I am a big fan of Woot. Their daily deals, while sometimes complete crap, usually turn out to be pretty neat and inexpensive. And Woot-offs instill the kind of competitive shopping craziness that only a Furby sale can match. They also do really clever contests, and the community is quite proficient at the old Photoshop. This week their contest was to create an ad that tries to sell a past woot as a specialized "gaming" product, and some of these are REALLY clever. Check them out at the Woot Blog and have your doctor-recommended daily lol.
Ok, you know how last night on the podcast I was talking about how I signed up for this new video game trading service called Goozex and how I thought it may very well be cool? Turns out, it's completely awesome. Within an hour of finishing the recording, I checked my inbox and I already had four of my requested games come up for trade. Since I didn't have any points yet I couldn't get them, but still these were some pretty great games! I had requested Oblivion and Dead Rising, and both were available. Also, two of my games were requested, Super Paper Mario and Prostroke Golf. Yes, the same Prostroke Golf that I said was a piece of crap and I thought I would never be able to trade. I am shipping the games out today, all I have to do is print out labels and go to the post office. Once they arrive at their destination, I get points and can get games of my own! Sure it's a bit slower than going down to Gamestop, but you aren't feeding the horrible Gamestop/EB Games used game machine, and if you are into older games you may have missed (like myself), the library is unsurpassed. Check Goozex out, tell em "chrisfurniss" sent you. You will thank me. Serious.
posted by Chris on July 30, 2007 7:21 PM in Podcast
This week's Geek Podcast features Chris Furniss, Colette Bennett and The Geek discussing comic con, the new Iron Man movie (verdict: awesome looking), new Futurama, The Simpsons, Wes Anderson movie news and more. They weigh in on the video games as art debate (Again! Always with the games as art!), discuss game trading and Goozex and rant about furries. Yes, furries. Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or download now! But subscribing is better.
posted by Chris on July 30, 2007 12:39 PM in Games
N'Gai Croal (who you should all be paying attention to) has weighed in on the Ebert/Barker games-as-art debate and completely destroyed Ebert in the process. I imagine Roger Ebert in his darkened office, bat cave style, surrounded by dozens of monitors constantly playing Citizen Kane, clutching at his heart as if he had been stabbed by a thousand arrows. Ebert recently went on a tirade (as we mentioned in the podcast last week) on how video games not only aren't high art - they will never be high art. I tried to be as eloquent as possible within the bounds of my own personal rage about the subject, but no one could put it better than N'Gai. From the article:
If, as Ebert believes, art is created by an artist, who is the artist when we go to see a production of "Romeo & Juliet"? Is it Shakespeare alone? Is the show's director an artist? The lead actors? The supporting actors? The bit players? The set designer? The lighting designer? The composer? How many people are allowed collaborate on something before it becomes low art or non-art?
When we go to a movie version of "Romeo & Juliet," is the cinematographer an artist? Is an adaptation like "West Side Story" art, and if so, are the writers of the book and lyrics artists? If a composer were to rearrange the music for "West Side Story" into jazz, and then a series of jazz bands were to perform this music, each with its own unique solos, would these performances be art? And if I were to tell my future children a bowdlerized version of "Romeo and Juliet," improvising to fill in the blanks in my memory and to make it suitable for kids, would that be art?
What I'm trying to say is that there are many different kinds of art that don't always fit neatly into the high-low dichotomy that Ebert wields like a cudgel. Interpretation, translation, improvisation, collaboration, performance, oral storytelling--all of these are aspects of the lively arts that different games resemble at different times, or could resemble in the future. Rather than insist on exploring aspects of other art forms that videogames don't resemble, why not look for those that do? That's how someone with a genuinely curious mind would approach this. Ebert's, however, is firmly, proudly closed.
N'Gai so thoroughly rips apart Ebert's argument, it almost calls into question Ebert's critiques of other media. If he is so ignorantly vocal about one subject, why not the rest?
In 1981, the pinnacle of automotive perfection was achieved. No one has ever come close to getting anywhere near that level of awesome when it comes to making cars. But alas, only 9000 of these wonderful machines were produced before the factory lines were shut down forever.
With only 6500 left on the road today, they are a dying breed. One Texas auto mechanic bought all the leftover parts from the shutdown and uses them to service, repair, or completely rebuild these amazing cars.
But the parts are indeed limited and they're down to about only 200 of the proper engines, and they're not going to last much longer.
However, this enterprising car company has decided to take it upon themselves to start buidling the vehicles completely from scratch, starting in 2008.
That's right folks, as early as next year, you too can purchase your very own, brand spankin' new De Lorean DMC 12!
Today I have decided to part with one of my favorite paintings. This is a piece entitled "Obsessed" that I did as part of my degree back in 2005. It was a combination digital/analog piece, with two parts. The first part is the painting/collage, comprised of all my Game Boy Advance game boxes and manuals I had saved up over the years. I am a compulsive box-saver, and it was quite the sacrifice to cut them all up, I tell you what. The other part was an online component, where you could zoom in and mouse over the individual games and read a little history behind them. Not a history about the games, but of my experiences with the games. Naturally the only thing being auctioned is the huge 30" x 40" mixed media piece, seen here (click to zoom).
posted by Chris on July 27, 2007 11:05 PM in Games
Having a gaming party this weekend? Staying at home to drink alone and play Super Paper Mario with your pants off? What better way to impress your friends (and yourself in the other scenario) than mixing them a video game themed cocktail! A dirty robot named Mellzah posted this today in the magical land of Facebook where you can't link to articles without a log in... so she gave me permission to repost it here. Enjoy! --Chris
I was going to post something yesterday, but as it turns out, being extremely hungover from a birthday pre-funk party really hinders my ability to type coherently. Who could have guessed? And yes, my birthday isn't until THIS weekend, but I like to celebrate the whole month because it makes me feel special. And not in the short bus sort of way.
