Watching old videos gave me an idea for an odd shirt design. I don't know what it is about me that wants to make GB shirts that have nothing to do with gaming at all. Lobsters, anyone?
 
I'm pretty sure Turbo_Toaster's background image had also seeped into my consciousness while making it. That lass does some cracking work, fer sure.

 

Just thought it was about time I actually got my blog on again; I've been busy with this, that and the other (including the design for that new hoodie) and have really missed spewing a slab of inconsequential text onto the internet. I've been re-watching one of my favourite so-awful-it-is-awesome films, Future Cops, and I'm going to write up an in-depth look at its particular brand(s) of lawyer-baiting entertainment.

In the interim, however, here are some pictures of where I sit until stupidly early hours of the morning. I moved into my new house a few months ago, and I've still not tidied up all the cords that snake through and around this monument to our favourite pastime. But it's not in such bad shape that I'm ashamed to show you what's going on in this part of my lounge room. I'm a sucker for playing old games on the consoles that they came out on, and as such have had to purchase and jerry-rig a few extra cords to make things look better on my screen.

So, during the development of Turbo_Toaster's wonderfully heartwarming rendition of Luchadeer, I jokingly said that there should be a cheesy, baditude-filled counterpart. Y'know, like if Todd McFarlane got a hold of our stuffed antihero and Todd McFarlaned the shit out of him. After a few hours, I've cobbled something together. I don't think it's final, as I maybe want to add more spooky effects to it, but it'll do for now. When all is said and done, though, I am still quite jealous of Turbo_Toaster's apparent ease of line and beautifully flowing, artistic style. It's great stuff!

Anyway, it's time to behold... the LUCHADEMON!
 

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand has finally made its way into my 360. I don't know if it's because I started playing it at midnight, or if it had been talked up too much, but it seems to simply be 'yeah, okay' instead of 'great despite the dubious pedigree'. I'll have another crack tonight to see if my opinion changes, as I kind of expect it will; once fatigue and hype aren't so much a factor I reckon my enjoyment of this game will ramp up (if you'll pardon the allusion).

As I indicated, it has taken a while for me to play this game. I had planned to do so 5 months ago and had set the wheels into motion soon after it appeared in stores. Y'see, it was my mate Adam's birthday in March. I'd bought him a copy of the game in question, knowing full well Adam's a busy guy who runs his own design business. He's a workaholic and doesn't find much time to turn his 360 on, save for our fortnightly Thursday night games bash. So I'd fully expected him to sling it my way instead of watching it collect dust. I was quite eager to jump into the ludicrous hip-hop-stop-n-pop antics of Master Cent, and the podcasts I'd been listening to at the time only made me want to check it out more.

So, I got hold of Adam's copy on the weekend, although not from Adam himself. No, I saw it sitting at another mate's place, and found out he'd borrowed it off Adam not long after I'd handed it over as a birthday present. Yep, turns out I was right. Adam liked the game, but had too much on his plate and enthusiastically handed it to a friend to enjoy... that friend just turned out not to be me. Ah, well. It was a sound enough theory, I guess.

Ever bought a game as a present for someone with a view to borrowing it later down the track?

I've just finished the main Arcade mode in Big Bang Mini for the DS. What a great little game it was! If I had to chop it up and unceremoniously stuff the bits into a heap of pigeonholes, I'd say it was a cutesy stylus-driven shooter with overtones of Rez and the occasional bullet hell lurking behind its smiling exterior. It's very addictive, easy to get into and constantly throwing interesting play mechanics at you.

The art style(s) of this game left me grinning from the slick inventiveness on display. With the exception of the last, each 'zone' is based around a country, and each country has a distinct flavour to the graphics. What really impressed me about this, however, is that even though the style of each zone is different, there's a sense of cohesion and common identity running throughout.

Now I've finished Arcade mode (and it should be noted it didn't take all that long) I've unlocked Mission mode. This contains a bunch of levels to attempt, where a certain requirement must be met to complete each level properly. I've only completed 6 of them, and they've ranged from finishing a level within a set time to having a finite number of shots available. I can foresee myself being hooked on this sweet game for a little while longer yet...

The other thing I've just got my hands on is Korg DS-10. Only played around with it for a little while, but it's really easy to use and heaps of fun. Manipulating and tweaking the sounds is a doddle, and the rewiring is handled as you'd see in a more expansive piece of music software. A great little toy that will no doubt be the bane of my girlfriend's life for the near future.

Signing off, here's another bit of my gaming collection. It's the retail version of the Sega Mega Jet, which was used on Japan Airlines planes as in-flight entertainment. Basically a cut-down version of the Mega Drive (that's the Genesis to Stateside readers), it was hooked up to small screen so you could play games during your journey. If you wanted, you could even bring your own cartridges with you to play on the plane. Man, I would have loved to be playing Ranger X as I zoomed around the skies...