gamesradar

gamesradar.com is a stupid site. what kind of site would hit you up with an ad before you even hit their homepage? I understand trying to get ad revenue, but save it until I`ve found something on your site that I want to see. stupid. doubt I`ll be back there.

too many games...

It's a hot time to pick up some sweet games. Recently I picked up Borderlands, Fifa 10, Forza 3 and Modern Warfare 2. All of them are highly recommended! Problem is that I don't have time to play all of them. Also I've gotten back into Fight Night Round 4. So much good stuff! Good thing though is that I think there's not really anything that I'm looking forward to between now and the end of the year. I should have over a month, and maybe a bunch of time during the New Year's break, to get my fill.

de-railed!

so, I went to sleep. Yeah, yeah, I know, that wasn't the plan. But starting at the beginning, I was all fired up to get the games on. I fired up Afrika... waaaay to slow. I was already very tired after having gotten up at 7am after about 4 hours of sleep and working all day. Afrika did me in. I did switch to Fight Night Round 4 after about an hour and a half, but the damage had been done. And then, College Football. Not the game, the sport, the real-deal, kickoff weekend! I got so distracted with all the different streams coming at me on Justin TV (and trying to fight through all the tech. issues). I ended up giving up and calling it a night. Went to be around 3 and just got up at about 10. Now I'm watching the VaTech and Bama game, pretty good, 17-16 at the half, but I'm excited (and nervous) about the LSU x UW game coming up in about 20 mins...
it's on!
I might get back to playing some games later...

10:40 kickoff!

so a few bends in the road and it's now 10:20 and I have yet to start out the night of gaming! oh well, soon.
stopped at the lame festival on the way home and snapped a couple of pics.what to start with...?
actually, I'm really sleepy, need a second wind... maybe beer is the answer?

epic gaming weekend alteration...

so my weekend gaming plan has been slightly altered. the main reason is because there is a festival going down in town tonight so I think i might spend a bit of time there before kicking off. that's it.

L.W.O.D. '09 vol.1 (July 28 - Aug. 2)

the 1st foray into the L.W.O.D. of this year was a success. dude? came into town in the afternoon on Tuesday and we hung around the house for a bit before heading into town to meet up with tigger, his wife and their friend G-cup. it was all their 1st time seeing a baseball game in Japan and G-cup and Mrs. tigger's 1st game ever! dude? and i showed them the ropes and eased them into the action by playing beer-an-inning. i was trashed after winning but unfortunately our Carp fell to the hated Swallows by some score (around 8-2?). wow, as i write this on the train, some crazy lady with a Mohawk, pink hair and tattoos (namally good) is doing some sort of splits thing on the floor of the train... will wonders never cease? after the game we came back to the butt? base in Kugahara and got some grub at a place called 大吉 (daikichi). it was pretty good, yakitori of all sorts and some other assorted sorts.after dinner, back to the butt? cave for some greatest game ever action! i smoked dude? pretty bad in 2 games which looked pretty ominous for the upcoming week, but when it mattered, we had 3 close games later.

day 2 kicked off the 1st day of the 3 day cricket-esque T.O.C. the 1st day featured 6 games, which will be recounted later, but i was the victor. in the evening we ate some tasty burritos and watched ナニこれ珍百景. it was good.

day 3, we started with a short bike ride for lunch then played 4 games for the T.O.C. and headed out to Jingu to meet mornin and take in our 2nd Carp x Swallows game of the week. neither dude? nor I could power up to do much drinking at the game this time, but the game was good except the annoying overzealous lady Carp fan to our left, the spooky puppet master to the right and the dude with the giant melon! in front of me. but the game itself was basically a reversal of the first game, not too much drama, but a solid win. on the way home, we stopped off in the old neighborhood for some Indian/Nepalese curry. it was a bit weird because when we walked up, it said it was open, but all the lights were off, crazy eco-Nepalese! but they turned on the lights for us and cooked up some good curry.

