Hey guys and gals!
The weekend over, a new week kicks in~
This week I'll try putting up both a new comic and game review!
Anyway, the question here today is about your opinion on the blog.
I always try to make thins user friendly, how do you find the new buttons? Any bugs/problems on your part?
Do you like it so far?
I've tried to adjust the sidebar on the left, the order and choice of options.
Do you like how they are currently?
With both options to easily check the latest comments on the blog and subscribe/follow the blog (whoa! Already 4 followers! Thank you so much guys ;) )
The page views are at the bottom of the sidebar, it seems a lot more of you guys are actually reading this blog, if not commenting/google-watching it.
That's all for today.
More stuff coming tomorrow!
And remember, any suggestion/problems/errors to report, don't hesitate to use the comments, until then,
Ta-ta!~
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
8 Bit music - Sonic, Cutey Honey and Greeeendizaa!
Hey gang! Well, you 4 or 5 still reading me actually : P
(or you're a whole lot more, according to my Pageviews, but only a couple comment a handfull "follow" the nblog)
I decided to cross-media stuff from my youtube account into this blog!
So, in this first installment "8 Bit music" I wanted to post some 8 bit tunes I've done, base on some fan-favorites games, old school animes and other cult opening themes!
Afterall, we do love our opening videos on this blog!
Here's the very first few 8 bit interpretation I've done.
The artwork was mine, and the one I submitted which was featured in Sonic & the Black Knight on the Wii. (yeah, I was one of the winners of that contest...)
Cutey Honey Opening 8-bit
Aaah : )
Cutey Honey! A cult favorite! An 8 bit game would kick so much ass XD
Done and posted June 20 2009.
Go Nagai rocks! Speaking of...
Grendizer Theme 8-bit
July 28 2009 - Grendizaaa!
Goldorak, the harder one to get right... I'm still not 100% happy with the result here...
Anyway, that's it for today's 8 Bit music!
The pics were all done by me, easily found in my deviantArt gallery in case you'd ask.
(or you're a whole lot more, according to my Pageviews, but only a couple comment a handfull "follow" the nblog)
I decided to cross-media stuff from my youtube account into this blog!
So, in this first installment "8 Bit music" I wanted to post some 8 bit tunes I've done, base on some fan-favorites games, old school animes and other cult opening themes!
Afterall, we do love our opening videos on this blog!
Here's the very first few 8 bit interpretation I've done.
Sonic Heroes 8-bit
My very first try! This one was done and posted on youtube June 10 2009.
It was done using the great music program FL Studio 8, and some tweaking around with the plugin "magical8bit".My very first try! This one was done and posted on youtube June 10 2009.
The artwork was mine, and the one I submitted which was featured in Sonic & the Black Knight on the Wii. (yeah, I was one of the winners of that contest...)
Cutey Honey Opening 8-bit
Aaah : )
Cutey Honey! A cult favorite! An 8 bit game would kick so much ass XD
Done and posted June 20 2009.
Go Nagai rocks! Speaking of...
Grendizer Theme 8-bit
July 28 2009 - Grendizaaa!
Goldorak, the harder one to get right... I'm still not 100% happy with the result here...
Anyway, that's it for today's 8 Bit music!
The pics were all done by me, easily found in my deviantArt gallery in case you'd ask.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Hey Eyz! What are you up to?
I'm planning some more reviews, since it was the aim of this blog at first : P
Currently finishing a comic book review then I'll have some more gaming reviews up including (in no particular order):
- The SF2 series, the fighting marathon continues!
- Resident Evil Code Veronica
- Another Prince of Persia game
- maybe something from the PC Engine, since you can find most games on Virtual console nowadays (taking my audience in mind)
But I would gladly do something you want, use the comments below!
On the website part, I've been thinking about tweaking some little stuff on this blog. (on the layout mostly)
Maybe adding some buttons to access directly and easily just the reviews, be it comics/movies/games.
Maybe even a chatbox/shoutbox, just for kicks!
Anyway, I'm all hears and open to suggestions..
On that note, have a nice weekend guys and gals~
Currently finishing a comic book review then I'll have some more gaming reviews up including (in no particular order):
- The SF2 series, the fighting marathon continues!
- Resident Evil Code Veronica
- Another Prince of Persia game
- maybe something from the PC Engine, since you can find most games on Virtual console nowadays (taking my audience in mind)
But I would gladly do something you want, use the comments below!
On the website part, I've been thinking about tweaking some little stuff on this blog. (on the layout mostly)
Maybe adding some buttons to access directly and easily just the reviews, be it comics/movies/games.
Maybe even a chatbox/shoutbox, just for kicks!
Anyway, I'm all hears and open to suggestions..
On that note, have a nice weekend guys and gals~
Sega Mascots 02: Opa Opa
Here's another look at a past Sega Mascots. This time, it's Opa Opa's turn!
Opa Opa comes from the Fantasy Zone series, another Arcade classic.
Opa Opa first appeard in a little cult arcade game called Fantasy Zone, released in 1985.
The game was ported on several systems officially such as the (most well known and liked) Master System, the MSX, the PC Engine...
And even some pirate ports like the pretty bad Nintendo port by Tengen.
The game was basically a shoot 'em up, but with a friendlier and more colorful aspect compared to other such type of games at the time (R-Type, etc..).
A cute 'em up as fans call those type of game.
It was pretty original in one aspect, the level wasn't scrolling as usually with vertical or horizontal shooters. In fact the player was allowed to explore a little zone from left to right from top to bottom, collecting coins to buy power-ups and killing a certain number of enemies.
Then, the boss of the level appears, defeat the guy (who usually would occupy most of the screen) and move on to the next stage!
Here's a little video for you:
The game became a little cult fan favorite.
So naturally Fantasy Zone had sequels and even spin-off games!
The Master System port (1986) was followed by a another Master System sequel (Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa - 1987) and then by a Megadrive sequel (Super Fantasy Zone - 1992).
2 Spinoff titles were made.
Fantasy Zone: The Maze in 1987 (also simply called Opa Opa) a puzzle game not very far from Pengo/Bomberman.
And a simplistic arcade gimmick-y game called Galactic Protector (1988) which was made to use and sell a new controller.
There also was a Game Gear original game called Fantasy Zone Gear: The Adventures of Opa-Opa Jr in 1986.
Hudson tried to make a Fantasy Zone/Space Harrier crossover. Space Fantasy Zone. But they weren't able to get SEGA's right, so it was unreleased (even if a Gold release almost finished is easy to find on the web, I "have" the unreleased game and made a material copy for the PC Engine, did the cover art for the CD case, etc..)
Nevertheless, Opa Opa stayed Sega's arcade mascot until at least the years 2000s.
Always associated with Sega's image on the arcade scene for a very long time but finally began to disappear during the Dreamcast and post-Dreamcast era...
The last we've seen of him after the arcade perfect port on the Sega Saturn was a PS2 3D remake under the Sega Ages brand.
And finally, Opa's last "real" appearance on a console was the PS2 Fantasy Zone Complete Collection (2008 - only available in Jap).
A compilation containing all the previous games under many versions such as the Arcade, the Master System, etc..
Fantasy Zone 2, which was a Master System exclusive, even got an "arcade port" in this collection, a beautiful looking remake!
Opa Opa stayed a cute and cult Sega mascot, even alongside other future mascots.
Because of that he scored many cameos outside the Fantasy Zone saga.
Such as the anime Zillion (co-produced by Sega), in Phantasy Star Online/Universe/and Portable games, Sonic Riders, Planet Harrier, Shenmue... to his last recent appearance as a playable (!!) character in Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing!
This epic little guy had to share some screentime, most of the 80s, with a newbie who wanted to become the definitive Sega mascot...
OPA OPA
Opa Opa comes from the Fantasy Zone series, another Arcade classic.
SEGA Arcade Mascot: 1985-200x
Opa Opa first appeard in a little cult arcade game called Fantasy Zone, released in 1985.
The game was ported on several systems officially such as the (most well known and liked) Master System, the MSX, the PC Engine...
And even some pirate ports like the pretty bad Nintendo port by Tengen.
The game was basically a shoot 'em up, but with a friendlier and more colorful aspect compared to other such type of games at the time (R-Type, etc..).
A cute 'em up as fans call those type of game.
It was pretty original in one aspect, the level wasn't scrolling as usually with vertical or horizontal shooters. In fact the player was allowed to explore a little zone from left to right from top to bottom, collecting coins to buy power-ups and killing a certain number of enemies.
Then, the boss of the level appears, defeat the guy (who usually would occupy most of the screen) and move on to the next stage!
Here's a little video for you:
The game became a little cult fan favorite.
So naturally Fantasy Zone had sequels and even spin-off games!
The Master System port (1986) was followed by a another Master System sequel (Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa - 1987) and then by a Megadrive sequel (Super Fantasy Zone - 1992).
