Pictures of my Gaming Collection – Summer 2012 Edition

Hey folks, I’ve decided to redo my collection shots! Why? Well, I’ve gotten new things, I’m in the process of getting rid of several games, and for some reason I really liked doing this last time. I think it allows me to see what exactly I have and …gloat or something? Anyway, you can compare these shots to last December’s if you’d like. And as before, the pics are after the jump. There’s a little more reconstruction to do, and some of these may change in a week or two.

Song Highlights – The Music from Hotel Dusk: Room 215

It’s been a little while since I did a spotlight post on a game, and recently I sampled the entirety of the Hotel Dusk: Room 215 soundtrack, and it’s so good.  CiNG’s Yuhki Mori and Satoshi Okubo did a spectacular job capturing the film noir vibe with their compositions, and it’s a major reason I love the game so much.  Here’s eight examples of its excellence.

Desert Highway

A great introductory track that establishes the mood nicely.

Secrets

A great example of bringing sadness into a soundtrack.  This game has a truly underrated musical score, and this is further evidence for how great it is.

Gamer’s Playlist – Spring Break Game Remixfest 2012 Final Day

The final day of our remixfest is at hand.  At this exact moment, I’m getting my teeth cleaned at the dentist. XD  Anyway, here’s two “official” remixes for you to round out our remix marathon.

Fumigation Refuge – Michiru Yamane (Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, DS, Konami, Michiru Yamane)

Mr. X Stages (Special) – Yuko Takehara (Mega Man 6, NES, Capcom, Yuko Takehara)

Artistic Discussion – Super Terrible Boxes of the Gaming Art: 3/26/2012

Currently, I have a backlog of horrible boxes and nothing on the terrific side (beyond repeating arcade fliers I recently praised in my Looking Back pieces), so we’ll discuss four buggers of box art bodacious-ness today for fun.

Knight’s Contract (Xbox 360, Bandai)

At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be anything terribly wrong with this box.  Generic beefy hero and scantily-clad vixen seem pretty harmless.  It’s the bottom of the box that’s the problem.  We have two identical monsters, flipped and repasted, for maximum laziness.  They don’t even take the different lighting into account on either of them.  That’s sloppy work, Bandai.  So, ho-hum heroes, duplicated beasts, unimaginative effort.

Hunter (Amiga, Activision)

A decent attempt at capturing spy action, Activision, but it’s still pretty dull to look at.  Blueprints, fuzzy photos and a floppy disc with a generic (word of the day?) label on it doesn’t really inspire me to take note of your game.  Even the two bullets fail to capture my attention.  I’ve definitely seen better,

Lone Solider (Japanese, PS1, Virgin Interactive)

The last two are Japanese boxes of fail.  I have a sneaking hunch this box flopped horrifically in Japan.  It’s tailored for American audiences, and it’s not that spectacular to begin with.  I know this is PS1-era polygons here, but at the very least they should hide their model tears a little better (see below the pecs).  Where’s his left arm?  Why does he have a crosshair on his cardboard UZI?  Why such a terrible haircut?  This piece blows it as many ways as it can, that it does.

Puzzle Bobble DS (DS, Taito)

I’m sorry, but I am not buying a game with a dinosaur taking a difficult shit on it, no matter how cute is.  I even like the Bubble Bobble/Puzzle Bobble designs.  But I have to draw the line somewhere.  This is gross. XD

Jason X vs 2011: Match of the Millennium (Round 1)

By and large, video games are a hobby.  Something people do in their spare time for some fun and relaxation.    There’s a darker side to the pursuit of electronic entertainment, though.  It is the dreaded backlog.  For every game you defeat, three more will take its place.  2011 was another year in the life of yours truly, Jason X, and my attempt to slay the foul demons of Blackloggia.  As usual, it was a losing effort.  Still, there were plenty of good games released over the past calendar year.  Perhaps too many.

