Virtual Console Round-Up: December '09 (with some *actually good* games!)
I gotta say, I'm shocked. I guess Nintendo was saving some of the "big-name" downloadables for the Holiday season. There was some great stuff released in the month of December. And I'm going to talk about every release, in descending order, from what I consider the best release of the month on down to the stuff that doesn't matter quite as much.
Ah, PILOTWINGS. We love you so much. We love you so much that we personally entreated Shigeru Miyamoto to make a new version of the game for the Wii. And by "personally," I'm talkin' about Facebook stalking.
I could devote a whole article to the original Pilotwings. But since I have six other games to cover in this article, I'm not going to touch on it now. If you haven't played this game, though, you should. It's worth the $8 to download and play it. Though, personally, I much prefer PILOTWINGS 64. The point is, it's a really strange objective-based "flight sim." Quotation marks used to loosen the definition of the genre.
Gnathus' Top Five: Live shows of the decade
My biggest hobby, besides video games obviously, is music. I play a few instruments, I've been in a few bands, and I go to lots of shows. And in all my musical discussions over the years with friends and as a member of Asylum at Penn State and as a moderator at musicianforums.com, I found that I had a slightly different opinion of what makes a band great live. I feel that, for most people, the music makes the band. And because they love the music, they love the band when they see them live. This was true for me when I started out listening to music and going to shows.
My first show was Jimmie's Chicken Shack. I hadn't heard of them, but being part of a crowd as it became more and more excited during the set was thrilling, and I thought that it would be even better with bands I knew. And for a while it was. Over the next year I drove all over Pa and Jersey chasing bands.
But over time, I realized that most of my favorite moments were coming from opening bands I'd never heard of and from bands whose music I didn't care for. When I went to see Guttermouth, it was Authority Zero's CD I took home. When Big D and the Kids Table and Mustard Plug shared headlining duties, it was the Plug that I preferred, even though I find their music boring. And the River City Rebels make dismissible punk with horns music, but demand the audience's attention. The surprise is so much more satisfying than a sure thing, and that's why my favorite live bands all came from an unexpected place.
Obviously this isn't a perfect list. I never got to see the Suicide Machines outside of Warped Tour, and I still haven't seen Gogol Bordello or Mischief Brew. And I'm pretty sure I caught World/Inferno Friendship Society on an off night. So this list of great bands probably applies only to me, and only to the moments I saw these bands. But I hope you learn something anyway.
Jurassic Radio #33: The Season!
It's been seven months and, barring any last-minute gumption from the other guys, 123 posts, which works out to about 18 posts per month. We don't have the biggest following or the broadest reservoir of content, but we do have some followers, and we have some content. And that's thanks to fellow Gameosaurs Pete Rambo, Patrick Gann and, formerly, Ben Praster.
Not to get too soppy, but it's been a total delight keeping this site running and putting the podcast together for you guys every week. Expect some exciting changes in the early part of the new year, including a top-to-bottom redesign, some new dimensions for Jurassic Radio and, yes, merchandise!
You'll get a preview of that new energy this week, when Mike "Cremary" Almquist pops in as a guest and we talk about our Christmases. We've got some verifiable chemistry and commitment now, and I pray that carries into 2010.
In this week's show, we take a spin through LOST WINDS and LOST WINDS: WINTER OF THE MELODIAS, the excellent 2-D platformers on WiiWare. We also resurrect Courtship Corner, turning for advice this time to some surprisingly vocal fellows who weren't on the mic the last time we did this.
With music from Straight No Chaser, The Canadian Brass, Tchaikovsky and the Pipettes.
Resolutions? I've got a few, most of which involve a more dedicated fitness regimen, saving more money, paying off credit cards and keeping myself from hitting on straight guys. Things like that. Mostly, I want to turn this into a bigger enterprise. Get us noticed or adopted or somesuch. And that'll take time and effort from all of us.
But for now, I'm just incredibly grateful for the hard work from my colleagues and for the patience and attention from our quiet little readership. Have a safe New Year's Eve and a great 2010! And listen to the damn podcast and tell your friends about it and review us on iTunes and comment at the site! Jerks.
PODCAST
(right-click to save, use player below, or get the show on iTunes here)
Jurassic Radio #33: The Season!
