So my copy of FF XI came via UPS today and I was excited to open it and start the 3 hour 8 GB install. BUT…….. to my surprise the copy that was sent me wasn't for my beloved Xbox 360 , it was for the PC.

OK so now I have an issue.  Some people may have been like hey I’ll just keep this and play it on my PC. Well not me ! PC’s are for creating games not playing them in my book.

I immediately called the EB Games customer service number and got ready for the usual B.S. you have to put up with. After explaining that I ordered the 360 version the customer service rep was like “ok  we’ll send you a new copy right away”. I was like ok cool but what do I do about sending you back the game I have. The guy says “don't worry about it, it was our mistake you keep it.”

Well now I have the PC version of Final Fantasy XI  (with the first four expansion packs) that I’m never going to open or play. So what do I do with it. I’m thinking the first ever TEXT ADVENTURE GIVE AWAY ! Stay tuned to see how you can win.

-TX

 

I, like most other gamers out there, have really been enjoying the latest installment in the Resident Evil franchise.  Leading up to RE5's release I had got to thinking about the franchise as a whole and my participation with the series.  This post will be about my history in brief with Resident Evil and how I have thought of it throughout the years.

Resident Evil:  The game that started it all.  Sure there were 'horror' games before Resident Evil but for me this was the first one that really came alive and impacted me as a gamer and a fan of spooky stuff.  I remember the day my cousin 'COKTOE' (online alias) purchased the Playstation 'big box' version of RE (pictured left).  I also remember quite distinctly the games first big scare when the zombie-dogs pounces through the window and panic ensued.   I knew from that moment that this game was special.  As I never owned a PS1 I had to bide my time until the Sega Saturn version arrived.  Once I had my own version I was finally able to play the game fully and in my home.  I still own my Sega version and hope to bring it out again some day.  Recently I purchased Resident Evil: Deadly Silence, all I need now is my DSi and I am in buisness.

Resident Evil 2:  My favourite game in the series to date.  What I liked best is the urban environment of Racoon City and the chaos that ensued after the incident at the mansion.  for this game I took the unsual path of playing the N64 version.  While I no longer own the N64 version, I did make amends and buy the Dreamcast port of the game which I still own today.

Resident Evil 3 - Nemesis:  The game in the core series of games that I have played the least.  I did pick up the DC port like RE2 but have never got around to completing the game, in fact I only played it for an hour.  I reallly regret my lack of play of this one as like with RE2, I love that urban-Racoon City environment.  Perhaps the next time I pull out my DC I will give this game another shot.

Resident Evil - Code Veronica:  The once Dreamcast exclusive gem that was a feather in the cap of Dreamcast owners eventually saw ports accoss other consoles with longer legs.  The first 'next-gen' Resident Evil game wowwed me with its awesome graphics and cut-scenes...but I still only got half way through the game.  I picked up the PS2 'X' version yesterday.  As my PS2 is hooked up at present I am interested in taking Code: Veronica for a spin once again!

Resident Evil 4:   I was really late to the party on this one.  This winter I picked up a PS2 to catch up on some titles I missed from the last generation, Resident Evil 4 being first on my list.  I am over 10 hours into the game and besides the shoddy acting, I am really digging it.  In the end it was a recent session of RE4 that sold me to get RE5. 

And the Rest:  At the time of his writing I am hip deep in RE5, and at this point I am looking forward to finishing just so I could start all over again.  Before RE5 I could easily find the Outbreak RE games, but since everyone is RE hyped now, they are gone.  The Gun Survivor series I could care less about...but the Wii shooters look pretty tight!

So what does the future hold?  Resident Evil is hot on the current-gen systems and is looking to attack the Wii in short order, expeanding on their curent offerings.  The recent animated movie, Degeneration, just added more flavor to the canon as well as an all new avenue for the franchise.  All I know is I am interested in seeing what will be next.

RESIDENT EVIL 5

-SG

So the other day I was home surfin the net and got caught up in yet another impulse online purchase. For the past year SUPERGHOST has been thinking about picking up Final Fantasy XI and always asked me to get in on it. I was always like no way dude not me. Well guess what ? Yeah that’s what I picked up, FF XI. Its was $ 15 on EBgames.com.

