Here come the Christmas Titles

Christmas is always brutal for me when it comes to games. I have to go on a "buying freeze" at least for newer titles and that always sucks. I see now that the Gamecube version of Zelda: Twilight Princess is out. I'm currently playing TP for the Wii and let me tell you: it's awesome. My full review will come out later but right now I'm in the middle of it and it's just great... I am not sure how the Gamecube version will be in terms of the controls...here I thought the Wii version would be gimmicky but now I wonder how tough the Gamecube controls will be ... the Wii ones are just awesome.

I've also heard that the 'Cube version may be in short supply. This HAS to be a temporary situation. I know that any hardcore Zelda fan (myself included) will be suckered into buying both versions. Why? Because. We. Have. To. Just ask George Lucas--he knows what it's all about.

Genji: Dawn of the Samurai

Genji is beautiful, there's no doubt about it. Although it's not made of fully 3-D environments, the ones that it does provide are just amazing. There has never been in my experience a nicer looking Japanese architectural review. You truly feel like you are there and that's a great thing.

So what's the bad thing? Well, Genji's depth isn't really there in the gameplay department. Other reviewers have claimed it's too short ... well, I didn't find that but maybe it's because I had a hard time mastering the 'killer' move that makes defeating the toughest enemies easier. So I died. And died. Yep, there's me dying some more.

But I finally made it through and the ending was quite the battle and a little disappointing ... but it was a beautiful ride that's for sure. This is one of those games that makes you appreciate the culture in this world and the beauty that other cultures have to offer.

This game is not for everyone, but if you like some hack-n-slash with your hashbrowns, this one won't disappoint. A 7 out of 10.

PS3: My first impressions

It's big, it's black and it's beautiful? I seem to remember everyone making fun of the Xbox and described it this way when it first came out in the last generation. This time, things are reversed: the Playstation is the bigger, bulkier and most certainly heavier brand ... and, the most powerful. I find it somewhat amusing that Sony fanboys (and Sony themselves) laughed at Microsoft for releasing two sku's on the 360, and yet here's Sony doing the same thing. Just goes to show you: choose your battles. But what about the machine?

The PS3 is a great machine and does deliver on the bulk of the promises Sony made, although to a lesser degree but that is Sony for you. The graphics are great, the sound is great and the games are decent for launch titles (those that I've played anyways). Resistance: Fall of Man does not disappoint as a great launch title even though first person shooters are not really my thing. I gave it a chance because of Insominiac (developers of one of my favourite series, Ratchet & Clank).

So here's what is good: built in Wi-Fi (even though I probably won't use it) and this is only on the higher priced version, HDMI output for my LCD TV, Blu-Ray movies are a nice bonus: but I'm not rushing out to replace my DVD collection...oh wait, I couldn't if I wanted to (but I can get 'Click' with Adam Sandler .... HOLY! rolling my eyes), the graphics and sound, rechargable controller with motion sensitivity....jury is still out on the games but they will come.

Here's what's bad: the menu system: it looks and works like my PSP but unfortunately that is NOT a good thing. The monochromatic display may be functional, but annoying: the 360 wins out here hands down....their "Online system that will rival Xbox Live" -- sorry Sony, not even close. Not that we blame you: it's free and it's first generation for you. Just don't sit there and tell us it will be better than Microsoft's because it isn't. The online store is nothing more than a webpage and it feels just like when you move around the web browser on the PSP: ok in a pinch but you wouldn't want to live there. Not being able to do anything else while downloading something is a major bummer and Microsoft fixed it with an update to their service--why would you not have learned from that? Finally, no rumble in the controller. Yeah, it makes the controller yet: and yeah, that makes it feel kinda cheap actually. I will miss rumble in my games, although it's not a showstopper...it's disappointing that business issues and legal issues for Sony are resulting in the consumers losing out. Pony up the cash to Immersion and fight them about it later, for chrissake.

Bottom line: The PS3 is a great console... it's potential will wait to be seen (just like the 360 which is now starting to get some great titles, one year later). The bigger question is, with Sony losing many exclusives will they be much like Nintendo is and the only exclusives become ones from their own studios? That could be . There will still be great exclusives. That's why I'm lucky to have all the consoles: they are all great in their own ways and will have games on them I want to play. The 360 will have Halo 3 and the Wii has Zelda and the PS3 is going to have another Ratchet & Clank.

I'm going to give the console an 8.5 - TODAY. Maybe by this time next year it will hit a 9 or higher but it loses points for price, lackluster interface, no rumble, poor online mode and a less than stellar launch lineup. These are all things that can be worked on, let's hope they do it right!

Death Jr. for the PSP

Well I finally finished this puppy up after a long time, but I have to admit something: I had to enable a cheat to get past a few parts....it just got NUTS with the guns and ammo and everything else. It was challenging but then it went a little beyond challenging to plain annoying. Overall though, I found the game to be good. A lot of people complained about the camera and I didn't find the camera so much of an issue as I did trying to line up to do the jumps that were required....it just required that you be really precise, which I was.

Overall, given the format I think they did a very good job and I give Death Jr. a 7.5 out of 10... of course, I would finally finish it up just in time for a sequel!

The artwork featured here is from the limited edition, which I have ... sort of. I picked up this version (with the different artwork) and apparently it comes with a comic (which I don't have) and that's it ... otherwise, it's exactly the same. I picked up this one for completeness in my collection (I like to do variants, except the whole "value priced" stuff on all the platforms).

Playing with my Wii Wii

OK so I was one of these lucky people who has received their Wii early. Don't worry Nintendo, I didn't break any legal agreement with anyone and "purchase at retail" prior to Sunday. Let's just say I got it, and leave it at that.

I was actually surprised to come home Thursday evening to find it waiting for me! It was a great present.

The only downside? The games weren't there... just the included Wii sports. But that's ok, early adopters have to suffer sometimes. Hopefully the games arrive later today (it's now Friday at 5:59 am). Why is it so early? Because I decided to go see if I could pick up an extra PS3 from Wal*Mart or Future Shop. Didn't happen. I got up at 3am, and headed over before 4. At Wal*Mart, they told me they only got six and they gave out the coupons for them already and the line had disbanded. When I headed over to Futureshop, I saw tents...and a line....small line...looked promising. However, they also had handed out their coupons but these guys were waiting until 8am to actually pick their units up. I thought I was hardcore. Yeah, right. Anyways, the Wii: I played with it last night and am happy to report it was a blast. The 5 sports games that are included are all a lot of fun. There seems to perhaps be a little something going on with the remote where it jumps a bit but I'm not convinced I have it set up perfectly. The baseball was great--I think I actually pulled a shoulder muscle though! Boy games are getting more physical. I have only two complaints: 1) The video cable included is a composite video cable. Nintendo, I realize you need to accomodate the lowest common denominator, but I have news for you: COMPOSITE SUCKS AND IT SUCKS LARGE. At least make s-video and preferably component available AT LAUNCH not sometime later. You are going to piss off the people that have the TV's to go with it. The second complaint I have is that I have a problem with the Internet connection: it's just not working and I don't know if it's because it's prior to launch or what. I'm getting an error 32001 and it says to go to support.nintendo.com for more information. Well if you go there you get an Apache error ... nice. Again, I'll reserve complete judgement until Sunday but you'd think this stuff would be working early for retailers setting up demos and such. Anyways, enough bitchin. I tried out my Zelda Collector's Gamecube disc just to make sure it boots and works. It does. So for those that have it, I guess you can save those Wii points by NOT downloading the Legend of Zelda from the classic gaming service-- really, why bother it's got to be the same. I am not sure why I'm thinking of downloading ANY of the games since I have pretty much all of them as originals, but it might be nice to load up Dungeon Explorer on a high definition television. Well, I guess I should get some other work done or I'm going to end up playing that Baseball game again. I really think this system is going to be fun. And Sony: screw you. You made me get up at 3am for nothing. At least I had a nice breakfast at Tim Horton's with my brother. Did you know some of them start making those breakfast sandwiches at 4am? At least I learned something. Other than low blu-ray yields suck. Bad.

