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chris furniss
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feed it!The theremin has always seemed like one of most useless yet interesting musical instruments out there, much like the glass harmonica. It's always nice when an enterprising geek combines their love of two basically pointless yet amusing and entertaining things to create a neat piece of art.
via Cynical-C
Geekateer Lordfate sends us in this awesome photo of a painting he recently had commissioned from an artist named Kelli Nelson depicting Link and Zelda in a very stylized stained-glass style. Apparently it only cost him $75 (pretty inexpensive for a commissioned piece of work, and VERY inexpensive for something of this quality) and she takes requests for other video game art. Click the thumbnail to view the awesomeness in its full glory.
Check out Kelli's work at Cheap Paper Art and spruce up that hovel you call a home. (Thanks, Lordfate!)
Of course, I am a huge Zelda fan. I was pretty disappointed with Twilight Princess, and when I heard that Phantom Hourglass for the DS used stylus controls ONLY I got kind of angry. Why must Nintendo force us to use the stylus for almost every game, just because it is there? Why can't I just use the control pad? After actually playing the first area of Phantom Hourglass, I am definitely sold. You use the stylus to lead Link around, you touch enemies you want to attach, you touch pots when you want to walk over and pick them up, you make little slashing gestures when you want to slash grass... it's surprisingly natural and smooth. The graphics are based on the Wind Waker style, which looks remarkably nice on the DS. It's that kind of lame 2.5d polygonal kind of game, and I would have preferred something beautifully hand drawn, but the graphics are definitely done well. This game has been getting GREAT reviews over in Japan, and I cannot wait for it to come to the US now that I have played it.
Owen Pallett makes the most confusingly fantastic brand of composition- hinging and teetering from Indie Folk to pseudo-Tchaikovsky pieces and furthering what can only be called Baroque Pop from the charted territory of Harry Nilsson and Van Dyke Parks. It would be original enough if he had the assistance of three philharmonic mercenaries to pull it off, but for the live arrangements (at least) he is the quartet. Aided by his violin, a bottle of Stella Artois, and a loop station, a YouTube bootleg shows Pallett sampling himself up to five layers thick on some songs- difficult enough for the average rock musician, let alone someone pulling off symphony worthy string passages.
continue reading "Music Review: Final Fantasy – He Poos Clouds"
Heroes on the half shell Frodo, The Geek and White Mage talk this week about how the US Postal Service sucks, Halo fanboys, 300 (the movie, not just the number), Xbox Live Arcade releases, Sega moving to the DS, Zelda Ocarina of Time, the Justice League movie and more. Download the podcast here or subscribe!
Show notes:
Super Mario All Stars. A great title for the SNES that took the original 4 Mario games and added enhanced graphics and better music, all while keeping the essentials that made these games classic. It was a makeover, one that Tyra Banks is still trying to emulate to this day. We've seen some great ones over the years, most recently with titles like Mega Man Powered Up, taking Mega Man 1 and turning it into a 3d hydrocephalitic chibi funtime romp. Without changing the basics of what makes these games great, makeovers rekindle what we loved about them in the first place. Here is a list of games we think could really use the All-Star treatment.
Frodo:
5: Mega Man 2 - Arguably the best game of the series, Mega Man 2 really needs the Powered Up treatment. Enhanced music, a level editor, expanded gameplay... I am drooling just thinking about it. Just put it on something a bit more accessable than the PSP, mmkay?
4: Maniac Mansion - I am aware that this LucasArts masterpiece has been re-done by people on the interwebs already, but I would love to see an enhanced version for a major console. A Wii version with beautiful hand-drawn characters and voice acting would basically make me weep with joy.
3: Secret of Mana - This game is already pretty gorgeous, one of the most visually and audably stunning titles on the SNES, but imagine it on a current system with Squeenix's Mana lineup. Lush environments, fully orchestrated soundtrack, cutscenes and online co-op would make this classic even classic-er. Classic-er?
