Monk-Blog: The Official Home of Significant Internet Celebrity Monkspider

Monkspider's Top 25 Countdown: #23 Victoria (PC)

2008-05-06T16:47:00.000-07:00

The top ten countdown returns! Sorry for the delay dear readers, but last week i was bedridden with a particularly nasty Las Plagas infection. As promised, today's entry is a somewhat obscure PC title that I doubt any of you have heard of, Victoria: An Empire Under the Sun.

Released in 2003 with perhaps the most absolute lack of fanfare of any game ever. Victoria allows you to control any country in the world from 1836 to 1920 (and later 1933 with the eventual expansion pack), giving you the chance to lead your country through the industrial revolution, the American Civil War, the Colonial rush, and the World War I era.

Many have called it the most hardcore videogame ever made. Personally, I know better, but there is no doubt that for the beginning player it is intimidating almost beyond belief. You control the creation of armies, the research of technologies, the acquisition of resources, your diplomatic relations with other counries, the expansion of industry, the laying of railroads, and i am sure i am just scratching the surface of everything this game covered.

One of the best parts of the game is that at various points "events" occur that give you potentially far-reaching possibilities. These events usually pop up and give you several choices and you are forced with the task of deciding which one best meets your long-term goals. For example, playing as Japan in 1836, you are still a backwards country living under the Tokugawa shogunate that has closed the nation to all trade with foreigners. An event occurs early in the game where you have a choice to allow trade with the Dutch. If you do so, it negatively impacts some of the events later in the game regarding the Meiji restoration which saw Japan quickly undergo a period of rapid industrialization only matched by Modern China. But if you play your cards right, the free technologies the Dutch give you could allow you to gain a bigger advantage than waiting for the Meiji restoration to take place. So the events are interesting and add a lot of historical flavor to the game.

One of the game's greatest accomplishment is a fully functioning market that has prices that increase and decrease based on supply and demand. Every province has farms that create certain natural resources and each of your factories will create industrial goods. So say there is a lot of demand for steel because France and England are trying to build a ton of railroads (which require certain amounts of steel, lumber, and other resources), you build some steel factories to satisfy that need and make money hand over foot, but later on maybe the price for steel will drop and your factories actually start to lose money because the resources to make steel (iron and coal, as I recall) but be more expensive than steel itself. It is an interesting dynamic which rewarded the prudent player and later on you can build a lot of factories for cool stuff like automobiles, telephones, and "aeroplanes". Just be careful, all of your population develop different political beliefs based on various conditions in the game and the more factories you have, the more rabble rousing communists and socialists will pop up demanding absurd things like safe working conditions and health care that will cut into your bottom line!

The best part of the game though for someone who enjoys history like me is the "stories" that the game creates. The points of divergence from history that leaves the amateur historian such as myself to dream about all the implications of what real history would have been like if things unfolded like they did in your game. You can try to rebuild the Ottoman Empire to greatness, lead Prussia or Bavaria through German unification, you can try to colonize the world as England, or give the Confederate States of America a chance at independence. The game allowed for several interesting fantasy scenarios like a communist "Manhattan Commune" that would declare it's independence from the USA if the New York province falls to commie revolutionaries.

My favorite game of all time I think was playing as the Republic of Texas. First of all, winning the war against Mexico at the beginning is tough as balls and accurately represents the historical fluke that was Texas' existence. But once I finally did that, I freed the slaves, passed political reforms toward universal healthcare, covered the country with railroads, massively industrialized (i seemed to favor the canned food industry based on the natural resources Texas had at the beginning) and built Texas into and up and coming power. Several events popped up at the time that Texas historically joined the union, but this time I declined and remained independent.

When the civil war broke out (ahistorically early in this game I think, around 1854), an event fired where the the CSA offered for me to join them as a state, ally with them or stay out of the war. I chose to join the war as their ally but remain independent. Mexico and I were good buddies at this point so they joined the war too. In this version of history, Texas, Mexico and the CSA fought in an alliance against the Union. It was a tough war, but thanks to the support of crack Texas ranger cavalry troops, the CSA won their independence!

Over the course of the game, my liberal reforms and economic opportunity attracted lots of immigrants, so when i looked at my demographic screen it was like 75% Texan, 10% Mexican, 0.5% Chinese, 0.5% Irish, 0.5% Hungarian and so forth. My population, military size and industrial size couldn't rival the USA, but it actually did rival the much larger CSA.

By the dawn of the 20th century, i was considered one of the world's "great powers" and had the third largest economy in the world. I was one of the foremost producers of the newfangled aeroplanes as well as tanks (to reflect the ahistorical nature of the game, they were actually called "barrels" instead of tanks, which i thought was hilarious). The mighty Texan navy struck fear into the hearts of the European powers, with massive dreadnaught-class battleships and I had even established several small colonies in eastern Africa (I believe around the Congo area). Texas was ascendant, a colonial and industrial power, and at this point I believe nothing could stop me.

That is, until another war between the states broke out! The USA declared war on my allies, the CSA. Texan infantry powered by the latest in rifling technology and a complement of barrels to break through enemy lines assisted my besieged CSA ally. This time the USA proved too much, with seemingly hundreds of divisions who didn't hesitate to use gas attacks on us. The USA took the Confederate capital of Richmond but the war devolved by this point into a World War I style stalemate. Texan barrels made some small scale victories, but by the the time an armistice was signed, the Confederates had to surrender some territory back to the union. Seeing which way the wind was blowing, i put a lot of money into cultivating relations with the Union so when another war broke out, i turned on my former ally and added a lot of land to Texas' borders including Oklahoma and chunk of the southwest USA.

The only real flaw with the game as I saw it is that it divides the world into "civilized" and "uncivilized" nations and the uncivilized nations received absolutely absurd penalties against them that made the game completely unfun. The offensiveness of dismissing a civilization with as rich a culture as China as uncivilized aside, it was a horrible gameplay mechanism. It's only reason for being in the game in the first place was just to handcuff China who tended to become an unstoppable monster in the game if it ever got it's shit together. But relatively advanced nations like Korea and Siam that could have theoretically pulled off Japan style transformations are lumped in the category as the most backwards parts of Africa and the middle east and pretty much have zero chance of having any kind of an interesting game. Modders eventually fixed this problem but it was really dumb for it to exist in the first place.

Oh, and one other thing, the expansion pack had an awesome cover featuring a manaical, possibly zombiefied British soldier.

So yeah, i had invested many hours in this game, and experienced some of my most memorable gaming experiences. It has a ridiculously steep learning curve, and it's definitely not a game for the faint of heart, but if you put in the time to learn it, it is incredibly rewarding. It gives me hope for the future of gaming as an intellectual medium. For that reason, it is number 23 on this list.

Monkspider's Top 25 Countdown: #24 Empire at War (PC)

2008-04-23T16:15:00.000-07:00

The next entry in my top twenty five countdown goes to an old favorite on the PC platform, Petroglyph's real-time strategy classic "Star Wars: Empire at War". Although one would think the source material would naturally lend itself to an epic RTS game, all previous attempts were considered huge failures (Force Commander, Galactic Battlegrounds). Fortunately Empire at War was a big success, staying on the PC top ten list for a long time and eventually getting an expansion pack.

The setting of the game is supposed to be shortly before Episode IV, so Luke isn't a Jedi yet, Obi-Wan Kenboi is still kicking it, and Grand Moff Tarkin is still being a badass. One of the most compelling elements of the game when it was first revealed is that it combined both space and ground battles into one game. The game consisted of the usual assortments of vehicles and groud troops you would expect (Stormtroopers, X-Wings, AT-ATs and the like). The most exciting part for me was the hero units you could utilize on both sides, with unique ones for land and space battles. Like in land battles the Empire could utilize Darth Vader, the Emperor, and General Veers and in space the Rebels had the Milennium Falcon, Luke Skywalker's Red Squadron and Admiral Ackbar's Home One.

The single player campaign was decent, it had a couple semi-memorable missions like rescuing some captured wookies from an imperial prison as Han Solo. The most fun to be had in single player though was the galactic conquest mode. Playing as either the Empire or the Rebels you would be looking at a map of the galaxy and using the production capabilities on the worlds you control you would build ground armies, massive space fleets and decide which planets you would want to attack and which ones you want to fortify against oncoming invasions. Would you put all of your fleet in one point or take a chance to spread your forces over multiple worlds? I had lots of fun in this mode with huge "Battle of Midway" style fleet duels, with both sides throwing every capital ship they had into the fight in an all or nothing decisive battle. I also remember losing a space battle and having a rag tag tiny group of troops manage to beat an AI invasion that was ten times bigger just through sheer strategery.

As enjoyable as the single player was, the real reason this game is on the list is for the multiplayer. This was probably the first game that Jay, Rob and I all played together online and it was really a blast. We would always play space battles exclusively since ground battles were marred by overpowered units and a general lack of fun compared to the superb space battles. Eventually over time, our triumvirate became quite the force to be reckoned with.

The landscape of Empire at War's multiplayer was dominated by a handful of huge clans that would try to bully anyone that would dare challenge them. At first we considered ourself the anti-clan, clan-stompers if you will. We would take on all of the best players from any given clan and win with fair consistency. Eventually we decided to form our own clan, calling ourselves Clan Rogue Bantha, after a particularly beloved card from the Star Wars CCG game.

Clan Rogue Bantha quickly earned a name for itself by using a unique system of self-imposed handicaps when playing non-clan players. With different levels of handicaps corresponding to different characters in the Star Wars hierarchy of villainy (Tarkin, Vader and Emperor respectively) we would grant other teams various levels of free resource points to create games where we would have to somehow find ways to win despite fielding numerically and technologically inferior fleets. Despite this, we almost always won these handicapped games and if not we had a good excuse to taunt the other team ("Ha, we were giving you a Vader-class handicap anyway fools!").

Our multiplayer days came to a sad end when Rob's PC crashed one day and he moved away to Florida. After that the band just kind of broke up. But I will always remember the awesome Boba Fett vs (the overpowered) Millennium Falcon battles, our broken surprise bomber rushes that would steal victory from the jaws of defeat,the time where we almost beat one of the game's developers and the sheer satisfaction of finally being able to deploy an Imperial-Class Star Destroyer.

It is these fond memories that propel Empire at War into the number 24 slot on my countdown. Who will be next? Will it be a PC game that I doubt any of you have ever heard of? Probably! So stay tuned, this shit is starting to get real.

-Last minute edit! Okay, snowbot reminded me to mention one other key fact. When you were hosting a game you had to give your game some name of some sort. Most people used generic stuff like "2 vs 2 space" and stuff like that. We used hilariously out of place names for a Star Wars game like "UFO Fight", "Flying Cigar Battle" and "Space Fisticuffs". It was so funny. We would have people join our game and say stuff like" UFO Fight?...the fuck?!?" And yes, Rob was a masterful smack talker who had a knack for making enemy clans absolutely livid with rage upon hearing his victorious banter.

Monkspider's Top 25 Countdown: #25 Super Mario Kart (SNES)

2008-04-17T17:44:00.001-07:00

Alright folks, time to kick off the actual countdown proper, and coming in at number 25 is that perennial classic Super Mario Kart. Though many have challenged the throne (Crash Team Racing, every other Mario Kart since then, Star Wars Super Bombad Racing et al) none of them have eclipsed this 16-bit masterpiece. To this day it remains the greatest example of the kart racing genre, and is personally my favorite racing game, period.

One of the things that really put Super Mario Kart over the top for me was it's characters. It seems like these days Nintendo shoe-horns in a lot of awful characters like Daisy and the awful Rare-designed version of Donkey Kong. Super Mario Kart wasn't about this kind of pandering to the lowest common denominator, it was all about the art, baby. It had great characters like Donkey Kong Junior and Koopa Troopa. The two greatest characters to ever star in a Mario Kart game and paradoxically the two that Nintendo dropped from the roster when they created Mario Kart 64.

But Donkey Kong Jr. was just so badass. He was one of the two "heavy" characters so he was slow to accelerate, but he had the highest top speed potential and could use his massive girth to knock pipsqueeks like toad off of the track. Koopa Troopa was a "light" character so he enjoyed quicker acceleration and superior turning capabilities. He was a lot of fun to play since it was so easy to be effective with him and also arguably the most loveable character. DK Jr was more of a thinking man's character.

But the game was really so much fun to play. The courses were all highly varied and well-designed interpretations of various Mushroom Kingdom locales. My favorite tracks were the Boo Houses and the legendary Rainbow Road. Anyone who played that the first time back in the day (which is the last course in the top secret Special Cup) was immediately blown away by it's psychedelic imagery and it's extreme level of challenge.

I have a lot of great memories on this one. The game was really one of the few early games to have a "coop-esque" mode where both of you can race in the same cup against each other and AI opponents. Jason (a highly skilled Yoshi expert as I recall) and I spent many hours playing through the various cups. I remember we always found the Peach to be particularly annoying so we nicknamed her Princess Brandi, after a particularly annoying and snotty girl who went to our middle school.

Of course no article about Super Mario Kart could be complete without mentioning it's battle mode, the game's true multi-player highlight. The game featured a number of rather simple maps where these peaceful characters, once separated from the peaceful world of racing, quickly devolved into violent barbarism. These kart drivers would actually try to inflict mortal injury on their opponent using a variety of weapons including but not limited to koopa shells, feathers, and banana peels. Needless to say, it was some hardcore shit.

Rob and I created a game where we would set up bases and basically agree to not attack each other until the other infringed on the sovereignty of our base somehow, whether by crossing into our territory or by some other perceived slight. Territorial laws aside, that didn't stop us from shooting off massive amounts of shells while we were in our base. Of course we would always try to offer "friendly" warnings to each other about "shell levels being unusually high" and stuff like that. We would also declare voyages of exploration in this mode where we would try to use the feather (which allowed your kart to jump) to glitch our way into unintended areas. Of course we would sometimes take this opportunity to plant a koopa shell in the back of the explorer while he was off on his great expedition. It was an interesting attempt to forge civilization out of the untamed jungle that is battle mode and to this day it is one of my most memorable multi-player experiences.

Super Mario Kart is one of my twenty five favorite games of all time, and I think is an excellent game to kick off this list. Oh, and more thing, anyone who grew up in this time period I guarantee will remember this commercial.

Foreward: Monkspider's Top 25 Games of All Time

2008-04-15T18:43:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a while since I have blogged on here, but to bring the blog back with style, and as a fundraiser of sorts for my brother Rob Kreh's upcoming Stephen King film project I am going to do a top twenty five list. I don't pretend that this is some kind of objective critique of any sort. This is merely my top 25 games at this point in time. I am sure there are some great games that deserve to be on this list if I had played them and I am sure this list will change in the future but this is merely where I am at right now. In fact two games that I am playing right now but haven't finished are likely contenders for a future version of this list (Uncharted, Psychonauts).

I have heard some people ask how I could have possibly created such a list. The process was admittedly difficult. I tried to go through each generation of games and list my favorites. I referred to other "top" lists on the internet to see if they thought of any games that I forgetting and then I began numbering my choices starting with my number one favorite on down.

So what games made the list? Which ones narrowly missed out? Just to start things off, I am going to include numbers 26 to 50 just for historical value. These games put up a valiant effort but came just short of making the top 25. They are still some of my favorite games ever though. Expect number 25 to be revealed within the next couple days with an accompanying article.

Here are the "honorable mentions".
50. Super Mario Brothers 2-j/The Lost Levels (NES)
49. Command and Conquer Red Alert (PSX)
48. Ms. Pacman (Arcade)
47. Super Mario Brothers 2 USA (NES)
46. Final Fantasy Tactics (PSX)
45. Mario Brothers (Atari 2600)
44. Duck Tales (NES)
43. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Gameboy)
42. Final Fantasy IX (PSX)
41. River Raid (Atari 2600)
40. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (SNES)
39. Star Wars: Empire at War (PC)
38. Mutant League Football (Genesis)
37. God of War (PS2)
36. Gears of War (XBOX 360)
35. Europa Universalis 2 (PC)
34. Resident Evil (PSX)
33. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (PS2)
32. Metal Gear Solid (PSX)
31. Super Mario Brothers (NES)

30. Advance Wars 2 (GBA)

Incredibly challenging, but rarely frustrating and highly rewarding. One of my favorite parts was the secret levels in each chapter that would unlock secret AT-AT super tanks until the next level. I really kick myself for selling this one. I guess really what made it so great for was the divine sweet spot of difficulty and the highly strategic gameplay that stimulated the part of my brain that is in sync with my past life as Genghis Khan.

29. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)

Easily the highlight of the Zelda series for me. I loved the dark and light world dynamic, which is incredibly cliche today but was invented with this game. The other thing i really loved it's ireverent sense of humor: attacking chickens repeatedly would eventually cause a sworm of them to mob you until death and there was a weird guy in the desert who would follow you around forever if you stole his sign. A lot of cleverly designed dungeons and great bosses.

28. Final Fantasy XII (PS2)

Although I had mixed feelings about the battle system initially, eventually I decided it had the best sheer gameplay of any FF game. Although the story is not as strong as some, it had some really great characters, including one of my top ten characters in any game, the legendary Dr. Cid.

27. Resident Evil 2 (PSX)

Man, I have such great memories of playing this one with Rob. Truth be told I don't remember a whole lot about the actual story, but I remember playing it over and over, Going from Leon's disc to Claire's back to Leon's trying to unlock stuff. I don't think I was ever as sucked into any of the other Resident Evils as I was with this one. It just had rock solid gameplay and is probably the magnum opus of the tank control Resident Evils.

26. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Wow, lots of great memories on this one too. The thing that always comes to mind first is how great the music was. This game is possibly my favorite soundtrack of all time, and easily in the top five. Aside from that, is has some great lines ("Die Monster! You don't belong in tis world!") with some legendarily cheesy voice acting. It was a unique amalgamation of Castlevania, Metroid, and various RPG elements.

One of my fondest memories was back in high school watching Joe unexpectedly get obsesssed with this one. Joe was pretty much a strict RPG guy at the time and he somehow matched the world record for the highest percentage completed, utilizing several ridiculous glitches to access unintended areas. Years later at Jason's house, Jay bought the XBLA version and Joe still to this day was an absolute scholar on this game, citing various statistics on drop rates, analyzing the strengths/weaknesses of various items at length, able to explain to Jason the absolute minutia of every nook and cranny of the map just from memory. It was amazing. This one came soooooo close to making the top 25, I kept flipping back and forth with one other title, but it narrowly lost in the end.

Well that brings us to number twenty five. What game *could* it possibly be? Hopefully I have you on the edge of your seats. Stay tuned as the list continues!

WarHawk: Omega Dawn Review

2007-12-20T06:18:00.000-08:00

I present to you another great review from our excellent editor Rob "Dark Harvest" Kreh.

WarHawk is back and the battle is more intense than ever. Last night I bought the much anticipated “Omega Dawn” expansion pack, and I a survived a long night of battles to bring MonkBlog an exclusive review.

“Warhawk: Operation Omega Dawn” adds a lot to the already amazing game play. As I have mentioned before, Warhawk is the greatest online multiplayer in history, IMO (sorry Master Chief, You just don’t cut it). And much like my review for “Uncharted” this is another game that is completely underrated.

The expansion is priced at $7.99, and is well worth the price. The key addition in this XP is a new vehicle called the “Drop Ship”. This massive ship allows pilots to pick up six infantry and one ground vehicle to transport across the map. And this thing is POWERFUL! Wielding three laser cannon’s on each side of the ship, and transported infantry can also utilize missile turrets located on the top of the ship. This completely changes the face of war, especially in CTF mode.

Last might I made it my goal to take down one of the enemies heavily armored dropships in nothing but my lone Warhawk. I felt like Luke Skywalker taking on the Death Star in his weak ass little X-Wing, amazingly after several run and gun attacks, I brought her down in a rain of fire. BOOYAH!

Also added with the “Omega Dawn” expansion are new map layouts for the original 5 Warhawk maps that add the dropship, and a brand new stage called “Omega Factory”. This new map is huge!!!! Seriously, Warhawk is known for huge maps, but this one takes the cake. Oh and did I mention that the “Omega Factory” is a night mission, nothing as beautiful as my WarHawk screaming through the sky at night! Could replace my current favorite map “Island Outpost” We shall see!

One thing I noticed is that the XP was not available to buy directly from the Playstation Store. Instead they added an update to the Warhawk game that adds a “WarHawk’ store in which you purchase the XP from….. Hmm. Now why would they do that? Why not just sell it on the PS Store like all the other XP’s... I think all signs point at future WarHawk content. This is fine in my books! Here are some of my suggestions for WarHawk additions:

1. Parachutes! (To jump out of Warhawk at last second)

2. Boats! (To cruise around in that beautiful water on most maps)

3. Motorcycles (just for shits and giggles)

4. Level Designer (How cool would that be)

5. Custom Warhawk Skins (Come on; let us put our own skins on our Warhawks!)

I will say however that I was disappointed because initial rumors stated that the new upgraded original maps would also be “Night Missions”, that that was not the case. They are the same as the original maps, only with the Dropship added.

