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Gamecube

What I’m playing

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I like hearing what other games people are playing. Every week I look forward to Evil Avatar’s “Weekend Gamer” to read what the current gaming zeitgeist is (right now it appears to be Shadow of the Colossus). It puts a human touch on our collective gaming hobby. It’s good to see that other people are enjoying similar games and someone always mentions an older classic that brings back good memories.

I’ve done a “What I’m playing” a few times here on the blog. I’d like to do it more often. I’d also love to hear from readers what they’re playing.

Anway, on to what I’m actually playing. I’ve jumped back into Guild Wars. I’m getting used to the interface and reacquainted with my skills. My Necro/Mesmer just hit level 20 and I’m getting close to ascending. It’s good to be back into the swing of things and the lack of paying a monthly fee has freed me from the shackles of feeling guilty if I’m not playing every day.

I’m also playing Resident Evil 4, trying to get 5 stars on each level in the Mercenaries mini-game. I can’t get enough of that game. It’s challenging but hardly ever frustrating. My current favorite character is Hunk (pictured, sort of) and his neckbreaker is devastating. I’d like to go back and beat the main game on the hard difficulty. There are two months of releases left this year and it doesn’t look like any titles will be unseating RE4 as Game of the Year. Why hasn’t Capcom capitalized on the success of RE4 and released all the Gamecube Resident Evil titles (remakes and ports) in one big compilation? I’d be all over that for Christmas.

Finally, I’ve been playing a lot of Advanced Wars on the DS. This is a great game. How great? This great. That’s all I have to link about that.

So that’s what keeps me busy. What about you?

Harvest Moon, another tedious sim

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Harvest MoonLast month’s rental was Harvest Moon: Another Wonderful Life. I figured this would be a cute, simple game I could play with the buttonDaughter. It has everything she likes – farm animals, adorable puppies, and cute little girls. Unfortunately watching Daddy cultivate the garden wasn’t very exciting. She had a lot of fun naming our animals but that was about it. You know the game is going to be bad when a two-year old’s favorite part was naming the animals. She got bored after a couple minutes. Daddy got bored about fifteen minutes later.

I don’t like games like The Sims. If my digital counterpart can’t manage to feed himself then he deserves to go hungry. I don’t like babysitter sims. I lost interest in The Sims after about a half hour. I got tired of waking my sim up at 5 in the morning just to make sure he was ready to catch his ride to work at 8. If he overslept, he didn’t get breakfast. Then he’d be hungry and complain all day. I also got tired of making him do his business on the porcelain throne. I don’t know why it took my stupid sim 45 minutes to take a crap and a bath. If I sent him to work without making a bathroom run he’d either crap his pants or stink from not bathing. Half the time I’d mismanage the time and he’d be in the tub when his ride to work arrived. There was no “jump out of the bath and run out to tell your ride to wait a minute” button. So he’d miss work. Then he’d mope around the house all day because he didn’t have anything to do. I told him if he’d stop taking 40 minute baths he’d actually make it to work on time. He didn’t listen. He’d just drop half his lunch on the floor and let it sit until it gathered maggots. He angered me so I quit playing. I did the humane thing and just deleted the save file. I didn’t build walls around him and watch him die. Sometimes I wish I had. That would have been a lot more fun. So yeah, I don’t really like Sims-type games.

Back to Harvest Moon. After naming my pets and getting through the intro tutorial, I set about the business of farm work. I went and bought some seeds and proceeded to plant them in the wrong type of soil. They wilted and died in the period of three days. Then, my little character started making this wierd “gurr” sound. It took me two days to realize she was hungry. I couldn’t buy her food because I wasted all my money on seeds and fertilizer. I couldn’t drink the milk I got from my cow because I needed to sell it for money to buy more seeds because the ones I planted earlier had already died. The seeds that did take root grew too slow to rely on them. I wanted to eat my little puppy but I couldn’t find the button to do that. My chicken coop was empty and no one around town seemed to care that I was wandering aimlessly as my stomach growled. Not my idea of fun. I shut the game off and never looked back. There was never a moment when I thought, “this isn’t a bad game.” It was boring. I didn’t have time to cultivate each and every little square in my garden, then plant a seed in each and every square in my garden, and then water each and every frickin’ square in my garden. That’s just not my idea of fun. So I quit. I didn’t want to play a babysitter sim.

