Unboxing video guest starring the Wife of Thunder. I would've bet money on her response being that it was a Hentai game.
I'll hopefully start playing and recording on Monday, but due to the sheer amount of other games coming in the mail, that'll be pushed back to Wednesday. I've got to run through CSI: Hard Evidence, provided by the 360voice Free Rental program, first and then LEGO Batman....and then WANTED....and THEN I can really get going on my own games.
It's going to be a busy summer of gaming, but with my new Dazzle HD Pro, everyone will get to enjoy it with me!
Friday, April 30, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
Never Judge A Game By Its Cover
Again, trying this out for submission to TA, I'm taking another stab at the RPG's influence across other genres next week, especially after a lively debate about Borderlands on 360voice.
By day I may be an avid gamer, but by night I work as a college librarian. Part of my job is suggesting books for the students which is a lot harder then going for "Grand Pearl Poo-bah" in Hexic HD. A major problem I have is getting students to even look at a book without the book jacket. It is disturbing how many college students will read a book if it "looks good." It's a book! It looks like someone was writing on paper!
This got me thinking about Onechanabra: Bikini Samurai Squad. Not only is this game cursed with an obnoxious title (or a great one depending on your point of view), but it also has some of the worst cover art. All that is depicted is Aya, one of the main characters, standing there in her cowboy hat and bikini. Normally a cover would not dissuade people from picking up a game but this particular cover of a scantily clad Japanese woman can, and most likely has, turned people away from what is actually a really good game.
Here's a linkie to the cover art so you can see this for yourself: http://www.forevergeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/onechanbara.jpg
Now, how many people would lump that in with other scantily clad covers such as X-Blades and even Dead or Alive Extreme 2? I will hazard a guess and say most of you did just that. Well don't, because what this cover is concealing, beside a pair of legs that go for miles, is some of the best hack and slash gameplay on the 360. No really, do not be fooled by the bikini or the school girl outfit, the timing based combo system of Onechanabra takes serious skill to reach the full potential.
Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad is the perfect storm of a bad title and a bad cover masking great gameplay. Even if the cover was changed to show Aya fighting off a horde of zombies, it would be a more accurate representation of the game. I mean come on, zombies! Every gamer's favorite mindless cannon fodder! I know people that buy games specifically because it has zombies! The back of the Onechanbara box does mention the zombies, but to reach that, you have to pick up the bikini clad cover and turn it over.
The dilemma Onechanbara faces is akin to a Playboy with a really good article inside. Do not be embarrassed to pick it up. Just like I tell male students, there is nothing wrong with picking up a "girly" looking book such as Pride and Prejudice....the version without the zombies....or even Emma, another great work by Jane Austen. Along those lines, I also enjoyed Vanity Fair. You already have an image in your mind about those books based off of society but those books are also some of the greatest of all time.
Do not play a game simply because it might be embarrassing to walk up to the cash register with it, you might be missing out on a great experience.
By day I may be an avid gamer, but by night I work as a college librarian. Part of my job is suggesting books for the students which is a lot harder then going for "Grand Pearl Poo-bah" in Hexic HD. A major problem I have is getting students to even look at a book without the book jacket. It is disturbing how many college students will read a book if it "looks good." It's a book! It looks like someone was writing on paper!
This got me thinking about Onechanabra: Bikini Samurai Squad. Not only is this game cursed with an obnoxious title (or a great one depending on your point of view), but it also has some of the worst cover art. All that is depicted is Aya, one of the main characters, standing there in her cowboy hat and bikini. Normally a cover would not dissuade people from picking up a game but this particular cover of a scantily clad Japanese woman can, and most likely has, turned people away from what is actually a really good game.
Here's a linkie to the cover art so you can see this for yourself: http://www.forevergeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/onechanbara.jpg
Now, how many people would lump that in with other scantily clad covers such as X-Blades and even Dead or Alive Extreme 2? I will hazard a guess and say most of you did just that. Well don't, because what this cover is concealing, beside a pair of legs that go for miles, is some of the best hack and slash gameplay on the 360. No really, do not be fooled by the bikini or the school girl outfit, the timing based combo system of Onechanabra takes serious skill to reach the full potential.
Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad is the perfect storm of a bad title and a bad cover masking great gameplay. Even if the cover was changed to show Aya fighting off a horde of zombies, it would be a more accurate representation of the game. I mean come on, zombies! Every gamer's favorite mindless cannon fodder! I know people that buy games specifically because it has zombies! The back of the Onechanbara box does mention the zombies, but to reach that, you have to pick up the bikini clad cover and turn it over.
