lobotomy42

Ooooh, a Mackenzie Mii would be so sweet!!! I tried to make an Edgeworth Mii, but it didn't work out so well. Anyway, I'm eagerly awaiting some sweet Miis. noyb sent me Fone Bone, which was pretty cool.

Typography truly is an area where just a little effort can go a long way. And when there's no effort, it's just really distracting. At least, for me.

Alright...I FINALLY got a Wii, and added everyone on this thread as a friend in the address book. Now I hope some cool Mii's start showing up - especially Phoenix Wright and Sacha Nein! EDIT: Okay, it's late and I stupidly forgot to include my own Wii number so you can register me back. Here it is: 6166 0036 7632 7831

That was exactly my feeling. I had problems with...many, many things. But none of them detracted from my wanting to continue. Personally, I think Dreamfall should have been a PC-RPG in the vein of Planescape: Torment or Fallout. Keep the graphics and "core" storyline, but put all that extra stuff in as sidequests. I wanted more dialogue options and less dialogue forced on me via cutscenes. Instead of implementing a half-asses stealth and combat system, just give me stealth and combat "skills" and some dice rolls to see if I succeeded or not. (No leveling or stat tweaking necessary!) It's hard to explain, but in my head, the RPG approach makes more sense. It would have broken up the linearity by giving the player more things to find, optionally, and in a potentially different order. It could have kept the main story in the cutscenes and put the rest in dialogue trees, sidequests, etc. And just using stats and checks instead of direct-combat and direct-stealth would have eliminated frustration as well. Anyway, I liked the idea of the game, if not the game itself.

Well, the Wii is region-locked and the GameCube was region-locked as well...so I would imagine yes. EDIT: But, as mentioned above, Freeloader or Action Replay probably works.

If I limit myself to games that were released in my territory (the U.S.) in 2006 that I have played, then..it's like four games. So I'm going to select games from "the set of all semi-recent games that I played in 2006." Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney I thought this would be a throwaway title. One of those "Oh, it's amusing in that quirky Japanese way that quirky Japanese titles are" type of games. You know, a short little adventure that mocks lawyers. SO WRONG. Phoenix Wright is what most adventure games wish they were, but aren't. Phoenix Wright is mysterious, funny, sad, and moving in ways that few games ever achieve. Phoenix Wright succeeds with static images and on-screen text where others fail with full voice acting and pre-rendered cutscenes. When someone asked me earlier this year what my favorite adventure games were, I was surprised to hear myself give a tie between Grim Fandango and Phoenix Wright. I hadn't realized that this little Japanese GBA-to-DS port had embedded itself in my heart so strongly, but upon further reflection, it made sense. Phoenix Wright is a fantastically written game that integrates traditional adventure game puzzles into its plot so well that you barely even notice them. The whole game sort of sneaks up on you like that. You start playing one case, and before you know it, it's 3 in the morning and you're finally putting the game down. A 2005 release, yes, but it still gets my vote for "Game of the Year - 2006." Dreamfall: The Longest Journey This game gets a bad rap on these boards, and deservedly so. It does far more wrong than it does right, and I could probably write a dissertation on all the problems in game design, implementation, story, dialogue, and the "Why the hell didn't they just make it an RPG?" question. (Seriously, I think it would have been received much better if it had stats, leveling-up and side-quests.) But for all its faults, Dreamfall is still among the most memorable games I've played this year. I was aware of all of its problems when I played it, and that didn't make the game any less engrossing for me. The fact that I kept playing this game non-stop into the wee hours of the morning, despite its uncountable problems, says something strongly in its favor. Thinking back on the game, what I remember most about it is its ambition and promise. There are so many moments when I was blown away about the part I was "about to get to." Exploring the town of Marcuria, re-discovering Newport, breaking into the WATI Corp headquarters - all these moments that were almost brilliant, but always lacking in some crucial way. The game never ceased to get your hopes up. I suppose that what I'm saying is that the vision of the product, not the product itself, would be a contender for "Game of the Year." It's not a particularly finished or even good game, but the heart and soul of its creators just oozes out of every pore, which makes the experience itself seem worth it. Someone really wanted to make a masterpiece, and instead it ended up as this...thing. But it's still a thing. Chibi Robo I finally finished this game last night (after a long hiatus), and I was reminded yet again of what a delight this is to play. The gameplay is essentially that of Zelda, wherein you trot around an overworld looking for items which you can then use to gain access to more areas somewhere else. The difference is that in Chibi Robo's case, the overworld is a small house and you are a tiny robot that performs menial chores, rather than slaying deku scrubs. The game's seemingly goofy story involves a domestic dispute and bunch of toys that come alive at night. Despite this, Chibi Robo balances humor and drama quite well, letting you laugh at the characters even as you grow to care for them in their own weird way. The situations you'll find are decidedly weird (Where else would you go back in time to plant a flower so that it can grow for ten years, thus curing a nectar-addicted teddy bear of his life-destroying woe?), but this works strongly in the game's favor. Imagine Toy Story, but weirder and a lot more creative. On top of the high-quality stories and writing, the game has an excellent sense of pacing. Just as soon as you think you've run out of things to do, another pops up. You're always free to move between sub-quests or just goof around, without ever really feeling stuck. At the same time, the game does a good job of providing a "main quest," and does a decent job of making sure you always know where to go. Nothing ever gets boring or stale, and you can even finish certain chores after you've completed the game. Chibi Robo (the character) is adorable, lovable and friendly. Chibi Robo (the game) is filled to the brim with hilarious dialogue and touching moments, and manages to hit all the right gameplay notes at the same time. It's a joy to play, and my third pick for "Game of the Year." Other Games I Played A Lot Of in 2006 Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance New Super Mario Bros. Tomb Raider Legend (I know, I know, it's Tomb Raider - but still kinda fun!) The Rub Rabbits Games I Wish I Played in 2006 Okami Zelda: Twilight Princess Neverwinter Nights 2 Oblivion Dead Rising Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! Sam & Max (the new ones) Half-Life, Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One (based on what everyone's saying...)

