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RANDOM REVIEW: Nintendo 3DS

The Hardware

UPDATE: The system update I mention at the end of this review has dropped, an update can be read here.

I first saw the Nintendo 3DS at last year’s E3. I had to wait an hour and a half in line with a bunch of other attendees in order to do so, but it was totally worth it. The 3DS was my first experience with what could be called “modern” 3D, meaning something beyond the old red-and-blue glasses. I thought it was pretty cool and looked forward to getting one at launch. Not even a year has passed since then, and I now have a 3DS in my hands. Was it worth the wait and the cash?

HARDWARE

The 3DS is just a little bit larger than a DSi, though not quite as large as the original ‘fat’ DS. I opted for the Aqua Blue model instead of the Cosmo Black, and despite its glossy finish, the 3DS isn’t the fingerprint magnet that the DS Lite was.

The 3DS’ controls have been rearranged just a bit compared to the DSi. Some things have been improved, and others, not so much. The Power button is now on the right side of the screen where the Start and Select buttons were on the DSi. I discovered that pretty early on when I went to pause a DS game and ended up shutting off the system instead. D’oh!

The new Circle Pad control sitting above the familiar D-pad is a nice addition and feels good to use. When playing DS games you have the option of using either the Circle Pad or the D-Pad which is also a plus. Another welcome addition is the Wireless slider on the right side of the unit. Previously, turning on or off the WiFi meant going to the Home screen and then to the Settings screen which was pretty annoying. Holding up the slider turns on and off the DSi’s wireless, and a handy LED just above the switch lets you know if it’s on or off. On the downside, the DSi’s volume buttons have been replaced with a slider.

The 3D screen at the top of the unit is slightly larger than the DSi’s screen, and it appears to be slightly more rectangular too. To its right is the 3D slider which allows the 3D effect to be adjusted or even turned off entirely. There are three cameras: two facing outward capable of taking 3D pictures, and one facing the player. An LED on the top-right corner serves as a notification indicator.

Talking about the ‘guts’ of the 3DS, it has a built in motion sensor and gyro sensor, and a custom CPU from Nintendo which makes it capable of producing much better graphics than the DS, as evidenced by launch titles Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition and Ridge Racer.

When in sleep mode, the 3DS can also act as a pedometer, and every 100 steps earns a Play Coin that can be used to purchase items in some games.

The extra horsepower and 3D come at a cost: the battery life of the 3DS clocks in about 3-4 hours; not even enough for a long flight. Third-party extenders and replacement battery packs are available, but folks on the go may want to invest in a car charger. Another bad thing that has crept onto the 3DS are load times, it is not unusual to now wait just under 10 seconds for a game to start, and even the internal software takes a little while to get going.

BUILT IN SOFTWARE

The 3DS comes with quite a few built-in games and apps, some which have been carried over from the DSi. The Home screen has been upgraded from the DSi’s version. Across the top of the screen is row of buttons for adjusting brightness, arranging icons, Game Notes, Friend List, Notifications and the internet browser. In the middle of the screen are the icons for games and apps, and buttons appear across the bottom of the screen that change depending on what is selected.

It bears mentioning that as of this writing, not all of the software is available: the Internet Browser and System Transfer (which allows users to move stuff over from a DSi) should be available soon, as well as the eShop, which will allow the purchase of games and apps, including Netflix and a video service from Nintendo.

The carryovers from the DSi are the Camera and Sound apps. The Camera app adds the ability to take 3D pictures and increases the functionality of the camera, such as a timer and manual controls, but Facebook integration and some of the funny lenses that were on the DSi’s Camera app are gone. The Sound app is fairly untouched; the new ability to play MP3s is a welcome addition as is the ability to create playlists.

Miis have found their way onto the 3DS, which includes its own version of the Mii Maker. It’s the same one on the Wii, and Wii owners can even move their Miis back and forth between the two systems. So far, Miis are only used in the Streetpass Mii Plaza app and Friends list.

Streetpass is a new function where you can share data with other 3DS users wirelessly. Streetpass is activated if the system’s wireless radio on while it is in sleep mode. Game data like Mii characters, high scores, and custom characters is be exchanged with other 3DS owners you pass by that also have Streetpass on. The user control what data is exchanged, and data can be exchanged for multiple games at once. You’ll either find that really cool or really creepy.

Streetpass is a neat idea that is a bit ahead of itself right now, but that’s mainly because of the limited number of systems that are currently ‘in the wild.’ The Streetpass Mii Plaza app allows you to look at Miis you have picked up and you can even use them to play a silly little game called “Find Mii” and collect pieces of 3D pictures in “Puzzle Swap.”

Rounding out the 3DS built-in software are two augmented reality (AR) games: Face Raiders has you spinning around using the 3DS to shoot at faces that you take with the camera. It’s a quick dose of silly fun and does a good job of showcasing the system’s AR abilities. AR Games are played with several cards that are included with the system, you place a card on a flat surface, point the 3DS at it, and the system then allows you to play some mini games. The AR Games aren’t terribly compelling, but on a technical level they are impressive.

Like other systems, the 3DS also has a Friends list, though in the interest of Protecting The Children, Nintendo has kept their silly Friend Code system, which means instead of being “Randomizer9” I am “0044-2809-7081.” Whether this will hamper Nintendo’s online plans remains to be seen, but given the Big N’s indifference to online play thus far, I’m not holding my breath. Right now the only things you can do with your 3DS Friends are see that they’re online, see what their favorite game is, and a short quote. Yippee. Nintendo promises that more functionality is on the way, so the jury is still out on that.

