PS3 - Weekend 1

This weekend, pretty much all I've done is fiddle with my new Metal Gear Solid 4 PlayStation 3 bundle that I picked up. So what's the current state of the PS3 and how does a new user feel about the experience? Let's start with the initialization and the interface.

I'm running the PS3 through an HDMI cable to my 32" Sony Bravia XBR4 (Yeah, I'm proud of my TV). The PS3 recommended outputting in 1080p and I'm even able to utilize 1080/24p when playing Blu-Ray movies. Set-up was a breeze and utilizing the built-in Wi-Fi was a cinch, but when I did get connected to the internet, I had to do a dreaded firmware update. This was an agonizing 20 minutes or so of me just waiting for the damn thing to finish so I could check out how Batman Begins looks on Blu-Ray -- but I decided that I had best make the most of my time by first downloading demos and videos in the background before I watched the movie.

Signing up for the PlayStation Network was almost like pulling teeth. The interface isn't the best and it took far too many steps to finish, but after that, browsing the store was pretty intuitive. I like that the PSN offers some red-band trailers so I got the Step Brothers and Pineapple Express trailers (both look hilarious). I also like the fact that the PSN uses actual dollars to show me how much something is going to cost me. For example, I saw that Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was only $10 on the PSN and I seriously considered getting it, but then I remembered that it's also available on Xbox Live with achievements. The difference is that I really don't have any concept of what 800 points is when I'm looking at things at an impulse level.

As far as demos go, I got PixelJunk Monsters, PixelJunk Eden, Heavenly Sword, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, Resistance: Fall of Man, Ninja Gaiden Sigma and Super Stardust HD. In the interest of brevity, here's a summary of what I thought of the ones I've played:
PixelJunk Monsters: a fun, colorful Desktop Tower Defense clone
PixelJunk Eden: frustrating controls and just not fun -- I deleted it after 10 minutes
Ratchet & Clank: gorgeous, super fun, and a must buy
Uncharted: very pretty, but there are way too many enemies and not enough ammo
Super Stardust: another twin-stick shooter that's fairly decent

The worst thing about PS3 demos, however, is that after you download them you have to install the damn things. You sure as hell don't have to do that on the 360... Also, why aren't downloads automatically put in the background? You think I want to sit looking at a progress bar for hours on end? (Seriously, it took all night to get every single demo and video I had queued up.)

In concern to the general GUI and settings that you can screw around with on the PS3, I think it's needlessly complicated. I'm not a big fan of the Xross Media Bar (it's also the interface used for my TV) as it's certainly not the most intuitive thing ever. There's also a few too many advanced settings cluttering up the interface that most people won't know what to do with. If you keep plugging away, you'll eventually find what you want, but it's nowhere near as effective and easy-to-use as the 360 interface.

On to more positive things... Batman Begins was glorious and the bank job scene from the Dark Knight made me realize that I saw that movie wrong (I've got a review draft that I'm working on, by the way). The "Welcome" Blu-Ray that comes with the PS3 is now my go-to disc for showing off my TV though. They've got a trailer for Planet Earth that is literally breathtaking. (It's also got some impressive bits from Ratatouille and Meet the Robinsons on there.)

Metal Gear Solid 4 is quite the experience -- I almost can't believe that I'm finally playing it. I'll have a more detailed write up on that when I finish it. Right now, I've just started Act 3.

As for using the PS3 as a media server with TVersity... I think I'll stick with my 360. It seems like the 360 supports more video codecs than the PS3 and the interface is also a little better for browsing your TVersity library (it's also faster). Not a huge difference overall though.

Anywhozzle, I'm super satisfied with the PS3 for playing movies and I'm enjoying the hell out of MGS4 so far. I'm planning on picking up Ratchet & Clank as soon as I can, but the demo for Uncharted had me rethinking that. It was just too difficult even on easy mode and it seemed like the game just spawned endless amounts of enemies and all you have is a measly 40 rounds for your pistol that gets eaten up like it was nothing.

So that's where I'm at for my initial experience with the PS3. I'll put up an update when I've watched some more movies and played some more games. I'll also see if the interface starts making any more sense.

Close Your Eyes Until The Sunlight Dies

Two different mixes for you today. They represent the "duality of man" as Michael Scott would say.