2 Spinoff titles were made.
Fantasy Zone: The Maze in 1987 (also simply called Opa Opa) a puzzle game not very far from Pengo/Bomberman.
And a simplistic arcade gimmick-y game called Galactic Protector (1988) which was made to use and sell a new controller.
There also was a Game Gear original game called Fantasy Zone Gear: The Adventures of Opa-Opa Jr in 1986.
Hudson tried to make a Fantasy Zone/Space Harrier crossover. Space Fantasy Zone. But they weren't able to get SEGA's right, so it was unreleased (even if a Gold release almost finished is easy to find on the web, I "have" the unreleased game and made a material copy for the PC Engine, did the cover art for the CD case, etc..)
Nevertheless, Opa Opa stayed Sega's arcade mascot until at least the years 2000s.
Always associated with Sega's image on the arcade scene for a very long time but finally began to disappear during the Dreamcast and post-Dreamcast era...
The last we've seen of him after the arcade perfect port on the Sega Saturn was a PS2 3D remake under the Sega Ages brand.
And finally, Opa's last "real" appearance on a console was the PS2 Fantasy Zone Complete Collection (2008 - only available in Jap).
A compilation containing all the previous games under many versions such as the Arcade, the Master System, etc..
Fantasy Zone 2, which was a Master System exclusive, even got an "arcade port" in this collection, a beautiful looking remake!
You'll see it only once, here's the complete series (not counting Fantasy Zone 1 various non-Sega ports)
Opa Opa stayed a cute and cult Sega mascot, even alongside other future mascots.
Because of that he scored many cameos outside the Fantasy Zone saga.
Such as the anime Zillion (co-produced by Sega), in Phantasy Star Online/Universe/and Portable games, Sonic Riders, Planet Harrier, Shenmue... to his last recent appearance as a playable (!!) character in Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing!
Opa Opa. A zone, some fantasy and a dream to be the greatest mascot ever.
This epic little guy had to share some screentime, most of the 80s, with a newbie who wanted to become the definitive Sega mascot...
To Be Continued...
COMIC NEWS! An hex, a lantern and a flash
Hey gang!
Here's some recent news about comics adaptions.
The animated flick Batman: Under the Red Hood is coming soon, in July 27 in fact!
Since I really dig the graphic novel it's based on, I'm really anticipating this one's release^^
It will come with some nice little goodies. Thanks to the recent pic of the back of the box, we know have something else to look forward to!
Yeah, that's right! A sneak peak at DC's next animated movie!
Superman/Batman: Apocalypse!
A follow-up to DC's previous animated movie Superman/Batman: Public Enemies? Probably!
It sounds like it will be an original story this time, not a direct adaptation of the Superman/Batman books.
...Or is it??
The second book was about Supergirl, but had Darkseid against our heroes on Apokolips (a DC universe planet where the villain live and rule on). Could this new movie be just that second story under a different name? Maybe...
("Under the Hood" was changed "Under the Red Hood" afterall!)
Also, here's some great Jonah Hex news, since I'm a bit traumatised by the live Jonah Hex movie.
This new DC Showcase will be included with the Under the Red Hood feature.
Looks a lot closer to Hex in design. Why couldn't they just make the live movie into a real badass Western instead of that summer popcorn corny flick...
Anyway, someone's really happy with that, Thomas Jane.
A big fan of the character of Jonah Hex, Tom Jane wanted to be part of the movie when he first heard about that.
That's why he had a FX friend help him making a nice fake-Jonah Hex leaked pic and let it spread across the internet, hoping to finally get the role that way.
In case you haven't seen the pic before, here it is:
Anyway, why are we talking about Tom Jane here?
Oh yes, the animated short Jonah Hex and "someone [will be] really happy with that".
Well, Tom Jane will finally be Jonah Hex in the end, not the live one but the voice of the closer and true to its blasted roots animated Jonah Hex!
With the Green Lantern movie coming up, great expectations and a ton of good reactions for the moment,
DC finally made some announcement in regards to their future project.
First of all, there's gonna be a Green Lantern animated series on Cartoon Network!
Not, that pic above isn't from it, but from the excellent Duck Dodgers series.
No informations if it will follow the previous work or at least use the artstyle of Bruce Timm.
Maybe a spin off series from Green Lantern: First Flight (the recent animated movie)?
It will start for the 2011/2012 seasons acccording to the recent Press Release.
Also, alongside the home release of the new animated movie Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, rumours were confirmed that we'll finally get a Green Arrow DC Showcase (a short cartoon).
One the live part, DC announced their plans to finally make some non-Batman/Superman movies!
Afterall, we only got up til now Superman movies, then a spinoff - Supergirl, then Batman movies and a reboot of the franchise and a Bat-related (awful) movie - Catwoman.
Sure they made Watchmen, some Vertigo comics adaption (Constantine, V for Vendetta..), but no other real DC comics propriety!
Since the Green Lantern's not a dream anymore, and the Flash had already a live series, the movie The Flash will be the next one to have an adaptation!
I'm guessing around end 2011 to early 2013.
The third Nolan's Batman already have his release date of July 20, 2012.
And Superman is already back on track for a release date around the same year. Seems like the Nolan borthers really meant it, when they said they would bring Superman back on screen!
Also on the same PR (Press Release) there were some mentions of maybe Aquaman and Wonder Woman next, but I wouldn't take this really seriously. They announce those two every year... (really!)
On a non-DC Comics news, the new adaptation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is finally back on track.
After a positive first reaction (live movie, costumes and not CG..) the movie kinda disappeared from everybody's radar.
It was because of a lack of producer.
The movie can finally move on thanks to...wait for it... Michael Bay (DUUH DUUH DUUUUUH~)
Don't worry guys and don't start spreading anti-Bay hate comments everywhere!
It will be made not by Michael Bay, but his little side production company Platinum Dunes, which he does not direct or supervise directly.
They already made the new rebooted/remade Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
This will be their first non-horror movie.
It a really nice deal if you think about it. They will give the TMNT crew means and budget to make the movie!
Bay won't CGi it and have a direct impact on it.
Jason was great! TCM was pretty cool. Freddy was.. not as good.
We can hope for something decent at least!
That's all for now folks, Eyz out-
Here's some recent news about comics adaptions.
The brave and the bold! Coming soon to a theatre near you!!
The animated flick Batman: Under the Red Hood is coming soon, in July 27 in fact!
Since I really dig the graphic novel it's based on, I'm really anticipating this one's release^^
It will come with some nice little goodies. Thanks to the recent pic of the back of the box, we know have something else to look forward to!
The movie, some Bruce Timm-verse episodes, the expected Jonah Hex short..and..wait what??
Yeah, that's right! A sneak peak at DC's next animated movie!
Superman/Batman: Apocalypse!
A follow-up to DC's previous animated movie Superman/Batman: Public Enemies? Probably!
It sounds like it will be an original story this time, not a direct adaptation of the Superman/Batman books.
...Or is it??
The second book was about Supergirl, but had Darkseid against our heroes on Apokolips (a DC universe planet where the villain live and rule on). Could this new movie be just that second story under a different name? Maybe...
("Under the Hood" was changed "Under the Red Hood" afterall!)
Also, here's some great Jonah Hex news, since I'm a bit traumatised by the live Jonah Hex movie.
Looks EPIC and tons better than live lackbuster Hex.
This new DC Showcase will be included with the Under the Red Hood feature.
Looks a lot closer to Hex in design. Why couldn't they just make the live movie into a real badass Western instead of that summer popcorn corny flick...
Anyway, someone's really happy with that, Thomas Jane.
A big fan of the character of Jonah Hex, Tom Jane wanted to be part of the movie when he first heard about that.
That's why he had a FX friend help him making a nice fake-Jonah Hex leaked pic and let it spread across the internet, hoping to finally get the role that way.
In case you haven't seen the pic before, here it is:
Click for a better look!
That was actually a lot better than what they ended up in the movie. At least the face looks more disfigured, we see some teeth and he even has that serious western look.
The actual live Jonah Hex will look cheaper, not that much burnt (not talking about the Hex using hexes, rising dead armies and other crap the final plot has).
...
Anyway, why are we talking about Tom Jane here?
Oh yes, the animated short Jonah Hex and "someone [will be] really happy with that".
Well, Tom Jane will finally be Jonah Hex in the end, not the live one but the voice of the closer and true to its blasted roots animated Jonah Hex!
"In blackest day or brightest night
Watermelon, cantaloupe, yadda yadda
Erm... superstitious and cowardly lot
With liberty and justice for all!"
With the Green Lantern movie coming up, great expectations and a ton of good reactions for the moment,
DC finally made some announcement in regards to their future project.
First of all, there's gonna be a Green Lantern animated series on Cartoon Network!
Not, that pic above isn't from it, but from the excellent Duck Dodgers series.
No informations if it will follow the previous work or at least use the artstyle of Bruce Timm.
