All-Time Favorite Games (1st in a Series of 7)

a few months ago i jotted down a few notes on what i considered were my personal favorite video games. i based my selections on the consoles that i've had throughout my life, which chronologically were the NES, SNES, Playstation, Gamecube and Playstation 2. i've set aside 7 posts to run down my experiences with 20 of my favorite games, including 4 NES games, 6 SNES, 6 PSX, and 4 for the Gamecube. starting back as far as i can go, here's 2 of my favorite NES games, which should be of no surprise to anyone.

Super Mario Bros. (1985)
i know, i know -- no originality, huh? doesn't really matter if it's the #1 selling game of all time, on all the top 10 games of all time as decided by whomever, whatever -- it has to be on the list. these older games are a lot harder for me to remember, as i was playing SMB when i was like 5-6 years old. as you'll see a lot on my list, i spent a whole bulk of time playing this game over at my friend kevin's house. i remember kevin's sister wasn't at all a gamer, but she was a typical teenage disaster of a chick who scared the crap out of us. she'd come steal the game from us and play for hours while we just watched waiting for her to tire of it and then we could play as long as we want.

as i'm sure most people would agree, it's really the music that's the most memorable about SMB. most people in their 20's and 30's, even if they don't play games, immediately recognize the classic overworld and underworld themes. for some reason any time i hear those classic themes in modern-day mario games, i'm instantly glad that the designers chose to include it.

as mario-based games evolved over time, the games obviously got better and better, but it was really SMB that started it all. the game might have been simple and linear, but it held our attention like no other at the time.

The Legend of Zelda (1987)
another no-surprise for sure, but had to be mentioned. this was a totally different style game to mario, and the beauty of it was being able to go anywhere on the world's map to accomplish tasks. back then i found LoZ to be a lot harder than SMB, but that also made the game more rewarding when you accomplished something. the music was just as classic as well, with the dungeon music being particularly frightening to a young kid like myself.

i remember getting a giant fold-out map of the entire LoZ world and holding onto it like grim death. that annoying beeping sound telling you you were running low on hearts just made you play even harder to avoid the dreaded game over sound. just like with Super Mario Bros., this game was merely a framework for more great Zelda games to come. although i was always disappointed with the direction they took with the second NES Zelda game, with all the side-scroller shit.

i pretty much hold Legend of Zelda to be responsible for starting my love for a good mix of adventure and RPG elements. i loved the idea of the character not just dying when an enemy touched you, but rather having a certain amount of life (hearts) and gaining more life as the game went on. just another great nintendo-developed game that went on to produce a hugely successful franchise.

as i said, these games were kind of no-brainers, but they certainly had to be mentioned, as i remember immensely enjoying them in my earliest gamer days. i'll fire off 2 more of my favorite old NES games in my next post.

--j

A Next-Generation Shrug

with all the hype that we've had for this being the year where all the next-gen video game consoles have finally been released, there's been plenty of time to decide which system/games one would be interested in investing in for this generation. i use the term "investing in" because despite some consoles being cheaper than others, either way the console plus the games is still a semi-expensive hobby.

i think for me personally, this onslaught of gaming goodness (with the entire generation starting now, this really should be the most exciting time since the PS2, xbox and gamecube hit the streets) doesn't come at an advantageous time. despite the obviously correct move in releasing the Wii and PS3 just before christmas, it doesn't work entirely well with my wife and i throwing down the most money in our lives yet in moving out of our apartment and into a house. so because of having to part with thousands of dollars in the next few months here, i can't really focus too much on buying up a next-gen system and just stocking it with games right out of the gate. i'm not really sure yet, but i'd say it's a fairly good chance that i won't buy a next-gen system for another 6 months, just to see how things are selling and what's popular.

i suppose just like with the last generation some 4-5 years ago, i see pros & cons to each system. i wouldn't rush to judgment and claim that one of the systems is a clearcut winner. regardless of how much one may like one of the consoles, each one has certain drawbacks. my take on each console --

