My wristwatch alarm rings at the same time every morning at 7:45. It's so early, yet I know I have plenty to do and should probably get out of bed. I check my notebook and try to remember all the things I found out yesterday and hope that I can actually make some progress today. I put on my favorite leather jacket- the one with the tiger on it- and sneak down the stairs, hoping that the ugly man at the front desk of the hotel doesn't ask me AGAIN for the rent. I will have to tell him the same thing I told him yesterday, and the day before- "Sorry, I don't have the rent right now." That is because I have more important things to do. I'm on a mission in a strange land. I'm in Hong Kong, and I'm looking for Lan Di, my father's killer, and I'm running out of time.



The world of Shenmue II is one of the most complicated, rewarding, and frustrating settings I have ever encountered. The first thing that got my attention about this game was the fact that it was taking place in an exotic location in a rather under-utilized time period (the 1980s). Most games either take place in the middle ages or the post-apocalyptic future, so having it occur in an era when I was a kid really personalized the game for me.



From the moment Ryo steps off the boat from Japan, he is placed in the middle of a port full of hustle and bustle. People are working, loitering, talking to each other, and looking none too friendly. Each and every one of these people look different. There are old people with wrinkled faces, young children with hilarious kid voices, and regular adults, each with their own unique facial features and clothes. These people are annoyed when I stop them to ask them the same question over and over- as they should be. Yet, I can't stop bothering these people. I'm interested in what they have to say. I want to see each individual face. I want to hear each individual voice. So much care has been given these citizens of Hong Kong, that I feel it would be a disservice to not try to talk to everyone I encounter on my journey. Some of these citizens are so grotesque in their appearance that I bother them multiple times under the guise of trying to find a certain street, so that I may gaze upon the travesty that nature has bestowed them.



Hong Kong is littered with people going about their business, selling their wares, and all these people keep directing me to talk to other people who may know more information. This fetch quest may not appeal to some people, but it allows the players the opportunity to explore the locations and talk to people, all the while building a sense in the player that this is indeed a living, breathing world. This is the epitome of role playing.



Shenmue II is different from other RPGs in that money doesn't appear from killing animals. Nope. This is 1987. Hong Kong & Kowloon. You earn money the real way- by arm wrestling. You can also make money by working a monotonous job like in real life- moving crates. Being broke can be a sad thing, in real life and in video games. In Shenmue II, money is necessary to buy sodas, capsule toys, and maps. These capsule toys are great for collecting. So if you want to collect, you have to work. So you move crates from one end of a lot to the other end. Over and over again. It's not fun, but its a living. It is worth it because at the end of the day, you get paid. Sometimes, it feels as though its just a waste of time working, but I keep telling myself its a day job.



Sometimes, I like just wandering around. The design of the cities, the people that inhabit the place, the arcades, the convenience stores, and the almost insignificant details like soda machines, and the subtle changes that occur because of the in-game time, make it so that this place is real. Everything in Shenmue II has a purpose. I find a new appreciation every time I stop and look around.



I ask myself if I should go play a game of Space Harrier, hang out at the park, or bother little kids today. Then I remember. I need to go find my father's killer.

Input lag. Deadzone. Control delay.

These are terms that have popped up over the past couple days in regards to Killzone 2. Now, I have never heard of these terms before, never heard them discussed by others, but all of a sudden, it seems as though everyone with an internet connection is an expert on these things.

Now, I'm not saying people aren't entitled to an opinion. However, just plain bitching about something when its already beaten to the ground solves nothing.

So it got me thinking, and eventually it got me thinking about The Wire (everything eventually gets back to The Wire), and one of the brilliant scenes from The Wire from season 4 which I think perfectly encapsulates what everyone is thinking, and the SOLUTION if you have a problem with the controls.

The ANSWER begins 1:45 seconds into the clip and ends at about 3:45.

In this case, the complainers/whiners/generally unhappy people are the security guard.
And I am Marlo Stanfield, kingpin of Baltimore, and the man with the answer.



Now that you have the answer, you can contemplate, absorb, and move on.

It begins with a peculiar feeling in the gut. It tingles a bit. Soon it becomes hard to ignore. It rushes forth within you, and cognitive function becomes impossible. You find yourself unable to hide it. It continues to build and build until it reaches its peak. And finally, release. Satisfaction has been achieved until next time. Rinse and repeat.

Such is the roller coaster that is known as riding the wave of hype. In this particular instance, the big wave is Killzone 2. I avoided the hype, resisted the hype, faced the hype, and now, welcome the hype with open arms.



For myself, I was not the biggest fan of Killzone. The most impressive thing about the original were the reload animations of the game. Unfortunately, even that particular element of the game would be overshadowed by the highly underrated Black. Killzone would go on to be a victim of trying to fly too close to the sun.