GAMES

Players have come to expect limited launch lineups whenever a new system drops, and the 3DS is no different. There was not much to pick from at launch, and we’ve only seen a trickle of games released since then. Street Fighter IV and Ridge Racer 3D are probably the best of the bunch so far, but it is comforting to see games come to the 3DS that weren’t possible or that just were not done well on its older sibling.

Sadly, it isn’t going to get much better anytime soon, especially since Nintendo is once again pulling the re-re-re-release bit again: Pilotwings, Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and Starfox 64 are some of the early titles coming from Nintendo. Come on, y’all, how about something new already! The system does play DS games, though, which gives it an impressive back catalog.

CONCLUSION

The Nintendo 3DS gets 3 out of 5 pairs of now-obsolete 3D glasses. I want to give it a 4 out of 5, but the game lineup is just too weak and the battery life is way too low for a Nintendo handheld.

Should you drop the $249 to get one? I think the answer for most folks is going to be a big fat ‘not yet.’ Its not that 3DS is a bad system, far from it. It is a really neat gadget with glasses-free 3D, enough horsepower to pump out good graphics, and there are lots of other cool things to do with it besides play games.

Unfortunately, this is a game system and in terms of games, the 3DS is lacking as of this writing. There are just not enough 3DS games to justify the purchase right now. If you do not already own a DS, there are plenty of great DS games right now to keep busy until more 3DS games start coming down the pipe. If you already own a DS system, you should probably stand pat and wait for the inevitable price drop.

ADDENDUM

The latest system update, which adds the eShop, Internet Browser and System Transfer functions, has just dropped, so I will be updating this review soon once I get a chance to check those items out, so check back for that. Nintendo’s 2011 E3 press conference is also coming soon, so hopefully they’ll have more game announcements, but even then, anything they announce won’t be out for awhile, so the ‘lack of games’ point still stands.

RANDOM REVIEW, TECH, Videogames

RANDOM REACTION: Nintendo 3DS Unboxing

11:00 AM

Well, its finally here, and I’ve got mine. I picked up my Aqua Blue Nintendo 3DS this morning from Gamestop and then drove on over to Toys R Us to buy Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition and Ridge Racer 3D. I was able to knock $50 off the price of the system by trading in my DS Lite at Gamestop, and Toys R Us was running a “buy one get one 50% off” deal so I picked up Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition and Ridge Racer 3D. Thus, the blow to my wallet was softened a bit. I also stopped at Best Buy to check out memory card prices, and they had units available as of 1030 AM, so perhaps we won’t see any of the shortages that plagued the Wii…yet.

Its a box!

The first thing I noticed about the Nintendo 3DS was that the box seemed to have a little bit of weight to it. I was a little worried; one of the big things that I appreciated about the DS Lite and DSi were their extreme portability. When you are done, you fold it up, stick it in your pocket and be on your merry way. I hoped the 3DS wouldn’t be pulling off my shorts as it cruised along in my pocket.

Upon opening the box, I soon realized why it was so heavy. For some time now, Nintendo has included English, Spanish, and French instructions in their games. This probably saves them on manufacturing costs, because they can sell the same box in the USA, Mexico or Canada. That’s great for them, but it means that their games arrive with manuals that are three times as thick. The trend has continued with the 3DS, there are three copies of a “StreetPass Mii Plaza” pamphlet, three copies of the “Quick Start Guide” and to top it off, a ‘Operations Manual” that’s 328-pages thick. I guess the Big N won’t be getting any awards from Greenpeace anytime soon. Not that they have before or anything. The box also contained a registration card, a Nintendo Power subscription offer and a pack of “AR Cards.”

That's a LOT of paper!

Now it was time for the good stuff. Inside the box was the 3DS itself, an AC charger, and a charge cradle. The system has a glossy finish, similar to the DS Lite, but with a more metallic look to it. All of the exterior casing has the aqua blue color. Upon opening it up, I saw the bottom section was also aqua blue, but the top screen had a black background. To the left of the touchscreen on the bottom were the Circle Pad and a standard cross-pad, and to the right were the standard A-B-X-Y buttons and a power button.

I found the charge cradle curious at first, because it had a plug for the AC charger, but there was nothing to plug into the 3DS or any connectors that I could discern, just a switch that would be depressed when the system was placed onto it. I pressed the switch and nearby two connectors peeked out. I looked at the back of the 3DS and saw two contact points next to the charger connection where the connectors would meet. Clever. I noticed that the 3DS charger looked very similar to my DSi charger and it turns out that they are exactly the same. Same color, model number, voltages and everything.

The Hardware

The 3DS is about the same size as a DSi, is just a bit thicker, and feels just a tad lighter, too:

I AM YOUR FATHER!

Having heard about he 3DS’ less than stellar battery life, I figured I’d let it soak up a full charge before getting my 3D game on. I left the 3DS on its charger before leaving to attend to some geeky business.

3:30PM

Upon returning from the geek gathering, I was pleased to find the 3DS’ charge light was off, it was time to fire it up and ~~play some games~~ set up my wireless connection. As much as I wanted to get my 3D racing and fighing on, I figured I’d go through the motions and set it up to connect to my wireless router. The first thing I noticed upon turning on the 3DS was that it took a few seconds to start up. I don’t know if this was a one-time thing or not but it took long enough to be noticeably different from the nearly ‘instant-on’ behavior I was accustomed to on the DSi. UPDATE: It takes a few seconds every time.

I then went through the setup, it was fairly straightforward though I found it interesting that I had to select a ‘region’ (in this case, Texas) in addition to the country. Another addition was a little helper character that appeared in the bottom center of the screen, consisting of two rectangles stacked atop each other, with the one of top being bigger and having a smiley face on it. Tapping the character made some help text appear on the screen which seemed like a nice touch. Nintendo seems be focusing more on the online aspect this time around, hopefully it proves to be less of a pain in the neck than the Wii’s online.

