Nintendo Wii (or Wü?) Wannabe Zapper Light Gun Review

I don’t know about any of you, but I intend on picking up the Nintendo Zapper- the plastic shell-cum-light gun cradle thingy that holds your Wiimote and nunchuk Tommy-Gun style - when its released later this month, even if only for the freebie Zelda-themed Crossbow shooting game that’s packaged with it. I was kinda iffy about it (I loved - and miss - the original design from E3 2006) until they surprised me with that announcement, and the prospect of shootin’ up some zombies and other blastables via Link and his crossbow sealed the deal for me. Ghost Squad from SEGA looks pretty damn good too, as does MOH2’s nice bonus old-school arcade mode, not to mention I’ll most likely end up owning RE: Umbrella Chronicles too, as I’m a sucker for that series in general. Sure I could (and likely will) play all these games without the extra moulded plastic hardware, but part of me feels that, hopefully, these games have been designed with the zappers’ unique layout in mind, and may actually play a little better, or be a little bit more fun, with the zapper as opposed to without. Probably not, but I intend on finding out when it’s finally released, as I’ve been a Light Gun gaming fan for years, and would love to see it replicated with the Wii Remote, as it seems a rather natural fit.

Imagine my delight then, when the other day upon finally waking up (I work graveyard shifts and sleep the days that I work, see), I find that a friend of mine had stopped by and dropped off a little gift for me, and it was a light gun cradle for the Wiimote. Here’s a couple pictures of the package it came in:

I got a chuckle from the classic engrish on the packaging, and their interesting take on the spelling of “Wii” (how the hell are you supposed to pronounce that?), but quickly got down to the business of tearing into it and trying it out. There is an input for the nunchuk on the bottom of the butt of the gun, which according to the packaging must be connected before the remote, not too sure why though, but whatever, it’s a good spot for it, and so far I was pleased. But then I was to soon learn something that would simultaneously become both one of the biggest knocks against this knock-off, and my biggest, newest concern about the official zapper itself: the Wiimote doesn’t fit inside the cradle if you’re using the blessed Nyko rechargeable battery paks. That is a huge, huge strike against it, and something that hadn’t actually even crossed my mind about Ninty’s offering until now.

Luckily I have a third Remote that came with Wii Play, that I still use batteries for (the Nyko charger only comes w/two paks.), I slid it in and it fit like a glove. I fired up the aforementioned game and went immediately to the shooting gallery game, which I thought would be a perfect fit. The gun itself adds a little (but not too much) weight to the remote, and it feels pretty good overall. Feels solid and generally well-built for what it is. Upon playing the game I discovered the biggest complaint against this product; the frustratingly-way-too-damn-slow unresponsive trigger. Seriously, the ‘targets’ and ‘alien’ levels were infuriating, and I was having really no fun using this gun with this game, as the trigger mechanism is just too slow. After a couple more rounds, and right-pissed off at this frickin’ gun, I tried a couple more rounds w/just the remote itself and more than doubled my previous sad, low scores when it was docked. “Why does this suck so much?”, I thought, and investigated the trigger mechanism. There’s a bit of plastic that moves back when you pull the trigger, and it in turn presses the B button on the Wiimote. Eventually. This is what it looks like:



What you can‘t see in these pictures, is that the time it takes for the trigger to move all the way back to its starting position, and back to finally press the B trigger is woefully inadequate for quality gaming, but I still thought I could make it work, so I gave it another go. I tried playing by keeping my finger pressed on the trigger, and not letting it recoil all the way, so I could keep the mechanism relatively close to the trigger at all times, resulting in, hopefully, quicker shots. While this did kinda work to some small extent, it is not in any way preferable to playing sans-gun, as you never quite keep your finger in that small ‘sweet spot’ the trigger needs to fire off successive rounds, and kinda makes playing it, you know, not fun. This gun was making my finger cramp up already, and I’d only been playing for about 10 minutes or less.

So, it kinda sucks with Wii Play, would it work with something else? Well, possibly I guess, but not with any of the most-likely games I have and tried. You can forget about using this with either Metroid Prime 3, Red Steel, Call of Duty 3, Transformers, or The Godfather, that’s for sure, as you simply need to use more buttons on the Wiimote than just the B button, which is pretty much all you have access to with this set-up. I went through that frustration for you already with each game, and no fun was had doing so. Don’t even think about trying Elebits with this, as you need more speed than this can offer, and it will kill your finger trying to keep up. This is not “playing easily, playing happily”, as the package had promised. Perhaps the game plays well with Splinter Cell Double Agent, since Sam Fisher is so prominently displayed on the packaging, but I don’t own that (apparent) shovelware clunker, and I highly doubt that it does anyways. The only game that was tolerable at all with the gun attached was Rayman Raving Rabbids’ shooting stages, since they move at a slow enough pace, and even then it was much less fun with the gun than it is without it, leading me to wonder exactly when I would ever use this hunk of white plastic again.

