So Nintendo World Report is doing a big tribute to the GameCube this week. It's a pretty awesome and extensive look back at all the great things about the lil' purple box. The centerpiece of the tribute, though, is the Greatest GameCube Games feature. It's nice to take a look back at some of the games that really helped the GC through its early/middle years. It's just too bad it didn't see equally good support near the end there. Solid list though. So far, anyway.
Aside from that junk, I don't know. The internet's been kinda boring lately. S'okay though, because I've been spending the past week or so absorbed in Hotel Dusk. It's nice to see a really solid adventure-ish game on the DS. I mean, Trace Memory was good, but not "buy it" good. Hotel Dusk is totally a buyer though. It's very seldom that I get so engrossed in the narrative of a video game (see Silent Hill and Tales of The Abyss), but then again, that's about all Hotel Dusk has.
I think the thing about that is that when I like the story in a game, it's really all about either the characters or the overall atmosphere. Recent Tales games have been full of really well-develpoed and often hilarious characters, rounded out with brilliant dialogue and high-grade voice acting. The Silent Hill series may be in rough waters as far as gameplay goes, but it's never failed to present an immediate sense of dead and solitude. Oh sure, there are usually other characters around now and then, but they're rarely there for any more than a quick jaw. Hell, even Killer7, a shooter of all things, presented a highly elaborate plot, yet it stayed enjoyable and never descended into complete retardation like, oh, let's say Final Fantasy 7. It was really fragmented over the course of the game, but always remained smart and deep, ultimately tying into a thick, meaty plot in the end.
So yeah. All that nonsensical jabber to say that Hotel Dusk is really good. And maybe I place a little more importance on story than I'd previously assumed. At least when it benefits me.
This is why video games are awesome. Yes, it's edited, but holy cow it's amazing. I'm a little pissed at how it ended, but at least the right guy won. I would have been really pissed if it'd turned out the other way.
I've had a lot of pets in my twenty years. At least six hamsters, a ridiculous amount of fish, a frog, and even a bird. But I never really cared about them. They came and went with little to no impact on my life, except maybe that I learned that I disliked responsibility. A couple years ago, we finally got a dog. He was a great dog, and I spent a lot of time with him. Sadly, only months after we get him, the vet discovered that the animal shelter had classified him as a basenji when really he was a pit bull, and seeing as pit bulls aren't allowed in the city, we had to give him up. It was one of the hardest thing's I'd ever faced, but it was okay, because I knew he was just going to live somewhere outside the city. Soon after, we were lucky enough to get two more dogs, and life was good.
The last few days have been Hell for me and my family. It's been all uncertainty and pain. Finally, today I had to say goodbye to one of those dogs. On Wednesday afternoon, I came home to find him far less chipper than usual. Slowly it became more evident to us that something was wrong, as he could barely walk, and couldn't even get up or down the stairs. By the next night, the poor thing couldn't move his hind legs, and he coudldn't even wag his tail. My dad took him to the vet Friday morning and they told us that a couple of the discs in his spine had ruptured, and things weren't looking good. We gave it a couple days to see if there would be any improvement, but my horible luck was working overtime this weekend, and it just got worse.
We all went down the the animal clinic this evening, and I can say without a doubt that this was the worst day of my life. Just seeing my little puppy there, quivering and helpless, I felt more pain and sadness than I've ever known. The worst part about it is that there was absolutely nothing anyone could do. Treatment had clearly failed, and surgery would only delay the inevitable for a short while. The little guy had no chance. All anyone could do for him is put him to sleep so that he wouldn't have to suffer anymore.
I think that it goes without saying that I'm not taking this well. I've never had to deal with real loss my whole life, though you might say that an animal isn't a real loss. But Harley wasn't just an animal. He was one of my best friends. He was my confidant. He was family. I don't know where to go from here. I don't know how I'm supposed to act. My emotions are all so conflicted that i just want to go to sleep and not wake up so that I don't have to deal with it any more. I don't care about many things, but I cared about my dog. I loved him, and I'm gonna miss him for a long time to come.
Band of the Month time, yo. But I think an image of an album cover is enough to trigger the synapse that tells you that you don't care to read this blog post. Fuck you.
Anyway, this month's band is a relatively small-time group called The Main Event. I found 'em on MySpace (actually, they found me), and I've gotta say that they're a pretty good act. I got a message from them a while back asking to vote for them on the Ernie Ball/Music Man Battle of the Bands. Why? So they could win a spot on the 2007 Taste of Chaos tour. As it stands, there's a slim chance I might actually make it to Taste of Chaos this year, so that's cool. I doubt they're ahead (hell if I'm going to check), but I'm asking you to go vote for them too. I rather like them, and it would kick major ass to see them live.
Anyway, I also purchased their CD. It's only six songs, which is really disappointing. And they're not long either, so it's not like Deep Purple or Dream Theater where they make up for few songs with long songs. The good thing is that it's really good, and I heartily recommend it. It's six dollars, so what have you got to lose? If you've got a Paypal account with six bucks, pop over to their MySpace page and click the "buy now" button. You can also listen to four sixths of the album on that page, so it's all up to you. Just for reference though, the two songs that aren't on their MySpace page are two of the best ones. Frankly, I think "Heartless" rocks all over the place, but "Neverland" and "Burning Inside" are each as good as their three other songs combined.
In summary, I like The Main Event. Best band I've found through MySpace to date (though that's not to say that there weren't any other spectacular ones). Big recommendation for them, and I can only hope their next CD is as good as Built From Scratch, possibly a little longer too. 23 minutes is just a little too short.
In other news... I dunno. Sketchbook... Tuesdays? Oops... Bruce Campbell in a sweet Old Spice commercial... It's rerun week on Ugly Hill. With commentary!... Reason to get a 360? Oh yes... Yay new Wario!...
Okay. So my 10 best of 06 article is done. It saw a lot of drafting, but it's done. I'll warn you now though, that I can guaranteee that you're not going to like some things you see there. And I'm not talking about game choice. Before you start, remember that I'm the guy who pretty much just shovels money into the furnace. You'll be less surprised that way, but no less annoyed.
Something Awful posted a hilarious article yesterday about leaked details from Silent Hill 5. Being as big a Silent Hill fan as I am, I found it to be incredibly entertaining. Even if you've never played a Silent Hill game, you'll probably enjoy it anyway out of sheer ridiculousness.
A new article from me (it's been how long??) is coming soon. I just have to get some images finished up and we're golden. Possibly also some post-Christmas spiels.
Wired's Best Games of 2006 - I'm completely at ease with this list. Probably because it's mostly games I actually play. Also, I'm friendly to anyone who shows love for Okami. And Servbots.
I don't condone, however, Wii Sims. Yeah, it'll sell millions in Japan, but I wonder how it'll do over on North American shores. I guess it's mainly women and non-gamers who play The Sims anyway though, so I guess it could probably go either way. I personally don't like it though. How weird would it be to see those little Sims making out, hut-tubbing in the nude, or using the Heart-shaped bed?