Braid This pretty much sums up my feelings on the game after having finished it last night. I didn't really follow the game all that much but I knew I was going to buy it over Geometry Wars 2 and Rearmed (the latter of which I got anyway) and I'm very, very satisfied with the game. It has a simple but very elegant sense of style graphically and the music is also wonderfully done. The puzzles, which are the core of the game, gave me a lot of fits but they weren't impossible, it just required a lot of sitting and thinking. One of the things I loved about Braid is that unlike other games where you have to earn a specific item and then go back to complete a previously encountered puzzle, everything that is needed to finish a puzzle is within the level, save for two (world 2's painting thing). I don't think I'll go for the speed run achievement to get the full 200 points but overall this is one of the better games that I've played this year. I got BC: Rearmed to play but even though I'm half-way finished it, I'll probably start up Ninja Gaiden II soon since that's the only game left in my 360 collection that I have yet to finish. After that, I'm not too sure what to get. I don't really want Tales of Vesperia and Lost Odyssey looks boring to me. I suppose after Rearmed and Ninja Gaiden, my 360 will go into hibernation again.
Rhythm Tengoku Gold Really fun game that makes good use of the touch screen. A lot of the games are really tough compared to the first game but none of them are impossible. Sometimes, like in Braid, you just have to sit back and take your time with it instead of trying to force something. I cleared every stage, so now the only thing left to do is to try to aim for medals in every mini-game.
God of War: Chains of Olympus Fantastic game, just like the first two console GoW games. I'm not a fan of the shoe-horned controls though. It's pretty amazing that the game looks as good as it does on the PSP, I'll give it that! It made me even more hyped for God of War 3, especially from what I've heard about it from my friends working on it.
Since I've finished those three games I've started up BC: Rearmed and I'll probably pick up Inazuma Eleven for the DS, since I'll be going back to Toronto from August 29 till Sept 3, so it'll be good for the flight to and from Canada.
I was playing Soulcalibur 4 today and I noticed that during the deciding round of any fight, the music seemed to speed up a little bit. I'm gonna have to give it a second listen again tonight to confirm this because perhaps my mind was playing tricks on me while I was playing. But that got me thinking about how sped-up music really makes a game a lot more tense and exciting, not only in fighters but in other games as well. The Mario games used that all the time whenever the timer got below 100, and Street Fighter used it for the SF2 series whenever someone's health dipped below 30% or so. It's too bad most games these days just switch to an alternate, "panic"-style track, because I really liked how a simple change in tempo added tension to a game.
You guys okay after that explosion???. Tried calling my mom once but no answer, I'm gonna have to try calling again in an hour to make sure everyone's okay.
PS2: Persona 4 - About 30 hours into the game, and it's fantastic. A complete upgrade from Persona 3, which was already awesome. The music is great, the combat system has been tweaked and is a lot better, and overall the game feels a lot better as far as pacing goes.
PS3: Nothing really... I got Soulcalibur 4 but I considering that more of a "play when there's nothing else to play" rather than something to focus on. I only use my PS3 for Persona 4 right now, soooo...
X360: Nothing in particular. I got Ninja Gaiden II for 3000 yen at Yodobashi during the last 3 day weekend but I haven't opened it. I'll probably start it once I get close to finishing Persona 4. I also want to pick up Braid and/or Galaga Legions. Not particularly interested in Geometry Wars 2 because I played the first one and although I liked it I know I won't get far before dropping it. Since Braid's a 2D platformer I'm more inclined to play it as opposed to my fifth dual stick shooter in the past two years. :P
NDS: Rhythm Tengoku Gold. Absolute gold! Awesome game that's harder than the GBA version, and has a lot of cool scenarios. I really like how they implemented the touch screen into the game, especially with the UI. It makes it actually fun to navigate the menus! I've unlocked the 7th stage but I only have 7 medals right now. I usually play this on the train to and from work (20 min on the train total) so it's a great way to kill time when I'm commuting.
PSP: I have God of War: Chains of Olympus but I haven't touched it in weeks. It was a fun game but I bought mainly because I got it on the cheap and my friend Eric was a design consultant on it, so I'm playing through it to see how they retrofitted the PS2 controls onto the PSP. They did a pretty good job IMO!
