Money Money Money Money, Mooonnaaayy

So I just saw the NPD numbers for hardware sales in the month of November. Sweet tap dancing baby these are ridiculous. Let's review:

Nintendo DS (1,530,000)
Wii (981,000)
Xbox 360 (770,000)
PlayStation Portable (567,000)
PlayStation 3 (466,000)
PlayStation 2 (496,000)

So, the DS outsold all of Sony's products combined and Nintendo outsold the combined efforts of Microsoft AND Sony. Essentially everyone is taking baths in their own money and lighting their cigars with $100 bills but on top of that Nintendo has one of those vaults out back filled with gold coins. I mean I'm pretty sure those guys are taking turns jumping in that vault Scrooge McDuck style (lol Duck Tales reference).

It's kind of insane to think that a little tiny system that everyone thought would be a miserable failure has managed to be a juggernaut in almost every territory it sells in. The Wii is starting to show the same promise of continued sales as the DS and it makes you wonder if the sales will ever slow down or if Nintendo will someday be the controlling company of the entire world.

It is no surprise to see MS in the middle of the pack but it is surprising to see all of Sony's hardware offerings in the bottom 3. I really did expect the PS2 to manage to outsell the Xbox 360 in the months right before Christmas. I am 100% curious to see how this whole business shakes out in December and January. It will be interesting to see if the PS2 can manage to pull back ahead of the Xbox 360 or if it is finally reaching the end of it's life cycle.

New Stuffs

This week I jumped back into ebay against my better judgement. In doing this though I found an awesome Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess hat that I decided I had to have.

Hopefully you can tell from the picture that it's a brown hat with a raised, embroidered logo from Twilight Princess. It's a bit big for me but I really don't think I care. It was too badass to pass up. I may try to shrink it a bit by washing it. I have one of these super cool plastic things that you can put in your dishwasher to wash hats without having them lose their shape.


I also recently acquired a new phone. I've been on Verizon Wireless for quite a while and I end up getting a pretty cool deal on a new toy every two years. This time around I opted for the Samsung SCH-i760 which is the upgrade to the i730 I've been using for the last few years. I loved the 730 but it didn't support MMS and didn't have a built in camera which were both kind of bummers. The 760 fixes both of those complaints, has a nicer QWERTY keyboard, is smaller, and has a bit better battery life. The 760 is also running Windows Mobile 6.0 which is a huge upgrade over 5.0. Woo for new gadgets!

New Podcasts of Great Justice

360 Arcadians Live! finally returns. We have been off our game for months due to scheduling and some other issues but we have finally recovered and recorded a new episode. It was a bit rough because we are all a little rusty but it may be one of the best introductions for a podcast we have ever done. You can download the new episode (episode 29) right here or subscribe to us via iTunes.

Additionally I had a guest spot on the Elite Arcadians Review Force (E.A.R.F.) podcast this week. That was a really damn awesome experience and I had a great deal of fun doing that. Those guys are a really good time to talk with about games. That one you can also subscribe to via iTunes or you can download it directly here.

Backlogs and Backblogs

I've managed to update this space with some older blog entries that I've had written but never published. This stuff isn't particularly relevant currently but it gives you an idea of what goes on in my crazy brain.

On an entirely different subject Novembermas has been absolutely insane this year. There is just a phenominal amount of software that has come out this year. It really started with Halo 3 in September and then culminated right before Thanksgiving with Mass Effect and Rock Band dropping on exactly the same way. I'd love to spend some time commenting on all these games but I really prefer to get more than halfway through my titles before giving thoughts about their merits. I'll come back with another post later this week when I've got some more time sunk into Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, Mario Galaxy and others so I can give some solid impressions.

In other news I'm hoping to get my grove back when it comes to more consistent podcasting goodness. Look for me as a guest on E.A.R.F. (Elite Arcadians Review Force) this week. In addition you should be seeing a new 360 Arcadians Live! in the coming days. I'll update my links section with RSS feeds for both of those podcasts so you folks can check those out. In the meantime I'm off to boot up my PS3 and try to get a bit further into GearsRaider....I mean Uncharted: Drake's Fortune before it's off to the internet for recording.

Halo 3: It's everywhere! It's in my racoon wounds!

