Archive for July, 2008

E3 is now over and how did we do?

I think I did pretty well in predicting some E3 announcements.

Things I got right

  • Animal Crossing for the Wii
  • Newer Xbox 360 (actually HD upgrade to 60GB)
  • Newer PS3 (now with dual shock 3 and 80 GB)
  • Star Wars Game for the iPhone (does it count as a major game?)
  • Pikmin for the Wii
  • Rock Band instruments are now cross compatible with future Guitar Hero games
  • Almost got it right with Bungie (if not for its “publisher”)

It’s not bad. I missed out on all the new Wii peripherals and no really redesign or controllers with any of the consoles.
The biggest surprise was certainly the Square-Enix jump to the 360. But Sony is apparently saving something for the Tokyo Game Show which happens this fall.

The Pikmin are coming

Pikmin Trailer

Yes! Miyamoto said it! They are working on a new Pikmin game. When it will come out is still anybody’s guess but at least they haven’t forgotten Olimar and the Pikmin entirely! Can I hope earliest Holiday 2009 – Spring 2010? On the Wii? With a DS add on? Or another game entirely for it? I can’t wait.

Things that probably got overlooked at E3

Cooking Navi (DS)

This game was released in Japan 2 years ago and I’ve been wishing forever that it would be translated to English. And it has! It’s not really a game but a cooking guide where a chef will teach you how to prepare and cook various dishes. It even comes with a timer. I’m definitely getting this.

Where on E3 is Bandai Namco?

Last year, Bandai Namco released Ace Combat 6 and Beautiful Katamari for the Xbox 360 exclusively.

This year apparently, they only released a Tales of Vesperia demo on Xbox Live Marketplace and that Eternal Sonata will be making its way to the PS3 later this year.

After just releasing Soul Calibur IV, what’s next?

Microsoft has no answer yet to the handhelds of Nintendo and Sony

With device and game sales outselling that of consoles shouldn’t the handheld market be something of interest for Microsoft?

There must be something there M$. There’s always next years E3.

Well the week is not over yet so there maybe more to say this weekend.

Hell has frozen over

Square Enix: Final Fantasy XIII Coming To Xbox 360

I’m sorry PS3 fans. It has happened. FFXIII is coming to the 360. The unthinkable has happened. Although it was not the only driver for me in buying the PS3 in the first place but it seems that the game has regionalized the gaming world with Japan with the PS3 and US and Europe for both the PS3 and 360.

Probably due to high production costs and low user base of the PS3, this prompted Square-Enix in sealing a deal with Microsoft. Surprisingly, in an interview with 1up.com, FFXIII producer Yoshinori Kitase says that development for the Xbox 360 version hasn’t actually begun. This means that this deal was made very recently. Hmmm.

But still, a lot of Square-Enix development is currently on the 360 with eventual release on the PS3. Are the days of exclusive games coming to an end?

It will be interesting to see how the 360 version will pan out with the game originally made with blu-ray in mind. Imagine cramming over 50GB of data on a number of DVDs on the 360.

Does this strike a nail in the coffin for the PS3? That remains to be seen. But personally, I’ll be getting this game on the PS3 because I prefer the controller and interface that Sony brings.

I know where my bells are going on November 16

Yes Nintendo fans It has been dated and is coming to the Wii on November 16. Animal Crossing is coming to town!

The graphics still look the same and the same things from the Gamecube are still there such as flowers, fish, fruits and of course furnishings.

This incarnation of the game actually looks more like the DS version where the curvature of the world is prominent. Brewster, the local barista is also on the Wii and all the shops now are in the city.

This game will feature the Wii-speak add on. It’s basically a microphone where you can chat with other players online. I just hope that the game supports USB keyboards of some sort so writing all those letters to all my “neighbors” wont be such a pain.

Like previous Animal Crossing games, your character design is probably based on responses given to Rover on the bus. Your Mii can be added to your character as a makeover at the beauty parlor. But that still has to be confirmed.

All in all this is a strong holiday title for the Wii.

