Hookers & Ikaruga

In this post:
1. whoa, tons of new readers!
2. an awesome idea for a video, at least I think
3. stuff I’ve been working on, and stuff I’ve been playing, including…
4. two cents in regards to Muramasa

It’s been a crazy past couple of days! The launch of Attract Mode’s online store has been a tremendous success, as well the talk of the town, from Tiny Cartridge to GameSetWatch to even Wired. And it’s because of that last mention I believe, in which I was the sole artist to have their homepage linked for whatever reason, there?s been a massive influx of visitors for the past 36 hours!

So if you’re new here, thanks for stopping by. I know there’s like a zillion other video game blogs out there, so I hope my mixture of gaming news and opinions, with a heavy slant towards the Japanese and indie side of things, along with chatter when it pertains to toys, bizarro cinema, animu, and living in NYC (though mostly it’s just me bitching about the subway, hipsters, and wacky interactions with homeless people), plus a healthy does of internet lol, will keep you coming back for more. At the very least, I try my hardest to fill the place with many pretty pictures.

But now that I effectively have a brand new audience, there’s this sudden pressure to seize the moment and perform. On a totally coincidental note, Jason has been selling me on the idea of incorporating original video content, so the timing couldn’t be any better. Though maybe it’s for the best that I don’t have a video camera handy since the top idea that came from our discussion wasn’t met with the warmest of enthusiasm from Katie. And perhaps she has a point, that hiring a prostitute from an escort service and inviting her over to our apartment under the false pretense of sex, but to actually film her playing Ikaruga, or at least trying to, is not the best of ideas.

Otherwise, not much else to talk about; aside from keeping up with the Attract Mode explosion, been working on my big presentation for the New York Anime Fest next weekend. Recently submitted my first Cinema Pixeldiso piece in months, though with GDC Austin currently going on, I have a feeling it might be a while before Simon okays it. Also began working on the next edition of the fort90zine as mentioned last time, along with a potentially major non-game journalism oriented project that’s way too early to talk about. Then you had the first baby steps towards a film project that a colleague of mine is spearheading that I’m psyched to be a part of, if only cuz it’s been ages since I last worked on a movie. Hopefully this one will actually happen, unlike that animated series I was co-developing earlier this year. Remember that? To think what the world is missing out on… try to imagine that dramatic showdown in the diner at the end of Pulp Fiction… except with hot dogs. Such a shame.

As for what I’ve been playing, recently beat Metal Gear Solid 4. SO good. Completely validated my purchase of the PS3, and then some. All that needs to be said is how Metal Gear Rex vs Metal Gear Ray basically made me orgasm, right there on the spot. Also, without a doubt in my mind, Old Snake is the absolute greatest video game character of all time. Yes, even better than Mario. Might elaborate further as to why it truly is the brand new pinnacle of the medium at a later time, despite my feelings towards retro reviews of ultra high profile titles that received more than enough attention at the time of its release. As in they’re mostly really silly and unnecessary.

Actually took my sweet time since I knew there would be nothing else on the system I was interested in, aside from various PSN releases (I love Noby Noby Boy, but it can keep one occupied only so much), and that day has finally come. Just picked up LittleBigPlanet, mostly because it’s just one of things that every PS3 owner should have, especially if he or she has a background in game design like myself. I look forward to spending hours upon hours fine tuning a brilliantly conceived and executed custom level, only to be rendered unplayable by the game’s super sloppy and stupid controls. Though I do have the American version of the Demon’s Souls to mess around with, which I know has lots of folks are hot and bothered for, but it’s just not clicking with me. I have no idea why people are so excited for this; it’s drab, it’s boring, it’s confusing… bottom-line, it sorta sucks? And this coming from an Atlus fanboy, though they’re only the publisher this time around; the thing was developed by From Software, which aside from Armor Core, is hardly anything special these days.

Then there’s Muramasa for the Wii, which I plan on reviewing, especially since my opinions seem to strongly differ from the consensus. But with so much going on right now, I have no idea when I’ll find the time to actually finish the thing. Till then, here’s the quick and the dirty:

On the plus side, the game is absolutely gorgeous. To state that Muramasa is one of the most visually stunning 2D games ever is not an exaggeration. The audio is equally wonderful, a compelling mixture of serene and blood pumping compositions that does a brilliant job of evoking feudal Japan. But much like Odin Sphere before it, Vanillaware has whipped together yet another jaw droppingly beautiful game that’s almost a hassle to play. The laundry list of problems is long, though way up there is the overly complicated menu system that’s poorly conceived and a total bitch to navigate. You can cook in the game, which is neat and all, but completely unnecessary. And that’s okay, I loved all the nonsense in MGS4 as well, though the real key was now there was zero hassle involved. The minute you make someone work for something that’s ultimately pointless, well… Everything in Muramasa is also annoyingly cryptic, with absolutely no context given at all; every level’s objective boils down to meeting [insert ultra long and hard to pronounce Japanese name] in [insert ultra long and hard to pronounce Japanese name], which can be reached by taking a shortcut through [insert ultra long and hard to pronounce Japanese name]. And this coming from a dude that had zero problems with the overuse of Japanese terms and formalities in Persona 4. The story is totally nonsensical, and I’m actually getting annoyed with every single conversation that takes place since I have no clue what the hell is going on, whose talking about what, so forth. Perhaps some are allured by mysteriousness of it all, but at this point, I’m just not easily impressed. Though Muramasa’s crucial flaw is easily the controls; the needlessly dense menus once again does the game no favors, since it casts a spotlight on shallow combat in comparison. Even the higher difficulty setting, which is supposed to necessitate far more skill to advance, is an overly glorified button masher in the end. But what really kills the entire experience is the lack of a jump button, which for a platformer (well, a hybrid platfomer/RPG… with vague elements of Super Metroid) is more or less insane. Instead, jumping is done by tapping up on the joystick (btw, you can forget about playing the game with the Wiimote/nunchuck combo or the Classic Controller, they simply will not do), which makes pulling off precise movements a damn near impossibility. It’s somewhat akin to Super Smash Bros, and we all know how hardcore Brawl players turn that function off and solely rely upon the jump button instead. I remember one review in which the person stated that having a dedicated jump button would have made things too complicated. Seriously? I hate to go there, but perhaps this particular Wii player hasn’t played much of anything else in the past 20+ years, as the stereotype goes.

I’ve been told that the dude character’s story is far more interesting (been playing as the girl for perhaps obvious reasons… the onsen scenes being one), so I’ll have to reserve final judgment once I’ve completed both tales. Then again, aside from Scribblenauts, which I’ve barely been able to touch, the FedEx guy just dropped off Halo 3: ODST! Though I have a feeling that Katie will be playing it more than myself, since she’s simply better at FPSs… then again, she’s currently knee deep in putting together Nurse Nurse #5.

Well, was going to pass along some noteworthy news items and links from the past couple of days, but it’s already 4pm and I have get going soon. The big Central Booking opening reception is in just a few hours, and hopefully I’ll be seeing some of you folks there! But for those of you who cannot attend… here’s a semi-bizarre piece of Pokemon fan art, just because:

And time for just one random YouTube vid, something I’ve been looking for years now, which Joe Simko was finally able to track down for me: Mario… well, Captain Lou in partial Mario attire… telling kids that if they do drugs, they’ll go to hell before they die!