So, I have seen the credits for Pokémon Black Version. All I can say is "OK, what?" They screwed with way the Elite 4 works, but apparently after beating them at level 48-50, I can now challenge them at 71-78 with a proper champion. Kill me now. However, there are three more towns that I have not seen, as well as a mission to find the remaining big-wigs of Team Plasma. I suspect that the level plateaus keep going up. That is to say if I do not use my sister's Action Replay first. This is dragging on. I admit, I dawdled, but 39 hours is quite a bit. I would say it was worth the $35. At least I can now start loading over Pokémon from the old DS games now. You know what that means? Ditto! Breeding ahoy! People may hate the new Pokémon, but like I said when everyone hated on Diamond/Pearl/Platinum's set... At least these are better than the Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald set. I am sure I will derive new favorites from these. People should really take off the nostalgia glasses and give the rest of the 649 a chance. What is funny is that Team Plasma's entire platform is the assumption that trainers are inherently evil by abusing their Pokémon. Unfortunately for all that jazz, there is more going on behind the scenes. Too bad you do not get an idea of what until the Elite 4. I am not sure I liked combining the plot elements of the league and the gang, but I buy it. At least you see the Gym leaders do more than be lame.
In actual news, Nintendo and Sony have given $7,000,000 to Japan. Count the zeroes, that's millions. How nice of them. Namco also donated $1,200,000. I guess that is to say that these gaming tycoons are not heartless. I cannot help but feel there could have been more. Nintendo, alone, generates over $2,200,000,000 a year. Am I alone in thinking there are more zeroes there? Do not even look at Sony (since they do more than video games).
Also, lately there has been new talk of the Wii 2. As you may or may not know, Nintendo is regarded as always releasing the next gen roughly every five years. The "Wii 2" is up next and everyone is concerned. The Wii and the end of the DS marks a time where Nintendo stops paying attention to the gamer market and taps the supposed casual market. People are mad. It happens. Frankly, I remember the day the name "Wii" was announced and knowing at that moment that it may not be what we expect. There is a lot to say about a name. The Nintendo Revolution had you pumped, but the Nintendo Wii? What is that? A flaccid penis, methinks. Nintendo can either sell out or return to quality, but who cares? I certainly will not stand the shame of waiting in line 21 hours for a Nintendo console again. Though, it was amusing driving by the Best Buy line and showing them the very system they have to wait another eight hours for.
GAMING MUSIC
I have not played this title in particular, but I enjoyed this song on their commercial. Something about the attitude and laid-back music that amuses me. At least gaming does embrace humor on occasion. We really should not take ourselves so seriously.
Earth used Earthquake. It's not very effective. Earth used Surf. It's super effective!
Too soon? Regardless of whether I have offended you or not. It has been written.
So, there is massive damage in Japan and how does that affect us? Well, it is hard to say for certain. With the threat of the largest scale meltdown in history after following one of the most devastating natural disasters we have ever seen. They are not having a good weekend, but Rebecca Black has the right idea.
Now here is the important part I want my readers to realize. Chances are that you play video games. Who is the highest provider of video games in history and now? Japan. Now, I am not the tacky kind of person who wants to tell everyone how to feel. However, I cannot help but feel strong emotions, myself. The highlight of said emotion was when CNN showed a Japanese news channel with the text: "HELP." Man, it really sucks to be Japanese right now. Note how there is no massive looting and the Japanese people are not whining about the effects this will have on their economy. We should definitely be concerned about the effect this has on future releases of video games. I mean, Sony and Nintendo are both based in Japan. Do I really have to explain that?
This event gave me the strange urge to play SimCity for the first time in 10 years. So, I built a thriving island city and forced various natural disasters. It was interesting spending the money and time to rebuild everything. It certainly helped pass the time as I followed the news on Japan. I almost consider it a personal homage to said events. It is the best I can do from here. However, consider this weird, I am not usually the philanthropic type.
GAMING MUSIC
Not particularly special beyond being one of my favorite tracks. This is the song from Ice Cap Act 1 from Sonic the Hedgehog 3. I remember humming this tune in second grade. It is a shame that one of the last great Sonic games was Sonic 3 & Knuckles. However, Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Rush have been good titles too. Anyone play that weird RPG by BioWare?
Edit: My brother just claimed to a friend that Dante (Devil May Cry) while playing Marvel vs Capcom 3 was from Dante's Inferno. Wow, fail much?
Well, I am an amateur poet. And. Well, I cannot think of anything poetic to write. How lame is that? My artistry is halted by my own self-defeating hedonism. My only creative outlets are easily drowned out by this new copy of Pokémon and old episodes of Daria I downloaded. Maybe... Video games and the internet are what is destroying my ability to appropriately contribute to humanity by any means.
...
Moment of clarity over. I guess I will now muse about something relevant.
