So, I had all these lofty ambitions of how I'd do an individual post for each of the top 10 games of '06 and each one was going to have a homemade picture and blah blah but fact remains, I have a life and if I've got an option of writing about video game or actually playing said games, well...guess which one I'm gonna chose. So yeah, here ya go...don't spend it all in one place:
My top 10 video games for the year 2006:
10. Dead Rising
9. Lego Star Wars II
8. Guitar Hero II (Red Octane for Playstation 2)
Better songs, better co-op, and Suicidal Tendencies! The only thing that sucks about this game is that it didn't make it to the 360 in time for '07. All the PS2 version's goods + hi-def, DLC, 5.1, and Achievements. It's gonna give a whole new meaning to March Madness...
7. Okami (Clover Studios for Playstation 2)
The only good thing that came out of my originial 360 breaking down, is that I got a chance to play this game. Easily the most original Zelda clone ever and a last breath in a dying generation. It hurts me to think that the company that made this is now defunct. Let's hope those developers continue on to push the boundaries of what can be done in this industry, rather than just being willing to crank out clones of sequels of roster updates of shitty licensed games. *sigh...*
6. Rainbow Six: Vegas (Ubisoft Montreal for 360)
Gadgets, guns, and gambling! A match made in heaven. This game that finally made me appreciate the much-loved R6 franchise. Come for the cover system, stay for the 4 player co-op.
5. Marvel Ultimate Alliance (Activision for Multiple Platforms, played on the 360)
Sure it's buggy as hell, but drop-in/drop-out co-op and a huge 24 character roster makes it a Marvel geek's wet dream come true. It's clobberin' time!
4. The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess (Nintendo for Wii)
It made it to #4 based purely on potential, and the fact that I needed to justify spending $300 just to play it. Considering the rate I've been slogging through it, I'll probably end up beating it some time around June so, more about it then...
3. Wii Sports (Nintendo for Wii)
A shallow experience for hardcore gamers, but by far the most fun game out on the system. I think Nintendo really nailed the "casual gamer" demographic they were aiming for with this one. The proof is the fact that my mom will call me up and ask me when she'll be able to play Tennis again which, as far as I'm concerned, is a much more compelling reason to own the Wii than Zelda is. Plus, bowling with Big Lebowski Miis is an experience to behold...
2. Gears of War (Epic Games for 360)
A. The best looking game you've ever seen. No, really.
B. Co-op throughout the entire campaign.
C. Hella fun 4 on 4 team deathmatch.
D. Your main character is voiced by John "Bender" DiMaggio.
E. You'll never forget the first time you chainsaw a motherfucker in half. And yeah, it's still just as fun the 100th time you do it.
F. The only reason it's not number 1 on my list is that it's not...
1. Viva Pinata (Rare for 360)
Yeah, I said it. For fans of Sim City, RTSs, Pokemon, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder...Rare presents an incredibly deep game with brilliant art direction, clever achievements, and mad legs. The reason this hits number 1 is due to the fact that I'll probably be playing this loooong after some of the others on this list are collecting dust on a Gamestop shelf. Check the sales and pick this one up when it hits $30, you'll be glad you did.
P.S. If your friends are laughing at you for playing this, then they're not really your friends, are they? Viva!
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
It was a very good year, for games to play on my TV...Part 2
Man, 2006 may have sucked for a lot of things, but gaming certainly was not one of them. Hell, I probably left more games off the main list than I even played last year…and 07 is only gonna be better. So, here you go, my top 10 games of 06. And then some.
9. LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (Traveller's Tales/LucasArts for Multiple Platforms)
"As far back as I can remember,
I always wanted to be a [Jedi]."
Seriously. The first movie my parents ever took me to see was Star Wars. Every year, for every birthday, I had a Star Wars party. For Halloween I dressed up as Chewbacca, a Stormtrooper, R2-D2, and Darth Vader. Every Xmas, I'd beg for big ticket toys like the Death Star, an AT-AT, or the Millenium Falcon. I never went anywhere without carrying around a little C-3P0 or Boba Fett. I had New Hope wallpaper, Empire sheets, and Jedi curtains in my room. Yes, for most of my childhood, I was a Star Wars junkie.