Wii: LOL, the Wii plays games? :P I think the last time it was used was when the girlfriend was over and she was playing Super Mario World via Virtual Console. :P
Arcades: Just Virtua Fighter 5R. I stopped playing SF4 after I realized that El Fuerte sucks royally (he's my main) and because 5R is about a thousand times better than SF4. Since 5R came out, I've been playing 3 times a week, but I don't spend too much time playing. On the way home is Monte 50, the arcade with the highest level of VF competition in Osaka, so it's an easy walk-in, walk-out for me. I think the most time I've spent playing was 45 minutes, so it isn't too bad. Usually I play with whatever change I have and then leave... it saves me a lot of time which I can use to study, and of course, saves me a bit of money. I recently got to 5th Dan with Taka-arashi thanks to Rich's help, so now I'm keeping him away and working on getting used to the changes they made to Goh.
transmission :: The Cliffnotes edition of last week's events.
[28 Jul 2008|01:29pm]
Wednesday was my two month anniversary with Ibuki... not too long and obviously no presents since it doesn't hold that much significance in Japan -- 3 months will though -- but we did go out to a nice Italian dinner and then I stayed over for the night to help her with packing her stuff, since she's moving next week. Went to the Tenjin Festival on Thursday with my friend Natalie... Ibuki was studying for her exams (her last one is this week) so she couldn't come out for the festival, but Natalie really wanted to so we went. Natalie is actually my sister's best friend and as such I have some sort of responsibility for showing her around the Kansai area and recommending places to go, so I don't really mind that part of the job. I do mind her saying she wants to learn Japanese but isn't willing to put her pride on the line and try to do things herself in Japanese. She wanted to book a hotel for her trip to Hokkaido and asked me to do it, but I suggested that she oughta do it herself while myself or Ibuki is in the room, so if she gets in trouble she can just defer to us, but no go.
Anyway the festival was fun and we ate a lot of good food! Unfortunately the fireworks were on Friday night, and not Thursday so we didn't get to see them. That was good for me though, because Virtua Fighter 5R was released on Thursday, so before meeting up with Natalie I got some games in, and then on Friday night, Ibuki was still studying so I had the whoooole night to play VF5R, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom (on location test) and SF4, haha. As much as I think SF4 is a solid game, ultimately, VF5R trumps it in every category. It's kind of sad too, because I really want to get into SF4 because most of my English-speaking gamer friends like the game, but I'm drawn into VF5R too much to even bother with SF4.
Ultimately it comes down to this; In SF4 (and in 2D fighters in general) I can't really see the reason why I lose a match, and it frustrates me to no end. I don't see how things operate on a mechanical level so when I play SF4 and lose, I get quite angry. On the other hand, when I play VF or Soulcalibur, I can see why I lost. I know exactly what I did wrong and I know what I have to fix, so this makes me want to play the game more. Of course this doesn't mean SF4 is fucked up... I actually think it's a solid game. But my perspective is better tuned to understand 3D fighters as opposed to 2D ones. So yeah, for VF5R, I have been playing my usual characters, Lion and Goh, and I have added Taka Arashi back to my roster... I used to play him in VF3 along with Lion so I'm really glad to have him back. He's just so much fun to play around with. He's not the easiest character to use though. His inputs are easy, and he's not a complex character to learn, but winning with him can get tricky. We'll see how he fares in VF5R. I got a match video on YouTube so you can check him out. I also got a match of my Lion in action too.
Anyway, enough about games! Despite having two exams, Ibuki and I met up in the evening for dinner. We had some delicious Korean food, and then had to go and fix my Ibuki Phone™ because it had some sort of reception problem. We were going to meet up with Natalie and some of her friends so we decided to hit the internet cafe for an hour. Now, I suggested that we go to the internet cafe or a regular cafe, because I knew Ibuki had never gone to an internet cafe before, and I wanted to show her what happens when I have to spend the night out haha. She really liked it though! It was really comfortable and we had free drinks for the hour we were there, and watched some Yoshimoto comedy DVDs.
So yeah... met up with Natalie and her friends and went to uh... a gay bar. I don't understand the fascination with women and going to gay bars. I mean yes, the decor is nice, the music was great and drinks were cheap but seriously, I don't know really get why women really want to go there. I guess it's because they know guys won't hit on them? Afterwards we went to another bar across the street owned by this absolutely huge New Zealander. He's got quite the physique, heh. Some asshole Australian was actually talking shit about my gal so we decided to call it a night while Natalie and her friends continued to party.