Xbox Emulators

I've been playing around lately with some classic emulators for the Xbox... ones that emulate laser disc players (Daphne), the original Nintendo, the Super Nintendo, and the Genesis. I don't have overly big expectations from the little box with the hefty weight in terms of processing power compared to today's modern PC's, so running things like a Nintendo 64 emulator to me just seems like you're asking for trouble (even though they exist).

What a pleasant surprise. I haven't spent an extensive amount of time with them yet, but the MAME emulator runs the classics with ease and the Genesis emulator does it spot on. Dragon's Lair looks awesome on the Xbox - just awesome.

It's getting to the point where I might almost consider not having the actual machines out to play on. In the museum, I am definitely going to put the emulators out there because I don't have the space for the classic machines ... so running Pac-Man on the 122-inch screen has got to be an experience every arcade kid should have.

The amount of dedication and work that has gone into this stuff is truly amazing - to all those who have worked on these emulators, a big THANK YOU. Your work is very much appreciated.

Will I put away the three N64's I have out? Not yet. But maybe. One day. Maybe.

The Sense of Achievement in Gaming

When the Xbox 360 launched it introduced a new element to games - achievements that are shared on the Live system. Having bragging rights about completing things in games has been standard for years, but now your achievements are posted publically so everyone can see them. Does this make it more desireable to achieve things? Damn right it does. The last thing anyone wants is to feel "lame" so maybe we play a little longer, explore a little further in a game to make sure we hit those achievements. It actually got me thinking about game completion too. In the old days, "completing" a game meant simply tiring of it, or reaching a point where the difficulty went beyond impossible (Space Invaders aliens starting out on the bottom row anyone?). Almost all games today are more like movies, with "stages" and levels with a definite beginning, middle and end.

Is that sense of achieving the end making us play games through to the end we might have otherwise tossed aside for the next iteration of Grand Theft Auto? In my case, I'd have to say yes. I have many games that I've started and "abandonded" and I find myself reluctant to try new games until I've finished those ones off. I feel guilty about those abandoned games and so I go back and finish them up. I'm playing NeoPets: The Darkest Faerie ... yeah another kid's game, but it's pretty decent... long though (just by the nature of what it is, in general it's not a long game).

So are games guilting us in to completion? Maybe. What do you think?

Indigo Prophecy

David Cage's Indigo Prophecy (known as Fahrenheit outside of North America) is an adventure game for the PC, PS2 and Xbox. I played the PS2 version, but the other ones are very similar.

The game is all about story, with the gameplay elements consisting of some arcade-type simon-says action sequences with the dual analog joysticks and some simple puzzles. The game also uses a fairly unique "mental health" meter than can go up and down based upon the things you discover and the dialog choices you make.

The creators call the game "elastic" in that you can slightly change some of the game paths, but only to a small degree--hence, elastic. You are still bound to follow the main story arc, but you hear different dialog and find some other clues depending on your choices.

There are also several different endings, which I discovered after reading an FAQ on the game...turns out I got the "best" one if you can call it that. The story does fall pretty flat at the end, and Cage admits it in his post mortem on Gamasutra.

I did enjoy this game for the most part. The climbing sections (especially climbing down) I found overly difficult and frustrating compared to everything else and there are a few stealth sections that were interesting, just sometimes the difficulty level was uneven. Overall, a good experience. I give it an 8/10.

Tomb Raider: Legend

Well I finally finished my first Xbox 360 game. Usually, I don't finish a game that is made in the same year (with some exceptions) but I've been trying out my new LCD TV and it really has brought my 360 playing back to life.

This game was great, and if you have a choice of platforms you don't want to play it on anything other than the 360. The texture detail is incredible, although you can tell the engine in the background is not really next-gen as there was some slow down. Seriously, with that much horsepower there should not be.

Some people have complained about the motorcycle sequences... well there are really only two of them (of any significance) and they are not that long (although the train one seems to go on longer than it needs to). I thought they were just fine and broke up the gameplay a bit.

My biggest complaint is that the game is quite short (which in some ways I don't mind because I get that sense of accomplishment easily) but the difficulty spikes a lot. In most cases, the game is way too easy -- occasionally, there are some places where things have to be so precise that it's frustrating. A better mix is needed.

Overall, Lara returns in a big time positive way with this one and I'm looking forward to other Tomb Raider games from Crystal Dynamics. 8 out of 10.

Pushing the "I WIN" button

I was talking to a co-worker the other day about games, and he was telling me about how his kids actually choose games that they rent based upon whether or not they can get cheat codes for those games. He said that if they couldn't hit what he called the "I WIN" button they just weren't interested. They boast that they beat the game, and that "it's not cheating if it's posted out there".

What happened to exploration? Sure, it's great to get to the end, but it's the journey that counts (this applies to many things in life, I'm sure you might know what I'm talking about!).

Many games are frustrating, and I understand the need for some "help" along the way. I've had to do this myself many times, but there's a big difference between consulting an FAQ / Walkthrough guide and blatently using cheat codes to get through a game or become "invincible".

I've noticed some of the games of Japanese origin do not have these cheat codes. Is this because their culture teaches them that this is not necessary? Is providing cheat codes teaching young game players that in life if you get the right code, you can just get ahead and not have to earn or achieve things?

Maybe today I'm being a bit too serious, but it's certainly concerning. Game developers probably don't think about the role they play in teaching - but it's certainly there.

Curious George the Video Game Review

I've been actually making it through more games lately than I would have thought, considering I seem to spend so little time on them anymore. I started out playing Curious George when it first came out because I was, well, curious! I knew it was a "kiddie" platformer, but sometimes the exploration and enjoyment of just finishing a game can make you overlook its flaws.

Let me set the record straight from the outset. This really isn't a good game, nor is it a terrible game. It's actually inconsistent. If it is supposed to be targeted towards kids, that's great but then why make some of the platforming sections overly difficult? I'm not the only reviewer that found this to be true. Some sections require multiple tries to get it right and I can't see a younger audience not feeling frustrated beyond belief at this.

