Any Blackberry fans out there? If so then RIM has rolled out another device that many loyal Blackberry fans will want to get their hands on. Do you want a hint as to what it is before you jump in? Well, ok. This is what you’ll get when you combine the best of the old Blackberry with the best of the newest one. You still don’t know? Well then you better finish what you started.

RIM introduced the Blackberry 8100 Pearl in November 2006 which was a break away from the previous style that we’ve been used to. It was much smaller and thinner than any of it’s predecessors, making it feel more like an actual phone in your hands. This was accomplished by replacing the QWERTY keypad with a condensed keypad and SureType capability. The side-mounted scroll wheel from the previous devices was replaced with a pearl-like trackball underneath the screen for navigating. The Pearl was also the first Blackberry to include a camera and video recorder as well as allowing for extra storage using a microSD card.

Many loved the slimmer and sleeker design of the Blackberry Pearl, but there were some that still preferred the QWERTY keypad for typing. Well RIM heard their cries and released the Blackberry 8800c on February 20th exclusively through Cingular or The New AT&T, whichever you prefer. (I don’t even think they know who they are at this point anyway.)The 8800c still keeps the thin and sleek look of the Pearl, but it’s a bit wider to bring back the QWERTY keypad for those who couldn’t get the hang of or just didn’t like SureType.

The features of the 8800c are almost identical to the Pearl, with a few exceptions. The camera and video recorder were removed from the device. (It’s rumored that T-Mobile will carry a version of the 8800 that does have the camera and video recorder.) The phone still utilizes a microSD card for expanded storage. So you’re able to load up your favorite pictures, music, and videos and view or play them on the device. It also comes with built-in GPS that works great with a mapping application like Blackberry Maps.

The new Blackberry 8800c is an excellent phone that makes internet and emailing quick and easy. Although I have become used to the SureType of the Pearl, I miss the convenience and accuracy of the QWERTY keypad. Cingular is selling the phone at a retail price of $500. You'll get it for $350 and a $50 mail-in rebate with two years of service agreement. The only reason I haven’t picked one up yet is because there is talk of an upgraded 8800 with Wi-Fi capability that is making its way to the market in the near future. Hopefully they bring the camera and video recorder back on this version. Until then, I’ll just hold on to my Pearl.

Finish What You Start...

Animal Crossing : Wild World for Nintendo DS by Geek Woman

Animal Crossing for the Nintendo DS is like a tiny milling MMO of ity bity people. There is a large "E" friendly community surrounding it. In addition to being able to connect and play with other DS owners while in the same physical location, the easy to use wifi capability can connect you with other players world wide.

It is an ingenious game in several aspects. The security for keeping identities secret seems to work and it is fairly easy to screen and block out unwanted parties. The exchange of a Friend Code has to be given someplace out side of the DS. It has to be someone that you physically know or meet through numerous Friend Code listing message boards. Once there though how would someone know if they were communicating with a an adult or a kid? They do require a verifiable email address to register at most forums. But that isn't much protection, so wifi chat should be supervised. Also many McDonald's restaurants and other hotspots permit people to play together wirelessly on the DS.

The game has an understandably "E" rating. However it should be specified someplace that a person does need to be able to read fairly well in order to be able to play the game. Maybe at some point in the future suggestions about the age a kid who would enjoy a game could be made on the packaging. Like "for children 5 and up".

Game-play
You would think that game that consists of farming a fruit orchard, fishing and collecting fossils would be relaxing. Not for me. I became obsessed with paying the huge, escalating and continuous morgage(s). Oh no! This is like a nightmare. I suppose it is to teach kids responsibilities but it made me frantic. I picked oranges and gathered shells. I learned how to perfect my fishing skills pretty quickly. In the first day I got it paid off. I thought I would be relieved then. But it was not to be. Tom Nook the owner of the only store in town, extorted me for another mortgage to build me a bigger house, even after I told him I didn't want it. This reminds me of an episode of the Xfiles... At least I could pick a lilac roof. Now I have an even more huge debt! If you do chores for townspeople, dig up some treasure, and discover some of the other secrets hidden in the game you earn lots of gold. There are many little side ‘missions’ in AC:WW.

I consoled myself with fishing. I caught several kinds. Notably I got a Koi and an Octopus. When I returned to the store the next morning they were closed. I am worried that my fish might spoil. I read online that I can time travel and set the time back on the clock to sell the fish. Then I have to reset the clock back to the correct present time so that I don't screw up the game. Heaven forbid that if after you turn the DS on - that you change your mind. A creature pops up and bitches you out with over 30 screens of a harangue about how important it is to save the game before you shut it off. Typing in "Shut up" or other epithets don't help any. I would love to know how to get that dubious feature to quit.

I was penalized for my trips back to the past by loosing trees. Several of my flower plants also looked as if they had been plant - napped by a neighbor and put in her garden. When I switched my clock to February 14th there was snow on the ground and my plants in that time weren't too happy about this.