I spent a bit of time fiddling around with the 3DS’ built in apps, which include Nintendo 3DS Camera, Nintendo 3DS Sound, Mii Maker, Mii Plaza, AR Games, and Face Raiders. I’ll have more on the system as a whole in a few days, but so far its looking pretty cool!

MUSIC, ORIGINAL-GAMER.COM, RANDOM REVIEW, Videogames

RANDOM REVIEW: Nobuo Uematsu’s 10 Short Stories (English Version)

Hikkari Pikkari!

I had the pleasure of interviewing Nobuo Uematsu and Arnie Roth last year for Original-Gamer.com. Uematsu and Roth are responsible for helping take game music out of the living room and into the concert hall with their successful “Distant Worlds: Music From Final Fantasy” orchestral concert series. After the interview, Mr. Uematsu presented me with a gift, a copy of “Nobuo Uematsu’s 10 Short Stories.” I graciously accepted, though I wasn’t sure what to make of it at the time.

“Nobuo Uematsu’s 10 Short Stories” is a children’s album, and as the name implies, each of the ten songs tells a story. The album is very much a product of Japan, as subjects range from the ordinary to the mythological to the poignant to the fun and the just plain bonkers.

The album starts out with the tropical beats of “Here Comes Conga Boy” followed by the harmonica-laden, “Gimme Gimme,” which is about a kid who goes around asking anyone and everyone for money. Things take a turn for the odd with “Hikkari Pikkari,” a story about a sprite who’s job is to reflect the sun’s rays off of his shiny bald head and onto the Earth. “No Worries!” carries a message about being happy with who you are…even if you happen to be a penguin. “Whistle A Song” is a happy ditty about the voyage of life, and “The Incredible Flying Natsuhiko” features the star-crossed lovers of Tanabata. The tone goes back to not-so-serious with “Coconut Castaway” and “The Chef Who Used His Noodle” the second of which chronicles the creation of a certain noodle dish. “Every New Morning” is a lullaby, as a mother wishes her child a good night. “Revenge of the 5-Foot Swhail” is the rock lament of a Power Rangers-esque villain who laments about his kids being made fun of in school. The Swhail wishes his adversary would declare: “Without the Swhail I would be lost/Unemployed and eating taco sauce.”

As one would expect out of an album intended for kids, “10 Short Stories” has a pop feel to it. That said, the songs feature a wide variety of different instruments and styles. Bongo drums, violins, synthesizers, and electric guitars are found throughout. As if to reinforce the cuteness of it all, the songs are all sung by a young girl. While it does get a bit sticky-sweet, that’s probably the point.

Despite the fact that I’m about 30 years beyond its intended audience, I found “Nobuo Uematsu’s 10 Short Stories” to be a quirky album filled with cute, fun, catchy songs with my favorites being “Whistle A Song” and “Gimme Gimme.” I’ll give it a listen whenever I need a smile, and you’re never too old for that!

4 out of 5 Swhails.

“Nobuo Uematsu’s 10 Short Stories” (English Version) is available for purchase on iTunes. The author received no compensation for this review and can be contacted at edsoliz@gmail.com

I had the pleasure of interviewing Nobuo Uematsu and Arnie Roth last year for Original-Gamer.com. Nobuo and Arnie are partially responsible for taking game music out of the living room and into the concert hall with their successful “Distant Worlds: Music From Final Fantasy” concert series. After the interview, Mr. Uematsu presented me with a gift, a copy of “Nobuo Uematsu’s 10 Short Stories.” I graciously accepted, though I wasn’t sure what to make of it at the time.

“Nobuo Uematsu’s 10 Short Stories” is a children’s album, and as the name implies, each of the ten songs tells a story. The album is very much a product of Japan: subjects range from the ordinary (Gimme Gimme) to the mythological (The Incredible Flying Natsuhiko) to the poignant (Whistle a Song, Every New Morning) to the fun (Here Comes Conga Boy, Coconut Castaway, The Chef Who Used His Noodle) to the just plain bonkers (No Worries!, Hikkari Pikkari, Revenge of the 5-Foot Swhail).

As one would expect out of an album intended for kids, “10 Short Stories” has a pop feel to it. The music features a wide variety of different instruments and styles. Bongo drums, violins, synthesizers, and electric guitars are found throughout. As if to reinforce the cuteness of it all, the songs are all sung by a young girl. While it does get a bit sticky-sweet, that’s probably the point.

Despite the fact that I’m about 30 years beyond its intended audience, I found “I had the pleasure of interviewing Nobuo Uematsu and Arnie Roth last year for Original-Gamer.com. Nobuo and Arnie are partially responsible for taking game music out of the living room and into the concert hall with their successful “Distant Worlds: Music From Final Fantasy” concert series. After the interview, Mr. Uematsu presented me with a gift, a copy of “Nobuo Uematsu’s 10 Short Stories.” I graciously accepted, though I wasn’t sure what to make of it at the time.

Despite the fact that I’m about 30 years beyond its intended audience, I found “Nobuo Uematsu’s 10 Short Stories” to be a quirky album filled with cute, fun, catchy songs; my favorites being “Whistle A Song” and “Gimme Gimme.” I’ll fire it up whenever I need a smile, and you’re never too old for that!

4 out of 5 Swhails.

