8/31/2008 - The Shining (with robots)

One of my favorite horror movies has to be The Shining. One time I visited an off-season hotel similar to the one in the movie, and I couldn't help but be reminded of the creepy feeling of when I first watched The Shining. Needless to say, I couldn't wait to get out of the hotel. I'm not a big fan of director Stanley Kubrick's slow methodical style, but he did make it work in the context of the horror/suspense genre. Really, there is no other way to convey the sense of cabin fever turned to madness that develops within the characters other than to draw out every scene to a degree where the audience is also feeling unrest and dread.

Just take one of the most famous scenes in the movie where the kid Danny rides around the hotel in his tricycle and encounters twin girls that used to stay at the hotel. The image of the twins by itself is really unsettling. Then the way they talk in unison sends chills up the spine. But then, out of nowhere, there is a subliminal image of the twins' bodies after they were butchered by an axe. The first time you see it, you will jump out of your seat. I thought it was funny when this scene was shown in the movie "Twister" playing in the drive-in theater. I was actually more interested in seeing this short clip of The Shining than the entire movie of Twister.

I don't want to show the actual scene in question in all its gruesomeness, so here it is presented in a G-Rated form... with robots!

8/30/2008 - Super Kaizo Mario World part 4 speed up

I've played plenty of difficult games before... the original Ninja Gaiden series comes to mind. And of course there was the scourge known as Battletoads (the fact that some people have actually completed that game still blows my mind). While these games are hard, they were still good games and made losing at them less of a hair-pulling experience.

There are, however, "fan-created" games that are purposely designed to be near impossible to play. There was a PC shooter that was on display at the Iron Man of Gaming where most people couldn't survive the first level. And then there are games like Super Kaizo Mario World based on the SNES platformer that is truly impossible to play through without the use of save states. With save states, you can stop the game at a point where you survived a harrowing obstacle and return to that spot even after you die. Yes, it's basically cheating and would normally diminish the fun of playing the game because there is no consequence of dying if you can just reverse that death with a push of a button.

But with Super Kaizo Mario World, you simply have no choice. Watch any "speed-run" video of this game and you can see that it was created by the devil himself. These videos aren't even possible without recording only the parts facilitated by the save states. Here's one of these recording sessions of the game along with "commentary" from the player. Because it was so long and tedious, the video was sped up, and it's actually funnier that way. Listen carefully and you can still make out the profanity:

8/26/2008 - Soul Calibur 4 - The Incredible HULK Character

A few weeks ago, I didn't think I'd say this, but I'm really tempted to get the game Soul Calibur 4. I've never really played the other games, but I figure it has to be halfway decent to garner 3 sequels. In truth, I've been itching to get a fighting game, especially one where you can challenge others online. The thing is, I'm desperate for Capcom to release either Street Fighter II HD Remix or Street Fighter IV, but they haven't even given out a release date yet!

In the meantime, I'm looking at these very beautiful screens and amazing videos of Soul Calibur 4 and I have to admit that playing as Darth Vader on the PS3 would be pretty cool. What really intrigues me though is the ability to create your own custom character for use in the game. I've seen all sorts of characters that people have created... mostly based on other video game characters and even comic book characters. Any regular reader of my blog would probably figure out who I would create, but it looks like I have been beaten to the punch:



Hmmm... I don't think I'd have the Hulk's pants as destructible armor, though...

8/25/2008 - Microsoft Surface Sphere

I've ridiculed Microsoft's attempt at touch screen technology with it's Surface tabletop computer. I mean, compare their vision of a touch screen computer that's hundreds of pounds with Apple's iPhone that you can put in your pocket. As ridiculous of a concept that the Surface table is, however, it is being used in hotels and bars as sort of glorified kiosks and social magnets. Microsoft's next iteration of their surface technology, however...



Seriously, I cannot see any redeeming value of this product. If this was a product that was greenlighted after Bill Gates retired, then he should really rethink that decision once he see this. Between this and Vista, I'm surprised more people aren't moving to LINUX!

8/23/2008 - Warhawk tips & tricks

I'm so glad Sony and Incognito are supporting the game Warhawk for the PS3. It's the first PS3 game I bought and it's still my favorite after more than a year. Every few months they release a patch or a booster pack that really changes the game and mostly for the better. Since the game came with a headset, I think it was the best $60 I've ever spent on a game. The thing I like most about Warhawk is that it's not overly realistic. Having a third-person perspective gives it a freedom that makes it different than combat sims like Call of Duty. Let's face it, those kind of shooters are unrealistic anyway... so why not play something that is more arcade-like and more fun? I don't know how Warhawk compares to Halo, but I suspect Halo's popularity is also due to it's fun factor. I've seen a lot of "machinima" videos of Halo where people record themselves playing out a comedy or dramatic type show with the Halo characters. This is the first machinima video I've seen of Warhawk, and I have to say that I'm pretty impressed:

8/19/2008 - Afrolegends vs. Daigo

After watching the spectacle of competition that is the Olympics, it occurred to me that they should show videogame competitions on TV. Maybe not on NBC or any of the broadcast networks, but definitely on G4TV at least. There's plenty of drama and excitement involved in gaming competitions... just watch the excellent King of Kong documentary and you'll see what I'm talking about. Heck, you could even go into the personal lives of the gamers like they do for the Olympians.

The gaming competition they should really highlight is the annual Evolution (EVO) competition based on fighting games. Most gamers have had their shot at fighting games like Street Fighter II and they know that the major lure of the games is using your favorite fighter and testing your skills against others, with your status as a gamer determined by how long you can stay on the machine fending off challenges from other players. You can imagine what it's like then to have the best fighting game players from across the world in one tournament competing for money and, of course, glory.

If there is a Michael Phelps of the Street Fighter world, that would have to be Daigo Umehara of Japan. I've already blogged about his amazing full parry comeback in Street Fighter III Third Strike. This display of his prowess is something else. In the game Super Street Fighter II Turbo, you win a match by winning two out of three round. In this match, Daigo (as Ryu) easily wins the first round against Afrolegends (as Balrog). In the second round, though, it looks like Afrolegends is dominating against Daigo, beating him until he's dizzy with little health left. Daigo could merely let Afrolegends win this round and beat him in the third. But that wouldn't be Daigo, now would it?



There are so many things amazing about this performance that you can pick something out each time you replay it. Daigo's control over Ryu is nothing short of a miracle. Just look a the way he can precisely distance himself for the hurricane kick crossups! And something else I just noticed recently is how he was doing the short hurricane kicks so he could build up his Super for the very end. And he was doing this in the middle of his comeback! I bow to you, Daigo...

8/16/2008 - nintendo e3 2008 conference in a nutshell

I resisted doing this, but Nintendo has to be taught a lesson. The more I think about what Nintendo did at E3, the angrier I get at them. It's not because I'm some Nintendo fanboy who up until now thinks that everything they've done is the second coming. Heck, I don't even own their last two consoles. The thing is, I do have a nostalgic love for the old Nintendo properties like Mario and Zelda and I can't stand to see them waste away their brand name with the current direction they presented at E3. It just wouldn't be good for the gaming industry as a whole, either. If competition breeds innovation then ceding the playing field to just Microsoft and Sony will just lead to a boring gaming landscape filled with first-person-shooters. Nintendo has to be shamed just as Sony was after their E3 conference in 2006. It eventually worked with respect to Sony as we are seeing their resurgence now. So with some very biased editing, here is the gamers' view of Nintendo's E3 conference: