Live Woes As I mentioned earlier in the week, I haven't had much time for games what with E3 and all. My gaming sessions over the past month have been very few and far between, so today I was pretty excited when I finally got a few hours to myself. I was really looking forward to hopping on Xbox Live, downloading the MechAssault content, and busting some ass.
So after the installation, I went in search of a game.
Nothing.
Not a single game of Capture the Flag to be found. How about Team Deathmatch? Nope. So I waited a bit, picked "Quickmatch" and found one guy waiting for a round of CTF. Good enough for me.
So I chose Loki and began the game. After a heated neck and neck battle, I started gaining some advantage and giving this douche bag a run for his money. Yep, that's when he leaves the game.
Damn it!
Pissed off, I popped in Phantasy Star Online. There the servers were packed so it was no problem finding a game. Unfortunately, this is what I hear from a Level 8 moron the second I transport down to the ruins:
Hey you fags! Stop being such dicks and heal me! You guys are fags. Heal me!
The other players, ignoring him for his stupidity, keep playing until they finally get so annoyed that they leave the game. Leaving me with that jackass.
Come on, asshole. Heal me! Don't be such a penis.
Disgusted, I shut off the Xbox and tried my hand at Age of Empires II.
I know, the games been out for a year now, but I'm not much of a PC gamer. I picked it up for about $15 and so far I'm enjoying the hell out of it. Of course, I haven't gotten too involved with it yet, but what I have seen is pretty kick ass. Again, for all of you snickering at me, I play maybe one PC game per year, so back off!
Apparently you guys liked the gorilla painting I linked to yesterday. So because I care, here's another one for you. This guy builds aquariums in computer casings. Cool, but weird, eh?
Bizness I thought I'd take a moment to mention a few things about the forums, now that everything seems to be in order. Since we've partnered up with Mogusland, it's taken a while to get things back to normal. But I think a number of improvements have been made and I think the forums now have more features and options for you all.
You'll notice that we once again have the "View New Posts" function, as well as the personalized welcome box at the top. By clicking on the Mogusland Icon on the top left, you'll be redirected to the main Mogusland forums, where your GWX membership will carry over. Not only that, but you can select the Nintendojo option and - whammo! - you're also a member there.
One of the coolest features, no matter how useless, is the Itemshop. The more you post, the more points you get, and the more items you can collect. As I said, fairly useless, but cool nonetheless.
I'd also like to take a moment to thank the guys at Mogusland for doing such a great job hosting the forums. They really got things taken care of quite quickly and have allowed us to give our readers more options and more reasons to come to GamingWorld X.
I also want to remind you all about our Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven contest. We've received a number of entries so far, but you still have another week and a half to get yours in.
Sorry for the all business post today, but unfortunately I don't have much interesting to say. Not that I ever do.
But to make up for my lack of content, here's a link that's sure to entertain. Yes, that's right. For only $350, you too can buy a picture painted by a monkey. Sorry - gorilla.
Are You Threatening Me? I told you Hilden would get all mad about that comment I made. I received this today:
Subject: Ass
I'm going to piss on your car for you're damn CWJ shit. Repeatedly.
I drive a '92 Mazda Protege. Pee away, buddy. Knock yourself out.
Truth be told, one only teases the ones they love.
We get some wacky posts on our forums. Forums are really grand displays of the human condition and also good examples of how our public education system is way out of whack. Take the statement posted in this thread, for example:
ya ur rite bro tho i tell u wut that movie played my bufflar up the chili shizzledawg
seriously tho the plot seemed to xist to hav ethose action scenes booya
btw ur king has returned
Now, for those of you who don't speak Jibberish, I believe what he was trying to say was:
Yeah, you are correct, brother. I tell you what, that movie played my [insert coherent statement here].
Seriously, though, the plot seemed to exist to have those action scenes. Boo-ya!
By the way, your king has returned.
Even translated into plain english, the statement barely makes sense. And if anybody can explain what "that movie smoked da reefa chzizizizizies" means, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Flesh Wound Have you entered our Tenchu Contest yet? Well, get on it!
Oh boy. Hitler: The Rise of Evil turned out to be an all out farce last night. Some moments were so poorly written and simplified that I just had to laugh. The movie should have been called "Hitler for Dummies". Had they turned this into a real miniseries instead of a four hour glossing over, perhaps it could have been something special
Heather wants to get in on the racism topic:
Hey John!
So what's up? Still tired from E3? I bet I would be... if I went... loser... Haha jk! Yall did a great job with the site during E3. It was the first thing I checked when I got online. Loved the journals! Thanks for doing a great job! I really love the site alot.
Well I'm gonna GET ON WITH IT Monty Python and the Holy Grail style... that is the best movie! Hahaha...
Racism is really personal for me. I live in the south, and as much as I hate it, racism is really awful here. It's every where... my family on both sides is racist. My parents aren't, thank goodness, and they raised me in the correct belief that everyone is the same. When I'm around some of my family, I get so angry at the ignorant comments they make! My boyfriend is black, and it just feels like every comment they make is directed at me too because of him. Just because we are different colors I have to put up with alot of crap. I've been called all sorts of names and people look at me different. Some of my family doesn't know that he's black, and my cousin tells me that they would hate me if they did. But all of it is worth it. Maybe people can start to learn something from people like us who are defying whats considered "acceptable" by most people and just doing what our hearts tell us. It's really sad how ignorant some people are. I believe with all my heart that everyone is the same. You don't see all these people hating whites because of Timothy Mcveigh or someone. Another form of racism has started recently. It's against Muslims. That's just as bad, because though I don't agree with their [religious] beliefs, they are people. I think that's what some people, like much of my family, don't realize. Everybody is a person, regardless of color, that has to go through the same world you do, facing the same hardships or joys that you face.
Wow, that got serious... err... then check this out, just to lighten things up. It seems you are fond of things Japanese, so maybe you'll like this link.
See ya! Heather
Let's start from the top and work our way down, shall we?
Thanks for the kind words. We really busted our asses at the show and I'm glad it was appreciated. We'd get up at about 6:30 in the morning, take the shuttle over to the show, walk around for about eight straight hours, take the shuttle back to the hotel room and write articles until about 1:00 in the morning. Rinse and repeat. It was a bit tiring, but it was also one of the most fun experiences of my life.
I haven't spent much time in the south and always hoped the stories I heard about the racism there were just blown out of proportion. It's sad to hear how things are in your area. It just seems so incredibly silly to me and is something that I'll never understand.
And that Engrish site you is some good stuff. It reminds me of Revenge of the Nerds:
"We could have Robster Craws"
"What the f**k are Robster Craws?"
Thanks for the letter, Heather. Hopefully someone will read it and be the better for it.
Tonight will the first chance I've had since about a week before E3 to sit down and play some games. I have a number of them to finish off, and I've resolved not to start any new games until these old ones are taken care of. Isn't it sad how I have to discipline myself? When I told this to Hilden, he said he'd be glad to discipline me and then took off his dress to reveal leather chapps and a bare ass.
Shit, he's going to kill me after he reads that bit.
Missed Opportunity I just received an email from a Ubi Soft employee informing me that Prince of Persia was indeed playable somewhere in the Sony booth, and I must have simply overlooked it. Dammit! I was really itching to get my hands on that thing. I've done some checking around and talked to a few people that did get their hands on it and they assured me that it played every bit as nicely as it looked.
You guys really need to see this game. It's simply gorgeous. Unlike the Dreamcast PoP, this one is a worthy successor to the old titles. The developers have added so many cool things into the game, like the "Sands of Time" time reversal, which allows you to back up time a few seconds in case you miss a jump or want to replay something. They've also installed a neat camera feature, allowing the gamer to pull the camera back far enough to see the entire level. It's coming together beautifully, and as much as I try to stay away from gaming journalist cliches, to see it in motion is breathtaking.
The lesson learned from all of this: one really cannot see all there is to see at E3.
The final episode of that Hitler movie is on tonight, and despite its low quality, I think I'm going to end up watching it. I know it's not comical subject matter in any way, but the way they staged a few of the scenes reminds me of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. You know the part when they're going to hang the witch, and they keep shouting out, "A witch! A witch!" Rise of Evil has a similar vibe going when they yell out "The Jews! The Jews!" after everything Hitler says. Again, I'm mocking the movie, not the real-life events, so no flame mail, please.
Racism is so confusing to me as a whole. Have you ever seen a KKK rally on TV, or someone try to rationalize their bigotted views? It's really an incredible socioligical display and one that fascinates me beyond words. Coming from a midwestern, one-horse town myself, I had plenty of exposure to that sort of BS while growing up. Of course, being blonde haired, blue eyed, and about as "Arian" as they come, I was never a target of Joe Hillbilly or his eleven-toed cousins.
Regardless, I've found that changing the minds of one of these drones isn't nearly as difficult as one would expect. In my experience, it simply takes a short conversation with some pointed questions. Now I'm not suggesting that reversing years of taught bigotry is a simple task, but it's amazing how far a bit of logic can go.
As usual, I welcome any thoughts you have on the subject. You know how I like to shy away from the sensitive issues, but I think this is one that's fairly tame.
Isn't it Viewtiful? Well, here we are. Back to normal. It feels sort of nice to have things back the way they were.
Our flight on the way back from LA was canceled, but in a stroke of good fortune, we wound up not only getting a better, shorter, and more convenient flight, but one on a better airline as well. The entire trip went off without a hitch. And when I arrived back at my home, the Viewtiful Joe demo was on my doorstep, waiting to remind me why I voted it Game of Show. As if I needed a reminder.
You've undoubtedly read tons of reports loaded with praises for this game, but it still isn't enough. I've played through the demo nearly a dozen times and still enjoy the single level provided. The game is so damn stylish, so damn clever, that this single 10-minute demo doesn't show any signs of getting old to me yet. Go out and get the demo now. You will not regret it.
I've also been playing quite a bit of Wario Ware over the past week. Expect a full review of it just before the game ships to retailers. Anyway, the concept of the game didn't really sound as though it would be my cup of tea, but after five minutes I was converted. The mini-games are not even mini-games. Each "level" only lasts about five seconds. And those are the long ones. But that's what's so cool about it. You don't have time to wonder what in the hell you just did before you're onto the next game. The game really tests your reflexes and your ability to think quickly. It's the perfect portable game in that you can pick it up, play for about thirty seconds, and put it down again.
I didn't mean to turn this into a mini review - again, expect that late this week before the game ships - but I can already tell you that Wario Ware is highly recommended by the GWX staff. Hilden and Joe each have copies and love the game to death.
I watched a bit of that Hitler movie on CBS last night. For some reason, I've always been fascinated with Nazi Germany and how an entire nation could be led by such an incredible psychopath. The movie certainly leaves a lot to be desired, and glosses over a lot of the main facts, but it did make for some interesting viewing at certain stages. However, you'd be best served to pick up a book or a some sort of documentary on the subject.
