(I'm not sure why I'm doing so many video game-related posts recently, but fuck it.I'm going with it for now.)
Even though I've cooled off a lot in the past few years, I've been a video game fan for a long time.In that time there has been a handful of games I've obsessed over:Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy Tactics, Mario Kart, Street Fighter II, Disgaea, Dark Cloud II, Castlevania( any version).If I had to pick one game that I've spent more time with than any other game/game series it would be Fire Pro Wrestling(which I will hereafter refer to as FPW.)
Back when I was in my final 1 1/2 years of college, I was working as dorm security.One of the other guys working security noticed that I liked to play games and also that I liked wrestling.He had a Super Nintendo with a device that let him copy games and play Japanese games, of which he had hundreds.He introduced me to this Japanese wrestling game called Fire Pro Wrestling.FPW is a hardcore, very realistic wrestling game.It is known for having huge rosters of real life wrestlers, changed ever so slightly to avoid copyright issues.It also has the best create-a-player feature of any wrestling game.
I was hooked my first time playing.I would be at the guy's dorm room daily for gaming sessions.Eventually, his game converter came out with an upgraded model, and he sold me his old one and let me copy as many of his hundreds of games as I cared to.I probably ended up with 150 or so games on 3.5 inch floppies, including 3 fire pro games and about 6 or 7 other japanese wrestling games.None had the impact of FPW though.
Over the years I grabbed as many FPW games as I could find and play.I was always teased unmercifully from my other gaming friends, who would mock the game's less-than-stellar graphics and sound effects.They didn't get it.Why would I play the polygonal PS1 wrestling game with 1/4 of the moves and 12 characters when I could play FPW?It was never about the graphics.It was all gameplay and customization.
I seriously got into this game.It's hard to put into words how much this game has meant to me over the years. I would create dozens of characters, from versions of my friends to musicians to other video game characters to , of course, other wrestlers.I set up tournaments, title belts and story lines.The older games didn't have that stuff built in, so I had to write it out on paper.I would let the cpu go at it and watch the matches in real time.I would recreate famous cards, like the various Wrestlemanias.I could never even begin to guess how much time I've spent playing FPW cumulatively, but I would say it easily surpasses the 500 hour mark.
The last FPW game that I seriously got into was called 6-Man Scramble.It was released for the Sega Saturn about 10 years ago.(I had a mod device for the Saturn to play Japanese games.)There were two FPW games on the Game Boy Advance, but they didn't thrill me.It was something to do with the lack of face buttons on the GBA.It seemed to limit the playability.
This month, Fire Pro Wrestling Returns was released for the PS2.It took a little bit of work to find because it was not a high profile title and many stores won't order a game if no one pre-orders it.I got it this past Sunday from an EBGames near me.Now I have a fully featured, ENGLISH copy of my favorite game of all time.There will be no more stumbling through kanjii-filled menus or relying on 20 page FAQ's to translate.I've already renamed the entire roster of 300+ characters.I haven't been to bed before 2AM since getting this game.I even joined the Fire Pro Wrestling Club so I could take advantage of their transferrable edit save files.This game has effectively booted Guitar Hero from my PS2.
A former obsession has returned to my life.Happy Days!!If you are a real wrestling fan, walk right past that copy of Smackdown Vs. Raw and buy this.Forget about being a graphics snob and you will find the deepest, most customizable wrestling game ever made.If I didn't have to go to work, I'd be setting up a lighttube deathmatch tournament right now.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
First Match Is Over
This past Saturday, I had the first of my two wrestling matches of this month.Things went about as smoothly as I could hope for.We had a stiff, energetic match.The crowd was a little dead in the beginning, but by the end everyone sounded like they were really into it.The ref was out of position for us once, but we covered it up and got to the spot a few seconds later.Overall, I'd give the match a 6.5 or 7 out of 10.
Tommorrow I have match #2.We've put together about 70% of it, though I'm not sure if I'll keep all of what we have so far.We'll have ten minutes instead of eight, which will give us a bit of breathing room as far as pacing goes.I plan on having this match involve a bit more wrestling than the first one, which was a straight-up brawl.I also might be in a battle royal that night. I'm looking forward to this.I've even sold five tickets so far, which is more than I've sold in the past 2 years combined.It's odd having people come to see and support me.It even makes me a little self-conscious.When the matches are done, hopefully I can go back to not selling tickets.