So I must say the XP is worth the cost and has been well worth my sleepless, drooling nights of anticipation. If you already have Warhawk, get the expansion. If not, WTF are you waiting for? Merry Christmas and It is time to Play B3yond!

(I might also add that it is so great to be able to FINALLY play WarHawk with my Bro!)

Your Hot Christmas Cocoa is Served: Hidden Topless Code for Twisted Metal Black

2007-12-14T16:04:00.000-08:00

Many years ago on some gaming message board (I can't remember which) someone posted a new cheat code for Twisted Metal Black that causes the hot goth chick who drives Shadow to burst out of the top of the car topless on a machine gun turret (it's a pretty powerful attack to boot!). Like all other supposed nude codes in videogame history, this one was met with universal skepticism by other people on the board. I naturally believed this one would be like the infamous Nude Raider but there was a certain confidence in his words that inspired me to try it, and, lo and behold, it worked!

Fast forward to last week when I was stuck at home with a sick daughter. I decided to break out some of the old TM games. When checking out the code section for TM Black on a certain popular FAQ site, I discovered that the infamous topless code was still unknown to the world. I checked out quite a few other code sites and to my surprise, none of them had the code listed. It appeared that the code was doomed to be lost to history, like it never even existed at all. Fortunately, I still remembered it, and today I share it with the world.

To see some ultra-low res goth chick boobies, choose Shadow, and have the special listed as your current weapon. Hold down all four trigger buttons and simply press triangle, triangle, triangle.

Launch window PS2-era graphics certainly aren't the most erotic thing in the world. But still, it is slightly scandalous in this post-hot coffee world, and it does make you wonder how many other games have similar things hidden in them that no one knows about. Mad props for Incognito for having the balls to put such a thing in the game.

Here is a crappy quality video to show non-owners of the game a brief demonstration. NSFW and all that.

Rob's Uncharted Review

2007-12-14T06:26:00.000-08:00

In light of Uncharted's poor performance in the NPDs, Rob has decided to grace us with a review of this under-appreciated game.

After many months of mouth watering anticipation, Sony’s 2007 holiday big shot has been released. Uncharted: Drakes fortune comes from Naughty Dog, famously known for their “Crash Bandicoot” series from PSone. You can definitely feel some of that series in Uncharted.

Uncharted is the tale of a young man by the name of Nathan Drake, a treasure hunter who alleges to be the descendant of Sir Francis Dake. After recovering a treasure map from Drake’s coffin, he sets out on an adventure to locate the booty. However, there are some shady characters that find out about his quest, and are willing to kill to get to it first.

Uncharted it AMAZING! I know that the PS3 has not had many killer titles this year, But Uncharted is definitely one of them. And just like Sony’s other killer title “WarHawk”, it is COMPLETELY underrated.

The game play is insane. I have heard several people refer to it as a cross between Tomb Raider and Gear of War, I would have to agree. Although in my opinion, Uncharted took the “take cover and shoot” gameplay from “Gears”, and fine tuned it. There is never a dull moment in the game, from exploring beautiful lush green jungle vistas, to exploring rusty WWII U-Boats (with dead, rotted nazi corpses still inside!).

The gunplay is just as satisfying (if not more so) than “Gears”, and the exploration elements are like nothing I have ever seen in a game. There are even a few cool driving stages that will blow your mind, especially one involving a jetski ride that will have you just staring at the screen admiring the graphics and drooling at what the PS3 is capable of. (You may even just find God while playing this game…lol).

As I mentioned, the Graphics are beautiful. There were times that while playing the game I would just stop for a moment and take it all in. Lush green jungle, Sunsets that rival the ones here in the real world, and character animations that are unprecidented. This game should be reason enough for people who are still cautious of the PS3, and the game showcases the power and potential of Sony’s amazing next gen system.

OMG! Did I Mention the water effects…. Must see to believe….

Another thing sony does not skimp on is music. Uncharted features an amazing orcehstral score that is along side the greats of Hollywood blockbusters, It is sounds like John Williams himself scored this gmae, and adds so much to the mood of the game. You feel like you are playing the Video Game equivelant of blockbuster summer film!

I know I have rambled on about the amazing graphics, But this game really is just amazing, and is fun to play. Naughty Dog knocked it out of the park, and has set the standard by which games should be mad. I truly hope that we see more of Nathan Drake’s treasure hunting adventures in the future…

November NPD Results

2007-12-13T19:06:00.000-08:00

Well, they are in folks, and they are big. It is the second biggest shopping month and we have virtually three million sellers on the software front, and some really big numbers for hardware. A huge month for the industry overall.

Hardware Unit Sales

PlayStation 2 496K
PlayStation 3 466K
PSP 567K
Xbox 360 770K
Wii 981K
Nintendo DS 1.53 million

November 2007 Top 10 Video Games Rank # Units
360 CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE ACTIVISION (CORP) NOV 2007 MATURE (M) 1 1.57 million
WII SUPER MARIO GALAXY NINTENDO OF AMERICA NOV 2007 EVERYONE (E) 2 1.12 million
360 ASSASSIN'S CREED UBISOFT NOV 2007 MATURE (M) 3 980K
PS2 GUITAR HERO III: LEGENDS OF ROCK ACTIVISION (CORP) OCT 2007 TEEN (T) 4 967K
WII PLAY W/ REMOTE NINTENDO OF AMERICA FEB 2007 EVERYONE (E) 5 564K
360 MASS EFFECT MICROSOFT (CORP) NOV 2007 MATURE (M) 6 473K
PS3 CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE ACTIVISION (CORP) NOV 2007 MATURE (M) 7 444K
WII GUITAR HERO III: LEGENDS OF ROCK ACTIVISION (CORP) OCT 2007 TEEN (T) 8 426K
360 HALO 3 MICROSOFT (CORP) SEP 2007 MATURE (M) 9 387K
PS3 ASSASSIN'S CREED UBISOFT NOV 2007 MATURE (M) 10 377K

Other Software Sales of Note
Mario and Sonic at the Olympics (Wii) - 330k
Rock Band (360) - 312k
Lego Star Wars (Wii)- 180k
High School Musical (Wii) - 180k
Resident Evil UC (Wii) - 130k
Crysis (PC) - 86,6k
Rock Band (PS3) - 70k
Zack & Wiki (Wii) - 35k
Unreal Tournament 3 (PC) - 34k
Manhunt 2 (Wii) - 18,5k
Wii Zapper incl. Crossbow Training (Wii) - 232k
Zack & Wiki (Wii) - 35k
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3): 117k

Nintendo once again kicks ass, and takes names. They ended up shipping more Wiis than I expected, having believed that they "shot their load" earlier in the year. Nearly a million Wiis were sold last month, the highest November total in North America for a system since the PS2 broke 1 million in 2002. The DS sold an utterly OBSCENE 1.5 million. Ridiculous. There were more DSes sold than all Sony products COMBINED. Also, the big title of the month for Nintendo, Super Mario Galaxy, sold over a million. Clearly 2007 will be remembered as the year of Nintendo on the hardware front.

On the other hand, 2007 will be remembered as Microsoft's year on the software front, posting two seperate million sellers this month, Assasin's Creed and the number one game overall, Call of Duty 4. After soft sales for the mediocre Call of Duty 3, Activision has to be happy that they handed the series back to Infinity Ward who really knocked it out of the park. Mass Effect had a strong debut for an original IP, in stark contrast to a certain PS3 new IP that will be discussed later. 360 owners are really just voracious software buyers, Micrsoft could not ask for a better fanbase.

Hardware-wise, Microsoft was no slouch either, pushing nearly 800k units. A sales total that in and of itself is reminiscent of various PS2 Novembers back in the day. In North America, 360 continues to have the healthiest overall ecosystem, and this will likely be the case for the forseeable future. An interesting oddity software-wise is that Guitar Hero III Wii outsold 360 Guitar Hero for the first time ever. Is this a sign that the 360 audience is transitioning to Rock Band? Hmmmm....

Sony, as usual this year, had very mixed success. Though PS3 did claim some small-scale victories, with hardware numbers that were slighly above what was expected, but they are well below what 360 had last November in it's 2nd holiday season (360 had 511k, which was considered disappointing at the time and below expectations). Most ominously however, the PS2 beat the PS3 again, even with a holiday season in full swing and a full month of the $399 pricedrop. Software-wise Call of Duty 4 and Assasin's Creed sold better on the PS3 than anyone expected, myself included.

However, aside from these two titles, PS3 continued to be the system for people who hate to buy games. With Uncharted posting a paltry 117k and Rock Band PS3 only selling 70k. 360 fans showed that they were willing to embrace a daring new IP in Mass Effect, but PS3 fans were not willing to do the same unfortunately. Uncharted's poor sales may be a chilling harbinger for the future of innovative new titles on the system (It should be said though, mad props go out to Rob for being one of the few PS3 fams to actually buy the damn game). Some analysts attempting to explain the lack of PS3 software sales believe that a significant percentage of PS3 owners are actually buying 360 games even though they don't the system. At least, that is the best explanation they have come up with so far...

On a final note, it looks like it is bedtime for big budget PC games, with Crysis selling under 100k, and Unreal Tournament 3 selling 34k. The future of PC gaming is looking more and more like it is going be subscription-based MMOs and casual fare.

That about wraps it up for this month, stay tuned next month for the big daddy of them all, Decemeber. Can the 360 finally beat the Wii? Or will Nintendo be able to deliver enough units to win yet again? Will Sony still be stuck in the proverbial gaming ghetto? Check out monk blog for all of the latest info.

I Got a PS Triple! And Pre-NPD Link Fest

2007-12-13T18:24:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my awesome bro Rob (who is the awesomest bro ever) I have got a Tripler at a ridiculously cheap price, completing the holy trinity of current-gen video game consoles. It is only the 40 gig, meaning I will have to brush up some of my old PSOne games for some old school PSone gaming since it doesn't support PS2 games. I did buy Warhawk (PSX version) for 7 bucks at game exchange to hype me up for buying the next gen version soon.

Before posting my NPD analysis here are a couple cool links for you.

An article on games that pushed the NES to it's limits.
Click

The top ten gaming innovations of 2007, really a very good list.
Click

Great Endings in Videogame History: Mortal Kombat Mythologies

2007-12-01T19:24:00.001-08:00

World Exclusive Gamestop Coupon

2007-12-01T16:46:00.000-08:00

Monk-Blog has just inked an exclusive deal with mega retailer gamestop to provide some exclusive savings. Be sure to print some out and give them to any potential future console buyers. Once again monkblog delivers the goods for it's readers.

October NPDs: Good News for PS3 Fans Who Like Bad News

2007-11-16T06:10:00.000-08:00

HW Results

Wii 519K
Nintendo DS 458K
Xbox 360 366K
PSP 286K
PlayStation 2 184K
PlayStation 3 121K

Top 10 SW
Rank # Units
360 HALO 3 * MICROSOFT (CORP) SEP 2007 MATURE (M) 1 433.8K
360 GUITAR HERO III: LEGENDS OF ROCK W/ GUITACTIVISION (CORP) OCT 2007 TEEN (T) 2 383.2K
WII GUITAR HERO III: LEGENDS OF ROCK W/ GUITACTIVISION (CORP) OCT 2007 TEEN (T) 3 286.3K
PS2 GUITAR HERO III: LEGENDS OF ROCK W/ GUITACTIVISION (CORP) OCT 2007 TEEN (T) 4 271.1K
NDS LEGEND OF ZELDA: PHANTOM HOURGLASS NINTENDO OF AMERICA SEP 2007 EVERYONE (E) 5 262.8K
WII PLAY W/ REMOTE NINTENDO OF AMERICA FEB 2007 EVERYONE (E) 6 239.7K
360 HALF LIFE 2: EPISODE 2 THE ORANGE BOX ELECTRONIC ARTS OCT 2007 MATURE (M) 7 238.4K
PS2 GUITAR HERO III: LEGENDS OF ROCK ACTIVISION (CORP) OCT 2007 TEEN (T) 8 231.7K
PS2 FIFA SOCCER 08 ELECTRONIC ARTS OCT 2007 EVERYONE (E) 9 129.7K
NDS BRAIN AGE 2: MORE TRAINING IN MINUTES A NINTENDO OF AMERICA AUG 2007 EVERYONE (E) 10 116.9K

More SW:

NR Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS3) 105,800
NR Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions (PSP) 98,100
NR Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (PS3) 74,500
NR Project Gotham Racing 4 (Xbox 360) 38,300
[360 Ace Combat 6] = 92.5K
[360 Guitar Hero III] = 490.9K
[360 Halo 3] = 394.5K
[360 The Orange Box] = 238.4K
[NDS Zelda: Phantom Hourglass] = 262.8K
[PS2 Guitar Hero III] = 502.7K
[PS3 Ratchet & Clank Future] = 74.5K
[PS3 Guitar Hero III] = 105.8K
[WII Guitar Hero III] = 286.3K
[WII Metroid Prime 3] = 45.2K

As you can see, a very interesting month and a great one for the industry. Hardware sales are up 73% over this point last year and software sales are up 45%. Hardware-wise, The Wii posted higher than expected numbers and knocked Microsoft off it's one month stay at the top. The 360 continues to post some very solid Halo-fueled numbers. The PS3? Eh....not so much. A couple days ago CEO Howard Stringer said that PS3 sold more than 100k in the last month of October. Given that they only sold 120k all month long, these claims appear to have been proven false, giving spectators reason to believe that the 40 gig hit retail with a thud. Another worrying fact for Sony is that PS2 is finally starting to die down, only 186k in a key shopping month, down from the 250k it was routinely getting earlier this year.

Software-wise, Halo 3 remained the statistical number one, but let there be no doubt that Guitar Hero III was the big winner this month. The Rock Band folks have to be really nervous that this market has been exhausted given Guitar Hero's blockbuster sales. Interestingly, but not surprisingly at this point, 360 got the lion's share of the Guitar Hero sales. PS2 got second (taking into account bundles + stand alone sales), Wii got a very respectable third considering there were no stand alone sales for the system and their bundle was the second best selling.

Other big winners this month include Orange Box which did *much* better than I thought it would, considering the outrageous competition. PSP FF Tactics and 360 Ace Combat also did very respectably and slightly better than I anticipated.

The big losers on the software side are, well, Sony. Guitar Hero III only sold a little over 100k on the PS3, and the biggest disappointment of all was the massively hyped Ratchet and Clank Future, which only pushed 75,000 units. Given that Japanese sales have only been about 100k lifetime and this was a million seller franchise on PS2, Sony is going to lose a ton of money on this title. One has to ponder what the chances of an untested new IP like Uncharted are in this kind of a sales environment. I have to wonder if a lot of PS3 owners are just using their system as a Blu Ray player since these are some god awful sales for a really good game that deserved much better.

Microsoft wasn't immune to "big bomb" syndrome even with it's generally outstanding software sales. Project Gotham Racing 4 sold only an abysmal 38k units, tracking far below the launch title PGR 3. I would chalk this up to releasing PGR so close to the release of other high quality racing games like Forza 2, Dirt, and Need for Speed Pro Street. It is definitely a disappointment for one of Microsoft's high profile first party offerings.

Well, that's it for this month. Can Sony finally turn the corner with it's 40 gig in November? Can Microsoft challenge for the top spot in one of the year's two biggest shopping months? Will Nintendo be able to supply the quantity of units they need to to stay on top? Stay tuned!

Point/Counterpoint: Are We Paying Enough For Our Games?

2007-11-15T06:32:00.000-08:00

I will be trying something new with this blog, I will be doing a point/counterpoint featuring the opinions of two of the posters from notorious videogame community, Neogaf.

Point: "Cheap Ass Gamers" are Ruining Gaming by Astrolad

Sometimes when I'm browsing GAF I'm a bit sickened and surprised at how many people are so downright proud to classify themselves as "cheap ass gamers." You know the type: Never buy a new game, say they'll "wait for the bargain bin" on even their most highly anticipated big-budget titles, always reselling games, renting games, and buying them used regardless of the quality of the game, etc.

IRL I never see people walking around bragging about how they got their suit at the thrift store or in some "bargain bin" of clothes Wal-Mart was about to donate to the homeless. Is there anything wrong with not being able to afford expensive clothes or wearing bargain basement clothes? Of course not, but it's something you do while you are aspiring for something greater and it's certainly not something you feel superior about or feel the need to brag about. Yet in gaming apparently it's A-OK, like some badge of honor made out of a soup can lid.

Now in my case, I have almost always bought games full price even if this meant getting fewer games. Of course if there were coupons or what have you I didn't make an attempt to pay more but I have never been one of these bargain basement dwellers. Perhaps this is a small part of the reason why some of my favorite genres (FPS and sports) have risen to the top while others--often preferred by CAGs (not a knock on the site, but a useful initialism)--have gone or are going the way of the dodo.

As we move through this gen, game development costs are increasing regardless of console. Devs are trying to bring us richer experiences, but nothing in life is free. I still remember proudly paying $80 for Phantasy Star II but now you have people whining everywhere about brilliant games with tens of thousands of hours of work and countless technological resources behind them costing $60. When CAGs complain about their favorite series or genres dying it, do they ever stop to think that maybe just maybe it had to do with the fact that they waited until the last game tanked to buy it so that they could save a measly few bucks?

The Internet has made things exponentially worse and enabled the couch potato lifestyle of "cheap ass gaming." Now people can pull all sorts of scams (and literally many of them are outright scams) to avoid paying for titles, and this doesn't even include piracy or the legalized theft that is used game sales and rentals.

Even if you don't agree with my position completely, I think there is no way to deny the detrimental effect this phenomenon has had on many genres and small developers and publishers and on gaming in general. I just think the whole thing kind of stinks (no pun intended).

Counterpoint: "Cheap Ass Gamers" are the Saviors of the Industry by vicious_killer_squirrel

The games industry is working off a completely unsustainable business model and if you want to blame consumers for not happily throwing $60 at every single game they buy to continue fueling the delusion then you've really got your priorities in the wrong place.

I disagree with paying full price on games simply because of the economics involved. The market will charge what the market will bear, after all. If you think that everyone paying full price for games is going to result in anything but higher prices for the consumer, stifling of creativity and the shrinking of the industry, you're either kidding yourself or have forgotten how people behave.

If everyone paid full price, then people would have to buy less games. People buying less games means that they'll prioritise their purchases and that the market will shrink. Do you know what this means? It means the magnum opus games will sell millions of copies at the cost of niche games and games from smaller devs. After all, if you only have a limited selection, you go for the best.

This means that in order to make decent profits, you need a hit. In this environment, to be a hit, a project has to be big, well marketed and ambitious or it will not grab anyone's attention. Unfortunately, this means that there's an enourmous amount of risk on each project, ever so much more than there is now. Now publishers (these are the guys with the money folks) want to minimise that risk. How will they accomplish that?

They do it by making safe bets. Remakes, sequels, spin-offs of tried and true franchises. They do it by NOT bankrolling midrange projects that will boast only modest returns. They do it by avoiding new IPs, since these are the most likely to fail. The end result is a lack of creativity coming out of the industry, much like what recently happened with the movie industry.

If a lack of creativity, the shrinking of the market and new ideas isn't the ruin of gaming, then I don't know what is. Just let the free market do its job, however, and the games industry will balance itself out. If dev costs are soaring and people aren't prepared to pay full price for these games, then alternatives will begin appearing in the market. You will begin to see handhelds take on a greater role as well as cheaper games with less focus on graphical horsepower.

Eventually, gaming will reach a balance. Will big, ambitious games the scope of which push boundaries still get made? Yes, but they will be made at a sustainable rate. Will most games be smaller in scope for lower prices? Yes, but they wil be cheaper and you'll be able to buy more of them. These changes are inevitable, but they will balance themselves out because of the invention of alternatives.

If you don't want what happened to the comic book industry to happen to gaming, you will want lower prices across the board. Be proud to be a CAG. You're doing it for the good of the industry.

The World's Top Ten Most Expensive Videogames

2007-11-15T06:14:00.001-08:00

This was a good read, so keep an eye out for these at your local flea markets.

PS3 Finally Gets a Victory!

