Rock Band

After going to a Rock Band party this weekend, I think J and I are determined to get it. However, while it's a fun game and all, I don't think you can consider screaming as loud as you can as you fumble the words singing.

My ears hurt that night. Nonetheless, the game shall be purchased, played and replayed over and over again until some other music game comes out that's as good.

BANZAI!

Do you remember that weird Japanese (by way of England) betting show on Fox called, Banzai?

No?

Really?

Because it was quite the unique show. Perhaps this clip will jog your memory:


Yeah, looking a bit more familiar now, isn't it? Banzai was quite the odd show to be viewed by American audiences, shown on FOX but not for very long. I think it only lasted a season or so. It didn't catch on in quite the same way as it did in Britain. Unfortunately, most American audiences just didn't get it. But that's not stopping Channel 4 and Screenlife games from releasing a DVD game!
ScreenLife Games is at it again. They launched a new Banzai game. Check it out:

I liked Banzai when it was on t.v., it was just weird enough for me. However, I think the major issue with the show was that it had a betting theme, but you couldn't actually bet. It's far better designed for an interactive game rather than a television show. I had the chance to play it too, and it is crazy.

J and I decided to spend a lovely Sunday night cozying up and settling in for some hardcore sushi betting. J had never seen the show before so he had no idea what to expect. Which, might I say, is an excellent way to play Banzai. The game itself is pretty easy to learn, and after a practise round you're ready to start betting!

I've never played a DVD game before, but the controls were quite easy for this. If you watched the video above you'll see how to play so I won't go into that here. I will say that the hardest part of the game is using the chopsticks to effectivly shovel in many sushi pieces.

The little animated characters and sushi bits are fantastically cute. Tako, the game's red octopus mascot, is adorable! He even has his own myspace page, what a talented octopus indeed. My favourite sushi piece is the New Jersey Squirrel Roll, even though he looks more like a hamster.

So, on to the gameplay itself. The DVD randomly picks a clip to show you, so it's harder to view one that you already bet on. We saw a lot of weird clips indeed. Recurring characters are always fun, and my favourite is Lady One Question, who I showed in the first clip above. I love her interaction with Graham Norton, (also shown above) which we bet on. She actually cracks up, so it makes the bet all the better. Perhaps the craziest dare we saw was one where to children had to pull out metal skewers from a guy's face. Whichever child pulled out the skewer attached to the pickled onion won. Yeah, that was an odd one to watch...

We played for about 2 hours before we had to resort to sudden death to finish the game. J and I were just so in tune with each other that we kept betting exactly the same over and over! We even lasted 3 sudden death rounds because of that. I'm sure if we play with a larger group, that will be less of a problem. Banzai is a silly game, but quite fun. However, it is a bit more adult so I'd say nobody under the age of 14 should play it, but otherwise it looks like a great party game. Hopefully this will become a bigger hit than the t.v. show!

BLLAARGH

The Wii has been gifted unto my mother and has now blessed our house with hours of exquisite remotetainment. My arms and legs are actually hurting a bit. The family played for several hours. Yep, a good video game workout indeed

J and I spent some time playing Raving Rabbids II. You may recall I rather enjoy the Rayman: Raving Rabbids game, as I got the second one for DS. While the DS version was just a lot of mini-games, the Wii version appears to have a little bit more of a plot. Just a teensy bit though, so far it's been one hell of a round of mini-games.

When I finish I'll probably post a review, but so far I'm having fun!

Xbox 360 is sad

Ah, and now for a more relaxing Friday. It's nice to just sit around and be. Even though I can't play any Xbox games...yep, it's dead. Turns out it wasn't an A/V cable problem, it's the console itself. Well, the bad news has been told to the owner and now a coffin is on its way. It should take 3 weeks in total for it to be repaired, and one can only hope that this will be the one and only time J's roommate's Xbox will need repair.

This is one thing that I'm happy about with the Xbox 360. It seems to break down more often than other next-gen consoles. At least Microsoft is quick to fix them, but it's still the biggest problem that makes me feel a little ...eehhnn... about buying one. The hope is that I'll get a brand new version with a better cooling system and not have this problem. I'm crossing my fingers.

