Pre-PAX East

The schedule for PAX East was actually up back in February. I follow them on twitter, so I immediately read through it and figured out what panels and events I would like to attend.

Friday
Organizing a Child's Play Fundraiser, 5:00pm
Friday Night Concerts!, 8:30pm
Movie: The Dungeon Masters, 11:00pm

Saturday
Greetings from a Dead-Tree Dinosaur Cartoonist v1.1, 10:00am

Chiptune 5: Live Free or Chip Hard, 11:00am
Kotaku and Croal: In Search Of The Best Games Ever, 11:30am
Memes, Microcultures, and 2D Chicks: Our Future in the Otaku Gamer, 1:30pm

Sunday
Penny Arcade Panel #2, 1:00pm

I figured my list is too ambitious. I do like spending a lot of time in the exhibition hall trying out games and collecting free items. Though, with no holiday season near, I really wonder what exactly is going to be in the exhibition hall. I also will be in costume on Saturday, and I know that will probably take up a good amount of time too.

Every time I come back from PAX, I make a little write about all the games I played (here are reports from 2008 and 2009), the panels I attended, and the activities I did in the city. While writing both these reports up, I thought, "Why did I not write down the games I was playing and my impressions?" (In 2009, I was able to keep track a bit more thanks to Twitter.) This time around, I still will probably use Twitter to help, but I want to remember to carry around my little notebook so I can write more than 140 characters. Fristle also recently gave me a MinoHD camcorder. I am hoping to use that to document the con too.

I've never been to Boston, and today, I printed out directions to several different places I would like to eat. Maybe I won't be able to see all the sights, but being from Chicago, I feel like food can really define a place. Here is a list of places I am interested in: Myers and Chang, Betty's Wok and Noodle, Mike's Pastry, and The Atlantic Fish Company. I'm sure my friends will also make good suggestions too. There is also a handful of PAX parties going on at some bars/restaurants around the convention center. Kotaku, IGN, 2old2play.com, and Joystiq are all holding parties too. Maybe I'll check one of those out.

I'm arriving in Boston around 3 this Thursday, and I've got some time to kill. I was excited to find out there is a Johnny Cupcakes store nearby! In fact, there is a whole shopping area not too far from the con center. I will definitely be checking that out.

I am really excited, but have a lot to do before I leave. Momohime still needs to be finished, and I need to do laundry and pack. I was hoping to purchase some spring clothes before I leave, but I'm not sure if I'll have any time. In about 48 hours, I will be at the airport, sitting at my gate!

Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing

I sort of chuckled to myself when I found out there was going to be a sonic racing game. Do you remember Sonic Shuffle? If you don't, it was Sega's answer to Mario Party, and oh MAN, did it suck. There hasn't been a good Sonic game in about 10 years. On top of all this, Fristle pointed out to me the game was developed by Foundation 9, which is a collective of nameless developers who created such hits like Clifford Phonics for the PC and Race Driver 2006 for the PSP. He also pointed out the game was released for: 360, Wii, DS, PS3, PC and mobile phones. Surely, these are all signs of ultimate game failure. What was I supposed to expect from Sega's answer to Mario Kart? Well, I came across some reviews, and it turned out they weren't anywhere near as bad as I thought they would be.

My fellow gamer friend, Pernell, had the game. It's XBL compatible, so I decided to rent it from Gamefly. I have two new games sitting at home. One is Final Fantasy XIII, and the other is Sonic & Sega All-Star Racing. While I did pick up FFXIII briefly and started to get the hang of its battle system, I've been more in the mood for Sega Racing. I wanted to earn those miles so I could buy the characters I wanted to play, and I wanted to unlock all 24 tracks.

A couple of weeks ago, I made a post that briefly mentioned Mario Kart Wii. Despite "playing the hell out of it," I felt it was "not that great" because I feel like I've been playing the same game forever (or maybe it was that terrible piece of plastic in the shape of a wheel). I don't dislike the Mario Kart series. I love it, actually. I was just disappointed with both the Wii and arcade versions of the game. Though, I still play them from time to time, along with the DS version.

I've been playing Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing quite a bit, and it is, essentially, Mario Kart. It's like I'm playing Mario Kart, but I can play it in LIVE party with more tracks and more characters. This was the refreshing kart-racing experience I was looking for. While I find it incredibly lame a third of the characters are from Sonic games, the amount of extraordinarily random Sega characters in the game balance it out. They are so random, even my favourite adorable zombie couple, Zobio and Zobiko, are playable characters. Zobio and Zobiko are from House of the Dead EX, an extremely fun and cute arcade game that wasn't even released here in the States. Then there is Opa-Opa from Fantasy Zone. What the hell is Fantasy Zone? I don't know, but I'm sure someone is happy to see it.