2007-11-14T13:02:00.000-08:00

1.Mario Party DS　 242,000
2.Musou PS3　176,000
3.SMG 　78,000（335,000）
4.Musou360　27000
5.FFTA 2　2,4000（235000）
6.Castlevania PSP　 20,000
7.Wii Sports　 180,00（2,091,000）
8.西村サス　 16,000（112,000）
9.Wii Play　 15,000（1,648,000）
10.Mario Kart DS　 13,000（2,528,000）

15.Ratchet & Clank Future 11,000

DSL 82000
Wii 35000
PSP 55000
PS2 9400
PS3 56000
360 7000

For the first time in, well, pretty much forever (or at least since the launch period), the PS3 has beat the Wii in weekly hardware sales in the land of glorious Nippon. For a long time PS3 has edged closer to the Wii, after once beating outsold 6 to 1, that trend reversed to less than 2 to 1 recently, and now with the new 40 gig, they have beat the Wii, and by a surprising margin. Is this a sign of a resurgent PS3? It is an interesting story, and this generation has been anything but predictable thus far. Stay tuned to monk-blog for the latest.

EA Discloses Third Party Sales by Platform

2007-11-08T06:36:00.001-08:00

EA has released to investors details for the third quarter and they are quite interesting. Here are their sales by platform.

Xbox 360 - $218 million
PlayStation 2 - $73 million
Nintendo Wii - $59 million
Nintendo DS - $47 million
PlayStation Portable - $21 million
PlayStation 3 - $17 million

The XBOX 360 sold more than every other platform, even including the handhelds, COMBINED. Madness! I certainly didn't expect it to sell so much more than the PS2 already. The Wii number is somewhat disappointing considering the userbase size, but the PS3 number is outright despicable. EA may not consider the PS3 a viable platform for much longer if this continues.

New Super Mario 2-J Article On Slate

2007-11-06T19:54:00.001-08:00

Long time readers will know of my fascination with Super Mario Brothers 2-J (AKA Lost Levels). Slate has a great article up that you should all check out. Here are some choice quotes:

"In most games, you trust that the designer is guiding you, through the usual signposts and landmarks, in the direction that you ought to go. In the Real Super Mario Bros. 2, you have no such faith. Here, Miyamoto is not God but the devil. Maybe he really was depressed while making it—I kept wanting to ask him, Why have you forsaken me? The online reviewer who sizes up the game as "a giant puzzle and practical joke" isn't far off. up on it right now."

"But the Real Super Mario Bros. 2 isn't just hard—it's "difficult," like a book or a movie that initially rebuffs you but becomes rewarding as you unlock its secrets. As a standalone game, it would be a disappointment, too challenging and too impenetrable. But as a reflection and inversion of one of the few titles in the gaming canon, it provides a sort of meditation on game design and player expectations, and how to flout them. I only wish I'd had a chance to play it in 1986."

N'Gai Croal and Geoff Keighley Discuss September NPDs

2007-11-06T08:05:00.001-08:00

Yes, even though we are already into November, everyone's favorite member of the videogame intelligentsia, the luxuriously hirsute N'Gai Croal along with partner in crime Geoff Keighley discuss the most recent NPD report for September and it was worth the wait.

Men Rob Convenience Store With Zapper

2007-11-05T08:50:00.000-08:00

According to Gamepro, some daring brigands robbed a convenience store armed only with an NES zapper, pulling off one of the greatest heists in recent memory. We all wish these brave bandits the best of luck in eluding local law enforcement, and hope their ill-gained wealth allows them to buy some rare NES game tapes.

PS3 Making a Comeback in Japan?

2007-11-02T09:29:00.000-07:00

In some positive news for Sony fans, the system seems to be gaining momentum in Japan. There was a time not long ago where the Wii outsold the PS3 6 to 1, that lead has shrunk to 2 to 1. While clearly still not anywhere close to where Sony wants to be, this is an impressive reversal that is a result of both Sony selling more and Nintendo selling less. Time will tell if this trend continues.

Great Endings in Videogame History: Street Fighter EX Zangief

2007-11-02T06:12:00.001-07:00

Pure genius.

Sony PS3: Now with Competent Ad Campaign!

2007-11-01T13:47:00.000-07:00

I have to give Sony props on their latest comercial. It does a nice job of highlighting their games and their new cheaper price. It is definitely a step up over the exploding babies or whatever it was they were doing pre-launch. Check it out at Gamepro.

Awesome Bioshock Halloween Re-Enactment

2007-11-01T10:30:00.000-07:00

Maybe Aeris and I can do something like this someday.

Epic Swag UNLOCKED! God of War Chains of Olympus Demo Arrives

2007-10-31T09:37:00.000-07:00

Man, talk about lucky, or maybe it just a perk of being one of the internet's most prolific bloggers. But in any event, I received in the mail a copy of the God of War Chains of Olympus demo for PSP. Included with the demo is a necklace featuring the Greek Omega symbol and a coupon for $15.00 off of the purchase of a PSP. Given that only a few thousand of these were sent out, this will no doubt go on to be one of my more valuable videogame related collectibles.

As for my impressions on the demo, i was greatly impressed. The graphics are just insane for a PSP game. The game looks a little lower res and more jaggy than one of the PS2 versions, but maaaaaan, it's just ridiculous for a portable game to look this good. The gameplay is almost a perfect clone of the console games. It is slightly hampered by the lack of analog sticks and only two trigger buttons, but it played really well.

What impressed me most were some of the new directions that the developers were taking the series. Set before the events of God of War II, Kratos is a servent of Olympus defending Greece against a Persian invasion. Although cashing in on 300's success with this story, you fight uniquely Persian looking soldiers for a nice change of pace, fire ballista's at triremes flying sails adorned with the Zoroastrian eagle, and coolest of all, your spells in this game are derived from mystical beings of Persian origin. I unlocked "Ifrit magic" as my first spell in the game while playing the demo.

My favorite moment of the demo is when a giant cyclops breaks down a door and you are thinking "oh shit" when all of a sudden a much bigger giant basilisk comes out of nowhere and eats the cyclops, making for one of the epic boss encounters that the series is known for.

Although i was excited about this game before, playing the demo has me really pumped.

Great Moments in Videogame Advertising: Pitfall!

2007-10-31T09:28:00.000-07:00

This ad stars a young Jack Black hocking Activision's perennial platformer, Pitfall.

27 Ways To Fix the Consoles

2007-10-30T21:26:00.000-07:00

Gamepro has a good article up right now addressing ways to fix each of the various consoles' various flaws and quirks.

Monkspider Tackles the Tough Issues: Are Used Games Hurting the Industry?

2007-10-30T08:27:00.000-07:00

A recent article discussed huge videogame chain Gamestop opening it's 5000th store recently. Another article on Destructoid had Free Radical developer Jason Rubin saying stores like Gamestop were "essentially defrauding the rest of the industry". All of this seems to be putting the 2nd hand game market back in the spotlight. Have used game sales become a parasite that is sucking revenues out of the industry? Or is it simply a way for price-conscious consumers to maintain their hobby?

Gamestop has uses a highly profitable system where they purchase games from consumers for pennies on the dollar and sells those games for typically 5-10 bucks cheaper than they can be purchased now. The main criticism of this system is that developers and publishers are not getting a dime of any of these used game purchases and all of the profits are going right back in to Gamestop's pocket. In the article linked to above, Jason Rubin says that a typical copy of a game goes through about ten different owners on average.

Critics of this system on sites like Neogaf have derided Gamestop stores as "pawnshops", even going so far as to call used game sales as "piracy" and people who buy used games as "thieves". While most commentators would find this kind of verbiage highly hyperbolic. There is a fair point that used games may be having a seriously negative impact on the bottom line of certain companies. With game development costs skyrocketing, especially on the HD systems, every last sale counts. Videogame analyst and man-deity Michael Pachter once said that videogames are actually too cheap as it is, saying the level of graphics and content that are provided should actually cost more than the standard asking price of 59.95. All of this could provide more motivation for companies to move toward a digital distribution model that closes the "gamestop hole". Of course, this could be either a good thing or bad thing depending on your perspective.

The converse arguement is that used game sales are keeping game publishers in check, and pressuring them to price their software fairly. One could reasonably make the argument that without stores like gamestop offering an alternative to paying full retail price, we could see gameprices skyrocket to levels not seen since the SNES days where it was commonplace to pay $79 or $89 for a single game. Also, for lower income customers, buying a used game for ten dollars cheaper once in a while might be the only way to keep these people active gamers. If these consumers were pushed out of the market, it would have a decidedly negative impact on the long-term sustainability of the industry. Also, to give an example, buying a used copy of Halo 2 might motivate that person to buy Halo 3 new day one when it comes out. So a used game sale might result in a new game sale further down the road that wouldn't have otherwise occurred.

One thing that's clear given gamestop's record profits and expansion, the used game market isn't going anyway anytime soon. Expanding digital distribution offerings could be a way for companies to offset any lost profits that they incur, or requiring a unique key that can be only tied to one gamertag for multiplayer could be a more draconian alternative. This editor personally feels that used games are healthy overall for the industry by helping to keep prices fair. However, i would applaud gamestop somehow being forced to share a percentage of their profits on used game sales with the original publishers and I encourage all readers to buy the games they really love new. I intend to patronize the JRPG scene on the 360 as much as I can and buy those games new so I can support those developers in what is still a rather niche genre on the system.

What are your thoughts on used games? Post them below!

Monkspider Reviews: Metroid Prime 3

2007-10-29T06:12:00.000-07:00

Metroid has historically been one of those series that I could never quite get into. I have never been fond of it's style of gameplay that seems to always leave you in places where you have no clue where to go next unless you either consult an FAQ or wander around for hours until you find some little crack on a wall panel that you are supposed to bomb. I never could get into the original Metroid Prime or the Gameboy Advance Metroids. My fondest Metroid memory has always been Metroid II for the Gameboy, where I got to the final boss, Queen Metroid, only to die because i didn't collect enough missiles. So why did I get Metroid Prime 3 when I had the choice of so many other excellent titles on the market? Three reasons, I am interested in seeing graphically how it exploits the limited Wii hardware, I was also curious as to how the wiimote/nunchuck control set up worked for an FPS and I wanted to give it a chance because I have read it addresses some of the issues I have historically had with the Metroid series.

On a purely technical level, Metroid doesn't disappoint. The graphics are better looking than even some 360 games, and the art direction is without peer. Plenty of times I found myself looking around, just admiring the beauty of the environment. The folks at Retro studios truly know how to create some beautiful looking alien worlds. The soundtrack was quite good too. With a few standout tracks I am going to have to try to download somewhere. It wasn't a soundtrack on the level of, say, Symphony of Night, but i have no doubt that it will be one of the better soundtracks I listen to this year and like any great soundtrack it contributed greatly to the overall experience.

Now, gameplay wise, this is where things get complicated. When I first started playing the game, I told Jason that I thought that it had the best controls of any FPS ever, besting even the legendary mouse/keyboard gold standard. While I still feel the controls are excellent, I now feel that I may have been somewhat irrationally exuberant. The wiimote/nunchuck does have a great feel that really does make the gunplay much more fun than it normally would be. This is a good thing because the weapons in Metroid Prime 3 are fairly limited, and don't have the same tactile sense of satisfaction that say, a Halo 3 assault rifle or classic Doom chaingun would provide. The only problem with this whole setup is that sometimes the wiimote loses "sync" with the screen, which causes you to wave it around to try to get it oriented again. This can be quite frustrating when you are in the middle of a boss fight. This is really where the wiimote fails, but it should be stressed that I still find the overall setup to at least be the equal of it's mouse/keyboard and dual analog rivals.

While we are on the subject of boss fights, this is an area where Metroid succeeds spectacularly. There are just so many classic battles, your first fight with Ridley, the battle with your female bounty hunter rival Gandrayda, and the climatic battle with Mother Brain, these are some of the most satisfying boss battles in videogame history. I found Prime 3's story for the most part preposterous and indecipherable, but this may only be because I skipped the last two prime games. But the voice acting was quite passable at least and ridiculous stories have been a hallmark of many good games since time immemorial. There is a decent amount of replay value due to a wide range of unlockables, new difficulties, and alternate endings. I managed to get the 2nd best one on my first playthrough.

For all it's positive traits, Prime 3 is not without it's blemishes. The most damning one (or at least the one I personally find most frustrating) is that there are a few points in the game where you don't really have any clue what you are supposed to do next. I think modern game design should preclude these frustrating kinds of dead moments in the gameplay. Also, there are a few points in the game that kind of drag, notably almost the entire third world was particularly bad. The game also devolves into rabid fetch questism toward the end. The game runs a bit long in the tooth at around 25 hours to beat. If about 5-10 hours were shaved off, it only would have been so much stronger.

So in the final analysis, Metroid Prime 3 is a great game that falls just short of being a classic game due to a few glaring flaws. I would go so far as to say that it it is possibly my favorite Wii game thus far (though Mario Strikers Charged provides some tough competition). It is a beautiful and satisfying game that should also serve as a cautionary tale of how certain archaic game design choices can hold a great game back from perfection.

Final Score:
(out of four)

Is Ninja Gaiden's Hironobu Itagaki the Biggest Badass In Gaming?

2007-10-26T12:57:00.000-07:00

Signs point to yes.

Check out a great interview with the always outspoken developer here.

Harmonix Developer on PS3 Misconceptions and Spin

2007-10-26T06:18:00.000-07:00

Here is an interesting article from a member of Harmonix, the developer of Guitar Hero 1 and 2, and now Rock Band. He argues that the PS3, though potentially very powerful, the power it has doesn't necessarily translate toward making better games. It is a good read. It definitely goes a long way toward explaining why games on the 360 and PS3 both have almost without exception looked better on the 360.

"I read various game forums from time to time, and often see gamers complaining about 'lazy ports' to the ps3. They often mention how the ps3 is the most powerful game console and blame developers working on the console for doing a bad job. Sony has all of these people duped by impressive marketing spin, and I'm often amazed at how potent this type of rhetoric proves to be. For those unaware, I'm going to break it down simply and explain exactly why ports to the ps3 will never be as good as their 360 counter parts, and why most ps3 exclusives will likely continue to suck. First, lets debunk a few common misconceptions:

"The PS3 is more graphically advanced than the 360"

Fill rate is one of the primary ways to measure graphics performance - in essence, it's a number describing how many pixel operations you can perform. The fill rate on the PS3 is significantly slower than on the 360, meaning that games either have to run at lower resolution or use simpler shader effects to achieve the same performance. Additionally, the shader processing on the ps3 is significantly slower than on the 360, which means that a normal map takes more fill rate to draw on the ps3 than it does on the 360. And I'm not talking about small differences here, we're talking roughly half the pixel pushing power.

"Ok, fine, but the cell is like, super powerful"

In theory, sure, but in reality it doesn't work out that way. Game code simply doesn't split well across multiple processors. You can probably find a way to split a few things off fairly easily - put the audio on one processor, animation on another; but generally the breakup is always going to leave several of the SPUs idle or underutilized. On top of that, it's usually not CPU speed that restricts the visuals in games - it's fill rate.

"Uh, Blue Ray!"

Great for watching movies, but not so great for games. Getting data off the blue ray drive takes about twice as long as it does to get the same data off the 360's DVD drive. That translates into longer load times, or god forbid if your streaming from disk, tighter constraints on the amount of data you can stream.

"But it's got a lot more space than DVD"

Ok, you got me there - it does have a lot more space, and there is the potential to use that to do something cool, but thats unlikely to be realized in any useful way. There are tons of compression techniques available for data and I'd personally rather be able to get my data faster than have more of it. Most developers who use the entire Blue Ray drive are doing it to work around other problems with the ps3 such as it's slow loading - for instance, in Resistance: Fall of Man, every art asset is stored on disk once for every level that uses it. So rather than storing one copy of a texture, you're storing it 12 times. If you took that entire game and removed all the duplicate data, it would likely fit on a DVD without any problem. They do this to speed up load times, which, as I pointed out before, are painfully slow on the ps3. So in this case, the extra space is completely wasted.

"Once developers figure out the PS3 they'll maximize the hardware and it will be amazing"

I suspect a small number of PS3 only developers will optimize the hardware to do something cool. However, this will be an exception to the rule, and will likely involved game designs that are specifically designed for the hardware and funded by Sony. If those will prove to be fun or not is another question.

Most of the performance centric research into the PS3 has been around making it easier for developers to get the same level of performance you get out of the 360 naturally. For instance, some developers are using those extra SPU's on the cell to prepare data for the rendering pipeline. Basically, they take the data they would normally send to the graphics chip, send it to an SPU which optimizes it in some manner, then send it to the graphics chip. So, once again we see an 'advantage' in hardware being used to make up for a disadvantage in another area - a common theme with the ps3. And this introduces an extra frame of latency into the equation, making controller response slower.

So, the common theme is this; developers must spend significantly more time and resources getting the PS3 to do what the 360 can already do easily and with a lot less code. Lets look at how this translates into practical realities for a moment:

Why the PS3 version often pails in comparison to the 360 version, and why exclusives often suck:

As outlined above, getting equivalent performance out of the PS3 requires a lot of work unique to the platform, and in many cases, even with all these tricks, you still won't see equivalent performance. Thus, many ps3 games have simplified shaders and run at lower native resolutions than the 360 versions. On top of this, there is shrinking incentive to do this work; the PS3 isn't selling.

The code needed to make the PS3 work is most likely only useful to you on the PS3, as the types of tricks you need to do to make the thing perform are very unique to the platform and unlikely to be useful on any other architecture now or in the future. These issues all stem from unbalanced hardware design, and any future hardware that is this unbalanced will likely be unbalanced in a completely unique way.

Finally, there's the problem of resources. Game Development is, at it's heart, a resource management challenge. Given finite resources, do I have these five engineers work on optimizing the PS3 version to look better, or do I use them to make the game play better and fix bugs? Do I change my design to fit with what the PS3 hardware does well, or simply run the game at a slightly lower resolution on the PS3 to make up for it? Developers striving to push the PS3 hardware have often sacrificed their game in the process.

This post might come across as a lot of Sony bashing, but it's just the reality from the trenches. Sony let their hardware be designed by a comity of business interests rather than a well thought out design that would serve the game development community. They are going to loose hard this round because of it, and I hope that in the next round they take lessons from this round and produce a more balanced and usable machine."

Monkspider "Jumps In" to the XBOX 360 Community

2007-10-24T19:44:00.000-07:00

Well it's about time folks. As of about 7PM tonight, i had officially placed my order for a luxurious new XBOX 360 Elite which won't actually ship until Friday or Saturday at the earliest due to the nature of my order. I have always been pretty bearish on the Elite since I can't imagine myself truly needing all that extra hard drive space, and I thought the black color was inferior to the standard white. But the Dell website only had the "hideous beyond anything imaginable in the entire universe, even tubgirl" Halo 3 edition XBOX for 399.99 or the Elite, which at least includes the two holiday bundle games for 450.00. It should come as no surprise that I didn't hesitate in my choice between the two.

Once I resigned myself to getting the Elite, I saw that there are a few perks to it. Just having the "Elite" and most expensive SKU of the XBOX makes someone a little bit more badass than your average joe. And it comes with a free HDMI cable and I have read reports that say Microsoft tends to use it's highest quality parts on the Elite. Plus who knows, maybe with the big hard drive I can download a bunch of demos and not worry about ever having to delete them. From an aesthetic perspective, the special color-coordinated black controller and black headset is kinda slick I must admit. And to be completely fair to the Elite, i think the actual box that it comes in is a lot sexier than the normal premium box. It's the kind of box i want to hang on my shelf with pride. So there are definitely some substantial benefits to my going down the Elite route.

In unfortunate news though, my dream of maintaining the symmetry of Brett, Jason and I all buying Gears of War with our 360 may prove to be a dream deferred. I was getting a laptop from the site also for Sara's christmas and everything had to total 1250 or less, and in my original calculations it did, but the bastards charged sales tax which threw everything off! Maybe I can pick up a cheap copy at Game Xchange before the system arrives though. So in any event, I should be joining all of you on Xbox Live soon.

Resident Evil 1.5 FOUND!

2007-10-24T19:34:00.000-07:00

Resident Evil 1.5 was the nearly complete sequel to the original Resident Evil that was totally scrapped in favor of the Resident Evil 2 that we eventually got. For many years it has been the holy grail in the prototype collecting commnuity. There have been whispers of someone in Korea having a copy, or a new screenshot or two would somehow turn up, but the game itself remained elusive. Fortunately, that has all changed. Prototype archive site playstationmuseum.com has somehow got their hands on a copy of the final build of the game before it was cancelled. The author states that it was about 80% complete and even posted a ten minute video revealing new insights into the game including a never before seen gorilla boss. I have long dreamed of the day when I would be able to say that Resident Evil 1.5 hasn't been forever lost to history, and now I can definitively say that it is the case. No copy has leaked out for mass consumption yet, but I believe it is only a matter of time. Let's all salute the brave prototype collectors out there who are helping to document the lost chapters of our videogame history.

