Did you have a good holiday? I did. Got to see some long time family friends and my extended family. It was nice. 

Anyway, I was looking at a friends top 10 albums of 2008 list (http://www.meatsandfishes.com/?p=20) and I couldn’t help but notice that Deer Tick’s War Elephant wasn’t on the list. It was released in 2007; it would have voided the laws of the published list. It may have been released in ‘07, but it was my personal favorite find of the year. I’ve spent a lot of time with Deer Tick’s first release and will probably spend a bunch of time with it next year. I won’t describe the music to anyone reading this, as I couldn’t do it justice (my talents lie outside of critiquing music at this point). It’s awesome though, it’s one of those “every song is great” albums. 

And the future: for concerned readers, updates will continue to be sporadic. When I do update, I’m going to be taling my subject matters in a different direction. Namely, away from the world of video games. I want to start fufilling the mission statement I layed down when I started this whole thing, that is to provide opinions and commentary on a multitude of topics. So less whinning about how crappy Sonic has become, more other stuff. I know “other stuff”, how vauge. But I’m not real sure what to talk about. It’s a mystery!

In the after math of E3 and other trade shows, I’m kind of getting bored with this generation. 

I’m growing tired of “hardcore” gamers bashing Wii for not having “hardcore” titles. And, I’m tired of Nintendo not making that argument invalid. I’m tired of the appeal to mom and gramma. I’m tired of first person shooters. I’m just kind of growing tired of the medium in it’s current form. 

Some might suspect that I’m just “growing up”. But, I’ve never seen games as something I would eventually grow out of. And I don’t think I’m growing out of gaming. There’s a lot of people who will “grow out” of gaming. That’s the stereo typical male who’s only playing Madden, Halo, Guitar Hero and like games. For those people it’s not a hobby, it’s a way to pass the free time they have. 

That isn’t to say I don’t play games for fun like they do. Games are intended to be a fun past time, and I play to have fun. I just think there comes a time when one makes the decision to make gaming something of a hobby to pursue. Gaming has a history, it has important figures who’ve served us games thought this history, and it has plenty of pieces of software and hardware to be admired. 

Here’s a parallel situation. Everyone drives cars. There’s a small section of society that obsesses over cars. They are car enthusiasts. They follow the industry, know it’s history, and actively engage in activities related to cars (things like restoring old cars, having a car collection, and going to car shows).  Cars are a hobby for some people. This is a commonly accepted hobby. 

I don’t think popular culture has made space for the Video Game Hobbyist at this point. There are still to many negative conceptions that go with gaming yet for that to be accepted. Things like only males play video games, and that the only games being played are violent shooters and crappy movie tieins. We view games as the budding adult male’s play toys. This is a view which has shifted in the last decade from child’s toy to this new conception, probably because it’s yesterday’s kids that are today’s group of budding adults. I’m sure in five or ten years, when the group of male adults who stuck with gaming for twenty odd years decide that it’s their hobby now, it’ll be generally more accepted. And, if Wii can radically shift the intended audience for games and widen it considerably we can have an environment movie goers have now. Which I see as something basically everyone participates in in some way, everyone is a movie buff in someway. And there are ‘true’ movie enthusiasts that are like our car enthusiast pals from my prior example.

Basically the Gamer Enthusiest, who is ripe with trivial facts and/or options pertaining to various aspects of gaming, exist currently, but will be more acknowledged in the future. 

I think it depends on what Wii can do. Gaming has to overcome that ‘these things are for dudes only’ label it’s currently drowning in. Of course, our car enthusiast friends are largely male. Still, I guess personally, I’d like to see the industry overcome that issue. That’s a whole other post though. 

So what does the idea of an accepted gamer ethusiest have to do with this generation getting stale? Perhaps that because this generation is kind of getting stale, with it’s repeated trends (FPS online, sandbox gaming, etc) and, uh, not repeated trends (basically every audience expanding thing on Wii) gamers might be thinking about why the game at this point. What keeps us going? Notice the recent influx of classic revivals? People are reflecting on the history of gaming and starting to appreciate the last thirty odd years. Gamers are growing up, and some of them who are getting bored, instead of turning away from everything in general, are exploring the industry via it’s past. 