The dilemma Onechanbara faces is akin to a Playboy with a really good article inside. Do not be embarrassed to pick it up. Just like I tell male students, there is nothing wrong with picking up a "girly" looking book such as Pride and Prejudice....the version without the zombies....or even Emma, another great work by Jane Austen. Along those lines, I also enjoyed Vanity Fair. You already have an image in your mind about those books based off of society but those books are also some of the greatest of all time.
Do not play a game simply because it might be embarrassing to walk up to the cash register with it, you might be missing out on a great experience.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Preview Image
So I've been really busy wrapping up course work for the semester, grad school applications and the such. Here to tide you over is the title screen of...well...see for yourself...Jabootu knows it's large enough to get your attention...
Monday, March 15, 2010
Know Your History: The RPG
Test running this for eventual submission at TrueAchievements as a running series
My first exposure to Role Playing Games was with Dragon Warrior 3 for the NES back in 1991. My uncle brought it over when he watched my brother and I for the weekend, so I had a first row seat for his fight against the Orochi. On screen, all I could see where the enemies sprites, which would flash when successfully hit by your invisible party, but in my mind, it was a swirling melee with the fighter and soldier characters at the front lines, the wizard behind them flinging ice spells and the hero, decked out in blue and green armor, plunging his sword into the neck of the Orochi and bringing it down. From that moment, I became a fan of Role Playing Games forever.
What appealed the most to a young Dog of Thunder, was leveling up my characters, finding new weapons and armor, that constant forward progress. Even in the fourth grade I was hooked on getting to that next level. I did not even need anything major, just an extra 10 HP, some more STR and maybe some LUCK (always the most useless stat, always.) Character progression was, to me, more important then the story or the graphics. Video games were simpler back then, where if you wanted persistent character progression, you would only be able to play an RPG.
Take a look around today then and find me a game that does not use elements of the early RPGS. Modern Warfare took the concept of leveling and experience to a whole new genre, X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a straight up hack and slash title with an XP bar and a skills system. Even Sports games, such as MLB 2k10 and even Madden have begun using leveling systems for their characters. What happened?
When did the defining feature of the RPGs of my youth become so commonplace as to be cliche? Where was the tipping point? Was there one moment when the industry sat up and took notice of all the things that RPGs were doing right? Just how much do modern games owe to the classic RPGs of the 80s and early 90s?
Modern RPGs are understandably influenced by the classics. If you hate the segmented story telling of Final Fantasy 13, then you need to go back to 1990 and Dragon Warrior 4, the first RPG to introduce the concept of separate chapters for separate characters alongside a combat system where you controlled just the main character and set "Battle Options" for your allies. Choosing from "Offensive", "Defensive", "Converse MP", "No MP" and the like, Dragon Warrior 4 has more in common with a RPG released 20 years later then it did with Dragon Warrior 3.
Join me then as I take a modern game, and go backwards to the origin point. Learning along the way where all these features and concepts originated. By knowing and understanding the history of what came before, can we truly appreciate where we are now, and where we are going.
My first exposure to Role Playing Games was with Dragon Warrior 3 for the NES back in 1991. My uncle brought it over when he watched my brother and I for the weekend, so I had a first row seat for his fight against the Orochi. On screen, all I could see where the enemies sprites, which would flash when successfully hit by your invisible party, but in my mind, it was a swirling melee with the fighter and soldier characters at the front lines, the wizard behind them flinging ice spells and the hero, decked out in blue and green armor, plunging his sword into the neck of the Orochi and bringing it down. From that moment, I became a fan of Role Playing Games forever.
What appealed the most to a young Dog of Thunder, was leveling up my characters, finding new weapons and armor, that constant forward progress. Even in the fourth grade I was hooked on getting to that next level. I did not even need anything major, just an extra 10 HP, some more STR and maybe some LUCK (always the most useless stat, always.) Character progression was, to me, more important then the story or the graphics. Video games were simpler back then, where if you wanted persistent character progression, you would only be able to play an RPG.
Take a look around today then and find me a game that does not use elements of the early RPGS. Modern Warfare took the concept of leveling and experience to a whole new genre, X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a straight up hack and slash title with an XP bar and a skills system. Even Sports games, such as MLB 2k10 and even Madden have begun using leveling systems for their characters. What happened?
