Month: June 2009

Another Qore update. December comments.

No jokes please about Christmas coming late. As I continue to slog my way through back episodes of Qore, I always come back to the same comment. Decent content, could be deeper, but should be Remote Play(able) on my PSP. If there was ever a game (or whatever you want to call Qore) that should support Remote Play, Qore is the one. I hope there is a change in direction sooner or later. Maybe with the advent of the PSPgo we will see better Remote Play support.

The funny thing about watching some of the Qore content after the fact is that I just learned about a game that seemed interesting. I figured that I would not pay full price, but if the game found its way to the Greatest Hits list or maybe the discount rack, it could be worth checking out. The game? Damnation.

Wow! What an absolute train wreck. The Qore content looked interesting, but the metacritic scores tell a completely different story.

On a positive note, Skate 2 looks really interesting, but this is another game that I may not purchase at full price. These days I am a selective bastard when it comes to dishing out full MSRP for a game. $60+ or more will cause you (or at least me) to think twice before making an impulse purchase. I am going to check out some of the reviews, and if Skate 2 has an open ended mode where you can just explore and skate around; it will probably merit a closer look. I suppose I can always fall back to Tony Hawk on the PSX, but these days I am such a candy-ass graphics whore that it hurts my tired old eyes to look at old PSX games on my HDTV.

Final thoughts. The PlayStation Network Flock! demo, which is listed as “exclusive” to Qore, looks like good clean fun, but this one is on the backburners of my current gaming rotation. The game is all over the map with metacritic scores, only averaging a mediocre 71%. Then again Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli is also rated at 71%, but I absolutely love that game, so f#^k the critics. LOL

An “exclusive” demo is not that much incentive to purchase Qore, so I hope the bonus materials pick up steam. If I had my preference it would be for a code to pick a game of your choice at a set price (i.e. $7.99 or less), or maybe put a time limit on the full version of the game. Even a couple of days would be better than what is currently being offered.

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Negative review, the right way.

Yesterday I was looking for some info on Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade (PSP). Why look for info on such an old game? Untold Legends was one of my first PSP purchases, but like so many other games, I never finished it. I picked it back up a couple of nights ago and could not remember exactly where I left off, or how to play. The how to play part quickly came back, but not so much on the what am I suppose to do next. At any rate, one thing led to another and then I came across this Eurogamer review.

But our hopes had always been dashed before, and now we didn’t care any more. We couldn’t be bothered to track through the Tornwood Forest yet again. We doubted very much that Shattercove East would be much different from Shattercove West, nor from the Dreadwind Moor nor the Waning Wastes nor the Whispering Chasm, for that matter.

As for the boss, we make it a general policy to avoid anyone with the words “The Hateful” after their name. And whatever the Containment Shard might be, whatever magical powers it might have or glorious salvation it might offer, we realised we couldn’t give a flying Fine Wrapped Baculus.

As you might have guessed by now, there are some the fundamental problems with Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade, Sony Online Entertainment’s first game for the PSP. You might think, what with its EverQuest heritage and all, that SOE could come up with something that’s at least somewhat engrossing and entertaining – but instead, it has turned out a generic hack-and-slasher with RPG elements that have been so stripped down that you might as well just buy a pencil, a set of dice and a fighting fantasy gamebook.

The reviewer obviously dislikes everything about the game, giving it a 3/10, but it is done in such an elegant way that I was really impressed with the review. The reviewer explains why the story is lacking, why the game mechanics are boring, and the lack of risk/reward in just about every element of gameplay.

I will have to read some of the reviewer’s other reviews to see if there is just a general dislike for this sort of game. In the future I will certainly enjoy reading more materials from Eurogamer, if everything is put together with this level of quality.

At least now I remember why I gave up on the game, and why I have no clue what to do next. It is all more or less the same sorry stuff, but I cannot help myself when it comes to hack ‘n slash fantasy type titles. I may give this one another go before I pimp it on eBay.

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Pangya: Fantasy Golf Quickie Impressions

Oh God, the sticky sweet Japanese anime and dialog is going to make me go off my rocker or worse. Ok, maybe it is not that bad, but good grief it has been a while since I tried to dig into something like Pangya. From the opening video I knew there were no pretenses of a Tiger Woods type simulation golf game. Nope, this one is going to be arcade all the way. Or so I thought.

It is has been a while since I played any sort of arcade sports title, but for some reason this one caught my eye. Maybe it was the anime. Maybe it was the “I don’t have anything else better to play on my PSP” factor. Maybe it was just time to try something new.