Wall-ii

The Wii has arrived! And ye, it is fabulous. My father and I have christened it "Wall-ii". Which is a more creative way to say "wii all". It's a cute name, it's temporary for the moment, in case my mother wants to change it. I like it, and since this is a family machine, it makes sense to add "all" in the name.

Anyhoo, it was quite easy to set up, and very simple to get online. That is quite a benefit of the Nintendo Wii, wifi. For some reason, Microsoft doesn't believe that including wi-fi is necessary for a good game console. Oh well, at least that has better graphics.

We'll present the wii to my mother on her birthday...or...a week before, depending on how long my dad can resist it's Nintendo charms.

Wii time

Well, he did it. He finally did it. My father purchased a Wii for the family/my mom for her birthday.

Yes, I am just as happy as you think I am.

If only Nintendo would get the idea and make enough of these consoles instead of making everyone search like crazy and pay more than they should. Oh well, this should prove to be quite the wonderful toy.

Aw Nertz

Well, I think I may have broken the Xbox. Not intentionally of course, but last night it gave me an "error 74" which means that there's either something wrong with the A/V cable or the sector chip. AWESOME!

What doesn't make sense is that I moved or unplugged the Xbox only once since I got it from J. And that was for a very short time. So why would it give me this error now?

Did I mention that this is borrowed from J's roommate? Yeah...

Tomorrow J will bring his A/V cables and I'll see if it's a cable or console issue. If it's a cable issue...I guess we'll have to pay $40 for a new one >.< If it's a console issue, we may be able to send it in for repair and still be under warranty. A few weeks ago, my house kept getting brown outs. Where the lights and electronics would loose power for a second. So the Xbox got the 3-red-lights of doom a few times. Luckily, it bounced back pretty quickly but still had me quite scared. Apparently, it logs that error in the memory, so we can technically send it in because of the lights of death, not the wire issue, and potentially get a brand new one.

I kind of hope it comes to that, since that would be the cheapest way to repair it and perhaps even do it without his roommate knowing.

Either way, this is bad news.

Dark Sector Review

As promised, my review of the game Dark Sector.

I recall hearing about Dark Sector a year or so ago, but didn't pay too close attention to it. The game looked nice, and its hook (you have evil powers that take the form of a bionic glaive)seemed promising so I was intrigued when J decided it was finally time to rent it. Of course, he knows far more about the game then I do, and showed me that it was, in fact, one of the first games to be developed for next-gen consoles but when through a whole hell of a lot of retooling. So much so, that the only similarity between the original trailer from E3 2005 and the most recent one is the main character's name (Hayden) and his suit design. Take a look:

2005


2007


To be fair, Hayden's super suit doesn't actually show up in the 2007 trailer, but here it is:



So, what's the storyline and why was this game halted for so long?

Well, the story takes place in made-up Lasria (it's Russia, we all know it's Russia), where we find ourselves in the middle of a biochemical war. An American Agent, Hayden, is sent in to destroy the creator of this horrible infection (known as Technocyte) Mezner. Within his first encounter with the bearded super-villian, Hayden has his arm evily jabbed by Mezner's right hand man, The Nemisis. Ouchie!


Hayden on the lefthand side, Nemesis on the righthand side

Hayden's arm transforms into a slimy, metallic, biofantabulous...arm that holds a glaive. This glaive is, of course, Hayden's power. He can kill enemies with it, pick up weapons, explode things, carry elemental power, open locks, grab bananas, slice watermelons, and open 3 letters at once. It really is the go-to tool for the everyday mutant!


Look at it burn! A dangerous weapon and convenient source of heat!

Anyhoo, Hayden progresses through Russia Lasria, looking to kill Mezner and halt his plans to expose the virus to the rest of the world, successfully creating a planet of pissed off zombies and mutants. Along his journey, Hayden fights through tons of fat biohazard-suited humans and creepy Silent Hill/Resident Evil style mutants and zombies.

So, why the drastic difference between 2008's Dark Sector and 2005's? According to the developers, the shift in focus by other gaming companies and publishers contributed to a story change, as well as adding a realism element that they hoped fans would enjoy. They wanted Hayden to be more like a superhero, and therefore more relatable. He stands out in a modern setting, whereas he might blend in, in a sci-fi setting.

