My review for the absurdly named Mega Man Star Force 2: Zerker x Saurian (and Zerker x Ninja) went up last night. One of the things that didn't make it into the review was a discussion of one of the game's locales. The Battle Network and Star Force series have never really exerted much effort to come up with original names for their levels. This time around, you'll search for a violent sea creature in Loch Mess, get lost in the Bermuda Maze, and speak with the denizens of the "Southern" country of... Whazzap. Really, the country is called Whazzap.

Remember that old Budweiser commercial? It's like that, only even more stupid. All of the citizens in Whazzap are dark-skinned, and the country is primitive in comparison to the rest of the places in Star Force 2. The people pray to a bunch of wall drawings that they think will help them communicate with the gods of an ancient civilization called Mu. If you try talking to any of the people in Whazzap, they won't speak to you unless you say "Whazzap?!" first.

Maybe the Capcom folks in Japan just weren't aware of certain things. But you'd think that the localization team might have made more of an effort. I wouldn't go so far as to call it racist, but it really is in poor taste. Maybe churning out a bajilliondy Mega Man games a year isn't such a great idea.

Re-posted from Doctor Fishypants.

It's been a while since I've compiled the latest Fishypants happenings. Other than Wii Fit, I haven't really been playing much lately. I'm reviewing Fatal Inertia EX (PSN) and Mega Man Star Force 2 (DS) for GameSpot this week, so I've had to cut back on other games. I just posted my initial impressions of Fatal Inertia EX. I was going to post impressions of Mega Man Star Force, but then I realized that there isn't much to say besides "Yep, it's another Mega Man game."

In site news, I've set up two new pages. My Publications page has links to all of my professional writing. This includes my scientific research experience and all of the reviews I've done as a freelancer for GameSpot. I've also set up a Features page that contains links to the recurring articles I post to Fishypants. More specifically, it's an archive for my Wii Fit weight-loss initiative and a new, hopefully bi-weekly column called The PlayStation Legacy. The first issue is about how Lumines helped keep the PSP afloat during a less-than stellar launch period.

That's about it for now. Look for my reviews of Fatal Inertia and Mega Man Star Battle Force Network Maverick Hunter Powered Up X: Pokemon Diamond Edition sometime next week. I think Mega Man was just given the title of the most prolific video game character ever. If it weren't for the recently accounced Mega Man 9, a blessing from the retro WiiWare gods, I think I'd be pretty discouraged by that fact.

Anyone reading this will notice some new images on my profile. Yay! I got tired of looking at the same pictures every time I logged in. I'm pretty sure I've been using the same Dr. Mario avatar since I joined GameSpot almost 5 years ago. I wanted to keep the same retro vibe that I had before, so all of the images are modified from wallpapers for Nintendo's CIassic NES Series on the GBA. I'm still not a huge fan of the font size in my banner, but I'm not exactly a Photoshop wizard. I wanted it to look like the banner at Doctor Fishypants, but I can't seem to find that file, and the original one I created it with isn't proporioned correctly for GameSpot's size restrictions. Anyone feel like making me a better one???

A couple of months ago, I applied for a freelance columnist position with a popular PlayStation fan site. I didn't get the position, but I'd like to try out my column on DoctorFishypants. As part of the application, I had to devise 10 sample topics to go with whatever theme I chose. I decided to do a column called The PlayStation Legacy, focusing on the impact (both positive and negative) that the PlayStation brand has had on video games and home entertainment. Possible topics to explore include:

1. Revisiting quintessential PlayStation titles to examine what made them successful and how these games impacted future game development
2. An analysis of innovations Sony has introduced to the industry (Home, Dual Analog Sticks, DVD & Blu Ray compatability, etc.)
3. Constructive criticisms of mistakes or missteps (Lack of PS3 rumble, UMD video, forced SIXAXIS control in Lair, etc.)
4. A look at influential development studios and how they take advantage of Sony's hardware
5. Previews of upcoming titles with potential long-term implications for the industry (for example, releasing games on Blu Ray and on PSN simultaneously)
6. Retrospectives on influential games or series from Sony's history
7. Discussion of some overlooked gems that may have reviewed well but performed poorly at retail
8. Asking how the PlayStation brand is perceived by the general, non-gaming public
9. Discussion of the potential impact of current events (for example, Phil Harrison's move to Atari, the announcement of the Metal Gear PS3 SKU, etc.)
10. Analysis of studies on the benefits and/or harmful effects of video games (Note: As a psychology researcher myself, this is the area I am most interested in - specifically, the potential neurological effects of violent games)

Since most of my Fishypants posts (Fishyposts?) during the week are taken up by Wii Fit, I'll probably post these articles on weekends. If I manage to keep a steady stream of content, I'll try expanding to Nintendo and Microsoft. The first post will come sometime this week and will discuss Lumines and its influence on the portable console war.

