Be a Man Yesterday I briefly touched on how I'm dealing with sorting through the great releases that are raining down on us this holiday season. Now neck deep in Jak II, TMNT (both GCN and GBA versions), Castlevania, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Viewtiful Joe and more, the thought of the coming weeks is the cause of great anxiety.
I walked out of the video game store last Wednesday with three games. I walked in my house with two. You see, I have a wife who is dead set on buying a house at any expense, and the list of possibilities include "accidentally" killing her husband and collecting the insurance money. Had I walked in the house with that third game I may have moved that possibility up a notch or three in her head, and frankly, I'm just too young to die. So the game stayed in the car until the time was right to slip it in and hide it my collection.
My problem is this week alone I missed out on two other great games: Crimson Skies and ESPN NBA Basketball. To make matters worse, my Xbox Live buddies are online blasting and schooling the hell out of eachother without me. I can hear their shreeks of glee from my game room. I can also feel my wallet tugging at my pantleg.
I'd like to remind you about the Happy Tree Friends contest. I'm not sure if you people just aren't familiar with the cartoon or if you don't like free stuff, but I've only received a small handful of entries. If you're unfamiliar with the series, I encourage you to give this link a click and see what you're missing out on. While not quite as entertaining for me as Strong Bad, HTF is still good for a few laughs. And the best part is all you have to do is write in and tell me why you deserve it. You can be a complete bastard if you'd like. Won't that be fun?
I'm on a quest to find a great Halloween costume. We're having a big Halloween party at my house next Friday and I have yet to find anything that feels right. Ideally I could score a badass Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles costume, but unfortunately all I've found are kid's sizes.
Is that some sort of hint that I should grow up?
Either way, if you have any suggestions, please send them in. Also, if you're planning on being a big child like me and dressing up for Halloween, I encourage you to send in a picture. If it's cool enough I may just send you a prize.
Drowning So where have I been? Roaming endlessly through the overworld of Jak II, plowing through wave after wave of street thugs and mousers in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and getting kinky with the undead in Castlevania: Lament of Innocence. This is to say nothing of trying to catch up on Viewtiful Joe and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.
I truly am drowning in the avalanche of recently killer titles this holiday season. But it is a pleasure.
I’m working on reviews of Jak II and both the GBA and GCN TMNT titles, but as usual, would like to give you a quick rundown of each.
Jak II: You may have heard that the game is ugly, the overworld is too big, and the game tries to do too much. For the most part, much of this is true. Let’s address the so-called “ugliness”. Really, the game looks fantastic, in my opinion. Gone are the bright, sunny levels of the first game and in their places are industrial-like zones straight out of George Orwell’s 1984. So calling the game “ugly” is sort of misleading as it’s appropriately so.
Yes, the overworld is huge and walking on foot from one end to the other can make the sailing from one island to the next in Wind Waker seem like a hop over a puddle. However, one can’t help but be completely impressed by the grand scale of the living, breathing world that Naughty Dog has created. That being said, transportation can be a huge pain in the ass as walking is far too slow, and making the wrong move in the poorly controlled vehicles will bring a wave of patrols with guns hot on your trail.
And finally, the “overachieving” factor. The game really does seem to try to give you a piece of every genre under the sun, most notably the open-ended GTAIII-style gameplay. You'll race vehicles and carts, blast baddies and upgrade weapons a la Ratchet and Clank, hop through typical platforming levels, and so much more. Sometimes it succeeds, sometimes it fails miserably. But one has to appreciate how much Naughty Dog has tried to pack into the game, because most of it is good fun.
I say “most” because a good deal of it is frustrating as all hell. The game is much more difficult than the Jak and Daxter’s first outing, which wouldn’t be bad if oftentimes it wasn't more “cheap” difficult than “skill” difficult.
Moving on, let’s talk about TMNT briefly. As I mentioned, the game is hardly anything more than wave after wave of thugs, mousers, robots, foot soldiers, and ninjas. And once you’ve cleared about a bajillion enemies, you get to battle a huge and awesomely difficult boss. It’s repetitive, it’s monotonous, but I still love it. I’m not sure if it’s just the fact that I’m playing a Turtles game or if I love the old-school throwback, but I’m definitely having a good time with it despite its many, many flaws.