To be honest, I don't see what was wrong with sticking with the space idea. Mass Effect (takes place in space) was also released this year to quite a bit of success. I don't really see how making Hayden a superhero is the same as making him relatable to fans. I suppose his mental conflicts do make the story a tad more believable, but he could have just the same amount of mental anguish up in space. Oh well, onto the pros and cons

Pros: This game has some fantastic settings and the graphics really do look better than their original 2005 concept. The concept art for the locations is quite stunning and accomplishes the goal of "don't play this game in the dark."

The glaive itself is a pretty cool idea, and I like all of the powers that centers around it.

Cons: Hoo boy, the cons. The story is somewhat confusing. I found myself asking J "what's going on?" more than once, only to be met with "I don't know". The reason I didn't play through this game myself is because I felt the controls were kind of awkward and just found myself panicking over having fun. It is a good game to watch though, and I was perfectly content doing that.

Hayden....I hate his character design. My tablet's not working again (another story for another time), so here's what I hate the most about him in awkward touchpad format:


It may not be obvious in that image, but he has a really tiny face positioned on a large, round head on top of a neck the same width as his ROUND HEAD! I hate his stupid tiny face. When he has the suit that doesn't really do anything apparently but look cool and hide his stupid face, he doesn't look too bad. But when that mask comes off...grrrr....
Also, what the hell is up with his shoulders and arms and why are they disconnected from his torso so much? I did a bit of "2-minute Photoshop plastic surgery" to show how I think he should have looked:


I just realized I didn't give him a large enough chin, so just imagine this with a proper chin attached.

Yeah, what the hell Digital Extremes?

All character bashing aside, there's some massive repetitive-level failure during one part of this game. You just keep walking into room after room, mindlessly killing throngs of mutants without much of an explanation.

Also, I'm not going to ruin the ending but I will say that this game does feature slimy, green gas spewing....tentacles...

Yep.

So really, overall this game is pretty...meh. It had some good concepts, great background art and creepy potential but the story just doesn't draw you in enough to care about a mutant infection escaping the soviet union. Also, Hayden has a stupid tiny face, that's not the head of a hero to me, not even an anti-hero. That's the face of a glaive-wielding jerk.

It is worth a rent though, just not a buy.

Quick Dark Sector and Bad Company review

Recently my boyfriend decided to rent two games to try out this summer, Dark Sector and Battlefield: Bad Company. We finished Dark Sector tonight, so I'd like to post a full review of this game tomorrow. At the moment, I will say this; the game was entertaining but not fantastic. It felt repetitive in some parts, aggravating in others. However, the design was nice and it succeeded in being a weird, creepy, game.

I haven't finished Bad Company yet, but I'm holding off because J decided he's going to buy it. So really, there's no rush in completing the game. So far, I've found it to be quite funny and ridiculous. Like, seriously, you can heal yourself at any moment with a simple injection. Which is quite useful during the many times you'll accidently get blown up. Your teammates are entertaining to no end, and the gameplay itself feels quite natural. Right along with other war games like Gears of War or Army of Two.

Anyhoo, full review of Dark Sector tomorrow.

Finished Half-Life 2!

Whoo!

I've finished another game. This has become the summer of Xbox 360 for me. With the goal of finishing as many games as possible and getting as many achievements as my fingers and eyes can handle. So far, I've finished Army of Two several times and now I'm working on finishing The Orange Box. You may recall that I finished Portal a while back, and I can't accomplish Team Fortress at this moment.

So, Half-Life it is! And on to chapter 1!

Summertime Addictions

Ahh, getting into the swing of things is kind of nice. Having 4 days off of work is also quite nice. It's giving me time to work on stuff I want to. Such as important tasks like...gaming.

I've really gotten into Army of Two this past week, it's quite fun. I'm also working hard to meet my goal of over 4000 in my gamerscore on XboxLive. So far, I've got less than 1000 points to go! I'm quite excited.

Army of Two is really addictive. I just love killing and getting money. Oooh it's quite nice.

Witcher Enhanced Releases in September!