1. MGMT - The Handshake
2. M83 - Kim & Jessie
3. My Bloody Valentine - When You Sleep
4. The Smashing Pumpkins - Go
5. My Bloody Valentine - Sometimes
6. The Smashing Pumpkins - Daydream/I'm Going Crazy

1. Electrelane - To The East
2. Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. - Waiting For The Monster To Drown
3. Club 8 - Everlasting Love
4. The Smashing Pumpkins - Believe
5. Grantura - Waves
6. Rilo Kiley - With Arms Outstretched

Rorschach's Beginning of the End of the Beginning

On the short list of "Must see right this second!" is a brand new trailer for the Watchmen:

So far it looks bloody fantastic -- from the character designs to the sets and backgrounds, I think it really does the book justice. I wonder if they're going to keep Doctor Manhattan's crotch in the shade the whole time though. Or maybe he'll just have a Ken-style "bump." That'd be pretty hysterical. I also wonder if they're going to do the smart thing and completely toss out the dreaded pirate parts.

I find it hard to believe that this film could be anything like 300 though (which is a really good thing). It was kind of neat at the theater, but when watching it at home, I realized how silly 300 really was. Watchmen definitely has depth in its story, however. So I don't think that just because it's the same director that it'll be the same kind of throwaway popcorn movie. Also, it hopefully won't spawn any of those terrible Wayan's brothers movies or any terrible comedy skits that try to remind you of stupid catch phrases from the movie.

Another thing the film has going for it, is that it is cast using unknowns. I would have hated to see Tom Cruise as Ozymandias or some bull like that (I believe that was the rumor, anyway). I hope Patrick Wilson has some acting chops though, because Night Owl was my favorite character in the book (or at least the one I empathized most with). And Jackie Earle Haley, who plays Rorschach, better perform well too, because Rorschach is probably everybody else's favorite character. No pressure.

Besides pumping me up for 2009, the trailer also got me really jazzed to re-read the book again. I've got some Batman books I want to read first, but I'll probably get there. I've got another year to cram it in somewhere, so I'm not in a hurry.

Also, props for using a Smashing Pumpkins song in the trailer. (Kind of funny that it's from the Batman and Robin soundtrack though.)

Mild Success and Failure at E3 2008 - Day Two

Before going to work this morning, I watched some of the Nintendo press conference and it was, unfortunately, exactly what I expected: just a bunch of gloating. Yeah, Nintendo. We get it. You sell hardware like mad, but where's the good software to go along with it? Animal Crossing is not enough to entice me to buy a Wii. Neither is another Rayman Raving Rabids or Star Wars: Clone Wars or another Wii Sports or your silly little Wii Music. The only interesting bit was learning that the Zelda and Mario teams are busy working on things, but who knows when we'll get our hands on those.

The DS announcements weren't good either. I don't want to play a portable Grand Theft Auto. It doesn't work for me and I'm not sure that the DS has the power to do it competently. I also don't want another Guitar Hero: On Tour. The first was boring and cramp-inducing enough. Nintendo could have talked about Chrono Trigger for the DS or Dragon Quest IX -- those would have had me excited, but they went for blandness, it seems. But it's not surprising. I knew they'd disappoint me.

Moving on to Sony... Reading a synopsis of the event wasn't that great, but after watching the event, I kind of got it a bit more. Jack Tretton may have been just about the most effete presenter I've seen at any of the events, and I think that kind of hurt the overall presentation. Poor guy.

The first game Sony showed, Resistance 2, looks very promising (it evoked feelings of both Fallout 1 and Half-Life 2 for me), but I'm far more interested in Insomniac's other project: Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty. At only $15, that'll be a must download for sure. It was definitely the best looking game of Sony's entire presentation.

Incorporating Little Big Planet into the actual Sony presentation was really fantastic. It definitely beat the pants off the plain Jane PowerPoint slides that Microsoft and Nintendo had. As for the actual game -- if they can make platforming levels as fun as the classic Super Mario Bros. games, then I'll give it a shot. Otherwise I'm not really interested. Then Sony moved on to PS2... Can't they just let the thing die already? Who cares? Another SKU? And for $150? Screw that. If you're still buying PS2 games... Sucks to be you.

The video store on the PlayStation Network was a given, but I'm wondering when Sony's going to stop playing catch up in terms of things you can already do on Xbox Live. (On the other hand, at least you can purchase as well as rent on PSN -- something I still want from Xbox Live.) Not that I'm complaining. You still can't do any of this on a Wii.

Infamous could be good. If it really is Crackdown with super powers, then I'm sure it'll be fun. MAG I could really care less about. The God of War 3 teaser was pretty, but there's no way the actual game will look like that. Plus, I'm not a fan, but I'm sure that for some people, it was super exciting. In the end though, Sony didn't have any real bombshell moments nor did they try to go for broader appeal. Still, they did a decent job.