Probably never, which sucks, ‘cause I likely won’t be buying a 2nd zapper just for 2-player games (I do only need one copy of X-bow training, after all), and this could’ve been a neat alternate, but this is only really any good if you’re looking to handicap someone during a match, thus ensuring your victory. Otherwise, in my opinion, don’t drop your cash on this cash-in, as I guarantee you will regret it. No, in my humble opinion its likely better to wait and spend the wee-bit extra on the official plastic remote cradle that comes free with your purchase of Link’s Crossbow Training (or is that the other way around?). And, lets all just keep our fingers crossed that the official gun allows remotes with Nyko chargers attached, as I am now a little concerned about that. That would pretty much kill it for me, as I am done with batteries in my Wiimotes, and swear by the Nyko paks.

-Kimo

As an added bonus, here’s some more entertaining pictures of the packaging, and of the gun itself:

Should Someone Tell Nintendo That Super Mario Galaxy Drops on Nov. 12th??

Man, I’m so totally stoked for Super Mario Galaxy. I can’t wait. Even my wife, traditionally a rather casual gamer, is really looking forward to it, having finally seen it in motion and instantly having the urge to play it. But this wasn’t because she saw a commercial for it while watching TV. Oh no, for her to even know about it, I had to tell her, and then show her the Japanese commercial on YouTube to explain all the crazy things I was trying to describe. Same thing for my niece, sister, friends, etc., I showed them all these grainy internet flash videos, and now they’re all anticipating its arrival quite eagerly as well. You see this game, any stage, you instantly want to play it. Its got mad drawing power. But a few days ago they didn’t know anything about it at all. Isn’t this odd for a game that will be released in less than two weeks?!?!

Well I for one certainly think so, but that’s just how Nintendo rolls these days, now keen on the ultra-low-key approach. There seems to be some kind of over-confidence at Nintendo of America that all of their games will sell millions on the merits of word-of-mouth alone. That they don’t even have to show them. They missed the hype-boat for Metroid Prime 3 by a mile, and tried to make up for it with a “Month of Metroid”, but as much as I and other like-minded gamers appreciated that, what about those folks who’s Wii’s aren’t online, it was useless in getting the message to them, or even to people who don’t have a Wii, to which MP3 could’ve been a system seller? They got this ridiculous commercial to try and win them over with. I say ridiculous because I don’t think that an IP like Metroid is properly marketed with the ‘Blue Ocean’ philosophy that works for the rest of the Wii ads. Metroid is not the game to try and rope in new gamers with. I mean, for example, those people shown playing the game in the commercial would likely quit playing after 15-30 minutes upon realising the time investment ahead of them, and the intense gameplay involved in playing it. And to most gamers, that commercial wasn’t going to be the deal maker that made you want it. Quite the opposite could happen I’d think, as it may give the appearance that the game has been watered down to accommodate a wider audience (which isn’t the case, btw). In other words; this commercial did not fit the game being advertised, at all, in my opinion. Especially when you compare it against these other examples in the franchises’ history. This is the same company?

This is the same company that gave us this truly classic Mario ad, or this one for Super Mario 64, which properly hyped the revolution that it was in gaming? The same company that helped produce an entire movie just to hype and advertise Super Mario Bros.3? And they’re gonna stay mum on Super Mario frickin’ Galaxy, a game that looks like the Mario game to beat all Mario games? Not even a ‘Month of Mario’ or Mario Channel like Metroid had? I don’t get it. You’re leading the industry right now, why not make a little noise, stick your chest out and start pounding on it, yelling “look how awesome I am, look what I can do, this is why I‘m here to stay”, or whatever, instead of keeping things practically secret? Don’t you want people to know about these amazing games you’re making?

Let’s look at some of Microsoft’s recent marketing. Yes, the ad campaign for Halo 3 was overblown, but you’ve gotta admit that those series of ads were epic, and likely even generated interest from folks that don‘t know Master Chief from Laura Croft, but knew that it looked fun/interesting/important in someway. Whether or not you’re totally sick of this series of ads, you can’t deny how great they are/were in scope, and how much confidence in their product MS showed with them. I also totally love the new 360 commercials that are currently running, the one with Nothin’ But a Good Time playing over it. I like a lot of things about it, but I mention it here because you’ll notice that one of the games featured in the ad is Mass Effect, which isn’t released until Nov. 20th, but has been being advertised in this commercial for a while now. Its already being showcased as one of the games to be playing on your 360 before you ever see the first real ad for it. Subtle, but smart.

