...'cause it doesn't come out tomorrow. IT CAME OUT TODAY.
I was just browsing the Rock Band Music Store for no particular reason, and I suddenly saw it, "Portal by GLaDOS." I was like, "HOLY CRAP, IT'S ALREADY OUT?" I proceeded to download it, and I sang...oh, did I sing. I got 100% on Medium the first time. All the practice has done me well. :D
The guitar part is also surprisingly pretty fun. Bass, didn't play it. Drums? I passed it on Expert, but I didn't play well at all. ^-^
This better not be an April Fool's Joke...
11:39 AM
"Hey everybody!
This week we have a special present for you in celebration of April Fool's Day. For $0 (0 Microsoft Points) you can download-
"Still Alive" by GlaD0s and Jonathan Coulton (master)"
Also, a topic linked in that post is full of idiots complaining about, "Only 1 song this week? LAAME" stuff along the lines with "Portal is stupid." Damn it, the song is FREE and for the past few weeks, you've been getting 6 song packs. Why the hell are you guys still complaining!?!? And the PS3 guys don't get ANYTHING this week thanks to the PSN store getting upgraded, but I haven't seen that much complaining from them...yet.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Why I'm excited for GTA IV
10:20 PM
Here's a list of reasons. It's not just the first few posts, either. The topic also contain more info later on in the discussion. Can you honestly say this game will not be awesome?
One of you guys better get this game, too, so we can play online together. Free Mode sounds really awesome, but I have a hard time believing it'll be full-city free-roam multiplayer...but if it is, that's going to be totally awesome. I only played Crackdown co-op with Dillon, which was fun, but GTA IV supposedly has SIXTEEN PLAYER support for Free Mode. Supposedly there are no missions, but you can just mess around, and that's all I did in Crackdown anyway. So, why the hell aren't you guys getting GTA IV at launch!?!?
One of you guys better get this game, too, so we can play online together. Free Mode sounds really awesome, but I have a hard time believing it'll be full-city free-roam multiplayer...but if it is, that's going to be totally awesome. I only played Crackdown co-op with Dillon, which was fun, but GTA IV supposedly has SIXTEEN PLAYER support for Free Mode. Supposedly there are no missions, but you can just mess around, and that's all I did in Crackdown anyway. So, why the hell aren't you guys getting GTA IV at launch!?!?
Saturday, March 29, 2008
The Will Smith Timeline
3:32 PM
In West Philadelphia, a young man named Will Smith is born and raised. On the playground is where he spent most of his days, but soon, thanks to the emergence of crack and cheap handguns, he's forced out of his decaying neighborhood and sent to live with his auntie and uncle. We see these events play out in
Fresh Prince of Bel Air
After a youth full of love and lessons, and inspired by Uncle Phil to lead a virtuous life, he joins the police, leading us to
Bad Boys & Bad Boys 2
Tragically, Martin Lawrence dies soon after the events of the second film. Carlton, who had become a crack addict and dealer, shot and killed Martin during a bust, though he meant to hit Will. Realizing how far he has fallen, he begs for Will Smith to show mercy and end his miserable life. Will cries for the last time in his life, as he pulls the trigger on the closest thing he's ever had to a brother. Will Smith goes solo, vowing never to have a partner again. But, he preforms so well, that he receives a visit from a strange cracka, and gets recruited for
Men in Black & Men in Black 2
Not long after the events depicted in the second film, Will Smith leaves the force after a raid on a weapons dealer's warehouse (all too similar to the situation that led to the deaths of Martin Lawrence and Carlton), goes awry. A barrel of chroniton-based grenades is hit by stray weapons fire and explodes, killing several innocents along with Will Smith's rookie partner. Severely shaken, his only option is to try and go back to a normal life. However, dissatisfied with being an average Joe, he joins up with the Air Force, feeling a deep desire to continue saving the world. He gets his chance all too soon, when aliens invade and he takes part in Earth's
Independence Day
Distraught over the devastation, and knowing full well that had he remained with the agency he might have been able to prevent the tragedy, Will breaks into MiB headquarters to steal a time machine, in order to try and prevent the tragedy from coming to pass. On his way, he experiences severe temporal turbulence, and is knocked unconscious. As a result, he travels too far back--and winds up face-to-face with himself.
The chroniton explosion in the warehouse created a parallel timeline. Will Smith II also retired from the MiB after the incident, but he joined the Army and went into research. Will Smith II marries and has a daughter. These minor changes, like ripples in a pond, thankfully prevent the events seen in ID4 from occurring in Will Smith II's timeline. Unfortunately, Will Smith II instead lives through
I Am Legend
However, he does not die. He loses an arm in the explosion, but like his counterpart makes his way to the MiB headquarters (they abandoned Earth after the viral outbreak, starting a refugee human colony in another star system) in order to steal a time machine and prevent the catastrophe from ever coming to pass. While there, he decides to replace the lost arm before his travels, in case an epic struggle lays ahead. He hops into the timepod, but travels too far back, ending up in
The Wild Wild West
Unbeknownst to Will, Loveless was a direct ancestor of that scientist who tried to cure cancer, so she is never born, and he successfully alters the timeline, preventing I Am Legend. Weeks later, anxious to return to his timepod to complete his mission (not knowing Loveless' connection to the scientist), Will Smith makes his way to the cave where he has hidden it. Strangely, he finds a second timepod--and his counterpart from Timeline I. The turbulence Will Smith I experienced on his journey stemmed from miscalculations made during travel that caused WSI to cross over into the alternate timeline. The two, cautious at first, shake hands--causing temporilinear compression. The two Wills merge into one superpowered being, and the two timelines collapse into one another. Some aspects from each remain. Unaware of his new powers, though feeling strangely youthful, Will Smith gets back in the timepod and attempts to travel to the late 20th century, but overshoots and winds up in
I, Robot
Where he puts his law enforcement training to use, along with his robotic arm, in order to stop the robot uprising and save humanity yet again. He begins to suspect he has become something more than human, but remains unaware of the true extent of his powers. Unfortunately, the timepod's fuel has been exhausted, and Will has no way of returning home. He knows he has successfully prevented ID4/I Am Legend, but longs to return to his home time. Farmer Hoggett's hologram appears one final time. He had become aware of Will's mission, and knew that he would require a way to return to his own time. He instructs Will to ask Sonny for his second computer core, which is in fact a disguised fuel cell--enough for one jump back in time. Sadly, Will's math skills remain poor (he should have paid more attention during Fresh Prince), and he miscalculates once more, ending up in the early 20th century. Vowing to never travel through time again, feeling he had altered time more than any mortal should, he decides to adopt a low-key life. This life plays out in
The Legend of Bagger Vance
Will, however, notices that he is not aging normally, and that he rarely feels ill. "Bagger" should be an old man, but Will feels fine--as shown in the film. Tiring of this life, however, and itching for a return to greater things, Will Smith looks to enter the boxing world. Seeking out Muhammed Ali, wishing to train with the great fighter in his early days and learn from a master, he discovers that Cassius Clay was never born. Will's time-tampering in the Old West and as Bagger somehow prevented his existence. In order to make restitution, and pay his respect to the great man that should have been, Will decides to adopt another new persona:
Ali
Will's seeming immortality again becomes a problem, however. In order to avoid this, using the vast fortune he accumulated, he pays off another man to pose as Muhammed Ali for the rest of his life--complete with Parkinson's symptoms. Content that he has properly honored the man, Will adopts yet another new life. Itching for a family, he has a son, and we see the events of
Pursuit of Happyness
His son dreams of the events in A Shark Tale during the time span shown in the movie. Will's life seems to be progressing normally; perhaps he can find happyness after all. Unfortunately, that period in his life is all too short. Will discovers that the intelligent mutant from I Am Legend piggybacked on his trip to the past, which protected him from the effects of Loveless' death. He stumbles upon Loveless' secret cave laboratory, and discovers that the scientist, now a steam-powered robot with Loveless' consciousness. Quite insane, and eager to wreak havoc upon the man who killed him and forced him into the metal shell, Loveless captures the mutant. Knowing Will Smith's true origins, he freezes the mutant, and sets the cryo-chamber to thaw by the mid-20th century, hoping it will continue its quest there. The mutant emerges, and hunts Will slowly, having learned patience during his decades on ice. He murders Will's son in front of his eyes, throwing Will into a blind rage and finally unleashing his superpowers. Will kills the mutant, but the mutant dies with a smile on his face, knowing that though he failed to kill him, he has forever wounded him. Will Smith throws himself into a deep depression well, and becomes embittered. Hating himself and humanity, he refuses to use his powers. He becomes a con man, which we see in
Six Degrees of Separation
