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Chris Stockman Ritual | Apr 9 2002, 11:55:37 (ET) | chris@ritual.com Archived Updates Jun 17 2002, 18:14:34 May 14 2002, 19:50:36 Apr 29 2002, 20:03:25 Apr 12 2002, 15:58:27 Apr 9 2002, 11:55:37 Apr 3 2002, 18:05:56 Feb 27 2002, 17:50:32 Feb 27 2002, 17:09:05 Feb 27 2002, 16:22:03 Jan 2 2002, 21:29:46 Dec 21 2001, 16:16:02 Dec 10 2001, 17:20:18 Dec 7 2001, 18:53:50 Dec 7 2001, 12:07:55 Dec 4 2001, 19:37:25 Dec 3 2001, 14:33:39 Nov 27 2001, 21:51:16 Oct 29 2001, 13:49:51 Sep 26 2001, 18:12:45 Sep 17 2001, 13:39:29 Sep 14 2001, 16:53:03 Aug 16 2001, 11:55:46 Jul 27 2001, 10:56:33 Jul 2 2001, 15:56:30 Jun 18 2001, 19:45:12 Jun 12 2001, 19:04:33 Jun 6 2001, 17:27:45 May 29 2001, 11:19:51 May 27 2001, 18:57:28 May 25 2001, 17:12:58 May 21 2001, 12:43:34 May 14 2001, 16:31:22 May 10 2001, 11:46:38 May 3 2001, 23:25:42 May 1 2001, 12:44:23 Mar 25 2001, 18:26:53 Mar 22 2001, 14:18:01 Mar 19 2001, 12:45:09 Mar 16 2001, 17:31:23 Mar 16 2001, 15:51:24 Mar 12 2001, 18:08:47 Mar 1 2001, 19:00:33 Feb 26 2001, 11:14:10 Feb 21 2001, 15:57:45 Feb 20 2001, 17:42:26 Feb 19 2001, 11:56:24 Feb 12 2001, 15:18:01 Feb 8 2001, 16:37:16 Feb 6 2001, 12:37:14 Feb 5 2001, 13:48:30 Feb 5 2001, 13:02:37 Feb 1 2001, 13:57:20 Feb 1 2001, 13:41:40 Jan 30 2001, 15:50:09 Jan 30 2001, 15:12:25 Jan 24 2001, 15:56:50 Jan 23 2001, 12:40:32 Jan 19 2001, 11:10:14 Jan 18 2001, 12:03:21 Jan 16 2001, 11:37:32 Jan 15 2001, 17:19:45 Jan 12 2001, 14:45:49 Jan 11 2001, 14:37:28 Jan 9 2001, 15:03:00 Jan 8 2001, 14:21:52 Jan 5 2001, 18:05:01 Jan 3 2001, 16:23:03 Dec 30 2000, 15:22:20 Dec 27 2000, 12:27:59 Dec 20 2000, 22:45:28 Dec 19 2000, 00:57:45 Dec 15 2000, 11:40:43 Dec 14 2000, 11:49:05 Dec 13 2000, 17:49:23 Dec 13 2000, 10:01:31 *** Ritual Entertainment's Finger Server User name: stocks Plan modified: Tue Apr 09 10:57:58 2002 ********************************************************************************************************************************************************** * NOTE: Any views expressed here do not reflect the official position of Ritual Entertainment.* ********************************************************************************************************************************************************** 4/09/02 Wow two updates in one month! What is the world coming too? Anyway those fine gents over at www.ritualistic.com have released an interview on yours truly. I talk a bit about EF2 and some of the cool things you just might experience as you make your trek through the game. Anyways go over there, give it a read and tell baDmAn I said hi. Oh yea while you're over there why don't you drop by the forums and interact with all the Star Trek FAN(s)...atics. :-) BTW, Chell's colors are BLUE!!!! j/k guys, you know we love you all! 04/03/02 Whatever Jon said is complete bullshit other than the fact that yes tomorrow April 4th is my 25th Birthday. :) 1/02/02 Ahhh, it feels good to be back on the island! Yes I had a wonderful Christmas break. I spent many a hour behind my TV playing FF10 and even some Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. Haven't finished either though. FF10 is taking a lot longer than expected (I am not into hour 40) but damn I think it's the best one yet. CG is spectacular, in-engine graphics are gorgeous and the story (so far) is superb. Chris 12/21/01 Wow another year has gone by. Can't believe it. Anyway I'm headed off for some rest and relaxation. Over the holidays I hope to play and hopefully finish Final Fantasy X and Grand Theft Auto 3. Merry Christmas all and have a kick ass New Years! Chris 12/10/01 There is a story up on videogames.com that could potentially put Microsoft in a very, VERY good position in the console market. It could potentially change the tide of the industry. I guess MSoft has the money to potentially buy the #1 position. Take 2 is a strong publisher now that they have several franchises that are of AAA quality. GTA3, Max Payne, Duke Forever, (although those last two aren't owned by them so I guess you can't count that), the upcoming State of Emergency, Smuggler's Run, etc. Now that GTA3 is out and it's white-hot who wouldn't buy GTA4 on the XBox. If it's exclusively on the system the XBox has it's first REAL system seller. I'm sure Msoft has a few other titles no one has heard of that will prove to be AAA quality. I just haven't heard of any yet. If the buyout happens than this war will intensify. Sony will not go down quietly. Playstation sales account for over half their profits! I could see a buyout war occurring. The industry may end up consolidating a lot more than previous years as Sony, Msoft and Nintendo buy up marquee developers. I mean afterall, exclusive content is more important than non-exclusive content. Things are may get very interesting. Chris 12/7/01 I might have been a little too harsh. If anybody takes offense to my rather harsh language. I apologize. I updated it to take out any offensive language. I would like to point out that in order to compete in the genre you need to have at least FUN gameplay. Start with that. It doesn't matter if the game has fewer match types than the nearest competitor. Let me at least see the finishers, even perform a few. Let me actually play the game and not get frustrated within the first five minutes. Please Acclaim, next time make the game fun to play. You have the perfect number of wrestlers to choose from, heck even some of the animation is cool. But please let me control my character, let me see the old school moves, I want to hear the wrestlers say some of those old school catch phrases. Little things like this go along way. Next time I give opinions I will refrain from using such a harsh tone. 12/7/01 update ooops. When I said the comment "If you as the developer....." It was in reference to Acclaim Salt Lake. They have a shitty track record and should have done what it took to make the game at least fun. Sure they didn't have megapopular license but damn start with the fun factor first. They did neither. 12/7/01 Normally I don't like to flame developers for producing shoddy games. I understand the development process and often times a shoddy game is not the developer's fault. A lot of factors out of control of the developer can turn a game into a pile of crap. This time however I am going to make an exception. I bought a game last night hoping the developer would have corrected past mistakes. A game I really had high hopes for. That game? Legends of Wrestling developed by Acclaim Salt Lake. I grew up watching WWF wrestling. I watched the Saturday morning show and the Saturday late night show. I even went to a Wrestlemania when it was held out in LA. This was back in '91 mind you. I remember watching Hulk Hogan, Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff, Capt. Lou Albano, etc. battle it out each week on TV. I was hardcore. When I heard Legends was coming out I wanted to check it out. Acclaim Salt Lake, the developers of WWF Raw is War for PS1 and countless other clones using the same tired old engine were the developers. Instantly I had reservations. But Acclaim said they learned their lesson and was creating a whole new engine from scratch. Even reworking the shitty control system that plagued all their previous games. Again, I had high hopes. Perhaps Acclaim would ACTUALLY learn from past mistakes and ACTUALLY LISTEN to reviewers and fans. Alas, that wasn't the case. It's not very hard to create a fun, interesting wrestling game. Their are 2 AAA games out currently that could be served as examples. Smackdown and No Mercy for the PS2 and N64 respectively. These games sold millions and not only that but they were FUN to play and not a chore. Acclaim could have took elements from both games and probably develop a winner. I see nothing wrong with that. Especially if you as the developer have a complete ass track record. Plus, Acclaim doesn't have WWF license instead opting to use has beens that had there time. If people were to buy such a game they would most likely wait for reviews and/or word of mouth. Or they are like me, bought it for pure nostalgia. So what is actually wrong with the game? For starters, the presentation is complete crap. Loading times are frequent and FAR too long. Just getting into a game takes 5 minutes. The match options look like they came from the NES days. Where's the cage match? How about barb wire? I mean damn you had those things in your previous games why not add them to this one at all. Can only sweeten the deal IMO. AI is non-existent. During a 3 player game (myself vs. 2 AI) the majority of the time the AI just stand around and watched. The 4 player battle royale is even worse. While I am beating up one guy the other 2 are completely lifeless. The manual is even worse. No character profiles or move list. The manual is ultra vague about how to perform finishers. It looks like whoever wrote it did it in a day. Stay away at all costs. Chris 12/4/01 Oh how the 'net has really fucked everything over. Next-Generation, the kickass game magazine that launched in '95 shut down today. People read game magazines for a variety of reasons including: news, game related articles, previews, and most importantly reviews. I think the most read section of a game magazine is reviews. People want to know other people's opinions on games before plucking down hard-earned Along came the internet. Gamers now could instantly access reviews, features, previews, etc. Internet is far more up-to-date than magazines (which are often written months in advance to make printing and distribution deadlines). People had no reason to buy magazines anymore. So in order to combat (ultimately competing directly against themselves, remember Next-Generation.com?) they decided to put in inserts such as demo disks, posters, etc. This ultimately failed as including such niceties raised the overall cost of the mag and/or cost the publisher more than they were willing to spend. Magazines continued to lose readership as the internet gained steam. Then one day the internet came crashing down. No one was making any money and thousands (if not millions) were being spent creating these mega websites. Investors, big corporations, etc. realized they were waisting corporate dollars and not seeing an immediate return. Websites shut down one by one (including Daily Radar and now IGN is one foot in the grave). It seems that these mag publishers lost too much money and they can't rebound quick enough. Now where are we gamers supposed to get new information?? Maybe the Insider coverage on IGN is not a crap buy after all. I may seriously consider it now. One less magazine to help spread the gaming word. RIP NextGen, you will be missed. On a completely different note I bought Super Smash Bros. Melee and Pikmin today. Suddenly my 'Cube is going to get a ton more playing time over the next few weeks. The Xbox is still collecting dust though. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH Later Chris 12/3/01 Got the component hookups for the GC. MUCH better picture quality. I can actually play the damn thing now without squinting at the awful display. I fired up Luigi's Mansion this weekend to see if Mario's bro was worth a shit. I came away mildly happy. No, it's not Mario 64 quality, not eve scd tose. net But Ldown isn't that bad either. s got traditional Nintendo gameplay and I don't see anything wrong with that. I know the kiddies will go ape shit over it as it's very comical and cartoony. They might have a problem with the control though, it can be frustrating at first having to use both analog sticks. Purchased Frequency over the weekend. If you haven't heard of it I'm not surprised as it's been pretty much overshadowed by GTA3, MGS2, and the recent hardware launches. To fill you in though Frequency is a music games where you must chain together an entire song. While explaining the intricacies about the game would be too time consuming, suffice to say it's a cross between Bemani, and Dance Dance Revolution (no dancing though just button presses). I encourage anyone with a love of trance music to check it out as it's definately worth the price of admission. I can't wait for the online enabled sequel! This week we see the releases of Super Smash Bros. Melee and Pikmin. Also, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance ships for PS2 (I have heard great things about that one!) Don't forget Final Fantasy X will be in a limited amount of stores (mostly game shops like EB and Gamestop) the day after Christmas! Have fun playing! Chris 11/27/01 Damn, it's been almost a month since I last updated. Since the last update we have seen the releases of MGS2, the Xbox, and the Gamecube. Damn it's really a great time to be a gamer. Although for most people a choice must be made and I am here to help out in that decision process. First things first, MGS2 rocked the house. The amount of detail in that game is numbing. I could go into great detail at all the small touches that made MGS2 stand out but it'd take hours and time is something I don't have. Suffice to say MGS2 was an unforgettable experience. Definately an experience all gamers should partake in. Now on to the hardware releases. I bought both of them. Yes after all the trash talking I did on MSoft's mega machine I gave in to the hype and bought one on launch day at Toys R Us. I only have two games right now, Halo and Transworld Surfing. I haven't played much of either since PS2 games are taking up my free time (Tony Hawk 3 and Grand Theft Auto 3 are SOOO much fun). Some things I like about the XBox include the menu layout, the ability to turn on Dolby Digital and DTS from the menu, and the ability to rip songs onto the HD. Some things I absolutely despise are the controller, the weight and size of the machine. Let me go into further detail about why I HATE the controller. First off, the damn thing is massive in size, it's very hard to reach some of the buttons without strain (the first time I played Halo for more than a hour my hands were aching when I was done). The controller is far to heavy for kids to hold for great lengths of time. Some may argue that the machine isn't made for little kids but I counter that by saying "why limit your market to just one segment?". Sure Sony's machine costs the same as the Xbox but the controller can be held by ANYBODY. I anxiously await for the Japanese version (which I hear is a joy to hold). All in all though MSoft as done a reasonable job with the system. Plenty of launch titles (although finding a system before Christmas might be a pain, but probably not nearly as tough as finding a PS2 last year), and a kickass title (Halo) that screams "Buy Me". Now on to the Gamecube. I bought all 3 major launch games which includes Star Wars, Waverace, and Luigi's Mansion. Have I played any of them at great lengths? Nope. Pure and simple the display sucks smelly, stinky ass. I am talking pure shit. I turned on the Cube with the regular video cables that accompanied the system and I thought I was playing N64 games. It is that bad. Now admittedly I own a decent high end TV (27" Sony Wega) and I heard anything less than S-video really has a piss poor image on such a kick ass TV but I had no idea it was going to be this bad. Everything was a blurry mess. I have searched high and low for S-video cables but the only ones found came from shitty 3rd party manufacturers. Normally, I wouldn't mind using these except the audio portions couldn't be separated from the S-video part (I do this because I want to plug all audio stuff into my receiver for much clearer sound). But no, instead of making a set of cables that take advantage of EVERYONES setup they decided to put some sort of small (for the lack of a better word) stopper thus preventing any separation. BULLSHIT I say. Nintendo on the otherhand decided that consumers with higher end equipment had to suffer. See the GC is the first Nintendo system to offer HDTV support but you need component cables to properly display at these higher resolutions. My TV is not HDTV but it does have component imputs that offer a much better display than S-Video. Anyway, Nintendo decided that consumers who wanted these cables need to purchase them through their online store. They did not release them to major retailers. Again, BULLSHIT I say. In the end I ordered the cables and they should be here tomorrow. As for the games, well I haven't played any of them much so I can't give my opinions. That's for the next .plan update. So in the end which system should you buy this holiday season? Well if you don't have a PS2 then your best bet is of course the PS2. It has tons more games than either of the two and I predict it won't be dying any time soon. If you do than the decision gets a bit more complicated as it involves how much you are willing to spend and what type of games you enjoy playing. Like First Person shooters? Get XBox. Like Waverace, Star Wars? Get GC. In the end it's all about what you like and what you want to play. Hell if you have the money get BOTH!! Later, Chris 10/29/01 Wow has time flied by. Here we are almost in November. I remember this time last year we were hard at work getting Blair Witch 3 out the door. Soon we will be in 2002!! Anyway enough with the obvious, let's talk games. I beat Devil May Cry over the weekend. Damn good game if I say so myself. The dsigners captured the essence of an old-school action platformer to a tee. Everytime I played I felt that adrenaline rush that was highly reminiscent of the old 8 and 16-bit games like Contra, Castlevania, and Actraiser. Another game I bought recently was Grand Theft Auto 3. I've played maybe 2-3 hours so far and from what I have heard I haven't even scratched the surface. But boy oh boy does GTA3 rock. The sheer amount of freedom in the game is mind-boggling. I can't remember when a game has had this amount of gameplay variety. Plus the voice acting is top-notch, tons of tunes, and fun ass gameplay to boot. One of the very best PS2 games to date. And who would've known? I didn't get into GTA1 or GTA2. I guess this series was made for 3D. Ok so we are vastly approaching the launch day for MGS2 (Nov. 13th is the day it ships, the stores get it on the 14th). I strongly believe Konami will have the hottest selling game for Christmas. In fact, I think MGS2 will sell 2-3 million copies in the U.S. alone. Japan will be no different. Is it possible that a game can have TOO much hype? We all know that movies can generate massive amounts of hype and prove to be a letdown (Star Wars 1). Will MGS2 be the same way? I don't know but Hideo Kojima didn't take 20+ years to make the sequel (well number 4 if you count the previous NES Metal Gears) unlike our flannel shirt wearing friend Mr. George Lucas. If I had to take a guess I think MGS2 will live up the hype and then some. I think nobody is prepared for the quality nor the scope of production that MGS2 will introduce. Just like MGS1 I think the standards for PS2 games will be raised a couple notches up. Next update I will dive deeper into the MS vs. Nintendo war that is about to erupt. Later, Chris 09/26/01 Ahhhhhhhh, I am going crazy. The sheer amount of games coming out this holiday season is mind-boggling. Never before has there been this many AAA titles released in such a short amount of time. I bought both Silent Hill 2 and ICO this week. Both are extremely good. ICO has the most amazing character animation I have ever seen. Silent Hill 2 is downright creepy, the visuals in that game are sick and demented but I am sure that is what Konami was aiming for. Anyway if you liked SH you will love SH 2, if not than I wouldn't bother since it's basically more of the same with upgraded visuals. ICO on the other hand is an experience you shouldn't miss. Control is superb, camera is superb, graphics are superb, gameplay is awesome. Everything about the game is slick. The flood gates are open from here on out. The following is a list of upcoming PS2 games to watch for. Each one is going to be excellent in its own right. These titles will be released this year or very early next year. Time Crisis 2 w/Guncon2 10/02/01 Devil May Cry 10/17/01 Grand Theft Auto 3 10/23/01 WWF Smackdown: Just Bring It 10/30/01 Metal Gear Solid 2 11/13/01 Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 11/15/01 Splashdown 11/13/01 Jak and Daxster: Precursor Legacy 12/1/01 Final Fantasy X January Maximo: Ghosts to Glory Feb. Then we have GAMECUBE and XBOX released in mid-November (although I am waiting to see what good stuff comes from MS's monster size system). Oh yea don't forget the DC still has a few tricks up its collective sleeve (Shenmue 2, and Sega Tennis 2K2). I just can't remember another time when it was this exciting (and this broke) being a hardcore gamer. The only thing I am worried about is how all these companies will make back the money spent on these titles (especially with the economy's condition). The competition is fierce and I wouldn't want to have a title that tries something drastically new. But damn the quality of games has picked up over the years, the gamer will have plenty of choices for his gaming pleasure. Let's just hope the gaming industry won't take a major hit. My fingers are crossed. 