00:00 - 40:55 -- Christmas "gifts," What we've been playing
ACT BREAK -- The Canadian Brass, "Here We Come a-Wassailing"
41:26 - 59:34 -- Winning Time: LOST WINDS 1 & 2
ACT BREAK -- The Nutcracker Suite, "Trepak"
1:00:32 - 1:23:24 -- Courtship Corner
OUTRO -- The Pipettes, "Dirty Mind"
Rex's Top Five: Favorite TV seasons of the decade
We embraced James Poniewozik's "consistency is overrated" philosophy pretty enthusiastically this week when counting down our favorite games of the year, and though the idea fairly applies to interactive entertainment, it's perhaps best employed where it began -- with television.
TV and the miniseries are my favorite storytelling mediums, bar none. Gaming narratives are maturing, sure, and I really should be reading more books, but letting a sophisticated yarn play out over 6, 13 or 100 episodes breathes unnaturally involving life into something that never would fit in a two-hour movie.
I've wrestled somewhat with how to pick my top television programming of the decade. Do I pick shows that began and ended between 2000 and 2009? And even then, do I choose the whole show or individual seasons? Should I make separate lists for dramas and comedies? What about shows that I appreciate emotionally but reject intellectually? And need I have seen the entire run of a show -- or to distinctly remember it and understand its impact -- to fix it to a place in history?
Then I snap out of it, because the whole exercise is silly. I just want to recommend some great TV, and since I started watching it seriously in 2002, this decade is as good a place to start as any. Without further preamble, my favorite seasons of television from the aughts:
Gameodactyl's Top Five: Arranged Game Music Of The Decade
Everyone on the 'net is rockin' the "aught" lists. And rightfully so. It's the end of a decade, and it was a decade full of all sorts of wild, crazy, awesome, and less-than-awesome stuff.
One of my favorite hobbies as an avid audiophile and Gameodactyl is game music. You know, the soundtracks to games? I buy the things. I buy them en masse. And in Japan, they make such a big deal out of it that they often release arranged albums to complement the original soundtrack. It doesn't get much more awesome than that.
So, to prove that no one on teh IntarWebz can get more niche than the Gameodactyl, I now present to you my five favorite game music arranged albums from the past decade. Check it out!
Jurassic Radio #32: Storm of the Century
After the heaviest single-day snowfall in Pennsylvania in 80 years, the Gameosaurs brave poorly plowed roads and one basically shoveled driveway to break down the site's 10 favorite games of 2009.
As you'll no doubt notice, we've dropped the Five Iron Frenzy intro at the top of the show in favor of something a little more brazenly kickass. The tune is "Angry, Young and Poor" by Anti-Flag, a band that basically got me through my freshman year of college without dropping out or hurting myself.
We've not asked permission, but we have no listeners and don't turn a profit, so I'm hoping to continue to slip under the radar with this one until we do get something permanent and *ours* worked out. And we'll be trying new intros in future shows, so keep an ear out.
TOP 10 GAMES OF 2009
The Gameosaurs agree that DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS is one of the best games of the year, having all played that one. The remaining nine games are broken up between the three of us as follows:
PATRICK
3. FINAL FANTASY IV: THE AFTER YEARS
2. SHATTER
1. BLAZBLUE
PETE R.
3. BORDERLANDS
2.HALF-MINUTE HERO
1. SPELUNKY
PETE M.
3. THE BALLAD OF GAY TONY
2. ASSASSIN'S CREED 2
1. UNCHARTED 2
PODCAST
(right-click to save, use player below, or get the show on iTunes here)
Jurassic Radio #32: Storm of the Century
00:00 - 59:57 -- Snowed in, Top 10 games of 2009
ACT BREAK -- Art Brut, "Direct Hit"
1:00:27 - 1:10:46 -- The news, what's coming out
OUTRO -- Beck, "Get Real Paid"
SHOW NOTES
Kotaku -- Game credits are long, but they should probably be longer -- http://kotaku.com/5427863/they-worked-on-the-game-you-played-but-didnt-get-credit
GamePolitics -- Strategy games are better for homework breaks, unless you're really pressed for time -- http://www.gamepolitics.com/2009/12/14/need-finish-homework-quick-warm-action-game
Divide and Review: Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
"Between the idea and the reality [...] lies the shadow." - T.S. Eliot
Welcome to the world of Kingdom Hearts; a place that started as a simple mash-up of Disney and Final Fantasy characters, and has since become a breeding ground for recapitulated and augmented concepts of identity.
KINGDOM HEARTS 358/2 DAYS, for Nintendo DS, is the fourth major release in the series, and the second "side-story" (after KINGDOM HEARTS: CHAIN OF MEMORIES for GBA and remade for PS2). Both Chain of Memories and 358/2 Days take place, chronologically, in the one year span of time between KINGDOM HEARTS and KINGDOM HEARTS II (both PS2).
