The Gamer’s Quagmire #41: How Sony Saved George Lucas
Everything you wanted to know about gaming, and less.
by Jamison DeLorenzo
Piling on- it’s one the things modern Americans do best. Find a popular line of thought and follow through on it to sound intelligent. Will Hunting would have a field day in most cities right now. I say this because lately picking on Sony, no matter what they do, is the thing to do. Last year it was George Lucas. The year before Microsoft was a good target. AOL probably had a couple recent rough years as well. Most of the time terrorizing them is more than justified.
Let me tell you a few things about what I think of Sony. Their televisions and most other electronics are quite good (I have yet to have a problem with any of mine). The PS1 and PS2 are phenomenal consoles. My original PS2 is still working like a champ. Despite this, right now the PS3 just is not cutting it for me. I am tired of the Dual Shock controller. This controller design has been very comfortable for a while, which means now it is time to give it the lame racehorse treatment. The online delivery system, even though this is Sony’s first incarnation of a full online service (the half-assed online system for the PS2 was a joke), is just not up to standards and inexcusable. What Xbox Live offers is not some big secret even though what the value of Achievement Points is.
Despite these two severe flaws, the value of the PS3 is an interesting debate. This is the first time that one of the biggest names in consoles has not come with a very affordable price. The reason, in case you have been on Mars hiding in a cave under a rock with a finger in your ears, hinges on what you think of the BluRay drive. Microsoft has kept the price of their console down by not offering their HD-DVD drive with the 360 (even though they said they would never release one and eventually did) and it makes me wonder something. For those people that did not want BluRay, would it have been a good decision to offer a PS3 that did not come with the new drive technology?
It took me a fair amount of time to admit this to myself, but it finally did happen. This is the first Sony console I can finally say these words about: I don’t care. This is the first PlayStation console that is simple not easily affordable. College students are always going to be your biggest target audience for gaming consoles, and when you price your console out of the reach of the typical college student you hamstring your sales. College students are always looking for excuses to forego studying (the smart ones, anyway) and consoles are always on the list for the male students. Yes, I realize that the console is being sold at a loss and that you cannot find a cheaper high-definition player anywhere (unless there is some insane rebate that I have missed). However, the fact remains that the next generation of gaming from Sony comes at a very high price. Despite what jokes you may heard, the price does not include your soul.
Sony wants their drive to be the one that becomes the standard. They are fighting Microsoft to the bitter end on this. The smart money is on the codec that is able to work with both HD-DVD and BluRay- you can mark my words on this right now. Sure, I said this a couple months ago, but you can call this my mortal lock statement of the week (you should trust me- in December I said Rex Grossman would prevent the Bears from winning the Super Bowl). High definition movies are part of the selling angle Sony is giving you. The PS3 is more than a gaming console, and for many people that is a conceivable problem. Some people just want to play games. DVD’s were not introduced into the market with the gaming console. The PS2 just took advantage of it to say “hey, we offer games and DVD’s at a cheap price.” That angle worked. Despite HD TV’s being around for a while and the prices are starting to plummet the price of jumping to high definition media viewing is still very high. You need a new television and you also need a new player for your movies. Oh, and the high definition movies are still quite expensive too.
Purchasing DVD’s was never an issue because their resolution worked with almost any television. Of course, LaserDiscs were too but they were massive. DVD’s are the same size as CD’s, and that made sense to a lot of people. LP’s went out the door a long time ago. More accurately, they were booted out the front door on their behind when CD’s came along. That’s why LaserDiscs never took- they were the college buddy of the LP looking for a place to crash for the night. Nobody likes that person.
However, people did like the DVD. The price of entering the DVD market was the price of a player. Now the cost of the next generation of media is a television, a player, and an additional $10 per movie. Sometimes the price of early adoption simply isn’t worth it. Even though I could go out and purchase all of this stuff I won’t because there are better places to spend my money right now. It was not until this year that I found a television I liked for a price of under $3000. I imagine it is going to be at least another year before the high definition players are going to appeal at all.
I’m betting people largely feel betrayed by Sony, not because the price is high, but because Sony has not done this with their console before. People loved picking on what Microsoft was doing with the Xbox. The overheating, the size, the lack of games, the monstrous controller and the idiotic black and white buttons all were part of the hit list for people looking to bash the Xbox. Sony took the bullet for Microsoft this time- just don’t expect them to apply for the Secret Service. If you look at everything the PS3 offers and then put together the equivalent kit for the 360 you wind up paying more. What’s funny is that people are okay with this because Live is an excellent online delivery service. These are probably the same people that pick on Howard Dean because he yelled too loudly during a speech but have no problem with Bush who keeps botching sentences every week.
I admit this was a pretty large leading point but it seemed quite relevant. I wanted to explain to you the internal battle I’ve been having about what Sony is doing with the PS3 before relaying the following news: Sony is working very hard to reduce the price of the console by ripping out the emotion engine hardware which, in turn, forces any hope of full backwards compatibility over to software. People have whined about the PS3 price and the overall failure of the PS2 emotion engine for a while.
It should therefore come as no surprise that when Sony announced this move people started complaining about that too (I have appendicitis, but don’t remove my appendix- just give me some codeine!). Let me tell you something about backwards compatibility. It was a major selling point for me when I got the PS2. I loved the fact that I could play any of my PS1 games on the PS2. It allowed me to sell my PS1 and free up some more room on my entertainment center. Despite my love of retro gaming do you want to know how often I have played PS1 games on the PS2? I think it might have happened twice since 2001. All of my old Nintendo games I have found a ROM and an emulator for on my PC and I play them whenever I want to. I play NES and SNES games on a flash drive for my DS. Is it really so difficult to believe that there will be an emulator for PS1 and PS2 games? I don’t care if the emulator comes from Sony or from some other place. I honestly don’t care if the emulator is on a PC or a PS3. Mark these words also: there is going to be a PS2 emulator somewhere before 2007 expires.
