Now I know I just resurrected Big Head Mode, but as alluded before, it's time for some changes. I've decided to get my own domain, and a shiny new name, too. My new blog site is GameVoxPop! It's a weird name, but here's the explanation I wrote for the About page.
Vox Populi, which is often abbreviated as voxpop, is Latin for voice of the people. It is most often used in journalism to refer to “man on the street” interviews, and the opinions of your everyday citizens. GameVoxPop! is a gaming news and opinion blog created as both a representation of the average gamer, and a diary of a single gamer. At this point, I am not really involved in the games industry, so in a sense, I am that “man on the street”. However, I don’t ultimately intend for this blog to be a complete representation of the voice of all gamers. It is merely the voice of one gamer. I will undoubtedly say things that will not be agreed by everyone. However, I will try to provide some news, opinion, and personal insight into video games. Bon Appetit!
Now it will probably take me a little while to learn all the great features of WordPress, but so far I am loving it. Now it's time to say goodbye to this old Blogger blog. All of my old posts, comments, and tags have been imported over to GameVoxPop! Hope to see you there.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Metamorphosis of a Giant Head
Monday, April 09, 2007
Xbox 360 Spring Update Details
This weekend the above video was leaked by Gamespot which gave a little preview of the upcoming Xbox 360 Spring Update. Rather than play stupid, today Microsoft went ahead and officially confirmed the new features for the upcoming update. Due the week of May 7th, the Xbox 360’s next update is so far looking pretty good. Here are some of the features I am looking forward to.
- Windows Messenger integration lets you instant message up to 6 friends at a time. You can use your trusty USB keyboard, or a new thumb QWERTY keyboard that plugs into your controller (pictured below). The keyboard does seem to add some heft to an already weighted controller, but if you ask me, it looks as spiffy as a full QWERTY keyboard controller attachment possibly can. From the video, the messenger functionality looks to be very well integrated, and will let you chat with friends while playing games or watching movies. Eventually this will be pretty cool with IPTV as well.
- Newly supported video codecs include H.264, MPEG-4 and PlaysForSure.
- New Achievement pop-up gives you the specific description and score of the achievement when you earn it.
- You can set up your Xbox 360 to automatically shut off after finishing downloads.
- Videos can be viewed, fastforwarded, and rewinded while you are downloading it.
- All Xbox Live marketplace content has been combined into a new dedicated Marketplace blade.
So there you have it, some new functionality, some spit n’ polish, and some welcome tweaks. I like it, Microsoft. Read More...
Virtual Console Monday: Shoot, Bomb, Throw Edition
Galaga (NES) - 500 Points
BRAVOMAN (TG-16) - 600 Points
Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle (Genesis) - 800 Points
Another week, another batch of VC games. This week we have the NES port of one of my favorite games, Galaga. Had I not already bought it for XBLA, I'd be buying it today. Now as for BravoMan and Alex Kidd, I can't say I've even heard of these games. Nintendo, I'd love to see a demo feature.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Changes Are Afoot
Stay tuned for a big announcement on Big Head Mode. I hope you are ready for some big changes.
Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday: Luxor 2
Even though I'm a day late and $10 short, I still thought I'd give my two cents on this weeks Xbox Live Arcade release: Luxor 2. To be completely honest, I'm kind of underwhelmed by this week's choice. Granted, I'm no casual games aficionado, and Luxor 2 is apparently selling like hotcakes on other game venues. My cynical side keeps bringing up certain questions. Don't we already have an Egyptian-themed colored marble shooter puzzle game on XBLA (Zuma)? Why is this simple game $10? Where's Catan? Well, I will at least give the demo a shot, who knows, maybe I'll totally love it.
Have You Played Atari Today?
Back in the day, Atari had some of the most over-produced and strangely entertaining commercials. They were king of the industry, and they would spend millions to keep that crown. Sure, they could just show you gameplay, and people playing it, and you could infer whether or not it was a game worth your time and money. But what’s the fun in that. They decided to take it a step further, and produce what are still some of the most outlandish and odd video game commercials. Now the quality on these aren’t that great given their age, but feel free to grab some popcorn, and hit the jump for some great game commercials.
This is a clip I recently saw on Joystiq that got me searching through YouTube for all these great commercials. I must agree though that guy does look like a Jerk!
Who knew such a simple game could produce such an infectious dance beat. I bet you people were dancing to this ditty for years. Oh wait, they weren’t?
Such memorable lyrics. “We got those legs that are nice n’ hairy, but you can’t choose ‘cuz we’re too scary!” Actually, now I do want to go to the Club Centipede.
Could this guy have a worse voice? Oh well, at least it’s not Lou Albano. Hey, Pizanos!