The game includes ……

FREE 30 day subscription to play FINAL FANATASY XI

RISE OF THE ZILART expansion pack

CHAINS OF PROMATHIA expansion pack

TREASURES OF AHT URHGAN expansion pack

WINGS OF THE GODDESS brand-new expansion pack

Not a bad deal right ? So whether or not I’ll actually play this game is still up in the air. I need partner in crime to play the game with and I think that boat already sailed with SUPERGHOST, but I do have a back up partner in mind. I've always wanted to give an MMO a try and with a 30 day free trial for a game that cost 15 bucks seemed like the way to go.

If anyone has played this or is interested in giving a shot let me know. We could run around together doing whatever it is you do in MMO’s.

Final Fantasy XI

-TX

During this weeks Game Developers Conference (GDC), the OnLive Game Service was unveiled. OnLive provides the user the ability to play games by servers streaming the gameplay to a set-top box or PC in your home, eliminating the use of physical media. With partners such as EA, Codemasters, Epic and Ubisoft, the service is set to launch this December.

Looking at the current trend of digital distribution of games and movies and the wish of the publishers looking at a way to eliminate piracy, etc., OnLive or future competitors is undoubtedly where gaming is headed and has inherent benefits such as never having to upgrade a system or worrying about it breaking down (i.e. RROD).

But is this technology, at a quality to satisfy gamers really almost upon us? The connection required for the service to stream gameplay data at 720p is about 5 Mb/sec. A consistent connection of this speed is not common, not to mention a large amount of the population is not even connected to the internet. I kind of have gotten used to playing in HD, 480p won’t cut it! Other potential issues game latency, ownership, IP bandwidth/download limits, bypassing retail for games, etc., may prove that such technology is not ready for primetime.

Myself, I’m not only skeptical of the quality that OnLive will provide (will it even be available in Canada???) , but personally, at this point in time, I’m still attached to physical media whether it’s games, movies, magazines, whatever. I like have the package in my hands, on my shelf and not having to worry about a server going down and not being able to play when I want to play.

It will be interesting to see if the next Xbox or Playstation will be a disc based system, use servers or both?

- Schu

Technorati Tags: GDC,OnLive

If I have to think back to one of my favorite movies of my youth Ghostbusters definitely comes to mind. This one goes down as a classic with likes of Back to the Future and The Goonies. Fast forward way to many years later and we are now going to be graced with hopefully a proper video game version of the Ghost “Busting” Heroes.

You now can join the Ghostbusting team as the new kid on the block known as the Rook (Rookie). The best part of this continuing story is the the voice talent from the original movies are all in on the game. Join the likes of Bill Murray , and Dan Akroyd and now Alyssa Milano in the new story, and don't forget everyone's favorite green glob ,Slimer.

So now that you get to be apart of this elite group what could be better ? I guess playing some co-op with a buddy online right ? Well here are some slight details on the the co-op and multiplayer modes of the game.

Oddly, Atari gave me a handout detailing the ins and outs of multiplayer in Ghostbusters, but Atari didn't demo any multiplayer modes. I'm glad to have the info -- which I'm about to pass on to you -- but it seemed like an awkward way to introduce something Terminal Reality has never really said all that much about. Still, there are going to be two co-op modes for Ghostbusters: The Video Game. Instant Action allows players to just jump in and start busting ghosts where Campaign Mode will set you up in one of the four multiplayer environments -- library, streets, cemetery, and museum -- and have you bust ghosts to earn money for equipment upgrades.

What's interesting about these modes is that they provide you with the opportunity to play as both the single-player star known only as the rookie and the four original Ghostbusters. Also cool -- or at least sounds like it could be cool -- are the six possible job types you'll face in a multiplayer game. Survival pits you against a "paranormal onslaught;" Containment is all about capturing every single ghost out there; Destruction charges you with destroying a bunch of ghost-spawning artifacts; you'll need to protect Egon's devices in Protection; Thief wants you to stop ghosts from stealing artifacts and Slime Dunk asks you to "dunk the most slimers," which I'm assuming means slamming them into the ghost traps. Helping you tackle these jobs are six power-ups such as the Ghost Shrinker and Ethereal Shield

Sounds like you wont have to be afraid of no ghost while bringing a friend along to get the job done. Ghostbusters is set to release June 16th , “Who you gonna call” ?