Dozing off this weekend

Finally I’ve gotten some “me” time and totally ignored almost everything that is happening in the world. Seriously, I have no idea what’s going out there aside from iPhone activation problems.

Finally updated my iPod Touch to 2.0 and installed the apps. Haven’t bought one yet though. My favorite one so far is the Remote app and Twitterrific. The remote app is great! Now I have to place speakers throughout the entire house and wire them to the Airport Express so I can hear and control music from anywhere in the house.

I’ve been 1 month away from my Wii Fit which is why there hasn’t been any updates on that part. I will need to get back on it. Probably by tomorrow. I don’t expect to working 12-16 hour shifts next week. Actuallly I need a vacation after all of that. Even if it’s just one day.

I still have to get started on my D&D 4th edition and pass by the comic book store as well to pickup some new Secret Invasion issues. I’ve got around 5 manga books that need to be read and don’t get me started on my gaming backlog. I actually needed another Xbox than a PS3, but due to unfortunate circumstances, I have another PS3 while I send the other one for repairs. Yes I got the dreaded blu-ray death.

Other than that, I’m just relaxing like steamed vegetables.

E3 Predictions

E3 is just next week. And everyone is trying to predict what the gaming universe will unveil. Some are expected but we are looking for the unexpected.

Here are just some of mine.

Animal Crossing for the Wii
A new version of the Xbox 360 console
A new version of the PS3
Xbox handheld to compete with the DS and PSP
An even smaller Nintendo DS
New controllers for the Xbox and the PS3
Major game for the iPhone

Some things I wish they would announce at E3
PS1 downloadable games for the PSP
Pikmin for the Wii
New HD Wii console
PS2 downloadable games for the PS3
Bungie is no longer Xbox exclusive
Rock Band instruments would finally work with all Guitar Hero games (at least the PS3 and 360 ones)
God of War 3 for the PS3
Shadow of the Colossus 2 for the PS3

I’ll probably write about more things before Monday.

Guitar Hero: On Tour – my take


It’s finally here! Fans of the popular rhythm game can now play wherever they are on the Nintendo DS. But is it worth it? Is it worth aggravating your hand and wrist just to play ZZ Top on the bus?

As a fan of the series I decided to give it a shot. The package comes with the game and the fret bar which attaches to the GBA slot of the DS.

Unlike it’s console counterpart, it only has four buttons. So technically it should be easier, right?

Don’t worry if you have the DS phat, there’s an attachment which extends the connector. You’ll need a screwdriver to remove and attach the two screws that keep it in place.

I have smallish hands. But it felt like my hand was still too big for the device. My brother suggested to use the DS phat instead so there’s more to hold on to. But that adds weight to the already hefty keypad.

But since the DS is marketed towards kids, then it shouldn’t be a problem for young rockers.

The game itself is fun. There are no custom characters. But you can dress up the ones they give you. Some of the different modes of gameplay are career, guitar duel, practice and quickplay. Guitar duel brings the feature first introduced in GH3: Legends of Rock where you must face off with an opponent. Unlike the console, you cannot see what your opponent is doing with the exception of small status bar to tell you if your winning or losing.

The top screen has the colored fret bar while the touch screen is where the guitar is and use in included pick in strumming your tunes away.

Other than that it’s pretty much the same Guitar Hero in every way but smaller. The graphics is nothing to write home about and is pretty much really bad. But we’re not talking about graphics here, we’re talking about Guitar Hero.

The game has 25 songs in it. I’m not too sure if there’s anything left to unlock. It might be a bit too pricey for the limited number of songs. It’s great for kids (due to the size). But marathon gaming is not recommended. You spend your time looking down at your hand strumming on the tiny guitar while looking at the button sequences on a similiarly small screen. This gets very dizzying andwaters my eyes at the hard and expert level.

So final verdict?! If you’re a big fan of the series, then this is great which allows you to play on the go. But if you don’t own a DS right now, this is not the reason to buy it. Casual gamers are better of playing this on the console than on the DS. Hopefully Activision will release more tracks for this game. Unfortunately, the DS doesn’t have a storage device which means this can only be possible through another game cartridge or another version of the franchise.

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