OMG: Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Shots

2007-10-24T07:37:00.000-07:00

Wow, this looks AMAZING. I can't wait for this one to hit XBLA. It definitely looks a lot beter than I thought it would.

Next Stephen King Film to be Directed by None Other than Our Own Rob Kreh?

2007-10-23T19:35:00.000-07:00

Mark this one in the history books folks! Rob Kreh is about to ink an exclusive contract to direct an adaptation of one of Stephen King's works called Cain Rose Up. Rob has really been hogging the limelight on this blog as of late, what with the recent news regarding his 360 purchase and now this, perhaps an even bigger accomplishment. One thing is for sure, monk-blog greatly anticipates his final work and wishes him all the luck in pursuing this dream come true.

Insider Whisperings: Another 360 Pricecut Forthcoming?

2007-10-22T22:18:00.000-07:00

Leave it to monk-blog to pull all the shadowy cloak and dagger operations it takes to give you inside info that you can't get elsewhere. Here is what an inside source who was right about the last 360 price drop says, and note that this was written *before* the last price drop or before the Arcade SKU was announced.

"I have it coming from a reliable source that CURRENTLY

The Core will drop to 279
The Premium will drop to 349
The Elite will drop to 449

This will clear out the inventory of the Premium which is the most manufactured 360 and the most sold as they know Premium will sell the most until the demand for Elites pick up in 2008. Elites and Cores have relatively the same manufacturing percentage: low at the moment until FALL this year.

When the 65 nm processor falcons are introduced across all SKUs, the holiday season, a month or so after Halo 3 will see the core drop to $249, The Premium will drop to $299 and the Elite will drop to $399

The Core, Premium and Elite Falcons will have a redesigned motherboard which includes HDMI across all SKUs, a quieter DVD Drive and the falcons will STILL have an extra fan heatsink as Microsoft is not prepared to take anymore risks.

The Falcon will reduce the cost to manufacture the Xbox 360 CPU and GPU by ~40-50% but Microsoft will incure additional costs on the new fans and HDMI across all SKUs. Still at the 249,299 and 399 price, Microsoft will expect a profit from the console by early 2008 when the Q4 results are announced.."

An arcade SKU at the exact same price as the Wii *and* a $299 Premium? This shit just keeps getting realer. Microsoft is pulling out absolutely every stop they have to be number one this year.

PS3 To Make It's Comeback as a Digitial Media Center?

2007-10-22T10:20:00.001-07:00

Here is an optimistic article from Seattle-Times that says the key to PS3's success may be it's video playback abilities.

"I had written off Sony's PlayStation 3 game console as a flop, but it may be time to reconsider.

One reason is Sony finally brought the price down, with a $400 model announced last week. But what's really interesting, especially here in the hometown of Microsoft, RealNetworks and Amazon.com, is the way Sony is accelerating plans to position the PS3 as a digital media center.

Those companies are all jockeying for position with devices and services as the world moves to high-definition television, digital music and online game and video content."

He makes some interesting points and anything to keep a second viable HD console on the market is for the best for everyone.

Breaking News: Rob Gets a 360!

2007-10-19T18:36:00.000-07:00

Great news for our gaming community. Rob has just "jumped in" and joined the 360 collective. As Jay has put it, he is the king of getting cheap systems, finding a 360 with King Kong, Forza 2 and Condemned for a mere $225. Congratulations to Rob. Now post your gamertag so everyone can add you. Here is a protip for you though, Forza 2's value is going to drop precipitously when the holiday bundles starting coming out. If you don't like racing games, this would be your best time to "drop it like it's hot", so to speak.

Sony Take Notes; THIS is How You Run PR

2007-10-18T20:06:00.000-07:00

I have to give Microsoft kudos for some absolutely brutal PR after the NPD numbers, they are really driving home the "third parties only sell on 360" message quite well yet at the same time they are completely factual and by the numbers. Mad props to the folks in Redmond for a killer month. Click here for the full release, but here are some excerpts.

· NPD reported that in the US, Xbox 360 was the #1 console for the month; outselling PS3 5:1

- PS3 sales posted an average weekly decline of 27 percent.

· Xbox 360 software revenue at retail outsold PS3’s software portfolio 8:1 and Wii’s 4:1, selling 3 times more than both platforms combined.

· Additionally, Xbox 360 is home to the best-selling games with the top-rated next-generation titles. According to the world-wide authority in entertainment reviews, Metacritic, Xbox 360 has 80 titles with a Metacritic review score of 80 or higher compared to just 31 for PS3 and 11 for Wii.

- In spite of the unprecedented success of “Halo 3,” Xbox 360 continued to drive third-party games sales across all platforms. PS3 and Wii had ZERO third party titles in the top ten console title list for the month, while Xbox 360 weighed in with 3. Since November, third party partners have seen their titles hit the top ten 27 times for Xbox 360, compared to 2 for PS3 and 1 for Wii.

September NPDs: Master Chief Wins!

2007-10-18T19:21:00.000-07:00

HW Sales
PlayStation 2 215K
PlayStation 3 119.4K
PlayStation Portable 284.5K
Xbox 360 527.8K
Wii 501K
Nintendo DS 495.8K
Game Boy Advance 75K

SW Sales
360 HALO 3* MICROSOFT (CORP) 1 3.3 million
WII PLAY W/ REMOTE NINTENDO OF AMERICA 2 282K
NDS LEGEND OF ZELDA: PHANTOM HOURGLASS NINTENDO OF AMERICA 3 224K
PS2 MADDEN NFL 08 ELECTRONIC ARTS 4 205K
360 SKATE ELECTRONIC ARTS 5 175K
360 MADDEN NFL 08 ELECTRONIC ARTS 6 173K
WII METROID PRIME 3: CORRUPTION NINTENDO OF AMERICA 7 167K
360 BIOSHOCK TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE (CORP) 8 150K
NDS BRAIN AGE 2: MORE TRAINING IN MINUTES A NINTENDO OF AMERICA 9 141K
PS3 HEAVENLY SWORD SONY (CORP) 10 139K

Other software titles of note
[360 Stranglehold] = 104.2K
[PS3 Warhawk] = 45K
[Madden PS3] = 62k
[Madden Wii] = 58k
[Skate PS3] = 30k
[Wii Carnival Games] = 110k

It is everyone's most exciting time of the month, the latest NPD numbers are released! And thanks to Halo's remarkable performance, the 360 finally breaks Nintendo's winning streak. I have to admit, i personally was part of the school of thought who thought everyone who wanted Halo already had a 360, but clearly I was wrong! The software numbers on Halo are absurd, 3.3 million in eleven days? Software sales continue to steamroll right along as well with four out of the top ten games being on the 360. Skate did well and Bioshock continues to push towards one million in North America. This all bodes very well for Microsoft's performance this holiday season with Mass Effect and it's new Arcade pack and Bundle SKUs still on the way.

And with all of the attention on Microsoft this month, let's not overlook Nintendo. Clocking in over 500k in a dead month with no big releases? Microsoft brought it's heavy artillery to the battle this month and Nintendo came armed with only a slingshot yet it still almost won! That is very impressive. EA still can't get a break on the system however with it's MySims title selling below expectations. In fact software sales overall are fairly low and must be proving disappointing to third parties. If Nintendo can only drive hardware sales with it's Wii Sports bundle but not sell additional software, is it building an empire on quicksand?

PS3 on the other hand took a real beating this month with sales falling once again, and edging ever closer to the dreaded 100k barrier. They managed to get a game in the top ten at least with Heavenly Sword, but with decidedly modest sales considering the game's massive budget. For Sony, the 40 gig can't come soon enough. But will it be enough to save the system at this hour? Sony can only hope the continuing success of PS2 and PSP will continue to prop up the misfortunes of the PS3. With the PSP slim hitting in next months sales totals, they have much to look forward to.

As far as the other big bombs of the month, Midway's solid John Woo shooter Stranglehold failed to make the top ten after Midway proclaimed it to be the "top selling title" this year, even above Halo and Mario. That definitely has to make it one of the biggest bombs of the year after three years of development and a 20 million dollar budget.

So what's next? Will PSP steal DS's thunder next month? Can the 360 beat the Wii again? Stay tuned, all these questions and more will be answered on monk-blog.

-edit, updated to include Carnival Games sales.

And for PS3's performance:

Astrophysicist Replaces Supercomputer with Eight PlayStation 3s

2007-10-18T08:52:00.000-07:00

In a testament to the PS3's potential power, according to wired, the PS3 is helping scientists solve some of the deep mysteries of physics.

"Suffering from its exorbitant price point and a dearth of titles, Sony's PlayStation 3 isn't exactly the most popular gaming platform on the block. But while the console flounders in the commercial space, the PS3 may be finding a new calling in the realm of science and research.

Right now, a cluster of eight interlinked PS3s is busy solving a celestial mystery involving gravitational waves and what happens when a super-massive black hole, about a million times the mass of our own sun, swallows up a star.

As the architect of this research, Dr. Gaurav Khanna is employing his so-called "gravity grid" of PS3s to help measure these theoretical gravity waves -- ripples in space-time that travel at the speed of light -- that Einstein's Theory of Relativity predicted would emerge when such an event takes place.

It turns out that the PS3 is ideal for doing precisely the kind of heavy computational lifting Khanna requires for his project, and the fact that it's a relatively open platform makes programming scientific applications feasible."

Famitsu Analysts Predict Nippon Software Sales

2007-10-18T06:48:00.000-07:00

In the latest issue of Famitsu, two analysts named Sakurai and Murakami attempt to read the tea leaves of Japanese software sales for the holiday season. Their predictions are interesting.

Nintendo DS

Final Fantasy IV
S: 1,200,000
M: 1,000,000

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Fuketsu no Grimoire
S: 600,000
M: 500,000

Mario Party DS
S: 1,000,000
M: 1,200,000

PSP

Minna no Golf Portable 2
S: 500,000 - 600,000
M: 500,000

PS3

Shin Sangoku Musou 5
S: 300,000
M: 300,000

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue
S: 800k
M: 1m

PS2

World Soccer Winning Eleven 2008
S: 900,000 - 1,000,000

SD Gundam Generation Spirits
S: 400,000 - 500,000
M: 300,000

Super Robot Wars OG Gaiden
S: 400,000 - 500,000
M: 300,000

Wii

Super Mario Galaxy
S: 1,500,000 - 2,000,000
M: 1,000,000+

Biohazard Umbrella Chronicles
S: 500,000 - 600,000
M: 500,000

Wii Fit
S: 2,000,000 - 2,500,000
M: 1,500,000+

Xbox 360

Lost Odyssey
S: 200,000 - 300,000

Ace Combat 6
S: 100,000 - 150,000

Their Wii predictions are especially intriguing. Could Wii Fit really sell that many this year? Given Nintendo's production difficulties with just the Wii, will they really be able to make that balance boards? Could Mario Galaxy really be that big of a hit on a system that has seen such a huge shift toward non-games?

Also, their Gran Turismo predictions are almost surely too optimistic. Gran Turismo 4 prologue only sold about 750k lifetime on the much more popular PS2.

Sony: You Spin Me Right Round, Baby Right Round

2007-10-18T06:21:00.000-07:00

If there is one company in the videogame industry that is known for it's shameless spin, it's Sony. Most of you remember some of their quotes in the past like urging people to work overtime to afford a PS3, but some of their quotes that came out today are right up there with the worst they have done.

Today SCE boss Roy Macguire said that the backward compatibility-less 40 gig was part of a strategy they had planned since launch.

"In the week that SCE UK introduced the new SKU at £299 and revealed that the 60GB console is to be phased out, boss Maguire stressed that Sony’s strategy was the result of industry pressure, falling production costs, and a desire to boost installed base as the industry moves into peak period.

“You’ve seen in the pages of MCV that most people want the price to come down – we have to take a more strategic view on when we do these things,” said Maguire. “We’re always mindful of price and installed base, but we’re also mindful that we have a sustainable business.

“We’ve been considering this since launch – this is all part of a very carefully thought-out plan.”

Maguire also hit out at the level of anti-Sony feeling on internet forums.

“If the product was too expensive, of course they’re going to feel ‘anti’, but now I imagine there will be some changing of attitudes,” he said.

“They don’t have sight of running the company and the financials involved. So they end up with internet information – and that is often based on a complete lack of understanding of the facts.”

Here is some internet information for you Mr. Macguire, a May 2006 quote from Sony's top PR man Phil Harrison stating that backwards compatability will always be an integral part of Sony's systems.

"Backwards compatibility, as you know from PlayStation One and PlayStation 2, is a core value of what we believe we should offer. And access to the library of content people have created, bought for themselves, and accumulated over the years is necessary to create a format. PlayStation is a format meaning that it transcends many devices -- PSOne, PS2, and now PS3."

So why the flip-flop on Sony's part?

Let's take another look at another laughable quote that came out today from Sony USA's Jack Tretton.

"While we were incredibly excited about the technology in PS3 and while it was future-proofed to some degree, it was a bit ahead of its time," Mr. Tretton said in an interview. "The downside of all that technology was the price we had to offer it to consumer at retail. We knew $599 was going to be a challenge for some people based on traditional videogame pricing."

There's a catch to the lower price: The new $399 PlayStation model will not play games designed for the PlayStation 2, Sony's popular older game console. Mr. Tretton conceded that removing that capability, along with a few other features, isn't dramatically reducing Sony's cost of manufacturing the console but will instead encourage buyers of the entry-level PlayStation 3 to purchase more games designed specifically for the new system."

So people buying ten dollar copies of Code Veronica X or Vice City from their local pawn shops are suddenly a threat to PS3's software sales? Sony must be on shakier ground than we had all thought.

Count on Monk-blog to provide a "no-spin zone" for shameless PR in the future.

Megaton! Street Fighter IV Announced!

2007-10-17T08:15:00.000-07:00

This will no doubt go down as one of the biggest annoucements of the year, Street Fighter IV has been officially announced by Capcom. Details are sparce, but release was confirmed to be over a year away. This is defintely some of the best news i have heard in a long time. Congratulations to Capcom.

Other announcements include an enhanced port of Lost Planet for PS3 and a new game called Dark void.

Great Moments in Videogame Advertising: Sega Saturn Infomercial

2007-10-15T19:35:00.000-07:00

Here is an over eight minute promotional video for the Sega Saturn from 1995. It has a very nostalgic vibe to it in how it captures that time period's attempts to be hip and edgy perfectly. Definitely check it out. Just watching this reminds me of the early days of the 32-bit era and going over to Brett's house to play Twisted Metal 1 and Destruction Derby on his PSX, ah, great times.

N'gai Croal: On Microsoft Losing It's Big Three Development Studios

2007-10-15T19:21:00.000-07:00

The legendary N'gai Croal has a great article up on his newsweek blog right now about Microsoft losing Bungie, Bioware and Bizarre all within the space of a month. It is a good read and sheds some light on how Microsoft could have let it come to this and explores some of their future strategies. Basically, it is all the fault of the red rings of death.

Neogaf Corner: EA/Microsoft Merger in the Works?

2007-10-14T20:13:00.000-07:00

File this one under "rumors and speculation", but it definitely is intriguing. A poster named Shamrock over at Neogaf has come up with a theory that Microsoft is either selling the platform over to EA completely, or there will be some kind of merger between the two companies.

"I've been following all these crazy moves that EA and MS has been making and I keep coming up with only one possible conclusion. MS is selling their console business to EA. MS is ditching partners left and right, has let it's best developer go free (Bungie), closed FASFA, and has let close partnerships with Bioware and Bizzare end with publishers buying them off without a fight. Every single Move EA has made is exactly what you would need to do to be successful in the console business. Securing outstanding games, game developers, and with a sale of the 360 comes the rights to Halo and all other MS 1st party games.

Then we have EA paying a 21 million dollar bonus to to Peter Moore to Run EA sports? Who the hell pays whats basically a PR man 21 million dollars to not run EA, but rather run a division of EA? 21 million dollars on top of his yearly salary!!!! Thats more money than More was making running the entire 360 platform. To run a sports division? Not very likely. Then we have Don Matrix who was a EA executive now running Xbox Live. This completely smacks of a executive exchange so Moore (who I think will be running console platform for EA) can prepare EA executives for the console business and Matrick (Who will start preparing and evaluating MS 360 executives who will be moving to EA with this sale) for a more seamless transition.

Finally its fucking October and MS is not talking about any 2008 games and hasn't really said anything about any 1st party games outside of Fable 2 which was announced in 05...."

Poster "The Sphinx" posted the following in response

"There's more than one way to make money in this industry: EA has been preaching the gospel of multi-platform development for a long time now, and it's worked out all right for them it seems. On the other hand... In each generation the bulk of their sales have come from a single platform plus the PC (PS1 + PC, PS2 + PC, now 360 + PC). Their presence on Nintendo's consoles and handhelds has been trivial, their PSP efforts have made no discernible impact, and I don't know that many people would miss them on the PS3.

Now, is EA's success due to its multi-platform stance or its huge sports and entertainment licenses? They've already worked to kill one platform, successfully, and ever since Dreamcast collapsed the industry has treated EA as a possible king-maker. Further, being first party CAN be hugely profitable: look at Nintendo. You guarantee a captive audience, while simultaneously removing incentives from consumers to purchase other platforms. You have much greater control over future planning, a big BIG problem for EA's bottom line. You aren't at the mercy of somebody else's blunders. For a company the size of EA it must look attractive.

The biggest obstacle has always been trying to enter an already-crowded console market. But if they took over one of the three established brands... It makes a crazy kind of sense. IF EA is actually looking to become first party, and IF MS were actually considering bowing out."

Wow, although i was ready to dismiss this out of hand, the coincidences are quite intriguing. I am sure there are some shareholders at Microsoft that are tired of it's gaming division posting losses for six straight years. Also, EA's games on Wii have bombed, notably Boogie and Madden posted sales totals that were far below expectations. If Wii is destined to be market leader, EA could face some lean years as a third party publisher. If nothing else, this all could point toward an EA/Microsoft XBOX 720. On the other hand, this may just be a crazy conspiracy theory. As always, stay tuned for more details as they emerge.

I'm Back

2007-10-14T19:46:00.000-07:00

Well folks, I am back after enjoying a highly productive vacation in super-metropolis, Kansas City. What a town it is. I definitely enjoyed the stay. For only being about three hours away, I noticed some interesting differences up there. The people are a little friendlier, the women are a little bit more beautiful, and the average person has an IQ that is about 10-20 points higher than the average Wichitan. For example, just walking around the mall, I overheard a couple having an interesting discussion on Spanish architecture, a different couple having an deep philosophical debate that I don't remember the exact details of, and just all around people having a more sophisticated vocabulary in their day to day life. At my hotel someone told me that Aeris is "delightful", I mean, who in Wichita says delightful?

On the downside, Kansas City is an intimidating labyrinth of infinite highways. In all honesty, we encountered at least a dozen (though probably more) highways that all led to completely different parts of the city. And one thing our brethren up in KC are much more serious about is road work. They don't pussy-foot around with pesky things like cones, or closed off lanes. They just shut shit down, full stop. Twice key exits to major highways that we needed to take were completely closed, no detours, no little cone pathways, just flat out closed. This left us aimlessly adrift for at least an extra hour when trying to find our hotel for the first time, and was easily the low point of our trip.

But just the scale of things was impressive, skyscrapers that nearly reach to heaven and huge shopping centers that would be key financial hubs in Wichita are just tiny run of the mill corner markets down there. There is so much culture all around you, just driving down random streets will cause you to find some place that is like the birthplace of Jazz or something. There are Gamestops on every corner, and even the Gamestops are more expertly run. I went there and the selection of games was better, the games were better organized, the shelfs were more intelligently placed, and despite having actually smaller space, and more games, it didn't feel as claustrophobic as some Gamestops down here. Truly a feat of engineering.

Overall, it was a lot of fun even if we didn't get to go to the Ren Faire as I had hoped because of monsoon rains that broke out on our second day. If anyone here in Wichita is hoping to have a bit of exploration into a larger world, Kansas City is highly recommended as a true Super-Metropolis. Hopefully this trip has me ready for a future Tokyo trip.

Oh, and hello to our new reader Mishieru who I saw post a couple times. Be sure to make monk-blog your number one spot for gaming news.

Network+ UNLOCKED!

2007-10-12T07:39:00.000-07:00

I am happy to report that the Network+ exam was owned for free, with a score of 885 out of a possible 900. I will now be spending the weekend in Kansas City, feasting on fine culinary delights and trying to find some rare videogames so no blog updates for a few days.