As far as some other odds and ends I've seen, the new Jade Raymond project, I Am Alive, looked like it could be a very enjoyable game just for being so different, but on the other hand, it was just a CG trailer. I thought the FarCry 2 trailer was just boring browns. The new Prince of Persia still looks nice though. Then it was revealed just recently that Bungie was forced to cancel their announcement that was supposed to take place tomorrow. Drama!

Fallout 3: Today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic

Todd Howard of Bethesda gives another impressive Fallout 3 demonstration on G4. The Bloody Mess perk is a little too crazy, but I can't wait to see skin-melting laser beams and nuked corpses.

It's also apparent Todd has cheats on since he's killing guys in pretty much one hit and with hardly any percentage to hit. But that's cool and to be expected -- you have to show the game, not dick around for 5 minutes trying to kill one guy.

I'm also curious if there's gonna be a Brotherhood versus Enclave showdown somewhere in the game. That'd be epic!

Success! Microsoft at E3 2008

Apparently, Microsoft knows almost exactly what I want from them in a press conference. I woke up and watched the G4 stream as I waited for the Too Human demo to finish downloading. Really, the only disappointing things were that Alan Wake was absent and they didn't show any brand new, triple-A games for next year.

I think Microsoft tried to reach a wide breadth of people, and for the most part, I think they succeeded. You've got Fallout 3, Gears of War 2, Resident Evil 5, Final Fantasy XIII (!!!) and Fable 2 for the more hardcore and then you've got avatars, Scene It, You're in the Movies, Lips, and Rock Band 2/Guitar Hero: World Tour for the more casual set.

Lips might not have looked special -- and the appearance of popstress Duffy didn't really sell it either, but I think Rock Band 2 definitely had some exciting news. Although the song list was far too tiny to read, I'm looking forward to finally reading the official 80+ set list [Edit: Linked!]. And who would've thought that a song from freaking Chinese Democracy was going to be in Rock Band 2?

AC/DC and Bob Dylan weren't really exciting announcements for me, but I know a lot of people have been waiting to play songs from the thunder down under. Just wait 'til they find out that they essentially play the same song over and over again...

What was impressive though, was seeing that Rock Band 2 would essentially have over 500 songs in total for you to play. That's from DLC and most of the original songs from the first Rock Band! It's nice to see that their idea of a platform is really working. I just wish they would have showed their new drum kit.

On the other side of the Fisher Price music war, it's kind of an exciting premise to know that Metallica's new CD will be available on CD and in Guitar Hero on the same day, but really we all just want Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets. Other than that, nothing exciting about Guitar Hero: World Tour was revealed.

The two Fallout 3 videos where probably the biggest highlight for me. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that it'll probably be my favorite game to come out this year. Seeing PipBoy just makes me feel so, so good. I really hope it can make its October release date, but if waiting means a better game...

The announcement that Final Fantasy XIII is coming to the 360 is huge, but I think its impact was lessened for me personally now that I (will eventually) own both a 360 and PS3. Then it was announced that the big fall update for the 360 would also bring the ability to download games to your hard drive to lessen loading! Add to that the fact the the PS3 now has trophies, and I'm not so sure which version I'm going to get. So we'll just have to wait and see if there is any real difference between the two versions. Still, amazing news.

I'm also fully looking forward to Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts and the original on Xbox Live. Honestly, I thought that I wouldn't be spending a lot of money on games this year, but clearly, I'm wrong. So thanks for proving me wrong, Microsoft. Now let's hope that Nintendo and Sony can bring the pain in return!

Hyuck! I'm Banjo!

IGN has a preview of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts as demonstrated by Ken Lobb (who you may remember as a big Nintendo of America guy from the SNES to N64 days).

Platformers are one of my favorite genres, and the original Banjo-Kazooie was one of my favorites, so I was really pumped after seeing the two videos. When Nuts and Bolts was first unveiled, I was pretty skeptical of the whole vehicle thing ("You got Kingdom Hearts in my Banjo!" etc.). Hopefully, Nuts and Bolts can stack up to the few modern platformers worth playing like Super Mario and the Ratchet series. It's sadly a dying bread (or at least one that's in hibernation), so I really want it to turn out well.

Also of note, Too Human will have a demo on Xbox Live next Tuesday. I'm still wondering where the hell my Tales of Vesperia demo is though.

