gameboy Advance are the only Nintendo consoles I really cared about. I loved old Super Mario Bros and Super Mario 64 is just awesome. Also, Mario Party 2, oh man that's just so much fun, I love it. I also really liked Ocarina of Time. I never played much SNES and I didn't really care that much about the GameCube and the Wii.
I was never too keen on Super Mario World or Super Mario Sunshine--those felt irregular to me. Like Mario needs a cape or a talking pack of water? Oh geez. Super Mario RPG was the only SNES I played the heck out of. Great story and atmosphere, but you give Peach the Lazy Shell armor and buff Geno and that's it--game is too damn easy. There's some mods you can download off the internet that make the game harder and raise the max level to 50, but I beat that one too and it wasn't that hard once you leveled up a lot.
Anyway, about Nintendo. I give Nintendo some crap mostly because they're the New York Yankees of the video game world. They just go out there being great and all, got their own consoles, they make billions of dollars, no stopping them. And yeah, Nintendo makes good products. But it just seems like Nintendo is way too easy to be a fan of. I don't know, I'm making too many analogies about sports team so I better stop. I like the N64 but after that, I kind of lost interest.
And another thing about Mario, well Mario's not going anywhere. That's cool and all, but it just sucks that Sega's bread-and-butter series, Sonic the Hedgehog is just sucking so bad right now. I mean, I read articles occasionally that say the Sonic series needs to go away. Like this one. I mean, what the hell are we supposed to do? Getting rid of Sonic would kill Sega like a heart attack. And Sonic was on the side of the mountain in Daytona USA, so I'd like to think Sonic's death would hurt the Sega stakeholders quite a bit, even if you don't like Sonic at all.
No, Sonic can never die. Just kind of pisses me off that Nintendo is this unstoppable force but Sega can't deliver a coherent game for its flagship series. This is not hate for Nintendo, they can do what they want, but you'd figure that Sega could try to play up to the competition. Come on Sega, please DO SOMETHING, before Sonic goes away shamed and embarassed, with no honor. And you know in Japan, they really care about honor. I mean, you don't have to go back to 2-D or kill off all the secondary characters, JUST MAKE SONIC GAMES THAT DON'T HAVE CRAP CONTROLS, LOADING TIMES, GLITCHES, AND HOLD-YOUR-HAND-THE-WHOLE-WAY GAMEPLAY!!! GEE WHIZ!!!
----------
And the NY Jets suck, good job with your terrific offense gaining like 100 yards the whole game. I was really cheering for them, but I doubt they're gonna make a dent in the playoffs at this rate. It's sad.
-----------
And I'm gonna say something about Halo: Reach, which is getting that luxurious midnight release with all the nerds waiting outside Best Buy, GameStop, whatever. Do I care? Not in the slightest. First of all, didn't they say that Halo 3 would be the last in the series? NO, guess not, just make Halo Wars, ODST, Reach, now Halo Racing, Tournament Fighter, Puzzle Game, Debate Team, etc! So you get to play as more Master Chiefs (Spartans, I know) and stuff...ok. Once again, I've got to give the "this game really doesn't suck that bad" disclaimer, but it's getting on my nerves. Little ten-year-olds whose parents buy them M-rated games are pissing their pants over this. In all honesty, the Elites are cooler than Master Chief--oh yes, I went there. And Sgt. Johnson is a badass, cooler than Master Chief. Also, The Chief needs a suit of armor, The Sarge does not.
LET ME REPEAT THIS IF YOU DIDN'T HEAR IT: Sgt. Johnson = best character in Halo. There you go.
I mean, I thought the original Halo was ok, pistols were godly, but really, like I said, I'd rather play Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Counter-Strike, hell even Half-Life, Left 4 Dead, etc. IN MY OPINION GUYS. I think it just has to do with the oversaturated, dark, gritty, futuristic FPS genre. I already touched on that subject before. Let the stoning begin! I'll just whip out my baseball bat and hit those stones back at you cause I'm badass like that. Anyway, let me repeat again that Halo's not bad, don't "frag" me guys rofl
------------
Supposedly, on Sept 13, 1985, that's the 25th Anniversary of Super Mario Bros. Technically, Mario was in Donkey Kong (1981) and Mario Bros (1983) but those don't count I guess. It's all about the original release of Super Mario Bros. in Japan.
