• 26Dec 07

  Long time no see (or the death of a hardcore gamer)

  Been a while out of GameSpot... actually, more than a year. Talking about years, 2007 haven't been the best for me, except for my new girlfriend and the fact that I ditched Chemistry for TI two months ago and got a new job in a fantastic place.

  Unfortunately, these good news have the same downside: lack of time for electronic entertainment; which means my PC and Gamecube have been gathering dust for the past six months, even when I have a pile of 20 Gamecube games I bought from a closing rental shop, and never touched them... or the great PC releases, mostly RTS, that left my mouth watering.

  I predict these will remain like that for at least two years, when I finish college, so now I'm considering selling out both hardwares and software, maybe keeping the real gems and games I consider revisiting again in a few years.

  But I didn't forget gaming altogether, as I found a spectacular substitute for those: the Nintendo DS. You see, I owned a GBASP for a few years, and been a big fan of portable gaming, mostly for being able to harvest the few spare time I have left for gaming, like commuting to work/college, intestinal work or anything else that doesn't require my full attention (do not play and drive*, kids).

  But the NDS took it to the next level. I never realized, from watching videos or reading reviews, what it actually meant to use the stylus and dual screen combo. I have flirted with a dozen games, to explore my current possibilities, and I'm really amazed by the results. But often I can only play one at a time, due to some unknown obsession, and here are a few examples:

  Kirby was a nice surprise, the first game I elected to go from start to finish. Simple, fun, addictive and short enough, as the gameplay starts to wear down close to the end.

  Then came Mario Kart, my all-time favourite franchise from Nintendo, that did not used touch controls (thank Buda for that), but delivered a good deal of time-tested gameplay and new features. Unfortunately I didn't get to finish all GPs, as my girlfriend took the task for herself, spending whole afternoons during two weeks. Her next gift will be a NDS, if she promises me she won't forget classes again.

  But now, I've come to Legend of Zelda, in my opinion, the greatest feat of Nintendo. Our green boy showed the greatest transitions I've ever seen. From 2D to 3D, Ocarina of Time is something the gaming industry will never forget. Now, from joypads to touch controls, the house of Mario nailed it again with Phantom Hourglass.

  The controls are fluid, simple, easy to perform and remember, and the use of the two screens was really creative. It isn't just another Zelda. It's a breath of fresh gameplay in a world we have grown to love. If you own a NDS and still didn't get to play this, repeat to yourself: I'm missing one of the greatest games Nintendo ever made!

  Well, enough of reviews. I didn't get to play other games enough to say something consistent, so I'll leave that for another time.

  One thing I never expected much on the DS was the technical aspects, always lacking on portables compared to consoles. Nintendo 64 like hardware meant no mind blowing graphics or audio, but most games did a good job compensating on style.

  Some games are a bit rough, mostly due to lousy developers or rushed jobs, what makes me really sad because seems to happens on many of my favourites, like SimCity and Settlers. I hope these become more and more rare with the continued success of the NDS. I expected Nintendo to curb these practices, even if they needed a few more games being released at the time due to some game drought. Bad games and broken games are different, and the later often more frustrating.

  Well, I didn't expect this post to end on a Nintendo DS fan fest, but it does show how I'm relating to games for the past months. I am a Nintendo fan, and these are some of the reasons for that. I never had the money to keep multiple consoles, and often choose Nintendo for their focus on fun/gameplay, and the PC for RTS and other games that I really enjoy.

  The truth is, I can't be a hardcore gamer anymore, as time is a precious resource now. A resource that I must use for my responsabilities and social life, in first place. Gaming is a hobby, and can't be more important than such things.

  But I'm happy about being able to turn myself in a casual gamer with an endless number of good games to burn my spare time, and the knowledge to research game quality and new releases, instead of bowing down to marketing campaigns that turn crappy games in instant sale success.

  Happy holidays, folks, see you next year,

  Paulo.

  PS. Damn, had to remove the link to http://www.gamespot.com/news/6146221.html for the 'play and drive' joke...

  • Posted Dec 26, 2007 10:12 am GMT
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• 24Oct 06

  R.I.P. Lik-Sang

  Today Lik-Sang announced it would be closing its doors.
  
  The reasons? Not enough money to compete with a megacorporation (I refuse to write the 'S' word now) on an european-wide lawsuit. All their business was legal, but they couldn't spare lawyer money on many different countries.
  
  Now, it's gone, the largest import store online, where you could get all those weird games and accessories for your consoles/handhelds/pcs, or people like me on countries not officially supported by gaming companies could get gaming hardware and software LEGALLY.
  
  But, of course, that's not the end of it. By winning said lawsuit, this megacorporation got the precedent to sue ANY importer. Not only that, the precedent extends to ANYONE who doesn't want to see their products being sold to other countries. Including other gaming companies.
  
  So much for a globalized world. I hope other gaming companies don't follow suit; and we may see import stores stop selling products from said megacorporation, in fear of the same imoral legal tactics.
  
  Ultimately, this will only hurt gamers that can't get the games they want, and those who don't sell their products because they made it illegal to sell those.
  • Posted Oct 24, 2006 12:11 pm GMT
  • Category: Business
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• 9Oct 06

  Prepare your Vault. Fallout is here...

  Maybe we'll be playing Bethesda's next installment of the Fallout series in our own vaults. North Korea just sucessfully tested it's first nuclear bomb.
  
  I'm not saying they'll end the world by themselves. But the reactions to this may lead us in a post-apocalyptic Fallout-like world.
  
  Let's hope our world leaders don't pull that out.
  
  • Posted Oct 9, 2006 12:06 am GMT
  • Category: News
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