Sony too, has been improving with their ads, which used to be nearly incomprehensible at times, or downright creepy. Heavenly Sword was sufficiently hyped by its ad, I think, which was alright. I really enjoy this ad for Ratchet & Clank: Future too, and think Nintendo should be taking notes for its eventual Galaxy commercial from this one, as I feel its fantastic and one of my new favourite gaming commercials ever. Quite well done. But the best from Sony has got to be this recent PS3 ad. Wow. That’s one sleek video game commercial there! While there’s a lot to like about this one as well, the aspect worth pointing out as it pertains to this topic is thus: PS Home, while delayed until sometime in 2008, is largely showcased in this commercial. Again, that’s just smart, its getting the word out way ahead of time and claiming a bit of mindshare in a cluttered environment. More people are potentially aware of PlayStaton Home, which, again, is due next year, than are potentially aware of Super Mario Galaxy, out in nine days!! Cuh-razy.

My only other concern regarding Galaxy’s marketing, aside from the apparent complete lack of it, is that it will follow in Metroid’s footsteps, and be presented in the same style. Look, I like the “Wii Would Like to Play” ads, and Ninty’s new direction as a whole. I really do, it was a breath of fresh air, and who am I to argue anyways, its obviously working well for them. I like knowing that hearing that cool Kodo music means a Wii commercial is coming. I’m not attacking their style or new image here. No, I’m just saying that not all Wii games released should follow the same marketing style, as Metroid proved that it just doesn’t gel with everything. And me-thinks that Galaxy would be better suited to another style of marketing as well, more like the Japanese commercials, that keep the focus on the game, not who’s playing it or how they’re playing it, but why you want to play it. But I won’t hold my breath waiting for that, I’m pretty sure that whenever the ad is released it will follow suit with the rest of Nintendo’s Wii ads.

I guess we’ll see if that works, or if I’m wrong and they do a totally Mario-worthy commercial for it, whenever they finally DO release it upon the masses, which has gotta be pretty soon. But then again, another worthy Wii title, Battalion Wars II, is still MIA on the airwaves, but already in stores, so who knows. Nintendo, why don’t you want everybody to know about all these great games? Its very confusing….

- Kimo

50,000 Views?? Wow!!!

It was basically just for kicks. Seriously, I didn’t think it would ever get that high of a view count, or that much attention. What the hell am I talking about you say? Well, back when the Wii was first announced, and really digging at the time where Nintendo was going with gaming this generation, I came up with this little parody of Queen’s We Will Rock You, and called it - wait for it - Wii Will Rock You. Yes, I know, originality at its best, for sure. But hey, it was just a fun little one-off idea I had. Of course hundreds of other people had the exact same idea at the same time, and also flooded the internets with it, but I made mine unique with new lyrics, making it, you know, a true parody of sorts. It made me laugh, what can I say, so I actually recorded it (by some seriously archaic methods), despite not possessing the talent to actually sing, mind you, and slapped together a little video of my own to upload. It was just a fun little fan video, and I had a fun time writing it, and putting it together. I knew some other Nintendo fans may see it, I did put it on YouTube after all, but I never thought the views would climb over 50 frickin’ thousand! That’s amazing, and consider me blown away. I’m even more surprised that its received so many kind words in the comments, and maintained a 4 ½ star rating through it all. Pretty cool. So, I’d really like to say thank you, internets, glad you (mostly) liked it.

However, there is something I’d like to say about this particular video & song though, since this is a perfect opportunity to do so, and that is that this is not as fanboy-ish as it may appear to be, or that you may be led to believe by reading through the numerous comments (btw, there are just over 440 comments for this video). No, rather it was my critique of where I saw the video gaming industry going heading into this generation, not what I wished or hoped necessarily, but just what I think would play out. I intentionally didn’t say anything really disparaging or hateful about the other companies if you really listen to the lyrics, which I tried really hard to rhyme with or mimic the original lyrics as close as possible. So, this is what I‘m gonna do, I’ll break the song down completely for you, these are the lyrics for the song (with the original lyrics in parentheses underneath):

*** Please keep in mind that this was written around Aug or Sept 2006 ***

Sony’s got a toy with a big price, prayin’ their machines’ gonna be the big gun some day.
(Buddy you’re a boy make a big noise, playin’ in the street gonna be a big man some day)