As I got older, interest began to wane. I flirted with other franchises. A Die Hard here, a Terminator there but in the end, it still always came back to the Holy Trilogy. If you'd asked me in 1997, after the severly compromised Special Editions had been released, I'd still have defended them to the death. Then, one day in 1999, the unspeakable happened. The horrific abortion of George Lucas's original vision of a Galaxy Far, Far Away was vomited forth on screens, store shelves, and novelty drinking glasses as far as the eye could see. I speak, of course, of Episode I. Almost overnight, my love affair with Star Wars vanished.
Clock wipe to 2006 and the release of LEGO Star Wars II...the magic is back! Every classic scene of the first three movies is here for you to play through again and again (with over 50 different characters.) Saving the Princess from the Death Star? Check. Riding your speeder bikes through the forests of Endor? Check! Luke's showdown with Darth Vader and the Emperor? Double check! Shit, even taking out AT-ATs with a snowspeeder's tow cables (a set-piece that has been in like EVERY SW game for the past 25 years) still seems fresh.
In fact, playing through this game is probably the closest I'll get to even being remotely interested in watching a Star Wars movie again for quite some time (which is probably for the best since it's going to be a while until they have a clean DVD/HD anamorphic print of the "Han shoots first" originals with a 5.1 soundtrack, fuck-you-very-much-o-flanneled-one.) Add in tons of hilarious cut scenes, bonus extras, and the ability for a second player to jump in and out at any time and you've got a game that'll warm even the most jaded former Star Wars fan's heart. Huzzah, Traveller's Tales...now bring on LEGO Batman!
9. LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (Traveller's Tales/LucasArts for Multiple Platforms)
"As far back as I can remember,
I always wanted to be a [Jedi]."
Seriously. The first movie my parents ever took me to see was Star Wars. Every year, for every birthday, I had a Star Wars party. For Halloween I dressed up as Chewbacca, a Stormtrooper, R2-D2, and Darth Vader. Every Xmas, I'd beg for big ticket toys like the Death Star, an AT-AT, or the Millenium Falcon. I never went anywhere without carrying around a little C-3P0 or Boba Fett. I had New Hope wallpaper, Empire sheets, and Jedi curtains in my room. Yes, for most of my childhood, I was a Star Wars junkie.
As I got older, interest began to wane. I flirted with other franchises. A Die Hard here, a Terminator there but in the end, it still always came back to the Holy Trilogy. If you'd asked me in 1997, after the severly compromised Special Editions had been released, I'd still have defended them to the death. Then, one day in 1999, the unspeakable happened. The horrific abortion of George Lucas's original vision of a Galaxy Far, Far Away was vomited forth on screens, store shelves, and novelty drinking glasses as far as the eye could see. I speak, of course, of Episode I. Almost overnight, my love affair with Star Wars vanished.
Clock wipe to 2006 and the release of LEGO Star Wars II...the magic is back! Every classic scene of the first three movies is here for you to play through again and again (with over 50 different characters.) Saving the Princess from the Death Star? Check. Riding your speeder bikes through the forests of Endor? Check! Luke's showdown with Darth Vader and the Emperor? Double check! Shit, even taking out AT-ATs with a snowspeeder's tow cables (a set-piece that has been in like EVERY SW game for the past 25 years) still seems fresh.
In fact, playing through this game is probably the closest I'll get to even being remotely interested in watching a Star Wars movie again for quite some time (which is probably for the best since it's going to be a while until they have a clean DVD/HD anamorphic print of the "Han shoots first" originals with a 5.1 soundtrack, fuck-you-very-much-o-flanneled-one.) Add in tons of hilarious cut scenes, bonus extras, and the ability for a second player to jump in and out at any time and you've got a game that'll warm even the most jaded former Star Wars fan's heart. Huzzah, Traveller's Tales...now bring on LEGO Batman!
Monday, January 08, 2007
It was a very good year, for games to play on my TV...Part 1
Man, 2006 may have sucked for a lot of things, but gaming certainly was not one of them. Hell, I probably left more games off the main list than I even played last year…and 07 is only gonna be better. So, here you go, my top 10 games of 06. And then some.
