Author: jcalvert

Heading off to FL for vacation. Will post again soon …

I have been lamenting about a lack of good review sites, so I have to throw out some recognition to deeko. I know nothing about the folks that run this site, how long they have been around, or what their slant is on the world of gaming. I do know that the layout of the site pretty much sucks, but I found some of their PSP reviews via GameRankings.

It is hard to find good reviews these days, and I am not ready to go flowery on deeko, but they seem to do a good job of covering enough detail in their reviews to tell me specifically if I will (or will not) enjoy a game. A good example is their Colin McRae Rally review. I have been playing this one for a while, and while I seem to get better and better, the game is flat out hard. After reading the review at deeko, I now wonder if all my struggles have to do with a poorly implemented analog module, and not with deteriorating gaming skills (although that is still a strong possibility).

Anyway, it is not always hard-ass 24/7 around here; credit where credit is due. BTW, for a sneak-peek at my next post (later tonight or tomorrow), check out deeko’s review of Pinball Hall of Fame, which is a game that I am absolutely loving. Second BTW, Best Buy has the game for $19.99.

Last weekend I purchased Bust-A-Move Deluxe, OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast, MLB 06: The Show, and Pinball Hall of Fame: The Gottlieb Collection. A few posts down I wrote about my frustrations with OutRun – in short the game did not work. I exchanged the game on Sunday, and all looks well now, but that is a different story for a different post. I have been saving MLB 06 for my beach trip this Friday. So that brings us too …

Bust-A-Move Deluxe was a bad purchase. No. I am not part of some anti bubble busting conspiracy. Actually I like the series, and have spent many an hour with the various games in the series on all manner of platforms. I have not played a home version of the game for several years, having sold my PS2 version (or was it the PSX version several or maybe both) several years back. I also parted with my only portable version of the game, on the NeoGeo Pocket Color, several years ago as well. Because I love puzzle games, because I enjoy the Bust-A-Move series, and because I was in the mood to purchase some PSP games I decided to pick up the new PSP version of Bust-A-Move Deluxe. As I said, I was actually excited to get my hands on the game.

While Bust-A-Move’s formula of matching color bubbles is still fundamentally solid and fun, my problem is that the game has not really changed, which should not have been a surprise. Seriously, what else should I have expected? So my real frustration with the game has nothing to do with the solid bubble busting goodness presented in the PSP version of the game, instead my frustration comes with the fact that I spent $39.99 (plus tax) on a game that should be priced $10-15 lower. I guess it is a matter of opinion if a game is worth a certain amount of money, but I have a feeling that even die-hard fans of the series will question the price point of this one.

Taito did throw in a couple of new gameplay modes, which I will not describe here (GameRankings has plenty of reviews), but these new modes really come across as gimmicky. I guess your mileage may very, and I will certainly give the game another go while I am on vacation to see if opinions are changed. I almost feel bad for saying this, but as it stands right now, I cannot recommend Bust-A-Move Deluxe at full retail price.

There it is; I am finally bashing Sony. Cold day in Hell or something, or some would just say I have finally seen the light known as 360. Actually it has nothing to do with the 360 or brand loyalty. I can and do buy the gaming systems that capture my imagination, but the Xbox and 360 have never done it for me.

Honestly I am not worried about the price; I can absorb a $600 video game system because I do not often waste my hard earned money on frivolous purchases. Money to burn if you will. Buy why burn money? In my opinion it is frivolous to spend $500-600 on a game system before you throw in any games, online subscriptions, extended warranties (you better buy insurance on the thing given Sony’s PS track record), extra controllers, etc.

Maybe Sony figures that consumers will fork over $600 for a Blu-Ray system that plays games. That is what happened with the PS2 and DVDs; sales of DVD movies went nuts. At the time many analysts debated if this was due to the lack of a decent game library or just the cheap (relatively speaking compared to DVDs players at the time) entry point into the world of DVDs. No games worth playing, so why not watch a movie? I know one of the big advantages for me was the built-in DVD play. So Sony may assume this will happen again with the Blu-Ray format, but I am not in the market for a $600 Blu-Ray player that happens to play games. I bet many others feel the same way.