These have already been mentioned, but Pikmin and Chibi Robo are fantastically creative games, if you're into the "quirky Japanese games" genre. Pikmin is real-time strategy + adventure, if that makes any sense. You really have to play it to understand. Chibi Robo is a more standard zelda-style adventure, but as a miniature robot who cleans the house and solves domestic disputes instead of a pointy-eared elf who kills stuff. (These may not be your thing, which is cool, but you can get them both for dirt cheap now, so you haven't much to lose.) Metroid Prime, Wind Waker and Resident Evil 4 are the system's heavy-hitters, and are all more or less excellent. Prime has a few tedious moments, largely due to the series' infamous backtracking. Wind Waker also has a giant fetch quest at the end, but is otherwise superb. Resident Evil 4 is just awesome. Those are probably the five games I would get for the system if I could only choose five. A short list of other decent titles in no particular order: Eternal Darkness, Resident Evil (a surprisingly good remake of the original), Fire Emblem, Tales of Symphonia, Super Mario Sunshine, Killer7, Viewtiful Joe and, for multiplayer only, Smash Bros. Melee or any of the Mario sports games. Okay, that list is probably already longer than what you're going to go buy, so I'll stop.

Mario Kart DS 0215 3711 1785 I rarely play online anymore, but if a bunch of Thumbers want to go a few rounds, I'm game. BTW, I know this is beating a dead horse, but FRIEND CODES SUCK.

Damn you, Japan! You win, you always do!!!!

Woo-hoo! I just put in my pre-order at EB Games.com, and got a FREE "Objection!" Legal Stylus. That is, a stylus shaped to look like an arm pointing at a witness and yelling "Objection!" Clearly, this was the reason I waited for the US release rather than importing.

I know! The sheer absurdity of everything makes me love everything. Isn't it great?

If I were a rich man, I'd be getting Zelda, Rayman, Monkey Ball, Trauma Center, and possibly Red Steel. However, I am a poor man, so I'll be getting nothing.

IGN has reviews up for Wii Sports and Trauma Center. Trauma Center Wii Sports

So, apparently the buzz is that Gears of War is quite good? 1up gave it a 10 and all the other reviews are equally gushing...despite all the reviews taking time to enumerate a list of flaws. This whole thing seems...suspicious. Is the game really that good? I'd been following the game off and on for awhile, and to me it always seemed...well, a bit crap. I guess it looks technically impressive, but for the most part it just seemed like a generic gory shooter. Anyone own the game and care to refute me?

Ok, granted, numeric scores are stupid and meaningless, yadda yadda yadda, but the text of the review itself essentially said "This game is flawed but I don't care it's awesome so it's perfect!" The 1up review was more of an example of my complaint (overhype) than the complaint itself. (If that makes any sense.) Anyway, I again state that I haven't played the game and so this could all just be my little anti-macho-marine bias flaring up. I will officially stop whining (for real) now.

Heheh. I actually just added that to my sig last night. It's the first LucasArts adventure game that I haven't loved. It's not that I hate the game, I was just kinda disappointed with it. There wasn't enough plot to make me feel invested in the characters, and the jokes alone weren't hilarious enough to compel me to continue playing. I ended up finishing out sheer inertia. (And a desire to move on to "Touch Detective," which I'm loving.)

