Update! Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition!

In accordance with the latest over on Joystiq, the US branch of Capcom will also be releasing RE:5 Alternative Edition as Gold Edition on the 9th of March in the states for both PS3 and 360!

This particular release will be in the physical medium which includes add-on content for PS3 and a download voucher for 360. However if you already own the first incarnation of the game(and I so do!)Capcom is giving you access to the DLC content earlier, practically a whole month earlier! The first of 4 confirmed DLC chapters will be released on the 17th of February for 360, and the 18th for PS3. There isn't very much information about the first chapter aside from It's name: "Lost in Nightmares," and that it will come a custom pack(perhaps more costumes/weapons/or maybe some new multiplayer levels?) The second chapter is set to debut on 3rd(360) and 4th(PS3) of March for each console respectively with a confirmed costume pack along with it!

Exciting times are ahead, soon I'll have to dust off RE:5 and prepare for the battle ahead,
I honestly can't wait to helm the control of Jill Valentine once more and kick some Umbrella ass!

Rant: The "Shallow" end of the pool

Earlier today I went through my normal routine of cruising Joystiq, Kotaku and a myriad of other gaming sites for my daily fix on the up-and-coming for video games. Another place that I frequent Gametrailers for their videos, more notably their trailers(hence the name).

Just another day browsing through when I saw something familiar, the latest installment into the Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution Series, the 3rd entry to be exact. They featured demoed gameplay by none other than the folks over at Willvolution, which by the way are a very talented and just overall awesome group of gamers that I've had the privilage to compete against.

So I was just minding my own business while watching an exhibition match between Sakura/Kabuto and decided to read some of the initial comments. This was the first mis-taken step into a battle that I had no idea was upon me. Now, before I start getting into this I'd like to say that I try to respect everyone's opinions and give people the benefit of the doubt when I hear them speak out on a topic, even more so on topics/things that I personally enjoy...

Also here is the particular video that all of this occured about, and I will admit that if you're not into this particular kind of game that it probably would seem uninteresting, but hear me out on this one:

Video Games | Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3 | Exclusive Sakura vs Kabuto Exhibition Gameplay

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

...I was skimming through the most recent comments and ran into some interesting(or not so interesting, nor critical feedback about it)things:

-Yanahana: "god that was sooooo boring"
-DotZero1: "That fight made this game look boring as hell."
-Raidel007: "well the fight kind of sucked...... "



But that still begs the question, why is it boring? I really don't like it when people have a really "boring" opinion about a particular thing/subject. It doesn't offer anything relative to shift the argument to either side, nor does it keep the argument neutral. All it does is waste space, and time(more so the latter), if there's nothing constructive to say/add then please, just shut the fuck up! There are better things to do than to waste my time, let alone everyone else who stopped to read your comment.


The next comment that I took notice of was a step up from the previous two(not a very large step, but one none the less):

-Soladrin: "wow so boring, all the standard attacks are the same."

Alright, that's fair in the sense that It's kind of constructive, but lets look at this for a second:

1) This is a game of the Fighting genre, so immediately we should at the very least expect things to get repetitive.

2) You can believe all you want that "all" video games need to be unique in every single aspect of game-play and control. But come on now, who are you even beginning to kid around with that kind of statement. While the games of today continue to evolve and offer many new innovations, there's isn't a single game out there where the player doesn't have to repeat something over and over again. Sure, maybe they can mask it, or do something to make it so that you don't take notice to doing something repetitively which is great, but take that at face value. It's just a mask, and if you can accept that then you shouldn't have any problems with "things being the same."

3) With fighting games every fighter has a set standard of basic moves: punches, kicks, throws, blocks, movements, specials, etc. The point of this being, that this is a standard, you know that thing that you need to unify a specific aspect of a game, in this case your moves/commands. However each character has their own unique style to fit their different personalities, so while they all function the same internally, what makes it different is how each one reacts to the inputs. It's about all the unique little tweaks/quirks that each one possess that sets them apart despite being of a simplistic style.