When did the defining feature of the RPGs of my youth become so commonplace as to be cliche? Where was the tipping point? Was there one moment when the industry sat up and took notice of all the things that RPGs were doing right? Just how much do modern games owe to the classic RPGs of the 80s and early 90s?
Modern RPGs are understandably influenced by the classics. If you hate the segmented story telling of Final Fantasy 13, then you need to go back to 1990 and Dragon Warrior 4, the first RPG to introduce the concept of separate chapters for separate characters alongside a combat system where you controlled just the main character and set "Battle Options" for your allies. Choosing from "Offensive", "Defensive", "Converse MP", "No MP" and the like, Dragon Warrior 4 has more in common with a RPG released 20 years later then it did with Dragon Warrior 3.
Join me then as I take a modern game, and go backwards to the origin point. Learning along the way where all these features and concepts originated. By knowing and understanding the history of what came before, can we truly appreciate where we are now, and where we are going.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
King Arthur And The Knights of Justice - Complete Series on DVD!
King Arthur and the Knights of Justice
Oh how I loved this series as a kid. Okay, maybe not the series per se, but that bitchin' theme song. Yes, I just used the term "bitchin" and yes, this is a perfectly apt time to use it. The song starts off with Merlin explaining in about 3 seconds the entire plot of the series, and then the killer guitar riff starts up. All the best cartoons can be summed up in 3 seconds. For example:
King Arthur and the Knights of Justice: "From the field of the future, they come to save the kingdom of the past." Done.
Transformers: Giant robots transform into vehicles and shoot each other.
Pinky and the Brain: One is a genius, the other's insane, together they try to take over the world.
Coyote and Roadrunner: Coyote tries to catch Roadrunner.
See? It works! Try explaining something like Yu-Gi-Oh! in 3 seconds and see what happens. Can't do it. Because Yu-Gi-Oh sucks. I'm onto something with this 3 second theory. Anyways, King Arthur and the Knights of Jsutice, come for the amazing introduction, stay for the way cartoons used to be. None of this anime in everything crap, just classic saturday morning cartoon.
Oh how I loved this series as a kid. Okay, maybe not the series per se, but that bitchin' theme song. Yes, I just used the term "bitchin" and yes, this is a perfectly apt time to use it. The song starts off with Merlin explaining in about 3 seconds the entire plot of the series, and then the killer guitar riff starts up. All the best cartoons can be summed up in 3 seconds. For example:
King Arthur and the Knights of Justice: "From the field of the future, they come to save the kingdom of the past." Done.
Transformers: Giant robots transform into vehicles and shoot each other.
Pinky and the Brain: One is a genius, the other's insane, together they try to take over the world.
Coyote and Roadrunner: Coyote tries to catch Roadrunner.
See? It works! Try explaining something like Yu-Gi-Oh! in 3 seconds and see what happens. Can't do it. Because Yu-Gi-Oh sucks. I'm onto something with this 3 second theory. Anyways, King Arthur and the Knights of Jsutice, come for the amazing introduction, stay for the way cartoons used to be. None of this anime in everything crap, just classic saturday morning cartoon.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Deadspin's Dead Wrestler of the Week
Classy Deadspin tribute to the Classy Miss Elizabeth
Stumbled across an interesting series of articles over at Deadspin.com (the anti-ESPN). Weekly tributes to dead wrestlers, most of whom were the ones I grew up watching. Take this week's entry for example: Miss Elizabeth.
The long time manager for Macho Man Randy Savage, Liz eventually left him and was replaced by Sensational Sherri whom then turned on Savage once he lost a retirement match to the Ultimate Warrior at Wrestlemania 7. What? Are you shocked to learn that I love wrestling? Anyways, Liz enters the ring, chases off Sherri, and reunites with the Macho Man. As a kid, I ate this up, I was 10 when I first watched this on VHS from the local Blockbuster.
Check out the reunion clip here.
Stumbled across an interesting series of articles over at Deadspin.com (the anti-ESPN). Weekly tributes to dead wrestlers, most of whom were the ones I grew up watching. Take this week's entry for example: Miss Elizabeth.
The long time manager for Macho Man Randy Savage, Liz eventually left him and was replaced by Sensational Sherri whom then turned on Savage once he lost a retirement match to the Ultimate Warrior at Wrestlemania 7. What? Are you shocked to learn that I love wrestling? Anyways, Liz enters the ring, chases off Sherri, and reunites with the Macho Man. As a kid, I ate this up, I was 10 when I first watched this on VHS from the local Blockbuster.
Check out the reunion clip here.
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