Astro Pop is extremely easy to learn, which is what makes it so addicting. I finally decided to download it and was immediately hooked. Here, Kevin becomes hooked too.
I’m busy tonight.
See you tomorrow!!!111
The game reached store shelves this week for both PlayStation2 and Xbox platforms.
Support me and my friends (testers, developers, artists) who worked on this game and pick it up. It’s a lot of fun. I can’t say more because I have a lot of bias (an understatement after testing the game for over a year). You’ll just have to give it a try yourself.
When I was attending middle school I lived in a suburb, spending my free weekends with friends who had computers or a console laying around. Eric had an old computer running Windows 3.1 and a bunch of DOS games, including a version of Flight Simulator. It looked like this:
That’s how I remember it. Nothing over 256 colors and barren, empty “landscapes”. Still, the sense of flight was there. And it was breathtaking. It was fun to change the settings: fly at night and glide around for an hour or two. I made no serious attempts to fly from one airport to another: I just took off from O’Hare International Airport (the simulator’s default, starting airport) and flew. An occasional tilt here and there, just for effect.
I received Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight as a gift on Thursday. I took a screenshot this evening while, again, flying aimlessly in my learjet:
Ahh, how the view has changed.
Monday. May 10th.
Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Performing: Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Master Chorale
Conducted by: Miguel Harth-Bedoya
Composed by: Nobuo Uematsu
Final Fantasy Concert Program. Autographed: Nobuo Uematsu (Composer). Yoshitaka Amano (Illustrator). Hironobu Sakaguchi (Executive Producer). James Arnold Taylor (English Voice Actor: Tidus).
Los Angeles to Encinitas: Midnight to 2am.
It was a privilege to be in the presence of Uematsu, Amano, Sakaguchi-san and Mr. Taylor after the concert (even if for just a signature and the chance to say “thank you”). Because this was something personal, an experience matured since childhood, the signatures are for keeps.
Imagine listening to some of your favorite music and finally having the chance to say hello to that artist. I grew up playing Final Fantasy games. So for me, this was an amazing thing. It was, for lack of a better term, surreal. The whole thing.
Hearing the music live was amazing. Fantastic. And, even though I sat alone during the concert, the music put me in the company of memories. Memories of the past, some I hadn’t recalled until the songs came along.
Collective chuckles by the audience as the Chocobo theme came into play. Collective and intense applause when certain melodies were recognized. Again, fantastic.
I hope this happens again in the future.
Very, very special thanks go to my friend and former coworkers who gave me the chance to attend the concert and follow them through the evening.
“You know, even though it’s just a game, those are our fathers and relatives we’re killing. There’s something about it that I just don’t like.” Another wondered how a game like this would be received in other countries, saying, “…this is a game in which you play as a foreign soldier and try to kill troops from your own country. I bet that you couldn’t even sell a game like this overseas. I have a feeling that Japanese are the only people who would brush this off because ‘it’s only a game.’ I don’t know if that’s good or bad…”
Square Enix officially announced their next summer blockbuster of sorts in the form of Final Fantasy XII. According to reports, they revealed details about the game at the trendy Roppongi Hills metroplex in Tokyo, Japan.
It’s interesting. I thought about how many of the Final Fantasy games I’ve played. I mean now there are twelve? I’ve played seven of them and am about to pick up my eighth: Final Fantasy X-2.
I was volleying e-mails back and forth with Bill last week about video games, role-playing games in particular. He mentioned that his connection to FF was not so strong as mine. I considered that: I’ve played Final Fantasy games since I had the first Nintendo console. It’s like growing up with a movie franchise or some music artist. I’ve tried most releases with wide eyed enthusiasm, to be entertained or what not. So I have a strong connection that way.
Not to say that I praise all of them. I think the most memorable stories came from the FF games that push far back, maybe the second and third US FF releases for the Super Nintendo console. Up to now they have been a good source of entertainment (as well as frustration or annoyance) at times. But I play release after release.
People make emotional connections to film. Some can’t fathom making some sort of emotional connection to stories in videogames. They, instead, mock the idea. It’s kind of absurd really, when you think about it. When a game is more interactive than a film, why is that? Especially now with the visual and aural quality of polished titles.
It’s like Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. Sometimes I compare it to watching a Disney film of some sort - the characters could certainly look the part. Same goes for the dialogue.
It’s just the enthusiasm/interest to play. You grow up with different things, make stronger connections with some more than others. Some of them stand out and, apparently, stick with time.
UPDATE: Picked up FF X-2 at Fry’s Electronics, got a free poster. Can’t complain about that. Here’s to all my friend’s who worked on the title.
Recent Comments