Anthony has written a total of 170,227 words on this site.

Age: 34 PSN ID: Starkiller81. I've played games since before I can remember, starting with my dad's Atari and I haven't stopped yet. Keep them coming and I will keep playing them.

Review: New Super Mario Bros Wii

new-super-mario-bros-wii-box-500pxNew Super Mario Bros Wii is Nintendo’s attempt to make Mario a party game without calling it Mario Party or making it suck. They succeed. But NSMBW is also a fun single-player experience, akin to Super Mario World, which if you believe THIS joker, is the best Mario game ever.

The plot is not exactly anything worth mentioning, but I will anyway. The Princess is kidnapped by Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings, which means that now all of Bower’s children have teamed up to make Mario’s life hell. Mario, Luigi and two unnamed Toads set out to rescue her, through 8 worlds filled with obstacles and enemies new and old. Stop me if you think if you have heard that one before. The story is inconsequential, which is how it should be. Remember that they tried to throw story into the Sonic games and we all know how that turned out.

Mario is all about gameplay and it delivers. The game is set up with the overworld map seen in Super Mario Bros 3 and Super Mario World. Some levels have secret exits that, when discovered, open up new areas of the maps that lead to cannons which warp you to a later world. The control is tight, as Mario’s jump has been perfected over the years and it doesn’t change here. He can still do triple jumps, like in Mario 64, and they added a wall jump, which has saved my ass more times than I can count. The only motion controls found here are a quick shake to do a spin jump or launch yourself high into the air using the new Propeller Hat and occasionally you control a platform by tilting the Wii Remote accordingly. Both are done well and sparingly.

134716-NewSuperMarioBrosWiiMainImageThe levels are varied and colorful. The graphics aren’t going to blow your mind, but the game looks like the natural progression from Super Mario World. In fact, this game feels like the direct sequel to that one. Each world has a theme that every level exploits, such as an ice world, a tropical island world and wait for it…a lava world! Some things never change. And that is a good thing, if you ask me.

One thing that is different is, thanks to the power of the Wii, is the dynamic nature of the environments. Ever heard the term, “rolling hills”? Well, this game takes it literally, as the green hills roll and try to dislodge your timing. Pipes move up and down, platforms spin around and enemies are ever present. All of this makes for a challenging Mario game. Now that you will ever see the GAME OVER screen, as NSMBW is highly liberal with the extra lives, but you will die quite a bit.

Which leads me to that controversial feature, the Super Guide. All that uproar was for naught because I never even saw it. The only way you can lose it is if you die 8 times on a single level. While I admit, I came close a few times, I never died enough to unlock it. But if someone is having that much trouble, I see no issue with it and the hardcore fans should just deal with the fact that Nintendo wants as many people as possible to play and experience their games in full. So I have nothing bad to say about the Super Guide. If anything, it added an incentive for me to play better as I did not want to see the option pop up, thus maintaining my elite Mario skills status.

New-Super-Mario-Bros--Wii-7The other big deal is the multiplayer, which I did not mess with until I had completed the game. I took my Wii over to my fiancee’s house and played it with her cousins on Thanksgiving. And it was a blast, with one caveat: do not expect to breeze through the game with 4 people. This game, as already mentioned, is difficult enough when playing solo, but add in the chaos of 3 other people and you just have to smile and deal with it. The game pauses for a brief second when someone dies or gets a power-up, which has resulted in deaths many times over. Thankfully, as long as one person is still alive in the level, the others can be revived, which means you find yourself rooting for your teammates to clear that jump and bring you back into it. It’s a great addition to the Mario series and a fun way to hang out with friends or family.

Even using our new grading system, it is tough to judge this game. It doesn’t do a whole lot new, despite it’s title, but it gives us what we have clamored for: an old-school Mario game with updated visuals and gameplay. There are a few things that are annoying, such as the fact that you can only save after beating a fortress or castle, unless you do the Quick Save option. After beating the game you gain the ability to save anywhere, which is so pointless and so Nintendo-like that you just have to shake your head in amazement. Despite this, New Super Marios Bro Wii is a stellar entry in what is one of the most revered and popular series in all of games and if you have ever loved a Mario game, you should seek this one out. I doubt you will be disappointed.

GamerSushi Score:

C

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Are Video Games Really Art?

braid01Are video games art? This is a question that sends some people into a tizzy, as gamers plot revenge against Roger Ebert for answering in the negative. I personally have always been of the opinion that games are art. They have writing, music and visuals, therefore, since all of those elements by themselves are art, when they are combined, that must be art, too. But lately I have been wavering in my conviction.

The problem I have is that art should mean something. It should express an idea or explore something about the world or our humanity. And some games do this, such as Braid or Bioshock. But for every one of those, you get 50 of Left 4 Dead or Borderlands, great games, but not really stretching the limits of the medium’s potential. These games do away with story in order to focus on gameplay, which can be an art itself. Not every game has to move the medium forward, but the gems are few and far between. Where is the video game equivalent of Casablanca or The Godfather? We have one of the most amazing media platforms in history and we waste it on zombies and ninjas?