Microsoft Xbox 360
i was never really down with microsoft's decision to try to beat everybody by releasing the 360 a year before the other consoles. so far, while it's gotten a decent foothold in american living rooms, it actually hasn't been a runaway success at all. you could say that people were waiting for the other consoles to come out to compare, and if they didn't like the wii or ps3 they could go back and buy the 360 anyway. but i don't totally buy that, i think if people wanted the 360, after the initial shortages were over, you'd have probably gotten a 360 by now.

the 360 looks fun, there's no denying that. with how much people rave about xbox live, i'd have to warm to playing online, cuz that seems to be a huge perk of the system. i'd make good use of the high-def for sure, and my 50" DLP would be great for it.

what i don't like about it as that a lot of their games just have too much of a PC-ish feeling to them, not enough well-known franchises where you can't wait to play the next in the series. i wouldn't be one of those people buying the system for halo 3, cuz i just don't care enough about the game to drive my entire console purchase. while they're obviously well behind given microsoft's always-coming-to-the-party-late personality, they don't have the franchises that sony and nintendo do, the marios, zeldas, gran turismos, etc.

Sony Playstation 3
somewhat surprisingly, sony has by far been shit on the most of all 3 major manufacturers in the next generation. many of their decisions when it's come to the ps3 have been questionable at best, such as the high price tag and controller design. outside of gaming, sony is looking more and more behind the times, failing to catch on to their proprietary formats and technologies tanking in the market.

despite all that, it's still a playstation for christ's sake. the ps1 was all i did gaming-wise from like '96 to '02. it was a fantastic system for its time and really helped things evolve away from the mentality of all things mario and zelda. i ended up getting the ps2 as my second system (to the gamecube) in '04 and never regretted the decision. so naturally given sony's track record of the last decade, one would think they have a great system with great games ready to launch with the third iteration of the playstation.

as far as what i don't like about the ps3, i'd like to see a bit more fresh ideas from the sony team all across the board. i mean the playstation name itself, i can see it as a brand name, but can't we come up with something else by now? after trying out the boomerang controller design, they were ridiculed for a terrible idea and subsequently scrapped it entirely. it's like they've gotten burned for certain relatively rogue concepts and immediately retreat to either something safe and played out or borderline blatantly ripping off somebody else's idea just to stay in the game.

i hope that sony comes to their senses a bit and drops the $500 price tag sooner rather than later, cuz i think that's really gonna keep parents from buying the console for their kids. i realize the average age of the gamer is certainly on the rise, but that doesn't mean we all have loads and loads of disposable income to throw at gaming. i know we've seen it in the past, but i'm not much of a supporter of $60 MSRP for next-gen games, which the ps3 (and xbox 360) seem to be pushing. as a big fan of modchips, used games, greatest hits and renting games, i already know i won't be buying too many games at that $60 price point. i wouldn't want to buy a ps3 and 5 years from now only have 10 games for it.

with microsoft pushing xbox live hard, and nintendo already showing some promise with the "nintendo wi-fi connection," i'm a little nervous that sony hasn't really shown us much with what they plan to offer for online gaming. a lot of people think the gamecube would have been more successful had they offered some semblance of an online gaming network. at this point, you basically can't be taken seriously without it.

Nintendo Wii
i have to admit, in the last few years, of the companies mentioned, i've had the biggest soft spot for nintendo. the gamecube was a fantastic system that just didn't ever sell enough consoles or games, and many terrific games went largely unnoticed by the hardcore gamer community. 4 years ago, i chose the gamecube over the xbox and ps2 and never regretted my decision. a year ago, i bought a DS on a whim, despite not entirely needing a portable system. since then, i play my DS far more than my consoles and have been encouraged by the success nintendo has had with it.