Fishing is a tricky but fun pass time. The ocean wave sound effect is almost convincing with ear buds. This is a typical RPG. You build stuff, customize things, plant gardens and weed around the town. But the map is tiny. It suffers for only having one little town area to be in - unless you visit other peoples towns to trade items online. Compared to Pokémon which has many of these tiny towns all on one GBA cartridge this game has only one small one. The moon phases and weather are correct for my area. But this game goes in too many directions and is lacking fundamental basics. If space mattered then some of the odd customization features could have been skipped. Making constellations, or designing umbrellas could have been done without for example - to make the individual single person game experience larger.

Customization gives you the option to decide what you want the interior of your house to look like, along with your clothes, hairstyle, outdoors, museum, constellations, and music playing in your house. Compared to the GameCube version of AC, there are more items and more to do in the new DS version. Online, you can buy items from people. That makes it easier to complete sets you’ve been trying to collect.

To make me even more paranoid the game is still playing even though I am not. For example, if you don’t play the game for a month, your town will have weeds throughout. The weird townspeople will forget who you are, and sometimes move out. There isn’t a big reason beyond obsession to continue playing the game after a few days or so. You would have to pick all the weeds, and talk to everyone in your town again which isn't very interesting. I got crestfallen seeing that my trees and plants died. You can only plant one tree per day so many of my fruit trees died. I am glad I don't have as bad luck with gardening in real life. That would be sad. There’s not much motivating you to play this game in the first place, and the punishing mortgages aren't enough incentive to make you continue playing it. There is a thin line between realistic and engaging and reality check and stressing. AA : WW is more like a sim than a game.

Sound and Music
The background music changes every hour all of the tunes sound boopey and empty. The animals don't talk, they make odd little noises which you can thankfully shut off. It has a rudimentary sound program in it so you can make your own Town song and online you can use that to play songs that people have worked out and posted the tablature for. Also in the coffee shop in the Museum you can watch a coffee bar act and listen to several unlockable songs there if you are into music on the Nintendo there is plenty of it to be found in this game.

Multiplayer
When it comes to networking and people skills the DS is way ahead of the Sony PSP on this so far. Though Microsoft also intends to push Nintendo's hardware out of people's hands, they will be hard pressed to compete with the feel good, goody - good Nintendo. Again another one, a community that springs up like magical mushroom fairy rings around games like this one. There is something about Nintendo characters that make people rabid, and this is one of them.

The game is addictive without being entirely fun. It is an amusing way to kill time. And it will kill lots of time on you in between battery charges. Collecting items can make you crazy. There are several aspects of this game that are vast and endless. Though somehow filling all that empty space sometimes feels daunting rather than exciting. It is all about the grind without really getting anyplace. Skills like fishing have an endcap on them. There is a finite number of kinds of fish that you can catch.

Conclusion

It is a step forward in technology and it plays very stable. It is a solid game and from what I understand kids really like it. There are a number of women playing it. It could be considered a chick game because of the heavy elements of clothing and interior design and the lack of violence. The characters are those cute little badly rendered icons that seem to charm people so much. Not much to complain about here I give it a 4 out of 5

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Well, on Wednesday [22 NOV 06] 800pts will get you a download of Small Arms through the XBLive Arcade.

Small Arms is a multiplayer brawling title from Gastronaut Studios and features some small not-so-cuddly little creatures waging all kinds of holy hell on each other. Think of it as Super Smash Brothers Melee but with hella weapons.

I only heard about this game through an email I got, but after looking around on the web and finding this page on the Xbox website and then this video on YouTube...

and I have to say that I'm kinda curious about the game now. As I stated earlier it only costs 800pts and will be available in the arcade this Wednesday. The thing about this game that has piqued my interest is something called "Six Degrees of Small Arms" which is some sort of achievement that you can only get by playing someone that already has it. From what I've read, it's some sort of social networking thing to get a bunch of folks playing the game from hour one of launch as the only people that will initially have this "Six Degrees of Small Arms" are each of the creators of the game.

I don't know if I'll get Small Arms on Wednesday or not. I am really curious about it, and I think I have enough points to get it, but my Wii should be arriving that day... so I might be distracted.

Finish What You Start...

You know I have to ask...

How many of you "I have the time to camp out for 2 days in front of [insert store name here] to get me a PS3" SOB's actually have a PS3 in your hot little hands as I type this? I wanna know. Now you can't just say you have a PS3, I want visual confirmation. So take a picture of you and your brand new sexy piece of hardware and email it to FRESH@electricsistahood.com. Get it to me by 4pm EST today and you might just be a candy bitch next week.

A new PS3 and free candy... what's not to love!

*Photoshopped photos will not count, you cheaters!*

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I mean EB screwed...up. Just about every EB/Gamestop store has had their initial shipment of PS3 halved on them. What does this mean for the people who stood in long lines, braved nasty weather to be number 25 out of 25 pre-orders for the PS3? Means you no get no PS3 on launch day sucka, that's what!

