Thursday, January 29, 2009

Hypothetical sequels that need to become reality


After much hoping, begging and praying, we finally get word that Boom Blox 2 is, indeed, coming our way. Honestly, while I was wanting it so dearly, I never thought it would actually come to be. I thought that Boom Blox would just be another one of those brilliant games that never turns into a franchise. With this sequel to a fantastic game finally realized, it made me think of some other deserving titles and franchises sorely in need of a not-even-hinted-at follow-up.

First up is my often-discussed sequel to that wonderful Gamecube launch title, Luigi's Mansion. Looking back at the controls and gameplay of Luigi's Mansion, it's a perfect fit for the Wii. Aiming the Poultergust with the Wii remote's pointer, turning on the spectral vacuum with the A button, all the while moving about with the analog stick. Luigi's Mansion 2 is probably my most-wanted of all hypothetical sequels, and if I don't get word on its existance soon, I'll begin sacrificing vacuums to the gaming gods.

Can we at least get a New Play Control version?

Another game in need of a sequel would have to be Warcraft III. Yes, Warcraft III. Not World of Warcraft. We need a true Warcraft IV, with good ol' RTS action in place of this monotonous grinding MMORPG that seems to have taken everyone hostage. Technology has advanced greatly since the days of Warcraft III (Released over six and a half years ago), meaning so much more could be done in this hypothetical Warcraft IV. Genre-redefining features could come into play, revitalizing the RTS world that has been stagnating somewhat over the past few years. The possibilities within a Warcraft IV are just mind-blowing, and, if Activision Blizzard can manage to pull its money-soaked head from its ass, they'll see the potential and get cracking on the true follow-up to this series.

See this, Blizzard? Make a sequel to this.

The next franchise I'd like to bring attention to is one that hasn't been discussed here in a while, and that's Jak & Daxter. With amazing adventures, great level design and witty writing, it's definitely one of my favourite franchises. However, despite total sales amounting to nearly ten million units, Naughty Dog has, for some reason, not seen fit to make Jak 4. The ending of Jak 3 was a perfect lead-in to a prequel/sequel (Hard to explain; You'd have to play it to understand), yet here we are, over four years passed the third installment's release, and not even a peep on the much-needed fourth edition of the main series. Seriously, the potential in Jak 4 is so great that it would, quite seriously, make me buy a Playstation 3 if it were to be released.

Uncharted's fine and dandy, but give me a Jak IV! All these
fan-made mock-ups are starting to hurt!


If there's one thing Sonic Team's proven to us over the years, it's that a well-known and beloved franchise can, indeed, be dragged through the mud long enough to make it unrecognizable and devoid of entertainment. If there's one thing Dimps has proven, though, is that said franchise can be successfully revitalized in the right hands. Such is the case with the Sonic Rush series, bravely and competently carrying on while the Blue Blur's console adventures continue to scrap the bottom of the septic tank. Or rather, it was the case, up until the series all but disappeared with the release of the second title, Sonic Rush Adventure, back in 2007. Since then we've heard nothing of the well-deserved third iteration of this diamond in the rough, with the Nintendo DS instead being subjected to a bizarre RPG branching-off made by the more-than-capable BioWare in the form of Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. As if Sonic is a character well suited to the RPG formula. We don't need more bizarre off-shoots, SEGA. We need another Sonic Rush! Just... Feel free to cut back on the annoying sidekicks.

That jet ski had better be going to Sonic Rush 3...

Deviating a bit from the mainstream, another sequel I'd like to see is a follow-up to Hotel Dusk. Now, I don't say Hotel Dusk 2 because, lets face it, it would be quite boring for the next game to take place in the same building. Anyways, I feel that the characters of Kyle Hyde and Mila are far too interesting to just toss aside. I feel that much more can be done with these characters. Also, I think that the 1960s are an interesting decade to place a game in, and I'd really like to see more of what Cing can do with such a unique time period choice. This hypothetical Hotel Dusk sequel, whatever it may (Hypothetically) end up being called, would be an excellent way to continue supporting Nintendo platforms with intelligent and mature content. Perhaps after work wraps up on the Wii sequel to Trace Memory/Another Code we'll see some more '60s sleuthing. Until then, I think I'll be staying in good ol' room 215. After all, it is rumoured to make wishes come true...