Then all hell broke loose when I saw these next ones in particular:

-DenHond: "shit players or shit game? Only time will tell...?"
-ThatGuy: "these players suck...oh i get it they are american players arnt they."

And the gauntlet comes down...correct me if I'm wrong but you(DenHond)are under the current assumption that these two particular individuals are of the coveted(sarcasm folks, if you aren't use to it by now, then step it up) "shit" caliber of gamers. First off, back the fuck down right now, having an opinion is all good, but never under any pretense just out right shoot down a particular person's style of play, we're all different and use different means to reach the same goal...in short don't be a fucking asshole. Second, what exactly makes this a "shit" kind of game? Going back to an earlier argument, why is this particular game a "shit" game? You've once again managed to not offer anything constructive to the mix, and wasted more of my time, next!

If there was anyone in there that I would not want to ever meet outside of video games, ThatGuy *sigh* you take the cake. Why would you, let alone anyone ever have such a damned shallow opinion about a specified affiliation of gamers with such a stupid blanket statement? You've put it out in the open now that YOU have this belief that not specific american gamers suck, but that all american gamers suck. Who the fuck do you think you are? It's probably safe to argue that YOU may have had experiences where certain individuals may have been of a lesser skill level than yourself that happened to be american, or maybe had someone behave in a very unsportsman-like conduct to you that also happened to be american, however that does not garner you absolution to verbally decimate anyone under the title of "american." You have not, and probably will not ever compete with every single one of us, even under the pretense of just fun. So shut the fuck up or get the fuck out! Either way you need a serious shift in perspective, no one should have to tolerate the shit that just dribbled out of your mouth ever.

We(the gaming community)have individuals like ThatGuy, and many other useless contributers to the trolling movement to thank, for continuing to make a conscious effort in lowering the bar for us. Most gamers, especially the really competitive bunch seem like a group of assholes, and to other gamers no less(shocking isn't it?). What happened to being friendly in the face of competition, or just being friendly? Is it really alright to let this grow and continue? I personally don't think so. Also, if I happen to meet any of you(individuals much like the above descripted)and you wonder maybe why we aren't getting along so well...take a look in the mirror and if you have enough insight, then maybe you'll realize that you're just going about it all wrong.

New Super Mario Bros Wii ---> First Impressions

Alright Nintendo, you got me and I'll admit to it. As some of you may know, the latest in the Mario franchise: New Super Mario Bros Wii debuted on Sunday(which is a really strange day for a game release in my opinion, but we're not here to talk about that).

New Super Mario Bros for the Nintendo Wii is an extremely fun game, and a worthy addition to the somewhat recently diluted Mario franchise(this is looking at you Super Mario Galaxy). Originally thought of as a port of the DS game, many fans didn't seem too excited to see this at E3 '09. I also had my doubts because of the heavy focus on multiplayer, which in most Mario titles are but this game specifically has 4 players(Mario, Luigi, and two Toad characters) simultaneously playing at the same time. I believed that at the time I dubbed it Mario: Four Swords(parodying the Zelda: Four Swords Adventure title), which to me didn't seem like it was in the wrong at all, I mean when you give 4 people(friends hopefully)the opportunity to work together one of two things inevitably happen: 1)everyone starts the game all happy and nice, but then it eventually degenrates into fighting amongst yourselves for the coins(any type of currency), or power-ups, and no one want to cooperate because not everyone is of the same skill level. 2)Everyone ends up having a good time regardless of what happens. In most cases the former happens more often than the latter, usually ending friendships too.

In this particular case however I was wrong, after having obtained a copy of it for myself I must say that NSMBW(New Super Mario Bros Wii)is probably the most fun/entertaining gaming experience I've had in a while! I would go so far as to say that It's encouraged that everyone plays this one with friends because it would be too boring alone. My roommates and I took it for a test run and we've just reached the start of the 4th world(after many ridiculous deaths and much laughter at one another).

NSMBW is very heavily influenced by Super Mario Bros 3(probably the best and most awesome Mario entry for the NES)with It's world structure which if you remember is much like a game board. A few things that return are the mushroom houses, and simple control scheme which involves using the Wiimote horizontally like a classic NES controller(D-Pad and two button interface). Yoshi, makes a return and is treated much like It's Super Mario World counter-part. Your main antagonists in NSMBW are none other than the Koopa Kids whom haven't been seen(at least by me)since SMB3, and Baby Bowser.