Yes, the phone calls have started... the ones from EB/Gamestop to [previously golden] reserve PS3 receipts holders that no longer get them a machine on launch day. So if you were one of those few people that bragged to your buddies about how you were going to have a PS3 launch day while they weren't or about how awesome it was that you were going to be playing Genji Days of the Blade launch day and how sad it was that your friend was not [you know who you are you bastid] know that you [if kharma exists] probably have a voicemail message on your phone right about now.

That message says that Gamestop is really sorry, but they aren't going to have a box for you now on launch day, but they'll give you a used game or DVD worth $20 or less as a way of saying, "sorry you got boned."

Yes, it's nice to be around when the payback happens. Allow me to be the first to welcome you to the "Ain't Got No Damn PS3 On Launch Day Association" or AGNDPOLDA. We meet on Tuesday, and there is pie and punch. If you are going to be +1, contact us in advance.

Welcome aboard!

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Sorry for the delay on reporting on this one folks, but I just now got to it in my email box... so sue me.

As you probably already heard if you've been visiting any video game new websites in the past couple of days Nintendo threw down the gauntlet if you will, the other day, announcing all of the wonderful and kick bootay marketing they play on doing for the Wii here in the U.S.

I gotta be honest on this with you, Nintendo's not playing folks. They are spending millions and millions of dollars in hopes that you'll hear about the Wii, touch it, feel it, lust after it, and buy it. And not necessarily in that order, mind you. Between a bunch of hands on events, web viral marketing, and sweepstakes from your local 7-Eleven, the Pringles potato chip people, and the fine folks at Comedy Central, Nintendo is sparing no dollar to ensure that you people know their name. It's like Nintendo is saying, "Sony has what coming out before us? Oh, cool, but have you seen how WE roll?" Did I mention all the different TV shows that are going to have Wii features? I didn't? I'll get to that.

They already have my attention. I can't lie, I pre-ordered a Wii [finally] and I can't wait to get my little ninja hands on it. My only problem now is I can't decide if I want to play Red Steel or that sweet Zelda: Twilight Princess game. Decisions, decisions... but if you haven't gotten a Wii pre-order just yet, don't fret. Comedy Central will be giving Wii's away like it's Christmas! As a matter of fact, CC will give away one Wii every hour Thursday through Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend. And one lucky sonofabitch at the end of the weekend, will win a Wii console and a Scion tricked out to look like a Wii. I'm not sure what that Scion will look like, but I bet it will be a bitch and a half to keep clean.

Oh, and we can't forget the mall, because we have to get em' where they live! [Sorry, couldn't resist that.] Nintendo is going to have a "mall experience" where basically there will be interactive Wiiosks in Westfield shopping centers with Wiiople, er people, who are trained to use the Wii around it. They will teach you how to play the Wii [or would one use a Wii?] while you're on your way to Cinnabon.

So, if you haven't got a Wii, don't sweat it. Watch TV, eat potato chips, or get a Slurpee... you might luck into one. And if that doesn't work, just go to the mall and walk off all those chips and slurpees!

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Got $700 bucks? Then go order yourself a Wii man!

No joke, no email bullshit, just whip out ye olde plastic [credit card] and go to town people! At least, while you can.

Peace!

Finish What You Start...

Bet you son's of a motherless goats thought you were too good for the likes of us with your fancy lil Best Buy PS3 pre-order from that SNAFU the Best Buy site had the other night... well lil mister "sucks to be you NinJa" I have some news for you in case you haven't read your email yet today:

NO PRE-ORDER FOR YOU BUDDY BOY! -- Signed, the Best Boy folks. Ha Ha!

I revel in your not having a pre-order like myself, and only getting a 10 dollar coupon in return for your frustration. The thought will keep me warm at night, these cold and lonely nights that I struggle with my lack of guaranteed Wii or PS2 pre-orders. Knowing that I am not alone, and that I have not been hosed by some folks that were able to take advantage of a website SNAFU that I didn't get in on will grant this NinJa solace.

Now I just need Amazon to do the same with the two Wii pre-pre-order deals but then offer the reclaimed pre-orders to the fine folks who signed up for the early notification emails and all will be forgiven.

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Wanna see something purdy?

Looking through the email box, now that I had a moment to myself to collect my thoughts into a coherent block of text... nice of me to do huh?


I got an email from AnimeNation about a new Okami artbook they got in, and I have to say, it looks really interesting. According to the description,

This massive 296 page full color illustration collection archives the beautiful art of Okami, including early, prototype production design sketches, character and enemy monster designs, background art, and promotional illustrations.

Go on, give it a gander... and if you like artbooks, pick it up.

**Electric Sista Hood is an AnimeNation Affiliate**

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Bad movies based on video games are bound to happen. They're like a case of crabs... you do all the stuff you need to in order to get rid of them, then you mess around with some skank [male or female] and BOOM! Another infestation.

This time, it's of the Street Fighter and Castlevania kind.