“Nobuo Uematsu’s 10 Short Stories” (English Version) is available for purchase on iTunes. The author received no compensation for this review and can be contacted at edsoliz@gmail.com
Nobuo Uematsu’s 10 Short Stories” to be a quirky album filled with cute, fun, catchy songs; my favorites being “Whistle A Song” and “Gimme Gimme.” I’ll fire it up whenever I need a smile, and you’re never too old for that!

4 out of 5 Swhails.

“Nobuo Uematsu’s 10 Short Stories” (English Version) is available for purchase on iTunes. The author received no compensation for this review and can be contacted at edsoliz@gmail.com

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RANDOM REVIEW: 2010

The most telling thing that I can say about 2010 is that I spent the last third of it without a full-time job, after getting canned back in August. I’ll be honest, I have nobody but myself to blame for that; a friend asked me if my bosses had been looking for a reason to get rid of me awhile back. I sheepishly replied: “Well, if they were, they didn’t have to look very hard!”

Thus, the whole “what am I going to do with myself” debate I’d been having since 2009 (and heck, probably earlier than that) took on a whole new meaning as I applied for tech writer, tech support, and even editing jobs in an attempt to get away from programming. I am currently scheduled to start a new programming job on the January 24th…well, so much for that.

Of course, sitting behind a desk for 40-something hours a week hating my job was not the only thing I did all year. I also continued to be involved in First Storm Manga, handing out flyers and manga at a couple of anime cons throughout the year and keeping the website humming. We are also going to be hosting our first event, the “Mezasu mini-con” on January 22nd. While I enjoy hanging out with the guys, and it is fun going to events, I’m not sure that I want to be as involved in First Storm next year. I’m just not sure that I’m getting a lot out of it, but I’ll bottle up that angst and save it for a future blog.

Another new ‘side job’ that I picked up was that of Writer/Editor/Voice Guy for video game website Original-Gamer.com. I started out just providing narration for some of their videos but eventually got more involved in the site, editing articles for readability and even writing reviews. Because of that involvement, I was able to attend the 2010 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in July, and it completely blew me away. I also had the privilege of attending the “Distant Worlds: Music From Final Fantasy” concert in Houston, and the pleasure of interviewing famed video game music luminaries Nobou Uematsu and Arnie Roth.

Speaking of music, I was invited to join a band called The Loliholix. It turns out they needed a drummer, and I just happened to know how to play drums and have way too much time on my hands. After getting an electric drum kit and an big ol’ honkin’ PA to use as an amp, I was ready to rock. Practicing and hanging out the band was fun, but playing our first big gig at San Japan was awesome. Being part of a show, even if it is a small one, is just incredible. The audience feeds off of your energy and gives more back to you.

All the while, I have continued with my creative endeavors, namely writing. I completed some very short stories, even entering one into a writing contest, and am working with my friend Chris Holm on some comics. I also have some longer works that I hope to finish soon. I am hoping to get my stories, and even some non-fiction, onto the various e-readers and phones and pads that are all the rage these days. Hopefully, I can make a few bucks on the side that way.

As if being a part time musician and writer wasn’t enough, I also read for a part in a short film that my friend Carey Martell is currently working on called “Deathfist Ninja GKaiser.” Now, I won’t be too disappointed if I end up as Man in Suit #6 but having a speaking part and being the first person in the show to get fried by the Big Bad Guy would be cool, too.

All the while, I managed to post to this blog and keep up a somewhat-regular schedule with my podcast: “300 Seconds.” I figure that if I can get out one blog post a week and two podcasts a month on top of all the other stuff I’m doing, then I’m doing alright.

Overall, 2010 was a great year for me. I got to meet a lot of cool people and had a lot of really neat experiences. Sure, it sucked to lose my job, but with the help and support of family and friends (and some creative budgeting) I’m hanging in there, in fact, I already have a job lined up in a few weeks so things are looking up!. I have faith that things will turn around soon and 2011 will rock even harder.

Farewell and Godspeed, 2010. You were one to remember.

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RANDOM REVIEW: Tron Legacy

The original Tron was a seminal part of growing up nerdy for me. I actually saw it in the the theater back in the day and loved the (to me, anyway) oh-so-cool visuals, music and jargon, and I still enjoy it today on DVD. Sure, its a little less impressive now that I actually know about computers and electronics (you could imagine my disappointment upon finding out what a Logic Probe actually does) but it’ll always have a special place in this nerd’s heart nonetheless. Minor spoilers ahead, though nothing too major.

Tron Legacy picks up a few years after the events of the first movie. Kevin Flynn is enjoying his “happy ever after” running Encom and spending time with his son, Sam. Kevin suddenly falls off the map and we catch up to Sam years later being a typical rebel wihout a cause, albeit one that is a 1337 hacker, rides motorcycles like a madman, and apparently does BASE jumping.

Sam gets a sign that leads him back to the “Flynn’s” arcade of the first movie where he finds his father’s secret lab and gets zapped into the Electronic World (now called The Grid) just like dear old dad.

I was disappointed with the look of The Grid, the exteriors looked like the real world with a neon coat of paint, and the Recognizers were a let down. I mean, sure, they were more ‘realistic’ but come on, did they really need to have jets? We’re inside a computer, people!

Unlike the original, Legacy dives right into the action. Sam has barely had enough time to get comfy in his new neon duds when he is tossed into a disc duel and a lightcycle battle. The vehicles (Recognizers nonwithstanding, yeah I know, I’ll let it go now) look more “Tron-like” than anything else and the action sequences are easily the highlight of the movie.

Sam soon escapes and finds Kevin with the aid of smexy program Quorra and they all race to escape The Grid and stop a nefarious plot from unfolding before the door to our world shuts again.

