In case you haven't noticed it on the main page or in our forums, we're holding a pretty cool Winning Eleven 7 contest. Winning Eleven is the stellar soccer series from Konami and all the rage with our resident site sports fanatics (aka. Brian). Our own Brendon Hivner and the good folks at Konami have put together an impressive prize package that includes:
As you might guess, we're picking three winners. All you have to do is send an email here and tell us why you deserve to win. Simple, eh? But you'd better hurry, the deadline of 2/18 is fast approaching. Get your letters in now!
Johnny writes:
Hi, is there any way to get a 2 story/floor home? All of my homes end up being only 1 floor.
And Brendon responds:
No way, Johnny. Single-floor homes are the "in" thing in Simsville. The "only" thing, actually. It's okay though. We think stairs are overrated.
I hope that helps, my friend.
Phil writes:
Hey man just thought I'd give you a little random gaming news that I just found surfing my favourite guitarists site.
Steve Vai is contributing to the Halo 2 soundtrack!! Man how wierd and cool is that?!
I'll give you a linky : http://www.vai.com/index2.html
Now I can't wait to hear the game, let alone play it :)
Later, Phil
That is pretty cool, Phil. I remember Steve Vai from back when I was in junior high. Back then he was every aspiring guitarists' idol, what with his 7-stringed Ibanez guitar. If I dig long enough, I betcha I can find some Vai albums in my collection. It's good to know he's still around, since I haven't really been following him very closely.
Nate wants to get in on the discussion about having more games than you can play:
I hear ya. Here's my list of celophane wrapped sitters:
Metropolismania Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Max Payne Disgaea Tony Hawk Underground Ogre Tactics Deus Ex Project Gotham Racing I Ninja Tennis 2k1 NFL 2k1 Metal Arms
Thanks for the therapy. I thought it was just me.
No man, it's not just you. That's quite an impressive list, too. Metal Arms and Disgaea are also on my list of games that haven't received the attention they deserve. So is Project Gotham Racing 2, which Lady Hilden was kind enough to buy me for Christmas. Of course I'm sure he'll make up for that kindness by being a complete bastard at some point. That's just his way.
Alas, I have a few more letters to answer but not enough time at the moment. I'll return with answers on Metal Arms, Chocobos, and more.
I hate to harp on the subject of idiots as it's probably not in my best interest to make fun of readers or potential readers. First I'd like you to click here and read this marvelous cartoon from Penny Arcade.
Are you back? Did you read it? Good.
Now I laughed quite heartily at this cartoon. Penny Arcade can be hit or miss, as are all forms of entertainment. But I found this one to be damn clever. And not once did it ever strike me as erotic.
That's right, I said erotic.
I can't believe the mentality of people. Simply because they see a couple of bare asses, their minds resort right to homosexuality. Check out this thread.
Are you back? Did you read it? Good.
I'm not sure who this CoconutSport guy is, but I stand by my response: he certainly needs a dick in his ass to get some freaking perspective. Let's take a sample:
"I'm not a homo, but today's Penny-Arcade makes me question whether these two guys ain't gay. What the hell is up with Penny-arcade lately? cupcakes and naked pics?"
Hey man, I like cupcakes. Does that make me gay? I'm not a homo, but... Those five words say it all for me.
Ok, what the hell. Let's have another sample of this guy's genius:
...they joke about the strip being homo-erotic to some degree... but what the hell? It's gratuitous male nudity. I don't see the point.
Gratuitous male nudity? It's a couple of asses, man!
From there the conversation quickly degenerates into discussion and accusation of latent homosexuality. What the hell is wrong with people?
Ciao John, Several months have gone by since we talked about the Iraqi situation but nothing has really changed (for the good, i mean). They succedeed in capturing Saddam but -surprise surprise- attacks didn't come from him. They didn't find any WMD because -shock horror- there weren't any. Instead, they keep collecting corpses from our troops in a shitty guerrilla warfare that doesn't lead anywere. Bush could have resolved the situation in a million other ways, but he's chosen the old "Rambo" approach that will cost him very dearly.
Was it worth the effort or, indeed, the money? I sincerely don't think so.