E3 is also next week, so hopefully there's something worth getting excited about. Maybe Nintendo will unveil one new game! Oooooh! Or maybe the Wii will now come in black and pink! But in all seriousness, I hope they unveil some first party DS games worth playing. It should also go without saying that they should do so for the Wii as well, but I should know by now that Nintendo isn't really interested in doing that. Also, I want an update on Final Fantasy XIII -- and I don't mean just a slightly altered video of the one we've been seeing these past few years!

Zero Punctuation - July 9, 2008

It's a sad, sad, sad, sad day when Zero Punctuation gets a "theme song" and intro. Really, it ruined it for me. Nu metal, Yahtzee? Really? Or is this the Escapist's fault (like the fuck ton of awful advertisements attached to the end of your shows)? I looked forward to the random songs that applied haphazardly to the review (and isn't only using a few seconds within fair use laws?). Now it's just music that fell out of Fred Durst's anus.

I can't even comment on the review since the horrid guitars where echoing in my brain so loudly that I could scarcely say if he said anything. I can still hear it... Make it go away!

Our Russian brothers

Man, this video... Russian girls with big tits, zombies, a Conan the Barbarian version of Gorbachov, Coca-Cola and Twinkies... WTF? It's kind of awesome.

The music is lame though.

Fallout 3 Update

Courtesy of GAF (aka "the message board where you should only read the first post and disregard everything else"), an update on Fallout 3 including a fan interview and a few new screenshots. I'm so excited for the game that I pre-ordered it -- and that's not something I do often (probably three times in my entire life).

I'm glad to learn that although Fallout 3 will still use an inventory system based on weight, ammo will not weigh anything. I don't understand why they decided that Power Armor should lower Agility though. I mean, that makes sense for other games, maybe, but it didn't work that way in the original games. I also hope that equipment doesn't have durability. To me, nothing is worse than a game where there's a chance that your equipment can break. But I don't want to judge the game yet. I really hope it's amazing.

I also hope Too Human is good too, just so naysayers will shut the fuck up. Also, I want it to be good because I love Diablo and Too Human promises to be a stop-gap of sorts.

Save your wishes for a brighter day

1. Electrelane - The Greater Times
2. Scanners - Lowlife
3. The Pipettes - Pull Shapes
4. I Was A Cub Scout - Save Your Wishes
5. Martha Wainwright - Bleeding All Over You
6. The Smashing Pumpkins - Daydream (Demo Version)
   
7. Modest Mouse - Sleepwalkin'
8. The Jesus & Mary Chain - Just Like Honey

This mix is partly influenced by Lost In Translation and the image that I chose as my tape's background. It's a bit of indie and a bit of alternative music. Kind of themed, kind of not. I was planning on making a complete alternative and "shoegazing" mix, but I couldn't wait to make use of some of the songs that I've plucked out of the air recently. I've still got some My Bloody Valentine songs that I want to use though.

I could also probably make a mix of nothing but The Smashing Pumpkins if I wanted (plus I've got another version of Daydream that I want to use)... I would also like to make another mix utilizing Modest Mouse's Baby Blue Sedan, but I keep a list of songs that I've used so that I'm not repeating myself.

The internet is spoiled

I see these stories on digg about being able to see the first six minutes of The Dark Knight, and I have to wonder: Who the hell would want that? Where's the surprise in that? I don't care if you're streaming an HD version of it to a nice television, it's still not the same. Aren't you completely ruining not just the actual plot, but the experience as well?

I already think there are way too many trailers for the The Dark Knight (I think they're up to five or something crazy). Plus, you've got the bank job prologue that was leaked from IMAX theaters that's now on the Batman Begins Blu-Ray disc (Which, I'm told, is the most spectacular looking Blu-Ray yet). Now, if that isn't going to be shown before the film, then that's fine.

But there's just too much. I'd much rather not know anything about a movie (or next to nothing) so that I can be immersed in it instead of thinking "I've seen this in the trailer already!" That's another thing: I hate people who put together trailers. You often spoil the very things you're trying to sell. I'm just thinking about how much better it was seeing movies like A Clockwork Orange, Memento, American Psycho, Dark City, etc. because I knew nothing about them and had never seen any promotional material for them.

Think about it. What if you where a kid in the 1970s and you saw the first six minutes of Star Wars broadcast on television. Sure, you might be more pumped to go and see it, but when that Imperial Star Destroyer is roving across the screen, it's just not going to be the same as if you had never seen it before. (And that's not even really taking into account the terrible A/V quality of 1970s television sets.)

