Nick

My good friends and listeners to the show will know that I have a soft-spot in my heart for the Phantasy Star series. As a Japanese-friendly gamer who owned a Genesis long before a SNES, it’s not hard to see how Sega’s flagship RPG series has made a favorable impression on me over the years. Of particular note were Sega’s first internet-capable (or should I say internet-primed) entries, Phantasy Star Online, and Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II.

Truly phantastic games.

For the uninitiated, the Phantasy Star Online games were a true treat for those of us unwilling to let go of our Dreamcasts. Released at the beginning of 2001 on US shores, the game played like a third-person, 3D Diablo — a gateway drug to the loot-fest genre for those of us accustomed to controllers, doe-eyed characters and hours of mandatory grind sessions. Gorgeous character art from Akikazu Mizuno and soothing sound design from Fumitaka Shibata combined to be the icing on the cake for what could be described as the first truly great online co-op console game ever made. Trust me when I say that it was an incredibly easy way to kill a few Thanksgiving and Spring Breaks home from school.

The first time I learned the meaning of the term “Co-op.”

Fast forward a few years and things have changed pretty dramatically — Sega’s no longer in the hardware biz, Sonic Team’s games have been less than amazing (to put it nicely), and internet functionality in consoles in an absolutely necessity. So what happened to the PSO series? Thanks to the incredibly underwhelming console follow-up Phantasy Star Universe and the success of Capcom’s Monster Hunter franchise, Phantasy Star has made its way to handhelds. And with 3 portable entries debuting in less than 2 years, I’ve been left scratching my head as to the best way to rekindle my love for the classic grind-fest. Should I play a little of each, or devote myself  (and soul) to that super-leveled, ultra rare loot-toting character?

It took little more than a demo for me to make a choice about the first of the portable entries, the PSP’s aptly named Phantasy Star Portable. Although selling well in Japan on Monster Hunter’s coattails,  Sega’s reliance on a local adhoc co-op feature single-handedly killed any chance of the game selling well overseas. Throw in some absolutely abysmal English-dubbing and very uninspired, computer-generated character art, and it didn’t take long for me to see that this was an entry worth skipping, much to my disappointment.

  VS. 

 MATCH OF THE MILLENIUM 2009!

Adding to that decision was the announcement of the Nintendo DS entry in the series, Phantasy Star Ø. Sporting true-online play for up to four players, a return of several of PSO’s play mechanics and display systems, and advertised by Sega as the “true successor” to the PSO series, it was very easy to see that PSØ was going to try to cash-in on the nostalgia that myself and other Dreamcast die-hards were itching to relive. With the announcement of the DS title shortly before the PSP entry hit the US, my decision was pretty clear: DS all the way.

Or so I thought…

(To be continued)

Between all of the TGS news, 2010 delays and podcast alterations happening in my gaming life recently (we’ll miss you Garnett), I’ve found myself struggling over one large issue in reference to the traditionally strong fall lineup of games set for release:  Rocktober.

 Decapitaaaaaatiiiion!

Is it just me, or does anyone else get the vibe that October has become the new golden month for holiday gaming? Out with the family vacations “stuffed” with new titles, in with ignored trick-or-treaters, doorbells drowned out to the riffs of the newest Activision “exploitation” or gunshots of the latest Halo “sequel.”

Let it be clear that I’m not complaining – for once in a blue moon I feel as if I’ll finally be able to plan out my order of play (ala Penny Arcade) for the fall, and possibly even get through most of the noteworthy releases in the few vacation days I have. Unfortunately, there’s still one tiny little snag in the whole operation - fitting that it falls upon the most unlucky day of the month.

That’s right, two of the biggest fall releases, Tim Shafer’s heralded Brutal Legend and Naughty Dog’s epic sequel Uncharted 2 both hit retailers on the 13th of October – and there’s nothing more frustrating for a hardcore gamer than having two amazing games come out on the same day.

Despite the fact that I’ll be dropping over a hundred dollars for both games on day one, price is not the leading dilemma in this situation – the problem is which one first? Even though Brutal Legend has been through development hell, the amazing demo and stalwart resolve of Schafer and Double Fine productions has an entire generation of SCUMM-hardened psychonauts salivating for the sure-fire win of a rock opera the game will be. Uncharted 2, on the other hand, has already found itself standing in front of a sold-out crowd, chants of “KILL-ER-APP” deafening among the flowing PS3 banners.