because of my recent fanboyism for nintendo, i'm automatically intrigued by their next console offering. like the rest of the general population, i was initially thrown by the concepts nintendo hinted at in the revolution/wii. it was only after we started to see real gameplay videos that the idea didn't seem too ridiculous to have people waving controllers around in the air instead of solely pushing buttons like we have for over 20 years.

nintendo has a lot going for it with the wii, at least for me personally. as an avid gamecube gamer, it's encouraging that all the gamecube games i grew to love and those i have yet to play could still easily be played on the next system. the wii comes in significantly cheaper than its competitors, so it's easier to justify the cost of the new console. the games will also reportedly remain $50 and below, so it should be easier to buy a wider array of games. because of the success nintendo has had with their DS wi-fi network, i have a bit more confidence at this point in their ability to bring an innovative network to fruition with the wii. not to mention, the idea of the virtual console to allow play of past NES/SNES/N64 games is surely an added bonus, and at times i certainly get bitten by the nostalgic bug to play games of my childhood.

all those positives aside, oddly enough, i might actually have the most doubts of the wii of the 3 systems. there's no denying that nintendo isn't afraid to be different, and sometimes that's helped the company, while other times it's caused disaster. i'll admit when i first heard about the DS, with its touch screen controls and dual screens, i thought it'd flop for sure, with the sony PSP being a massive hit. instead, the DS has done extremely well, with the PSP has only enjoyed a lukewarm american reaction. like i've stated above, the gamecube was a great console that just didn't live up to its expectations, so it's hard not to see it as a bit of a flop.

this entire concept of waving around your television remote style controller and using a separate attachment for other controls -- it's certainly a gamble. you watch the gameplay videos, watching people try it out and laugh it up and have a good time, you wanna play it yourself and see how it works. but i wonder if the novelty could easily wear off rather quickly, simply because that level of control is certainly a lot more work than the style of gaming we've gotten used to for decades now. if people start to form the collective opinion that it's kind of a neat concept, but after a month you've got massive carpal tunnel and you're too tired to bother waving a virtual sword or serving in tennis with a wrist flick yet again.

i realize nintendo decided to skip out on high-def level graphics to save costs on the consoles production, but i really wonder if that's gonna come back to bite them in the ass a couple years from now. i read that US HDTV sales are supposed to outnumber standard CRTs starting in 2008, and that's awfully soon for nintendo to write off HD support to the next generation, which could be a good 2011 or so. it's true that most people (even high-tech gamers) don't own an HDTV to even take advantage of increased resolutions, but as a high-def owner myself, that doesn't exactly matter to me. i have no doubt the graphics will still look great (hell, 480p gamecube output on my DLP still looks great) but the high-def outputs on the 360 and ps3 are always going to look better.

moreso than microsoft and sony, nintendo really needs to work on their marketing scheme starting with the wii. now and then in years past you'd see fairly cool gamecube commercials on niche networks and shows, and a lot of the DS commercials have been well done, but they have to really make the wii something that both 8 year old boys and 30 year old men want to buy. i'm talking tv commercials, trailers before movies, men's magazines, bus stops, etc. turn on a hockey game taking place in canada and you'll always see a huge bold playstation logo along the boards -- that's something that nintendo needs to push into the american public. as weird as "the wii" sounds, the console has to become a household term like the NES was back in the 80's for this new control phenomenon to really soar.

-----

all in all, i think each console has its strengths and weaknesses. i honestly don't know if there really is a best choice, it just might be based on what you want specifically as a gamer. if it were up to me, for the following purposes, i'd choose the following --

Microsoft Xbox 360 - i'd pick it if i really enjoyed online gaming, as well as high-def resolution. instead of focusing on established series, i'd enjoy more unique one-shot games with incredibly graphics and the ability to play my friends online. i'd take advantage of the fact that a year's worth of hardware and games have come out already.