So my point is that the interent generation is spoiled. And just like the actual internet itself, it's great and terrible thing at the same time. But it's up to you and how you want to experience the movie. You can read supposed leaked scripts and devour every inch of information you can find on the movie, but I can pretty much guarantee that someone who doesn't know much about it is going to enjoy it far more.

If you start a band, don't call it Huey Lewis and the News

Here's a clip I found of Eugene Mirman performing with the Comedians of Comedy at the Troubadour. Unfortunately, I just learned that the Comedians of Comedy have decided to disband. I'm guessing that I won't get to see the Be Funny or Die tour either...

Let's all listen to Heroin by The Velvet Underground instead

Via digg: How a Pop Star is Made:

The only requirement? It's not talent, if that's what you're thinking. But we've known this for years. It's all corporate manufacture.

This is just one excerpt from a documentary called Before the Music Dies. The intro clip on the website made me very interested in trying to track it down. It also made me realize how glad I am that I'm not in high school anymore -- although I do have to listen to little brats fucking around with those singing Hannah Montana pens at work...

Zero Punctuation - July 2, 2008

This week, Yahztee makes fun of webcomics. Remember how I said webcomics where terrible, filthy creatures that deserve to be brought out back and have their eyes gouged out? He pretty much says the same thing only with humor and style that I can't be bothered to conjure myself. If only we could wish the perverse anime nerds and fanboys away, Yahtzee... If only...

Coming Up Rainbows

First Diablo III was announced, and now, dear friends, some other fantastic news: A DS port of Chrono Trigger (my favorite videogame of all time) is in the works!

What's next in this happy chain of events? All three EarthBound games coming to the DS on one cartridge (or at least the North American release of Mother 3)? Nah... Nintendo hates EarthBound fans, so that's just crazy talk.

In Good Hands

1UP recently interviewed the lead designer behind Diablo III. Evidently, Blizzard picked up ex-Troika Studios bigwig Leonard Boyarsky as part of their team. This is pleasing to know as I'm a huge fan of Fallout and this guy was one of the people behind that as well (I wonder where Tim Cain is now?). If there's a PC game I love more than Diablo, it's Fallout (Baldur's Gate also fits in this category).

So that's very reassuring -- not that I was worried after seeing the 20 minute gameplay trailer. It was exactly what I wanted from a new Diablo game. It's not some World of Diablo bullshit, there's no first person camera... They've nailed it as far as I can tell. I just hope they manage to include things like being able to respec skills (since Blizzard is notorious for nerfing things from patch to patch in Diablo II) and a shared stash (as featured in third party app PlugY). I already know that they're implementing a loot system like the one featured in Mythos, where each character sees monsters drop items specific to them.

So the key to making a good Diablo game isn't necessarily doing anything radically new, it's just making everything better. You don't need to start from scratch because the formula works as it is. Basically you can just refine it and make it prettier and then kick it out the door as the next sequel.

I don't mind if we don't see many more returning classes though. I was a huge fan of the Rogue in the first Diablo, and while I wasn't terribly keen on her at first, the Amazon was ultimately my favorite class to play as (even though bows where one of the biggest casualties of nerfing). I just love those lightning-infused javelins! It's like a bow, but it's not.

One thing I hope they do add for the Barbarian is a few elemental skills since he was damn pitiful soloing in Hell difficulty, which brings me to another want... I hate how un-fun and needlessly difficult it is to play a singleplayer campaign in Hell mode in Diablo II. Every monster is immune to at least one thing, so if you only have one good elemental skill and you come across a monster that happens to have that particular immunity... You're fucked. I think Blizzard competely forgot that there where people who still played the singleplayer campaign for fun.

And although it's speculation on my part, I'm glad they've gotten rid of stamina. I see no gauge for it in the GUI in the videos and that's a tremendously good thing. It was a terribly stupid idea that slowed down the game in Diablo II. I guess they figured that they had to add another incentive for people investing so many points into vitality, because I can't think of a logical reason why it was ever included in the first place. They're talking about wanting to speed up the action in Diablo III though. That's one of the reasons they added the health orb drops, so coming from that side of things, I think it's safe to assume that stamina is gone.

Strangely, the news of Diablo III's coming also made me much more interested in StarCraft 2. When Diablo III comes out, I'll make sure I have a capable PC just for those two games (Blizzard is very good about making games that can run on low system requirements though).