Level structure also brings back a feeling of nostalgia by recreating specific themes and types of gameplay from many of the classic Mario titles. Some new things added into the mix are a bunch of new power-ups(which I don't know the official name of so we just made some names up off the top of our heads): Freezie Flower, Propeller Suit, and Penguin Suit! Music which is usually a driving force behind the Mario games seems somewhat bland this time around(I've only heard about 4 songs so far), It appears to just be there for background since you won't be paying much attention to it anyway.

If I'd have to make an estimate, NSMBW would be around 7-10 hours of gameplay with a ridiculous amount of replay value. With 8 worlds to explore, each carrying their own little secrets you'll be playing this one for a very long time. It caters to the gamers who crave the feeling of nostalgia, and for newcomers who just want to dive into the fun of a classic Mario game with a fresh spin on it!

Update! Resident Evil 5: Alternative Edition

Alright, so I know this update is like a week old already but I've just been busy with work and all that fun stuff, and I totally forgot about this one. Normally that isn't possible because I live and breathe video games so please forgive me. However, on to the topic at hand!

It was recently announced that Resident Evil 5:Alternative Edition will be released as DLC! You can get the skinny over on Joystiq but the jist of it is as follows. Capcom held a questionaire of sorts with the fans, and having deliberated the results with the Osaka Team, they've decided to move forward with the idea of releasing Alternative Edition as DLC for the US and Europe. Japan will be the only country who currently will be able to obtain the expansion in a physical medium.

I will admit that when I became privy to this announcement, I just screamed inside. This is a glorious day for the Resident Evil franchise and their fans, and I can't wait to play the expansion!

Borderlands, tastes like FPS ala RPG...Delicious!

If the genres of RPG and FPS had a baby, Borderlands would be their child. I was a bit skeptical I admit, when I had first heard of Borderlands I just wasn't quite sure how they would manage to pull this feat off. Splicing together most genres usually ends in failure mostly due to lack of imagination, sometimes too much but this game had just the right amount of both.

At the time of this piece, I have only played for about 2 days(playing through Steam on the PC thanks to a friend who graciously purchased the game for 4 of us at a discounted launch deal, thank you Nate!), just got to level 23 last night before switching it off. I'm very impressed with 2K Games, they've done a tremendous job with Borderlands. They've managed to pull a veil of lies over my eyes, allowing me to feel as though I'm playing an RPG without feeling like I'm actually playing one. Where do I begin?



First off there's a class system akin to most MMORPG style of play. Each character represents a specific style of play but is not limited to as such, you can pretty much customize them to be as you see fit. There's also a quest system, with a giant array of side quests(which is mostly to blame for me spending so much time in this game...which is a good thing)which are so much fun, you get lost in them and don't seem tedious at all. The biggest thing Borderlands has to offer though is their endless arsenal of weapons, they're always doing something to change up how you approach the situation in combat. Very much like Diablo or World of Warcraft, you can obtain rare, super-rare, and epic versions of equipment to maximize your efficiency and play style.

One of the more noticable aspects of this game is the graphical style. This technique seems to be similar if not akin to cell-shading, which started gaining more mass appeal with the movie A Scanner Darkly(which I still haven't seen), very fluid and smooth yet cartoony. It should also be noted that the characters themselves also have distinct personalities, which really shines through while engaging with the environment or in specific situations, all very comical but relateable to gamers.

How could I forget? Borderlands also features a very memorable and comical little mascot by the name of Clap-Trap:



He's your little helper of sorts, giving you tips throughout the game and pretty much there to take up space and entertain you.

Borderlands is an awesome game with so much to do in, and it doesn't get boring(at least not yet). However It's recommended that you experience this with a friend, or group of friends. It's just not the same playing alone, which can also be fun but not as much. This game has a lot of replay-value, with a new game plus feature allowing you to start over with your current characters while scaling up the difficultly of the game. And when the game ends with one character you can play through as another class and have a whole new experience right from the start. It's also exciting to know that DLC is currently underway and will be available in the near future, expanding the game and giving us the players, more to do and explore.