day 4, the 3rd and final day of the T.O.C.: cricket-esque version, was the big daddy. 10 games. day 1 was 6 because we got a late start, day 2 was shortened from 6 to 4 because of the baseball game, but day 3 was always 10. the most single day game total in T.O.C. history. remember people, each game, short or long is one 500ml can of beer. that's 5 liters of beer! (we actually drank 11x500ml+1 bottle of redhook ESB) it was a very hotly contested day with some very close and exciting matches, and all over fun. in the later half i started to really struggle after being so out of drinking practice since i got whooping cough, but eventually caught my 2nd win and finished strong and done! i woke up the next morning at about 7:30 because i had to work (originally dude? was going to leave on Friday, but his wife told him to stay away longer, but it was too late to take the day off) and i was dying! while i was at work, dude? took an adventure down to Odaiba to see the life-sized Gundam. still waiting on the picture. my train ride in was miserable and the 1st half of my day was just terrible, but eventually the sausage muffins kicked in and i got my groove back for the later half of the day. even though i wasn't able to take the day off, i could still close my schedule in the afternoon so i was off at 4 and made it home about 5 so dude? mornin and i could head over to Todoroki for a large, potentially huge throw down between our fighting Frontale and the f'n FC Tokyo. the Tamagawa Classico! it was dude?'s first J1 game, and oh what a game! the stakes were high, the drama was intense and the action was furious! there was also a HUGE dude sitting in front of dude?! coming into the game, Kawasaki was in 4th place with FC Tokyo in 5th and after a come from behind 2-1 win with our 2nd goal in the 90th (89th?!) min. and Niigata's tie and Urawa's loss (on Sunday), our Frotale took sole possession of 2nd place for the 1st time since the end of last season! we are 8 points (less than 3 games) back of Kashima, with 14 games left in the season, c'mon boys! we walked back from the stadium (took a cab there and our driver was totally inept!) and stopped off in Tamagawa for some Okonomiyaki before heading home.
day 5, dude? and i played another great game of プロ野球 (2-1 me!) then headed off to Kawasaki for some delicious California Pizza Kitchen and then off to Shinagawa and dude? was back to Osaka. the end.

T.O.C. cricket results:
dude?'s results butt?'s results
Day 1:
プロ野球: 0-1
Let's Tap: 7-9
Winning 11 2009: 0-4
UFC 2009: 3-2
NBA 2K7: 40-64
みんなのゴルフ 5: -8 -4

Day 2:
Dirt: 4:32:64 4:58:05
4:19:27 4:59:38
All Pro Football: 28-0
MLB the show: 8-9
Punch Out: 1-3
Wii Ski: X
プロ野球: X

Day 3:
NCAA 10: 15-17
SF4: 1-4
プロ野球: 1-2
Grand Slam Tennis#: 1-3
Wii Medley*: 3-1
MLB 2K9: 9-7
NHL 2K9: 1-2
Mario vs. Sonic: 1-1
Fight Night Round 4: 1-0
Tiger 10: -8 -4
(* Wii medley= 3 holes of frisbee golf, 1 game bowling, 3 point shooting, and 3 more frisbee golf holes)
(# during Grand Slam Tennis, 2.5 beers were consumed)

Day 1 game total: 2-4
Day 2 game total: 2-2
Day 3 game total: 4-5
grand game total: 8-11

Day 1 point total: 58-84

Day 2 point total: 43-12
Day 3 point total: 41-41
grand point total: 142-137

the greatest game ever made!

let me tell you how happy i am... actually, words can't capture how I'm feeling right now. the greatest game ever made, プロ野球チームであそぼう (let's play with a pro baseball team), is up and running! it wasn't until last night that i tried it out. i had tried it on the old Aquos and gave up because the lag made the game intolerable to play. the timing in the game, particularly when batting, is incredibly important. with the new Aquos i figured it would be the same story, however it wasn't. last night, just for fun, i plugged it in and i was off! i love this game so much. I've spent more hours playing this game than any other game in my life. 1st, most baseball games are like the real thing, slow paced. プロ isn't. you can play a normal game in about half the time of something like MLB 2K. there are no replays, cut scenes are few and quick, and the pitcher throws right away. the ball travels quickly and fielding is responsive and because throws and what not aren't canned animations (like every other baseball is) the defensive action is fluid and engaging. one of the best things about the game (and another thing that drives me nuts about 'normal' baseball game) is the camera angles. when batting, the angle is the typical umpire's view but you can also see the catcher's mitt and hand. however, where プロ shines is the defensive camera angles. unlike other games, which just pan out and give you an overhead view of the field making fielding the most boring part of every game, プロ puts you in the action by putting the camera right behind the fielder. if there's a hot shot down the 3rd base line, the camera jumps behind the 3rd baseman and you must react quickly. like real baseball. on a crushed home run the camera goes behind the outfielder as you watch helpless. it's awesome! the only baseball game I've ever played that made fielding exciting. there are so many good things about this game, the fluidity, the pace, the commentary, the atmosphere etc., the single best thing about the game, and only possible on the dreamcast is the pitching/hitting mechanic. when pitching, you look at the VMU to select your pitch then select your location. it's beautiful, it's simple. when playing against a human opponent it's perfect. they can't see where you're aiming! when hitting, after the pitch, the VMU tells all kinds of useful information; pitch location, swing location, swing timing, and power. power is decided by timing. you have to hold down the right trigger to ready your swing just before the pitcher comes forward in his delivery and release to swing as the ball comes in the zone. the better you time the pitcher, the more power you generate. once you figure out a pitcher's timing, you'll be spraying the ball all over the yard. some pitchers have hitches in their delivery that make them really hard to time, just like real baseball. timing. all though the game is now 9 years old, I've never played a better baseball game, and probably another game that I've been so attached to. it's dated graphically, i mean, all the players don't have arms or necks or legs (and that's why it's so fluid) and it's limited to exhibition games, a tournament and a single season mode, but it's perfect. it came out before the exodus of Japanese players to the U.S. so Ichiro (イチロー), and Matsui (松井(both of them, Kazuo and Hideki)) and Shinjo (新庄), and Matsuzaka (松坂) and Sasaki (佐々木) are all in the game along with the best team of all time, the Kintetsu Buffaloes (近鉄バファローズ)! if you can get it, get it!