The mini-games are mostly uninspired. What the game does have going for it is decent graphics (the 'toon shading' is particluar effective for this title) and the environments are colorful and well laid out.

I have to give this one a 5 out of 10. If you really think your kids might enjoy it, grab it as a rental. It probably won't last beyond the due date anyways.

I wanna build me some Tetris shelves...

So these are really cool.... but I don't want to buy them, they are crazy expensive. The solution? Build em ... it's quite easy, you don't even really need a pattern since everything is all equal sizes! So I just need to find some wood, and more importantly, some TIME and build my own set of these. They can be reconfigured infinitely, backing or no backing, the color choices are endless... OH MY!

Tetris shelves.....coming soon to a museum near you!

MyMame Project Finally Begins

For a number of years (too many to count now) I've been trying to build a MAME cabinet. I've had the actual cabinet for 7 or 8 years I would gather (maybe more) and it's just been doing nothing. Well yesterday, Jeff and I finally got the cabinet into the garage to start working on it.

You can see that the cabinet is not in the greatest shape. It needs paint, it needs some TLC and the insides need to be completely reworked. Once we got out all the guts, we had to talk about the monitor. I have been saving this really nice 19" CRT monitor for my MAME project for a long time, but the reality is that it just isn't big enough ... so I decided to go with a TV that has nice output. I found what I was looking for in this Toshiba 20" TV. I compared it to other 20" TV's and you can't beat the quality and sharpness on this one.

So Jeff managed to prop up the screen enough to give it that authentic arcade angle, and he's working on making some sort of bracket to keep the screen securely in place. I need to pick up some marine paint and I was looking at side art decals today. We need to also build a shelf/bracket for my X-Arcade stick (which I've had laying around for years) ... it will finally be put to use!

So this is basically how the cabinet stands now. Jeff is working on a lock replacement, we need to figure out how to mount that screen and the joystick and I think we'll be ready for determining lights, artwork and getting the painting done!

Personal Computer Museum 1 Year Later

So last weekend was the 1 year anniversary of the Personal Computer Musuem in Brantford, Ontario, Canada and all went very well. One of the big things we've done is improved the website and now include pictures, system descriptions, and more! The musuem is doing really well and my volunteers have been great! We are starting to get more and more quality items for display and the interest seems to be picking up. I am still hoping that we are able to obtain a larger space and really make it worthwhile and a major attraction. Who knows what the future will hold? In this case, the future is firmly cemented in the past.

Dreamfall: The Longest Journey

Yes, it certainly was. I am not sure what made me want to try out this adventure game for the Xbox and PC but I'm glad I did. I've been wanting to play Indigo Prophecy (which I understand is an even better game) but I didn't have the chance. Next thing I know, Dreamfall is gracing my Xbox like icing on a cake. The cinematics, character development and storyline all draw you in. Wow. After spending something like 10 or 12 hours with this game I still have questions but the point is I want to know the answers!. I've already ordered the previously title, The Longest Journey and it should be in soon.

Yeah, ok I concede that the "action" parts of the game leave something to be desired (especially the fighting) but the exploration and puzzles make up for that.

I'd have to give this game a 7.5 ... it loses points for a couple of things. I read an FAQ where the guy said the game was WAY TOO SHORT. Well ... I would not say that. I appreciate the work that went into the sound, graphics and story and it's a LOT of content to fit on a DVD. So the gameplay knocks it down a bit and the loading was a bit annoying, even from the hard drive...I understand the Xbox only has 64MB of RAM but streaming might have been better. The puzzles, although mostly easy were sometimes annoying with the Xbox controller versus a PC keyboard/mouse and that should have been taken into consideration on the port.

Other than that, well done! Think of it like a nice 12 hour movie!

My annual coffee bitch

You know I'm not really a tree hugger but I do recycle, and I'm fairly vigilant about it. I think leaving lights on unnecessarily is also a waste. I think the waste from things like excess coffee trays is crazy and unnecessary and it bothers me.

For anyone that works at a Tim Horton's (or any coffee place for that matter) please take some advice from me. If somebody orders two drinks at the drive-thru, ASK if they need a tray. Don't ASSUME they do. Almost every modern car today has at least two cup holders in the front.

Nothing bugs me more than being handed two drinks on a tray and then I have to take them out and give the tray back...and techincally they are not supposed to take it because it's against health regulations. How about environmental regulations? There should be something stating though shalt not waste unnecessarily.

GRRRRR!!!!

Games that should be remade - part 3

Before I get into this next post I wanted to share with everyone that the Personal Computer Museum (located in Brantford, Ontario, Canada) website has been updated to celebrate the first anniversary. For more information, visit the site here. Now... the next game on my hitlist. Cinemaware, known for great hits like Defender of the Crown brought us another cool game, Sinbad and the Throne of the Falcon. This was a cool game, at least on the Amiga. I never had the chance to play the other versions but I imagine they lost something in the translation. I remember the one-eyed cyclops and the woman that mesmerized you and huge map that you could control with your big magnifying glass. The sound design was great for the time and the whole experience quite immersive. I can just imagine the varied gameplay making a smooth transition to a 3D environment if this was remade. Heck, I'd like to go back and just play the original. Good thing I have several Amigas all set up ready to go!

Malice

OK so I was asked the question: what do I give Malice? I played this game a while ago so my recollection is a little bit hazy. Here goes anyway. Malice was touted as an Xbox launch title and was originally voiced by Gwen Stefani. Let's just say, neither of those things happened. By the time it made it to market, the Xbox was well along the way and Gwen was out of the picture (and more accurately, the sound). I played the Xbox version because the game was originally designed for the Xbox by Argnonaut software. Honestly, the game felt somewhat unpolished. The textures were kind of muddy and the camera was typically a bit of an issue at times. However, I felt compelled to keep playing. So much so, that I finished the game. My friend Adam (who asked me what I'd give this game) was playing it roughly at the same time as I was. What I remember was that it was short, it was reasonably fun but I hated the whole Beach of Souls thing (when you died you went to this beach with other dead people). I didn't really get that at first so it just made it ... well, strange. I also discovered a bug in the game... I finished off a boss and you are supposed to get a key that appears in the center of the room. Well, I beat him and for some reason, the key did not appear. Well I wasn't sure what was going on so I wandered around trying to figure out what to do for a LONG time. I don't think there was an FAQ out for the game at the time but when I talked to Adam he said yeah a key appeared and blah blah....well, fortunately, I had a save that wasn't too far back (a level or two) and I went back to that and redid everything and this time it worked ok. This is the second time I've discovered a major nasty bug in a game (the other time was Dragon's Lair 3D). All in all, I have fond memories of Malice and I would give it a 6.5 out of 10 - better than average but there are better games out there. Obviously, unless something strange happens there will be no sequel.

Tak and the Power of JuJu - Finished

So I can now add another game to my list of completed ... Tak and the Power of JuJu. If you mix the letters up you get Jak and the Power of TuTu, which very well might be the next game in the Jak & Daxter Series (or is it Takster?). Man, these names are so similar. If it wasn't for the JuJu I might be confused.