But they’ll have egg on their face, they’ll cry in disgrace, if Blu-Ray ends up losing this new Beta race.
(You got mud on your face, you big disgrace, kickin your can all over the place)

Translation: PS3 cost over $600 ($700+ here in Canada) when it came out. For a video game machine. For, technically speaking, an electronic toy. And of course they hoped it would be the #1 machine. But they would look pretty bad if it failed due to Blu-Ray not catching on as widely as they had hoped, like what happened to them with Betamax in the 80’s. No bashing, no ridiculous comments, just a thought of what could happen to them this generation, ‘cause they seemed to be going after a different market altogether that Nintendo, or even Microsoft, was. Read: they shouldn’t underestimate Nintendo this generation, or be so confident that people will spend whatever on anything PlayStation, as has been the case thus far in the past, because the Blu-Ray drive in the PS3 initially drives the price too high for the average gamer, and that will look like a poor decision should Blu-Ray fail. Whew! That’s what those two lines meant, not “OMG. PS3’s too $$$. Sony Sux”, or anything like that. Next, Xbox 360:

Microsoft’s the young man, rich man, they got into the game and took the world online to play.
(Buddy you’re a young man, hard man, shoutin in the street gonna take on the world some day)

They drew first blood in this race, can they keep up the pace? I hope they don’t mind ending up 2nd place.
(You got blood on yo face, you big disgrace, wavin your banner all over the place)

Translation: MS is the young man, that is, the newest player of the 3 in the home console arena, the rich man because, well, I shouldn’t have to tell you, and once they got into gaming they showed people how to take console gaming online the right way, with LIVE, and continued that great implementation (actually improving it) with 360. They came out first, by a whole year, of the three, but would they keep selling as many consoles as they were once these other two machines came out? They were the leader by a mile at the start of this generation, but there was a danger they may lose their chart-topping position once the affordable Wii, and powerful PS3 were released. These two lines I don’t believe need much “this isn’t a fan boy rant” explanation, as they are actually relatively pro-Microsoft in a way. Now, the Nintendo verse:

Nintendo is the old man, wise man, and their big surprise was to change the whole way we play.
(Buddy youre an old man, poor man, pleadin with your eyes gonna make you some peace some day)

They’ll put a smile on your face, through innovation and grace, this system could put them back into 1st place.
(You got mud on your face, you big disgrace, somebody better put you back in your place)

Translation: Nintendo is over 100 years old, hence the old man, wise man line, and of course they surprised everybody when they unveiled the Wii Remote at E3. They touted the machine as a ‘revolution’ (~_^) in gaming, and every picture of someone interacting with the remote showed a big goofy smile on their face (this is especially evident in all of Nintendo’s promotional materials for Wii). The Remote was definitely innovative, and it looked like many movements in some games required a certain grace to pull off, that could only be done with such a controller (again, this is what most pre-launch videos and materials highlighted). And after their slow sink to the bottom of the industry (for home consoles that is, starting with N64, leading to the disappointment of GameCube), this super-hyped, so-called-revolutionary ‘’new-gen” machine could be just the thing to catapult them to the top spot once again. That’s what those two lines meant.

Of course, between each verse there was the ‘Wii Will Rock You” chorus’, which really refers to the gaming industry, and the other companies, in general. It will “Rock You” in the sense that it will be a huge wake-up call to the industry that graphics and power are not the be-all end-all in videogames, but rather its the content and gameplay. And that you can expand the market too, bringing in more gamers who feel “rocked” by how playing on Wii ‘feels’, compared to more traditional games. That pretty much sums that up I guess.

So, the whole song was based on what had been shown prior to launch, the gaming climate at the time, and what I thought would happen at the start of this generation. Again, not what I wanted or hoped to happen like in a fan boy-ish type of way, just pure speculation. I’ll say this though: I’m a video game fan boy, that is, I’m a fan of gaming in general, not individual profit-based corporations. I play everything from Wii to 360 to Dreamcast to PS2 to DS to whatever, all the way back to Atari 2600, you name it, I have that system (except for Neo*Geo, or, yet, a PS3), and play it, and love it, ‘case I’m a gamer, dammit.

Yeah, this song was a funny idea, and I still stand by it as a parody, but I don’t like the unnecessary fan boy connotations & branding that comes with it. I was trying to think of a way to make a video that praises PS3, or even 360, just to make it all even, but I thought why bother really? The only person who’s gonna call me a Nintendo Fanboy is either a Sony or Microsoft Fanboy, so really, who am I trying to please by doing that? Exactly, it pointless, so I just say enjoy it if you dig it, go find a Pro-Sony or MS video if you don’t, but please listen closely to the lyrics before slinging accusations around. I don’t mean just me personally, I mean the whole internet. There’s an almost tourette’s-syndrome-like thing online that causes people to brand others blind fan boys if they simply claim to ‘like’ something. It’s really quite silly.

Well, that’s all the time I’m gonna spend typing about that, I feel I’ve explained myself rather thoroughly there, and well, you can think whatever you like. The funny thing about everything though? It’s almost like I wrote a prophecy or something (OK, I’ll calm down), because nearly everything that I said could happen, did, in a way. Weird, man. I did have an idea a couple months back for a follow-up to this video, a sequel if you will, done with the other half of the song, “We Are The Champions” (with ‘We’ changed to ‘Wii’, of course), and even wrote half of it out (I’d definitely say it was much, much funnier than this one too), but I nixed it. Only a pure Nintendo Fanboy would make a video like that. ;P

-Kimo

‘Tis the season to empty my wallet.

Why, oh why, must there be so much video gaming goodness coming out this holiday season? Just how in the hell am I supposed to afford all of these choice titles I’m interested in, let alone find the time to play them?!? Yes, much has been said on these internets about the glut of AAA games being released so close to each other, but c’mon, this is nuts. Its unprecedented! Even if you leave out all the great games that have recently been released that I either haven’t had the time to complete (I’m looking at you, Metroid Prime3, and Halo 3), haven’t had the time to even start a game yet (sigh, soon Zelda PH, soon) or haven’t had the opportunity to pick up yet (every time I wanna get The Orange Box, something else comes up…), there are far too many options I see coming my way in the next little while. These are gonna be some tough choices in the days ahead, hell, this week alone I’m struggling with what to pick up: Guitar Hero III, or Zak & Wiki? And even if I totally buckle and get both of ‘em (lucky me, birthday money this week), those are apparently a couple of long-lasting, fun, great games which I’ll be playing for god-knows how long, where am I gonna find time for all the other great games ahead? I just absolutely know that Super Mario Galaxy will own me once I get it, and it’s a no-brainer day-one purchase, but then when will I have time for anything else?

And hey, that’s just a couple games for Wii, never mind all the other great games coming for 360 and DS (and the Wii) between now and the years end, I don’t know where I could possibly find the time to play all the games that look good to me, rental or purchase, there’s just not enough gaming hours in the day for all the quality that’s coming our way. This could only be worse if owned a PS3 too, as Eye of Judgement looks like a ton of fun, Ratchet & Clank Future would so rock my socks off, and I just know I‘d never put down Everyday Shooter if I had it. Haze looks frickin’ awesome too. This is truly a great time to be a gamer, as there’s something for just about everyone out there, but you know what? It’s a rather crappy time to be a hardcore gamer, as there’s just too much coming in such a short amount of time, it’s a real sensory, and financial, overload. It’s a funny thing to complain about - “there’s just too many good games out right now” - I certainly never thought I’d say it, but it’s true.

I was really looking forward to playing Army of Two this year, as it looks like a total blast, but now it’s early ‘08 for that one. I was also disappointed to read that Super Smash Bros. had been delayed until next year at first, then it dawned on me that I’d actually have more time to enjoy other worthy games before they finally came around, and I realised that it was really for the best. First time I’ve ever been glad about delays. Same thing for another Wii game, Forever Blue, which was originally supposed to drop on the same day as Battalion Wars 2 if I remember correctly (another game I’m trying to find some extra cash for, and if I do, will have to find lots of extra time for), but has now been thankfully delayed until February. That game is all about sitting back taking your time, relaxing and enjoying the underwater scenery, sense of exploration & discovery, apparently. And it looks interesting, like something that a gamer could unwind with, especially considering you can swim around with someone else over wifi (although I seriously hope that Nintendo wises up and releases a headset of some kind for voice chat by then). And as much as I’d really like to play it, and could see myself getting into it a bit and actually relaxing with it, if I did have it, would I be playing it or Mass Effect? Probably Mass Effect, but only if I wasn’t playing Mario Galaxy, or Ninja Gaiden DS, or Bwii, or CoD4, or Geometry Wars Galaxies, or Assassin’s Creed, or Contra 4, or The Simpsons, or maybe even still GH3 or Zak & Wiki, or….. I’m sure you can see my point here. There’s just too much good gaming to be had for any one gamer out there this year. It’s literally too much of a good thing.