Great Moments in Videogame Advertising: Burgertime (Intellivision)

2007-10-10T21:16:00.000-07:00

I think i might have sent this one to some of you before, but I think it is *possibly* the greatest ad ever. Lines like "We are closed now!" at the end pretty much seal the deal.

Super Analyst World Presents: Jason Snowbot R.

2007-10-10T21:01:00.001-07:00

I am honored to once again present the thoughts of industry "super analyst" Jason "Snowbot" R who has been so kind as to share his thoughts on the holiday console war.

"It is clear that lines are drawn in the sand as three companies prepare for a mexican standoff the likes of which haven't been seen since The Good The Bad and The Ugly. This can only mean great things for us consumers no matter which camp you fall into. I agree with Monkspiders analysis that Microsoft will own the US territory. The Halo 3 juggernaut has already sold 2.6 million in its first week and that will translate into console sales. Combine that with Mass Effect next month and the multi platform titles that will work in MS' favor thanks to its bigger user base, and I dont think there is any threat to its throne in the US.

Whether or not their guns are big enough to topple the Nintendo giant on the world stage is anyones guess. I do predict a close match however. Japan's console bias will ensure an easy victory for Nintendo, even without considering their Smash Bros/Mario Galaxy one-two punch.

I will be surprised if Sony wins even the European territory. While its true they arent losing as bad there, the price break will only give them a temporary boost from consumers already on the fence. There are two flaws in Sony's holiday strategy as I see it. First of all is that while Uncharted and Ratchet are going to be great games, the fact is one is an unproven IP and the other a 6th series installment. In other words, not system sellers. The second flaw is in Sony stripping feature after feature from its consoles in order to cut costs. This might seem like a reasonable trade off, if it werent for Microsoft cutting prices while at the same time adding features (HDMI) accessories (memory card) and games to their console packages.

It will be interesting to see how the holidays unfold. There certainly will be no swift death for the PS3. Brand loyalty, PS2/PSP profits, and the promise of blockbuster exclusives will keep them alive for better or worse. Despite the 360's success, Microsoft still has a lot to prove to some factions before it has a chance to dominate mindshare as Sony has for the last 2 generations. Nintendo has found a fast track to success this generation but cant rest on its 1st party titles forever if it wants to capitalize on its explosive growth. The stakes are high and the tension is palpable. For any company hoping to win the console wars, now is the time to go for broke."

Well said Snowbot! Thanks for sharing your fascinating insights. For what it's worth, a junior-level analyst at CNET chimed in today sharing very similar thoughts regarding the PS3. "The Xbox 360 currently has the best software library and that console has been selling for $399 since its release. The Nintendo Wii is riding a wave like nothing we have seen in this industry and that console costs just $250. Simply put, if I want to play video games, why would I choose the Playstation 3?". He makes a good argument, let's hope that Sony is able to right the ship before this point next year.

The Shit Just Got Real: Sony Announces 40 Gig, Microsoft Announces Bundle, Nintendo to Launch New SKU?

2007-10-08T20:17:00.000-07:00

Well folks, it appears that the various parties in this console war are digging in, resupplying, calling in artillery barrages, encircling exposed enemy flanks and attempting to position themselves for all out war this holiday season. Today was a day that all three players layed their cards on the table for the battle ahead with three big bombshells dropping in the same day. The stakes are high, with a holiday that will no doubt set the tone for the rest of the generation. Who will win? Let's take a look at the various belligerents.

Beleaguered Sony has just announced a $400 40 gig PS3 that should make the PS3 very competitive on price this holiday season. There has been some bad press as a result of the total removal of PS2 backwards compatibility, but time will tell if this will make any difference for the mass-market consumer. After becoming nearly a non-entity, will this SKU let Sony get right back into the fight this holiday?

For their part, Microsoft is poised to bury Sony once and for all, and try to regain some ground on 1st place Nintendo with their exciting new bundle package which they just announced today as well.Though not yet officially announced, a new value-priced SKU is coming that will cost only 279.99 and include a memory card, and several free games aimed at the casual gamer like Pac-man and Uno. Microsoft has the strongest software lineup this holiday according to most critics, winning North America should be within reach. But what about the rest of the world? Will the promise of two bundled games combined with Halo fever create enough momentum for Microsoft to finally elevate the system's sales from merely "good" to "great"?

The market leader Nintendo is apparently not set to rest on their laurels. Apparently reports are coming in that hackers have uncovered a new UPC for a "Wii Play N' Learn" sku. No one knows exactly what this entails but most believe this is some kind of a Big Brain Academy Wii edition bundle. BBA Wii bombed pretty hard, so this could be a great way for them to move some units while at the same time offer an alternative to the normal Wii Sports bundle.

So who will come out ahead? Microsoft won last year in North America, primarily due to supply constraints for it's competitors. Will they be able to beat Sony and Nintendo a second time? Will Nintendo confirm it's status as market leader this generation? Or will Sony become the once and future king? Monk-blog lives for making dangerous predictions, need I not remind everyone of my outrageous $400 PS3 prediction?

So here goes, I present my official holiday projections. I believe that Microsoft is firing on all cylinders right now and Nintendo can't (or isn't willing) to produce enough systems to keep shelves stocked. The 360's unbelievable software lineup combined with the new SKU and the free game bundle will allow them to narrowly squeek past Nintendo in North America. Go ahead and mark that one down for the record folks.

North America Projected Winner:

As far as worldwide goes, Wii is the only system that can sell consistently well in every territory, so I think they are the inevitable winner of worldwide sales this holiday.

Worldwide Projected Winner:

As a final note of interest, I will say there is something of a longshot chance of Sony winning Europe this holiday. Last gen Europe was the most pure Sony userbase there was, and so far Sony has been less far behind in Europe than the other two territories. There has been a lot of excitement about the 40 gig SKU over there, so it's not completely unthinkable that we could see an unprecedented three-way stalemate with each territory having a different winner.

Regardless of what happens, stay tuned to monk-blog which is guaranteed to have up to the minute sales figures faster than any other blog on the web.

Impressive Collection of Pixel Blocks Sprites

2007-10-06T21:23:00.000-07:00

I love these, check out the whole collection here.

Great Moments in Videogame Advertising: Ms. Pacman

2007-10-06T21:21:00.000-07:00

If you enjoyed my Mario Brothers commercial, I now present you this gem for your delight.

Retro Game Friday: Super Mario Brothers 2 (J)

2007-10-06T21:07:00.000-07:00

Well, technically it's Saturday (and late Saturday at that) but my whole family was paralyzed by a crippling stomach bug that I narrowly managed to survive. And to be even lazier, I am not even writing the column this week. Destructoid recently had a beautifully written segment on Super Mario Brothers 2 (J). Yes, notice the J on the end. This is not the loveable turnip throwing, birdo-slaying Mario 2 that we are used to in America. This is the *REAL* Mario 2, actually designed by Shigeru Miyamoto, that we foolish Westerners have trivialized as the so-called "Lost Levels". I have never beat Mario 2-J, but this column from Destructoid's Tristero has inspired me to make it my first Virtual Console purchase. Check it out here.

The Next 25 Years of Gaming

2007-10-02T20:28:00.001-07:00

Cracked.com has a pretty hilarious article looking at the upsides and downsides to the next 25 years of videogaming, I suggest checking it out.

More Info on the PS3 40 gig and XBOX 360 Arcade

2007-10-02T20:09:00.000-07:00

Well, it is double-plus super confirmed now, according to Destructoid, the 40 gig PS3 has been seen on the Best Buy website for 399.99. This means that for the first time ever, Sony will have a PS3 that is less expensive than the 360 Elite, and is within striking distance of the $350 360 Premium. An interesting note however is that an increasing number of sources say that this model of PS3 will not have any backwards compatibility with PS2 games whatsoever.

On the Microsoft front, more info is leaking out about the upcoming replacement for the Core, the "Arcade", which will come with a memory card of some sort and some free XBLA games like Pac-Man and Uno. The system will also come in a slick grey color. For the first time, Toys R Us has started listing the system on their page.

40 Gig PS3? Count on It.

2007-10-01T21:52:00.000-07:00

Chalk this up as one rumor that appears to be impossible to deny at this point. Over the last few week we have seen a covergence of evidence that seems to point to a 40 gig PS3 being inevitable. Here is a recap.

-Ars Technica claims to have a mole within Sony who has reported that the 40 gig model is coming soon.

-N'Gai Croal on Newsweek's Level Up blog claims to have a source who told him that Sony has placed an order for a sizable number of 40 gig hard drives.

-FCC fanboys found an obscure filing from Sony referring to a new model of PS3.

-Finally, in perhaps the most convincing piece of evidence to date, a coupon for getting free Blu Ray movies when you buy a Blu Ray player refers to the model numbers for the two PS3s on the market (60 and 80 gig)... as well as a third that is not. And yes, it is the same model number from the FCC filing.

When I first predicted waaaaaaay back in April that we would see a $400 PS3 before Christmas, I received criticism, hate mail, email bombs, denial of service attacks, blood-scrawled notes saying that "we break fingers", dead horse heads on my bed, etc. But it now appears that my prediction is close to coming true. It looks like Sony is going to try to make this holiday season a fight and I say bravo to them.

Rumor and Speculation Dept: Bungie Leaving Microsoft? Could it be so?

2007-10-01T20:56:00.000-07:00

Well, it happens every generation. First when Square left Nintendo during the 32 bit days and then when Rare left Nintendo last gen. Now is Bungie, the famous developer of Halo, about to leave Microsoft? There are some rumors floating around that point to yes. If true this would no doubt go down as one of the most historically important events of this generation. Let's take a look at the source of this rumor. First, the following was posted on a Seattle newspaper blog.

"So heres my big secret. You should google Bungie + Microsoft + separation this week.
You know that big ol BILLION dollar franchise Bungie has created for Microsoft, to show their appreciate Microsoft is letting Bungie leave. Of course Microsoft gets to keep all rights to the Halo franchise, but as today Bungie no longer part of Microsoft. Ask anyone who works there to search the global address book, they're no longer in there. Microsoft was supposed to release the press release today but if they wait till the 10/6 the impact wont effect the quarterly results. However today is the actual official date and the day the NDAs expire, however you still didn't hear this from me."

"Apparently MS just wants Bungie to make Halo for the rest of their natural days, and Bungie doesn't like how MS is constantly trying to "handle" everything they do; the way they market their games, the way they interact with their fans (basically the fact that they do appreciate their fans), and how stingie they are with the profits (comparable to the rest of the industry). So as of today they are their own independent entity. They'll probably make Halo 4 for Microsoft, however hey are also free to create new intellectual properties for whatever system they want. (Even though they prefer the xbox platform)"

"What a way to say thank you."

I was all ready to dismiss this as rubbish (after all, why would Microsoft get rid of their most important developer who just delivered "the greatest entertainment event in human history"). But then when commenting on this story Microsoft gave about the least convincing non-denial denial i have ever read. ""There's been no such announcement. We continue to celebrate the tremendous success of the global phenomenon that is Halo 3."". So basically it's not that it's untrue or anything, it just hasn't been announced. Greaaaaaat.

Now different sources are giving conflicting information ranging from "a breakaway faction" leaving Bungie to start a new studio to just one specific individual leaving all the way to the whole kit and kaboodle.

So will this go down as a day destined for the stars? Stay tuned, if this is true I am sure we will hear something in the next few days. Losing Bizarre (the studio behind Project Gotham Racing) and Bungie in short order is some seriously pessimistic news for the 360. Would Microsoft really be willing to let Bungie go? Surely this can't be real, right? My hunch is that some variation of the "breakaway faction" theory is closest to the truth but stay tuned.

Show Me Your Bundle Face Baby: 360 Bundles Are Coming Soon!

2007-09-30T21:51:00.001-07:00

If there is one thing that I irrationally love in life, it is free games bundled in with a console. No matter how mediocre those games actually are, I will love them with all my heart forever and ever.

Several months ago Kotaku posted the anomalous images above as proof of an upcoming holiday bundle for the 360 which included Forza 2 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance. Now Ars Technica is getting in on the action claiming they have mole who has substantiated these claims and even gone so far as to set street dates: October 9th for the Premium and October 23rd for the Elite. Bestbuy.com even had the new models briefly posted on their website before they were pulled. It looks pretty definite that these bundles are coming soon! Those of us who have waited until this year to buy a 360 will be rewarded greatly for our patience.

XBOX 360 Indian Ad

2007-09-28T08:10:00.000-07:00

For your pleasure, I present to you an XBOX 360 ad from India that is quite a bit more awesome than any i have ever seen over here.

New EGM Scores for the Masses

2007-09-24T21:39:00.000-07:00

And as usual, monkblog has obtained the latest EGM scores ahead of time. Nothing too shocking this month. A great month of games though, just looking at the games that I would be at least somewhat interested in owning is staggering, and the holiday season has just begun! Metroid Prime 3 (which I already own, thanks Brett!), Stranglehold, Skate, Phantom Hourglass, Castlevania PSP, FF Tactics....argh, the mind boggles!

I plan on posting more in depth thoughts on Metroid Prime 3 but I will only say that it's control scheme is the best FPS control scheme ever, even better than the 360's Dual Analogs or a traditional Mouse/Keyboard. The game of the month award is well deserved.

Metroid Prime 3 (Wii): 9 (Mark), 8.5 (Shane), 8.5 (Jeremy)-Game of the Month (Tie)
Mercury Revolution Meltdown(Wii)- 8 (Nick), 6 (A. Fitch), 7.5 (Jenn Frank)
NBA Live 08(Ps3/360): 6.5 (Bryan), 6.5 (Todd), 7.5 (Garnett)
Stranglehold(360 reviewed)- 7.5 (Joe), 8 (Matt), 7.5 (G. Ford)
NHL 2k8 (Also reviewed on 360):4 (Bryan), 5 (Demian), 6 (G. Sewart)
Fifa 08(PS3/360): 9 (Todd), 9 (John), 8 (Andrew P.)-Game of the Month (Tie)
Skate (PS3/360): 9 (Nick), 8 (Jennifer), 6.5 (Todd)
Flatout: Ultimate Carnage (360): 9 (Greg Sewart), 8 (John), 7.5 (Gord)
Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck (DS): 8 (Michael), 6 (Nick), 8 (John)
Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS): 8 (Milky), 9 (Jeremy), 9 (Shane)-Game of the Month (Tie)
FF Tactics: The Lion War (PSP): 8.5 (Jeremy), 8.5 (Milky), 8 (Shoe)
Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow (PSP): 8 (A. Fitch), 8 (Brooks), 6.5 (Nick)
Castlevania: The dracula X Chronicles (PSP): 8 (Jeremy), 9 (Shane), 8 (Mark)
Star Wars Battlefront-Renegade Squadron(PSP)- 6 (Shoe), 7 (Skip), 6 (Michael)
Hot PXL (PSP)- 5.5 (Nick), 5.5 (Shane), 6 (Jennifer)

Retro Game Friday: Atari 2600 Mario Bros

2007-09-21T13:45:00.000-07:00

I am going to try to start a new semi-regular feature here at monk-blog where every friday I take a look back at some classic title from the distant past. Today I am going to look at the game that has the coveted status of being the first game I ever actually purchased full price new.

Think back to the summer of 88. I was in first grade, the NES was reinvigorating a videogame market that had been on the brink of oblivion, and kids on playgrounds everywhere were talking about some amazing game called Super Mario Brothers. The fanciful tales these children spun was enough to blow the mind of someone who had only played Atari games up to that point. Imagine! Secret warp worlds? A side scrolling adventure with different screens and backgrounds? A game that actually had an end instead of just continuing infinitely? It could scarely be believed at the time. After playing an arcade version of it at Alco, I knew I had to own this game. The only difficult part would be obtaining an NES, so what was an Atari-only owner to do? Perusing through the Sears catalog that year revealed the next best thing, Atari 2600 Mario Bros!

Ah yes, Mario Brothers! I remembered playing it once at the Kansas State Fair's arcade area. I didn't really like it at the time truth be told, but I was willing to give it another shot. So for my birthday that year, I received a brand spanking new copy of Mario Brothers. I had never owned a new game before so it was quite a big deal. After actually firing up the game, it didn't quite measure up to the big game Mario game on NES, but it was quite addicting and went on to be one of my two or three favorite games on the Atari.

Now a days it doesn't seem to get the love that it deserves, being overshadowed by other games from the era like Donkey Kong and Ms. Pac-man. But it truly is one of the best Pre-NES games out there and the Atari version was one of the best arcade ports on the system. Basically the gameplay consisted of trying to kill an endless stream of monsters coming out of some pipes. They can only be killed by jumping and hitting the platform they are on from below to knock them over, and then jumping up and touching them to deliver the finishing blow. But beware! if you don't' kill them in time the monsters enter a "beserker mode" where they turn color and are twice as fast, basically the precursor to Resident Evil's crimson heads. Enemies included koopas, giant flies, crabs, and the dreaded Mr. Icicle which can turn the entire floor that he is on to ice.

Mario Bros true claim to fame was being perhaps the best coop game on the 2600. Instead of taking turns, you played with a second player simultaneously. You could either cooperate, or try to screw over your partner by hitting an flipped over enemy just as your partner was about to touch it to bring it back to life. Probably my best memories of the game were the wars that would result with Rob when one of us "accidentially" flipped over an enemy.

Anyway, if you have never played Mario Brothers, check it out.. You can find a version of it on any of the Mario Advance games and the 2600 ROM is readily available all over the web.

Retro Review Score: A

Oh, and one last thing. I leave you with the greatest videogame commercial ever.

Sony at TGS: "We Are Sending PS3 to Die This Holiday!"

2007-09-20T20:21:00.000-07:00

Sony really had a lot riding on their Tokyo gameshow press conference this year, definitely much more than any other year in their history. If Sony wanted to have a legitimate shot of stemming the tide of the massive Wii/360 onslaught this year they needed to really knock TGS out of the park. Their track record this year gave some reason for optimism with strong "Gamer's Day" and E3 performances. Sadly however, for Sony fans, TGS proved to be a complete debacle.

Most pundits believed that if Sony could have delivered on a some kind of big game announcement like FF VII remake or unveiled the rumored 40 gig system, they could have easily claimed a decisive victory. Sony did neither of those things. In fact, they didn't announce any new games period. But let's look at the big bombs Sony dropped this year (which were actually more comparable to small firecrackers).

-New footage of Afrika (which is impressive, but they still haven't shown anything in-game, leaving one to speculate on how far along in development this game really is).
-A new rumble-added controller, the Dual Shock 3, which, as cool as it may be, should have been available at launch. Having it debut months after launch is shameful. Not only does it screw over some games that could have really benefited from it like Resistance and Motorstorm, but it splits the userbase which could lead third parties to consider whether they will invest resources to support this device that only a small percentage of the userbase owns.
-They announced Home would be delayed until March 2008(which isn't really the kind of bad news you usually want to put in your press conference).
-No 40 gig model or even a price drop for the 80 gig was announced.
-Again, no new games were announced whatsoever.

Sony will have to rely on third parties to come through for them with some big announcements if they want to have any hope of salvaging this TGS. But the fact remains, this was the last big event for Sony to build up some hype for their system before the holidays and they dropped the ball in a big way. The same day Sony had their press conference, Microsoft turned up the heat on Sony even further by dropping the Viva Pinata Party Animals demo on XBOX Live. Sony really needed to shock and awe us here, and instead they got exactly the opposite.

So the situation Sony is going to be in this holiday is a $500-$600 system with a major software gap against it's competitors. Barring something highly unexpected, it is this blogger's opinion that the PS3 is going to wither on the vine this holiday. 2008 looks brighter, but by then will the dye have already been cast?

This blog has mentioned the console "death spiral" in the past, where lack of sales leads to less third party support, which leads to even less sales, which leads to even less third party support, etc. While some would argue that Sony has already entered this death spiral, I don't think things have reached that point yet, but a catastrophic holiday season could easily put them there. Sony has to find some way to hold the line this year until they can launch their all out offensive in early 2008. Can they do it? Time will tell.

Afrika TGS Trailer

2007-09-19T20:06:00.000-07:00

Here is some more good news for PS3 fans. Sony is set for a game of the show bid with Afrika, one of the most intriguing games to be announced for the system. Apparently the game is a Pokemon Snap knockoff of sorts where you get to roam around a stunning HD version of the African Safari and explore. The trailer is now up, right click and save this baby.
LINK

57 Things We Know Because of Games

2007-09-19T10:32:00.000-07:00

This was pretty amusing, our gamers out there should get most of the items on the list.

LINK

Mario Galaxy Pre-Order Bonus!

2007-09-19T09:23:00.001-07:00

Pre-ordering Mario Galaxy just got a whole lot sweeter with the revelation of this special coin that the first 400,000 pre-orders will get. Looks like Nintendo is really going to try to push Mario Galaxy to be the number one seller this holiday.