The medium most copied by games is film. It seems ever since the dawn of games that there has been a concerted effort to make games more cinematic. This is not the ideal direction for games to take. Games are unique in that it is an interactive experience and even communal at times. Why should games try to be something it is not? A movie tells a story. You sit back and watch it unfold, passive in your viewing, knowing that nothing you do will change the events on the screen.

Games are radically different. A game still tells a story, but you are an active participant. You are still being driven along a pre-set path, though some have more freedom than others, but you decide if the plot moves forward. In some games, there are choices that take the story along a different path, although this aspect of games is still in it’s relative infancy and much more can be done with it. But games are not movies and I really believe that developers should stop trying to force a square peg in a round hold. Games have the luxury of defining themselves and what kind of methods they can use to being a story to gamers. Even games like Uncharted 2, while amazing, are trying to be like movies. There is a freedom in games that is being squandered and it would not be beneficial to the industry if games became stagnant so earlier in it’s still young life.

The main issue that I have been dwelling on is that most art starts with an emotion or an idea that the artist, writer, singer or director wants to express. Maybe someone had their heart broken and they write a book about a similar person that allows the writer to have a cathartic experience. A director reads the screenplay and is moved by it and makes a film out of it, adding their personal touch to the tale, but still maintaining the original vision. The same thing happens with music. Someone is compelled write a song from an experience they had. This is not to say that all movies and music originate from this point. Indeed, many movies and songs are written simply to make money, but the best movies and songs come from something personal.

With video games, this is not so. I have no figures, but I would estimate that 90% of all games originate from a business plan. Very few games start off with someone trying to capture an emotion or some essence of humanity. It seems that many games start off with an idea for a gameplay mechanic and then a story is woven around that concept. Now, this is not always the case, but I don’t see people writing original game scripts and shopping them around, hoping that some studio will take a chance and make a game based on it. Games are largely a team effort and so are movies, but the key difference seems to be that the original impetus for a movie usually comes from one person, or perhaps a small group of people writing together. Games seem to be formed in meetings and committees. This does not make them lesser stories or ideas, but it does seem to focus on the business side of things and not the artistic side. This seems just be the nature of the beast.

But it is this aspect of games that is making me doubt whether all games are art. I guess what I can say for sure is that some games art art, but all games have art inherent in them: the music, the design, the writing (Except for Resident Evil games) and everything that goes into making a game all come from people who are artists in their own way. But what a game means, what it is about, are the factors that determine if a game is art. It’s a difficult object to judge, but I don’t need all games to be Picassos. But it would be nice to see a drive to move video games forward. Games like Bioshock have shown that this can be done without sacrificing success. I only hope it happens before video games hit the wall that comic books did.

What do you guys think? Are all games art? Only some? None? Am I dwelling too much on the origins of a game’s idea or am I on the right track?

Top Six: Super Mario Games

With the release of New Super Mario Bros Wii for the…uh…Wii, I decided to list my favorite Mario games. Now, this list only covers the traditional platforming Mario games. No Mario Kart (sorry, Eddy), no RPG and no Tennis. I looked at all 13 (including Game Boy games) and this is the list I came up with. It was much harder than I thought, mainly due to much consternation over innovation, originality and replay value. I have already steeled myself for a fan boy beating.
Continue reading Top Six: Super Mario Games

Review: Ratchet and Clank: A Crack In Time

ratchet-and-clank-a-crack-in-time-monster-screenshotI love Ratchet and Clank. Full disclosure: These games just make me happy on a level that few games can. That being said A Crack in Time is not the best entry in the series, but it’s still more fun than 90% of the games out there.

A Crack in Time takes place after Quest for Booty, the PSN exclusive released last year. The premise is that Ratchet and Clank are separated and Ratchet is trying to locate his robotic buddy. Clank was kidnapped by the Zoni, who were duped into it by Dr. Nefarious and his butler, Lawrence. Dr. Nefarious, you may remember, was the villain from Up Your Arsenal and he wants Clank so he can get into the Orvus Chamber, which will allow him to travel back through time and alter history. Clank’s origins are revealed in this game and we learn why he is the only one who can get into the Orvus Chamber.

Ratchet and Clank’s story is not really the main draw, but one thing must be said: it’s hilarious. The characters, from Dr. Nefarious to my personal favorite, Captain Qwark, all have moments that made me laugh out loud. The cutscenes are very well done, making the game look like a Pixar movie. In most games, I can barely pay attention during the cutscenes, but during this game, I was looking forward to them.

The gameplay is divided into a few sections. There is Ratchet’s traditional platforming/gunplay, which is always fun, especially for those who love collecting things. The planets you visit, while not as numerous as other installments, are varied and no two ever felt the same. The weapons you use during these areas are not as exciting as those that came before, but there are a few cool ones, like the gun that turns enemies into monkeys. Never got old. For fun, use the Groovetron to turn the monkeys into disco dancing freaks.

Once Ratchet gets his ship, right after the first planet, you will find yourself in an area of space with a few small planetoids that you can fly to and complete objectives in order to aquire Gold Bolts and Zoni, which unlock extra skins and upgrade your ship. These are pretty fun and are good for getting extra bolts to buy new weapons, but I grew tired of them after about 10 or so. They are round spheres that you walk over, which some have compared to Super Mario Galaxy, but was actually done first in an earlier Ratchet game, Going Commando. When Nintendo is cribbing from you, you must be doing something right.

