The Recycle Bin

Most regular readers know that I am a closet RPG fan, most of which is limited to the Final Fantasy series and action type RPGs such as Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance, and Champions of Norrath. Like many gamers my age, I cut my teeth on Wizardy, Ultima, Bards Tale, and of course the original SSI Dungeons and Dragons games (Pool of Radiance, Curse of the Azure Bonds …), but I rarely if ever play PC RPGs these days.

At any rate, I need to clean out games that are just collecting dust so I am about to throw a lot of old PSX games up on eBay. I figured I would let regular readers know about the shrinkwrap Squaresoft titles that are about to be put on sale � many of these are considered that magical “RARE” word and are difficult to locate in new condition. These are games that I purchased when they were released (no greatest hits day glow covers), back when I figured I would have time to play them (i.e. before the house had two kids).

Chrono Cross, Legends of Mana, Saga Frontier, and Threads of Fate. All are US releases, all are in the factory shrinkwrap, and all are in need of a good home.

Just drop me an email if you are interested. And please, no comments on how I buy games and never play them – something I used to be very bad about, but these days I am much better!

Santa gave Joshua Kirby for Christmas, but dad has spent some time with the game, mostly in two player head-to-head races. There are a nice variety of levels, and the designs are OK – nothing special or different that we have not seen in the various Mario kart games.

The big draw here is that Kirby is perfect for pick up and play goodness, but for me only if I am playing with Joshua. The game is fairly simple. You really only have to move the analog stick, and press the green button. I suppose there is some strategy in what power-ups to get, and what kart to use. The power-ups are standard Kirby fare – swords, tornados, bombs, and the like – while each kart (I think the game calls them stars) controls differently and the variety is nice – boxy karts, uni-wheel karts, winged karts, etc � the assortment is fairly interesting.

The game provides various handicaps, which more or less change the degree of rubber banding, but the racing action is just not interesting to this gamer. Joshua loves it, which is all that matters, and if he happens to beat me, then all the better for him.

In addition to the racing there are is also a City Mode and a Top Ride mode. City Mode allows you to ride around Kirby Town (I have no idea what it is really called) collecting power ups, and eventually battling in a variety of stadiums, most of which have to be unlocked. I don’t know; not really that interesting to me. With that said, something like this could easily be turned into a great online game/mode. Could you imagine several hundred Kirbies (how does one popularize Kirby?) riding around in a city looking to pick fights with each other? If Nintendo ever goes online they need to do something like this; doubt they will send me any sort of kickback for the idea.

Top Ride mode is pretty much what it sounds like – think Micro Machines racing from an eye in the sky perspective. You race around a variety of tracks, picking up items such as bombs, and try to cross the finish line first. I suppose this mode is a nice distraction, but that is really all that it is, a distraction. It may be an interesting party game for four-on-four action.

In short, Kirby is pretty much your standard kart game, which most gamers will either like or avoid. The game is perfect for kids, but I doubt older gamers will find the game very deep. For my money Motor Toon Grand Prix (a classic PSX title) is still the best kart game in town.

NFC Championship game here we come! I have written enough under the last few posts, so no need to recap tonight.

So do Falcons fans pull for the Vikings, so the NFC Championship game can be played in the Dome? Or do we pull for a TO-less Eagles team, and a road game? As dangerous as the Vikings are when Moss is on top of his game, I have to pull for them so Atlanta can have the NFC Championship game at home. Of course that will open up a huge revenge factor for the Vikings (I am sure they are still bitter over 1998).

Before the game (several posts down) I predicted a 27-17 Falcons victory. I got the seventeen part right for the Rams, but I was off by a whopping twenty points for the Falcons. I should be ashamed!

Go Falcons!

Wow – hell of a final (I assume) drive – 14 plays, 9:30 minutes, and almost 60 yards.

Vick is 12-16-2 passing for 80+ yards, but he also has almost 120 yards on 8 (count that 15 yards per rush average) attempts.

Dunn has been equally spectacular with 140 yards on 17 carries, and Ducket has over 60 on 14 carries.

325 on the ground? Damn impressive; simply amazing!

What a wasted signing Peerless Price has been for the Falcons. He has been anything but a number one receiver for Atlanta.

Thankfully he finally caught a pass for a TD; a TD that may actually put the Falcons over the top.

Rams 17 � Atlanta 35 10:05 3rd Qtr

Can I hear a shout out to ATL! Vick is looking good, Dunn is looking great, Ducket is pounding the ball, and Rossum just took a punt back for pay dirt. I thought the Vick fumble was going to prove a disaster, but the defense held and special teams just came up big!

Come on Falcons, make me proud!