I don't know about you, but Melissa's sure
excited about a sequel.


And with that, we come to the end of this article. Of course, there's many, many more games worthy of not-even-hinted-at sequels out there, but if I were to write up each and every one of them I'd be here all day. These five, though, are certainly some of the most deserving of the bunch. What would you say are your five most-wanted-yet-not-even-hinted-at-sequels? What out-of-the-blue sequels are you most hoping for? Feel free to let me know in the comment section, or this forum thread.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Poll #73: "Do you think $180 is too much for the DSi?" results

"Heck yeah it's too much!" 8 votes (44%)
"No, I think it's just fine" 6 votes (33%)
"Too much? It's a bargain!" 1 vote (5%)
"I don't know" 3 votes (16%)

Seems people are leaning towards it being a little on the expensive side. I'm gonna go for it, though, since I need a new one anyways (Yes, I'm still making do with that crap carnival. It's a miracle it hasn't broken further). Ironically, take a look at this:


I'll be damned if that isn't the best ad placement I've ever seen.

And now, for this week's banner... Oop, we don't have one! Nope, submissions have run dry, and I got nothin', so we're gonna have to make do with the logo for the time being. At least it's a nice logo.

Now then, this week's poll: "Is $30 too much for the New Play Control series?" There's an interesting back-and-forth on this subject going down on the forums, so I figured it'd be a good idea to see what all you non-forum users think, too. So go ahead, vote with your mouse today, and your wallet tomorrow!

The next article will probably be up tomorrow. I've got an idea brewing, but it'll have to wait until I'm more awake. Writing while sleepy usually isn't a good idea!

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Three types of game endings I really hate

What? It's Saturday, and I haven't posted since in over three days? What is this, January 10th? Sorry 'bout all the... Nothing over the last few days. I just haven't thought up anything good... Until today. So here we go!

ENDGAME SPOILERS BELOW SO DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU


When I get to the end of a game, I like it when something really amazing happens. I've been playing for 20+ hours, so I expect a little bit of a reward for all my work. I want the story that's taken me through this day(s)-long journey of fighting to have a satisfying and complete conclusion. When I get to the end of the game and the story just stops, gets butchered or is plain destroyed, well, I feel somewhat cheated. I've noticed a trend, though, in the game endings I don't like, and here's the worst three types of the lot.

The "It never really happened" ending

Any gamer who glanced at the above image before reading knows exactly what this section's all about. The "It never really happened" ending is, as it suggests, the kind of ending in which all progress made, enemies defeated and people saved in your playtime mean nothing, because, in the end, the whole thing was just a dream/simulation/acid trip. The primary and, to my knowledge, earliest offender in this category is the American Super Mario Bros. 2. Mario, Peach, Luigi and Toad all fight their asses off in the bizarre world of Subcon (Okay, that should've tipped me off right there, but I was four) through many worlds and stages, defeat the evil Wart, and... Mario wakes up. Wow. Oscar-winning material right there.

And it's not as if this hasn't happened in more recent years, either. At the end of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, after a truly epic final boss battle, Link comes to on the deck of Tetra's ship. In the distance he thinks he sees Linebeck's ship sailing off into the distance and fading away, but other than that, there's no indication whatsoever that his adventures with Linebeck, Ciela and the like were real. Ain't that a kick in the nuts.

Even worse, this isn't the first time such a thing has happened in a Zelda game! Way back in 1993 the same exact thing happened in Link's Awakening, with the hero simply waking up on a raft, adrift in some unknown sea. Similar to Phantom Hourglass, Link faintly sees the image of the Wind Fish fly by in the sky, and the game ends. All those people you came to know and become friends with in Koholint? Poof! Gone! Never existed! That's nice. This whole game was Link dreaming, making the entire thing completely dismissible in the overall Zelda canon.

The "It never really happened" ending is probably my most-hated of all, with all of my 20+ hours of work meaning absolutely nothing in the end. Despite how much I really, really hate this way of "finishing" a story, there's surprisingly one type of ending that comes quite close, and that's...

The "Too bad, you're screwed anyways" ending

Throughout your entire adventure you fight and fight and fight to save the world/your homeland/yourself/a magical donkey, and no matter what happens, the game ends with you failing miserably. Ain't that a great message to send to kids; "Don't bother trying, you'll fail no matter what!" Well, okay, I can't think of any such situation in a game intended for children, but you get the idea. Probably the most famous game to have an ending like this in Final Fantasy VII. Through three discs of solid gameplay, you fight past gigantic monsters, evil corporations and mental instability (I'm looking at you, CLOUD), yet, at the very end, the darned meteor blows the whole damn human race to bits anyways. What's that, you say? Advent Children? Bah! Whole thing's a pile of inconsistencies and impossibilities. Quite visually pleasing, though.

I can merge two universes whenever I want, okay? I'm crazy like that.

A slightly different example lies in the unknown gap between Advance Wars: Dual Strike and Advance Wars: Days of Ruin. Despite all the hard work the player puts into righting the war-torn world he lives in, it all just ends up getting pummeled by meteors a few years later. "Hey, thanks for saving us, Andy! Now we can live in pea-" BOOM! "Yeah, thanks a whole lot, Andy. Thanks to you, we all lived past this terrible war with its mercifully quick deaths only to be slowly and painfully killed by the swift decline in habitability of our planet. You're my hero. Oh, wait, you're dead, too! MY BAD." For some reason I'm noticing a bizarre relation between meteors and non-fulfilling game conclusions. Must be my imagination.

Come to think of it, though, the magnitude of both the "Too bad, you're screwed anyways" and the "It never really happened" endings don't even come close to matching the incredible smack in the face that is...

The "Thanks for playing, now go away" ending

Nothing like saving a virtual world and having the game tell you "Okay, that's it. Bye", huh? Sadly, too many developers think this constitutes a proper game ending. Sorry to break it to you, guys, but this is probably the worst ending of all: No ending. Game endings are supposed to be like stopping a car. You slow down, and eventually come to a stop. These non-endings are more like plowing your Volkswagen into a solid brick wall. Sure, it's over, but you aren't exactly happy, are you? One such example of this Jetta-crunching ending is the finale to one of the most important games ever made: Super Mario Bros. No, I'm not going to tear this apart. It's an old game made in a time when technology was limited. This here is an example. Peach's "WE PRESENT YOU A NEW QUEST" is actually more than you'll get in many modern games.

Back then it was excusable. These days? Not so much.

One franchise that has consistently culminated in a "Thanks for playing, now go away" ending is The Legend of Zelda. Beat any Zelda game, then load your save file. What's changed? Nothing (One exception: The original game's "Second Quest"). You're just standing outside Ganon's door like you were right before the final boss battle. Alright then... What do I do now? If you're a completionist like me, you've probably all but finished every sidequest in the game, leaving the ultimate battle for last. Now I'm just standing there thinking "...that's it? No bonus for slaying the evil? No perk for defeating Ganon once again? NOTHING?" Nope, that's it. No bonus post-story quest or anything like that. Oh boy, do I feel like my days of work were well-spent or what.

Another culprit here would have to be... Well, just about any Valve game with a storyline. As much as I love the guys (Which is a LOT), their games just stop dead when the story's over. The only exception I've encountered is in Portal, the ending of which yields a few additional, extra-hard challenges. But when it comes to the Half-Life series, it's never anything more than the G-Man yapping at you followed by the credits rolling.

We need to evolve past this primitive form of ending games and start having more to do after the story comes to a close. The "Thanks for playing, now go away" ending is probably the most common offender out there, yet it never gets called out for being dissatisfying. Just because the story's over doesn't mean the game has to go with it! Let us unlock new modes, bonus levels or special equipment when the story ends! I'd really like to see Hyrule post-Ganon one of these days, Nintendo. I hope I don't have to wait much longer to see this.

So then, those are three types of game endings I just plain old hate. How about you guys? Do you agree with what I said, do you have some kinds that tick you off, or do you think I'm just some crazy internet weirdo screaming on about nonsense? Whatever the case, feel free to take your personal blatherings to the comments section, or this forum thread.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Guitar Hero DSi: How will it work?


Activision loves its Guitar Hero, and that's no secret. Sure, they may love it a little too much at times, but that's not the point of this article. With the removal of Slot 2 on the DSi, Game Boy Advance games and many peripherals are now incompatible. Despite this, Activision still has plans to continue the Guitar Hero franchise on the DS. I'm sure they wouldn't just ignore the DSi userbase, so they've gotta find a way around this one limitation of the DSi hardware. I've managed to think up three ways to continue the series onto the DSi, and here they are.

Solution #1: A big freaking game card/guitar grip

This is a little hard to describe, and I suck at Photoshop, so bear with me. Basically, the grip would be part of the game card itself. When connected, the grip would sit just like the old one. During connection, though, it's a little different.


When connecting the DSi version of the grip, it should be unfolded as shown above. Then, once plugged in, it's simply folded down and snapped into place. Now, you may be thinking "Why not just cut down the height of the front part and just slide the card in like usual?" Do you have any idea how small the buttons would be if that were done? It'd hardly be comfortable for the player. No, I think that if the game card slot is the way they go, the above is the only good solution. Still, though, I think it'd hardly be ideal, and all those moving parts would surely make for an often-breaking peripheral. While it would work, I don't think this is the best idea.

Solution #2: Same thing, but this time for the SD slot

This solution doesn't need much explanation at all. It's basically what I just finished describing, but it instead goes into the SD slot. Of course, there are a few minor changes, such as the removal of the hinge (The new positioning gets rid of that problem), and the fact that the game card is now its own separate object again. One problem with this, though, is it takes up the SD slot (Meaning less storage space on the DSi, cutting down the probability of downloadable content) as well as the annoying fact you'll have to take out any inserted SD card whenever you want to play. Again, while this is a way that would work, it still has its fair share of problems.

Solution #3: Go wireless

In this solution, we do away with all those annoying factors of finding a place to plug it in and making it usable and what-not. With the wireless factor, the grip can just be snapped on and off without taking up any slot on the system. The DSi has wireless capabilities, after all, so why not use them for connecting peripherals? Well, actually, I can think of one reason: Without being plugged in directly to the console, the grip will need its own power source. That means - you guessed it - batteries. Oh, those dreaded alkaline money suckers! But, really, that's the only way to solve it all. Well, at least until wireless energy transfer is perfected. And with that, yet another good idea gets smacked in the face with a problem.

Can you guys think of any ideas on how to get around this? Perhaps some sort of radical camera-operated controller, or a crazy new touchscreen form of input? Let your ideas be known in the comment section, or this forum thread.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Poll #72: "Who's the best third-party fighter in Smash Bros. Brawl?" results, banner

"Sonic" 8 votes (47%)
"Snake" 6 votes (35%)
"They're both awesome" 2 votes (11%)
"They both suck" 1 vote (5%)
"I don't know" 0 votes (0%)

Sonic just beats out Snake for the crown. Don't worry, Konami, I still love you.

This week's banner comes from... Me, because the well of submissions has run dry! It's a new year, folks, so get back on that banner-making wagon! So, the banner's just some random Team Fortress 2 screenshot I took a while back, with a few additions made. Read with caution, people! (Crazy? Me? What makes you think that?)


As for this week's poll, the topic is "Do you think $180 is too much for the DSi?" According to a recent rumour, that's the launch price Nintendo's looking at for when it hits the States later this year. Personally, I think it's reasonable. It's a new system with new features, and only making it $50 more really is a bargain when you consider how much more is in the DSi than the DS Lite. But, others disagree, so here we are. Get votin'!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Nintendo of Canada needs to step it up

Here's some significantly more sane journalism to go with last night's madness-fest. Also, that review's going on hold for a while. I decided some more play time is needed before I write it up. Sound fair?


I'm a fan of Nintendo, that's no secret. I like their games and consoles quite a bit. What I don't like, however, is how little attention they pay attention to us up here in Canada. Nintendo of Canada hardly does anything in the way of promotions or tours. We never get the promotional Pokémon downloads like Mew or Celebi or anything like that. We never got the chance to get the monkey neighbours in our copies of Animal Crossing: Wild World. And it doesn't end with lackluster promotional services, either.