2: Starcraft - Even by today's standards, Starcraft is a good looking PC real time strategy game. Imagine it using Blizzard's Warcraft III engine and you have a title that would make them tons of cash for many more years to come. Heck, the country of Korea alone would make this venture cost-effective.
1: The Legend of Zelda - We've seen the NES Zelda ported to the Gamecube on a collector's disk, to the GBA with the collector's series and now to the Virtual Console on the Wii, but it has always been untouched. I would love to see a Mario All-Stars treatment for Zelda. Imagine Zelda 1 and 2 with Link to the Past or Minish Cap quality graphics and remixed music. I'd wet myself, die, and then wet my corpse. We got a remake of the first Metroid a couple of years ago, why not your biggest cash cow, Nintendo? I'd drop a cool 1000 Wii points on that title in a heartbeat.
The Geek:
5: Uniracers - Take this awesomely fun SNES classic, crank up the visuals to 11, and give it some great Wii controls and you'll have a hit.
4: The THQ/AKI WWF/WCW games from the N64 - I still consider these games to be the pinnacle of 'rasslin games, at least from a gameplay standpoint. The controls were so easy to pick up and the animation of the wrestlers was so smooth. I would love to see something pretty much exactly like these games, except with a graphical and audio overhaul, making sure they leave the good animation intact.
3: Toe Jam and Earl - I love this Genesis classic. A great way to while away an afternoon. I would love to see it with some much more sharp and detailed graphics. Though I can't decide if I'd want it to be really, really detailed sprites or full on cel-shaded 3D. Either would work. Oh, and while we're at it, let's hire George Clinton and his crew to funk up the soundtrack something fierce.
2: Starfox 64 - One of my very favoritest games, Starfox got absolutely no respect on the GameCube with the horrible Starfox Assault game. The arwing levels were perfect, but everything else sucked hardcore. Give me Starfox 64 with really, really shiny new graphics and I will be in hog heaven.
1: Final Fantasy VII - Rumored, speculated, rumored some more, an updated FF7 has been the holy grail for Final Fantasy fanboys. Advent Children gave us a taste of what it could be like. FF7 was amazing when it came out, but even just compared to the next in the series, the visuals are just embarassing any more. Giant cubes for hands? Come on! And imagine, if you will, that entire soundtrack performed by a full, real live orchestra. Beauty.
Honorable Mention: Goldeneye - I really considered putting this on the list, but it's pretty much already been made thanks to the amazing Source engine and the rabid modding community out there.
What do you think would be a good game to give a makeover to? Post your suggestions in the comments!
That's right, folks, Nintendo has given us ONE game this week for their weekly (or Wii-kly as Nintendo is cleverly putting it) Virtual Console update - The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.
This is interesting, as Nintendo released this a couple years back for the Game Boy Advance (along with Four Swords, the tagged on multiplayer game). We speculated that Nintendo wouldn't release games they had released recently as GBA remakes, but apparently they really want you to buy their games at least 5 times until they are finished feasting on your hard earned rupees. Full press release after the jump.
It's the big Wii show! [Insert witty use of the word "Wii" here]. In this episode, The Geek and Frodo discuss the Wii launch, the anxiousness of waiting in line, line camping and their initial impressions. Frodo rants about Zelda and a good time is had by all. Have some notes!
Editorial Note: This was written at 5 hours into the game. For more recent impressions, see bottom of page.
It's the same damn game you've been playing for years. Boy with pointy ears has to rescue princess with pointy ears from dude who looks like a pig. Zelda is a tried and true formula, and Zelda Twilight Princess was supposed to be the best yet in the series. Indeed, many review sites gave the game perfect or near-perfect scores. I want you all to know that I am basically the biggest Nintendo fanboy there is. I am a Nintendo apologist and I freely admit that. I also want you to know that so far I do not like the Wii and more specifically, I think Zelda Twilight Princess sucks. There, I said it. Phew. Feels goooooood to say it.