I started playing this platformer close to when it came out ... I dunno, a bazillion years ago ... but I gave up. I got frustrated and confused and stopped. The level design in this game is probably its worst enemy.

Getting to the final boss...well ... that took some work. You need to collect 3 moonstones. OK, been there, done that. BUT here's the catch. Getting each of the 3 is very different (this is good) but their approach to getting them ranges from super simple to super hard (this is very bad). Fortunately (or unfortunately) I did it from hardest to easiest. The final boss battle isn't overly hard in certain ways ... I just hate the "cheap" deaths that cause you to restart. And you need to restart the entire battle. That gets frustrating, fast.

Overall, I had fun. .... 7.5 out of 10.

Physics Hardware, so what's next?

With Ageia's new Physx chip, game players are looking at more realistic explosions and interactions with the game environment.

I wrote about this in the Expositor on August 12, 2006.

So my question is, what's next? An XML chip to make your Internet pages blindingly fast? A Google chip that connects you directly to the mothership of digital information?

What do you think?

E3 Cancelled? Wow does that suck

So readers of my blog know that I went to E3 this year for the first time and was just stoked about it. Apparently, it's a good thing I made it this year because they are talking about cancelling E3 - or at the least, making some major changes. I thought removing the booth babes was as big a change as they were going to make but apparently that was just the tip of the iceberg.

So now, they are slightly changing the name "E3 Media" something or other... moving it to July and making it much much smaller.

OK I understand that the publishers are putting out all this money for little return. Or are they? How do they know? Do they think because the Internet gets information into the hands of the hungry so quickly that a trade event is no longer required? Have they forgotten one of the biggest reasons that I went was to meet the people behind the games? There wasn't much there in terms of games that I hadn't already seen or knew about so that wasn't the big deal for me. It was being in the presence of such gaming greatness that was the draw for me.

If they do make this smaller show a reality, maybe they can keep the Gamestop employees out - that should cut the attendees down by about 1/2 and leave more space for journalists and true game extremists such as myself.

Oh E3, such fond memories we will have. Hopefully the new version will be better but so far, I'm not holding my breath.

When Rare Games Aren't Rare

I'm kind of on the fence about something that is happening in the industry right now. Some rare titles like Gitaroo Man and Rez (both PS2 titles) have been reissued. GameQuestDirect has commissioned reprints of these titles (and others) that dilute the market just when you think you'll never find a copy at a reasonable price again.

While I applaud this when I'm looking for a title, it's kind of annoying when you already own it to think that the value of your prized posession has suddenly gone down.

I think as long as the title is exactly the same, and the "reprints" are somewhat limited in scope, the rarity and desiredness will still be there. Look at the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney game on the DS. The third re-printing sold out within a week and the next installment is not due until mid-August. The game is selling because it's a good game, the publisher just didn't think it would do as well as it did.

Overall, this makes you wonder: do publishers really get what we want as gamers? I don't think so.

Sly 3 - Finally Finished

So I finally finished Sly 3 on the weekend. Yeah, I know it's been out for over 6 months...but when you have as many games as I do, it's hard to find time to finish or play ANY of them. Sly 3 makes the 32nd game I've finished (since I've been keeping track anyways, for the last few years). I found it *really* hard to get into at first. Not hard to play, just hard to keep my attention. In fact, I had started playing it before and then got distracted by Genji, Harry Potter, Zathura, NeoPets and Ape Escape 3.

All in all, the game was very well done. As I find with many sequels, some of the "magic" gets lost that is present in the first titles. You certainly can't complain about the variety of gameplay .... from controlling a large squid, to driving, to fending off sharks not to mention the platforming. I found the platforming was really light in this version and was complaining about it just up to the point where I entered the Cooper family vault. Then I shut up. :)

The game was challenging but not hard. Just how it should be. Couple of frustrating moments (I didn't like that 'controlling the shark with the guru' thing AT ALL). There seemed to be some closure in the storyline ... but with the building of the time machine (yeah, sorry no spoiler alert).... maybe there will be a next-gen Sly on the PS3. Sucker Punch is clearly up to something. I think maybe a new IP would be great, but I'd be happy to revisit Sly again.

Games that should be remade for the next gen - part 2 of ?

David Crane created history when "Pitfall!" came to life over 20 years ago. Another of his titles, however, was creatively just as powerful. Based on the hit movie of the 80's, Ghostbusters had you start out by taking a loan from the bank ... fixing up with some equipment, and heading out to bust some ghosts. An excellent mixture of strategy and action, Ghostbusters had it all and the coolest opening ever (the Ghostbusters theme with the bouncing ball for the lyrics).
I can picture a next-gen Ghostbusters being much more elaborate than the oft-compared "Luigi's Mansion". You could retain all the strategy elements in regards to money and resources (and "upgrades") but move the ghost bustin' action fully into 3D. Make it multi-player co-operative while you're at it, and increase the challenge by making the environment a factor (ie: missed beams cause walls to start falling in, ghost(s) able to create havoc in environment). The Ektomobile should be driveable, and you should have limited storage for the ghosts, requiring an additional "dispoal" element. Don't take care of it in time, and Walter Peck from the EPA will be by to fine you and reduce your cash...or worse, shut you down completely. Dammit, now the theme song is stuck in my head...

Amiga CD32 - No Respect

When game sites give a history of game consoles, one is almost always missing. The Amiga CD32 was marketed as the "World's first 32-bit game console". Probably not technically true as the FM Towns Marty seemed to beat it to the punch, but it certainly was in North America. Why is it never included? It had a bunch of really good titles. Defender of the Crown 2, Lemmings and anything by the BitMap Brothers to name just a few.

This unit was based on the Amiga 1200 and had great graphics, s-video output, stereo sound and more. The development was easy because lots of developers were already familiar with the Amiga and very little additional development was required to make stuff work on the CD32.

Although history shows us the "computer turned game console" never works (Atari 5200, Atari GS, Commodore GS, Apple Pippin) this was just totally seems to be forgotten.

Live on CD32 ... I'll always remember you and display you proudly in my game room.

Game collecting..the hunt continues

So I'm back in OKC and hoping to get some time to go out game hunting. This time I'm cleaning up some old business. I often get the empty box to a game but no game. I rescue these things from the garbage because it helps my collection. I brought with me a list of empty Gameboy and Super Nintendo game boxes I have--without the games. Once inside, they look great and nobody is the wiser!

This is game collecting tip #1 .... the first in a series. LOL.

Work is stressful this week so I don't know how much time I'll get to hunt -- but with my PSP in tow (with my game list) and my Video Game Collector magazine, I feel confident I will be making excellent purchases.

Have a good day!

My five (real) seconds of fame

While at E3 this year, I mentioned earlier that I was interviewed by Maxim Online. Well, I am happy to report that a whopping 5 seconds of that 30-45 second interview has made it's way on to the Internet:

The Maxim Online video is of course just my stepping stone to real stardom (eyes rolling). Yeah. My next step is to actually star in a porno with Pac-Man.

E3 is over and I find myself already thinking about next year. I have to go again, don't I? I can't just say "been there, done that" and leave it be. I mean, I could, but ... hey .... it's E3! It's video games. The whole industry is just so cool.

Enough blubberin'. Go watch the video. Now.

E3 - Day 3

I wasn't sure on the last day of E3 if I was going to go to the show or just do other things. First things first, I followed Kristen to work and got inside Treyarch. I can't really talk about what I saw inside (since I'm under an NDA) but I can tell you that it was a great experience actually being inside a development company. It felt oddly familiar but fresh and interesting at the same time. Some of the home grown tools they use are just incredible. It's quite the challenge taking the regular game assets and moving them into the game to be usable, and I really got a better understanding of that before I left.

I dropped down the street to photograph the head office of Activision and then let my Garmin take me over to Naughty Dog's HQ. I didn't get to inside of course, but it felt interesting being in the place where so many great games that I love were created (realizing they have moved offices of course several years ago, but the vibe is still there).

I ended up heading back to E3 to catch some of the content I missed first time around. The coolest thing was definitely the Indian Jones 2007 game--this looks really hot and not to be missed. I left around 3:30 and headed back to the car and up to Universal to meet Kristen and Shavonne for dinner. What a great trip!

E3 - Day 2

So I wandered back to E3 today, this time by myself. Kristen had to work so he said "adios Amiga" and I went back the same way we went yesterday.

I walked into the Sony booth and started downloading Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters demo on the PSP. I look over, and it's David Perry (former President and Founder of Shiny Entertainment). Dave is responsible for the Matrix games and Earthworm Jim among other titles. We taked for at least 15 minutes, what a great guy! I'll post a picture with him shortly.

I also got to see Diane Mizota of G4 and even ran into Kevin Rose and Alex A. formerly of G4. I couldn't believe how many of these guys were just walking around doing their thing.


The first conference session I went into had Richard Garriott (aka Lord British) the creator of Ultima. I was actually brave enough to go up and ask a question to the panel. The second conference had David Jaffe, creator of God of War. True to his style, he let 2 f-shots go before the end. Yeah, I knew he wouldn't let me down.

On my way out I decided to stop by the G4 booth. Adam and Morgan were there, and so were Olivia and Kevin. Saw them up close and actually got ON "Attack of the Show" in a crowd shot. I yelled out "Hi Mom" but I'm pretty sure it was drowned out by the dozens of other bumbling idiots.

On my way back I found out that my friend Ed Jenks lives just 1 mile from where I parked the car at the subway, so I went to Universal with him and had a drink. Wow, it's such a small world. Ed made a donation to the Personal Computer Musuem (http://www.pcmuseum.ca) and even had some old Nintendo games for me. Thanks Ed!

Anyways, off to dinner. Tomorrow I get to tour Treyarch!

E3 - Day 1

Well I did it! I'm finally here, E3 for the first time. Wow this is a busy place. Fortunately, my press credentials get me in a full two hours before the general populous gets let in. Yet, there is still an incredible number of people walking around.

The first thing I see is the new PS3 -- at least, the empty shell of it. Some of the games are running and they look pretty sweet. As I walk up Kaz Hirai is being interviewed by Geoff Keighley (Spike TV and G4's Electric Playground)...I almost walk into the shot! Then later I see Peter Moore (Microsoft) and that's where things just get started!

Besides the incredible games like God of War II and Guitar Hero II, I also met Tommy Tallarico from G4's Electric Playground and also Reviews on the Run. We talked for a bit and I got a photo with him. That was just after I was interviewed on Maxim Online (www.maximonline) -- we'll see when (if) that shows up!

I also had the pleasure of talking with David Foster from Digital Leisure and see the new upcoming Dragon's Lair HD - yes, DL remastered in HD and it looks amazing!!! Can't wait for this one.

Finally, I got autographs from Morgan Webb and Adam Sessler from G4's X-Play. They were really nice and we had a few laughs. I can't believe I finally got to meet them. I also saw Tina Wood and Laura Foy wandering around as well.

So many people, so little time it seems. Feet completely SORE after walking around. And for any of the nay-sayers, the Nintendo Wii is actually pretty cool. I'm surprised.

More tomorrow!

Games that be remade for the next gen - part 1 of ?

I've been thinking lately a lot about the "old games" as I usual do. There is something about them that's attractive. I used to think it was just the "warm fuzzy" feeling we got because it was a different time in our lives when things were different, we were different, and so on. To some degree it is, but in other cases it's not. Some of these games are just downright fun.

Today, I'd like to mention Miner 2049'er. Bill Hogue's incredible game back in the day still brings back the warm and fuzzies for me, and I can just picture Bounty Bob in a 3D platforming world, struggling with mines that have incredible booby traps.

Big Five software has an emulator written specifically to play Miner on today's machines and you can find it at their website.

Did the donkey have a name? Now I need to know. Not sure why. I didn't really play Bounty Bob Strikes back and of course, Scraper Caper was advertised but never released. Maybe Bill (please, please, please) could take the elements of all three games and put them into some next gen love. My XBox 360 screams to play Bounty Bob on the widescreen!

More Comments on eBay

I recently acquired a lot of used equipment for The Personal Computer Museum and in there were some great software gems. I've mentioned this before, that this software in the box is just the only way! Well, I went through a lot of it and discovered that I had doubles of quite a few of them. Doubles are GOOD in my books because I can sell the duplicate on eBay, make some cash, and put that towards obtaining different equipment that I don't have for the musuem. I mention this to donors and they have all agreed that's a good thing.

So one of the games I had two of was "Loom" from Lucasarts. This might be the actual first game I ever played through to completion back in the 80's and it really captivated me. It was an adventure game and you caused certain actions to occur by playing musical notes on the staff. For example, you could learn the "notes" to turn straw into gold, and then use that gold to buy something else you needed to progress in the game. Later, when you are faced with a scary and daunting Dragon, you appear to be stuck with nowhere to go. If you figured out (as I eventually did) that playing that previous little diddy backwards would turn gold into straw, you would find that the precious gold the dragon was guarding was suddenly dry straw and his mere breath set it all on fire, causing him to flee the cave and allowed you to continue on. Sounds a little silly now, but it was pure genius at the time.

So I throw this copy (complete with the audio cassette covering the backstory) onto eBay and yep, it's already gotten a bid. I imagine I'll get $5-$10 for it (because that's all it's worth). I take a quick look at some other auctions. Wow. Loom for the PC, on CD-ROM (with voices) and the PAL edition to boot sold yesterday for over $170 US. Is this just me, or is this NUTS? And then to top it all off, I check the history for previous copies of Loom being sold and discover that the FM-Towns edition (autographed by the author mind you) went for over $650 US!!!!!!! For a game over 15 years old. See the comments from my last post to understand where this comes from.

Yet, other times I list things and can't get $0.99 for them. It's all about the right person(s) at the right time....which I guess is true in real-life too!

Shopping in the land of eBay

Why are people stupid? I ask myself this everyday but never seem to get an answer. I see it all the time on eBay though. I just wish people would be stupid when they bid on my auctions and not be that way when they are bidding AGAINST me. .

eBay is a great way to find just about anything you are looking for. I, for example, am looking for an Apple Lisa, an FM Towns machine amongst others. Why do people have to be dumb though? Either they ask too much for machines, or some idiot comes along and pays too much. Is it a lot of shill bidding going on or what?