Tommorrow I have match #2.We've put together about 70% of it, though I'm not sure if I'll keep all of what we have so far.We'll have ten minutes instead of eight, which will give us a bit of breathing room as far as pacing goes.I plan on having this match involve a bit more wrestling than the first one, which was a straight-up brawl.I also might be in a battle royal that night. I'm looking forward to this.I've even sold five tickets so far, which is more than I've sold in the past 2 years combined.It's odd having people come to see and support me.It even makes me a little self-conscious.When the matches are done, hopefully I can go back to not selling tickets.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Console Rundown/Tech We Don't Need
I realize after yesterday's post that I'm pretty hard on video games and gamers in general.Today I'm going to lay off the gamers a bit and I'm going to take a look at the current group of consoles.I have not yet bought a new gaming console and do not think I will buy one this generation.If I do indeed refrain from buying one, it will be the first time I do.I really do like games, but something about this new generation just seems...off.It hasn't grabbed me at all.So here's my outsider's look in.
XBox 360 :I actually had a preorder for this when it was released but had to cancel it because it was expensive enough to take away from my ability to buy Xmas presents for other people.I was pretty sad at the time because I wanted to play Oblivion.Two years later and that is still the only game I have any interest in.Microsoft seems to be playing it really safe.FPS.Racing game.Grand Theft Auto rip-off.Rinse.Repeat.All they seem to be interested in last years game with this year's graphics.There's too many sequels and rehashes of old games.Xbox Live Arcade is where I would probably spend most of my time, but I can't justify the purchase of a console for that.Looking back, it seems like it was rushed out before it was needed.
Playstation3 :It was waaaaaay too expensive, but the price is going down(and still too expensive).The same complaints I have about game choice with the Xbox360 also apply here.There's also the issue here that much of that high sticker price is for the blu-ray player which I don't need.High def technology is still too expensive.I'm giving it a few more years before I jump onboard.I just don't see that much of a difference in picture quality.What little difference I do see is not enough to make me abandon my current, perfectly working TV so I can drop hundreds, or even into the thousands, of dollars on a new set.Sony needs to worry more about games and less about forcing new technology on a population that isn't ready for it.
Wii :I look at Nintendo's motion sensing technology as something that still needs to mature.It's too different and developers don't seem to know what to do with it.There are also too many minigame compilations out for this system.The only game I want to play on the Wii are the virtual console games.I don't think I'd buy even one Wii game.I'll look a little harder at the next iteration of the Wii, after the technology has grown up a bit.It's interesting and different but just not worth the investment right now.
Looking at what I wrote, it seems I'm more disappointed in the quality of the games for these systems.There are too many sequels and old ideas.I'm seeing the same games I saw two years ago.Better graphics or a fancy new controller on the same old game do not make a new game.I won't even get into this silly obsession with making games bloodier and bloodier, which is apparently the only way game companies know how to make "mature" content.
I don't want to sound like some grumpy old-timer who hates all new technology, but so much of it is just worthless.Companies prey on our need to be compulsive consumers.I've seen so many people rush out to buy, let's use high def TV's as an example again, and they don't know how to use them.They just plug them in and expect everything to be the same as it was with their ten-year old 19" set.The fact that one TV can be more sophisticated than an older one must be some sort of alien concept.I can't even count the number of times I have gone into somebody's house as a technician and had to explain to the customer who is so proud of his new 54" plasma TV what I mean when I tell him to set his TV for "video1".If I had to guess, I'd say slightly more than half of the customers I had didn't even know how to use their TV's remote.When talking to customers aged 50 and over I'd bring that number up to 75% at least.
Rant over.
XBox 360 :I actually had a preorder for this when it was released but had to cancel it because it was expensive enough to take away from my ability to buy Xmas presents for other people.I was pretty sad at the time because I wanted to play Oblivion.Two years later and that is still the only game I have any interest in.Microsoft seems to be playing it really safe.FPS.Racing game.Grand Theft Auto rip-off.Rinse.Repeat.All they seem to be interested in last years game with this year's graphics.There's too many sequels and rehashes of old games.Xbox Live Arcade is where I would probably spend most of my time, but I can't justify the purchase of a console for that.Looking back, it seems like it was rushed out before it was needed.
Playstation3 :It was waaaaaay too expensive, but the price is going down(and still too expensive).The same complaints I have about game choice with the Xbox360 also apply here.There's also the issue here that much of that high sticker price is for the blu-ray player which I don't need.High def technology is still too expensive.I'm giving it a few more years before I jump onboard.I just don't see that much of a difference in picture quality.What little difference I do see is not enough to make me abandon my current, perfectly working TV so I can drop hundreds, or even into the thousands, of dollars on a new set.Sony needs to worry more about games and less about forcing new technology on a population that isn't ready for it.
Wii :I look at Nintendo's motion sensing technology as something that still needs to mature.It's too different and developers don't seem to know what to do with it.There are also too many minigame compilations out for this system.The only game I want to play on the Wii are the virtual console games.I don't think I'd buy even one Wii game.I'll look a little harder at the next iteration of the Wii, after the technology has grown up a bit.It's interesting and different but just not worth the investment right now.