So since I had a lot of time to ponder on the question of WHAT dog bit me so I could concoct a cure, and by the way, who fed me cigarette butts in my sleep, and oh god I'm going to die, I furthermore spent some time pondering again on the idea of opening a theme bar so other people can fund my cirrhosis. What if I opened up a video game theme bar? A bar with arcade machines? A...barcade, if you will. If classic game characters were alcoholic beverages, what would they be?
This is what I've decided so far.
Mario
1 oz cinnamon schnapps
1 oz tequila rose
Shake with ice, and strain into a shooter. That's a spicy meatball!
Luigi
1 oz Midori
1 oz coconut rum
Splash of pineapple juice
fresh cream
Combine Midori, coconut rum, and pineapple juice, shake with ice and strain into a tall shot glass. Carefully layer fresh cream on top, serve immediately. When you get good enough at this to layer the letter 'L' on top, give me a call. You're hired.
Who are the faces behind The Weekly Geek, you ask? This is a question left completely unanswered for too long. Welcome to a brand new Weekly Geek column called "Get To Know Your Geeks"! Over the next few weeks we will ask our staff various questions so that you, the reader, can get an idea of who they are before you lambaste their opinions in the comments. Fantastic, eh!
Mike Wiegand, better known as "Caspian", is the music editor and resident guitar god for The Weekly Geek. In this first installment of "Get to Know Your Geeks" we ask him a few questions to probe deep into his innermost thoughts and secrets. Not really, but it's interesting nonetheless!
When did you first discover you were a geek?
Probably in 4th grade when I brought my Captain Picard and Data action figures to school and acted out my own episodes of TNG.
What is the one video game you keep coming back to no matter how many times you've played it?
Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past.
What is your day job?
Marketing Coordinator for a Mortgage Company (ah, corporate whoredom).
If you were stranded on an island with a dvd player and could only bring ONE dvd or dvd set, what would you bring?
Star Wars Episodes 4-6, I guess. /psh I hate movies.
Put your music on shuffle and hit play. What comes up?
"Scythian Empires" by Andrew Bird
How long have you been with The Weekly Geek, and what is your favorite thing you have done so far for the site?
Since last summer; 1 blissful year. If you judge by comments, inciting a riot of Modest Mouse fans was the best thing I've ever done.
What was the worst video game you have ever played?
Kung Fu for the NES. Snakes that you kill by kicking them? If only! And a final boss named Mr. X. Seriously, couldn't think of a better name? Try harder Data East!
Something strangely frightening and wonderful happened to me today, a co-worker approached me holding a box, followed by a big bearded man with a camera. Earlier in the week, said co-worker requested a 300dpi version of my one man band photo, to which I cautiously obliged. Was he sizing me up so he could eventually kill me and wear my skin? This was the only logical conclusion.
No. What he was doing was making a custom Furniss tour T-shirt from b-bam, a local custom printing company. Not only was the shirt completely awesome, but the site is awesome, too. You can choose to upload photos, customize text, add decals and more... but the best part? You can place these anywhere on the shirt. This isn't some crappy cafepress iron-on-design-goes-only-in-the-center process. For about $25 you can have the awesome t-shirt of your dreams (and who doesn't dream about awesome tees?). Thanks for the embarrassing moment, b-bam. Strangely, I was wearing the same t-shirt today as I was in the photo. I'll be putting bars up on my windows tonight. Thanks to co-worker Tom and Leslie from B-Bam!
Being that it would be kind of silly for me to walk around wearing a shirt that not only had my own face on it, but five of my own faces, this shirt will be used in a giveaway contest thing soon. Look for it!
It has now been 100% confirmed, via Comic-Con panel, that Zachary Quinto will be portraying the pointy-eared legend of Mr. Spock in JJ Abrams's new Star Trek movie, which is due out by Ecksmas of next year.
For those of you who missed Heroes or just didn't read the title of this post, Quinto played the villain named Sylar. Plus, Leonard Nimoy himself will be reprising his role, returning as an old Spock at some point in the movie. I think that's a pretty good sign that someone is taking the time and consideration to make this movie something really good, instead of just milking a franchise. It'll be quite a change for Quinto, who will go from a crazy evil guy, driven almost exclusively by emotion to, well, it's friggin' Spock. I don't need to describe Spock to you, do I? If I do, I have no idea how you managed to accidentally type our URL when you meant to go to iliveinacave.com or something.
Young Kirk has not yet been cast and Abrams also wants to try to fit Shatner in the movie somehow.
The fine folks over at TrekWeb have a transcript and video of the panel from Comic-Con.
Poor but Honest, Sad but True, Losing a Shoe and a Button or Two.
A staple of grocery store filth goes down... 28 years after it's founding, the Weekly World News folds. Truly, the end of an era. Or the end of a something.
As far as commercial rappers go, Kanye West is tolerable. He is at the very least unique in his rhymes, and doesn't buy in to the bullshit bling-bling fake culture most other rappers are obsessed with. Take this video, featuring one of my favorite stand up comics, Zach Galifianakis.
Brilliant! Check out Zach on the Comedians of Comedy movie. Comedy as dry as the desert. Love it.