Like I mentioned above, this is practically Mario Kart, so most of the attack items in the game have their Mario Kart equivalent. Green boxing gloves are green shells. Red missiles are red shells. Orange cones are banana peels. Though, each character has their special item specific to that character alone (like in Double Dash). These are called "All-Star" items/attacks, and they are easily the most amusing part of the game. Chuchus transform into that giant, evil, orange cat and wreak havoc. B.D. Joe get someone to hop in his cab, and then he drives super fast. Beat gets on his roller blades and starts zooming past everyone.

Unfortunately, the tracks only come from a few different places: Sonic, Curian Mansion, Jet Set Radio Future, Super Monkey Ball and Samba de Amigo. I think they could have pulled tracks from even more places with all the different characters they had. Though, I really do love the Japanese streets from JSRF and Curien Mansion.

All of this made me think, what if Mario Kart opened up to all Nintendo games, like Super Smash Brothers does? They could pull characters and tracks from an endless array of games. We could be racing on Earthbound, Animal Crossing, Metal Gear, Pokemon, and Metroid themed tracks. Everyone would jizz in their pants and then maybe I could love Nintendo again.

Wii Hope

At this point in my life, I do not pledge 100% allegiance to any one particular console. I am not a fan of Microsoft, but because of how well-implemented their LIVE system is and their large library of games, I use my 360 the most. I had really high hopes for the PS3, and feel it is the most capable, but their online system leaves a lot to be desired. (Well, at least it's free.) Admittedly, I don't think anything makes me cringe more than the Wii. I want to love it. I really do, but Nintendo keeps pissing me off. It's the only system you can get Scene it? Twilight and The Bachelor and Bachelorette game is exclusive to Nintendo.

Yesterday, I was picking up craft foam for my Momohime costume. (Which is ironically a character from a Wii game I absolutely love.) I decided to look through the spring and summer pattern catalogs when I came across this, a sewing pattern called "workout accessories." It includes: a case for your Wiimotes and balance board, a headband and slippers. I'm not entirely sure who works out wearing slippers and a polo shirt, and I doubt many people travel with their balance board and Wiimotes. Looks like The Simplicity Creative Group was trying capitalize of the Wii Fit's success. (This sort of reminds me of when Obama became president and the most ridiculous merchandise came out; from commemorative plates to dildos.)

The fact this pattern exists tells me the same people looking through pattern catalog books for dog clothes and prom dresses are buying the Nintendo Wii. That's why the Wii makes me (and every other gamer who owns one) cry inside. I keep insisting it's going to get better. I don't have this $200 white box sitting under my TV for nothing. These are the reasons I insist:

Fragile Dreams - An adventure game developed by Namco where you play a boy wandering around a macabre world of ghosts and demons.

Monster Hunter Tri - It's been explained to me as "an adult's Pokemon." I was always interested in it, and now it's being localized for a system I have.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 - The first game was named Game of the Year by IGN. Now there's no longer a secret code on the cover saying U R gay, let's see what this one has in store for us.

Metroid: Other M - Team Ninja.

Guilty Party - I think it's great to see a Disney game that is not based off any of their movies. I look forward to checking out what's been called a cross between Zack and Wiki and Clue.

Epic Mickey - Warren Spector.

Wii Ware:

Max and the Magic Marker - A challenging 2D platformer that uses cute looks and real geometry.

Cave Story - Missed this one-man made game on the PC? Well, here it is on your Wii!

Fristle is a fellow gamer (who also happens to be my boyfriend). Last November, I made an extended visit to his house on the East Coast and I brought my Wii with me. I wanted to show him it was a good console to have. I brought most of my games, and I feel like I failed in trying to prove the Wii's worth. Though, with all these upcoming games, maybe I can bring it back next November and show that it is worth it.

Spotted game logos in short film, "Logorama"

Logorama is a short, animated film about an epic chase of wanted criminal, Ronald McDonald. It is nominated for a 2010 Oscar. The movie is made up of an infinite amount of logos, and includes a few game ones! Below are a few screenshots I took.

Nintendo logo on the doors of a bus

Ronald McDonald riding a Grease bike while passing an EA logo

Ronald sliding in front of a Nintendo logo

An XBOX hole in the ground

Rockstar

More Nintendo

It's hard to catch all the logos in this movie in only one sitting. Even watching it twice, I don't think I caught everything. It's a fun 16-minute film and you can watch it in full here (NSFW).

Final Fantasy XIII Pre-Order Bitterness

After putting great thought into this decision, I begrudgingly pre-ordered Final Fantasy XIII for the 360. A $25 Amazon gift card from my favourite cousin and a $10 game credit made it slightly less painful.

