I was entertained by this decoded version of the SSBB main theme. It’s supposed to be latin and if you were reading the lyrics, it matches. Sometimes. I do like the interpretation a lot more though.
In other news, SSBB’s online component is more tolerable these days.
May’s Game Informer is chalk full of Gears of War 2 info. For those who don’t have the issue, Shoteh Fock Op from NeoGAF posted a great summary of the 12 page spread. Between this Resistance 2, Quarter 4 of 2008 is shaping to be even more epic than 2007’s final quarter.
I’m excited.
Check out the three screenshots released for Dawn of War 2. I’m impressed. Hopefully, this game doesn’t get released near StarCraft 2, because I don’t believe I can juggle two RTS games.
I tried the original Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War, but I never got past the tutorial. I was too infactuated with other games at the time. It’s a shame since I hear that Relic did a fantastic job with it. (To their credit, I did play their excellent Company of Heroes.)
Forget painting little men.
Visit Shacknews to see Part 1 of a nice compilation of some nostalgic and some epileptic inducing commercials spanning through the 80s and 90s. I really enjoyed the Donkey Kong Country documentary with the Paulie Shore look-alike.
I finally finished the Xbox 360: Uncloaked I started back in February. I learned lots about the Xbox 360 creation. I appreciate the view from the business, the technological and entertainment standpoint. It was well written and informative, but it was quite repetitive at times. It’s funny to read how the decisions Microsoft thought were sound actually turned out. For instance, the dual SKU strategy. They wanted to save money and not put a hard drive in every console. They also believed that there were gamers out there who would actually pick up a Core/Arcade pack without regretting it.
As for my next book? I don’t know yet.
In another interview with Gran Turismo father, Kazunori Yamauchi, reconfirmed his intentions for car damage in Fall of 2008 and surprisingly, the continuing development of Gran Turismo PSP.
Many believed, Gran Turismo PSP was just a pie in the sky and nothing more than an pretty screenshot on a PSP. Apparenlty, not.
I’m not sure if I should be excited or not. Do I really need or want a driving simulator on a portable?
June 30th, 2008 was the cut off date for Windows XP, but now, thanks to the rise of low cost machines like the Asus EEE PC, Microsoft is allowing its beloved operating system to live for at least another 2 years.
The only catch is, Microsoft wants to restrict sales to low cost machines. I guess people who want to buy Windows XP for their desktops will have to suck it up and hop over to Vista. Come on, it’s not as bad as rabble makes it out be.
Maybe they’re extending the end date til just after Windows 7 releases which could be within the “next year“.
Atom is a big deal. With the success of the Asus EEE PC and Apple iPhone, the desire for more performance in smaller form factors is slowly ramping up. Imagine a handheld device like the iPhone, but with the power to run a game like Unreal Tournament 2004 and all the other typical PC applications with no slowdowns. Imagine the headache engineers must be endure in order to squeeze so much power into such a small form factor with current processor offerings.
The new Intel Atom architecture is hoping to achieve all that.
The Nintendo DS is a haven for variety and quirkiness. Many games found on this handheld console just would not work on other consoles – no arguments. One such game is Level 5’s Professor Layton and the Curious Village, the first of three puzzle oriented games under the Professor Layton name. Professor Layton utilizes the point and click adventure system, but instead of trying to find obscure ornaments to solve illogical puzzles, you are roaming through the village of St. Mystere seeking out puzzles, clues and mysteries - I think of it as an interactive book of puzzles. The question is: ‘How does an “interactive book of puzzles” translate into game?’ and most importantly, ‘Is it a good game?’. I thought it was a great game.
One of the few “realistic” features missing from the Gran Turismo is car damage. In the past, the reason for its absence was supposedly due to ‘licensing agreements’, but since Forza 2 and other games feature car damage; that excuse isn’t valid anymore. These days, Polyphony Digital are delaying car damage until they can model it realistically. It’s an understandable desire which I support wholeheartedly. Let’s just hope it doesn’t hinder the full game’s development when they have to implement their damage model to the hundreds of cars they are hoping to include.
In the meantime, Polyphony Digital’s Kazunori Yamauchi was quoted saying, “Maybe by Fall we’ll be able to implement it” referring to car damage.