10. Dead Rising (Capcom for Xbox 360)
To paraphrase, "Dead Rising is one of the best broken games you'll ever play." That is to say, that this game has a lot of strikes against it (and let's not even count the bug that ended up killing a bunch of people's 360s, since that wasn't prevalent in every copy.) One save slot, unreadable tiny text on SD TVs, respawning enemies, mentally retarded AI, an aiming mechanic that is somehow worse than Metal Gear Solid's, and Otis…motherfucking Otis. Of course, you'll pretty much forget about all of this once you've started bashing zombies with electric guitars, knocking them over with bowling balls, mulching them with a lawnmower, or simply knocking them down and twisting their heads off like grapes.
And the achievements… There's definitely something to be said for a game that asks you to murder (or re-murder, I guess, since they're technically dead already) 54,000+ zombies for a lousy 20 Points. I mean, shit, I got more than that for clicking on a particular menu in Madden. Then again, I probably would have jumped at the chance to do the same thing in Madden (replacing "zombies" with "football fans") for no points at all. Plus, there's nothing like having the word "Genocider" on your gaming resume. As far as bragging rights go, it certainly beats the shit out of "Hatched an egg using Cluckles," don't it?
10. Dead Rising (Capcom for Xbox 360)
To paraphrase, "Dead Rising is one of the best broken games you'll ever play." That is to say, that this game has a lot of strikes against it (and let's not even count the bug that ended up killing a bunch of people's 360s, since that wasn't prevalent in every copy.) One save slot, unreadable tiny text on SD TVs, respawning enemies, mentally retarded AI, an aiming mechanic that is somehow worse than Metal Gear Solid's, and Otis…motherfucking Otis. Of course, you'll pretty much forget about all of this once you've started bashing zombies with electric guitars, knocking them over with bowling balls, mulching them with a lawnmower, or simply knocking them down and twisting their heads off like grapes.
And the achievements… There's definitely something to be said for a game that asks you to murder (or re-murder, I guess, since they're technically dead already) 54,000+ zombies for a lousy 20 Points. I mean, shit, I got more than that for clicking on a particular menu in Madden. Then again, I probably would have jumped at the chance to do the same thing in Madden (replacing "zombies" with "football fans") for no points at all. Plus, there's nothing like having the word "Genocider" on your gaming resume. As far as bragging rights go, it certainly beats the shit out of "Hatched an egg using Cluckles," don't it?
Friday, January 05, 2007
Learnin' to Wii with my left hand...
By combining two of my favorite things (video games and bulleted lists) I've come up (and by come up with, I fully mean "Steal content from other people's sites) with some good web picks for both savvy Wii owners (which is probably nobody that's reading this right now) and people who like cool game-related stuff (which is also probably nobody that's reading this right now.) Don't say I don't know my demographic...
Anyway, about a week or two ago, Nintendo released an Opera-based Internet Browser for the Wii. Reactions were decidedly mixed. Most people, myself included, felt that a browser was nothing but a slight, but wholly unnecessary, diversion. especially considering that 90%-100% of people who own both a Wii and a wireless router also own a computer and tend to browse the internet on that.
On the other hand we have the cripplingly lazy. These fervent defenders immediately praised the fact that they no longer needed to get up off the couch to check Gamefaqs to find that last piece of heart container in Zelda. The reality of this, of course, is that to do so they would actually need to quit out of the game and boot up Opera to do so, which would take roughly as much time as just going over to your PC to check the same page. Factor in the fact that without keyboard support, you’re forced to hunt-and-peck out the address on an onscreen QWERTY display (which, to be fair, is not 100% horrible as long as you’re not trying to send an email or post a blog or something) it ends up taking about twice as much time as using a computer terminal in another room, or a full four times as long as using a couch adjacent laptop (in case you were wondering the science behind my discoveries, cease all pontification…I’m making this up as I go along.)
Oh and in case you were wondering, on an 42” HDTV running at 480p (which is not the resolution you get with the standard set of Wii cables) the internet looks like complete and utter shit…which, if you think about it, sorta makes sense since the internet is pretty much comprised of complete and utter shit…but I digress.
Now, I’ll admit, I bought into the Wii browser strictly for the novelty factor. As a free piece of software, it works pretty well, and certainly stands to extend the life of a console with an anemic batch of launch games and the inevitable Gamecube-esque drought that’s sure to follow. So then, the question is: Now that you’ve taken the plunge and downloaded the browser, just what in the hell do you do with it?
Hell, if anyone even has a Wii, for that matter, let me know. I’ve got some Big Lebowski Miis with your name on them…
Anyway, about a week or two ago, Nintendo released an Opera-based Internet Browser for the Wii. Reactions were decidedly mixed. Most people, myself included, felt that a browser was nothing but a slight, but wholly unnecessary, diversion. especially considering that 90%-100% of people who own both a Wii and a wireless router also own a computer and tend to browse the internet on that.
On the other hand we have the cripplingly lazy. These fervent defenders immediately praised the fact that they no longer needed to get up off the couch to check Gamefaqs to find that last piece of heart container in Zelda. The reality of this, of course, is that to do so they would actually need to quit out of the game and boot up Opera to do so, which would take roughly as much time as just going over to your PC to check the same page. Factor in the fact that without keyboard support, you’re forced to hunt-and-peck out the address on an onscreen QWERTY display (which, to be fair, is not 100% horrible as long as you’re not trying to send an email or post a blog or something) it ends up taking about twice as much time as using a computer terminal in another room, or a full four times as long as using a couch adjacent laptop (in case you were wondering the science behind my discoveries, cease all pontification…I’m making this up as I go along.)
Oh and in case you were wondering, on an 42” HDTV running at 480p (which is not the resolution you get with the standard set of Wii cables) the internet looks like complete and utter shit…which, if you think about it, sorta makes sense since the internet is pretty much comprised of complete and utter shit…but I digress.
Now, I’ll admit, I bought into the Wii browser strictly for the novelty factor. As a free piece of software, it works pretty well, and certainly stands to extend the life of a console with an anemic batch of launch games and the inevitable Gamecube-esque drought that’s sure to follow. So then, the question is: Now that you’ve taken the plunge and downloaded the browser, just what in the hell do you do with it?
- If you’re anything like my friends and I, the first thing you do is try and find porn…I mean, it is the internet after all. Now, of course, we’re not the only people that thought of that. That’s why (at least according to this guy at Ars Technica) the fine folks at www.tiava.com (NSFW, btw)have designed a Wii friendly version of their site. Regardless of my personal feelings towards pornography, I’m very impressed that the Wii is already having that much of an effect on how people are designing their websites, especially considering that the browser has only been around for about two or three weeks now. It’ll be interesting to see how many other sites and blogs will start coming up with Wii-friendly layouts if console browsing really does take off. Then again, anyone remember WebTV? Yeah, me neither.
- Another site that’s been specially designed for the Wii-web’s crap resolution. Large fonts and big, colorful GUI buttons make this Pandora-lite internet radio “station” worth checking out…just make sure that you hate good music before visiting.
- I have to admit, quality aside, this is the site that I’m most impressed with the design of. With an interface built to mimic the Wii’s startup screen, this little collection of Flash games does a reasonable job in simulating an actual (albeit, somewhat sloppy) Wii minigame experience by offering point-and-click versions of games like Simon and Duck Hunt. Sure, they don’t run as well as games specifically designed for the system but, like Nintendo’s entire online approach, you get what you pay for! The best thing about this is that if you weren't lucky enough to score a Wii console at launch, you can just bring this site up on your computer and totally front like you've got one...at least until someone asks to play...
- Finally, the best of the best. The fine folks at Red Kawa bring us Sofatube, a way to effectively browse and watch YouTube videos on your couch via Wii or PS3. Now I personally was never bitten by the YouTube bug as hard as a lot of people I know (mostly due to the fact that I can’t get it at work and by the time I get home, I’m loathe to sit in front of a computer monitor any longer than I have to) but I’ve got to admit, this is pretty fucking cool. In addition, if you’re planning on using your Wii as a media hub (I don’t know why you would, but that’s just me) check out Red Kawa’s video converter here. It should let you convert all of your .avi, .mpeg, and .divx files into Wii-able files. I haven’t had a chance to try it out yet, but if anyone else does, let me know.
Hell, if anyone even has a Wii, for that matter, let me know. I’ve got some Big Lebowski Miis with your name on them…
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Barney vs. Velociraptor
Yeah, this is a repost from my MySpace blog but whatever. I'm gonna try and keep them both current with eachother, if not current with the date.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Me or the mirror
I genuinely can't decide if I want to keep trying to resurrect this blog or just say fuck it and stick with the Myspace one. I guess I'll just use the two as mirrors for eachother since I've probably got a total of 5 readers between the two. Either way, I'm gonna kick off the new year with a random picture of Anton LeVey as the Iron Chef. Enjoy!
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