Hey, breeders, here is something interesting for you to do with that weird, crawly barfy thing you ejected from your loins! Via BoingBoing today, Flickr user anutron has knit a crazy sweater/hat combo for their offspring that supposedly makes them resemble Carl from Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Fantastic! Finally you can disguise your selfish baby-making shame by making it look like you just hang around with a diminutive New Jersey landlord.
What the hell you guys? I cannot abide this breach of trust. My faith in humanity is so completely shattered. Transformers, the movie that most of you either said I would "probably like" or "is really actually good", is actually completely awful. Yeah, it's been out a couple weeks but I just saw it tonight and I wish to express my outrage to you all fully. I don't go to movies. You know why? Because the whole experience is horrible. Always. Without fail. Tonight not only was I treated to a completely inexplicable exercise in "how much shit can we shove into a Maya render so that it's completely unrecognizable", but cold stale popcorn that was way overpriced, and a woman next to me who thought every little bit of the movie was so enjoyable she could only express her glee through clapping.
I didn't walk in to the movie expecting something amazing. Heck, I'm not even a very big Transformers fan. What I expected, however, was something at the very least visually impressive, and tolerable. Hoo boy, was I wrong.
Let's address the visuals first, here. Critics have said grandiose things like how Transformers is going to change the effects industry the way Jurassic Park did in the 90's. You see the thing about that is I could actually tell they were dinosaurs in Jurassic Park. Transformers' robot battle scenes are so incredibly convoluted, zoomed in and shaky I had a hard time even comprehending what I was seeing. Was I seeing one poorly designed character that vaguely resembles a truck, or was I seeing the other poorly designed character that vaguely resembles some sort of anthropomorphic space vagina? Who knows! They all look like those stupid LEGO spinoffs, Bionicle - gangly super hyper stylized flashy shards of metal or something. I would have been able to pay much better attention to the action if I were looking at solid objects. But nooooooo. I like giant space robots. I like them even more when they are battling. I just want to be able to SEE said giant space robots.
Also, I wasn't expecting Shakespeare out of a Michael Bay movie, but I certainly wasn't expecting the gaping plot holes, super contrived action movie dialog and HORRIBLE ACTING. I wonder if any other major motion picture has had so many meaningless, stereotypical, cliché ridden secondary throwaway characters. Sure, Shia Lebouf was good in his role, but maybe that's just because his role was written by a 12 year old. There were no relate able moments in the movie, as much as they tried with the whole masturbation bit. The love interest was pretty non-existent, where did his best friend go off to, why were they shoving brand names down our throats, why was the Sector 7 guy some sort of random unfunny comic relief, and why did the little spider robot have to say "oh shit" when it died?
The whole movie I just sort of shook my head. Screw you, Michael Bay. Screw you for wasting so much money on this horrible, miserable piece of tripe. It could have gone to so many better places. Just.... ugggh. I can't believe some of you actually liked it. This was intolerably bad. So bad! SO BAD.
I will never trust your judgment again, Internets!
Have you ever stop to think about how we got where we are today? I mean, as in a gaming context. Seriously, it's really quite incredible to sit down and ponder on the evolution of video games. And I'm not just talking super pretty graphics, though they are definitely not to be excluded.
Think about it. No other entertainment medium has changed so much over such a short period of time. Music has a huge variety of sounds and styles to offer, but it's literally been around for thousands upon thousands of years in one form or another. The way it's played and how we are able to hear it have changed a bit, but it still pretty much just comes down to the performer and the listener. Books are still books. You read them. There are a variety of styles and genres, but you still read them. I could go on, but you get the picture.
However, in the scant few decades that video games have existed, massive sweeping changes have occurred over and over again. It's not just what they look like that has changed. It's how we play them, who we play them with, when and where we can enjoy them, what kind of games they are, and why we play them. Back when you were playing some PacMan at a bar or arcade, or when you were sitting on your living room floor, stomping on Goombas, did you really have any inkling at all at how much was possible for the future of video games? I'm sure some of you did, because you're making those games right now.
We may not have flying cars, but we're living in the friggin' future here, people.
Okay you guys. I like Harry Potter just fine. It's an easy read, and a great piece of fiction for young adults. Let me say that again. Young adults. It is published by Scholastic. You know, the book company that did all those book fairs and sold you joke books and Mad Libs as a kid? Yeah. As far as adult (read: mature, refined) fiction goes, it's contrived, predictable and frankly just plain cheesy. You can read the book in a weekend, because it's meant for kids. This is why it completely baffles me when adults start acting Harrytarded. Take this article I found today titled "Some Potter Fans Find Pages Missing".
Leanne Greer, 36, had gone on "lock down" — no television, radio or Internet — after buying her copy of "Deathly Hallows" at about 7 a.m. on Saturday. She said she finished reading page 306, then discovered the next 33 pages of the book were missing.
"I just kind of freaked out," said Greer, a Purdue University graduate with degrees in elementary education and English. "My husband said, 'Why are you screaming?' He said 'I thought one of the kids was hurt.'"
Luckily for Greer, she had a backup for her store-bought copy; she had ordered another copy online.
"I'm just that psychotic about it," she said.
She tore open the package that arrived in the mail and kept reading.
Jesus people. This is news? I am all for kids reading more, that part of Harry Potter mania is fantastic. Reading helps you develop vocabulary, imagination, and interest in a wide variety of subjects. But these adults who go nutso over Harry Potter, what do they get out of it? Are we immersed in a culture of drooling half-matured adults, grasping onto pop culture so frantically they are afraid something may slip through their fingers? I just cannot figure it out. This lady should be tranquilized, and her driver's license should be taken away. These are the kinds of obnoxious people who think that The DaVinci Code was a stunning work of fiction. If you're gonna read trash, at the very least read some Anne Rice. At least there's gay vampire sex in that.