Just take a look at Nintendo.ca. Some of the "recent" headlines that float by announce the "new" developments that players can become Pokémon in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness. Dated April 23rd, 2008. No, really. Next behind that is Nintendo announcing an "incomparable breadth of upcoming games for Wii", such as Metroid Prime 3 and Super Mario Galaxy. This press release is dated July 11th, 2007. Hey, I suppose news once a year isn't so bad when compared to how royally we get screwed in all the other categories.

Oh, and you just have to LOVE how much advertising they do. I don't think I've seen a single print ad since September 2007. When it comes to advertising on television it's no better, with no original Canadian commercials, and the American versions airing for maybe a week then never showing up again. I think I know why it's so great to work at Nintendo of Canada: You just sit around all day!

See all this up here, Nintendo of Canada? It's stuff that needs to change. We need to get promotional tours, we need to get more commercials, and we need to have a properly updated Nintendo.ca. If this isn't possible, please, please tell me why. Nintendo of America has it, Nintendo of Japan has it, Nintendo of Europe has it. Why not us? Sure, we may be a smaller population compared to the above (Our people could fit in Japan over five times), but we still shouldn't be getting shafted like this. If it's smaller scale than what happens in the other regions, fine. Anything's better than what we have now, which is practically nothing.

Discuss This Article On The Forums

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

2009 vs 2007

Probably the craziest freaking thing I have ever written. This is what happens when I don't get enough sleep. You've all been warned. Also, there be Twitter in the sidebar. Expect to see even more nonsense than usual around here.



Many people consider 2007 the year to beat when it comes to the quality and frequency of Wii software. 2008 was a slightly disappointing year, with few Nintendo titles and a major drop in third party quality. 2009, however, is looking to be one of the Wii's best years. How does this promising new year stack up against the quality offerings of 2007? That's what I'm going to find out.

Announcer: "In this corner, weighing in at a hefty 365 days and sporting a game library vast enough to make the Nintendo DS tremble... TWOOOOO-THOUSAAAAAAAND-SEEEEVEEEEEEEEEEN!!!

And in this corner, weighing in at 12 months and bringing with it an upcoming release list sure to make any gamer's day... TWOOOOO-THOUSAAAAAAAND-NIIIIIIIIIINE!!!"

*Starting bell rings*

Announcer: "2007 comes out swinging with Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. 2009 blocks with Punchout! Wii and Sin & Punishment 2, then delivers a blow with a Madworld uppercut! 2007 staggers for a moment, then retaliates with Mario Strikers Charged. Ooh, a direct blow to 2009! Slightly woozy, 2009 manages to strike back with Wii Sports Resort with a MotionPlus finisher. 2007's on the ropes!"

*Bell rings*

Announcer: "And that's round one! Let's have a talk with our two fighters to see how they feel about the match so far..."

2007: "That 2009's nothing, man. Nothing! I got something up my sleeve for him... A real hidden gem. He'll never know what hit him!"

2009: "He may think he has me now, but I'm nowhere near done. I know all his moves, but nobody knows even half of what I have in store!"

*Bell rings*

Announcer: "And it's into the second round! 2007 looks poised to bring out that 'hidden gem' he mentioned earlier... Oh, and it's a devastating blow with Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure! And what's this...? Oh my! 2007 whipped out The Godfather: Blackhand Edition, delivering a mighty hit to 2009! 2009 weakly attacks back with Klonoa, but 2007's seen it before and knows what to expect! 2007's just too fast!

Wait... 2009's acting strange. He's standing up slowly... He's got a strange look in his eye. OH! A DEBILITATING BLOW! 2009 just slammed 2007 with the best punch I've ever seen! 2007's down for the count! ...8 ...9 ...10 ...and it's a K.O! 2007 is out cold! 2009 takes the title! Now then, I've got to know, what was that last punch? 2009, care to comment?"

2009: "Can't say just yet, man... but believe me... It'll be worth the wait."

Announcer: "...well, that seems to be it, folks. 2009's not about to let us in on the secret, and I doubt 2007 even saw that coming. It looks like we'll just have to wait until he's ready to reveal it all. Until then, this is your announcer 2008. Couldn't get a better job with my track record..."