I thought Tron Legacy was a fun ride, the action sequences were exciting and visually breathtaking. There were plenty of clever in-jokes for geeks and for fans of the first movie. Some of the dialogue appeared to have been lifted word-for-word from the original, and the technical stuff made a bit more sense this time around. For example, in an early scene, a programmer stops a hack with the Unix kill command.

While there are some philosophical statements sprinkled throughout about free software and the pursuit of perfection, they play second fiddle to the action. I was a little disappointed in the climax which felt a bit ‘deus ex machina’ to me, but to be fair, so was the climax of the original.

I enjoyed Tron Legacy; much like the original, it isn’t going to win any awards for its story, but the acting is good and the visuals and music are great. I think other fans of the original will like it, but it’ll be a toss-up for newbies.

4 out of 5 Identity Discs.

END OF LINE.

CREATIVE, ORIGINAL-GAMER.COM, RANDOM REVIEW, TECH, Videogames, Writing

Reviewing Musings

Reviewing videogames‭ ‬sounds‭ ‬like a‭ ‬really cool thing to do:‭ ‬you get to play games before they are released,‭ ‬you get to keep them if they are downloadable games,‭ ‬and well,‭ getting to play ‬games‭ ‬without having to pay for them is nice, too.‭ ‬I’m not lucky enough to actually get‭ ‬paid to review games‭ (yet‭!) ‬but‭ writing and editing ‬for original-gamer.com gave‭ ‬me the opportunity to attend E3‭ ‬back in July. Totally worth it.

So yeah, on paper, reviewing‭ ‬games‭ ‬sounds like loads of fun,‭ ‬but in practice,‭ ‬it loses a little bit of its luster.‭ ‬When I’m not playing awesome games like‭ ‬Rock Band‭ ‬3‭ ‬or Kirby’s Epic Yarn‭ ‬I’m struggling through crapfests like Power Gig or enduring kiddie games like EyePet.

Yeah. EyePet. That’s hardcore.

The most direct effect of reviewing games is that it has turned playing games into work (albeit volunteer work). Its a mental thing: instead of playing games because I want to, I now play them because I have to. It gets a little annoying at times when I have a stack of games I need to plow through or when I get asked to play games in genres I don’t particularly enjoy such as fighting or driving. The most aggravating bit about the whole thing that it takes time away from games that I want to play, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

The first thing I do when I get assigned a new game to review is I write the review’s introduction. I like to have it done before I even start playing, and in my opinion it should give the reader some context in regards to my relation to the game. Is it something I have been looking forward to, or something I’ve never heard of?

When I play a game for review, I keep my laptop handy so that I can take notes while I’m playing it. That way after I’m done playing the game I just have to flesh out the bullet points I have marked down. I’m not sure if I should be admitting this, but I don’t always finish games I review. Usually its because I don’t expect to see anything new after having played a game for so many hours. Let’s be honest, after a certain point, few games really offer anything surprising in terms of gameplay.

One game that bit that strategy in the pants was Gladiator Begins. I played through about 30 days of the campaign, probably about seventy or eighty nearly-identical fights, figured there was nothing else in the game, and wrote my review. I went back to the game and soon discovered that the levels did start to occasionally change up, and upon seeing the box in a store, I learned that there were even fights against animals. D’oh. It was either my fault for giving up on the game too early or the devs fault for taking too long to open up the game’s interesting parts. Probably a little bit of both, oh well.

Writing reviews is a balancing act. On the one hand, I don’t want to look like a fanboy by gushing praise all over a good game, nor do I want to simply verbally vomit all over a bad one for the sake of being entertaining. Great games have minor flaws that have to be explored, and bad games sometimes have good ideas that were not executed well.

Picking out a numerical score can also be a bit of a headache, because I want my score to reflect what I have written. I still read reviews myself, and I get annoyed just like everyone else when the two don’t jive. I go by what the site says on the “About” page, supposedly we work on the ‘bell curve’ model where the middle point is average. Despite the occasional “10” handed out, nobody’s really perfect.

At the end of the day, though, the site editor is the guy that says what goes up on the site, and while I haven’t always agreed with Oscar, I think he’s doing a good job for the most part. Working with him and the rest of the original-gamer.com crew has been lots of fun.

And now, back to EyePet…whee

RANDOM REVIEW, TECH, Videogames

RANDOM REVIEW: Band Hero

Gamers often complain about ‘those bastards that buy Madden every year.’ Well, I have to confess, I am one of those bastards, but instead of Madden, music games are my sweet, sweet digital crack.

Of the thirty-eight boxed Xbox 360 games gracing my living room, nine of them start with “Guitar Hero.” If we add five Rock Band games (no Green Day for me, thank you) two Karaoke Revolution games, and DJ Hero, that brings the total of music-based games in my Xbox 360 library to seventeen.

As I’ve written before, music and videogames are the two great tastes that taste great together. So yeah, when it comes to music games, I am “that guy.”

I was mildly interested in Band Hero when it was initially announced as a “family friendly” version of Guitar Hero, something for parents that weren’t interested in introducing their younglings to the musical stylings of Slayer or Nirvana. While some of the songs on the Band Hero setlist looked like they would be fun to play, there wasn’t enough Good Stuff to justify dropping sixty bucks on the game. I figured I’d wait for the inevitable price drop. Fast-forward about a year later and I find that my Friendly Neighborhood Electronics Store has marked it down all the way to $17.99, so I figured, why not?

Band Hero isn’t quite what it says on the box. It isn’t just “family friendly Guitar Hero.” Don’t get me wrong, it is family friendly, but that phrase only tells part of the story.

Band Hero is Guitar Hero for girls.