Lucky for us Sony has decided to be benevolent with a cheaper PS3 alternative that is only $500. I guess that is a different discussion from this post, but that stripped down system is a damn joke. I have to believe that the two versions of the system that came out of E3 are going to shape up differently before the US launch. I could be wrong. I suppose it is actually conceivable that Sony actually has a plan of attack to prove the naysayers wrong.

I cannot believe that Sony is so damn foolish (some would say arrogant) to believe that the mass market will absorb a $600 system. There is no way that is going to happen. Sure the initial shipment may be a slam dunk among the hardcore Sony faithful and those in the market for a Blu-Ray system that plays games, but I fully believe that the average Wal-Mart shopper could care less about system specs (or any other perceived advantage that Sony thinks it has over its competitors).

So where does all this leave me? I assume I will pre-order a PS3 and flip it for double on eBay, but for now I am content with my PS2. But for how long? Will EA offer up some compelling sports title (NCAA Football, Madden, NCAA Baseball) that is exclusive for the PS3, or maybe a version of one of these franchises that has some sort of must have exclusive PS3 features? The next version of Gran Turismo? Some killer hack-and-slash action RPG? An awesome new racing experience? Maybe the next coming of Elite? I just do not know what Sony is going to do to try to convince me that I have to have a PS3 regardless of the price point.

For now I keep window shopping for 360s, and looking for more Wii information (price? release date?). I have to believe that there are many PS2 owners besides me that feel the same way. Even owners that show tremendous faith in Sony have to be wondering what the hell Sony is thinking.

Gates? Gates has to be giggling. Yes, it is still early days, and maybe Sony does have some inconceivable plan to capture this generation of System Wars. As for me, I think Sony has made a tremendous mistake assuming the American market is ready for the PS3 at its current price point.

I wanted to give OutRun a go tonight, but instead it is going to get the boot due to a frustrating night of game freezes (at the loading screens between stages), and after some really strange graphic glitches that rendered the game unplayable. I have no idea what this is about; I do know my PSP is sound. The only other game I have owned that had significant performance issues was Madden, and those problems were fairly well documented.

Unfortunately I only managed about 30 minutes before giving up, so I cannot really give much up in the way of feedback about the game. Well, maybe a little feedback about the graphics, just to be a jackass. It is late, and I am pissed that the game is giving me fits.

Ridge Racer is my perfect point of reference for arcade racers, and while I could be off base here, I figure since both games are arcade racers, it is fairly safe even if one can argue apples-oranges. And yes, I know I am not being fair. I also know that most readers checking out my viewpoints make their purchasing decisions about games based on graphics. With that said, I have to point out that my impressions of OutRun were that Ridge Racer looks better, and Ridge Racer has a much better sense of speed.

And OutRun crashes much better than Ride Racer. Yes, I am bitter. Take it all tongue-in-cheek until I get things sorted out.

I figured as long as I was shopping for everyone else, I may as well pick up some new PSP games for my upcoming vacation. Enter Bust-A-Move Deluxe, MLB ’06 The Show, and OutRun 2006 Coast 2 Coast.

I know many of you would consider Bust-A-Move pretty well played out, but I love me some bubble popping goodness. Besides I sold my PS2 (or was it PSX) copy a long time ago. This seems like an ideal fit for portable gaming, but now that I have a DS (er, I mean now that my son will have a DS next week) I have to wonder if that version is the best bet. Touch screen and all could be interesting.

I have also wanted a baseball game for a while, but have been debating on MLB 06 vs. the 2K6 game, which was the reason I was complaining about a lack of quality reviews a few posts back. I finally decided on MLB 06 for no particular reason. Hopefully it is solid and does not leave me wanting to try out 2K6 because I really do not want to spend $80 + tax on portable baseball games.