The next day we went shopping for a bit, I bought her some clothes and then we went back to my place for a bit to rest. She actually made my lunch today too! I was shocked! When we were walking back to my place she asked if I wanted her to make me lunch for tomorrow, and I was like "what... really!?" I was shocked and happy, haha. She made this great pasta with zucchini, mushrooms, and steamed chicken. Soooo good!
I don't think I'm going to blog all that much on Giant Bomb -- I have enough trouble finding time to blog here and on mixi at the same time -- but I'm more than happy to support this new endeavor, which looks really, really damn good. Unlike 1UP's site, Giant Bomb actually loads quickly and properly, and unlike IGN I don't have to pay for a subscription, heh.
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I was supposed to go to Tokyo for the weekend because Jason, one of the Tokyopia guys is leaving Japan for Montreal soon, but unfortunately last Tuesday I got a pretty nasty heel spur, which I was hoping would heal up by Friday but never did. So I had to cancel my trip. I was really looking forward to seeing all the Tokyo people again, as well as playing some VF5R and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, but I guess that will have to wait for later...
Since I didn't go to Tokyo, the girlfriend came over and we headed to the hospital together... where they told me nothing new. I explained my regular workout routine (squats, running, biking, etc.) and it was basically a "yeah, don't work out so hard, and oh yeah, lose some weight." wtf, I am losing weight! I know the doctor doesn't know this but one might be able to figure out that I indeed may be losing weight if I'm doing squats, running and biking 3 - 4 times a freaking week. Sheesh.
Anyway, after taking some medicine and getting a lot of rest, my ankle was feeling a lot better on Sunday, so we went out to watch Hana Yori Dango Final. Yes... Hana Yori Dango. Okay, so I know it's kind of a girly show, but oddly enough I really like it. It was actually one of the first anime I watched at URanime when I went to Ryerson, so I'm kind of into the whole series. Plus, Mao Inoue is pretty cute too. That doesn't hurt things!
The movie itself was... alright, although I get the impression that they shot a lot of the scenes where they did because they knew they'd be raking in a lot of cash. I don't know many movies that get to film in Vegas, Hong Kong, Kyoto (specifically in freaking Kiyomizudera) and some tropical island whose name escapes me at this time... all in one movie. Oh yeah, Mao punched a fucking bear that was chasing her on the island.
Yeah... this girl here
Punched a bear like this
Right in the fucking kisser! Well.... at least she'll have a friend in Stephen Colbert!
Also, lawl @ Jun Matsumoto having to speak Engrish in this movie. That was pretty hilarious to me, although I guess others didn't really care. I also realized that I was wrong about Japanese audiences... they will laugh at stuff in movies... just not movies I find entertaining. :) When watching Hana Yori Dango there were a lot of people laughing around us, and maybe it's the exception to the rule but I guess because the movie is in their native language the jokes are actually funny to them. :P I just remember watching Sweeney Todd and realizing that I was the only one in the theatre laughing to the jokes in the songs... ah well, another lesson learned!
Went out with Stefan and the gf on Friday to a beer garden, and had way too much to eat and drink, but it was good! Got to watch some of the Dragons/Giants game as well since it was on the giant projector on the side of the building, haha. Stefan was drooooling over the Budweiser serving girl, and although I gotta admit she had a nice body, her face was not all that great. Too much make-up, but oh well. On Saturday, I went shopping with the gf... picked her up this make-up pouch because she really wanted it. She actually asked me to buy this when I head to Tokyo on Saturday because she didn't think she'd be able to find it in Osaka, but I searched online via mixi and a lot of girls were saying that they found the wicked sista brand in the Sony plaza, so we headed there. On Friday she went there with her mom and said she couldn't find the black one she wanted, but when we went back to the Sony plaza on Saturday, I searched for it while she was looking for make-up and... I found it. lol. Totally weird, but now I don't have to go shopping this weekend... I can now eat more at Barbacoa and play more VF5R! It's on like Donkey Kong!