And then there’s me, eyes darting back and forth between tickets for two opening-night shows with identical times, refusing to TiVo either one but desperate not to lose my seat among the cult of the new. The few questions that have raced across my mind (Which needs my support more? Which will be shorter? What should I play to diversify games among the podcast crew? Which will be just as thrilling a month down the road?), have done little to help me decide. It’s a good problem to have, but a frustrating one nonetheless.

It’s not as though we haven’t run into this problem several times before - remember having to choose between the Dreamcast and Final Fantasy VIII? Was it really fun for the DS crowd to pick between Scribblenauts and Mario & Luigi a few weeks back? Picking a suitable release date, especially with regard to the competition, has become such a determining factor to a game’s success (and fuel for the fanboy-fires) that I’m still a bit shocked that we’re running into this situation.  Even a one-week jump can make a big difference (see Infamous vs.  Prototype), but perhaps Naughty Dog and DoubleFine don’t see each other’s product as a threat to sales. I really hope that’s true.

It’s easy to get caught up in the flow of fantastic-looking releases the fall has to offer - my only hope is that neither of these purchase-worthy titles thrives at the other’s expense. Although I’ll have to come to grips with the fact that I’ll probably end up preferring one of the two, I have to wonder why I’m left scrounging for change in the couch and becoming sleep-deprived a month earlier this year.

Trick or treat?

Either way, get ready to rock.

and get ready for rocks…

As a very passionate fan of Neo-Geo and SNK fighting game franchises, what more can I say to get my point across except that the King of Fighters XII, the super-hyped, HD-gilded entry of SNK’s legendary fighting series, is very, very disappointing.

From the moment eyes were granted glimpses of KOF XII, expectations have been high. For the first time in the series history, The King of Fighters was going high definition — super-detailed sprites and gorgeously animated backgrounds had both die-hard series fans and newcomers alike salivating at each new screenshot released. It comes with utter shock then, that in this resurgence of quality fighting games, what could have been (what should have been) the shot in the arm that KOF needed to regain a bit of the fighting-game spotlight, has turned out to be not only the most bare-bones 2D fighting game entry in recent years (across any console), but has managed to defy almost every fan-adored convention that the series has ever known at the same time.

At its heart, KOF has always been a team-based, 3-on-3 fighter with plenty of unique characters, a plethora of special moves, and an endless amount of variety. The amalgamation of characters from other Neo-Geo franchises as well as the fresh new fighters found in every new yearly installment have combined to create what can be argued as the most competitive runner-up that the Street Fighter series has ever known. If you’ve ever even heard of KOF before, you’d understand why XII has left me scratching my head: there’s the smallest character roster in franchise history, a shortened special move list for every fighter, and nothing resembling any kind of teams.

 KOF 2002 Ultimate Match Roster

 KOF XII Roster. Nowhere close.

But it doesn’t end there - when you add together that the game has nothing resembling any kind of a story, no new characters, character entrances, taunts or winning quotations, only one winning pose and the most lag-ridden online multiplayer ever seen - it almost seems as if KOF XII goes out of its way to prove that it’s the most feature-lacking, personality-deprived fighter on the market. And did I mention that there’s no boss? Did SNK really make this game?

I’ll stop short from saying that I don’t enjoy watching these gorgeous fights unfold – it’s high time the KOF crew looked new and snazzy. The fighting system also isn’t half bad - bigger sprites and a zoom-in, zoom-out stage scroll give a very different feel to every battle. With some improved net code, I’d be very excited to take on challengers online. If only.

 Are you OK?!? BUSTA-Wahaahat the hell, why don’t I have that move!?!?

Still, it’s hard to get over the fact that The King of Fighters is an incredibly nostalgia-soaked series - one that’s always prized itself on being bigger and more consistent than the competition. This is hardly the “rebirth” that fans had in mind. To put it bluntly, it’s like watching an obese friend become amazingly thin over facebook photos, and then finally talking to them and realizing that they’re anorexic. Not a healthy improvement.