The wildcard here is OutRun. I have never been a fan of the Sega classic. In fact, I do not really remember being playing it more than occasionally way back when. I am also not a huge arcade racer fan, but it looks fairly interesting. I know longer have Ridge Racer – sold it a while back because there are only so many games I can play and WipeOut Pure and CMR area all the racing I seem to need. I have not read much about OutRun so I really do not know what I am going to get; sort of thinking about returning it, but it could be a good vacation gaming filler.

Will certainly post more if impressions are warranted (really, if I am in the mood to type about the games).

I picked up a Nintendo DS this morning at Best Buy. The Best Buy part is not really important except for the fact that I hate those bastards, but there I was shopping for a DS, and a iPod Nano. So much for the protest.

The iPod Nano is a Mother’s Day present for Tonya. That should get me a couple of brownie points. She has been asking for an iPod for months, but she does not really care which one as long as it is pink . I went with a 1GB white unit; I am sure she will not object too much.

The DS is for my son’s 2nd Grade graduation present, and to help keep the peace on our beach trip next. I decided to get him Mario Kart DS, and nothing else. Tonya and I decide that Joshua can pick up a game of his choice while we are on vacation in FL; that should be a heck of a treat for him.

The reality of this purchase is that I am really looking forward to trying out the DS, and of course I have secret plans to buy Ages of Empires and maybe a couple of other titles such as New Super Mario Brothers, Brain Age, Metroid Prime Hunters, and Tetris DS. Did I say a couple?

I almost picked up Burnout Legends (discounted to $19.99), but I finally decided that Mario Kart plus picking out a game in FL was more then enough gaming reward.

As a final note, in my opinion a good parent will make sure a new system is charged and fully functionally prior to a 4-hour car trip and an even better parent will check out the content of any games prior to their children getting their grubby hands on said games. Sure there are game ratings and such, but one can never be too diligent. Just one man’s opinion and what I consider a solid game plan. I am sure Tonya will see through my veiled attempt at Good Parenting 101.

Last Wednesday night was a heck of a storm. Something like 20K people lost power. We lost power for a good 23 hours, which was really not that big of a deal except for missing out on all the E3 coverage. I guess I will have to play catch up this weekend to see if Sony presented anything worth while, and if the Wii is going to be a nice little system.

I am so shocked at the PS3 price point that I looked at 360s yesterday and this morning. I have no problem with a $400 price point (especially compared to the arm + leg that Sony is going to charge for the PS3), but I just did not see anything that I *had* to have on the 360. PGR4 and maybe the Elder Scrolls game (not sure what it is called) looked interesting, but not overly so compared to my massive PSX/PS2 library.

I almost picked up a 360 for FFXI, which I never considered on the PS2 because I knew it would not be supported. With the 360 I know that will not be the case because Live is there from the get go. Speaking of which, I still have a hard time justifying $60 for Live, but I am still a solo gamer. Maybe at some point I will be converted (or should I say de-converted?).

I am sure I will keep window shopping, but as of right now I am not ready to leap out and grab a 360.

Maybe the vast majority of gamers out there are clamoring for systems that play DVDs, do the Blu-Ray thing, clean dishes, etc, but not me. I want game systems that play games; seems like Nintendo said that with the GameCube and is going that direction again with Wii.

Just found this beauty from Sony that has me 99.8675309 convinced that Sony has lost touch with reality

“This is the PS3 price. Expensive, cheap — we don’t want you to think of it in terms of game machines. Because the PS3 is like nothing else.

For instance, is it not nonsense to compare the charge for dinner at the company cafeteria with dinner at a fine restaurant? It’s a question of what you can do with that game machine. If you can have an amazing experience, we believe price is not a problem.

