Activision, CA

 

We know this isn’t about the environment, or about new media, but we had the opportunity to go into Activision and we couldn’t pass it up. We hear that we were the first people ever to get in there like we did. Hope you enjoy it!

special guest appearance by Rob

Source: Activision, CA
Originally published on Thu, 09 Nov 2006 17:34:31 GMT by Mario Librandi

Geek in Review: Guitar Hero II

My plan for this week’s Geek in Review was a story about comic books that have been turned into movies. During my research I discovered that there’s only one Alan Moore book that hasn’t been completely destroyed by Hollywood; that can be its own column, so I started working on that instead. Then I realized that I can do an entire column just about Alan Moore, including his influence on other writers, genres, and what an incredibly unique guy he is . . . so I started working on that story, until I realized that there’s all this Alan Moore stuff that I haven’t even read, like Top Ten and Tomorrow Stories. It would be irresponsible to do a story about the man without reading as much of his work as I can, so I dropped 150 bucks at the comic shop, and realized that it was now Sunday afternoon, and I hadn’t yet started my column.
“I’m completely fucked,” I said to myself as I walked to my car, “but at least I’ll be able to do some really great comic-oriented stuff in January and February.”
But what the hell would I do this week? I drove home, put a pile of books on my dining room table, and played Guitar Hero II while I tried to figure it out.
Wait. I . . . played . . . Guitar Hero II . . . Ding!
Guitar Hero II was the most anticipated sequel (and probably the most anticipated game, period) of 2006 for me. I was so excited to play it, I went on a quest to try it out at E3, and turned it into a story for The AV Club that I’m really proud of, and will add to my next dead tree publication, which is a compilation of my writings from the last year or so that I like. It’s currently in the works for a Spring release from Monolith Press.
My editors liked my Destroy All Humans! 2 review, and readers seemed to enjoy it, as well. So how about a review of Guitar Hero II? I wrote about this game so much when I was editing the geek wire, it seemed like some good, natural closure, too, so this week I give you, Wil’s Review of Guitar Hero II:

Guitar Hero rocked the world of just about everyone who picked up a controller, struck the legs-apart rock pose, and transformed their living room into the stage at the Fillmore. Could Red Octane and Harmonix do it again? Would the setlist be as diverse and satisfying as Guitar Hero’s? How could they improve upon a nearly-perfect game? And would it be so goddamn hard to make sure that I don’t have to come out of a fucking uptempo record, and do a goddamn death dedication about a fucking dog dying?!

Yes, yes, yes, and no. They didn’t just equal the fun of Guitar Hero, they blew it away with a sequel that takes everything we loved about the first game, makes it better, and adds a little Trogdor, because everything is better with burnination.

I hear a rumor that it’s coming out for Xbox in 2007, and I also hear that it could include multi-player via Xbox live, and buying new songs via Xbox Arcade. It’s all unsubstantiated rumors, of course, but maybe if we all wish hard enough, Hiro will take his sword to Red Octane and Harmonix, and make it happen for us.

The Newswire is again SFW today, and maximizes your star power, too! And if you think it’s worthy, my editors would be ever so happy if you’d Digg or ‘scape it.

Source: Geek in Review: Guitar Hero II
Originally published on Wed, 13 Dec 2006 20:08:59 GMT by Wil

Rappelz Review – Ugh.

 