Never mind, apparently 1up is just completely unreliable anyway. Here is its list of "perfect 10" games: Medieval: Total War WWE WrestleMania XIX The Sims: Unleashed Grand Theft Auto Double Pack Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich Splinter Cell Chaos Theory The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay -- Developer's Cut Silent Hunter III Bully Final Fantasy X Grand Theft Auto III NBA 2K2 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 BookWorm Deluxe Decisive Battles of World War II: Korsun Pocket Madden NFL 2003 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Company of Heroes Gears of War Ninja Gaiden Black I guess, when push comes to shove, I must admit that Gears of War is probably at least as good as Madden NFL 2003. Probably, Gears is even better than Madden, so it rightly deserves a 10. My bad.

I wasn't really complaining about the game itself, as much as the seemingly inflated scores it's been getting. I mean, a perfect 10 from 1up? That means, literally, that no game EVER will be better than Gears of War. It is either the best game that has ever been or will ever be created, or it is equal to the game that is. Doesn't that seem a bit extreme?

I'm in that demographic, and I apparently have radically different tastes than everyone else in it. (Hmmm, maybe that's why I can't hold down a job?) Yeah, I dunno, I've read four or five reviews now. Maybe I'm just really superficial and can't get past the obnoxious Unreal-like characters and general feeling that I'm in "another army game." Bleh. It's true that I am picky. For some reason, I didn't mind the gore and machismo of Resident Evil 4, but it bothers me in what I've seen in this. Actually, the more I think about it, the more I think what's really bothering me is that perfect ten score from 1up.com. Scores shouldn't matter...but gosh darn it, it seems like I could name a dozen games off the top of my head more worthy of a ten. Alright, alright, I'll stop being a whiny bitch until I've actually played the game. /rant

Well, in the trailer for PW4, for one. (A bunch of screenshots fly by at once.)

Man, I need to get a PS2 just so I can actually play this game.

Nintendo of America officials were the ones who started the region-free rumor by, well, saying that it was region-free. However, it was later revealed (either the following day or the same day) that those particular officials had misunderstood the question being asked of them. Because, as usual, NOA is the most clueless branch of Nintendo, despite getting priority treatment with releases.

As far as I can tell, they're just complaining that it's an adventure game. "Everything about this game is great, but it has illogical puzzles! Therefore, it gets a 6."

rant The "Girls in Games" article has existed pretty much ever since the industry started writing about itself. I must say, I don't give a flying rat's ass about the topic anymore. They always have these stupid panels at conferences and stupid marketing experts and stupid articles and they say the same stupid things every time. I don't care anymore. At all. Some people play games. Some don't. Some of them are girls, some of them aren't. Some gamers like some types of games, and some like others. But really, trying to classify people's preferences using such broad strokes as gender are ridiculous. If I came out and said "What kinds of games do black people like? We need to sell more black-people games," I'd sound like a racist old fart, and would be (rightly) ridiculed as an idiot. So why do we allow people to say the same thing about women? People are individuals, not huge blocks of demographics. The next person who writes an article about "Girls in Gaming" is going to get a screwdriver through the eye-socket from yours truly. /rant

And how many pipes did you go down during Mario 64? You came out of one in the beginning....and that's it. How many Koopas were there in the entire game? Methinks about 3. And you definitely weren't triple-jumping and backflipping in the original Super Mario Bros. Nor has Yoshi made any (serious) appearances outside of Super Mario World or Super Mario Sunshine. And that racoon suit from Super Mario Bros. 3 (considered by many the "best" Mario) was a totally new idea at the time. My point here is that the Mario series never really stays the same anyway. Each game has taken select elements from the previous games and thrown in a bunch of new ones, some more successful than others. Sometimes the changes are big, sometimes the changes are small. But if there's one thing we learned from NEW Super Mario Bros. (on the DS), it's that keeping the formula identical to the original makes the game less interesting. Playing Mario is about slowly mastering the mechanics and timing of a grab-bag of bizarre acrobatic moves and power-ups. If they gave us the same set every time, we'd just breeze through the games with no fun! There has to be new stuff to learn or there's no challenge. And, if you're adding new stuff, it only makes sense to toss a bunch of old crud, too. It keeps the series both fresh and simple. Some Mario games are bigger hits than misses. But I'll take a couple of misses if it means that they don't keep trying to recycle the same thing over and over again. And, personally, I don't think Galaxy will be a miss.