Flashback: In the Future, All Men Will Be Flowers

So I realize that it’s been about a month or so since I last did a Flashback. I’ll be honest; I was running out of ideas.  But, I was thinking about old titles and one debate over who had the most OP final smash in SSBB had led me to my next game of the hour: Pikmin 2. Ah yes, nothing like reminiscing about the old days. Back when Gas was $1.50 a gallon, Spaghetti was the best food, and I was still that naggy Nintendo fan boy.  I went through many stages of Obsession, (Luigi’s mansion, Animal Crossing, and SSBM all had their run) but one game that has always struck me as special was one of the longest running games I played. Even though I may have never played the original Pikmin, I knew the basics: There were three types (Red was fire resistant, Blue could breathe underwater, Yellow was shockproof,) you grew Pikmin by  getting Pikmin pods, and by using little numbered pellets, and of course, if you stayed on the planet overnight, you would be eaten. Yes, those were the good old days, watching your time tick away and waiting for monsters to eat you.

Pikmin 2 was set up similarly to the original—you return to your home planet to find that the company that has employed you (a shipping company) is on the edge of bankruptcy. Since you brought home a Bottlecap as a present for your son, you come to find out that it is actually a sacred treasure, and that you can money from stealing—recovering these artifacts from this old word. You play as Olimar, the brave ship captain who commands the Pikmin perilously, or as Louie, the ship’s chef and co-pilot. Going back to this old world (which is basically a giant version of earth, or maybe a deserted version being scavenged by smaller versions of people) to try to get enough money to pull your poor business out of Bankruptcy. You use Pikmin to help carry riches back to the ship, or can clear dungeons and get bigger and better prizes. But, there could be monsters down there, just as a FYI.

New Earth is inhabited by many odd creatures, and you can use your army of little plant men to help beat them up. Some creatures will drop treasure, or maybe Pikmin pellets (used to make more Pikmin.) you can also upgrade your Pikmin. When Pikmin are born, they are little seeds popped into the ground, pulling them out gives you control of their tiny meager lives, letting you fulfill the true power of capitalism—letting other people do dangerous work to make you rich. But, leaving them in the ground for ye much time allows them to bud, replacing their leaf on the top of their head with a bud. This allows them to do more damage, be faster, etc. Feeding your Pikmin dew will grant them flower power. This is basically letting them become the greatest warriors on New Earth.

Pikmin 2 brings in two new types of workers---Pikmin to use at your disposal, purple and white.  Purple can carry 10 grams worth of weight, comparable to any other pikmin’s one. They also do more damage, but have no resistance. White Pikmin are tiny, fast, poisonous to eaters, and also immune to poison. There is no greater joy in the world than to watch some stupid snake-bird hybrid accidentally take a bite of your white Pikmin (who I lovingly call my little pikkies) and watch it die. YES! YES YOU STUPID BIRD! THOSE ARE MY BABIES! THAT’LL TEACH YOU TO EAT MY BABIES.

The entirety of Pikmin 2, although repetitive is very addicting. The cute dialog to funny storyline will keep you enthralled for hours. Although I may no longer own a copy, the thoughts of their quite possibly being a Pikmin 3 (and 4^th Super Smash Bros) keeps me from selling my Wii. Until I find a used copy floating around my local GameStop, I have no idea of when I’ll next see my little pikkies. I can only hope that it will be sooner, than later.

--Santa

Consoles: To Infinity, and Beyond!

As seen to the right, you can guess what this post is all about-- Random things that people think about the next generation of video games.

Yes, yes. I know. We have seen the Wii U, and the PS Vita. But, lets face it. Its been 7 years since both Sony and Microsoft have made something big. Big as in a console, and we all know the PC's never update (other than in components.) Yes, I suppose you could easily say the the 8th generation of consoles could be under way, but the question is, what can we expect?

I grew up Nintendo, became a hardcore Xbox fan-boy and have only recently learned the error of may ways. Broadening my horizons to two systems (PC and Xbox) so I can fulfill life to its fullest. Mostly because of TF2 and its hats. But, what can we expect from expect from the newest Xbox? Undoubtedly more Kinect (still stupid)  and probably Bluray, pushing us DVD users farther into the abyss. I don't want to end up like VHS (which I still use.) I do agree with the fact that it DOES look better, but it is infinitesimally slower than a DVD. Besides, they cost more and I don't want to spend more, the exact reason I don't own Kinect, other than the fact that if I wanted to make a fool out of myself I'd just buy the advanced Wii controller and start playing Wii Sports Resort (which I also don't own.) Kinect is slow, lacks the use of good games, and the entire reason I play games is to NOT do adventurous things lie, you know, fight criminals? If I was going to bowl, maybe I'd go to an actual bowling alley. It means a lot more to get an ACTUAL perfect game than to use a controller and do it. 

So, what does a new console need? Certainly it needs HD abilities, and high graphic needs, and multiplayer updates (think of MAG, I don't think it needs 256 players, but I do think that more than 16 would be nice in a supposed 'war game') Anymore, I think we're seeing graphics getting to as good as they're needed. I think there needs to be a shif it focus. I'd like to see more attention to details. Different rocks, dynamic snowfall, lighinting effects. Make the game FEEL real not LOOK real. Thats the next step in gaming.

--Santa