I know that there’s usually time in the early months of the new year to catch up on everything you missed over the holidays, or just get better acquainted with what you did pick up or receive, but there’s so much coming out that there still may not be enough time in the day for gamers out there to play everything they want to. This is made even more evident when you look at how many high profile games are coming out in the first half of 2008. Even if you just look at only the so-called ‘casual’ system, Wii: There’s of course the aforementioned juggernaught Super Smash Bros., the equally-likely-to-be-huge Wii Fit w/balance board (which my Mom told me I have to get, go figure; I‘ll even be competing w/my Mom for console time…), and of course online Mario Kart, as just 3 examples for Wii alone that will be asking me to play them early next year (plus, as mentioned earlier, Forever Blue). That would do me in even if all I played was Wii, but then when you factor in all the 360 & DS games that I’ll also likely be coveting during that time period as well (don‘t even get me started….), I could go mad I tells ya. I’ll have to pick and choose this amazing game instead of that amazing game, every time I go game shopping. If my wife thinks I spend way too long at EB when we’re at the mall now, just what’s she gonna say over the next few months? And for the first time I’m actually kinda glad I don’t have a PS3 yet, as I’m sure MGS4 would command every single idle minute I had. There’s just not enough time

Oh well, there’s certainly worse things one could be complaining about, but I just wish these companies could stretch out these AAA titles a little bit over the year, my bank account and free time can’t keep up as it is. You know, Dickens really said it best as far as it pertains to diehard gamers this year; “It was the Best of times, it was the Worst of times”.

-Kimo

System Check…..Online Status: OK…..GO!

Look who’s back on teh muthalovin’ internets!! Our other computer has apparently passed on, and after much deliberation and delay, we finally have our replacement in the form of this spiffy new laptop. Yes, it’s good to be back online, if only because I have somewhere to post all this stuff I was writing and thinking about writing in my spare time offline. Damn has there ever been a lot of gaming info and related stuff over the last couple months, lots of stuff has happened, been revealed, or been released. So, there will probably be more updates to the site over the next couple days than there were total posts previously, but that reflects my new attitude towards my blogs: to actually post blogs! Maybe I’ll gain a few more readers than just me while I’m at it too. =)

-Kimo

Review: Pac-Man Championship Edition (Xbox 360)- Buy This Game!

Best. Pac-Man. Ever. Yes, I know its pretty darn clichéd to declare things the Best_____Ever these days, but this is simply how I feel about Pac-Man Championship Edition; this game is Pac-Man, perfected. Now let me tell you, I love Pac-Man. When I was a kid, I dumped untold amounts of quarters into that game, and its brethren Ms. Pac-Man, Pac-Man Jr., Super Pac-Man, the hacks, all of 'em. Yes, as a kid I had the Pac-Man Fever. But the thing is this, much like pneumonia or bronchitis, once you get 'the Fever', you never really lose it.

I've sought out and played countless renditions of Pac-Man over the years; I had the red-LCD table-top 'Arcade Machine'; the Atari 2600 & 7800 versions (btw: Pac-Man on 2600 = Worst.Pac-Man.Ever., but I still played the hell outta it, it was Pac-Man!); the superior (but not arcade perfect) NES version; the GameBoy version (but unfortunately not the GBC version, which apparently had an awesome 2-player mode); the GBA Pac-Man Collection (still not arcade perfect, even with the power of GBA!); Namco Museums for each generation of hardware; the Plug & Play versions; the good spin-offs and semi-sequels (Ms. Pac Man, Pac & Pal, Super Pac-Man, etc.); the bad spin-offs and semi-sequels (Pac-Mania, Pac-Land, Pac-Man Arrangement (ugh), etc.); internet flash-based Pac-Man games; the good ol' arcade hacks back in the day (speed-up, slow down, special effects, etc.); and the countless stream of Pac-Clones over the years, both good and bad. Yep, I think I've played them all. I even have MAME running on my cell phone for the sole purpose of running Pac-Man & Ms. Pac-Man on the go, anytime, anywhere (I think I've paid into the Pac-Empire enough to not feel guilty about these emulations). I really do dig Pac-Man, see, and this is why I'm so over the moon for Namco-Bandai's latest Pac-Man effort, as they've taken the game I love and truly updated it and improved upon it in each and every way.

Unveiled at the Pac-Man World Championships in New York City (kinda like SMB 3 was in The Wizard, as the finalists had to compete for the final prize on this new, unknown game, as opposed to the one they knew & played so well to get there), and the first designed by the series' creator Toru Iwatani (who retired from game design with this amazing game) since he created the original, the game was made available exclusively through Xbox Live Arcade. That might be the titles' only downside really, its current exclusivity, as I would love to see this released as an actual arcade machine, or to be able to play it anywhere on Nintendo DS, whenever the urge hits. But, that may still happen down the road, for now though, let me tell you why if you only download one game off XBLA, it should be this one (although if for some reason you hate all things Pac-Man, get Geometry Wars, as it too rocks).

