『 メトロイドプライム3 コラプション 』

I have waited for quite a while before I picked this title up. Not because I hesitated. I simply wanted the price to drop. When it did, I immediately grabbed it.


I'm sure you all know what the game is about so I won't bore you nor spoil the story for you. What I will mention is that at first I approached this game thinking "Will this really work on the Wii, with its peculiar controls?".


It does. It works so well in fact, that right now I think the GameCube controls from previous two games feel dated and not up to par. Wiimote allows you to aim and act instantly, beating even the keyboard and mouse setup.


Do you own a Wii? Did you like previous games? Do you enjoy FPP puzzle solving wrapped in a ton of action and innovation? Grab this game today because it's totally worth it. I got it for cheap but it sure is worth the full retail price, so if you can spare the cash, do it, and do it today.


So what's been changed or improved gameplay wise since the GameCube games? Most notably, the weapon system. While the visor system is mostly the same, aside from how you change the visor modes, weapon system has been revised. When you acquire power ups, the new abilities and characteristics of the beam add. This means you always have one shot, instead of several to choose between.


This, plus some minor control changes made to adapt to the Wii, make Metroid Prime 3 a somewhat new experience while it still has all the previous titles had to offer. The polygon count is slightly higher than on GameCube but it's the superb design that captivates me. This is worth so much more than raw console power.

While I was playing Halo 3, I ripped through the game without thinking too much about the world I found myself in. Here however, you can't stop thinking about the ancient civilisations that once inhabited the planets you visit. This is pure magic and I'd choose Metroid Prime 3 over Halo 3 any day.

『 Nintendo Wii Freebies 』

Since I've purchased my Wii and the additional Wiimotes at the time of the launch, I never got the silicone jackets for the controllers and I have the old style wrist straps [supposedly weaker and without the lock clip].


I have emailed Nintendo, requesting the jackets and replacement wrist straps, since they are a standard issue now and are sold with every new console. After nearly two months and a remainder I sent few weeks back I got the jackets.


It's all good, right? No, it's not. Not only I had to wait for ages, but I never got the wrist straps. I guess Nintendo figured I should be pleased with what I got and that should shut me up. Screw you Nintendo, you cheap assholes.


Tomorrow I'll mail their asses again, and again, and again, untill I get the bloody straps. So know this boys and girls. If you have purchased your console before the protective jackets became a standard and before Nintendo started making new straps, mail or call your local Nintendo distributor [or Nintendo themselves, if they have an office in your country] and demand those items.

『 Grand Theftendo - Still In Development! 』

It's been in development for about six years and lately there has been no news on the project. Many have abandoned all hope and various internet sites have declaired the project dead or inactive. It is the most ambicious Famicom / NES project in history and people are wondering what happend to this great title. I have the answers, or at least some information that eager gamers might find interesting.


Before I lay the new information on you, let's take a quick look at what's been said and done so far. The author of the Grand Theftendo project, Brian Provinciano, has revealed quite a bit about his work, the overall concept of the game and provided us with some "making of" type of information. What we know today is that the game will run on the standard Famicom / NES hardware [if you can flash it onto your own cart, since the title will be released as a free of charge ROM image] or emulator.


Grand Theftendo is based on Grand Theft Auto III and the story plays out in the city of Portland. The game map is quite large, unlike anything that's been previously done on the 8Bit Nintendo platform. The map is 7168x4672 pixels in size. This corresponds to 30x24 game screens, and can be walked or driven though without any load times. This beats any previous NES game hands down not only in size but also in the amount of detail. All this was possible thanks to Brian Provinciano's careful planning and skill.


Being a one man show, Brian has created a full set of tools to aid him on his quest. He created the NESHLA [Nintendo Entertainment System High Level Assembler] and various editing programs that include map editor, road editor, dialogue editor, item placement tool, graphic converters and other applications that made the development easier. He even drew the whole city map on graph paper to get a better feel for what the map should look and play like.


The amount of work that was put into this game says it all. A project like that takes time and skill to complete. While Brian Provinciano pbviously has the skill, time will always be a problem. After all most homebrew developers have regular jobs and families to take care of. Things have been too quiet lately so I have decided to contact Brian and ask him about the game.


I asked him about how things were progressing and if they were progressing at all. This is what he had to say: "Over the years it's been on hiatus off and on due to work, but it's under steady development now, has been again for about 9 months.". So there you have it. It's confirmed and it's still in the works. Brian is a full time game developer and I can understand the problems he is facing. After all, nobody likes sitting in front of a computer 24/7 doing the same thing. When you come home from work last thing you feel like doing is more work.

I wish Brian all the best and hope that the finishing result will be worth all the work and all the wait. Good luck!

『 Spring / Summer Cleaning 』

The time has come. The sky is clear, the temperature is up and it's time to wash those windows, clean that house and get ready for the summer. Since I got some free times on my hands I got the window cleaning part out of the way yesterday. And what do you clean the windows with? Some proper chemicals and a hammer, of course [It's in the photo. Don't ask]


First BBQ party of the year is already behind us and I'm looking forward to the next ones, hoping they will be plenty. There's nothing like the great outdoors [just outside the door, on the porch is fine], friends, booze and food. If that's not what summers are all about I don't know what is.


Note to self: Make sure the supplies aren't running low when you have people over. BBQ is all about food and drinks baby! The photo is showing my friend's stash and you can tell he is well prepared for any eventuality. We didn't overdo it that night though. There is some left.

『 バーチャファイター5 X360 Rev.C 』

Virtua Fighter 5 has been out for ages on arcades, aswell as on both current generation hi def platforms. So far I've been faithfull to the arcade machine, playing the PlayStation 3 port ocasionally, but finally I got the X360 version and I'm not dissapointed.



As all of you Virtua Fighter playing gamers know, arcade titles often get updates, tweaks and some finishing touches. Just like first Virtua Fighter game got a remixed and textured version for the ST-V, Virtua Fighter 2 got the 2.1 revision, Virtua Fighter 3 was upgraded to Team Battle and Virtua Fighter 4 got both Evolution and Final Tuned, Virtua Fighter 5 is pushing the updates like crazy. The arcade version has reached revision D and a bigger update in a form of Virtua Fighter 5 R is on the horizon. But what does it have to do with the Xbox 360 version of the game? Let me tell you.



While you're playing the latest version D in the arcades [at least in Japan], the PlayStation 3 port was based on version B. B was the second revision of the original arcade release, with little to none changes. The Xbox 360 version however, is based on version C and that's where this port shines. Not only there's alot more customization, but the computer A.I. has been greatly improved. Not to mention Xbox 360 is the only one to get the online play mode thus far. The Xbox 360 version also supports memory card saving and has some major upgrades made to the Dojo mode.



I guess the only real problem with the X360 version is a lack of a real hi end arcade stick. Hori products are fine, but they're far from the real arcade stick quality. This can be solved by building your own or settling for the lesser quality. Aswell as most of the 360 games, Virtua Fighter 5 got some downloadable upgrades which were mostly additional customization items and a possibility of saving replays from online fights.


If you don't own Virtua Fighter 5 yet, Xbox 360 version is the obvious choice, if only for the online mode. Unless you have a bunch of friends playing the game all the time and you have some real pros to play with. Now all we have to do is wait and see if Vitua Fighter 5 R gets a PlayStation 3 release fully stocked and with online mode.