This past week or so I went out to Sears and found some a few games at unexpectedly good prices! I know I said last blog that I wasn't going to get any more games for awhile, but when you come across these type of deals, you gotta go for it.
TImeshift wasn't much cheaper than can be had from almost anywhere, but Heavenly Sword and Folklore are both pricey. Heavenly Sword and Folklore are always around $50-60 (new) and usually $35 (used).
On the playing games front, because of the release of Klonoa: Door to Phantomile for Wii, I decided I'd play though the original PS1 release again. Still a completely awesome game that I really enjoy! Since I don't have a Wii, I checked out someone's entire playthough of the new Wii remake on YouTube and I have to say it still looks like it is almost completely identical to the PS1 version outside of the visuals. However, there are a few things that were changed from the original which seems stupid because they make the game even easier than it already was. The biggest culprit is that you get five hearts of health in the Wii remake as opposed to only three in the original. Regardless of those minor changes I wholeheartedly recommend the game no matter which version you choose, though I still prefer the original.
I also finally started playing Killzone 2. I have been having a hard time getting motivated to play it because I was involved in the multiplayer beta back in November and I think it spoiled my enthusiasm I had for the game at that time. I can say the same for Resistance 2, which is probably why I don't own it yet. I'll likely turn down any future invites I get to betas because of these two revelations. It is a bummer that I end up this way, but I can't help it for some reason.
Other games I played off and on recently: Tekken, Bleach DS 2nd, Ridge Racer, Mortal Kombat II, Tetris DX.
Somehow I got sucked into playing the original Tekken and the original Ridge Racer, both of which hold up pretty well considering their age. Mortal Kombat II, on the otherhand, is way too basic of a fighter for my tastes nowadays, which is something I could say for the whole Mortal Kombat series with the exception of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3.
I am totally excited for E3 and am looking forward to the awesome announcements that are sure to come out of it. I'll be twittering my thoughts on the press conferences as they happen, so if you'd like to follow me on Twitter to see those, check me out at twitter.com/usagi704!
Also, I have put up videos of my collections for a few of my game systems on my YouTube account. Check those out if you are interested. Later!
Back at ya this blog with my last gaming acquisitions for awhile. Some good stuff for some good deals have been picked up this time around.
It was good to find You Don't Know Jack for PS1 because playing my plethora of old Windows based YDKJ games hasn't been possible since I have moved to Linux, at least not without screwing around with something like Wine. This particular version is very good with no noticeable loading and is very comparable to the PC versions. Found Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII for only $19.99 new, so that was a pleasant surprise, especially since most local used shops sell were still selling for about $26 used. Picked up Nightshade and Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies used for cheap, $3 and $7 respectively.
Tetris DX for Game Boy Color is easily my favorite Tetris ever and Castlevania II: Simon's Quest can be confusing if you don't know what you need to do or where to go, but otherwise is a pretty good game.
The last game I acquired is something I didn't have when I took the picture above. That game is the excellent Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand for GBA. This is actually a game produced by Hideo Kojima and has a few obvious Metal Gear-esque stealth mechanics even though stealth isn't a big part of the game. Definitely check it out if you can find it!
Picked up Dragon Quest V for DS since I wanted the arguably best game in the series. I have always appreciated the Dragon Quest games, but I haven't ever been much of a fan. I enjoy them every so often and I thought I'd pick this up.
Castlevania for NES was something I wanted since the Famicom cartridge version is about $100 and the only cheaper version is on the Famicom Disk System which is a system I don't plan on acquiring. I play NES carts via an adapter and I actually finished the game for the first time ever and then finished it again with no lives lost. Once you dismantle a game down to what you need to do to make it easy, even otherwise tough games like Castlevania are child's play.
I was at Best Buy earlier in the week and decided I'd pick up Killzone 2. I participated in the multiplayer beta last November and enjoyed it a good deal, so getting KZ2 was a foregone conclusion for me. I should start playing it really soon.
Shortly after I received my shipment of Famicom stuff a few weeks ago, I just decided I would finally see if I could find a copy of Contra and as you can see, huge success. This particular version is great because of all of the extra animation in the stages like the trees swaying in the wind on the Jungle stage, the falling snow on the Snow Field stage, and, my favorite, the pulsating walls and ground of the Alien Lair stage.
Finally got my hands on King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match and Samurai Shodown Anthology too. KOF98UM takes the greatness of the original KOF98 and makes it better by adding characters that weren't in the original and also added the ability to combine elements from the Extra groove and the Advanced groove to create the Ultimate groove. For example, my main team right now is Geese/Eiji/Clark with the Extra groove's dashing (as opposed to Advanced having a run), Advanced groove's rolling (as opposed to Extra having a side step), and Extra groove's self-charged super meter w/ a single stock (as opposed to Advanced having a typical super meter with three stocks). This makes for a more interesting game in that you might want to play certain characters differently from others with a different mix of options.