I absolutely love this game and highly recommend it to both fans of the FPS and RPG community, hell just gamers in general. Anyone can pick up this game and have a good time!

Turbo, a video game short film

Normally when we hear "video game movie," most of the gaming community feels a cold shiver run down their spine. At best a couple of these "films" have managed to do marginally alright, but just scooting to that point on the scale, It's nothing to be proud of. So why is it that when a movie based off of some video game, with a well written story(if there is one), and clearly defined everything else(characters, the mood, environment, etc.)end up more often than not, completely failing? The answer I could come up with is: some(company, writer, director, etc.)entity believes that they're going to put "their creative spin" on a realm that doesn't need to be tampered with. Hell, it doesn't just happen with adaptations, just trying to make a movie about video games itself usually end up as a giant fail idea too.



(Just to point out a few...)

Now, could I do any better? Hmm, I don't necessarily have the credentials for making movies, but as a gamer I would be able to tell more or less what would probably be a stupid idea from a good one...so yeah maybe If I were to assist on some creative direction then maybe it would turn out for the better. I know you can't please everyone(myself included which is why I'm going on this rant), but there needs to be some kind of guideline to adapting a specific media that's already well defined into another.


Anyhow this isn't about me in the first place, I just got a little too carried away with the whole blog thing. Let me introduce Turbo, an independent short film about what the future of video games, namely the fighting genre may hold. The movie itself is somewhat cheesy and It's made that way on purpose, the acting is alright(much better than hollywood caliber as far as video game movies are concerned), believable in a geeky sense. The highlights of the film are definitely the special effects, and the overall style of the world this story takes place in.

Turbo clocks in a little under a half-hour, but that's more than enough in this case, to experience one of the better pieces of video game film that anyone has seen in quite some time. And if you like the film, please by all means support it by buying a DVD copy over @ turbothemovie.com. Enjoy...hopefully!

Conqueror-Achiever

So I was sitting here in front my computer, vegetating in front of the screen watching Restaurant City(newest Facebook game addiction, don't start it for your own health and safety)play itself when I decided to cruise on over to 4chan. Before I go on may I ask you to reserve your judgment about my internet browsing(if you have any problems with 4chan that is), because that place will show you the true face of humanity while hopefully being entertained by most of what you may or may not expect to see. Anyhow, I took a stroll through /v/(video games) and stumbled upon an interesting test about video games, more specifically gamer types which actually happens to be pretty accurate...at least for me anyway.

Head on over to BrainHex to take this interesting test and see if they nail down what kind of gamer you seem to be.


As for myself:

Your BrainHex Class is Conqueror.

Your BrainHex Sub-Class is Conqueror-Achiever.

You like defeating impossibly difficult foes, struggling until you eventually achieve victory, and beating other players as well as collecting anything you can collect or doing everything you possibly can.

According to your results, there are few play experiences that you strongly dislike.

Learn more about your classes and exceptions at BrainHex.com.

Your scores for each of the classes in this test were as follows:

Conqueror: 20
Achiever: 14
Mastermind: 13
Seeker: 11
Survivor: 9
Socialiser: 9
Daredevil: 4


You can follow the links either here or over on the site to see a more detailed layout of my class/sub-class specifics, and your own too. Also if you would be so kind, to post your results if they will fit in the comments, have fun with this one everyone! Oh, by the way according to the class combination in that specific order I'm also a Shark-Beaver(no sexual connotations even though I know you thought of them, you dirty dirty readers), whatever that means...

I have now lost all my faith in Nintendo

I don't believe that there's anything left to be said about this travesty. I for one have been trying really hard to understand the whole "breaking up the video game audience into Casual/Hardcore" deal, all things considered I'd like to reaffirm that I'm neither of those but more so the hidden option C...a little bit of both(I don't see why gamers can't be a bit of both and why the industry doesn't recognize this, well obviously so they can potentially make more money). However it seems that more so than not, that with the casual market they end up wasting more money on stupid ideas like a Twilight trivia game, I can vaguely imagine the board meeting for this farce:

Genius CEO 1: you know that Twilight series is really popular amongst the teenage girls.