Whether character DLC comes down the pipe or not, the fact remains that, aside from visuals, there is less to KOF XII than almost every other fighter on the market, including several downloadable titles. Even King of Fighters 98 Ultimate Match –a port of the Japanese PS2 remake currently available on Xbox Live Arcade—has six times more content than this newest entry, and at one-sixth the price. Unless you’re a fighting game fanatic, it’s really hard to justify the $60 price of entry.

Here’s hoping that KOF XIII strikes more of a balance for the hardcore fans and newbies alike. This is one rebirth the parents are never going to be proud of - no matter how pretty it is.

It hit me last night, as I was watching the fireworks light up the 4th of July sky, that another summer has almost reached its halfway point without me even realizing it. They seem to go by faster every year, but this year’s seems especially fast. Maybe it’s because this summer is the first in my life that hasn’t included some type of multi-week summer break. Maybe it’s because the end of this summer marks the end of my unmarried life. Or maybe it’s because in less than two weeks, I’ll be revisiting Baltimore for quite possibly my favorite weekend of the entire year: Otakon.

What started out as a summer diversion for myself and 3 of my 16 year old friends back in highschool has turned into nothing less than an annual tradition for my closest hometown pals. Every summer since 2001 we’ve descended onto Baltimore for an extended weekend of goofing off, trading stories, watching crazy movies and playing video games. While it may seem that I’m skirting around the idea that Otakon is the “convention of an OTAKU generation”,  the anime lures that drew me in as a teenager have most definitely taken a back seat to the quality time I get to spend with my friends. Highlights usually include:

• Making fun of cosplayers
• Watching awfully-dubbed and usually ridiculous Asian cinema
• Playing a host of video games with over-competitive fanboys
• Being amazed at how badly people can smell
• Buying all sorts of imported goodies from the gigantic dealer’s room

Overall, it’s always an amazing time.

This year, however, I’m looking for a little help. One of my more recent traditions, (especially after returning from Japan a few years back), has been to pick up an import game or two from a few of the specialty video game shops that make their way to the Con. Now that I can pretty thoroughly understand that garbled text that they call “Japanese”, and considering that games were the original reason I was sucked into Japanese culture, I find it fitting that I at least try out a few imports here and there, not only to keep up on my Japanese skills, but to gain a bit of insight as to what’s behind the latest obsession in the robot-crazed wonderland.

Keeping in mind that I own four current-gen systems that can  play imports (PS3,  Wii, DS & PSP), I’ve been scanning over the list of recent Japanese releases, trying to narrow down what I’d like to try over the rest of my summer. Here’s what I’ve currently been mulling over, and why:

Wii:

Arc Rise Fantasia - This gorgeous JRPG has been top of mind for me since I first glimpsed it. It’s imageepoch’s first non-handheld offering (creators of the Luminous Arc series), and won’t be hitting US shores until early 2010. It hit Japan in early June, and has been fairly popular in its reception - I’m eager to give it a chance.

Fragile: Sayonara Tsuki no Haikyo - Fragile’s another game I’ve been tracking closely. Noted for its exceptional lighting techniques and original plot, it tracks the story of a boy named Seto, searching for clues that will uncover why there’s no one left in the world except for him. Seems creepy, but looks great. XSeed’s also bringing this stateside come winter.

Monster Hunter G - The Monster Hunter series has literally been the biggest thing to hit the Japanese gaming landscape since Pokemon. It can be argued that these titles alone have sustained the PSP in its bitter struggle against the monstrous DS install base, and the announcement that the latest entry would be for the Wii sent shockwaves through both Sony and Nintendo’s executive suites. I’m interested here not only to see what the hub-bub’s about,  but test how well this heralded Wii version lives up to the hype.

