buttonmashing

Mashing buttons since 1984

Gaming

All the Zorg oldies-but-goldies.

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I haven’t really played anything new lately. I rented Burnout 4 (or Burnout Revenge, whatever it’s called. It’s Burnout 4) but I wasn’t that into it. It felt like Burnout 3, except the cars felt like dump trucks with cow-catchers attached to the front. Ramming traffic just didn’t feel right.

I have been playing some older games, though. I’ve played a bunch of Resident Evil 4 (mostly the Mercenaries mini-game), Metroid Fusion, and some Halo 2 with friends (the best way to enjoy it). I’ve also got my NES and SNES plugged in and I’ve been doing a little Metroid (the very first one) and Super Mario World. I’m getting down with the old (and not quite so old) classics. I can’t keep up with the onslaught of new games. And with the Xbox 360 on the horizon, it seems like it never ends.

So why do I bring this up? It reminded me of an article I read over at Gamers with Jobs about this same thing. From the article:

4rr0w_m4k3r owns two of the current-gen game consoles and for these consoles he owns five games that he has yet to play. Yet to even open. He owns more than twenty games that he hasn’t finished, and there are currently twice that number of games on his wish list. Games that he would pick up in an instant if he thought about it.

I’d imagine that describes a lot of us gamers. There’s just so much out there that it’s impossible to enjoy it all. But I find myself turned off even to the newest games. There’s just isn’t much out there catching my eye. A few DS games, but that’s about it.

In the end, I’ll probably end up with a couple of the next generation consoles under my TV. I’ll play a handful of the new games. But with backwards compatibility and a library of downloadable Nintendo games, what will I probably play? The oldies-but-goldies.

Fanboys – what makes them tick

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Rick at Netjak has a good piece about Fanboys and what makes them tick. He says

… what makes the fanboy tick? It’s quite simple, really. Fanboys are the result of people who felt like outsiders for so long finally getting a modicum of acceptance.

I’d have to partially disagree with Rick on this point. Perhaps some of the younger “fanboys” fall into this grouping, but I’d say us older “fanboys” (and Rick says he’s a Nintendo fanboy at heart, as am I) are fanboys for sentimental reasons.

He correctly points out that the fanboy phenomenon isn’t confined to video game enthusiasts. He points out that sports fans and car snobs also exhibit the same type of irrational behavior. I would agree but, again, I’d say there are deeper, sentimental reasons. I’m a huge sports fan. I love most Ohio sports teams (Indians, Browns, Cavs) but I don’t have any emotional attachment to any of these teams. I don’t fly into a crazy rage when someone says the Cleveland Browns stink. But disparage my Ohio State Buckeyes and I’m liable to come out swinging. Okay, it’s not that bad, but I do have an emotional attachment to my Buckeyes. Why? First, I grew up watching OSU football with my dad. He’s a die-hard fan and he instilled a little of that Buckeye love in me. When it came to picking a college, OSU was an easy choice. I spent 5+ years at OSU and, in the process, became emotionally attached. It’s not just The Ohio State University it’s My Ohio State University. I have love for my school. It was (and still is) a big part of my life. It’s a connection that I’m sure others can attest to.

I am an OSU fanboy.

And it’s not just me. My wife, also an OSU alumna, gets teary-eyed when the OSU band comes out on the field. When we sing OSU’s alma mater Carmen Ohio, I get the chills and have to fight back the tears. People look at me funny when I tell them this, but it’s a spiritual experience. It might sound odd, but I have that kind of connection with Ohio State. Like I said, I’m a fanboy. I have an irrational love for OSU.

That’s why I partially disagree with Rick’s assessment of what makes a fanboy tick. I am also an admitted Nintendo fanboy. What does my love of all things Nintendo stem from? A sentimental attachment built on fond memories of my gaming childhood. The first game I remember beating was Kid Icarus. I loved that game. I still remember the satisfaction and pride I felt when I finished it. Another great memory I have is opening the box of my Super Nintendo. I saved up enough money to be able to afford it on the day it was released and I still remember grinning ear to ear when I popped Super Mario World in for the first time. Those are fanboy “character building experiences.”

