6/30/2008 - Mega Man 2 Megamix

I apologize if I'm repetitive about my professed love for the Mega Man 2 soundtrack, my absolute favorite video game soundtrack of all time. The Street Fighter II soundtrack is fantastic too, but it's because I just don't like the Dhalsim and Sagat stage music that puts it a close second. If you don't count Dr. Wily Stage 3 and 4 as having music (it's not music by my stretch of the imagination anyway), then EVERY stage of Mega Man 2 has good if not great music. I can easily say that Dr. Wily Stage 1 and 2 is my favorite video game music track of all time, and not just that, it's one of my favorite pieces of music in general. I play the soundtrack on a loop at work and if someone comes in my office and wonders what that music is, I just say that it's pure 8-bit goodness. I recently found one of the best remixes of the soundtrack on YouTube and it's a shame that the creator disabled embedding on the video... here's the link, though:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-k4XZZjrM8

6/29/2008 - 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand Trailer

Here's one of those "so bad it's good" videos... or maybe it's one of those "what were they thinking?" videos. I guess you can say it's both. Apparently, they're trying to make a video game based on the rapper 50 Cent. Is it a rhythm-based game like Guitar Hero Aerosmith? No. That would make too much sense. Instead, make way for 50 Cent, "soldier of one" in the war on terror! Or is it a war against a fellow rapper in the Middle East? Who the hell knows? If anyone can make heads or tails out of this game trailer, please e-mail me:



As far as games using a likeness-based license, this looks even more ridiculous than Shaq-Fu... and I didn't think that would be possible.

6/28/2008 - Rev Michael Pfleger

Okay, I try not to engage in anything political, especially on this blog where I'm trying to attract the most viewers. After all, why alienate half of my potential readers by discussing a subject that for the most part is dull and wonky? But this video is so funny, I just couldn't resist. It's of Reverend Michael Pfleger of Obama's former church, and since EVERYBODY has condemned him, I'd say that me highlighting this video is non-partisan. I find even the introduction of him very funny. It's like they were bringing out a notorious stand-up comedian. And in a way, he is. I mean, just look at how he works a crowd. I tell you, if church was this fun, I might think of attending...

6/26/2008 - Introducing Windows Vista for iPhone

Months ago I would have given some slack to Windows Vista. After all, how bad could it possibly be? The thing is I exactly have a computer that runs it. I've only tested it out in stores and on other computers. Well, after having to set up a few Vista computers at work, I can honestly say that it is that bad. I just don't get how they could have screwed it up that badly. My main complaint about it before was that it required too much in terms of RAM and processor... that it was a bad excuse for people to buy new hardware. While that is still true, the other problems with Vista I have faced gave me a full appreciation as to why people want to downgrade to XP. When an "upgrade" like Service Pack 1 causes a computer to crash with the Blue Screen of Death, you know you have a turkey of an operating system. Vista was supposed to be touted as all backwards compatible, but that is simply not the case. Much of that is due to lack of drivers, but if the codebase is not supposed to be that different from XP, then incompatibility is just a sign of bad programming. What offends me most about Vista is its blatant attempt to copy Mac OS X's interface with its fluid animations and graphical flourishes. So I don't know if its some kind of sick joke or karmic retribution that something like this can even be thought up:

6/25/2008 - Android Dream has built-in compass

It seems like every gadget has to have a "wow" feature that sets it apart from other gadgets in the same class or something that is so innovative and new that it's impressive only because we haven't seen it before. Apple products have always had some kind of "wow" feature, but many of them are sometimes dismissed as pure aesthetic niceties and not purely useful features. If you look at some of Steve Jobs' keynotes, some of these features include the handle on the original iBook, the minimizing animation of the Dock, and the accelerometer features in the iPhone. Each of these demonstrations elicited oohs, ahhs and generous applause.

Apple's upcoming competitor in the cellphone business, Google, is coming out with its own operating system for cellphones, and many of its features can already be found on the iPhone which came out a year ago. Even if the Android operating system proves to have more features out of the box than the iPhone, the new version of the iPhone software coming out next month will allow people to download third party applications. One wonders then how Google can possibly compete with Apple. Well, put a "wow" feature in there and put out the demonstration on the internet. What could this feature possibly be? A built-in compass:



It may look cool, but how could this possibly be useful? It's like looking at a photograph of someone who is directly in front of you already!