Genius CEO 2: I bet we could make a whole lot of money if we made some kind of game revolving around that series. I mean, we know what the youth wants these days despite being stuck in an office all day and not being connected to anything pop-culture related.

Genius CEO 1: dude, fucking genius!

Nintendo, as far as I'm concerned is pretty much done and over. It seems that all they care about these days is making money, and less about having fun(Wii Vitality Sensor...who the hell ever needs one of these, think about that one for a second because that's all you'll need. Oh, and the answer to that riddle is NO ONE!). It was nice while it lasted Nintendo, you've been a big part of my video game life but somewhere along the way you got lost, soon only to become a shadow of your former self like Sega...ouch!

I'd like to extend my thanks to Nintendo and Twilight, for further making a mockery of the video game industry, good day!

Resident Evil 5: Alternative Edition, this is aweso...wait currently only for PS3, W.T.F?!?!?!

I was randomly browsing through Kotaku when I stumbled onto this little number:




Apparently, Capcom has plans to expand on the back-story of Resident Evil 5 via flashback content. However it appears that "currently" only the PS3 is privy to this glorious content update, in the form of a new game no less but still.

It would infuriate me to no end if this add-on is console exclusive, mostly because Capcom would be ignoring a good portion of their fan-base since not everyone is fortunate enough to have every single next-gen console yet. I'd probably also be upset if they made it DLC but made it too expensive(like the multiplayer mode for RE:5...seriously that cost way too much).

All that aside though and I'm pretty excited to see them expanding on the "canon" storyline of Resident Evil(sorry Milla, the movies started out alright and then took a dive...it pretty much just needs to stop), especially since it involves more of Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine...scratch that last part, just Jill Valentine(she's only the most awesome fiticious video game girl ever!)

IRL: Work Related

Alright, this happened a couple of hours ago, so while the experience is still fresh in my mind(relatively)let's walk-through a particular event(similar to a scripted battle in an RPG where you can't win, the only option is to lose...well that's the overall feeling anyway)during my shift. I work at the illustrious Barnes & Noble Cafe(I know, It's awesome, you should be jealous)and ever since the two free-standing Starbucks establishments closed down over Christmas we've been busier than usual. Naturally at certain points of the day we have rushes of customers wanting to get something for lunch, or before they go into work at the mall, etc.

During one of our minor rushes we had a lady walk up and order a hot Grande Chai Latte(medium sized, spicy vanilla flavored tea concentrate, with steamed milk), I ring her up and she patiently waits for her drink at the end of the counter. Meanwhile, my boss is making that customer's drink, queuing up the next drink in her head, and talking to the head manager of the store about a certain employee(whom I never got to meet because she quit after a week). Now you normally wouldn't put a shot of espresso in a Chai Latte(because It's not in the recipe but you may alter the drink to your liking, Chai Latte + espresso = Dirty Chai...work terminology, sorry)but with 3 things going on at once you're bound to have a lapse in concentration every once in a while and that's fine because we're all human, we make mistakes and that is perfectly acceptable. The Chai Latte is completed, called out(accidently with a shot of espresso in it, but not mentioned), the lady picks up her drink and is on her way without incident and the day goes on.

The rush continues and I notice the "Chai" customer walk back up, and she looks upset. She looks around, skips the line and walks right up to the counter where the drinks are being placed and utters: "This is disgusting! I ordered a Chai Latte, a drink that isn't suppose to have coffee in it!" Mind you, she's just mouthing off(being self-righteous like all of our wonderful and memorable pretentious customers are)to my boss(very, VERY bad move, you just DON'T DO THAT). All streams of time at that point just froze, everything stopped and I felt my heart skip a beat or two, you could feel an immense pressure immanating from one specific focal point...the boss. It took all of my strength to remain calm and seemingly unaffected by this great force, but my gut told me to just get out of there, kind of like this:


My boss is a fair person, and she tried to deal with this person in the best manner that she could, calmly asking if we could remake that drink for her. The response was...rude, if I could describe it: "...I want a refund! You should be paying attention and not having a chit-chat session with your friend over there!" Ahhh, work...customers are just so damn chipper you know? Annoyed, and obviously angry, my boss refunds the drink and the day continues on in awkward silence.