You know, I thought, especially with the disasters that were Alone in the Dark and DOOM that the movie studios might have learned that maybe movies based on video games are not the best idea right now. Not because the idea can't work, it's just that the studios change many things that make a game unique or enjoyable as a player but don't necessarily fit the movie cookie cutter frame that they, in the end, make a movie that barely resembles the video game product that they were banking on to help put asses in theater seats.

Then I read the news about the upcoming Street Fighter and Castlevania movies and my heart sank to the floor. I've always thought that Castlevania plotline would be a great foundation for a feature length film. A bloodline curse to create the intrigue, vampires and the lone figure that stands against them to which you add the style the classic dark and dreary 16th century style and you have the makings of a great period, action, drama. If that doesn't ring the alarms of all studio heads nothing will. So I understand the desire to get this thing green lit... I was excited about it as well. Then I saw who would be helming the pic, Paul W.S. Anderson, and I realized the movie that I was seeing in my head was not the movie that was going to be made. If you aren't familiar with the name Paul W.S. Anderson you may know him from such films as Resident Evil, Mortal Kombat, and Event Horizon. Do I really need to say more? It's going to suck. It's going to suck more than The Covenant sucked... which is an amazing feat in and of itself. Which is sad because all the of the elements to create a movie that you can get EVERYONE to go to... action and killing for the dudes, lost love for the ladies, and being a period pic, if done right might even get the academy's attention round Oscar time. But no, that's not going to happen.

And just when I think the news can't get any worse, one of the FRESHpeeps sends me an email about the Street Fighter movie. Now, why this is happening I've no fucking idea, but this time around the story is going to be centered around Chun-Li as opposed to the whole SF crew. I'll reserve my "it's gonna suck more than..." until I hear a little more. But the thing's going to be written by the dude doing the Voltron movie. You heard me right, I said Voltron movie! Don't even get me started on how pissed I'm going to be if this thing turns out to be the bastard child of The Mighty Morphing Power Rangers and that Thunderbirds movie

But I'm nearly out of rage so I'll stop there. But I'll be writing about that Voltron shit, please believe me!

Finish What You Start...

Alright, I type these words as my muscle vibrate in sweet and sour agony sauce. I'm now in day two of the move from the old apartment to the new and you'd think by now I'd be done. I'm not, but I'm close.

Anywho, I needed to take a break [because I'm tired of washing floors and finding boxes] and saw an email in my in box that I had to share with you...

As you may or may not know CEA, the people who run the monster tradeshow that is CES said that they will not be producing an all gaming tradeshow [separate from CES] next year. Couldn't get enough folks interested in ponying up money to run that shin-dig... but IDG said they can, did, and will.

HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL FOLKS! IDG is creating a new show, called GamePro Expo that will be what E3 used to be like. The event is scheduled to go off in L.A. next October 18-20th. My calendar is marked already, what about yours?

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Thanks to one of our FRESHpeeps by the name of Ro, I got this link in my email box this morning and was slightly bummed.

As you may know from many of my posts over the last month, I'm really looking forward to the Nintendo Wii Virtual Console. I really do miss my NES and SNES systems, as well as the old Sega Genesis. I used to play Altered Beast literally until my fingertips went numb... and don't even get me started on The Legend of Zelda or Shinobi [which by the way is why I am called NinJaSistah btw] So when I read the line up of VC titles, I was kinda bummed. I've created a table similar to the one posted in the link posted above but made it a bit easier to read. It's a long table, but you need to see it.

NES
JAPAN	USA
Ice Hockey	Ice Hockey
Urban Champion	Urban Champion
Legend of Kage	Not Getting It
Gradius	Not Getting It
Go-moku Narabe	Not Getting It
Soccer	Soccer
Super Mario Bros.	Not Getting It
Legend of Zelda	Legend of Zelda
Solomon's Key	Solomon's Key
Tennis	Tennis
Donkey Kong	Donkey Kong
Donky Kong Jr.	Donky Kong Jr.
Ninja Jajamaru-kun	Not Getting It
Pinball	Pinball
Baseball	Baseball
Mario Bros.	Mario Bros.
Wario's Woods	Not Getting It
Xevious	Not Getting It
SNES
JAPAN	USA
F-Zero	F-Zero
R-Type III	Not Getting It
Super Castlevania IV	Not Getting It
Contra III	Not Getting It
Sim City	Sim City
Street Fighter II	Not Getting It
Donkey Kong Country	Not Getting It
Super Mario World	Not Getting It
Zelda: Link to the Past	Not Getting It
Fire Emblem: Monsho no Nazo	Not Getting It
Super Mario Picross	Not Getting It
N64
JAPAN	USA
Super Mario 64	Super Mario 64
Sega Genesis
JAPAN	USA
Ecco the Dolphin	Ecco the Dolphin
Gunstar Heros	Gunstar Heros
Golden Axe	Golden Axe
Colums	Colums
Shadow Dancer	Not Getting It
Altered Beast	Altered Beast
Space Harrier II	Space Harrier II
Sonic the Hedgehog	Sonic the Hedgehog
Toejam and Earl	Toejam and Earl
Puyo Puyo	Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
Ristar	Ristar
Turbo Grafx 16
JAPAN	USA
Bonk's Adventure	Bonk's Adventure
Necromancer	Not Getting It
Super Star Soldier	Super Star Soldier
New Adventrue Island	Not Getting It
Dungeon Explorer	Dungeon Explorer
Battle Lode Runner	Not Getting It
Victory Run	Victory Run
Bomberman '94	Bomberman '93

