PODCAST – Collector’s Edition
Just realized that my last post was my 1,000th post on the blog! Way to go me, and those who have contributed over the years! I don’t even think I have a thousand VIEWS! Haha.
I forgot what I even used for the last Podcast’s mystery song, so I had to go back and listen. The answer is: Ending Theme of Mario Kart 64.
Topics for this Podcast Include but are not limited to:
- Hell Month
- Guild Wars 2 GET
- Podcast Music
- Mystery Song
- Blasphemous Stage Clear (For Andrea)
Catch-up Post
Okay, well, here we go. I’m running a remote today so I have a little time where I’m tied to the studio here and can’t go anywhere so figured I’d try to get a post cranked out.
Starting middle of the week BEFORE last week, we started streaming coverage of a murder trial here in town. We were going to do video, but couldn’t get the equipment together, so we were at least going to stream audio on our website. Well after the trial was scheduled to start, apparently they were running behind, however someone flipped on the microphone before they were supposed to and the name of a juror went out over our internet stream. So the judge flipped out and banned us from the trial. So that day sucked.
Then, feeling like we got the raw deal on something that wasn’t our fault, got our lawyer involved. That moved about as fast as anything you can expect to move in the legal system. So right about the time I’d given up hope, we were let back in. And by now we’d finally got our video equipment.
So I spent about a week with half of every day sitting in an van by the courthouse monitoring our stream to make sure that nothing like that happened again. Sufficed to say, I was WAY behind on all my work for the week, which included updating about 500 items for our radio auction, and getting audio edited for upcoming charity radio-thon fund raiser. I ended up working 15 hours on Friday to get all the stuff done I HAD to do because we were hitting the road for the weekend.
I did a lot of relaxing at the in-laws’ house over the weekend. That was much needed. And we got to see Titanic in 3D. I’m still not a huge fan of 3D movies, but they did pretty good converting a movie that was originally shot in 2D, I thought. But still, it was the same old movie I remember. For some reason I thought the ship looked smaller in 3D… oh well.
So that brings things up to this week. Not as hectic as last week for sure and I’m thankful for that. Still a lot to do, but I’ve been fairly productive. I would have been more so, but I got really sick Monday night. Terrible sore throat and the chills. I told myself if I didn’t feel any better when I woke up, I’d stay home. Luckily I felt quite a bit better by morning and headed in. One of the nice things about my job is I was able to go take a nap on the couch downstairs when I wasn’t feeling too swell. I’m glad Andrea and Luke didn’t catch what I had… at least not yet.
And now it’s today. I’m waiting for my paycheck to come in. Not something I usually “wait” for, but I got a small bonus on this check which I’m going to use to pre-purchase Guild Wars 2 which went on sale yesterday. I don’t want to wait too long because I don’t want the collector’s edition to sell out. Supposedly very limited supply.
So there ya go. That’s why I’ve been absent from the blog recently and I should be back to posting more regularly now!
04.4.12Dang it. Now I’m Old.
Time Machine
This is one of my “accidental” scores off of eBay. Won it for 99 cents. And let me tell you it was worth all 99 of them.
I never owned this game, but I remember playing it. I don’t recall whether it was renting it, borrowing it, or playing it at a friend’s house. One thing is certian though. I haven’t played NES Pinball for at LEAST 20 years.
I cleaned up the cartridge a bit. It was pretty obvious this cart led a tougher life than most of mine that are still in my collection. It had grease and gunk all over it. And some sticker residue from a garage sale or bargain bin somewhere. It cleaned up okay, but I definitely wouldn’t call it “Like New” as the eBay listing explicitly stated. Oh well. Not going to make a big deal over a really common game that only cost $1.00.
My NES hasn’t seen much use lately. Really who’s has? But it took a minute or two of blowing in the cart and massaging the position of the cart just right into the system. First several attempts the sound was great, but the screen was gobbly gook. Ironiclly, it brought back a lot of memories of the old NES days and all the little tricks you had to do to get a game to play right. Seems like everybody had their own method. Mine is to push the cart in only BARELY as far as you need to to push the game down. Works most of the time.
