JonCole

I'm gonna go ahead and skirt around this weird argument by simply saying that I wish more games would just have a "save state" feature. More DS games seem to have that feature than PSP games, which I figure contributes quite a bit to the nebulous "portability" banner that we're throwing around here. Anyways, I've been burning through last week's podcasts and I've heard a lot of people talk about Dead Space for iOS. It's sort of cool hearing about a successful attempt at bringing a console-like experience to Apple's suite of devices without sacrificing the depth that comes from complex gameplay. While I don't think everyone wants to play games like Dead Space on the go, I find it funny that most everyone's comments sound kinda like "it looks really great for an iOS game, the controls and UI are great for a touchscreen, and the sound/voice acting is on par with Dead Space". Now, I don't want to offhandedly shit all over how you guys play games, but I really think that the ability to jump in and jump out of handheld game isn't as wildly popular as conventional logic might suggest. There's something appealing about a small device being able to generate as beautiful and deep an experience as a current generation console... and I honestly think that this simple flourish of technology is enough to attract quite a few people to the NGP.

It looks like there haven't been a lot of comic books mentioned in this thread, so I'm going to solicit some recommendations. I've recently been pretty wrapped up reading DC stuff, like Tornado's Path and Batman: Year One. My experience with comics is pretty damn limited, so essentially anything is on the table. I've already got The Dark Knight Returns, Identity Crisis, Earth 2, Batman: Hush, Green Lantern: Rebirth, and Kingdom Come on my radar, for what it's worth.

As much as that stuff is nice, I still think that no matter how much Sony would have poured time into focusing the platform and software into something that supports 10-15 minute gaming chunks they'd still fail in the face of Apple. Stuff like Lumines, Puzzle Quest, and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars are all available on that platform and the simple interface basically restricts gaming to be that and little more. So, while targeting console-like experiences on the PSP1 might have been a failure, it may in turn be a success on the PSP2 due to the simple fact that the arena is a lot more competitive now.

Can I find it neither hilarious nor legitimately awesome? I actually did find the narrative cool (though admittedly not rooted in any actual mythological history) and most of the environments pretty interesting, though I wouldn't nearly go as far as to say they were awesome. I guess the contrast between the "hardcore" nature of Darksiders juxtaposed on the formulaic, overly familiar world of Zelda just made me like it more. As for the gameplay, my experience was very similar to yours. The middle section definitely dragged the most, though they really brought it home with the rad final scenes and environments. Darksiders actually probably would make it into my top ten of last year because it seems like a solid success at making a current-gen Zelda-inspired game with no brick walls to stop me along the way (I'm looking at you, Water Temple and your variants).

In response to Miffy and dpp, I think Sony's future approach is locked into that console-style, sit down on the couch experience. If it was my choice, I'd have done that too, considering the pick-up-and-play bite-sized games are probably going to be heavily favored towards the iPhone in a volume-focused price bracket. Taking a look at the console space versus the handheld space, I feel like the most apt comparisons: Sony PS3 -> Sony NGP: Competing for high-end, hardcore users. Nintendo Wii -> Apple iPhone: Low price of entry, family-oriented titles Microsoft Xbox 360 -> Nintendo 3DS: Sub-optimal specs, but using an interesting software-based feature In the case of the Xbox 360, Microsoft was able to take their forays into online with the original Xbox and make the social experience matter to consumers. In the case of the 3DS, Nintendo is banking heavily on 3D technology to entice consumers to their device, which I think is far more tenuous than Sony/Apple's high-end/low-end approaches.

I totally agree with you. I probably come off as completely overapologetic, but I honestly can't help it given the shitstorm this gave rise to. There were plenty of positive comments being thrown around, giving serious advice that he should take. But for every "maybe you should be more specific with your pronouns or mention the antecedents more often", there was five or six "fuck you with a shovel covered with blood from an AIDS patient". Again, I totally agree that the review was badly written, I just think that this guy is getting crucified for way more than he deserves.

I honestly don't get the negative feedback on his response, either. For the most part, it seemed like he earnestly wanted people to give him some constructive criticism on his work. If the term "sourpusses" is somehow hideously offensive, let me know. Specifically on Reddit... I really don't think it's so ridiculous that he said "What the fuck is Reddit?" to himself. To tell you the truth, Reddit isn't that huge of a site that it should be some marker of internet savviness. While Reddit is certainly pimping big numbers nowadays (8 million uniques, by their count), it's still far from a household name as that number was mostly bolstered by such an amount due to double digit percentage increases post-Diggpocalypse. Additionally, I feel like his "getting in on the ground floor" comment was obviously facetious. Juxtaposed by his Xonglebongle.com aside, Greg's general sense of humor would suggest that he was joking.

What are you just saying? Don't mean to sound pedantic, but I'd rather know a little more than just "like" or "don't like". I can get that much from Netflix or IMDB ratings.

Just finished watching season one of Louie last night, really a fantastic show. First of all, it stars Louis C.K. as both lead actor and the creative force that drives the entirety of the show, basically meaning that he has a blank check to make exactly what he wants. Beyond that, Louie deserves praise due to the simple honesty behind the comedy; there's something essential to the comedy of the show that goes beyond the vulgar jokes and awkward themes, speaking directly to ideas that we've all considered but maybe didn't have the self-confidence or brazenness to say out loud.

Maybe my response comes more out of the fact that I just kinda like the guy, but it seems to me that while this review is pretty bad it nowhere near deserves the dumping upon that it got from Reddit. While many of Greg's sentiments stem from simple pleasures that don't translate well into a critical review, I can't help but think how much better the article would be if the grammatical errors and whatnot were caught by a copy editor. I personally don't have a problem with reviews written from a first-person perspective nor do I think passive voice is egregious as most people spell it out to be. I don't really know where I'm going with this... I guess it just seems to me that people are more anti-IGN than anti-bad reviews and this review just gave them an ammunition of excuses to shit all over a mainstream publication. That said, I couldn't give two shits about most of what's posted on IGN, unless it's from the Rebel FM guys or on one of their podcasts.