Source:IGN.com

Ghostbusters: The Video Game

-TX

 

Not being one to toot my own horn (who am I kidding, I will take any chance I get to toot), this week as I was listening to one of my favourite 1UP.com podcast, The Sports Game Guy's Sports Anomaly Podcast.  Each episode they have an MVP of the Week, more often than not it is a pro sports athlete, coach, etc. who did something noteworthy the prior week.  Sometimes though the MVP is just a regular Joe like...myself, SUPERGHOST!  If you get a chance, take a listen for yourself and see why this humble gamer is The Sports Anomaly's MVP of the Week!

If you have never listened to SA than you are missing out.  Todd Zuniga leads his fearless band of podcasters is such timely discussions about video game sports, real-life sports, television, movies, and all around crazy chat!  The show weighs in at less than an hour each week and is just a fun show.  So if you like your podcasting light, fun, and sports centralized, look no further than the Sports Anomaly.  They are MY MVP of the week!

The Sports Game Guy's Sports Anomaly - Podcast

-SG

 

 

When the Resident Evil 5 trailer first debuted it caused a bit of racial tension. It seems that people were not happy that “Black” people were these evil zombies and portrayed as the “bad guy”. Never mind that the game was set in a fictional country in Africa where a terrible virus was being spread by some evil minds.

If you ask me right now if I think the game is racist Ill say NO ! Last night I was listening to the Listen.up podcast and after talking about the the RE 5 game they brought up the whole racial issue to debate. Now myself being a middle class white American of Italian decent not once was I ever upset that in RE 1-3  that mostly white people seemed to be evil zombies. Nor was I ever upset in RE 4 that European zombies  were the target of many of Leon's bullets. I don't remember Europe getting to upset over it either.

The participants in the podcast really dug to deep into the whole thing in my opinion. They really looked for anything to put some sort racial label on the game, even if they didn't believe that the games as whole was 100% “racist”.

I could go on forever as to why I don't believe that game is racist, but then I would just bore you I’m sure. I’ll say this ….. I can see how this game might offended a very small portion of people in the world, but I'm usually in favor of the term “the majority rules”. I live in New York, a place that is mixed with many people and cultures probably more then anywhere else in the world. I've seen it all when it comes to racism.

This post is 100% the opinions of myself Aaron Ferguson aka TormentX and should not reflect upon my fellow contributors to this blog. Thank You.

-TX

 

 

Battlestar Galactica is the greatest show to ever grace a television set. If you disagree then that means you haven't seen the show and are probably  still watching reruns of The Sopranos. Tonight on the Sci-Fi channel the long awaited last episode airs.

I truly love this show and all its drama. It goes beyond sci-fi. It touches on religion, good and evil and what's right or wrong. These are all things we face in our everyday lives and its no different for the folks aboard the Galactica.

Many questions will be answered tonight (I hope). Is being human all that its cracked up to be ? Are the Cylons religious beliefs in just one God correct ? Will the humans find peace with the Cylons and be able to live together or will they just wipe each other out ? And finally what's the deal with Starbuck. Is she the harbinger of death on humanity ?

Tonight's 2 hour season finale should hold all the answers. “So Say We All” !

-TX

Everyday I walk to work, usually along the same streets. Recently I noticed a sign spray-painted onto the sidewalk. Now to the casual observer it may not be noticed at all or appear to be a rudimentary house-shape. But to someone who is keenly aware of what threat Zombies pose in today's day and age it is clearly an indication of a nearby safe house!

Now I have two projects. One, document the safe house sign. Two, find that safe house so that when the Zombie horde hits my city. Always be prepared, because duck-and-cover won't help you here!

Left 4 Dead

-SG

Recently I had the privilege of briefly owning Street Fighter IV on my Xbox 360.  While I found it to be a most excellent product I just did not have the time that I would need to devote to it to make it worth my while.  But with my brief re-encounter with Street Fighter fever I decided to dig back into my personal archives and play one of Capcom's, and their 2D fighting game rival, SNK's finest fan-service titles SNK vs Capcom: The Match of the Millennium on my Neo Geo Pocket Colour.

A little background on the of you out there who were gaming in 1999 probably missed the Neo Geo Pocket Colour all together.  It did not last on the store shelves long before SNK recalled the units, it simply was no match for the power of Nintendo and its GameBoy.  While its library was fairly limited it was famous for its collection of 2D fighters and its ability to link with Sega's Dreamcast console.  The greatest of the 2D fighters would be the above mentioned Match of the Millennium.

