This last week, I’ve spent a lot of time interviewing people within the games industry, and the results have been phenomenal. We laughed, we cried, we discussed the awesomeness of Corey Feldman; honestly, I never wanted it to end. With that in mind, I flew up to Seattle earlier today in an effort to score a high-profile interview with Monolith Games, the people behind F.E.A.R and Condemned: Criminal Origins. Unfortunately, on the way there, I got sidetracked in Capitol Hill, and ended up interviewing Todd Weiland, a homeless youth. He may not own a television, or have functional veins in his arms, but his insight was timeless;
Nex: Recently, Seattle has become an epicenter for games development. Microsoft, Nintendo, and dozens of development houses call the Seattle area home. How has this affected the city economically and/or socially?
Todd Weiland: Look … look look look look look, I’ve got this squirrel, see? Yeah, I’ve got this squirrel … Can I have a dollar?
Nex: Um, no. Next question: Sony has fallen into last place in the current console generation. Any ideas on how they can make up lost ground?
TW: Look … look look look look look, I’ve got this squirrel, see? Yeah, I’ve got this squirrel … Can I have a dollar?
Nex: You already said that! Listen, are you even paying attention to me? I’m over here. No … that’s a tree. C’mon, at least f$@*ing look at me!
TW: I’m sorry man. It’s just … it’s like I can touch you … can I have a dollar?
Nex: F&^# this! I’m going back to Portland.
TW: *pees on himself*
It was at that point that Todd was accosted by the police for violating some law about not masturbating in public. As he was dragged away, he tossed me a quick glance, as if to say he truly enjoyed our time together (or, that he was currently defecating on himself). Either way, I had to shower almost immediately.
Don’t you ever get tired of being lied to?
People played games this week! Thunderbirds are GO!
Niero:
I pulled a self bargain-bin-laden and picked up a copy of Gitaroo Man for the PS2 for about $15 on eBay, which I’ve been playing all week. I had fond memories of this game and the music is great, but I recently started attempting (as in sucking in) Expert mode on Guitar Hero 2 and I just can’t get that excited about it anymore. Meh. Otherwise I nearly played through Mystical Ninja on the VC and cannot wait to get my filthy hands on Odin Sphere this weekend!
Jim “London Calling” Sterling:
Still on Samurai Warriors 2, though it’s finally starting to wear thin after several weeks. I also finally picked up Excite Truck after being badgered by this guy I know. Excite Truck annoyed me so much I began jousting my Wii with the remote, and by jousting I mean mostly knocking it over like a clumsy, brazen ape. In fact I knocked it over hard enough to cause superficial damage. Now the top flap that hides the Gamecube controller ports is a bit broken. It is for this reason why I should not be allowed expensive toys. What a horrible gaming week.
Dick “Tolstoy iz smells” McVengeance:
I’m finishing up Super Paper Mario and playing through Odin Sphere as much as possible. Damn thing called a “beach” is interrupting my gaming, but I’m sure I’ll survive somehow.
Savant:
Okay guys and girls, before I begin, I just want to stress one thing; I just moved into a new house and have been too lazy to hook up any of consoles. Thus, I have been playing some old PC games to fill my gaming gap.
As of late, SimCity 3000 has done a great job of showing how horrible of a mayor I would’ve been during an alien invasion. Speaking of aliens, I’m still playing Quake II and have feverishly been trying to find others to play against. Furthermore, I’ve rediscovered Counter-Strike: Source as well as my love for the AK and the hatred for the AWP.
In other news, I am currently looking to buy a copy of Command & Conquer 3 and Prey for the PC. C&C3 because I love the series, and I’ve had an itch for a good multiplayer RTS. As for Prey … well, I liked the demo and would like to actually go through the entire game.
If anyone is interested in some Quake, give me a shout in the comments!
Colette “Nei is my co-pilot” Bennett:
Just started Phoenix Wright for DS. Also been doing some vintage goodness with Castlevania 2 and Earthbound. ODINS SPHERE I CANNOT WAIT!!!
Ron “I’ll cry if you don’t give me a nickname” Workman:
I play the Halo‘s. I bought Ninety-Nine Nights also. I know some of you won’t agree, but I really like this game. I hear people complain but I have a blast playing it. I have missed out this week on my standard “Every game on XBLA” but I plan on fixing that tonight. Justin Murray is an Hero. Oh snap! I just said oh snap? I have been playing games on the PC! I finally got a towa with powa! Exclamation points everywhere!!! Company of Heroes and Risk 2 in the Hizzle fo Shizzle. I am going to stop writing now. This is making less sense the more I write.
Gameboi:
You mean besides getting my ass handed to me in the Halo 3 Beta? I could no longer fight the urge to spend some time in Silent Hill again, so SH2 has my soul at the moment.