b?'s E3!

E3 is coming up shortly, actually June 2nd-4th. I'll be out of town so probably can't get too many updates on what's happening, but I'm pretty excited to see what comes about from it. For now, there are 4 games coming out this year that I'm particularly looking forward to.
The only current game I'm thinking of getting is the new UFC 2009 undisputed.
I've played the demo, it's pretty cool, a cross between boxing and wrestling. I heard a bit about it on the giant bomb cast today and watched a review from game trailers and it seemed like it's probably pretty good. I might pick it up this weekend... or maybe when I get back from Hokkaido?
The 1st game I'm looking forward to, Fight Night Round 4, is coming out June 30th. I've been pumped for this game for quite some time as I've been a fan of the series. I played the crap out of Round 2, especially against my brother-in-law, and enjoyed Round 3, but while it took a step forward in the graphics department, I thought that it took a step back in terms of "fun."

Next game on the list that I'm suuuuuuuuper amped for is NCAA 10 on July 14th! What can I say, I've loved this game since the beginning, loved last year's incarnation, but better than last year is the promise of fixed bugs in the on-line fantasy dynasty and the ability (finally, again!) to create your own schools! This was always my favorite part, but it had been taken out of the last couple editions. Welcome back Ellensburg Ragin' Crackers and the Lomita Drunkin' Injuns! Best part of the new "create-a-school" feature is that they are gonna make it available before the game actually hits the shelves. Starting next month, you can go on-line and create your schools and then download them into the game once you get it. I just worry that my two favorite teams won't be PC enough to take on-line...

Red Dead Redemption, Fall 2009. I've talked about this one before, and I'm still looking forward to it.

Finally, I'm very interested to see what comes out of E3 about the new Tony Hawk called "Ride". With its peripheral, it could be great, or it could fall flat...

On a completely different note, mornin and I finished watching the finale of American Idol tonight. It was a good season (not that I can compare it to any other season...) and the guy that I had picked to win it all months ago, Kris Allen, came away as the champion. I feel satisfied. Proven right again!

What may be vol. 42!?

I actually recorded a "show" today! I talked about my mostly boring month of March, my probably busy month of April, the games that I've been playing, and I called out Apoc D! By the way, I didn't listen to this, so I could be guilty of exactly what I called him out for...

call of duty 4, check!

well game 3 on my list has been crossed off. i put in a couple of days of work over the weekend and that was enough to wrap it up. i started this game so long ago that i had forgoten most of the missions that i had played previously. the infrared, bombing people from an airplane mission was rad, but it totally slipped my mind until the closing credits. the game overall is excellent. there are a few frustrating parts here and there, but checkpoints are updated frequent enough that even if you make a little progress you will be rewarded with not having to repeat too large of an area. what really is the golden point of the game is the variety of action and the pronounced lack of crappy bodygaurd missions. from what i've heard, the best part of the game is the online play, however since there is no online co-op for dude? and i to rock, i've only done a bit of it. overall, a top notch shooter, one of the best ever probably.
rating:
headshot, the good kind!

fable II, mirror's edge, check!

Note: I have a new rating system. It is the idea of "what I would like to do" to the maker of the object that is being reviewed.

on my day off i got down to biznass! I'd been working on finishing fable II for a couple weeks. i did take some time off when i got sick, but I'd say i put a good 20+ hours in on it, maybe 30 or more. i got home at around 10:00 Wednesday then had dinner, watched some TV and then it was game time! i ended up playing fable until about 8am. but i finished. i only finished the main story, there are several side quests yet to be done but not sure if I'll get around to those.
after sleeping until 3 and having lunch etc., i set my sights on mirror's edge. i had finished 3 chapters already but got stuck on a part and became frustrated so i gave it up. after checking a walkthrough to establish that what i had been trying was actually right, i finally completed the move with unprecedented skill and was off! several hours later, at about 2:30am, i completed chapter 9, and the game.