Harry Potter is good, but it's not gay vampire sex good.
I am a huge food fan. I love to cook, and I love cooking for people even more. Alton Brown is my hero, Anthony Bourdain is my idol and one of my favorite material possessions in the universe is my cast-iron skillet. One of my life goals is to go to El Bulli in Spain, just to experience the 8-hour dinner ordeal first hand. Can't make it to Spain? Maybe (not likely) you can get a reservation at Thomas Keller's French Laundry in California. A super exclusive and critically acclaimed establishment, The French Laundry features dishes never before created, and a rotating menu of wonder. This man is a food magician (he even was a consultant on Ratatouille!).
I discovered a new food blog today via Slashfood, called French Laundry at Home, where a very eager and earnest woman named Carol attempts cooking every recipe from the French Laundry official cookbook. The dishes are gorgeous, and her descriptions are even better. From her post about a soft shell crab dish...
With my left hand, I picked up one of the crabs from the platter and held him from behind. In my right hand, I held the scissors. As I got the scissors close to the crab's face, it started twitching and writhing, and I couldn't do it. I don't know if you've ever held or touched a soft-shell crab before, but instead of a skeletal underbelly and a hard shell on top, the underbelly is not very hard, and felt as thin as a shrimp shell. The top shell feels like thin leather, or perhaps fish skin -- probably the same thickness/texture as halibut. So, when the crab started moving around, I could feel his insides moving, too.
I put him back on the platter and paced my tiny, tiny kitchen trying to talk myself off the ledge. I saw a bottle of Ketel One on my wine table and thought maybe a shot of liquid courage might help, but I didn't do it. Instead, I grabbed a pair of tongs and used those to pick up the crab. I opened the scissors and let out a "aaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii'msosorry" as I cut its face off. Things started to ooze out of the front of his head, and I just repeated a mantra of "thisisgross-thisisgross-thisisgross-AAAAACCCCCKKKKK" as I cut off the large claws, then removed the remaining legs. I did this for each crab to get all the cutting overwith at once.
Chuck Palahniuk ain't got nothin' on Carol. Vivid and insightful, this blog is definitely one for the feed reader.
Stemming from my Wolf Parade obsession is the deranged, but lovable branch, Handsome Furs: Solo project of Dan Boeckner, Wolf Parade's Co-Holwer/Guitarist, guesting his affianced lovely assistant Alexei Perry on various gadgets. Together, they've washed out the rain gutters of Indie Rock, indiscriminately exposing rotten leaves and fallen robin eggs alike. Sand-papery lyrics collide perfectly with the clean crunch of simple, pounding drum machine sambas. "What We Had" is the reluctant signature track of The Furs' marred masterpiece album Plague Park. Download the .mp3 here for free, courtesy of well-to-do label Sub Pop Records.
Attempt to enjoy the gorgeous pelts below in this shitty YouTube find. How is it that the most amazing live performances, and the only ones available online, are recorded so poorly?
Missile command is one of those games you play when you don't have anything else. It's not really a game you hear people raving about. No one is going out and getting retro Missile Command tattoos. It's more of one of those games that comes for free on your computer and you're too poor to buy anything cooler. Though, if you are one of those crazed Missile Command fans, the Xbox Live Arcade version is definitely the one for you. It features pretty menus, photo-realistic landscapes, and a neatly designed interface to update the old classic. It even has driving techno music to keep your blood pumping! Or to annoy you. It's pretty repetitive.
The game features two different versions: the classic arcade version and the "retro evolved" version. Each version has two gameplay modes, a normal and a "throttle monkey" mode, which I imagine is some sort of slang for "whoa this is too fast how can non-augmented humans play this". Personally I find it all boring.
The trouble with reviewing retro games is that they aren't deep enough for an elaborate analysis, and everyone already knows the game anyway. It's Missile Command, but prettier and with achievements. It looks real nice in HD, but there are plenty other better Xbox 360 titles to impress your friends with. Grab it. Or don't.
After it was posted on the front page of Joystiq this morning, a couple people have asked me how such an awesome photo is produced. I keep telling people that this level of Awesome is inborn, something that was passed down to me genetically from one awesome Furniss male to the next, but the demands continue. Rock Band is coming soon, and if you don't have any (live, human) friends you'll need a way to utilize all those instruments and still look rockin'. Enter the one man band! In this first installment of The Weekly Geek's Photoshop Madness, I outline how you, too, can create your own collage of incredibleness. Hit the jump for a step by step tutorial, and post the ones you make in the comments!
Twee Pop bastards that they are, Architecture in Helsinki have finally made a video that perfectly symbolizes their jubilant noise. These Aussie band nerds have come a long way (as far as their acid tabs could take them), and they figured a proper celebratory enactment for their upcoming August 7th release (Places Like This) would be to hit the mini trampolines. The director credits on this video should simply read: "Cocaine addict with Adobe Premiere Skills". The song is, of course, new to my ears - and the tightest simile i can draw is that it sounds like David Byrne wrote a song after drinking two gallons of Fruit Punch Kool Aid. Oh Yeah!
posted by Chris on July 23, 2007 6:49 PM in Podcast
The Geek, Chris and Colette wax nostalgic this week about Nintendo Power and the glory of magazines devoted to in-game maps and brand-whoring. Also discussed is Live Arcade titles for the week and Paper Mario. Roger Ebert returns us to six months ago when the "Are Video Games Art?" question was still relevant, and Jon Lovitz beats up Andy Dick. This was a very random week. Enjoy!