52545_origThe final section is interspersed throughout the main narrative, which is Clank traveling through The Great Clock using a very inventive puzzle system. Clank’s sections have a little platforming and combat, but are mainly puzzle-based, which is a nice break from the constant explosions of the Ratchet sections. The puzzles involve Clank making copies himself to open doors and hit switches. For example, Clank stands on a time platform, starts recording and then walks to a switch on the floor and stand on it. The switch raises an elevator to a higher level. Next, you stop recording and return to the time platform. You stand on a different platform and record and play the recording you just made. The copy you just made walks over and raises the elevator while you walk over to the elevator and are taken to the top. This is just a simple example, as it gets much more complicated with up to 4 copies of Clank running around doing different things. The feeling of satisfaction I get from completing is something I have only felt while playing Portal, so I highly endorse this section of the game.

A Crack in Time is a step forward in some ways, a step back in others and simple stands still at other times. This series is so much fun though, I hesitate to say that it needs to be overhauled. The franchise has evolved into gaming comfort food. Kind of the way I look at the band Collective Soul. They aren’t going to blow you away, but you are going to get 12 songs that you will be humming for the next month, no doubt about it. I loved this game, but it’s not the next level in platforming goodness.

GamerSushi Grade:

C

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Phantasy Star Game Blog Part IX: ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME???

dezorisHaving finished off the ice planet of Dezoris, I head back to Palma, buy some Diamond Armor and make sure everyone is ready to go. I buy lots of Burgers for healing, as well. Maybe I should have stopped at White Castle and gotten a suitcase. My party heads to the Gate of Baya Malay, which is the worst and least scary name of a dungeon ever. It actually sounds like one of those resorts that you always hear about but have no idea where it is. Like the Lesser Antilles or something. Sidenote: the Lesser Antilles makes me think of Wedge Antilles having a younger brother who parks spaceships for a living. But that isn’t possible, because Wedge only had a sister and she was older than him before his parents were killed in a tragic fuel depot accident. Yes, I am the biggest Star Wars nerd ever.

So I enter the Gate and all that build up for a long ass maze with no enemies. Which normally would be a relief but now just fills me with a great sense of foreboding. Then again, it might be that Burger King I had for dinner. Oh, there is a Robot Cop who stops me and demands to see my passport, which I show him, but he attacks me anyway. Robot Cop, dead or alive, you are coming with me! Actually, just dead and I left his smoking, sparking carcass behind. I exit and enter another cave and then a tower. Could this be it? Alas, no, at the top is a guy who asks me some questions and then gives me a Crystal which allows me to open any sealed doors without using my magic OPEN spell. This is a great thing, as it will save me MP in the end. I warp back to town, heal up and start again.

I use the Crystal to enter the tower, which is 25 stories! And from what I understand, it’s not a straight climb, but a maze of going up and then back down and all kinds of hell. Once again, thanks to my readers for picking this game. There is a special hell reserved for you. After many enemies (the random encounter rate is off the charts here. Once again: Special Hell.) and many false turns, I make it to the 24th floor when BAM! A trap sends me back to the very beginning. But what’s that? I am a hardcore, dyed in the wool RPG veteran and this ain’t my first rodeo so I saved when I got to that floor? Instant reset and reload and we are back on track. I would like to thank me for being awesome. No power in the ‘verse can stop me!

myau3I make it to the top and I use the AERO Prism, which makes the sky change colors and a floating castle appear in the clouds. I picked a hell of day to quit sniffing glue! My party tells me to feed that Laerma Nut to Myua. So give my magic nut to the pussy cat. That’s hot. Myau becomes enveloped in flames and emits a blinding light. I wonder if Dr. Mad still wants a piece of this pussy cat now? Myau grows wings! Awesome, this better equal more damage or something in battle. Myau flies us to the floating castle thingy, but we are attacked in mid-air by a Gold Dragon. That’s a color I don’t have on my notched belt of dead dragons, so we quickly whip his gold ass into a stupor and land on the castle. We enter and it’s a new dungeon. Oh, joy. Wait, Lassic is waiting inside for me! We quickly killed him, but it was just a Fake Lassic, a Shadow. Boo! We continue on and there he is, the real deal.

Hello. My name is Alis Something-or-other. You killed my brother. Prepare to die. In a new twist, Lassic can use his magic to attack my entire party at one time, which causes all manner of havoc for me. One by one, the party falls, leaving only Alis left, which is poetic justice because she delivers the deathblow! Holy crap! I did it! A message appears telling me that Nero, Alis’ brother, is satisfied in heaven. Which is kind of interesting that we are getting telegrams from the afterlife, but whatever, I mean, the cat grew wings! The party says we should hurry to the Governor of Motavia. Soun—What?? Oh. Oooohhh. Oh. Here’s a hint: when you beat what you think is the final boss, but the game tells you to travel somewhere else, that means it wasn’t the final boss. I can totally tell that Square Enix loved this game when they first played it.