When we announced the PlayStation price, it was said to be expensive. Same for the PlayStation 2. However, when released, both had sales that were unthinkable for previous game machines. This is because both offered experiences that could not be had on previous game machines.

With the PS3, you can have next generation game experiences that could previously not be experienced — things like next generation graphics and various services via the network. And, as with the PS and PS2, we believe people who like games will, without question, purchase it.”

WTF? I have not seen the PS3 gaming line-up yet. Maybe there is a system seller that I will just have to have day one, but I think Sony may have priced the system all wrong. While most gamers may want pretty graphics, I do not believe they want to pay $500+ for the privilege.

Everyone figured it was going to be expensive. Maybe not 3DO expensive, but still a pretty penny. $499 for the base unit? I think I am going to have to pass on this one. I say that as if I will really hold back …

Will anyone actually purchase the base unit for $499 when all the good stuff will be available in the $599 unit?

As it turns out, a little examining of Sony’s announcement press release reveals the $499 model will lack support for Memory Sticks, SD and Compact Flash cards, no built-in Wi-Fi and will surprisingly have the HDMI output removed (necessary for achieving the much bragged about 1080p screen resolution).

The reality of the situation is that it will cost $599 to get in the door, and that is without thinking about the bundles that every store will cash in on in order to reserve a PS3 at launch.

I will have more to say about this later, but first I have to see what is actually going to be available before I can even comprehend how much a PS3 purchase will cost come November.

Old news, I know I am a day or three late and a dollar short, but I just have to sound off on this one; have to be me. The Revolution has ended. We now have Wii.

Wii? Seriously, WTF is Nintendo thinking? Innovate. Please. Innovate all the live long day with your games, but come up with something a little more sophisticated if you want to have any sort of chance of recapturing market share.

The problem is that most of us that love Nintendo, or more specifically what Nintendo represents (innovative fun) will pick up their next console. That is just what we do, because it is who we are – generation fun. Can I copyright that, or has it been used already. I digress. No one else will take Nintendo seriously. A few years ago they gave us a f’ing purple cube, and now this? Wii? Joy.

After that last post I figured I better let everyone know that, yes in fact, I can run a quarter-mile.

So it is 3AM in Columbus and I am wide freaking awake. I guess the good news is that I should be plenty ready for European GP qualifying later this morning. I have not followed F1 too closely after last year; did not like all the rule changes in the first place, but after the Indy debacle last June, what was the point? I have watched a few minutes of a couple of races this year with a cautiously optimistic outlook. Not sure if the love will ever really come back.

I typically do not write much about work in these pages. It looks like that sort of thing can get you fired these days; not necessarily at my company, but I have seen enough news items to know it is a dangerous game to play. Besides, people from work get a few giggles from my musings every now and again. Hiring managers is hard work and full of stress. It is interesting to see how much something like that can weigh on you (a sack of bricks worth if you are keeping score) because you never really know what you are going to get until the person is actually in the office making decisions. If I hire well, my life gets much easier, but a hiring mistake means things will be not so easy. Moving on to something more fun I guess…

My gaming time has been filled with two OOTPB online leagues, and portable gaming bliss on the PSP. These days Winning Eleven and Colin McRae are occupying my time, with a splash of Namco classics throw in for good measure. If you are a fan of the PSX classic Colin McRae 2.0, you have to own the PSP McRae. Wonderful game; import it today.

Too bad there are no more margaritas in the blender. Will try to catch a couple of Zs and get back to a regular posting schedule.

I saw this article yesterday and thought I would encourage everyone to change their video game purchasing habits. First, stop ordering games online. Second, when you go to GameStop, or Best Buy, or Circuit City, or Pick-a-Game-Store, make sure you park a quarter-mile (or more) away from the nearest store, and run as fast as you can to the store to give them your money. After you get your hands on your new game, run as fast as you can back to your car. Assuming you successfully navigate the parking lot traffic, the extra exercise may increase your life expectancy. Who would have figured that video games could be so healthy for you?