Looking at what I wrote, it seems I'm more disappointed in the quality of the games for these systems.There are too many sequels and old ideas.I'm seeing the same games I saw two years ago.Better graphics or a fancy new controller on the same old game do not make a new game.I won't even get into this silly obsession with making games bloodier and bloodier, which is apparently the only way game companies know how to make "mature" content.
I don't want to sound like some grumpy old-timer who hates all new technology, but so much of it is just worthless.Companies prey on our need to be compulsive consumers.I've seen so many people rush out to buy, let's use high def TV's as an example again, and they don't know how to use them.They just plug them in and expect everything to be the same as it was with their ten-year old 19" set.The fact that one TV can be more sophisticated than an older one must be some sort of alien concept.I can't even count the number of times I have gone into somebody's house as a technician and had to explain to the customer who is so proud of his new 54" plasma TV what I mean when I tell him to set his TV for "video1".If I had to guess, I'd say slightly more than half of the customers I had didn't even know how to use their TV's remote.When talking to customers aged 50 and over I'd bring that number up to 75% at least.
Rant over.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Comics>Video Games
A little bit of fuss had been made recently surrounding the video game Assassin's Creed or, more specifically, Jade Raymond's role in promoting it.Since much of this controversy involves a comic strip, it has found its way into my comic blog-reading attention.
First of all, the comic itself is not that good.It's drawn OK.The premise isn't particularly funny or clever though.The insinuation behind it is not much more inflammatory than a typical political cartoon, but the execution is pretty tasteless.It doesn't really offend me, but I'd be blind not to see how it could offend other people, particularly Ms. Raymond.Let's just say that I understand why legal action is being taken.
Seeing information about a video game in the comic book section of the internet just reinforces my view that video games/video game fans are a much lower form of life/"art" than comic book/comic book fans.About 6 months ago, I found the feminist comic book world by accident while clicking around at Newsarama, which I had also just found.It was right about when the Mary Jane statue controversy was just starting.Even though I don't always agree with what I'm reading, I must admit that it's been fun to read different viewpoints about topics that you don't typically see during standard fanboy bitching sessions.
Most of the writing is about controversy and negativity.You don't see many posts on WFA or Girl Wonder about things people like.It can sometimes be disheartening, but I realize that someone's anger is much more entertaining than someone's contentment.I also realize that there are comics and characters out there that these people must like but don't write about unless they're being mishandled.The characters aren't the problem.In comics you have great female characters like Supergirl, Power Girl, Oracle, Black Canary, She Hulk, Ms Marvel, Misty Knight, Coleen Wing, Storm, Jean Grey, Invisible Woman, Wonder Woman, etc.If your comic book reading goes beyond superheroes then the list will be even bigger.The problems usually come with a particular writer's or artist's(Especially the artists) interpretation of that character.Hand one of these characters to the right person(Gail Simone writing Wonder Woman is a good example.)and you can please a lot of people, not just angry fangirls.No one wants to read bad books.Regardless of how pervasive the sexism might be, there are safe havens out there if you just look.
Video game fangirls don't have that safe haven.The only video games made for girls involve ponies, princesses, or Barbie.(Sometimes all three at once.)I've been playing video games for about 30 years now, since the days of Pong and the Atari 2600.I don't think I could name 5 potential female video game character role models.There's Samus and that's about it.Everyone else is either a pretty princess or masturbation fodder.That's only good if your career goal is to be a stripper or Snow White.The only female character to make an impact in the last ten years is Lara Croft, who only became an icon because her boobs are big enough to make Power Girl envious.
Women/girls playing video games only have a few options:
1)Get used to playing as the tough guy lead character.
2)If you do get to be a woman, you can be sure she'll be as naked as the game rating will allow.
3)Fables is to the most overly recommended female comic book entry point as Tetris is to the most overly recommended female video game entry point.
4)Learn to love girl-centric IPs like Barbie or Bratz.
These are just the games.The fans are even worse.I know that there are hardcore female gamers who love all the same games that the guys do.My girlfriend is one.Since we started dating 6 years ago, she has beaten as many if not more games than I have, and that includes RPGs, first person shooters, and blood-soaked action games.She won't go online to play though and I don't blame her in the least.Any female gamer brave enough to go online is almost guaranteed to be propositioned and harrassed by the anonymously-emboldened online fanboy crowd.If she's really, really lucky she can even get unsolicited pictures of random penises.I guess they can stick it out out of love for their hobby, but why would they want to associate with those asshats?
