Mario is Dead

It’s time Nintendo.

He’s tired of being whored out. You’re tired of whoring him out, we all see it. There’s not many places you can take him now that he’s gallivanted across the universe. And, really, his spin off games are rubbish. Mario Kart Wii? Well, I haven’t played it, but I’ve got my suspicions. I think it’s time to just be that ‘non’-game company. I really do.

Maybe it’s just my mood right now. But gaming has really just lost its edge. It’s cycling over and over. The same themes, the same teams, the same games. The only thing that is fresh are ‘non’-games. Brain Age, Wii Fit, Wii Music. They’re different. They’re challenging gamings conventions. They’re reaching to the people that were out of reach only three years ago. They’re making gaming very approachable.

Honestly, it’s time. It’s time to spread it to the masses. I don’t have a good reason. But it’s time to hand one of my oldest past times to everyone. It’s not exclusive any more. It’s ready to evolve.

As the old traditions collapse something better will come from it. I think the indie scene will explode. As gaming becomes less and less “that shit for nerds”, and big budget studios dissolve, the indie crowd is going to move in and make some of the best things we’ll ever see. It’s happening now. The bite sized games on XBLA, Wii Ware, and PSN. The one man teams making crazy things like Every Day Shooter or Audiosurf. Those things are wacky and non-traditional, but still appealing to the traditional gamer.

We’re in a weird world now. Shits goin’ down.

Don’t forget what gaming was; that tradition is important. We needed that to get to this point. But it’s time for the old to decompose to give life to the next generation of this media.

Wii Fit inspired this. I got me thinking.

It’s been a strange few weeks I say. This, I’m not sure why.

Weezer: Album Six

I’m a huge weezer fan. I caught wind of a new album dropping this year a while ago. This past week other fans and I got some awesome news. Well, few weeks ago Weezer announced a date (June, 24th). This past week, however, the album’s first single aired. Hot friggin’ damn. The song is titled “Pork & Beans”; it’s got this odd verse riff and a seriously rocking chorus. It’s a damn good tune.

I read somehwere, I forget off the top of my head, that this new album (which is being referred to as album six, and the red album (their site claims this is another self titled disc) is supposed to be a bit experiential. And right on the site the band comments that they hit many of their musical goals on this record.

If “Pork & Beans” is any indication, this album is going to kick some major musical ass. That’s a crude thing to proclaim, but how else could one put it?

Head to Weezer.com to jamm to their new single. Or, wait for it on the radio, I guess.

Here’s some pictures. Rivers has a friggin ’stache. It’s weird.

Some weird photos to compliment a supposedly experimental album. I can dig it.

Games that Never Let Go

I think it’s safe to assume that there are games that every gamer keeps getting addicted to. We know we’re addicted. We even say things like,”I’ll finish it this last time, and I’ll just set it aside and move on.” We’re like smokers. My addictions revolve around four games: Super Mario Galaxy, Pokemon Diamond, Super Metroid, and Sonic 3 and Knuckles.

I was able to curb my Sonic addiction, with the series being so shitty lately, and the fact that my copies of the game were sealed up next to the Genesis in storage. I know have it available to me any time I boot up my Wii, same with Super Metroid and Galaxy. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a couple games, but I think overindulgence is a problem. I just can’t seem to rip myself away. And, I have so many other games I want to experience. I’ve got Half Life 2: Episode 2 on deck, plus, I haven’t experienced nearly enough Team Fortress 2. It’s criminal to deny these games, especially when I’ve traversed each of my addictions countless times a piece (save for Pokemon, but Pokemon is a matter of hours versus times completed).

What is it about these games? Nintendo charm? Fun? Yes and no. Pokemon isn’t fun. It’s a pure addiction. Do you think pack a day smokers enjoy what they do? Probably not. Leveling is boring, and my only opponents are people with lower leveled Pokemon. It’s the collection that keeps me going. That perfect team. Today was a terrible day for me, I got a crap load of amazing Pokemon. I will be configuring teams and boosting levels for days now. Well, it is fun. I lied. Pokemon is fun, but it is in an awkward way, like I suppose chain smoking would be.

Galaxy, I’ve got three full completions in with a Luigi round on deck. It’s sitting there, begging for it. I’ll succumb too. Probably because this game is everything you could ask for in a game, according to me, anyway. I think it’s the spheres and space. I think Galaxy has made me realize that my dream is to have a small planet of my own. I should have noticed this years ago. King Kami’s planet was one of my favorite things in Dragonball Z. He had his own tiny planet, with a little road and everything. I was envious. Now, I’ve got a whole game filled with tiny planets. That’s one of the reasons I just can’t put it away. The story too. There’s this philosophical element to the ending sequence that’s just fascinating; for some reason it keeps the disc in the tray and I keep playing and thinking about it. I’m hooked.

I am worried that I’ll grow to hate these things. I don’t think I will. Eventually I think I’ll end up being separated from them out of respect for a new title.

Speaking of which, there are two games Wii owners should be looking forward to next month. The obvious is Smash Brothers, which I’ve already said enough about here. The second is Okami. It’s a direct port of the PS2 game with motion control (no new content, just extra functionality). As a player of the original version, I can whole heartedly say that having both versions will probably be worth it. In the game you’re a wolf deity who controls a special paint brush that can do cool stuff. The “Celestial Brush”, as it’s known in the game, is basically how you interact with the game, be it environmental interaction or combat attacks. In the PS2 version this is controlled via analog stick. In the Wii version this is handled much more accurately with the Wii remote. In my opinion this major difference is worth the price. Okami was begging to be a Wii game from inception, and now that it is I hope people buy it. It’s a solid Zelda style adventure that deserves a play through. It ships at the end of March.

Hype, Part 2: Adventure Gear

I had this thing typed up featuring Spore, FallOut 3, and MGS4, but I realized that I wasn’t really super jacked for Spore or FallOut 3. Still sweet games I look forward to, but I think MGS4, and Penny Arcade Adventures are two games everyone can get super jacked for.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Why it looks awesome: Um, Solid Snake dudes. This is a bit like explain why Brawl is appealing. It’s the Metal Gear sequel I’d hoped 3 would somehow morph into, the follow up to the events in MGS2. There has been nothing but crazy enemies and hard-to-follow plat details shown in all the trailers, and that just makes me so happy. That’s Metal Gear, you just have to love it. Too bad it’s coming out for the most expensive, but largely useless Playstation 3.

I wish I could have MGS4 . . .

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode 1 (PC) (360 & Ps3 ???)

Why it looks awesome:You get to make a character and explore a fucked up universe with two of the gaming community’s most prominent funny men. It dabbles a few different genres if I’m not mistaken as well, including adventure and rpg. It also has this really neat feature regarding the character creation system. The dude you make in 3D is also ‘drawn’ up in 2D (which means Gabe had to make a ton of different possible drawings for this, or there was some crazy technique the devs employed to accomplish such an amazing feat, or it’s fucking magic). That means you’ll be interacting with Gabe and Tycho in every section of the game, which is totally rad. There’s no release date for this yet, which is a bummer. I hope this comes sooner than later. Maybe we’ll get Episode One in the first half and episode to in the final half of the year. That’d be rad. Looks awesome.

This has some rad looking graphics.

Gun beats fist? Just a guess.