Ah yes, we finally have a price for the Xbox 360, coming to YOU this holiday season. It's all explained here - for $299, you get the "Core" system, and for $399, the "I'm not a dipshit" model. It's certainly understandable why Microsoft would go this route. After all, they're launching first into the next-gen. With "Krazy" Ken Kutaragi going around promising an obscenely expensive super happy fun machine that may or may not play games, and next to nothing known about the Revolution other than it'll probably be pretty cheap, they need to slap together an appealing as possible package ($399), while still being able to tout a $299 price point. Of course, for $299, you get no hard drive, no backward compatibility as a result, no wireless controller, and no spiffy headset. By the time Mom figures out that she bought junior the crap package and sets off to buy the missing peripherals, it practically sets her back the cost of another Xbox 360.
So yeah, that's quite a bit of new info about the Xbox 360. The one coming out in November. Say, do we have any solid info on launch titles yet? You know, the games? I never bought an original Xbox because I just didn't see much exclusive material for me outside of Ninja Gaiden, and as far as Xbox Live, I know enough trash-talking idiots in real life to play with, though Microsoft's online plan does blow Sony and especially Nintendo out of the water. Nintendo has been doing a lot of blustering about the WiFi and whatnot, and Sony has kept pretty quiet (...too quiet?), but it seems as of now that Xbox Live will probably continue to propel Microsoft ahead of the competition on the online front. Count me out for now though, maybe I'll just pick up a cheap Xbox for the amount of money Captain Moron saved buying an Xbox 360 Core System.
-Speaking of $100, that's the rumored price of the upcoming Game Boy Micro. Look, I love the GBA - I bought one the day it came out in 2001, and it fast became one of my favorite systems of all time, for a variety of reasons, most of which you can probably guess. I'm also aware of the Play it Loud Game Boys, the Game Boy Pockets, and Nintendo's reputation to milk a cash cow as long as possible. But this announcement comes on the heels of the revelation that the Nintendo DS will soon drop to $129. Now tell me: unless your pockets are unfathomably small, why in the Minus World would you want a Game Boy Micro, when for 30 extra dollars you can get a portable 64-bit system that also plays GBA games? Detachable faceplates? Please, help me out here. Nintendo may have suckered me in once with a swanky new model, but damn, you have to draw the line somewhere. Especially since the GBA game well is, sadly, starting to dry up. Of course, there's still some treasure to be found.
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-Remember the rather fantastic shoot-em-up Gunstar Heroes? You probably do if you're reading this site, as it's one of a handful of games I've gotten semi-frequent requests for, almost up there with Kid Icarus. As you might expect, pretty much all of these requests come with the "superior classic" option, and rightfully so. Treasure, the makers of such recent soon-to-be-classics as Ikaruga and Astro Boy: Omega Factor, have long been known as the king of the mountain when it comes to anything involving shooting. Now, over ten years later, they're pumping some life into the GBA with a long-awaited sequel, entitled Gunstar Super Heroes. I'll even do you one better; rather than put up some screens, take a gander at this 2-minute+ trailer, and anxiously await October:
-On the subject of shooting and anxiously-awaited GBA games, we come to Sigma Star Saga. Namco's goal was to mix Action RPG and Space Shooter in a unique hybrid game that would hopefully please everyone. Now, Nintendo learned a harsh lesson the last time Namco thought they could handle something along these lines, but the Cube and GBA are two different beasts (not to mention the developers are the ones who did Shantae), and SSS was looking fairly promising. Then the reviews came in. Some are positive, but one of the common threads is that the shooting aspect of the game, which is basically the replacement of the turn-based battle in this game, is horribly tedious and underwhelming, especially once you start levelling up. Oh, Namco. But I wasn't going to come down on the game until I tried it for myself, so that's what I did.
