If by chance you haven't seen my sidebar or my comment section on my PSN account, I'm literally dying to get my hands on Demon's Souls. I'll go so far as saying that out of all the games coming out and there are quite a few great ones coming this October, this action RPG is the one that will blow the others away to be on my coveted top game of the year. I sincerely believe that.

Anyway every few days, being an Atlus subscribee, I get a bunch of updates regarding all new Atlus games coming, whether it be Persona on the PSP or a new developer's walkthrough of Demon's Souls. So lo and behold I look at my mail to see this: PR Manager Aram Jabbari Deluxe Edition Unboxing of Demon's Souls. Typically I find unboxing videos meh but this one I found amusing enough to share with you all.



Have I said I can't wait for this game yet?

I know you guys are used to getting these elaborate theme posts (especially from Takeshi) but this week I just couldn't come up with anything. So, yeah...


8PM EDT: BlazBlue Host: JackofNoTrades(PSN: JackofNoTrades85)

Here's a game that Jack's hosting, it's got punches and kicks and stuff. It's a pretty cool game. You should totally play it.


9PM EDT: Marvel vs. Capcom 2 Host: Santanaclaus89 (PSN: Moosehole)

Moose is hosting this one. It's got punching and stuff too but it also has, like, Wolverine and Mega Man and shit. Anyway, it's a pretty cool game. You should totally play it.


10PM EDT: Killzone 2 Host: Elsa (PSN: Elsa)

This game has guns and bombs and junk. Also, it takes place in space, so that's pretty badass. Elsa's hosting it, she's a pretty cool gamer... plus she's a girl. But I digress... It's a pretty cool game. You should totally play it.

Oh yeah, the password is 'TOID'.


11PM EDT: King of Fighters XII Host: JackofNoTrades(PSN: JackofNoTrades85)

There's been, like, 12 of these games so far. If you really need a description then chances are you aren't interested in joining Jack. But you should; It's a pretty cool game. You should totally play it.


12AM EDT: Socom: Confrontation Host: y0j1mb0 (PSN: k0wb0y-b33b0p)

Another game with guns and grenades and things like that, but it doesn't have all Sci-Fi stuff in it, so there's that. It's a pretty cool game. You should totally play it. So there's the line up ladies and gents. Have I mentioned you should totally play with us tonight.


Oh almost forgot! If anybody wants to play the Lost Planet 2 Co-Op Demo, which you can grab at the PSN Store, leave your comment of interest below. It's four player co-op and it totally rocks.

If what the latest unconfirmed rumors are to be believed that soon the PS3 will have some sort of backward compatibility and Dreamcast games to boot, then there will be many many gamers very happy indeed. Since I already own an original launch unit PS3, I'm not going to concentrate on what great PS2 games could potentially be played ( that functionality I've had since day one ), I will look towards what incredible Dreamcast games could grace our recently slimmed console instead. Being as this is a blog, I will adhere to the tried and true prerequisite of listing them in the denomination of ten.

What follows next are Top 10 Dreamcast Games that NEED to be on the PS3. These are in no particular order of greatness. They all need to be reissued to be experienced by more gamers. Let us begin with...

10. Power Stone 1 & 2.



One of the coolest arcade brawler series on the Dreamcast. Bright, colorful, with great characters and awesome moves Power Stone and its sequel were pure win. To have this reissued with online functionality and some trophy support would be ridiculous.

9. Sword of Berserk: Gut's Rage.



Sword of Berserk: Gut's Rage was just awesome. The graphics were great, the main character had a sword that would make Cloud's sword look like a dagger, gore and limbs flew freely through the air, but it was the top notch voice work that made it even more kickass. Done by the same voice actors that lent their services to the Legacy of Kain series, they were on the one. This game just reeked macho and even now if played would be badass. I LOVED this game.

8. Ooga Booga.



A four player party brawler game that you controlling a Kahuna around an island, attacking the other players’ Kahunas with a number of different attacks ranging from club beating, spells, throwing shrunken heads, riding on boars or giant birds and letting them have it. The style and the way it looks, doesn't make the graphics look dated since they were real cartoony and since it had an online component, would make a great addition to PSN network. This game was such a blast to play with others.

7. Super Magnetic Neo.



One of my favorite platformers ever. I know that's a bold statement but its true. I was shocked this never got a sequel but I kept forgetting it was on the Dreamcast and probably very few played it. Developed by Genki this game was awesome. It had a really cool mechanic in that your main character had magnetic hands on his head ( bear with me here ) and in order to get around in the environment you had to find different magnetic fields, some would attract and have you soaring through the air and others would repel. The game would alternate between the two as well as have the tried and true running and jumping. I remember this game being crazy hard but I beat it and have great gaming memories from it. Also the boss was literally a baby. Bizarro.

