New image: CC20
Saturday, May 27, 2006 »
I've been working on this on and off for the last couple weeks and finally got to adding in the background today. Head to the gallery for a larger version and some details. I'll add some commentary soon.
NSMB
Thursday, May 25, 2006 »
Last night I got to the final castle of New Super Mario Bros., and I couldn't bring myself to go inside. It's taken a great amount of willpower to limit myself to about one world a day to make the game last this long, but I guess today will be it. I've still got a few star coins and secret exits to collect, but it's sad to think that after a little more than a week, I'll have seen everything. Still, while NSMB doesn't come close to offering the amount of content or level intricacy of Super Mario World or even Super Mario Bros. 3, it's one of the most fun and addictive games in recent memory. The level design starts out kind of simple (maybe to let you refamiliarize yourself with controlling a 2D Mario), but later on just about every other stage throws something new at you. It's probably optimistic and definitely not in character with the series, but it would be nice if they could take a nod from Castlevania and start putting out one of these a little more often.
Oh, and another thing: While the Super Mario 64 DS-inspired minigames are fun, the Mario VS. Luigi mode is a huge surprise. The rounds I played with Morgan have all been unbelievably frantic and have involved a lot of screaming. It's probably the most intense multiplayer on the DS, and you can play it with only one game card, too. Make an effort to play it as soon as possible.
I always knew Lik-Sang was shady
Saturday, May 20, 2006 »
Here's an inexplicable and hilarious snippet from importer friend Lik-Sang:
The end of the preorders queue for the Nintendo DS Lite Crystal "Cocaine" White has been reached last week, a few days after Ice Blue and Enamel Navy got cleared.
And you thought importing a DS Lite was tough before the DEA started intercepting shipments!
And you thought Ouendan was the most addictive thing to do with a DS!
And you thought the increased brightness was the only advantage of the DS Lite's new screen!
» comments: 2
Famous Actors! All E3 Edition
Friday, May 12, 2006 »
Another E3 has come and gone, and wow. It was pretty insane this year. Sooooooo... What better way is there to celebrate than with some E3-centric Famous Actors!? J Allard has already been inducted into the ranks, but today arrive seven more that will hopefully balance out the tooliness. (OK, maybe I sabotaged that plan by adding Peter Moore, but he was asking for it.)
Back to the show for a second: As unlikely as it is, I'm praying for a surprise Mother 3 announcement today. If that's the case, Shigesato Itoi, there's a spot among the Famous! waiting just for you. Otherwise, you'll just have to wait.
» comments: 2
The Six Stages of PlayStation 3
Thursday, May 11, 2006 »
The Six Stages of PlayStation 3:
- Denial: "Six hundred dollars???"
- Anger: "And they totally ripped off that motion control thing at the last minute, too!"
- Bargaining: "Maybe I don't really need the extra 40GB and HDMI."
- Depression: "I will work more hours to buy one."
- Acceptance: "Oh, right, there's still the Wii."
- Metal Gear Solid 4: OMG RAIDEN TORNADO, I NEED MONEY
Anyway, I made some wallpaper, but I don't know if I'll be adding it to the gallery since it's just pasted together from a bunch of the promo screenshots. For now, here it is:
» comments: 2
Miyamoto speaks
Tuesday, May 9, 2006 »
Update: My video capture app is being uncooperative, so here's the the audio.
» comments: 1
US Ouendan = "ELITE BEAT AGENTS"?????
Tuesday, May 9, 2006 »
ARE YOU KIDDING ME.
Update: Why not just stop at "Elite Beats"?
Update 2: Or even just "Beat Agents."
Update 3: What happened to the TRENCH COATS
YOU WIN THIS ROUND, KUTARAGI
Monday, May 8, 2006 »
Well, it certainly puts the whole Wii naming issue in perspective.
Please educate yourselves
Monday, May 8, 2006 »
All these "vintage" t-shirt sites already make me mad, but this is completely unacceptable:
OK, even if you don't have the, ahem, Konami Code1 memorized, with my extensive clarification of it a few months ago, there's no excuse for such butchering. I really hope nobody's bought this shirt. (Mostly for their sake, in case I run into them while they're wearing it.)