If you have an original PET or a Spectravideo computer (or the ones mentioned above)...I'd like to talk to you! But please, don't be dumb.

Old style gaming

There has been some recent buzz about bringing back "abandonware" ... you know, the software the has been abandoned by companies because it's a million years old (in computer years anyway...so like 10 in real years) so that people can buy it legitimately. Many "console" game companies have already been doing this, dipping back into their libraries for the "ultimate" collections. These are "OK" and I do buy them, although I've not been entirely pleased with all of them. The problem is that most of the titles you don't know or don't care about (and it's kind of hard to get addicted to Bionic Commando in 2006 if you've never played it before) and the titles that you MIGHT want to play could be from some obscure company you've never heard of.

I love The Underdogs because you can download your favs (at least the PC versions) and play what you want. They are great about respecting Copyright issues and most companies only complain about their IP if they are still making money off it somehow.

I must admit though, recently when I received a great donation of old Commodore equipment for The Personal Computer Museum there was nothing better than holding those oringal game boxes. I've said it before, but it's soooo true! Emulators are ok but nothing beats the real thing with the disks, joysticks, keyboards etc. in your hands. I guess I'm just fortunate enough to have the space and systems set up to do this with.

The Problem with Easter

You know, I've been thinking about Easter as a Holiday and I've decided I know what's wrong with it. There's no associated "sound" you can make that says "Easter" definitively. I'll give you an example. When I was at the grocery store, going through the checkout, I was bored as usual and thoughts entered my head. I wanted to say "Have a great Easter" to the cashier, but sometimes I'm just lazy with saying words. Had it been thanksgiving, I could have uttered "gobble, gobble". If it was Christmas, "Ho, ho, ho!" or rang some jingle bells. Instead, with Easter, I'm stuck twitching my nose like a freakin bunny rabbit in the hopes that she'll see me.

Yeah, sure, you might think that the Cadbury cluck like a chicken commercial should work... but it just doesn't. The only chicken sound I can make sounds like "krbaaaaach" which in turn actually sounds like a chicken getting goosed (get it!?).

So, until somebody comes up with a sound that is Easter, I guess I'm stuck. I ended up spending a small amount of time with the Tomb Raider: Legend demo on the XBox 360 (oh, so yummy) and playing a little bit of Zathura on the PS2. Man, that game is awful looking yet I keep playing it. The framerate is terrible and the character models were obviously recycled from some unreleased Nintendo 64 game. I tried to think up an Easter sound during that game, and all I can say is that it was all so painful, so painful.

Escaping those Apes

I just recently finished Ape Escape 3 for the PS2 (http://www.apeescape3.playstation.com/). Great game but it's got me thinking about a few things.

I've never played the other Ape Escape games for more than a few minutes. I understand that this one has some new elements (monkeys can capture YOU) but it pretty much looks like Ape Escape 2 that I've booted up and played only briefly.

So the thought is this .... when are graphics considered an 'art style' versus just lower production values? Ape Escape 2 came out in 2003 and surely in 2-3 years time they could have made the graphics better. Did they leave that that way because that's what we expect an Ape Escape game to look like and would they piss off just as many people with new graphics as they are with the outdated ones?

It's clearly a decision every developer has to make at some point when working on a sequel. I think most opt for improving the graphics in some way or another. Maybe the Ape Escape 3 developers did improve them with more on-screen items or something else that I can't see-- but maybe I can experience.

Preserving the art style or being lazy? You decide. Me, all I care about is nabbing those damn monkeys.

Next gen gaming

I had a game party on the weekend and it was great. Smaller crowd than usual but you know, it was actually better because people got to play some actual games with each other instead of a few people hogging all the systems (and couches). I went with a music theme, having the Nintendo Gamecube running a dual-set of Bongo drums and Donkey Konga, the Dreamcast with the maracas (I'm really not sure if they were working right, they need to have a 'calibration' test or something) and of course, Guitar Hero on the PS2. Can you believe someone actually coded a Guitar Hack to let you use the controller as a real instrument on your PC? Check it out at http://www.myfavoritebutton.net/guitar.html.

Anyways, we had Jeff's XBox 360 hooked up at the museum on the 122 inch wall and ran the Tomb Raider: Legends demo out there. Personally, I found it amazing. What I don't understand is that everyone out there is bitching because the 360 version just 'looks prettier'. Yeah? Your point? I would hope it does! And it's HD. These are advancements people! Was I expecting it to be different from what was on the current generation? No...and neither should you. It takes time to design a game and the developers always leverage existing assets where they can. I'm not surprised at all. Did they take the time to redo some textures and improve the normal maps so we can see her jiggle in even more detail? Yes and the rest of the benefits just come with it.

With Microsoft entering the Next-Gen battle earlier than anyone predicated, it's going to take time for the software to catch up. This is not unusual and has happened in all of the other console launches that were first too. The nice thing is that by the time the 1st generation of PS3 titles hit and there is some excitement there, the 360 will start getting some titles that leverage the hardware more than they are doing today. Progress takes time.

Do I feel ripped off paying $10 more a 360 version? Not really. I wish it was the same price (duh) but I understand I'm getting a better product. I don't understand why everyone thinks everything (especially things that are better) should be free. Don't like it? Buy the other versions then.

Well enough of my bitchin' for the day. I gotta write my column for the Expositor (http://www.theexpositor.com) -- maybe I just gave myself a column idea.

Why Game-X-Change Sucks

So I'm in Oklahoma City (again) and I'm out on the great video game hunt. I love coming to new cities looking for games, and when I stumbled upon this Game X Change (http://www.game-x-change.net/) I got excited. Why? Well....they had boxed Super Nintendo (SNES) titles out the wazoooo. And cheap! $1.95 for some sports titles and $6.95 for some others. Yep. Bought a lot. Had a stack so high that I couldn't see over it and spent a good deal of time just trying to figure out how I was going to get all these games home.

Then, the worst thing happened.

They pulled my games from behind the counter (common practice to not put the actual game inside the box for security reasons) and then started putting the boxes back OUT! What!? I said "Don't I get the boxes?".... uh ... NO. The boxes are for display only!

How unfair is that? I buy only boxed games for my N64 and most of the other titles weren't such a deal sans box. So I said "Well, I don't want any of them then" and had them put 'em all back. What a croc. So what happens when they sell the last copy of "insert game name here"? They are going to throw that box out eventually, aren't they!?

I couldn't be more po'ed. I went from being the most elated gamer to the most pissy in 0.5 seconds.

To the management of Game X-Change: you just lost yourself a ton of business and do everyone a favor: put up a sign if you are not selling the boxes, any other way is just false advertising.