I guess I might as well say stuff about Mario. Contrary to what a few pinheads think of me, I'm not an anti-Nintendo fanboy...to say you hate Mario is willingly ignorant. Besides Pac-Man, the guy was a legend back then and he is now. I mean, Mario games are (usually) good clean fun which is good in my book especially considering all the violent video games. If there were no Mario, there would be no Sonic. And I find it irritating that Zelda is considered Nintendo's best franchise, but whatever, that's just GameFAQs' adventure/RPG bias coming in.
My favorite Mario games were on the NES and the N64. Those two and Gameboy Advance are the only Nintendo consoles I really cared about. I loved old Super Mario Bros and Super Mario 64 is just awesome. Also, Mario Party 2, oh man that's just so much fun, I love it. I also really liked Ocarina of Time. I never played much SNES and I didn't really care that much about the GameCube and the Wii.
8-Bit Captain Price Icon in Modern Warfare 2. Easily the best thing in the game.
I was never too keen on Super Mario World or Super Mario Sunshine--those felt irregular to me. Like Mario needs a cape or a talking pack of water? Oh geez. Super Mario RPG was the only SNES I played the heck out of. Great story and atmosphere, but you give Peach the Lazy Shell armor and buff Geno and that's it--game is too damn easy. There's some mods you can download off the internet that make the game harder and raise the max level to 50, but I beat that one too and it wasn't that hard once you leveled up a lot.
Anyway, about Nintendo. I give Nintendo some crap mostly because they're the New York Yankees of the video game world. They just go out there being great and all, got their own consoles, they make billions of dollars, no stopping them. And yeah, Nintendo makes good products. But it just seems like Nintendo is way too easy to be a fan of. I don't know, I'm making too many analogies about sports team so I better stop. I like the N64 but after that, I kind of lost interest.
And another thing about Mario, well Mario's not going anywhere. That's cool and all, but it just sucks that Sega's bread-and-butter series, Sonic the Hedgehog is just sucking so bad right now. I mean, I read articles occasionally that say the Sonic series needs to go away. Like this one. I mean, what the hell are we supposed to do? Getting rid of Sonic would kill Sega like a heart attack. And Sonic was on the side of the mountain in Daytona USA, so I'd like to think Sonic's death would hurt the Sega stakeholders quite a bit, even if you don't like Sonic at all.
No, Sonic can never die. Just kind of pisses me off that Nintendo is this unstoppable force but Sega can't deliver a coherent game for its flagship series. This is not hate for Nintendo, they can do what they want, but you'd figure that Sega could try to play up to the competition. Come on Sega, please DO SOMETHING, before Sonic goes away shamed and embarassed, with no honor. And you know in Japan, they really care about honor. I mean, you don't have to go back to 2-D or kill off all the secondary characters, JUST MAKE SONIC GAMES THAT DON'T HAVE CRAP CONTROLS, LOADING TIMES, GLITCHES, AND HOLD-YOUR-HAND-THE-WHOLE-WAY GAMEPLAY!!! GEE WHIZ!!!
----------
And the NY Jets suck, good job with your terrific offense gaining like 100 yards the whole game. I was really cheering for them, but I doubt they're gonna make a dent in the playoffs at this rate. It's sad.
-----------
And I'm gonna say something about Halo: Reach, which is getting that luxurious midnight release with all the nerds waiting outside Best Buy, GameStop, whatever. Do I care? Not in the slightest. First of all, didn't they say that Halo 3 would be the last in the series? NO, guess not, just make Halo Wars, ODST, Reach, now Halo Racing, Tournament Fighter, Puzzle Game, Debate Team, etc! So you get to play as more Master Chiefs (Spartans, I know) and stuff...ok. Once again, I've got to give the "this game really doesn't suck that bad" disclaimer, but it's getting on my nerves. Little ten-year-olds whose parents buy them M-rated games are pissing their pants over this. In all honesty, the Elites are cooler than Master Chief--oh yes, I went there. And Sgt. Johnson is a badass, cooler than Master Chief. Also, The Chief needs a suit of armor, The Sarge does not.