09/17/01 Just a few things I wanted to mention, go buy Advance Wars for the GBA. It's unbelievably fun and addictive. I finally got a PS2, and bought Twisted Metal Black, GT3, Klonoa 2, and Escape from Monkey Island. All very good games. Next week we see the release of ICO, and Silent Hill 2. Both will be purchased the day of release. I am in the middle of Chrono Cross, very good and worth the $20 it is now priced at. GAMECUBE was released and from what I heard Waverace is very similar to the first one (which isn't a bad thing) but with some awe-inspiring water effects. Luigi's Mansion seems to get old after awhile. But that is just what have heard. I will probably love both equally. Ummm, not much else is on is on my mind. Except I hope the US punishes the people that caused the DC and NYC disasters. I hope they punish whoever is aiding/harboring them as well. 09/12/01 Sept. 11, 2001 will go down as the single worst day in all of American history. Never has there been such an attack on th 48 states of this magnitude. I would so far as to say this was the worst terrorist attack of all time. 800 people dead in the Pentagon and thousands dead from the World Trade Center. I am shocked to say the least and can't really convey the amount of anger I am feeling right now. 09/01/01 So I picked up Mario Kart Super Circuit the other day for the GBA. Pretty good so far. I haven't gotten in much play time since I have been busy with work but hopefully with the holiday I can remedy that situation. It's a cross between the SNES and N64 version, sort of a hybrid of the two. The technology is of course highly reminiscent of the SNES version but some of the weapons you can pickup are straight from the N64. It's a must buy for any Mario Kart fan (and who isn't?). I saw the demo of Devil Must Cry for the PS2 the other day and I must say: OH. MY. GOD. That game is worth purchasing a PS2 alone for. The graphics and gameplay style just scream high-quality. That and Silent Hill 2 should be released very shortly so yes I will be buying a PS2 very soon. Finally, some worthy games are making there way to Sony's uber-system. Now I want to touch upon some Spaceworld stuff. You didn't think I would comment on Nintendo's yearly show did you? Shame on you! Anyway from what I saw on the 'Net Nintendo is doing some interesting stuff with there two main franchises, Mario and Zelda. Mario looks like Mario 64 set in a realistic universe complete with humans, houses, streets, etc. I am sure it won't be exactly like Mario 64 as Mario is wearing some strange contraption on his back (similar to Luigi's vacuum in Luigi's Mansion). Zelda on the other hand looks completely different from anything I have ever seen before. Sure Nintendo is using the popular cel-shading technique that many Japanese companies have adopted but I question it for Zelda. Here's why. When Nintendo first showed a clip of Zelda fighting Ganon it wowed everybody. That clip was shown around the world and virtually everybody wet there pants. People were excited to say the least. Since changing it's overall visual design, I believe the overall reception was lukewarm at best. Most older gamers dislike the style and I even believe young American kids might be turned off by it too. Japanese kids won't though since they love those cartoony, manga-esque visuals but as everybody knows the real market (the market where companies make the most money) is America. Now personally I don't give a rat's ass because I know who made the game but your average consumer is not as die-hard as me and doesn't care. So we shall see what happens. Other than that the other stuff looked spot on. Metroid may turn out to be a killer app after all! Well have a happy Labor Day! Chris 08/16/01 HA! It's been awhile since I last wrote to all you gaming fanatics in internet land! Well since the last update I have managed to beat Max Payne and well on my way to completing No One Lives Forever. But the real reason for the update is to tell you all to go buy the rerelease of Final Fantasy Tactics (IMO one of the very best turn-based strategy titles in existence). It's got a great story, some fantastic music, and graphics are kick ass to boot. You can't go wrong, especially since you can find the original release of the FFT on ebay for somewhere near 100 bucks!! Now here's a question for you all. Have I ever steered you all in the wrong direction with your game purchases?? Now come on, let's all drive to your local game store (preferably EB since we all know my opinions on GameStop!) shell out the 25 bucks and pick up FFT. I guarantee you it will be well worth it! 07/27/01 Man, its been a long time since I updated this thing. Too much is going on that I WISH I could talk about but unfortunately all you happy gamers will just have to wait a tad longer before we spill our beans. :) But the one thing I do want to touch upon is a brand new game I started playing this morning. And guess what? It's a PC game! (Yep hell as indeed frozen over) :) Anyway, this game just came out and it has been hyped up for many, many years so the real question is "Was it worth they hype?" IMHO "OH HELL YEA!!!!" Do you want to feel the PAYNE? Go buy it NOW! Simple as that, BUY Max Payne please!!!!! It is that good. I was in a firefight in a small room that was comprised of tiles (you know bathroom style tiling) and every bullet whizzing by me was smashing into the tiles causing all sorts of ruckus. I tell you what I thought I was in a damn John Woo action movie. The style, graphics, and gameplay are all there. I don't know what else to say. But if you love games, if you love adult games, if you love games with a sense of flare and style you HAVE to buy MP. It's a must have in my book 'cause I am a HUGE fan of Hong Kong action flicks! Anyway, thank you Remedy, thank you 3D Realms, and thank you GoD. Chris 07/02/01 So I received my mini-SNES in the mail on Sat. You just have to love Ebay, I think it's the best internet invention ever. But I digress, I played Tetris Attack most of the weekend but also got a little Yoshi's Island playtime in as well. Both games are stellar and deserve to be played if you are a relative newcomer to world of videogames or just plain haven't experienced them before. Speaking of classics I am now bidding on several SNES games and 1 PSX game on Ebay. I am committed to replaying some of the very best side-scrollers including SNES Contra, Actraiser, Castlevania, Super Smash TV (top down view game), Ghouls and Ghosts, and Super Mario World). I gave up on trying to acquire a Lynx.... I bought Sonic Adventure 2 the other day. Pretty amazing piece of software given the demise of the DC. Which incidently I think is still presently the very best console out there. PS2 is approaching must have status for me. Twisted Metal Black, Ephemeral Fantasia, NBA Streetz and a many others are on my list and before long I won't be able to catch up in my purchases. And with GAMECUBE approaching release in Japan (Sept. 14 and yes I plan on buying an import and a American version!) my money is drained for years to come! Oh well that's the life of a game-playing fanatic! The real question remains without an answer...................when will I have the time to play all these great games? 6/18/01 I have become addicted to Ebay!! For awhile I refused to buy stuff off of Ebay, I always thought that I couldn't trust the sellers but after making my very first purchase (Tetris Attack for the SNES) I have now been on a buying binge. Currently I am bidding on a mini-SNES, and a Atari Lynx 2. I already purchased a mini-genesis with 10 games! I think this new trend of playing older games is starting to take on. Nothing of late interests me and so I have reverted back to playing the classics. Maybe when GAMECUBE comes out I will revert back to playing Next-Gen stuff (that or MGS2) until then I am living my youthful days. Speaking of which, what are some kickass Lynx games? Was Rampart good? If you know of some good Lynx games email me at the below address. Chris@ritual.com Thanks! 06/12/01 Hail the mighty GBA!! I picked up Rayman Advance early this morning for the GBA and it is very impressive! It is very colorful and has tons of animations in each level. A definite recommended purchase! But I am a bit disappointed at myself.......I was at my local Wal-Mart this morning trying to decide which game to get, Castlevania or Rayman. Now I had heard some negative things about C (mainly the fact that the game is very dark and hard to see) but after playing a bit of Tom's copy I immediately fell in love with it. Now I am torn between taking back Rayman or keeping it. I will probably just keep it and buy Castlevania later on. The only fault I have with the GBA is actually with the software (read: prices). I think $40 for a handheld game is way too expensive, but then again the sizes of the cart themselves are much bigger so I can see why they cost more. Oh and I wish the damn thing was backlit too. Oh well we can't have our cake and eat it too. The GBA is way too cool though. I can't wait for the many 16-bit ports of SNES and Genesis games (Phantasy Star 2 anyone?!?!!). Here is my top ten most wanted games for the GBA (not all of these have been announced)! 1. Super Mario World 2. Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Phantasy Star 2 4. Super Contra 5. Actraiser 6. Columns 7. Streets of Rage 8. ToeJam and Earl 9. Super Castlevania 4 10. Super Mario Bros. 3 6/06/01 For everybody that plans on purchasing a GBA please buy Tony Hawk 2 before any game. It is that good. It's a landmark handheld game. Vicarious Visions has raised the bar for handheld titles much like Neversoft did with the original Tony Hawk. king believable. Chris 5/29/01 I managed to reach the 800,000 score level in Tetris, only 200,000 more to go! :) 5/27/01 Earlier this morning I managed to score 674000 points in the Gameboy Color version of Tetris. Next I am trying for a million, what is the highest score possible? If you know email me please! 5/25/01 Hell YEAH!! I just received a Gameboy Advance from Nintendo of America (actually I ordered it yesterday via their developer's only website and it came via UPS today! I don't have any games yet as the American games won't be out until June 11th (launch date). The system is just the coolest thing ever, small but well designed. Kids are going to eat it up like candy. 5/21/01 E3 was GREAT! Met a ton a people and saw a crap load of awesome games. Here is my list of some the games I am most looking forward to this year. 1) Luigi's Mansion 2) Waverace: Blue Storm 3) Rogue Leader 4) Final Fantasy 10 5) Maximo: Ghosts to Glory 6) Metal Gear Solid 2 7) Silent Hill 2 8) Devil May Cry 9) Warcraft 3 10) All the GBA games 11) Super Smash Bros. Melee 12) Tony Hawk 3 Both Sony and Nintendo had great showings. In fact, when the show first opened nearly 90% of the people ran to the Nintendo booth to check out all the GCN stuff. Microsoft on the other hand had a poor showing. Most games at shoddy framerates, graphics were nothing to shout about, and the controller was the worst piece of plastic I have ever felt. I can't imagine why people will buy the Xbox. Japanese support is non-existent (which the exception of a few has been licenses). None of the games at the show really looked (or played for that matter) better than Sony or Nintendo's showings. Overall Xbox gets very poor marks. Other cool happenings at the show. I met Shigeru Miyamoto Wednesday night at the Nintendo party. He was very gracious and humble and we even exchanged biz cards! I told him I was a huge fan of his work and he is a legend in the industry. I also had a chance to meet Hideo Kojima of Metal Gear Solid fame. Again ultra cool and gracious as can be. Overall a stellar show and things are looking really bright for Ritual. Hopefully soon I can shed some light on the big happenings going down on the island! Laterz Chris 5/14/01 Only 2 more days (1 if you are not including today) until the GAMECUBE unveiling! Have you all seen the new logo? If not go check out www.igncube.com for the scoop! BTW - Thanks Planet GAMECUBE for the scoop! So it looks like Rogue 2, Luigi's Mansion, Waverace: Blue Storm, Zelda, and just maybe a Pokemon title will be playable at the show! All I can say is that I am going to be like a kid in a candy store when I get into the Console Hall inside the convention center. Time Magazine leaked out some info on Luigi's Mansion, basically they said you would play as Luigi, he would only be armed with a vacuum cleaner and flashlight and he will need to find all the ghosts in the house. Hmmmmmm. It sounds like it could be fun, but it also sounds highly reminiscient of Mario 64 (except with one main environment and you are collecting ghosts not stars). I will reserve judgement until I play it first hand. Waverace and Rogue 2 are going to be %^$%#$%# awesome! I have no doubt all the people at the show will walk away with their jaws on the floor once they get a chance to see these stellar titles. Zelda is a bit of an enigma. Remember how long it took Miyamoto to finish Zelda: TOOT? I am quite shocked they are going to have a playable version at the show. I just hope it will be as groundbreaking as the previous versions. GBA is easy, cheap, and fast to develop for. Plus a great title stands out from mediocre and poor titles. Why you ask? Because gameplay is what matters on the GBA, not graphics. The GBA is a gem, pure and simple. Oh and I don't think it takes more than a year to develop a kickass GBA game, in fact I think it would take 6 to 7 months to make a fun, addictive, and overall kickass game. First thing Monday morning I will post my thoughts on the show. Talk to ya later! Chris 5/10/01 First pics of Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 2 have been released to the populace. And one word comes to mind...... AMAZING. If this is a sign of things to come that we will all be in for a treat once GAMECUBE is released. Oh and I now stand firm behind Nintendo's launch date of there new uber-system. Every press release I have read regarding 'Cube software has stated that it's on track for a November 2001 release. In related news, EA has announced they are developing 10 titles for the 'Cube. Looks like 3rd party development will start cranking up very soon. I think the initial batch of games will be mostly 1st party with 3rd parties releasing products afterwards. Classic Nintendo 3rd party relation tactics. I would like to take a poll. How many PC game players are going to buy a GBA? Please email me with your response at chris@ritual.com Please include your age and what type of games you like to play. Thanks in advance! Chris 5/3/01 So Square has decided to rerelease Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 4 (Final Fantasy 2 for the U.S. SNES)). Needless to say I am ecstatic!!!! Final Fantasy 2 is by far my most favorite out of the series. Everybody owes it to themselves to experience it. And to have Chrono Trigger included just sweetens the deal. Let me stress how excited I am that the GBA is almost out. I think GBA games will get back to the basics of why a game is fun. Sure graphics are important but it's all about the gameplay baby. Since GBA is using 10 year old technology developers will not be able to "wow" gamers with pretty graphics, they will actually need to incorporate fun gameplay in order to stand out from a crowd of mediocrity. I get asked a lot why I only speak of console games when in fact I work at a PC developer. I do like PC games, just not many of them. One of my favorite genres is Real-Time Strategy. I have spent more hours playing Starcraft then most console games. I also like Counter-Strike. The problem is I don't like playing multi-player games over the internet. I find it incredibly boring. I love the fact that when I am playing against a group of people at the office I can talk smack when the game is over. That kind of interaction if just not possible over the 'net. So what generally happens is that I will play a PC game like 'Craft and CStrike for awhile and then once everybody loses interest I will stop and go back to console games. It just so happens that right now I haven't found anything interesting to play. I am sure once Warcraft 3 is released I will start playing on the PC again. 5/1/01 Woo-hooo we're back online! Over the past month I have been very, very busy. We are getting prepped up for E3 and I for one can't wait to see all the Gamecube and GBA games that will be introduced for the first time in America (and the 'Cube stuff will be the first time the world as seen it). I am really looking forward seeing what Miyamoto-san has in store for all of us. I have always said Nintendo makes the best games and I am sure that trend will continue well into the next-generation games. I am very sad to learn of Daily Radar's demise. While I certainly disagreed with some of there reviews I always felt it was a cool place to go to read reviews and get different opinions on what was cool and what was not. I feel this could be the start of a disturbing trend of high-profile gaming websites getting axed because the lack of profitability. I think we all agree that internet sites are far better for gaming news than gaming publications. Games I am playing (what are you playing?): Tony Hawk 2 (DC) Spider-man (DC) MDK2 (DC) Rayman (DC) 3/25/01 I started playing MDK2 for the DC over the weekend. Well actually I started playing it some 4 months ago only to get stuck on the very first boss. But this past Saturday morning I popped it in and figured out how to beat him within 5 minutes of playing. Since then I haven't been able to put the game down. I love the fact that you play as all 3 characters, each character plays so differently that the game never gets stale. Remember Contra? Here is a franchise that, to me, despite the pathetic PS attempts at recreating the true Contra experience still could be revived with a stellar next-generation version. I miss the carnage and mayhem that went hand in hand with most of the previous Contras. What about Smash TV? Here's a game that put the player in a Running Man esque game show, you got a gun and were sent into these relatively small rooms only to be marauded by hundreds and hundreds of guys trying to kill you with their big sticks. After minutes of killing it was time to move on to another equally small room and repeat the process over again but this time things would be a bit tougher. You would eventually make your way to the boss room only to get the shite kicked out of you because the boss was %#@#$@ huge and had lots of firepower to deal with you. I would sweat just playing the game, it was by far one of the most intensive games out there. Well, back to MDK2. 