posted by Chris on July 23, 2007 11:32 AM in Games
... but not at E3? Sure you could play Harmonix's Guitar Hero-and-every-other-game-ever-killer behind closed doors at this year's E3, if you set up a meeting or were invited to the super exclusive Rock Band event. But it wasn't on the show floor. This just furthers my frustration with companies at this year's E3. They saved some of the best games for their other non-media events, while we are left in the dust. Gabe from Penny Arcade outlined more PAX events today:
A bunch of other awesome shit
- Sponsored parties from Vivendi, Gametrailers, ArenaNet, and Sega
- Public-playable premiers of dozens of games
- Hundreds of freeplay computers provided by Intel
- All of Wizards of the Coast's "Gencon" RPGA games and content--everything they're introducing there, they're also introducing here
- Rock Band, playable on a stage in Harmonix's 20x30 booth
I had a great time at E3 but it certainly wasn't because of the ESA or the majority of the game companies. I look forward to wading through the crowds of unwashed horrible people to try your game, Harmonix. Thanks.
I am filled with a soaring happiness this morning. Is it the gloomy Seattle weather, rainy yet mildly warm? Certainly not. Is it the fact that I got three hours of sleep last night? No, of course. It's that I had the privileged of getting in to work and reading the first post of Florian Eckhardt's on Destructoid. Florian and Eliza Gauger (frequent Weekly Geek podcast guest, if you recall) used to be the only reason you'd read Kotaku, for their witty rapport and brilliant wordsmithery. Truly, they are games journalists to look up to. Just check out this small snippet as Florian recounts an imaginary scenario in which he visits Destructoid headquarters for the first time.
Furious, I burst into Niero's office, but not even the vomit-inducing pageant of grotesqueries I found within could stifle my obscene litany of "Well I nevers!" Imagine the grossest looking humanoid in the world: a golem-like creature of mozzarella and bird droppings, stuffed into a pair of children's Underoos and with a jellyfish draped over his head. This is Niero. His fetid liquidity and jelly-like skeleton were constrained on each side by the lip of the plastic kiddy pool in which he less sat than congealed. Sitting cross-legged before him, two beautiful, nut-brown Filipino boys. Each held a moist GameCube controller that umbilically stretched from Niero's toilet-sized navel. As they mashed buttons and swirled thumbsticks counter-clockwise, Niero emitted gurgles of pleasure and I knew I was witnessing something profane. But I was a crackerjack businessman: this was a time for negotiations, not gastric upheaval.
Just... there are no words for the happiness I am feeling to have these people back in games journalism. These are exciting times.
Have you ever played a game just to get to the next cut scene? It's a bit like watching a marathon of your favorite TV show, or taping your eyelids open late at night to reach another chapter in your favorite book.
I can remember as far back as Final Fantasy IV on the SNES being absolutely magnetized to the story bits, even if they were only being acted out by 8-bit sprites who spoke through captions. And now, with technology as it is, I'm further entranced by games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic where competent voice acting and compelling developments keep me glued to the screen for hours.
posted by Chris on July 20, 2007 11:22 AM in Games
The bastardized, watered-down version of E3 has come and gone, and journalists have started comprising their lists of how next year's E3 can be improved. But do we even need an E3? This year wasn't packed with megaton announcements, instead focusing on games only being released this year. It was focused on the media being able to play a few games that have already been announced, only two or three months before their release. To what end? How does this benefit companies? Was it them just throwing us a bone because we expect E3 to wow us? Us, of course, referring to the gamer community. We are a demanding sort, picking through every announcement, every press release, trying to find tidbits of information about games that aren't even released yet. It's a culture of impatience, and I believe that the game companies just plain don't need E3 any longer.
Sure, I could talk about how the show could be improved for my own comfort level. But at that point, aren't we just going through the motions? Almost every PR rep I talked to at the show mentioned big announcements being held for Leipzig, or Tokyo Game Show, all of them holding back those precious gems of information we all desire.
It's a big party. It's a great party, filled with free booze and food, schmoozing and networking. It certainly benefits the careers of games journalists, but for the most part the companies represented at E3 could most likely do without the fanfare. E3 is dead, obsolete, and most likely won't return. E for All, coming in October, will reinforce this. Just imagine big game companies holding out their huge announcements for E for All, a show that is essentially a huge arcade - the very reason the original E3 was shut down. Imagine the outrage!
We are all going to look back at 2007 as a very interesting year for gaming indeed.
Tucked away in the middle of a cluster of gaming stations in the Barker Hangar was one solitary DS Lite. On that DS Lite? Contra 4. That was one of the more remarkable things about the Barker Hangar this year, the best games could just be sitting there, waiting for someone to play them, no lines. All my previous worries about Contra 4 were laid to rest after actually getting to experience it - this is certainly the Contra we all know and love. It's still SUPER hard, I could hardly get past the first level (by hardly I mean I didn't). The addition of a grappling hook feels natural to the series, though it's a bit frustrating it can only shoot straight up and not at an angle a la Bionic Commando. The controls are surprisingly tight for a small third party developer continuing this series, it really just feels natural. The music, the sound effects, everything is meant to harken back to the Contra days of yore. This is going to be an exciting rest of 2007, I tell you what.