Unfortunately, I also think Rick is partially right about the inner workings of the fanboy pysche. He speaks of gamers feeling alienated from other people because of their love of games (or perhaps because of their nerdiness). Finding a group of like minded people with similar devotions is reassuring. But, as Rick says, because there’s always the, “fear that said alienation will again begin one day, fanboys are almost violent in their devotion to a company.” So true.

So in the end, there are two classes of fanboys (and girls). Those that cherish their memories and may take it a little personal when someone attacks their company of devotion but they can shrug it off. Unfortunately there is another type of fanboy who takes it as a personal affront to his manhood when their system/company/game of choice is vilified.

The real trick is to be able to tell the difference. I contend it’s not hard at all.

Carnival of Gamers #7

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Is up!

More…

I thought Jason did a good job with the Carnival. What I liked about this one was that there were a handful of entries that this was their first Carnival. I laughed my butt off with Doner Kebab and his experience with playing SOCOM II online. This statement is probably true for a lot of people:

My experience with this game pretty much explains why online gaming is dead for the “casual gamer”.

Of course, I can’t pass up quoting something like this:

8:41pm I swear off SOCOM II forever. I want my Doom back.
8:45pm I swear off the gaming press forever. No more Xbox 360 ambitions. The next $300 of my gaming budget are going to a Gamecube and something fun to play. See you online at the card table, I’m taking my toys and going home.

Awesome.

So yeah, I enjoyed another Carnival. I’m impressed that this is still going strong. We’ve got Aeropause hosting next month’s Carnival and The Game Chair volunteered to host the Carnival in December. May the Carnivaling keep on trucking!

America’s Pastime my foot!

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First I have to watch the Cleveland Indians collapse and lose their chances at Baseball’s post-season. Now, because of the playoffs on Fox, I have to wait three weeks for the next episode of Prison Break. Holy cow, who did I piss off to deserve this? I guess I’ll survive, but it will be tough. Man, Prison Break is good stuff. I don’t care if it’s testorone-heavy action with badly cliched stereotypes, targeted at the male demographic. This is good stuff. All I have to say is someone needs to open a can of “Prison-Shiv” on T-Bag. That guy didn’t have to off the rookie guard. I have a feeling someone is gonna put him down. So many questions left unanswered until later this month. I’ve still go Lost, but these next three weeks will drag on without my Prison Break fix.

On the buttonmashing.com front, I’ve been a little slow with posts lately. I’ve just been busy with RL things. I mentioned earlier that I was doing some housekeeping around the site, and I’m still working on that, it’s just slow going. I’m looking at some new themes, some new plugins and a basic dust up around here. I’ve been happy with the current look but it’s not exactly what I wanted. I’m thinking of going with the K2 theme, but we’ll see. In the meantime, I’m planning on some other changes but, like I said, it’s going a little slower than I’d like.

Also, there’s only a few days left to get your submission in to the Carnival of Gamers #6. Don’t delay, send your submission in today!

My DS and Me

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My Nintendo DSIt’s been over two weeks since I picked up my DS so I figured I’d post my experience so far with this Nintendo wonder.

I’m not really sure why I took so long to take the plunge into the world of Dual Screens. At first I thought it looked too big. That definitely isn’t the case. It isn’t small but it’s not as unwiedly as I thought it would be. The screens are fabulous and the touch screen is quite responsive. The buttons are a little too small for my fat fingers and the shoulder buttons aren’t perfect but overall playing feels great.

So what am I playing? The funny thing is, even though I already own two DS games, I’ve been engrossed in Metroid Fusion and that’s all I’ve ben playing. I kept my GBA SP so I could play my old Game Boy and Game Boy Color games but I can see myself playing most of my GBA games on my DS. It looks perfect and controls great.

