Geek vs Life

Ahem… what is this?

I mean seriously though. WTF?

Stay tuned for the CROTCH ZOOM!

So I’m browsing around on TV.com, adding episodes for Haruka -Beyond the Stream of Time-, when I catch this little nugget at the top of my screen. I’ll spare you from reading it (although the comments are amusing), and give you a brief synopsis:

A 10-year-old girl in England who is reportedly 4′9″ and 6 stone (84 lbs) was called “fat” by Wii Fit (even though that term is not used) in their BMI test. Her parents are pissed, and now the spokesperson from the National Obesity Forum (remember, it would be England’s National forum) wants to ban the game from children.

If you want more on what’s been said and everything, you can go ahead and read it, but here’s the reason I’m posting this:

Something in that article is wrong.

Yes, I put “X”, and not “Brawl”. Why? Because that’s what it says on the spine of the game case in Japanese. And yes, I’ve gotten a chance to play it (all hail friends who import).

First off, I played using the GameCube controller, because I was told it was easier than the Wiimote. I didn’t argue, I’d rather have a controller anyway. In vs. mode, the gameplay plays pretty much the same as Melee. A few of the characters (such as Zelda, and the Pokémon Trainer) are a little harder to use because they have transformations/change-ups that play similar to other abilities/special attacks, and you might do one when you’re trying for the other.

In other news, my girlfriend’s craving to own a DS will soon increase with the release of this new little game. I am slowly turning her into a gamer, hehe.

Lu Bu, Xing Cai, Zhou Yu, Zhen Ji and 37 more characters are back in the heat of hack and slash battle set in ancient China as Dynasty Warriors 6 is hitting shelves this Feb 19 on both PS3 and Xbox360.

Dynasty warriors has been one of my favorite series for the past few years. It’s pretty bloodless killing. The violence isn’t all about the “finishing move” as opposed to the numbers. The more you kill, the better. Use your blade, spear or any other number of weapons to conquer your foes. If things get too hairy, there is always the possibility to use your “renbu”, a scaled attacked combo that gets more powerful as you defeat more enemies without taking any damage.

Watch the trailer, good times are ahead indeed.

Greeting and salutations, folks. Sorry for the lack of content from me, but the GVL Lair has been put on hiatus until I find a more permanent place to live, but this has given me an odd amount of free time to actually sit down and play a ton of games, some of which guerrilla style (which I’ll get to in a near future post).

With 2007 down the drain (thankfully in some regards), looking back seems appropriate. The year was absolutely amazing for games, and far too expensive to try to get to all of the good stuff. But, alas, I’ve sacrificed and/or sleep to try to get through everything in one form or another. Thus, without further ado, here are my picks for the top 10 games of 2007.

The next generation will be computer animated. It has become harder and harder to tell the difference between reality and CGI in certain videogames. The ripple effects of water. The sweat pouring from the pores of your character after he wins a battle. Look around you. Look at the games you play now and look back at the games you used to play only 10 or so years ago. The differences are astounding.

The video below is a prime example of what can be done now:

Alone in the dark 5(1Q 2008 on PC, PS2, PS3, Xbox360 and Wii)

Versus what was done back then.

Alone in the dark(Released in 1992 on DOS)

Wii owners who have purchased Guitar Hero III were left confused when they started playing the game: the sound was in mono.

Despite the fact that the game is advertised as supporting “Dolby Pro Logic II surround sound”, only one channel works properly. In a game where sound *IS* the game, not getting the full effect is excessively detrimental to the game.

In an interview with IGN, an Activision spokesperson said: “We are currently working with Nintendo and are planning to issue an improved audio experience in future versions of the game. We expect to have re-mastered discs available by early 2008 and we will be offering consumers replacement discs at no cost once they become available.”

So if you were planning on getting Guitar Hero III on the Wii for Xmas, maybe you should consider a rain check.