Inspired by Ouisa Kettridge's speech, Will finds himself once again hungering for a normal life, his faith in humanity restored. He finds another wife, and tries to settle down as a lawyer. The government, however, catches wind of his dirty tricks, and he comes under their scrutiny. Further investigation, aided by corrupt agents inside the MiB, make the government aware of his temporal manipulations. Wishing to capture him for interrogation, or at least kill him before he can alter time yet again, they pursue him in earnest, leading to the events of
Enemy of the State
Once again, Will must adopt a new identity to protect those he loves. Unable to force himself into hermitude, he instead opts to become a sort of guardian angel, working from the shadows and improving the world one person at a time. Will Smith becomes
Hitch
Shortly after the events of the film, Eva Mendes dies in a tragic accident, one that Will could have prevented with his superpowers. He decides that his gifts are too great to keep to himself any longer, and, having no one left to endanger by going public, dedicates his life to saving the innocent--and to going back in time to save Eva. However, his previous travels have in fact hardened the threads of fate, and such changes no longer are possible. Just like in The Time Machine, Eva always dies, no matter what he does. Frustrated and disillusioned, Will becomes
Hancock
A side effect, it seems, of living through so many traumatic experiences, is emotional instability. During the course of the events depicted here, Will Smith goes through yet another cycle of bitterness and reinvigoration. He is doomed, it seems, to repeat this forever. Can Will Smith find a way to die? Will he ever earn mortality? Or will he exist as an eternal defender of mankind, never at peace with himself?
Fresh Prince of Bel Air
After a youth full of love and lessons, and inspired by Uncle Phil to lead a virtuous life, he joins the police, leading us to
Bad Boys & Bad Boys 2
Tragically, Martin Lawrence dies soon after the events of the second film. Carlton, who had become a crack addict and dealer, shot and killed Martin during a bust, though he meant to hit Will. Realizing how far he has fallen, he begs for Will Smith to show mercy and end his miserable life. Will cries for the last time in his life, as he pulls the trigger on the closest thing he's ever had to a brother. Will Smith goes solo, vowing never to have a partner again. But, he preforms so well, that he receives a visit from a strange cracka, and gets recruited for
Men in Black & Men in Black 2
Not long after the events depicted in the second film, Will Smith leaves the force after a raid on a weapons dealer's warehouse (all too similar to the situation that led to the deaths of Martin Lawrence and Carlton), goes awry. A barrel of chroniton-based grenades is hit by stray weapons fire and explodes, killing several innocents along with Will Smith's rookie partner. Severely shaken, his only option is to try and go back to a normal life. However, dissatisfied with being an average Joe, he joins up with the Air Force, feeling a deep desire to continue saving the world. He gets his chance all too soon, when aliens invade and he takes part in Earth's
Independence Day
Distraught over the devastation, and knowing full well that had he remained with the agency he might have been able to prevent the tragedy, Will breaks into MiB headquarters to steal a time machine, in order to try and prevent the tragedy from coming to pass. On his way, he experiences severe temporal turbulence, and is knocked unconscious. As a result, he travels too far back--and winds up face-to-face with himself.
The chroniton explosion in the warehouse created a parallel timeline. Will Smith II also retired from the MiB after the incident, but he joined the Army and went into research. Will Smith II marries and has a daughter. These minor changes, like ripples in a pond, thankfully prevent the events seen in ID4 from occurring in Will Smith II's timeline. Unfortunately, Will Smith II instead lives through
I Am Legend
However, he does not die. He loses an arm in the explosion, but like his counterpart makes his way to the MiB headquarters (they abandoned Earth after the viral outbreak, starting a refugee human colony in another star system) in order to steal a time machine and prevent the catastrophe from ever coming to pass. While there, he decides to replace the lost arm before his travels, in case an epic struggle lays ahead. He hops into the timepod, but travels too far back, ending up in
The Wild Wild West
Unbeknownst to Will, Loveless was a direct ancestor of that scientist who tried to cure cancer, so she is never born, and he successfully alters the timeline, preventing I Am Legend. Weeks later, anxious to return to his timepod to complete his mission (not knowing Loveless' connection to the scientist), Will Smith makes his way to the cave where he has hidden it. Strangely, he finds a second timepod--and his counterpart from Timeline I. The turbulence Will Smith I experienced on his journey stemmed from miscalculations made during travel that caused WSI to cross over into the alternate timeline. The two, cautious at first, shake hands--causing temporilinear compression. The two Wills merge into one superpowered being, and the two timelines collapse into one another. Some aspects from each remain. Unaware of his new powers, though feeling strangely youthful, Will Smith gets back in the timepod and attempts to travel to the late 20th century, but overshoots and winds up in