So GBA games look great. What about actual DS games? I’ve been playing Tiger Woods PGA Tour and Advance Wars DS. Advance Wars makes a perfect transition to the touch screen. I love Advance Wars I/II but I was never in love with navigating with the D-pad. The touch screen is great and really takes AW to the next level. Tiger Woods, on the other hand, doesn’t make as good of a transition. The touch screen could be a good substitute for the golf swing but I just don’t love it. The game itself isn’t so bad but the use of the touch screen isn’t my favorite.

Other ruminations: You can definitely tell the sound (and speakers) are better for the DS. The music and sounds for Advance Wars DS sound much better than the GBA counterparts. Another thing is the stylus. The one that comes with the DS is too small. I would like a bigger stylus.

And games? I blogged way back in February linking to a movie for Another Code (now called Trace Memory). This was what first piqued my interest in the DS and the first game I’m really, truly looking forward to. It hasn’t received a lot of acclaim but I will still give it a try. Of course I’m also looking forward to the online DS games, especially Mario Kart DS and Animal Crossing. I am definitely looking forward to online gaming with the DS.

I also want some sweet DS accessories. I would love one of these (from Video Game Media Watch) and I’d love one of these. I thought about getting a touch screen cover. Does anyone use these?

I’m no trend setter, but since I’ve purchased my DS I’ve noticed that two bloggers I read regularly have also purchased a DS. Jason at loonyblog and Bill Harris at Dubious Quality. (Notice the firs lines) Okay, maybe I am a trendsetter.

Nintendo DS and Wi-Fi

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4 Color Rebellion links to a pamphlet spelling out Nintendo’s plans for DS wi-fi access. While I’m still getting used to my DS (more thoughts on that later), wi-fi is definitely one of the reasons I picked up a DS. The little pamphlet has some interesting little nuggets of information (including a nod to Microsoft’s success with Xbox Live) but this is what intrigued me the most:

Perhaps a more interesting statistic is that by the end of 2006, 90 per cent of all DS owners will be accessing wi-fi gameplay.

Wow. 90% is rather ambitious. I’ll definitely be part of that 90%.

More information at Eurogamer.

The Revolution will be blogged

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I linked a handful of the “pro” sites with information about the new revolution controller when I first blogged it. Not to discount their contribution as gamers but I wanted to take a look around the gaming blogs and see what gamers are thinking. Here are a smattering of comments I’ve found over the past few days.

Kearns, like a lot of us, wasn’t sure about it at first but concluded, “Hot, hot, hot. No doubt, this is a must by.”

Kieron divides the haters and lovers into two camps – tedious luddites and Good People. Count me in with the Good People

For Tom at G-pinions, this was, “the most important news in gaming [he] can ever remember.”

Not exactly a ringing endorsement but Joseph at Space Worlder says “Revolutionary? Depends on how you look at it.”

Alice’s great Wonderland has Iwata’s speech (in note form) and says the controller is “fantastic.”

The patron saint of La Revolution thinks everything will work out just fine: “Motion sensor controllers are actually kind of… obvious. Surprised it hasn’t happened before–and since they’re basically just another way to capture directional information, this should not, as I had worried earlier, make it all that hard to port to/from Revolution… You’ll just use a joystick for the non-Revolution versions.”

From Nintedorks: “after thinking about it more, I realize how incredibly awesome this is.”

Gaming Steve has a bunch of Revolution info, including the slides to Iwata’s speech. Be careful, there’s a lot there and your head may ache afterwards.

Brinstar has good advice for nay sayers: ” We should be welcoming this direction, rather than fearing it.” (and some good links, to boot)

Press the Buttons has a bunch of Revolution stuff. I feel the same way: “All I want is to make Mario run and jump.”

For a needed dose of reality, Hello, Nintendo links to this Ars Technica article asking some questions that will surely be addressed in the coming months but are germain to the discussion notheneless.