After absorbing all the anime goodness of the opening video, I quickly went into the story mode. The game takes you straight into a fairly simple tutorial, which explains the back story of Pangya, and shows you how to play the basics of the game (i.e. the control setup). After the tutorial was safely out of the way, I entered my first tournament. This was a pretty straight forward three hole head-to-head play challenge against a CPU opponent. After getting a disappointing draw, I played again and won before moving to the next tournament. And so on and so forth, except that I won the next few tournaments.

Gameplay seems fairly straight forward, but surprisingly the game seems to have a decent game of golf under the anime. It is way too early to judge the physics, but at first glance, they seem fairly realistic. Take away the anime, the over the top sound effects, catchy sweet music, and arcade sound effects, and you have golf. The basic shot mechanics are routine. After you select your club, you press a button to get the power meter started, determine spin if any, and you press again to get a perfect Pangya zone (i.e. you are going to hit your shot). Standard fare timing system, but it works for a pick up and play system like the PSP. The physics do seem to take wind into play. Same for sand traps, rough, or the fairway; shots handle differently depending on your lie. The greens also present a challenge, with various slopes that must be accounted for as you line up your putts.

I have not really looked into this aspect of the game, but you get to supplement things with various items that can be purchased from a store, which brings arcade elements into the game. I assume different types of power-ups to clubs, balls, and other gadgets such as potions help give you an edge over the competition. I am sure this is also where the game takes on a collection (dare I say RPG) aspect, but I am not going to worry about that right now. At least not today. I have also leveled up my dude, but I have no idea what this gives me. Not sure if my character just gets better or if I am suppose to customize him with attribute points.

It looks like there is plenty to do in the game. There is a story mode, which I assume gives you a different set of painfully bad text to read depending on your character selection. By default the game opens with 2 characters available; it looks like six more are available to be unlocked. There are also other modes of play such as tournament mode, but I have not explored the game beyond the initial story mode.

To be honest, I knew what I was getting into when I decided to preorder a game with a title called Pangya, but so far, so pleased. More to come later.

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PS3 owners love some pinball.

I thought this was an interesting article (via the PlayStation blog) on May 2009 PlayStation Network sales figures.

“Zen Studios’ Zen Pinball was the best selling game on the PlayStation Network for May, and from data we have picked from the game’s Leaderboards, we can see that the title has had well over 50,000 people playing for long enough to post a high score.”

I love pinball … on portable systems. Zen Pinball is the type of title that should have Remote Play capability on the PSP. Without being able to play this one on my PSP, I doubt I will try it unless it is free in an upcoming Qore episode, or is significantly discounted.

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The race for the Chase is on!

With only nine “regular season” races to go until the Chase starts, the battle is on to fill the 10-12 spots. It is hard to believe just how tight these positions are, with only 5 points separating Kenseth, Martin, and JPM. Lurking in the wings is Kahne, who is only one point back, and Reutimann, who is within 12 points of striking distance.

[position, driver, points, points back]
10 Matt Kenseth 2054 -470
11 Mark Martin 2052 -472
12 Juan Pablo Montoya 2049 -475
13 Kasey Kahne 2048 -476
14 David Reutimann 2037 -487

I was disappointed yesterday that the rain kept Jeff Gordon from picking up a second win, and some much needed bonus points. While the above drivers have to “points race” to make the Chase, under the current format, second place does not do Gordon much good.

The next few weeks should be interesting. I would really like JPM to make a push and secure a spot.

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On the fence with PSPgo.

I have been sitting on the fence about purchasing a new PSPgo. Part of me really wants the system – no more UMDs, fast digital content, small/compact system. Part of me also screams no – another $250 towards portable gaming, digital downloads me no more eBay (maybe … I am sure there will be some ways around this limitation).

As I getting my gaming jones going again I have discovered several non-U.S. based sites, including The Sixth Axis, which is now part of my must read list. Over the weekend The Sixth Axis posted an interesting article on the new would-be uber system.

When you press Home on the PSPgo you are given two options. You can choose to either end or suspend the game. If you choose suspend, after two to three seconds of progress bar, you are returned to the XMB. Under the Game menu you will now find a ‘Resume Game’ option complete with a tiny screenshot of your game in progress.

In game save features for all PSP games makes this a must have purchase.

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Well, it was fun while it lasted.