fable II review:
I'll start by saying i don't like RPGs. I've only liked one ever, the Dreamcast's シェンムー (Shenmue). that one can barely be thought of as an RPG though. fable II is probably one of the most playable RPGs around, but that didn't make it much more fun for me. it was OK, it provided a good amount of play time but that play time wasn't all that fun. most of the fighting is just a hindrance to what i am actually trying to do. meaningless fights just pop-up from time to time. most of the enemies are boring. the one cool enemy type in the game is the giant troll thing that tends to be mostly just frustrating because targeting the little bugs on it while avoiding the chunks of earth it flings at you is a pain. the final major boss you encounter, an upside down triangle this, is just annoying, and beating it isn't satisfying, just a relief that you don't have to keep fighting it and waste more time. the final-final boss is a joke. you hold up a music box which takes on his power... then you blast him one time with your gun, or ranged weapon, and it's over?? so lame. i admit that i did enjoy parts of the game, but, overwhelmingly, i just wanted it to end so i could move on to something fun. if you like action RPGs, i would recommend it, there's probably a ton of fun to be had. i just wish they would work on the character design a bit more.

rating:
kick in the nuts

mirror's edge review:
after my suffering and toil at the hands of fable II, i was in the mood for something fun. MI delivered on that fun. after i passed the part i had been stuck on, it was a race to the finish. MI is a sweet platformer with nicely animated cut scenes.the main story is about a girl who is a messenger in a future city devoid many colors other than primary ones. her sister is captured (i think she was framed for something, kinda didn't pay attention to the 1st part of the story) and our heroine is hellbent on getting her back. some friends get killed too. often MI is compared to prince of Persia because of the wall running and whatnot, but i think it'll go down in history with some of the genre defining games such as Super Mario bros. and mega man. it's really a good time. there are a few frustrating parts, but when you pass them, you feel like you've accomplished something. sometimes it's a little tricky figuring out where to head, but most of the time the "runner's vision points
you in the right direction. the game can be played without shooting anyone (it'd be hard), but sometimes it's pretty satisfying disarming someone then blasting his friend. the shooting dynamic isn't as polished as pure shooters, but decent enough in its own right. the only real problems in the game are that it's a little short (probably can be finish in less than 10hrs) and the final boss confrontation is super easy. but i can see myself playing this one several times probably.

rating:
high 5!

splat!

my knee still hurts, i got sick again, and i don't know if fable 2 has an ending... on the bright side i've almost recovered from my cold! and next saturday i'll be at the frontale game with mornin and melvis! i'm psyched! this time of year is pretty boring. football ended and soccer and baseball haven't started yet. we've got hockey and basketball, but without the sonics i don't care too much about either of those until the playoffs. college b-ball until march madness. selection sunday is in 2 weeks! and the dawgs clinched at least a share of the pack 10 championship! i have been watching Japan's warm-up games for the WBC, but they are pretty boring. the real thing will be more interesting but nothing compares to actually being out at the stadium, watching a game with a smuggled beer or 7. other than that, life's been pretty average. just lots of working. i need a vacation i think...
Good news! There's gonna be a sequel for Red Dead Revolver coming out this year (Fall) called "Red Dead Redemption." I'm looking forward to that. The first one was pretty good, pretty original idea at the time and pretty decent game play. I hope the sequel ends up being just as good.

my bum knee and a semi failed T.O.C.

so it's been a few weeks since i went ice skating and suffered a stupid knee injury causing me to refrain from jogging until it healed. it had progressively gotten better and for a couple of days i thought it would be back to 100% shortly. however, starting Friday night and continuing through today the pain is back... f.
on a lighter note, i had no real plans yesterday so i decided to get drunk and what better way to do so than to play video games while i did it. thus the T.O.C. was proposed and i accepted. this time's T.O.C. was a bit different than normal seeing as i wasn't restricted to sports games. this time i chose to play all the games i haven't yet finished, which amounted to 10 games in all. here's the games:the tasks varied from completed levels to number of races to challenges etc. i didn't complete my mirror's edge task because i got stuck again and i ended up skipping fable 2 because after a fantastic tortilla soup dinner, made by mornin, i apparently passed out for a couple hours on the couch, oops. i totally don't remember lying down... i did end up finishing 8 tall boys and 8 challenges+. however i think i gave up on assassin's creed too because i got totally lost about what i was doing, oh well, at least i made some progress in some games that i haven't been playing really. i think that starting tonight I'm gonna get down to business with fable 2 and get that shit done! it's just so hard for me to get into RPGs... I'll try.

Winter '08 vol. 2

Today’s show sounds a ton better than last week’s! Content is lacking though… Think I’ll make notes throughout the week in order to keep an idea of what I want to talk about… Might…
Today I talked about: Marukin (丸金), Mirror’s Edge, Call Of Duty World At War, NCAA ’09, the NDL playoffs, my winter break, saving money, and pigeons!

Enjoy!