As for me, I needed a new gym bag -- mine was getting old and crusty -- so I picked up this bad boy somewhere in Yodobashi. The polo shirt and the t-shirt I got at UNIQLO. I really loved Tekkon&Kinkreet so I just had to buy it. They also have the Metal Gear Solid 4 t-shirts on sale at UNIQLO but sadly, none of them really strike me as nice shirts. They seem awfully... plain and dull, which is odd considering the source. :P
On one hand, I am happy that DTFL was able to outlast the "giant" arcades of SHGL and the like. It's a testament to the dedication of the Toronto players and the management of the arcade. On the other hand, I'm sad to see the place that I would happily call a second home be shut down before I could give it a proper sendoff.
The SC guys and I always called it DTFL but the real name was Funland. Since elementary school I would always be at this arcade, playing Street Fighter, Virtua Fighter, Gauntlet, the Grid (Midway, Grid2.0 PLEASE), Spikeout, Virtua Cop or any other game they had. This was the only arcade where I saw F-Zero AX in the full deluxe cabinet too!
While I was in high school I lived in Oakville so I could only visit this arcade once or twice a week, but as soon as I got into Ryerson I was practically living in DTFL. I spent soooo much time and money at this place that it was probably detrimental to my GPA, haha. I remember playing Soulcalibur 2 for so long that on exam days, I'd get to the arcade at noon, play till 2pm and then be like "oh crap guys, I got 5 minutes till my exam, I'll be right back!", head off to write my exam, and then come back to play for 2 more hours. It really was a funtastical time in my life.
DTFL got a ton of games in that most other arcades couldn't get at the time, including the aforementioned F-Zero. The operators were also nice enough to let us Soulcalibur players run tournaments there and video tape them... but more important that that... if I hadn't been at DTFL all those years, I wouldn't have met a lot of my friends who I still keep in contact with now. Guys like the Mystic brothers, Wen, Russell, Paul and so on are people that I'm proud to have met while battling it out in DTFL.
It's funny though... whenever I would come back to Toronto, I'd make plans with everyone, and the meeting place was always easy to choose; we'd always meet at Funland. Now... where the hell are we going to meet whenever I come back for a vacation...?
On June 23, 2004, I moved to Japan. It's been four long years since I lived in Toronto. Now the city that I warmly call my home is just another city that I visit every year. Even though I really enjoy living in Japan and I've made a lot of friends and settled into a job that I enjoy, living in a country so far away from my own, and so different from my own has made me appreciate Toronto, and Canada that much more. I'll be in Japan for the foreseeable future, and I really don't mind it because I love it here, but the day that I decide to move back to Canada permanently is the day I will wear the biggest shit-eating grin on my face. :)
Tiger winning the US Open in the playoff round is an epic victory, and I kind of regret not being able to watch it. It would have been a really, really great playoff round had Westwood not choked on the 18th hole during the final round too. Imagine a three-way tie going into the playoff round! Some people enjoy the fact that playoff rounds for the other majors are only 3 - 5 holes, but I actually like the 18-hole playoff round of the US Open. It's a bit more majestic in my opinion, having to go through the entire course once more in order to win. It's a real test of mental fortitude and makes the situation that much more tense. I don't think Tiger's win is on the same level as Yzerman playing on one leg for Team Canada in 2002, or Isiah Thomas playing on a fractured ankle in 88 against the Lakers... only because golf isn't as physically demanding on the legs as hockey or basketball are. Still, you could tell that Tiger was hurting after a lot of tee-off shots, so him coming back and forcing a playoff round, and then winning the whole thing is very impressive. It must be discouraging to other players though; most can't touch Tiger when he's healthy, and he still manages to win when he's injured! One thing that needs to stop are the douchebag fans who feel the need to shout and holler after every shot by Tiger. That shit is annoying as fuck, even just hearing it on TV. No wonder Tiger gets pissed at photographers and the crowd sometimes.