Short little snippet here, but I got an email a little while ago anouncing the date that The Witcher: Enhanced Edition will be released. I've held off on reinstalling that game because I want to play it at its full potential. Originally, Bioware was supposed to release everything in May, but oh well, September 2008 is good too.

They're working on improving a lot in the game, including re-recording all the dialogue, in 10 different languages. Bioware's trying their hardest. I can't really fault them for releasing the game before it's "complete", since a lot of companies do that. It doesn't mean the full game isn't done, it just needs a tad more polishing.

Ahyhoo, Septempber should be fabulous.

Lazy days

My vision isn't perfect yet, but it's still far better that it originally was. I'm keeping in mind that the eye doesn't fully reshape itself for several months, which is why I'm not thinking "jeez, it's been a week...why can't I see perfectly yet?!". I'm reasonable and more than happy with the gift of sight I've so far received.

So, since I don't start work until I feel comfortable enough to return (I'm banking on the first week in July if all goes well), what have I been doing with my little vacation?

The answer is...nothing really.

frankly my days have been spent online, or playing video games on my boyfriend's school roommate's xbox 360. He loaned it to me over this summer so he won't be tempted to waste his vacation playing at home. Needless to say, I didn't object.

I've got a bevy of games on my radar to get through and as my boyfriend decreed, my goal this summer is to reach over 4000 on my gamerscore. I'm at about 2500 right now so that shouldn't be a hard goal to reach. I'm planning on completing a few games at least:

-Lego Star Wars II
-The Orange Box (minus Team Fortress because I can't connect the Xbox to the internet)
-Tomb Raider Legend

It's not too many games so far, but I've got a ton to choose from so my list will probably grow over time. I would like to complete Crackdown, but it doesn't seem to want to let me play without freezing, so nuts to that.

Oh well, Lego Star Wars is a great game and I love the series (I have The Complete Saga for DS), and I'm in the middle of Half-Life 2 so I'll be busy for a bit.

I really should spend some time drawing with my Intuos3 too, perhaps tomorrow I'll have a nice background in-progress that I can post.

Play like a Star!

The recent Academy Awards were kind of....boring. I'm not really one to get into the Oscars, but I know a lot of people felt the same way. Perhaps it was the fact that the writers didn't have as much time to work on the show as previous years. Perhaps Hollywood is actually getting tired of honoring itself in the guise of a little golden man. Who knows why it wasn't the same entertaining 3 hours that many have come to expect, but I do know this:

Probably the best part of the show was seeing Jon Stewart play Wii Tennis with another actress. I'd love to show you the clip, but it appears that posting it on YouTube violates the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences copyright. So you'll just have to imagine him running back and forth, flinging his Wii remote as he looks at a gigantic (movie theatre sized)screen. What does this mean?

It means the Wii is finally the mainstream console it always wanted to be. Nintendo is ridiculously smart in their adversing, promising this is the game console for all ages and skills to love. Which is true, it is a great family game console, that's why it can be a challenge to own one.

However, to those familiar with Charter High-Speed internet, or just those willing to enter, you can now win a Wii.

All you have to do is register and you could be on your way to playing Wii tennis in the comfort of your own home. The winner will receive a Nintendo Wii Console, Wii Stand, 5 Sports games ( Boxing, Baseball, Tennis, Golf and bowling), 1 Remote Controller, 1 Nunchuk Controller, 1 Sensor Bar, 1 Wii AC Adapter, 1 Wii AV Cable.

You also have the chance to participate in Charter's Win High-Speed Internet for Life auction, where the winning bidder will get the fastest internet speed in their area for life, a cable modem and wireless router and free professional installation.

Even if you have no need for Charter internet, or you're not in the right area, the chance to win one of the most popular consoles of our time is pretty nice. Plus you can always pretend you're playing at the Oscars, with any number of celebrity as your opposition!

Click Here for a Chance to Win a Nintendo® Wii™!

Blah

Things have been quiet for me lately. Because of snow I couldn't go to work, and because of other people, I have no work to do at home. In all honesty, all the work I need to do for VisArts can easily be completed here, so I really wish that the person I need to send me my information could. Oh well, I guess there's always Monday >.<

What I have been up to:

I just got my glasses back, using an old frame and getting new lenses to fit my updated prescription. It's a head trip, everything is very sharp and strange to me. This is the first time in many, many years that I didn't get transition (the ones that turn dark like sunglasses when outside) lenses too. Why? Because I'm looking toward the future. I expect to only use these glasses for another 6 months or so, until I get my new and improved eyes in the Summer.