Remember as a kid, when playing racing games, like Excite Bike for example, you’d hit the turn just a little to steeply and hit a tree. What was once a first place, ends up being 6th. The shame.

The Burnout series not only encourages touches and hits, it rewards you for them.

Catch the demo next week available on both the Playstation Store and Xbox Live Marketplace.

Watch the video below.

It’s like reaching one of those moments when nothing can go wrong.

Riley is on the guitar, hitting every note without fail, as is Doug is playing the bass. Joe is on drums pounding away and setting up the rhythm for me to follow.

I can hear the crowd chanting along as we approach the ending of ‘Creep’ by Radiohead. My throat is hoarse from belting out the high and low notes. I know we have to finish strong—the fickle fans demand it.

As the final chorus ends, the crowd cheers and gives us a standing ovation. We played the song flawlessly and won the battle of the bands on “Rock Band.”

Harmonix’s “Rock Band” is just what he name implies: Grab your instruments or microphone and join forces with your friends in what is perceived as being one of the most socially interactive games released since “Rayman Raving Rabbids” for the Nintendo Wii. It’s like starting a garage band with your friends without years of practice.

I felt the familiar rush flow through me. Adrenaline infused with pure rock and roll. My hand was starting to cramp, but it didn’t matter. The crowd’s cheering reinforced my conclusion that Tongue and Groove had yet another five-star performance. I prepared myself for an encore, the energy from the audience deceived me. No—they were cheering for the top-hatted character that was approaching the front of the stage, coming forth to steal my thunder. With a strange combination of awe and annoyance, Slash from Guns N’ Roses came forward in an attempt to upstage me at my own concert. I gritted my teeth, steeled my nerve, and accepted his challenge. I knew my career could not continue unless I bested this legend, and to do it, I would have to play dirty.

“Guitar Hero 3” is the first of the series to be produced without Red Octane. With this loss came several changes.

One of these games will most likely eat Jon’s time, one of these will eat Krash’s if he can get it, and 2 will be fighting to the death to try to wrestle my minuscule amounts of spare time away from the Orange Box. Guess which ones? Oh, and remember, kids, release dates are tentative. Just ask anyone at your local chained video game store.

OCTOBER 15, 2007

Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground (Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, Wii, DS)
Beautiful Katamari (Xbox 360)
The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles (Xbox 360 retail version)
Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis (Wii)
Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day (DS)
Fullmetal Alchemist: Trading Card Game (DS)
Bee Movie Game (DS)
Seven Kingdoms: Conquest (PC)
Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos (Wii Virtual Console)
Metal Marines (Wii Virtual Console)
Gate of Thunder (Wii Virtual Console)

Today started so easy. Get out of the relaxation chamber, listen to the oddly friendly computer voice over the intercom, throw my coffee cup and the radio into the toilet, walk through a fiery gate ripping a hole in space and time to escape my glass prison, put a box on a giant red button, and enter the elevator right after my fillings are vaporized out of my head by a wall of energy. And now, here I stand staring down a hallway with beams of red light shining across hunting for me, all the while small robotic laser guided egg shaped machine gun turrets are asking me nicely where I’ve gone and if I would please come back out. What exactly did I sign on for, and why am I a girl?

Ok folks, sorry about the length of this one. It’s a really long list. A couple of things of note: Super Smash Brothers has been delayed until January 24th (and, yes, Sonic the Hedgehog is in it. Fanboys delight), Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 out there in November (yes, it’s as funny as it looks), Alvin and the Chipmunks (wait…what the….?), Mario Kart on the Wii is for Spring ‘08 (thankfully, that isn’t the title), November 20th sees Final Fantasy XII come out for the DS (and I’m going to lose Jon for a few days), Dimentium: The Ward (really creepy, especially for a DS game), and…is that Assassin’s Creed down there on the DS in February? Who would have thought?

So, with this in mind, here’s the bloody long list, that doesn’t even contain VC releases: