Some Video Game Pick-ups For The Weekend
To celebrate the onset of last weekend, I decided to indulge in a bit of shopping. I was looking for a title to play alongside Uncharted 2 multiplayer to tide me over until Modern Warfare 2. Title soon became plural and I got a little carried away –
Yes, I picked up Demon’s Souls. The rave reviews and the high level of difficulty sparked my interest. I got the slightly more expensive deluxe edition, which comes with a guide, art book and soundtrack, as none of the import stores in Akihabara had the regular version in stock. Besides, I have the feeling that I will become rather thankful for the guide. I will be using my older controller for Demon’s Souls, in preparation for a bout of pad throwing/smashing/biting.
As I wrote about a fortnight or so ago, I am going for the SEGA SATURN CENTURION. I only needed three more JPN titles to hit 100, and two of the games that I have settled on, Akumajo Dracula X (Castlevania – Symphony of the Night) and Segata Sanshiro Shikenyugi are in the picture above. I paid the standard rate for the collection of bizarre mini games that is SSS, but I got a pretty good deal for Castlevania as the instructions are a little dog eared and the spine card is missing. It’s nothing that will stand in the way of enjoying the game. Unfortunately, I have yet to track down Message Navi, my intended final entry into the centurion. It wasn’t through a lack of trying mind, as I spent a good 20 minutes rummaging through boxes full of discounted Saturn games looking for the elusive katakana symbol “?”. It’s not everyday you see a well dressed westerner (I was suited-up after a day in the office) sitting on the floor rummaging through a box of Saturn games that no one wants!
I have read good things about Dead Space Extraction, and I have got a great deal of enjoyment from on-rails Wii shooters in the past. I feel like I have to buy a Wii title every now and again, if not just to justify having the system. I had a brief go last night, and unfortunately the voice track is all Japanese. I was hoping it would be similar to The Umbrella Chronicles and The House of the Dead Collection and be in English with Japanese subtitles. It should still be easy to play though.
Um Jammer Lammy was a junk box pick up. At only ¥180 and having recently played and enjoyed Parappa the Rapper, it was a no-brainer. And lastly, I finally picked up my own copy of Uncharted. Although I have completed it 3 times, I have never owned a copy, so I thought it was about time that I picked one up.
It’s been a while since I went on a bit of a splurge, and it felt good!
ODDS & ENDS
As I mentioned before, I have been writing over at criticalgamer.co.uk, which is well worth checking out. One of my articles posted there was recently featured on slashdot.org and attracted 137 comments, and I’m told north of 5000 hits within one day. Of course, I made the mistake of reading the majority of the comments, a mistake I shall not be repeating again. There were some thoughtful and interesting ones, both positive and negative, but there were also those that made my blood boil, in particular by people who clearly hadn’t taken the trouble to read the whole post. Anyway, it’s good to get noticed. Probably.
I almost bought two other games during my shopping trip. Left 4 Dead was going cheap, and remains one of the few 360 games that I have a strong desire to play. The other was Halo ODST, which was on sale for a very reasonable ¥2900, but on the basis of my recent introduction to the Halo series, I decided to pass. I started playing Halo 3 about a month ago, in an attempt to introduce myself to the series and in preparation for my intended purchase of ODST. However, I gave up about 3 hours-in and was sorely disappointed. I didn’t think it was a bad game, just a decidedly average one that could not hold my interest for any extended period of time. I guess Halo just isn’t for me.
Yes, I picked up Demon’s Souls. The rave reviews and the high level of difficulty sparked my interest. I got the slightly more expensive deluxe edition, which comes with a guide, art book and soundtrack, as none of the import stores in Akihabara had the regular version in stock. Besides, I have the feeling that I will become rather thankful for the guide. I will be using my older controller for Demon’s Souls, in preparation for a bout of pad throwing/smashing/biting.