Wow, Atari, you really read my mind on this one. What if Napoleon and his family did have an Atari. What if lamps could talk? What if human ears tasted like chocolate? This one really is a stretch. Here’s one I want answered Atari. What if Jesus had an Atari? Would he use it for good, or awesome?
Now this commercial isn’t necessarily by Atari, but it is probably one of my favorite video game commercials of all time, so I let it slip in. I’m not sure if anyone knew who Phil Hartman was at the time, but he gives a great performance. I would like to see this same commercial done for a video game that, even more so, in no way warrants it. Like, “Think you’re ready for Nintendogs?”
Well, it looks like the Germans got off to a pretty good start with video games. Who knew they would grow to hate them so much. “Un da Pac-man es Dat!”
Finally, I figured it would only be proper to end with the video of the game that all but ended Atari’s reign. What many consider to be the worst game of all time: E.T. You want to know how bad this game is? Consider this, the entire game is shown to you in this commercial. “Running away from secret agents, falling into danger…” Yep, that’s it.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Games I Am (Finally) Playing: Guitar Hero II
After much waiting, and spending way too much money on it, I finally have Guitar Hero II. I kept putting off getting it for the PS2, in hopes that an Xbox 360 version would be better, and finally it’s here. Last night I played it for hours, and had a great time. Hit the jump for some more opinions…
First of all, the Xbox 360 version includes all 60+ tracks of the PS2 version, and adds 10 more tracks (some by original artists), the ability to add downloadable content, HD graphics, online leaderboards, and a new guitar controller. Despite taking a step backward with a wired guitar controller (still annoyed by this), I really love the X-Plorer style. Aside from some people having trouble with the wammy bar, it is solid and well-built. It even has a port for yet-to-be-released effects pedals, which will either be released for Guitar Hero, or even could be for Rock Band.
Now I know a lot of people out there think the idea for Guitar Hero is extremely stupid, grossly overrated, or merely mildly entertaining. That’s fine. No games will please everyone. But I have heard some pretty harsh close-minded critiques about it. Regardless of your reason, I really think this game should be played a few times before you pass judgment. I am a big fan of rhythm games, and was originally hooked by games like Donkey Konga and Taiko Drum Master. But Guitar Hero represents a lot more than simply hitting a drum at the right time. There is a certain savage mysticism to Rock n’ Roll that is perfectly conveyed by this game. I initially just got the game because of the fun I had with other rhythm games, but after playing through a few songs, and getting the hang of the controls, I was able to let loose.
This is going to sound extremely silly, but the game Guitar Hero is about becoming exactly that. Once you get the controls down, and you’re comfortable with the interface, you become an axe-welding Rock God. A destroyer of civilizations. A being who exists merely to melt the faces off of others with his God-like guitar thrashing. You are a Guitar Hero. Like I said, silly. But, this is what video games are all about. A video game lets you become and do something you are not. You can be a wise old wizard, or a super-hero, or Peyton Manning. Its inherent interactivity provides a greater vehicle for escape. So Guitar Hero lets you become Jimi Hendrix, Ozzy Osbourne, Robert Plant, or whoever you want to be. And you are entertaining the masses with your sick guitar skills. This essentially is what Guitar Hero has been able to do that no other rhythm game has been able to do. While banging around on bongos can be fun, generally the player is not imagining himself as a professional bongo player.
Basically, that’s just what I’ve gathered from playing alone. If only I could talk a friend into getting this game so we could play some co-op. Wait, how much is another guitar controller again?
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Looking Ahead: Rock Band
Today Guitar Hero II finally comes out for the Xbox 360. I already have a copy and will post a GIAP entry once I’ve had a chance to play it. So I thought I’d go ahead and give my two cents on Harmonix’s latest announcement into music games: Rock Band. It was announced Sunday on USA Today, and it looks to be the most ambitious rhythm game yet. While Guitar Hero lets you play mock-guitar to all your favorite songs, Rock Band aims to let you fill any or all seats of a band, with controllers for the aforementioned guitar, and now drums, and a microphone.
But this isn’t just an expansion of instruments. Rock Band promises a lot of cool features new to the franchise. Multiplayer online co-op is finally a reality, so your ideal rock band could be spread all over the globe; all playing different parts to the same song in real-time. Another big announcement is that all the songs will be the actual works of the original artists. That means no more covers.
Rock Band will be published by EA, and will be hitting store shelves this holiday season for the Xbox 360 and PS3. Also, it’s been confirmed that the Xbox 360 Guitar Hero controller will work with Rock Band. I am looking forward to this one, as I love rhythm games, and I love the direction this game is headed in. Rock on, Harmonix!
Monday, April 02, 2007
Games I Am Playing: Puzzle Quest
Puzzle Quest has been usually enjoyable, sometimes frustrating, but always addicting. At first glance, I thought it was just a crappy Bejewled derivative with a gimmicky game mechanic. But, as with most first glances, there is so much more to it.