I'm looking at the disposable nature of things right now. My glasses are disposable, even though they've been a part of me for well over 13 years now. I'm looking to discard them for a good 20 years, or only rely on cheap reading glasses to help with close drawing or night driving. It's an exciting feeling, and certainly something I could never have predicted when I first started wearing these coke-bottle sized beasts. And yet, also completely expected since I've been counting down the years till my 21st birthday, the signal that I'll finally be able to get surgery.

My days have been filled with playing Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, the only game I own so far for my little Nintendo DS. It's a great game, really, and I'm completely confused as to how Nintendogs could get a better ranking than Zelda on Gamespot's list of top DS games of all time.


Why?!!


I look forward to my next DS game, Rayman Raving Rabbids 2. Should be plenty of fun and will distract me from the slow days that keep popping up.

It's all for the Cake

****Warning, robots have found possible spoilers in this post, but you should play the game anyway so what does it matter to you humans?****

As promised, I did finish the awesome and highly entertaining game, Portal. Not being as big a gamer as my boyfriend, who was the one to purchase the Orange Box and has subsequently finished all 3 Half-Life episodes as well as Portal several time, I wasn't quite sure I could make it through the game. It is suspiciously easy once you get the hang of it though, and little details about the game make it quite fun indeed.

Portal starts out with you in what can best be described as a beanie baby-like container, waking up to begin the long series of tests for Aperture Science's newest little toy, the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device. You have to complete a series of puzzles using this handy machine that resembles the gravity gun from sister game, Half-Life 2.

This little video probably is the best way to show these fabulous tests in action:


Simple, right? Well kind of. The game really has two sections, the puzzle-solving test mode and the escape mode. Without ruining the ending I'll just say escape mode feels a little longer than the testing, but this may also be because it's the action part of the game.

While I was able to get many of the tests on my own, I also found myself in some very aggravating spots. I imagine if I were a bit smarter and a better gamer I wouldn't have that much difficulty, as the boyfriend easily swept his way through the first time he played. This is an excellent game to play with people, where both of you can decide where and what portals to use.

It isn't a game that is too short, I thought the testing portion gave me just enough experience to understand how to use the portal gun well so I was prepared for the escape section. It's also rather nice how the portal gun resembles the gravity gun, in that you are able to pick up and carry objects (sometimes quite heavy)with it.

What really stood out for me was the humour in the game. It's comforting to know that Valve has a sense of humour about themselves and that is a huge part of making this game enjoyable. With the nonsensical polite chattering the auto-turrets make (they say things like "hello? are you still there? I promise I won't hurt you..." in a sweet high voice, then proceed to shoot you with all their little might) to the hideaway areas where you can view "behind the scenes" parts of the Aperture building, as well as great graffiti, Portal is an entertaining romp for science.

The ending itself is far more action packed then the rest of the game, and it still contains little snippets of humour that make you forget you're going to die in 5 minutes. The ending video is great, and gives the possibility for a sequel (maybe?). Even the end credits are entertaining, as you are serenaded by a familiar mechanic voice to a tune called, "Still Alive". I highly recommend downloading it here, as you can be sure the intoxicating melody and simple verses will get stuck in your head in no time.

In the end, Portal was a great game. Challenging enough to keep you playing and funny enough to keep you entertained. Perhaps the greatest bit of the game is that you are taking part in all of these tests because of the promise of cake and a party.

Just remember, the cake is a lie.

Gone for too Long

Dreadfully sorry about being so MIA these last few days. I've had a bit of a busy week, what with teachers deciding to change the due date for projects so it's earlier than expected as well as dealing with my computer being slow as hell.

Nonetheless, I shall try to update more this week. And hopefully post a few photos too.

I recently finished Portal, a lovely game that comes in the amazingly overstuffed Orange Box, so I do believe I'd like to write about that.