As I wrote about a fortnight or so ago, I am going for the SEGA SATURN CENTURION. I only needed three more JPN titles to hit 100, and two of the games that I have settled on, Akumajo Dracula X (Castlevania – Symphony of the Night) and Segata Sanshiro Shikenyugi are in the picture above. I paid the standard rate for the collection of bizarre mini games that is SSS, but I got a pretty good deal for Castlevania as the instructions are a little dog eared and the spine card is missing. It’s nothing that will stand in the way of enjoying the game. Unfortunately, I have yet to track down Message Navi, my intended final entry into the centurion. It wasn’t through a lack of trying mind, as I spent a good 20 minutes rummaging through boxes full of discounted Saturn games looking for the elusive katakana symbol “?”. It’s not everyday you see a well dressed westerner (I was suited-up after a day in the office) sitting on the floor rummaging through a box of Saturn games that no one wants!
I have read good things about Dead Space Extraction, and I have got a great deal of enjoyment from on-rails Wii shooters in the past. I feel like I have to buy a Wii title every now and again, if not just to justify having the system. I had a brief go last night, and unfortunately the voice track is all Japanese. I was hoping it would be similar to The Umbrella Chronicles and The House of the Dead Collection and be in English with Japanese subtitles. It should still be easy to play though.
Um Jammer Lammy was a junk box pick up. At only ¥180 and having recently played and enjoyed Parappa the Rapper, it was a no-brainer. And lastly, I finally picked up my own copy of Uncharted. Although I have completed it 3 times, I have never owned a copy, so I thought it was about time that I picked one up.
It’s been a while since I went on a bit of a splurge, and it felt good!
ODDS & ENDS
As I mentioned before, I have been writing over at criticalgamer.co.uk, which is well worth checking out. One of my articles posted there was recently featured on slashdot.org and attracted 137 comments, and I’m told north of 5000 hits within one day. Of course, I made the mistake of reading the majority of the comments, a mistake I shall not be repeating again. There were some thoughtful and interesting ones, both positive and negative, but there were also those that made my blood boil, in particular by people who clearly hadn’t taken the trouble to read the whole post. Anyway, it’s good to get noticed. Probably.
I almost bought two other games during my shopping trip. Left 4 Dead was going cheap, and remains one of the few 360 games that I have a strong desire to play. The other was Halo ODST, which was on sale for a very reasonable ¥2900, but on the basis of my recent introduction to the Halo series, I decided to pass. I started playing Halo 3 about a month ago, in an attempt to introduce myself to the series and in preparation for my intended purchase of ODST. However, I gave up about 3 hours-in and was sorely disappointed. I didn’t think it was a bad game, just a decidedly average one that could not hold my interest for any extended period of time. I guess Halo just isn’t for me.
The Musings of a Gamer
I haven’t posted here for a week plus, so I thought I better put something up!. Aside from being rather busy and unmotivated to write, I have also been struggling to come up with a decent topic to dedicate a whole post to. So, in lieu of anything more substantial, here are some random thoughts about, you guessed it, VIDEO GAMES –
1. Meet the Hi-Saturn Navi, the stuff of dreams, or nightmares, dependant upon your take on karaoke sessions whilst driving. Released in December 1995, Hitachi’s top-of-the-range take on the Sega Saturn was flatter and thinner than the original model, as it was intended to be installed in a car. It features a karaoke system, TV antenna socket and an LCD monitor and GPS, which were quite the luxury at the time. Produced in extremely limited quantities, it cost ¥150,000 and one changed hands on EBAY a couple of years back for the best part of $2000.
Imagine, if you will, that it’s the mid nineties and you are cruising down the highway. You glance across your dashboard, and there in all its glory is the Hi-Saturn Navi. You’re not quite sure exactly where you are going, so you check your built-in GPS. Back on track and cruising through the suburbs, you decide that its time to impress the locals. You drop down the soft top, and bang out some karaoke tunes. You rest safe in the knowledge that nothing impresses the ladies quite like some J-Pop from 1996. To top the journey off, you slip in a copy of Nights or Sega Rally into your sleek box of wonders. It’s the prefect companion for any journey. As you can probably imagine, the one thing the Hi-Saturn isn’t particularly good at is preventing road accidents. Attempting to play Virtua Cop whilst behind the wheel is not recommended.