Captain Rainbow - Ah, the incredibly bizarre Captain Rainbow. A true showcase for how the West never gets a glimpse at how strangely original Nintendo can be with its own properties, it tells the story of a guy named Nick (yeah, I know) who transforms into a multicolored super hero in order to aid some of Nintendo’s lesser known characters through their own embarrassing problems. This one’s been out for quite a while, but I’m strangely still fixated on it…

Naruto: Gekitou Ninja Taisen EX 3 - Pity is all I can feel for those that have dismissed this series as a “kid’s show,” and the Wii fighters as nothing more than “cash-ins.” The Gekitou Ninja Taisen series (known as “Clash of the Ninja” in the states) has proven itself to be one of the very best outlets for four-player fighting mayhem, even alongside Nintendo mainstays like Smash Bros. I picked up one of the previous entries for the Gamecube a few years back, after watching just how accessible and delightfully entertaining the game proved to be among Con goers and Naruto fans alike. My friends and I have had a total blast with it - I’m tempted to upgrade to a Wii entry.

DS:

Dragon Quest IX - Probably the most tempting of all the games on this list, DQ IX has easily been one of the most hyped titles of the past year and a half. Square-Enix’s decision to make the newest installment of it’s uber-popular JRPG series for the DS has not only shocked the gaming populous, but been met with quite a few speed bumps along the road to release. But it’s coming out in the next week, it’s got a really crazy multiplayer set up, and I can’t help but be a little excited.

Space Invaders Extreme 2 - This little gem has been available in Japan for quite some time, but will only be hitting US shelves in September. Although the wait’s not that long, I can’t help but put it on this list - the first one was fantastic in its retooling of the classic arcade shooter. The hard  part would be paying more than 20 for it…

And there you have it. As I continue to take a look at possible import titles, I’d like to hear from everyone as to what they think I should pick up. What game would you like me to talk about on the podcast? Anything I missed? Otakon’s coming up soon, so let me know!

In the meantime, I’ll be over here watching some robots fighting… or something.

Chrono Trigger. Chances are that if you’re reading this blog, you’re quite familiar with it. In fact, even if you haven’t played it, you’d know that to even describe it means to delve into the most glowing pool of praise that video game criticism, be it either professional or pure internet trolling, has ever seen. 

To put it briefly, Chrono Trigger was one of the late, great SNES RPGs.  It represents one of the strongest collaborations of Japanese game-design talent ever seen, and was released at the height of the install base of one of the most popular game consoles to ever grace either side of the pacific.  Is it any wonder why, with all of that talent, (Hori, Toriyama, Mitsuda, Uematsu and Sakaguchi) we have what is regarded as one of the best, nostalgia-soaked RPGs ever made?

I don’t think so.

What might surprise you, however, is that this JRPG-loving, Dragon Ball super-fan had never seriously sat down to play through the game until just recently.

It’s not as if I haven’t tried. In fact, Square’s masterpiece has long-since been the test-pilot for practically every SNES emulator Magic VCR™ I’ve ever tried to shove onto a computer. My experiences were roughly the same each time:

“Tick. Tock. Pendulum. Wake up Crono! Millenium Fair. Foot-racing freak-show. Eat that guy’s lunch. Chug soda. Hooray. Now which game should I try?”

So when I received a copy of the “enhanced” DS port for Christmas, I was 2-parts excited, 1-part nostalgic and 1-part wary that I’d never make it through to one of those fifty or whatever ending sequences people keep raving about.  It’s not enough that I’ve come to learn almost every nuance of history surrounding Chrono Trigger that’s available*, but with my friends telling me it’s one of their all-time favorites and even Jeremy Parrish halting from his usual game-remake loathing to admit the inflated, SquareEnix-taxed price tag was well worth it, well, I couldn’t really escape it.

It was high time it got the boot from my hall of shame list. Radiant Silvergun, watch your back.

And wouldn’t ya know it, 6 hours in, I’m more than happy with my gift. Never did I think I would be so content with a direct SNES port, but hey, if there was one game to directly port, this was it (screw you, Final Fantasy Chronicles). But rather than sit here and regale you with how much I appreciate every second that was spent on this epic, time-defeating (literally) jewel of entertainment, I want to focus on what about the game truly catches me off guard.

Two things really.

