First off…
Video Game: The Last Creative Frontier
So on Sunday, Katie and I went out to Jersey for our bi-montly fix of Mitsuwa, this super wonderful Japanese supermarket that also houses a super wonderful Japanese cafeteria, gift store, and book store, which some of you folks might recall be heaping praise upon. Anyhow, that’s where I got this…
Yes, I know the pics are kinda crappy; everytime I get ready to take pics, I lose sunlight in my apartment! When things get brighter, I’ll be sure to replace them. Anyhow, it’s difficult to pin down what the focus of the magazine is supposed to be. I believe its about entertainment in general, with music and book reviews, along with interviews with I’m assuming important people that appear to be artisans, plus a section on fashion and style, naturally. This particular issues is all about video games, as it’s somewhat apparent, and hence the reason why I picked it up in the first place. And as is the case with virtually every single Japanese print publication, the layout and pure scope of everything is mesmerizing…
There’s all kinds of articles and articles with assorted folks involved in the game industry, as well as some outsiders I think. One piece deals with the creative process, while another goes into places to learn the craft…
Along the way are these full-page spreads that are simply amazing…
There’s also a list of the most influential game makers out there today, and its rather surprising…
Japanophiles, prepare to cringe! They are, in order:
- Rockstar Games
- Ubisoft
- Grasshopper Manufacture
- 2K Boston
- Kojima Productions
- Bethesda Softworks
- Square Enix
- Platinum Games
- Electronic Arts
- Activision
- Sony Computer Entertainment America
- Capcom
- Blizzard Entertainment
- and Cave
There’s also a list of do not miss games, which includes some reasonable titles, such as Rez HD, Coloris, Mother 3, along with another one that has stuff like Shellshock: NAM ’67 and Legion: The Legend of Excaslibur. No idea what that’s about.
In addition to Studio Voice, I picked up a toy and model kit magazine; I can’t afford all the cool toys that come from Japan, let alone have the space, so collecting magazines that feature pictures of them is a pretty decent closest thing. Plus, it contained a supplemental mini-mag that appears to be a hit list of all the girls that has appeared the various Sentai (Power Rangers) shows over the years. And in the grocery store part proper, nabbed this in the candy section…
Now, on the way to Mitsuwa, I brought along the Verizon handset that Konami’s PR folks had provided me, as to play the new Silent Hill Mobile. My original plan was to have a review ready by Halloween, but aside from things getting all crazy in general (and as usual), I also had a great deal of difficulty playing the damn thing. And once again, I found myself stuck very early on in the game, as did Katie who tried to give it a crack. So with that in mind, there is simply no way I can properly review the game, since its either so broken or I’m so dumb (along with Katie apparently) that one cannot get past the first puzzle. Not helping was the device itself… the buttons literally made my hands cramp up, but then again, Verizon always has the worst looking and feeling phones out of anyone.
Thank God Konami’s other mobile effort that I’m currently going through, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, is FAR better. But I’ve only scratched the surface and still wanted to pass along a review, since I keep saying I’m going to, plus that pile is only going to grow with the holiday season coming up. With that in mind…
Review: Thunder Force VI (PS2)
Long short, don’t even bother unless you’re a Thunder Force diehard. Then again, the only people who are still reading this falls in such a category, so the good news is… It’s better than Broken Sword! Which is not saying much, I know. Unfortunately, it’s nothing worth getting excited for either. Thunder Force 6 sure ain’t no Thunder Force 4 (or Lighting Force for you old school Genesis gamers out there who might be unaware of its linage), that’s for damn sure.
First off, the story makes zero sense. Perhaps someday someone will eventually translate the manual and shed some light, but for the time being I have no idea what the hell is going on. For those who don’t know, part 1-4 was about this war between a peaceful and presumably human race versus some aggressive alien force that presumably is very scary and not very human-like. Pretty standard plot for shumps in general, from Gradius to R-Type. Part 5 is where things actually become interesting because that’s when Earth got involved; at the end of part 4, your ship (the Rynex) is destroyed in the midst of the final big bang and is discovered by humans from Earth many light years down the road, who then take it back home and attempt to study the thing. When that doesn’t work, a supercomputer is built to analyze all the wacky alien technology, which surprise, becomes the basis for all human technology from that point on. Naturally, this supercomputer that ends up running everything eventually goes berserk, I believe after it finally discovers the true story behind the creators of Rynex, which again were the good guys from before, thought it’s hinted as being somewhat hideous, hence blowing a fuse (but that potentially intriguing angle is never explored unfortunately). Cue the small band of crazies that attempt to take the system down with just a few lone ships. Well, far as I can tell, everything… the original alien race, their enemies, and Earth… are all thrown into the mix in part 6 with no rhyme or reason, and not even in an interesting manner. Note: there appears to be no story in Broken Sword, the doujin game that was created in the wake of the original part 6 for the Dreamcast, which was cancelled after the parent company, TechnoSoft, got purchased by a pachinko company. More on that later.