2. Ok, like seemingly everyone else who owns a PS3, I am currently playing and thoroughly enjoying Uncharted 2. Don’t worry, neither spoilers nor a review follows. What I will say though, is that I have had a smile plastered across my face from the moment I broke the seal, and in a change of recent gaming form, I have found myself playing for extended periods, completely losing track of time. Of late, I have only been playing games in short bursts, but I just cant pull myself away from Nathan Drake’s morally suspect adventures and impressive vertical, and horizontal, jump.
Uncharted 2 has fostered a sense of urgency that has only been brought about by two other titles during this current generation, those two being Uncharted and Metal Gear Solid 4. I’m power-walking from the station to my sofa after work, and I literally sprinted from my office to the local import shop on the day of release, after being informed that it had arrived hours before its US launch. It was on the shelf less than 10 minutes when I got my grubby hands on it.
3. So as to avoid buying a new game in the run-up to Uncharted 2 ( I almost gave in to NBA Live 10 and Ninja Gaiden Σ 2), I invested some time in a couple of titles that had been collecting dust on my shelf. FIFA ’09 provided the standard football fare and Battlefield Bad Company was one part frustration and another part satisfaction, just as I remembered it being during my previous attempt at playing it through. But it was Lost Planet that grasped the rare opportunity to shine. Emboldened by the Lost Planet 2 demo, I decided to give the original a go, which came boxed with my 360. I was really enjoying the shooting, adventuring and big game hunting, at least until my 360 informed me that it could no longer read the disc, and that I should familiarize myself with a damp cloth. The game is unplayable. I swear, my 360 doesn’t want me to like it. Prick.
4. Last one. Have you ever been Quincied? If you aren’t sure, then you definitely haven’t been. Quincying is one of the few ways you can entertain yourself in PS3 Home. Words can’t really do it justice, so check out this brief, safe for the work place clip for the low-down. Anyone who has seen female avatars being mobbed in Home will definitely appreciate this -
QUINCYING
1. Meet the Hi-Saturn Navi, the stuff of dreams, or nightmares, dependant upon your take on karaoke sessions whilst driving. Released in December 1995, Hitachi’s top-of-the-range take on the Sega Saturn was flatter and thinner than the original model, as it was intended to be installed in a car. It features a karaoke system, TV antenna socket and an LCD monitor and GPS, which were quite the luxury at the time. Produced in extremely limited quantities, it cost ¥150,000 and one changed hands on EBAY a couple of years back for the best part of $2000.
Imagine, if you will, that it’s the mid nineties and you are cruising down the highway. You glance across your dashboard, and there in all its glory is the Hi-Saturn Navi. You’re not quite sure exactly where you are going, so you check your built-in GPS. Back on track and cruising through the suburbs, you decide that its time to impress the locals. You drop down the soft top, and bang out some karaoke tunes. You rest safe in the knowledge that nothing impresses the ladies quite like some J-Pop from 1996. To top the journey off, you slip in a copy of Nights or Sega Rally into your sleek box of wonders. It’s the prefect companion for any journey. As you can probably imagine, the one thing the Hi-Saturn isn’t particularly good at is preventing road accidents. Attempting to play Virtua Cop whilst behind the wheel is not recommended.
2. Ok, like seemingly everyone else who owns a PS3, I am currently playing and thoroughly enjoying Uncharted 2. Don’t worry, neither spoilers nor a review follows. What I will say though, is that I have had a smile plastered across my face from the moment I broke the seal, and in a change of recent gaming form, I have found myself playing for extended periods, completely losing track of time. Of late, I have only been playing games in short bursts, but I just cant pull myself away from Nathan Drake’s morally suspect adventures and impressive vertical, and horizontal, jump.
Uncharted 2 has fostered a sense of urgency that has only been brought about by two other titles during this current generation, those two being Uncharted and Metal Gear Solid 4. I’m power-walking from the station to my sofa after work, and I literally sprinted from my office to the local import shop on the day of release, after being informed that it had arrived hours before its US launch. It was on the shelf less than 10 minutes when I got my grubby hands on it.