So we head back to the esteemed home of the Motavians, but first, I stop to restock and heal up. Like I said, this isn’t my first time doing this. After arriving, the Governor is not there and I fall through a trap! After traveling down a loooong tunnel, he is waiting for me. But he is not the Governor, he is Dark Falz. Seriously? Dark Falz? Who is Dark Falz, you ask? Well, he is the embodiment of all evil and also the very first Super Secret Bad Guy You Didn’t Know Existed But Was Really Behind The Whole Thing From The Start. Or, his shorter name, SSBGYDKEBWRBTHTFTS. His name is totally pronounceable, but it does require a lot of saliva.

darkf1In an evil turn of events, there is no HP counter for Dark Falz, which means I have no idea how my attacks are doing, so I just use the strongest stuff I have that has been working the whole game. And prayer. Lots and lots of prayer. Alis attacks and heals when needed, Myau does the same, Noah just attacks with his Wind spell and Odin just attacks. Oh, and Noah also dies. Not good. After several turns of this my team is getting weak, but BOOM! Odin kills Dark Falz! I BEAT IT! The real Governor appears, telling me I saved the Universe. All in a day’s work, my friend. In a shocking bit exposition, we learn that Alis’ father was once king and Alis now becomes Queen! How utterly trite. The sky clears and peace is returned. Pictures of the cast are shown and I am told that though the evil has faded, our names will live forever.

So that’s it. It’s over. Honestly, I really liked this game. In 1988, it must have been amazing to play, but it’s still pretty awesome even today. To summarize it succinctly: Game beat. Asses kicked. Names taken. Time for a beer and a much deserved rest. If you guys liked this, I will do another one sometime, but only after a brief hiatus. Thanks for reading!

Phantasy Star Game Blog Part VIII: Going, Going, Gorgon

town_drasgowI’m back! Let’s get to it! Using my newfound hovercraft, I can now traverse water. So I do. Millions of people flock to my, thinking me a new, high-tech version of Jesus. Ok, I made that part up. While roaming around, I come across an island, Drasgow. A guy there tells me a whole heap of stuff, like there was a giant rock floating through the sky and there is a magic sword on a forgotten island. Well, it can’t be THAT forgotten, can it?

In the town, I buy a GAS SHIELD, which should come in handy if Myau ever gets worms. Or to get pass that area covered by poison gas back on Motavia. Oh, I can’t wait to see the Motavians! Hey, this place kinda looks like that movie The Mist. You know, the one with the Punisher? In the middle of the mist there is a town, Sopia. The townsfolk are trapped there and they tell me Lassic is the cause of the gas. Maybe he has Irritable Bowel Syndrome. For a small donation (bastard) the town elder tells me of the MIRROR SHIELD, hidden on a small island in the middle of a lake. With this shield, I should be able to beat Medusa! Sweet. Oh and some guy asked me if I enjoy Sega games. *Boom* Fourth wall shattered. Along with the English language.

The shield is found, just where the elder said it would be. Off to Gothic to kick some Gorgon ass! I enter Medusa’s cave and boy is it easy to get lost and dead, what with all the dragons, stalkers and marauders hanging out down here. How do they all survive? Do they live here or is this some sort of job for them? Does Daddy Dragon come home from a hard day of guarding Medusa, Baby Dragon greeting him at the door and Mommy Dragon putting some nice charred dwarf flesh on the table for dinner? Just wondering.

After all this, Medusa turns out to be a pushover. I whipped her behind so hard that Baby Dragon felt it! Sweet! My prize is a Laconian Axe, which I gladly give to Odin. Oh, remember that island everyone forgot about? Turns out it’s about a 5 second trip via hovercraft from Scion, which is the second town you visit in this game! Does this whole universe suffer from Alzheimer’s or something or just really bad eyesight? Do they not have boats? Do they just stare at the water and sigh in a resigned fashion? Anyhoo, on that island is a tower. In that tower is a red dragon. In that red dragon is my foot, which I stuck deep in its fat red ass. My Dragon Hating Vendetta continues! And for my troubles (and lost shoe) I get a Laconian Sword, which Alis promptly equips. One more planet to explore, Dezoris, the ice planet!

dezorisDezeoris has tons of mountains and ice that block most of my attempts to travel around here, which frankly sucks. In the first town, Skure, I find another Laconian Pot! For such a rare thing, these sure are plentiful. Kind of like Beanie Babies. Ooh, this has potential: there is a morgue here where the dead have risen. Zombies! Clearly, Sega was ahead of the trend in gaming. After traversing a series of small caves, I arrive at the morgue where I find a ton of zombies. THIS IS MY BOOM STICK! For some reason that I totally can’t even answer, there is a set of Laconian Armor hidden in a treasure chest in the morgue. Maybe it was in the chest where they place the personal possessions of the dead, but if that were true, why I am not fighting naked zombies?