LET ME REPEAT THIS IF YOU DIDN'T HEAR IT: Sgt. Johnson = best character in Halo. There you go.
I mean, I thought the original Halo was ok, pistols were godly, but really, like I said, I'd rather play Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Counter-Strike, hell even Half-Life, Left 4 Dead, etc. IN MY OPINION GUYS. I think it just has to do with the oversaturated, dark, gritty, futuristic FPS genre. I already touched on that subject before. Let the stoning begin! I'll just whip out my baseball bat and hit those stones back at you cause I'm badass like that. Anyway, let me repeat again that Halo's not bad, don't "frag" me guys rofl
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
It's 2 AM On A School Night
And I can't sleep. I have to wake up in less than six hours. I'm in sleep limbo--too tired to do anything but too anxious to relax. I hate this.
I HATE COLLEGE! *emo* I'm just bored out of my mind, it never ends. Just thirteen hours/credits left before my Bachelor in Computer Science. Tear gas, bamboo chutes up the fingernails, waterboarding, a visit from the Boogeyman in the night, violated by the dentist, a week-long marathon of Cruis'n World--they all seem like viable options compared to class at this point.
VVV I think that clock under my posts is wrong, guess I should fix the time zone VVV
I HATE COLLEGE! *emo* I'm just bored out of my mind, it never ends. Just thirteen hours/credits left before my Bachelor in Computer Science. Tear gas, bamboo chutes up the fingernails, waterboarding, a visit from the Boogeyman in the night, violated by the dentist, a week-long marathon of Cruis'n World--they all seem like viable options compared to class at this point.
VVV I think that clock under my posts is wrong, guess I should fix the time zone VVV
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Begging Turn10/Forza 4 To Do This (Daytona 2)
PLEASE, OH PLEASE CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING IN FORZA MOTORSPORT 4:
1. Fix the PI system so that 4WD cars aren't overpowered, make it so ALL the cars are fair and balanced...I want to be able to drive Ferraris and compete fairly. I mean, when it comes to 4WD, some horsepower should be lost while spinning four wheels instead of two, something not noticeable in F3. I'm sick and tired of the Audi S5/Dodge Viper 4WD whores out there. Cause this has completely turned me off from the game.
2. Be able to import car designs/decals from Forza 3. I know you couldn't do it from F2 to F3. Cause all the time I think about the Daytona 2 cars I made and I don't want to do them again. But let it be known--even if I have to redo them again, I WILL DO IT. Just like the song says, I CAN DO IT! But I would prefer if I don't have to.
3. Add more than eight players at once...add more tracks (preferrably interest ones, with more stuff on the horizon), cars, make it so that you don't have to wait five hours in the online lobby before the race starts, whatever.
4. EDIT - Throw this in here too. How about the option in multiplayer to "increase the weight" of the cars? You know, so if there's a reckless dummy or two on the track, if you get touched, you don't immediately hit the grass/outside wall? Reduce the number of spinouts since they really ruin the gameplay. If people don't like it, give them the option to turn it off. I know it's not realistic, but then again, being able to smash head-first into a wall and forget about it isn't either. Just making it more fair especially since wrecks come a dime a dozen all the time.
------------
I've been going back and looking at the Forza 3 cars and I know I've spoken ad-nauseum about this. I'm not asking for you to go out and buy these from the storefront (I don't need it). I just like these cars so much and I want to save the work for myself. Now I'm going back and taking as many photos as I can of the cars for documentation purposes. Here's some basic shots--they're still a bit "shiny" cause that's how Forza 3 works, but still, just throwing them out there:
1. Fix the PI system so that 4WD cars aren't overpowered, make it so ALL the cars are fair and balanced...I want to be able to drive Ferraris and compete fairly. I mean, when it comes to 4WD, some horsepower should be lost while spinning four wheels instead of two, something not noticeable in F3. I'm sick and tired of the Audi S5/Dodge Viper 4WD whores out there. Cause this has completely turned me off from the game.
2. Be able to import car designs/decals from Forza 3. I know you couldn't do it from F2 to F3. Cause all the time I think about the Daytona 2 cars I made and I don't want to do them again. But let it be known--even if I have to redo them again, I WILL DO IT. Just like the song says, I CAN DO IT! But I would prefer if I don't have to.
