buttonmashing

Mashing buttons since 1984

Archives for March 2009

There’s a War in Chinatown

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Even before my previous views, I gave one or two GTA games a try. I just couldn’t get past it all. All the…stuff. I received GTA:Chinatown Wars from Gamefly and I find it to be an interesting take on the game and its normal material. It just doesn’t seem as over the top—so far (I’m not seeing any of the crass “humor”). Anyway:

  • want to hail a taxi? Just whistle. I’m not kidding.
  • Using the DS as a PDA is a nice touch to navigating everything.
  • I have no idea how Rockstar did it but the city is fully mapped out, populated, has the same sounds, and the pedestrians talk. Buildings and locations from GTAIV are there—sometimes even down to the signage.
  • this isometric perspective on gaming is going to be copied. I welcome it.
  • mini games that make sense

Anyway, this seems to be a “toned down” version of GTA, but the technical quality has been ramped up. Amazing that a DS title can progress on a 360/PS3 title.

This has been an initial impresison presentation.

Ruh Roh Raggie!

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I was looking through my Google reader subscriptions and found this gem on i.gizmodo.com and thought I’d share it with all of you.


EDIT:I completely forgot to tell you why this picture was posted…wow I must have been out of it. This is a picture of the computer screen in a nuclear power plant in Iran. The box on the screen is a windows error, not something you would want to see.

Too funny to pass up.

BIT.TRIP.BEAT

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For a game that looks like it was made for Brock, being released today on WiiWare for $6, and has that old style feel that many of us writers here are hankering for right now (but haven’t written about because we’ve been playing them) makes this is a must buy.

Today.

Arakanoid meets Guitar Hero? NOTE: Our RSS is having a hard time displaying video again. Jump on over to the site if you use a reader.

Let’s not start this again

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First, the DS was endangering our children, making them easy prey for all the bad guys out there. Hopefully that misconception was either ignored or corrected.

Now, it’s the Wii that is going to let the bad guys destroy our children’s innocence. This, once again, is fear mongering at its worse:

Using the game you create a character and create your own town and house. When hooked up to the internet you can talk to anyone across the country.

WRONG.

“There is no reason an adult should have this game,” says Andy Anderson, Mid-Missouri Internet Crimes Task Force.

WRONG.

Anderson says adults playing “animal crossing” and similar games are likely doing it for the wrong reasons.

WRONG.

Three strikes! Yer outta here!

Video Games Live

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I just got back from one of the best concert experiences of my life. If you ever get the chance to see a Video Games Live concert in your area, do yourself a favour and get your butt in a seat ASAP.

The symphony that played this evening was phenomenal, the synchronicity between the music and the video component was impeccable and the choir, which was a YOUTH choir of all things, was fantastic. Heck, even Tommy Tallarico earned my respect tonight. He may make me want to punch him in the teeth whenever I see him on TV reviewing a game, but he is one hell of a guitar player and can he ever MC a show.

One of the surprises (for me at least ) was that this was the second concert in the history of VGL that they’ve included music from Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross, which was just outstanding. They also had Martin Leung, the videogame pianist, play a few sets during the evening and he was a wonder to watch play. I used to play piano back in the day but this guy is on a whole other plane of existence.

Anyway, enough gushing. If you enjoy the music you hear in the games you play and want to have a great 2 1/2 hours listening to your local symphony play them (and maybe win some prizes), I’d highly recommend you go out of your way to catch a show. My friends and I are already making plans to come back to see it next year, assuming it makes its rounds in our general area.

Oh, I almost forgot about the costume show before the concert began. While I really liked the family that dressed up as Mario, Luigi, Link and Princess Peach, the guy who had the homemade Red XIII costume from FFVII was amazing. I wish I had pics, but it was it ever a sight to behold.

Weekend Gaming

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Mr. BubblesIt’s the weekend! Time for gaming galore!

I’m hoping this weekend can be a “completist” weekend for me. I left Fallout 3 in limbo when I got Left 4 Dead and The Lost and Damned, so I’m going to try and wrap that up, along with TLAD. If I get really ambitious, I may finish up the long-forgotten BioShock. Along with that, I finally got around to picking up NCAA 09, so I’m giving that a go his weekend. The one thing I probably won’t be playing is Resident Evil 5. I’m going to let that one mellow a bit before I pick it up. I know I’ll eventually get it, but I’m resisting at the moment (but I know I am weak and will give in sooner rather than later).

What are you playing (or finishing) this weekend?

Burnout Paradise Party

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The teens of my youth group have discovered Party Mode. Not everyone is there, the other half was on the other side of the house playing Ticket to Ride. We played a few rounds. None of them had ever played Paradise before. I was surprised at how easy it was for them to pick up and play.

Why is it since Google acquired Youtube that the video quality has been crap? Vimeo was ten times better. NOTE: Those of you using readers will have to visit the site for the video.

Who Watched Watchmen?

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Sorry, this will probably be the most cliched and posted blog title this weekend, but I couldn’t resist. I just got back from a 12:30 PM showing. My brother and I were two of maybe eight people there. I’m just going to be up front and say this contains one spoiler. It’ll be marked.

First, some personal info:

  • I’ve read the novel, but I am an odd man out. I don’t think it’s the “greatest graphic novel of all time.” I actually think its barely good. Maybe average. However, I do understand it’s role in the medium.

Movie thoughts:

  1. The average person will not get this movie. It goes many layers deep. I also think that they will be expecting a superhero movie. I believe disappointment may come up after people leave their screening—if they don’t walk out first. (I’ll explain later). Purist I think will love it, except…
  2. It is almost a frame-by-frame movie version of the novel—more than Sin City and more than 300. I think this hurts it a little. It’s really a visual cliff-notes. Don’t want to spend 10 hours on the book? Watch the film.
  3. Take out the slow-mo and you cut an hour from the film.
  4. Some of the music choices were, at first impression, weird.
  5. It is visceral and graphic. A lot more “blueness” than I was expecting. It’s so rare in mainstream cinema it was distracting. Plus, there is no explanation why he is nude. (Point #1 may be another result). The novel is graphic, but something about seeing it in moving form was alarming. Over the top violence and certainly the most graphic sex scenes I’ve seen in a mainstream film. (Some may differ, but…). In some ways I felt squeamish watching some scenes. (Of course I did reading them too.)
  6. Rorschach was great.
  7. SPOILERS: The outcome from the book is the same but the ending is fundamentally changed. Basically Ozymandias makes Dr. Manhattan out to be the doomsday event. I actually think this works better than the book. I imagine the purists will be pissed.
  8. I probably won’t go out of my way to see this movie again.