6. Sega Swirl.



I really can't pinpoint a justified reason why this Sega puzzle game is here. All I can tell you is that this Tetris like puzzle game that was released on a Dreamcast Demo disc and was free to download for the PC, was the biggest time sink for me when I first got my Dreamcast. The game was played online, or via email like chess, and offline in various modes. This game just nailed that I'll play one more game thing. That and that damn snake on the Dreamcast version if you were doing great would bug out but if you were doing horrible would be bored to sleep. Awesome game. I could easily see this on PSN or Live. Hell, on the DS!

5. Vampire Chronicles.



Only released in Japan for the Dreamcast its time this game came over and be played by all. Like now.

4. Fur Fighters.



Stuffed Cats, Dogs, Raccoons, and Teddy Bears blowing the stuffing out of each other. Take stuffed animal toys, John Woo dual wielding, plenty of explosions, and great platforming and you have Fur Fighters. One of the coolest games I played with cute animals. This one could be played with 3 other players competively as well and it was just pure fun. It was released on the PS2 with a new subtitle and cell shaded makeover but the original on the Dreamcast was better. Bring it back.

3. Daytona USA.



I want this so bad. Actually I want an exact arcade port to the Arcade Daytona USA ...but I'll settle for the Dreamcast version. But could you imagine an arcade perfect port with online play? That shit would blow my mind. Somehow I think this could easily be done. I would buy it. How about you?


2. Shenmue.



Besides the sailor fetish in this game, this game and its sequel were way ahead of their time. Too bad we will never have a proper conclusion to this series but it would be nice for another generation of gamers to play through this game like we did and ask about the whereabouts of sailors and lost kung fu scrolls.

1. Jet Grind Radio.



Seriously. Hell, could you imagine a Jet Grind Radio Online ? With different gangs and modes like tagging the most in neighborhoods before others, leaderboard support for most points, uploading original artwork/tags thru PSN for others to download? Or just a basic port...that will do Sega...that will do.

It must be hard being a game journalist or a game blogger. I'll be honest, I don't really know the difference between the two vocations. I guess one of them has a lah dee dah degree that the other one doesn't, maybe they even take themselves seriously when they write a review on the latest Hannah Montana game hoping beyond hope for that Pulitzer Prize. What I do know is that while both of those jobs are of those that are extremely sought after and daydreamed about by the many lovers of games, it has got to be a tough racket. Or at least I think so, I really don't know from personal experience, but being as there's a new gaming website that springs to life on the net everyday trying to get a piece of the pie, of your attention, it must be an incredible undertaking for them to get you to notice them over the others.

The job grows exponentially larger when for all intents and purposes, every one of them are basically informing you of the same thing. The meat and potatoes of most game sites are the run of the mill presentation of upcoming games, new in game screenshots/trailers, unsubstantiated rumors, previews, reviews and of course what sets them apart, the editors and their original written pieces and various podcasts. What usually entices gamers to take a closer look at something? Usually an exclusive on a game may do the trick. Scoops in game journalism typically are that peek at a game, high profile or otherwise, before the next site. Yes, my peepers will scan that. Excellent writers/bloggers definitely is one as well. But even good writing skills may not be enough.

Example: Have you read a fantastically written cblog yet it can't churn out more than a handful of comments? Sure you have. That is a daily occurrence in our cblogs and as amateur bloggers it really is of no concern to us. Why would it be? The cblogger in question is not on payroll nor is he or she required to attract hits to the site. Have you ever thought of an editor in the same situation? What about an editor who can't generate hits, though is well versed. What of him or her? And how long before they get to continue to write before their pieces are bumped off? Perhaps I'm being melodramatic but game journalism/blogging is a business after all. So where am I going with this? Simply put, I feel there is a growing trend in gaming. The trend of luring an audience with fabricated controversy.

Take a look around and at first you may not even realize how much we are bombarded by it because we are so used to it being there. Unlike real life news where there may very well be a Watergate story or some smoking gun leading us on the trail of an honest to goodness scandal, this is games we are talking here. Not a promiscuous politician, a killer on the loose, a former president talking of racism, or a black rapper intruding on a performer's acceptance speech. Just videogames. And let's be honest to ourselves, most videogame controversies are of the minuscule proportion...usually self imposed by the very same people covering games. Not by some outside entity that hates all things gaming. Sure some politician may say something cross about our loved past time but that's usually every four to eight years when elections are held.

The fabricated controversies I speak of are the fueling of fanboyisms in the console wars. The pitting of game consoles to one another like a pre-fight weigh in to a boxing match. The stories of why this one is better than the other one. The top ten reasons why brand x is the winner over brand o. The splicing and editing of an interview with a game developer or someone else on the top of the totem pole of said game company and creating a sensational title to hook you. But really its just what that writer perceives from what they said, not what was truly stated. But the best of all is when some just create shit out of the blue, from scratch like say racism in a videogames. That one is always a keeper.

Perhaps its just me but I'm growing bored with that. It's like reading the National Enquirer shit. It's fluff. Its just there to get a rise out of you. To get you to stop and listen. And we eat it up. Who doesn't like to argue over something on the internet? Who doesn't love something to debate? Perhaps we're at fault for it. But the thing is if you're good, you don't need that lure to net attention. You already should have it before even picking out a bait. Yet I can't help but feel that nowadays these fabricated controversies need to be a part of the repertoire of not just a successful journalist/blogger but of their site as well.