Maybe a spin off series from Green Lantern: First Flight (the recent animated movie)?
It will start for the 2011/2012 seasons acccording to the recent Press Release.
Also, alongside the home release of the new animated movie Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, rumours were confirmed that we'll finally get a Green Arrow DC Showcase (a short cartoon).
Note from a future movie, but from a 90s live series. A great one at that!
One the live part, DC announced their plans to finally make some non-Batman/Superman movies!
Afterall, we only got up til now Superman movies, then a spinoff - Supergirl, then Batman movies and a reboot of the franchise and a Bat-related (awful) movie - Catwoman.
Sure they made Watchmen, some Vertigo comics adaption (Constantine, V for Vendetta..), but no other real DC comics propriety!
Since the Green Lantern's not a dream anymore, and the Flash had already a live series, the movie The Flash will be the next one to have an adaptation!
I'm guessing around end 2011 to early 2013.
The third Nolan's Batman already have his release date of July 20, 2012.
And Superman is already back on track for a release date around the same year. Seems like the Nolan borthers really meant it, when they said they would bring Superman back on screen!
Also on the same PR (Press Release) there were some mentions of maybe Aquaman and Wonder Woman next, but I wouldn't take this really seriously. They announce those two every year... (really!)
Duuude! There's like a giant rat in our sewers! Like, cowabunga and stuff! Duuuude!!
On a non-DC Comics news, the new adaptation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is finally back on track.
After a positive first reaction (live movie, costumes and not CG..) the movie kinda disappeared from everybody's radar.
It was because of a lack of producer.
The movie can finally move on thanks to...wait for it... Michael Bay (DUUH DUUH DUUUUUH~)
Don't worry guys and don't start spreading anti-Bay hate comments everywhere!
It will be made not by Michael Bay, but his little side production company Platinum Dunes, which he does not direct or supervise directly.
They already made the new rebooted/remade Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
This will be their first non-horror movie.
It a really nice deal if you think about it. They will give the TMNT crew means and budget to make the movie!
Bay won't CGi it and have a direct impact on it.
Jason was great! TCM was pretty cool. Freddy was.. not as good.
We can hope for something decent at least!
That's all for now folks, Eyz out-
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Blog entry02 Somebody stop Rockstar Games!!
The internet's an hate machine, you know...
I usually try to stay positive, enjoy the stuff I enjoy, and the stuff I don't like simply not try nor do them.
I'm sorry guys and gals, but this time you'll have to endure my rambling a bit...
(well, technically no, just skip or don't read this article : P)
Ah.. Rockstar Games. One of the modern most loved studios/productions.
I find them a bit overrated.
*ducks hate mails from Rockstar fanboys*
Yeah, so they made up the fantastic-ly loved GTA gaming series. One of the biggest blockbuster series nowadays, alongside modern games such as Gears of War and God of War. (not from them, just illustrating modern gaming blockbusters)
I did like the original GTA (top down view). Played a bit but never cared to "finish" GTA 3. Not played any other GTA.
The open world's formula's nice, sure, if you like that type of game!
I'd much rather play a scripted level-based game like Half Life 1 over GTA.
It depends on your experience! I come from old school arcade games, I prefer that developers throw at us an experience that graduates in difficulty to deal with, having specific tasks to do and levels to explore. (this probably comes from my old school 2D running plateformers "origins").
I often find "Sand boxes - open world" games either boring or repetitive.
For example I never finished or played much GTA 3, even if at the time I really liked it.
I turned it on for an hour or so, played a bit, runned mayhem across the city...then turned it off. Enjoyable, but not "involving" for me. Alright, if you like that type of stuff, mindless blockbusters with tons of explosions, no doubt you played hours, I mean, days and months of GTA 3.
I found it was kind of mindless fun, not a fun experience for me (the keyword here is fun).
I tried once to play the game's missions, but I didn't really care about the gangsta story and the stealing cars deal.
Not for me!
But, you're gonna say to me, it sold thousands of copies! Everybody love it! It's a blockbuster, why don't you like it??
To each their own! I do prefer and find more substance in more indie flicks and B movies as I wrote in a little post some time ago.
So why should I like the current gaming gig or fashion?
Modern TV is reality TV, I prefer and enjoy more scifi for example. The ones that make us dream about, work our imagination (hey! I'm a cartoonist too! I prefer imagination!)
Modern music is, ugh, I prefer not to talk about it. I prefer current indie stuff like Jonathan Coulton or old school music like the ZZ Top, The Monkeys, Blues Brothers, etc..
You get the point, right?
Ok, back on Rockstar.
So Rockstar, who owns the Red Dead game and franchise, as I discussed about it in my Red Dead Revolver Review, made a modern sequel called Redemption.
I will probably end up buying it or at least playing it.
But from the looks of it, the game lost some of my favorite aspects about the first one.
First of all, it isn't Spaghetti western anymore, this time around it's more based on American Westerns. You know the John Wayne type instead of the Clint Eastwood one.
That kinda makes me sad since there's so few of those in games (huh, strike that, there aren't, besides RDRevolver).
Then the music isn't taken from old Spaghetti westerns anymore (logic!) but it's a score (..good!) based on American Westerns. (oooh...)
Since the game lost all is original story/characters (Red no more), it was natural to keep at least one thing to justify this game title. The slowmo "Dead Eye" mode.
Last, the game changed, it isn't an arcade-y level based challenging game anymore, it's a "Sand box - open world" game as I put it earlier.
Seems like I may like it (fun well made western game afterall!) but at the same time I'm kinda sad...
Couldn't they change the name? part of it?
The game's receiving a lot of praise, great comments and great reviews, kids already talk about "the Game of the Year" for this one.
And everytime, the souvenir grows stronger.
I kind of think they just wanted to use the old franchise for it's well received reception and cult status, make a big mod and update of GTA 4 and slap it a western overlook.
I can accept that kind of thing happening to a little bought and owned Capcom old west game.
But Max Payne... I cannot allow that...
Now Max Payne's suffering from the same fate!
Co-developed by 3D Realms (the Duke Nukem guys) and finnish studio Remedy Entertainment, Max Payne was a cleverly plotted dark 3rd person shooter. It had a great story, a great gameplay for 2001, graphics were ok, a great voice acting and was a memorable experience.
Unlike Red Dead, the game sold very well, had a cult status, many fans developed tons of mods... the game had such a big replay-value and an impact in gaming (like Matrix with the movies, it introduced bullet time in games).
Naturally Max Payne had a sequel.
Max Payne 2 was everything fans of the first one dreamed of.
It was beautiful, the gameplay even more tightly done, the story was as good as a good thriller...
I personally luuuuv the second game's plot. One of my favorite game stories ever!
Now they've changed Max Payne completely.
I'll just quote Rockstar's Sam Houser Sam Houser now:
"This is Max as we've never seen him before, a few years older, more world-weary and cynical than ever."
The game is supposed to be more realistic (yeah.. cause we totally loved this junkie cop with trippy dreams and bullet time-gameplay for his realistic aspect), darker and grittier (what? darker and grittier than the game that started with the death of a wife and newborn daughter?? on the streets amongst gangs and drug dealers?)...
They already announced a new gameplay and story like we've never seen...
I'm guessing "sand box - open world"..
An the story will progress from missions, no more comic book-like story with Max's narration over it and non-linear order.
Sure, the game will sell a lot more, be a lot more marketable for mainstream audience, but also totally lost it's roots from that!
It's like a deal with the devil, the Max Payne franchise will lose its soul to a more commercial success!
I'm tellin' you guys, I hate Rockstar games.
This game probably started as a GTA expansion or mod, was slapped in a Max Payne "fakeness", because a new GTA so close to GTA 4 wouldn't sell as much...
No thank you Rockstar Games.
I'd much rather stare at this fan made picture during 20 hours than see the crapfest you're making with this original gaming series and play 20+ hours of a spiritless hollow sequel.
At least we got Alan Wake from Remedy not long ago, that's a helluva more Max Payne than what Max Payne 3 will ever dream to be!
I usually try to stay positive, enjoy the stuff I enjoy, and the stuff I don't like simply not try nor do them.
I'm sorry guys and gals, but this time you'll have to endure my rambling a bit...
(well, technically no, just skip or don't read this article : P)
Ah.. Rockstar Games. One of the modern most loved studios/productions.
I find them a bit overrated.
*ducks hate mails from Rockstar fanboys*
Yeah, so they made up the fantastic-ly loved GTA gaming series. One of the biggest blockbuster series nowadays, alongside modern games such as Gears of War and God of War. (not from them, just illustrating modern gaming blockbusters)
I did like the original GTA (top down view). Played a bit but never cared to "finish" GTA 3. Not played any other GTA.
The open world's formula's nice, sure, if you like that type of game!
I'd much rather play a scripted level-based game like Half Life 1 over GTA.