1.       How critics love the game’s artwork despite its famous creator.

This seriously baffles me. There’s absolutely no end to the misguided prejudice that flows from the lips of critics that caught one episode of DragonBall Z, scoff at the thought of manga, yet absolutely love all that is Chrono Trigger. It’s made all the more ridiculous when you take a second to compare a few of the characters in both works. Crono  and Goku could be brothers. Lucca and Bulma are the same character. And if imps and saiba men don’t look the same to you, well, it’s glasses time, son. It seems as if, at least on these shores, Toriyama’s artwork in the gaming realm is often a minus on the game reviewer’s scale of RPGs.  Too child like? Too generic? Maybe. But if that’s the case, get off your high horse and stop playing JRPGs in the first place. Toriyama’s style is one of the most original and intrinsically Japanese components to ever be included in an eastern RPG. If you’re going to mock Blue Dragon’s character design, you had better not give Chrono Trigger a free pass.

2.       There’s no end to the media-ties that Chrono trigger has created.

Maybe it speaks to the uber-popularity that the game has come to see over the past 14 years, but I simply can’t sit down to play without a comparison to some other damn song or tv show popping up. Maybe you’ll understand why when I see this:

it reminds me of this:     

Or when this guy shows up:

   , I hear this:

Or even seeing this:

, Makes me think of this:              

(Ask for the links and I will oblige)

Seriously, the world has done wonderful and awful things to Chrono Trigger.

But despite all of the outside references and influences that the game has had on other culture (and vice-versa), I’m still finding myself enthralled by what I think is the core experience.

For a chrono-virgin like me, I guess only time will tell.

*Like, for example, that Mitsuda demanded to do the game’s composition, less he quit. He landed it and ended up giving himself stomach ulcers from laboring over the work.

The New Year always brings about talk of change. Some may hate that concept, others welcome it, and still more believe that it means absolutely nothing. I personally wanted to make 2009 a year of amazing changes, so two weeks ago I sat down to write out a few goals for myself. Among the more common desires of “wanting to hit the gym more” and “seeing my loved ones more often” were a few more lofty. Chief among them: make strides to get a job that I’m really interested in. As you might have guessed, in my case, that means breaking into the game industry.

I just finished reading Chris Kohler (of wired.com’s GameLife blog)’s book, Power Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life. In it, he details not only the importance of the Japanese video game industry, but gives a peek into the events that shaped his personal life, from his first gaming memories up through his one-on-one interview with Shigeru Miyamoto.  In the end, he shares his realization that video games can be a bridge across the cultural divide, a door that, once opened, can lead to a deeply held sense of respect for another country. For me, Kohler’s story is both biographical and fictional – it represents everything that led me to the land of the rising sun as well as everything I still want to accomplish. It’s inspiring to say the least.

But my other main inspiration for wanting to take the scary leap into the video game industry stemmed from the incredible group of talent at 1up.com.  Although I had always read Electronic Gaming Monthly as I was growing up, it wasn’t until my senior year of college that my good friends brought to my attention how much raw talent existed there. In the year and a half since my graduation, the staff at 1up and EGM literally became the best friends I’ve never had the pleasure to meet.

Their podcasts were my life-line through my first hellish year of work, the 1up show was my new Saturday morning entertainment, and EGM became the first magazine that I ever read cover to cover, each and every month.  I quickly came to admire the knowledge and insight from the more experienced staff (Shoe, Crispin, Shane, Garnett, Mielke, T-frog, Jeff Green), the humor of the younger staff (Anthony Gallegos, Shawn Elliot, Nick Suttner , Phillip Kollar, and many more) and the unmatched passion for the industry that existed within them all. I had never, in my entire life, seen a more cohesive group of colleagues, gamers, or friends.

I owe them more than almost anyone I know: they not only inspired our own podcast and helped me understand the game industry in much deeper ways, but brought me to the realization that I need to be a part of the industry that they themselves helped make so special. I dreamed of one day being able to stand next to them and call them my fellow gamers, colleagues, and most importantly, friends.

I was stunned when I received the text from Justin last night, and quickly checked every gaming news site, blog and twitter that had any information about how UGO.com could make one of the most upsetting decisions I could possibly imagine. Everything that made 1up so amazing is now practically gone.

I feel awful for those who were let go yesterday…and even worse for those still around.