3. Add more than eight players at once...add more tracks (preferrably interest ones, with more stuff on the horizon), cars, make it so that you don't have to wait five hours in the online lobby before the race starts, whatever.
4. EDIT - Throw this in here too. How about the option in multiplayer to "increase the weight" of the cars? You know, so if there's a reckless dummy or two on the track, if you get touched, you don't immediately hit the grass/outside wall? Reduce the number of spinouts since they really ruin the gameplay. If people don't like it, give them the option to turn it off. I know it's not realistic, but then again, being able to smash head-first into a wall and forget about it isn't either. Just making it more fair especially since wrecks come a dime a dozen all the time.
------------
I've been going back and looking at the Forza 3 cars and I know I've spoken ad-nauseum about this. I'm not asking for you to go out and buy these from the storefront (I don't need it). I just like these cars so much and I want to save the work for myself. Now I'm going back and taking as many photos as I can of the cars for documentation purposes. Here's some basic shots--they're still a bit "shiny" cause that's how Forza 3 works, but still, just throwing them out there:
Comparison shots to the original game:
You can see many photos like these in my Daytona 2 Photobucket gallery.
I'm also going to throw this out there. It may sound crazy but I don't care. If someone can make replicas of all these Daytona 2 cars in 1:20 scale, 1:40 scale, I don't care, I'll pay big for them. I know that some games like World of Warcraft and Rock Band allowed you to create replicas of your characters, although those are statues, not die-cast (or plastic) cars. I know that there's the option of busting out cans of paint and making them myself, but I have no skills in that area, plus I don't have the time to do so. So if you or anyone you know has the expertise to create these cars, let me know, please. And I don't want to do just the three AT cars, I'm talking all fifteen I have, plus the Hornet or whatever. Like I said, let me know if you can help me.
------------
Also, as a super bonus for my super brothers and sisters out there, here's some bonafide pictures of car damage from Gran Turismo 5. I think it's okay (I wish they showed more than one angle), but a lot of people think it's grotesque, like the cars are melting. Who knows, just look at it:
Monday, September 6, 2010
Howyse Of Tha Deayehed
Speaking of Sega, I was reminded once again of this gem of voice acting...
Game came out in '98, same year as Daytona USA 2. This is GOLD....get it? Goldman, gold? Ha
Game came out in '98, same year as Daytona USA 2. This is GOLD....get it? Goldman, gold? Ha
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Some More Sega Insight (Publishing Is Not Game Design)
You know, right now I get on Sega a lot for being down. I mean, I can sit here and act like Sega's the king, but come on, Sega's my team and I stick by them through thick and thin. And when they suck, I say they suck.
If you do look at today's Sega lineup, you see they've got some decent stuff with the Sega logo on it...Bayonetta's good. The Conduit, Alpha Protocol, all your boys. But are all these games developed by Sega? Answer: NO. Most are just published by Sega and produced by other developers. Here's just some big Sega-published games that have come out recently and links to what other games the developers have worked on:
Bayonetta* - Platinum Games (boasts some of Capcom's staff from Viewtiful Joe, Resident Evil, Devil May Cry and Okami)
Vanquish - See Bayonetta
The Conduit - High Voltage Software (also Dora the Explorer, Ben10, Family Guy, lol see for yourself)
Alpha Protocol - Obsidian Entertainment (also Star Wars: KotOR, Neverwinter Nights, Fallout: Vegas)
Empire: Total War - Creative Assembly (also a million other "Total War" games)
Alien vs. Predator - Rebellion (and some Pro Darts game, WTG guys)
Sonic Rush - Dimps Corporation (also Sonic 4, Sonic Colors, and some Dragonball Z crap)
* About Bayonetta, I've done a little research--I've read over GameFAQs, Wikipedia, I just don't see Sega doing that much with this game other than publishing it. There's a few Sega references (as well as some Capcom ones like Devil May Cry and Resident Evil), but to me, I see Sega coming up with pieces of a game, handing it over to some Capcom guys, and that's it. I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure that's what happened. Even if Sega was partially responsible for the final product, they would still be nothing without Platinum Games. BTW, I also heard Sega was responsible for the PS3 port which sucked compared to the 360 version so that helps Sega's case, doesn't it?