I believe it's clear to almost everyone on the planet that on September 25th Halo 3 is being released. Do you know why I feel it safe to assume this? It's because of the retarded amount of advertising surrounding this title. Let's do a short review. We've got Halo 3 Mountain Dew, Slurpee Cups at 7-eleven, Halo 3 Xbox 360, Halo 3 controllers, Halo 3 headset, new toys, 3 different game SKUs including the massive helmet of doom edition, an ability to buy the game anywhere (seriously my 7-eleven is doing a midnight launch), banner ads on every site in the universe, special checkout lines at Walmart, Best Buy midnight launch events and finally a slew of new ads that don't even show gameplay. I mean good god! I'm half expecting to wake up one morning with a sticker on my forehead that says "Your mornings now sponsored by Halo 3!".

I don't usually have an issue with marketing for game titles. I mean Madden goes through an ad campaign every year and I can happily look the other way and ignore it. My issue is that I have to hear or read the words "Halo 3" before I've even had my first cup of coffee in the morning. This shit is absolutely everywhere to the point where every website I visit has a banner ad for the game or some sort of special preorder promotion (Radioshack people! Radioshack!). The marketing blitz for this game has become so massive that it is actually killing any hype that I had remaining for the title. I feel like a bit of marketing can really work in a game's favor, for instance Bioshock. That spot on Spike TV was well planned, timed and executed to actually get me excited to buy the game about 5 days afterwards. This Halo campaign is so massive that it is actually working the opposite way on me. I've had to hear about Halo 3 for like 2 months or maybe more and now all I want is to not hear about it anymore. The marketing made my hype for the game peak weeks ago and now instead of being excited I just want the launch to be over so people will shut the fuck up about it already.

I'm hoping this doesn't become some sort of trend with game marketing. All it accomplishes is whoring out a brand and making everyone so sick of it that even non-gamers want to never hear the name spoken again. Let me leave you with a final thought after this rant: light marketing=good, retarded marketing=shut the fuck up already!

So.Many.Demos.

In the last two weeks or so Xbox Live has been met with a deluge of game demos. I get excited about demos. For me a demo of a really anticipated game is like opening a present on Christmas Eve and getting a taste of what kind of awesome presents are in store on Christmas Day. I spent the last few days playing three of these demos to see what is in store for my holiday season this year.

The first of my game demos was Stranglehold. There is a very simple way to describe this experience...it's like participating in a John Woo movie. Seriously, that's it and it's wonderful. It's like a crazy action roller coaster the whole way through and I love it. There is also a Gallagher level of watermelon in this demo. Is the full game going to be this filled with fruit? I mean I'm not really complaining too much because the particle effects involved in bits of melon flying everywhere are fantastic. It really does feel like the Chiquita Banana woman should be walking through the game world though...

Next on the list was actually Beautiful Katamari. Don't freak out on me because I know this demo hit after the Bioshock demo. The thing is Bioshock took an assload of time to download and I was bored so I was trying to find something else to do in the meantime. Beautiful Katamari is...well it's more Katamari. That really isn't a terrible thing at all and the game looks nice and crisp and plays pretty well. I do admit to being pretty annoying by the analog sticks on the 360 pad for this game though. It doesn't bother me because the sticks suck but rather because they are not on the same physical line like the duel shock and it makes controlling the Katamari feel kind of strange. I'm sure I'll get used to it but it still bothered me at first. I really hope this game doesn't come in at more than $40. I love Katamari because it's so damn relaxing but I refuse to pay more than $40 for something that really isn't much improved from previous titles.

Last, but certainly not least, I finally got my hands on the Bioshock demo. There really isn't much more I can say beyond all the things you've probably already read on the web. I can say though that this demo elevated my excitement for this game from high to OMFGNEEDTHISGAMENOW. I don't generally get excited for game releases but I am pumped for this one. This game is everything I desired it to be. The world feels so unique but also genuine and I believe that Rapture could be an actual place. The game has amazing atmosphere and scared the shit out of me right in the first 5 minutes. The game engine is so convincing that I honestly thought I was still in the middle of a cutscene at the beginning of the game. I was actually starting to get pissed off that nothing was happening until I absolutely bumped my control stick and realized, this was no cut scene. The weapons and powers are so well integrated and different that I can't wait to see the variety of the rest of the weapons in the final product. I really am excited to go get this game on Tuesday, come home, turn off the lights and increase the sound, and get sucked into Rapture hardcore.

I really do love this whole demo experience. Back in my day you had to either blindly buy a game or rent it when it finally came out. I love being able to download a demo and see what a game is like before it's even released. Technology for the win!