As mentioned before, I play World of Warcraft occasionally. In fact, it would be fair to say I co-own a guild of local friends. Too bad, it is collapsing because we did not get off our lazy butts and raid sooner. Though, until I ran out of game time I was legitimately busy. Now I am just broke and told my best buddy to enjoy the reigns for a bit. I have no doubt that he will appropriately destroy everything I worked towards with guild relations. Honestly? I am fine with that. The problem with WoW is that I cannot seem to stay hooked like 99% of the player-base (The opinions expressed by my clearly professional research on the matter are just that. Opinions.). I mean, sure I play pretty hardcore for a couple months and then I find something more interesting. Cataclysm is so nice too. However, the feeling that they are ruining the paradigm by stripping out every vestige of accomplishment by handing out everything is unshakeable. Unless, of course, you count the absurdly long-winded grind for achievements and more gear. Though I noticed something important: WoW, itself, is not the perceived addictive digital crack so much as the hunt for better gear. Any captivating MMORPG can be guilty of this form of personal achievement which has been known to shake real drug addictions. That is the real glory of Blizzard. WoW is often associated with this model, because hell, they did it right. So, why isn't it illegal yet?
Why am I supposedly immune? I am a gamer. In reality, it is just another game by most regards. Why do I spend more collective time on it than any other single game? There's more to do and in the past, I played with a (now ex) girlfriend. Also, believe it or not, it's cheaper than other video games. The delicious irony is enough to cause an ulcerous death, considering most people avoid it as a money sink. Think of it this way, after buying the right to play the game and its subsequent expansions, you only spend $15 a month to play. I say "only" because how much would you spend on other video games to compensate for the same amount of play time? The beauty is that you can stop paying the monthly fee any time and there is no penalty. Want to pick it up later? Just shell out the cash. It is that easy.
So why have I stopped playing WoW now? It's easy, I have new video games. Beyond that, I just loaded CFW 3.55 on my PS3 and that opens a whole new world of possibilities, but that is our little secret. It certainly helps to alleviate the grief of the crack in my Darth Vader PSP2000's screen. Though to be fair, if I had cash, I would just buy a spare parts PSP2000 on eBay to replace the screen. It is amazing what you can accomplish with broken stuff and some simple tools (in fact, isn't that the whole premise of SWAT Kats?)
Remember kids, You do not win World of Warcraft, World of Warcraft wins you.
GAMING MUSIC
As a sign out, I decided I will probably showcase gaming music that has stood out to me at one point or another. Today's lucky mention is:
As heard briefly in a latter part of the oh so crude Conker's Bad Fur Day. Seriously, anyone remember this game? Infamous for being one of the very few if not only Mature rated games on the Nintendo 64 and quickly doomed to the $5 bin at Wal-marts everywhere for it. BFD is remarkable in the sense that this game was so radically different than other titles in the Conker line as well as any other game, period. Sex, violence, literal toilet humor, and over the top pop culture references managed this game a strong enough fanbase to warrant a censored remake for the Xbox. That's right, it was too hardcore for the Xbox. Drink that in. Yay for cult smash hits, I suppose. This song receives special mention for being a video game track that actually made it into my dance playlist. What is up with that?
Well, I'm new to this world of blogging. I just finished college and the world is fresh to me. Beyond that, I have video games to play and things to say.
Expect a variety of opinions and experiences in my life as a gamer. From the past, present, and future!
Just picked up Pokémon Black Version and boy am I excited. I pulled about 24 hours and have only five Badges. So far, it is shaping up to be a strong installment. Of course, the developers could not be bothered to change the admittedly stilted plot structure and there is still only one region. Eight Gyms, the Elite Five [sic], and a gang of "evil" trainers still stand in your way to your destiny as the ultimate trainer just another meta-gamer (or if you happen to be a teenage girl, more cute Pokémon!). The PETA twist is definitely a fun element. However, don't get me wrong, they did make some great changes. Between reusable TM's, the ability to "register" 25 commands to a button, quirky animations, easier ways to manage the invisible stats (for us competitive players), and new multiplayer features I'm just tickled pink and can safely say that this puts Gen 5 ahead of Gen 3 and Gen 4. It has charm, but let's be fair, it will not defeat nostalgia. Beyond the new 150 Pokémon and some new stuff, they really failed to do any groundbreaking changes to the core mechanic and that is somewhat disappointing. It barely feels like its own Gen, despite being a stronger set than Gen 4's releases.
I'll admit, there is a little shame in playing this seemingly innocent kid's game. However, are you really going to hate me for embracing a piece of my childhood? Besides, it gets me off World of Warcraft, prevents me from dropping larger sums of money on console games, and allows me to interact with my horribly Poké-obsessed 13 year-old sister. Our mother actually knitted her a homemade Oshawott, that she carries everywhere.