I figure that if Vick is allowed to run around and “do his thing” then the Falcons will win 27-17, but if Vick is forced to do the pocket thing, all will be lost. A running Vick, is a dangerous Vick � I think 100+ yards on the ground will result in a victory because some of those will come on designed roll-out plays, but the bulk will come from a gamebreaker type play. Talking about a QB putting up a 100 yards rushing is just plain stupid, but then again we are talking about a crazy balls-out athlete in the one called Vick.

If the Falcons can repeat the defensive trick from week two that resulted in a 34-17 victory over the Rams, the Falcons will be one win away from the Super Bowl. Applying a ton of pressure in the Ram’s backfield will be a key to the Falcons winning. No defensive pressure means a long day, and possibly the end of the season.

Of course not, but when it comes to the Grand Theft Auto series (specifically GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas) Rock Star is raking in the money. There is a reason � not only are the games wide open, do anything themes fun, but the level of emersion into each game’s environment is simply top notch.

Last night I decided to pick up San Andreas after a long hiatus. As much as I love the series, I have never finished GTA III (around 60%) or Vice City (maybe 40%), and San Andreas (no more than 10%) hit during a practically busy time. So with ample beer in hand, and the family in bed, I started San Andreas anew. Four hours later (2:30AM EST for those keeping score at home) I had to call it a night because my youngest son came in the living room. What a site; poor guy – throw-up all over his PJs.

I know that some people hate the concept of a “crime simulator” but this gamer does not really mind. Sure the game is over the top, but that is part of the fun. The game is clearly made for adults, so there should not be any more arguments about shooting cops, f’ing hookers, jacking cars, causing ungodly mayhem, and generally beating the crap out of anyone and everyone because those arguments are non sequitur. San Andreas is a “Mature” rated game, for gamers 17 and older. Period. End of story.

San Andreas is the deepest of the three games, and except for me being more partial to the 80s music in Vice City, everything in San Andreas is bigger, better, and deeper than the previous two games. That said, I still love the music – there is something for everyone, and in most cases the songs just feel right for the game. Of course I have never listened to a song over the air waves that mentions sucking (fill in the blank here in an effort to keep some degree non-shock value), so that particular song caught me by surprise.

I found myself playing a mission, and then causing mayhem. It is a blast just see what there is to do in the city, what you can get a way with, how many mean-muggings you can perform without some gangsters trying to take you out, and what is a safe distance to play “whack a whore” without pissing off the police.

Of course there is some debate about Christians playing this game – can you without totally going against your values? For me the answer is clear, GTA San Andreas is just good (maybe not so clean) entertainment. Hopefully I can keep with the game this time instead of getting distracted.

OK, it is not what you think. Last night I decided to do something a little different. Well, something I have not done in a while. But I am getting ahead of myself, and like I said, it is not what you think.

For whatever reason – growing old, less time to play, family responsibilities, you name it – I typically play a single game in one sitting, and I usually concentrate on that same game for several sessions in a row.

Last night I decided to tackle several games in a two hour block. First up was Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2 for the PlayStation 2. Man, that is still a fun arcade racer; maybe still one of the best (if not the best) for the PS2. I never finished the World Tour (or whatever it is called) … so I jumped in and promptly won one of the events. Now I am one away from the fine one where you win the F1. Have to try that one again sometime soon.

Next up was Animal Crossings for the GameCube. I have not booted this one up in 10 months or so. All my animal friends were pissed, and there were a ton of weeds in Toonceville (in honor of Toonces the Driving Cat). I cheated a little and set the clock to December 2, 2004 (my birthday) to see if I would get any sort of neat goodies. I did not, but the snowflakes were pretty. If you want a low stress game, with no blood and gore, time limits and such, that is a good way to waste away time, Animal Crossings is it.

Enough of the cute crap – Champions of Norrath was up next. I have written enough about this game to make many of you puke. I just keep pouring it on. I stopped at the Arena (somewhere in Act IV before pure hate and junk kicks in). Actually I died in the Arena a couple of times before deciding to try something else.

Something else was Katamari Damacy. What a crazy, funky game. I have written a lot about this one lately, so I will not get to out of control with this one right now. Just know that rolling around a ball and picking up stuff is a ton of fun. Give it a try – you will be glad you did.

So there you have it; my Thursday night foursome. It was not what you thought, but hopefully it was still worth a read.

Right now life is good. I am having a cold one (or three), watching G4-Tech TV, blogging, managing my OOTP6 baseball team (the Columbus Kudzu), having adult conversation with my wonderful wife, and getting ready for some more gaming.