3. So as to avoid buying a new game in the run-up to Uncharted 2 ( I almost gave in to NBA Live 10 and Ninja Gaiden Σ 2), I invested some time in a couple of titles that had been collecting dust on my shelf. FIFA ’09 provided the standard football fare and Battlefield Bad Company was one part frustration and another part satisfaction, just as I remembered it being during my previous attempt at playing it through. But it was Lost Planet that grasped the rare opportunity to shine. Emboldened by the Lost Planet 2 demo, I decided to give the original a go, which came boxed with my 360. I was really enjoying the shooting, adventuring and big game hunting, at least until my 360 informed me that it could no longer read the disc, and that I should familiarize myself with a damp cloth. The game is unplayable. I swear, my 360 doesn’t want me to like it. Prick.
4. Last one. Have you ever been Quincied? If you aren’t sure, then you definitely haven’t been. Quincying is one of the few ways you can entertain yourself in PS3 Home. Words can’t really do it justice, so check out this brief, safe for the work place clip for the low-down. Anyone who has seen female avatars being mobbed in Home will definitely appreciate this -
QUINCYING
If Only my Life Were Patched for Trophies - A day in Tokyo with trophy (PS3) support
Wouldn’t life be so much more interesting if it were patched for trophies, just like a PS3 game (Xbox360 - Achievements)? You do something successfully, and “ping” a shiny trophy appears over your right hand shoulder. Think of all the extra motivation it would provide to complete those mundane day to day tasks. My average summer day in Tokyo might look a little like this-
Bronze Trophies
Assist – Help those tourists staring blankly at the Tokyo subway map.
Ass – Pretend you don’t see those tourists staring blankly at the Tokyo subway map.
Mainichi Otaku – Go to Akihabara and buy something that you don’t need.
Join Us – Play your DS on the train
Party of One – Sing Muse’s “Knights of Cydonia” at karaoke.
Broken Record – Tell everyone about your recent gaming exploits, especially people who don’t care.
Silver Trophies
Master of Restraint – Don’t go to Akihabara today.
King of the Beer Garden – Prove you worth by foolishly out-drinking everyone else at 5pm.
What a Porker – Go to a shabu shabu all-you-can-eat-and-drink restaurant three times in one week (This one isn’t me. You know who you are!)
Short Circuit – Try to robot dance. Fail.
Gold Trophies
Musical Chairs – Secure the only remaining seat on the 6.46am train to Shinagawa.
One in a million – Play the Virtual Boy on the train.
Last Man Standing – Miss the last train home, but resist the urge to get a taxi instead.
Platinum Trophy
What a Dandy – Successfully wear a suit all day in overbearing humidity.
BTW, I haven’t gone mad. Just a very quiet week here in Japan (Obon), with very little else to do!
Bronze Trophies
Assist – Help those tourists staring blankly at the Tokyo subway map.
Ass – Pretend you don’t see those tourists staring blankly at the Tokyo subway map.
Mainichi Otaku – Go to Akihabara and buy something that you don’t need.
Join Us – Play your DS on the train
Party of One – Sing Muse’s “Knights of Cydonia” at karaoke.
Broken Record – Tell everyone about your recent gaming exploits, especially people who don’t care.
Silver Trophies
Master of Restraint – Don’t go to Akihabara today.
King of the Beer Garden – Prove you worth by foolishly out-drinking everyone else at 5pm.
What a Porker – Go to a shabu shabu all-you-can-eat-and-drink restaurant three times in one week (This one isn’t me. You know who you are!)
Short Circuit – Try to robot dance. Fail.
Gold Trophies
Musical Chairs – Secure the only remaining seat on the 6.46am train to Shinagawa.
One in a million – Play the Virtual Boy on the train.
Last Man Standing – Miss the last train home, but resist the urge to get a taxi instead.
Platinum Trophy
What a Dandy – Successfully wear a suit all day in overbearing humidity.