Samurai Shodown Anthology is really great because it includes all six of the main games in the series and all are perfect conversions from what I can tell. I'd say this is SNK's highest quality compilation yet for the PS2 that is. This compilation is also available for PSP and Wii, but I've heard those are of pretty poor quality, along the lines of the North American only release of King of Fighters: Orochi Saga. If that is true, then skip those versions because the KOF: Orochi Saga release was full of sound glitches and was inexcusably bad.
As everyone knows, Street Fighter IV came out Tuesday and was surprisingly available on that day instead of a day later like most games. Yes, I am enjoying it a good deal, but at first I wasn't as much as I thought. Since then it has grown on me since I have put about 17 hours into it so far and that is only in the single player stuff with the exception that I played DeVeAn in two matches. Definitely looking to start playing a lot more against others very soon, so send an invite if you see me online.
I also picked up some other miscellaneous stuff this week. My tenth Super Nintendo game ended up being Timeslip by Vic Tokai. It is a game that I have never heard of before and it is a somewhat decent Contra-esque platforming action game.
I also picked up two more Blu-ray movies, Street Fighter and Saw. I was one of those people who saw Street Fighter in theaters back in 1994 which should come as no surprise since I was and still am a huge Street Fighter fan. I know it isn't a good movie, but I just have a soft spot for it. My enjoyment of it is on a so-bad-it-is-good level and I get a kick out of watching Raul Julia ham it up as M. Bison which is easily the best thing about the film. Saw is a movie that I like quite a bit because I really enjoy truly good horror films and those are few and far between. Yeah, the rest of the series is terrible, but the first one is quite good. This particular release of Saw on Blu-ray is literally movie-only and has no extras which really sucks, but I suspect there will be a later release that will rectify that.
Back on June 10, 2006 was when Gamespot had their first, of very few, installments of a feature called Pick 5. That same day is when I put up my response to that very same entry in the feature. Now it is 31 months later and I am going to present to you a revisit to that very first Pick 5 with an updated list. Enjoy!
1. Cosmic Race (PS1)
Back in 1996, Ultra Game Players magazine had a game rating scale with the rating of 0.0 described as "cosmic race." One of the issues that year featured a review of a Japanese Playstation game named Cosmic Race in order to explain why the rating 0.0 is known as cosmic race. More than a decade passed and now I have a copy of this game and I can completely agree. Worst Playstation game ever!
2. Radiant Silvergun (SAT)
As Greg Kasavin said in his Pick 5, "money buys coolness," so it stands to reason that my most valuable game is very, very cool. Besides it being pricy, it is also an excellent shmup to boot! In fact, one of the best shmups ever!
3. Game Center CX: Arino no Chousenjou (DS)
If you are into NES games, then you are certainly cool and what is cooler than a game that is made up of essentially new NES games? Not much! (coming out as Retro Game Challenge in North America this month)
4. Blast Chamber (PS1)
The back of the box proclaims: "It's 2096 and having a bomb strapped to you is a sport." Looks like some people in contemporary times got a headstart. I guess they'd think this is cool.
5. Pocket MuuMuu (PS1)
The PocketStation was cool and you'd know that if you ever had one, cool guy. This is a title that simply gave you a ton more to do with it, like more games and little apps. Now that's cool!
NOTE: I'm on Twitter, so if you feel like following me, please feel free to do so! twitter.com/usagi704
Hey everyone! We all have things we dislike about the current goings-on the gaming industry and here is my current list of things I loathe:
1. Xbox 360's failure to be a dependable piece of hardware
I'd still have one otherwise.
2. Friend codes
Talk about inconvenience at its worst!
3. PlayStation 3's high price
It is easily the reason why the system isn't doing better.
4. Anti-PS3 morons
The PS3 is a good system with plenty of good games. The whole "no good games" argument has been bullshit for a long time now.
5. Lack of PSP support
The PSP has turned into a compilation system. I like compilations and all, but when my PSP collection consists of 19 compilations/remakes/re-releases out of a total of 37 (51%), something needs to be done! Start making more original games for the system damn it!
6. Guitar Hero sucking all of what was fun out of the "plastic instrument" sub-genre
I love the rhythm/music genre, but Activision is making damn sure we get completely sick of seeing stores filled with fake, plastic instruments. Enough is enough already! We don't need another fucking music game/instrument bundle!
7. Sony's tepid promotion of their big games
What's wrong Sony? Afraid your games will sell too well? Killzone 2 will be amazing based on my impressions from the multiplayer beta for 10-15 hours and yet, no real promotional push that the game deserves!
8. Waggle doesn't make the gaming world work
Nintendo, if it wasn't for your insistance to shove an imprecise, gimmicky control scheme down everyone's throats, I might have bought a Wii by now. Sure, it works well with some games, but most don't benefit from it. Yes, I can get a normal controller and use it for a lot of games, but that option costs extra! No matter how hard you try, waggle will not become a standard because it simply isn't precise enough for most games.
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