I can see why some people would be upset that the backwards compatibility is going to disappear from the PS3 hardware. It is not a completely useless feature. Still, is a sleeker form factor and cheaper cost of the PS3 really all bad? Okay, so you have to use an extra port on your $15 switch hooked up to your entertainment center. In time I may have to do the same thing. If an extra footprint near your television bothers you that much then you simply must remove the overwhelming knot in your underwear and get on with life. I refuse to sugarcoat this for you. Hostility is sometimes necessary. If this particular move to reduce the cost of the PS3 is really bothering you then you are either looking for an excuse to whine a little more or you’re just an idiot who doesn’t belong in the gaming world at all.
Please don’t be confused though- you are certainly welcome to not like the PS3. I may not hold the same disdain you do for what Sony is doing with the PS3. If you want to hate Sony because Sony BMG did some stupid DRM things with their CD’s (and you’ve been too stupid to see DRM causing a problem at all in the last 3 years) or because Lik Sang went out of business (even though they did break the law with PSP exports and been have sued by Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo) then go right ahead, but the relentless hostility of Sony has gone far beyond absurd. I have no urge to purchase the PS3 right now, I disagree with some of their design decisions, I think not giving an option of a replaceable media drive to reduce cost is a mistake, their development kit apparently being too convoluted causing developers to jump ship is not smart, their controller design is uninspiring, and their current and upcoming selection of games leaves a lot to be desired. You have every right to hate Sony for any or all of these reasons. There are probably a couple more good reasons too.
Still, if you feel the need to bellyache about Sony working on fixing these problems then it is time for you to pack up your hostility and search for a new hobby. We here in the gaming community know you are going to whine about something anyway- so we’d just as soon have you do it near somebody else.
Post your comments in the Forum!
February 21, 2007
On The Shelf This Week – 02.21.07
ON THE SHELF THIS WEEK
by Craig Reade
DC COMICS
Order any of the below titles by clicking here!
52 WEEK #42, $2.50, 32 Pages. Written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid; Breakdowns by Keith Giffen; Art by Chris Batista and Rodney Ramos; Pat Olliffe and Drew Geraci, Joe Bennett and others. Just when things started to be picking up, last issue seemed like another pacing issue
- definitely not what we needed right now. Makes them tacking on an extra 4 issue WWIII event seem all the more fishy…
AQUAMAN SWORD OF ATLANTIS #49, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Kurt Busiek; Art by Ricardo Villagran. Busiek’s last issue – and much like his departure from Conan, this departure is going to make fans of the current Aquaman a little bit nervous. Hopefully Tad Williams has huge feet….
BIRDS OF PREY #103, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Gail Simone, Art by Nicola Scott and Doug Hazlewood. Maybe it is just a rocky start, but I am just not buying this conflict between Lois and Barbara. Not that I put it past Barbara at all – but this seems really out of character for Lois, no matter how aggressive a reporter she might be. Still a pretty good read, just a strange bit of conflict that didn’t quite sit right. Things should shape up this issue… Also Available: BIRDS OF PREY PERFECT PITCH TP, $17.99, 224 Pages. Written by Gail Simone; Art by Joe Bennett, Paulo Siqueira and Various. Collects Birds of Prey #86-90, and 92-95.
CATWOMAN #64, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Will Pfeifer; Art by David Lopez and Alvaro Lopez. There is just something about Pfeifer’s style on a title like this that is really enjoyable. Everything seems so basic at first, but it is such a pleasure to read that you don’t even notice how intricate things suddenly become. It is really tough to describe, but he definitely has a flavor all his own that just works with certain titles.
CHECKMATE #11, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Greg Rucka, Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir. Rucka is enjoyable on this title, but Weir and DeFilippis would also be awesome on an ongoing basis… this arc is nothing but a tease! This title continues to be surprisingly good – hopefully that continues for this short two-issue arc which features guest art and some writing. CHECKMATE VOL 1 A KINGS GAME TP, $14.99, 168 Pages. Written by Greg Rucka; Art and cover by Jesus Saiz. Collects Checkmate #1-7.
ION #11 (OF 12), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Ron Marz; Art by Greg Tocchini and Jay Leisten. Already almost over – man how time does fly. Kyle Rayner fans got a year reprieve – Hal Jordan’s return had many fearing that Rayner would fade into oblivion. Naturally, those fears are starting to return now that Ion is coming to an end. With Guy pretty firmly entrenched as the star of Green Lantern Corps, and Hal’s dominance of the Green Lantern book, you have to wonder where they could use Kyle – hopefully something comes about real soon. Hate to see such a good character vanish.
OMEGA MEN #5 (OF 6), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Andersen Gabrych; Art and cover by Henry Flint. While not as terrible as some might have expected, this series does suffer a bit when stacked up against the cosmic powerhouse that was Annihilation. Perhaps this group just isn’t suited for Main Event status, and the editors at DC should keep this group as supporting characters who just pop up from time to time?
ROBIN #159, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Adam Beechen; Art by Freddie E Williams II. Not sure if Williams is actually doing the art for this issue – he was billed as the artist for the last issue as well, but Frazer Irving did the job. In any case, the best that can be said about Robin is that Willingham continues to be sorely missed. It has been a rough time for this book.