Nex:
I’ve been burning through Earth Defense Force 2017 all week. At one point, I was playing through level 40-something while blasting Dragonforce in the background, and my heart utterly seized up and stopped. As not awesome as it was to die momentarily, the fact that the game can elicit such psychosomatic catastrophe from my usually stoic self, wins it a permanent spot in my rack o’ games.
Nick “Atreyu” Chester:
I decided to pick up and play the original Manhunt on the Xbox. So far, so good, although it is a bit repetative. I’m sure hoping that as I progress, something happens. You can only choke a dude out with a plastic bag so many times before it starts becoming old hat. You know what would make this game amazing!?! Motion controls!
I do believe some Warhawk (PS3) beta is in my future, so by the time this is published, I’m sure I will have played that for at least fifteen minutes.
Someone lent me a copy of Spider-Man 3 for the Xbox 360 and I’m honestly surprised at how bad a “next-gen” game could look. Like earlier Spidey titles, swinging around the city is fun, and I’m having an OK time, but I’m really not sure how anyone who worked on this title was fine with how the character models’ faces turned out. They’re giving me nightmares.
Rev Anthony:
I’m trying to decide whether I like Odin Sphere or not. This will take me the better part of the year.
Orcist:
I’ve been playing this really cool game called Getting all my sh*t together before I go to Europe and the exciting spin-off, Do I have a layover in Houston, TX or not? Another really neat title I picked up was Jesus Christ, my computer’s broken again. Quality stuff.
Seriously though, I’ve been playing a little FIFA, and I’m pretty sure that my brother bought me Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin for my birthday (which was Friday, the 25th), so when you’re reading this, I will have played the shit out of that, fo’ sho’.
Hamsa “Captain Tomato Zoom” Aziz:
Last weekend, I had the pleasure of crashing at Chad’s place. Most of the Dtoid L.A. peeps and I played some Wario Ware for the Wii. I also was playing UNO on the 360 when we had some down time. It’s absolutely amazing how people just jump out of games for no reason at all. It’s also amazing how every time I was lucking enough to join a group of really cool people, LIVE decided to say “f*uck you” to me and cause me to leave the room.
Before that, I played and finished Psi-Ops finally. After 3 years of not touching the game, I finally beat it. Worst. Ending. Ever. Why? Because it was a “to be continued” ending and I’m pretty sure there will never be another Psi-Ops game again. Speaking of Midway, I just restarted The Suffering 2 for the PS2. It’s a great game. I may just be a little sissy, but the game scares the s*hit out of me and I love every minute of it.
Dyson “This is not a nickname” Grigsby:
Lets begin with what I’m not playing, Yakuza for the PS2. I was under the impression that this game was something of a cult secret, an undiscovered country of goodness, if you will. After spending a fair amount of time immersed in the dark underbelly of the Japanese crime world, I realized two things: the undiscovered country does not contain goodness, at least not in a form I would refer to as game play; if you find yourself to be a person who enjoys story more than actual interaction with your gaming experience, this game is for you. You probably will enjoy the fact that Yakuza rarely, if ever, lets you play itself. You become more of a voyeur gamer, you know, a person who just watches.
Aside from that I popped in Rescue Rangers for NES (beat it 45 minutes!), and I’m still avoiding Dracula in Castlevania: PoR.
Topher “This blog needs more pictures of Michael Hutchence” Cantler:
I’m playing the DiRT demo on Xbox 360, which is gorgeous and reasonably solid. I’m much more impressed with this than I was with a certain other racing demo that was released a few weeks ago, but that might have to do with my being such a huge rally fan. This might take the top spot on the list of racing games I’m looking forward to this year.
Chad “I’ve got some Snapple and a PlayStation in the back” Concelmo:
I’ve been riding an emotional roller coaster this week. First I was down after the bland Heroes finale, then I finally beat Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice for All and was high as can be. Then I crashed again once I realized how much I missed whip-carrying von Karma. But then I was really up after Lost was super amazing. That leads me to tonight, when I will be seeing Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End and starting up Rogue Galaxy for the PlayStation 2 (in that order). If the pattern holds up, that would mean the movie will suck, but the video game will be awesome. We’ll see, I guess.
David “Orwellian Police State” Houghton:
I’ve been shooting things again. I’ve got back into Call Of Duty 3 on the Wii and been putting a fair amount of time in on it (It’s actually far better than the early slatings suggested. Thoroughly enjoyable in fact.), and I’ve also downloaded Echoes for the PC, which is absolutely great. It’s basically Asteroids meets Geometry Wars, with a chunk of Smash TV thrown in if you set the controls for independent firing direction, and the mouse control makes everything satisfyingly nippy. Thanks to Tempus for the heads up on that one.
What have you kids been playing? Video games maybe?