Puzzle Quest is a Puzzle RPG game. As far as the RPG aspects go, they are all there, and they get relatively deep. There are multiple classes of characters with a traditional leveling system, customizable abilities, spells, and equipment. There is an overworld, with multiple cities, some of which you can “siege”. You can build up a city by adding forges, stables, mage towers, and many other things that will aide your quest. Now, if we just stopped there, Puzzle Quest wouldn’t be anything special. Granted, it would be my kind of game, but nothing that other games haven’t done.
Luckily, this is when the Puzzle aspect comes in. All of your battles, whether they are random, or key to a quest, take place over a puzzle grid. If you’ve played Bejeweled, you will instantly understand the concept. Swap objects’ positions on a grid to line up three or more in a row. I tried out bejeweled, but it was too slow and boring for me. I didn’t really feel I was thinking at all, but merely lining things up. What makes PQ different is that your opponent is using the same puzzle to battle you, so you must think ahead and not leave any big moves open to your opponent. The different types of objects in the playing area are: Fire (Red), Air (Yellow), Water (Blue), and Earth Mana(Green), Gold, EXP, and Attack. Depending on what items you link up determines what you get or do. You can collect Mana, attack your opponent, or get Gold or EXP. After gaining enough mana, you can cast spells that affect you or your opponent.
Now, I don’t expect you to instantly understand the entire concept, but the game plays a lot like a cross between Bejeweled and Magic: The Gathering. You will need to pay attention to a lot of factors to be a successful player, and you will have adjust your strategy depending on the pieces on the board. The game is really fun, and addicting, and is a perfect fit for the Nintendo DS. But there is one shortcoming. The AI can be unbearably frustrating to play. It will always know the best move, and will always be able to construct combo chains that no human could see. Still, I would rather have painfully difficult AI than horribly stupid AI. PQ has taken two existing and even tired game concepts and combined them into something that is new, challenging, and entirely fun. Any puzzle or RPG fan should give this one a go.
Virtual Console Monday: Inflation Edition
Starfox 64 (N64) – 1000 Points
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES) – 600 Points
Dragon’s Curse (TG16) – 600 Ponts
Today’s release looks pretty solid. I definitely loved Starfox and TMNT, but wait 600 Points for TMNT? I was under the impression that most people thought Nintendo was already pushing NES prices too far at $5. Now they are stretching it even further? Look, these game titles are great, but I’m a little disappointed at this. I was going to get it, but I really don’t want to encourage this artificial digital-distro inflation. Am I still bitter that the Oblivion Expansion is $30 on XBL? Yes. Yes, I am.
Resurrection of a Giant Head
Despite a bad April Fools Joke, at first glance it appears that Big Head Mode really is dead. No one really had anything to say about yesterday’s post, and the apparent slaying of a game idea. But don’t you worry, imaginary readers in my head, it was all in jest. Big Head Mode is actually coming back, and Zombie Trail has merely been put on the shelf for a while. I admit the lull was a bit long. Without any serious number of posts in almost two months, I was about to let Big Head Mode just fade away into Blogger obscurity.
Here’s why I didn’t. First of all, I need to keep up my writing. When I’m not writing, I feel like I become lazy with my vocabulary. Secondly, even though I got sidetracked in March, I do want to complete Zombie Trail, and I do want to blog about it. Finally, and this might be the biggest reason, I want to use the blog as way to prove myself for a new job. I am really starting to hate my current job, and I am looking to find a job in what I love, the Games Industry. I haven’t decided if I want to do Programming, or some sort of Technical Management/PR type stuff. I would love to be able to manage releases and make product decisions, and I would love to represent some game entity for an online community. I hate constantly simplifying it this way, but what Major Nelson does, I think more game companies need. I’m looking at you Nintendo. So, there you have it, the blog is now nothing more than a vehicle to pander my silly ideas, in the hope of impressing someone looking at my resume. Shallow, isn’t it?
So, what’s going to change for Big Head? Not much really. I would like to pick the VC and XBLA posts back up. I would like to bring back “Games I Am Playing” on a regular basis, and even provide some more reviews. I want to do at least one post a day for the month of April, as a way to start the blog back up too. Finally, I hate to beg for comments, but I would really love to know if I have any readers out there.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
YOTPP: March Update
As you could have probably guess from the infrequency of updates, I haven't had much time for the ol' Big Head Mode. Things have been a little crazy in my life. I haven't even had much time to work on the Year of the Pig Project. I finally started being honest with myself. It's not a good idea. It won't make a good game. So, to save all of you from feining interest in it, I am cancelling the Year of the Pig Project, and letting this blog die. Farewell all.
