Ugh. Here’s a day I’ve been dreading. The day I’d be forced to clean out my virtual mini-fridge (as Nintendo seems to like to put it) which I like to call my Wii. I knew I’d fill up my internal flash storage eventually and was pretty sure it would come at around WiiWare time, but it was still really hard to come to terms with the fact that if I wanted one of my two anticipated WiiWare titles I would need to do a little reorganizing.
First off I guess a quick mention that my Wii is now back with its rightful owner and my Wavebird has come in from eBay so now I can really get down to playing some Brawl. More impressions on my time with the 360 in another post which I get the feeling will come right after this one.
So the Wii is back, but I haven’t gone right to playing anything on it really. I may have played 30 minutes of Brawl in the last week simply because something else has been holding my attention. It’s a gaming gem from Square and Jupiter entitled The World Ends With You. It is by far the greatest and deepest action RPG I’ve ever played and it has an engaging story to boot. Since I don’t want this post to drag on and on because it would literally take me at least 10,000 words to fully describe WEWY considering all the different mechanics and battle styles within the game and I’d be here writing until tomorrow afternoon.
Fortunately for you there’s an easy way for you to absorb the game’s combat system at the official website by just clicking on “Gameplay”. That’s about as much time as I want to spend trying to explain the game and simply want to say that it’s a must have for any DS owner and it would be incredible if The World Ends With You were to become the next big franchise from Square Enix.
I had originally planned to go with a WEWY banner and color scheme but due to my lack of knowledge of using Gimp among other things such as editing themes in WordPress I decided to go with a built in theme that I found. I would’ve really preferred to have done my own things but this will do for now.
And just one last thing; Okami or Mario Kart? I’m only going to get one for the time being with the other coming later but I’m having a hard time choosing which one I should get. Help me out a little.
And so begins one of the traditions held between a neighbor and I. For what usually winds up being a week we’ve exchanged consoles. Meaning that he now has my Wii, and I have his Xbox 360. Fortunately I was able to get the 1 month free trial of Xbox Live with my own new account so for the short period of time that I have the Xbox I’ll be able to enjoy the best online console experience around.
I played through a lot of Portal previously but never got a chance to finish it so I’m starting a new game in that and then maybe later I’ll take a look at the rest of The Orange Box. There’s also Call of Duty 4 and Mass Effect which I can’t wait to get into, and unlike every other 360 owner and their dad I’m not all that excited about Halo 3. That one will probably get played near the end of the week after a lot of time with CoD 4 and Mass Effect.
So for now my XBL Gamertag is Kindrik1042. I honestly can’t believe that there is actually someone else out there that uses Kindrik. I think that now I’ve seen everything.
A tiny change to the site with the RSS subscription link now over to your right.
Real post later, too busy with Brawl, PES, and sobbing over the fact that Windows got corrupted and I lost everything I had on my laptop.
A glitch, an oversight, or maybe just a great new technique for Link and Toon Link.
I almost forgot that I’d reviews No More Heroes last month over at WiiLoaded. Since you’ve been listening (or reading, really) to me go on and on about this game for a while now, I suppose you may want the review just to wrap things up in a nice little package.
In No More Heroes you take control of Travis Touchdown, your everyday average otaku gamer, and simply put geek. What sets Travis apart from the rest of the world however is his complete and utter insanity as he aims to become the #1 ranked assassin in the United States, killing anyone who stands in his way simply for bragging rights and cash. However throughout the game it can still become easy for the player to identify with Travis as we are doing the exact same thing he is. Gamers attempt to escape the monotony (I’ll try not to overuse that word) of everyday life by playing a game where the normal rules we play by do not apply anymore and we’re free to do as we please without worrying about any consequences. This is what Travis is doing, albeit it at a much more extreme level.
After meeting with Sylvia Crystel, an agent with United Assassin’s Association Travis takes on a job as a hitman and soon strives to become the top killer in the country. To get to these fights Travis must provide the UAA with entry fee which he can pay for by doing odd part time jobs around the city of Santa Destroy, and by taking on assassination missions.
As mentally unstable as Travis may seem to be, he is the sanest man on Earth when compared to most if not all of the 10 ranked assassins above him, each and everyone with their own distinct and developed personalities. It is because of this that the boss battles and the scenes which take place before and after the fight are the best and always the most anticipated parts of the game. The opening and closing cinematic for each of the bosses is a treat to behold and it lets you know that besides Travis’ simple ambition of becoming #1, there is a story to be told and very complex characters each with their own story to tell.
I honestly haven’t been able to come up with much to blog about… until recently. Brawl released as you may have heard and of course I bought it. A few things I want to say but since I don’t think I’ll exactly get around to posting anything any time soon this is just so that everybody’s aware that I’m still alive and well. Yay?
Remind me to get a real post up later.
Also, it’s about time for a new look. With No More Heroes now completed 1.5 times I’ve moved onto Brawl. Hopefully it won’t be too hard to just find some kind of banner online that won’t require too much editing. Laziness and procrastination will always win out… tomorrow.
This will be my last No More Heroes post in case you’re getting tired of hearing me ramble on about how great it is. With my planning a review of the game you’re probably going to hear me say something about how the game is aware of the fact that it is a game. From it’s 1980s style arcade ranking list, to the blocky 8-bit designs of overworld icons and the mini-map.