It depends on your experience! I come from old school arcade games, I prefer that developers throw at us an experience that graduates in difficulty to deal with, having specific tasks to do and levels to explore. (this probably comes from my old school 2D running plateformers "origins").
I often find "Sand boxes - open world" games either boring or repetitive.
For example I never finished or played much GTA 3, even if at the time I really liked it.
I turned it on for an hour or so, played a bit, runned mayhem across the city...then turned it off. Enjoyable, but not "involving" for me. Alright, if you like that type of stuff, mindless blockbusters with tons of explosions, no doubt you played hours, I mean, days and months of GTA 3.
I found it was kind of mindless fun, not a fun experience for me (the keyword here is fun).
I tried once to play the game's missions, but I didn't really care about the gangsta story and the stealing cars deal.
Not for me!
But, you're gonna say to me, it sold thousands of copies! Everybody love it! It's a blockbuster, why don't you like it??
To each their own! I do prefer and find more substance in more indie flicks and B movies as I wrote in a little post some time ago.
So why should I like the current gaming gig or fashion?
Modern TV is reality TV, I prefer and enjoy more scifi for example. The ones that make us dream about, work our imagination (hey! I'm a cartoonist too! I prefer imagination!)
Modern music is, ugh, I prefer not to talk about it. I prefer current indie stuff like Jonathan Coulton or old school music like the ZZ Top, The Monkeys, Blues Brothers, etc..
You get the point, right?
Ok, back on Rockstar.
On the left Red Dead Revolver, on the right Red Dead Redemption.
So Rockstar, who owns the Red Dead game and franchise, as I discussed about it in my Red Dead Revolver Review, made a modern sequel called Redemption.
I will probably end up buying it or at least playing it.
But from the looks of it, the game lost some of my favorite aspects about the first one.
First of all, it isn't Spaghetti western anymore, this time around it's more based on American Westerns. You know the John Wayne type instead of the Clint Eastwood one.
That kinda makes me sad since there's so few of those in games (huh, strike that, there aren't, besides RDRevolver).
Then the music isn't taken from old Spaghetti westerns anymore (logic!) but it's a score (..good!) based on American Westerns. (oooh...)
Since the game lost all is original story/characters (Red no more), it was natural to keep at least one thing to justify this game title. The slowmo "Dead Eye" mode.
Last, the game changed, it isn't an arcade-y level based challenging game anymore, it's a "Sand box - open world" game as I put it earlier.
Seems like I may like it (fun well made western game afterall!) but at the same time I'm kinda sad...
Couldn't they change the name? part of it?
The game's receiving a lot of praise, great comments and great reviews, kids already talk about "the Game of the Year" for this one.
And everytime, the souvenir grows stronger.
I kind of think they just wanted to use the old franchise for it's well received reception and cult status, make a big mod and update of GTA 4 and slap it a western overlook.
On the top, the Real Max from Remedy's games, at the bottom the *charismatic* new look from Rockstar's sequel.
I can accept that kind of thing happening to a little bought and owned Capcom old west game.
But Max Payne... I cannot allow that...
Now Max Payne's suffering from the same fate!
Co-developed by 3D Realms (the Duke Nukem guys) and finnish studio Remedy Entertainment, Max Payne was a cleverly plotted dark 3rd person shooter. It had a great story, a great gameplay for 2001, graphics were ok, a great voice acting and was a memorable experience.
Unlike Red Dead, the game sold very well, had a cult status, many fans developed tons of mods... the game had such a big replay-value and an impact in gaming (like Matrix with the movies, it introduced bullet time in games).
Naturally Max Payne had a sequel.
Max Payne 2 was everything fans of the first one dreamed of.
It was beautiful, the gameplay even more tightly done, the story was as good as a good thriller...
I personally luuuuv the second game's plot. One of my favorite game stories ever!
Now they've changed Max Payne completely.
I'll just quote Rockstar's Sam Houser Sam Houser now:
"This is Max as we've never seen him before, a few years older, more world-weary and cynical than ever."
The game is supposed to be more realistic (yeah.. cause we totally loved this junkie cop with trippy dreams and bullet time-gameplay for his realistic aspect), darker and grittier (what? darker and grittier than the game that started with the death of a wife and newborn daughter?? on the streets amongst gangs and drug dealers?)...
They already announced a new gameplay and story like we've never seen...
I'm guessing "sand box - open world"..
An the story will progress from missions, no more comic book-like story with Max's narration over it and non-linear order.
Sure, the game will sell a lot more, be a lot more marketable for mainstream audience, but also totally lost it's roots from that!
It's like a deal with the devil, the Max Payne franchise will lose its soul to a more commercial success!
I'm tellin' you guys, I hate Rockstar games.
This game probably started as a GTA expansion or mod, was slapped in a Max Payne "fakeness", because a new GTA so close to GTA 4 wouldn't sell as much...
No thank you Rockstar Games.
I'd much rather stare at this fan made picture during 20 hours than see the crapfest you're making with this original gaming series and play 20+ hours of a spiritless hollow sequel.
At least we got Alan Wake from Remedy not long ago, that's a helluva more Max Payne than what Max Payne 3 will ever dream to be!
LOST - a look back at a 6 season-long "Mystery Box"
Warning! May contain spoilers to Lost if you haven't watched all the show yet or may not have started watching it!
Oh, and haters...Please if you want to hate-comment try to be constructive!
You can not like Lost but at least if you have to write something explain why and what kind of show you like/or what decision you would have done differently.
So it is finally done. LOST's over.
Our survivors have seen so many adventures, good fighting evil drama, philosophical debates and fans throwing new zany theories every new episode.
You may hate it, but it's hard to deny the impact Lost had on television. Like 24 (a show I've never ever checked, true!) its influence has and will for a long time define future new television dramas, and even a bit movies as well.
As a Lost fan, I wanted to put up a little look back at this series, now that it's over.
I wasn't sure what to write and how to, but after letting the impact of the last episode run through my mind for a few days... I'm finally ready! More after the jump...
You may disagree, I'm perfectly fine with that afterall everybody's got the right to his own opinion, but I think Lost started getting good when it stopped being mainstream.
Yeah, that's right around the big drop of ratings Lost had from Season 1 to 3 (that all TV shows always have at some point).
In my opinion that's when Lost finally started playing with its mythos, you know other others, Time Travel, disappearing islands, escaping the island and finally coming back to it...
In the beginning of the series, people counfounded Lost with some kinda "survivor" shows, Gilligan Island or some fictive Reality Tv show, when it was in fact a supernatural story right from the start!
I re-watched the Lost pilot just around a week before the finale.
Everything was perfectly laid out in the 2 parts pilot!
A buncha people from many different places, all running from their past or their own lives, have their plane crash on an Island. But not some regular unknown island in the pacific. A mysterious Island with strange proprieties.
In the beginning of this show, they found out some "monster" (the future mysterious black smoke) who kills the pilot of the plane right away, they found a polar bear lost (or is it??) on this tropical island and they "hear" presences in the jungle.
What is this place?!
And so the journey begins, mysteries after mysteries, new layers of the story reveals themselves, new "twists" happen... Some people lose their interest, but it's something natural, you can't introduce or define the genre of a story bit by bit, a Scifi one, and expect Average Joe to keep watching it!
It's like asking for a random person in the street to read Stephen King or Vertigo Comics... People who only liked season 1 or 2 followed Lost because they found the concept strange or original but weren't ready for the science fiction part... But everything was present in the present!
I found the first two seasons interesting (and I was introduced to Lost at that time and watched all episodes back to back), but now, from a finished show perspective I find the 2 seasons the be the more dull and calm. The show didn't move on that much back then and all those episodes look like only 1 season's worth of episodes streched across two seasons! Sure there's the important part of the flashback/character development, but looking at the Island events themselves, things moved slowly back then.
Anyway, it's over now. What does it tell us now?
The story was in fact about an Island, not your regular tropical island, but the place where "a very important light" is always burning. (life?)
So it's a spiritual story, right?
It's the same light as the one that burns in all of us. So I guess it makes this light life or the soul..something like that... (I'm not making theories here, just recapitulating with you, dear reader)
There was this strange woman we saw in one of the last episodes who looks like she supposed to be the guardian (of the light? life? of the soul-spirit-entrance-exit-thing-y?)
She kept (stole) two young babies to make them the next guardians. But destiny had it comin', one (Jacob) killed his brother even if they "shouldn't be able to arm each other". So the second one came back from that light as the Smoke Monster.
Flash to our present days/story.
Jacob was trying to defeat his evil (unnamed) brother with the help of people he brought in from the exterior.
Smokey was trying to kill his brother to be able to leave the island (he couldn't leave it...because he was dead or something? because of the island?)
The pilot introduced us to the notion of good versus evil with the help of a backgammon game John Locke found on the beach. Two sides, good/evil, light/darkness. Well, it seems more players came into this real life game of backgammon.