Gotta say, I hope this us just a launch list and not a "forever" type list. By that I mean that I hope that this is just a list of what will be available in each country on launch day, with eminent roll out of the missing titles to follow. Not ever getting Gradius, Super Mario Bros., or Super Mario World is just plain unacceptable in my book. Having Space Harrier II does help my soul, but I'm still bumming about this list.

If anyone out there has the scoop, or can clarify this grey area up for us, I'd appreciate it. Otherwise this will be the first dark spot on my painting of a perfect gaming system roll out.

Finish What You Start...

Ok, the title you see above is a PG-13 preview of what will follow in this post. If you are [a] at work, [b] around young children that can read or [c]around youth of an impressionable age that have never in their life her a nasty "adult" word, DO NOT READ ON AFTER THE JUMP.

For the rest of you, come on in, the water's fine!

I'd like to start by saying that Amazon.com is now on my "Sucks to Be You in 2006" list. This list comprises the people, places, and companies that have done me a wrong over the course of the year and refused to do anything to correct the mistake. As award for making my S2BU06 list, I no longer spend my hard earned dollah's on products from your store/place where you work or pay to visit your location. [if it's a place, you know, like a museum.]

So why has Amazon.com make the S2BU06 list? Simple... they boned me... again... and this time they didn't even take me out to dinner first. I woke up this afternoon to find that once again Amazon.com had put up pre-orders for the Wii on their and that the "early notification" email list that I signed up for never got the message. So every other Tom, Dick, and Harry was able to find out pre-orders and get one, but those of us who actually signed up to be notified were given the shaft. Yet again Amazon offered up the, "We so sorry, but our system never trigger da email thingie so we didn't tell you... but like we said last time, we fixed it again dood, so, um, yeah, next time we'll totally tell you dawg. PEACE!"

Yeah, fuck that. Fuck that "oh sorry we didn't really fix it last time and gave you hope that you would be able to get one the next time we got pre-orders... this time though we really REALLY fixed it..." bullshit! Fuck you Amazon for not keep your word or, oh I don't know setting things right by maybe [and here's a thought] not publishing the NEXT batch of pre-orders that you get and maybe actually directing people on the email list that you have first crack at them to make up for the TWO slightings they've now had on your part due to YOUR negligence. Can you tell that I'm pissed? Does my rage permeate through the pixels on your screen and strike a chord within your soul?

MAKE IT RIGHT AMAZON! I want my damn Wii pre-order. And until such time as you make this right for me you are on the list and I end this post with the following words for the fine "fix it" folks at Amazon:

COME THE FUCK ON!

And I'm out!

Finish What You Start...

Back from New York, with a few tidbits to share with you.

First off, I found some details on the net about the PS3's online capabilities. You may already know about this stuff, but I did not, and was pleased [finally] to see all of this stuff.

So here's the list of stuffs:

• Multiple User Profiles
• Master Accounts
• Web 2.0 Compliant Web Browser
• The majority of the online experience is free!

Now lets examine these talking points.

Multiple User Profiles
For anyone that will be sharing a system [like a frat/sorority house, roommates, family homes, this is going to come in handy. The PS3 will support multiple user profiles on the system [saved to the hard drive] so each individual user can sign in to their profile and have their account settings and preferences on hand. No worries about saving stuff over on other people's profiles by accident here. Oh joy!

Master Accounts
Tied in with the multiple user accounts above, you will be able to set a master account on the PS3 when you get it. Think of the master account as root [geeksters only] the master account gets to set boundaries and admin all sub or associated accounts. This will be a big help to parents as they can set themselves up as the Master Account and allow their kids to setup associated accounts. With their Master Account, parents can limit the amount of time an associated account can spend in the Online Store, or even online I would imagine. This may be a big selling point on the PS3 for families in this day and age of shielding the chillrens from the world and whatnot.


Web 2.0 Compliant Browser
This was an interested one to see, a full blown web browser. No crippled browsing capabilities here folks, which is long over due I think. Read your GMail, check out what's going on here at ESH, watch some viral videos, it's all here. I think this feature will prove to be invaluable if Bluetooth keyboards can be used easily with the system. Give me a box that I can game on and take time out to check my email, Myspace, and update this site all at the same time, and I'll be spending a LOT of time in front of the tube on the regular.
- and finally, my fav -

The Majority of the Online Experience is Free!
Yes, I'm not stuttering... it's free... well most of it is, anyway. All of the online services [which include voice/video chat and normal multiplayer gaming] are free once you sign up. The only things you have to fork over some dollahs are when you decided to buy items from the Playstation Store, downloadable content crap or subscriptions to MMO games, which, I think is fair.