As they were getting ready to start the second half, I told my boys that the first five minutes and the final ten (if we were still in front) were going to be a nightmare. Sure enough, we did it again. Another quick goal; this time in the first minute of the second half!

The U.S. never looked the same again. Sure, there were a few quality opportunities, but for the most part they seemed to sit back and watch Brazil, until it was too late, and then they seemed like they were too winded to hold a solid defensive line.

It is hard for me to be disappointed at a 3-2 loss to Brazil. The U.S. should not have even been playing, much less taking a 2-0 lead into the half. I am not sure how often FIFA tournament finals opportunities come around; this was a first for Team USA, hopefully it is a sign of a building team.

We still lack quality strikers. I just do not get why Davies continues to hold a starting forward position. Maybe it is for the lack of opportunities. In the first half the defensive backs played much better, but it just seems like we lack something. I could be reading it wrong, but I think we need someone that can better connect the defensive backs to the midfielders.

All in all, I am disappointed, but in this loss I see great hope for the future of American soccer, and I see the U.S. making a decent run in the 2010 World Cup, assuming they can get a decent draw. The Confederations Cup has shown this team that they can win against quality opponents, so hopefully the team can build on this foundation. Besides, how often do you get to say that we let one get away against Brazil?

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Sunday morning, its just getting started.

I know people that talk about sleeping in on the weekend. As in sleeping past 9AM … maybe even 10AM. I think the last time I slept that late was on my second or third business trip to London. By that time, London had lost its luster, and after a week of work, I had nothing better to do except sleep as late as possible. Of course, one too many pints probably contributed. I have lost count of how many years ago that was.

My typical routine starts before the crack of 6AM. Yes, even on a weekend. I am what is called a “morning” person, so it is not surprising that years ago I completely pissed off my wife by suggesting that a lady at work was able to get her two-year-old in bed by 8PM, so WTF is wrong with you. Oops of epic proportions! At the time our only son was having problems getting to sleep be for 10PM. Boy, calling out my wife’s mommy-hood really put a burr up her ass, because the next thing I know bed times slowly but surely changed. To this day, all three kids are in bed before 9AM.

Of course the consequence of an early bedtime is that the kids get up butt early. Even on the weekend. With three boys, including a two-year-old who likes to stuff discs in the PS3, I have no choice but to be an early riser, but do I really have to be up before 6AM on a Sunday morning? To tell you the truth, it sucks, but I just cannot sleep late. I guess it is in my DNA; my dad was also an earlier riser. Besides, the kids will be up by 6:30AM (one just came into the kitchen as I was pecking away at this soliloquy). There is no way on God’s Green Earth I am about to light things up with another suggestion. Nope. I am not that brave. Or foolish. And I am certainly not willing to live the life on a monk for the next six months.

Thankfully a cup of the glorious black stuff is safely in hand. Not sure how I would get through the day without a cup or two of my favorite brew. Speaking of the upcoming day, it should be a fun one. I plan to get in a run before church, and I think we are going to get a box of Publix fried chicken for lunch. Man is that stuff good, diet be damned. This afternoon promises some NASCAR action and of course the Confed final. Does Team USA have a chance to pull off yet another upset?

Happy Sunday!

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Racing for 10th.

I never thought that racing for 10th place would be fun, much less rewarding, but Ferrari Challenge changes everything. Ok, maybe not everything, but the game is about the best racing game that I have played in recent memory. For this gamer, Ferrari Challenge has three things going for it. First, the game offers realistic racing physics; or at least believable, immersive gaming engine. Second, Ferrari Challenge offers an appropriate level of difficulty, with an enjoyable learning curve. Finally, the game is fun, which is the reason we play games in the first place.

Realistic
Ferrari Challenge offers a realistic experience; at least it does to a certain point. Maybe I should rephrase this as the game offers up a semi-realistic experience. Since I have never driven a Ferrari, much less any other sort of racing car, it is hard for me to genuinely reflect on a game as realistic. With that said, from my vantage point, the Ferrari F430 behaves as I would expect one to behave. Is the actual racing realistic? Probably not but more on that later. From a balls out racing standpoint, I think Ferrari Challenge gets the job done. More often than not, I find myself at the front of the pack, challenging for a podium finish, only to make a mistake, which forces me to double my concentration as I go into an all out recovery mode racing for 10th place.