SHADOWPACT #10, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Bill Willingham; Art and cover by Tom Derenick and Wayne Faucher. This title has finally settled down to be an enjoyable read, though it still suffers a bit artistically. The art isn’t so much bad as the art for Day of Vengeance was just so good – it has been about a year and the step down is still being felt. Clearly an example of expectations being too high. This book continues to improve, so hopefully it won’t be too long before that one little nitpick can be forgotten.
SUPERMAN #659, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Kurt Busiek and Fabian Nicieza; Art by Carlos Pacheco, Peter Vale, and Jesus Merino. Last issue fast forwarded things – this issue rewinds, taking us back to Superman’s early days in Metropolis. Superman fans seem to be enjoying recent stories, though I am forced to wonder why contemporary Superman stories are so hard to come by – it seems like the most interesting and often used story devices are set in a different time. Perhaps this really is a character who’s best times are behind us? Still iconic of course, but if there really is ground left to cover, why is the focus so often on his early days?
TEEN TITANS TITANS AROUND THE WORLD TP, $14.99, 192 Pages. Written by Geoff Johns; Art and cover by Tony Daniel and Sandra Hope . Kind of interesting to note that so far, the trades due out this week haven’t followed the standard 144 Page – 6 issue collections. That is kind of refreshing. Perhaps a sign that the tired convention of rigid six-issue arcs is behind us? We can hope. This trade collects the post-Infinite Crisis issues #34-41 featuring a new team and the start of the Titans East story. Teen Titans started to improve again during this period, so the trade may be one to check out if you haven’t picked up the title in a while.
WONDER WOMAN #4, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Allan Heinberg; Art and Cover by Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson. Knowing that Heinberg’s time on Wonder Woman is going to be brief indeed, soon to make way for novelist Jodi Picoult, who will in turn guide this title towards the Amazon War event, it suddenly already feels like it is treading water. The switch might be a blessing for those who really want to read a Wonder Woman monthly – issue #3 came out three months ago, itself late – the delays are causing the title to suffer a bit. Wonder if DC maybe wishes they could have a do-over on this one.
VERTIGO
HELLBLAZER #229, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Mike Carey; Art by John Paul Leon. A stand-alone issue in preparation for Diggle and Manco’s arrival next month. Considering how many Losers fans are apt to try out Hellblazer for the first time once Diggle comes aboard, a decent stand-alone issue to introduce the character is a really good idea. If you are planning on picking up Hellblazer for the first time next month, you should consider moving up your plans this week. This issue should help ease you into a title that is traditionally difficult for the new reader.
WILDSTORM
EX MACHINA INSIDE THE MACHINE, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Brian K. Vaughan; Art and cover by Tony Harris. They say that new readers will get a lot out of this, but these handbook-type things are really best suited for those who are fans of a series. If you are the latter, you will definitely want to pick this up. You will get the standard “behind the scenes” fare – sketch pages, new art, profiles, scripts – the works. A nice bonus to add to your run.
RED MENACE #4 (OF 6), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Danny Bilson, Paul DeMeo and Adam Brody; Art by Jerry Ordway and Al Vey. Just past the halfway mark on this series, and the best way to describe it is – generic. It is a really, really tired concept, executed to give off that “deeply important” feeling. For what it is, it is executed well. There is just nothing at all new here.
IMAGE
Order any of the below titles by clicking here!
NOBLE CAUSES #27, $3.50, 32 Pages. Written by Jay Faerber, Art by Yildiray Cinar. A new artist – you know, that might not be such a bad thing. The art has been a bit chaotic of late, and considering the sheer number of characters, it is really important to have a solid artist onboard who can keep everything straight. Noble Causes is still an entertaining read – it has lost a little bit in the move from series of minis to ongoing, but there is potential here for something even better. If Faerber can get a handle on the soap-opera style ongoing story, that is.
MARVEL COMICS
Order any of the below titles by clicking here!
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #538, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by J. Michael Strazinski, Art by Ron Garney. Civil War seems to be finally winding down, as is Spider-Man’s involvement in it. Will this issue give us the long-promised catalyst for Spider-Man’s return to the Black? That is probably a pretty good bet. This issue has the potential to be pretty important.
CIVIL WAR #7 (OF 7), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Mark Millar, Art by Steve McNiven. Is this it? Are the long delays over? Will the several year long event season finally come to an end? Hopefully so – the most exciting thing about this issue is that it is finally OVER, and we can hopefully move on without crossover madness for a little while. Good, bad, or indifferent, it is nice to be able to look forward to just reading books again without worrying about the next “OMG HUGE CROSSOVER INTERACTION/CONFLICT/DEATH/BETRAYAL/CHANGE!” thing. Refreshing indeed.
HELLSTORM SON OF SATAN #5 (OF 5), $3.99, 32 Pages. Written by Alexander Irvine, Art by Russell Braun. While an artistic treat, this series really hasn’t delivered much that could be called spectacular. Finally wrapping up this month, this title just didn’t generate the interest you would think needed to have this character stay around for a while. Perhaps it will be a lot more interesting in the trade format…
IMMORTAL IRON FIST #3, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Matt Fraction and Ed Brubaker, Art by David Aja. Man, who would have thought a couple years ago that we would see the day where Ed Brubaker’s Marvel Midas Touch would be revealed. Seriously, has he written anything outright bad since he went to the House of Ideas? The least enjoyable thing is probably Uncanny X-Men, and even that isn’t close to “bad.” Not to downplay Matt Fraction’s contributions at all – this series has been interesting through and through for the first two issues. Hopefully it keeps up.