Now, there's a lot more going on in the article I read that mentioned these nuggets of info from, but I found these things to be the most interesting to me because if implemented well these elements will make the PS3 box a strong entertainment box. What? Surprised I said that? You shouldn't be, I'm a gamer first and foremost... so any news on tech implementations that will make my experience as a gamer more enjoyable or easy to manage will get my positive attention. My objections or negative opinions of the PS3 box have always been on Sony's attitude towards the consumer, the price point, and lack of forethought on the launch. I think once the lasers are fixed and working properly, box production is up, development for the box becomes a little easier for game developers, and the price comes down a bit, that the PS3 will be a strong gaming box... just not before then.

Seeing these few facts about the online aspect of the box gives me hope that at least some forethought and conversation about making the gaming experience better for gamers has been going on at Sony in some marginal way. It doesn't wipe out all the previous condescending comments, or superiority complex things that Sony has been inflicting on the gaming community of late, but it's a step toward mending that bridge.

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Just a quick hit here as I am just waking up [it was a late night, don't be hatin'] and haven't been able to scour my emails and my top news bookmarks all that well.

Over the past couple of days a few sites have been popping up with some images of "supposed" Wii box art. At first I thought the stuff I had seen was all bunk, but it looks like they are for real. And while the Play Nintendo website has a bunch of box art images, here are a few of the ones I recommend that you should be on the look out [read here, "hunt"] for:

Now if you are asking yourself why Super Swing Golf is in this line up of mine, just watch this video.

Seriously, you can golf as Kasumi from DOA in mini form... and the game look like fun... what more do you need to know?

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For a moment I was pissed when I came across this story on Digg...

but I felt better after I tried to click the link and was lead to a "thing you were looking for isn't here" page on the Amazon website. As the story goes, supposedly if you were to buy either an XB360 core or premium system Amazon would graciously throw in a pre-order for Gears of War or Viva Pinata and ship the game to you on release day. It's actually not a bad deal if you don't already have an XB360: get the system and one of the more hyped up titles shipped to you on release day... enough to make a girl jealous I say. But the link failed, and it warmed my heart.

I suspect that the deal might have existed at one point, but that it got so popular so damn quick [just like that email I was supposed to get from them so I could pre-order a Wii that never came because they put the webpage up before sending out the email and ran themselves out of pre-order before they could square things, but I'm not bitter about it or anything like that] that Amazon pulled it.

If anyone was able to get in on that deal, let a sistah know, as for the rest of us, just get gears of war the old fashion way, sleep with your local Gamestop manager.

...I'm just kidding!

Finish What You Start...

Ok, I remember when KH2 was leaked over the interwebs before its official release last year, so when I heard about the new Final Fantasy game being leaked I took it with a minor grain of salt. I knew that it was *possible* but figured that it was not probably because Squenix, er Square Enix, wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

I really need to stop presuming and assuming things.

Upon double and triple checking, it seems that the files of the Final Fantasy XII game that people have been finding on ye olde interweb are actually viable and people have been downloading them. Now, unless you have done naughty and illegal things to your PS2 [you naughty, dregs of society you] getting the file won't do you much good.

I just think that the timing of this "leak" is suspicious... the game is accidentally leaked to the public a few weeks before the release? I dunno, maybe it's the hidden conspiracy theorist in me, but it seems to me all this "leak" has done is put a whole bunch of focus on the Final Fantasy game pre-commercial release that it may not have had otherwise.

FFXII was leap-frogged in the hype press by the trinity that is FFXIII which probably didn't go over well with the people who make the real money over there at Sony and Squenix. If people are waiting and looking forward to games that are slated for 07, they might overlook the game coming out now in 06. That statement has to send shivers down a stockholders spine. So how do you get some quick publicity for a game that you have coming out at the end of the month? You can't put together a contest or sweepstakes fast enough, and it might not reach your intended audience. A email newsletter won't do you much good either because between junk mail filters, and people just throwing out emails before reading them if they are low on time [or lack focusing brain power at the moment] your message still won't get out. But if you say, accidentally leak out a fully function version of the game that only a limited amount of your existing base can play, that will get the attention of the blogosphere and the fanboys, or that will get people focused on trying to find this pirated treasure of free gamitude so that your game name recognition goes up in the search engines, well, you might be on to something there. Get the people talking about the game, looking for it, and those slight few that have it and can play it will go on and on about how good it is [even if it sucks] because they have it and can play it before everyone else.

I call shenanigans on the whole thing!

Finish What You Start...

I will give you that Ken Kutaragi of Sony may not fit most definitions of the word "babe" but I did find this statement kind of childish, so it does count.

I'm chilling after an evening of visiting with friends when I open my email client to catch up today's gaming news. [I subscribe to a LOT of newsletters] And I got one that had a summary about this story from Joystiq where they quote Kutaragi as saying

"We do not care."