Revolutionizing the PS3

There's been a lot of buzz lately about the PS3.... the biggest things are:

1) It's not coming out until November 2006. In 3 major markets: Europe, North America and Japan
2) It's most likely going to include a hard drive
3) Their online network is going to rival XBOX live

I'm not trying to put Sony down, honest. I love my PS2 and I'm sure I'll love the PS3. But I gotta say, I'm questioning some decisions. Either Sony is really being tight lipped in order to pull a surprise attack, or they might be making some poor decisions.

On point #1 ... I understand delays (oh boy do I) but trying to pull of 3 markets at the same time is tough. Microsoft proved that. If a company with the resources of Microsoft has a hard time pulling it off, how is Sony going to fare? They have already indicated their capacity will be maxed at 1 million units a month. There are going to be some disappointed customers.

On point #2 ... it's been back and forth. They don't want to have a two SKU solution like Microsoft (although I honestly don't think that ended up being such a disaster after all.... but the truth is, nobody really wants the machine without one anyways). People are saying 'well, you can't count on it being there so you can't take advantage of it'. Not true. Well written software will take advantage of it if it's there, and one thing Microsoft does know is software. Sony needs to make up their minds and fast. I love how they criticized the XBOX 1 for having it saying it wasn't necessary, pretty much abandonded their own hard drive solution when poor security made it a pirate's wet dream. I think they took one look at what Microsoft is doing with game demo, trailer and XBOX ARCADE downloads and realized they need something similar. Some sites are reporting Sony saying "Hard Drive will be available at all times" so maybe they really have made a decision.

On point #3...partnering with Gamespy networks is surely a good move on Sony's part. I think it's premature though to compare what Sony does with what Microsoft has done. They have had 4 years to make Live work as well as it does. I'm not saying it's impossible, but Microsoft has a way of making things good after trying over and over again. They rarely get it right the first time (can you say Windows/286?) but keep hammering until it gets better (Windows 3.1).

I think this year's E3 is going to be really important to this generation. I can't wait to go!

The Great Video Game Hunt

I'm sitting in Oklahoma City right now on business and although travelling can be hard and not as glamorous as some people think it is, there is one bright spot for me. When I am in a new city, the first thing I want to do is embark on the great video game hunt. Finding games that I have been looking for, for several years, is just so exciting. For example, I've been looking for 'Futurama' for the PS2 for at least a year. Nobody seems to have this game. Couldn't find it new (or used) anywhere. As we drove down this road in the middle of nowhere heading to dinner, I passed a Game XChange store. How I can spot these things from miles away I don't know, but on the way back we stopped and sure enough--I found it. The thrill of the hunt and finding that title (and at a good price) is the greatest joy to a collector. Maybe that's why I look for games when I'm away .... finding that rare title and the joy it brings on just (kind of) makes up the fact that I'm away from home.

Why Airports suck

So I'm sitting here in Atlanta. I should be on a plane. But no, it's been delayed. My 1.75 hour layover has been extended by almost 2 more hours. Lovely. So I figure hey, why not do some work. They have these 'relax and charge' stations where you can plug in your laptop and do some work. Would be great if you could actually get a seat. I think it's American March break this week, because there are way too many stinky people in this airport for a Monday.

So I find a spot with a plug....and plug in ... yeah. Not as good as the comfy seats (and this Dell on MY laptop is HOT!) but it's ok. Plug in my new wireless card....find a connection. Yeah. Four choices of wireless. All cost freaking money though. You would think with the 'airport improvement fees' we pay in every single flight they could afford to give us access. Nope. $7.95 later and I crashed the page twice. Finally get it working, my computer happily displays the blue screen of death (twice).

So if you think I'm frustrated, irritated, and perhaps a little cranky---you'd be right. Hopefully this post saves before I crash again. And hopefully, that's the only crashing that happens today! Cheers!

The State of the PS3

Sony better start doing some damage control, and soon. The problem with this thing we call the Internet is that news spreads faster than wildfire. With Merrill Lynch releasing a report that the PS3 is going to cost Sony around $900 to produce and that there is all likely-hood that the console will be delayed until 2007 for technical reasons is concerning. As someone who loves all consoles (I'm more about the games than the hardware) my concern is that certain titles that are slated for release on the XBox 360 and PS3 for say the fall or upcoming holiday season will get delayed until the PS3 is ready, leaving gamers in the cold. Is Sony really going to release an online system that will rival XBox Live? While it's possible, they have a lot of catching up to do and spent a lot of time during the life of the PS2 claiming that Microsoft has the whole business model wrong. Though I'm not a big Microsoft fan, XBox Live is something they have done right and they have proved (as they usually do) that they keep banging away at something until they get it right. The first XBox Live was 'ok' but the current setup is pretty awesome and I've found myself in the 'Marketplace' more than I ever dreamed I would. The year ahead is going to be interesting. I keep thinking about this 360 vs. PS3 talk that goes on, the Revolution quietly sneaking around in the background for the Nintendo fanboys (yeah, I'll be getting one!) but does any of this result in 'next generation games'? So far, I haven't seen anything to prove that. As usual, time will tell.

When did games make the big change?

For anyone that's played the classics like Asteroids and Space Invaders and Pac-Man, you know the drill. You keep playing until you die. The scores go up, maybe the game gets harder and faster but really there is no 'end'.

Games continued like this well into the early 80's with the Atari 2600 and I don't think there really were any games back then that had the progession today's games have.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I think it was more born out of the commerce of it all. See in the arcade, they didn't want the thing to end because that meant more quarters from you. At home, where you own the game, they want it to end after 5-20 hours of gameplay (for most titles) so that you will now turn around and buy the next game.

So that is, I believe, when the change happened. When the arcade made it's decline and the home computers rivalved their capability, a shift occurred in how games were made. And yet, there's a whole generation (or two) of gamers that can't even fathom a game you just simply can't beat. I wonder what I'll think of this article 20 years from now. :)

Guitar Hero Rocks....literally

If you haven't heard of this game .... and it's controller, you really should. Guitar Hero for the PS2 has been taking up a lot of my precious free time lately. For all of those out there who wish they have the talent to be in a rock band, now's your chance! This thing is just amazing. I am rocking out some pretty good tunes and for the most part, not doing too bad. Sometimes, those chords mess me up! All in all, a great gaming experience I would recommend to anyone. I can't wait for the sequel and my next game party is going to feature this game for sure!

My great videogame idea

OK all the big video game developers and publishers out there, here's a great idea for you. Take a great fighting engine (hey even a not so great one).....something along the lines of Super Smash Bros. Populate it with all the great marketing icons you can get your hands on. Heck, they should be paying YOU to put their characters in game. I'm talking about The Jolly Green Giant and the Pillsbury Dough Boy and even someone like the Marlboro Man. The Green Giant can shoot peas and carrots and the Pillsbury Dough Boy (after making tons of those 'tee hee' sounds when he's getting his ass kicked) can lob stale pieces of crescent rolls at his enemies. The Marlboro Man can let out a huge puff of smoke, distracting the enemy while he goes in for the kill.

Could you imagine? I can. In fact it's one of the greatest runs my imagination has had in a while. Now I can see Tony the Tiger putting the moves on the Energizer Bunny........yep, my mind keeps going and going and going and going........

