Friday, November 30, 2007

Month-in-Review: Video Games

So Yeah, it's been a hectic couple of weeks that has forced me to neglect this beautiful little blog, but I'm going to take some time to write my review of this month in gaming, for anyone that cares. It'll start with some releases and such, and some happenings and whatnot. I'd like to comment on the latest scandal, the Jeff Gerstmann issue, but not enough information has been given out yet. On face, it does appear to set a poor precedent for not only game reviews, but reviews of anything including movies and TV. The advertiser does not pay the reviewers for more favorable reviews, they pay for exposure in any form. It's not as if nobody bought Kayne and Lynch as a result of Jeff's review, plenty of people probably bought it and were looking forward to it prior to its release. That being said, it's not hard to find people outraged over his firing, and whenever more information becomes available, I'll probably write something about how the whole thing went down.

1. Super Mario Galaxy - I'll begin by saying that up until about three days before the game was released, I had no idea when it was going to be released. I had figured, given all the news of Smash Bro's and whatnot around the holidays, that we wouldn't see this for quite a while. I believe I was looking around Gamespot's upcoming releases and saw this, immediately hopped on Amazon and ordered it. Turns out that was a bad idea. Amazon missed the mark with judging pre-order quantities perhaps, and then declared that they would not ship any units until up to a week after the game was released. Nice work, guys. After finding that out, I promptly cancelled my order and pre-ordered with Gamestop. I think it was the right decision, after all, who wouldn't want a "rare" commemorative coin to mark the release of the game? I say rare in quotes because it seems like 1 in 2 people in the US use Gamestop for all their gaming needs. Really rare, eh?

The initial reviews of the game were super hyped. Many said it was superior to Mario 64 while others said it was not only a worth successor but the true sequel to Mario 64 (discarding, as many did, the less successful Mario Sunshine, which I'd like to get my hands on again, I remember thinking the game was quite good despite not being totally similar to Mario 64.) After finally receiving the game, I popped it in. People who know my gaming habits have been that I complain about the quality of graphics on the Wii, even with titles like Metroid Prime: Corruption which are grainy at times. I will say, the art direction in SMG is spectacular, every edge is smoothed, there is no grainyness, pixelation is kept to a minimum, shading is handled excellently, and textures are always tasteful. I found it as surprising that I was impressed with the graphics as I was with my wanting to promote this game to others almost immediately. The first night I had it, it was only played maybe for an hour or so, and I promptly put up an away message stating "SMG... proving the Japanese have better drugs than you since 2007." It's a trippy game, small pieces of sometimes amorphous debris floating in space not only have their own black holes, but systems of gravity which frequently apply to all sides of the object. The controls are done in the same spirit as M64, using the wii pointer capability to a minimum and again, tastefully. The story, like many Mario games is really corny and themes are focused around things that kids can relate to, such as contempt of adults (in the "Beach Bowl" galaxy, a group of young penguins urge you to throw a shell at something while the adult penguin pulls a Jack Black circa Orange County and tells you "You better not!")

Overall, I will say that Nintendo knows how to make better games than just about anyone, either first or third party I know. One of the more astute comments about the games industry I have heard was made by a non-gamer when he stated that there are two types of things masquerading as games currently: games and simulations. Games disregard realism to a degree or embrace types of surrealism that make a world totally distinct from the one we live in, and I don't mean to say that science fiction games like Mass Effect are not simulations. Nintendo makes games, Sony and Microsoft's 3rd party game developers make simulations. Halo series - simulation, Gears of War - Simulation, Serious Sam - Game (ftw!) And that is only how it's possible within the FPS Genre. Anyways, Nintendo continues to make stellar games, and should be praised for both Super Paper Mario and SMG, as they were both excellent gaming experiences that I'd recommend to anyone. 

2. Rock Band - I am going to preface this by saying two things. I've loved the most recent incarnations of rhythm games (i.e. Guitar Hero.) Secondly, I think I've possibly played a bit too much of them. When I purchased Guitar Hero III, I played through 3/4 of the game on expert (I didn't, and still can't pass Slipknot's "Before I Forget," there's a section about 3/4 of the way through the song that's just plain unfair. I've even beat some of the songs after that like "Cliffs of Dover," "Cult of Personality," and "Number of the Beast" but I can't beat that one part of the damn song!) and put it down for about a month. I think I may be a bit burnt out on these games, but really wanted to try Rock Band. I will say that it seems like the ultimate "Friends + Beer + Game = Party" game ever conjured up. That being said, I met up with some friends who had recently purchased the game the day after Thanksgiving and we played. The guitar that they bundle with the game, due to copyright issues with the Red Octane guitar, is completely different and uses a different strum mechanism that's completely awful. It's impossible to know if you're hitting notes from the bar, which instead of clicking, offers lots of resistance and not much more. What's more, Kotaku ran an article the other day about how most of these guitars are faulty and have been breaking. Nice, huh? Aside from that, it takes a while to get used to the square notes instead of the circular ones, and I have no idea how to find whether a note is going to be a hammer-on or a pull-off. The drumming is pretty realistic, and very difficult and it's all because of that blasted bass pedal. Song difficulty appeared to be no way close to Expert on Guitar Hero III, but I really didn't play the game enough to say definitively. The vocal analyzer appeared to be alright too, but I thought I was, in a few cases, singing at the pitch of the song and it told me otherwise.

3. Mass Effect - I have to admit, I can't say too much about this seeing as how I've not played this game at all. In fact the only way I've experienced this game is through a few different gameplay videos, including the super-controversial lesbian sex scene that is possible in the course of the game, oh, and through Penny Arcade's rendering of the absurdity of a few portions. It's gotten roundly alright reviews and is probably a good game, I look forward to giving it a shot at some point if someone I know buys it.