Kutaragi also goes on to admit that Sony is having problems producing blue lasers for the blue-ray drives in the PS3 machines

"Right now, it is an issue, because we can't manufacture enough blue laser diodes for our PlayStation 3's. But we will resolve that."

I hate that Sony is making me [of all people] sound like anything other than a gaming fangirl these days. =(

Finish What You Start...

F.E.A.R. stands for First Encounter Assault Recon, and while I could care less about the acronym, I figured I ought to go ahead and explain it now so I wouldn't have to later. Moving on.

First thing, F.E.A.R. plays extremely well... this coming from a gamer that plays mostly fighter games, is a big deal. Right from the level start very little controller tweaking is needed feel comfortable playing the game. The visuals in the game are gorgeous. A lot of attention was paid to detail you find as you run through the levels: dripping liquids from ceilings and pipes, and great use of light and shadow that is equally balanced by nearly perfect audio. Background music swells in places heightening the player's awareness, which is then startled even more by some gameplay element that seems to appear out of nowhere. The game also uses time manipulation to slow down your movement and focus the player on some increasing spooky or "weird you the hell out" stuff. [Which they succeed at, by the way]

There is nothing special about the game control setup. Like most FPS games you use one analog stick for aiming, one for movement, a button for weapon switching, a button for reloading or action, a button for jumping, and the d-pad for incidental items. [Flashlight, medpacks, etc] Yes, all in all, F.E.A.R. would be just another good-looking, solid, FPS if it weren't for the storyline and environment development. Where F.E.A.R. differs from most FPS games is that the story isn't just a run of the mill "kill the alien invaders" type deal. As the game starts, a base is taken over by some military unit that takes a bunch of hostages but make no demands. The F.E.A.R. Unit is sent in to take control of the situation, but some unknown force or entity takes out nearly every member of the team. The player is left alone to save the hostages from the intruding military unit, and find out who or what is behind the mysterious stuff that has started happening on the base.

From the start, the game unfolds more like a love child from a Resident Evil, The Shinning, and The Grudge. [You might even want to throw in Eternal Darkness as, like, maybe a fluffer] I mean the game is designed to psych you out and then scare you out of your drawers not by just bombarding you with gory images, but with creating environments that draw you in and then confine you. The use of space, dimly lit areas with a finite light source, music that seems to build to a crest as something is about to happen, all lead the player to a worked up state that lends itself well to the quick introduction of a "what the fuck was that" element. F.E.A.R. does this over and over and over in the game. As you progress on in the game your character starts experiencing paranormal things... you start seeing people in an area that when you get there, aren't there. You hear children laughing in a place that is just littered with dead bodies... a place that no children belong at all. I don't even want to mention the voices you hear from time to time. F.E.A.R. wants to un-nerve you, and it will.

That's what I really enjoy about this game. I don't like games that are just gory for the sake of being gory. Not because they are fodder for the likes of Jack Thompson, but because they just aren't entertaining. F.E.A.R. is made more scary to me, even terrifyingly so at times, for me because the game directly tries to mess with my head. That excites me. Get me where I live and I'll be loyal to your franchise until the day I die. The plot is revealed through accessing data via intercepted voicemail message, laptop access, listening to radio newscasts, and pc character encounters throughout the game. And while I never played the PC version of the game, I'm almost certain that all these elements combined will still leave some gaps in the story that my imagination gets to fill in. That's even more exciting to me about this game. I love games that just give me enough... enough of the story that I can let my fertile and active little imagination run around free and create it's own story scenarios. That keeps me engaged in the game and ultimately makes me go back for more. Maybe there was a bit of info that I missed, or a clue I somehow didn't see. Maybe it was a puzzle I didn't know I had to solve, the answer that I needed might have been right there and I just missed it. I have to go back and find out... I need to know for sure. Any game that makes me feel that way is a game that I will probably pre-order.

So even though I totally suck at FPS games, I am probably going buy F.E.A.R. when it comes out on 16 NOV 06. The game will be available on both the XB360 and PS3 platforms, but if you have an XB360 with a hard drive you can get the demo from the marketplace right now.

Tell them NinJaSistah sent you.

Finish What You Start...

*note: if you get the title reference give yourself a pat on the back...you are a kindred spirit.

Amazon.com has put a halt on taking Wii pre-orders...all long before they could send out their "we are now taking pre-orders for the Wii" email. Yeah, I signed up for that email and didn't get messaged...I'm STILL pretty pissed about missing out on getting my pre-order in, but what can you do? They said they were sorry.

Still doesn't get me a Wii on launch day now does it?

Anywho, I know you've been patient, and I applaud you...you made it this far without complaining. Hurray for you! Wthout further adieu, I bring you my top three reasons to buy a Nintendo Wii!

Reason No.3: Virtual Console
You want to play Streets of Rage or Mike Tyson Boxing? Well, using the Wii Virtual Console now [well pretty soon] you can! NES, SNES, N64, Genesis, even Turbo Graffix 16 games will be on deck for your game-time enjoyment. Why is this a big deal? Well the NES games will be $5 bucks a piece, SNES games will be $8 a piece, and N64 games should run you about $10 a piece...all to be downloaded to your Wii...at which point you will own them for as long as you like. Altered Beast, Castlevania, Shinobi, Double Dragon, and the original Zelda game all available on the same console as Super Mario Galaxy and Spore. Dig it!

Reason No.2: Red Steel - The Game That Sold Me on the Console
During E3 I had my doubts about the Wii like most gamers that is, or was, until I saw the demo for the game Red Steel. As I watched the player title the Wiimote and the player characters hand mimicking the same movement [which resulted in the player character tilting their hand holding a gun to the side a la gang-banger] and I was sold. This implementation of motion sensor will allow me to be more accurate in first person shooter games and actually make them fun for me to play. I could go on and on about how good the game looks, or talk about how the swordplay works with the Wiimote and why that alone should make you want to play this game, but I won't. Go to the GameTrailers Red Steel and watch the videos yourself. Ubi Soft...you rock!

- and finally, to complete my Wii-Fangurl-dom -

Reason No.1: Dude, it's Only $250!
Seriously, that's cheap! I won't have to donate plasma, or my precious eggs for other people to make babies with in order to buy it like I probably will for the PS3. [Ok, I'm not going to donate eggs to get money together for the PS3, but I have thought about the plasma donation.] I've seen people talk about how "affordable" the PS3 is and it's just not the case. Their argument is if you make more than 500 bucks a week you should have it made, and this might be the case if you still lived at home with your parents, didn't pay room and board, didn't pay for insurance, and never went out to eat, on dates, or had a car. Sure, if you meet those criteria you have no excuse to not buy a PS3. I live in Virginia. I pay monthly rent on an apartment, I buy food to cook [mostly organic, which ain't cheap], pay for cable and high speed internet, insurance, cell phones, transportation, and actually do go out to do "date like" activities. Scrounging together $250 is a lot easier than $600...which won't even get me a game, or the proper high definition cables to connect my pricey lil PS3 buddy to my TV. While I'm sure the PS3 will be a great little console, it will probably be a bit before I can get my dollahs together to buy one, the right cables, and a game.

Until then, I'll be making Wiiople on my Wii.

Thus ends my Wiijoicing. Catch the repost tomorrow with all 10 reasons listed together. Can't wait that long? Well then, read reasons 10 thru 8 here and reasons 7 thru 4 here.

Finish What You Start...

What's a gal to do? I was flying back to VA from a family funeral today and got stuck in Detroit, Michigan with little other than my laptop, free toothbrush, and a five dolla voucher for breakfast in the morning. =/

So I started on a top ten list while sitting at the airport waiting for the hotel shuttle to pick me up. I'm not going to give you the whole top ten, just the first few...to wet your appetite. [That and I haven't finished writing the rest of it either.]

First order of business? We need to discuss why you all should be lining up at your local Best Buys or at least making friends with the stock boys over there quickly. Amazon.com has sold out their first batch of pre-orders on the Nintendo Wii...long before they could send out their "we are now taking pre-orders for them" email. [Which I was on and am STILL pissed that I missed out on getting my pre-order in...but what ca you do.] In the mean time, I thought I would share with you my top 10 reasons that you should be getting up off your ass right now and getting excited about system launch on the horizon.

With no further [than necessary at any rate] delay, here are reasons 10 through 8. Enjoy !

Reason No. 10: Group play people!
The Nintendo Wii allows for 4 players using the new Wii-mote to play games from day one. No multitap adapter needed here. Get your girls, tell them to bring their boys, and Wii can make some noise. Seriously. I need more people to play against, and I have a huge TV to play em on.

Reason No. 09: It is Backwards Compatible.
Now, not a lot of people were GameCube fans, but they should have been. There were a lot of fun games to play or grab your attention for short gaming time periods on the console. [I have always personally felt that the system got a bum wrap as being a system or THE system for kids.] You gots yer ports for your old memory cards [no need to buy transferring software and hardware like some other systems we know] and ports on the back for your old controllers. What more do you need? Oh yeah, you can just put your old lil 8cm disc in the system and run them...no external "special drive" needed to get them up and running. So even if for some un-freaking-forseeable reason you don't like the game that comes bundled with the system [or any of the 30 virtual console games available at launch, or the 20 or so Wii games ready at launch you picky bastid you] you can hearken back to your good old WindWaker days and get busy with it.

Reason No. 8: Dude, it's FREAKIN TINY!
Have you seen the size and the WEIGHT of the XB360 or the new PS3? Have you been working out? Cuz you are going to need to get your chunky butt to the gym to be hauling these things around, where the Wii is about the size of 3 DVD cases laying on top of each other on their sides. And it's a fraction of the weight, so all the chubbly wooblies out there will be able to lug it around from place to place without breaking a sweat. Rock on!

More reasons to follow...represent bitches!

Finish What You Start...