Which brings us right back to the Jade Raymond comic.Was it in poor taste?Yeah.Was it surprising?No.She's pretty...and she's into games.I've seen some pictures of her.She wears clothes where you can tell she has breasts.I think in one picture I even saw about 1/2 inch of cleavage.Hubba hubba.So of course her position in the company is just to be the cover model for her company's games.Of course she fellated her way to the top.That's how pretty women succeed in life.(Insert eye roll emoticon here.)She couldn't possibly have EARNED her position through hard work and good ideas.She's doing what every female gamer is doing:waiting for the lucky day when she too can be the object of affection from GamerGuy1984.He'll ask how big her boobs are.She'll reply with a very coy "LOL".Maybe they can get married...ONLINE!!! It's so romantic.(You can put an eye roll emoticon here too.)
I'm not outraged, just embarrassed by association.On the positive side, Assassin's Creed has received praise and good reviews pretty much across the board.Kudos to Jade and her team for putting out a quality product in spite of the bullshit surrounding it.
First of all, the comic itself is not that good.It's drawn OK.The premise isn't particularly funny or clever though.The insinuation behind it is not much more inflammatory than a typical political cartoon, but the execution is pretty tasteless.It doesn't really offend me, but I'd be blind not to see how it could offend other people, particularly Ms. Raymond.Let's just say that I understand why legal action is being taken.
Seeing information about a video game in the comic book section of the internet just reinforces my view that video games/video game fans are a much lower form of life/"art" than comic book/comic book fans.About 6 months ago, I found the feminist comic book world by accident while clicking around at Newsarama, which I had also just found.It was right about when the Mary Jane statue controversy was just starting.Even though I don't always agree with what I'm reading, I must admit that it's been fun to read different viewpoints about topics that you don't typically see during standard fanboy bitching sessions.
Most of the writing is about controversy and negativity.You don't see many posts on WFA or Girl Wonder about things people like.It can sometimes be disheartening, but I realize that someone's anger is much more entertaining than someone's contentment.I also realize that there are comics and characters out there that these people must like but don't write about unless they're being mishandled.The characters aren't the problem.In comics you have great female characters like Supergirl, Power Girl, Oracle, Black Canary, She Hulk, Ms Marvel, Misty Knight, Coleen Wing, Storm, Jean Grey, Invisible Woman, Wonder Woman, etc.If your comic book reading goes beyond superheroes then the list will be even bigger.The problems usually come with a particular writer's or artist's(Especially the artists) interpretation of that character.Hand one of these characters to the right person(Gail Simone writing Wonder Woman is a good example.)and you can please a lot of people, not just angry fangirls.No one wants to read bad books.Regardless of how pervasive the sexism might be, there are safe havens out there if you just look.
Video game fangirls don't have that safe haven.The only video games made for girls involve ponies, princesses, or Barbie.(Sometimes all three at once.)I've been playing video games for about 30 years now, since the days of Pong and the Atari 2600.I don't think I could name 5 potential female video game character role models.There's Samus and that's about it.Everyone else is either a pretty princess or masturbation fodder.That's only good if your career goal is to be a stripper or Snow White.The only female character to make an impact in the last ten years is Lara Croft, who only became an icon because her boobs are big enough to make Power Girl envious.
Women/girls playing video games only have a few options:
1)Get used to playing as the tough guy lead character.
2)If you do get to be a woman, you can be sure she'll be as naked as the game rating will allow.
3)Fables is to the most overly recommended female comic book entry point as Tetris is to the most overly recommended female video game entry point.
4)Learn to love girl-centric IPs like Barbie or Bratz.
These are just the games.The fans are even worse.I know that there are hardcore female gamers who love all the same games that the guys do.My girlfriend is one.Since we started dating 6 years ago, she has beaten as many if not more games than I have, and that includes RPGs, first person shooters, and blood-soaked action games.She won't go online to play though and I don't blame her in the least.Any female gamer brave enough to go online is almost guaranteed to be propositioned and harrassed by the anonymously-emboldened online fanboy crowd.If she's really, really lucky she can even get unsolicited pictures of random penises.I guess they can stick it out out of love for their hobby, but why would they want to associate with those asshats?
Which brings us right back to the Jade Raymond comic.Was it in poor taste?Yeah.Was it surprising?No.She's pretty...and she's into games.I've seen some pictures of her.She wears clothes where you can tell she has breasts.I think in one picture I even saw about 1/2 inch of cleavage.Hubba hubba.So of course her position in the company is just to be the cover model for her company's games.Of course she fellated her way to the top.That's how pretty women succeed in life.(Insert eye roll emoticon here.)She couldn't possibly have EARNED her position through hard work and good ideas.She's doing what every female gamer is doing:waiting for the lucky day when she too can be the object of affection from GamerGuy1984.He'll ask how big her boobs are.She'll reply with a very coy "LOL".Maybe they can get married...ONLINE!!! It's so romantic.(You can put an eye roll emoticon here too.)
I'm not outraged, just embarrassed by association.On the positive side, Assassin's Creed has received praise and good reviews pretty much across the board.Kudos to Jade and her team for putting out a quality product in spite of the bullshit surrounding it.
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