Let's get right to my reasoning, shall we?
The Graphics. I am the first person in the room to say that graphics don't matter. As a matter of fact, that was the title of last week's podcast. Somehow Nintendo has convinced me otherwise. The graphics for Twilight Princess aren't even Gamecube quality. At times they are N64 quality, and that's just inexcusable. Maybe I have been playing Final Fantasy 12, Okami and Shadow of the Colossus too much, but Zelda seems to strive to be the perfect combination of those three, and failing miserably. There are jaggies. Hair looks like plastic. The character design is ugly and miserable. In fact, there is a supreme lack of design in the game. Wind Waker was a beautifully crafted masterpiece, everything flowed together and was a joy to just look at. Twilight Princess, in the push to make Zelda more "mature" has lost any style whatsoever for a crappy pseudo-realistic look. Not only that, but there are clipping errors everywhere in the game. Link's sword passed through his clothes and Epona's bridle disappears in the freaking cutscenes. Too often I look at the cutscenes and say to myself: "THAT is what you went with?! THAT was the cutscene you chose?!" Even the intro is so lacking style and interest, it makes me want to weep. Look. The Gamecube is more powerful than the PS2 in graphical power. So why, then, does Final Fantasy 12 look so freaking amazing and Zelda look like it was made 6 years ago? It's intolerable. NEXT.
Use of the Wii Remote. Why, Nintendo? Why are you making me jiggle my controller to swing my sword? Sometimes it doesn't even work. I have died in this game multiple times because I wasn't able to control my character. This just doesn't happen in a Miyamoto game. Miyamoto games are KNOWN for their excellent and tight play control. As a matter of fact, I find it very hard to believe that he even signed off on this game. The Wii controls feel tacked on and lazy. They add nothing to the experience or immersion and just come off as awkward and frustrating. The speaker in the Wii remote is annoying and chintzy, and using the pointer in the game is a gimmick. An annoying gimmick because very damn time you move the pointer across the screen that damn fairy makes chiming noises. EVERY TIME. I turned it off. It was giving me a headache. Look, I just want to play Zelda with a normal controller and know what I am doing at any given time. I don't want to be forced to play like some sort of epileptic every time I want to swing my sword. It is not fun. It is anti-fun.
Lack of Joy. One thing I always loved about Zelda games was the amount of joy I would feel playing them. Every new dungeon, every new discovery was met with a smile and a surge of joy. I haven't felt that in Twilight Princess. All I have felt is frustration and anger so far. There is a distinct lack of anything in the game, let alone secrets. Walk into a house in town, what is in there? Oh, right. Nothing. Not a pot to break, not a rupee to find, not a chest to open. Just walk through the door, wait for it to load the room, walk around the room, realize you CAN'T DO ANYTHING and then walk out. Thanks for wasting my time, Nintendo. And the music! The music is the same crappy midi on steroids we've been forced to listen to for the past 2 generations. WHAT IS SO HARD ABOUT ORCHESTRATED MUSIC, NINTENDO?! Please. Stop giving us stupid remixes and rehashes of the same damn Zelda music and compose new, original and beautiful music. I keep comparing the game to Final Fantasy 12, but it works. The game has gorgeous and memorable music. Zelda Twilight Princess's music is lazy and unimaginative. And you delayed the game for years for THIS? I want originality. I want joy. I want the feeling I had with Wind Waker, Ocarina of Time, Link to the Past and even Link's Awakening.
I want a Zelda game. This isn't it. While Nintendo is playing back in the dark ages with their lack of voice acting, good music, and original gameplay, other companies are leaving them in the dust. I'm going to go play Okami now and actually have some fun with my video game playing.