I already have a real one. And this one comes complete with trips to the potty and stinky diapers.

E-VEEL

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Resident Evil 4 PS2like it’s the FRU-EETS of the DEV-EEL.

I receive numerous hits a day looking for translations for the Spanish phrases in Resident Evil 4. Over time, people have commented on phrases I miss, so I’ve been updating that page as they come across.

I think it’s great that eight months after it was released, this game is still getting heavy play. I’ve said it before, I think RE 4 is the Game of the Year for 2005.

Resident Evil 4

Nintendo, why do you toy with us?

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The life of a Nintendo fan is rough. I didn’t mention the recent news that The Twilight Princess had been delayed until next year mostly because I was saddened by it and I grow tired of being set up by Nintendo, only to be let down. I love the big N as much as anyone, but like Tom says, it is going to be a long winter. There are still games to be played but, to be honest, all I was really looking forward to was getting down with some Zelda. It isn’t easy being a Nintendo Fanboy.

Looks like Resident Evil 4 will be the Game of the Year for 2005.

The Games we Play

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I have pulled myself away from Halo 2 this weekend long enough to give some new games a try. I’ve got games I picked up on sale at Toys R Us in a pile, which are being neglected, I traded some of my games with a friend and got a handful of games from him, and I have a free rental at Hollywood Video every month that I have to use. I don’t want anymore new games until I play the ones I already have. I try to avoid the list of weekly releases, just to avoid temptation.

First off, I put Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005 in to give that a fly. I loved 2004 2003 but never played it much past the first handful of challenges. 2005 looks and feels pretty similar, but as with other EA sports games, the enhancements and polish are noticeable. The most fun I’ve had so far with Tiger Woods is the character creation part (called EA SPORTS Game Face II). I sat there for a half an hour with my mom and wife crafting my electronic counterpart. What better people to keep me honest while I made the mental projection of my digital self. (or is that the other way around? The Matrix is so confusing) Anyway, my golfer looks so much like me it’s scary. I’ve only played two rounds so far, but I am really enjoying TW 2005. Unlockables in a sports video game are like heroin to me, so I can see myself playing this a lot. There are thousands of unlockables. I have already been offered a sponsorship for Maxfli products (in the form of what? an unlockable!). What a game! I’m shooting for that TaylorMade sponsorship. I didn’t try out the online aspect of the game, I need to find someone to play with first. I haven’t seen announcements for the 2006 iteration of this game, so I may look to pick up a copy of this game. Great video game golf.

I’m late to the party, but I’ve finally tried Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. So far I’ve only played about an hour into the game but I definitely see why this game was on the top of most 2003 Game of the Year lists. I’m liking what I’ve played so far.

Anything D&D always has a place in my heart. My brother-in-law and I gave Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes a try this week, as well. D&D Heroes wasn’t super well-received by the reviewing community, but I give it a multi-player thumbs up. The story isn’t going to grip you but the mindless hack-and-slash is fun enough to give it a shot. It’s basically Gauntlet in D&D clothes (which certainly isn’t a bad thing). I doubt I’ll play this much by myself but whenever my bro-in-law is in town I can see us throwing down, saving whatever world or universe or plane we’re trying to save. I told you the story was forgettable.

Looking ahead to next week, I’d like to get some more time in Metroid Prime 2, finally give Viewtiful Joe 2 a try, and get to some other games in the unplayed-queue. Also, after reading gatmog’s review of the free trial for Everquest 2, I may give that a whirl, too. He doesn’t resoundingly endorse it but doesn’t condemn it, either. I want a new MMOG. I’m intrigued by EQ 2’s crafting system. I like that it isn’t a particular class that specializes in crafting. One of things about Neocron was that the Constructors (crafters) were usually weak fighters. I was a pretty good constructor but I couldn’t take down the big baddies by myself. I always needed a Tank which was frustrating since they had the good parts needed to craft rare items. I’d like to see how EQ 2 handles crafting. That’s my bread and butter.

I haven’t abandoned Halo 2 yet, I’ve got to support the clan, but I’m not playing it exclusively anymore. I hope it doesn’t get jealous.

Some thoughts

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Animal CrossingAfter spending most of the week playing with WordPress, I’m finally able to do some real blogging.