While the PS3 is still way too expensive for me, there were a couple of compelling titles at E3 that made me stop and think if I could actually afford it. One of those games was Folklore, an absolutely gorgeous game in the vein of Okami, Zelda, and surprisingly Pokemon. You adventure through a Labyrinth/Dark Crystal style world, fighting a variety of monsters and capturing their souls. Soul capturing actually uses the PS3 controller in an interesting and non-gimmicky fashion: you yank back the SIXXAXIS to rip it out of the monsters. It's very satisfying. Once you have a mob's soul you can then map it to one of your four face buttons, using them as an attack. For instance a goblin might be able to punch, and repeatedly pressing the button you assigned the goblin to will punch as if you were punching all real-time action game style. Each monster's attack is useful for different things, and they are upgradeable as you progress.
I'll be watching this game quite closely. Hopefully it will end up sucking so I don't have to sell any organs to buy a PS3.
Tucked away in the corner of the EA booth, with very little fanfare, was the Orange Box. Well, most of the Orange Box. They had a demo reel of Team Fortress 2 (one of the many non-playable games on the show floor, the bastards) and Portal running on the PS3. While playing something like Portal on the PS3 with a controller isn't the most preferable thing in the world... it's fucking PORTAL. I've been anticipating this awesome puzzle game for quite some time, and I have to say it lives up to the hype. It will be interesting to see what the actual writing in the game is like, I was just able to play through a couple of puzzles. It seems like the final version is going to be ridiculously difficult as you progress. I just hope it's not too short, because from what I have played Portal is a game you are going to want to play a LOT this coming holiday. The Orange Box is one of the best gaming deals to come around in years, hands down.
I got into God Of War a bit late in the game, I was turned off by the media blitz Spike TV had for the first in the series, as Spike TV sucks. Why should I trust their opinion? Turns out I was wrong (Never! Gasp!) and God of War is pretty freaking brilliant. God of War for the PSP follows the tradition of excellence with a game that feels almost exactly like it is on the PS2. The graphics, sound, gameplay, everything is on par with the PS2 titles, running at a solid frame rate, never slowing down, and always keeping that visceral ass-kicking feeling through the levels. Damn it, it's more God of War and that's always good. The PSP is a viable system now? What the hell!
Final Fantasy 12 was definitely one of the best Final Fantasy games ever created, and Square Enix knows this. They know it so well that they are releasing about a million spinoffs in the same world as ff12, and surprisingly they all look pretty great. One of these spinoffs is a strange little tactics game for the DS called Revenant Wings. I got to play a bit of it on the show floor and I must say I was impressed. First off, Final Fantasy 12 on a portable system? Yes, please. Throw in some gorgeous fmv cutscenes, fantastic localization (Balthier's lines in the demo were priceless) and a new crisp almost chibi art style and you have a winner on your hands. My only issue with the demo was that the combat and gameplay was very slow paced, being a tactics game. You have to select the character you want to move with the stylus, then you have to select where you want them to walk or who you want them to attack, and then they sloooooooowly walk over and start auto attacking. The demo was pretty short and it didn't give a feel for the grand scope of the battle system, but from what I played I am certainly optimistic.
This is frikkin' hilarious. A man by the name of Jhidekim goes to E3 and interviews people about how to interview people. His subtle, awkward delivery is equal parts precious and brilliant.
It's well documented how I feel about the Xbox 360 and the two painful red ring incidents I've been suffocated with. I won't rehash that. After all, my pals at the Microsoft Customer Service Team have been more than adequate in their dealings with me and every other 360 owner encountering this problem.
My question is: When does is stop becoming about how Microsoft has treated us (extended warranties and such) and start becoming about how much gaming time we're losing to multiple console failures? My coffin is on the way for my second broken machine and the estimated time it'll take for my third box to reach me, with the current influx of dead machines barraging Microsoft, will be 4 to 6 weeks.
With games like Bioshock, Mass Effect, Eternal Sonata, and Blue Dragon on the horizon, having my console gone for upwards of a month is just crippling. And what happens when i get a hard lock in the middle of one of these upcoming titles? Can I keep trusting these shoddily refurbished models and throwing away more time I could be playing these drooltastic games?
I ventured, in jest, that my console will get back just in time to break again before Bioshock. I really hope I'm wrong.
posted by Chris on July 16, 2007 7:01 PM in Podcast
(note: Chris' mic cuts out around 21 minutes, and will be quiet for the rest of the program. Buy him some more RAM). On this week's podcast, Chris, The Geek, Colette and special guest Aaron Linde from Destructoid talk about the glorious week that was E3. Well, not so glorious for big game announcements, but certainly glorious for exclusive parties, free drinks, good food and friends. They discuss how the Wii zapper sucks, they ask if RPGs need to be innovative, and then Rock Band is pitted against Guitar Hero. Also Bill and Ted are discussed in length. Download the podcast now or subscribe on iTunes!
The wait is finally over, we got some good games goin' on the Wii Virtual Console today. Finally Nintendo brings Paper Mario for the N64 to their download service, a game I have only played once, and for about 5 minutes. Being a huge fan of Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario Thousand Year Door (Super Paper Mario wasn't all that great), I am really excited to play through this game. The Wii VC could use more RPGs. I wanna see Dragon Warrior, Earthbound, Secret of Mana, and all those classic RPGs on the Wii Shop like pronto. I really do want to spend more time with my Wii, Nintendo! As long as you keep giving me good reasons to.