I did not see the E3 trailer for Killzone 2, which apparently caused a lot of controversy for some reason.

I had avoided all trailers for Killzone 2. I had not clicked on any of the previews about the multiplayer, the single player, didn't download the demo, and had not read any reviews for it. I was too busy thinking about Street Fighter IV.

But the superficial article titles and glowing red eyes from "click on me" ads began to take hold.



I noticed more and more articles that dealt with the game, and even though I didn't read them, they became ingrained in the back of my mind. Curiosity it seemed, had been triggered. As a natural reaction, I shunned this response, and tried to not give in to this new found interest.

But it couldn't be helped. I broke down. I looked at the videos, I read the reviews, I checked out the bulletin boards, I had succumb to the hype machine. It had worked as intended.

I purchased the game from Amazon with release date delivery. Today, I religiously checked my email until I finally got the answer I was waiting for. Item has been shipped, my email said. Estimated delivery date- February 27. Completion would be coming soon and I cannot wait. I for one welcome our new Helghast overlords.



In fact, I now have unrealistically high expectations for this game, and can only become disappointed when they are not met. Such is the price of riding the wave of hype.



I tend to think that I can resist the hype machine as it churns out its wave for us all to surf on. In this instance, I could not. However, I'm sure I'll be able to resist Resident Evil 5. At least, I hope I can. Maybe. Or not.

PS- (Totally unrelated, but I found this hilarious)-

Yep. I'm drunk.

My apologies to those that have posted tonight and are getting pushed down by my clog. It's not in my nature to do such a thing, but I felt like killing some time before I did some debugging for a flash game that I'm working on, and annoying you fine folk felt like a natural thing to do.

Since I wrote the blog title before I actually wrote anything, maybe I should write a little on topic. Cblogs- yes they are great. In fact, they are fantastic. They allow assholes like myself to express myself and be seen in our far corner of the internet universe, though at the expense of other assholes who also wish to be seen.

I've seen some great blogs. If i was a commenting type of person (I am, though only on shit that concerns me, and also only on fail type blogs), I would hope that anybody reading my blog would read my blog and comment (if constructive great), but what I find disconcerting is that so many thought out blogs are pushed down by bs like what I'm writing here.

So, in conclusion (I accidenatlly deleted a parapragh or two while I was writing this, so I'm not quite sure if any of this makes sense)., please be supportive of the good clogs that are posted, and please be goddamn direct to those that are wasting space (thank god for the space we are provided at this website). Unless its funny to post on a fail blog, then please, I implore you to stop with the failing. I no longer remember what I wrote earlier, so I bid you all a good night.

And as a callback to the forums-

USA! USA! USA!

ps- i would pose a picture with a clever ass quote with my blog, but i'm drunk , so fuck you.

From Pong to Super Street Fighter II HD, Mario Bros. to Gears of War 2, the role of the second player has been as competitor and teammate. Grounded in our primal ape instincts, competition is inherent in every aspect of our lives, whether it is pick-up basketball, pen and paper role playing, or just keeping up with the Jones'. Additionally, the need for a witness in a person's victory can only be matched by the exhilaration of wallowing in a competitor's defeat. On the other side of the coin is the shared joy in reveling in mutual victory through cooperation. And so, we have certainly evolved from rescuing the princess in another castle to the saving of the world from the Locust, side by side, guns blazing with tactical precision.



Competition. People like winning. Winning a promotion at work. Winning in the eyes of others. People like to win because that means that someone else in direct competition stepped up to you and lost. You were better. That is competition. That is why video games used to come with TWO controllers so people could battle each other in a digital form instead of clubbing your brother or sister with a foam bat.



In its early forms, competition between two individuals started and ended with PONG. The rotary wheel of the controller as substitution for hardcourt, racket, and ball. This was a rainy day replacement, providing a fully realized facsimile of tennis on the television. One could gather that the end result of a game of PONG that the victor was indeed the better competitor. Bragging rights from electronic competition was born.



The wall of quarters that lined the marquees of arcade machines through the early 90s and funded the retirement funds of many liquor store owners was due to Street Fighter II and the spirit of competition that rose from the digital blip of PONG and the need to separate winners and losers. Winner stays, loser goes. And no longer would the biggest physical human win in fight. No, it would be the most nimble of button presses and directional movement that would determine superiority. The second player would have no natural advantage to the first player, and this balance of competition is what allowed the fairest of fights. This is what made victory all the more sweeter. You, the winner was just plain better than your competition. The loser was relegated to putting another quarter in the queue and hope that next time, he would take you down. As champion, you had no option but to continue the battle, taking on all comers, and to try to beat them all because you were a competitor.