Of DiRT and Pavement

In the last few weeks I've been playing a metric crap load of racing games. It all started when I was talked into buying Forza 2. The reason I needed to be talked into this game at all is because I am absolutely horrid at simulation driving games. We aren't talking a little horrible either, we're talking "OMG stereotypical female driver! Get the hell off the road!". I'm impatient and I don't seem to grasp the concept that there are levels to gas and break that come before petal on the floor. Anyway, I bought Forza 2 on a recommendation because I am absolutely in love with cars and the game has over 300 of them. I have been playing the crap out of Forza 2 since I bought it and I'm having trouble stopping. I keep going back to the game even though I suck at it because it fulfills some absurd desire I have to tinker. I tinker with race setup, I tinker with paint jobs, I tinker with everything. The game itself is quite a hardcore simulation game and because of that it's very clean and clinical feeling. Hidden in that very hard exterior though is a wealth of information that makes the game really accessible to almost anyone. The car tuning is especially great because it explains what every adjustment will do and what effect it will have on the drivability of the vehicle. All of these little helpful hints actually serve to make me feel like I know what I'm doing when I make adjustments instead of making me feel like a dummy because I am unsure what a gear ratio adjustment will do for me. I still suck at driving in the game but that is another matter altogether.

Due to the warm, fuzzy feelings that Forza 2 has been giving me I picked up DiRT on a whim and I am not regretting my purchase of that game either. DiRT is a rally racer and because of that it is fundamentally different than Forza 2 but still a solid title with a lot of good qualities. First off the game is much more arcady and because of that I'm obviously better at it. The game really captures the dirty, grimy feel of rally racing without being too over the top. There are a bunch of car options and a good slew of different tracks and events to race in which has kept me from getting bored. All of these things are not what makes this title stand out to me, the damage model is where the game really shines. There is nothing quite so enjoyable as switching to cockpit view and sliding into a barrier only to have your windshield blow out in the process. You can rip the cars down to nothing but an engine and the roll-cage and it is so very realistic it almost makes me cry for the cars. I honestly can't remember the last time I've been this impressed with a damage model. I find myself spending more time seeing what I can break of my cars than I do actually, you know, trying to win races.

Now neither DiRT nor Forza 2 are picture perfect titles. Forza 2 is a damn hardcore simulation and it's pretty unforgiving in that way. The online mode in Forza 2 is superb but if you aren't into racing simulations or tinkering with paint jobs and settings you might want to go ahead and pass this one by. As for DiRT it's problems lie in a disappointing online mode (seriously it's just mutual time trial) and the cars all turn on a central pivot which can get really annoying after a while. I am hard pressed to choose between the two games myself but I would at least recommend hitting up Live and downloading the demos.

Epic Backlog, Round 2: God of War 2

I have finally placed another dent into the void that is my backlog of games. This last week I tackled God of War 2. This particular title was shaming more than many of the others due to my resounding love for the first game. I can say with certainty that I enjoyed God of War 2 better than the first. It is much more difficult to describe why.

You see, God of War 2 hasn't exactly improved much over it's predecessor. The battles fall into the same pacing, the puzzles have approximately the same difficulty and the story is still epic. What's different here is I feel like the developers listened to the largest gripe about the original God of War, namely that there were not enough bosses. The boss battles in the first game were so well crafted and large in scope that it left me wanting more. God of War 2 delivered on that complaint in a really big way. No only where more bosses present in this iteration but they felt larger and more ominous than before. The boss battles were like puzzles themselves because a simple hack and slash strategy would often enough get you killed off. All of these experiences were so satisfying that I could barely contain my desire to yell "That's right bitch!" at my TV whenever one was complete.

If you combine the number and scope of the bosses with beautiful environments and nearly zero load time you have yourself a great game. I was often shocked by the draw distance and environments in this game because the disc was in my PS2, not the 360 or the PS3. It is so beautiful in fact that my non-gaming fiance would take time out to sit and watch me play.

My only complaint is a single element of the final boss fight. I was so aggravated with the small amount of time allotted for the quicktime event in that fight that I nearly threw my controller at the TV. This complaint aside God of War 2 is an excellent purchase with it's grand environments, riveting story, varied puzzles and epic boss battles. In simpler words, go get it now.

Next, I shall finally finish Twilight Princess so I don't feel like such a failure as a person.

This is all a big joke right?

The official word has finally come down about FASA Studio's Shadowrun. The game is going to drop for both PC and Xbox 360 on May 29th. The really appalling part about all of this is the pricing. PC owners will be getting the game for $49.99 while 360 owners will have to pay a ridiculous $59.99.