LEGION OF MONSTERS WEREWOLF BY NIGHT #1, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Mike Carey and Skottie Young, Art by Greg Land and Scottie Young. Wouldn’t it be nice if Marvel put their marketing muscle behind these books? Good or no, it is great that Marvel is at least showing a little effort to bring back some classic western and horror books, but it seems like sometimes if you don’t just happen to see them on the shelf, you wouldn’t ever know they were there. Horror and Western books have the potential to bring some much-needed diversity to Marvel – hopefully they take off.
MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS #10, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Jeff Parker, Art by Juan Roman Cano Santacruz. Want a light and fun Superhero read? Something a little old-school but without the overabundance of cheese? That is probably the best thing about this book. An unabashed superhero book without a pretentious story, and perfectly safe for all ages. We need more comics like this.
NEW AVENGERS ILLUMINATI #2 (OF 5), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Art by Jim Cheung. Illuminati – the Infinity Gauntlet? If you enjoyed the previous Illuminati one-shot, you will no doubt like this series. Though there are going to be a good chunk of fans who won’t like the mucking-about with long-established continuity. The very idea of this group is at odds with some of these character’s past portrayals, so you have to forget a lot to really accept this book.
POWERS #23, $2.95, 32 Pages. Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Art by Michael Avon Oeming. Man, how time flies. It seems like this title is still a new addition to the Marvel line-up, but it is already 2/3 of the way towards eclipsing the original Image run. Quality is still really good too – a solid title that is always a good one to sample if you are looking for something new.
PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #4, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Matt Fraction, Art by Mike Deodato. See – this is why you don’t start a title with a crossover to a major event. What now? This title started off so strong, then last issue just broke. Frank was on his own once again, and since there was no “norm” built-up for this book prior to the “crossover,” there was nowhere for the story to go. Still, that might just cause a short-term hiccup – if Fraction gets right on the ball this month, things should start to go a little more smoothly.
SILENT WAR #2 (OF 6), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by David Hine, Art by Frazer Irving. Hine’s follow-up to Son of M is off to a good start. Between this, Son of M, and District X, am I the only one curious to see what he would be able to do with an X-Men ongoing?
SPIDER-MAN FAMILY #1, $4.99, 104 Pages. Written by Sean McKeever, Art by Terrell Bobbett. So much right and wrong about this title that it is tough to make heads or tails of it. McKeever writing is always a huge plus, but on the other hand, since he just signed with DC, that isn’t going to last very long. Anthology-style is great, but we could do without the reprints of “classic” stories. And this is Spider-Man “family” right? What about a Spider-Girl back-up? Or a Mattie Franklin one? Or even one of the Slingers, or Spider-Man 2099? Fans would really eat up an anthology book like that one.
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #39, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Mike Carey, Art by Mark Brooks. Yay – another Ultimized villain! We don’t get nearly enough of those! Yeah, a tired complaint for sure, but really – this book hasn’t been good in a really long time. Millar’s arc had its fans, but it wasn’t anything special. If Ultimate Spider-Man wasn’t so consistently good, I’d be fearing for the future of the Ultimate line right about now…
X-MEN FIRST CLASS #6 (OF 8), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Jeff Parker, Art by Roger Cruz. This series is vastly underrated. Even if it took a while to realize it. Yes, the dialogue can be a little cheesy at times. But what Parker is able to accomplish with this book far outshines that one flaw. He has captured what the X-Men were always supposed to be – and he has done so in a series of single issue stories. If the writing could be tightened up just a bit, and a little story originality added, this could be the perfect example of what Ultimate X-Men always should have been.
Craig’s Pick of the Week
CABLE AND DEADPOOL #37, $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics. Written by Fabian Nicieza, Art by Reilly Brown. Last issue accomplished one thing – it made me wish once again that this was a Deadpool solo book. Seriously – it was so good! It was everything a Deadpool book should be – Nicieza’s handling of the character, a bit of Joe Kelly-style humor, with a hint of the classic supporting case. All that was missing was Deuce. Man, wouldn’t a Nicieza-penned L,L,& L arc be something else? This issue looks like more of the same – a return engagement for Deadpool’s former keychain, Rhino. A can’t miss issue.
NOTE: Opinions here may not reflect those of X-World Comics LLC or it’s staff and are solely the opinions of the writer.Want to comment on this week’s newsletter? Give your feedback here!
Post your comments in the Forum!
February 19, 2007
The Gamer’s Quagmire #40: The Master Chief vs. Wikipedia
Everything you wanted to know about gaming, and less.
by Jamison DeLorenzo
If one theme has been consistent in these articles, aside from snide comments and sheer brilliance, it has been the purveyance of something that should be obvious by now: I am a hardcore gamer. I play games every day. I read about games every day. I discuss games every day. This has been the case since 1988. This may make you wonder why my job is not in the video game world, and for better or worse it mostly stems from a lack of effort. A story for another day for certain, but if I have proved anything over the course of my life it is that video games are what I know most about (with a possible exception of Simpsons trivia). I am a hardcore gamer.
Alas, I do not think it means what I think you think it means. I think.
In the never-ending battle of the console wars, something which is inescapable, people seem to be doing whatever they can to rationalize their thinking. You’ll recall that in my Console Sanity Check series I erupted with a series of rules that needed to be set in place for everyone’s safety. We are almost back at that point again. Gamers are labeling other games in a vain attempt to pat themselves on the back that they made the right choice. Much like the liberals of the 1980’s the hardcore gamer is now being thrown under the bus.