Not only did this game pit some of Capcom's greatest fighter against SNK's counterparts, but also it had a variety of mini games grouped together in what was called the Olympic mode.  In the Olympic mode we got more fan service from such venerable gaming franchises as Ghost n' Goblins and Metal Slug!

But back to the fighting.  After warming up with Street Fighter 4 I felt right at home in this game.  I took Ryu and was immediately able to pull off his power and ultra moves and quickly cruise through his story mode thanks to my SF4 experience.  The Neo Geo Pocket Colour's control stick was one of the finest ever made on a handheld and works perfect for fighting games.  Though the lack of a backlight and 2 face buttons kind of limit the handheld, it still is a neat little package.

Part of the Text Adventure experience is to write about the games and consoles of yesteryear so that we can share our experiences with you.  The NGPC was a system few played and even fewer own.  While it serves me as my alarm clock everyday, once in a blue moon I will take it for a game spin.  NGPC, we hardly knew ye!

SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium

-SG

 

Text Adventure is proud to present to you Face Off.  In Face Off myself TormentX along with fellow adventurers SUPERGHOST and Schuey will take part in a short , but sweet discussion about our favorite games.

Less of a review more more of just pointing what we really enjoyed about a game or even what  we may or may not be looking forward to in a upcoming release.

Taking the the typical topics such as graphics, gameplay and innovation we will go one on one or maybe even 3v3 and “Face Off’ against each other while breaking down our subject.

Look for Face Off to make its way to Text Adventures real soon !

-TX

 

In my previous post I wrote about my recent purchase of a PS2 and the backlog of excellent titles that I picked up for it.  This weekend I spied a rare copy of Yakuza 2 on a store shelf of a nearby game store.  As I have heard a lot of positive comments about the quality of this game, that and it being a spiritual successor of sorts to the Shenmue franchise (a personal favourite of mine), I decided to pick it up and add it to my PS2 collection of games.

Or did I?  The one thing about picking up a rare or hard to find game is that they often have the ability to pull in some nice coin, especially when they remain factory sealed. I had a quick look on eBay and noticed that 'Buy it Now's for Yakuza 2 could fetch double the price that I paid for it.  So with the pile of games I still have to play, would I miss this game?  I could turn around and buy possibly another great game with the proceeds from that sale.  It makes one think.

At the end of the day I more enjoy owning and playing the rare game rather than  profiting from a quick sale (plus I am eBay lazy).  If anyone out there as played the game I would love to hear about it.  While I likely won't play it anytime soon, I think it would be one of those 'rainy day need a fresh game' games. I am interested to see how the Japanese mafia lives.

Yakuza 2

-SG

Well after a weekend away from gaming it was nice to come home and hop right into Afro Samurai and Resident Evil 5. I really wanna touch on Resident Evil 5 though. One thing this game has been getting as of late is a lot negative response about its “out dated controls”.

You know nobody bitched when when RE4 came out. In fact it was praised for its new and improved controls and leaving behind the old 2-D pre-rendered control scheme. I do believe that first and foremost that gameplay should be the most important thing about a game. Without it even the greatest story would just be and awful chore to play through.

This brings me to the rant most people have with the RE5 control scheme. “You cant move and shoot” Yeah that kinda sucks, but does it ruin a game that has played on that one aspect of the controls since the beginning ? No it doesn't or at the very least shouldn't.

I hopped into the game last night after only having time with the demo and I was very pleased with the everything from the graphics to the controls. Do I wish I could move and shoot at the same time ? Yes I do, but by no means does this take anything away from the game.

Heck it reminds that I am playing RE game. I say reminds me because If I had a complaint about the game after putting about 3 hours into it, it would have to be that the fright factor seems to be gone from the series. Yeah the creepy zombies and the grotesque looking creatures of virus gone bad are still all in the game,but so far that seems to be about it. I will admit thought the first time I ran into the dogs I jumped, just a bit. You remember the good old dogs don't you ?

So RE 5 is what it is and that's a darn good game with fine gameplay. The controls maybe dated, but by all means they do nothing to take away from the game at all. I think if your not playing this game because you have an issue with the controls then your just foolish and you’ll be the one missing out. RE 6 …… Now that's when I will be looking forward to the new move and shoot control scheme !