To that end, I’ll be splitting my thoughts on the games of 2011 into three separate posts.  The first will detail the games I thought looked interesting, but wasn’t able to get around to playing for one reason or another (time, money, ancient voodoo curses etc.).  The second will cover what I felt were notable ports of previously released games, since they seem to be all the rage these days.  Finally, I’ll wrap things up by discussing my overall favorite games of 2011.

Let’s begin with what fell through the cracks last year…

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (Capcom – DS) [01/11/2011]

Developed by the same team that created the Phoenix Wright games, Ghost Trick appears to be a mix of the detective work from that franchise, along with a dash of Haunting: Starring Polterguy.  The animation looks incredibly smooth, and I’ve only heard good things about the overall writing.  I’m definitely going to have to pick this game up at some point.

Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (Traveller’s Tales – Xbox 360) [03/22/2011]

I wasn’t entirely enamored with the original Lego Star Wars games, but they still provided a bit of mindless fun.  The third entry in the series looks to be more of the same, but it’s set in one of my favorite periods of Star Wars lore, the titular Clone Wars.  Knock the prequel movies all you want, they certainly deserve a fair amount of derision for their awful writing and hamfisted performances.  Even so, they covered an era when the Jedi were still a going concern across the galaxy.  Plus, the Dark Horse comic series did a lot to build upon the parts that were more lacking in the movies.

I’d like to give this game a shot at some point in the future, if only to catch another glimpse of what the SW galaxy was like before the rise of the Empire.

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (CD Projekt – PC) [05/17/2011]

In all honesty, I know next-to-nothing about this game.  Still, what I’ve heard has been intriguing.  It seems to be a WRPG along the lines of a Bioware game, but with more meaningful choices.  Mass Effect and Dragon Age are two of my favorite franchises at the moment, so if there’s another game out there that provides a similar experience, I’m going to want to check it out.

Supposedly there’s a port coming to the 360 this year.  I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for it.

Child of Eden (Q? Entertainment – Xbox 360) [06/14/2011]

Near as I can tell, Q? Entertainment can do no wrong.  Rez, Lumines, Meteos and Every Extend Extra were all fantastic, so if anyone can make a Kinect game worth playing, it would be them.  From what I can tell, Child of Eden is essentially Rez with optional motion controls.  It looks hard as hell to get 100% on, but I’m definitely interested in giving it a shot some day.

Dungeon Siege III (Obsidian Entertainment – Xbox 360) [06/21/2011]

Obsidian isn’t exactly on my list of favorite developers these days.  Much like Bethesda, they seem categorically incapable of releasing a finished, bug-free product.  Even so, I can’t help but feel a little interested in their latest effort.  While I’ve never played any of the previous Dungeon Siege games, the demo for DSIII seemed to show some promise.  I’m sure the finished product is extremely rough around the edges, just like anything else they’ve made, but it still appears to be worth a closer look, if only at a discounted price.

Tropico 4 (Haemimont Games – Xbox 360) [10/18/2011]

It’s not often that I get bitten by the RTS bug, but I’m a pretty big fan of this series.  It doesn’t do anything particularly new, but I just love the overall aesthetic and concept of running my own Caribbean dictatorship.  I’ve easily put a hundred hours into Tropico 3 already, and I could definitely see the same thing happening with this latest entry in the franchise.

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (Naughty Dog – PS3) [11/01/2011]

This might go against popular opinion, but I just don’t “get” the Uncharted series.  Yes, it’s a modern take on Indiana Jones, but it feels severely lacking in key areas.  For starters, the hero is a complete moron, constantly aligning himself with people who are just waiting to betray his trust.  He seems to always want to be the stereotypical good guy, but has no qualms with murdering hundreds, if not thousands of goons just for some dusty old relics.  This means that essentially two-thirds of your time playing the game is spent ducking behind low walls and popping back up to take headshots.  Excitement she wrote!