From the little bits of story we saw during our 6 seasons, it seems that Jacob brought in (allowed on this island lost in time and space) various people through his long life. Like Richard, an advisor-like figure who became immortal with the help of Jacob.
Then around the 70s, Dharma came in.
They're the source of most fan-theories and little mysteries on the island. The more scientific ones.
It seems like they managed to understand and analyse this island's unique proprieties.
It all came down to magnetic proprieties.
They could tap in the island's supernatural abilities and tried working around concepts such as Time Travel, teleportation (it seems the island isn't on our regular plane of existence, not easy to find or access)-
So it's a scifi story, now?
And that's where most haters have problems wrapping their head around.
It's both science fiction and mystic.
What's complicated in that?
You can only accept one aspect or the other? Didn't you ever read in your life? That often happens in stories!
A mystical quest to keep up a mysterious light on (that remind me of Desmond, the time travel-magnetic free dude, and his 4 8 15 16 23 42 code to input all 108 minutes!),
good vs evil,
and the inventions and science the Dharma initiative brought on the island, playing gods!
It seems the Smoke Monster turned Dharma into a evil allie, with the purge he had Benjamin Linus (but we won't discuss every single characters here) do for him. (vengeance for what his fake mother did to him?)
Ben was then given orders by someone we thought in an early season to be Jacob (..or was it??)
Like early in the show, there is a confrontation between Locke and his destiny call and Jack Shephard, a man who had lost is purpose in life because of daddy issues.
The man of faith vs the man of science!
Through the 6 seasons, the roles kinda reversed.
Jack becamse slowly a leader, accepted faith after running away from the island, realised his purpose in life (to be there for the island, the island where he became this leader and helped people, the place where he truly changed and was supposed to be) and became himself that man of faith.
Locke, trying to find back and bring back people on this important Island, where the light has to always shine, lost his faith outside the island... and died there (thanks to Ben).
He was replaced by the Smoke Monster (who could assume dead people's aspect) and was that way turned into Jack's opposite.
Light vs darkness.
So my finale point.
What was all of this really about?
People who were all Lost, lost in their lives, lost in their past (flashbacks!) and lost in an accident (the plane) found themselves on this Island. In return, as Jacob chose them all to defeat Smokey (and many were killed of. Red shirts, like in every good story) were suppose to be there to prove a point and help the Island in the end.
Of course we ain't all saints. We're all capable of good and evil. But once they arrived on the island, they were blank states and were judged from their actions there.
Jack died at the end.
(Duuuude! That's like a massive spoil- oh, yeah right, I wrote it at the top.)
But not for nothing. Everybody has to die at some point.
Jack died to help and preserve the light, the island's purpose.
He found who he truly was on the island, in return he helped back the island.
He was Jacob's successor for like 20 minutes, but in that time he made it count for something.
My favorite part and little twist in all this epic and confusing finale?
Hurley was the true chosen successor of Jacob.
Awesome.
Duuuude, just imagine the adventures of Hurley and his number two, Ben, trying to preserve the light/island.
Awesome.
So, what were the "flashsideways" as people call them. You know, the last season's gimmick way to tell and develop a parallel story (replacing the previous flashback and flashforward)?
Jack died at the end, helping the island, watching the plane with his friends on board making way out the island.
All this season we were watching a paradise-like/purgatory type of world as flashsideways.
Re-watch the first episode of this season. Rose tells Jack:
"It's okay now. You can let go."
That what happens to Jack at the end of the show.
He's dead, we're watching an alternate/second life. People are in their dream-like new lives.
At first we were fooled to think it was a parallel life after that bomb from last season exploded.
Then some of us thought it was what's going to happen after the show/last episode, an alternate universe-like place, something after saving/defeating the smoke monster/the island.
But it really was just death.
Jack's always bleeding from his cut he got in the last episode.
Then people started remembering their past lives, and it got really weird at that point.
Why was Desmond aiming to bring every character we knew from the Island together?
It was because they were living a dream, their dream and not understanding what did happen to them.
They were all dead, everbody accepted that fact...only Jack was trying to run aways from the fact.. they were in the paradise/purgatory-like place.
He could finally let go.
Yeah, the Island, all the events that did happen in the show, all those seasons we watched did happen!
Stop saying they were all dead from the start! Can't you understand it??
It was pretty clear! Rewatch it.
Me? I liked this ending, a bit sad in a way, we're watching our (favorite) character, people we learned to know, dead.
It doesn't mean they died all at the same time, just that in death they all met together one last time.
(many religions and cults believe in the fact that we join our "soul mates", that we have to remember all the people that did matter in our life, in our death)
All the clues, all the mysteries...did they count for something?
Yes and no.
You're not seeing the big picture if you say no and if you say yes..well they count, they do but not as much as the path our heroes travelled!
"Its not the destination, its the journey."
I think we got many ansers back (I even got some theories for Walt, yes, just try me in the comments below!)
In the end it was a great story, pretty coherent for something as ambitious I'd say.
Every story his improvised little bit by little bit, but the creators should always have in mind the objective! Don't say they made up stuff as they went on, be realistic!! (dialogues, episodes, pages those are made up as they go along be it Lost or books, comics... but something as dense and with tons of throw backs to past stuff are always planned from the start)
The ending was very clever. Very Dark Tower-y from how I see it.
In fact it was very reminiscent of my all time favorite show, Quantum Leap.
Like Jack and all the survivors in the flashsideways, Sam Beckett found himself in a very strange place in his last "leap".
He was trapped in a little mining village.
And he was already dead, but didn't knew it (not a pun! he he he...)
In the end he accepted it and disappeard in a flash of light not that different from Lost's finale.
For Quantum Leap and Lost, the ending will always be controversial, analysed and new theories made up.
And that's how I loved to Lost ending. As criticized as it may be, forever remembered (or at least given one more year of our thoughts), discussed and us, a bit Lost forever.
"It's okay now, we can let go..."
Excuse me for this super long post, but my blog, my posts! At least I wrote what I had in mind for so long...
Oh, and haters...Please if you want to hate-comment try to be constructive!
You can not like Lost but at least if you have to write something explain why and what kind of show you like/or what decision you would have done differently.
Not recycling a previous pic here.
So it is finally done. LOST's over.
Our survivors have seen so many adventures, good fighting evil drama, philosophical debates and fans throwing new zany theories every new episode.
You may hate it, but it's hard to deny the impact Lost had on television. Like 24 (a show I've never ever checked, true!) its influence has and will for a long time define future new television dramas, and even a bit movies as well.
As a Lost fan, I wanted to put up a little look back at this series, now that it's over.
I wasn't sure what to write and how to, but after letting the impact of the last episode run through my mind for a few days... I'm finally ready! More after the jump...
These pictures have absolutely no relevance to this article... or DO THEY???
You may disagree, I'm perfectly fine with that afterall everybody's got the right to his own opinion, but I think Lost started getting good when it stopped being mainstream.
Yeah, that's right around the big drop of ratings Lost had from Season 1 to 3 (that all TV shows always have at some point).
In my opinion that's when Lost finally started playing with its mythos, you know other others, Time Travel, disappearing islands, escaping the island and finally coming back to it...
In the beginning of the series, people counfounded Lost with some kinda "survivor" shows, Gilligan Island or some fictive Reality Tv show, when it was in fact a supernatural story right from the start!
I re-watched the Lost pilot just around a week before the finale.
Everything was perfectly laid out in the 2 parts pilot!
A buncha people from many different places, all running from their past or their own lives, have their plane crash on an Island. But not some regular unknown island in the pacific. A mysterious Island with strange proprieties.
In the beginning of this show, they found out some "monster" (the future mysterious black smoke) who kills the pilot of the plane right away, they found a polar bear lost (or is it??) on this tropical island and they "hear" presences in the jungle.
What is this place?!
And so the journey begins, mysteries after mysteries, new layers of the story reveals themselves, new "twists" happen... Some people lose their interest, but it's something natural, you can't introduce or define the genre of a story bit by bit, a Scifi one, and expect Average Joe to keep watching it!
It's like asking for a random person in the street to read Stephen King or Vertigo Comics... People who only liked season 1 or 2 followed Lost because they found the concept strange or original but weren't ready for the science fiction part... But everything was present in the present!
I found the first two seasons interesting (and I was introduced to Lost at that time and watched all episodes back to back), but now, from a finished show perspective I find the 2 seasons the be the more dull and calm. The show didn't move on that much back then and all those episodes look like only 1 season's worth of episodes streched across two seasons! Sure there's the important part of the flashback/character development, but looking at the Island events themselves, things moved slowly back then.
Anyway, it's over now. What does it tell us now?
The story was in fact about an Island, not your regular tropical island, but the place where "a very important light" is always burning. (life?)
So it's a spiritual story, right?