I, however, refuse to be run over. This is not just because I have a problem with skid marks. No, the problem lies much deeper than that. You see, despite my pacifist nature it is possible to provoke me. Hardcore gamers, some time during the past year, became a term that refers to people who play first person shooters and very violent games. In other words, games like GTA, Halo, Gears of War, and God of War. Someone who detests that particular genre of games labels it with a term they don’t want to be labeled as and then decries it. This is the classic straw man argument at work (it may only be a related strain, but either way this is a viral argument).
Every time I struggle with the definition of a word I turn to the most impartial and standard place one can turn: the dictionary. Surely we all can agree that this is the one place we can turn to for understanding of our language. Being that hardcore gamer is a concept more than a word, there is really only one other good place to turn: Wikipedia. Only this time the site talks about the rather uncertain definition of the term. Rather than spend a good deal of time thinking of a solid definition for the term I will instead propose an idea to you on what I feel the term really should mean.
The way I see it, a hardcore gamer is one who enjoys gaming- a lot. They play a multitude of games and they are exceedingly good at them. You ask them questions when you are stuck. You seek their opinions on what games they should buy. They can recall more about games from years past than you can remember about what you did last week. If playing video games was a job with good pay they would be some of the best people at their job in the world. I strongly believe that this is at the core of what it means to be a hardcore gamer.
This should explain why I consider myself to be a hardcore gamer. I eat, sleep, and breathe gaming. When people throw me into the lump of people whom they believe snack all day, live with their parents, trash talk on Halo all day long, wear the same clothing, and haven’t talked to a woman since 1997 I become offended, and with good cause. Not only because I have documented proof of socializing with a woman in 2004, but because stereotyping on any level is something I have a problem with.
As such, I hate it when people use the term hardcore gamer even when they feel the term refers to someone who plays FPS’ all day, only cares about shiny graphics, and jumps at every war game possible. The problem started, however, with people trying to label Nintendo fans as people who prefer the cutesy games. It’s as I said before- people feel better when they feel they have condescendingly labeled people who disagree with them (after all, every gamer is completely socially insecure). Sure, after playing a large share of Nintendo games I wanted to try some new things and move past the cartoon style Nintendo games. I still love cartoons, but the problem is that I’ve been watching the same Mario cartoon for 10 years now. Instead of just looking to try the latest style of gaming, people moving over to PS and Xbox camps started referring to Nintendo games as not just cartoony, but childish.
Now the war is (justly) coming back at the PS and Xbox fans. They initiated the battle and now Nintendo has a lot of ammo to fire back. I have my own web space, so now I feel I need to say something about this. Here is a message for every Nintendo fan out there- tread lightly. Yes, you have every right to be mad for being told you are playing kids’ games. You should feel free to mock everyone who hunkers down in front of a FPS that badmouths Nintendo’s graphics, makes fun of the controller when they are stuck on the outdated Dual Shock, or makes a snide Mario comment while they hold their breath for Halo 3. Still, you must tread lightly. I say this not just because I tend to avoid pouring kerosene on flame wars, but because name calling just doesn’t get you anywhere. He who yells the loudest only stands to gain a sore throat.
All this talk about the PS/Xbox crowd as the hardcore gamer camp and the Nintendo crowd as the cutesy gamer camp needs to stop. It needs to go away and be buried forever. If you want to whine about game titles then your only legitimate target is a console that’s been out for more than 2 months. If you want to whine about price then you have to acknowledge that the more expensive consoles provide a lot more than games (whether you want movie playback or not). If you insist on making gross generalizations (I’m very close to blowing up on people saying that all Nintendo games are fun) then you are simply on the other side of the coin to the argument you find so very annoying. To me, that only makes you one thing- annoying.
Not that I ever oversimplify things.
Post your comments in the Forum!
February 14, 2007
On The Shelf This Week – 02.14.07
ON THE SHELF THIS WEEK
by Craig Reade
DARK HORSE COMICS
Order any of the below titles by clicking here!
Blade Of The Immortal #122, $2.99, 32 Pages. By Hiroaki Samura. Long time readers will recall that I have been contemplating picking this book up for years now. Well, this week is the time, I am finally going to put aside my manga prejudice and give it a shot. Hopefully, it was worth the wait! Honestly, I am a bit excited about it!
Star Wars Legacy #8, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by John Ostrander, Art by Adam Dekraker and Brad Anderson. The only real problem with this book is how difficult it will almost certainly become in the months down the road for new readers to jump aboard. The concept is great, as is the quality of the story thus-far, but outside a couple familiar surnames, there isn’t much recognizable here to film-only Star Wars fans. But then, that never proved a problem before with books like Republic, so perhaps it is too soon to start worrying about that. In any case, it has been an enjoyable read so far. No reason why that shouldn’t continue.
DC COMICS
Order any of the below titles by clicking here!
52 Week #41, $2.50, 32 Pages. Written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid; Breakdowns by Keith Giffen; Art by Chris Batista and Rodney Ramos; Pat Olliffe and Drew Geraci, Joe Bennett and others Backup features by Waid and various. This series is really starting to pick up, thankfully. The first dozen or so issues made lots of readers worry – granted, that was used as set up for what we have now, but if you are going to keep a weekly series healthy for a full year, you really need to give readers something other than promise to latch on to out the gate. Thankfully, most readers hung on, and that is paying dividends. The road to the end is moving along nicely.
Batman #663, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Grant Morrison, Art by John Van Fleet. Morrison is back, and in this case, that is a very good thing. His initial arc on this title was outstanding, and it was tough getting a break so quickly in his run. Can’t wait to see what he does with the Joker – this has the potential to be really good.