I have not been to OS in what seems like years. Actually the login screen said that I was last there in September ’05, which has to be the equivalent of years in the digital age. Man I hate that term, but you get the context.

Thank goodness for popup blockers. I do not remember it being that bad the last time I braved OS.

This goes in line with my last post, but where in the world have all the reviews gone? I respect Steve. I really do, but why oh why did he allow this review of Bowl Bound College Football (PC; Grey Dog Software) to be posted?

“Grey Dog has become the premier sports text-based simulation company, and their games such as Total Pro Basketball and Total Extreme Wrestling are top-notch games. Bowl Bound is Grey Dog�s attempt at college football, and it’s continues the tradition.”

The premier sports text-based simulation company? I think not, but different strokes. My real problem with this review? The reviewer only briefly touches on the simulation engine. Where is the discussion of the actual statistics generated in a game, in a season, over a career? What about the CPU play calling? How does the game work when playing or simulating across multiple seasons? These things are certainly vital in a text-based simulation. How do I make a purchase decision base on this review? What does the 9/10 review rating really buy me? Hopefully Steve (or the reviewer) sees this and realizes that sports fans really do want more depth in a text-based sports simulation review.

I think a PSP baseball game is just the ticket for summer gaming (and my upcoming beach trip). So now, where do I find a good review? Not that I ever took much stock in reviews in the first place. Nope. Not me. Instead I used to seek out reviews to see what silly reviewers had to say about the big hits, fringe titles, and everything in between.

I am not even sure where to find a good review these days. Most of my gaming friends have stopped reviewing games; something in the water I guess. I do not have time to regularly visit any gaming sites, so I have no idea if there is a decent sporting gaming site. What is a thirty-something sports gamer to do?

I could turn to the likes of IGN, but I fail to see what that will bring me other than a general idea if readers agree with the score. In the case of MBL 06 they generally do (IGN 8.3; Reader Avg 8.4), but no so much in the case of Major League Baseball 2K6 (IGN 6.7; Reader Avg 8.8).

Game Rankings is somewhat helpful; I can at least use it to find mainstream reviews, but once again no idea if any of these sites actually has creditable reviews. For what it is worth, Game Rankings lists Major League baseball 2K6 with a 73.5% average and MLB 06 with an 83.4% average.

A second for what it is worth; when I say creditable review, I mean creditable sports gaming review from my perspective as a sports gamer. I know; so snobbish of me. The list in no certain order …

• The statistics engine must be believable. I have grown past the days of demanding perfection. Instead I just want something that does not seem so totally unrealistic that it will never happen. Pretty subjective, but still, I am all about the experience, but it does not have to be serious, down, and dirty realistic.


• These days I do not have limitless time to play countless games in a season (or sadly even multiple seasons in a NCAA or Madden franchise) so a good simulation feature is a must. Simulate a single game, simulate to the end, simulate x number of games, simulate the season, simulate the rest of the season. I love NCAA Baseball’s feature to jump into a simulation.


• A good coaching mode (or play calling mode) is a must. My fingers have never been nimble, and age (and beer) are catching up with me.


• In game saves, at any point in the game. Sports gaming on the PSP rules in this respect.


• I want the CPU AI to challenge me in a realistic manner; not just get faster or guess my plays (cough … NCAA Football … cough) as the difficulty level is increased.


• Ferrari F355 Challenge with true analog support. Wet dream.


• I have never been an arcade sports gamer (think NBA Jam or the various EA Sports Street titles) so please do not give me something over the top unless it is in line with SSX, SSX Tricky, or SSX 3.


• Update Destruction Derby. I mean a serious update, not that Arenas junk.

I do not think I am asking for that much. In the end I want feature rich sports games that are simulation oriented, with challenging (but fair) AI, strong statistical tracking, and the ability to save where and when needed. So where does one find reviews that have the thirty-something gaming in mind? Please do not tell me I have to write reviews again…