I, Robot
Where he puts his law enforcement training to use, along with his robotic arm, in order to stop the robot uprising and save humanity yet again. He begins to suspect he has become something more than human, but remains unaware of the true extent of his powers. Unfortunately, the timepod's fuel has been exhausted, and Will has no way of returning home. He knows he has successfully prevented ID4/I Am Legend, but longs to return to his home time. Farmer Hoggett's hologram appears one final time. He had become aware of Will's mission, and knew that he would require a way to return to his own time. He instructs Will to ask Sonny for his second computer core, which is in fact a disguised fuel cell--enough for one jump back in time. Sadly, Will's math skills remain poor (he should have paid more attention during Fresh Prince), and he miscalculates once more, ending up in the early 20th century. Vowing to never travel through time again, feeling he had altered time more than any mortal should, he decides to adopt a low-key life. This life plays out in
The Legend of Bagger Vance
Will, however, notices that he is not aging normally, and that he rarely feels ill. "Bagger" should be an old man, but Will feels fine--as shown in the film. Tiring of this life, however, and itching for a return to greater things, Will Smith looks to enter the boxing world. Seeking out Muhammed Ali, wishing to train with the great fighter in his early days and learn from a master, he discovers that Cassius Clay was never born. Will's time-tampering in the Old West and as Bagger somehow prevented his existence. In order to make restitution, and pay his respect to the great man that should have been, Will decides to adopt another new persona:
Ali
Will's seeming immortality again becomes a problem, however. In order to avoid this, using the vast fortune he accumulated, he pays off another man to pose as Muhammed Ali for the rest of his life--complete with Parkinson's symptoms. Content that he has properly honored the man, Will adopts yet another new life. Itching for a family, he has a son, and we see the events of
Pursuit of Happyness
His son dreams of the events in A Shark Tale during the time span shown in the movie. Will's life seems to be progressing normally; perhaps he can find happyness after all. Unfortunately, that period in his life is all too short. Will discovers that the intelligent mutant from I Am Legend piggybacked on his trip to the past, which protected him from the effects of Loveless' death. He stumbles upon Loveless' secret cave laboratory, and discovers that the scientist, now a steam-powered robot with Loveless' consciousness. Quite insane, and eager to wreak havoc upon the man who killed him and forced him into the metal shell, Loveless captures the mutant. Knowing Will Smith's true origins, he freezes the mutant, and sets the cryo-chamber to thaw by the mid-20th century, hoping it will continue its quest there. The mutant emerges, and hunts Will slowly, having learned patience during his decades on ice. He murders Will's son in front of his eyes, throwing Will into a blind rage and finally unleashing his superpowers. Will kills the mutant, but the mutant dies with a smile on his face, knowing that though he failed to kill him, he has forever wounded him. Will Smith throws himself into a deep depression well, and becomes embittered. Hating himself and humanity, he refuses to use his powers. He becomes a con man, which we see in
Six Degrees of Separation
Inspired by Ouisa Kettridge's speech, Will finds himself once again hungering for a normal life, his faith in humanity restored. He finds another wife, and tries to settle down as a lawyer. The government, however, catches wind of his dirty tricks, and he comes under their scrutiny. Further investigation, aided by corrupt agents inside the MiB, make the government aware of his temporal manipulations. Wishing to capture him for interrogation, or at least kill him before he can alter time yet again, they pursue him in earnest, leading to the events of
Enemy of the State
Once again, Will must adopt a new identity to protect those he loves. Unable to force himself into hermitude, he instead opts to become a sort of guardian angel, working from the shadows and improving the world one person at a time. Will Smith becomes
Hitch
Shortly after the events of the film, Eva Mendes dies in a tragic accident, one that Will could have prevented with his superpowers. He decides that his gifts are too great to keep to himself any longer, and, having no one left to endanger by going public, dedicates his life to saving the innocent--and to going back in time to save Eva. However, his previous travels have in fact hardened the threads of fate, and such changes no longer are possible. Just like in The Time Machine, Eva always dies, no matter what he does. Frustrated and disillusioned, Will becomes
Hancock
A side effect, it seems, of living through so many traumatic experiences, is emotional instability. During the course of the events depicted here, Will Smith goes through yet another cycle of bitterness and reinvigoration. He is doomed, it seems, to repeat this forever. Can Will Smith find a way to die? Will he ever earn mortality? Or will he exist as an eternal defender of mankind, never at peace with himself?