Exiting the morgue, I find a city where they sell something called the Ice Digger. I wonder if I can use that to dig through all this ice blocking my way? Answer: hells yes! Using this, I find a cave in the middle of all the ice and a Titan, waiting to do battle with someone stupid enough to wander inside. Well, I happen to be just the right amount of stupid. Defeating the Titan gives me an AERO PRISM KEY. Yay? What the hell is this thing for? Unlocking Rainbow Road or something?

Further exploring leads me to a tower, in which waits a Dezorian. He has a sacred fire and will give me some of it on a torch for the Amber Eye. That seems like a pretty specific request. Did he really just sit there hoping some fool would stumble across his tower and climb all the way to the top with an item that can only be gained from killing a FREAKING DRAGON??? What is wrong with this universe? Anyhoo, he gives me the Eclipse Torch and I use it on solitary tree nearby. Which gives me a Laerma Nut, which apparently can only be stored in a Laconian Pot. Thank Jebus I have one handy. The Laerma Nut, if you will recall, was mentioned earlier as something that can transform a cat. Using it now does nothing on Myau, but I am sure it will come in handy later.

Well, I am ready to finally tackle the last dungeon and beat this sucker. Tune in next time for Part IX: ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME???

Phantasy Star Game Blog Part VII: Rock the Casba Dragon

ps_preso3Picking up where we last left off, I head to Bortevo and use the Polymeteral to uncover Hapsby, who agrees to fly the space ship for me. What? You mean, no giant quest to find Hapsby’s nephew, Wall-E? He doesn’t need a new set of circuits or anything like that? This game must be getting tired or something. I head back to Dr. Luveno who gives me my ship! I will call it Squishy and he shall be mine, and he shall be my Squishy.

Hapsby gives me a choice of 3 places to go, one of them being the very town we are standing in, which seems kind of sad that such an advanced invention has no sense of being, but hey, least that means he is not about to become Skynet or something. I choose Uzo, which is on the desert planet of Motavia. I heard there were Motavians there or something. Once I arrive, someone tells me that Casba is a town to the south and there is a dragon who has an Amber Eye there. In its head! I am going to carve that sucker out, I tell you. I find a good armor for Noah and his frail ass needs all the help he can, so I buy that.

Some guy in town asks if I need a soothing flute? Once again…how does this crap come up? He reveals that he buried one in the outskirts of Gothic, but it’s a secret. Pal, nothing is a secret in this game, ok? Someone also tells me that the Land Rover can get past Ant Lions. Wonder if that was a secret, too? Holy crap! The store here has light sabers! I’ll take a dozen please! Or maybe just one for Odin and one for Alis. Geez, the locals won’t shut up! There is an awesome shield in a village surrounded by mist, but there is poison gas in the sea to the west, so I will need protection. TROJAN MAN! Oh guess what they have for sell here? A land rover! Time to do donuts over all those Ant Lions blocking my way! But first…

Inside the Casba cave, I descend deeper and deeper until I come up on the foul beast: a black dragon. Ok, time out. Is this considered a hate crime if I kill a black dragon? Earlier, I killed a red one, so I think it’s pretty clear I don’t discriminate against dragons based on color. In fact, I think it’s obvious that I hate all dragons I come across. Killing said dragon earns me one shiny Amber Eye.

antlionUsing my trusty new land rover, I drive over the Ant Lions for a few hours (it seems) and then head back to Gothic and retrieve that secret flute. Kinda shocked I was able to get there first since that chucklehead was blabbing his little secret to anyone with a set of working ears. Guess what else? Someone here tells me of a hovercraft that is hidden in the forest at the edge of town. I got vehicles coming out of my ass! I feel like GI Joe now. I have a spaceship, a hovercraft for travesing the sea and a land rover. I think I am set.

Well that is enough for now. Later this week, I will have another post and trust me, we are getting near the end. I hope to have this done in 10 parts total, with maybe one more post summing up my feelings about the game.  Check back later for Part VIII: Going, going, Gorgon!

PS3 Slim Due First Week of September, Price Dropped to $299.99

ps3_prints_moneyWell, after months of speculation, it’s happened. Sony dropped the PS3’s price to $299.99 and announced a 120 GB PS3 Slim. Does this change anything for any of you guys? Do you think this will allow Sony to surge past the 360? Or are they destined for 3rd place for this cycle?

Phantasy Star Game Blog Part VI: The Strange Appetite of Dr. Mad

ps_mad3Crazy old Dr. Luveno decides he wants me to fetch his assistant. Fine, makes sense that this batshit inventor would not be able to function without a handler. Hell, Paula Abdul has a whole team of them and she can’t even judge a talent contest. This quest turns out to be pretty easy as the assistant is hiding in the underground passage in the middle of town. 30 seconds later, I have him back safe and sound with Dr. Nutsy. Oh, but Luveno needs funding to build the spaceship, which will set me back about 1200 mesetas. Not a bad bargain when you think about it, but money is scarce in this game. Since I literally have no choice at all, I pay up.