Green Arrow #71, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Judd Winick; Art and cover by Scott McDaniel and Andy Owens. This is quite probably the best Green Arrow has been in a long, long time. Of course, this means that the sales are lower than other far less deserving titles. It is almost like high praise on the internet equals death for some books. Not that this title is going anywhere anytime soon, but it deserves to have way more readers than it does. If you try one new book this week, make it Green Arrow.
JLA Classified #34, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Dan Slott and Dan Jurgens; Art by Jurgens and Jerry Ordway. As expected, Slott taking over this arc has meant good, good things for this book. If you dumped it fast during the last arc, you might want to pick it up again. Rotating creative teams is bad news sometimes, but it also means you shouldn’t let a book totally drop off the radar after one really bad arc. Slott is living up to his expectations here.
Justice Society Of America #3, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Geoff Johns; Art by Dale Eaglesham and Ruy Jose. Man, this really is what Justice League of America should have been – accessible to new readers, yet full of stuff that avid fans can get into. Plus the story moves – ignoring the current convention that in order for a story to be considered to have “good pacing” it has to drag. It doesn’t, and in fact shouldn’t! This is shaping up to be a great week for DC.
Manhunter #28, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Mark Andreyko, Art by Javier Pina and Robin Riggs, Another great book for DC this week, but one that is kind of sad to see. Every new Manhunter means one less issue in the works – very sad indeed. Though this title is pretty well dead and gone, there is still the sliver of hope that can be saved. If there is any book under the DC Spin that deserves the Spider-Girl treatment, it is Manhunter. Check it out this month! Even if it is mid-arc, you should get enough out of this to want to track down some back issues. It is worth the extra effort.
Martian Manhunter #7 (Of 8), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by A.J. Lieberman; Art by Al Barrionuevo and Bit. The upcoming WWIII is supposed to explain these changes to J’onn, but even that won’t make this more palatable. This was a character that was in dire need of some color, but they didn’t have to strip away his core to do it.
OMAC #8 (Of 8), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Bruce Jones; Art and cover by Renato Guedes. Bruce Jones has gotten his fair share of lumps for his work at DC since he signed with them, and with good reason. Unfortunately, that made it easy to overlook it when he puts out something good – and this series turned out to be just that. Check it out in the trade if you missed it – it should be a good read.
Superman Batman Vs Aliens Predators #2 (Of 2), $5.99, 48 Pages. Written by Mark Schultz; Art and cover by Ariel Olivetti. Hope you weren’t expecting something deep and meaningful here. This title was custom made to be a fun action read, and thus far it has delivered. Any attempt to be anything more than that would have killed the premise. Thankfully, it seems they were wiser than that. A fun read that should have satisfied just about anyone who picked this one up.
Tales Of The Unexpected #5 (Of 8), $3.99, 48 Pages.Written by David Lapham and Brian Azzarello; Art by Eric Battle, Cliff Chiang and Prentis Rollins. Seemed like this one was a let-down at first, but it really came together over subsequent issues. It is a shame that so many minis tend to do that – but since there really aren’t too many anymore that don’t spend an issue or two gearing up, it is tough to complain.
Trials Of Shazam #5 (Of 12), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Judd Winick; Art and cover by Howard Porter. Then again, there are books like this one, that have you grinning in enjoyment right off the bat. But maybe that is the Big Red Cheese fan in me talking. The fact that this series is delivering almost nothing that was expected, and is still this good a read is a real credit. Who knows what Captain Marvel is going to be like when this is all said and done. And that is a good thing in this case. A great read, and still plenty left to go!
VERTIGO
Y The Last Man #54, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Brian K. Vaughan; Art by Goran Sudzuka. This issue is a stand-alone gear up to the final arc, Vaughan will give us a look at what Hollywood is like now that all the men are gone. It is still tough to believe that this series is almost over!
Wildstorm
Gen 13 #5, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Gail Simone; Art and cover by Talent Caldwell and Matt “Batt” Banning. You have to give Simone credit – even when she has some raw material to work with, she can still turn out a better than average story. Such is the case here. Tough to care about the new-old Gen13, but she makes a passable story out of it. Well done.
IMAGE
Order any of the below titles by clicking here!
Casanova #7, $1.99, 24 Pages. Written by Matt Fraction, Art by Gabriel Ba. This one is being called the end of Volume 1 … does that mean a volume 2 is already planned? If so, isn’t #7 a weird number to wrap up on?
Truth Justin & American Way #5 (Of 5), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Scott Kurtz and Aaron Williams, Art by Giuseppe Ferrario. Wow – 5 months between issues? Talk about on time. This title already lacked originality, you might as well take away punctuality as well! One thing a lot of people missed with this book is the difference between homage and “rip-off.” Homage does not mean you completely copy an idea, change one or two things, and call it a tribute. Real homage can stand on its own, but borrows something from the original – a tone, an idea, and while using it, reverently acknowledging the source. This only works, though, if your ENTIRE idea didn’t come from something else.
MARVEL COMICS
Order any of the below titles by clicking here!
Astonishing X-Men #20, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Joss Whedon, Art by John Cassaday and Laura Martin. Part two of the final Whedon arc – nottoo terrible a thing though. This title has more than served its purpose,and Whedon seems to have a taste for comic writing now, since he isn’t going anywhere. His fans do have Buffy and Runaways to look forward too.
