May 10, 2003 12:28 PM

More Like: “A Big Stupid List”

So the guys at IGN done went and released a top 100 videogames of all times list. Of course this is a risky thing to do as you will almost certainly always piss off a bunch of people with your choices, so I must applaud their courage. But I have a huge problem with their list, it seems that the game that I ranked #1 on my top 7 list didn’t even make their 100.

I was outraged that Final Fantasy 7 didn’t make the top 100. And I’m not alone, the message board that IGN set up on this top was all a buzz yesterday regarding this oversight. However shocked as I was about that, I found myself further shocked to read a wave of anti-Final Fantasy 7 posts. Now I know that the Final Fantasy style of RPGs isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but not only did these people not appreciate that but also many of them were upset at the inclusion of long video cutscenes in games in general. That’s my favorite part! I’ve long been of the impression that the really good games that I’ve enjoyed were more comparable to books than other games like Super Mario (which they deservedly picked as #1). Offering an intimacy with characters greater than any 2 hour movie can, these new story driven games can take you on a journey that can be more immersive and more thrilling than any printed group of words. You can meld sounds and pictures to a story filled with interesting characters only in videogames. That’s its great power; you don’t have to see a condensed version of a Harry Potter book on the big screen. You could create the book in a 20 hour game adding the same type of special effects and matching an audio track to really make you feel as if you were the boy who lived.

As these type of games get better I would hope that they would garner more prestige from not only other gamers but also the world at large because if a game would ever top Final Fantasy 7 on my list would have to rival a literary classic, “The Mayor of Casterbridge” perhaps.

b-ruce

May 8, 2003 7:43 PM

Looking forward to E3

A list of games I’d love to see while there.

Final Fantasy X-2
The sassy sequel uses the same graphics engine but incorporates a new job system and some different gameplay features.

Final Fantasy XI
I dunno how long I’ll play this if it ever finally gets released in the U.S. but I can assure you that it will be mine the day it is released. No way I could miss another first in the Final Fantasy world, a persistent online world.

Final Fantasy XII
I don’t think there will be much of anything on 12 here but if there’s any news be sure that I’ll let you know.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
Final Fantasy gets back on the Nintendo. This match was good before but the lack of characters leads me to believe this might not be one of my favorites.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced
Final Fantasy Tactics is one of the best games, ever. This isn’t a Game Boy version of that game but rather a completely new game deriving most of its gameplay upon Tactics. If the same people are involved it should be a winner.

Metal Gear Solid Twin Snakes
Some Canadian company finally listened to the fans and gave the original Metal Gear Solid a face-lift. Let’s hope that’s the only thing they did; everything else was sheer genius and should be left alone.

Metal Gear Solid 3
It’s been confirmed that we will see something on this, other than that I can’t say. I just hope that Raiden fellow is taking a backseat this time around, the more Solid Snake, the better the game.

Fable
You probably haven’t heard of it unless you’ve been a loyal reader of IGN’s Xbox site, but this is an incredibly ambitious RPG. It’s been in the works for a while now so we should have a fair bit to see of it. My only worry is that it sounds too much like another ambitious RPG, Morrowind, which just turned out to be a PC game i.e. quiet w/ bad gameplay.

Soulcaliber 2
The original was sheer brilliance, I have high expectations for this game, which has been delayed for a season or two already.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
It’s an RPG set in the Star Wars universe? Cool

Onimusha Tactics
Ok so Onimusha was a survival horror game from the makers of Resident Evil. But instead of taking place in the present, it was set in feudal Japan and you only have a sword to kill zombies with, not too shabby of a game really but how in the hell do you make a tactics version of it? My interest will probably not be rewarded but it’s all just too bizarre not to be interested.

Anything at the Rockstar booth
Manhunt? It’s new on their website but who knows what it is. Also are we going to get another GTA game this year? I want answers, damnit.

If I only get to see 75% of these games I'll be happy. Check back at pajamo next week for pictures and details.

b-ruce

May 7, 2003 7:06 AM

Just wanted to let you all know that I was well pleased with this week's Buffy and Smallville. I'm going to be spending a good amount of today's free time on making a list of must see games at E3, which is now only a week away. Woohoo!

b-ruce

May 5, 2003 7:57 PM

The first X2 to hit America goes over extremely well

Congrats to X2, it made $150M+ worldwide at the box office for its first weekend, $85M+ here in the states, making it the 4th highest opening, ever. And not without good reason - it's a good summer movie. Check out pajamo's review if you don't believe me.

