Another Try

I usually have a very good instinct about what I like and what would make a game great almost to the point where my friends would make fun of me for purchasing games not based on reviews or scores. Though I'm not very fond of first-party games be it Nintendo's or Sony's, the Metroid series was a franchise I knew I would like despite not having played a single game. From the great level design that inspired Symphony of the Night (and ultimately all subsequent Castlevania games) to the John Woo film that never got made, this was a franchise for me. So when i finally had the opportunity to experience the Metroid series for the first time, i didn't hesitate to add Metroid Prime: Hunters to my collection.

Though Prime Hunters was by no means a poor DS game, it certainly didn't showcase the series' best strengths and made me wonder if I was wrong about the Metroid series. Part of the problem was I loathe playing first-person since my PC gaming days and having to perform platform leaps in first-person is an absolute nightmare if you have every played Prime Hunters. Now that the series going to be a third-person game thanks to Tecmo, i decide to give the original Prime series a try. A friend of mine played a big role in this, helping sell to me how great the Prime series is and also how desirable the Metroid Trilogy Collector's Edition is. It's now or never as the Trilogy is no longer being published, I wonder how much of a chance i have in scoring a brand new copy without having to pay an arm and leg at eBay?

Wild Search is Over

For the past few weeks i have been searching everywhere for yakuza 3 region 1, a search that is getting increasingly futile unless i started looking abroad. Then last weekend when i decided to show my support for a local game store grand opening, i ended up with not one but two copies of yakuza 3! Granted neither of those two were the coveted region 1 version but in the end i believe they offered a better value for money than if i had got the region 1 copy albeit having to spent a bit more than i intially thought.

One was the Yakuza 3 japanese import in first print and the other, the asian version of yakuza 3 at wholesale price for that opening day only. I have considered of playing the japanese import before but that proven unnecessary when Sega finally announced that they would indeed to bringing the game to western gamers. Then the announcement of cut material dampen everyone's excitement for the game and with no official reply from Sega, it seems the only way to experience the game in its complete form was to play the japanese version. This was actually old stock waiting to be cleared and once again i felt the urge to rescue it from the shelf when i first saw it there. It was down to about half its original retail price for a japanese import meaning a pretty chunk of saving if i had purchased the japanese import when it first came out.

When i told my friends that i was waiting out for the region 1 of yakuza 3, they question my decision to spent so much for a game with cut content and on top of that, a pretty dated game if you consider the original release in Japan. Already being deprived of content cut from the western release, i was adamant about not being deprived of the downloadable content as well (DLC). That and also other aesthetic reasons led me to relentlessly pursue the region 1 version. Until I found the japanese import which i didn't think would be possible anymore for first print now that the budget label release is out. Then all i needed was localised copy which i could play to make some sense of the game in japanese which didn't necessarily have to be region 1 anymore. The wholesale price was tempting to say the least but looking at the asian box art, it probably was not a bad idea as i don't worry about looking at a moody kazuma with white goatee on the box.

Best of Times, Worst of Times

Tomorrow marks the fifth anniversary of the Sony PSP and my close to four year relationship with the system since coming to own one back in middle of 2006. Up until my trip to Hong Kong that year, i didn't even know i was going to be getting a Sony PSP as it was all a spur in the moment thing. I never did any homework on the system before getting one and paid dearly for that. Not counting the games i get to play for free on custom firmware i probably spent more than your average gamer did for the same handheld. An example of how ignorant i was about the system and its games was the very first game i got on my Sony PSP, i ended up paying close to price of a brand new console game ($55!). That's what the Sony PSP will do to you, it will punish and scare the hell out of you if you don't know anything but it would also reward you greatly if you take the time to get to learn the system inside outside. Even now i'm still learning how to get the most out of the system after my recent renewed interest in the Sony PSP. It's probably the only system i regret not spending enough time on to warrant its purchase as its limited success may have deter my interest earlier.

He's a Woman, She's a Man

If there ever was a most accidental prone award in video games then it would have to be Eike from Shadow of Destiny, an obscure playstation2 game by konami that was recently revived on the Sony PSP. I remember playing the game on my playstation2 a long time ago, it was one of the very first game i played and if it wasn't for the horrible ending i got i would have probably played it a few more times again.