The format of the game has remained virtually unchanged; you pick the order of the first few levels, hit a dramatic mid-point, then proceed to the grand finale. There’s one stage that’s vaguely R-Type-ish… you’re attacking on huge ship from all different angles, go up, over, under, and over; it’s easily the best part of the entire game, mostly because your viewpoint is constantly shifting. It might also be worth noting that the gigantic craft you’re picking away at appears to be based upon the final boss in part 4. Actually, several other bosses from both parts 4 and 5 also make their return, including… I hate to spoil the fun, but yes, Rynex, aka the Original Vasteel. Even your ship from part 5, the Gauntlet/Vambrace, is a boss. Though for some reason, they’re all much bigger than you. Speaking of, graphics are on par with how Thunder Force 5 compared with other Saturn games at the time. Meaning it’s completely serviceable, yet severely lackluster. Like 5, the backgrounds are kinda “eh”, but some decent coloring to make one not mind too much. At least the quality of the polygons are far better this time around, whereas part 5′s just made you cringe and wish that they went with sprites. Most enemies look good enough, with the exception of the final boss, which is quite seriously one of the worst, goofiest final foes in a VERY long time. I almost want to say that it’s some kind of homage to the past, in which big bosses from shumps, circa the early 90s were all silly and ridiculous. I still hated it. And it’s hardly as compelling as the end games from 4 and 5.
The audio is easily the weakest part of the whole thing. Once again, part 6 was originally planned for the Dreamcast, but that got axed, and I believe a few folks from Techno Soft also lost their jobs due to the merger. Some time after it was believed dead and buried, the soundtrack, which I guess was completed before anything else, was released, featuring the same awesome, heavy metal music that the series is known for, by the same guy responsible for the amazing Genesis and Saturn scores. Some time later, a doujin game that would serve to be a spiritual part 6 was produced, featuring various folks that worked on the series proper, including the same front end designer from 5 (and it really showed), as well the composer. This led to yet another part 6 soundtrack. Once the wheels began spinning for the real thing, guess who didn’t get called back? Apparently, TechnoSoft was not at all happy that their sound dude wasted his efforts on a crappy fan game. And Broken Swords was indeed crap; everything, from the in-game graphics to the enemy patterns just screamed lazy and incompetent. So instead, the producer (who from what I understand, was the guy who produced part 3, and perhaps no relation to 4 or 5) decided to bring together numerous video game musicians from the world of shumps, including the talents behind Gradius 2, Ray Force, Raiden, and even Segagaga (which has a tribute to Thunder Force at the very end). Yet for some reason, everything is just flat and lifeless. Worst of all is the reprise for the encounter against Rynex; doesn’t get the blood pumping at all. Also not helping one bit is the inane difficulty level. At its default, the game’s a complete cake-walk; the ship you start out with has all weapons immediately available. There’s also super attacks you can unleash, and it’s fairly easy to refill them throughout; most bosses, if you know where to hit them, and again it’s not very hard at all, can be taken out with just one of such shots. I’m not playing it at maniac setting, which is finally providing a challenge. Also, each time you complete the game, a new ship is available; thus far I’ve unlocked two different Rynex variants. They at least require you to collect weapons that you lose if you die using one. Still, the game is pretty liberal with continues, and if you die, you can pick up right where you left off, which I don’t think was allowed in 4 and 5.
Again, it’s hardly the reinvention of the genre, nor a new high-water mark that I know some were expecting. And Cave fans (this means you Dave Mauro) need not apply. Yet, there’s just enough to appeal to Thunder Force fans, so if you happen to be one of those, go ahead and give it a try!