The X-men comics were really the only comics that I got into back in the day. Not that that wasn't enough, back when I was in high school they added 3 or 4 more X-books, raising the total to 7 or so. I didn't quite collect all of them but I did make sure to get both X-Men titles and the one with the youngest generation (title too lame to mention). I find similarities and differences between the books and the movies interesting, very interesting. You take the familiar and you turn it into the unexpected and you entertain me.

The original X-Men comic and the first movie made the premise an analogy for the civil rights movement. Professor X is Martin Luther King Jr. and Magneto is Malcolm X. In this movie we see the bigotry the mutants face drawing more of a parallel to homosexuals. Iceman has to come out to his parents who then ask him if he's ever tried just "not being a mutant". Magneto represents the ultra out, flamers who don't want to be like everyone else, which leads to a lot of the movie's humor as Magneto and his drag queen Mystique (her power is to take the shape of any man or woman she wants) are quite catty, delivering lines like "We love what you've done to your hair." with a snicker. The villain has a mutant son, so he brings him to Professor X's school as a child to "cure" him, and then at the end we see the son as more of a vegetable, which brings to mind the electroshock therapy that Lou Reed and others had to endure at the hands of parents that truly did not understand. Finally there's Rogue, whose power to drain the powers and energy of anyone she touches leads to tension with her boyfriend Iceman; they can't figure out a way to be physically intimate without her killing him - yup, she's the HIV positive one. Not really thought provoking stuff but like I said it's fun to see familiar content with a new twist.

I've been so up on the whole X-Men thing I've been back reading my old books and when I've had a few spare moments to play games I've been playing Metal Gear Solid, why? Because David Hayter - the voice of Solid Snake - is also the head writer for the "X-Men" franchise.

The reason why I called it the first X2 is becuase this fall we will see Final Fantasy X-2, the first sequel in the Final Fantasy world. Now back to the comics.

b-ruce

May 4, 2003 9:20 PM

Guess who's comming to E3 =)

That's right. So I'll be signing autographs all weekend. Come down to L.A. and say "hi". I'll have more on this soon.

b-ruce

May 3, 2003

Welcome Pajamo readers!

That fine fine movie review site, Pajamo threw us a link on their frontpage. I write game reviews there so check it check it out.

b-ruce

April 30, 2003 7:22 AM

Yesterday I was asking myself "What's Lady Miss Keir doing now a days?" This morning I find out she's sueing Sega. I find this to be totally bizarre as no one remembered Deee-lite when Space Channel 5 came out (nor do they now) and thus I don't think Sega was trying to capitalize on her fame by supposedly ripping off her likeness. Also I don't remember Keir ever looking too much like the character anyways. Her former bandmate Towa Tei should explain to her that she was ripping off a Japanese teen look back in the early 90's and we should all just leave it at that.

b-ruce

April 27, 2003 10:25 AM

Knowing that only about 20 people watch boxing any more I can safely assert that most of you missed a hella good fight last night. James Toney was considered to be one of the best in Boxing back in 1994 but then he ran into Roy Jones Jr. After losing to Jones, Toney's carrer wandered up in down in the weight classes, Toney is reported to have gone up to 270lbs at one point. Last night put Toney back in the elite fighter ranks as he fought tooth and nail with Vassily Jirov, the recognized champion in the 190lb weight class. Toney would win the odd rounds, Jirov the even, until the 9th round where Toney appeared to have run out of gas and Jirov pushed his advantage. When the 10 round started it seemed as if it was going to be more of the same, but then Toney rallied back on a string of accurate, brutal counter punches that had Jirov seemingly out on his feet. However the big man from one of those former Soviet countries came storming back in the 11th and had us thinking, once again, that Toney was spent. In the final round we saw the two men dig deep and give it all they had and it was Toney who would score an amazing knockdown after landing some incredibly hard shots, earning him the round and the fight. The judges scorecards were lopesided in Toney's favor but from my spot on the couch it seemed as if the knockdown and the point deducted for a low blow were the only things that kept this from being a draw. One couldn't have asked for a better fight or a better ending.

b-ruce