It's the same light as the one that burns in all of us. So I guess it makes this light life or the soul..something like that... (I'm not making theories here, just recapitulating with you, dear reader)
There was this strange woman we saw in one of the last episodes who looks like she supposed to be the guardian (of the light? life? of the soul-spirit-entrance-exit-thing-y?)
She kept (stole) two young babies to make them the next guardians. But destiny had it comin', one (Jacob) killed his brother even if they "shouldn't be able to arm each other". So the second one came back from that light as the Smoke Monster.
Flash to our present days/story.
Jacob was trying to defeat his evil (unnamed) brother with the help of people he brought in from the exterior.
Smokey was trying to kill his brother to be able to leave the island (he couldn't leave it...because he was dead or something? because of the island?)
The pilot introduced us to the notion of good versus evil with the help of a backgammon game John Locke found on the beach. Two sides, good/evil, light/darkness. Well, it seems more players came into this real life game of backgammon.
From the little bits of story we saw during our 6 seasons, it seems that Jacob brought in (allowed on this island lost in time and space) various people through his long life. Like Richard, an advisor-like figure who became immortal with the help of Jacob.
Then around the 70s, Dharma came in.
They're the source of most fan-theories and little mysteries on the island. The more scientific ones.
It seems like they managed to understand and analyse this island's unique proprieties.
It all came down to magnetic proprieties.
They could tap in the island's supernatural abilities and tried working around concepts such as Time Travel, teleportation (it seems the island isn't on our regular plane of existence, not easy to find or access)-
So it's a scifi story, now?
And that's where most haters have problems wrapping their head around.
It's both science fiction and mystic.
What's complicated in that?
You can only accept one aspect or the other? Didn't you ever read in your life? That often happens in stories!
A mystical quest to keep up a mysterious light on (that remind me of Desmond, the time travel-magnetic free dude, and his 4 8 15 16 23 42 code to input all 108 minutes!),
good vs evil,
and the inventions and science the Dharma initiative brought on the island, playing gods!
It seems the Smoke Monster turned Dharma into a evil allie, with the purge he had Benjamin Linus (but we won't discuss every single characters here) do for him. (vengeance for what his fake mother did to him?)
Ben was then given orders by someone we thought in an early season to be Jacob (..or was it??)
Like early in the show, there is a confrontation between Locke and his destiny call and Jack Shephard, a man who had lost is purpose in life because of daddy issues.
The man of faith vs the man of science!
Through the 6 seasons, the roles kinda reversed.
Jack becamse slowly a leader, accepted faith after running away from the island, realised his purpose in life (to be there for the island, the island where he became this leader and helped people, the place where he truly changed and was supposed to be) and became himself that man of faith.
Locke, trying to find back and bring back people on this important Island, where the light has to always shine, lost his faith outside the island... and died there (thanks to Ben).
He was replaced by the Smoke Monster (who could assume dead people's aspect) and was that way turned into Jack's opposite.
Light vs darkness.
So my finale point.
What was all of this really about?
People who were all Lost, lost in their lives, lost in their past (flashbacks!) and lost in an accident (the plane) found themselves on this Island. In return, as Jacob chose them all to defeat Smokey (and many were killed of. Red shirts, like in every good story) were suppose to be there to prove a point and help the Island in the end.
Of course we ain't all saints. We're all capable of good and evil. But once they arrived on the island, they were blank states and were judged from their actions there.
Jack died at the end.
(Duuuude! That's like a massive spoil- oh, yeah right, I wrote it at the top.)
But not for nothing. Everybody has to die at some point.
Jack died to help and preserve the light, the island's purpose.
He found who he truly was on the island, in return he helped back the island.
He was Jacob's successor for like 20 minutes, but in that time he made it count for something.
My favorite part and little twist in all this epic and confusing finale?
Hurley was the true chosen successor of Jacob.
Awesome.
Duuuude, just imagine the adventures of Hurley and his number two, Ben, trying to preserve the light/island.
Awesome.
So, what were the "flashsideways" as people call them. You know, the last season's gimmick way to tell and develop a parallel story (replacing the previous flashback and flashforward)?
Jack died at the end, helping the island, watching the plane with his friends on board making way out the island.
All this season we were watching a paradise-like/purgatory type of world as flashsideways.
Re-watch the first episode of this season. Rose tells Jack:
"It's okay now. You can let go."
That what happens to Jack at the end of the show.
He's dead, we're watching an alternate/second life. People are in their dream-like new lives.
At first we were fooled to think it was a parallel life after that bomb from last season exploded.
Then some of us thought it was what's going to happen after the show/last episode, an alternate universe-like place, something after saving/defeating the smoke monster/the island.
But it really was just death.
Jack's always bleeding from his cut he got in the last episode.
Then people started remembering their past lives, and it got really weird at that point.
Why was Desmond aiming to bring every character we knew from the Island together?
It was because they were living a dream, their dream and not understanding what did happen to them.
They were all dead, everbody accepted that fact...only Jack was trying to run aways from the fact.. they were in the paradise/purgatory-like place.
He could finally let go.
Yeah, the Island, all the events that did happen in the show, all those seasons we watched did happen!
Stop saying they were all dead from the start! Can't you understand it??
It was pretty clear! Rewatch it.
Me? I liked this ending, a bit sad in a way, we're watching our (favorite) character, people we learned to know, dead.
It doesn't mean they died all at the same time, just that in death they all met together one last time.
(many religions and cults believe in the fact that we join our "soul mates", that we have to remember all the people that did matter in our life, in our death)
All the clues, all the mysteries...did they count for something?
Yes and no.
You're not seeing the big picture if you say no and if you say yes..well they count, they do but not as much as the path our heroes travelled!
"Its not the destination, its the journey."
I think we got many ansers back (I even got some theories for Walt, yes, just try me in the comments below!)
In the end it was a great story, pretty coherent for something as ambitious I'd say.
Every story his improvised little bit by little bit, but the creators should always have in mind the objective! Don't say they made up stuff as they went on, be realistic!! (dialogues, episodes, pages those are made up as they go along be it Lost or books, comics... but something as dense and with tons of throw backs to past stuff are always planned from the start)
The ending was very clever. Very Dark Tower-y from how I see it.
In fact it was very reminiscent of my all time favorite show, Quantum Leap.
Like Jack and all the survivors in the flashsideways, Sam Beckett found himself in a very strange place in his last "leap".
He was trapped in a little mining village.
And he was already dead, but didn't knew it (not a pun! he he he...)
In the end he accepted it and disappeard in a flash of light not that different from Lost's finale.
For Quantum Leap and Lost, the ending will always be controversial, analysed and new theories made up.
And that's how I loved to Lost ending. As criticized as it may be, forever remembered (or at least given one more year of our thoughts), discussed and us, a bit Lost forever.
"It's okay now, we can let go..."
Excuse me for this super long post, but my blog, my posts! At least I wrote what I had in mind for so long...
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Gaming NEWS! Sonic Crayons
Arg... What the F!!
I come back to the internet, to check some stuff, upload some drawings...
And what do I see???
And it's real!
Enjoy the surprise random teaser announcement trailer!
There's even the official Sega page up already!
I like spontaneity, specially nowadays in the age of the internet, where nothing surprises us anymore and spoilers fly around. But this is almost too much!
- And it's supposed to be developed by Sonic Team!
That's right, that's what they've been working on! (NO! Guys! C'me on! I wanted you to work for more than a year on the future 20th anniversary Sonic game!! not...this!)
- There's 2 versions of this "adventure". One on the DS, using both screens, etc..etc..yadda yadda...
- The Wii version will have 2D and 3D segments "Ã la" Unleashed.
- "Colours" will play an important part of the plot & gameplay. What?! How?
Anyway, keepin' an open minded spirit here... This might be fun. Storybook series-like fun. Or Sonic 2006-rushed fun. Oh... °__O
The best thing to come alongside this RANDOM announcement has been this incredible render. Now that's quite pretty.
I come back to the internet, to check some stuff, upload some drawings...
And what do I see???
Enjoy the surprise random teaser announcement trailer!
There's even the official Sega page up already!
I like spontaneity, specially nowadays in the age of the internet, where nothing surprises us anymore and spoilers fly around. But this is almost too much!
- And it's supposed to be developed by Sonic Team!
That's right, that's what they've been working on! (NO! Guys! C'me on! I wanted you to work for more than a year on the future 20th anniversary Sonic game!! not...this!)
- There's 2 versions of this "adventure". One on the DS, using both screens, etc..etc..yadda yadda...
- The Wii version will have 2D and 3D segments "Ã la" Unleashed.
- "Colours" will play an important part of the plot & gameplay. What?! How?
Anyway, keepin' an open minded spirit here... This might be fun. Storybook series-like fun. Or Sonic 2006-rushed fun. Oh... °__O
The best thing to come alongside this RANDOM announcement has been this incredible render. Now that's quite pretty.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing ART JAM retrospective
That's right, this is a little post about the Art Jam I've been running on deviantArt!