-TX

After listening to the Rebel FM podcast last week (the podcast can be found on iTunes, Zune marketplace or at there website at www.eat-sleep-game.com), which had a segment about music in games, it made me think back to some of my favorite tunes.

Probably some of the earliest videogame music I can remember that I really enjoyed was from Ultima IV for the Commodore 64. Music from the game such as the Lord British and overworld theme, still stick with me. The game also had a neat feature allowing you during the to cycle through the different songs, which I would do time to time. It’s funny how such low fidelity music can stick with a person.

Some years later the next title impacted my perception of how good music in games could be was Final Fantasy III (VI in Japan) for the SNES. Like Phil Kollar from Rebel FM, the opera scene in FFIII was fantastic. I played through the game several times just to get to that scene and other great musical moments. Subsequent FF’s continued to churn out more memorable music (ie. One Winged Angel from FFVII).

One my all-time favorite videogame tunes though has to be the main theme from Metal Gear Solid 2, which is written by Henry-Gregson Williams. Last year I was able to hear to the piece performed at Video Games Live. Like movies, great music can really elevate a game. Rare is another developer, which puts of well-polished, orchestrated music (see both Viva Pinata and Banjo Kazoozie: Nuts and Bolts).

Games that I have played recently with great music include Braid, Mass Effect, the Halo series and Bioshock. I also can’t forget music game genre with Rock Band and Guitar Hero providing a whole new game music experience (Elite Beat Agents on the DS is also another one of my favorites).

I’m sure there are others, which I can’t think of at the moment. What are some of your favorite video game tune?

- Schu

Last weekend I was fresh out of the movie theatre having just finished watching the Watchman movie. I really enjoyed the film, and as I left the theatre I was hungry for more!  When I got home later that evening I downloaded the demo for Watchman: The End is Nigh, the first part in an episodic series of games that take place approximately 10-15 years before the events of the movie/book.  The game follows the adventures of two of the Watchman, Rorschach and Night Owl as they attempt to thwart the villainous Underboss who has recently escaped incarceration from the local prison.

I finally purchased the full game the other night and now I am a little over halfway through the game. While it has not received much critical acclaim or praise, I can say from my perspective that Watchman is an excellent beat-em-up that makes one feel empowered.  I am in Act IV in my current playthrough as Rorschach and if you have seen the movie you know he is total bad-ass, well if you want to relieve that bad-assery, Watchman delivers in spades. While the game starts you with a limited move set, it gradually builds you up, teaching you more cooler combos that once you see them you will be hooked into this game tight!  The look of this game is not only the best looking XBLA arcade games, but ranks up their with the 'Triple-A' titles in the Xbox 360 library!  Watchman also sports the best lock-pick mini game this side of the Splinter Cell series.  If you have a buddy nearby, local co-op is available so you can take down the bad guys together

As you can see I am really impressed by this title, but the knocks on it such as repetitive gameplay, and for me the constant stream of look-a-like villains are valid.  But these complaints are minor as when you are playing a game in this genre you should expect a certain amount of repetition.  For me, hitting those sweet combos never gets old.  Also, the cut scenes are done in the style of the recently released video-comic edition of the Watchman.  So if you were a fan of the original book, you will feel right at home here as well.  So if you are a gamer and are looking for more than videos to get your Watchman fix, I highly recommend The End is Nigh.  And as the first part in the episodic content, we should have some fresh Watchmen content for sometime to come.

PS. I hope in future episodes we will get to play as the Comedian!  He is such a bad guy!  Makes the Punisher look like Captain America.

Watchmen: The End is Nigh

-SG

Over the Christmas break of '08, I had a hankerin' for Resident Evil 4.  I had never played the game, and as at that time I was planing on playing Resident Evil 5 in short order, I thought it would be a good idea to play RE4 in advance of that. 

It seems kind of silly to buy a console for just one game, so I have kept my eyes open for a couple of classic titles to purchase so that I could play them at a later date.  So in this first edition of the BackLOG (clever play on the words Backlog and Blog) I thought I would rundown my PS2 purchase plan of the last few months:

Resident Evil 4:  The game that started me down this mad quest.  I have managed to get several hours in and actually found the game to be very enjoyable, even in spite of its tank-like controlls and its awefull in-game story and diolougue.  Hopefully I can find the time to see this game through to its completion someday.