What you’re about to see below is the most explicit mention of the game within itself. For those of you who plan to buy the game or just haven’t gotten this far won’t need to worry about spoilers. I cut out any spoiling parts from before but I did leave one in that I’m warning you about here. When the girl who’s name I won’t mention starts telling her story she tells it in a sped up high pitched voice. Now, by this point the gag has already been made and if you’re worried about overhearing something accidentally even though it’s pretty hard to make out, then go right ahead and stop it.
Oh, and just for a little context, I’m sure many people know about the on going video gaming soap opera that is Duke Nukem Forever? A vaporware title that had begun development in ‘97, but after numerous delays has yet to be released. That’s all you should need to know.
Finally found the game (No More Heroes obviously) at EB two days ago and they apparently got it two days before. Way to go Ubisoft. The game’s only 3 weeks late, even though the “official” Canadian release date was supposed to be February 8th but releases were sporadic and unpredictable. Despite fairly good sales in North America it still doesn’t feel like Ubisoft is fully on board yet. On Ubi’s web page it is among the “Top Games” list, however it isn’t a very selective list considering it contains Red Steel, Petz Catz 2 and Dogz 2. The game has even become the second best selling game at Ubisoft’s official store behind only Assassin’s Creed.
Unfortunately No More Heroes seems like it will follow the example of games like Eternal Darkness, Psychonauts, and Beyond Good & Evil as great games that met with critical success but simply did not sell well. Ironically enough, another Suda game, Killer7 was another game that was well received but didn’t manage to sell many copies. I’d probably say something about how you should go out and buy it if you own a Wii (which you should really, really do) but I doubt it’s going to make a difference. I can tell you to buy the game until I can no longer continue typing because my fingers have fallen off but I think it’s best if you read what the “pros” have had to say about it so you can make up your own mind.
I’ll keep a full review kind of thing until I’m fully done with the game, but up to this point it feels like an 8.5 in my book. The combat is a little repetitive but the motion finishes and the varied wrestling moves break up the monotony and the characters are amazing well thought out. The presentation and atmosphere created really suck you in as well. I’ll get into more later but will only mention that the biggest disappointments are the city itself and the controls of your bike. I’ve stopped using the wheelie and some times the speed boost because your chances of hitting ANYTHING jump 1000x and in doing so you crash with no damage to the wall or car you may have just hit.
Either way, buy it, play it, enjoy it. I know I will.
I think it’s time I do something that I haven’t done in a while and that’s put up a new post pick one subject and stick to it for once. I have the tendency to start talking about one thing and then go on about something else that happens to come to mind.
You may notice a new look, replacing the old blue, white, bland, and boring theme I had going earlier on. All this inspired by the newest game at the top of my radar, No More Heroes. I’ve been sold on the game since I first heard about it way back at E3 2006. There was just something about it that really drew me to it and it has now become almost an obsession. I don’t think I’ve been this excited to play a Wii game since The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess on the day that I bought my system. Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption are more than likely better games but not even they were able to get me this excited. I assume it’s because No More Heroes is something new and not just another sequel to an already established franchise.
You can imagine my excitement when all of a sudden January 25 sneaks up on me and I realize that the game was released the day before. So with a great deal of anticipation I head to my local EB Games to find that the game hadn’t not only come in but that it wasn’t even scheduled to arrive until February 1st. Not really wanting to leave without something I buy a copy of Endless Ocean and thinking EB was just having trouble with its shipments I try Future Shop across the street. I walk in the front door and immediately notice their little release date chart has No More Heroes pinned for February 7th. A little surprised and disappointed I turn right around and walk out.
Rumors have been floating around the net about the game being pushed back by a week because Ubisoft forgot to print French manuals for the game, something which is required by law in Canada. So in the first place I’m a little angry that the game is being delayed so they can include something I’m never going to touch, if only to throw it out. I don’t even read the English instruction manual for goodness sake! And on the other hand, Ubisoft isn’t some newbie publisher that wouldn’t have known about these rules for releasing in Canada considering they’ve done it more than a few times.
Now normally I wouldn’t really care if a game had gotten pushed back by a week or so but this specific delay came at a terrible time. Having finished my last exam today on the first day of exam week (long story) I have all of next week to myself which would’ve been a perfect time for me to get in more than enough time with the game. Instead I assume I will now find myself playing the occasional game in WiiSports and Madden 07, exploring at my leisure in Endless Ocean which really isn’t a half bad game, and playing Rock Band with friends whenever the opportunity arises. Curse the lack of a Wii version. I guess I could always try and get the game on the 1st and then have the weekend to play it but based on what I’m hearing in the States, the game has been selling out everywhere due to high demand, and low supply due to Ubisoft’s lack of faith in the untested title which happened to bomb in Japan where they aren’t really huge on the hacky-slashy-bloody games.
So to avoid another let down like two days ago I’m going to walk into EB on Friday, February 1st with no expectations whatsoever and just check if they’ve got any copies left. Until then I’ll amuse myself with Endless Ocean which I just realized is a pretty massive budget priced game. And for those of you not yet sold on No More Heroes I recommend you check out some videos online, including two of my favorites provided here for your convenience.
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