- Taken from LUE, which was taken from LL
Friday, March 28, 2008
The J.R. Experience
8:58 PM
This is what I do when I'm bored. I play Bejeweled while listening to podcasts. This time I'm listening to the Cheap Ass Gamer Podcast.
...and I sped it all up just for fun!
...and I sped it all up just for fun!
IR Pointer > Waggle
7:41 PM
Why is it that the IR Pointer on the Wii Remote is always ignored? Most people put emphasis on the "motion controls", usually referring to "waggle." And then they go on to say that the Wii Remote is inaccurate. Yeah, waggle sucks, and analog motion controls are not very accurate. But to totally ignore IR functionality is stupid.
The IR pointer is THE greatest input innovation of the Wii. As long as you're the correct distance from the sensor bar (which is pretty much all the time), the thing is pretty much 100% accurate. It IS comparable to a mouse. This is what Wii games should be using. Take that Pro Evolution Soccer video I posted earlier. That shows the use of the IR pointer. This cannot be done on any other console.
...and then SSBB doesn't even use it. WTF?
The IR pointer is THE greatest input innovation of the Wii. As long as you're the correct distance from the sensor bar (which is pretty much all the time), the thing is pretty much 100% accurate. It IS comparable to a mouse. This is what Wii games should be using. Take that Pro Evolution Soccer video I posted earlier. That shows the use of the IR pointer. This cannot be done on any other console.
...and then SSBB doesn't even use it. WTF?
Cell Phones: Do they really make things easier?
6:08 PM
Doesn't seem to for me. Each of my family members has a cell phone. This includes my dad, my mom, and my two sisters. But NONE of them (well, I haven't called my dad yet) answer their phone when I call them. Why? 'cause their phone is usually in a locker or buried under crap in an over-sized purse. What the hell is a cell phone for if you're not gonna answer it?
The cell phone is not just for making calls, but also for receiving them. People need to realize this. My life would be so much easier if people used cell phones correctly...
The cell phone is not just for making calls, but also for receiving them. People need to realize this. My life would be so much easier if people used cell phones correctly...
Game I want to play, but probably won't be able to.
4:23 PM
Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 for the Wii. Just watch this video to know what I'm talking about.
Too bad Family Video doesn't have it for me to rent. I'm not that big of a soccer fan, so it doesn't warrant a purchase from me...yet. Still, it looks badass and is a great example of a what a Wii game should be.
Too bad Family Video doesn't have it for me to rent. I'm not that big of a soccer fan, so it doesn't warrant a purchase from me...yet. Still, it looks badass and is a great example of a what a Wii game should be.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
My latest video experiment!
10:19 PM
Adding music to gameplay, with the sound effects intact. Kinda like a custom soundtrack. I think it turned out really well. I might do another one, but with Mega Man X.
Monday, March 24, 2008
It's already happening...
7:20 PM
linkdarkshadow Says:See? He's down-playing the awesomeness of the drums and vocals just because of one flaw of no online. I understand that the lack of DLC is very bad, but that doesn't make playing drums and singing any less fun, but that's not how they see it. Why'd you screw up so bad, Harmonix?
So… why should we buy this over Guitar Hero III? For the drums and Karaoke?
No online, no character creation, no DLC, expensive… and even less songs than in GHIII.
No thank you, I will just stick to GHIII since it has supperior Guitar axe controls.
Harmonix Drops the Ball: Wii Version of Rock Band FAILS
3:44 PM
So, Harmonix announced Rock Band Wii today. FINALLY. Now all those lame-ass GH3 Wii fans will get a REAL Guitar Hero game, along with a drum and karaoke game! ...but... this won't feature online or downloadable content.
So, GH3 features online play, but Rock Band doesn't. Oh well, Rock Band still beats the crap out of Guitar Hero 3, right? You know that, and I know that, but idiots all over the world will see this one flaw and Rock Band will go down below GH3. Way to make a bad impression on your product immediately, Harmonix! I thought you'd be more responsible than this! >=[
Still, I hope Rock Band beats the crap out of GH3, even if it is the gimped PS2 version. The casual market should eat it up, right? :P
So, GH3 features online play, but Rock Band doesn't. Oh well, Rock Band still beats the crap out of Guitar Hero 3, right? You know that, and I know that, but idiots all over the world will see this one flaw and Rock Band will go down below GH3. Way to make a bad impression on your product immediately, Harmonix! I thought you'd be more responsible than this! >=[
Still, I hope Rock Band beats the crap out of GH3, even if it is the gimped PS2 version. The casual market should eat it up, right? :P
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Why do people take me so seriously?