My frustration with this news is two fold. The first problem I'm having is that this game is being priced so high and it is shipping with only 9 multiplayer maps and absolutely no single player campaign at all. After seeing what went down with Epic and Gears of War I think it's far to assume additional maps are going to cost us a big chunk of MS Points. I mean seriously?! At least Gears had a single player campaign even if you could cruise through it in a really short amount of time. This price tag is discouraging because it could indicate a growing trend of getting half games at full price. This is not a trend I intend to support so this game won't be getting any of my dollars until the price comes down to a number more suitable to what's on the disc.

My second issue is that the PC game is actually going to cost $10 less than the 360 title. I mean we already pay a yearly premium to play games online and you want to charge us more than our PC counterparts who can play games online for free, make use of mods (for most games), and they get to use the standard shooter configuration of keyboard and mouse. I would really like to know who's genius idea this pricing scheme was.

While we are on the topic of brilliant decisions, why in god's name would this game be released in the middle of the Halo 3 beta? A much smarter move might have been to push the release one week when folks were done with the beta and salivating for more. Players might pick this up to get their fix and alot more copies could have been pushed out on release day. Releasing it on May 29th is going to give reviewers and internet loudmouths, like myself, plenty of time to complain about the lack of content and that may sway a lot of folks not to pick up the title.

I would love to know who is responsible for these crackpot decisions. Perhaps we should give them half the salary and twice the hate mail.

Epic Backlog, Round 1: Crackdown

Due to my excessive consumer whoreism I have amassed a backlog of games that can only be described as epic. I've made it my summer goal to tackle this head on and make as much of a dent in the ridiculous pile as possible. The first step of this venture is to create a stack of 5 of the offending games at a time right next to my TV. This serves as a sort of a reminder of my horrible game ADD and helps to keep me focused and not distracted by someone playing with a shiny quarter in my apartment. The next step of the venture is to, you know, actually play all this shit. My adventure beings with Crackdown. I know, LOL you are teh late! Regardless of my lateness in playing this title I'm going to blog about it anyway. You may proceed to send the hate mail I'll turn on my defensive shields.

I think Crackdown does a lot of things right. Ever since the GTA days I've been pining for a sandbox game that actually lets me run around as the good guy. This game takes that concept to another level. You get to hop around like fucking super cop and it feels amazing. I spent the better part of my time with the game jumping from building to building and flexing my digital muscles. I was absolutely floored by the draw distance in this game. While the art style is a bit dull for me I'm glad they choose this style in order to allow me to shoot a rocket from the top of a skyscraper and watch it blow things up in the distance. Running, jumping and fighting my way around the city felt awesome and the three distinct areas of the city had very different feels which provided a sense of scope.

The problems I'm having with game are in the main story line. Fighting the gang leaders in this game is horrendously repetitive (like walking on a treadmill in a white walled room). Some of the fights are frustrating because the camera fights you a good half the time you are trying to maneuver in the game. The camera is especially problematic in the indoor environments and you'll spend a great deal of time in the third area navigating through indoor spaces. Also, as I mentioned earlier the art style is kind of boring for me. I understand the desire and even need for the cell shaded style but the neon colors and weird lines around the characters just get irritating to the eyes after a few hours.

With the exception of the camera all of my grievances are just nit picky though. There is so much you can do in this game and the online coop with a buddy is fun as hell to dig into. The achievements are varied and interesting and encourage creativity in the world after the game is done. If you didn't already snag this bitch for the Halo 3 Beta I'd at least recommend giving it a rent. I had a ton of fun with it but I was pretty done after the 10-15 hours I played.

One game down, next perhaps I'll hit God of War 2.

Super Paper Mario: For Truth and Great Justice!

I am nearing the end of Super Paper Mario for the Nintendo Wii and I can say with certainty I wish the joy would not end. I have been vocally enthusiastic about this game since it's original announcement as a Gamecube title. The Paper Mario games have always filled a special place in my game library that no other turn based RPGs could occupy. I have never been able to play these turn based RPG games that many find so endearing. The only ones I have ever finished were Earthbound, Super Mario RPG, Paper Mario and Paper Mario: Thousand Years Door. The Paper Mario games were enthralling to me because they were so well written and filled with jokes and call backs to games of my childhood. The hilarity, quirky art style and the fact that it's Mario allowed me to see past the turn based battle system that I hated so much.

Now Super Paper Mario is some of the same things I loved about the previous Paper Mario games and some differences that could arguably be better or worse. Why don't I attack the positive qualities of the game up front. First, all of the writing and in-jokes still exist in all of their glory. Second, it's colorful and crisp graphically (though arguably not as pretty as it could be on any other system). Third, it's still mario. In addition to those wonderful qualities the turn based battle system has been removed and replaced with real time combat more akin to the Mario games of my childhood. All of these qualities bring me happiness and the stupid smile of someone who is feeling like a kid again.