Compare this to games like Daytona USA, OutRun, Virtua Fighter, old Sonic the Hedgehog--games that were MADE AND PUBLISHED BY Sega. There's still a few games like that today, like Yakuza, Super Monkey Ball, Virtua Fighter, (EDIT: I forgot to add Valkyria Chronicles...I think) and, if you can believe it, Initial D (up to stage 5 now), but let's not act like Sega's this juggernaut cause they've got Bayonetta or Sonic Rush. Just don't give me any of that nonsense.
I mean, compare Sega to Nintendo. They're also guilty of handing off some of their games to third-party devs (it's hard to tell, some may be second-party), like Star Fox: Assault (Namco), Zelda: Oracle of Seasons/Ages (Flagship), and Mario Hoops 3 on 3 (Square Enix *choke*), but for the most part, you can expect a steady lineup of Nintendo games BY NINTENDO THEMSELVES (first/secondish-parties count like Game Freak, HAL Laboratory, Intelligent Systems, etc.) on an annual basis (usually Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, Super Smash Bros, etc.). Of course, I don't mind third-parties making games here and there, as long as they don't overdo it...
Sega on the other hand seems interested in mortgaging a lot of their games to other companies. Like instead of making a good festive Sega game themselves, they hand it off to Sumo Digital to make Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing and that Sega Tennis Superstar game. Also, look at these new Sonics being made by this Dimps company--what a disgrace!! Why did Sonic Team themselves have to SUCK SO BAD???
You know, if you could at least fix the controls or the load times on this a bit, maybe it could be DECENT, but no. DANKE!
You know, I feel like the biggest jerk in the world right now cause all I do is sit here and lambast everything, like The Powers That Be are out to get me for being such an asshat. But really, come on Sega, I know you can do better than this. Like I don't know if there is poor leadership down at Sega HQ or they're all high or drunk (I know Nagoshi is), I don't know. The only part of Sega that's still keeping the pulse alive is Sega AM2 especially with Virtua Fighter and OutRun 2. God Bless Them. They made OutRun, they made Daytona USA (yes, I know T. Nagoshi had a hand in it, but it still had the AM2 Stamp of Approval on it), they made Virtua Fighter, etc.
But nonetheless, all the wheels are coming off the Sega bus--I don't know what else to say. Like how did a great developer with their own line of consoles turn into crap like this over half a decade? WHY???? Really, this happened because of the Sega CD/32X/Saturn/Dreamcast lineup which the latter consoles had some hits but after that, the train went off the cliff and that's all she wrote.
I'm just bummed out again, I can't talk about it anymore. Yeah, I'm not feeling good right now, but I'll make it through, like I usually do...
If you do look at today's Sega lineup, you see they've got some decent stuff with the Sega logo on it...Bayonetta's good. The Conduit, Alpha Protocol, all your boys. But are all these games developed by Sega? Answer: NO. Most are just published by Sega and produced by other developers. Here's just some big Sega-published games that have come out recently and links to what other games the developers have worked on:
Bayonetta* - Platinum Games (boasts some of Capcom's staff from Viewtiful Joe, Resident Evil, Devil May Cry and Okami)
Vanquish - See Bayonetta
The Conduit - High Voltage Software (also Dora the Explorer, Ben10, Family Guy, lol see for yourself)
Alpha Protocol - Obsidian Entertainment (also Star Wars: KotOR, Neverwinter Nights, Fallout: Vegas)
Empire: Total War - Creative Assembly (also a million other "Total War" games)
Alien vs. Predator - Rebellion (and some Pro Darts game, WTG guys)
Sonic Rush - Dimps Corporation (also Sonic 4, Sonic Colors, and some Dragonball Z crap)
* About Bayonetta, I've done a little research--I've read over GameFAQs, Wikipedia, I just don't see Sega doing that much with this game other than publishing it. There's a few Sega references (as well as some Capcom ones like Devil May Cry and Resident Evil), but to me, I see Sega coming up with pieces of a game, handing it over to some Capcom guys, and that's it. I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure that's what happened. Even if Sega was partially responsible for the final product, they would still be nothing without Platinum Games. BTW, I also heard Sega was responsible for the PS3 port which sucked compared to the 360 version so that helps Sega's case, doesn't it?