I’ve been playing two games this week – Halo 2 and Animal Crossing. Guess which one I’m playing with my two-year-old? She loves when I catch fish and always cracks up when I get an old shoe or a tin can. “You have to go to the dump, daddy!” She didn’t particularly like me getting stung by the bees I rudely awoke by shaking their tree. “What’s wrong with his eye?” There has been some recent mentions of Animal Crossing lately: there’s the kid that proposed to his girlfriend via Animal Crossing’s in-game mail service. How cute. Jane at Game Girl Advance mentions playing AC with the animals asking her about how her ex-boyfriend was doing. Freaky.

It is weird how our Animal Crossing town, “pooptown” (I know, how original), continued down its virtual path even though my wife and I hadn’t played for over seven months. There were a couple pooptowners who hadn’t talked to my wife’s character for almost two years. But they happily lived their lives, oblivous to our abscence. Didn’t anyone send out a search party? Wasn’t anyone worried that tony and bella hadn’t been heard of in months? And the police officers? Don’t go there. Those lazy bums didn’t seem to notice were gone. But that creepy fat guy in the station still follows us around like a hawk.

When I had some time to game by myself, I popped Halo 2 in and played some Live matches and jumped back into the single player game. Earlier, I had read the analysis and review over at 7hr33 and as I read I kept thinking, “yup, uh huh” and, “exactly”. One quote in particular stuck out:

Though the weapons are supposed to be more balanced than in the first, they invariably end up feeling rather impotent and bland, and the weapons that most teams scramble over each other to get at are the sword and the rocket launcher, leaving those unequipped or unwilling to use them with no truly effective countermeasure (ie. a powerful, universally distributed mid-range rifle, etc.).

This is so true. I played on Live last night with some friends and it continually dawned on me that I was always looking for the rocket launcher/energy sword/shot gun. As soon as I spawned I knew exactly where I could go to upgrade my SMG. 7hr33 refers to the “the chaotic hail of bullets” (or bullet spam, if you will). So true. A fire-fight usually becomes a “I hope I pulled the triggers first”. Nothing is more frustrating that getting your bullet spam on with someone and a third party enters the fray and picks up the scraps. That’s not skill, that’s luck. One thing Halo taught me was patience. Take your time, pick your shots, go for the head, ease on back if you’re losing the upper-hand. One thing Halo 2 is teaching me is to run and find other people fighting with each other so I can have some easy pickings. Strategy and skill has been dumbed down in Halo 2, which is unfortunate, because it was done so well in Halo.

And I am really becoming disenchanted with Halo 2 on Live. It’s the same frigging three games, over and over. Assualt on Burial Mounds, Team Slayer on Coagulation, one flag CTF on Zanzibar. It’s becoming less and less fun. It’s still good for an occasional Rumble Pit, but unless I’m playing with friends, I doubt I’ll be playing on Live as much as I used to.

Playing the single player missions are still enjoyable, I’m having fun. I still think Halo 2 is a great game, don’t get me wrong, it’s just not a great game.

GameCube: RE4 the Best Seller in January

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Resident Evil 4GameCube: RE4 the Best Seller in January:

“Capcom’s M-rated scare-fest debuted in Japan a couple of weeks ago and has sold an additional 180,000 in the region since, according to overseas data. Combined with US numbers, the game is already set to topple the 500,000 mark on a global level.”

This is great news. Rewarding a fantastic game with good sales its the best way to ensure top-notch talent is rewarded for their top-notch work. I am hoping this means more of Leon S. Kennedy. While those numbers aren’t in the GTA/Halo 2-osphere, they are pretty dang respectable.

Gamecube and online gaming?

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Google does lots of things very well. Translating Japanese web pages is not one of them (YET!). But I do appreciate their translation tools. If nothing else, you at least get the gist of what the content you can’t decipher means. That’s the case with a link I found on del.icio.us. The Gamecube game referenced here is called “Homeland” and it seems to be a RPG that also uses the Broadband adapter. Follow the other links on the first page and Google will handle all the translations. Expect funny stuff like this.

While there’s no mention of a US release, stuff like this always gets me excited. Here’s to hoping!