Approachable Challenge
Ferrari Challenge offers an approachable challenge. I hate games where the CPU does things that are seemingly out of my reach, but so far I do not think this is the case. As long as I do my part, and hold to the line, which is easier said than done, my lap times continue to improve, which is extremely rewarding. If I were fast right out of the game, of if I never showed signs of improvement, what would be the point? The challenge may have something to do with the Dynamic racing AI; I have not played around with the other modes (i.e. easy, hard, whatever).

Fun Factor
The final point in Ferrari Challenge’s favor is that the game offers a certain difficult to describe quality called fun factor. Now this is where reviewers tend to get into trouble. If you are looking for an arcade style racer, despite the arcade mode included in Ferrari Challenge, this game is just not going to be your cup of tea. Arcade fans typically want over the top physics, quick pick-up-and-playability, and tons of cars and options. This is not Ferrari Challenge. If you suppose that simulation fans shy away from console games, because they stick to PC simulations, then Ferrari Challenge may fall squarely into a hybrid racer that leans more towards simulation than fantasy style racing. For me, spending 15 minutes racing at Monza, always on the edge is almost the stuff of wet dreams.

No game is perfect …
Let’s don’t get too crazy. The game is not perfect. You can ram into the CPU cars with little to no consequences. When cars do trade paint, the physics get fairly squirrely. For every negative, I can think of another positive. I suppose that has something to do with my love for the game, but that is what keeps me coming back for more.

Monza in the wet
I am racing around Monza, in the wet. From the cockpit view, the wipers are doing a poor job of giving me better visibility. That and the three lead cars in front of me are spraying the crap out of my windshield. The conditions are treacherous at best; thank goodness I opted to stick with some drivers aids. The wet conditions require a tremendous amount of concentration, but I continue to gain on the car in front of me. Do I really have a shot at a podium finish? I am 13 minutes into the race, so I know that I am on the penultimate lap.

I find myself in a position to challenge for a clean pass, but I enter a turn to aggressively, misjudging the wet weather brake point, which is clearly different than a dry track would dictate. Son of a … ! I am off and just lost all chances for a podium because of a boneheaded mistake.

As I attempt to recover my composure I find myself in sixth place. It has a hell of a last lap doing everything I could to finish a respectable fifth place. Sure, it was not a podium finish, but it was fifth at Monza. In the wet. If I would have done my part, there would have been a happier finish, but as it stands, I am satisfied knowing that I should have done better.

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Saturday morning gaming update.

This morning as I was slurping down a couple of cups of the black stuff, what I like to call the nectar of the gods, I put together a few nuggets of gaming goodness for your reading pleasure. I am going to start prepping for a morning run before the heat manages to reach sunstroke levels. Lots of family activities, household chores, and some work are on the radar for today, but I should have some time for gaming this afternoon. After all, it is too damn hot to do anything else.

Search for cheap soccer.
Recent CONCACAF 2010 World Cup qualifying action, the miraculous Confederations Cup run into the finals, and upcoming Gold Cup play has me jonesing for a decent soccer title. Over the last few months of complete gaming inactivity, I sold off my PSP and PS2 soccer titles (I never bothered to pick one up for the PS3). I think I have some sort of PES for the PS2 (maybe), but I think I may actually be soccer less for the first time in recent memory. I am not sure how I arrived at this low point, but I digress.

I thought about picking up FIFA 2009, but it is still selling for close to $50 for the PS3 and $30 for the PSP. That is too steep a hill to climb when the annual update is only four months away. The next versions of PES are due in November, but much like the FIFA games, the “current” versions of Pro Evolution Soccer are just not what I would consider reasonable. It is hard for me to stomach throwing down $40 for a game when the new version is due in November.

Of course that is the way it is with sports games. They seldom hold value, and while there are bargains to be found on the used market, the retail price holds because the manufactures and retails assume some unsuspecting mother or grandparent will decide to go with the “cheaper” version of the game.

I guess there is always Worldwide Soccer Manager. I have not tried one of those in a couple of years, but I think for now I am going to have to sit on this one and decide if my jones is going to force me into what I consider an overpriced purchase.

XPlay G4TV
A couple of nights ago I caught the tail end of the God of War III demo (or preview, advertisement propaganda) on G4TV. I only saw the final 10 minutes, but the game looked extremely impressive. I have never played a GoW title, but I have the first one tucked away somewhere. All the button manipulations and combos and specialized moves in these types of games are just too damn trying for this older gamer. Still, when March 2010 rolls around, given prosperity and continued good health, I may be inclined to give this one a go.