The game now plays in a widescreen presentation, unlike the vertical presentations of prior versions. Instead of level after level of essentially the same damn screen with only the speed and patterns of the ghosts and the types of fruit changing, you now get one timed level, the screen split into two halves, with the ghost house in the middle of the two. You still try to escape the clutches of the ghosts (still Inky, Bliky, Pinky, and Clyde) while chomping pellets to clear the screen, but there's a new twist here; once you clear one half, a piece of fruit (or item like a Galaxian Ship, Cake, Key, etc.) appears on the other half, next to the ghost house. Eating this fruit (or whatever) causes the half you just cleared to re-populate with pellets, and alters that half of the stage into a different maze altogether.You repeat this process over and over, while the pace quickens with each cleared maze, until you either run out of lives, or time expires, and the lone goal is the same lone goal of its arcade ancestors: getting an unbeatable high score by clearing wave after wave of pellets, and chomping ghosts. That brings up another twist on the classic formula: chomping ghosts. You still eat them when they turn blue after eating a power-pellet, but now you can chain these together into a high scoring combo if you can eat another power-pellet before the 'attack phase' time runs out. The point value for the blue ghosts grows and grows from 200 to 3200 (where it maxes-out) with each successive ghost you eat in a combo, and you'll keep getting 3200 points for each ghost you can keep squeezing into that combo. Here's a little video I put on YouTube of one of my scores, to give you an idea of the play-mechanics at work here.


Pac-Man has always been about Zen-like concentration, whatever method you approach it with, whether it be running one of the various patterns for each level (personally, for me, the only way to 'finish' or even attempt to 'finish' the original game), or Billy Mitchell-style where you just react to the situation from second to second, the game was designed to always keeps you on your toes (and to keep making you die, & dump in more quarters). This aspect of the game is still ever-present in Pac-Man CE, in fact its been turned up to 11. The game now has a truly frantic pace (which does build gradually), as both the ghosts and Pac-Man himself gain more and more speed as the mazes get cleared. You can also gain a little teeny-tiny speed boost by turning early around corners (Pac-Man emits sparks when doing this), which adds even a little more depth to clearing mazes as well. Extra lives are a lot easier to get, but as an extra emphasis on not dying, the point value of each pellet munched now goes up after a certain amount are cleared, starting at 10 points each, and maxing out at 50 points each. You'll obviously get a much higher score crunching 50 pts per pellet than 10, so while you'll most likely have enough lives to finish the level, the less you die the better your score's gonna be. This point raising is also true of the fruits, as the score for each fruit or item increases the further you progress.

All of this gives you multiple ways to play, as there are different strategies you can employ to get that super high score you're after. You can concentrate just on chaining ghosts together into huge combos, or on clearing as many pellets as possible without dying, thus gaining 50 pts. each pellet, or just focusing on getting the ever-increasing-in-value fruits or items (which in the later stages give you tons of points). Or of course you can try to do all 3 at once, trying to find that delicate balance between them all that will put your score in a place of prominence on the worldwide online leaderboards. At the end of your run, you're given a total breakdown of exactly how and when you scored each and every point, so you can study where you went wrong, or see when you picked up a ton of points, and how (ghosts, fruit, or pellets). Very, very cool feature. There's 6 different modes for your selection: Challenge Mode 1 & 2, Extra Mode 1, 2, & 3, and of course, Championship Mode. The main differences between them are their layouts and themes, with some having much less power pellets than others and some having really tight boards for you to clear, or some starting at top speed, or having the entire stage in darkness except for the area around you and the ghosts, and their length (Challenge Mode 1, Extra Mode 3, and Championship Mode all have 5 minute timers, the rest, 10 mins.). As it is basically the same game across all modes, you'll likely find yourself sticking to your favorite one and trying to master it, playing the other modes for variety and practice. For me, and likely most of you too I'm sure, that mode is Championship Mode, the 'main' variation in the package. But they're all good. Think of it like the old 2600 days (if you were playing back then), where you could 'change' the game into other modes (extra difficulty, more ships, enemies, etc..), but it was essentially the same game each time, and you mostly just played the main game anyways.