6/24/2008 - Link Favors the Kirby Series

Nintendo really should re-evaluate their position and make Link talk in the next Zelda game. It was always understood that the technology wasn't there for speech even in the Nintendo 64 days, but there's no such excuse now. If Metal Gear Solid 4 can have hours of fully animated and voiced cutscenes, a new Legend of Zelda game should be able to raise its level of presentation to near cinematic level. It may be some kind of philosophical thing for Nintendo for Link never to speak, but I think it was the same kind of position they had with Mario for a long time, and he speaks almost too much now. If Nintendo doesn't have a speaking Link soon, they'll continue to be the butt of jokes like this one:

6/18/2008 - The Ultimate Perpetual Mario Machine

I teased it yesterday and here it is... based on the Japanese viral video mash up is another "Perpetual Mario Machine" video that follows so many others I have blogged about. I really don't think that there will be another that tops this one though:



P.S.: I'll be back after my vacation at the Iron Man of Gaming 2008 competition!

6/17/2008 - Viral Anime Extravaganza

It's not surprising that the Japanese are not immune to the effects of viral videos. In what is perhaps the most wide-ranging mashup of viral videos of all-time, this video is not just a compendium of popular videos found on YouTube, but they are all videos originating from Japan that became popular on YouTube. I've featured at least three such videos on this blog and I'd be interested to see why some others became popular (hey, I need some more material here anyway).



It's hard to imagine anything topping this, but there is one I have lined up for tomorrow. Avid readers of this blog will probably figure out what it is.

6/16/2008 - R.I.P. Niko Bellic

After playing through Grand Theft Auto 4 on the Playstation 3, I can definitely say that it does not deserve the perfect score of 10 that many game reviewers out there gave it. Besides the great technical aspects of the game there is not much that makes it a revolutionary improvement over the PS2 GTA games. That's not to say those weren't great games... they were, and GTA4 is great in its own right. I like the GTA games, but to me they all have an inherent flaw that they don't have much replay value after beating the game. Sure, you can go around doing the side missions and discovering Easter eggs, but I've never been one to go to that extreme.

At least with the other GTA games, completing the story mode again might be a chore, but they had rewarding endings. GTA4's ending is downright depressing. Even with two possible endings, each one has the main character Niko paying a deep price for his exploits. If there were a third possible ending with a happy resolution, I might be tempted to play it over again. But there isn't... so that leaves the only online multiplayer mode as the only incentive for me to play it again. It's a fine addition and there's plenty of variety, but the matchmaking system on the PS3 stinks. You don't have dedicated servers like you do in Warhawk so you're at the mercy of whoever is choosing the online game type and its options. And I swear that some of the depressing aspects of the single player mode bled over to the moltiplayer game.

Ugh, anyway, I do have to admit the technical aspects of GTA4 are amazing. I've never been to New York City, but from what I've seen in TV shows and movies, they really captured the city to great detail. Another great technical achievement is its physics engine that makes car crashes and hit-and-runs look as real as you'd expect in a next-gen game. Nothing shows this better than the next video that shows the main character dying in many creative ways:

6/15/2008 - Powers of 10

I just have three thoughts while watching this video:

1) It's very similar to that Simpsons intro I blogged about last year.

2) It reminds me of those boring VHS programs we watched in science class.

3) The narrator sounds like that psychologist in Total Recall who tries to convince Arnold that he's in a dream. If you watched the movie, you know who I'm talking about.

6/14/2008 - Tables

You know what this video needs? The Transformers theme song running in the background.



Wow, it's so hypnotic... like a lava lamp or something.

6/13/2008 - Folding Chair

I'd pay to see this thing go down a really long flight of stairs:

6/12/2008 - How to Make Fire Balls

So this is how Ken and Ryu do it... HADOKEN!



Seriously, I'm surprised this is still on YouTube. Pyromaniacs how have a new weapon in their arsenal. And how the fireballs don't manage to burn the hands of the owner beats me.