I have $250 duckets from Christmas that I have tagged as my PSP money. I figure that cash should get me a system plus a single game. Is this new wonder-toy going to be worth that type of money? I sure hope so, but damn is it a tough wait.

I do not really want to import because I have not had time to properly research to see if Sony is going to make the media (both games and movies) region specific; I assume they will because they always do for contract reasons. I do know that I am dieing to get my hands on Ridge Racers – that game looks like a system seller to me. Fans of the series will be happy to note that pretty much all of the previous game’s tracks are going to be included. To play RRType 4 tracks on this portable will totally kick ass!

Then there are the other recycled titles that interest me. Portable Gran Turismo? You bet! A portable version of Twisted Metal? I am so there! Assuming that EA can do wonders with the PSP sports titles such as Madden and SSX (whatever the portable version will be called) should be system sellers. I am not sure how much originality will come to the system, but above average portable version of fan-favorite games will sale well.

The hard part is going to be the price � both for the system and for the media, and of course system availability. I have been trying to find a US online vendor for weeks that well take pre-orders, but no dice so far. We can take a guess (based on the Japanese version) that the PSP will be priced at $199 or less, but more troublesome is the price point of the games. All major online stores are listing games at $49.99 a pop – way too expensive for this gamer.

I do not see myself becoming a movie collector for the PSP’s proprietary media so I doubt I will be spending money on PSP versions of favorite movies, and I really wonder how Sony will push this off to consumers as something worthwhile. Same goes with music � I have my trusty iPod, so I am not going to start downloading and paying for PSP specific media content. I am not sure where Sony will take this, but it would be a smart move to allow us to download movies or maybe create a “three watches and done” format that will sale for under $10.

I passed on the Nintendo DS, despite having a large library of GB compatible games, because I am really buying into the Sony hype machine. If they can pull this thing off, have decent battery power, and keep prices of games reasonable, I think Nintendo is going to be in for a huge fight. The best system does not always win (Atari Lynx anyone?) so I really think price point for the PSP games will be huge for consumers.

The interesting thing that could be lost in all the hype surrounding the PSP is that Sony could become so consumed with making this portable system successful that they manage to get beaten out by Microsoft (and the next Xbox) in the next round of the console wars (for lack of a better word). That would be something if Sony expends so much time and effort on the PSP that Microsoft manages to catch Sony with their collective pants down.

Every once in a while I get consumed by something, be it a passion for a new sport, a certain video game, a new exercise program, or in this case a wonderful (dare I say brilliant) new CD.

American Idiot, Green Day’s latest CD, is my new definition of brilliance. I have listened to this album (do they call them that anymore?) every day for a couple of weeks now. It is my morning ritual on the way to work, and it is always blaring on the way home from a hard day at the office. I even try to play it once or twice during the day, but there are too many interruptions to make that enjoyable.

I have never been a fan of Green Day, and I am certainly about as far as you can get from punk or anti-conformist, which has always been my perception of Green Day. Politics aside, this CD keeps getting better and better with each play.

I am not a music critic so I am not going to write a proper review or anything. Just let it be said that American Idiot is brilliant, gets better the more you play it, and is best served up very loud. Seriously, the louder I play the thing, the better.

Brilliance, pure and simple – American Idiot.

A couple of days ago I signed up to help coach Joshua’s soccer team for winter/spring soccer. I have been reluctant to coach in the past because I do not want to be “one of those coaches” and I do not want to be too hard on my son.

Seriously, I think we all know what I am talking about. Recently I overhead a conversation where some poor old SOB was talking about how such and such kid was really good, while some little “snotty ass” kid should be sitting on the bench. Why on earth would grown men sit around shooting the shit about their little league baseball team – before the season even started? I really wanted to tell them to f’off, but I figured Bubba had about 150 pounds on me, and would have easily kicked my ass back to Texas.

But I digress, back to reality.

Over the last few months I have helped out where I could with Joshua’s T-Ball team, his soccer team, and now his basketball team, but I have always remained in the background. I did not want to do anything in an “official” capacity – I did not want to interfere, and I was afraid that I would be too hard on Joshua.

I recently decided that I want to become more involved (Coach C. if you please), and decided it would be worthwhile for Joshua and me if I became his soccer coach � for too many reasons to go into here. I think I can manage to keep a level head and not become a Bubba. If nothing else, my wife will keep me in line.

The excitement that Joshua expressed when his mom told him I was going to coach his team was absolutely priceless.

So here I am getting ready to coach 5 and 6 year-olds. I am sure it will be crazy, but hopefully I will manage to get through it with my sanity intact, keeping the sport fun, while teaching the kids about soccer and good sportsmanship.