But I’ve been had! I can’t fly the damn thing without Hapsby, the Laconion Robot Pilot! Is there no obstacle this game won’t throw my way? I think I figured out who made this the thing: the DMV. Only thing is that the load times are pretty short, so maybe it wasn’t them. Have to think on that one. Anyhoo, I head up to Bortevo, the town where I heard the robot is laying around somewhere. I literally have to walk through lava to get there. Whatever crazy stuff Lassic (the bad guy, remember?) is up to doesn’t involve cleaning up after a volcanic eruption.
Continue reading Phantasy Star Game Blog Part VI: The Strange Appetite of Dr. Mad

GamerSushi Asks: How Much Would You Pay For Natal?

project-natal-xbox-360Now, this question may seem premature, but I think it might be of use to Microsoft. There are no games yet and we don’t even know how accurate the demo at E3 was for certain, but based on what you have seen and their projections, what do you feel is a fair price for Natal? Bear in mind that you need a 360 to play it, though I am sure there will be bundles available. So if you don’t have a 360 and want to play Natal you will have to buy both. So what’s your projected price point?

PS3 Ready To Launch Offensive?

ps3-price-cutDespite what you may have heard, the PS3 has held it’s own against the 360 despite having a higher price, less blockbuster exclusives and having to build an online network from the ground up. But two of those have been corrected and now all that stands in the PS3’s way is the price. Which brings us to a few items:
Sony has revealed that they have managed to get the cost of a PS3 down to $270 per unit. They also have doubled their usual order of components needed to build the consoles. The topper is that they are having a 3-hour keynote in Germany on August 18th. What does this all mean?

It appears as if a price drop for the PS3 is imminent. And it could be the very thing needed to propel the PS3 past the 360 and perhaps even take on Nintendo, far off in the future anyway. Keep in mind that the PS2 sold over 120 million units. Most of those people are probably just waiting for a price drop. Many people say $100.00 would be do it, but I think Sony should go for the jugular and drop it $150.00. Even in these dark economic times, that would cause a serious boost in sales and just in time for the Christmas season.

Would a price drop get you guys off the fence and buy a PS3 or are you not even interested in it? Is there a magic number you are waiting for?

Valve Not Sold On Natal

valve_head_homeNatal blew some minds at E3 and caused all kinds of fanboy skirmishes across the Internet. Is it real? Does it work? Will the games be any good? One of those questions has now been asked by Valve, who have had a closer look at Natal and while impressed with the tech, they need to see more. Namely, a game that really shows off what it can do, as Chet Faliszek says:

There’s a lot of coolness around it, but I’m not sure about the game that comes with that, and I’m not sure, personally, how much I wanna move around. I’m a lazy, lazy man. I don’t want to move. I don’t want to be fatigued playing a game.

Anyone can crap out a tech demo, but how can you use this in a game that won’t annoy us lazy gamers? What do you guys think of Natal and what would you like to see done with it?

Source- VG247

Phantasy Star Game Blog Part V: One Small Step For Man, One Giant Pain In The Ass For Anthony

noahAfter that horrific dream interlude, we head off to some cave where Noah is allegedly training and not building an ark of any kind. By the way: Worst. Random. Encounter. Rate. Ever. For reals, a battle ends, I scratch my nose and I get attacked again. You won’t believe what happened when I had to go pee. I have the console off right now and I think I can hear the battle music starting up!

So after navigating another cave where every single wall looks exactly the same (intelligent design?) I stumble upon, Noah, the blue-haired delight who tells me that he is just too busy training to help me save the universe! Training for what? What the hell could possibly be more important than this? Is there a 5K coming up? Are there intergalatic olympic games? Is Michael Phelps still around and if so, does he smoke Laconion Pot?

But what’s this? I have a letter from the Governor of Motavia? (He is a Motavian, BTW) and that’s all Noah needs to pull a Luke Skywalker circa Empire Strikes Back and quit his training and help us out. I guess if I had let Noah finish his training he would have started at a higher level than level 1, but somehow, I doubt it. Noah suggests we go to Gothic Forest and find Dr. Luveno. He fails to mention why we should find this guy or what the dress code is at Gothic Forest. I’m guessing black is encouraged.

We get to the forest and find the town of Gothic. The people here are surprisngly upbeat! I am warned to stay away from the tower nearby due to the magical beast that lives there. Little do these people know that telling me such a thing only ensures I will pay it a visit. Turns out that Dr. Luveno had a lab here and then he went bonkers and is now locked up in Triada Prison to the south. Prison Break!

A short walk later and we enter the prison and I release all the prisoners I can find. Some are pretty helpful, including one who informs me that the aforementioned tower is the lair of Medusa! Odin wets himself upon hearing this. There is even a giant tarantula who tells me of a substance called POLYMETERAL that dissolves anything except for Laconia. Interesting. Another guys tells me of a robot named Hapsby who was built to pilot a spaceship, but was abandoned in the town of Bortevo somewhere. Hapsby is also made out of Laconia. I’m sure this will come in handy later.

drluvenoDr. Wily! I mean, Dr. Luveno! Guess what! He refuses to help! Guess we should all go home. But I have come so far! So I ask again. No sale. One more time and as always in video games, the third time usually does it. Dr. Luveno agrees and asks for me to meet in him back in Gothic where he will help me, but only if I help him first. Typical. No word still on the Gothic dress code, but he is wearing white, so I think we are in the clear.