Still, the series isn’t completely without merit.  The graphics are rather nice, and I like how the puzzles make use of your in-game journal.  I just wouldn’t call any of them a 10/10 experience.  Even so, I’m still interested in seeing what happens in the third game.  Word on the street is that it’s a huge step back from its predecessor, with broken aiming and a meandering plot.  It’ll be a while before I get around to seeing how true those criticisms might be, but I definitely intend to do it at some point.

Super Mario 3D Land (Nintendo – 3DS) [11/13/2011]

When people say that gamers are too serious these days, I’m usually one of the ones they’re talking about.  I just can’t get into Mario or Zelda games anymore.  While I’ve grown and matured (sort of) over the years, it seems as though Nintendo’s properties are stuck in a proverbial Groundhog’s Day time loop.

Still, Super Mario 3D Land looks like exactly the kind of game that the 3DS needed at launch.  It’s fast, it’s easy to get into, and it brings back a bunch of the power ups that I’ve been missing since SMB3.  It might not be “y so serious” like most of what I play, but that can still be good from time to time.

Jurassic Park: The Game (Telltale Games – Xbox 360) [11/15/2011]

Telltale has a rather impressive track record so far.  The two Sam & Max games, Strong Bad’s Cool For Attracktive People and the Back to the Future game were all really solid.  It’s kind of difficult to imagine someone making Jurassic Park into an adventure game, but if anyone could do it, it’s these guys.

About my only complaint is that it was released as a full retail product, rather than on XBLA or even PSN like their previous efforts.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Nintendo – Wii) [11/20/2011]

As previously mentioned, Zelda and I really don’t see eye-to-eye anymore.  Twilight Princess felt like an absolute chore, but I’ve heard a lot of good things about Skyward Sword.  Even if I end up not liking it, it’s still one of those franchises that I have to see through to the end, if only out of habit.

The King of Fighters XIII (SNK Playmore – Xbox 360) [11/22/2011]

Truth be told, I’ve always been a Capcom-kind of guy.  SNK’s various fighters have always seemed either too complex or too generic to really get me interested in them.  Even so, I had a lot of fun with Capcom vs SNK, and I’d like to learn more about the characters from the other side.  Most reports stated that KoF XII was a huge let down, so this seems like a good chance to see what the franchise is really supposed to be like.

And that’s what I had meant to play, but wasn’t able to get around to for various reasons.  My next post will go over the various ports and HD remakes of 2011 that seemed like more than a cheap cash-in.

Song Highlights – Marble Madness, Donkey Kong Country, F-Zero GX, Hotel Dusk: Room 215

“Level 2″, Marble Madness (Arcade, Brad Fuller, Hal Canon, Midway/Atari Games)

I can thank the Advantage for making me realize how awesome this song is, and a recent playtest of the game with Grace connected the two pieces together and made me go, “ah, so that’s where that’s from!”  A nice piece of early arcade tunage.  Go in a 1:50 to begin hearing the song in question.

“Title Screen”, Donkey Kong Country (Super NES, David Wise, Nintendo/Rare)

While the games themselves fail to impress me much, I can’t deny how great the music is for the DKC franchise.  This in particular has always stood out to me.  Wonderful segue into the “modern” take on the classic DK theme.

“Capt. Falcon’s Theme”, F-Zero GX (Gamecube, Daiki Kasho, Alan Brey, Sega/Nintendo)

Yes, this is cheese metal to the XTREME but I don’t care.  It’s fitting, it’s catchy, and damn if I don’t listen to this any time it pops up on my iPod.

“Secrets”, Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (DS, Yuhki Mori, Satoshi Okubo, CiNG/Nintendo)

A great example of bringing sadness into a soundtrack.  This game has a truly underrated musical score, and this is further evidence for how great it is.

News Roundup: 2/10/2012

Hey, it’s been a while. :p

Anyway, let’s focus in on a few things that have happened the last week.  First off, Atlus is making me happy by re-releasing Radiant Historia in late March for $35 – the game was getting pretty bonkers on the resale market and I had just about given up hope on it.  With any luck I’ll be able to snag it thanks to the reprint.  Thanks, Atlus, for listening!

