Just read about it on Kotaku earlier. Seriously, if they had even tried the game (like they ever would) they would notice that it's fucking hard as shit to drive while drunk in game. I mean it's already a little difficult to get driving down in the game anyways (fuck the sports car races).

They want to get the rating changed because apparently there is a mission where you are forced to drive drunk. I personally haven't gotten there yet (if there's really is such a mission). The thing that upsets me to most, is that when I tried to drive drunk in the game... I immediately got a wanted level and then crashed into a wall. If that doesn't speak to the stupidity of drunk driving, I really don't know what does.

I believe that they sent a comment to MADD about it, but of course, in a hardheaded "Let's make a huge deal about video games depicting violence, drug abuse, and all the bad things in the world rather than focusing that effort on preventing all those things in real life" kind of manner they have yet to respond.

Everyone that isn't in the "know" frowns upon Grand Theft Auto in general for all the "bad" things in it. The sad truth is that a lot of the shit that happens in GTA: the shootings, drug abuse, etc. etc. happens in actual places. I think it's just so funny that Grand Theft Auto gets all this bad press, when real shit happens everyday, murders, robberies, rape, and yet they focus on a game, when that kind of shit is happening all over the place. All of them cry out against the game and for what it supposedly stands for. It doesn't stand for anything on its own, it's up to a player to place some kind of meaning to a game, just like a book, movie, or music. It's obvious that those angry about the grand theft auto series chose the easiest route for them, the route of "We don't understand and it and don't want to, so let's hate it". Look at nearly all the games that have been scrutinized, pretty much all the time those criticizing them don't even know a tiny bit about the thing they are bitching about. The thing that is even more comical is that GTA even mocks these people on the in game radio and TV, as a satire it's amazing.

I for one applaud Grand Theft Auto, for creating a game that is both entertaining to play, and entertaining to watch others bitch about for no good substantiated reason.

The opening. (first Music video of The Protomen)



A fan video made with scenes from "Casshern"

The awesomeness. They've been around for a while, and strangely enough not a lot of people know of them, even with a blurb in Nintendo Power a while back.

I've seen them in concert twice so far, and they have some of the best shows I've ever been too (albeit a little silly at times). The guys are incredibly nice and definitely treat their fans very well. Definitely check them out, buy their album if possible (they also have an 8-bit album done by the Makeup and Vanity Set.

We must bring the war to everyone!

http://www.protomen.com/
www.myspace.com/theprotomen

For me, I have been put off by JRPGs for a little while now, the last one that I played throughly being... I believe Radiata Stories on PS2. For the past couple of months I had been revisiting classics like Breath of Fire II, Earthbound, and FFIII, staples that I had already played the ever living shit out of.

This is no more however. I picked up a copy of Lost Odyssey not knowing what I was getting myself into. The first thought running through my head when I heard about the game and saw the first trailers way back when was, "The main character looks lame as hell... what is he the lead singer for a fantasy grunge band or something?"

Anyways the game piqued my interest, mainly because of the people behind it. so I grabbed a copy and started it up...

I was immediately sucked in. I've had the game now for around 3 days, and I'm already 16 play hours in. It's that good. I haven't been this sucked in for a loooooong time. The last RPG I played so fervently had to be FF VII.

I love nearly everything about this game, and there is barely anything I can think of that lowers my appreciation for how good this game is. The battle system is a classic turn based, but they somehow made it much deeper than that. The GC (wall/Guard condition) system is great, and the strategy involved in planning out what rings (special effects on weapons) to equip for which battles and which monsters makes it far more interesting than it should be. The amount of depth that they put into this turn based battle system is amazing to me.

The story is very good, definitely up there. There were definitely parts that got me a little teary eyed (the last time I EVER got that sad while playing a game was FFVII) The dream system is a neat little bonus. It's not necessary, but adds SO much more to the game and characters.

The graphics are pretty good, not the best I've ever seen, but enough to wow you at points. The voice acting is superb, definitely very good compared to some I've heard in games, and definitely add to the likability of many of the characters. The music, of course, is amazing, Nobuo Uematsu definitely pulled this off incredibly well, again this has been the first RPG since FFVII where I've caught myself humming the tunes subconsciously. The difficulty is good enough so that it feels like a challenge and becomes frustrating at parts, but not hard enough to rip your hair out over, it's all about knowing how to prepare for the battle and adjusting strategies to win. Not to mention the game puts in enough save and checkpoints that wiping out in the game is a far smaller consequence than most other Rpgs

There are only a few negative things I can say about this game. The loading times, although completely bearable, are sometimes annoying, only when entering battle. I'm used to immediately going to the battle screen after the screen wipe, but with Lost Odyssey there is a bit of delay.
Another is some of the character designs, I'm mainly talking about Kaim, the main character. He still looks a bit lame, even though I have grown to like him immensely as a character, but then again this is just a personal opinion about him. Also, there is one voice that I cannot stand, that of Cooke, just because I definitely recognize her voice actor from somewhere else, and it drives me insane. There are also some minigames that I felt were completely unnecessary. I think people that got what part I'm talking about know what I mean.
Oh, and the US packaging, wtf. Come on, a dinky paper sleeve? I thought we were better than that...

All in all, this game has impressed me far more than any other game on the 360, the only thing coming close being Mass Effect.

If you're a classic RPG junkie like me, and believe me, I've played A LOT of old school RPGs, you will absolutely fall in love with this game. If things like random battles, excessive skill management, and some lame minigames turns you off, you might want to just test the waters with this one, but I highly recommend 360 owners give this game a try, and I hope you won't be disappointed.

For me this game is definitely a BUY rating.

So I was browsing a little bit, just another bored night. Logged into my myspace, and for some reason the ad banner caught my eye..

"It looks so familiar for some reason...."

That's when it hit me, this ad looks almost exactly like the Japanator banner, it's flipped and there's more little blips on the glass, but it's far to similar for an accident.



I would like to get a big version of the Japanator banner for comparison, but for some reason all I can find is the piddly one on the bottom of the Dtoid page... if someone could post a large version it would be much appreciated.

I know it might have been posted before, but in a few days, the ever entertaining Magfest is going to occur. A party of epic proportions- Music, games, games, and more games!

As for the music lineup, it's looking very impressive this year, and I am extremely excited to see the Advantage play.

Anyways, heres the lineup:
Advantage, Armcannon, Planet Skill (Wave Theory), Powerglove, Select Start, Smash Brothers, Shawn Phase / Temp Sound Solutions, and This Place Is Haunted.

I wish it was possible to see the minibosses, but unfortunately it's not possible.

There are going to be a multitude of tourneys going on in nearly any genre imaginable, with a 24 hour game room and large lan room for those who are going to bring their own computers (TF2 anyone?)

There are also going be a large amount of panels and discussions involving a wide range of subjects pertaining to gaming in general, along with a good deal of merchants' tables for those who want to buy sweet stuff. Not to mention a video room, auctions, and costume contest (so whip out that cosplay you've been working on!)

I've been the last three times, since they were hosting it in Williamsburg, VA, and every time I've had a blast.

Anyone 'toids going this year, definitely hit me up, we'll throw down and rock the shit out of games.

(also if there is a CoD4 tourney, anyone who needs an extra player for a team, definitely hit me up, none of my friends going play...)

Anyways, for more info, check out www.magfest.org and I hope to see some of you guys there.