6/11/2008 - Iron Man and Batman (3 Videos)

Before we get to the video, my review of the Iron Man movie: it rocks! And yes, the main reason why it rocks is because of the man who plays Tony Stark/Iron Man: Robert Downey Jr. There are maybe a handful of comic character roles that become intertwined with the actor playing those roles: Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Christopher Reeve as Superman, and now Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man. With these three characters, we know what gruff is, we know what nobility is, and with Tony Stark, we know what it means to be a playboy and yet a hero at the same time.

This is not to say that the other actors in Iron Man weren't excellent... they were. It was hard for me to imagine that the hero in Tron would make such a good villain, for example. And I can't wait to see Terrence Howard in the War Machine costume. The story and dialogue was top-notch, as well. I've heard elsewhere that Iron Man was the perfect superhero movie, and they may be right about that. The only valid criticism perhaps was that the end fight sequence was too short. But to me, that's like one grain of salt on the best cheesecake you ever had.

Now, many might say that Iron Man is a complete rip-off on Batman... and that's what these series of videos play off of. However, the core of the characters are complete opposites: Batman is a vigilante who masquerades as a playboy while Iron Man is a playboy who masquerades as a superhero. See? Who says there aren't original ideas in comic books?

6/9/2008 - The New R2-D2

Okay, I'm sort of a gadget fan, but I'm not one of those who must have every new gadget out there, especially if it costs an insane amount of money. I'm also not a huge Star Wars fan... but when I saw this, it made me want to open my wallet and splurge a couple of paychecks for it:



I'd have this playing a scene from Episode IV on a continuous loop... I think you know which scene.

6/8/2008 - The Phil Collins Concert

If you're a Playstation 3 owner like me, you've been anticipating the release of Playstation Home. Actually, I've been anticipating it less than when it was first announced, mostly because of its repeated delays. For those of you not in the know, Playstation Home is supposed to be Sony's way of capitalizing on the Second Life phenomenon, a PC "game" that allows you to create your own avatar and live a virtual existence in a digital environment. Playstation Home is similar but will also serve as a launch pad for online gaming. Instead of a regular text-based lobby like in X-Box Live, you'll get to "interact" with other gamers in a 3-D landscape.

At first, the gaming community was excited because it was basically a way to get that Second Life experience for free, with some added diversions of communal mini-games like bowling and pool. The excitement has fallen off considerably because there doesn't seem to be a reason why something that sounds so simple on paper would take such a long time to implement. We don't even know if there will be a release this year! Secondly, there is a question of whether or not it will all be worth it. Mini-games are nice, but most of us will be playing the real games anyway. And the thought of having to pay a premium to furnish your environment doesn't sit well with me.

It's hard to think of something that would make the wait for Playstation Home worth it, but after I watched this video of a concert in a Grand Theft Auto game, I think there might be an answer.



If we are going to play for clothing and furniture, why not go all the way and have virtual concerts like this with real celebrities and high production values? Sure it's not like the real thing, but it's better than paying hundreds of dollars for what amounts to the same music. And you will still be experiencing with others all at the same time. C'mon Sony... virtual concerts can be the next big thing if you can make it happen!

6/7/2008 - MacBook - thin enough.

My PowerBook is close to 5 years old now, and I'm itching to get a new one. It's still running fine for the most part, but the battery is old now and I pretty much have to leave the laptop plugged in. I can tolerate the speed of booting up, shutting down, and launching apps, but many things are running prohibitively slow. For example, I can't watch HD video with Quicktime because it's so choppy. Adobe Flash is such a processor hog that I can't watch Flash videos of any higher resolution than YouTube videos. I know a lot of this is because the PowerBook is using a PowerPC G4 instead of an Intel chip (my work PC which is older can play high resolution videos fine).