 

 

Shadow of the Colossus:  Though I have never been one to follow Sony's games or franchises, I have always had a really strong interest in this title.  Something about its mysteriousness, its uniqueness, and huge fricken' monsters!  I was able to pick this game up on the cheap and have dabbled in it just a little thus far.

 

 

Beyond Good and Evil:  Again, another inexpensive pick up of a classic title.  I had owned this game previously on the Xbox (and also I have picked it up once again on said title), but since I now have a PS2, I might as well have it for it as well.  Again another classic title that demands an appropriate amount of love, also a play through in advance of its upcomming sequal.

 

So, three classic games and a used PS2, memory card, component cable, all for about $120!  Try and beat that.  If you have any other excellent and inexpensive suggestions for PS2 games I would like to hear them.

-SG

I was delighted to see on the internets today that appears that we will finally be receiving some new information on one of my most highly anticipated titles of 2009, Bioshock 2. While I am not a regular reader of Game Informer, I definitely will be picking up this mag just so I can get an early peak of B2. What does the cover tell us? So far we have a new member of Andrew Ryan's dysfunctional family, The Big Sister, and the events of the game take place in the not-too-distant future. There is something under the sea, and it smells fishy-delicious!

There's Something in the Sea

-SG

 

I have smelt what THQ and Yukes have been cooking, and I like it!  It has been many a year since I have been really taken by a wrestling game.  Coming of age in the 1980's I was huge fan of the WWF brand of wrestling.  This for me was the golden age of wrestling gaming, playing such great games a Championship Wrestling and Bop n' Wrestle on my Commodore 64, The Main Event  and WWF Superstars in the Arcade.  Though my love affair with wrestling continued into the early part of the decade before Vince McMahon's spell wore off, I was never able to get into the bevy off wrestling games that came along year after year.  It is 2009, and finally for me, wrestling games are back!

At the end of the day , wrestling games are a lower class of fighters, so where Legends lacks in technique, it makes up for in presentation.  One of my great disappointments with previous games was accessibility and the ability to pull off the 'cool moves'.  What I like about this game is how it allows you to make the great moves by stringing together chains with Quick Time Events.  The ability to relive great moments from Wrestlemania's past is exciting for me being an old-school fan.  I wish the graphical style would represent the actual look of the wrestlers in their prime rather that the glistening man-gods they appear to be.  This was hammered home for me when I saw the graphics for the Iron Sheik.  He looked more like an underwear model then a wrestler.

So this game might be a purchase for myself.  Just having the ability to relive some of the great wrestling moments from my youth could justify the purchase alone.

LEGENDS OF WRESTLEMANIA

-SG

Since middle of last November I've been on a quest to lose some weight thanks impart of being inspired by a couple of friends. To say the least I've been highly successful in my journey to better health. Most of the success has come from eating better and smarter with some exercise thrown in to boot.

So how about this Wii Fit thing, can it really help you get in shape ? Well…….. I'm still not sure about that. I mess around with it (notice I said mess around, it is a Wii game after all) every now and then, but have yet to give it a full test.

I have noticed though when spending a half hour of time with the Wii Fit I tend to feel like I have used some energy. I don't feel it gives me the intense workout that I get at the gym in a half hours time, then again I don't think it was meant to do that anyway.

I'm going to give the Wii Fit a 2 week test and post my results when finished. Stick around to see if the Wii is Fit or still just a gimmicky kids toy with some interactive low-res pixels thrown in ! I guess I really have to do this now that I've posted it.

-TX

Over the years I have read many videogame sites and blogs. One of my favorite happens to be ICandee, You Game. ICandee always posted about her love and joy for videogames, but never bored you with gaming news or reviews that you could read on any other site.

That's what made her blog entertaining and fun to read. Now I Candee has moved over here to Blogger and will continue with her original and witty posts as always. Checkout…ICandee, You Game .

-TX

For those 360 owners who have Burnout Paradise and have recently downloaded the latest update, which is ~ 850MB, be sure to delete the Bike pack and Cagney update. The previous two updates are included in the latest patch, so make some room on your hard drive and delete them.

- Schu