New FF VII Game and Kingdom Hearts III Coming to PS3? Rumors Gain Strength

2007-09-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

Thanks to some info I have gathered from Japanese messageboard "ni chan" (2chan.net), the rumors around a new FF VII game coming to PS3 have just gathered some new strength. 2chan has notoriously leaked info about games several times in the past so it is a source to not dismiss out of hand. But in any event, it is rumored that the following games are going to be announced at the upcoming Tokyo Gameshow.

- Endless Crisis: Final Fantasy VII (PlayStation 3)
- Kingdom Hearts III [temporary title] (PlayStation 3)
- Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories 2 (Nintendo DS)
- Kingdom Hearts 0 (PSP)

This would definitely be a huge coup for Sony if they landed exclusive rights to not only a new FF VII game and a new Kingdom Hearts game. Shortly after, a scan of an unknown new Kingdom Hearts game featuring last-gen level graphics appeared on German site gamefront.de.
LINK

Whether this is proof of a supposed PSP Kingdom Hearts game (which by extension would lend creedence to the other games rumored) or proof of a Wii Kingdom Hearts game (which I have heard rumored from other sources) remains to be seen. But this could be the biggest positive news for PS3 ever if it's true.

One things for sure, monk-blog will continue to follow this rumor to the ends of the earth if necessary and will keep bringing you the hot gossip you won't find on any of the mainstream gaming sites.

August NPDs: Attack of the Analysts

2007-09-18T20:28:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is some exclusive commentary from the industry's top analyst, Jason "Snowbot" R. I have had to pay through the nose to secure exclusive rights to this interview, but monkblog will go to any lengths to deliver the highest quality content of any blog out there.

"Monkspider has struck some key points in his analysis this month, so I'll try to focus on a couple minor points. First is the oddity of Two Worlds appearing in the top 20. This "poor mans Oblivion" has gotten abysmal to mediocre scores awarding it an avg of 54% on gamerankings.com. The fact that so many people are clamoring for any non-shooter hardcore game indicates to me that Microsoft is succeeding in moving beyond the user base of the original XBOX, while still staying true to its promise of being the hardcore gamer's console. Its also an encouraging sign for the upcomming sci-fi WRPG Mass Effect.

I also find the Wii Madden sales numbers intriguing. I would consider the Madden series to have enough mass appeal to be considered a casual game. A lot of casual gamers only play sports games, and probably most play Madden. Now, while these could be considered casual gamers, they probably still make up that same young male demographic that Nintendo is not targeting anyway. But what I'm getting at is, have we seen solid evidence that the casual gamers Nintendo is targeting actually buy games? Many I know have been happy with Wii Sports for months on end. Perhaps a good test will be with the release of Guitar Hero 3, which will sell by the truckload. Assuming that the hardcore gamers who gave strong sales to Metroid this month will opt for the 360/PS3 version of GH3 for its better online features and graphics, Wii's guitar hero sales would then be only supported by those more casual gamers who only own a Wii. This is merely conjecture, but if true would make for an interesting figure.

Finally a couple predictions: The 360 will further close the gap on the Wii as Halo 3 boosts console sales even more and Wii declines slightly from no major releases. PS3 will suffer further as the effects of the price drop continue to fade."

In this blogger's opinion, Jason makes some great points. Two Worlds could be proof of a vast untapped demand for WRPGs, and Guitar Hero 3 will be an interesting litmus test for all the consoles this holiday season.

August NPDs: Bioshocked!

2007-09-13T20:02:00.000-07:00

It's what you have been waiting for, and I personally think these are the most interesting numbers this blog has had the privilege to cover.

Hardware Unit Sales
Wii 403.6 K
Nintendo DS 383.3K
Xbox 360 276.7K
PlayStation 2 202K
PlayStation Portable 151.2 K
PlayStation 3 130.6K
GBA 69.5K

Top 20 SKU's
360 MADDEN NFL 08 896.6K
PS2 MADDEN NFL 08 643.6K
360 BIOSHOCK 490.9K
PS3 MADDEN NFL 08 336.2K
WII PLAY W/ REMOTE 256.8K
WII METROID PRIME 3: CORRUPTION 218.1K
WII MARIO STRIKERS: CHARGED 147.4K
PS2 GUITAR HERO 2 W/GUITAR 145.4K
WII MARIO PARTY 8 138.3K
PS2 GUITAR HERO ENCORE: ROCKS THE 80S 127.1K
XBX MADDEN NFL 08
WII MADDEN NFL 08
NDS BRAIN AGE 2: MORE TRAINING IN MINUTES A
360 TWO WORLDS
NDS POKEMON DIAMOND VERSION
NDS HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL: MAKIN THE CUT
360 GUITAR HERO 2 W/ GUITAR
PSP MADDEN NFL 08
NDS POKEMON PEARL VERSION
360 TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 08

PS3 Lair = 46.5K
Warhawk w/headset= 58.6K
Blue Dragon = 53.6K

Maaaan, so much to extrapolate here. Let's start with the Wii. Clearly another month of ho-hum Nintendo domination. The Wii beat the DS again for the second month in a row. Mario Strikers shows some decent legs, sticking around in the top ten for another month, as well as the more casual friendly Mario Party and Wii Play. Metroid Prime 3 was only out for a week but it posted the kind of sales totals that prove that hardcore games will sell on the Wii.

But, and here is the most interesting statistic of the month in my opinion, Madden wii was not only outsold by the 360 as most expected, but outsold by PS3 Madden and even effing XBOX 1 Madden? What on earth is going on here? I honestly don't even know where to begin speculating on the meaning of this. Is this more proof that Wii is creating an all new audience that doesn't share the same tastes as traditional gamers? Does it mean that sports fans don't want waggle? Does it mean that third parties just aren't going to sell on the Wii, full stop? It really is a head scratcher that I think will prove to be a very interesting figure to keep in mind in the future months when trying to decipher the future of the console war. Another unexpected Wii bomb was Boogie. This one had mainstream appeal written all over it, but it didn't even crack the top twenty. Are third parties really DOA on Wii? This could prove significant in the future given the insane third party sales on 360.

Even though it was outsold by the Wii, the 360's performance gets my award for "most improved" this month. First of all, it's sales increased dramatically thanks to the recent price drop, allowing it to nearly cross the 300k threshold. If these sales keep up, it is quite possible the 360 is going to be able to challenge the Wii every month. Software sales have been great too, with software sales on 360 outselling wii and PS3 *combined* and there are two very significant software titles this month I want to draw extra attention too.

First of all, Bioshock. Here was a game that John Davisson on 1up Yours said in his most optimistic of scenarios would sell 400k lifetime worldwide. After only being out two weeks, it has already sold 500k in North America alone. Considering the subject matter of the game, it is very inspiring to see these kinds of sales results, and it definitely should give any gamer a lot of hope for the future. The other really big one is 360 Madden which outsold PS2 Madden for the first time ever. This fact combined with the bomb that is Madden wii points to a scenario that the traditional PS2 audience may be migrating in bigger numbers to the 360 than the wii. The only bad news for the 360 is that freaking Two Worlds outsold Blue Dragon, granted Blue Dragon was released pretty late in the month, it is still a shame to see. One last note, the 360 outsold the PS2 for only the second time ever, can this continue?

Finally, the most disappointing console this month was the PS3. After seeing a one month "goose" in sales thanks to the pseudo price drop, the PS3 fell precipitously this month, nearly to the same levels we were seeing back in the $599 days. This is definitely *not* what you want to see happen so quickly after a price drop. The real killer though for the PS3 has always been utterly abysmal software sales. Luckily, the system got a little bit of help this month. Warhawk has posted some decent early numbers. It was only released for four days of the period NPD tracked and it sold a respectable 58k. We will have to wait until next month to get more info, but it is shaping up to be a solid seller. I was ready for it to bomb being a full-priced multiplayer only game, but it appears to have some strong word of mouth in the game community, with some going so far as to term it "WOWhawk". In other positive news, Madden PS3 beat expectations and ended up selling to nearly 25% of the userbase in North America.

But despite this, the PS3 is still a very tough spot. NPD official Anita Frazier is apparently starting to lose faith in the system. ""There is no doubt that the window that Sony has to turn this around and bolster their position in the marketplace is narrowing," she said. "With only 4 months left in this calendar year, November and December will be absolutely critical to them to gain more solid ground with the PS3. That said, the story is still not fully written, but it's coming much closer to being so." It is clear Sony's strategy isn't working and it really needs to try something different if it wants to avoid becoming the next Saturn/Gamecube. The rumored $400 40 gig model we keep hearing about might be just what they need to finally get on the right track.

Well, that's it for this month. I hope to have some exclusive interviews with senior industry analysts up on the blog with the week, so stay tuned.

In other news, I am going to the State Fair tomorrow, wish me luck at finding a fake Pikachu or something to win for Aeris.

Bioshock: Is it the G.O.A.T?

2007-09-12T19:57:00.001-07:00

That's "greatest of all time" for you newbies out there. Let's take a look at some of the reviews Bioshock has received. Game Informer? 10. Official Xbox Magazine UK? 10. 1up.com? 10. EGM? 10, 10, 10. Clearly Bioshock is the highest reviewed game in recent memory. There has been some speculation that it might even be the highest reviewed game of all time. A lot of games try to hype themselves up to be the G.O.A.T, but Bioshock may be the first game since Super Mario Brothers 3 to legitimately aspire to the title. To try to settle this debate I have brought in two of the most respected analysts in the gaming industry: Brett "Mad-Gasser" K. and Jason "Snowbot" R.

Brett K

"Bioshock can be called a great game because one could easily argue for it being the greatest game of all time, and one could also argue for it not being the greatest game of all time. For me the story gets high marks along with the amazing environment, and tension that the game brings. While I would put Bioshock in my top ten all time greatest game experiences; playing Bioshock at night with the sound turned up is very disturbing, I'm not sure if I would put it at number one. For me number one would be a game that had both action and humor, and an amazing story that made you zone out in class just thinking about going home and diving right back into it. For me the number one choice for gaming experience is Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. While I did only beat Bioshock on medium, I never found myself wanting to throw the controller at the screen unlike certain missions in GTA Vice City that would make a person want to kill just to beat the mission. It all comes down to personal taste, but for me it's wearing a nice 80's tee driving around listening to Wildstyle and getting ready to enter a mall with a chainsaw."

Jason R.

I dont know if there will ever be a game that a majority will agree is the best game of all time, because so many personal factors play a role in such a decision, such as taste and experience. And then do you do keep the game marked as it compared to other games in its time, or do you directly compare a game 10 years old to one of the current generation? Instead I will take a different approach and proclaim that Bioshock is thus far the most important game of this generation.

But first, my impressions of the game as a whole. The first thing most will notice about Bioshock is the beautiful world that Rapture is. The graphics are slick and the water effects are amazing. But more than that, its the incredible art direction and unique atmosphere that sets it apart. Amongst the plethora of WWII and Sci-Fi shooters, its refreshing to see such a new concept. Rapture is an underwater utopia inhabited by societies most gifted and productive, only to be ravaged and twisted into a nightmarish world by the inhabitants' greed and ambition. And no resource was spared in the detail of the environments. Everywhere you go there are posters, statues, and music that keep your immersed in this incredible world.

Much of the environment is interactive, whether it be knocking over chairs, opening air duct vents, or melting ice. In addition to that there are boundless weapons at your disposal. You have the typical assortment of melee and ballistic weapons which can all be upgraded and fit with custom ammo. You also pick up new powers called plasmids along the way, which let you move objects with telekinesis, set things on fire, or electrocute with "force lightning". And your options for destruction don't end there. Another level of interactivity with the environment is your hacking abillity. You can hack security cameras and gun turrets to fire on the local inhabitants of Rapture. Nothing is more satisfying to me than setting the game world against its own creations.There are even plasmids that allow you to set the enemies against each other!

The game has no multiplayer but the single player is of good length, and to get the full experience you really have to complete it twice, because the game takes a different direction based on your decisions in game for a different ending. Also there are plenty of upgrades and plasmids to experiment with to make two play-throughs pretty different experiences.

So all of this exemplifies what makes Bioshock so great. But what makes it so important to gaming? This game provides the ultimate argument that games are art. And not just in the visuals. Its difficult to discuss without disclosing spoilers, but the story of Rapture is not just good but perhaps the most ambitious ever put in a video game. Andrew Ryan is one of the most fascinating characters ever and the philosophical undertones of the story creates an amazing depth that can be missed, but is so good if you really get whats going on. So what we have is a game thats ambitious in concept, design and story with high production values and geared for adults, and it has been a critical and commercial success. That in my mind is what makes it the most important game of this generation, and a beacon of hope for gaming's future."

There you have it folks, exclusive thoughts from two of the industry's senior analysts, and well, it looks like this debate is not going to be settled tonight. Is Bioshock truly the G.O.A.T? It appears that only time will tell. But one thing is certain, anyone who calls themselves a gamer needs to experience it firsthand as soon as possible.

Just to close, here are some interesting thoughts from an article called "The Cultural Contradictions of Libertarianism" that seemed eerily echo many of the themes from Bioshock's Randian dystopia.

"...On the one hand, libertarians make a fetish of freedom; it is their totalizing goal. On the other hand, libertarians depend on the family--an institution that, in crucial respects, is unfree--to produce the sort of people best suited to life in a free-market system (not to mention future members of their own movement). The complex, dynamic economy that libertarians have done so much to expand needs highly advanced human capital--that is, individuals of great moral, cognitive and emotional sophistication. Reams of social-science research prove that these qualities are best produced in traditional families with married parents.

Family breakdown, by contrast, limits the accumulation of such human capital. Worse, divorce and out-of-wedlock childbearing leave the door wide open for big government. Dysfunctional families create an increased demand for state-funded food, housing and medical subsidies, which libertarians reject on principle. And in courts all over the country, judges who preside over the manifold disputes occasioned by broken families are forced to be more intrusive than the worst mother-in-law: They decide who should have primary custody, who gets a child on Christmas or summer holidays, whether a child should take piano lessons, go to Hebrew school, move to California, or speak to her grandmother on the phone. It is a libertarian's worst nightmare....

Libertarianism did not have to take this unfortunate turn. Ludwig von Mises himself warned that the attempt (of socialists) to undermine the family was a ploy to strengthen the state. Hayek, too, grasped the family's role in upholding the free market. Coming of age in Europe around the time of World War I, he stressed the state's inefficiency but also warned, more generally, of the limits of human reason. "Hayek's economics was rooted in man's ignorance," Mr. Doherty writes; so were his political views, which included both an enthusiasm for freedom and a Burkean respect for customs and institutions.

It is difficult to say why this aspect of libertarianism has faded away, but the sociologist Seymour Martin Lipset once provided a partial answer. In Europe and elsewhere, he observed, modern radicals have tended to be of a Marxist, collectivist bent; in America, with its peculiar Lockean legacy and Jeffersonian ideals, radicals have gone to the other extreme, searching for absolute freedom. It is a quest that has left little room for the confining demands of family and other unchosen social bonds.

Libertarians come in many flavors, of course, but they share certain enthusiasms beyond free-market economics. They are often great consumers of science fiction, with an avid interest in space travel. And they have an almost unlimited enthusiasm for biotechnology, especially for advances that might allow us to manipulate our natures and extend our lives. Taken together, these elements constitute what might be called the libertarian dream--the dream of shaping your own meaning, liberated from family, from the past, from tradition, from biology, and perhaps even from the earth itself."

Fear Not Sony Fans!

2007-09-10T22:32:00.000-07:00

I found this gem on the Neogaf forums.

This cut-and-run defeatism is disrespectful to Sony's hardworking engineers. The industry needs to stay the course!

Sony's supply surge needs to be given time to succeed before anyone can pass judgment. Don't let the obstructionist congress of third-party developers backstab Chief Operating Officer Kaz. It is still more than possible to achieve a reasonable outcome such as equal market partition.

Look at all the progress Sony is making on the supply side of things. While Nintendo's manufacturing is strained and overwhelmed, and Microsoft's failure rate is unprecedented, Sony's world-class hardware engineers are working overtime for great results. For example, since launch, the difficulty of obtaining a PS3 has steadily declined. There has also been notable success containing the competition in locations such as New Zealand. Although other measurements may not show as much success, these are still very important benchmarks that give reason for optimism.

In fact you could even say that the trends are such that, given persistent effort over the long haul, Sony is almost guaranteed to succeed -- provided the developers don't cut their PS3 game budgets, dooming a winnable console war to failure. (Just like they backstabbed the Betamax even though, with its technological prowess, it was going to succeed.)

True, supply does not on its own win a console war -- consumer reconciliation is also required. But the supply-side successes provide valuable breathing room to consumers for them to change their minds about the PS3. And after initial PR failures, Sony has learned their lesson -- the role of General PR Officer has been given to Dave Karraker, a highly competent public relations professional who rose up the ranks by his own merits, and in fact wrote the book on countering bad press. Before deciding whether the surge has worked or not, we should wait until the next GDC where he will give a keynote to developers. It would be disrespectful to him and intellectually dishonest not to give his opinions a hearing.

Giving up on the PS3 now means a vicious rout to the PS3's competitors, depriving millions of innocent people from impressive HD graphics and creating a threat even to Sony's headquarters. Would you have all of the engineers' sacrifices be in vain?

Monk-Blog Special Feature: Yesterday's Tomorrow

2007-09-10T22:16:00.000-07:00

One topic I have always found fascinating is what the society of yesteryear believed the future of today would most likely resemble. I am happy to announce I have a couple really interesting articles for you today. One is an article from a December 1900 issue of Ladies Home Journal that discusses what may happen in the next hundred years. In some respects, we have failed to meet their expectations (we are not purchasing groceries by pneumatic tube, sadly). But their highest expectation of music reproduction was perfect quality grand opera being telephoned to private homes. It is definitely a fascinating read, check it out.

Another cool article is this one, it is a series of French postcards from 1900 showing what life would be like in 2000. The combination of 19th century fashion and architecture merged with fanciful steampunkish technology make these especially delightful.
A similar collection of German postcards can be found here

Retro Flashback: Nintendo Power Donkey Kong Country Promotional Video

2007-09-06T21:44:00.000-07:00

I know that a lot of my readers are big fans of the classic Starfox Nintendo Power tape. Check out this awesome video from 1994 for the original Donkey Kong Country. The 90's were so rad, man.

Breaking News: Microsoft to Have Home-Like Service Called "CoolRoom"!

2007-09-06T06:24:00.000-07:00

Breaking News!

Will this give Microsoft the edge it needs to once again pull ahead in the console war? Is imitation the sincerest form of flattery for Sony?

R-Kreh's Warhawk Review: Halo Killer Confirmed

2007-08-30T07:22:00.000-07:00

Monkblog is proud to present an exclusive review of Warhawk from blog associate and notorious clan stomper, R-Kreh. The hype train on this one is about to derail from the tracks after this glowing review. Check it out.

It is a good time to be a PS3 owner, Why? WarHawk. I must admit that I was a bit skeptical when I first heard about the game. After dropping the single player campaign mode, I figured the game would be a watered down, mediocre online game at best. Was I wrong…

First I must say that I have always been an avid gamer, but over the past couple years I pretty much stopped playing games altogether. My insane work and school schedule did not allow me the time. However I recently had to opportunity to get PS3 dirt cheap and I took it. I haven't gotten much sleep since. And now that WarHawk is upon us, I may as well kiss sleep goodbye...

As I grow older, I find the linear game play of most titles to be a bore. What I have truly come to love are online multiplayer games, especially how unpredictable battling real human opponents is. However my biggest criticism of online games is the lack of game play depth, the repetitiveness that plaque so many current titles. Warhawk breaks the mold.

Warhawk's game play is similar to Star Wars: Battlefront, or Mercenaries. You play in the third person perspective, and have the choice to either run around as an infantry on foot, or take control of several vehicles and types of turrets. What always struck me about the fore mentioned titles is that the vehicles seemed to be thrown in as an after thought. The different game play styles in Warhawk are balanced. You can be just as effective on foot, as you are screaming through the skies in a Warhawk

. There are several game play modes in the game. There is you typical fare including: deathmatch, team death match, capture the flag, and also a mode called "Zones". In a zones match, your team must capture and maintain control of as much of the map as possible. I personally enjoy Capture the flag the most, as the maps are huge, and the battles are epic.

In Warhawk, the world is your playground. There are several types of vehicles in the game. There are your jeeps and tanks, all of which can be manned by more than one player. You can drive the tank or jeep, while a teammate mans the guns. Each base is surrounded by stationary guns and turrets, which you can also jump into and defend your base. My favorite turret is an AA battery that launches insanely powerful rockets at both air and land units.

