This nifty God of War Collection video from Japan shows footage of the same scenes on the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3. Plus, it’s always fun to look at this excellent series…especially in a foreign language. It’s like watching The Three Stooges in French — it’s just a whole other kind of brilliant.
Category: Videogames
Coffee Talk #63: Third-Party Controllers and You
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Mark McGwire finally admitting his use of steroids, Mark McGwire in complete denial that steroids helped him hit home runs, or “Iron” Mike Tyson guest hosting Monday Night Raw, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
At CES 2010, Razer announced that it was getting into the console game with its Onza Professional Gaming Controller for Xbox 360. (I still use an amateur controller to maintain my eligibility for the Olympics.) I was greatly excited that Razer was entering this market because, let’s face it, most third-party peripherals suck.
I almost always stick to first-party controllers. Sure, they cost more, but in most cases they’re much better than third-party offerings. The only exceptions I’ve made were Mad Catz’s Nintendo 64 pad and Xbox 360 Street Fighter IV pad. I don’t even use the latter for Street Fighter IV, but rather its d-pad, which is way better than the garbage on the 360’s stock controller. Anyway, that’s two third-party products in decades of gaming.
Most third-party controller vendors attempt to give gamers a cheaper alternative. For my money, most of the offerings aren’t worth it. Razer is a different beast altogether. The company has been making some of the best and most precise gaming mice for years — super high-quality stuff. I expect the Onza to be a top-notch product. I wish more companies would take this approach, rather than the cheapie route.
I wanted to get your take on third-party controllers for consoles. Have you been happy with any of them? Do you prefer the features and savings they (generally) offer? Or do you stick with first-party gear all the way?
Square Enix Announces Final Fantasy XIII Bus Tour
Square Enix has announced that it will be kicking off a Final Fantasy XIII
The bus is scheduled to make numerous stops in the San Francisco and Bay areas through January 16, loaded with a never-before-seen demo area of the North American version of Final Fantasy XIII. Locations will be revealed and updated through the Twitter site @PlayFFXIII (http://twitter.com/PlayFFXIII), so start following today!
If you’re luck enough to be in the Bay when it kicks off, please let me know if you get a chance to check it out! The whole thing makes me think of the excellent song “Lights” by Journey: “I want to be back, in my city by the Bay.”
EA and Random House Team Up for Dante’s Inferno TPB
Electronic Arts has announced that it will be teaming up with Random House for a special trade-paperback of Dante’s Inferno in order to promote the videogame of the same name. (Hit the full story for a picture of the cover!) Today’s press release stated:
Electronic Arts and Del Rey Books, an imprint of Ballantine Books at the Random House Publishing Group announced that a trade-paperback edition of the classic poem Inferno, part one of The Divine Comedy, will be distributed to booksellers nationwide on January 19, 2010. This special edition of the canonized poem commemorates the launch of the highly-anticipated Dante’s Inferno video game from Visceral Games. The new edition features an introduction written by Dante’s Inferno Executive Producer, Jonathan Knight, who offers insight into the process of adapting the dark masterpiece into the interactive medium. The book also features a 16-page, full-color art insert showcasing the evolution of characters and environments from the classic poem to the video game.
I know some of you are irked by Visceral’s…unique take on Dante Alighieiri’s work, but if the game gets kids to The Divine Comedy then that’s totally cool. That said, it is kind of weird that a classic will come with 16 pages of pictures. *shrug*
Nintendo Confirms Pokewalker for Heart Gold and Soul Silver
Nintendo of America has confirmed that the Pokewalker accessory will be bundled with copies of the upcoming Pokemon HeartGold
In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver Versions, players can wirelessly transfer any one of their Pokémon from one of the two games to the Pokéwalker and walk them through virtual routes as the player walks around in real life. By walking, players earn Watts, which are used within the Pokéwalker to encounter and catch wild Pokémon or search for hidden items, and can be transferred into Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver Versions to unlock new routes. There are even special versions of certain Pokémon that can only be found within routes on the Pokéwalker, giving players added incentive to keep their Pokémon with them wherever they go. The Pokémon in the Pokéwalker will gain experience points as the player walks, and can even go up one level when they are transferred back into the game. Players also can wirelessly connect two Pokéwalkers to trade items.
My March is so screwed. Between this, Final Fantasy XIII, and Dragon Age: Awakenings…I might have to skip this year’s Game Developer’s Conference. Perhaps one of you can take over the site for me when the ides of March hits. Ha!