I'm tired of Tetsuya Nomura's character designs. I loved them in Final Fantasy X, the first Kingdom Hearts, and the World Ends with You. Though, I can only take so many spiky haired androgynous people wearing 32 belts. I can't stand the blindly devoted fans. It is also irritating to see two different numbers or a subtitle after "Final Fantasy." It will undoubtedly sell whether it is good or bad. This will cause them to make money off these titles, and stay with them, while something new, better, and creative (like The World Ends with You) gets ignored.

My brother has a PS3 he shares with me. He keeps it in the living room so that we may both play it. I have a 360. He is primarily a PC gamer, so I keep this system in my room. I prefer my quiet time playing a game on my 360 then having to worry about others using the communal entertainment system. Though, I do watch Blu-rays and own a few PS3 titles. I had to choose which version I wanted. Well, what I really wanted the PS3 version. I prefer the PS3 controller to the 360 controller. (Also, click here and here to see why.) And three discs and almost 20 GB?! This is going to sound sort of stupid, but I want to play video on my futon in my underwear without anyone bothering me.

I've heard the mixed reviews, and the screen shots don't impress me.

Before Final Fantasy XII was released, EGM published a picture of rainbows and unicorns. The caption was "new artwork from Final Fantasy XII." It turned out to be a joke, but I believed it. It genuinely looked like it was from the game, especially after seeing the character artwork of Vaan. I was incredibly turned off by this. Yet, I found out Squeenix chose Akihiko Yoshida as their character designer and the game took place in Ivalice, the beloved world of Final Fantasy Tactics. In fact, it turned out to be my favourite Final Fantasy (keep in mind, I have only played through three of them). To me, that game was all about the combat, and not much about the story. The story was far from original, but I still managed to become attached to several of the characters. I'm more interested in unique combat systems and enjoyable gameplay. Although I love to get to know characters in game, at this point, I feel like I've seen all the stories in a JRPG.

I doubted XII, but ended up loving it. Maybe my doubt for XIII could end the same way? Also, Jeremy Parish's preview made me feel more secure about what I was buying.

"Because players are presented with multiple different situations on the field, in a lot of senses FFXIII is more like an FPS than an RPG," says director Motomu Toriyama. And it's true: The game consists almost entirely of dungeons, with enemies placed about the field to force players to consider their options as they attempt to advance along the path the game presents them with. Towns and villages are waypoints rather than destinations. And while battles still cut to a separate screen in the traditional RPG style, both the layout of the quest and the way players interact with enemies on the field give FFXIII a hybrid feel, as if Final Fantasy had collided with a modern action game like God of War or Bayonetta.

Nevertheless, I really shouldn't be saying anything until I've played it. :p

You kids and your not-so-memorable games

For as long as I can remember, I remember video games being in my life. I was 4, maybe 5 when the very first console entered our home. It was, of course, an NES. I remember the majority of the games we had clearly. So clearly, I can remember the game's names, can hum some of their music, imitate sound effects, and picture going from screen to screen in my head. Considering I can't really remember anything else from when I was 5, those must've been some games. I remember having: 1942, Bases Loaded, Contra, Metal Gear, Mega Man, Rad Racer, Super Mario Brothers, and The Legend of Zelda. I also remember playing other ones at friends' and family's homes like Dr. Mario or Yoshi's Cookie.

Of course, sometimes, I remember things I loved as a child, come back to them as an adult and then realize it wasn't as great as I thought it was. I have not come back to the majority of the games I listed, though I have stuck with some of their franchises. I'm not saying the NES had nothing but totally awesome games, but they were so memorable, I don't remember anything else from that time.

My nephew is now 5. He will be 6 in May. His name is Tony. My sister bought him a Wii this past Christmas. I know most of scoff at the Wii, but the titles are improving...slowly. I keep mine for a reason. Tony loves Super Mario Brothers Wii, which I have yet to play. (I find multi-payer without online is no longer a selling point to me.) Then he has complete garbage like Nascar Kart Racing? I actually picked up and played this with him for a bit. It was...uninspired. There was nothing creative about it. The controls with the Wiimote and nunchuck were wonky, and I don't know anything about Nascar. So, the little super deformed versions of the drivers didn't appeal to me. It made me wonder how many of the games he is playing now he will remember in twenty years. I'm a firm believer in, "Don't knock it 'til you try it," but I really don't want to try any of Ubisoft's Imagine games.

I don't want this to be a "remember the good old days" post saying things like talking about how games (for kids, or a general audience) just aren't what they used to be. Maybe it was better because I had never seen it before. When my sister asked what games to buy for Tony, I suggested Mario Kart. I own this game, and if I think about it, it's not that great. It is worlds better than Nascar Kart Racing, and I played the hell out of it, but...it's just not that great. On the SNES? The N64? It was awesome. On the Wii? Well, not much has changed. You'd think that would be a good thing, but I've seen this game for almost 20 years now. They say Final Fantasy XIII is receiving mixed Western reviews. We've seen so many linear RPGs. Maybe, as adult gamers, we just want a change in our gaming experience.