11:13 PM
When I talk about Terminators and raptors (without feathers) being related, or how I'm in love with Samus, or how Batman with planning will always win against any foe, or how pirates are the greatest creation of God, do people actually take me seriously? If so, WTF is wrong with you?
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Mario Kart Wii just got even lamer
5:58 PM
Mario Kart Wii is getting lamer and lamer. First there was the so-called "text chat" online which consists only of predetermined phrases. And now they take out one of Mario Kart's main features!
So, you can't play 4-player free for all battles anymore. All battles are TEAM battles, and there can only be two teams. While 6 vs. 6 online is a good improvement, offline is what really suffers. So if you've only got 2 other people to play with, you can't play 3-player free-for-all. It either has to be 2 vs. 1 or you add a CPU player to the other person's team.
I also would've loved a crazy, hectic 12-player free-for-all online, but what's so damn hard about 4-player free-for-all that every other damn Mario Kart game has had?
That's so utterly lame.
So, you can't play 4-player free for all battles anymore. All battles are TEAM battles, and there can only be two teams. While 6 vs. 6 online is a good improvement, offline is what really suffers. So if you've only got 2 other people to play with, you can't play 3-player free-for-all. It either has to be 2 vs. 1 or you add a CPU player to the other person's team.
I also would've loved a crazy, hectic 12-player free-for-all online, but what's so damn hard about 4-player free-for-all that every other damn Mario Kart game has had?
That's so utterly lame.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
OH GOD, I AM BORED
11:17 PM
This such a BORING Spring Break. The rain finally stopped, so I figured I do some stuff today. What did I do? I cleaned my car. Inside and out. After that, I felt like going somewhere. Nowhere to go, everyone is busy, apparently, 'cause no one would answer my text messages. So I try and play Phantom Hourglass. OMG, it's so boring. I try and play Metal Gear Solid 3. BORING BORING BORING.
So the most fun I had today was cleaning my car...WTF?!??!
I'd rather go to school. Ugh.
So the most fun I had today was cleaning my car...WTF?!??!
I'd rather go to school. Ugh.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
What I've Learned from Smash Bros. Online
9:56 PM
- My connection is not the cause of horrible lag.
Yes, my games do not ever run 100% smooth, but I'm not the cause of horrible, 25 second stuttering in most of the games I've encountered. Evidence is that I actually get a few relatively lagless matches with other people, and a few times, a game a super laggy game has gone into Sudden Death with me, and the lag was pretty much gone with one of the other players out. - Everyone and their mother plays as Ike
WTF guys? Ike is cool and all (manly and American [speaks English, at least], unlike girly and Japanese Marth), but pick some other people! - People have bad tastes in levels.
Stop picking the damn Elektroplankton level!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Woo! Some (relatively) lagless Brawl!
10:09 PM
Finally I've been getting much less lag in Brawl's random matches. In fact, I actually won two out of the three I played! Very nice. There's still some input lag, though, so I'm still not playing at my optimal level, but my opponents are probably suffering the same thing.
Stuff That Would Make Brawl a Super Awesome Game
10:58 AM
Right now, Super Smash Bros. Brawl is a "pretty awesome game." It's nowhere near "super awesome", though. I want my games to be super awesome, damn it! So here's what I think would make Brawl super awesome.
To be honest, SSBB has made me realize how crappy the Wii actually is. The online, the limited storage, the hardware itself (stupid disc drive) really hold the system back.
Don't get me wrong, though. SSBB is a good game. It's a better Melee, essentially, but it could've been so much more. It's annoying to know how much more awesome SSBB could've been. Oh well...maybe for the next game...on the next system.
...or maybe Nintendo will make a DS version! Nintendo's DS online crap seems to be better than their console online crap. DS even has voice chat!
- IR Pointer Functionality in Menus
I find myself using the Wiimote + Nunchuk control scheme most of the time, and I find myself wanting to point at the screen to select menu options and what not. BUT NO! Nintendo makes me use the damn analog stick to move the cursor around. WTF?
