Check Me Out On The Mykey and Ghost Show!

Hey everyone! I just wanted to let you all know about one of the best audio broadcasts on these here Internets, The Mykey and Ghost Show! They interview me, let me plug my Tudors DVD Contest/Twitter Giveaway, and discuss Easter in the ways only Mykey and Ghost can! Check it out, and let me know what you think!

Go here in case you missed the link… Mykey and Ghost Show!

Film-to-Game Adaptations That Don’t Suck

Game and Player posted my article on the best film adaptations in gaming… What are you waiting for? Check it out HERE!

Giveaway: The Tudors Season 1 and 2 DVD’s!

Are you a big fan of The Tudors? Do you just want to get caught up with everyone else who has already been watching? Either way this is a great opportunity to add to your DVD collection, as I will be giving away the first two seasons of this epic series on my Twitter account this Sunday (4/12/09). All you have to do is follow me at Twitter.com/JPLS, and answer the trivia question I post during the show. First one to answer is the new proud owner of The Tudors Season one and two! Thanks to PopTudors for allowing me to hold this giveaway!

Gameplay Footage from Arkham Asylum

This game looks to be more amazing than anything I would have dreamed! Thanks to SkillzinKillz over at 360Junkies for bringing this to my attention…

Resident Evil 5 Review, at Game and Player!

Hey Game and Player just posted my brand spanking new review of Capcom’s latest entry into the Resident Evil series… Check it out HERE. Any comments can be left here, or you could sign up for the Game and Player forums, and join in on the discussion there.

If It Aint Broke, Don’t Fix It

Ever since NHL 09 has received its latest update, I’ve been unable to enjoy myself during the game. Before that update, the game was my favorite on the market, but for some ungodly reason, EA Vancouver decided there weren’t enough penalties being called. As any hockey fan knows, you watch a game to see the players play, and not the referees call penalties. With that notion, I certainly DO NOT BUY GAMES TO SEE REFEREES CALL PENALTIES! I wish I was just some hater whose favorite exploits have been taken out, but instead I’m just a guy who throws the body into people along the boards, and 7/10 times that’s a penalty in this game.

“Shut up man, the game isn’t broken, you just suck at it!” – No one said this to me, but I’m sure there are people who are thinking it as they read this. If credentials are what you seek, look up my stats, WelcomebackJman (xbox36). I’m not going to get into my numbers here because this isn’t about me. This is about a game developer’s ability to ruin a perfectly good game, over 6 months after release. Jeremy Steeves, over at game and player, interviewed EA Canada’s director of gameplay, here’s an excerpt concerning the patch itself.

J. Steeves: The most recent patch (1.02) for NHL 09 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 seems to have had a mixed reception, with some in favor of the more simulation style game being presented, and others not. What direction (simulation versus arcade) is the team at EA aiming for, and is anything being considered to satisfy both groups (such as independent game modes)?

J. Rupert: Regarding the reaction to the patches, it seems almost any change that isn’t a fix to an outright bug is going to receive a bit of a mixed reaction. Some people are used to and like the way it is, and don’t see the need for a change. For the first patch we toned down the effectiveness of the toe-drag shot that was unrealistic and unbalanced. There were people who didn’t like that initially, though in the longer term I think the overwhelming majority of players liked the change. The fix was a reduction in shot accuracy — even though this could be seen as a shift towards more of a simulation game, the motivation was purely gameplay balance and it just happened to push things that way.

For the second patch the number of penalties was the main area of controversy. Here the story is a bit different. I think there was a bit of a miss here because we alienated a category of player much more than we needed to in order to address the problem. Calling interference properly was necessary, but some of the other situations that lead to penalties should have been toned down, especially those that are random or accidental. There are enough penalties for the game to be authentic and balanced without some of these; and if they weren’t there increasing the frustration of those having trouble adapting to the interference calls, I think it would have gone over much more smoothly, and would have been just as good for everyone else. That said, it does seem like most players have made this adjustment, too.

J. Steeves: Will Patch 1.02 be the final major patch before NHL 10’s release?

J. Rupert: It is not my call to make, but I think so.

You can read the rest of this interview Here. Despite accepting that they call too many penalties, EA is not prepared to fix it in anyway. Instead, they want you to drop 60 dollars more on their next game, which they’ll probably just stop supporting about the time they break that too. Nothing angers me more than half-assed work, but it seems like that’s the new M.O. from game developers. Games keep getting released before completion, and developers expect us to pay extra for the unreleased (sometimes already on the disc, but locked/hidden) content, and then other developers releasing so called “fixes,” but then not taking the time to re-correct anything that they didn’t fix.

NHL 09 was easily my favorite sports game ever released, but I don’t think I’ll be purchasing NHL 10 (which I also think is a terrible name) because I can no longer trust EA Canada to support the game… They didn’t even update the online rosters for the trade deadline. That’s like the first thing that online support was supposed to be about, updated rosters, but they can’t even do that anymore? Did they not know there was a trade deadline coming, or do they just not care?

I hope other companies learn from this, but since “it does seem like most players have made this adjustment, too.” Most companies will probably just continue their lackluster support for games, and cite EA as a big reason the industry is still going strong.

I could swear I’ve complained about something EA has done before…HMMMMMMMM.