Compare this to games like Daytona USA, OutRun, Virtua Fighter, old Sonic the Hedgehog--games that were MADE AND PUBLISHED BY Sega. There's still a few games like that today, like Yakuza, Super Monkey Ball, Virtua Fighter, (EDIT: I forgot to add Valkyria Chronicles...I think) and, if you can believe it, Initial D (up to stage 5 now), but let's not act like Sega's this juggernaut cause they've got Bayonetta or Sonic Rush. Just don't give me any of that nonsense.
I mean, compare Sega to Nintendo. They're also guilty of handing off some of their games to third-party devs (it's hard to tell, some may be second-party), like Star Fox: Assault (Namco), Zelda: Oracle of Seasons/Ages (Flagship), and Mario Hoops 3 on 3 (Square Enix *choke*), but for the most part, you can expect a steady lineup of Nintendo games BY NINTENDO THEMSELVES (first/secondish-parties count like Game Freak, HAL Laboratory, Intelligent Systems, etc.) on an annual basis (usually Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, Super Smash Bros, etc.). Of course, I don't mind third-parties making games here and there, as long as they don't overdo it...
Sega on the other hand seems interested in mortgaging a lot of their games to other companies. Like instead of making a good festive Sega game themselves, they hand it off to Sumo Digital to make Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing and that Sega Tennis Superstar game. Also, look at these new Sonics being made by this Dimps company--what a disgrace!! Why did Sonic Team themselves have to SUCK SO BAD???
You know, if you could at least fix the controls or the load times on this a bit, maybe it could be DECENT, but no. DANKE!
You know, I feel like the biggest jerk in the world right now cause all I do is sit here and lambast everything, like The Powers That Be are out to get me for being such an asshat. But really, come on Sega, I know you can do better than this. Like I don't know if there is poor leadership down at Sega HQ or they're all high or drunk (I know Nagoshi is), I don't know. The only part of Sega that's still keeping the pulse alive is Sega AM2 especially with Virtua Fighter and OutRun 2. God Bless Them. They made OutRun, they made Daytona USA (yes, I know T. Nagoshi had a hand in it, but it still had the AM2 Stamp of Approval on it), they made Virtua Fighter, etc.
*sheds a tear*
But nonetheless, all the wheels are coming off the Sega bus--I don't know what else to say. Like how did a great developer with their own line of consoles turn into crap like this over half a decade? WHY???? Really, this happened because of the Sega CD/32X/Saturn/Dreamcast lineup which the latter consoles had some hits but after that, the train went off the cliff and that's all she wrote.
I'm just bummed out again, I can't talk about it anymore. Yeah, I'm not feeling good right now, but I'll make it through, like I usually do...
Sega Racer Related At Last (Fighters Megamix)
I made my rounds through YouTube again and here's what I came up with. You know about Fighters Megamix for the Sega Saturn, the game with all the weird Sega characters in it? Well, you know the Hornet car was a playable character, right? Well I always knew this but I never got decent footage until now. Speed up to 5:21 if you wanna see the Hornet in action:
Okay, I'm just going to ask this now. Disregarding the fact that this is Daytona USA, WHAT OTHER ACTUAL FIGHTING GAME HAS A CAR AS A PLAYABLE CHARACTER?? No, Transformers doesn't count (if you can play as vehicular forms). I mean, WHO ELSE has the fortitude to attempt something like this? A CAR CHARACTER IN A FIGHTING GAME??? The fact that it's the Daytona USA car is a bonus. It's also funny that the tires are the arms and that when he runs out of health, parts of the frame fall off. Too bad the Hornet is sucking pretty bad here--I hear he is not good tier-wise...
Also, don't you notice something up with this game? Take a look...a bunch of characters from games by a specific developer together in a fighting game...doesn't that sound familiar? If you're still clueless, let me give you a hint:
That's right. Fighters Megamix came out in '96/'97 while Super Smash Bros came out in '99. Yet it is SSB who is the victor and who gets the spoilers. Well UP YOURS Nintendo.