Avengers Earths Mightiest Heroes II #6 (Of 8), $3.99, 32 Pages. Written by Joe Casey, Art by William Rosado, Tom Palmer, and Wil Quintana. While it is neat sometimes to re-tell these classic stories with a more “realistic” bent, sometimes it takes some of the joy out of the story. Yeah, comics in decades past could be a little cheesy, but that was what made them so fun. Just think, 20 years from now, people would look back at today’s comics and see how forced the “dark and edgy” feel is, and have just as big a laugh. Today’s style may be different, but it isn’t always better.
Blade #6, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Marc Guggenheim, Art by Howard Chaykin and Edgar Delgado. Man, this book seemed to fall off the radar pretty quickly. This issue might be one to check out though – a stand-alone issue in which Blade will meet his father. If you are a fan of the character, this will be an important issue to pick up.
Exiles #91, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Chris Claremont, Art by Paul Pelletier, Rick Maygar, and Wil Quintana. #90… oiy, talk about a worst nightmare coming true. Everyone wondered which Chris Claremont would show up for the start of his long awaited run… unfortunately it was the same guy we have all grown used to having around the last few years. In other words – even the harshest critics of Tony Bedard’s run were longing to have him come back. A real shame – with all the hype that surrounded his start on Exiles, it would have been something special to have a real knock-your-socks-off arc. Alas, it was not to be.
Marvel Legacy 1990s Handbook, $4.99, 64 Pages. By Various. One would think that this would be the last of these Legacy Handbooks, though I do have a feeling that we will be seeing just one more, as silly as it sounds. This was a clever idea, though they probably should have gone in reverse order – these were more interesting the older they got.
New Excalibur #16, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Chris Claremont, Art by Scot Eaton, Rich Ketcham, and Peter Pantazis. Speaking of Chris Claremont, he makes his return to this title too this month. Man, just when this book was becoming more interesting! If you are one of those who enjoyed Claremont on this book, you really should be checking out Exiles right now. Claremont already seems to be setting up a crossover, so it makes sense to see it all unfold.
New X-Men #35, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost, Art by Paco Medina, Juan Vlasco, and Brian Reber. Seems like this book has become X-23 and her Amazing friends… a real disservice to the other great characters on this title. To boot, it seems like they are taking what few good qualities X-23 has and diluting them by having her “tamed” by the “power of love.” It has been way too long to keep comparing this the prior team on this book, but it is still tough not to see the problems that continue unabated, all comparisons aside.
Nextwave Agents Of Hate #12, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Warren Ellis, Art bu Stuart Immonen, Wade Von Growbadger, and Dave McCaig. Well, this is the final issue – though I can’t say I will miss it, there are plenty of people out there who will. From a purely objective standpoint (keeping in mind that I completely and totally hated this title), it is strange that it was cancelled. Sales weren’t phenomenal, but Marvel publishes other books that don’t sell nearly as well. It slipped in the numbers just a tad, but that was nothing a little bit of marketing couldn’t fix. And the book had a unique tone and a vocal fanbase – people talked about Nextwave way more than they did books like New Excalibur or Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. So while I certainly won’t miss it, it is strange to see this book fade away like this…
Orson Scott Cards Wyrms 2nd Ptg #1 (Of 6), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Orsen Scott Card and Jake Black, Art by Adriano Batista. This is a second printing, but considering the increased exposure Dabel books are getting thanks to their partnering up with Marvel it makes sense to start the series over. Dabel has done a great job with past novel adaptations, and the first issue of this one was well done. Worth checking out – especially if you aren’t familiar with Wyrms. It is one of Card’s lesser known novels, but it is one of his more imaginative ones. Should work well in comic form.
Punisher Presents Barracuda Max #1 (Of 5), $3.99, 32 Pages. Written by Garth Ennis, Art b y Goran Parlov and Dan Brown. Boy, sometimes it seems that MAX is basically Garth Ennis’s personal imprint. A brand new Punisher mini starts this month, this time with one of the Punisher’s foils, Barracuda. Should be a good pick-up if you enjoy Ennis’s work on Punisher.
Sensational Spider-Man #35, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Art by Angel Medina, Scott Hanna, and Dan Kemp. Clone saga redeux? Let’s hope not. Another “Back in Black” title, Spider-Man is dealing with life after Civil War (which I guess hasn’t technically ended yet…). Some people are still a bit upset about the return of the Black costume, and the fact that we still don’t have a concrete reason for it. Hey, we all know it is because of the movie, and we all know it is to help market the book to all those non-comic readers who will be going to the theater. This is probably a lump we can take for “the team” as it were!
Thunderbolts #111, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Warren Ellis, Art by Mike Deodato and Rainier Beredo. Still not the biggest fan of whatever they did to Speedball, but this new direction for the Thunderbolts has gotten off to a good start. Definitely worth jumping aboard soon.
Thunderbolts Presents Zemo Born Better #1 (Of 4), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Fabian Nicieza, Art by Tom Grummett, Gary Erksine, and Chris Sotomayor. This one is definitely for fans of the last Thunderbolts incarnation. Just because the relaunch has gone well, doesn’t mean you can’t miss these characters. This 4 issue mini will focus on Baron Zemo, in the past, faced with the potential of saving his family from a “legacy of failure.” Sounds like a decent story – hopefully it pans out.
Ultimate X-Men #79, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Robert Kirkman, Art by Yanick Paquette, Serge Lapointe, and Stephane Peru. Dunno what to say about this title – there really isn’t much left to get excited about here. Once you could say that it was indistinguishable from any of the other X-Books in the 616 universe, but even those are plain better these days. Man, Kirkman is great, but he isn’t doing this title any favors.