Of coarse the real fun comes when you hope into one of the Warhawks, and what an experience it is. Upon first getting into a Warhawk, it can be a bit intimidating. These ships are so responsive; it is easy to crash wildly into everything in your path. This is where the game has quite a bit of a learning curve. After a couple of hours of playing, I had pretty much mastered the art of flying the Warhawk (not with the motion sensor on though, that is another story). Flying a Warhawk is like taking a Lamborgini for a test drive.

There are so many weapons to choose from in this game. Some including your standard Machine gun, Flame thrower, hand grenades, others are more creative. My personal favorite is the tow missile. When you launch the Tow missile, you temporarily lose control of you character, and gain control of this guided rocket, which you can fly around the map and slam into the enemy. Another favorite is the WarHawk's Cluster bomb, dozens of small bombs that can be dropped onto a target. I witnessed an especially devastating attack in which an enemy warhawk dropped these on my base, the bodies were flying.

The sound design in this game is amazing. I have a pretty good surround system, and a big Sony 12 sub hooked up. The explosions are devastating, literally shaking the room. And there is something beautiful about hearing the Warhawks screaming past overhead, reminds me of an Air Force Air Show.

I will also note that Sony has made leaps and bounds with their online service. I played for hours without encountering any lag, or disconnects. That was one of my biggest turn off with the PS2's online games, they were so laggy that it was unbearable. With Sony's amazing online service, I feel sorry for the Microsoft fan boys who are paying $60 a year for service.

There is so much to write about, that I could literally make a novel out of this. So I will close with the following. Incognito (formerly singletrac) has accomplished what I consider to be the greatest online game ever. I have never had so much fun, and the action never gets old. The maps are huge, the battles are vicious, and flying a Warhawk is one of the greatest feelings a man can have. WarHawk is a must have for anyone who loves online multplayer games, and delivers on every level. I had high expectations for this game, and for once I was not let down.

All I have to say is….. Halo Killer

Link Fest: Port Downgrade Edition

2007-08-29T19:25:00.000-07:00

Here are a collection of noteworthy links I have compiled for you, dear reader.

First of all, anyone who is a fan of Bioshock needs to check out the latest Penny Arcade: Classic

Here is a hilarious article from Cracked.com: Six Videogame Gimmicks That Went Away Too Soon, and Six More That Need to Die.

The Neogaf community has a fascinating discussion of video game history's most insanely downgraded ports. Some examples include Street Fighter II for the Commodore 64, Double Dragon for the Atari 2600, and Gameboy Color Resident Evil..

If that's not enough for you, I have the latest reviews from EGM. It looks like PS3 fared especially well with higher than expected reviews for Warhawk and Heavenly Sword. After some early reviews being total bombs for these titles, getting good marks from the normally tight-fisted EGM is quite the plume in the cap for Sony. Oh, and Bioshock is one of the few games in EGM history to get a completely perfect score. I left out some of the obviously uninteresting reviews, like MySims Wii.

Bioshock 10, 10, 10 GOTM
Heavenly Sword 8, 8, 9
Warhawk 8.5, 7, 8.5
Wild Arms 5 - 8, 6.5, 5
Eternal Sonata - 6, 8, 7
Madden 2008- 9, 9, 8.5
NHL 2008 (EA) - 9.5, 9, 9
Medal of Honor Airborne - 6.5, 8, 5.5
Sonic Rush Adventure - 7.5, 7.0, 7.0

Monk-Blog's asssociate, Mr. Kreh, had some amazing things to say about Warhawk, or as he might call it "Woah-hawk" or "Wowhawk". Hopefully he will share some more thoughts for in written form for an official monkblog review.

Sneakpeak at the Bomberman DLC

2007-08-29T06:08:00.000-07:00

Here ya go folks, an exclusive look at the new Bomberman Live DLC coming out soon which will go on sale for 250 points. It includes three new costumes, a new mode, some new stages, and a new tornado which is sure to wreak havoc on your fellow bombers.

Here are the three new costumes:
French Maid

Disco Dude

And my personal favorite, Hunter S. Bombson

And if that's not enough for you, how about a new stage set on a ZEPPELIN?

Monkblog considers this new expansion pack to be a must buy for all 360 owners!

Exclusive Scans of Disgaea 3

2007-08-28T13:18:00.000-07:00

One of the most surprising announcements as of late for PS3 was Disgaea 3 by niche developer Nippon Ichi. And as these scans show, the game is looking hot, hot.

Exclusive Sneak Peak at Silent Hill 5 From Next EGM

2007-08-28T12:34:00.000-07:00

Great news folks, monkblog has an exclusive look a Silent Hill 5 preview that is featured in the next issue of EGM, which has yet to hit the news stands.

"
It would seem The Collective is very honored to be working on Silent Hill 5 and rightfully so. After Konami announced they were passing on the developer work to an outside company, it was discovered that quite a few developers wanted to work on the IP. In the end, these other developers were "scared" out of doing such an ambitious title.

The Collective, evidently, is not so easily frightened.

Character Debacle

Although Alex may look similar to other protagonist’s in the series, he is an altogether different character. Alex Shepard is 22 years old and with that comes the attitude and thinking’s of a standard young adult.

While SHV will feature an entirely new plot (ala SH2), the developers have said that the player should not be suprised to see themes, settings and other surpises familar to series fans.

Along with Alex and his family (more on that later), a new host of characters will be featured in this entry. That doesn't mean however, that settings, situations and settings wont be familiar.

"It's important that the characters fit into the overall style of Silent Hill," says Brian Hourton (SHV Lead Artist).

About that story bit...

(what follows is a recap of the story we know so far)

Alex is in a Military Veteran's hospital, recovering from a near fatal wound he received. (It is not specified how he received the wound). While there, Alex has a premonition that his young brother, Joshua, is in danger.

"Alex will be confronted with horrors that reflect his psychological state" Horton adds.

He leaves the VA for his New England home town of Shepards Glen. Upon returning however, he finds his mother in a catatonic state, his brother and father missing and the entire town shrouded in a bizarre fog.

Along his travels, he will team up with a spunky upbeat girl named Ellen. It isn't known at this time if she will be playable or not but she seems to be a cross between SH2's Maria and SH3's Heather.

The developers feel the game and its characters seem to lean much more to Silent Hill 2 and its psycological thematics. It is confirmed that the player will actually GO to Silent Hill, not any hole buisness ala SH4.

Gameplay

Alex's military background plays both into the game dynamics and the theme of the story. Knowing this however, the developers aren't attempting to create any sort of political standpoint. The developers want the battle system in SHV to be tougher, more interactive and ultimately engaging. Seeing as Alex is a former solider (tentative), he is more agile and better suited for doing actual "battle" with his adversaries.

It seems Alex can unleash a flurry of heavy or light physical attacks and has several melee weapons at his disposal. Each melee weapon, saw, pipe etc, will have its OWN set of moves and combos (giving a much more actiony feel to battle). The player can also use grapple techniques, counter moves and can expect the same from enemies.

Strangest of all?

Alex has a dodge roll.

The developers have yet to confirm any info on the gunplay mechanics yet though they promise they aren’t turning this game into a "shooter."

Graphics

To sooth everyone's soul, the grain filter will indeed return for Silent Hill V, however in addition, other filters will be added as well. Filters that give hairline cracks in the screen or are filtered with debris allow the developers to change the mood and atmosphere of the game WHILE it's being played.

Interestingly enough, the game is using the Havok engine in a unique way. The middleware is being used in the same capacity as it was in Saints Row and in the upcoming game Halo 3. Now when you bump into chairs or tables or open doors, the game will register that action in the in-game environment. Bump into a chair? It will in turn bump into a table causing not only a response physically but also audibly. This new "noise", the running on creaking floors etc, can and will alert enemies to your position.

The fog in Silent Hill V will also be receiving a graphical overhaul as well. EGM wasn't able to see much of it, it's still in development, but what they saw was amazing. The fog ebbs and flows in the air and occasionally chunks of ash or debris filter down. It is meant to be specifically interactive, it swirls around you and as Alex cuts through it, the fog conforms to his shape.

Wounds will also be shown in real time.

"We want it to feel physical and alive, like you're carving the fog with the beam of your flashlight," adds Hourton

The camera is now controlled using the left analog stick and allows the player to view the horrors much better then earlier iterations. Inspired by Christopher Gan's movie adaptation, the worlds in SHV, or rather the transition between the two, will all be done in real time. Like in the movie, the setting will peal and melt away or suddenly burst into flesh painted walls.

(Teh Flashlight Confirmed.)

All the Rest

Boss battles will be revived in this entry as well. The Collective is obsessed with delivering cinematic massive, epic boss battles. Interestingly, they are looking for Zelda like encounters...hmmm.

Endings....yes there will be many, though a number has yet to be given. The developers are looking to make the decision on which ending you are given to be much more player induced then before. Missing an item or killing someone wont automatically move you to a predetermined path. The actions you do, the way you speak to the different people you meet. These interactions will have a much more fluid transition into the story upon up intriguing possibilities.

Monsters are now fully motion-captured (ala the Silent Hill movie) and all new beasts are set to make their debut. One such creature, Siam, is a fusion of a male and female body. What’s left is a pulsating, overtly sexual enemy. Monsters will now have visible effects on them. So if an enemy has busting pustules or bleeding mouths, it will be animated, in real time and will be effected by Alex's attacks.

Some of the enemies are humanoid in nature, favorites such as the nurses, will indeed return, however the variety of creatures is said to be quite large.

(Side Note: In the Silent Hill games, the "enemies" are usually physical manifestations of the protagonists mind. It can even be argued that the "monsters" they see aren’t even real or that perhaps what a character see's as a monstrosity might in fact be human after all.)

Closing Words

There seems to be some worrying that Silent Hill has gone the way of Resident Evil 4. I can assure you that this is not the case. The battles seem to be more focused on action than wild flailing and we've yet to see how this will play out. This is still, first and foremost, a psychological HORROR game and the developer is doing a good job so far proving that. For those worried about the "real time" transitions....DON'T. It goes far beyond simple instantaneous morphing of the environment. Audio will also play a role in transitions as well, imagine walking in an apartment hall way and suddenly a dozen hands come reaching our of the walls near you. Transitions are being held very carefully and I give them credit for what they've done so far.

Of note however is the plot implications this might have, of which we are not yet aware of. In all past Silent Hill games, the transitions happen for a reason, not simply as a game play device (this is why in SH4, "climbing" into each world seemed so off base)."

July NPDs: Fear Your New God

2007-08-24T06:57:00.000-07:00

Here it is folks, and this month's totals are truly epic.
Top 10 SKU's for July
360 NCAA FOOTBALL 08 ELECTRONIC ARTS 1 397k
PS2 GUITAR HERO ENCORE: ROCKS THE 80S ACTIVISION (CORP) 2 339k
WII PLAY W/ REMOTE NINTENDO OF AMERICA 3 278k
PS2 NCAA FOOTBALL 08 ELECTRONIC ARTS 4 236k
WII MARIO PARTY 8 NINTENDO OF AMERICA 5 177k
PS3 NCAA FOOTBALL 08 ELECTRONIC ARTS 6 156k
NDS POKEMON DIAMOND VERSION NINTENDO OF AMERICA 7 144k
PS2 TRANSFORMERS: THE GAME ACTIVISION (CORP) 8 143k
PS2 GUITAR HERO 2 W/GUITAR ACTIVISION (CORP) 9 138k
360 GUITAR HERO 2 W/ GUITAR ACTIVISION (CORP) 10 108k

July Hardware Figures
Wii 425 k
Nintendo DS 405 k
PlayStation 2 222k
PlayStation Portable 214k
Xbox 360 170k
PlayStation 3 159k
Game Boy Advance 87k

The huge shocker here is that for the first time Wii outsold DS, the sales for Wii in July, one of the slowest months of the year, are utterly amazing. It will be scary to see how man Wiis Nintendo can move once they start actually getting enough on the shelf to meet demand. What makes this all the more impressive is that Nintendo cranked out these sales without any huge software releases this month, the only one being semi-notable is Mario Strikers. Also of note is that according to most analysts, Wii has officially surpassed 360 in all time worldwide sales. It is looking more and more like the Wii is going to be this generation's PS2.

The other huge shocker is that despite a $100.00 price drop taking affect at the beginning of the reporting period, the PS3 *still* couldn't outsell the 360, and this is without a single major new 360 title being released during July either. Unbelieveable. This was Sony's best chance to outsell Micrsoft for a long time, after this month we will see the effects of the 360 pricedrop plus Microsoft's huge hit parade of titles will push it's lead over Sony further, and perhaps give it the chance to rival even Nintendo.

PS3 may just have to completely write off the rest of 2007 and hope that 2008 can change it's fortunes. So far it's holiday lineup have been huge critical bombs (Lair, Warhawk, Heavenly Sword all receiving poor reviews), it only will have Uncharted and Ratchet and Clank to stand on as far as exclusive titles go. Fortunately for Sony, the PS2 and PSP are still selling like gangbusters and should help them offset their losses with the PS3 at least somewhat. Probably the most worrying thing of all for Sony is that these numbers show that PS3's problems are not entirely related to price. Sony dropped the price a whole 100 dollars, and more people still chose to buy 360s. Sony will have to pray that they can avoid the death spiral that third place consoles typically go through. Where lack of sales translates to less third party support which translates to less sales which translates to less third party support, etc.

On the software side, nothing too shocking. One thing of note is that the 360 version of NCAA outsold the PS2 version which I believe is the first time that this has happened with a major EA Sports title and should signal that people are finally migrating over to next gen, and is a good harbinger for future 360 software sales.

So stay tuned for next month: how much of a drop off will PS3 have after the inital bump from it's price drop? Will the 360 finally have chance to challenge Nintendo with it's Bioshock/Pricedrop one-two punch? All of this and more on monkblog.

Rumour Mill: FFVII Coming to PS3?

2007-08-17T14:33:00.001-07:00

Chalk this up in the unsubstantiated rumor category, but French magazine Gameplay RPG says that a remake of FF VII is coming exclusively for the PS3, if there was ever anything that could save Sony's system, this would be it!

"LE CHOC! A quelques heures du bouclage, voilà que tombe entre mes mains un communiqué officiel de SE indiquant le "remake du tres apprécié FF VII sur Ps3, uniquement". Alors que Sony se faisait du mauvais sang avec toutes ces exclusivités qui lui passent sous le nez, voila qu'une annonce vient flatter son catalogue. SE n'en finit pas de surprendre puisque, rappellons-le, depuis la demo technologique de FF VII pour annopncer l'arrivée de la PS3, rien n'avait filtré. (...) Une démo devrait etre présentée à la prochaine SquareEnix Party."

for our non-French speakers:

"THE SHOCK! At a few hours of looping, here are that fall between my hands an official official statement from SE indicating the "remake from very appreciated FF VII on Ps3, only". Whereas Sony was made bad blood with all these exclusivenesses which pass to him under the nose, veiled that an advertisement comes to flatter its catalogue. SE does not finish any surprising since, rappellons it, since the technological demo of FF VII for annopncer the arrival of the PS3, nothing had not filtered (...) a demonstration should be presented at next SquareEnix Party."

Is this just some silly rumor-mongering to push a few extra issues of their magazine? Or this the biggest bombshell yet for the PS3? Stay tuned, dear readers!

September EGM Review Scores Leaked

2007-07-28T22:45:00.000-07:00

lair: 6.0, 5.5, 5.0
blue dragon: 6.5, 7.5, 6.5
mario strikers charged: 7.5, 7.5, 7.5
all pro football: 6.5, 6.5, 7.0
ncaa football 2008: 8.5, 9.0, 8.5
stuntman ignition: 7.5, 7.5, 7.0
dynasty warriors gundam: 6.5, 5.5, 5.0
nascar 08: 6.5, 6.5, 6.5
persona 3: 8.5, 9.5, 9.5 game of the month
guitar hero rocks the 80s: 7.5, 6.0, 6.0
jeanne d'arc: 8.0, 7.0, 8.0
picross ds: 8.5, 8.0, 8.0
brain age 2: 8.0, 7.0, 6.0
heroes of mana: 7.5, 5.5, 6.0
luminous arc: 5.5, 6.0, 6.0

It looks like Lair, one of the cornerstones of Sony's fall strategy for the PS3, is a huge bomb. Blue Dragon also got lower scores than I hoped to see. Mario Strikers got about what I expected, but I am looking forward to fielding a Wario/Hammer Brother team.

World Exclusive News: XBOX 360 Price Drop!

2007-07-28T07:24:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, I have a bombshell that is not being reported on any of the big sites, proof that a $50.00 price drop for the 360 is imminent! Check out this yet to be released Wal-Mart ad I have obtained from inside sources.

There was a rumor floating around that the 360 was going to drop it's price in early August, this blog can now confirm that rumor to be true.

June NPDs

2007-07-23T19:46:00.002-07:00

Here we go again folks, yet another month of Nintendo domination.

DS -- 561.9k
Wii -- 381.8k
PSP -- 290.1k
PS2 -- 270k
Xbox 360 -- 198.4k
GBA -- 113k
Playstation 3 -- 98.5k

Top Software June 2007

01. Wii Mario Party 8 -- 426.2k
02. Wii Play w/ remote -- 293.2k
03. NDS Pokemon Diamond Version -- 288.4k
04. NDS Pokemon Pearl Version -- 214.7k
05. 360 Forza Motorsport 2 -- 197.40k
06. PS2 Guitar Hero 2 w/ Guitar -- 197.35k
07. 360 Guitar Hero 2 w/ Guitar -- 177.6k
08. Wii Pokemon Battle -- 157.9k
09. Wii Resident Evil 4
10. 360 The Darkness
11. PS2 Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2
12. PS2 Transformers: the Game
13. 360 Tenchu Z
14. NDS New Super Mario Bros
15. PS2 Tomb Raider: Anniversary
16. Wii Super Paper Mario
17. 360 Transformers: The Game
18. PS2 MLB '07: The Show
19. Wii Big Brain Academy: Wii
20. 360 Dirt

Top Ten Software YTD

01. NDS Pokemon Diamond Version
02. Wii Play w/ Remote
03. NDS Pokemon Pearl Version
04. PS2 God of War II
05. PS2 Guitar Hero 2 w/ Guitar
06. 360 Guitar Hero 2 w/ Guitar
07. Wii Mario Party 8
08. 360 Crackdown
09. NDS Diddy Kong Racing
10. Wii Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess

Clearly Nintendo is completely dominating on both the handheld and console fronts. Some have said that we will finally see increased Wii shipments in July. At least, anecdotally, I can say that to be true. If that's the case though, it will be interesting to see if the outer limits of Wii demand are finally reached.

The 360 is selling solid but not where it needs to be. If there was ever a system in desperate need of a price cut, it's the 360. Sales are up a little bit over last month at least, and stop a three month long slide. The much publiciized red ring of death problems certainly can't be helping them either.

Great sales for Sony with their PS2 and PSP, not so much with the PSTriple. There was a post on Newsweek's Level Up blog that cited unnamed third party executives who said they would start canceling ports if sales dropped under 100k for three months in a row, and, well, it has been three months now. Time will tell if we will see some new de facto 360 exclusives created. The GBA struck back this month, after a narrow defeat last month. It inflicted a devastating KO on the Tripler.

Even more dire for the PS3 is the fact that there is not a *single* piece of software in the top twenty. Developers are just not going to be interested in throwing money at the PS3 much longer if it can't turn things around. Even though 360's hardware sales have been mostly modest, their software sales have been fantastic. Even though it was outsold two to one in hardware by the Wii this month, the 360 had just as many titles in the top twenty as the Wii did.

A notable success for the Wii was Resident Evil 4, which was only on sale for 10 days in the reporting period and managed to crack the top ten overall. Big Brain Academy has to be considered a bomb, despite being one of the flagship titles on the DS, it managed a pretty meagre placing with the Wii version. Some have said it's main problem was price, debuting as a full priced title in North America when it was value-priced in other regions. Overlord for the 360 also bombed, missing the top twenty altogether, which is rather unforunate as it came with blog affliate Brett K's highest recommendations.

Next month we will see how the PS3 fares after it's $100 "clearance sale" price cut. Will it finally beat the 360? Stay tuned.