There are some problems with the game and while most are nit picky on my part, some are bothersome to me on a larger level. The Wii control in this title just feels tacked on and I realize that has been a complaint many have had with Wii games as a whole but here I feel it is valid. This games would have been better served as a Gamecube title and if Nintendo hadn't chosen to move the game to Wii we would have had this in our greasy gamer hands that much quicker. My other very minor complaint is that it just feels too short. I didn't get the epic feeling from this game that I did from the past two Paper Mario titles (most especially Thousand Years Door) and that does bother me a bit. My more major concern with the title is how boring the boss battles felt to me. I never felt a sense of danger from the bosses and I rarely had to venture into the menus to engage a healing item. This was unexpected because of how difficult and huge the boss battles were in Paper Mario: Thousand Years Door. I felt as if the boss battles in Super Paper Mario were quick and easy and never left me feeling any sense of accomplishment from passing them.

Beyond my complaints though lies a happy consumer. My problems with the game were mostly minor and I did feel like I was delivered what was promised to me and what I had been looking forward to. I will say that after playing Super Paper Mario I am actually all for a move back to turn based battles if that system will reintroduce the length and danger of boss battles that were present in past Paper Mario titles. I definitely recommend Wii owners pick up Super Paper Mario, it will give you the best reason to turn on your Wii since Zelda.

Not Rolling on 20gig

So I'm sure we've all read the news, no more 20gig PS3. I'm personally surprised Sony decided to pull the cheaper model. With the recent announcment of the Xbox 360 Elite package coming in at $480 I figured Sony would keep the 20gig and tout it as being on $20 more for a Blu-Ray player.

My only thought here is that Sony is hemorraging money on the small hard drive model. They must be losing much more cash on that model because of the Blu-Ray player making it not worth it for them to keep selling that package. The problem with pulling it though is that they have increased their barrier to entry by another $100 which makes the PS3 completely out of reach for alot of folks.

In addition to that it seems to give alot of folks the impression that Sony is slipping under. While I don't necessarily think this is the case I can say that pulling a model within the first 6 months of launch is definitely not a comforting move. It will be interesting to see how this plays for Sony in the long run and if the lost 20gig will mean a price drop on the 60gig package.

Money, Cash, Woes

So by this time all of us have heard Microsoft's lovely announcement of the Elite bundle. This whole thing has gotten me thinking about console pricing as a whole right now. I got into a huge discussion with some friends about what we feel each console manufacturer should change or adjust about their pricing.

My personal thoughts on this matter are that obviously the Wii has an amazing price point right now. I feel like this is a real draw for the system and it's definitely helping Nintendo appeal to a broader market. Sony is definitely in a very different position. The PS3 is meant to appeal to a different group than the Wii. This console is just a media machine and definitely goes after the AV enthusiast almost more than it targets gamers as a whole right now. Sony is definitely thinking forward with the inclusion of a Blu-ray player. While I definitely think the price point is a barrier to entry for alot of consumers I also don't think it's unjustified. I think it's definitely too soon for Sony to adjust this price and it's almost not necessary at all right now. Those who are looking for a media machine like this are more than likely going to be willing to plunk down the cash for those extra features.

Now we come to Microsoft and the Xbox 360. While I don't think the Elite is overpriced I definitely do believe it is a step in the wrong direction. It puts the Elite into the same price level as the PS3 without even including the HD DVD drive in the price. It's tough for them to appeal to anyone except a very heavy Video Marketplace user with the Elite SKU. The Premium is at a sweet spot for MS. They packaged just the right stuff in the box and the price seems to be pretty decent. The one thing I might change about this package might be to include a year of Live in the bundle. It's supposed to be a Premium (or Pro as they are calling it nowadays) bundle so I think the consumer should get the premium service for more than just the standard month free. Finally, the Core Xbox 360 bundle. Here's where I see a lot of potential that Microsoft isn't taking advantage of. I feel that if MS could get the Core to the Wii's $249.99 price point and include at least a 64 meg MU they could gain a great deal of new customers. It seems silly to me that the Core Xbox 360 Bundle is the only current gen package that includes absolutely no packed in memory. The Wii at least has 512 meg internal memory and all the other bundles of the 360 and PS3 have hard drives. I think if MS can rectify the lack of memory in the Core and drop the price a little bit they could gain a lot of more casual players or those that only want the 360 to play a few games they are interested in.

Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I won't even get started on current game prices......