With Goldeneye, Halo, and Perfect Dark, the competition of the arcades have been translated to the home consoles, with after school competitions occurring in split screen fashion, with the most honorable people avoiding looking at the other person's half of the screen. In this game of mortal combat with firearms, it was all about honor and a fair victory.

Competition moves forward through DSL and high speed internet now, the competition that one faces is no longer a neighbor or best friend, but complete strangers. The options for competition has exponentially grown from those closest to you, to those that lived nearest to the arcade, to people that played Doom and Heretic in the same area code on dial up, to anybody and everyone that has XBL and PSN.

Competition is now global. The second player could be anyone now, and we all line up, because after all, I am better than him, and I can prove it. Just name the game.

Co-op- Working Together- Ebony & Ivory- "Cover me, I'm going in."



There's the feeling of standing over your dead opponent and putting your digital testicles on their face that causes extreme grief to the victim and a childish happiness to the aggressor. When the victor does this, his feeling of superiority can only be topped by knowing that there is a witness to his victory and shaming his opponent. The second player is that witness. Sometimes, the joy can be shared just by baring witness. Most times, the joy is unmatched when both players have contributed equally to this victory.



Mario Bros featured cooperation, where by working together, success was guaranteed. But, as with most things, destroying is better than building, and a simple push of your teammate into the enemy will cause a unique joy that co-op victory can't provide.

Halo, Gears of War, Resistance, and more recently Left 4 Dead, all provide a team setting to cooperate and try to achieve victory by sharing the burden. The unique component of human players and their unpredictable behavior provides an experience that the computer player cannot match. Computer players are based on algorithms, human players are based on feelings, skills, and stupidity. The human traits of the second player (even when some of their behavior is unwanted) adds to the overall experience of video games, bringing back the primitive joys and feelings of playing pong.



The second player, either through competition or cooperation has indeed changed the face of gaming. The make up of the player determines whether the experience is a good one or a bad one. And regardless of the experience at the end, working together because its fun or killing each other because you're the best and need to prove it helps to extend play on a game that without these options, would no longer be played, and we are all the better because of that.

Looking through my collection of games, I noticed a startling trend. It was something that had crept into the back of my mind when I went out looking for games for purchase, and it was something that set off a light bulb when I would drop the sixty plus dollars for a new game. This trend? DOUBLES of games. Specifically, its what I call "games repurchasing". Even more specifically, the repurchasing of the exact same game title- whether for a new generation of systems or the virtual console.

Having played games for over twenty five years, I have absolutely no problem supporting companies that make great products by purchasing their products without batting an eyelash. Oh, Nintendo is coming out with a new Mario game? Sign me up. A cell-shaded Zelda game? Fuck yeah, here's my pre-order as a sign of good faith that the game is going to be kickass.



(Oh, Link to the Past is coming out for Gameboy? Hell yeah, it's going to have some special features and shit, right? Oh no?! Well, its going to have revamped graphics maybe? No?! Well, its still Legend of Zelda, so um, I'll purchase it. Now I can play it when I sit outside on the porch. That's something I guess.)

Fast forward a bit. Link to the Past is out on the virtual console. At this point, I already have two versions of the game. I know, I know, its a classic. Having it conveniently on the virtual console will make it so I don't have to dust off the SNES. Its still a lot of fun. But I can't in good conscience purchase this game a third time. First time it was purchased- about fifty bones. Second time it was purchased- thirty five smackers. Purchasing the game a third time would mean that I will have dropped a hundred dollars on this title. (To some its worth it- fans of the series, those that just love to be completionists with specific collections, neurotics. In this economic climate, for misers, cheapskates, and poor folks, its definately not worth it.)

Another example is Final Fantasy III. My favorite RPG of all time. Will probably be in my top five till the day I die. Saved my money years ago, and purchased it at the now defunct FedCo store for $84.99, before taxes. Well worth every penny I saved to buy it.



Years later, I hear that Final Fantasy VI (III) is going to be released on the Gameboy. Fuck yeah! In this instance, I am more than happy to repurchase this title. Could it be that I have a repurchasing threshold of two, and any more triggers some sort of economic sanction in my brain? (Maybe so, but does it explain why I purchased an extra copy of Final Fantasy VI [III]? Doesn't that mean that my true repurchasing threshold is three? And if it is, why couldn't I pull the trigger for a third copy of Link to the Past? As I love that game too)

So I've come to the conclusion that I am willing to repurchase a rerelease of a game just once. Any more and I feel that I'm being ripped off. In fact, I think that purchasing a game just once should be enough. The money from buying an extra copy could be put to better use- like for instance, a totally new game. Anyone else out there more than happy with "games repurchasing"? Or is once enough?



(As a sports fan, don't get me started on the yearly iterations of Madden, Tiger Woods, Baseball, Boxing, and Hockey. That's its very own subtopic about wasteful spending on slightly up to date roster tweaks.)