On a side note, I was never too keen on 'The PlayStation Legacy' as a title for the column. It was kinda forced due to the terms of the application. I'd really appreciate any of your suggestions for a better title - especially one that I could use for all 3 competitors. I'm not a huge fan of The Xbox Legacy or The Nintendo Legacy either. They're all too stuffy.

I've always had trouble explaining to friends and family why I invest so much time playing video games. Most people who don't play games see it as a waste of time. I can spend hours in front of the television, procrastinating, trying to beat a level or solve a puzzle that really has no direct benefit to me other than the short satisfaction of accomplishing an arbitrary goal set by a developer I've never met on the other side of the country. But in spite of the obvious detriments, I've always felt that video games can have positive effects. Studies have shown that physicians who play video games make better surgeons, while giving a child a Game Boy before surgery is a great way to relieve stress and calm nerves. Video games have always been a social activity for me, getting friends together on weekends for late-night sessions of Goldeneye, Mario Kart, or Super Smash Bros.

I originally intended on giving DoctorFishypants.com a positive perspective on video games. I haven't followed through on that goal as much as I'd like. I also wanted to use the blog to keep in touch with friends and let them know what I've been up to. To that end, I asked my fiance to buy me a present for my 25th birthday last week. It sold out too quickly, and we stood in line this morning to finally nab a copy of Wii Fit. I tried it out for about 30 minutes this afternoon before my daily run, and decided that the only way I'd stick to using it is to force myself to log my progress. There are probably countless Wii Fit blogs that will be springing up in the window following its release last week. IGN's WiiGetFit is a great example. But while those sites maintain their blogs to increase traffic or promote Nintendo's newest consumer craze, I intend to post (hopefully) daily updates as a way to keep myself on track. I'll post daily statistics, impressions of the Wii Fit features, personal notes, etc. I'm also keeping track of my running using an iPod nano and Nike+. Nike+ is a great tool that you attach to the dock connector on your iPod. It serves as a pedometer and keeps track of your distance, speed, calories burned, etc. I'll add that info to these posts as well.

I know that the common perception of game players is that they're lazy and lack motivation. I've certainly had my share of wasted afternoons. And, unfortunately, I think those lazy days are starting to show. At roughly 195lbs, I think I'm the heaviest I've ever been. My weight has fluctuated somewhat, but with a desk job and even less activity than usual, I'm dangerously close to becoming eligible to participate in my own research on obesity. If anything can motivate me to lose the weight, it'll be to prove to myself and my family that video games are well worth the time spent.

I've posted my impressions, progress, and statistics for my first day of Wii Fit here. Subsequent daily updates will be posted to DoctorFishypants, not GameSpot.

I feel very relieved. I finished my thesis defense this morning, and now I just have to wait until August to get my degree (Master of Science in Evolutionary Developmental Biology). I had already defended a couple of weeks ago, but my committee members requested I make a few edits to the text so that I could submit it for publication and use in the classroom. It's called Building a Species: Evolutionary Developmental Biology as the Basis for Novel Morphology, and it's basically an introductory text to the relatively new field of Evo-Devo. Evo-Devo focuses on the evolution of the body plan and how small changes in embryological development like the timing or location of gene expression lead to big changes in adult morphology. My paper looks at major morpholigical novelties like the hand, jaw, and eye, examines how they developed, and asks what regulatory changes contributed to their origin. Anyway, as I've said before, it's pretty dry material. I plan to make it available at DoctorFishypants.com once I have it formatted for publication.

The next step is applying for doctorate programs in Psychology & Neuroscience so that one day I can be an author for all of those studies you hear about on how violent video games warp the minds of little children. Actually, I'd ideally like to continue the neuroimaging research I do now that looks at neurological activation in response to different stimuli. The lab I work in looks at response to images of food and how that response differs in normal-weight vs. obese people. Eventually I'd like to do similar studies involving video games. The problem is that I'd have to invent a new way to play the games, because you can't have any metal in the room with the scanner. But I digress.

Basically, all of that boring stuff that you're most certainly not interested in means I'll be spending more time than I have been lately on this site, playing video games, and (hopefully) writing about them. My next review is for the Wii version of Death Jr.: Root of Evil. Look for that either late next week or (more likely) early the following week. I also need to catch up on my birthday presents from this week: Mario Kart Wii, Okami, Boom Blox, SNK Cl.assics Volume 1, and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games.