EDIT: Capcom too with all of the crossovers, Marvel vs. Capcom, etc. not bad.
SSB--what a thorn in my side. In all honesty, I'd rather take Mario Party. Ok, it's not a bad game, but there's just something obnoxious about it. And before you say I sucked at it, I used to play the N64 version regularly. I went to a competition at a game store in the mall and came in 3rd out of 64 people, but now, I just don't want to talk about the game ever again. Especially the brouhaha over the character announcements over the Wii version and how Nintendo teased us--like a farmer dangles a carrot over the horse...
You know what, let's talk about something else. I don't hate the game, but I'd rather not play it.
------------
There aren't many new Daytona USA 2 videos, but here's one that flew over my head and I just noticed it. This guy sets up the Model3 board and hooks it to his computer monitor and voila--he's playing D2 on a Dreamcast steering wheel. I don't know how it works, but all I know is it works. By Sega miracles from God I guess.
He posted many other gameplay videos which you can see in this big list of D2 videos I've meticulously compiled: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=83B3021DBEF1F415
And you know what, here's a video of a guy playing Scud Race in a deluxe cabinet. Not that unique, but still I saw it so you should too.
You know what, I'm looking at this guy and all the other videos and I die a little on the inside.
Why everything has to be deprived from me so long...is it that much to ask for a decent Model3 (Scud Race/Daytona 2) kind of racer, just a home port, anything?!?!
Not like I'm asking for millions of dollars or a gold statue in my honor, just ONE game!!!
Geez, I'm losing it, I really am...I'm on a roller-coaster ride at this point--it's "Daytona USA or Bust" for me. Let us pray for the future.
Okay, I'm just going to ask this now. Disregarding the fact that this is Daytona USA, WHAT OTHER ACTUAL FIGHTING GAME HAS A CAR AS A PLAYABLE CHARACTER?? No, Transformers doesn't count (if you can play as vehicular forms). I mean, WHO ELSE has the fortitude to attempt something like this? A CAR CHARACTER IN A FIGHTING GAME??? The fact that it's the Daytona USA car is a bonus. It's also funny that the tires are the arms and that when he runs out of health, parts of the frame fall off. Too bad the Hornet is sucking pretty bad here--I hear he is not good tier-wise...
Also, don't you notice something up with this game? Take a look...a bunch of characters from games by a specific developer together in a fighting game...doesn't that sound familiar? If you're still clueless, let me give you a hint:
That's right. Fighters Megamix came out in '96/'97 while Super Smash Bros came out in '99. Yet it is SSB who is the victor and who gets the spoilers. Well UP YOURS Nintendo.
EDIT: Capcom too with all of the crossovers, Marvel vs. Capcom, etc. not bad.
SSB--what a thorn in my side. In all honesty, I'd rather take Mario Party. Ok, it's not a bad game, but there's just something obnoxious about it. And before you say I sucked at it, I used to play the N64 version regularly. I went to a competition at a game store in the mall and came in 3rd out of 64 people, but now, I just don't want to talk about the game ever again. Especially the brouhaha over the character announcements over the Wii version and how Nintendo teased us--like a farmer dangles a carrot over the horse...
You know what, let's talk about something else. I don't hate the game, but I'd rather not play it.
------------
There aren't many new Daytona USA 2 videos, but here's one that flew over my head and I just noticed it. This guy sets up the Model3 board and hooks it to his computer monitor and voila--he's playing D2 on a Dreamcast steering wheel. I don't know how it works, but all I know is it works. By Sega miracles from God I guess.
He posted many other gameplay videos which you can see in this big list of D2 videos I've meticulously compiled: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=83B3021DBEF1F415
And you know what, here's a video of a guy playing Scud Race in a deluxe cabinet. Not that unique, but still I saw it so you should too.
You know what, I'm looking at this guy and all the other videos and I die a little on the inside.
Why everything has to be deprived from me so long...is it that much to ask for a decent Model3 (Scud Race/Daytona 2) kind of racer, just a home port, anything?!?!
Not like I'm asking for millions of dollars or a gold statue in my honor, just ONE game!!!
Geez, I'm losing it, I really am...I'm on a roller-coaster ride at this point--it's "Daytona USA or Bust" for me. Let us pray for the future.
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