Its so sparkly!!

Seriously, there is no better way to put it. Take Guitar Hero 5, coat it in pastel colors, dip it in glitter, drop several scoops of pop music on top and you get Band Hero. There isn’t anything inherently wrong with making a music game for the younger crowd, though. After all, their competitors at Harmonix made Lego Rock Band so that kids can have some fake plastic rock fun, too. But for Pete’s sake, the interface looks like it was designed by Lisa Frank. I haven’t seen that much purple since the 80’s.

Also, Lego Rock Band, at least has some, well, rock with Lego versions of Queen, David Bowie, and Iggy Pop as well as music from those iconic performers. Band Hero has Taylor Swift, Adam Levine and No Doubt. Yeeeah. I’m sorry, but except for maybe No Doubt, those guys don’t exactly bring the house down. Even then, there are some pretty cool classics we haven’t seen in any of these games before like “Mr. Roboto” by Styx, “Black Cat” from Janet Jackson and Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.”

One feature that I found odd was the ability to perform as your Avatar in the game. The Avatars look just

SECURITY! There's a Muppet on stage!

plain weird on stage next to the other characters, like Muppets. Otherwise, it’s Guitar Hero 5, which was pretty good from a technical standpoint but had awful music. I actually had more fun playing this game than Guitar Hero 5, which says something about how lousy 5’s songs were.

Your decision to purchase the game (or really any music game, for that matter) will depend on how many of its songs you like. A quick dash to Wikipedia will determine whether Band Hero is worth it to you.

If you have kids, or just really like pop music, there are worse games than Band Hero to drop a twenty on. Underneath the sparkly presentation is a pretty good game. Now if you’ll pardon me, I need to play some Gears of War in a feeble attempt to salvage what masculinity I have left.

Rock Band for the Xbox 360 gets a 3 out of 5: G00d

I grade on a 1 to 5 scale. My “review philosophy” can be found here.

BUSINESS, CONS, RANDOM REVIEW, TECH

RANDOM REVIEW: Sprint Overdrive / Clear Spot 4G+

Overdrive next to a deck of playing cards

Well, as 'standard' a deck as I could find anyway...

UPDATE: My Overdrive bit the dust almost a year after this review was written, read the update here.

Smartphones may be smart and all, but in my opinion there is no substitute for having an actual computer when I need to do things on the Web. In addition to being a huge nerd, I have two websites to take care of (www.firststormmanga.com and this one) and so a smartphone doesn’t always cut it. I like to have a full-sized keyboard and screen for when things need to Get Done.

Back when I was with T-Mobile, I used the built-in tethering that came included on my T-Mobile Dash, which ran Windows Mobile. I thought it was odd that it wasn’t disabled, but once I started to use it, I found out why. Tethering on 2G was dirt slow. It did work, though, and I could check my e-mail and do some very light browsing even while in the technological black hole that is my hometown of Odem, Texas.

I eventually ended up bidding T-Mobile and Windows Mobile a not-so-fond farewell and signed on with Sprint, getting a spiffy new Samsung Moment in the process. I found an app to tether with, but it was limited and I wanted a less hacker-y solution. A few months later, I looked into what Sprint had to offer and had two options: I could get a USB stick for my laptop for free or an Overdrive 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot for fifty dollars, both coming with the usual 2-year contract yadda yadda. FYI, Clear Wireless also sells this device as the Clear Spot 4G+ but its ‘official’ name is the Sierra Wireless AirCard W801.

I went with the Overdrive because I was starting to go to conventions, and my experience with hotel Wi-Fi up to that point was that it was either: slow because of all the convention attendees, not there at all, or really expensive. Fifty dollars didn’t seem like too high a price to pay for the convenience of having WiFi and the attached data plan was going to cost the same either way. I thought it would be handy to have a connection that I could share when on the road.

The Overdrive isn’t too big, it is just a little bit wider than a standard deck of playing cards (see pic above). There isn’t much to it: on its top are a display and the power button. The front has a micro-USB charge port and a micro-SD card reader. The back has a switch for enabling or muting the sound, and that’s it. I was also hoping for a little blinking red light on top, but oh well.

Holding down the power button for a few seconds starts up the Overdrive. After taking about a minute to boot, it attempts to connect to a network. If I may digress for a moment: I have griped about boot times in portable devices in the past, but I’m just going to have to let it slide from here on out, because nearly every portable device short of a Nintendo DS is going to take some time to boot. Its just something I’m going to have to live with from here on out. Oh well.

Once it has connected to a network, the Overdrive’s display will show its SSID and WiFi password. Once you connect to it using a computer and type ‘overdrive’ into a browser you will be taken to the device’s setup page. There you can specify an admin password, select a WiFi security type and change the Overdrive’s SSID and password to something more memorable. Once you have that done you are ready to go, the Overdrive’s ID and password is displayed on its screen and up to five Wi-Fi devices can be connected to it at a time.

Broadband on the road, baby!

The Overdrive’s 4G connection works great. I have seen it go as high as six megabits/sec with a good signal, the results at right were with a 60% signal according to the Overdrive’s setup page. While that is peanuts compared to a cable connection, for a portable connection it is great. The Overdrive has the ability to fallback to a 3G connection if 4G is not available. It does get a little squirrely on occasion, but not any more so than any other wireless device I’ve owned.

I have had my Overdrive for about six months so far, and I have been very happy with it. I do have one complaint that I will address in a few paragraphs, though. As Odem does not have 4G right now (and to be frank, I’m not holding my breath) the Overdrive’s ability to use 3G is a life-saver when visiting my parents. I have used it at a few Texas conventions and for a few days in Los Angeles, and it has exceeded my expectations.

You can leave the Overdrive’s settings as is or use the admin password to adjust its settings. Among other things, you can choose to not display the WiFi password on the screen, or even set the WiFi to auto-disable when it is plugged into your computer’s USB port if you don’t feel like sharing. The Overdrive’s webpage also shows the actual signal strength as a percentage, which comes in handy when I am looking for a ‘sweet spot’ to place it.

As with many wireless devices, the fly in the Overdrive’s ointment is its battery life. At about three hours, it isn’t terrible, but it is short enough that it will run out of power before most laptops. It can be charged via a computer using the included USB cable, but I highly recommend packing the charger in your laptop bag.

On a technical level, the Overdrive works great: you push the button, it connects to the cellular network, and then you and up to four friends can have Internet just about anywhere you go. While the battery life could be better, it isn’t bad enough to be a deal-breaker, but it is something to be aware of. Another negative is that the service does not come cheap. Clear and Sprint are currently charging about sixty dollars a month for the service which consists of unlimited 4G and 5GB of 3G data. If you don’t mind paying for the convenience, though, you might never find yourself “off the grid” again thanks to the Overdrive!

NOTE: The author received no compensation for this review.

RANDOM REVIEW, SAN JAPAN, Video

RANDOM REVIEW: Gold Digger: The Movie

INTRODUCTION

Fred Perry’s Gold Digger comic book is one of the oldest examples of what some call “Amerimanga,” where an American comic artist adopts the style and conventions used in Japanese comics, or “manga” as they are known in Japan.

It is also one of those comics that I repeatedly saw on the shelf of the comic shop but just wasn’t intrigued enough to actually buy. At the time, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. Recently my friend Chris Holm (who is apparently creator Fred Perry’s biggest fan/stalker) told me that Gold Digger was Tomb Raider before Tomb Raider came along. After sheepishly admitting to Mr. Perry that I had never read his work at the South Texas Comic-Con, I bought a copy of “Gold Digger Max” to see what it was all about.

I like what I have seen of Gold Digger so far, Fred Perry has created a fascinating world that is filled with exotic locales and lots of interesting characters and adventure. He does a good job of tightrope-walking between world-ending seriousness and comedy. It is a shame that it took me so long to discover it. Comparing it to Tomb Raider is something of a disservice because it is so much better than Tomb Raider.

Fast-forward to the third day of San Japan :3 and as dealers are oft to do on the last day of a con, the Antarctic Press table is having a sale. I figured I would give the Deluxe Edition of “Gold Digger: The Movie” a try. According to the box text the movie “retells the very first Gold Digger adventure” so I figured it might serve as a nice little introduction to the GD universe. After having a bite to eat for dinner and doing laundry for the week, I fired it up.

SOUND PROBLEMS

As the top menu appeared, I heard a blast of music. I quickly reached for my receiver’s remote and immediately turned down the sound. I figured I had left the sound up from listening to the radio earlier but that is not the case. The DVD is just loud. I normally have the sound adjustment on my PS3 maxed out, because DVDs tend to be relatively quiet, but in this case I ended up turning it down to zero to make sure I don’t end up with angry neighbors or blown speakers. After making the adjustments, I shrugged my shoulders and started the movie.

THE MOVIE

My initial impression is that Gold Digger: The Movie is intended for fans of the comic: it is assumed that the viewer already knows certain things. As an example, there is no explanation given as to why Gina and Brittany refer to each other as sisters until near the end of the second act. We also never find out just why the Digger sisters are looking for the Time Raft, and wouldn’t a 7-foot tall were-cheetah prove that some myths are valid? That is my inner anal-retentive nerd talking, but a viewer unfamiliar with the series might be a bit puzzled at certain aspects of the movie. I need to show it to someone unfamiliar with GD to see if my inner nerd should just be quiet and enjoy the show. Actually that’s probably true, anyway.

The story is fairly straightforward: The first third of the movie establishes the adversarial yet good-natured relationship the Diggers have with each other and showcases their bad-assery in two Big Fights. The middle of the movie features plenty of exposition and of course, we have the Climactic Battle at the end. In truth, though, the movie is really all Gina and Brittany, and we gradually learn more and more about them as their adventure unfolds. The sisterly bickering between the two survives the transition from comic to animation quite well and provides some of the movie’s funnier moments. The other characters aren’t quite as well developed, and the villain does his duty,

SUMMARY

Much to my chagrin, sound issues persist throughout the DVD. There is an odd echo whenever Gina Diggers speaks and Dreadwing’s voice sounds overprocessed. This effect seems to lessen over the course of the feature but it never goes away completely. The audio mix also gets a bit weird in the second act. The music becomes too soft, and there appeared to be one or two ‘dead air’ moments. In one scene Brittany is on the ground struggling to escape and while she appears to be growling or grunting we don’t hear anything at all.

As I watched the 3rd episode again to hear Fred Perry’s commentary, the audio completely turned to crap in the last few minutes. This combined with Gina’s echo and the loud volume at the start make me wonder if something happened during the process of making the DVDs or if the audio was just poorly done to begin with. I also thought it might have have been my Playstation 3, but the same thing happens when I play it on my iMac.

The animation gradually improves form episode to episode and really shines in the action sequences. It is fascinating to see Fred Perry progress as an animator throughout the adventure and I look forward to seeing what he does next.

Gold Digger: The Movie doesn’t quite do as good a job at being “Gold Digger 101” as I had hoped, though. As I mentioned near the start, there seems to be an assumption that the viewer already knows certain things.