Prayers are always welcome, and advice on coaching youth soccer would be appreciated (that means you Kevin!).

Back in the day (that would be just 10 years ago) I would cling to every release date and get upset when the dates would slip. Ah yes, the good ‘ol days of 1995 when the PlayStation was new, the Saturn sucked, and everything that did not rule went back to the store. The internet was new for the masses, and sites started posting release dates. Back then I lived and breathed release dates. Heck, I still do it to some extent with games such as Gran Turismo 4, but it is really not that important to me anymore. I just preorder what I want and when something shows up it is like a mini Christmas.

Getting pissed over missed released dates is such a stupid practice, especially for someone in the software industry (that would be me) that should know better and understand why dates slip. Why do we cling to release dates and get so upset when something happens and the game misses the published target date? Is there some God given right that I am missing when it games to ship dates?

Exasperating the problem is the internet – gaming retailers such as EBGames will post their best “guess” at a date, usually based on marketing and sales fluff, or “estimated” dates from the publisher. Of course all hell breaks loose when the dates changes, especially if the publisher put together a major ad campaign months before anyone realized that the game would miss its target date. A few years ago no one would have any idea that that game slipped, but now that the curtains are down, we all know that the date was missed, so pissed off we become.

This may be old news to some of you, but I was trying to find some news on the differences between Football Manager 2005 (UK version) and World Wide Soccer Manager (US version of said UK game) when I stumbled over this thread on the SI Games forum. This one sure went into total chaos as the date for WWSM seemed to change with the wind. It is pretty funny how seriously some people take games and ship dates. It is also a great example of what happens when release dates go bad.

I spend most loyalties following the Bulldogs of Georgia, and the Longhorns of Texas. I suppose North Texas actually counts too since I sort of discovered them through NCAA Football games, but the Bulldogs and Texas are where it is at for this gamer.

Georgia is the 2005 Outback Bowl Champion, with a hard fought 24-21 victory over the pesky Badgers from Wisconsin. Georgia made it too close for comfort, but really the Dawgs controlled the game the whole way.

To underline the above point, Georgia trailed for all of 7 minutes in the second quarter, managed to put up 460 total yards on offense to Wisconsin’s 230, and whipped the Badgers on the ground 196-60 (rushing yards).

Texas (I was born in the great Republic of Texas for those keeping score at home) is the 2005 Rose Bowl Champion after an entertaining 38-37 victory over Michigan. Man, that was the most entertaining football game I have seen in some time! Last second winning field goals are for the faint of heart!

Vince Young was freaking awesome! 180 yards in the air (16-28-1 and 1 INT), and 194 yards on the ground with 4 TDs on 21 attempts. Tremendous performance! And what a way to win Texas’s for appearance in the Rose!

I am off to a rotten start with my gaming resolutions, but yesterday was a great day of football so who gives a flying $@$*^! I may analyze both of these in-depth when it is not so late, but for now, Go Dawgs! Go! And Hook ’em Horns!

Happy New Year one and all! Welcome to 2005 – the year of the gamer!

Any resolutions for this gamer? Heck no! I have always thought New Year resolutions were a wee bit silly. I mean, why make them in the first place? If you need to loose 10 pounds, why wait until January 1st to start? If you are smoking, why not break the habit Labor Day weekend? Maybe I just do not get it.

In the South we eat black-eye peas and collards (greens) to bring us good fortune through out the New Year. I cannot stand collards, but I remember that my grandmother used to love them and was always disappointed if we did not eat them to start off the New Year. Tonya is fixing a big ‘ol pot of the peas, but thankfully no collards. Hopefully the prosperity thing will happen; keeping my fingers crossed.

OK, if I have to make some resolutions to keep this article somewhat interesting, I will resolve to do the following:

• Finish Champions of Norrath (currently at the start of Act IV)


• Continue to make progress in Gran Turismo 3 (currently around 23%)


• Actually play games that I purchase instead of letting them collect dust


• Sale games on eBay that are currently collecting dust


• Better restore the Hawks to glory in NBA Live 2005 … since, ah, it is collecting dust


• Get a launch day PSP, take a day off, and write tons of comments about the new portable, its games, and my impressions. Glory days!


• Finish GTA: Vice City


• Finish GTA III


• Continue to make progress in GTA San Andreas since the previous two will never happen


• Defeat Sin thus completing Final Fantasy X (currently leveling up to fight Sin)


• Post regular updates to this blog


• Maintain a regular exercise program so I do not get fat and lazy while accomplishing the above.

So there you have it. I have made some stinking promises, and like the rest of you, there is no way in hell that I will actually keep *all* my promises. I guess promises were made to be broken …