[Now Playing| Advance Wars 1 - DS]

(These people are excited)

Well, its here. Everyone and their mother has been waiting for this game. So, what are you waiting for, go get it.

For the last few weeks anytime I go into a gaming store (or even Target) I hear people talking about this game. However, they all keep saying “Well, its coming out for PS2 soon, so dont even bother with the Gamecube. Its doomed.” HELLO….people, thats a year away. Sorry that the misinformed employees at Gamestop have you thinking its coming out in a month. Boy, Im glad that the people who are supposed to inform the public about games are so retarded. Whatever.

Also, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT see Resident Evil Apocalypse. It is horrible! I saw the first one and kind of liked it. Hell, it made me go out and purchase RE 0 and 1 for the Cube. I read that Jovovich wasnt going to sign on for a second one unless the script was better. Um….what the hell happened. This is the worst piece of crap Ive ever seen. Blah, stay far far away.

Anyway, Im not going to run out and get this game just yet. I really wasnt even planning on getting it at all, but all of the wonderful reviews have changed my mind. So, Ill probably pick it up when I get my next paycheck. Actually, now that I think about it, Im pretty excited for this game now. Shooting insane people and fighting giant monsters? Yup, sounds good.

Resident Evil 4 Site

2004 Year in Review: Part Two

2004 was quite a year for gaming. Im not sure I ever remember a year when so many big name titles came out. Most of the time more games were coming out than I had money for. Once again, Nintendo takes top spot as game publisher. There still isnt another company out there that can match them in terms of quality. They even managed to have a lot of quantity too, although because of it I think they let a few stinkers slide in.

More…

[Now Playing| Advance Wars 1 - DS]

I found this link a long time ago, but just got around to reading it the other day. Zoonami is a game company formed by former Rare employee, Martin Hollis. Although they havent released a game yet (and thier rumored first game is a music game) there is a lot of hype surrounding this company. Anyway, here is a link to an depth analysis of Super Mario World and Ocarina of Time. Its pretty interesting and nice to see that people put thought into this kind of thing….and realize who the masters are.

Zoonami Site

[Now Playing| Advance Wars 1 - DS]

Well, Im back from my cousin’s shotgun wedding. It was nice to see all of the extended family. I actually had a lot of fun and noticed that all of my cousins and even some of my uncles had either matured or have gotten more relaxed. Good times.

As its been for the last few weeks, there isnt much in the way of gaming news. Reggie has been hinting about the Revolution, Mario is whoring himself out in even more games (this time its Dance Dance Revolution), there are rumors that Soul Caliber is coming to the DS, and rumors that Mario 128 is coming to the Gamecube and not the Revolution.

I have to admit, its getting a bit ridiculous that Mario is getting thrown into all of these third party games. I guess it will help sales, but its also devaluing Mario as a property. And if its true that Mario 128 is Cube bound Ill honestly be upset. Sure, Im looking forward to the next new Mario game, but if the Revolution doesnt launch with a Mario or Zelda it will start off on the wrong foot, just like the Cube.

So, we possibly have Mario 128, a new Zelda, and StarFox Assualt releasing in the twilight hours of the Cube, what is going to be ready for the Revolution so that it can ship along side the PS3? I guess we will have to wait and see. At least I know that my Cube is going to be getting plenty of love for quite awhile.

This is awesome stuff. You can check out the animation cycles for Street Fighter characters. Very cool stuff, especially for animators.

Anyway, Im out of town for a few days at a wedding, so enjoy yourselves.

Street Fighter Animation Breakdown

[Now Playing| Metroid Prime - GC]

Well, we finally have the first screenshots and footage of Mario, Luigi and Peach in NBA Street v3. These screens look alright, but you have to check out the video. “Mario’s got the moves, yo!”

Gamespot Article

Just wanted to post a few links to some interesting articles.

First, from Gamespot, we have an interview with the president of Ubisoft talking about EA buying a 20% stake in the company. Have I mentioned I hate EA?
Ubisoft Article

*Update: It looks like Infogrames is getting into the fight and is willing to help Ubisoft fend of EA. Read about it at Reuters.

And over at Nintendojo they have written a nice little article on the merger of Tech TV and G4.
G4 Tech TV Article at Nintendojo

* Here is a petition I found to reverse (or at least display how angry we are) the NFL exclusive license. You guys know I love petitions, haha.
EA Petition

[Now Playing| Metroid Prime - GC]

Wow, this video is hysterical. Pick the version with the subtitles. This guy is my hero, I wish I could dance this well, haha.

Numa Numa Video at Newgrounds

[Now Playing| Metroid Prime - GC]

Here is a site my brother found that has scans of GBA boxes. I love to see how the box art gets totally raped when it comes over to the US. Either the person making the decisions has no taste, or they feel that Americans arent sophisticated enough for good design. Bah.

GBA Box Scans

[Now Playing| Metroid Prime - GC]

Ever lost a manual and then needed it? Ever bought a used game that didnt come with a manual? Like to look at the pretty artwork in the manual but your little brother ate it? Fear no more!

There are many sites like this out there, but HQScans is the best Ive found. People contribute their own scans to the site and they are hosted for everyone to download. They even include maps and other things if available. You can find out more info at the site.

If you download the SNES file, check out Secret of Mana. There are some awesome pictures of little clay figures they made for the game in it. Oh, and same for Earthbound if its in there!

HQScans

UPDATE: HQScans has since closed. Thanks to GunZeroX for pointing out this site:

Replacement Docs

2004 Year in Review: Part One

2004 was a very entertaining host. From comic books to movies, music and novels I was never bored. In part one of my year in review (gaming and living to come) Id like to share some of the more memorable ways that I wasted away my days.

More…

[Now Playing| Donkey Konga - GC]

Finally a place to see trailers and gameplay footage without some stupid watermark. I really like Game Trailers, especially since the site is easy to use, has fairly high quality vids, and lets you download with ease. Check em out.

Take this new trailer of Minish Cap for example:
Japanese Minish Cap Commercial

Game Trailers

IGNore! - full listing

[Now Playing| Metroid Prime - GC]

Here are the first screen shots of Castlevania for the DS. Looks like the top screen will be a map and the bottom will be where the gameplay occurs. Im not sure of all the ways the touch screen is being used, but it looks like you will at least have control over spells with it. The graphics appear better than the GBA games, but until I see it running I cant tell how good they are.

Castlevania DS 01
Castlevania DS 02
Castlevania DS 03

[Now Playing| Donkey Konga - GC]

My girlfriend was gone all Xmas break visiting her family. She got back today and we exchanged belated Xmas presents…and one of mine was Donkey Konga.

So far we only have one set of bongos, but we ordered another pair from Nintendo’s online store. We played the game for hours though. There arent many games that my girlfriend likes (pikmin, animal crossing and mario) but she loves Donkey Konga now.
The cool part is that she had played it at Toys R Us and liked it, but it was her sisters recommendation that pushed her over the edge. Her little sisters friend has the game and they are addicted to it and they thought we would like it too.

So, not only am I happy that its a good game (well, the graphics kinda suck, but you never even look at them while your playing) but now I also have a multiplayer game to play with my girl. And for the record, she is much better than I am! I have no rhythm. Stupid white boy.

[Now Playing| Metroid Prime - GC]

More Metroid goodness! Darkfader has hacked the DS and here is a video to prove it:

Darkfader Hack Video
(You may need VLC if you cant get the video to work.)

And here are some pics I took of the levels and characters from the dumped rom:

Hunters Dump 1
Hunters Dump 2
Hunters Dump 3