Update: Okay, after about 15 hours in, I am enjoying the game a bit more. I have gotten used to the controls (to an extent) and my initial frustration has pretty much faded away. Actual sword swiping moves instead of jiggling seems to work better, though the Wii controls still feel tacked on. I stand by my original statements about the graphics and art style, though some of the later dungeons look a bit better. So then, why make the beginning of the game so hard to get used to? My suggestion would have been to find a way to get us really really sold on the controls in the very beginning, blow us out of the water with impressive visuals and story and then go from there. Instead it only starts getting good later on in the game. Maybe most people will have the resolve I did and try to plod through the first couple hours in hope of a better experience? Who knows.
I hereby declare that from henceforth, November 16th shall be known to gamers around the world as Shigeru Miyamoto day. Miyamoto changed the world of gaming forever and brought us to where we are now. I just happened to feel like looking him up on the good ol' Wikipedia today and noticed that it is actually his birthday. What an amazing coincidence! Anyway, share with us your love for the Shigmeister today on Shigeru Miyamoto day.
Is the big push for graphics a generational thing? This week, The Geek and Frodo discuss graphical comparisons in next gen systems, the PS3 and Wii launch, song sharing with the Zune, Penny Arcade's Child's Play, home SNES game repair, Final Fantasy 12, Gitaroo Man Lives! and David Copperfield fooling stupid people.
This past weekend we did some pumpkin carving, and of course being a gigantic geek I had to do some game related pumpkins. So here we have my wife's generic pumpkin, my Katamari pumpkin and my ode to the Triforce. You can see my repositioning of the pumpkin's stem to the Prince's antenna. Also you can make out the Sharpie™ marks from where I cut the pieces out. I probably should have used non-permanent marker...
Have you carved your video game referencing pumpkin yet? I wanna see em!
After last week's craziness comes this week's calm. This week, The Geek, Frodo and White Mage welcome guest panelist Fronz from Destructoid.com.The Geek is fresh off of a PAX binge and tells us all about it, from the Minibosses to throwing a dart at Tycho's baby's head. Fun times, man. Fun times. Other things were also discussed! Such as...
On this week's Weekly Geek Video Game ish Podcast, The Geek, Frodo, White Mage and Nevery talk about Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest, a brand new game using the Source engine The Ship and politics, but not too much!
Podcast Notes and Links of Merit:
--Frodo
This week The Geek, White Mage, Nevery and Frodo talk about the the announcement of Zelda DS, Tetris DS, Metroid Prime Hunters, Revolution news, DS Lite and THINGS. Oh, so many things. April Fool's Jokes. Bah. Also Frodo bought a PSP and now is not in possession of a soul. Here are some show notes.
- Frodo (frodo@weeklygeekshow.com)
I just got an addition to my geeky tattoo today. Any Weekly Geek listeners have any cool geeky tattoos?
There are a whole slew of 'em over at bmezine. (Site may not be safe for work/kids)
I am now off to put some balm on this because it hurts like a "mofo", as the kids say these days.
--Frodo (frodo@weeklygeekshow.com)
This week The Geek, Frodo and White Mage discuss the stupidity that is the Spike TV Video Game Awards, the Legend of Zelda movie and what that may be like (probably awesome maybe), Mario Kart DS (again) and something called ZUBBLES. Download the show here or put http://www.weeklygeekshow.com/weeklygeek.rss in your favorite podcasting thinger.
Show Notes:
- Spike TV Video Game Awards results
- Mario Kart DS Decal Maker
- Legend of Zelda Movie Confirmed
- Zubbles
Make sure to add your own Weekly Geek header to your Mario Kart DS emblem!
The first podcast-only version of The Weekly Geek is live! Check out The Geek, Frodo and White Mage talking it up like they have never done before. Well, they have done it before, but maybe you have never heard them talking it up. What is "talking it up" anyway? You can download the show here by either subscribing to the RSS feed and using it in the podcasting program of your choice (we recommend iTunes) and either listening to it in your favorite media player, or on your MP3 player. You will most likely need BitTorrent. Never before has The Weekly Geek been so easy to listen to. Here are some show notes for you:
---Frodo
Edit: You can now download a non-bitorrent version of the show here. But I recommend the Torrent!
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