Dusty Pixels

Y'know it's funny how you can lose track of old games with how large computer storage has become today. I was just recently looking over the contents of one of my hard disks, and discovered some relics of gaming history. Amongst the files, I found full working installations for the following games.

• The Elder Scrolls: Arena
• Diablo
• Diablo II
• Doom 3
• Dungeon Siege: Legends of Aranna
• Fable: The Lost Chapters
• Fallout
• Final Fantasy VII
• Final Fantasy VIII
• Shuffle
• Rise of Nations

A real blast from the past, epically since many of those games have received sequels within recent history. While checking to see if the games were still working (obviously these files survived multiple data transfers from a very old computer of mine), I realized something. Nearly every game has something that many games today lack, a life bar or health gauge. I know that they've been gone from most games for some time now, but not until today did I realize just how much harder games without regenerating health really were!
After playing the old titles, and realizing this through experience, I kinda feel like I've gone soft.

Nothing more to say.
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The Insulted Hunt

Y'know what I love about open world games? The long exploration encouraged collection quests. I remember playing Zelda games back in the day and scouring Hyrule for heart pieces. Then Grand Theft Auto came along, and I fell in love with the search for hidden packages. On that note I've collected all of the hidden items in all of the GTA games from the PS2 era. Anyway my point is no matter what I've loved open world games mostly for the ability to explore and collect. However, collection missions have always been the same thing. An experience of keeping heightened senses in order to see what has been hidden. Well that's not the case in Fable III.

While there are the typical silent hidden collectables (in this case silver keys), the more interesting hidden items are gnomes. Yes that's right gnomes, but not just any gnomes. We're talking evil gnomes, who insult you when you're nearby!



I just laugh when I hear them.

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Dexterity Delving

Gonna try something a bit different here, and blog by video for once. Just watch and enjoy.



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Synthetic Form

Ever since I learned the term otaku I've qualified myself to be one. However, by no means have I ever considered myself as an extreme otaku, or even mediocre one. Why? Because, I lack the interest and drive to throw tons and tons of cash at things I simply don't need. Being a higher tier otaku (at least in my mind), means collecting things beyond the game, the dvds, and the manga. It's buying the figurines, the bed sheets, the mugs, etc etc etc. Doing something like that just isn't worth it in my mind. It also creeps into the area which I consider to be unusual and/or creepy.
All of that being said I can still appreciate the work that goes into the creation of those products.

Of all the products I'll never purchase anime figurines the category I respect the most. Even though I find them to be a total waste of money since they are fully nonfunctional; I consider the level of detail they have to be amazing.



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Threshold of a Dream

I've spoken in past posts about a website called OC Remix, which is dedicated to remixing the music of video games. The site's effort is mostly artistic, with many contributors and even collaborative work appearing from time to time. While group efforts are infrequent, when they do show up they usually take form as an album which remixes the bulk of the music from a specific game. Several albums have come and gone, and while each has it's pros and cons most of the games that receive attention are land mark titles such as the final fantasy series, castlevania, and chrono trigger. All the while though some of the more noticeable titles have gun unnoticed, amongst them being the legend of zelda.
That changed with the release with the recent album Threshold of a Dream which is the remixing of the game Link's Awakening for the game boy.

While most remixes conform to an orchestrated film interpretation "Threshold of a Dream" is a bit different. Instead the project is more geared toward keeping the tracks similar to the original music from the game, albeit less eight-bitty. While I'm not certain weather or not this remix attempt, and unique project style, is a success I am certain that I'm happy the Zelda series has finally received a remix album. Here's to hoping another one in the form of a movie soundtrack will be made at some point.



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Lick of the River Styx.

Over the course of the latter half of December there was an enormous two week sale on Steam. It was during this joyous software sale that I picked up far more games than I have time on my hand to play, and amongst them was a little title called Death Spank.

Death Spank is one of those games you play, and never take seriously. Even though it's fun and can eat up hours of your time, you spend more time laughing at jokes in the script than struggling to reach the end. It's a fun game to be sure, but Death Spank sells itself more so as in interactive comedy than a hack and slash game; Even though it's combat mechanics are solid.

Keeping the story short Death Spank can be described in one sentence.
Forgettable, but worth every penny for the laughs to fill spare time.

This trailer can communicate some of the humor.


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Disappearing in polygons

The Haruhi Suzumiya series is a story and experience which holds a rather high place on my personal list of quality media. Amongst the rolling sea of mediocrity it is something I always find myself returning to in one manner or another. I love it so much I may go so far as to say I'm blind to it being bad in any manner.
Regardless of weather or not that's the case it's a series that still makes money, as proven by the most recent commercial endeavor related to last years movie.



It's a game for the PSP and PS3, and from what I'm to understand both are more or less the movie in an interactive form.
It may not be fantastically original, but none the less it has struck a chord with me. In fact the bare idea resonates with me so much this may be one of the very few titles I choose to import. Even if it's only because I just want to own the game, and not to play it.

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