Wolverine Origins #11, $2.99 32 Pages. Written by Daniel Way, Art by Steve Dillon and Dan Kemp. Here is another head-scratcher. Billed as a title to explore Wolverine’s newly recovered memories, the book itself has been as muddled as Logan’s memory once was. Not much improvement here.
Craig’s Pick of the Week
Green Lantern Corps #9, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics. Written by Keith Champagne; Art and cover by Patrick Gleason and Prentis Rollins. Man, do you remember when Guy Gardner was kind of reviled by comic readers? There was once a time if you ever suggested that he was your favorite Green Lantern that you would be laughed at. Look at him now – the main character of the best of a really good line of Green Lantern books. Champagne deserves all the credit in the world for making him a good character once again. This book is one I look forward to each and every month.
NOTE: Opinions here may not reflect those of X-World Comics LLC or it’s staff and are solely the opinions of the writer.
Want to comment on this week’s newsletter? Give your feedback here!
Post your comments in the Forum!
February 12, 2007
The Gamer’s Quagmire #39: X’s, O’s, Tears, and Smiles
Everything you wanted to know about gaming, and less.
by Jamison DeLorenzo
I wrote a while ago about the death of the Playstation era, and for whatever reason I had to stop and contemplate what that meant to me. It took me several minutes to think about all the games I had for it, all the great games I had for it, and to move on. Sure, maybe a solid four minutes of nostalgia and small tear down the side of my face is all the emotion your going to get out of me (yes, even during this illustrious Week of the Color Pink), but it was something.Lo and behold, today it dawns on me that the Xbox era is officially over. They are no longer being manufactured and the 360 era is in full swing. You could say that the Xbox now has officially come full circle (I’ve been saving that one… it was worth it don’t you think?). What bothers me a little is that I spent all of about 20 seconds thinking about the games for the Xbox that made it a special machine for me. The list wasn’t that impressive.
Overall there were around 20+ games that I purchased for it, so it was far from a waste of time. What bothers me is that Sony was able to generate around 10 games that I consider epic and will wind up in my great book of gaming when my gaming life is just about over. With any luck that is at least another 50 years in the making. Regardless, my point is that the first Sony machine produced a big list of fun games and a modest list of epic games. The Xbox did not even come close to this.
Should this bother me as much as it does? Probably not. At the time of the Xbox release the developers were knee deep in making games for Sony’s console and the best exclusive titles were on the PS2. Vice City, for example, was a PS2 exclusive for a while until Rockstar released it for the Xbox. I cannot really consider that game to be an Xbox game. What were the great games for the Xbox? Knights of the Old Republic I & II (the former being much better), Fable (which should have been better), and Project Gotham Racing 2. All other games that I bought for the Xbox were titles that were available on multiple platforms but I purchased for the Xbox simply because it was a more powerful machine.
That was it- 4 games for the Xbox. Sure, the first Playstation’s life was much longer and Sony did an amazing job lining up developers for it, but that is the big secret isn’t it? Perhaps Microsoft’s problem is that they are unable to get good developers. Sure, there were plenty of decent games for the Xbox but nothing that approaches all the good times I had with my PS1. Whatever the reason it is hardly the point I am making here. The console’s official passing should mean more to me than it does. What comes next bothers me a little more.
My Xbox playing days are, for all intents and purposes, completely finished. Still I am unable to let the system go. I would much rather keep it in storage than sell it for some credit towards some newer gaming purchases. I cannot seriously expect a used console to be worth a lot in several decades can I? So what is the hangup? Is it that there are games that I seriously may want to play again someday? Is my penchant for collecting things that powerful? All of these are difficult questions to answer. Perhaps I need to think about this one way.
Consoles that I now have in my possession that I never plan on dumping (and all still work): Atari 2600, Super Nintendo, PS2, and Xbox. Consoles that I had at one point that were punted the second I was able to do so: NES, Dreamcast, N64, Gamecube. The PS1 is somewhat of an anomaly because I still have the games as they are compatible with the PS2. I need to clarify a few things about this. First off is I got the NES very late in its release cycle and there are still some classic games for it- I’d just as soon play them via my flashed GBA cartridge than the NES console itself. The other 3 consoles on the punted list could not have been punted hard enough save for potential serious foot injuries. I hate to ruffle feathers (okay, that’s a lie) but each of those consoles are firmly entrenched in my “Galactic Waste of Money” file right next to my 1-week PDA and my fireproof match set.
(For the record I am probably being completely unfair on this point so let me make a small addendum to the Waste of Money comment. Goldeneye, Soul Calibur, and Shadows of the Empire were games that I absolutely loved and wouldn’t trade a second of playing any of those games, but no other games were all that compelling for those machines. Not one. What bothers me most are the controllers for each of those systems, the big reason these consoles got my special Boot Imprint of Doom on them. The N64’s wasn’t bad. The Dreamcast one was just uninspiring because that slot for the VMU made it too big. The Gamecube, despite its popularity, was the most annoying controller I have ever held. It took me 3 days to get comfortable with the button placement. I had a much easier time accepting the downfall of the Simpsons for crying out loud. Anyways, in my book that is completely unacceptable for controller ergonomics.)
So when I get home tonight I’ll probably stare at my shelf that contains some Xbox games, do my best to shed a tear without forcing the issue, and move on. Who knows, I may even fire up KoToR one last time.
Post your comments in the Forum!
StillontheShelf.com - no frills, just content. Powered by WordPress
©2003-2010 Craig Reade and Mad Cow Disease