1 "Contra Code"? What is this, Gamepro?
» comments: 1
Illustrator messing
Monday, May 8, 2006 »
Trying to practice the Illustrator a bit, so I dug up some old sketches (like really old) and gave one of them the vector treatment. It reminds me of when I'd bang out one of these floating poses each day after school, so I thought I'd just give it an oldschool-style background. Check it out here.
Update: Holy dude, it's been way too long since I put some[non-wallpaper]thing in the gallery. I just refreshed the page and when the thumbnail popped up automatically over in the sidebar I was really freaked out. Freaked out and very satisfied with myself, however.
Famous Actors! All Requests Edition
Friday, May 5, 2006 »
Eleven new Famous Actors! today. For those keeping track, Will Ferrell is the 100th Famous Actor! to appear. Also, thanks to "Lauren" for nominating Alan Rickman, who I always forget exists despite his being awesome and all scowly all the time.
» comments: 3
Pedestrian tip: How to walk to your car
Thursday, May 4, 2006 »
While walking to one's vehicle in front of a car that's trying to reach the last vacant parking space, it is important that we all remember proper pedestrian technique.
RIGHT:
WRONG:
Please help make your parking lot a more mindful, efficient space. Thank you.
» comments: 4
Mmm-BOMBA
Wednesday, May 3, 2006 »
So Cubed³ is reporting that Hudson's working on a new Bomberman title for the DS with Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection support. I fail to see why this hasn't taken the Internet completely by storm. I mean, Cubed reported this last week, and I was only made aware of it yesterday (thx palidor :>>>). I don't think any of the major gaming news sites have even mentioned it yet. Maybe everyone is busy prepping for E3, or just oblivious to new stimuli in anticipation of New Super Mario Bros. launching in two weeks.
It could also be that all the articles on it so far haven't put the key terms in close enough proximity, so I'll try to help out here: DS BOMBERMAN ONLINE.
In celebration I came up with this intense orange wallpaper based on the first DS Bomberman's Japanese box art. WHY DOES JAPAN GET ALL THE GOOD BOX ART.
New wallpaper: DS Picnic
Tuesday, May 2, 2006 »
Here's something I made actually several months ago. Not sure why I didn't post it then. Maybe it's more timely now, as these old friends can finally take some time off to have a relaxing lunch outside while all the attention is building around the DS Lite.
Silent Hill
Monday, May 1, 2006 »
So I managed to sit through all 120+ minutes of this and I think the critics may have been a little harsh. The first hour of the movie is actually pretty amazing. It really did feel like the first time playing the original Silent Hill. The sets and the creature effects were pretty much perfect. I was also impressed with how much material was taken directly from the game, most notably the encounter in the alley, the giant fan, and the bathroom stall. It's really unfortunate that none of the reviewers played the game at all, because otherwise they would have recognized that director Christophe Gans deserves some serious props.
But then there's that whole second half of the film, which is where it runs into trouble. The script is mostly an adaptation of Silent Hill 1's very complicated, intriguing story. I was going to say it's a clumsy adaptation, but even the game didn't really do a great job of telling the story. I wonder if they were trying too hard to mimic the series' habit of revealing everything in tiny, cryptic pieces, usually interspersed with characters rambling on incomprehensibly about ancient demons and cults. I also have to wonder whether Akira Yamaoka's supervision actually sabotaged the movie for American audiences, since I know Japanese storytelling tends to get pretty weird once mythology and metaphysics come into play.
I believe I read somewhere that Gans is already in talks for the sequel. In that case, I expect it might fare a little better as the plot is much more accessible and probably the strongest of the series. As long as the art direction stays at the same level, he should be all set.
I'm going to give this 3 out of 5 stars mainly because of the strong first half, and that's upgraded from 2 because of the part where Rose is looking at the map and making a mental order of the left and right turns she'll have to make to get to the next area, because THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I DO WHEN I PLAY THE GAME. Amazing.