Oh, they also released Balloon Fight and some other game for the Turbografx that no one will play. I really hope this is the last time we see the NES version of Balloon Fight for purchase anywhere. Nintendo keeps pumping it, and it's not a great game. As a matter of fact, it's pretty much shit and I am sure that no one remembers it as fondly as Nintendo thinks. Anyway, go download Paper Mario! We will play together like Paper Mario friends! *excited clapping*
If you’ve checked out my little profile on our About page, you will see that I’ve recently taken an interest in a Nickelodeon cartoon called Avatar: The Last Airbender. Well, I had written that profile a good while ago and I had only managed to catch a scant few episodes here and there whilst flipping by Nick during some channel surfing. I’ve recently watched the whole first season (borrowed from a co-worker) and have started on Season 2 via Netflix. And now I’d like to share my thoughts on the series since I have a more complete view.
I’m gonna come right out and say it up front. Avatar is frickin’ fantastic. From outward appearances, it may seem like it’s one of those shows where some American company is trying to capitalize on the anime craze that’s popular with the kids these days. But don’t let that deceive you. Yes, the art style is definitely influenced by anime and it uses some of the traditional animation conventions from anime for emotions and such, but it doesn’t go over the top with them and blends them well. If you really, really hate anime, it’d probably bug you, but if you’ve got an open mind, then it’s not a big deal.
If you can get past any preconceptions you may have about the show, you’ll be happily surprised at the depth of it.
I never played much of the original Final Fantasy Tactics. I remember everyone telling me how great it was, and when it finally came out as a greatest hits edition for the Playstation, I ran down to the store and snatched it up. Something about the load times and the fact that I would have to spend a LOT of time in game in order to get anywhere just made me depressed. I traded it in for something. I don't remember what. Probably something horrible. Then, when Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced came out, I thought I'd give the series another shot, this time on a portable system. Man, what a difference. I spent upwards of 300 hours in FFTA, and loved every minute of it. Now that the original Tactics is coming out for the PSP, I'm a bit excited to come back to the game in a new, shinier portable format. After playing it at E3, that's basically just what it is. There's a couple new features like new cutscenes, new jobs, and the addition of Balthier from FF12 (!), but for the most part it's just a redesign on a portable system. And that's ok by me.
posted by Chris on July 13, 2007 11:47 AM in Games
I can say without hyperbole that Eternal Sonata is the most beautiful game I have ever seen. It reminds me a bit of Secret of Mana for the SNES, something so lush and detailed for its generation that it blows your mind to look at it. Not only are the graphics impeccable, the depth of field stunning and the character design fantastic, but the music is incredible. Someone told me there's already a demo out on Xbox Live (update: THAT PERSON IS A LIAR. A DAMN FILTHY LIAR WHO MADE ME ALL EXCITED ABOUT GOING HOME AND DOWNLOADING THE DEMO OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GAME EVER MADE BUT THEN CRUSHING MY SPIRITS LIKE A CLOWN POOPING ON ICE CREAM AND SERVING IT TO HOBO CHILDREN), but seeing it on the fancy HD tvs on the E3 floor was an experience all in itself. I believe the portion of the game I played was the same bit offered on Xbox Live. You play as a little girl walking through a town, fighting a couple baddies along the way. The battle system is pretty unique, merging real time action with turn based strategy. My only qualm is that the voice acting is a bit cheesy. But as long as that's the only thing wrong with this game, I see it taking up a ton of my time when it is finally released in a few months. If you haven't checked out the demo on live yet, DO IT. This is definitely going to be a classic.
I loves me some Ratchet and Clank, and I got to play the next part of the series at Sony's press conference yesterday. Called Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, it's a PS3 exclusive and is damn snazzy. Many people were upset by the previous game "Deadlocked", and its focus on the 3rd person shooter elements of the series, instead of the platforming elements we have all come to love. From the demo I played, it seems like Ratchet and Clank are back on track, with the classic mix of the two. The R+C series has always been one filled with lush graphics, so surprisingly the change between PS2 and PS3 isn't entirely marked. The trademark R+C humor is there, as well as the great camera work, and elaborate level designs. Playing it though, something was missing. The rumble! I completely miss the rumble. Without it the game just feels hollow somehow. As much as I completely love this series, this game alone doesn't justify the purchase of a PS3 for me. Maybe the combo of R+C, Heavenly Sword, Little Big Planet and Echochrome... naw. It's still too expensive. Maybe if they send one to me? SONY SEND ME A PS3 THANKS.
In summation: it's a next-gen Ratchet and Clank game, and includes everything you would expect from that.
Hooray! More Katamari! I demoed the Xbox 360 version of Beautiful Katamari, and it is indeed beautiful running in 1080p on these here E3 flat screens. The art style remains the same as previous iterations, it just looks a bit sharper. The play controls on the Xbox feel like they could get a little crampy after a while, with the two analog sticks slightly offset, unlike the Playstation dual analog, which is side by side. The soundtrack is supposed to be comprised of 80's-sounding J-Pop, which I found kind of disheartening. I loved the original Katamari soundtrack for its diversity, and the We <3 Katamari soundtrack kind of felt like it was trying too hard. The soundtrack is really important to the series, people! I was informed that there are online battle modes, but no online co-op, only offline. WHYYYYYY. Co-op in We <3 Katamari was OK, but online co-op would have been much better. Oh well. We will see what happens when it is finally released sometime in the near future.
Rock Band wasn't on the show floor, but I was able to get a couple of minutes with Guitar Hero 3, the bastard child of the music genre, sitting in the shadow of big daddy Rock Band. GHIII feels a bit like they completely reworked the game's icons and menus because they were afraid of being sued. It's just different enough that it makes you go "huh?". The gameplay is the same ol GH gameplay, the songs are pretty good, but something about it feels hollow. I'm sure it will be loads of fun, but from what I have tried here at E3, I feel like I'll be spending much much more time with Rock Band.
