the microsoft saga has come to an end

they want it back.

officially, that is.

the console i was so graciously loaned at first is now requested back POSTE HASTE!

no amount of avoiding replying to e-mails and not picking up the phone saved me as a strongly worded e-mail called my bluff and i responded.

i've now got my sights set on the halo 3 branded xbox's that best buy is liquidating as we speak for the same price as the pro model.

why the halo 3 model?



well, not because of a great affinitiy for the brand, but because it isn't another white console (like my wii), it's different looking than most other people's and it comes with a quick charge kit and rechargeable battery for the controller. Those kits cost around $30 or more new, and the whole package is only $399. we'll see if i can get one before they sell out, though.

also finalizing all plans for san francisco and macworld now. looking like it might be a bit cooler than i thought (temperature wise and fun-wise). i was under a great mis-aprehension that every day in san francisco looks like the opening credits for full house. 28 degrees and sunny is reserved for the summer months, and that's just when it's not raining. i was dismayed to find out that it's a lot like vancouver weather (not that i've been there either).

the big disappointment (while not being THAT big a deal) is the pretty much wholly lack of gaming prescence at macworld. CES would have had a number of big names with a few products to see (like soul calibur iv and it's misused star wars licenses *shakes head slowly in depression*).



but maybe steve will come up big with a new product, like the i-rack, or the i-ran i keep hearing about.

*image probably copyrighted, used without permission via flikr...don't tell anybody;)

thinking golden gate thoughts,

JD

tidbits

i know this is the second one for today, but sometimes, you just can't resist!

it's just that i have a few more things to mention and they don't really fit anywhere in particular, or even with each other for that matter...

FIRSTED - the king of kong

this movie rocks. if you haven't seen it, find a way to. there are some dubious editing moves, but hey, can't be any worse than michael moore, can it?

i'm sure if you're a gamer, you know the story already. some guy called billy mitchell held the world record for donkey kong (old school arcade version) for like 20 years. this guy was one of the gamers who was around the first time gaming got popular, in 1982 on. he was even photographed for time magazine when the gaming craze was reaching it's first peak, when the only place you could really play games was at an arcade, and arcades were everywhere.

well this guy is still rocking an 80s haircut, is super into himself, and surrounds himself with yes men and people that seem to adore him no matter how stuck up he is.

along comes small town science teacher, steve wiebe (pronounced WEE-BEE), who breaks billy's record and that's when the controversy starts. it's a runaway plot, with deception, clique mentalities and the lot. it's a lot like high school but the nerds who never grew up own the keys to the clubhouse. see it, but take the plot with a grain of salt, and/or take into consideration the reasons the plot has been challenged by some of the people the movie makes look bad.

SECONDER - suicide dude



i claim no credit for this find. my buddy mark was telling me the stuff he was waiting to come in the mail from ebay and mentioned this little guy. i can't decide if it's hilarious, disturbing or hilarious that it's disturbing!

it's at least the cutest little suicide i've ever seen!

but don't you all go out and get one, because i don't think mark would be too chuffed if everyone had it;).

THIRDEDED - midway open ice

*sigh*

why do i have to be a responsible adult? WHY?

while i was looking up ways to be a better christian, i somehow ended up on kijiji, looking up old arcade cabinets. this is the first the second becoming a persitent habit of mine, even though i know that my place has no room for it.

it's the equivalent to nba jam, but with hockey! and FOUR PLAYER!!!!

i also can't afford it, since i now need to buy a 360 to replace the one microsoft wants back.



either way, ain't she a beaut! and at $400, i could maybe afford it, at least until jen kicks me out and i have to pay for a new place;).

begrudgingly growing up...

JD

ces.....

no, it's not me misspelling a common html style sheet again, or trying to spell case but reversing the 's' and 'e' and taking out the 'a'. got it? never mind.

it's the major electronic's convention in las vegas. how major? well, it's probably the biggest convention of it's kind in the world, and the show floor is bigger than multiple (i've been told 100s) of football fields!

what does this mean for me? well, i was supposed to go this year, but our macworld plans got in the way. so this time, i'm watching from the sidelines.

just a few quick things i spotted in the ces coverage, i mean, other than pcworld.ca's own ces blog from correspondant ted kritsonis:

- the new street fighter iv character is revealed (not sure if this was actually at ces, but it's hella weird/interesting)

- can you saylawsuit? new gaming knockoffs that play real old school games, multiple platforms on each unit...

- nyko has fixed the whole ps3/rockband/guitar hero peripheral compatability issues, but it's butt-ugly.

- and tvs are getting hella slim, greener and turning into frigging wall-art.

thanks for tuning in, i'm outie,

JD

getting in those last precious hours of gaming

i'm shipping out to san francisco, for those of you who don't know where i'm going this weekend.

it's 2008 macworld convention time there, and i've got to get in on the action;).

but i'm still left with one question:

how am i always the last one to find out how cool some things are?

i mean honestly. i played and beat mario galaxy before some people even got their copy, but i just started playing metroid prime: corruption this weekend, and man, is it ever fun!

kind of a gritty story that reminds me so much of halo 3 starship troopers. great implement of the shooting with lock on targetting, even if the enemies take way too many shots to down. i mean, they've made samus' arm cannon feel pretty damn weak.

but the platforming is solid, and navigating as the ball (sorry, forgot the proper name) form is wicked fun too, with neat puzzles.

but how is it that i'm the only reviewer that played mario galaxy before metroid prime 3?

anyhow...

i'm also desperately in love with my new tv now.

oh, you've not been introduced...

here she is (via futureshop's site):

The LG 32LC7D is designed to fit your life and your space. It features LG's exclusive XD Engine, high-definition resolution, fast response time and high contrast ratio which mean no blur or trails, even in fast action sequences like sports. It also causes spontaneous ejaculation!* So bring the big game to a new level of play and everything you watch to a new level of quality with this 32-inch Widescreen LCD HDTV.

It complements my stereo, fits the room, makes movies look good and hd games look even better. I mean, i couldn't have picked/bought a better gift for myself for christmas.

not to say my other gifts weren't rad, but i've been waiting for this one for a while!

seeing the world in HIGH DEFINITION!

JD

*this may not be true for all users, but the increased chance of one is...

gaming news update: 1/4/08

two big stories i just had to kick my two cents in on early today are:

microsoft rewards live players for their patience

so my worst fears are confirmed. it's just a crappy live game. and not just that. it's going to be one game that everyone gets, so you might already own it and they aren't going to replace the couple of weeks that we couldn't use live (and it's still sketchy now!).

m$ says it's because of too many people joining (and using) live over the christmas holidays, other people don't agree.

and almost as big a story, though not half as exciting:

activision is finally handing out new stereo copies of guitar hero iii for wii

i guess all the whinging finally worked.

but to be honest, this was a stupid mistake to make and think that people wouldn't notice. when you're playing battle mode, or any multiplayer mode, the first thing you notice is how cool it is when the audio goes from one side of the screen to the other depending on who's playing. not to mention that most of the music in the game was recorded in stereo!

good to see them finally start cleaning up that mess though...

here's hoping there's some good news today, like burnout paradise will have an optional menu, or that i won't be sick all weekend...

cheers, beers and weirs,

JD

p.s. again, my undying appreciation to kotaku for kicking ass and taking names at getting this stuff up so fast. oh, and the link for replacement disks is only a pre-register, i guess they're still not ready to send them out yet.

street fighter iv

has pretty much not got me stoked at all at this point.

but i guess that was pretty much what i had expected all along.

it's not that i think it will suck, it's just that after all the iterations of street fighter two, and all the iterations of street fighter iii, i really thought they would at least try something new.

oh well, check out the crazy 3d graphics new gamplay elements brand new characters? same old same old with a 3d skin. go ken and ryu!

hadoken!

JD

sidebar: for some actual, honest to goodness, retro street fighter action, i highly recommend the street fighter: the later years videos on collegehumour. they will satisfy your sick interest in chun-li and are amazingly humorous with great production values for independantly made vids. way better than that jean-claude van damme piece of crap from the 90s.

christmas 2007/2008: a good time

well, it's sure been a long while now, hasn't it?

there are many things afoot, including a stint of wins for my philadelphia flyers, an impending venture into the US for MacWorld 2008 and a brand new tv in my living room.

the unfortunate news is that microsoft has asked for their console back. this means a few things that i've been putting off are coming to play:

- firstly, i need to figure out how to get my own 360
- secondly, well, really there's only really one problem, but it's going to piss me off quite a bit

i'm also intrigued as to what prize microsoft will be giving gold subscribers as a reward for being so awesome paying lots of money suffering through a weeks worth of live multiplayer glitches. cash reward? supermodels to feed me grapes on a couch, i think not. maybe some ms points to spend in the arcade or, if they really don't like us, a free rental from the useless selection of movies in marketplace now.

have played the burnout paradise demo that i was pushing so hard and am divided on it.

here are my initial impressions:

the bad:
- i kind of miss the burnout menu system, but it's just a demo right? you'll be able to hit retry in the full game if you want, right?
- there is a lot of slagging you off when you lose, and subsequently drive back across town to retry it, but no fanfare at all if you win
- the star system, that rewards less than first place (as in, you can still get some upgrades or rewards without winning absolutely every race) is gone. gold is gold is gold and this isn't too good
- the missions start of incredibly hard, with a very steep learning curve. took me more than a couple tries to beat my first race, which is not like revenge at all...

the good:
- but it's not all bad with the new burnout demo
- the graphics blew my eyelids open. i seriously can't look away
- the crashes look fricken fantastic! crumple zones all over the car and the windshields shatter too
- the cars handle well and the new trick system is quite fun

so overall, it was a positive experience but has not grabbed me at all in the way that burnout revenge did. it has the potential to be awesome in it's final form, but as of the demo, i'm sitting a little more worried than i was before. i just have a hard time with the new driving around in free space system. i didn't hate the menu system in revenge. it kept the game fresh and varied gameplay for a long time.

but i'm trying to keep my pregidous' out of this until i see a final version.

hope everyone had a very merry christmas and a spastic new years,

JD