But what hurts more than knowing that my Ipod will have 4 less podcasts next week, that there’ll be no new 1up Show to download to my ps3, or that there’s practically no American representation left in the gaming magazine section of my local Barnes & Noble, is the fact that an outsider has once again failed to understand what, and more importantly who makes our entertainment medium so important, unique and wonderful.

If you’ve ever found yourself humming “Hey, I don’t want to go to work today”, smiled at a Quarterman rumor, or needed your weekend “confirmed”, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

To everyone at 1up:  I owe all of you my most sincere gratitude. You’ve all been a more important part of my life and the lives of those around me than you’ll ever know. I’m more than confident that you will all land on your feet, and I can’t wait to hear more from you.

Have pity on the rest of us, who will no longer have the honor of being represented by one of the most gifted, dedicated and passionate group of gamers our industry has ever known.

Oh Nintendo. Every time I think I understand you a little bit more, you do something crazy that leads me to believe I don’t know you at all. Your stock is the second highest in Japan (after Toyota, which is absolutely crazy), your former executive officer, Hiroshi Yamauchi, is the richest man in Japan (trust me, there’s a lot of loaded peeps in Nihon), and your console is still flying off of shelves a full year and a half after its launch, all across the world. You’re right – you deserve to be happy, in fact, you deserve to laugh in the faces of all the nay-sayers, because you’ve ensured your place in this little industry of ours for a good few years.

In fact, if there’s one thing I’ve come to learn about you, it’s that you do things your own way. Some may call you a little slow on the uptake, ya know, because you only innovate when you have to (there’s too many examples from the N64 and GC eras here to even mention), but we stick by your side because we know your touch is often the closest thing to magic we’ve ever laid our thumbs on. I mean come on – who else can take a fat Italian plumber and make him a loveable mascot? Develop largely the same games year after year and sell millions of copies each time? Or produce a completely underpowered system, throw on a new hook, and capture an entirely new demographic of gamer? That’s right, only you.

But before you pat yourself on the back and devise a new way to steal my $50, I’d like to ask you something: at what point will your profits be large enough that you can throw your devoted fanbase a bone, and not have to worry about the most financially sound outcome? Or will it just become the case of a dictator not listening to his people because, well,

…he doesn’t have to.

So if you can’t tell already, I’m a little concerned about you. Concerned that you might be a little too smug now that you’re back in a leadership position. Concerned that you might think the rules don’t apply to you. But ultimately, concerned that you might have shifted your focus away from those who have grown up around you, those of us who have watched your red suit, jolly disposition and sack of toys slowly turn into a cold black blazer, cocky smirk, and stack of business cards.

Now that’s not to say you’re not trying. I really appreciate Smash Brothers, the Nintendo Channel is nice, and it looks like you’ve finally seen fit to bless us with Earthbound. But why can’t we see more VC games? Better VC games? A fix for storage issues? Less friend codes? A less ironic seal of quality? Is there a real reason why we can’t have these things? I know you can afford to do it – to make us all extremely happy and build an even more loyal fan-base. So why don’t you? Sometimes I can’t help but feel that you have us exactly where you want us. So while I want to trust you, Nintendo, while I want to put my faith in you and pretend that you’ll always watch over me – I simply don’t feel the same way about you anymore.

Maybe it’s me growing up.

Maybe it’s you growing old.

Or maybe it’s time for you to take a look around and see that your kingdom is not as mushroomy as it should be.

As you might have guessed from the title above, (or if you’ve been listening to the Podcast), I’ve recently invited the 360 exclusive and all around “shit-yeah”-a-thon that is Gears of War into my tray. After letting Megaman ZX Advent rock(man) my world, I was in the mood for something rich in gratification with a dash of co-op, and none of the frustration-aftertaste that is instant death. (Thank you Capcom and your incessant obsession with spike-pits.) Looks like I got just what I wanted.