But anywho, after getting the game to work, I started playing and it’s quite to contrast to the games I’ve been playing, like Skyward Sword with the motion controls, or the 3D screen of the 3DS. This is one of the more straight foward games, even by NES standards. It is what it is. Pinball. And it plays remarkably well. There’s “Game A” which is kinda like easy mode, where the ball moves a bit slower. What you want to play is “Game B” where the ball moves a lot faster, and feels a lot more like real pinball. It’s a simple game, so there’s not much to say about the gameplay other than, it’s very polished.
I like it just because it’s so basic. Like if you took today’s games and stripped them down of all the graphics and technology, and got to the core of what made them fun, you end up with games like this. With simple ideas and polished gameplay. This game is fun to just sit and try to beat high scores. No achievements. And heck, your high scores even disappear the moment you turn off the game. But it’s games like this that just take me back to when I was 7 years old and stuff like this was brand damn new and awesome.
Definitely as close as it gets to a real life time machine.
03.20.12Podcast: Terrible Segway Edition
For a lack of planning or forethought of any kind I almost liked this one. Which is rare for this Podcast.
Topics:
- eBay Habits
- Severe Weather
- Garage Sales
- Elusive Vectrex
- Freecycle & Projects
- Gardening
- Podcast Music
- Mystery Song
Last time’s mystery song was from Animal Crossing on Gamecube!
03.19.12Super Mario 3D Land: A Refreshing Take on Mario
Finally got finished with the main part of Super Mario 3D Land. You know, the part where you go save the Princess? I used to be able to beat games like this in short order. I guess that’s what the job, family, and a ton of other great ways to spend your time will do to ya!
The most obvious traits of the new Mario game are of course the 3D effect the 3DS provides, and the racoon tail. This much we can tell from the box. Once you actually play the game, you’ll find that Nintendo has put a lot of thought into what has consistantly made Mario games fun, memorable and timeless. And then incorporated the new technology into that formula.
Plopping down into the first level, my very first thought was, “Whoa, Mario is small!” It really feels like you’re playing a miniaturized version of Mario at first, but you grow used to the scale. The controls are very tight and precise and rarely does the circle pad fail you. I sometimes find it difficult to hit the R trigger for a longjump and keep the 3DS lined up right to preserve the 3D without blurring the screen, but this is more a flaw in 3DS design than in 3D Land. The 3DS just isn’t the most comfortable system to hold.
You’ll find a lot of throwbacks in Super Mario 3D Land. Most of them tributes to Super Mario Bros. 3. The raccoon tail being the most obvious, but there’s P switches, music note blocks, flag poles, and some classic Mario artwork in between worlds. But it’s not a retro game at all. Fans who just got in to Mario with the Galaxy series will enjoy this game just the same, although they’ll be oblivious to the games that inspired the setting. And really, this is what has always made Mario games great! I think about a couple of my less favorite Mario titles like Super Mario Sunshine. There is a lot of original content to that game, but in the end, it lacks enough familiarity for me. 3D Land has Thwomps, ? Blocks, and plenty more staples that just make you go, “Hell yes. It’s a Mario time.”
If I had one balk towards the game, it would be its difficulty. I kept expecting it to ramp up, but even in World 8 the game is still very forgiving. I know I’m not that good! And the tail makes some levels a complete cakewalk. Though to be fair, the tail had a similar effect on Super Mario Bros. 3 which is my all time favorite Mario game… so perhaps that observation is an unfair one to make. Just the same, 3D Land is not a difficult game by any means. If you do find yourself getting stuck, you can go back and pick up a tail from a previous level, or keep trying until the “pitty factor” kicks in and they will give you a floating “Invici-tail” (that’s what I called it) which is basically an everlasting Leaf/Star combo powerup. This is of course if you want to be a cheater.
When it comes to the amount of content, I think you should be more than satisfied. 8 worlds, with individual levels much like New Super Mario Bros. along with Ghost Houses, Fortresses, Airships and Castles. There’s a lot of fun to be had trying to get the three gold coins in each level. The design of each course ranges from novel, to ingenious. If you’re just tailing up and flying through the courses, you’re really missing out on some of the best platforming fun the little plumber has ever experienced.
It’s cool to see all the classic inspiration in this game, but it’s even cooler playing Mario in a way that you never have before. This is certianly not the “same old game” it may look like at a glance. If you’re looking for more difficulty, check out the bonus stages after you’ve “beat the game”, but just don’t be expecting a hardcore challenge. Either way, Super Mario 3D Land is not only a game worth playing, it’s possibly the best reason to own a 3DS.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1c4xHskYHns]
03.16.12Spring Is Here?
This is crazy. It’s the middle of March and we’re sitting around with all the windows open in the house. Heck at work we’ve even fired up the AC already. We always try to hold out as long as we can at home before breaking down and turning ours on. If this early spring is any indication though, we might not be able to hold out as long as we usually do. I can’t remember a March day in the past that’s ever had a forecast high of 85.
Lately I’ve been talking about how I need a project to do, and something that doesn’t cost a whole lot of money. Well I think I found something. I decided this year I’m going to plant a garden. I’ve already started tearing up some ground in the back yard, which is some hard work, but very therapeutic I’ve found so far. I guess it’s kinda my way of communing with past generations. There’s so much technology everywhere I go, that it’s nice to put some effort into something so primal. I find it interesting to think about that something I’m now doing for fun in my spare time, was a basic necessity for life 100 years ago. Pretty sure that my ancestors knew how to cut sod a lot better than I do!
The garden will have quite a bit of diversity. I picked up corn, onions, potatoes, bell peppers, jalapenos, carrots, and even some watermelon and pumpkins! I’m going to pick up some tomatoes later in the season too. If you don’t count the tools I bought, all the seeds cost me a total of $15. And that should make a LOT of produce. I dunno what we’ll ever do with 80 onions….
Andrea is not a big vegetable fan. I was trying to think of something I could plant that she would enjoy, and thought maybe strawberries, but she wasn’t too crazy about that. I even saw some blueberry and raspberry bushes for sale, thought for a couple moments… then decides I wasn’t ready for something like that!
So I’ll look forward to getting at least the potatoes and onions in the ground this weekend. I beat Super Mario 3D Land the other night, so I’m officially not working on any games right now, and might take a weekend off of gaming and focus on the rudimentary art of agriculture. I’ll probably still sit down and write up my final thoughts on 3D Land this weekend though. One of the best Mario Games I’ve played… since the last one, they’re all just awesome!
03.13.12Podcast – Beat Skyward Sword!
It took long enough… yet I wish it wasn’t over! An outstanding game from start to finish. And you can listen to me expound and gush upon it in this podcast!
Topics
- Time Change
- Skyward Sword
- Skyward Sword vs Ocarina of Time
- Skyward Sword SPOILERS
- Skyward Sword Experience
- Skyward Sword Story
- Podcast Music (feat. Skyward Sword)
- Mystery Song
03.11.12
A Look Back: The World Is Not Enough
I need to set the stage a bit for this review. This game came out in 2000 which was right in the pinnacle of my James Bond fanaticism, and also well past the point that gaming had pretty much become the de facto use of my spare time. So while this game had everything it needed to become the most awesome game for me ever at the time, it unfortunately was not.
Here’s the back story. When GoldenEye came out in 1997, from the moment I had beaten that final Cradle mission… I was ready for a sequel. Rare Studios, which developed GoldenEye however, had a track record of releasing a title for the N64 about once every two years it seemed. There was a lot of silence on the GoldenEye sequel front for a long time. Then when the silence broke, it was announced that Electronic Arts had picked up exclusive rights to the Bond franchise. This meant… if there was going to be a sequel to GoldenEye, it would definitely not be a James Bond game. The game that eventually came out was Perfect Dark. A game that really beat GoldenEye in every way… except for James Bond content.
This game still had one thing going for it though. It was the next James Bond game on the N64. It was still a first person shooter, and not a weird third person shooter like Mission Impossible. And so far really had no indication that it was going to be terrible. My anticipation of taking on the role of 007 once more meant I was willing to give EA the benefit of the doubt here.