Sony Playstation 3 - i'd go with the ps3 if i trust sony based on what they've achieved with the previous playstation iterations, which by this point is certainly plenty. i'd put faith in sony's ability to draw a diverse selection of 3rd party developers, and for exclusives that the lesser-powered wii couldn't handle as well. i'd have to convince myself that the price of the console itself is only a one-time cost, and shouldn't be treated as too big a deal.

Nintendo Wii - i'd buy a wii if i'm ready for a whole new way to game, with the idea that the new control scheme brings a new level of excitement to a hobby i've been doing since i was in kindergarten. i'd put confidence in nintendo's ability to push their ideas despite what the norm is doing, and obviously a large selection of exclusives based around the custom controls.

i really think given the difference between the wii and the other two that most people could well buy a 360 or ps3 and use the wii as their second console. i don't entirely see the need to buy both a 360 and ps3 as they will largely be receiving many of the same major titles. there will be some overlap on the wii as well, but i'd rather be able to play the latest hot RPG on the 360 or gran turismo on the ps3 as well as the latest mario/zelda on the wii.

with all the major gaming events about to happen, i think the next few months will be very exciting, no matter how things unfold.

--j

Baseball and SOMETHING Else

with the world series in full swing, i decided to make a baseball-related post. i saw this article the other day and wasn't at all surprised that baseball tv ratings have just plummeted.

i used to kinda deny it a bit, but c'mon, an entire baseball game is, well, fuckin boring to be honest with you. even when you go to a game, if you don't go with a group of friends or something, it can really be agonizing. and i say this as having only ever gone to texas rangers games myself, and usually they just suck. but even playoff baseball games that actually matter, watching the entire game is a real chore. commercials between innings, on pitcher changes, injuries, etc; pitchers with slow pacing, games with very little offense, boring matchups.

i've found the best solution is to actually have the baseball game on, but to have something else you're interested in to turn to when the game gets in a lull. for me i usually go with a selection of games on the NHL Center Ice package, or have my laptop at hand when the game's on. i don't know how that would count in a nielsen ratings entry, but i don't really blame the people that just don't bother to watch at all anymore.

you look back at the ratings soaring back in the late 70's early 80's and you can tell people just had a lot less options for what to do with their time. i mean i'm a baseball fan, and if it was 1978 and there was no internet, not a huge selection of channels or choices for sports coverage, of course i'd be watching a world series game. i think that's basically all the ratings say, is that now we've got a lot more options for what to do with our spare time. the same guys that are blowing off a world series game now to play video games online for a few hours were the same ones that would have been watching the game at home 20-something years ago.

and if MLB makes streaming highlights of every game available at the end of every night, what's so bad about tuning into see the highlights of the game? even if you looked at highlights and some in-depth analysis following along with a preview of the next game, that's what, maybe 5 minutes to get you up to speed? if you had something (read: anything) better to do with the 3-4 hours the game took, who can blame you for saving yourself some time and keeping up with baseball in a highly condensed form?

--j

Telecommuting like it's 1999

with a lot of code to write, little to test on hardware and not needing a lot of one-on-one time with other engineers, combined with the ailing back and riding painkillers the last few weeks, i've worked at home a lot lately. of course, with approval from the ol' boss.

there's obviously pros & cons. i can't really complain about working from home on a nice 70 degree friday afternoon. i've got a nice setup with work running on one computer, and fun stuff like IM and iTunes on the other. windows (that would be like real windows, y'know made out of glass?) open, and i've got an iTunes smart playlist shuffling what i call "AltRock Middle School" which for me means only playing alternative rock from 1993-1995. now and then i'll have a song come on that instantly takes me back to riding the bus in 8th grade, heh.

the screenshot from my yahoo! traffic dashboard widget you see included with this post reminded me of one of the definite perks of working from home -- not having to drive. i only live 15-minutes-on-a-bad-day away from work, so traffic doesn't impact me that much. still, traffic sucks, and i'm glad i'm not dealing with it. i guess all in all, i'd take a pain-free back and 15 minutes of traffic over what i've got at the moment, but eh, whatever.

happy weekend.

--j