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30 minutes later, I'm having an okay time. You start off with an intro shooter level, followed by the plot setup which eventually drops you behind enemy lines. From there, you'll get adjusted to the action portion of the game, where you run around in a top-down Zelda-like fashion, able to run, shoot and talk. Once you get into Chapter 1, you drop down into the typical early grass level, and from there your space shooting missions come as random battles (whenever "the ship needs you" it beams you up - play it to understand). There are seemingly a ton of customizable parts to be found as well. The shooting missions are pathetically easy at this stage, I'm hoping they'll soon pick up a bit. The main complaint in most of the reviews was the lack of balance in said missions, so that's something to look out for. One thing I'll say is that the story and dialogue are entertaining and often quite clever; depending on what you look for in an RPG, that could be a big factor, or not. Right after your first mission, you'll be having awkward exchanges with scantily-clad alien girls, another thing that could be a big factor for you pokemon hentai freaks out there. All in all, this game is at least worth a try, if not yet a buy. Maybe next time I update the Contempo Corner I'll have some further details, including just how much SSS owes to a game of NES past.
-The GBA may be alive and kicking, but if you do feel the need to upgrade, again, forget the Micro and get yourself a DS, which as mentioned will soon be available for $129. Sonic Rush, Viewtiful Joe, Mario & Luigi 2, A Boy & His Blob (~!), Mario Kart and more are all slated to hit before the end of the year. Hopefully New Super Mario Bros. makes it in there too, 'cause that one keeps looking better and better. Perhaps the one I'm most looking forward to is the new Castlevania, Dawn of Sorrow, the sequel to the GBA's Aria of Sorrow. (SPOILER - highlight to read) Despite Soma Cruz reprising his role as the main character, all of you freaks out there (I'm one of you! I swear!) will be happy to know that Alucard has been confirmed as playable/unlockable, and will hopefully deliver the stilted, awkward dialogue we've come to know, expect and love. Although, to be fair, "slated to hit before the end of the year" doesn't always work out...
-Okay now, who didn't see this one coming? Honestly, Ocarina of Time wasn't THAT long ago.
-If you'll recall, Katamari Damacy and Mortal Kombat Deception were deadlocked in a tie for third place in my 2004 GOTY article. As further proof that the higher-up muckity-mucks of the gaming industry cater to the whims of Polas, both of these wonderful games have sequels (of sorts) coming out next month.
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Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks |
Katamari looks to be more of the same in unique new areas, which is just fine by me, while as mentioned in previous updates, Shaolin Monks has a lot to live up to as the purported "first non-sucky MK spinoff" in the eyes of most. I'll more than likely be picking up both soon after they come out. By the way, WLK will retail for $29.99, 10 bucks more than its predecesor but still a bargain. As for MK:SM, if you pre-order, you get some free action figures that'll probably get you a few bucks on eBay, if nothing else. Unless of course you still play with them, in which case you can just go to town.
-Last week, for the first time in my short but illustrious life, I was tricked into playing Dance Dance Revolution. I do not know which version, only that the one with the good song isn't at this house, it's at the other house. There were two large dance pads plugged into the PS2, much like a Power Pad but there was some guy drawn in the middle, I believe telling me to "stay cool" or something along those lines. Sometimes, a nearby dog would wander onto the pad, screwing up whoever was going, which again, somehow happened to be me at one point. It was all like some sort of crazy video game nightmare, where you exercise from playing video games, and arrows keep flying to the top of the screen while bad music plays in the background. I have seen some grisly things, many beyond all but the most laser-refined human comprehension, in my short but illustrious life. DDR scares me.
If anyone would have had a digital camcorder handy, this is the type of thing I would put on the site as premium content and charge 5 bucks a gander. It's that terrible. I now subscribe to the belief that the Mario version of DDR will herald some sort of minor video game apocalypse.
-And finally, on a happier note (maybe), it's time for the obligatory Mega Man update. PMM is unfortunately still down at the moment, but they are still doing a "lite" version to keep up with the news. You can get your fix of the inevitable Mega Man Battle Network 6 by clicking here. Rumors abound that it'll be the last one, but knowing Capcom they probably mean "for GBA". There are some interesting new changes (and of course more of the same) that I'll let you read for yourself. Sadly, the CoroCoro scans w/ screenshots were taken down, so it's it's a good thing I found (some of) them somewhere else.
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Since that one probably won't get here till June of next year, I should also mention that Mega Man Zero 4 (GBA) and the Mega Man X Collection (PS2, GC) are both slated for November.
-As you may have noticed with a gasp, I've been trying to update about every two weeks. Unless something that I really want to talk about comes along, I'm expecting the next update to be the second bigass CD-I review. Will it be in 2 weeks? Hey, this was a pretty sizeable update. Anything's possible...