Find out later this week what sordid task Dr. Luveno has planned for me and what the hell else I have to do to get the freaking spaceship built in Part VI: The Strange Appetite of Dr. Mad

Phantasy Star Game Blog Part IV: To Rescue A Stoner

phantasy_starI take Myau out for a few battles, test his mettle and such. He promptly dies. Thank heaven for nine lives, right? Back to town, revive him and try again. FASTER, PUSSYCAT KILL, KILL! Thankfully, Myau manages to stay alive long enough to gain a few levels, enough that I am reasonably confident that he will also stay alive long enough to rescue Odin from Medusa’s Cave. So we head back to Palma and enter Medusa’s Cave, my first full-fledged dungeon!
Continue reading Phantasy Star Game Blog Part IV: To Rescue A Stoner

Phantasy Star Game Blog Part III: A Whole New World

wtfA new fantastic point of view…no one to tell us no! Or where to go! Or say we’re only dreaming…sorry. Aladdin was a big hit when I was a kid. So I arrive on Motavia. One small step for man, one giant leap for Alis who is clearly desperate to escape the humdrum tropical world of Palma. Motavia is a desert planet, but you wouldn’t know it from the spaceport. Looks like every other area I have visited so far. The townsfolk are friendly and the Clone Troopers stay out of my way thanks to PASSPORT and PASS. I sip my newly poured cold Pepsi (sponsor?) with satisfaction at my newfound bad-assery.
Continue reading Phantasy Star Game Blog Part III: A Whole New World

Phantasy Star Game Blog Part II: Owl Bears Make Me Cry

ss-Phantasy_Star-04-640Grinding. Grinding never changes.

Ok, well I have finally had a taste of what combat is like in Phantasy Star and it’s kind of like going to Epcot Center and trying all the different sodas from around the world. China has their head on straight, but the Italians clearly have dead taste buds. And don’t even get me started on Israel. The battles in Phantasy Star take place from a first person POV and consists of ATTACK, MAGIC and ITEM. Oh, and RUN. RUN rocks. Love RUN. You don’t get to select which enemy to target, which can get really amusing sometimes. By amusing, of course I mean frustrating and by sometimes, of course I mean all the time.
Continue reading Phantasy Star Game Blog Part II: Owl Bears Make Me Cry

Phantasy Star Game Blog Part I: A Tentative First Step

dd432dc903be08ecd861213ec510493f-Phantasy_StarCaptain’s Log Stardate 456335.45

The ruthless bastards loyal readers of GamerSushi have made their voices heard and chosen a game for me to blog about. Sadly, their voices are that of demons from the 6th Circle of Hell, for they have chosen Phantasy Star. In order to properly blog about this game, I have traveled back in time to 1988.
Continue reading Phantasy Star Game Blog Part I: A Tentative First Step

GamerSushi Game Blog! You Pick The Game!

100042You guys know about my horribly long gaming backlog. I have made progress and setbacks, as I have beaten several games, but bought two, as well. Soul Caliber IV was ten bucks, what was I supposed to do?? So I thought I would blog about whatever game I play next from my collection, not what I get from Gamefly or anything.

So I came up with a list of 5 games. You guys get to pick. What follows is a brief description of each game. It is RPG heavy because my sarcastic manner is better suited to writing about these types of games. I mean, how can I make Devil May Cry half as interesting as Final Fantasy? Even I am not that talented. And if you disagree and think I am, tough. I still ain’t playing Devil May Cry again.

Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride (New) – This RPG is unique in that you start off as a boy with his dad on an adventure and eventually you grow into a man, choose 1 of 3 women to marry (sorry, Big Love fans) and have kids of your own and go on adventures with them, as well. So it follows 1 man’s life through 3 generations, which is really cool. Plus, you can recruit up to 70 monsters into your party and use them in battle.

Phantasy Star (New) – Originally released on the Sega Master system way back in the day, it’s a tough, old-school, kick-your-ass-and-make-you-like-it RPG. If you want me to go totally batshit during this blog, pick this game. Seriously, I am scared of this game and what it may do to me.

Suikoden (New) – Ah, a PS1 RPG I missed out on. I hear this one is pretty easy and short, too, about 15 or so hours to complete it. You play a soldier who recruits an army of 108 members, known as the Stars of Destiny and do battle with an evil…wait for it…EMPIRE! Sounds and looks like fun, though.

Breath of Fire II (New) – I only rented this back in the SNES days, but it is a steller RPG and it always intrigued me to because you can merge certain party members into one to create a new member. Got a wolfman and a fish? Make a wolf-fish! How cool is that? Other than that, it is a standard RPG, but a fun one from what I hear.

Final Fantasy III (New) – Remade for the DS, this game was previously unreleased in the U.S. and I know why: it’s freaking hard. No saving in caves or dungeons, only on the world map. Tough enemies, lots of grinding, but a fun job system (not as much fun as FF V’s, though) make this an old school RPG worth playing.

So there you have it. The 5 who were chosen. Now it’s up to you guys to pick which one I play. Keep in mind, I will be writing about the game for you guys, so pick something you want to read about.