3/22/01 I'm not the first one to say this but I hope that Serious Sam sells a buttload of copies. Sure I may not be the biggest FPS fan out there but I know when I see a good game and for 20 bucks who could pass it up? FPS + $20 + good game = $$$$$$$$$ (one would hope or something is drastically wrong with the game buying public) The GBA came out 2 days ago in Japan and though I had mine preordered I decided to cancel it and wait for the American version. Early reports state that the GBA is pretty cool except the screen seems to be darker than the GBC. Why Nintendo decided not to release two versions (one with backlit and higher priced and one without at $99) is beyond me. I am sure Nintendo has its reasons (marketplace, kids, etc). But still I am going to hate having to play the damn thing with one of those ugly worm lights. Oh well. Dance Dance Revolution came out today but unfortunately Konami decided they aren't going to release the dance pad until July. Has anybody played Samba without the maracas? It's virtually unplayable. And although I haven't played it yet without the pad I can't help to think that the experience will be much the same. 3/19/01 Today I would like to touch upon the subject of rudeness. Yes we can all be rude at times but an incident happened to me on Sat. that just about tops the rudeness scale. And what makes it worse is that it involves a section of the video game industry specifically the retail sector. Here I was browsing my local Gamestop (for all you people that live in the Dallas area it was the one in Collin Creek Mall) and I go up to one of the sales clerks behind the counter and ask him if he had any PS2's in stock. He replied "sorry but we don't have any". Then another employee behind the counter opens his big @$$ mouth and proceeds to ask me this question "Do you have $300 to buy one?" I, of course, was extremely shocked to hear that and proceeded to speak very loudly to him explaining to him that I didn't appreciate his comment. I then walked out of the store only to go a few feet when I realized that I needed to speak to the manager. I walk back in and pull the manager aside to tell him of his employee's rudeness. Instead of getting an apology from him he ended up defending his employee my making several excuses stating that they get little kids in all the time asking for a PS2 and the employee thought I was a kid. Unbelievable. So this is an open letter to Gamestop managers and up. You have lost a customer. A customer that spent a good deal of money in your store(s). I also would like to advise everybody that if they want to get insulted go into the Gamestop at Collin Creek Mall and talk to the employees. If not then please go somewhere else and buy your games at a more consumer friendly store. That is all. 3/16/01 part 2 Yes 2 updates in 1 day!! I am ecstatic to learn that Hiroshi Yamauchi has stated to Reuters that GC is still on track for an October release. He reiterated that it is crucial for Nintendo to capture the holiday Christmas season. So folks if Nintendo releases a new system with a lineup of the following predicted games I think Sony and especially MS will have a hard time winning the mass market (especially since MS may charge 400+ for the damn thing). Oh and I wasn't impressed with MS's lineup of games at Gamestock. Ok here goes my predicted launch lineup of games from Nintendo only not third parties. Mario and Luigi Adventure Waverace Metroid Rogue Squadron 1080 degrees Snowboarding (Given SSX's popularity this is given) 5 games should suffice. Of course I would be nothing short of amazed if their are more. I can't wait till E3!!! 3/16/01 So I beat Conker yesterday morning. Damn good ending and totally unexpected. The game is kinda short but well worth the trip. Plus the ability to replay every cutscene and part on in the game is genius! I can't wait for Conker 2! Now I am on to DK64. I must have that I absolutely love platform games, probably more so than any other genre. Don't get me wrong I still love a good 50+ hour RPG or strategy game but their is something surreal about collecting crap in and around a level or having to do a specific task that just gets my blood pumping. I think this is why I love Nintendo so much. Rare and EAD have mastered the platform game, I know that when I purchase a Rare or EAD platformer I am getting a quality title that will keep me coming back for more. The games are never too difficult and they have always been a pleasure to go through. I saw the very first game that I will buy a PS2 for. It's called Ring of Red and it's a Tactical Strategy game that resembles Front Mission 3 but of course the graphics are 10 times better and it allows you to take control of your mech and move it around ala first person mode. 3/12/01 Well I have a new favorite game. Can anybody guess what it is? Let me give you a hint. The main character is short, red, and is sarcastic as hell. Yep I have been bit by the Conker disease. I will simply say to all gamers (17 and up only) that you really must pick up this game. If you don't have an N64 buy one and pick up Conker. It is a must play for all adult gamers. Yes must of the humor is a bit childish but their are plenty of other humorous moments that can only be enjoyed by the older gaming crowd. The Saving Private Ryan scene is one of the very best moments in gaming. I was shocked to say the least. It's a RARE thing indeed to play a game that is meant for the older crowd but still contains hardcore platform elements that constantly push the player. I am always wondering what's next. Very refreshing. So in short GO BUY CONKER'S BFD NOW! 3/01/01 I hate cold weather!!!!!! Please let it be spring time and 75 degree weather! 2/26/01 So I finally beat FM3 (Front Mission 3) over the weekend. Overall the game rates very highly on my list except that it was a tad too easy. The last battle took me only 2 tries to beat it. Moving on to Chrono Cross now and I will probably take my time on that as I have some personal things that need a lot of attention right now. 2/21/01 The AIAS has announced the nominations for the Fourth Annual Awards show held at GDC. Here is my pick for the winners. Console Game of the Year: Shenmue PC Game of the Year: Deus EX Console Action/Adventure Game of the Year: Zelda: Majora's Mask Console Family Title of the Year: Mario Tennis Console Fighting Game of the Year: Tekken Tag Tournament Console Racing Game of the Year: SSX Console Role Playing Game of the Year: Final Fantasy IX Console Sports Game of the Year: Virtua Tennis Innovation in Console Gaming: Seaman PC Action/Adventure Game of the Year: Deus Ex PC Family Title of the Year: Disney¹s Magic Artist 3D PC Role Playing Game of the Year: Diablo II PC Simulation Game of the Year: Links 2001 PC Sports Game of the Year: Motocross Madness 2.0 PC Strategy Game of the Year: Age of Kings II: The Conquerors Innovation in Computer Gaming: Sacrifice Massive Multiplayer/Persistent World Game of the Year: EverQuest: Ruins of Kunark Online Gameplay of the Year: Ultima Online: Renaissance Art Direction: Jet Grind Radio Animation: Space Channel 5 Sound Design: Jet Grind Radio Original Musical Composition: Jet Grind Radio Game Design: Zelda: Majora¹s Mask Visual Engineering: Jet Grind Radio Character or Story Development: Final Fantasy IV Game of the Year 2001: Shenmue or Deus EX (It's a toss up) 2/20/01 I am going to mark out a little bit and express how excited I am for Nintendo's new machines. It's a known fact that Nintendo constantly delivers some of best quality games since the dawn of the NES. I don't care if they choose to go the kiddie route and make sugary sweet games. I am not playing a Nintendo game for the story I am playing it for the sheer fun factor. And, my friends, that's what Nintendo consistently brings to the gaming table. For if you want to have fun and want to get addicted to a game, simply pop in anything that comes out of EAD or Rare. It's almost a guranteed thing. But the Nintendo kiddie factor is changing (albeit slowly) for when Conker's Bad Fur Day releases here in the states it'll be a momentous occasion. It will be the first time Nintendo will release a rated "M" game. I think for us more mature gamers it's a great sign that Nintendo is willing to bend their rules to cater (read: reach) our generation. But I will still play a Mario, Zelda, (Pokemon is going a little too far), and any other well known Nintendo brand. Chris 2/19/01 Metroid a FPS???? Please say it ain't so! I am not sure Metroid would transfer into a 3D environment all that well. Metroid has always been about platforming, and getting new powers so the player can go to new places using those powers. It's well known that jumping in FPS's is a rather difficult and painful thing to do. So essentially they would have to reinvent the definition of a Metroid game. So why call it Metroid at all? Oh yes, NCL wants to make money and people have been screaming for a new Metroid since SNES's Super Metroid was released. Let's hope and pray for the best. I am counting down the days until the GBA arrives. I haven't been this excited for a new console since I got the Super Famicom (Japanese SNES) many years ago. March 21 is the day of release so I should be receiving mine on the 22nd. I got overnight shipping! I think I am very close to conquering FM3 and will be either moving on to Chrono Cross or finishing up Lunar 2. 2/12/01 Ok for more info on yours truly checkout www.fuckheads.com for an exclusive interview! It's a spectacular site filled with Zep's (the webmaster) intelligent banter and wit! Still playing the spectacular Front Mission 3, their are very few games I get addicted to but FM3 is definately one of them! Over the weekend I was trying to come up with my top ten list of best games I have ever played. So without further ado here they are! #10 Smash TV (SNES) - Never ending dudes to kill set in a futuristic Running Man type of game show! Plus it had gore and huge bosses that blew up into tiny bits! #9 Actraiser (SNES) - 50 percent side scrolling goodness and 50 percent city management. Actraiser serves as one of the best sounding and looking SNES game to date! Pure gold! #8 Metal Gear Solid (PSX) - Probably the finest Playstation game to date! Movie quality story, music, characters, etc) Plus gameplay to boot! #7 Simcity (PC, SNES) - I will play this game for hours on end only to restart because I feel my city could be so much better. It's one of the most addicting games I have ever played. #6 Final Fantasy Tactics (PSX) - Another shining example why Square is one of the best developers in the world. Everything about this game screamed of high quality. Music is simply unbelievable and the story is deep and poses some very intense questions about humanity. #5 Tetris (Gameboy) - The most addictive puzzlers of all time. I have spent more hours playing this game then probably any other game ever. #4 Super Mario World (SNES) - I remember when I first played this game I was in complete awe. I mean the difference between the SNES and NES were unbelievable. Plus the end boss (Koopa) flew through the screen (using the infamous Mode 7 effects). I was blown away! #3 Final Fantasy 2 (SNES) - The very first console RPG I have ever played brought me hours upon hours of playtime. I still think the final boss tops every other console RPG I have ever played. #2 Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64) - Zelda was and still is one of the finest games ever produced. Miyamoto loves us all and it clearly shows in this classic. From the opening to the incredible end battle with Ganon. this game is had me hooked. #1 Super Mario 64 (N64) - What can I say about Mario 64 that hasn't been said before. It is indeed the greatest game to ever be produced. This game brought me back in. Honorable mentions: X-Wing (PC), Castlevania IV (SNES), Super Contra (SNES), Waverace 64 (N64), Pilotwings (SNES), StarCraft (PC). Chris 2/8/01 So I started playing Front Mission 3 over the weekend and I haven't been able to put it down. It is simple superb and everybody that likes strategy RPG's owe it to themselves to check it out. The graphics are of course PSX so don't expect something revolutionary (by today's standards). But the gameplay is unbelievable. The game is incredibly deep and you can practically customize all parts of your team. But I am getting a little ahead of myself. Front Mission 3 is a turn based strategy RPG from Square. You battle in huge mechs across a fairly large playing field. I won't give away any of the story but suffice to say it's very Square-like and that my friends is a good thing if you like Square games! Plus longevity is supposedly over 150 hours! Check it out! 2/6/01 Ok dudes, now that yesterday's brew haha is over let's get back to business of talking about games. But 1 last thing. Brandon, I hope to meet you at the next Dallas game gathering. We can drink and be merry the Levelord way (which I am not sure I could handle but I can certainly try)!!! 12:10 2/5/01 Ok, ok, so some of you 3D Realm guys are cool. That little post earlier wasn't directed at all you guys. Just one in particular. Chris 2/5/01 "I'm Calling Out Names" Mr. Reinhart over at 3D Realms has decided to comment on our very own Levelord's new monthly tradition of drinking and hanging out with the local game development community out here in Dallas. "And now I gotta cut ya" Last time I looked, guys in the same profession (no matter what profession) hang out with each other and swap stories (Police do it all the time). I think it's part of human nature. What's wrong Mr. Reinhart? Did you feel left out? Or are you one of those smarty-programmers that can't hang out with us "lowly" Level Designers and Artists. Wait, Jim Dose from the almighty Id showed up. So all programmers aren't like that. You Unreal Tournament dudes a little too good for us Quake powered developers? Or is it that you guys are so late on your project that you can't afford to spend a few hours hanging out with your peers? Well if hanging out with the local game community is too high and mighty than I hope to not see you at GDC, or E3 for that matter. Because the last time I went to one of those shows I (and so many other developers, publishers, etc) partied till the sun came up. Nothing wrong with some good ole' Masochistic fun. ;) Chris 2/1/01 Sega is finally throwing in the towel in the hardware biz. Not hard to understand why. It just proves that you have to be successful on both sides of the Pacific in order to stay in the console hardware biz. Let's all pour out a little liqour for the DC. :) //I haven't had a good night's sleep for over two weeks so I have lost track of the date Heartbroken - Suffering from or exhibiting overwhelming sorrow, grief, or disappointment. (Dictionary.com) For I am heartbroken right now........................................... 01/24/01 Well dudes I preordered the almighty Gameboy Advance the other day. I haven't imported a system since the Super Famicom (Japanese SNES). It will come with Mario Advance as a packaged deal for 200 bucks! If anybody wants to preorder one go to www.buyrite1.com for the info. Well, it looks like Sega will start developing for the GBA and PS2 after all. Smart move on them, it's really time to hang up the hardware division and concentrate on making good games. It's sad to see them go though, I was never a big fan of Sega's hardware systems of the past but I thought the DC was their true successor to the Genesis. Sega also provided me with hours and hours of healthy debates between old friends of mine. I, of course, was always a Nintendo fan and I would argue till the wee hours of the morning with my best friend Scott about which company (read system) was better. I am glad they caught the remaining Texas fugitives, it's quite amazing they got as far as they did though. But it was only time before they were captured. Chris 01/23/01 I was watching the Today show this morning (I must say every Katie I have seen is pretty HOT!!!!!) Anyways I would like to comment on the recent raping of our natural environment. What fucking idiot decides to maneuvar his big ass oil tanker into shallow waters near the Galapagos Islands? With technology as good as it is today one would think these situations can be avoided. Now the tanker is spilling its guts thus causing a major ecological disaster. The Galapagos is one the Earth's last remaining treasures and it is now being threatened by a man-made disaster. We as a species do not deserve this planet. As we continue to fill the air with pollutants, spill oil in the seas, chop major forests down for lumber, and kill precious animals for their parts, the Earth will fight back. It has already started. Hurricanes will strengthen, winters will be colder, summers hotter, and new diseases will pop up. These are Earth's defense mechanisms to fight off the plague (us) that has infested it. This will cause ramifications yet unheard of and all I can say is that we as a species deserve to get whatever comes to us. Chris 01/19/01 Maybe Imagine fucked up after all........... IGNCube insists that the GameCube will be released this year. I hope they are right as I would absolutely love to play a new Nintendo system before the year is up. If Nintendo releases both the Gameboy Advance and GameCube the same year I will be shocked. Their past track record for releasing hardware on time is horrendous but maybe they will actually keep their word. E3 is going to be huge this year, Sony will have all their second generation software, Microsoft will have XBox, Nintendo will have 'Cube and GBA, and Sega will be going out on a high note. Speaking of Sega it's incredibly upsetting that holiday sales weren't better than they were. Sega had the best software lineup of any publisher and yet the games still sold like shit. Are gamers that jaded these days? Do gamers hate playing fun, inexpensive games. Hell, Test Drive Le Mans (a 30 dollar game) is probably one of the best driving games ever and it has sold like shit. Amazing. There are so many good games out right now for the DC that it's sick. Games that push the creativity envelope. Even the hardware is cheap and still the DC is just not selling. It's a damn shame. 01/18/01 Have you all heard of Nintendo's lawsuit against Imagine Media for their Unauthorized Pokemon Training Guide? Apparently Nintendo is pissed off that Imagine Media took screenshots from the game and used them in the guide. As many of you know I am a huge fan of Nintendo and the products they release but I have to say suing a company that provides valuable info and news regarding Nintendo products is just plain crazy. It's the "bite the hand that feeds you syndrome". Imagine Media has since stated they will no longer cover Nintendo since they certainly don't want to be sued again for any stories that may ruffle Nintendo's feathers. I agree 100 percent with their actions. I would certainly feel betrayed if a company I repected very much sued me for trying to help gamers. The simple fact is Nintendo is suing them because publishing an unauthorized guide COULD cut into sales of the Authorized version. Greed is a powerful sin. 01/16/01 yea, it's raining!!!! 01/15/01 I am now on week 2 of the "Great American Workout". I must say I have started to feel my energy, stamina, and strength improve. Yes, there are only slight noticeable differences but differences nonetheless. I am interested in attending some raves around the Dallas area, if anybody knows of any please drop me a email with the 411. I went to a few raves in the LA area and I had a great time then so I figured I would start going again out here. Has anybody ordered the Broadband Adapter from Sega? I have heard some good things about it from various websites but does anybody have any "hands-on" experience with it? What does everybody think of the new Mario Advance game for the GBA? It seems Nintendo decided to port over Super Mario 2. Why they made that choice is beyond me. I personally thought SM2 was the weakest Mario game out of the bunch (Figures as it wasn't really a Mario game in Japan nor was it made my Shigeru Myamoto). Going back on the Dreamcast subject........ I have heard some good things and bad things concerning the release of Phantasy Star Online. I have heard it's a hell of a lot of fun but that the Japanese version crashes all the time and each time it does the player loses all his inventory. I sincerely hope they fix those crashes for the American release. I would be pretty pissed off if I spent hours upon hours collecting gear only to lose it by some random fucked up crash. I want to say a hearty "HELLO" to all the guys at the local EBX here in Dallas, TX. Hey dudes where is my PS2???? Well back to the dungeon...... till next time...... Be safe and have fun! Chris 01/12/01 I would like to thank Jason Alejandre over at Novalogic for sending me an article written by Jason Bews and Kevin Parrish (but I don't know who those two are or from what website they came from). Basically the article brought up some points about the DC chip (that Sega will be inserting into boards that will allow PC users the ability to play DC games). It speculated that Microsoft could easily put that chip into the XBox and the Xbox could play all DC games right out of the box. It was a very interesting article and it brought some very valid points. For instance, why does the XBox controller look almost identical to the DC's (it even has two slots in the back for memory cards and what not)? I mean shit the buttons are even the same color and their is also two analog triggers underneath. This sounds very suspicious. If it's true then MS has a ace up their collective sleeves. We shall see. Chris 01/11/01 Have you all seen the recent pics of some of the upcoming GameBoy Advance games? I must say I am impressed with the GBA's capabilities. I think Nintendo hit the proverbial nail on the head with the original GB. That little thing has outlasted all consoles. Now with a 32-bit version slated for release later this year I would say the sky's the limit for them. Think about all the old SNES games that can be ported over........ I would love a chance to replay Actraiser, Super Contra, Super Castlevania, Super Mario World, Zelda: A Link to the Past, etc.... But think about all the new games that various companies will make....... nothings wrong with going back to some old school gaming and I for one am looking forward to all the side-scrollers, RPGs, and racing games that will come out. Nintendo will clean up when they release the GBA. In fact I am predicting it will be the next holiday season's must-have toy. Chris 01/09/01 Today I would like to touch upon some thoughts about the Gamecube and why I think it could potentially be the next console leader. One thing everybody understands is that Nintendo knows games. They are on the same level as Sega's multitude of teams and maybe ahead of them too. But here is a scenario that could easily play out and if it does you can bet both MS and Sony will be shitting bricks. Here is the scenario: With the impending console wars and Sega's recent financial troubles Sega has decided to exit the hardware market (a very real possibility) and start concentrating on software for various platforms (including cell phones, PDA's and other consoles). They have a choice between Microsoft, Sony, or Nintendo. They won't choose Sony because there development teams are more familiar with RAM intensive machines (arcades, DC, etc). Also there is a deep-seeded hatred within the halls of Sega of Japan for Sony Corp. They won't go for MS because while MS helped provide CE for DC, I don't think Sega thinks that MS has a chance in the console market. MS has never done home electronics before (I don't count WebTV) and they have no experience whatsoever in the console market. Plus the price point of the Xbox will be way too high for it to reach mass market potential (which Sega is clearly aiming for given there recent announcements and strategies). Sega is looking to make money and make it fast so XBox isn't a viable option. Sega instead chooses to start a working relationship with Nintendo of Japan. They announce that Sonic and other various franchises will appear on the GameBoy Advance. It is a well known fact that Nintendo owns the handheld market worldwide and that isn't about the change soon. It is also known that their is real money to be made and Sega knows this as well. Remember they know handheld games, Game Gear was Nintendo's only real competitor and it was a decent system with some decent games. Now this starts a major swing in the right direction for Nintendo. All the loyal Sega fans will move onto Nintendo's new platform so they can get there fix of Sonic, Phantasy Star, etc. But little does the outside world know that Sega has a much more adventurous plan. See the GBA will be able to connect to GameCube much like Sega's VMU units are used with the DC. Nintendo has already stated that the GBA can be used in conjunction with the 'Cube and Sega is well experienced in that field. I happen to believe that GameCube won't make a presence until 2002 and this will give ample time for Sega's developers to begin major projects for Nintendo's machine. By then their would already be a good relationship with Nintendo and thus attract all the loyal Sega fans to buy the GameCube. This will also give ample time for Nintendo to set up Nintendo Online (Nintendo's Online Play Service). Again Sega has ample experience in setting up a network for console games and there service would be most valuable to Nintendo's much less experienced team. By the time GameCube is launched there will be a huge installed base of GameBoy Advances and Sega's loyal fans won't feel cheated because the DC would have lasted 3+ years. They will be ready for a new system and Sega will provide all there fans with updated chapters of Sonic, Shenmue, Jet Grind Radio, and many others. This union will send shockwaves throughout the industry. Two of the best software development houses in the world united to combat Sony and MS. Nintendo could once again take over the console market. If this situation sounds farfetched to you please remember crazy things have happened before. Who would have predicted that Square would jump to Sony? That Crash, Metal Gear, and other well known franchises be ported over to the XBox? What about MS making a console at all? Remember the rumor mill has already started about Sega making games for the GBA. Only time will tell. Chris 01/08/01 Thanks to all the people that sent me ideas of where to go in Dallas!!! Let's see, this morning I actually started a new workout regimen. Now this has been the upteenth time I have tried to workout at the gym on a regular basis but I really feel this time it will be different since I have a guide to show me the proper exercises to do. Who is this new guide you may ask? Well it's actually a cutout from a magazine article I read over the weekend. Men's Health is the mag. and in the newest issue they show people who have never worked out before or are just newbies how to build strength up doing key exercises. According to the mag the first phase (which is what I am in right now) lasts 8 weeks and you should start seeing results after the first 3. In the March issue they will describe Phase 2. I think my problem in the past has been that I never knew exactly what to do. Sure I would stumble around on the machines for 20 or so minutes but we all know that the real way to build up strength is to use free-weights and I was scared to death of them. Well after reading the article it showed me the proper techniques and now I am confident that I can stick with it. I wasn't able to finish Lunar 2 over the weekend. But I am on Disc 2, hopefully by the end of this week I will have moved on the Vagrant Story or Chrono Cross (still deciding). I had heard over the weekend that the XBox will probably cost more than PS2. Why on Earth would Microsoft think that people will choose the XBox over the PS2 (if it indeed costs more)? XBox isn't that much of a difference over the PS2 and by then Sony will have lowered the price to say 250 or so. Why would the mass consumer market choose a console from a company that's synonmous with software and geeky, when they could buy a less expensive console from a company that is well known for cool electronics and cool video games? Sony's name and a great marketing plan is what drove the mass market to buy into the PSX franchise. Microsoft can spend as much money as they want on marketing but the consumer's perception of a company and there products is just as important. And if XBox launches at a higher price point I just don't see the mass market choosing it over the PS2. Price and software are the two largest issues that consumers care about when it comes to purchasing a console. Not features. Just look at Gameboy. So if the price is high there better be some damn cool games that people must purchase an XBox in order to play. So far I only know of 1 game that is completely XBox exclusive. Munch's Oddysee. I am sorry but that game is not going to sell XBox units. Sure EA is developing for it but remember they are huge PS2 supporters as well. Now I am not saying XBox will fail, Sony should be somewhat scared because XBox is less than a year away and people still can't find PS2's anywhere. And I have heard that most people won't be able to find any until early-spring. So that looks very good for MS, but launching at a higher price point than 300 is suicide. Name one console that has survived that was priced above 300? 3DO? Neo Geo? If Bill Gates thinks he can buy his way into the console game industry he is sorely mistaken. Chris 01/05/01 Rant of the day: Someone please explain to me why there are 99% more bars than Dance clubs in Dallas, TX? Don't people like to dance out here? Finding a decent dance club out here is like finding Country music in my CD collection. You can look all you want but you just won't find it. People here for some reason enjoy sitting down (although you can usually only stand up cause it's so damn crowded) and drinking away there problems. The funny thing is that they play the type of music I like (which is trance, techno,etc) but no dance floors. Oh and get this, one club I know has a dance floor the size of kitchen. Now how in the hell is anybody supposed to dance when there isn't any room? In Salt Lake City though their are a ton of dance clubs. Now this just doesn't make sense to me at all. Why in mormonville (I have nothing against mormons mind you) that they know more about shaking your booty than Dallas? If anybody lives in the Dallas area and knows of any DANCE clubs that play TECHNO music please drop me a line at chris@ritual.com Oh and what does everybody think of the XBox design? Personally I think sticking that big ugly logo on the controllers is a huge aesthetics mistake. The big "X" on the console is kinda cool though. And at least they decided to stick 4 controller ports on the thing instead of the horribly uncool 2 (shame on Sony). Now let's just see what price point they decide to launch at. Anything over 300 and they will be shooting themselves in the foot. Oh and I want to give a big hug and hello to KW! I miss you!!!! Till next time, Be Safe Chris 01/03/01 Happy New Year!!! I hope everybody had a safe New Years! I would like to give a huge thanks to the fine folks over at GoD for a kick-ass New Year's Party down in Austin, TX. Jon, Josh (the Galloway twins, and Kathryn (Josh's girlfriend), and I drive down Sunday mid-afternoon (just before all the snow came), checked into a Four Points Sheraton and proceeded to the club privately reserved for the party. We arrived at an early time of 10 pm and began the drinking immediately. Now I normally don't do a whole hell of a lot of drinking (even at parties) but an open bar is too much of a temptation. So I began the night with a few Mandarin Screwdrivers, then took in many Crown Sours, a few Ace Pear Ale's and rounded the night with a couple of Malibu and Coke's. Umm I don't remember too much after that as all the alcohol started settling in. But I need to give another huge thanks to Kathryn for driving all of us safely back to the hotel. Oh the one thing I do remember is spewing chunks outside for the whole world to see. But thank the lord that the next morning I wasn't hung-over as we had to drive back to Dallas at noon. I am still playing Lunar 2, but hopefully will be done by Sunday or so. I'll let everybody know how it is when I am finished. It is going to take me forever and a day to pay off my Christmas bills but you can help me out by buying Blair Witch 3: The Elly Kedward Tale. It's really a decent game given the price point. So go out to your local EB or Babbage's and pick up copies for your whole family (they make great post-Christmas gifts) :) Chris 12/30/00 Let's see I bought a copy of Tetris for the DC the other day. I got one word to describe it: Disappointing Tell me something please, why make a tetris game that only incorporates multi-player support in the "new and updated" version (which sucks ass BTW). No multi-player support in the classic version of the game. None. And the point system is horrible as well. I play tetris because I want to get a high school, I want to make as many tetris's as possible so that my score can sky-rocket. But the developers decided that points aren't important so their is basically no advantage to making tetris's. Worthless. I go by the motto "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". Remember Tetris for the GameBoy? In that version making tetris's would bring much more points than just clearing 1 or 2 lines. On top of that playing multiplayer was a blast because when one person made a tetris, a couple of lines would appear on the other player's screen (which increased the difficulty). Now I know that Crave couldn't copy the mechanics of the GB tetris code by code. But Jesus, please don't change the fundamentals of why Tetris is fun in the first damn place. Avoid like the plague. On to some good news now. I finally beat the end bitc ooops I mean boss in FF9. Yes the battle was somewhat difficult before but after I completed the Chocobo side-quest I was able to conquer that beeyatch pretty easily. The ending was fairly good and even the end credits weren't boring to watch. Speaking of which it's amazing how many people worked on that game as it definately rivals Hollywood productions. Well now I am on to Lunar 2. So far it has been a good experience, I mean it doesn't hold a candle to the graphics in Square's opus but it's not supposed too. It's a great old-school, fun, RPG. I highly recommend to anyone that is fond of the old-school RPG's. After that I will play Vagrant Story and Chrono Cross and then finish up with Front Mission 3 before moving on to all the DC RPG's. Well Happy New YEar everyone, be safe and I will talk to you all next year!!! Chris 12/27/00 Pre-New Years Edition Well now everything has gone to hell. Let's see I just got Grandia 2 for Christmas (Josh you are the best dude!!!) And Lunar 2!!! I have yet beaten the last dude in FF9 and it's already Wed. already. Arrrggghhhhh!!!! Well looks like the remainder of the week is going to be a marathon of games, sex (well maybe not that), booze (Crown Royale here I come!!!). Hope I will be alive come Tuesday morning. Chris 12/20/00 Thanks to all that replied with there anwser to my GBA question I asked earlier. Well I still haven't beaten the last boss in FF9. But I am determined to kill him (it?!). So I figured I will concentrate on the it during the Christmas break. Friends keep telling me to play Skies of Arcadia after I finish FF9. I have the game and I figured I should play it after I finish Vagrant Story and Chrono Cross. But after hearing some of the cooler elements to Skies I may have to change the order a bit. What does everybody think of Grandia 2? I have heard mixed opinions and I don't know if it's worth playing. We had our Christmas party a couple of days ago. The gag presents were quite funny. I ended up with Lego! Jon ended up with a bottle of Tequila (which is now gone!!). Jon loves his Tequila!!! :) Well Merry Christmas everybody. Hope everybody gets what they want (don't forget to give too!!) Chris 12/18/00 Went over to Paradox's house warming party over the weekend. Lotsa beer, beer, and more beer. Had plenty of stimulating conversations with some 2015 guys that were down for the big CPL event going on out here in Dallas. The debate about who will win the next console battle rages on. Many people think X-Box has got the war won already. Others think Sony has such a huge name that they will be king. And still others think that Nintendo may pull a fast one and come out on top where they once held the position so many moons ago. What do I think? Honestly I have no idea. But I do know this, it's a great time to be a gamer. With so many choices companies will need to be price competitive and have good content in order to survive. There is no clear cut winner this time. But if I had to make a choice I would have to go with the company that I grew up on. Nintendo. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for the Big "N" and I just don't see them going away anytime soon. They have craploads of money and plenty of time on there hand as Pokemon continues to sell by the truckloads. What gamer wouldn't buy a new Mario, Zelda, Metroid (about time), Star Wars, or any other big Nintendo brand. Plus remember that they are now switching to a much cheaper, industry standard medium. With the Gameboy Advance being released next year and I am sure Nintendo will make it as interactive as it can be with the Cube. Who wouldn't buy a GameCube game that interacted with a really awesome GBA game. 1 Question for you all. What would you all think of a really simple, scaled down RTS game for the GBA? I mean one in which the battles took less than a half-hour (wouldn't want everybody to go blind)? Let me know if you would buy one at Chris@ritual.com Chris 12/15/00 I would like to comment on the Alli/Brooke situation that our Hog_Jonny is involved in. I live with Jon and I remember that night very well. A few things our fearless Project Manager left out was that Alli came over to our place earlier that night while he was "away". She knocked at the door and I of course answered. She told me of her precarious situation and I told her that while I certainly can try to help out I think it would be better if Jon took "care" of her. Why didn't I jump at the situation? Well because I am not a "playa Hata" and I knew Jon was working the angle. I decided that a true friend would let the person who has done all the work continue. But let me also say that Jon decided to help them out without inviting me over there. Here I am sitting all alone in the Apt. and he goes over there for many, many hours hogging up all the action. No wonder why they call him "Hog_Jonny". :) BTW - the email is not Stocks@ritual.com it's Chris@ritual.com. Oh and I picked up Vagrant Story last night. 12/14/00 So I got to the final boss in Final Fantasy 9 and low and behold I got my ass kicked up and down. I think this could be the hardest end battle in the PSX Final Fantasy series. Nothing beats the end boss in Final Fantasy 2 (American SNES version). I have been somewhat pleased with FF9 but not overly blown away by the story. Plus I feel it's somewhat short (I am on the 37th hour). But all in all it's been a pretty good experience. Do you all remember Xenogears and Final Fantasy Tactics? Now those two games were #@$@#$@%@# excellent. It took me over 60 hours to beat Xeno, while I played over 40 hours to beat tactics. Plus I can remember the music in Tactics was the best I had ever heard at that time. I just got so pumped up whenever I entered a battle area. Xenogears was a much different story altogether. While I have never been a huge mech fan, I thought the story was very, very well done. I loved the fact that it questioned God and creation. I believe games should dig deep in social issues much like movies do. Games that make you think about what is right and wrong. I think after I am done with FF9 I will move on to Skies of Arcadia and Grandia 2. So many games to play yet so little time. I think thats every developer's problem. Chris 12/13/00 Woo-hoo the .plan is finally being updated so the whole world can read my exploits, opinions, views, etc..... Hello..... is this thing on??? Well this is the first time updating the .plan so we will see if this thing gets out.... New things: Well Blair Witch is almost done and things are shaping up quite nicely. Wait till you all see the weapon and spell stuff....those damn coding and art guys are something else. Not sure if you guys are going to get scared with BW but we are trying our best to give you a fun time (now get the minds out of the gutter right now!!). See ya................until the game ships. Stocks Ritual... Levelord  08/12 Jon Galloway  06/11 Brian Jones  05/6 Eric Fowler  05/6 Chris Stockman  06/17 Joe Selinske  02/15 Janitor Bob  11/30 David March  11/27 Matthias Worch  03/20 Beau Anderson  11/27 Tom Mustaine  10/9 Mark Dochtermann  10/9 Berenger Fish  04/28 Robert Atkins  01/26 Scott Alden  09/2 Michael Hadwin  07/28 Murphy Michaels  06/3 Andrew Collins  03/18 Zak Belica  02/7 Jim Dose  01/29 Ritual Info  10/23 Mike Werckle  10/22 Beau Anderson  10/22   Also Today... Yesterday... Full list   Copyright © Square Eight 1998-2016. All Rights Reserved. The BlueTracker is provided by Webdog. We are not responsible for the content of the .plans displayed here.

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