It's that time again for me to highlight yet another game that has considerably dropped in price and tell you that yes, it needs to be in your collection. That this game has made even one particular Destructoid editor a sobbing emotional wreck and that Dtoid's official review deemed it a must buy is but more icing on an already delicious cake. You need this game. If you just bought a PS3 Slim you owe it to yourself to plunk down the twenty bucks to experience this awesome PS3 exclusive. Did you know it's having even more DLC on the way? Oh yes.

To those that for some reason don't know what I'm talking about, the game in question is Valkyria Chronicles and this game at this price can only be found at your local Walmart of all places. That picture above is from their website and as you can see, that's a price drop of 50% percent. That price point is of the liquidating our stock of them. So I urge you to visit your Walmart immediately and rummage around either their game sale bins or put your peepers to work and seek out the game in their enclosed game cases, because once their gone, that's all she wrote.

But you don't have to take my word for it, I'm quite sure if you peruse the net you will find like minded gamers telling you how awesome this game is. I urge you ladies and gentlemen of Destructoid to go forth and seek this game out and add it to your collection. I'll even go one further and tell you to purchase it even if you don't have a PS3 yet. Make that be your first experience when you eventually do get one. You can thank me later.

Now go...shoo! BUY IT.

Tired of being that good guy in videogames? Are you growing bored with saving the princess? How about saving the world from some malicious evil force? Are the flashes of violence perpetrated by you in a game dulled because through the game's narrative it is a justified act ( i.e. you're a cop, a protector of the land, seeking revenge for a wrong doing, or you're Link or Mario and don't feel anything but rainbows and sunshine overflowing out your ass )? If your answer is a resounding yes to all of these questions then join the I'm Hating Always Being the Good Guy Club, I'm not only an active member, I'm its president.

Isn't it about time game developers started catering to us in a different light ? Is it that hard to create a game where the protagonist is a son of bitch hell bent on causing as much wanton chaotic upheaval as is allowed without any apologies? Hell what about just creating a protagonist that is just an average joe, like you or I, and not have a ten pound halo hovering above his head? It's bizarre that our favorite interactive medium's main theme is that of the hero. Somehow I doubt in our real life there would be enough white horses for all of us to ride on if we chose that heroic vocation.

I doubt half of us would entertain just the idea of being anybody's savior, especially a complete and utter stranger, under extreme direst or circumstance. I get the feeling that if we were smacked upside the head with a scenario where help was needed, say if someone was getting mugged or raped in a dark street corner by a couple of large shady individuals, that we would answer the call. At best we may call 911... at the next block. If you can't bring yourself to aid that person in that dark street corner against two guys, do you think you have what it takes to pick up a game controller and save the freakin' world?

I don't know about you but I want to be the bad guy. I'm tired of always playing the good guy. Of always being the hero. Switch it around. Let me play the villain, let me be the one that kidnaps the princess, that kills and maims on a whim without it being tongue in cheek or a caricature. Show us the consequences of our dark deeds. Let the game camera linger after we kill someone. In a day and age where 98.7% of most games revolving around blowing someone away, take it the next step forward and omit the hero mantra altogether. How about an RPG where you're a serial killer, or a World War II game where you're playing from the Nazi's point of view? Immerse me in a dark world with a dark purpose. Don't give me a choice of being good or evil, just the tools to get the job done as someone devoid of a conscious.

There is a reason why the Grand Theft Auto series is a profitable one. It's because it lets us run over people with cars, pay a hooker for her services then afterward blow her away and take our money back and then some. It gives us a world where we are like, Hmmm I wonder if I can do this? And by this I mean something appropriately psychotic. But even GTA's world plays it safe for the most part. The supporting characters revolving around the main story of the game are usually scummy criminals, dirty politicians, and degenerates. If you kill them it's all good, they had it coming and killing pedestrians isn't really even touched upon. You may as well be killing rats or swatting flies for all concern and time given to your actions.

Do developers just fear the gaze of the media, its pouncing on the controversy of creating an unapologetic game like that? That must be it because nowadays just showing a side of a breast in a brief and practically unseen simulated act of sex cause people to lose their minds. Imagine an honest to goodness murder simulation? When are game developers gonna just buck the trend into more mature territories without fear of any backlash? I mean , hello, videogames are played by adults too folks. More so than kids actually. Just like any medium there will be different kinds of entertainment for different demographics. Some for the younger crowd and some for the big boys and girls. How can people even talk about art and games in the same breath when the artists can only use the colors and paints that are deemed acceptable?

Forgive me, my thoughts are bouncing around in my head and they all want to come out at once. Essentially, I just want to experience something else. I want to play something else. I want to be someone else. Don't get me wrong, being a hero is fun. But after the millionth time of saving the princess, saving the world, being that superhero, that space marine, defending my country against terrorists, or being that boy who through trials and tribulations finds out he's something more than he dreamed... its time for something meatier.