UPDATE: I have edited the post per Eddy’s suggestion that I only do a new game (new to me). So since no one had voted for an old game yet, this works out. VOTE NOW!

Words of Wisdom From An Older Gamer

yodaLearn from my mistakes. I am 28 years old and I have played games all my life. I have learned some lessons about games and thought it might be beneficial to pass those on to you whippersnappers, to prevent you from making some of the mistakes I made.

1. Don’t buy a game you aren’t going to play right away. If you are buying it the day it comes out with the intention of playing it down the road, don’t. If the drive to play it isn’t there now because you have something else to play, then what makes you think it will suddenly appear later on? Answer: it won’t. And you will end up with a giant backlog of games that most likely you will never play because something new is always coming out. If you wait a week or two, I promise that insatiable need you feel to possess that game will dissipate, leaving a profound and new understanding about yourself. Also, it leaves $60 bucks or so in your wallet. Win/win?

2. Don’t be blindly loyal to a console. I was a Nintendo kid, like millions of others. But when Final Fantasy left Nintendo for Sony, I bought a Playstation and I have been with Sony ever since. Now, I still buy whatever Nintendo console is out there, but later, for a cheaper price and I use it as a second system and nothing more. If the 360 is your thing, but the games on the Wii or PS3 look good, don’t punish yourself out of some misguided loyalty to Microsoft. Trust me: they, nor Sony or Nintendo, give a crap. Play the games you want. Whatever system it may be for.

3. Games matter. Consoles don’t. Graphics? Sound? Online? These things matter not. If you want to know what console is right for you, then look at the games. Games determine what wins in the console wars, nothing else. Not fervent message board chatter, not how many people play online and not who has the better E3. It’s the games, stupid.

4. Reviews do matter. But they also don’t. See, don’t worry about the score a game gets. Read the review, in fact, read several reviews of a game you are looking at buying. You know what type of game you like, right? Scan the reviews to decipher if it is the kind of game you will like. If so, then the score doesn’t matter quite as much to you. If you love hack & slash RPGs and the reviewer gives one a 5, but for you it sounds like a 10, then get it! On the other hand, reviews don’t matter. No one really cares what game gets a 10. No one will remember that. So if a game you love gets a low score, who cares? Are you so insecure that someone else’s opinion might alter yours?

5. It’s a game. Enjoy it. We all forgot this sometimes, but don’t let the extraneous crap let you forget the fact that you are playing this game for fun. For enjoyment. To escape from the horrors of the real world for a bit. Don’t become obsessed with tiny details that ruin the fun for you. If you like single-player games and despise online games, that’s fine. There is nothing wrong with that. If you only like playing in groups, then do so. Don’t let someone else try to tell you what you should like or dislike. Have fun.

6. Don’t cosplay. Seriously. Never do this. Unless you are a really hot girl, don’t ever do this on any day that is not Halloween and even then, it might be pushing it.

A Little Reason Goes A Long Way

sinkingTake a look at any video game news site and you will be sure to find a story about how the PS3 is in third place in the Console Wars and how Sony should just give up and go the way of Sega and make games and not consoles. Yeah, cause that worked out so well for Sega. But I digress. The Playstation brand has seen rough days but it would foolish to count Sony out just yet.

Now, I understand that costs are very high to make video games and that making games on the PS3 is very complex and probably more expensive. I also understand that 360 has a higher install base, but I have news for you: it’s not that much higher. The 360 has sold about 30 million worldwide compared to the 22 million sold for the PS3. Consider the fact that the PS3 launched a year later and around the same time as the Wii. Factor in the admittely high cost of the PS3 and an 8 million unit lead is nice, but not nearly as big as everyone makes it out to be. From the way people fanboys talk, you would think the 360 has a 112 million unit lead or something. Oh wait…112 million units is the amount that the PS2 outsold the original Xbox by. But you didn’t hear this kind of doomsday talk for the Xbox then, did you? I know I didn’t. And the PS3 has already sold as many units as the original Xbox, which is not a mark of success by any means, but it sure does make you stop and wonder where all this negativity is coming from.

Let’s face it: the PS3 has had a rough launch. The high price and lack of killer games really hurt for a long time. But that time is over. With LittleBigPlanet, Killzone 2, Infamous and God of War III all out or soon to be out, the future for the PS3 is looking very bright. This article is not meant to prop up the PS3 or bring down the Wii or 360. I am merely trying to point out some facts that seem to fall by the wayside in these debates. Sony is not going anywhere and neither is Microsoft or Nintendo. Sony thumped everyone in the last round of consoles, so losing this one isn’t going to be end of the world for them.

Besides, these consoles are just getting going. Nintendo has jumped out to a seemingly insurmountable lead, but Wii sales have already slowed down and while mining the casual market seems to have done them a great service, the loss of the hardcore market might mean that the Wii’s days of ruling the sales charts are over. The 360 and PS3 will only get stronger, so we have a long way to go before this battle in the Console War is over.

Just relax and enjoy the games and try to let the guys who get paid tons of money worry about the business side of things. You want to support your console? Buy new, not used games. Other than that, it’s out of our hands. Except for the controller, of course. Until the Natal comes out.