May NPDs

2007-06-14T18:35:00.000-07:00

This is what you have been waiting for folks:
Nintendo DS 423k
Nintendo Wii 338k
PSP 221,120
Playstation 2 187,765
XBOX 360 155k
PS-Triple 81,604
GBA 80,554
Gamecube 10,728

331k NDS POKEMON DIAMOND VERSION
314k WII MARIO PARTY 8
249k PS2 SPIDER-MAN 3
238k NDS POKEMON PEARL VERSION
227k WII PLAY W/ REMOTE
217k 360 FORZA MOTORSPORT 2
184k 360 GUITAR HERO 2 W/ GUITAR
140k 360 SPIDER-MAN 3
138k 360 COMMAND & CONQUER 3: TIBERIUM WARS
131k PS2 GUITAR HERO 2 W/GUITAR

The big news is of course is yet another month of Nintendomination. The Wii is the fastest selling console ever, even outpacing the PS2. Meanwhile, the DS continues to be on track to be the highest selling game system ever.

In other news, the XBOX Circle continues a three month decline, posting a drop of about 20k per month since the much maligned Circle Elite was announced. Clearly, Microsoft is in dire need of price cut. The Elite amounted to being a de facto price increase, with the less informed consumers out there no doubt assuming the Elite is the version to get. The Elite was just a huge strategic blunder, clearly intended as a move to outflank the Tripler, when the PS3 is selling like a dog and the XBOX's true enemy is the Wii.

Some positive news for Sony, for the first time ever I think the PSP outsold the PS2 and the XBOX 360, the PS2 continues to be a solid seller for such an old console, and the PS Triple finally edges out the GBA in their continuing grudge match. June rematch confirmed? Nonetheless, the PS Triple is under 100k for the second month in a row. There were whispers that some third party publishers are going to cancel their PS3 ports if it is under 100k for three months in a row. Sony fans need to cross their fingers that something can reverse the PS Triple's fortunes.

I leave you with a selection of gif files to commemorate the months' happenings.

So who will win next month? Stay tuned!

Review: Rob Kreh's Graceland

2007-06-01T21:22:00.000-07:00

Well folks, at long last and after much public demand, I am bringing you my review of Rob Kreh's horror classic, Graceland. The oft-delayed DVD release has finally made it into my hands, and I am ready to offer a full review of this gory zombie masterpiece.

The Movie

Rob Kreh made a huge splash as an up and coming director when his first feature film made a limited scale release in the El Dorado area. Created as an homage to classic horror directors like George Romero, Graceland is intended to be a treatise on mankind's inability to survive when the conveniences of our modern society are removed.

The basic plot of the movie follows Corey, played by Nick Foster, who starts off the film as a happy-go-lucky Elvis impersonator. He is quickly thrown headfirst into a struggle to survive when his best friend is killed in front of his own eyes by an intestine-devouring zombie. Over the course of the movie, Corey has to ward off attacks from a motley gang of zombies, mummies, ghosts and other assorted spooks while at the same time try to save his pregnant girlfriend who is sick with an unknown illness. Things take a shocking turn during the film's final moments, but needless to say, I won't spoil things for you here.

This film is most legendary for it's amazing technical accomplishments. On a shoestring budget of under $1000, director Rob Kreh pulled off Hollywood-caliber blood and guts. By utilizing creative no-budget hacks like using condoms as intestines, Rob creates what are possibly the greatest gore effects ever achieved in a low-budget film. Truly any up and coming horror directors who want to know how to make a great horror film on the cheap should study "Graceland" very closely.

From a cinematography perspective there are a number of gorgeous shots. The haunting scene of the courthouse at the beginning, as well as the scenes where Corey is driving under a brilliant Kansas sunset and the zombie chase scene show that Rob is a director who knows how to create memorable imagery.

One area of concern during the movie's preproduction stages was whether or not Kreh would be able to get decent performances from his actors. Fortunately, these concerns proved to be without warrant. Lead actor Nick Foster does a commendable job as Corey. While clearly not a professional by trade, Foster's performance here is more than adequate. The real star of the show however was young Lauren Demott who played girlfriend Kathy. There were a lot of irate emails sent to Rob when fan favorite Ciara Kreh was dropped from production but Demott's performance proved this to be a judicious choice. The assorted extras playing the part of the film's ghouls also did a surprisingly good job. Kreh seems to have some talent in extracting the best possible performances from his actors.

My only significant gripe with the film as a whole is that it has at it's core a depressing sense of nihilism. The basic message of the movie is that mankind is too weak and stupid to save itself in the face of any true catastrophe. I have never liked movies like Dawn of the Dead or 28 Days Later because I don't view art that intends to leave the viewer more depressed for having watched it to be worthwhile. There are some exceptions of course, but this is just an example of my own internal biases.

Realistically, the Zombie genre has never been about happy endings and sunshine and Santa Claus. In the final analysis, Graceland is an excellent example of this genre and this reviewer liked Graceland a lot more than either of the two aforementioned films. Director Rob Kreh shows an extreme amount of talent on this one, and Graceland is by any measure an amazing debut effort.

Score: 9

The Video

My first experience with Graceland was watching the blurry and pixelated version that is up on Youtube. I don't know if I am just really used to that version, but the picture quality on this DVD blew me away. I was playing it through DVI on my 32 inch widescreen HDTV and the picture quality looked incredibly crisp. In all honesty, it even looked better than some Hollywood DVDs I have purchased over the years. Truly a stellar effort from Dark Harvest Films in his department.

Score: 10

The Sound

Probably my biggest gripe with this DVD is that the sound was poorly mixed in some areas. There are a couple points in the movie, always during conversations between Corey and Kathy, that the background sounds overwhelm the speaker's voices, making them impossible to hear even with my volume cranked pretty high on a simple stereo 2.0 setup. I don't recall this problem ever happening in the original youtube version. l It's unfortunate that Dark Harvest's sound engineers let this slip into the final version.

Also Kreh showed a bit of overzealous editing in the sound department for this DVD release. The original youtube version of the movie included a zombie version of Elvis singing "I Can't Help Falling in Love With You" as the film ended. This has been nearly completely cut from the movie and it was one of my personal favorite moments. Maybe someday there will be a super duper version for Graceland that will address these complaints.

Score: 6

Packaging and Extras

The first thing that really me blew me away about Graceland was how professional it's packaging looks. It comes in a standard amray case with some hillarious youtube reviewer quotes on the cover, and an elaborate back cover worthy of a Hollywood release. I never expected a low budget film such as Graceland to come in such a high-grade package. Rob really knocked it out of the park here.

Another area Rob knocked it out of the park in is the extras. This DVD is chock-full of special features that are of the absolute highest quality. Some of the gems included is a featurette called "Behind the Lense" which features director Rob Kreh answering a series of questions about the production of the movie. Rob handles these questions as if he was already a lifetime veteran of the industry. Also included as easter eggs is one episode of the Rob Kreh show and Press Start, a videogame show which also featured his awkward brother Dustin Bond, who nearly ruined the entire thing. There is also a trivia game, various stills, and cast/crew bios.

The only thing one can find fault with on the extras is that some of the choices made may not have been optimal. Kreh included an unfinished short film shot with Mike Jones that ends on frustrating cliffhanger. I think most fans wish he would have included either the other episode of the ridiculously popular Rob Kreh show, some of the legendary footage of Ciara Kreh acting in the role of Kathy or just some of the other scenes left on the cutting room floor. Most fans speculate that Dark Harvest will eventually release a Rob Kreh: The Complete Series DVD, so that may explain why only one episode was included. Other fans think that some of the deleted scenes are being held back for the Blu Ray version. Only time will tell, but one can't complain too loudly about the special features since what we have is already so over-the-top good.

Score: 10

Overall, Graceland is a landmark film that will probably continue to gain more and more respect with age. This DVD does an excellent job of bringing Kreh's classic to the small screen and is highly recommended to all film aficionados, especially horror fans.

Monk-Blog Ratings
The Movie: 9
The Video: 10
The Sound: 6
The Extras: 10

OVERALL: 9

New PSP Hack: Video Out to Your PC!

2007-05-21T07:46:00.000-07:00

There is an exciting new hack out for the PSP that allows you to output the ideo through USB to your PC. If you connect your PC through your TV like I do, all the better. :-)

LINK

MGS4 to 360 All But Confirmed?

2007-05-18T20:09:00.000-07:00

One of the last pillars of PS3 third party strength is showing signs of crumbling. While I once thought it highly unlikely that MGS4 would go to 360, a quote from Kojima studios during an interview at 1up makes a 360 port sound inevitable.

"Payton knows fans have legitimate concerns about Kojima Productions possibly compromising the game's ambition due to issues arising from concurrent Xbox 360 development -- divided resources, less disc space, etc. -- and he addressed those directly:

"I can tell you honestly at this point, we have not changed the game in any form with the idea of 'oh, we got to do this on 360.' Put aside whether or not we're developing for 360 or not, the game is built on the PS3 hardware, as you guys have known for the past two years or so."

In other words: if MGS4 comes to Xbox 360, it has not affected the game's development. This is the same game Hideo Kojima decided to produce from day one. Make sure to listen to the podcast for more from Payton and the 1UP boys about Snake, Xbox 360 vs. PS3 and more."

If MGS4 goes to 360, Sony will have no choice but to fall back to it's last line of defense, Fortress FF XIII. How long this once thought impregnable fort can hold is anyone's guess.

April NPD Sales Totals- Nintendo World Order Confirmed

2007-05-18T07:55:00.000-07:00

Nintendo DS 471k
Wii 360k
PlayStation 2 194k
PlayStation Portable 183k
Xbox 360 174k
Game Boy Advance 84k
PlayStation 3 82k
GameCube 13k

Man, those PS3 sales are depressing. It was defeated in it's grudge match with the GBA again, ridiculous. And Nintendo continues it's utter domination. I think at this point it is pretty much fated to win this generation for sure.

Amazing Article: What if Sci-Fi Was a Chinese Invention?

2007-05-18T06:32:00.000-07:00

This is an incredible alternative-history article that looks at sci fi if I had been originally developed by the Chinese. including photoshopped covers and elaborate fan disputes over various author's significance, and so on. I have always been a fan of alternative history that looks at how things would be different if just certain little tiny things were changed. Anyone can write about how the world would be different if the Germans won WW II, but if the Chinese invented sci fi? Now that takes imagination!

LINK

Petition to Release the Rob Kreh Show on DVD

2007-05-16T21:12:00.000-07:00

One thing the Rob Kreh fan community has been buzzing about lately has been an overwhelming demand for releasing the brilliant but short lived Rob Kreh Show on DVD. No one is too sure about the exact amount of episodes filmed. Most Rob Kreh historians estimate about 3-4, while still acknowledging some of the whispers that there were other episodes that were never released for mass public consumption, seen perhaps once on a sleepy late-night broadcast on the local public access channel.

One thing is certain, the Rob's first major foray into the world of entertainment proved all too ephemeral, but nonetheless burned like a tiny supernovae during it's short lifespan. Hardcore Rob Kreh fans appreciate this film for it's spirit of dash and daring optimisim, containing none of the fatalistic cynicism of his most famous work, Graceland. Here was a young Kreh, with his whole career ahead of him, just filming whatever random things he can.

Other Rob Kreh fans appreciate these earlier works for their historical value in showing his development toward becoming a full-fledged film director. The most famous scene from this pantheon of work would probably be the "Elvis Walking" scenes. Most fans think these scenes were clearly laying the thematic groundwork for Graceland. Some fans even believe that Kreh went mad while filming these scenes, thus transforming him from a Kutcherian wise guy to the director who would make the dark and gory Graceland.

Probably the single subject that is most hotly debated amongst historians is whether the Rob Kreh Show contained a infamous scene that nearly turned erupted El Dorado into a bloody inferno. While no known footage of such a scene exists today, there are some Rob Kreh fans who believe he filmed a scene that showed the unhygienic conditions that existed in Butler County Community College's cafeteria. This scene supposedly threw the city in to a state of near-rioting and came close to getting young Kreh expelled before his film career ever got started.

While one would naturally assume that such a historically significant piece of film would be carefully preserved, but to date not a single copy of it has ever surfaced, leading some to question if it ever even existed. Adding to the confusion is that people who swear to having seen it offer different recollections of what the scene was like. One fan on a Rob Kreh fan forum named "TaMpAD3VIL69" describes the film as showing a rat scurry across the screen, and dead bugs crawling around in a "primordial soup" of sorts that was later served to students as porridge. A different fan named "MJonesLova" says the scene shows a human hand being ground up and served as hamburger. Critics say that fans are delusional and that no such scene exists. If anything, they are confusing the Rob Kreh show with Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle". In any event, access to the master tapes of all Rob Kreh episodes should resolve this debate.

With the Graceland DVD containing one Rob Kreh SHow episode as a hidden easter egg, fans are in a near frenzy to get their hands on the remaining episodes. Consider this a petition by this humble author to this epic series on DVD. If you agree, sign below!

Food 2.0: The New Doritos

2007-05-15T19:26:00.000-07:00

In a bold move that echoes the philosophy of the web 2.0 movement, Frito-Lay has launched a new brand of interactive, community-driven, highly processed snack chips. Behold! Doritos X-13D!

Described only as "American Classic" on the bag, Frito-Lay challenges you to submit your own title to snackstrongproductions.com. Naturally, I found them too intriguing to pass up. They actually taste almost exactly like a McDonalds Cheeseburger. They are really a technical wonder. I have to admit the first few bites of a cheeseburger-flavored tortilla chip will have your brain trying to tell you that this is something that you shouldn't be eating, but after that, they are too delicious to resist. I recommend everyone get a bag at your local supermarket and help celebrate the dawn of the food 2.0 era!

Quick Update

2007-05-02T20:08:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts, I have been studying hardcore for my A+ certification exams on Friday.

Just to give you guys something to chew on, I will link you to one of the greatest and most legendary unreleased games of all time: The Incredible Hulk for the Atari 2600. To date, no ROM of it has ever been discovered.
Check out the story behind this unreleased gem

Also, I had the new Diet Coke PLUS and I have to give it a resounding thumbs up. It has the most aesthetically pleasing can design I think i have ever seen. It is delightlfully retro yet futurist. This is the only image I could find, and it doesn't do it's true beauty justice. Here is the real kicker though, the whole gimmick behind the soda is that it is enriched with vitamins and minerals to make it extra hydrating and healthy. So basically it will leave you feeling refreshed and hydrated for the rest of the day and probably extend your lifespan by decades. So check it out, monkblog says buy a 12 pack or lose all stret cred at this blog permanently.

PS Triple: $400 by Christmas? Believe!

2007-04-24T19:34:00.000-07:00

Here is some hot original content for you folks. I have done a bit of investigative journalism for the monk-blog project, and I believe that I now have enough evidence to say that the Triple is going to be dropped in price to 400 or 450 by this holiday season. Here is my proof:

1. A greatly reduced-price blue laser diode is going to roll out by June. This key component is estimated to have cost around 80 bucks at the PS3's launch. The new models are going to be a dirt cheap 900 yen/$7.59.
2. Removing the emotion engine chip to provide software-based instead of hardware-based backwards compatability should cut costs by about $30
3. Sony will start using a smaller 65nm instead of 90nm Cell chip that will drive down costs also, though the exact amount I have been unable to ascertain.
4. The Euro PS3 uses a much simpler, more streamlined motherboard. We can expect this to be used here too when the officially dump the Emotion Engine.
5. The HD Format war is just about over , and Blu Ray has won, finally avenging beta-max's earlier defeat. I have to wonder if Blu Ray will force HD-DVD to sign it's surrender papers in the same train car that beta max/VHS armistice was signed in. Sony earns licensing fees on every Blu Ray disc sold, and this gives them a more free hand in subsidizing the PS3 down to a mass-market price.
6. I'm sure there have been other reduced costs, improved efficiencies and all sorts of economies of scale factors that I haven't take in to account that have made the PS3 cheaper to produce than it was at launch.

There have been a lot of economists and marketing firms, and even some Sony reps predicting a price cut this year, so my research isn't anything too revolutionary. Sony of course denies any sort of price cut talk, but naturally you don't announce a price cut until it is about to happen.

The PS Triple has really been experiencing some lukewarm sales, and if Sony wants to execute it's Blu Ray strategy, it needs to move more units. So a price cut isn't just an option this holiday, it is necessary for PS3 to keep up in this console war. Sony has a lot of big guns coming out this fall: Heavenly Sword, Uncharted, Ratchet and Clank, Devil May Cry 4, GTA IV, LittleBigPlanet, Home, a price drop around October could give Sony a huge shot in the arm. Of course, Microsoft should be expected to fire back with a price drop it's own, but arguably there are more people waiting on a price drop for the Triple than there is for the Circle.

Monk-Blog is bullish on the PS3's prospects this holiday season. $400 PS Triple by Christmas? BELIEVE. And just remember the blog where you heard it first.

Unbelieveable! Someone Beats Super Mario 1 in Five Minutes Sharp!

2007-04-24T08:16:00.000-07:00

An truly legendary speed run. I am ashamed to admit that I still have never beat Super Mario 1. Super Mario 2 and 3, sure, but never the first one. In fact, I don't think I ever beat world 8-3 even.

One More Soda Update for You

2007-04-23T16:39:00.000-07:00

Coca Cola is changing it's look once again. The new can is on the left. It has decided to go for a more retro-chic look, and I have to admit, I like it!

Insider News from the Soda Industry

2007-04-22T19:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, you guys begged for it, but I didn't want to relaunch the soda section of the blog until I had some stuff that could really blow your socks off. I have managed to dig up some interesting information on the soda industry from certain insiders. This is top secret news should not go beyond this blog.

Before, I get to the really interesting stuff, one of snowbot's trademark drinks has seen it's sales increase dramatically: Coca Cola Zero. Good to see it didn't suffer the same fate as C2.

Okay, my source within Coca Cola has given me some info on their strategy this summer. First of all, they are going to bring back Vanilla Coke. They discontinued it when they launched the god-awful Black Cherry-Vanilla. But apparently consumer demand has led them to bring it back in a manner that is not unlike their legendary New Coke/Coca-Cola Classic debacle.

Also, Coke's big new product they are betting on this summer? Coca Cola with Orange. That's right, you heard it here first folks. Stay tuned as details develop on this one.

As for the Pepsi camp, there are some whispers coming my way about some new products this summer, but the details are a bit more vague. One thing I know for certain, they are going to be pumping billons of marketing dollars into a new product called Pepsi Summer Mix. It sounds like an intriguing mix of Pepsi and various "tropical flavors. Monk-Blog have managed to obtain a leaked image of the proposed packaging.

Some of you might remember back in Monk-Blog's original incarnation, a new Mountain Dew line extension called Electrocution that was supposed to be berry-based was rumored to be coming out in Spring 2006. That obviously never happened, but it looks like they haven't given up on the berry flavor and it may be closer than we realize. I have a beta-tester who has provided the following images of Mountain Dew Clash which he described as very berry-based and even reminiscent of Pepsi Blue!

More vague are some products called "Pepsi Diet Max", "Sierra Mist Citrus Blast", and something described only as "Orange Amp". I'm not sure if this is intended to be a challenge to Coca Cola's new Orange product, or not. The "amp" makes it sound like some sort of energy drink. In any event, this should be an exciting summer to be a soda connoisseur and stay TUNED to monk-blog for exclusive content that you can't get anywhere else.

Interesting New Cryptozoological Discovery: The Godfish!

2007-04-22T19:36:00.000-07:00

Check It Out

Basically, this image was found on an old 1911 post card, and here is the thing, no one has any clue what kind of fish it is. Obviously, it's huge. It looks like it is about 8 feet long. Is it prehistoric species of some sort that we have believed to be long extinct?

The unfortunate thing is that since it hasn't been seen since 1911, it could actually be extinct, but here's to hoping it is still waiting for us in some unknown watery depth...

NPDs for March

2007-04-19T22:00:00.001-07:00

NPD has posted it's sales totals for March. The Nintendo consoles did very well, as did the PS2. The poor PSTriple had something of a rough month, being outsold by even the Gameboy Advance. Here's to hoping Chad Warden's new video can jumpstart sales for April.

HW Sales
Nintendo DS 508K
PlayStation 2 280K
Wii 259K
Xbox 360 199K
PlayStation Portable 180K
Game Boy Advance 148K
PlayStation 3 130K
GameCube 22K
Xbox n/a

Top 10 SW

PS2 GOD OF WAR II 833K
360 TOM CLANCY'S GHOST RECON: ADVANCED WARFI 394K
360 GUITAR HERO 2 W/ GUITAR 291K
WII PLAY W/ REMOTE 273K
PS3 MOTORSTORM 199K
NDS DIDDY KONG RACING 189K
NDS SPECTROBES 165K
360 MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 2K7 165K
PS2 MLB '07: THE SHOW 164K
360 DEF JAM ICON 148K

New Chad Warden Video

2007-04-19T22:00:00.000-07:00

Yep, the notorious C.H.A.D finally composed a new video, while it is not quite as good as the first, I would still consider it truly ABAP.