Qore (November)
I finally got around to installing and watching the November Qore episode. I only have a couple of comments about the actual episode. First, the Japanese content was much too brief. Just when it started getting interesting, it closed too quickly. I think the Japanese gaming scene is something that could have been greatly expanded, and is the type of content that most gamers would enjoy watching. My other comment is that when you actually know what Veronica Belmont is talking about when she holds up a PS3 version of Aquanaut’ Holiday, you are probably a little over the top. Dare I say a complete gaming nerd or geek? I was going to say hardcore, but I always hated that term, and I have no idea what it has been replaced with in this current generation of gamers.

Trophy Whore
I have never read anything from The VFLHP Blog, but I came across this article via N4G, and decided it was worth a reference. The author talks about some of the good points brought about by the advent of trophies, and then goes into the bad points. All that is well and good, but the writer never gets off the fence; comes across as rather wishy-washy.

The anti-Trophy brigade sees them as the worst thing to happen to gaming since the Wii (Yeah I said it!!!). Excuse my French but the phrase “Trophy Whore” has now entered the vocabulary of most gamers. This is a person who has basically become addicted to collecting Trophies. This is the main problem most people have with Trophies. There is no denying the fact that there are now people who only buy games in order to get the Trophies in them. One look at www.ps3trophies.co.uk gives us a clear example of how big this “Trophy Hoarding” has become. Right at the top of the Trophy Leaderboard is Killerxx from (Yeah you guessed it!) the USA, who has collected no less than 2683 trophies, including 44 platinum ones, which means he/she has bought and played at least 44 games to death! I don’t mean to insult this person but a certain “World Of Warcraft” inspired episode of South Park springs to mind!

I see no downside to trophies. They add value to games, and they make playing some older long forgotten game a little worthwhile. I would hazard a bet that gamers addicted to trophies were already addicted to gaming.

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College Football Annuals.

Every year I swear off purchasing college football annuals, but like spring turns to summer, the anticipation of a new football season brings me back to another round of purchases. Then of course there is the hope that the next yearly installment of EA Sports’ NCAA Football will bring football nirvana into my living room.

Each year I struggle to break the cycle, and this year is no different. These days I rarely visit brick and mortar bookstores, but after taking the family out for pizza (and beer for mommy and daddy), we checked out the bookstore right around the corner. Kid. Candy story. Me. OK, it was a bookstore, but you get the picture. A plethora of football annuals were on display, but I showed some restraint and limited myself to three of my traditional favorites. I picked up the Athlon Sports Southeastern 2009 Preview, Lindy’s Southeastern 2009 Preview, and of course Phil Steele’s 2009 College Football Preview is must read material.

Maybe one year I will break the cycle, but not today. Not this year. 2009 is another lost cause.

I think it is finally time to put in my NCAA Football 2010 pre-order. PS3 or PSP? Or Both? Decisions are like drinking beer. As the night goes on the decisions become easier, the beer gets better, while the tab continues to climb. Something like that.

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Pangya: Fantasy Golf Ships.

Finally! I just got a shipping confirmation from Amazon that Pangya has shipped. It should be here on Monday, and the best news is that Amazon waived my Next Day shipping change. $3.99 is not that much, but I complained that God and all his children had the game. Well, everyone except for me has Pangya because for some inexplicable reason Amazon did not get the game on release day. I guess Amazon wanted me to shut the hell up. Either way, I can wait until Monday for the game and pocket the $3.99.

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Sony tells critics to f’off.

The criticism of the PSPgo launch price continues. This short article from Gamervision is hilarious.

In an interview with MCV, Sony revealed that they’d price the handheld however high they damn well want to.

**********

Are you charging more for the PSPgo to protect retail margins as they won’t be selling software? Or to cover R&D costs?

Those aren’t the factors. When you introduce a new piece of hardware you have the opportunity to say there is a certain premium that is associated with it, and we took that into account.

As with all hardware launches you look at the business model, the cost structure, and the necessarily level of profitability, and you use that to set the wholesale price. Much as we do with any other hardware.

**********

In other words, fuck your wallet. I’m really shocked that the guy just came out and said it – and more power to him. The balls on that company to admit that they’re jacking up the price of their new handheld will likely annoy the hell out of their investors, but it’s still pretty damn funny. I mean, we all sort of know that’s the reason they’re doing it, but at least Nintendo has the common sense not to talk about it.

Awesome. I bet the new PSPgo sells like hotcakes, which will justify Sony telling everyone to f’off. Good stuff!

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