BTW, I haven’t gone mad. Just a very quiet week here in Japan (Obon), with very little else to do!
An Ode To My Better Half - My Fiance & Video Games
I spend a lot of my free time playing video games. Some would say too much. When I’m not playing video games, I’m most likely writing about them. Or reading about them. Or shopping for them. This means that for my fiancé, there is no escape. Living together in a small flat in the middle of Tokyo, she can’t help but acknowledge them. They have invaded our living room. She was actually the inspiration for my blog name “toomanywires”. After yet another of my ill advised console purchases, and seeing the collection of cords choking up our TV stand she came out with that little sound bite.
She was good natured enough to laugh and make fun of me when I got drunk and bought an Xbox360. She drew the stunning likeness of me that is my current user profile at 1up.com. She can play up a storm on Puyo Puyo, and knows that there’s a part of me that isn’t really joking when I pretend to throw a fit whenever she beats me at Wii golf (it doesn’t happen that often!). She sat through 2 player Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles and she doesn’t mind when I farm her for PS3 puzzle game trophies (Trashpanic). She has partaken in countless drinking sessions with me and thedogbarks, which almost always descend into game talk, however hard we try to steer the topic elsewhere. She even claimed to like the 8bit Cafe, a retro game themed watering hole in Shinjuku. I have lost count of how many times she has accompanied me to Akihabara.
I realise that I am very fortunate. Thanks for having a sense of humour, and I promise I won’t buy any more games this week.
You lucky, lucky girl.
She was good natured enough to laugh and make fun of me when I got drunk and bought an Xbox360. She drew the stunning likeness of me that is my current user profile at 1up.com. She can play up a storm on Puyo Puyo, and knows that there’s a part of me that isn’t really joking when I pretend to throw a fit whenever she beats me at Wii golf (it doesn’t happen that often!). She sat through 2 player Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles and she doesn’t mind when I farm her for PS3 puzzle game trophies (Trashpanic). She has partaken in countless drinking sessions with me and thedogbarks, which almost always descend into game talk, however hard we try to steer the topic elsewhere. She even claimed to like the 8bit Cafe, a retro game themed watering hole in Shinjuku. I have lost count of how many times she has accompanied me to Akihabara.
I realise that I am very fortunate. Thanks for having a sense of humour, and I promise I won’t buy any more games this week.
You lucky, lucky girl.
Unusual Publicity Stunts
Video games are now big business. So it makes sense that more and more money is being spent on publicity. Some video game marketing and publicity campaigns are era defining, some are very strange and others are just ill-conceived. Some are all three.
For now I am going to look at some of the more unusual publicity stunts of recent times, as they are by far the most interesting. In the future, I hope to dedicate some space here to some of the best video game advertising of recent years. Expect Sony and SEGA to feature heavily. But for today, here is the weird stuff.
This conversation may or may not have taken place;
A - “I know how to best introduce the press to our new game.”
B – “Oh yeah, how?”
A – “Let’s get them to eat offal from the inside of a partially decapitated goat”.
A – “Great. I’ll call catering!”
So went the thinking behind the centre piece of the God of War release party in Athens. The uproar that it caused resulted in a recall of 80,000 copies of the official UK Playstation magazine, which featured a picture of said goat as part of a preview piece.
Red Faction Guerrilla, which I am currently playing, boasts a very impressive physics engine that allows you to smash and destroy your surroundings in a very realistic and satisfying fashion. To celebrate this, THQ purportedly strapped a sledgehammer to a car in Covent Garden, London, and locked copies of the game inside. Passers by were encouraged to lay into the car with the hammer to get their grubby hands on a free copy of the game. Although there are videos online showing someone doing just that, I get the feeling that this was just a clever, staged publicity stunt on THQ’s behalf. Or at least I hope it was!