The game looks pretty good on the Sony PSP with bold but simple character models despite the bland environment in fact if you never played the original you probably couldn't tell it was a ps2 port. The death scenes which Eike must avoid looks laughable now but i will give the game the benefit of the doubt in order to see it through to the big picture at the end. Hopefully this time i will get an explanation as to why Eike is so prone to accidents but i'm willing to wager that the most memorable thing about this game is still the sexually-ambiguous time traveling sorcerer who aides Eike. Not even Koji Igarashi name listed as producer can top that as i feel like an Austin Powers moment coming up trying to figure out his/her gender.

is that a man or a woman?

A Fighter's Blues

Since i have yet to play Yakuza 3 and got so bored of playing RE5 again, i decided it's about time to give Madworld another try. What a difference it was from when i first played the game back in July last year, the faults i have with the game are still there but Madworld does make a pretty good brawler especially when you compared the fighting with yakuza 3. Frankly when i first play the game i wasn't expecting a brawling game but Madworld is exactly that, Just Jack doesn't have a whole lot of different moves to take down his enemies nor does he dodge very gracefully away from attack but his impact moves and finishers are thoroughly satisfying. In the end I have come to accept that Jack just moves and attack a lot more like Kazuma rather than what I'm accustomed to with Dante and Nero.

The camera is still horrible, picking up weapons and facing your opponents is a nightmare especially when the game locks down the camera angle in certain situation but at least the game looks pretty even in 480i. The production design is pretty impressive for an action game where it's usually an afterthought but Madworld is good enough to make you take the time to stop and admire. The game is reportedly only 5 to 6 hours long so there should be no problems playing it till finish this time since i already can't wait to get back to playing it again. Maybe it was the longing to play yakuza 3 that has led me to back to Madworld but the game has got my undivided attention right now, at a time when I have nothing else better to play. Well at least until next month when i should have a bounty full of cool new games to play.

Y2K10 bug

Where were you when it happened, the leap year bug that caused all older model of Playstation3 not to function properly? I was actually planning to turn on my ps3 that Sunday evening but got held up finishing Metal Gear Solid on my PSOne. The next day was sheer panic, the amount of news and post on the internet relating to the bug and how Sony dodged the question of how this could happen and whether or not a clear solution was on its way.

It was then when i realised how attached i was to my ps3 having previously down played the importance of the console when compared with the games it played. I supposed it had to do with how much trouble i went through to get hold of my 80gb backward-compatible unit and how content i was with it, when all my friends had to spend more on additional hard disk space and controller. Mine had everything i need off the box though it came at a slightly higher price than the rest, the fact i didn't need to spent on anything more except games really made me feel grateful of what i have. When the dust has settled and the problem fixed itself the next day, I couldn't wait to turn on my ps3 to make sure everything's ok. Judging from the number of friends I see online that night, I'm betting a lot feel the same too.

March Madness II

Right about this time last year I was experiencing my march madness where my spending just went up the roof for Resident Evil 5 and all other things RE-lated. This year things are not much different and i'm sure you will agree if you are an avid ps3 user with the slew of great ps3 games out this month. While i'm feeling the pinch myself, it's less apparent here seeing that i never developed much of any liking for RPG games and also i have always been much more of a devil may cry guy.

Most of the damage would have to be attributed to my trip to Singapore later this month and also my sister trip to US where i hope to score a couple of good bargains back. These aren't exactly new games which you will learn about over the coming few weeks but it should keep me busy until summer when Capcom's big sequels are out. With no sign of Yakuza 3 region 1 in sight yet, I still haven't figure out if i should continue to wait it out and add it onto my already long shopping list.

Day One No More

Yakuza 3 is scheduled for release tomorrow and i came to a decision not to make it a first-day purchase anymore. No, it's not because of the lack of hostess side-mission or the games i have unfinished as that is something i have learnt to come to terms with as an adult gamer. This has more to do with me being content with still playing Resident Evil 5 DLC while the prospect of getting some new games next month intrigued me enough to put off getting Yakuza 3 for now.

I do anticipate having to cope with my friends playing and finishing the game before I do but I realised I would still get the last laugh when i finally finished Yakuza 2 before starting Yakuza 3 in a haste like i would have now.