All of the Bioshock 2 360 DLC is on sale this week, including Minerva's Den: Minerva's Den - 800 MSP -> 400 MSP Rapture Metro - 800 MSP -> 400 MSP Sinclair Solutions Tester - 400 MSP -> 200 MSP Protector Trials - 400 MSP -> 200 MSP

The nature of remakes is a little odd to me, because I don't really begrudge movies that either reinterpret really old stuff with a modern context or really anything else that wasn't done very well (the most immediate example is comic book movies in the past decade or so). True Grit falls in the latter category mostly because I think John Wayne is completely overrated, not to mention the whole based on a book thing that Kingz brought up. Either way, True Grit was a pretty solid movie. While it's not getting a ton of Oscar buzz and whatnot, the performances were definitely the most solid part, which is usually what gets my ears perked up. Hailee Steinfeld in particular was very impressive, considering the fact that she was essentially an unproven child actress who the Coen's shaped into this force of nature. Matt Damon was also fairly good in this, proving once again that he has an incredible talent at playing a diverse set of roles with an earnestness that most actors don't really exhibit.

No Pokemon Gold/Silver for you?

Friend codes look like they don't suck this time around. More than enough release titles. No significant news at the conference that couldn't be guessed at. GB/GBA Virtual Console is likely to be a disappointment, with a slow release schedule. On the other hand, it actually exists, for what that's worth. Pricing generally sucks. iPod Touch sells at $229, so I was expecting some competition on that front. Seems like there's no DS/3DS digital marketplace. Can't say I'm surprised with that small included SD card, but it's still lame.

That seems like an arbitrary differentiation, when you're talking about the viability of the format. I imagine that XBLA/PSN games don't come out at retail because they probably wouldn't make it on disc despite their size and regardless of the market. Anyways, I think that MP3 downloads, Steam, and Netflix has totally desensitized me to the whole physical vs digital argument. I only opt for physical if the price becomes a factor (disc is cheaper than digital download, which is the case for most games on demand for 360), otherwise the price and convenience factors tend to push me towards downloading shit.

I honestly have no idea what's going on with the PSP, though I just wanted to ask... what do you mean by digital download-only games for consoles? Isn't that exactly what XBLA/PSN are? And it's not like the old days when games didn't offer a "full console game" experience on those services; stuff like Costume Quest, Shadow Complex, Limbo, and others clearly are well worth it.

What's the extension? Just finished On Target, the sequel to Mark Greaney's The Gray Man. Really cool spy/assassin/CIA guy genre stuff. Working on Karen Traviss's first shot at a Gears of War novel... it's actually not too bad so far. I've liked her entries in the Star Wars: Extended Universe, so it's not too big of a surprise that she's wringing out some good GoW material.

Just started playing this game... it's fairly similar to the GBA fare, but I think the dual-screen interface gives the art style and interface elements the room to stretch that they deserve. The beginning has a bit of unskippable tutorial which is kind of annoying, but I'm just happy revisiting this universe that I love.

Also, fucking friend codes - http://tinycartridge.com/post/2718295535/super-street-fighter-iv-3d-online-features-mention

Everywhere I'm looking I see 3-5.

I started watching Bones on Netflix Instant View. Some people have asked me why I'm interested in the series because it falls into the often tread field of crime procedurals and I guess my response is that this is really the first one I've decided to actually jump on board with. Not to mention the fact that it seems far more devoted to the actual characters on an episode-by-episode basis in a way that not many other crime television shows do.

Ending is really the wrong word, but the 20-year time cap was my place to stop. There came a point where I was just so efficient that I wasn't really fighting for good games or capitol and that practically coincided with year 21 or so.

I never actually play for the eight hours I can get on my DSi, but I do usually play DS games in this weird short format similar to iPhone games. Usually I just burn through 15 minutes of any given game, then close the damn thing and pick it back up... the next day. I feel like that's not really going to be viable for the 3DS, which kinda pushes my iPod Touch as my personal handheld choice in the future. In short, it's probably going to take a price drop/mid-life redesign for me to pick up the 3DS.

Just beat Game Dev Story, in the kinda artificial way it ends. Easily one of the best games I've played on my iPod Touch; I played about 7-8 hours in about a day and a half. It's well worth anyone's purchase if you have any fascination whatsoever in the games industry.

As much as you can convert and whatnot, that list isn't REALLY that much more than PDF. But I see your point. I still don't think the penetration of piracy for ebooks will be that high. Music is always the quintessential example of this, but I don't really think it's analogous. Firstly, I doubt ereaders will ever be as widespread as iPods. You have to put this in perspective... the Kindle has sold 8 million units while the iPod has sold over 200 million units. Not to mention the fact that the consumption model is totally different too; music is digestible in quick bursts and thus is complementary to downloading massive quantities of it, whereas books take much longer to consume. Due to these things, I simply don't think that piracy will have even close to the same impact on the book industry as the music industry. Shifting business models are absolutely necessary in the stage of technological development we're in. Just as video games are stuck in this one-foot-in-one-foot-out digital distribution stage, books are likely to see a weird shift where prices have to be played with and categories you might not have even considered will come into play (Think XBLA/XBLIG to boxed Xbox 360 games... 10 years ago, this would have been inconceivable). I hope this doesn't seem naive, but I just don't think "book consumers" have many of the same behaviors that "music consumers" have. Author/franchise loyalty seems to have far more value to the latter, which I think will help the independent marketplace in a way that music just can't hit. Hopefully, at least.