This Week’s Videogame Releases
It’s still a light week in the videogame-release department, but there are a few titles of interest that you might want to keep an eye on. EA brings back its brothers of destruction in Army of Two: The 40th Day
PlayStation 3
Army of 2: The 40th Day — I’m pretty sure Kane and The Undertaker would wreck these guys.
Vancouver 2010: Offivial Video Game of the Olympic Winter Games — I totally forgot that the Olympics are happening this year. I guess I pay more attention to the summer games than the winter games.
Xbox 360
Army of 2: The 40th Day
Vancouver 2010: Offivial Video Game of the Olympic Winter Games
Nintendo Wii
Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces
Walk it Out — Base on the hit song by The Beatles…oh wait, it’s not.
PlayStation Portable
Army of 2: The 40th Day
Nintendo DS
Daniel X — A interactive retelling of one of the most powerful civil rights leaders in America. Okay, I totally made that up.
Sands of Destruction
Coffee Talk #62: The Videogame Movie of Your Dreams
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, those amazing Cardinals, Manny Pacquiao vs. Joshua Clottey at Cowboys Stadium, or your favorite CES 2010 gadget, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Videogame movies…so many of them are embarrassing. Whether you’re talking about Uwe Boll’s numerous offenses, Raul Julia going out with a psycho crusher in Street Fighter, or Dead or Alive sucking despite having some truly beautiful women running around half-naked for 90 minutes, movies based on videogames haven’t been the best.
Some gamers don’t see the point. Games are a form of interactive storytelling, so why do they need a linear and traditional way to tell a story? Doesn’t that take away the uniqueness of the medium? I’m all for videogame movies, just like I support videogame books, comics, lunch boxes, etc. If it helps expand the world of a game I enjoy and expand the business in general, that’s a good thing. Unfortunately, the execution if often…off.
Today I wanted to ask you about the videogame movie that’s playing in your head. What gaming franchise to you want to see on the big screen? Do you have any actors or actresses you want to attach to your dream project? Kindly channel your inner director and tell me all about the videogame movie you want (please)!
Ron Jeremy Says Videogames are Worse Than Porn for Kids
Speaking at “The Great Porn Debate” panel at CES 2010, sponsored by InternetSafety.com, adult actor Ron Jeremy said that videogames are worse for children than porn. The man known as The Hedgehog declared:
We don’t want kids to watch porn. [Studies have] found that violent video games are much bigger a negative influence on kids.
Connoisseurs of adult movies might remember that Jeremy starred in a Super Mario Bros. parody called Super Hornio Brothers. (Would that make this a case of biting the schlong that feeds you?) While it’s annoying that another public figure is denouncing videogames, Jeremy’s comments will be unfairly dismissed simply because of his profession.
Today’s Poll: Do You Care About 3D Gaming?
3D televisions are getting a ton of coverage at CES 2010 and a lot of companies are using games to demo the new models. The reactions have been all over the place. Mainstream outlets are all over it — it actually weirded me out to see CES coverage on The Rachel Maddow Show — while enthusiast-gamer outlets are downplaying the trend.
A few of you mentioned that you aren’t big on 3D gaming, but I wanted to make it more formal and start a poll/discussion about the topic. As for me, I’m clearly in the “who gives a crap?” category when it comes to 3D gaming.
[poll id=”18″]
Coffee Talk #61: Most Wanted Games of 2010 #1 Heavy Rain
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, whether the Palm Pre can make it big in 2010, all these people from Alabama finally leaving LA, or Gilbert Arenas vs. Plaxico Burress in a shooting contest, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
A lot of people would have figured that Final Fantasy XIII would have been my most-wanted game of 2010. That would have been a perfectly reasonable guess and I was definitely tempted to give it the top spot. To be totally honest, I actually want Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain more than FFXIII.
I’m a big fan of Quantic Dream’s previous games. The company excels at interactive storytelling. Its last game, Indigo Prophecy, was brilliant. The game combined deep storytelling, outstanding acting, and fantastic music to create a unique mood. The downer was it was ugly as crap, looking like a game from the previous generation. Judging from the released videos and screens, Heavy Rain will not have this problem. I’m hoping that it will combine all the aspects of Quantic Dream’s previous games with bleeding-edge visuals.
Before I ask for your top pick for 2010, I have to note that there were a bunch of games that were so close to making the cut. God of War III, Pokemon Soul Silver (and Heart Gold), Super Street Fighter IV, Mass Effect 2, BioShock 2, 3D Dot Game Heroes, and The Last Guardian were all considered. This year is going to be so awesome for games!!!
Now, what’s your most wanted game of 2010?