While the semantics of the English version of the game are still hard for me to wrap my mind around -- the "heartless" are creatures that desire and consume hearts, whereas the "nobodies" are leftover/by-product entities when a creature loses its heart -- the point is that 358/2 Days sets Roxas as the protagonist. He is the "nobody" form of Sora, who at the beginning of 358/2 Days is traipsing through Castle Oblivion, having his memories twisted and stolen by a coerced and conveniently helpless Naminé. Eventually, Sora enters a state of hibernation, and he will not wake again until *after* the first few hours of Kingdom Hearts II.
If you're itching to know what happens in that year, check out our spoilerific review, replete with plot details and gameplay mechanics, by continuing forward.
Jurassic Radio #31: Gannaway
Konban wa, freaks. Sorry for the delay; I seriously fell asleep while editing the podcast last night. I pray that doesn't bare out in the episode itself, but you guys can be the judges of that. By listening below. Or on iTunes, and then leaving us a big, sloppy kiss at the iTunes store or commenting below.
In place of One Interesting Thing, we ask ourselves in this week's show what maladies a Pat Gann or Pete Rambo pill would cure. The answers are revealing!
We also talk about THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: SPIRIT TRACKS, PIXELJUNK SHOOTER, THE SABOTEUR and a few other games before collectively scratching our heads while trying to parse the new Animal Collective EP.
With interstitial tunes from the Mad Caddies, YouTube user ScottFalco and the 1999 Revival Cast of Annie Get Your Gun.
PODCAST
(right-click to save, use player below, or get the show on iTunes here)
00:00 - 44:09 -- The perfect pill, what we've been playing
ACT BREAK -- ScottFalco, "Zelda Spirit Tracks: New Theme"
45:09 - 1:00:34 -- Animal Collective, "Fall Be Kind"
ACT BREAK -- Mad Caddies, "Game Show"
1:01:18 - 1:25:55 -- The news, what's coming out
OUTRO -- Irving Berlin's Annie Get Your Gun, "I Got the Sun in the Morning"
SHOW NOTES
Gamespot UK via Philly's Examiner -- Xboxes are better now. http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-13078-Rochester-Xbox-360-Examiner~y2009m12d5-360-failure-rate-now-less-than-4
NeoGAF, Nintendo Power -- Mega Man 10, what? http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=381873, http://www.nintendopower.com/images/NP250_DLmega.jpg
Famitsu via Kotaku -- Mega Man 10 officially multiplatform. http://kotaku.com/5427496/mega-man-10-isnt-a-nintendo-exclusive
Gamasutra -- Chris Nutt looks at the top 5 business trends in gaming. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/26238/Gamasutras_Best_Of_2009_Top_5_Game_Biz_Trends.php
30-Second Review: Half-Minute Hero
HALF-MINUTE HERO is a PSP game from Marvelous Entertainment that boils jRPG tropes down into easily digestible chunks. Looting and level grinding are still here, they just take seconds instead of hours. It's based on the freeware game 30 Second Hero, and playing that gives you a good idea of what to expect from the game's title mode. When it sticks to the formula of short, self-contained RPGs, it works beautifully.
Unfortunately, the game deviates often, breaking up play into four separate modes. It tries to simplify the RTS, shoot-'em-up and escort styles the same way it does with the RPG, but with varying degrees of success.
Hero finishes off a dark lord.
Each mode has a goal that must be completed in 30 seconds. The hero has to defeat a dark lord. The knight has to make sure nothing distracts the sage while he casts a spell. The evil lord and the princess both have curfews for some silly reason. Each mode ranks you by how fast you're able to complete the level. If your overall rank is high enough for the mode, you unlock a harder enemy in a later mode, sort of like the Weapons in the Final Fantasy series.
Turns out iTunes re-downloads ARE free
I said last week that I was totally bummed because I wouldn't be able to re-download a whole mess of iPhone applications that I lost during an unavoidable system-restore.
Well, I've never been happier to regret an error, because when I tried to buy the sublime ROLANDO 2 (Ngmoco, $5) again this morning, my phone asked me if I'd like to download it again for free.
Yes, yes I would. And the phone somehow retained my save data, which means I'm right back where I'm started!
So, mea culpa. I don't know when they made this change, as it certainly hasn't always been this way. It's commendable policy.