Another way of putting it is to say that the gamer population is expanding due to a stagnant industry. Of course, with each generation there are those who feel gaming is getting stale. I’m sure some people felt this way last generation. Maybe it’s just me. I think a lot of gamers knew this generation would be a wired one. It has been, and I think that the community is breaking more so than before because of everything that has happened thus far. 

I feel like I’ve babbled on too long, and taken this too seriously. I’m good now.

Nine years is kind of a big deal. It’s not as big as ten or anything, but it’s still a long time. As a gaming nerd, especially as a former Sega fanboy, I feel some obligation to make some kind of attempt to honor Sega’s final attempt to sell hardware. Yep, yesterday (yeah yeah I’m a day late, sorry) was the ninth anniversary of the Dreamcast’s launch. 

Today let’s recall all the fond memories we had playing Dreamcast. For me it’s memories of the Sonic Adventures, the Crazy Taxis, the Power Stones, the Marvel VS Capcoms, Jet Grind Radio to name a few. Good times.

“Sega has announced a new Sonic game for the Wii called Sonic and the Black Knight.“

“Developed by the same team as Sonic and the Secret Rings“

“This time, a sorceress named Merlina summons Sonic to the mythical realm of King Arthur, but it seems the fabled monarch has somehow been corrupted and now rules the land as the tyranical Black Knight.”

“As Sonic runs along, a simple flick of the Wii remote will execute a basic slash, which is enough to dispatch most low-level grunts.”

” [The] team behind Sonic and the Black Knight is keenly aware of the franchise’s past missteps, and their enthusiasm for doing right by the series is infections.”

If this team wants to make a Sonic game that “does the series right” they would not include things such as: swords, mystic faries, Shadow, or swords. They are clearly unaware of the past misteps (i.e. the last eight or nine years of Sonic titles), and should feel bad for creating yet another ‘misstep’. Sonic with a sword fighting a corrupted King Aurthur, did anyone stop and think that out? Did anyone think, “hey, maybe that’s an absolutely terrible idea?” Nope. I forgot this is the same company that greenlit a project that has Sonic transforming into a “werehog”. Fucking Sega, what have you become?

Here’s a link to *sigh* Sonic and the Black Knight information: LINK!

Right now, for most gamers, Wii isn’t a worth while venture. It’s been this way, well, since launch. The games are different, the control is different, and the intended auidence is different. Nintendo fans are sticking it out though, as they have since the days of the N64. Nintendo’s games are the only games worth a damn, and they’re not even particularly concerned with the ‘core’ gamers desires any more. I’ve discussed both sides of that issue here numerous times; this article isn’t really about that. It’s about Nintendo’s newest “bone throwing”.

Completely out of nowhere Nintendo up and decides they’re going to release a brand new 2D platforming game. Not via WiiWare either, this is a straight up, full on, retail game. It’s a new installment in the Wario Land franchise.

I have little knowledge about the Wario Land series, but after watching the slick animations and incredibly detailed environments feated in Wario Land: Shake It! I just don’t think it would be wise to ignore it. I generally dispise Wario, but I love the genre and 2D platformers are a rariety these days. If your into the genre, I suggest checking out this trailer, becuase the still shots really don’t do the game that much justice, it’s something that should be seen in motion. This has a July release for Japan, and I would only assume that a game like this wouldn’t be to hard to localize, so, I’d expect it before the summer ends.

The other game I’d like to mention is Mega Man 9, whose announcemnt was a complete shock to most of the gaming community. The most intresting aspect of Mega Man 9 is that it’s going to, basically, be an NES game. It’s being developed for Wii (distributed via WiiWare) and the team decided the best way to honestly take the series “back to its roots”. That phrase is such a tired line in the industry, except now Capcom can actually claim it (however, at this point, I don’t think they’ve made a statement like that yet, which is odd because that overused tagline actually holds water here).

The idea of a “new-retro” title is very appealing to me. Mega Man, like Wario, was never really something I was into but I strongly support the direction this game is going. Making a game like this is risky, simply because of modern expectations. It’s hard to believe making a modern NES game is risky, but it’s also easy to understand why it is a risk. It’s very bold, and I really hope it has some kind of effect on the indusrty. I enjoy my retro sidescrolling games; those are my favorite kind of games. It would be wonderful if suddenly this kind of thing caught on.