Hi everyone,
I know I said I wouldn’t even be trying Rappelz, but I figured that’s not fair to my readers that they should not get a review just because I find concepts of the game bad. And a friend asked me to play, so I had to! So lets jump straight into the review:
My expectations going into the game were low, as it does not have a stat point system. But nevertheless, it is possible to make the game fun and require ’skill’ without a system, just much harder. So I decided to make an Asura race character, and go for Strider or Sorcerer class. So when I logged in, first thing I noticed was the graphics. They are done well enough as to not make it an eyesore and still impress me, so it gets a passing grade in that department. However, the next thing I noticed was the movement, which is point-and-click via mouse. It simply wasn’t smooth. If you were running and decided to change direction, it takes your character about 1 second to realize that you clicked somewhere else, which is really quite annoying. Especially since you can be walking towards an NPC, and talk to the NPC whilst walking, and when you leave the “range” of the NPC the chat closes.
Aside from the response time issues, the beginning of the game is rather standard. You spawn, are asked to kill X of monster Y and do this a few times, then move to the next set of quests that asks you to similar tasks and so on. By the time you are level 10, you are complete the “training”, and can change class. (Each race has 3 possible classes, with 3 races, meaning 9 total classes). By this time you’ve learnt a few of the more interesting aspects of the game, such as summoning a creature(to ride or fight with), upgrading armors (similar to L2), and the use of force chips (use one, weakens the enemy for a few seconds). Which is all fine and dandy. But, while I learned more about the game, my opinion of it began to quickly fall.
First off, the skills. They use a job point based system, where each kill gives you X experience and Y job points. You use these job points to either level up a skill or level up your job level. This is not explained very well at the beginning of the game, as many people waste their job points in beginner skills when it requires base level 10, job level 10 to change class. And although they offer “mastery” skills for almost every weapon in most classes, they remove any and all “skill” required to play the game through their system. This is done by not capping job points(jp) earned. So with an unlimited amount of playing time, you can have every skill for your class at max level. Couple that with no stat system, means that as soon as you find some interesting strategy to kill monsters/players with, using a combination of skills; someone can simply copy it since they have all the skills you do. The only limitation in the amount of skills you have is the amount of time you spend leveling, which is a system to base a game off of.
I can give it props for the potion system, as they either heal instantly(with a cool down) or heal over time (with no cool down), so there is no pot “spamming”. I also found the camera slightly annoying, as you can scroll out a long ways, but cannot adjust angle of viewing very much without zooming back in. Lastly, I found the PVP poorly thought out, I believe this problem is only for first class characters (they have second class planned), but if you’re a melee character, fighting a ranged character, the ranged need simply to walk in zig-zags while attacking and your character can never respond fast enough to hit. If this was meant to be fixed through the second class skills, they should have included second classes in release.
Also have to give it another point deduction for its system, or lack thereof. The monsters drop no rare items except for cards and cubes used to upgrade a weapon. Anything else they drop can be purchased from the store. Thus you cant even find a “rare” weapon, unless you purchased it ingame or used the cash shop to buy upgrade materials for it. Truly disappointing.
Overall I give this game a dismal rating, as it tries to be like Lineage 2 or WoW but simply doesn’t compare in any aspect. I would recommend almost any game over this one, including WoW. The fact that it is free does not make up for its flaws either. Lack of a stat system, horrid skill system, poor response time, poorly developed PVP, countered by only a few good concepts makes this game a prime candidate for my newly developed MMOTRASH bin.
In it goes.
Rank:
3/10
Rating:
AVOID
-RF

Source: Rappelz Review – Ugh.
Originally published on Wed, 08 Nov 2006 22:36:00 GMT by RedFlame

MAME 0.111

 

The full release of MAME 0.111 is now available on the Latest Release page. This will be the last full release of 2006. Have a safe and happy holiday season!

Source: MAME 0.111
Originally published on Mon, 11 Dec 2006 05:08:22 GMT by Aaron

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin Pre-Order Bonus

 

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Castlevania franchise, Konami offered a bonus to those who pre-ordered Portrait of Ruin, the second DS installment of the now 20 year old series.
Included in the cardboard box (which comes complete with a faux wax seal) are a soundtrack CD that spans most of the core Castlevania games as well as some of the now more obscure Game Boy titles. Castlevania has always been noted for its excellent compositions, and it’s a treat to be able to hear some of these songs as they were originally played in their respective games. Interestingly enough, some of the tracks are labeled as coming from an incorrect game. Bloody Tears, for example, is listed as being a cut from the original NES game, when it is actually from Simon’s Quest.

Also included is an art book featuring cover and character art for again, most of more popular games in the series. A combination Portrait of Ruin poster / Castlevania timeline rounds out the printed bonuses, though this is also interesting for its inclusion of games that are generally considered non-canon. Lastly, the package also includes a Castlevania branded, extending DS stylus and a double DS pak carrying case.

All in all, this is one of the better pre-order bonuses out there and is a must-have for long time Castlevania fans. While it’s likely too late to get through online stores, plenty of them have cropped up on eBay.

Source: Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin Pre-Order Bonus
Originally published on Mon, 11 Dec 2006 23:44:00 GMT by SMM

Record-breaking week for Nintendo DS

 

It’s not just the Wii which has been performing wellrecently – Nintendo’s handheld has also been breaking some records of its own.

Source: Record-breaking week for Nintendo DS
Originally published on Wed, 13 Dec 2006 13:28:00 GMT

Jessica Biel…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now how can you go wrong there? =)

When porn stars and pool collide

Oh no. It’s yet another one of those NSFW PSP games. You know what I’m talking about: games that seem to offer no benefit other than displaying gratuitous amounts of T&A. Considering the older demographic of the PSP, and the relative privacy one has while using it, it’s unsurprising that publishers are trying to take advantage with more “adult” skewed games. Pocket Pool rewards players with photos and videos of a questionable nature for playing a round of billiards. However, is taunting realistic “ball control” a good thing in a game like this?
Potentially NSFW video embedded after the cut.
For equally NSFW images, visit SPOnG.
See also:
Confirmed: Porn stars love the PSP
Soft Skin English School Little Sexy Girl
Finding love with Finder Love

Source: When porn stars and pool collide
Originally published on Wed, 13 Dec 2006 18:55:00 GMT by Andrew Yoon