Let me say that I haven't tasted fear like this in a good long while, from disbelief, to a false calm, panic, then the need to just run and get out of there while riding out the adrenaline rush. I have the perfect way to completely sum up and illustrate my story on this one:



Enjoy the whole thing if you'd like but to see my point just skip ahead to about 43 seconds and watch from there to the end. The best stories to this day, have come out of that cafe, sometimes work can be a pain but moments like this will be remembered till the end of days.

Halo ODST, Dropping on 9/22

This is going to be an exciting time for me, It's been quite a long time since I've taken a trek into the Halo series(probably 3 or 4 months ago since I last played Halo 3). But this game is something to look forward to.

Taking place between the events of Halo 2 and Halo 3, the Master Chief and all the other Spartans will be taking a back seat, as you the "Rookie" who has just been placed in an ODST(Orbital Drop Shock Trooper)squadron are now the primary focus of this operation. During a routine jump, something goes horribly wrong over New Mombasa and your squad's pods are sent off course from each other. Upon regaining consciousness from the impact, you set out to find clues as to where members of your squadron have been, and if they are still alive while neutralizing the Covenant.

Fire-Fight, a new multiplayer mode in ODST has you and a team of friends taking down wave after wave of randomly generated Covenant forces a la Gears of War's Horde Mode. During specific points in between waves, special objectives are unlocked in order to increase the difficulty of gameplay. As an added bonus, if you pre-order this game at your local game retail outlet(Gamestop, EB), you'll be able to play as Sarge during this mode as well.



Halo ODST drops in a little over 2 weeks, September 22nd. If you're a Halo fan who wants an expansion on the story, or just enjoy FPS, then this game might be worth your time. See you on Xbox Live, lets bring the Covenant down!

Retrospective: Kingdom Hearts

Kingdom Hearts is a joint venture between Square Enix and Disney, that merges the realms of Disney and Final Fantasy into one. With an original cast of characters supported by many of the popular ones from both franchises. Kingdom Hearts aims to put a new "what if" twist on if both realms co-existed alongside each other.

The game-play is an action-RPG format, similar to Devil May Cry and Dynasty Warriors. Players gain experience and level up, gaining new abilities, spells and commands while battling the Heartless in real time. For Kingdom Hearts the art style is a derivitive of Final Fantasy with a Disney influence on the new cast of characters. The main stage is played out in the realms of Disney with specilized areas fleshed out like something out of Final Fantasy.

The story is long, but has many unexpected twists and turns. But it is very satisfying for those that enjoy both of what each franchise has to offer. With more than 30+ hours of game-play, a musical score by Yoko Shimomura(whom had worked on other Square Enix titles, namely Super Mario RPG: Legend of The Seven Stars), with the main theme "Simple and Clean(US)" or "Hikari(Japanese)" sung by Utada Hikaru. Kingdom Hearts sought out to do what many other games have tried in the past and failed for the most part, an overwhelmingly successful fusion of 2 worlds that would seem unlikely(and please, you don't need to mention to me: Battletoads & Double Dragon, nor any Capcom cross-over fighter series).


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//////SPOLIER ALERT!: May I remind you that if you plan to play any of the aformentioned titles, or you have not yet completed those specific titles(namely Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II)that you STOP yourself right here and DO NOT CONTINUE TO READ the following paragraphs. My overall goal is to provide a summarized retrospective about the first 2 titles, and then ultimately end with Birth By Sleep and 358/2 Days.//////




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During the first Kingdom Hearts, you ventured out as Sora with Donald and Goofy at your side. One day while on Destiny Island chaos ensues in the form of an attack by beings known as the Heartless. Beings who were once like you or I, but gave into complete darkness and lost their heart in the process. They end up abducting Kairi, and Riku vanishes. Sora vows to find and rescue them, so that things may return to how they were, his resolve during the invasion called forth the Keyblade into his possession, making him a Keyblade Master. During that exact moment King Mickey went missing from Disney Castle, Donald and Goofy were charged with the duty of finding and protecting the King. The trio(Sora, Donald and Goofy)all meet for the first time in Traverse Town, a place where the realms of Disney and Final Fantasy converge into one.