On another note, MM9 kind of ties in with my last article, about how I think gaming is going to change. MM9 is surely an example of the possibilities that have opened up this generation. I doubt Capcom would have green-lit this project if digital distribution weren’t an option. The development team is very small, and in that sense it’s “indie” (for lack of a better term, becuase it’s not really inide at all).  Small teams with low budgets making really awesome games, that’s the future. I like that future, especially if it means titles like this and all the other crazy experiemtal type games that have made it out recently.

Here’s a screenshot from MM9 and a link to a really intresting article on MM9.

Totally retro, totally cool. I just hope I’m man enough for it.

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.

A while ago I bought Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions (the PSP port of the Playstation original). I had decided to get it thinking that I’ve always kind of enjoyed turn based strategy games. I’ve played things like the Advance Wars series, the Metal Gear Acid games, etc. I figured I’d turn up the heat by trying an SRPG. I went in expecting that this would be a more difficult game. Well, I found that it’s not difficult per say. There just a lot of things to keep track of.

My mistake was going to a message board devoted to the game. The community still playing this game is fanatical. There’s a whole world of terminology that barely made sense to me. Plus, they tore this one guy to shreds after he posted his ‘lame’ team. That kind of put me off. I’m always wondering if I’m playing this game wrong.

But the game is about customization, and trial and error tactics. So, I can’t be playing it wrong if I win battles, right?

What I do know about the game is that the job system is neat, and I want my characters to be different things. I’m working towards a certain team I have in mind. It’s difficult work, because I don’t have much knowledge about the game. I don’t know how to really apply experience points and all this gibberish. I’ve been using tutorials and it’s still this very foreign thing to me.

I like using my black mage to set dudes on fire. That’s what I know.

It’s rough, but I’m hoping that I’ll be able to comprehend this game at some point.

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.

I am a post modern thinker. Well, I want to be. Or rather, I want to embody the concept more than I am already. The concept is utterly undefinable, much like the term ‘poetry’ is undefinable. There are only things about each concept that people can agree on. For poetry, well, it’s things like verse and meter and the styling of the language. But! You see, even these things are debatable. For post modernism, as I understand it, it’s just a huge concept that is still being furthered today. There’s an idea there, and it’s hard to conceive, but yet it’s growing, making it damn near impossible to understand. Yet, I am beginning, finally, after quite some time, beginning to grasp it.

In my last entry I wrote about Coetzee’s Disgrace. Since then I have learned of his other novels. Coetzee is a post modernist writer. He is exactly what I want to be. I have since gathered a few of his novels, and am expecting nothing short of brilliance. From what I hear, I will not be disappointed.

Secondly, The World Ends With You. A DS game. A little game by a company most should be familiar with, Square-Enix, famous for classics such as the Final Fantasy series, the Kingdom Hearts series, and the Dragon Quest series, as well as many others. This is their latest game; it shares no ties with any of their former series, save for some artistic resemblance and genre type.

It is an RPG. And, from what I have gathered, the characters are whiny, at least at first. But the story has me intrigued; I detect a trace a bit of metaphysical exploration hidden within the story, plus there’s a dual screened combat system that is very intriguing. I am not expecting a story on par with something like Metal Gear Solid, but perhaps this might be another example of a ‘deeper’ narrative. I am hoping it will be enjoyable from both the narrative and gameplay standpoints.

Note: This is the Japanese Box Art. The North American version uses the same background, but with English fonts.

Disgrace is a novel I’ve been reading; an assigned reading for an English class. J. M. Coetzee is the novel’s author, and I have to say he is a genius. I was skeptical wen my professor had said he was among the best of authors writing in the last century. In English’s crudest terms, Coetzee is the “shit”. He’s truly gifted and/or amazingly skilled in his writing.

Disgrace is about living life in modern South Africa. It’s depressing, but the way Coetzee handles the themes it simply amazing. “Simply amazing”, such terms do Disgrace no justice. It’s humorous, enraging, depressing; it’s life.

I whole heartedly recommend it to anyone.

Read it.

That’s really all I can really say about it.