Video Game Pundit has a lot. Just go read it.

Astarte at Utopian Hell has Nintendo’s dream scenario. Her thoughts on the Revolution? I feel like the kid I once was, eagerly awaiting the next Zelda to come out.

Everyone and their mother are linking Lost Garden, but it really is something that must be read and digested.

Lots of stuff at Infendo, too.

Wow, that went a lot longer than I originally thought it would. Of course, this isn’t everything. A quick search at Technorati reveals that this something that a lot of people are talking about. If you’ve blogged about the Revolution and I missed ya, don’t hesistate to drop me a link. (I couldn’t possibly get everyone but if you take the time to let me know what you thought, I’ll gladly link it)

Personally, after I read that there will be ports for “regular” Gamecube controllers I felt a little relieved. IGN even has a mockup of what a Revolution Wavebird would look like. Drool. That makes me feel a little better. I was worried about third party support like many others, but this will help the skittish developers ease into the Revolution. Things will get interesting when developers are comfortable with the Revolution and see the possibility of the new controller and we start seeing some really cool stuff. Sounds like the “DS” cycle all over again. The hardware/concept gets poo-poohed, then interest and intrigue grow, and finally new, fun ideas begin to emerge.

The possibility of that cycle repeating itself sounds great to me.

Update: I know there’s a lot of gamers out there who don’t exactly agree with the direction Nintendo is going with the Revolution (as if it’s their call) but it really seems to have a polarizing effect on people. Cody at PixelJunkies seems to think Kieron Gillen’s statement is “moronic. Not I, you, or her have played a single game with this. A few reviewers on the other side of the planet have played several short tech demos in a completely Nintendo controlled environment, the furthest possible thing from playing a real game in your living room, and people are already passing this off as the single most brilliant innovation ever in games.”

Sure, only a few people have used the controller so far but it doesn’t take much imagination to start contemplating the possibilities. I don’t think anyone is calling it the “most brilliant innovation ever” but it has to be one of the more ambitious innovations. Hyperbole aside, Gillen is right, I think. It really comes down to who wants to give it a chance and those who have already made up their mind that it doesn’t fit in their idea of what a video game controller should look like or how it should handle.

The only people who are currently qualified to make any form of educated opinion are those that have used the controller. And they have all been unanimously positive. Let’s leave it at that for now. Let’s see what the big N does. Let’s look at what the developers say once they start putting the Revolution through its paces. Until then, let’s just chill.

More: Of course, we could just look to what Peter Moore, the Xbox VP. He says, “I want to give kudos for Nintendo for its attempt at innovation with the new controller…”

There’s more praise out there. I’ll link to it as I come across it.

Tokyo Game Show

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The Tokyo Game Show starts soon and everyone is expecting the unveiling of Nintendo’s Revolution Controller. Rumors have done their rounds on the internet and now, hopefully, everything will become clear.

This fanboy waits anxiously. Updates to come…

Update: Joystiq has the goods with the new controller. I’m still digesting it. IGN has more.

I don’t even know what to think right now. I can’t wrap my head around 2 seperate controllers. I can’t see how playing with a remote control is better than what we already have. Things are going to move rapidly now. Forums and comment boards will be abuzz with Nintendo is teh doomed but we’ll see. I’ll reserve judgement for the time being. But honestly, while I have the utmost faith in Nintendo, I’m not optimistic. This took some big brass ones to drop a bomb like this.

Click the picture for a larger version.

More: Here’s another IGN piece talking about some of the possibilities that the new controller. Color me intrigued. 1up has more, but it’s basically a rehash of IGN’s article. Things are happening fast now.

Of course, you could go right to the source.

Another Update: Since I just finished my piece on MMO sports games, I already see sports possibilities for the new controller. Swing the golf club, swing the bat, throw a football. That would be pretty sweet.

Some more: You can watch the controller in action here. I want a three stooges simulator.

It’s late, I’m going to bed.