Even after saying I wasn't going to buy Metal Gear Solid 4 until a few months after release... I still bought it, heh. I'm at the end of Act 1 after about 4 hours of play. The game is definitely, definitely pretty, with a lot of awesome details and some great gameplay... when you're allowed to play, hah. I picked up the game on Sunday because GTA4 is just pissing me off and I doubt I'll finish the game at this point. I've finished GTA3, Vice City and San Andreas (played GTAI and II but never finished them) but GTA4 is a real letdown to me in every gameplay-related aspect, which I've talked about before. I still can't believe they're pulling the whole "you can't kill this guy till we say you can!" bullshit after all these years, and resetting stuff once the mission starts is just WACKY. You were totally allowed to set up your plan before starting a mission, but now you can't even do that! Call it naivety or whatever, but I figured we'd be rid of such silly concepts with this round of games, and especially in a sandbox game, where you are encouraged to do things the way you want to! Oh well, at least so far with MGS4, I'm allowed to play exactly how I want to, without the stupid BS of GTA, heh. I can live with the long cutscenes so long as the game is solid. Despite the length the quality of each scene is simply stunning, so I don't really mind watching them since they're so good. Although with all the tech speak that goes on, I really wish that English subtitles were in the Japanese version. I actually prefer the Japanese voices for Metal Gear but a lot of what goes on gets confusing when they delve into tech talk.
Overall, the weekend was good! I had dinner with my beautiful lady on Friday in Shinsaibashi, and then she came over for dinner on Saturday. The next day I was supposed to go to the gym and she was supposed to come with me but we decided to head to a nearby batting cage instead. I still play softball on a monthly basis but I need to get adjusted to the slo-pitch style instead of the fast pitch that we were doing last year, so I had to find my stroke again. No, not that stroke, that stroke is perfectly fine and well-tuned! My girlfriend was all like "I'm pretty good at ping pong" so we played a few matches and wow... she's good! I was surprised and happy! She wooped me 15 - 3 in the first game but at least she let me get a few more points in the next two sets... even though she still beat me. :) Afterwards we headed down to Namba to watch the Pirates of the Dotombori, an improv comedy group made up of foreigners. Pretty good stuff although all of their concepts are taken from Whose Line Is It Anyway. Hey, if you're gonna copy something, I guess it's best to copy something awesome, eh?
transmission :: Classy, and as expected, Canadian.
[13 Jun 2008|01:39pm]
Boxing champion Steve Molitor says he isn't looking for new management and will stay in Canada after all.
Molitor (27-0) released a statement on Thursday in which he said will remain with promoter Allan Tremblay and manager James Jardine.
Last week, the International Boxing Federation super-bantamweight champion said he was being underpaid fighting in Canada and would seek new management in the United States. Reports said he was upset with the $175,000 he was offered for his next fight.
"Everyone makes mistakes and I have a made a monumental one," he said in the statement. "Bowing to the influence of people around me who had their own interests at heart, and deceived by the promise of mega-dollars that really were not there, I went down a path I should never have contemplated."
He said Tremblay and Jardine "were gracious enough to accept me back in the fold."
Molitor also apologized to TSN, which has televised his last four bouts, and to Casino Rama, where those fights were staged.
He is to fight again at Casino Rama on Aug. 29 against an opponent yet to be announced.
Molitor, a Sarnia, Ont., native, won the title in 2006 from Michael Hunter in England and has defended it four times, most recently with a 12-round unanimous decision over Fernando Beltran on April 5.
This is the type of stuff that the sports world needs. People who are talented, gifted and above all,mature. In an age where most athletes whine about being underpaid and go so far as to insult and point fingers at people other than themselves, this is a breath of fresh air. Kudos to Mr. Molitor for being the better man here... good to see that boxing hasn't knocked him silly!
Tiger winning the US Open in the playoff round is an epic victory, and I kind of regret not being able to watch it. It would have been a really, really great playoff round had Westwood not choked on the 18th hole during the final round too. Imagine a three-way tie going into the playoff round! Some people enjoy the fact that playoff rounds for the other majors are only 3 - 5 holes, but I actually like the 18-hole playoff round of the US Open. It's a bit more majestic in my opinion, having to go through the entire course once more in order to win. It's a real test of mental fortitude and makes the situation that much more tense. I don't think Tiger's win is on the same level as Yzerman playing on one leg for Team Canada in 2002, or Isiah Thomas playing on a fractured ankle in 88 against the Lakers... only because golf isn't as physically demanding on the legs as hockey or basketball are. Still, you could tell that Tiger was hurting after a lot of tee-off shots, so him coming back and forcing a playoff round, and then winning the whole thing is very impressive. It must be discouraging to other players though; most can't touch Tiger when he's healthy, and he still manages to win when he's injured! One thing that needs to stop are the douchebag fans who feel the need to shout and holler after every shot by Tiger. That shit is annoying as fuck, even just hearing it on TV. No wonder Tiger gets pissed at photographers and the crowd sometimes.