I've also got a few new pieces of art to show I suppose, although I must say that this quarter I keep feeling kind of crummy about my work. None of it is really all that impressive and I'm not very happy with it, I don't know. I think it's become trite crap but well, you can see for yourself.

Now, it's a bit too late to fully post and I'm quite tired and my computer is being eerily creaky, it sounds like all its joints are cracking, like some sort of computer arthritis. Oh well, I guess it's another sign that it's time to get a new one >.<

Elite?

Well, it may be months away but the boyfriend's birthday is coming up and I need to think of something to get him. It's always hard to find great deals on Xbox 360, PS3, Halo 3, and other game related merchandise, but there are solutions. There are some really great websites out there that cut prices enough to make it worth buying online instead of going to stores like Gamestop or EB Games, which charge full price for every new game or console. We always want new electronics, of all the things to buy used I know that video game consoles are at the bottom of his list. Which is quite understandable, unlike a used car, you can't really ever tell what was wrong with a used console. Or why that person is selling it.

They might have the same problem that my boyfriend (J), has. Having to send in your Xbox 360 3 times because of problems (most recently being the dreaded red-rings)is not comforting. And while he has been able to do it for free, since it's still under warranty, it's still a big hassle and I know how sad he feels during the times when the 360 is in the shop.

Which is why he's thinking about trading in the ol' Xbox 360 normal and getting an Elite, which has better hardware attached to it. And the nice black colour doesn't hurt either.

So, I think I know what I want to get him, but well, Elites are rather expensive you know? Finding one that comes with a bundle online for a discounted price is my goal. Which is where TechlineStore comes in.

It has a bunch of good categories specifically pertaining to Xbox 360s, and primarily focusing on hardware instead of games. Which, in my case, is good. The games they offer are discounted, so I might want to check back later if I feel the urge to browse...especially the DS section of the store.

While discounted prices on bundles are great (the 360 Elite is about $350 cheaper through TechlineStore than in a retail shop), I do wish I could navigate the site a little easier. This is honestly a very big pet peeve of mine and I do feel the need to point it out, as I hope it can help advise shoppers planning on visiting.

The categories on the lefthand side of the screen are very useful in telling me what exactly is featured for sale here, but unfortunately, they are very hard to actually click. I know they're links because of the mouseover highlight effect, but I simply cannot click them. Also, having categories called "Electronics 1-5" is far to general for someone who comes shopping knowing exactly what they want to look for. There is no specific tab labelled "video games" and this left me a bit confused.

I do enjoy discounted items, no matter if the navigation of the site is a little iffy, and I love to browse all things electronic. Like Ipods, cell phones, t.v.s, and other random items. This site seems like an especially good resource for small hardware pieces, like cables and computer guts, that are a pain to buy elsewhere.

I'm keeping this bookmarked for a while...maybe I'll surprise J with a lovely new Elite to replace his poor, battered Xbox 360.

Invader Grunt

On Friday, my boyfriend's roommate received Halo 3. This is a big deal to him, as this boy has been pining after the game for a good year or so. Within minutes of his arrival, my boyfriend and him had started completing the campaign on Heroic mode. I sat and watched, while occasionally working on stuff to keep me from being too bored.

While I enjoy video games, I'm not much of a gamer. I seem to know more about them than the average girl, and I do like them, I just don't have a ton of experience playing. I'm not terrible, but I'm not great either and I have a huge fear of embarrassment, hence my unwillingness to join in playing when people are around. But watching works, and this entire weekend I've seen so many cut-scenes and been witness to many epic battles.

It wasn't until 2 a.m. yesterday that I finally got a chance to play myself, sucking as expected but at least having fun.

Anyhoo, since yesterday was filled with Halo I didn't have a chance to post something for SSS. Which is funny because yesterday was all about visual arts. Nonetheless, today I come bearing a question that has been in my mind since the long hours of viewing Halo 3:

Are Covenant grunts and Irken Invaders related?



The grunts sound suspiciously like Invader Zim and his cronies. They also have triangle-packs on their backs, and are quite short, which is similar to Irken invaders. Grunts are also headstrong little idiots, following any orders placed by their tall superiors.

Study the above photo, play Halo 1, 2, and 3, then watch Invader Zim and tell me the grunts and invaders aren't related!