4. Call of Duty 4 - I just played this game for the first time last night, and, not having any experience with the other CoD games, sucked real bad. I will say that this game has a monopoly on sheer intensity, whether it's in the single player missions, which frequently make you feel like you're actually fighting in a war and not the mere isolated combat situations that Halo frequently finds you in. In contrast to Halo, its the things which you're actually involved in that feel epic as opposed to what's going on around you (on many levels, dogfights appear overhead or squadrons of Hornets fly off towards a Covenant cruiser, making the game artificially feel more epic than it actually is.) I am hoping to pick this game up in the near future and give it a more in-depth review, as well as get pwnt by 13 year olds online, which I was doing last night.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

So yeah... a sports post and an apology

So yeah, that last post... sure, it was a bit corny, but was it false... not really. Anyways, let's talk about the Red Wings. So yeah, how good is "Hank" Zetterburg? Fantastic! He's unreal. Last night against the St. Louis Blues he scored in the first 12 seconds of the game. You read that correctly, 12 seconds. Not only was a penalty assessed in the first 6 seconds of the game, an ill-advised delay of game penalty to one of the Blues who decided that it was a good idea to shoot the puck over the boards in their own zone, but 6 seconds into the power play, two of the best players in the league, Holmstrom made a beautiful backhand pass to Zetterburg who iced Manny Legace and the Blues.

So, here's a question I was wondering... how was Zetterburg not shortlisted for the Selke trophy (best defensive forward)? Wait, in order to be shortlisted, you'd have to be listed! Zetterburg, who is an amazing all around player, is a staple of Mike Babcock's penalty kill! Not only that, but if you've seen him play, there's no way that you can deny his defensive ability. He's unreal. I could list all those fancy stat thingies, or I could just assure you that he's unreal... which would you prefer? Right, you're going to trust me. Anyways, I bid all of you a Happy Thanksgiving, go stuff yourselves!

-B$ out

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

First snow of the season!

Ok, so I'm a bit crazy... but snow... especially the first snow of the season smells so beautiful that I find it hard to contain myself. Indeed, I just returned from running around in my sweatpants and socks in the snow for the past 20 minutes or so... and I must say that even in light of the amazing-ness that is the smell of Cedar burning the smell of the season's first snowfall is unbelievable. After an evening of drinking 3 Kentucky Breakfast and 1 huge Westmalle bottle, I'm a bit sauced, but that does not detract from the beauty... I mean, it may detract from the sanity of the individual speaking to you, but nothing smells better than the first snowfall of the season, I promise... I just wish that I had a certain someone (who happens to have a name beginning with M) here to share it with me... then it would mean a little more to me. I guess I have to wait a little longer to see her... and unfortunately, we're in the middle of a bit of a long-distance stretch, but I think she's worth it... and not in a kind of me way... anyone who knows me might know that I've grown up a lot over the past couple of months, and I had to give her a chance on my own terms, and it's really impossible to deny what I feel towards her, so I'm happy to have her back in my life... and I can't wait to claim her from the muddy clutches of Kentucky... so yeah... I can't wait to be in her arms... but that's all I'll say... and yes, if you have snow on the ground, please, do yourself a favor and walk outside and take a wiff... it'll change your mood...

-B$ out

Beer for the Holidays!

No trip up north is complete without making a stop at Jimmy's. It is, despite being located in basically the middle of nowhere, hands down the best beer store in Michigan. I don't really understand who would consistently purchase some of their more expensive and rare beers, but there must be someone purchasing them or else Jimmy would not keep ordering them from his distributor. Breweries that are well represented at Jimmy's are: Bell's, Founders, Rogue, Lindemanns, Victory, Great Lakes Brewing Company, Alpena Brewing Company, Breckenridge Brewing Company, etc. Favorites of mine usually include Founder's Kentucky Breakfast Bourbon-Aged Stout - my current favorite beer, a very heavy stout that tastes as dark as it looks, but it's not a bad thing - Victory Storm King Imperial Stout, a few select Alpena beers (Thunder Bay Bock, Paper Maker Pilsner, and Lumber Lager Red usually... the best you can get without going right to the tasting room.) Aside from that, it's usually a toss-up. However, with the recent move to Boston and being in close proximity to what is perhaps the best beer bar in America (The Publick House) I've been changing my tastes away from stouts exclusively towards more Belgian Trappist and Abbey ales. As such, my recent purchases reflect that

1.750 mL Chimay Gran Reserve: Perhaps my favorite beer as of late - a beautiful amber brew that is as refined as it is smooth. This beer exudes quality and, at the same time, is such a joy to drink that you don't even notice when it knocks you down with its high ABV (9.00 ABV.) This is one of the illustrious Trappist ales and lives up to its reputation.

2. 750 mL Westmalle Trippel: I've never tried the Westmalle Trippel, so I'm looking forward to cracking the bottle open here very soon. The reviews about this beer speak relatively highly of it on BeerAdvocate.com, so I'm excited to try it out.

3. 4 Pack Founders' Kentucky Breakfast Bourbon Aged Stout: My current favorite, have to take advantage of it while still in Michigan.

4. 6 Pack Samuel Adams Black Lager: Probably the best thing brewed by the Boston Beer Company (a.k.a Sam Adams, as if that wasn't apparent.) It is a semi-complex, yet smooth beer, and proof that a lager can masquerade as a porter or a stout without much problem.

Also, I'm going to start posting a beer review a week soon! Tomorrow, perhaps, will be my first one. I'll be reviewing Bell's Batch 8000, as I still have 3 left from my recent purchase of a 6 pack. Check back later if you're interested.