Anyway, I am still sticking with Apple for home computing, but I'm torn as to which laptop I'm going to get. Since I have a "PowerBook" right now, you'd think I'd go with its spiritual successor, the MacBook Pro. I really like the form factor of the 12" PowerBook I'm using right now and unfortunately, the smallest MacBook Pro is 15". I guess I'll be going with the 13" MacBook even if it's not the best Apple has to offer. I'm definitely not going to get a MacBook Air for so many reasons. Besides, as this video shows, the MacBook is thin enough:

3/5/2008 - Iron Man's Adventure

As I've said before, it has taken until this decade to translate Stan Lee's visions of superheroes and super powers to the big and small screen, and that's because the special effects have finally caught up because of computer graphics. The computer effects are mostly an aid to the real-life backdrops and actors on film, but sometimes you get purely digital presentation like the Pixar movies. While The Incredibles was cool, the superheroes weren't the well-established characters we know and love from the Marvel Universe. So what would a computer animated version of the Marvel heroes look like? This promotional video from Marvel gives us a good indication:



It's funny, I actually prefer the look of this Hulk to the ones from the 2003 movie and the upcoming movie. It really looks like a three-dimensional translation of what I see in the comic book!

6/4/2008 - Modular robot reassembles when kicked apart

As much as I can say about this video, I can't compete with this headline from the Gizmodo.com story that featured it: Shape-Shifting Robot Re-Assembles Itself, Will Chase Snotty Teens on Motorbikes One Day

If you're a Terminator 2: Judgment Day fan like I am, you know what that headline is referring to after watching the video:

6/3/2008 - The Game Boy Camera Webcam

For every hit product Nintendo releases there are as many forgettable products they would like to bury under the rug. Most of them are peripherals like R.O.B. the Robot, the Gameboy Card Reader, and the Super Scope 6. There was a product that got swept under the sand, but only because it did not live up to its true potential. The Gameboy Camera was a little camera that attached to the Gameboy and could take black and white stills whose quality left much to be desired. There was also a Gameboy Printer accessory that you could get if you wanted a printout of your photos.

All of it was fairly useless other than the aspect of providing a cheap way for kids to get into digital cameras (they were quite expensive back then). However, there was talk about a potential use of the camera that would have made it a must buy. It was sometime before the GoldenEye follow up Perfect Dark was released, and a magazine article said that you could somehow transfer headshots taken with the Gameboy camera and use them as face textures on the characters! Think about it... you could literally be in the game by taking a picture of yourself and transferring the image to the character somehow. This would have made the first-person shooter a whole lot more "first-person", don't you think? Imagine deathmatches where you are literally seeing the face of the person you are playing against and blowing them up with a rocket launcher!

Alas, they never released this feature. I'm not sure if there was an official reason given as to why not, but most believe that Nintendo did not want to get sued if you were putting an image of your school teacher on a character that would be used for target practice. And even though there are video camera peripherals for the XBox 360 and the PS3, they aren't being used for custom face textures of characters. One can only assume that they agree with Nintendo's reasoning for excluding such a feature. That really is a shame for us gamers though.

Even though the Gameboy camera is mostly useless, one creative techie was able to make a webcam out of it. Why? It's just another case of "because I can":

6/2/2008 - Mobile Visual Search Engine on the Apple iPhone

Having an iPod Touch, I get most of what the iPhone has to offer but with no expensive monthly costs to AT&T. However, what I do lack are features that I actually desire. First, of course, is the phone aspect which means I have to carry around a separate phone. Second is being able to access the internet without needing to be near a hotspot. I can't tell you how many times I would have liked to grab a webpage on my iPod Touch but couldn't because I wasn't near a hotspot. Last but not least is the built in camera the iPhone has. It's not the highest resolution of cameras and there is no flash, but there is that convenience factor again. If I wanted a quick picture and I don't have my Canon around, I'm out of luck. Also, I can't access cool applications that use the camera like this one:



I guess this program is web-based and therefore not exclusive to the iPhone, but the iPhone makes it all look easy. I'm sure it would have taken triple the number of steps to get the picture to attach to an e-mail on other "smartphones".

6/1/2008 - South Park's take on viral videos

I wouldn't be doing my job as the YouTube Addict if I didn't show this video of a South Park episode that brought together all the YouTube stars in one hilarious segment. I never became a huge fan of South Park, even though I get a good laugh whenever I turn it on. The writers are so quick with their comedic take on recent events that they are only second to Leno and Letterman with timely jokes. The artwork may seem crude, but if you watch this video that also contains the original YouTube footage of the viral video stars, you'll be amazed at how accurate the depictions are. Warning, it contains depictions of cartoon violence.



You know, this should be the most "viral" of all viral videos out there. Who wants to click on a dozen videos when you have all the best here?