In case you would have a look at the original deviantArt Journal where all the fun was at, click this link!
So, I would like to have a little retrospective of the Jam on my blog.
A small recap, if you please.
But first of all, I'd like to thank everybody who participated in the Jam!
This ought to show Sega and Sumo Digital how much we love our Sega franchises and characters,
and that a wider range of characters from all Sega periods should have been representated in game!
A quick look at a compilation of all our different and various entries! Click it to see it in bigger and better format!
22 participants. Over 50 entries for a "little" art jam in my humble deviantArt page!
That should shake SEGA and the guys at Sumo Digital a little, right?
I mean, would I have been a lot more popular on deviantArt, the Art Jam a little shown on forums and fansites (which it wasn't while running) and the deadline longer, I'm sure we could have reached over 100 entries!
50 entries are quite a lot!
However we're not here to discure that, but to have a little look a certain pieces.
If I'm not gonna quote your entry below, don't worry, nothing against you or your piece.
But I wanted to have little look at the more DLC worthwile and nostalgic franchises that should have made it into the game.
Instead we got Metal Sonic, and while I'm sure kiddies and Sonic fanboy bought it the second it appeard online, I didn't and do not plan on buying it soon.
Money doesn't grow on tree, you know? Special not for digital content.
First, here's one more link, to the Art Jam gallery if you want to check out all the entries in separate pages.
I'm kinda sad there hasn't been any real Saturn material in the game.
The Sega Saturn is one of my all time favorite systems, I play it to this very day, and will play it long after Xbox 360 and Wii will be collecting dust in their boxes.
Sure, NiGHTS is present in SaSASR, but 1) he's non playable 2) just a cameo! 3) he's not even a real Saturn exclusive anymore thanks to the PS2 remake and Wii sequel!
I'll start to illustrate this with my own pics (why shouldn't I?)
All pics can be viewed bigger, just click them ; )
Come on! Why couldn't you give me those?!
Too obscure for you modern younger gamers?
They weren't that obscure in the 90s, they even managed both to score a sequel!
They aren't mainstream by 2010s strandards, but who cares?
Nintendo's own Super Smash Bros would be as huge and loved if it didn't contain that much old school Nintendo-fans references!
And look at what they got, Pit, who's never been well known nor popular!
And Earthbound characters! Only one Earthbound did make it outside Japan back then, and it wasn't that successful nor popular!
Obscure references for non fans might interest gamers and introduce them to forgotten past series!
And Bug! and Clockwork knight are both classic Saturn series and almost mascots to the system, alongside NiGHTS who's scored a cameo!
Talking about NiGHTS, yeah, I'm sad he didn't made it, but reading people crying for his inclusion as a DLC sounds so...unoriginal! Would you really want a character you have in the game become "playable" with a cheap model re-use? (oops.. did I mention Ryo's Forklift DLC?)
Reala could work a lot better as a DLC! And just thinking about his rockin' theme song.. *dreams*
About music...
Reminds me of those guys, Toe Jam & Earl.
Wasn't SEGA and TJ&E creators working on an agreement to include them later on? Were are they? As of today, May 25, I still haven't seen them in the game??
There was a lot of copyright issues, being a co-production, like Pokémon is for Nintendo.
But wasn't that some discussions about a later-addition of TJ&E as DLC?
With the first DLC coming, we would thought that some original stuff would come, but we only got an alternate Ryo Hazuki in a full all star mode (forklift), which isn't interesting in my eyes, I prefer Ryo on his bike only switching vehicle for his All Star, and a combo Metal Sonic/New Eggman track, which isn't that new because of all the Sonic stages and a metallic Sonic doesn't make it for me.
I didn't buy any of those, kinda cheap marketing trick in my eyes.
But look, they include some fan service content! Ristar's in it..in a...cameo..3D object in the background of the stage..and a cheap 3D model at that... That's kinda lazy...
Couldn't they switch off Ristar as a character and Metal Sonic as a cameo in the Eggman stage? I would be a lot more surprised by that!
But kiddies wouldn't buy it then... So why not make them both playable? Like a combo pack. A popular (and Sonic) character and a less popular (read: obscure/non-mainstream) one? Better deal that way!
Or better, a huuuuge character pack!
They said the game would be DLC-friendly, built from scratch to allow those unlike the (pretty good) Tennis game.
Where are our classics and huuuuugely popular Megadrive franchises? Those would sell!
Better, why not make a 3to5 character packs? I'd buy that!
They could even sell a new release of the game at some point (or for their Xbox360/PS3 platinum or classic re-releases) with all the previously added characters that would have been released as DLC in the meantime.
Heck! Don't you want to play with Segata Sanshiro?
Even old obscure characters are quite popular nowadays, thanks to internet, youtube and MEMES.
Just imagine his epic theme song across the tracks!
I'm pretty surprised the very popular Phantasy Star (Online) franchise didn't get a mention in this game!
They're one of post-megadrive Sega most popular franchises!
And all accross the world, not just Japan.
(I could have said almost the same from Yakuza, but it isn't that a hit in Europe, not all the games were released outside Japan and finally it's a bit too much M-Rated for this game!)
Be it old school/retro Sega games or new franchises I think those proprieties offer quite a variety of colors.
There's a lot of classic and new stuff to work with!
If I was at the head of a studio m'self... : P
The ball is in Sega's court. And Sumo Digital as well, don't tell me they couldn't make a difference or their voice heard if they truly were all for it!
On this final phrase, I'll be trying to send it, all of this, to Sega or Sumo Digital.
You can help me as well, post it on forums, show the SEGA love!
Hating, arguing against Sega won't do any good, we, as gamers, can make a difference and influence the way Sega is today!
If you keep only buying Sonic games, that's not gonna bring back Sega's original creative force! Showing your, our, interest in Vectorman, buying Rub Rabbits and making a voice heard in Sega communities would be a lot better.
(I can sound quite passionate about some subjects, can't I? XD)
Monday, May 24, 2010
A message to all Canadians:
You're doing it wrong:
Congratulations to whoever built this. You have in your hands the most highly polished turd in the world.
Congratulations to whoever built this. You have in your hands the most highly polished turd in the world.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
VGR Red Dead Revolver
With the release of a new Old West game, something that doesn't happen that much like say WW2 or modern spy themed games, I decided to put on a review of a little cult favorite of mine.
This is a review about the original Red Dead Revolver, not the new sequel on Xbob360 or PS3.
I didn't buy the new one nor plan to try it right away...
It seems like a pretty decend new Old West game, but kinda far from what the original game was, its original "spirit". More like surfing on a little cult game...
The should rather call it under a new name. (since it isn't the same kind of game). I would have been more motivated in Red Dead Redemption if they would have used a new name! (were they afraid of competitors games' reputation? like Call of Juarez and Gun? maybe.. so they turned their game into a fake Red Dead 2)
Anyway, we kinda got sidetracked... Back on the 2004 game now.
Game: Red Dead Revolver
By Rockstar/Rockstar San Diego
Played on Xbox
Also available on PS2
Type 3rd Person Shooter/Arcade
From 2004
I've always loved the Western/old west genre. Yep.
Yes, it kind sound strange but I do love Scifi, B movies, horror movies, slashers, monster movies, kaiju flicks, adventure/action ones, 80s/90s blockbusters, Chanbara movies AND Westerns! Strange mix? I would rather say wide range of tastes : P
Anyways...
I like Old West, it's a pretty fun and entertaining genre which offers a lot of original stories and type of characters!
But it's also a genre that hasn't been very much used in gamings! We play games taking place in either our "current" world or the future most of the time.
And with the past, we prefer war-filled themes of World War, or Age of Empires, or anywhere along those lines..
But lately, since the 2000s, there's been a handful of Old West games.
The Gun or Call of Juarez series have been using a John Wayne-type of Western.
His name's Red. And he ain't here to kid' around...
For the Gamecube and the PS2, Capcom started working in the early 2000s on a Old West game.
Yes. Capcom. Check it out!
But it was around Capcom's financial problems. When they canceled a bunch of other future would-be hits. Like Dead Phoenix, a Capcom 5 game, but we'll discuss more on that on a future Blog post...
The game was gonna be a japanese take on Spagetti Western, something pretty fun since the other Old West games are more based on the John Wayne-western. Plus it was a japanese game so it would be pretty unique for the genre, a bit more arcade for sure!
Then Capcom canceled it.
Very sad news that day...
The game was very advanced in its development. But you gotta understand...
They had financial problems, the game wasn't a big blockbuster game and it surely wouldn't be a huge success in japan.
However, like the name of the other canceled game previously mentioned, it raised again like a Dead Phoenix!
Rockstar games bought the project in development, all the work done so far & everything else around it (the engine, the IP, etc..).
Yes. Rockstar finished the game!
The content was mostly over anyway.
Red Dead Revolver came out finally on Xbox and PS2!