Yes, I Know What Day It Is
Time to wrap it up, got a busy day ahead of me with lots of stuff to do. Except for that one thing, if you know what I mean. Man, I’m so happy that today is finally here… happy to finally get IT over with. At least we’ll finally see who will be our new Commander in Chief: the candidate of backwater, God fearing hillbillies, or the candidate of hipster, blogging douchebags. As previously stated, I can’t vote due to a screw up that still has me listed me as a Brooklyn resident, but even if I could, the Presidential race would be the last thing on my mind. Maybe because of stuff like this…. Or simply knowing how the electoral college works. And yes, for the hundredth time, I’m speaking as a New Yorker whose vote for the President, in the end, kinda doesn’t matter. Sorry, but it’s true! I’m not even going to bother going into the importance of, instead, being vocal when it comes to local politics… because most people couldn’t be bothered, at least around here. Thankfully such apathy doesn’t seem as persistent with my buds in California, but its still a problem across this nation, not just in the Big Apple.
If you voted, then congratulations. For the record, I have absolutely no problems with people exercising their rights, I’m just perturbed how certain folks (well, the vast majority of them) do so without knowing what the issues really are, and also have unrealistic expectations. But then again, that’s what politics is all about isn’t it? Being misinformed and absorbing empty promises. Once again, I guess I just find it so incredibly funny how many of my peers are acting the way I used to, which is running around like a chicken with its head cut off, screaming at everyone to vote or otherwise they can’t complain. But now, in 2008, my song is very different. I also want to believe that even when I was on my high political horse, I wasn’t at least completely annoying about it. Then again, stuff like Twitter wasn’t around back in 2000 and 2004.
Most folks I know are casting their ballots for Obama, but us NYCers sometimes forget that the rest of the country is not as progressive (that’s not to say everyone that chooses McCain has done so because of race, but there’s quite a few of them). While there’s still a very good chance that we might get President McCain (who once again well be replaced by President Palin after McCain’s ticker explodes, and then we’re all really fucked), I now believe that in the end it actually be President Obama (I don’t even want to think of the possible scenario in which he’s assassinated by some white supremacist crazy, cuz then it?s President Biden, and holy shit are we ever screwed…. once more, I’m supremely irritated that no one talks about all the stupid crap he’s behind, lesser of two stupid evils or not). Though I’d be lying if I didn?t admit to secretly wanting McCain to win, just because he?s been built up like the second coming Christ, and Jesus has that been annoying (plus, I’m a contrarian… can’t help it). Yet a bigger part of me wants Obama, just so I can go “I told you so” when he proves to be just another politician at the end of the day. But seriously, many are choosing Obama simply because of his promise of change, yet one must wonder if people really know what that means ultimately. For those wanting things to be different, putting one’s faith into just one person (yet again) and hoping that everything will all of sudden be magically better is, quite simply, utter foolishness. And while most who read that statement will go “that’s bullshit, I’m not like that”, I must once again refer to the aforementioned apathy towards local politics as one example of the contrary. Also for the record: I did in fact once write a letter to my senator about something I was bothered by, and while I never got a response, at least I did it.
The bottom-line is that people love to get all excited about stuff and load on the hyperbole, and when things finally get started, they move on; I can’t tell you how many times I’ve overheard “Today this is probably the most important day in American history!” Just as they did last election day, or the one before it. Katie’s reaction though says it best: “Fuck you, july 4th 1776!!!” Anyhow, it?s one thing to want change, it?s an entirely different thing to be serious about it, and the jury is still out on that last one; I applaud Obama for exciting and energizing the voting public to a degree that no one since Bill Clinton has since 1992 (though that?s not say that he?s anywhere on the same level as Bill, sorry… and like so many others, if he was up for re-election, I’d vote for that guy again IN A HEARTBEAT), it?s again up to us to actually make it happen.
EDIT: The only thing I’m actually worried about is more funkiness when it comes to counting the votes, but I’ve also heard more than one person say that such a move will cause rioting in the streets. Not to say that it wouldn’t be valid… it TOTALLY would, but given how the people in this country has had more than enough reasons to take to the streets with pitchforks in the past few years, with Katrina being the prime reason, I’m not holding my breath (besides, those that want anarchy the most generally have no idea what that even means and wouldn’t last more than ten minutes in such a climate). Point being: people love talking out of their asses and are generally pretty lazy, which brings me back to my earlier points.