Resident Evil 4 Translation Guide

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Resident Evil 4

As you may or may not know, RE 4 is set in an old, run-down, decaying European town. As luck would have it, it turns out to be an old, run-down, decaying Spanish town. Luckily for me, and all you loyal ButtonMashers, I spent two years in Spain and I am endeavoring to translate some of the sayings you’ll hear the possessed villagers yell as they try to kill Leon. My hats of to the guys who wrote the Spanish lines, most of them are well done, including the naughty i words. I am trying to keep this a PG-rated blog, so you’ll have to use your imagination for some of the definitions here. This list will grow as I progress further in the game from the luxury of my comfy seat and remember more of what is said. (Update: I have since beaten Resident Evil 4 but decided to keep this list updated, based on the daily hits I get looking for these translations

Update 2: Ever since the release of Resident Evil 4 on the Playstation 2 I’ve noticed an uptick in google requests for “Resident Evil 4 Translations”. I’ve been keeping the list updated as much as possible, so feel free to add anything I’ve missed, whether you know how to translate it or not.)

So, as a public service, I present you the buttonmashing.com “Unofficial” Resident Evil 4 Spanish Phrases translation guide, complete with your additions:

  • Cabrón – Literally translated, this means “mountain goat”. Slang, it means “mothertrucker”.
  • ¡Jefe! – Boss!
  • ¡Voy a romperte (unintelligible) pedazos! – I’m gonna break you into pieces!
  • Mierda – Sh*t!
  • ¡Allí­ está! – There he is!
  • ¡Es el forastero! – It’s the foreigner!
  • ¡Te voy a matar! – I’m going to kill you!
  • ¡Te voy a hacer picadillo! – I’m gonna make mincemeat outta you!
  • ¡Detrás de tí­, imbécil! – Behind you, imbecile!
  • ¡Cogedlo! – Grab him!
  • ¡Agérrelo! – Grab him!
  • Mueren, Mueren, Meuren – Die, die, die
  • ¡Mátalo! – Kill him!
  • ¡Mátenlo! – Kill him! (another form)
  • Morir es vivir. – To die is to live.
  • ¿Qué carajo estás haciendo aquí­? ¡Lárgate cabrón! – What the hell are you doing here? Get the hell outta here, cabrón
  • ¡No deje que se escape! – Don’t let him escape!
  • ¡A por él! – After him!
  • ¡Te jodiste! – You’re screwed!
  • ¿No estás soñando? – Are you sure you’re not dreaming?
  • Es hora de rezar – Now is the time to pray
  • ¡Tenemos que irnos! – We need to get outta here!
  • ¡Puedes correr, pero no puedes esconederte! – You can run but you cant hide!
  • ¡Imbécil, quiero matar! – Imbecile, I want to kill you!

“Vocabulary:”

  • Los Illuminados – “The Illuminated Ones
  • Los Ganados – While this does directly translate as “livestock” or cattle, it can also be used to refer to a group of people, like a mob.
  • Las Plagas – The Plagues
  • La campana – the bell
  • Cerebros – braaaaains
Resident Evil 4 PS2

Updated (11/12/2005) – Thanks to Dudeman, RE4Fan, Marcos, SpikeRevell, Darkzeta, and Angelo for the latest request and additions. I know that with the recent release of RE4 on the PS2 that we’ve had a new influx of people searching for translations. Hopefully all these will make the enjoyment of this most excellent game. Let me know if there’s more! Keep ’em coming!

Updated (8/29/2005) – Thanks to Marionette, Mark, Kasage, David for reminding me of some of the phrases I’ve missed. Keep ’em coming!

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GameCube is teh Do0m3d!!1!# : Kotaku

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GameCube : Kotaku

Saw this on Kotaku and had to at least link to it before I went to bed. The Washington Post has it all wrong. Nintendo will have two of the Top Ten Christmas Games this year (MP2 and Viewtiful Joe 2). The GameCube isn’t dead. It’s alive and kicking very well, thank you. It’s easy to look at the video game section at Toys ‘R Us and see the smaller Cube library, but pound for pound, Nintendo’s got better games. At least fewer craptastic titles. I think I’m gonna look into the ratio of good to bad games on the three systems. I’m sure the GameCube would come out on top.

Come to think of it, I think someone has already done that. I’ll have to see if I can find it.