Also, the stage builder with the analog stick is anything but intuitive. It would've been so much easier and faster if I could use the IR pointer. Seriously, why didn't they include this simple little thing in the game? They added it to menus that didn't even need it in their previous games! Did I need IR functionality to select my save game in Zelda? No, but they added it, and Twilight Princess was pretty much a Gamecube game! Now here's Brawl, a Wii game. IR in menus? Nah. WTF? - Take Out Slipping
Seriously, it's stupid and annoying. It hasn't cost me a match yet, but it's only a matter of time before it does. There's no reason it should be in the game, damn it! - More Efficient Loading
Ugh, the load times in this game are lame as hell. They're very noticeable, and are pretty slow compared to Melee's. There's the initial load before the game starts, then there's loading before matches, and even loading DURING matches. Wonder why it takes so damn long for you to respawn in Subspace Emissary? Click click click, it's loading. Hey, why is it taking so damn long for the next enemy to appear in an event match? Oh right, it's loading. CLICK CLICK CLICK. I'm also pretty sure that Zelda's transformation takes longer due to loading, though it might just be a balance thing. Whatever.
At times, it'll take what seems like forever to load a match. It's hard to tell if the Wii is frozen or not here, 'cause the screen just freezes with "NOW LOADING" in static text. Not very good presentation right there. If they had implemented some type of versus screen or something to better hide the loading, then that would've been sufficient. Blah.
The Wii itself seems to be at fault here. It apparently has trouble reading dual-layer discs. Fail. - More Orchestrated Music
Yeah. - Better Online: Remove Friend Codes, Implement Better Friend System
You knew this was gonna be here. Friend Codes are annoying as hell. 12 digits for every online game you have, and even more 12 digits for each friend for each game. And there's also no way to communicate with these friends outside of 4 "taunts" within a friend match.
I want a way to tell them "Hey, let's play some Smash Bros." when they're not actually connected within the Wi-Fi menu in Brawl. That's another thing...Why the hell are you only connected to the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection in that menu!? The Wii is supposed to be connected to the Internet 24/7, but you have to connect to the WFC through that menu in order to receive data and such. And if you leave the menu, it forces you to disconnect from the WFC! You should be connected to the WFC at all times, so your friends could maybe send you invites to games. Right now, you have to either call up a friend (and I hate using the phone), or get lucky and catch them online at the same time, and then hope they see you've created a room for you. You can't even say, "Hey, I see you online, let's fight!" Ugh.
What's stupider, is that there is actually better friend-addition system in the game that doesn't require friend codes...but you need a friend and a friend of that friend that you don't have to join the same game as you. Then the game will ask you if you want to add your friend's friend, and you just say yes or no. I haven't experienced this directly. This info comes from Craig at IGN, and I trust him. So this shows that Nintendo is perfectly capable of creating and "Add a friend" feature that doesn't need friend codes... yet they decide to go with friend codes anyway. :( - Better Online: Communication
Voice chat, and ability to invite friends to games even though they're not in the Brawl Wi-Fi menu...or it'd be even better if you could invite friends when they're not even playing Brawl...but that's pretty much impossible. Maybe if the Wii Message Board didn't send messages like a snail... - Better Online: Better Online (Get rid of the damn lag!)
Yeah, I'm sure you're gonna blame my connection for the lag I've been getting. But why is it that I can play any other online game without lag? I'm guessing Brawl's netcode just sucks. It's pretty stupid, but, hey, what do I expect? Sakurai apologized for the lag a looooong time ago, even before the game came out.
Also, why can't I play one-on-one in "With Anyone" mode online? I connect to someone, and then the game adds two computer players to the match. I'm guessing that without those CPUs, there might've been less lag 'cause there'd be less crap to keep up with...but I'm not networking genius, so maybe that's not how it works at all. Still, I'd like some friggin' OPTIONS, Nintendo... - Have the Subspace Emissary Make Sense...and Fun to Play
Self-explanatory. - Allow Saving of Replays Over 3 Minutes
I've had some pretty cool matches, but I wasn't able to save them because they were stock matches over 3 minutes long. The game will not let you save replays that are over 3 minutes long! So annoying, and I'm guessing the only reason they limit it is 'cause the Wii only has 512 MB of storage (which is stupid also).
I once did something really cool, that I wanted to save a replay of, but I realized it was 3-stock match, and would last well over 3 minutes, so I ended up just ending the game prematurely by canceling it. Luckily I was able to save a replay of this...but I didn't get to finish the match. =[
To be honest, SSBB has made me realize how crappy the Wii actually is. The online, the limited storage, the hardware itself (stupid disc drive) really hold the system back.