Game Music, My Favorite Genre

As I sit here, staring down my copy of Resident Evil 5, unable to play due to lack of a television set, I’ve had to find other means to fulfill me gaming-wise. Sure, I could play my little sister’s DS, but turn based RPG’s just don’t call out to me like they may have in my youth, and that’s about all her collection features. I could also f around with the laws of the Internets, and grab some roms/emulators, but I just don’t think I’m ready for my computer to get another virus, so F that. PC gaming? Nope, my PC can hardly run Itunes and Firefox without burning itself out. My last option was turning to my music collection, and all the gaming music that I’ve acquired over the years.

Officially licensed music, Remixes, bands covering themes, and just any composition that is in someway related to gaming has helped keep me from missing games too much (but it’s only been a 9 days). I’ve been knee deep in nostalgia listening to everything from The Megas to Nobuo Uematsu. I feel that sharing some of these selections could keep my mind off the missing link (Zelda?) in my life, for at least a little while longer. Without further ado… Game music.

The theme from Punch-out! performed by the Minibosses

One of the first games I’ve ever owned on the Nintendo Entertainment System was Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out. I didn’t beat it until many years later, after my cousin re-purchased it from a Game Crazy in Vegas. I’ve always enjoyed knocking the crap out of Glass Joe, and pretty much everyone else until Poplinski, who I couldn’t beat when I was a kid. The music was as important here, as it was for its film counterpart, Rocky (not official counterpart, of course). Here are the Minibosses bringing the sounds of my youth back to life…

The Opening of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

In possibly the greatest spoof of all-time, MGS3 opens (a long way into the actual game) with a hilarious song about eating tree frogs, dreaming, and being a bad ass spy in this Bond-like composition. This song spoof is as funny and fitting, as anything the Flight of the Conchords has ever done. The rest of the series’ score is more serious in tone, and perhaps this is meant to be, but I can’t help but giggle every time I hear it.

Those Who Fight Further (Final Fantasy VII) performed by The Black Mages

Nobuo Uematsu has composed the majority of Final Fantasy’s music, as well as numerous other games, but nothing he’s done is any more bad ass than The Black Mages. The Mages are basically a metal band that plays Final Fantasy music, and has the composer of all that music playing the keys. The band and their musical performances are at least as epic as any of the games their music is featured in.

I’ve been listening to tons of other stuff, but these three selections have always stood out above the rest. Bands like The Advantage, NESkimos, Fucking Champs, Horse the Band, all the stuff from OCRemix, the Castlevania Cd that came with Portrait of Ruin, and anything else I’ve scrounged up over time are also mixed in. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who loves game music, so leave a comment, and let me know which songs you like best.

7 Things I Wish I Could Be Gaming

As it stands, I’m without a television to hook my Xbox 360 too. That goes for literally every system I have at my disposal, no “telly.” The idiot in me traded in my DSLite a while ago, and I never had a PSP to get rid of in the first place. I’m down to this computer, and its measly graphics card, and the internet that comes and goes at its own whimsy. I’ve decided that instead of being bummed, I’ll use my time to fantasize what I will be doing the first chance I get…

1. Play as Rorschach (Watchmen demo): More specifically, I want to toss prison inmates to their Comedian-like death. No other move in the game quite captures the essence of Rorschach, like the trusty grab and throw, but it doesn’t hurt to shatter a few prisoners’ faces with an elbow, or two… Not you anyway.

2. Get a boarding penalty (NHL 09): With the rules in this game ignoring the fact that there are only six hitting animations (1 of which is actually legal) with the recent update, I guess I’ll have to settle for going to the box every time an offensive player carries the punk into my corner. Keep your stinking poke check.

3. Delving deeper into F.E.A.R. 2: I’ve only put about 3 hours of play time into this game, and half of that has been in online modes, so I’ll be glad to have an interesting single player experience to continue… Thanks again to 360junkies.com for hooking me up with the game!

4. Piledrive Sagat into any old Street (Fighter IV): I’ve been longing to destroy this cycloptic douche bag again. I don’t know what it is, but the way he says “Tiger!” makes me want to crack his bald head like an egg. Thanks to the shinyswine.com for hooking me up with SFIV!

5. Find some unique stunt jumps (GTA IV): It’s been way too long since I cruised the mean streets of Liberty City, and even longer since I jumped over them. Actually I’ll probably dial up some cheats, like I’m fucking Keanu in the Matrix, and go rooftop sniping, while I’m at it.

6. Beat my high score in Waves (Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2): It’s been so long, I don’t even know what that score is! I’m pretty sure it’s in the 5 mil area though, and I need me something round the 7 mil area to even be able to return home to my family after all these years…

7. Play something new (Resident Evil 5, Legends of Wrestlemania, MLB 2K9): I don’t care which one, actually I do, and it’s RE:5! Man I want to get my hands on this sucka. Most of all the Mercenaries Co-Op, mmmmmmmmmm Mercenaries.

You could even do this list backward, and I’d be equally happy. I just want to play some games! How did people live 1970 years without games? Bet they’ll never do that again…

Resident Evil… Back to the Mansion!

Hey everyone check out my look back at the original Resident Evil over at Game and player! Click here to be whisked away!

Win a free Xbox at 360Junkies.com!!!!

Well it seems that the most active Xbox 360 Community is at it again, and now it’s time to get serious. March is the month of the Grandest Opening in video game forum history, and if you’re a part of it, you could win your very own Xbox 360!

Click here to Join 360Junkies, and enter the contest!