My Thoughts on Game Cinematics

God of War game director David Jaffe's recent comments about cinematics in games being unnecessary (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3147692) and the 'fireback' article by Alexander L. Fernandez (http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=11754). Jaffe's new PSP effort will NOT include cinematics, because they (paraphrased) 'take the player out of the immersive experience'....

My solution is somewhere in between. I think cinematics can move a story forward, connect separate pieces that might not come together through usual gameplay, and so on. The concern that I have actual comes from a different angle.

Although (ironically enough) the cinematics in 'God of War' are incredible looking (and sounding!), it is somewhat of a disappointment to go from those to actual gameplay. This has always been the case since cinematics became big on the PC and Playstation. In addition, the extra modelling and development of these cinematics has to contribute to the overall project cost fairly significantly.

Why not do what 'The Legend of Zelda' series has done? (at least in the past). Use the in-game engine for the cinematics. Talk about immersion--if you cut down a tree during gameplay, that tree does not appear in the cinematics. You don't get that 'let-down' feeling coming out of the cinematics into the gameplay. And please, keep them interesting and short! I've seen too many kids just skip past them anyways.

Both of these guys have points....as usual, the best answer, I think, lies somewhere in the middle. What do you think?

Insuring your Video Games

I had a visit last night from my insurance broker. When I explained to her my video game collection, I'm not sure she really grasped the concept. It took a walkthrough of the gamerooms to get her to understand. But did you know that many insurance companies limit the amount payable on 'high-risk' items like video games and televisions? I found this article, http://www.ntsc-uk.com/tech.php?tech=InsuranceFAQ that contained some useful information (although it is from the UK).

Either way, cataloging your assets is always a good idea. Most people who suffer from losses due to a fire end up losing a lot more than they had because they forget what they own! For me, this is very critical as sometimes you don't realize what you have until you write it all down.

Thankfully I have a secure home with good security. Nobody should be playing my XBox 360 except me. :)

I'm going to E3!!!

Well it looks like it's official! I have my E3 pass thanks to my writing endeavours and I can't wait. Hopefully I can stay with a buddy to cut down some costs if not, it's all good. I can't believe how inexpensive the flights from Buffalo to LA can be.

I'm looking forward to seeing the upcoming XBox 360 titles and of course I am pretty sure Sony will be there with a playable PS3. Will Nintendo actually reveal the Revolution for everyone? I am thinking they will. What will be up their sleeve in the handheld arena? Well since the Nintendo DS 'Lite' as already been announced, I think their 'surprise' may be a whole new console, as powerful as the PSP at a better price point. Or they may just choose to ride the DS wave out for a bit--- I think even Nintendo is surprised at its popularity.

Mostly I am looking forward to actually seeing and meeting some of the industry greats that I have read about and seen on television and followed through the years. Mr. Miyamoto, I'm looking for you bud!

Look for some great information to come out of the event as I am sure I will have soooo much to write about!

Video Game collecting a Legitimate Hobby

When people look at my video game collection, they have this indescribable reaction.

Sure, it's not stamps and it's not coins but does that make it any less legitimate? I personally don't think so. I like collecting games because it's something that so few people do. Sure, you have your occasional gamer that keeps a mint copy of Final Fantasy II from the SNES around even though he may have the system in a closet. But I am hardcore.

I now have two game rooms dedicated. A total of 6 televisions and one projected screen play host to around 40 systems. I have thousands of games. You will hear this annoyed response in my voice when the EB Games employee asks me for the millionth time 'Do you have anything to trade?'. Duh. No. This is the number one reason I don't shop there anymore.

You won't find me trading in 3 or 4 triple A titles to pick up the latest and greatest, or selling my 300+ cartridges from the Atari 2600 on eBay. You'll find me dusting off my Fairchild Channel F and my 3DO and even the Intellivision from time to time to remember our roots. I think I ought to make sure the Colecovision still works and try out that steering wheel with Turbo!

Do I even want to consider lending out one of my 225+ BOXED Nintendo 64 games? Not really considering how freaking hard I've worked to get that many games in the box. And that brings up another point. PEOPLE PLEASE. WHY? Why do you throw the game boxes out? Sure, not everyone has a ton of space but for the LOVE OF GOD please stick the boxes in a closet somewhere until you make that trip to Microplay to trade in your old junk. Please. You will be surprised that you usually get MORE money when you do this and you'll make a collector like me drool and salivate at the pristine condition you've kept your manuals in. Can't keep your peanut butter finger kids away from the manuals? Give them photocopies to thumb through and hide the real thing for the day it makes the trip back to the game store.

Video games really are like salmon I guess. Trying to swim back from where they came from to mate / reincarnate, whatever. But for the odd guys like me that drain the water so we can adore, share, and play those beauties for all eternity....don't look at us like we're got a screw loose. At least we're passionate about something.

On Used vs. New Video games

I buy a lot of games. Anyone that knows me knows that. For this generation alone, I have (combined) over 1,000 games spread out across my PS2, XBOX and Gamecube. Recently, there has been a lot of discussion about buying new vs. buying used. Revenue from new games go directly to the publishers and distributors, with the retailer only getting a small slice (ie: a $50 game often costs the retailer close to $45). With slim margins like these, the retailers must turn to used sales.

That is, the smaller stores do. The EBGames, Gamestop's and (if you're in Canada) Microplay chains specialize in games. Their employees (usually) know a little bit more about games and you won't feel the need to 'bother' the person behind the counter at Wal*Mart to get that new copy of Grand Theft Auto out for you. I like buying in the smaller stores and supporting jobs for independants. What keeps them going however, is used games.

So what can we do? You can be like me. I buy (upon release) the games that I *really* want to support. Like innovation in Shadow of the Colossus.... or publishers taking a chance with platform games like 'The Legend of Kay'. Don't wait for the price drops, get them at full price. Save your money for later for the games you want but don't NEED. Then buy your used copies and help out the smaller stores. It's all about spreading the wealth.

Until the industry can figure out how to sell new games for $25 like the movie industry, we're going to have this issue. Maybe we'll never get there until we settle on one standard platform. Will we ever? I think we will, but it's still a long ways off.

Welcome to my BLOG

You know, I tried this BLOGGING thing before and I didn't keep up with it. I think this time it will be different. I feel different about it, about sharing my thoughts and everything else that goes with it. I think I've also grown as a writer. I find myself actually starting to think about how I'll write something in my head before it actually hits the screen (didn't we used to say 'before it hits the paper?').... yeah.

I had an interesting weekend to say the least. A had a nice group of people visit the Personal Computer Musuem (http://www.pcmuseum.ca) and they also looked around at my videogames. A friend brought up an interesting point about the marketing of videogames, something I definitely will look into writing an article about in the future.

Getting back into the BLOGGING thing has made me want to write about it in my weekly computer column that it's the Brantford Expositor every Saturday (http://www.theexpositor.com) so for all of my readers out there, thanks for reading I hope you enjoy my future columns as well.

My thought for the day is the old stand by of 'LIFE IS TOO SHORT'. Need to get on with things, get on with them and quit pissing around. Now, I just have to listen to my thoughts!