I’ve spent a lot of time talking about the pre-release of this game, because honestly I remember that as much if not more so than actually playing the game! After all, Perfect Dark was only 6 months old when this game released. We were still death matching and scheduling Perfect Dark Events at that time!
At a certian point the different colored carts were uncommon and pretty cool. The gold carts for Zelda, or the black cart for Turok 2. Those were pretty spiffy. But this late in the N64’s life cycle, not only could you get the system itself in six funtastic colors, but it seemed like every new game had it’s own colored cartridge for no apparent reason. So by this time the blue cart for TWINE was nothing new.
Okay, I feel like I’ve been pretty harsh on this game so far. In truth that’s not really fair. I sat down for this re-review and wanted to do two things. One I wanted to compare this game to GoldenEye and Perfect Dark, because that is unquestionably the measuring stick I used to judge this game originally. But also, after I looked around at some other reviews that were written at the time of release, I found that it got fairly good feedback. So I decided I was going to sit down and judge the game completely of its own merit.
That proved more difficult than I thought. And again after all these year brought to light the reason I just can’t get into ANY console FPS anymore. And that is the controls. Not that the controls are bad. Infact playing this game, I found that it was really pretty smooth and accurate. But here we are… 15 years later, and I hesitate to spend too much time with another game like this, for fear that I will get used to the way this game controls, and un-learn and dull my GoldenEye skills. I mean it’s been 15 years! Let it go!
But if you had any idea how many hours I put into 007 and Perfect Dark… You know how sometimes people can accomplish amazing things by pouring all their energy into just one thing? Honing their skills and using their time and efforts to create something truly remarkable. For instance out in Colorado, there’s a stone castle built by one man… all by himself. An entire castle! While not nearly as meaningful, tangible, or remarkable… GoldenEye and Mario Kart… that’s my castle.
So I may not be the most objective person to ever review this game. Be that as it may, I believe the game did have some shortcomings other than just not being GoldenEye. One thing the game touted at its release was the starring role of Pierce Brosnan, not only in likeness, but also using his voice. However if there’s one thing that I’ve learned replaying these games its that heavy use waveform audio on the N64 is almost universally a bad idea. With possibly the only exception being StarFox 64. You have to realize that the largest N64 cartridge available was only 64MB. TWINE was shipped on a 32MB cartridge. For comparison sake, 32MB = about 3 minutes of CD quality audio. And that’s if audio is the ONLY data on the cartridge. But you have to have all of the maps, textures, animations, physics engines, graphic engines, lighting effects, game menus, etc all on that 32 MB cartridge too. The result is HIGHLY compressed audio. What is left is very fuzzy and flat sounding.
With the limitations in audio fidelity also came limitations in audio length. The game rigidly followed the storyboard of the movie, and scenes that are fleshed out over 5 or 6 minutes, are forced to be summed up in 15 to 20 seconds. What’s left are scenes that just feel very rushed.
“Thanks for getting my money, 007! OK, see ya.”
“That was Robert King. We go way back”
“Wonder why he is involved?”
BOOM
“King, the money!”
I suppose I don’t have to say that in retrospect, this game could have been a lot more immersive had the characters used on screen text only and skipped voice over audio all together.
As cheesey as the cutscenes are forced to be, the game itself, honestly isn’t that bad. Again the game follows the story very strictly, and does a good job of recreating the scenes from the movie and taking control of 007. Infact as I was playing this game, I found myself compelled to go back and watch the movie!
Honestly, this wasn’t a bad game. The limitations the game had technically, were also the same limitations every other game had at the time. The controls are solid, and I just wish I had a little more customization over them so I could get them set to my familiar settings. Levels are fairly linear, but well laid out and plenty of objectives. And the graphics, are really this game’s strongsuit. Other than the resolution limitations of the N64, this is really a pretty good looking game!
For me though… this will always be a filler game. A game in between the great games to pass the time until the next one is released. And I just can’t find a whole lot of reason now to play this when I could be playing GoldenEye or Perfect Dark instead.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pAtlZy6HIw]
Podcasterrific
I was a batchelor over the weekend while Andrea and Luke were out of town. I talk about that. Skip the first few minutes if you don’t want to hear me complain about work. I would recommend it.