Don't get me wrong, though. SSBB is a good game. It's a better Melee, essentially, but it could've been so much more. It's annoying to know how much more awesome SSBB could've been. Oh well...maybe for the next game...on the next system.
...or maybe Nintendo will make a DS version! Nintendo's DS online crap seems to be better than their console online crap. DS even has voice chat!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
XD, I actually got a random online match in Brawl...
3:12 PM
The "With Anyone" online feature of Brawl has been having a lot of problems. Hardly anyone can find a game that way. I finally got it to work today, though...and I didn't even know it.
I really had to go to the bathroom, but before I did, I decided to look for a match while I was in the bathroom. So I set it up and when I got back from the bathroom 5 minutes later, I was already in a match with 3 other people, and it was halfway over... 'course, it was laggy as hell. Not as bad as it was with Daniel the other day. But still very very laggy. Pretty much unplayable.
I lost the match...but I did end up "suiciding" three times during the game 'cause I wasn't actually playing at that time. I did kill one guy, though. So I ended up with a score of -2. Me and some other guy tied for third place. Kinda sad. Heh.
I really had to go to the bathroom, but before I did, I decided to look for a match while I was in the bathroom. So I set it up and when I got back from the bathroom 5 minutes later, I was already in a match with 3 other people, and it was halfway over... 'course, it was laggy as hell. Not as bad as it was with Daniel the other day. But still very very laggy. Pretty much unplayable.
I lost the match...but I did end up "suiciding" three times during the game 'cause I wasn't actually playing at that time. I did kill one guy, though. So I ended up with a score of -2. Me and some other guy tied for third place. Kinda sad. Heh.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
I'm sorry, but I just can't get into Ninja Gaiden...
7:21 PM
I bought Ninja Gaiden Black a long time ago. I remember back in the Gamecube/PS2/Xbox days, I always wanted an Xbox to play Ninja Gaiden. I never got one, and I never got a chance to play the game. So I eventually became a fan of Devil May Cry.
When I bought Ninja Gaiden Black to play on my 360, I thought it was okay, but really hard. Now I just tried playing it again, and after playing DMC4, I just can't play Ninja Gaiden! The combat in NG feels too...limiting. The combos are "dial-a-combo", as in you have to press a certain sequence of buttons in order to do a combo. DMC let you create your own combos, so all your attacks were very fluid. I also try to jump cancel in Ninja Gaiden out of habit, and that doesn't work. ><
I'm just not really having fun with Ninja Gaiden 'cause I've come to expect stylish kills from this genre. The combat ends up feeling slow to me, even though it's really not.
Plus..OMG, the camera is bad. Sure, DMC has a bad camera, too, but at least I can control it somewhat with the right analog stick. Can't do that in NG.
Yeah, I'm sure people will say that I suck at the game, and I probably do, but I don't really care enough to get better. I'm really not sure if I'll end up getting Ninja Gaiden 2. Supposedly a demo will be out for the game before the game comes out, so I guess I'll make my decision then.
When I bought Ninja Gaiden Black to play on my 360, I thought it was okay, but really hard. Now I just tried playing it again, and after playing DMC4, I just can't play Ninja Gaiden! The combat in NG feels too...limiting. The combos are "dial-a-combo", as in you have to press a certain sequence of buttons in order to do a combo. DMC let you create your own combos, so all your attacks were very fluid. I also try to jump cancel in Ninja Gaiden out of habit, and that doesn't work. ><
I'm just not really having fun with Ninja Gaiden 'cause I've come to expect stylish kills from this genre. The combat ends up feeling slow to me, even though it's really not.
Plus..OMG, the camera is bad. Sure, DMC has a bad camera, too, but at least I can control it somewhat with the right analog stick. Can't do that in NG.
Yeah, I'm sure people will say that I suck at the game, and I probably do, but I don't really care enough to get better. I'm really not sure if I'll end up getting Ninja Gaiden 2. Supposedly a demo will be out for the game before the game comes out, so I guess I'll make my decision then.
Alright folks, time to join the PJC Facebook Network
5:50 PM
PJC has student e-mails now. Check out the website for more info, and join the PJC Facebook Network!
Funny how this happens during my last semester here. :\
Funny how this happens during my last semester here. :\
Saturday, March 01, 2008
I just beat Apollo Justice.
5:45 PM
My head's spinning from so many plot twists! Excellent game.
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