As Sora you travel from world to world, primarily within the Disney realm via the Gummi Ship to quell the chaos and "lock" the doors which allow the Heartless into that particular realm. You meet many famous Disney characters along the way: Aladdin, Genie, Tarzan, Alice, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, The Beast, Minnie, Mickey, Daisy to name a few, with many more throughout your journey. As well as many Final Fantasy characters too: Tidus, Wakka, Aerith, Yuffie, Cloud, Squall, Sephiroth, and Moogles!

Sora eventually learns the Kairi is one of the "Seven Princesses of Pure Heart," It's said that when all of them are gathered the doors to "Kingdom Hearts" will reveal themselves and be opened. Kairi is found unconscious and is revealed to have lost her heart, but has yet to be a heartless. It seems that during the struggle at Destiny Islands, before it was destroyed, in order to save Kairi her heart left her body, and found It's way to Sora and merged with his. Sora then gives up "their" heart to Kairi, ultimately reviving her and turning him into a Heartless, however this also ends up revealing Kingdom Hearts to the Heartless. Moved by Sora's noble choice, Kairi finds his Heartless, and separates "their" heart and gives Sora's back to him, restoring his human form.

Sora then goes off into the world of darkness to fight Ansem, the supposed being behind the chaotic events of the Heartless. Upon his defeat the world of darkness begins to crumble, and Sora desparately tries to shut It's door. All hope seems lost until Riku and King Mickey show up to offer their help by pulling on the door on the other side, sacrificing themselves along with any chance of returning to this world. With the door shut and Heartless supposedly gone from this realm, Sora stands unsure of himself and his choices. As the world of darkness begins to pull away from his realm, Sora reveals to Kairi that he believes the Riku and King Mickey are alive somewhere and that he vows to resuce them, so that they can all be together again. His final words are that of a promise to come back to her one day as the world of darkness fades from view, and Kairi is left back on Destiny Island alone with a sense of hope.


Another Side, Another Story


Deep Dive



The 2 secret endings(from the US and Japanese releases respectively)if you satisfied certain conditions within the game. A hidden reveal which started out as just a special movie for players of the game who went beyond the normal requirements to achieve something more. But eventually grew to become the basis for Kingdom Hearts II and the games the proceeded after it, which will be covered in the upcoming part 2 of this retrospective.

Rant: Why are video games "easy" these days

Lets take a trip back in time if you will, back to the early days of my generation of video games. Remember when NES and SNES games were $60-$70 a game? Yeah, they were that expensive, hard to believe right? As a kid that was a lot of money...that you didn't have. You did all of these chores and behaved yourself so that maybe over the summer you'd end up saving enough money to buy it, or have your parents pick it up for you. Remember when you played that game for months on end? You played it with friends, family or even alone just for fun. Then you would set the game down for a little while, come back to it later and still have that same sense of joy and excitement years later. Those were the days...

So why is it now, that most(and I use that term loosely)video games of today's generation seem "easy"? As mentioned in a way above, back then you could buy a game, play it for quite a while, set it down and then come back and have fun all over again as if you've never played it before. The replay value on games and the difficulty has gone near completely downhill. Today you can purchase a game for $40-60(depending on the system, basing this on a new game price)and be done with it in a matter of hours or days, and then just be done with it all, never to pick it up again.