Namco has tried many times over the years to re-invent Pac-Man, to varying levels of success. I feel that the only true sequel to Pac-Man previously has been Ms. Pac-Man (which was, honestly, more fun to play, and a better game), and that wasn't even made by Namco, but the American distributor of the game, Midway (after purchasing the rights to a hack of Pac-Man called Crazy Otto, then sprucing it up with a bow), after they grew impatient for Namco's official sequel to the then-worldwide phenomenon. That game, Super Pac-Man, did come, and while a great game in its own right, it just didn't quite feel the same. There were no pellets for one thing, as you ate pieces of fruit instead. It wasn't the same. They tried to make Pac-Man cool and 3D-ish with the isometric PacMania, which retained the style of mazes and the pellets, and even added jumping (!), but that game just wasn't much fun to play at all. The abomination that was Pac-Man Arrangement was really the closest they ever came to it prior to CE, as they really tried to stick to the look of Pac-Man, and really tried to implement new things (speed dashes, new, weird ghosts, warps, dynamic and colorful stages, etc.), but it all just worked out to be an utter mess.

No, this time they absolutely nailed it, and surpassed it, as this surely stands as the definitive version of Pac-Man. This isn't the same game you (or your father,..God I'm getting old...) remember, but there's more than enough of that game's spirit and style here to make it a worthy successor to the throne. The looks, updated and made retro-future cool with the bright neon look and widescreen presentation, the gameplay, which is the same, but somehow better (and I don't know how they did it, but this game controls like a dream with the 360's analogue stick. Really!), the sounds, which retain their nostalgia from earlier games, even the new music (yes, music) for the game strangely fits too. As I said above, the only thing I could ask for is for this to be released on more systems, as I crave a Nintendo DS version of this game like you wouldn't believe (Namco Museum DS is among my most anticipated titles coming for any system, as it contains arcade perfect Pac-Man (with proper screen-ratio too, with the DS in 'book-style'), and Pac-Man Vs.! Oh Joy!), and I think that this game would find a much, much larger audience on that and other systems. But hey, I ain't got nothin' to complain about here, I just want to sing this titles praises to all gamers, and I encourage you all to at least download this and give it a try. But be warned, as you too may come down with 'the Fever', of which there is no cure.

- Kimo

The WCLC Pac-Man Scratch & Win Lottery Ticket

The ticket, pre-scratch.

Saw this at 7-11 last night, and just had to buy it. Sure, it's not nearly as cool as that other Pac-Man Scratch & Win from Texas, where you could win an actual Pac-Man cocktail cabinet (drool....), but hey, there's still a $25,000 grand prize! The rules are pretty simple, scratch off each row and hope to find 5 Pac-Man's in a row w/o any ghosts, and win the corresponding prize at the end of that row. If, along the way, you happen across some fruit you nab the 'fruit bonus' for getting them, $20 instantly for a cherry symbol, and $50 for a strawberry symbol. There's also the obligatory "Bonus" spot that appears on every Western Canadian Lottery Ticket, which fools you into thinking you've actually got another chance to win something here. It's shaped like Pac-Man's head. All in all I feel that while the graphics are very nice, and control is a breeze, the overall fun factor and replayability were pretty much non-existent :P

Anyways, pretty cool lottery ticket all together, I guess, but a bit disheartening at the same time to see Namco pimp Pac-Man so easily and so half-assed lately. I mean, a lottery ticket is a pretty unlikely place to find the Pac, but oh well, 'll probably buy a few more of these the next few weeks, I'm sure. I'm such a sucker for this kind of stuff. Scroll down to see how I did on this particular ticket (I'll give you a hint: not good), and to see what it looks like fully un-covered.....

I didn't win a damn thing :(

- Kimo

VC Crystal Ball smashed, New Ball in the Mail...

You may have noticed the complete lack of activity 'round here the last couple weeks. Well, for starters, the good 'ol VC crystal ball rolled off its platform and smashed. I've ordered a replacement ball, and it should be here in time for the long-delayed site re-design/reboot I've desperately been trying to get around to. There have been other issues to deal with, like time, for example. See, between work, and trying to look after/take care of my house I now live in (so much more to do than just living in an apartment), and my family of seven that lives there, the free time I do get usually gets chewed up by actual gaming, as there is simply a ton of good stuff out right now, and I've been having more fun actually playing them than writing about them.

But, I now look to re-affirm my blogging commitment to this site, starting with the previously mentioned re-design coming very soon, coinciding with, or possibly even preceded by, a few reviews that have been a long time coming (like Pac-Man CE, Quickspot, Picross DS, Mario Strikers Charged, and others), and some interesting (hopefully) features/essays I've been mulling over. You may see one or two posts before then, but not much. See you soon.
- Kimo