Stay tuned for the reviews.
Craig wants to talk Jamie Oliver:
Well John, as coincedental as this sounds, i actually work in a branch of the store he endorses (J.Sainsburys) he advertises various food (His own brand, only sold in Sainsburys) on the television. Im quite a fan of cooking but i have yet to sample the delights of his television show/books. As Popularity goes id say he's quite well known and with constant ads with him in its kind of hard not to get to know the intricaties of his latest type of food out. (which for your information is some form of tenderised meat)
Always happy to help out someone who advertises my name (it really is great isnt it?) Until next we meet John Craig
Thanks, man. I’ve been really interested in Jamie Oliver for a couple of years now and it’s good to get a “native’s” perspective, so to speak. He’s just finally become more mainstream over here thanks to a huge publicity campaign supporting his Jamie’s Kitchen show and his new book.
Thanks again for the input.
That’s all for today.
John
Spree for Three! Last night was spent watching Latrell Sprewell's first game with the Timberwolves, thus resparking my interest in my favorite team. Usually a relatively mild and boring team, the Wolves now have an excitement and energy to them I'm not used to seeing.
I went to the game with a group of friends and guzzled down paper cup after paper cup of rotten beer. Honestly, it should be a crime to sell something as nasty as stadium beer.
I'm not sure how many of you are riding this same wave, but I've been on a huge Jamie Oliver kick for the last several weeks. I've always enjoyed his shows (The Naked Chef and Oliver's Twist) and have even been known to buy a book or two of his. But his show, Jamie's Kitchen has really piqued my interest in this character.
I'd like to hear from some of our British readers (Craig?) and find out what they think about Jamie. Is he very popular and well-liked over there? Or does anyone even care about what he's doing?
I'm going to have to cut this bit short (responsibilities, you know) but don't forget about the latest contest for the Happy Tree Friends DVD. All you have to do is write in and tell me why you think you deserve it. Simple, eh?
In the meantime, check these out.
John
New Contest and More I don't have much time, what with the avalanche of games waiting to spill off my desk. With all the reviews we're working on around here I'm guaranteed to go insane by the end of the week.
I do have some reader mail for your enjoyment. Heather writes:
Hey John!
I saw School of Rock the other day... It was hilarious! I loved alot and highly reccomend it to anyone. Very funny and cute, good for anyone really. It was spiffy... The kids were great! They really cracked me up. How's VJ going? I'm probably going to have to hold off on getting it for awhile because of financial reasons, but I can't wait to get it. It took me a few times of playing the demo to trully understand what about it is so great, but once I was hooked it didn't let go. How's the length? I definetly want to pick it up soon! Alright, keep it real! ~H
I always do, Heather. I always do.
School of Rock did indeed kick all the booty. Jack Black is my hero.
How's Viewtiful Joe going? I wish I could remember. Honestly, I've been doing my best to get back to it between the review "responsibilities" I have for the week. The game is pure genius, though. The best I've played all year. No doubt in my mind. Just listen to what Jake has to say:
Hi John!
I hadn't written for awhile so I decided to do so.
First off, congratulations on the wedding! It's great to hear that it went so well. (and nice picture) I just got Viewtiful Joe yesterday (I don't know what to me so long!) and I'm addicted. It's one hell of a game. It has the greatest mix of action and platforming elements! Currently I'm just about to enter episode three... so I'm not that far along.
Remember my website? Gamecubeguy.com? I haven't had enough time free to open it yet... or make more content... but I got up my Zelda: The Wind Waker review.
The funny this is, someone (not me) posted the review on the Gamecube General insider only board of Ign. The fanboys there just went CRAZY. (since I didn't like the game.) Anyway, check out the review and let me know what you think!
-jake
Be sure to click on Jake's link up there. The review is absolutely brilliant. Keep those links coming, Jake. You do great work and I can't wait to read more.
As the title of this entry suggests, I've got a new contest for you guys. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to make you beg for the prize, so why don't you just write in and tell me why you deserve it.
So what is "it"?
Well, many of you are fans of the Happy Tree Friends, as I recall, so hopefully this one will please you. This time, I'm giving away the Happy Tree Friends Second Serving DVD. There are 17 episodes and a bunch of extra stuff.