As a pre-order bonus for Tales of Graces f (which is also coming this March, on the 13th to be exact), Gamestop is offering some of the bonuses Namco featured for its Japanese release – Tales of Destiny inspired costumes for three of the protags, plus a XMB skin.  Further details and a clip here.

Want 15 minutes of Gravity Rush footage?  Why not?

Fire Emblem: Awakening, the latest chapter in the excellent Strat-RPG series for the 3DS, is combining various bits and pieces from prior games, like Sacred Stones’ world map, and the My Unit feature from New Mystery of the Emblem (Japan-only DS) allows you to customize a main protagonist for the game’s plot.  It also is allowing more gameplay strategies by featuring multi-unit attacks and stat boosts, evolving the series’ character bonus perk.  Sounds wonderful – it may be a system seller if you localize it, Nintendo!

I enjoyed Portal 2 immensely.  I may have to get my hands on Thinkgeek’s latest product – PotatOS:

And since we’re marveling over cool stuff, let’s cap this with an insane Skyrim mod that depicts an epic battle:

Mad, mad kudos, Tyrannicon.

Artistic Discussion – The Good and Bad of Gaming Box Art: 1/5/2012

Good – Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (Gamecube, Nintendo/Intelligent Systems)

Another dynamic box for Fire Emblem.  This one puts a lot of the major players front and center, and it certainly caught my eye and made me curious about these warriors and their plight.  It’s also effective with its color choices and logo placement.  No one feels like they’re unimportant due to the logo covering half their face – even the Black Knight, the closest to having that happen, appears menacing despite a slight streak of light.  Good choice.

Bad – Tin Can Escape (DS, Mumbo Jumbo)

?

I don’t even know where to begin with this one.  What is supposed to entice me to buy this game?  The title sure doesn’t – why am I a tin can, and why am I escaping?  What from?  And where to?  The background doesn’t help – it’s blurry images of what I think is a can in mid-air hovering over a Pokeball that has big headphones.  I can’t guarantee that, because I CAN’T MAKE IT OUT, but it’s feasible!  In short, this game, which I doubt is any good in the first place, does little to trick me otherwise.  It screams “cash grab”.

Looking Back: My Favorite Game of 2011

LVLs., in its earlier Wildcat Online days, ran a traditional awards show (i.e. post) for a couple of years where I awarded games I liked a recolored sprite of NES Link cleverly dubbed “The Golden Links”.  I’ve thrown that idea aside for several years, but this year I actually had a chance to purchase more than a couple games that are current enough for me to postulate my feelings toward them and actually have it be relevant, so I’m bringing the concept back.  However, the “Golden Link” is going to stay a part of the past.  Instead, I’m revising my Looking Back articles to be much more than they have been. Beyond the life ruminations, the shortlist and anecdotes about my favorite game, I’m also going to award some other aspects of games, like Best New Hero/Villain, Best Voice Acting, Best Box Art, and a few others.  It’ll make it more personal and appropriate for the Game of the Year festivities that frequent the ‘net this time of year, and more fun for me to ponder (and I will get back to revising all the older pieces with this material in time).  Note that this is incredibly spoiler-tastic, so I’d advise not reading if you don’t want anything about Skyrim, Dead Space 2, Monster Tale, Portal 2 or Zelda: Skyward Sword ruined. Click on if you don’t care!

Metroid Oddities AND Wildcat’s Favorite Series Cameos Extravaganza

Just to show that I haven’t forgotten about Metroid in the last month (I don’t know if I should take on these franchise-wide challenges anymore – they wear me out XD ), I’ve decided to discuss the three curious Metroid offshoots and a smattering of cameos from the series today.  Let’s begin with the weirdos.