The game was well received by critics (even if they nitpicked some little details), it has since became a cult favorite!
But like many other games of that time, it didn't sold that much and was a bit ignored for more mainstream series.
(it was a time when many great underrated games went totally ignored for new Marios or Sonics... like Psychonauts, Billy Hatcher, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Beyond Good & Evil...)
The Magnificent Five
So... We just talked about the story around the game.
Now, the story of the game itself!
You play as Red Harlow. A bounty hunter on the hunt of evil Governor Griffin, responsible for his parents death alongside a General Diego and a Colonel Dare.
The game is pretty unique in its gameplay, it tries not be be repetitive with many original levels such as the attack of a train, a bridge to blow up and mines to explore.
Plus you'll get to play with many unique character, the game changing characters each chapter for the story.
You'll play Red when he's a kid, later as a bounty hunter on various bounties and later trying to find Griff and Diego, but also the characters that will be joining him in his quest of vengeance and justice.
Such as Annie Stoakes, a kickass "cowgirl" (not that kind!), Jack Swift, a badass English gunman, Shadow Wolf, Red's native half brother and a US Army soldier just known as Buffalo Soldier.
Each character play a bit differently from Red. Be it different weapons or gimmick.
Yes gimmick, main character Red has a special ability.
Called Dead Eye, it's used for duels, a slow mode/bullet time allowing the player to aim at different places on the enemies or multiple targets.
Very fun and quite effective, it charges slowly, so you don't over uses it, each time being quite unique and not too much gimmick-y as well.
The man who shoots faster than his shadow... with his Dead Eye.
So, how exactly was Red Dead any different from any other and future Old West game?
Well, champ', easy answer.
The game was originally a japanese Old West game! It wasn't designed as a big immersive 100+ hours world, nor as a first person shooter game. It was a pure arcade game!
Rockstar mainly finished texturing/level designing/coding/story telling and testing the product!
It kept his "core" experience.
There's score/money (to buy better weapons during levels) for kills and speed.
The game's based around original fun levels. Something you'd want to replay.
The setting is that of spaghetti westerns.
The characters are pastiches of the spaghetti western genre. Red's the typical "Man with no name"/Clint Eastwood character. There's the strong native brother, the southern and northern soldiers, the southern belle dangerous with a gun, the rotten governor and many others!
The music is also perfect!
I'm glad Rockstar bought so many old songs from spaghetti western composers, such as Ennio Morricone.
The theme song, from Lo Chiamavano King by Luis Bacalov is forever one of my favorite Western tunes now!
You'll travel a lot of visually different places, from ghost towns to cemeteries and many more!
But the game isn't without his problems.
The game is a bit grey/grainy. Which people criticised back then.
The dust & scratches effects are present and look great, but it could be a bit more detailled and colorful.
The models aren't that great, animation and details-wise, which for 2004 should and could be a bit better!
I'm okay with playing old 3D and less "next gen" games. But for 2004, it could be a bit better!
However, have in mind it was a early 2000s Capcom Arcade game at heart.
There's a multiplayer, but I never really bothered with that much... Only tried it once or twice..
There's the classic deathmatches, team/free for all fighting modes you'd expect from Quake 3 or Unreal...
Overall, it's a very fun experience!
I'd say, if you're a bit interested in a different Old West game, Capcom arcade games or just something for your PS2/Xbox. Try it!
The story is original, the character unique and the gameplay actually pretty good!
Riding a horse, a bull, attacking a train, duelling under the sun in the street... The game is never dull!
My only complaint is that you need to create a new game to replay through old levels...
There's a bounty mode (aka Mission mode) were you're allowed to replay any level you want. But not all of them (mostly Red's) and with very specific goals in game (under 3 minutes, protect someone, don't do something...)
I really like this one, a cult favorite of mine. But it has its flaws and isn't the "best perfect game evaahh"!
The music, settings and general mood is what I like the most in this one.
You can play it with the Xbox 360 (like me!) but since the last Retro-compatibility patch (as of today) it has been a bit buggy in textures... Nothing that awful, mind you.
But there's a little glitch during a boss fight (google it!) that can freeze the game! Nothing impossible however, don't worry.
Anyway, it's a great arcade spaghetti western game, and how many of those is there anway??
I give it:
2 / 3 Quacks!
Lost's almost over... Here's a sitcom look back at past seasons!
Lost, yes Abrams' TV Show, ends officially today with the final 2 and a half hour series finale!
So I wanted to have at least one Lost-related post today as well : P
Lost.
You may hate it, or love it. Pick a side!
I, for one, will be sad to see this cult phenomenon coming to an end, a well deserved ending. Everything has to end at some point, may it be shows, stories and life. (duh!)
You can hate it, but don't deny its impact it had on our modern TV programs (and even movies at some level).
Lost brought the shaky cam style mainstream so overly used in today's drama shows or movies, like Matrix with the bullet time not that long ago.
The multi ethnic huge cast as primary characters, the twisted endings/cliffhangers, the suspense and long story arcs back from their radio-drama graves and many more mystery/scifi aspects back in every new "big budget" series.
But I'm not here to discuss Lost this time.
I will miss it, it was great to talk about crazy theories every new episode/season with pals... To discuss, analyse and dissect every little pattern or part of the series' mytho.
No, we're here on this post today to have a little look back, a funny/parodic look back at past early seasons. Back then before going back in time with Desmond, back then before playing backgammon with Jacob thousands years ago on a beach, back then before flashsideways-ing.
Straight from CinematicESP's youtube channel, I wanted to post those parodic Lost Opening themes.
Making Lost into a Sitcom, with a perfect editing & music added to it? I'm sold!
Have fun with these Sitcom openings for Lost! The guy did an awesome work, well done!
Lost: The Sitcom! Season 1 intro
Lost: The Sitcom! Season 2 intro
Lost: The Sitcom! Season 3 intro
This one's a bit different. "Lost: The Teen Drama. Season 4 intro"
Lost: The Sitcom! Season 5 intro
And finally, a little something else from someone's else youtube account.
Another pretty creative work.
I don't really like Smallville... finding it a bit too much drama/emo/angsty/teen sub par adaptation of a legendary Superhero... But this Lost Smallville-styled opening is pretty clever and really well done as well!
Check it out:
So I wanted to have at least one Lost-related post today as well : P
Sorry Jack... Once it will be over, you'll have to find other excuses to hang out in Hawaii...
Lost.
You may hate it, or love it. Pick a side!
I, for one, will be sad to see this cult phenomenon coming to an end, a well deserved ending. Everything has to end at some point, may it be shows, stories and life. (duh!)
You can hate it, but don't deny its impact it had on our modern TV programs (and even movies at some level).
Lost brought the shaky cam style mainstream so overly used in today's drama shows or movies, like Matrix with the bullet time not that long ago.
The multi ethnic huge cast as primary characters, the twisted endings/cliffhangers, the suspense and long story arcs back from their radio-drama graves and many more mystery/scifi aspects back in every new "big budget" series.
But I'm not here to discuss Lost this time.
I will miss it, it was great to talk about crazy theories every new episode/season with pals... To discuss, analyse and dissect every little pattern or part of the series' mytho.
No, we're here on this post today to have a little look back, a funny/parodic look back at past early seasons. Back then before going back in time with Desmond, back then before playing backgammon with Jacob thousands years ago on a beach, back then before flashsideways-ing.
Straight from CinematicESP's youtube channel, I wanted to post those parodic Lost Opening themes.
Making Lost into a Sitcom, with a perfect editing & music added to it? I'm sold!
Have fun with these Sitcom openings for Lost! The guy did an awesome work, well done!
Lost: The Sitcom! Season 1 intro
Lost: The Sitcom! Season 2 intro
Lost: The Sitcom! Season 3 intro
This one's a bit different. "Lost: The Teen Drama. Season 4 intro"
Lost: The Sitcom! Season 5 intro
And finally, a little something else from someone's else youtube account.
Another pretty creative work.
I don't really like Smallville... finding it a bit too much drama/emo/angsty/teen sub par adaptation of a legendary Superhero... But this Lost Smallville-styled opening is pretty clever and really well done as well!
Check it out:
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
Happy 30th anniversary PACMAN!
It's almost PACMAN's 30th anniversary (depending on the place where you live!).
Yes, it's pretty amazing that it already was that many years ago... *sigh*
It's one of my favorite games of all time, a game anyone can play at any time (like, say, at work!!).
I'll take a quick fun play of Pac-man over any immersive realistic 10+ hours modern game XD
PACMAN made his epic debut in May 22, 1980.
So, take a look at Google and you can directly play Pacman from the Goodle logo! a collaboration between Google and Namco for the lil' yellow guy's birthday : )
Oh, and here's a little embed Pac-Man game for when Google will take theirs out in 2 or 3 days!
Pac-Man made by Neave Games
Happy Anniversary PACMAN! (art by Eyz)
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