The question remains, why? The fact that the quality of rendering graphics have definitely gone way up in scale, but as a trade off the game-play time is reduced to the point of where replay-ability is near non-existent. Today games are more about just earning some stupid number(achievements/trophies...which I suppose can be quite rewarding at times), but at the same time is kind of stupid. While it does make someone work towards a goal, the overall course of action eventually becomes all about just getting every "achievement/trophy," and it usually amounts to not having fun, because this is something that you absolutely need to have in order to validate yourself as a gamer. When does working hard to obtain something you don't care about ever sound fun? Now I understand that some gamers are "Completists" which is fine, to each their own. You don't need a panel with squares and witty text to be as such, in fact It's robotic and boring.

The reason you pick up and play a game in the first place is because you think it may be interesting/and or fun. Everything else can fall into place as you go along, it should be about the adventure and the experience that should count in the end. Imagine back to a time where your group of friends all played one game, separately of course but all at the same time. Not everyone plays in the exact same style, you'd have all of these different stories and experiences, all from the same game. The goal would be the same, but that path leading up to it would be different for each and everyone of you. Usually that would be how you end up finding all of these random secrets, and it would only drive you to further explore the game again in another play-through. It made you work hard on your own merit, and gave you a sense of great fulfillment when you obtained it.

So what happened to that magic? Does it still exist? Absolutely, however very faintly the light still burns. Video Games should be about enjoyment, if they're fun then nothing else will matter. I want to remember a character because a part of them I can see reflects on myself, I want to remember a story because It's the kind of adventure that I would want to go on, or have been though. I want to remember this game because I couldn't see myself wanting to forget this moment, feeling the way that I do right now...ever.

Nani?

I guess introductions are at hand right? Well...hello, and welcome to what I hope will be a series entries about my life as a gamer, and my opinions about where the industry is heading. Now let's get one thing straight right off the bat, don't lump me in with the "Casual" or "Hardcore" types(because there are types now *rolls eyes,*remember when being someone who plays video games wasn't cool and/or a fad?), for I am neither, I'm just a gamer, I enjoy a bit of everything, if it looks fun then I'll probably play it.


Namae wa?(Name): Devin
Age: 23 years _____(old/young...or whatever you decide)
Nationality: Japanese(yay, stereotyping! ^_^)
First Introduction Into Video Games: my 5th or 6th birthday, when my grandparents got a Nintendo Entertainment System for me
Favorite Video Game of All Time: Final Fantasy VII(now before you judge me on this one, let me say that I thoroughly enjoyed the story and elements that made up the world of FFVII before it became a fad to enjoy those games)
Current Favorite Titles:
/Dissidia Final Fantasy(PSP)
/Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of The Lions(PSP)
/Rock Band(360)
Favorite Genres: RPG, Action-Adventure, Puzzle, Fighting

Current Systems Owned:
/Xbox 360(360) <=====Current Favorite
/Nintendo Wii(Wii)
/Gamecube
/Playstation 2(PS2)
/Nintendo DS Lite(DS)
/Playstation Portable(PSP) <=====Current Favorite

Past Systems Owned:
/Xbox
/Playstation(PS1) <=====Past Favorite
/Nintendo 64 <=====Past Favorite
/Sega Genesis
/Super Nintendo(SNES) <=====Past Favorite
/Nintendo Entertainment System(NES)
/Nintendo DS(DS)
/Gameboy Advance(GBA)
/Gameboy Color


Now, I'd say that I take playing video games more seriously than the average person(I took 2 days off from work in order to obtain/play a game on launch day...you can make fun of me now, I know, I know...). However, not so much that it runs my life, but gaming is a big part of it. To me playing video games is like the equivalent of reading an exciting novel or watching a great movie, the fulfillment and entertainment that I get from it I can't really describe, I can say that It's only something that someone in the same situation as myself will be able to experience. I devote about 3-4 hours a day at minimum to video gaming(sounds like a lot, but trust me there are people who literally spend their lives on a game...seriously), usually not all in one sitting, it depends on the game.

Can someone love video games and not become a troll? Absolutely. Can these "individuals" become respectable members of society? Sure, why not? We're constantly growing, a community who started as outcasts and has managed to find acceptance in an ordinary world. We're your neighbor, a retail employer, the coffee shop guy, an officer of the law, your mailman...to be quite frank, we're everywhere and everyone, and we're here to stay.