I am a big fan of Woot. Their daily deals, while sometimes complete crap, usually turn out to be pretty neat and inexpensive. And Woot-offs instill the kind of competitive shopping craziness that only a Furby sale can match. They also do really clever contests, and the community is quite proficient at the old Photoshop. This week their contest was to create an ad that tries to sell a past woot as a specialized "gaming" product, and some of these are REALLY clever. Check them out at the Woot Blog and have your doctor-recommended daily lol. 
Now I just need to scrape together about $45,000.
Having a gaming party this weekend? Staying at home to drink alone and play Super Paper Mario with your pants off? What better way to impress your friends (and yourself in the other scenario) than mixing them a video game themed cocktail! A dirty robot named 
Mike Wiegand, better known as "Caspian", is the music editor and resident guitar god for The Weekly Geek. In this first installment of "Get to Know Your Geeks" we ask him a few questions to probe deep into his innermost thoughts and secrets. Not really, but it's interesting nonetheless! 
Being that it would be kind of silly for me to walk around wearing a shirt that not only had my own face on it, but five of my own faces, this shirt will be used in a giveaway contest thing soon. Look for it!
For those of you who missed 
Hey, breeders, here is something interesting for you to do with that weird, crawly barfy thing you ejected from your loins! Via 
What the hell you guys? I cannot abide this breach of trust. My faith in humanity is so completely shattered. Transformers, the movie that most of you either said I would "probably like" or "is really actually good", is actually completely awful. Yeah, it's been out a couple weeks but I just saw it tonight and I wish to express my outrage to you all fully. I don't go to movies. You know why? Because the whole experience is horrible. Always. Without fail. Tonight not only was I treated to a completely inexplicable exercise in "how much shit can we shove into a Maya render so that it's completely unrecognizable", but cold stale popcorn that was way overpriced, and a woman next to me who thought every little bit of the movie was so enjoyable she could only express her glee through clapping. 
Have you ever stop to think about how we got where we are today? I mean, as in a gaming context. Seriously, it's really quite incredible to sit down and ponder on the evolution of video games. And I'm not just talking super pretty graphics, though they are definitely not to be excluded.
Okay you guys. I like Harry Potter just fine. It's an easy read, and a great piece of fiction for young adults. Let me say that again. Young adults. It is published by Scholastic. You know, the book company that did all those book fairs and sold you joke books and Mad Libs as a kid? Yeah. As far as adult (read: mature, refined) fiction goes, it's contrived, predictable and frankly just plain cheesy. You can read the book in a weekend, because it's meant for kids. This is why it completely baffles me when adults start acting Harrytarded. Take this article I found today titled "Some Potter Fans Find Pages Missing".
I am a huge food fan. I love to cook, and I love cooking for people even more. Alton Brown is my hero, Anthony Bourdain is my idol and one of my favorite material possessions in the universe is my cast-iron skillet. One of my life goals is to go to El Bulli in Spain, just to experience the 8-hour dinner ordeal first hand. Can't make it to Spain? Maybe (not likely) you can get a reservation at Thomas Keller's French Laundry in California. A super exclusive and critically acclaimed establishment, The French Laundry features dishes never before created, and a rotating menu of wonder. This man is a food magician (he even was a consultant on Ratatouille!). 
I am filled with a soaring happiness this morning. Is it the gloomy Seattle weather, rainy yet mildly warm? Certainly not. Is it the fact that I got three hours of sleep last night? No, of course. It's that I had the privileged of getting in to work and reading the first post of 
Tucked away in the middle of a cluster of gaming stations in the Barker Hangar was one solitary DS Lite. On that DS Lite? Contra 4. That was one of the more remarkable things about the Barker Hangar this year, the best games could just be sitting there, waiting for someone to play them, no lines. All my previous worries about Contra 4 were laid to rest after actually getting to experience it - this is certainly the Contra we all know and love. It's still SUPER hard, I could hardly get past the first level (by hardly I mean I didn't). The addition of a grappling hook feels natural to the series, though it's a bit frustrating it can only shoot straight up and not at an angle a la Bionic Commando. The controls are surprisingly tight for a small third party developer continuing this series, it really just feels natural. The music, the sound effects, everything is meant to harken back to the Contra days of yore. This is going to be an exciting rest of 2007, I tell you what. 
The wait is finally over, we got some good games goin' on the Wii Virtual Console today. Finally Nintendo brings Paper Mario for the N64 to their download service, a game I have only played once, and for about 5 minutes. Being a huge fan of Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario Thousand Year Door (Super Paper Mario wasn't all that great), I am really excited to play through this game. The Wii VC could use more RPGs. I wanna see Dragon Warrior, Earthbound, Secret of Mana, and all those classic RPGs on the Wii Shop like pronto. I really do want to spend more time with my Wii, Nintendo! As long as you keep giving me good reasons to. 
I’m gonna come right out and say it up front. Avatar is frickin’ fantastic. From outward appearances, it may seem like it’s one of those shows where some American company is trying to capitalize on the 
Rock Band wasn't on the show floor, but I was able to get a couple of minutes with Guitar Hero 3, the bastard child of the music genre, sitting in the shadow of big daddy Rock Band. GHIII feels a bit like they completely reworked the game's icons and menus because they were afraid of being sued. It's just different enough that it makes you go "huh?". The gameplay is the same ol GH gameplay, the songs are pretty good, but something about it feels hollow. I'm sure it will be loads of fun, but from what I have tried here at E3, I feel like I'll be spending much much more time with Rock Band.