Oddities

Super Smash Bros. (series)

Samus Aran has made a playable appearance in all three games thus far, armed with her Charge Beam, Screw Attack and Bombs for her specials (the Missile would join in for Melee onwards), the Grapple Beam for her throw/tether recovery, and the ability to fight as Zero Suit Samus in Brawl.  Zebes has been the most popular place from Metroid to battle, with the majority of the three game’s stages being plucked from there (SSB – Planet Zebes, SSBM – Brinstar, Brinstar Depths, SSBB – Norfair), with only Frigate Orpheon representing the potential worlds outside of that doomed planet.  Ridley has been in all three games (background in Planet Zebes in SSB, trophy in SSBM and boss/trophy in SSBB).  Kraid made his sole 3D appearance in Melee in the Brinstar Depths stage, and a Mother Brain-styled prop in the background shakes up the acid on the Melee Brinstar stage.  Metroids appeared as Assist Trophies, and the Screw Attack has been an item from Melee onward.

Metroid Prime Pinball

Developed by Fuse Games, who preceded this title with Mario Pinball Land, this revisits the setpieces of Retro’s Metroid Prime, but forces Samus to bounce around in Morph Ball form in a pinball re-imagining of that game’s events.  Apparently it was pretty decent!  I will admit to not having played it, so I don’t know how much more I can go into it at the present.

Metroid Prime Hunters

Another Prime spin-off, but this one was handled by Nintendo Software Technologies.  This was a second attempt to create a pure Metroid FPS (Echoes’ shoddy attempt of a multiplayer mode predated this a bit), and although it worked a little better, it required extensive use of the touch screen to control, and honestly I don’t think the Metroid universe needs to have the FPS style infest it.  Nintendo backed off from that angle after this game’s release, and I don’t know if we’ll see it return beyond the updated Echoes multi in the Wii Prime Collection.

Notable Cameos

The ones I’m including here are ones I find neat.  Metroid Database has a slew of official Nintendo ones as well as a few done by fans of the franchise for a more complete list than the one I provide.  Screen shots courtesy of one of my haunts, NinDB.

Kid Icarus (NES)

Metroid and Kid Icarus were in development at around the same time by R&D1, so I suppose the devs, hoping that the Metroids would be notable enough, snuck in an eerily similar Komayto (or in Japan, Kometo, or “child Met”) to populate the Greek-styled worlds of Pit and Co.  They’re on their way back for the 3DS Uprising, too.

Tetris (NES)

Samus, alongside a heap of other oddly-rendered Nintendo heroes, pop up in this celebratory screen for those who conquered Game B on the “speed 9, height 5″ settings.  She turned out the best, honestly.

Kirby Superstar (SNES)

Kirby can occasionally transform his Stone ability into this great Samus pose from Metroid II’s box art.  It’s pretty rare but also really awesome.  Samus’ Screw Attack symbol is also a treasure that can be earned in the Great Cave Offensive, here called the “Screw Ball”.  Clever pun.  In the DS remake, the Samus statue is seemingly gone but the Screw Attack remains.

Super Mario RPG (SNES)

Square must have liked Metroid a little to sneak Samus into Peach’s bed in the Mushroom Kingdom castle.  To see her, according to NinDB admin Fruguy64:

When you reach Land’s End for the first time, instead of completing it, head all the way back to the Mushroom Kingdom and sleep in the Castle’s guest room. When you wake up, head to Princess Toadstool’s room and check the bed.

Also, an action figure of Samus appears with a few other Nintendo cameos in a box in Booster’s Tower at the top.

Kirby’s Dream Land 3 (SNES)

Among the more obscure cameos in this game (Japanese-only Famicom Fairytales: Yuuyuuki and Shin Onigashima, anyone?) is Samus and some Metroids.  Here’s the details courtesy again of NinDB to gain Samus’ Heart Star in Iceberg L2:

To earn her Heart Star, collect the Ice power before you enter the volcano and defeat all of the Metroids that you find hidden in each room. After defeating them all and reaching the end of the stage, Samus removes her helmet and awards you with her Heart Star.

Failure to defeat all of the Metroids will keep Samus’ helmet firmly on.

Those are my top 5, although there are plenty of others.  What Metroid cameo’s your favorite?  Feel free to share in our comments!