The voiceover work ranges from good (Gina Diggers) to adequate (Dreadwing appears to be trying to channel Tony Jay but doesn’t quite pull it off) to annoying (I quickly found Brittany Diggers’ voice grating but I think that’s more a reflection on me than anything else) to inconsistent (Elves). Overall, it does the job, though.

Technical issues aside, fans of Gold Digger will be excited to see it come to life. Strangers and neophytes to Fred Perry’s fantastic world might find themselves scratching their heads now and again, but nevertheless, Gold Digger: The Movie provides an hour of action-packed fun and I recommend it.

NOTE: The author received no compensation for this review.

CONS, RANDOM REVIEW, TEXAS COMICCON, Videogames

RANDOM REVIEW: Texas ComicCon 2010

Bustin' makes them feel good!

I went to the Texas Comic-Con to support a new con, support my friends, and to check out what was there to see. The con’s homepage featured a menagerie of guests ranging from indie comic artists, actors, and even The Honky Tonk Man.

I wondered what else awaited me on Friday after lunch as I turned left onto Marbach Street on my way to the San Antonio Event Center. First-time events are something of a crapshoot. At best, everything goes off with a minimum of fuss, at worst, it can be painful to both watch and to be a part of.

Even though I was fairly sure I was not going to make it out Sunday, I purchased a three-day pass. I was disappointed to find that I did not receive a pass to wear around my neck, but instead I was given a red plastic wristband that I apparently would have to keep on my wrist until Sunday afternoon. Ew. To make that first impression even worse, the gentleman that took my money didn’t even help me put it on!

After I fumbled with the wristband for a few minutes, I entered the convention proper. The San Antonio Event Center provided a fairly large space, but one could tell its glory days were far behind it. As if to emphasize this point, I would find that some of the tables and chairs provided to the exhibitors were a bit on the rickety side. As is often the case with cons, Friday was a slow day, and indeed, some of the exhibitors were in the midst of setting up their tables as I walked around.

The Texas Comic-Con can best be described in two words: Nerd Gumbo. While the phrase “something for everybody” is frequently overused, it fits here. Just off the top of my head, there were comics, videogames, action figures, Star Wars, Lego, Ghostbusters from two cities (Houston and Dallas/Fort Worth), costumers, tabletop gaming, one retired wrestler and a few actors, including San Antonio’s own Jonathan Joss of “King of the Hill” fame. I wondered if “Comic-Con” was the right description for an event that had such a variety of things and people to see. To be fair, though, there were a number of booths featuring comics, collectibles and a artist’s area which included my friend Austin “Redbeard” Rogers of redbeardcomics.com

Austin told me that in order to get a table, an artist had to submit examples of his or her work and if they were “good enough” then they were granted a table. I don’t know if other cons do this, but it is an interesting idea and it seems like a good way for con organizers to maintain a level of quality. The dealers were the usual assortment of comic book stores, collector stores and the occasional person trying to make a few dollars by selling their personal collection.

Of particular note was Antarctic Press, a San Antonio-based comic company. They had many books for sale and some of their artists were present. I purchased some books and spent a few minutes chatting with Fred Perry and David Hutchinson about geeky things. I must admit though, I felt a little bad telling Mr. Perry that while I had frequently seen his popular “Gold Digger” comic in stores, I had never purchased it. What can I say? I’m just not a very good liar, so I don’t even bother trying.

One of the books I purchased was “Oz: The Manga” by David Hutchinson. I finished reading it last night, enjoyed it immensely and look forward to purchasing the additional books in the series. It follows L. Frank Baum’s story more closely than the movie “The Wizard of Oz” and was a great read as well as an interesting visual take on the classic tale. Next, I will take my first step into the world of Fred Perry’s “Gold Digger” as I start reading “Gold Digger MAX Vol 1.”

The con also held a Street Fighter contest on Sunday which I did not see, but they did have a few videogame consoles set up where folks could take a seat and play a round or two of Street Fighter or even some of the old classics like Mrs. PacMan.

Just like the anime conventions I have been to, there were plenty of folks dressed up in costumes, however, these were more recognizable, there were quite a few Green Lanterns, Imperial Stormtroopers, Jedi, and even GI Joe’s Baroness and Street Fighter’s Cammy.

Aside from the dealers and the artists were what I could call the “enthusiast” tables, these represented a variety of fandoms including a Stormtrooper platoon, a Halo costuming group, two Ghostbusters fan groups, the Texas Lego User’s Group and even a group of Sith that I apparently overlooked. Everyone seemed to be glad to be there and enthusiastically posed for pictures.

Some panels were held, but the lack of a room to host them in made it difficult to hear and see what was going on, especially when the more popular guests were presenting. There was also no seating set up, hopefully this is something that will be addressed for next time.

I think that the Texas ComicCon got off to a good start. There was a wide variety of things to see and buy, lots of great artists and fun guests. With some minor tweaks and adjustments (*cough* BADGES *cough*), I think this could be the start of something big, and look forward to attending next year.

NOTE: The author received no compensation for this review.

Eduardo Soliz

IT Guy, short story author, podcaster, and furry!

Category Archives: RANDOM REVIEW

RANDOM REVIEW: Nintendo 3DS

RANDOM REACTION: Nintendo 3DS Unboxing

RANDOM REVIEW: Nobuo Uematsu’s 10 Short Stories (English Version)

RANDOM REVIEW: 2010

RANDOM REVIEW: Tron Legacy

Reviewing Musings

RANDOM REVIEW: Band Hero

RANDOM REVIEW: Sprint Overdrive / Clear Spot 4G+

RANDOM REVIEW: Gold Digger: The Movie

RANDOM REVIEW: Texas ComicCon 2010