Keep on cookin' aleZ
Alez, you most likely know how I hate to get political in this column, but let me say this: I will not be voting for GW next time around. And that is not to say that I did in the first place or feel that he's a horrible president. Those things you'll have to determine yourself. My reason is simple. I feel that after 9/11, the USA had a chance to really do something great in the world. To show its worth. What we have been left with nearly three years later is a world that's very hostile towards our country and our "leader". Bush has little to no respect in the international community because of the way he's gone vigilante in some country's eyes, and I feel it would be in our country's best interest to let someone else take the reigns.
I’ve had something on my mind that I’d like to share with you. I’m old. No, 27 isn’t really that old in the grand scheme of things, but I’m definitely older than I was. How’s that for a profound thought? Anyway, I find myself constantly trying to balance my time to fit in all the things that I’d like to get done. From spending time with my wife to moving into a new house to seeing movies that I want to see to reading books that I want to read, and finally, to playing the games that I want to play. I’ve had Kingdom Hearts sitting on top of my PS2 since the day it was released, untouched, unplayed. The same with Disgaea and Metal Gear Solid 2. All are games that require an entire day out of my life – or more - to complete. And as I’ve illustrated above, I just don’t seem to have that day to give.
So I guess the obvious question that would come to most rational people’s minds is “Why buy the games if you can’t play them?” and this is surely a legitimate query. You see, something gets in my mind, and I’m not sure if this is symptomatic of purely being a gamer or being an American consumer, but something gets in my mind that makes me think, “You know, I’ve got a pile of unplayed games and an even bigger pile of unfinished games sitting at home, but this time I’m going to do it. I’m going to buckle down and play this one from start to finish.” This, of course, is a big pile of horse shit and really me just rationalizing my desire to experience every great game that comes out, rather than to actually finish every great game that comes out. Sure, in a perfect world I’d have nothing better to do than sit on my ass all day playing through each and every game that I wanted to.
So with this in mind, I’ve made a pseudo commitment to myself; one that I’m sure will be broken in a matter of days when I receive my copies of Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles and Metroid: Zero Mission. With a stern heart, I sat down and popped in my copy of Pikmin, a game that I hadn’t been able to put more than three hours into. Over the course of the weekend, I nearly finished it, playing morning, noon, and night. When I grew tired of Pikmin and needed a break, I picked up Kingdom Hearts and started my journey there until I couldn’t force my eyes open anymore. And in the spare moments I found between bathroom and food breaks, I developed my strategy for getting through these games, and that strategy involves difficulty settings.
You see, I’m one of those proud, stubborn gamers who will insist on picking no less than the default difficulty setting in every game, and sometimes the maximum difficulty setting, regardless of what this will do to my blood pressure, or ultimately, my enjoyment of the game. For example, on a game like Metal Arms or Ikaruga, I take one look at the “sissy” level and say, “Fuck that! I’m a man, dammit!” and proceed to spend the next ten hours swearing, sweating, and whipping myself into a frenzy as I get my ass handed to me. The result is generally the same: rather than giving into the fact that the game is better than I am, I place the disc back into the case and let it collect dust until I feel like having another experiment in masochism. Well, “No more!” says I. With my new strategy, to achieve maximum enjoyment of the game, and actually have some conceivable chance of completing it in my lifetime, I’ll swallow my pride and choose the “You’re a Pussy” setting. It sure beats pissing away $50 on a game that I’ll never see more than half of.
So, after that 600 word rant, where do you fit in? I’ve resolved that in each post, I will list the games that are currently occupying my time. If you see me getting off track or giving up too easily, write in and bust my balls. That’s right, I’m asking the readers of Cooking with John to help me discipline my gaming habits. Ridiculous? Sure. But let’s see how this little experiment pays off in the end. So to begin, here’s my current list:
GCN: Pikmin GBA: Mario & Luigi PS2: Kingdom Hearts, R-Type Final XBX: (None)
So the idea is, if you feel this list is getting too big (say, over ten games) write in, bust my balls. I appreciate your aid in coping with my problem. Perhaps this will help me avoid costly treatment and rehabilitation as I’m not sure the insurance policy offered by GWX covers gaming.