Besides the stellar graphics and obscenely violent gameplay that Gears fans around the world have been raving about, to me, the most impressive feature the game has to offer is the refreshingly coherent co-op mode. Although I tend to play a large amount of predominantly single-player titles, I hail from the school of gaming that teaches that any experience that can be shared with a friend, always should be. (Which explains why, back in the day, the Capcom “vs.” series, like X-men vs. Street Fighter and Marvel vs. Capcom, were some of my favorites. I’d pick a character, a friend would pick the second one, and we’d literally tag-team our way to victory, hopping back and forth from the controls at the arcade machine as we “tagged” each other’s characters in-game.) And maaaan, the co-op here is great. Although I haven’t finished the game yet, the portion in the “dark” town, where one player must operate a spot-light and navigate his friend down a dark street from atop a near-by building (stepping into the darkness equates to a gruesome death) was probably one of the most creative cooperative experiences I’ve had in months. Needless to say, I’m extremely excited to finish the game and you can look for a review in the upcoming weeks. I need to beat this before the second one comes out, after all. Oh, and a big thanks to everyone that helped me pick what game I’d be playing, as per my last post.

They’re brothers…they’re happy and they’re singing and they’re colored….da-da-da-da…

On a more somber note, I wanted to take a second and express my disappointment with ZiffDavis media and their decision to cease print publication of Games for Windows Magazine, formerly Computer Gaming World, and sister publication to my favorite game magazine, Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM). I mentioned a few journal entries back that GFW Radio, the

podcast that accompanied the print publication, was and still is one of my favorite podcasts to listen to because of the extremely talented team of editors that make up the core writing staff, namely Jeff Green, Shawn Elliot, Sean Malloy and Ryan Scott. They’re always quick to point out interesting developments in the PC world of gaming, and are just extremely intelligent ambassadors into the behind-the-scenes world of print magazine production. And although the publication is not completely dead (they’ll be switching to a purely online existence as part of 1up.com), it is very disheartening to have another casualty in the flawed, yet ever-growing opinion that the print-medium is dying.

Although it’s valid to argue that print publications are no longer able to hold out on “true” exclusives due to the constantly updated nature of the internet, there are still several advantages that magazines hold over internet articles, namely in terms of presentation and portability. Oftentimes it’s much easier to craft a wide, two-page spread in a magazine than it is for a webpage, and let’s just say there’s a reason I keep a stack of magazines in my bathroom and not a laptop docking station. Although I wasn’t personally a subscriber, it’s an understatement to say that GFW Magazine will be missed, and sad news for someone that’s looking to one day see his name in a print medium (me).

At least, that’s what they say.

Recently, I’m finding that every day that goes by finds another game added to my ever-growing list of “must plays.” Between catching up on my backlog of purchased-yet-untouched games, being a collection whore about games that I really care about (Smash Bros anyone?) and the onslaught of amazing releases that seems like will never come to an end (Why, when I get out of school, do summers suddenly get so sweet??), I feel incredibly overwhelmed with the amount of games being stuffed into my backlog.

Oh, and it doesn’t help that I do this podcast thing where everyone talks about all of the amazing games they’re playing. Doesn’t help one bit.

Probably the only game that will ever truly bring me balance.

>:0 BOOOO!!!!!! (ok ok, sorry, sorry)

So here I am with a growing library of games to play, and I can’t decide for the life of me what I should play next. Should I go for something that I’m personally interested in? Or maybe something unique that the rest of the Pack hasn’t played yet. (Thank you, import games.) Either way I feel like I’m going to be rushing through whatever comes down the pipe, so I thought I’d blog about it and see if I can get any advice back. Here’s a list of games that I need to finish and games I’m waiting to play. Which beauty do you think deserves my attention?

Note: the list is in no particular order

Games I have unfinished business with:

Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions, PSP

Megaman ZX Advent, DS

Rockband, PS3

Games I want to start up:

Final Fantasy XII, PS2

Phoenix Wright 3: Trials and Tribulations, DS

The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass, DS

Gears of War, XBox 360

Bioshock, Xbox 360

(Granted in the meanwhile I’ll be playing a ton of Smash Brothers, there’s no getting around that.)

My goal here is to get through a least a few of these games by April 29th. (Do I need to remind you what comes out then?)

So please respond and let me know what you have to say. I know I could have put this up on the message board, but I figured I’d take the chance to be selfish and see exactly how many people read my blog anyway. Thanks everyone!

Oh, and I’ll have my impressions of whatever the winner is in next week’s blog.

Thanks guys!

-Nick