Even more worrying was the London based publicity stunt for Resident Evil 5. Capcom organized a body part scavenger hunt across the capital. Fake body parts were hidden in and around Trafalgar square, and participants were given hints as to where they were stashed. After they had finished their macabre treasure hunt, they had to proceed to Westminster Bridge by 11am of that morning and, in the words of the press release –
“Alert us to your presence by standing on the bridge, holding the artificial body parts over your head and shouting 'Kijuju!'. We will be there, watching you, and will approach when you make yourselves known”.
The winner received a trip to Africa. Would hate to have been the PR organiser when one too many arms turned up.
By the way, SEGA, congratulations on your entirely original publicity stunt for Madworld!
EA succeeded in alienated a lot of people by staging a fake protest at E3 for upcoming title, Dante’s Inferno, based upon a section of the Divine Comedy and the author’s travels through hell. They got 20 phony religious protestors to hold up signs such as “Trade in Your PlayStation for a PrayStation,” “Hell is not a Game” and “EA = Electronic Anti-Christ.” Pretty funny signs, but nonetheless, it’s probably a publicity stunt that they would like to take back.
Next, in an effort to improve the safety of London roads, Acclaim proposed to pay for any speeding tickets incurred upon the release day of Burnout 2. It goes without saying that the police were not sold on the idea.
Finally, to promote GTA IV, Rockstar Games filled black bin bags with Uzis, crack cocaine and copies of the game and hid them throughout New York City. Ok, that one is a joke, but it didn’t seem all that out of place here, did it?
For now I am going to look at some of the more unusual publicity stunts of recent times, as they are by far the most interesting. In the future, I hope to dedicate some space here to some of the best video game advertising of recent years. Expect Sony and SEGA to feature heavily. But for today, here is the weird stuff.
This conversation may or may not have taken place;
A - “I know how to best introduce the press to our new game.”
B – “Oh yeah, how?”
A – “Let’s get them to eat offal from the inside of a partially decapitated goat”.
A – “Great. I’ll call catering!”
So went the thinking behind the centre piece of the God of War release party in Athens. The uproar that it caused resulted in a recall of 80,000 copies of the official UK Playstation magazine, which featured a picture of said goat as part of a preview piece.
Red Faction Guerrilla, which I am currently playing, boasts a very impressive physics engine that allows you to smash and destroy your surroundings in a very realistic and satisfying fashion. To celebrate this, THQ purportedly strapped a sledgehammer to a car in Covent Garden, London, and locked copies of the game inside. Passers by were encouraged to lay into the car with the hammer to get their grubby hands on a free copy of the game. Although there are videos online showing someone doing just that, I get the feeling that this was just a clever, staged publicity stunt on THQ’s behalf. Or at least I hope it was!
Even more worrying was the London based publicity stunt for Resident Evil 5. Capcom organized a body part scavenger hunt across the capital. Fake body parts were hidden in and around Trafalgar square, and participants were given hints as to where they were stashed. After they had finished their macabre treasure hunt, they had to proceed to Westminster Bridge by 11am of that morning and, in the words of the press release –
“Alert us to your presence by standing on the bridge, holding the artificial body parts over your head and shouting 'Kijuju!'. We will be there, watching you, and will approach when you make yourselves known”.
The winner received a trip to Africa. Would hate to have been the PR organiser when one too many arms turned up.
By the way, SEGA, congratulations on your entirely original publicity stunt for Madworld!
EA succeeded in alienated a lot of people by staging a fake protest at E3 for upcoming title, Dante’s Inferno, based upon a section of the Divine Comedy and the author’s travels through hell. They got 20 phony religious protestors to hold up signs such as “Trade in Your PlayStation for a PrayStation,” “Hell is not a Game” and “EA = Electronic Anti-Christ.” Pretty funny signs, but nonetheless, it’s probably a publicity stunt that they would like to take back.
Next, in an effort to improve the safety of London roads, Acclaim proposed to pay for any speeding tickets incurred upon the release day of Burnout 2. It goes without saying that the police were not sold on the idea.
Finally, to promote GTA IV, Rockstar Games filled black bin bags with Uzis, crack cocaine and copies of the game and hid them throughout New York City. Ok, that one is a joke, but it didn’t seem all that out of place here, did it?
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