...and that's why 2009 will be better than 2007. Yup.

Discuss This... "Article" On The Forums

Poll #71: "What do you think of the Pokémon games?" results, banner, me whining

"I love them!" 11 votes (33%)
"It's getting old" 20 votes (60%)
"I'm indifferent" 0 votes (0%)
"I've never liked them" 1 vote (3%)
"I'm not sure" 1 vote (3%)

Seems I'm not the only one growing tired of the series. Even the die-hard fans have to admit it's at least a little same-old same-old.

This week's banner comes from forum member ryanrab1, and it's in celebration of the upcoming (Er, actually, currently happening) launch of Mirror's Edge for the PC. Playing Garry's Mod Parkour has me pretty excited for a full-fledged free-running game, so I just may pick this up on the weekend...


This week's poll is a bit of a throwback to a certain game released just under a year ago: "Who's the best third-party fighter in Smash Bros. Brawl?" It's Sonic VS Snake, folks! Sega VS Konami! Blue VS... Not blue! Who's your pick for the best third-party brawler? Personally, I'm better with Sonic, but... Hot damn, it's Solid-Freaking-Snake in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It's too awesome for words.

Now then, about that review I said would be started on Saturday and posted today (Or rather, yesterday)... I did just what should be expected of ol' procrastinating me and didn't even start writing until today. Then I went to play the game a bit one last time before the review... And now it's 4:00 AM. I'll whip up something quick tomorrow so there'll be something new to read, and I'll work on that review afterwords. Oddly enough, the "filler" may actually be another review, so... That's kinda weird. Oh well, see ya tomorrow... Or later today. Staying up late makes me confused.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

This week = Boned

Yeah, I don't even know what happened this week. I wrote Monday's update, and all of a sudden it's early Saturday morning. Real sorry about all that. The review mentioned on Monday's still coming, I assure you. I'm expecting to get started on it tomorrow, and then it'll be up when it's done, probably Monday at the latest. Sorry about this utterly craptacular week. Just watch this crappy little video I made until it's up. Believe me, I could seriously watch this for three days straight. I'm freaking crazy like that.

(WARNING: Insane Final Fantasy VII fans may want to look away! Then get a life!)


Oh, and I'm on Twitter now, but I mostly just write replies, so nothing to really look at. But hey, follow if you want. Maybe something magical will happen.

Finally, playing Garry's Mod with the guys who made Idiots of Garry's Mod is fun, if deafening. Never ask to hear djy1991's mating call. Wait, actually, do ask. It's a life-changing experience. And by that I mean you'll go deaf and become extremely aroused all at once. So yeah, Monday, I guess. Bye.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Stop the Pokémon train, I want to get off

So short! Don't worry, I got a review planned for the next couple days. Hold tight!


Back in 1999 I got a Game Boy Color and a copy of Pokémon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition for Christmas. I loved that game then, and I still do now, having bought another copy to replace my long-lost cartridge. However, the latest iterations of Pokémon haven't managed to evoke that same feeling of wonder and enjoyment that the first two generations did. I've grown bored of Pokémon.

One of the reasons this may be is that nothing's really changed. We still fight eight themed gyms, get our starters from some professor that shares a name with a tree, and fight against some evil organization of varying competence. Four generations all with their own versions of the above, yet it all manages to be just about exactly the same in the end.

Another possible reason is the steady decline in the quality of the Pokémon themselves. The simple and cute designs of the first 150 have evolved into complex and bizarre-looking creatures occupying the latest 98 additions.

I think it's safe to say that Game Freak's run out of good ideas for new Pokémon, since now the new gimmick seems to be bringing back old creatures in new forms (Or "Formes", as they're officially called), with a serpentine Giratina, a variety of household appliance forms for Rotom (What, no sandwich?), and a mysteriously airborne dog redesign for Shaymin. If this is what's in store as the new big thing in the inevitable fifth generation, well, don't expect me to invest in Pokémon Graphite.

Also, like I said in "Pokémon: Why it needs to go back to go forward", I'm sick of how nicey-nice the so-called rivals have been these last two generations. I want someone I really feel like kicking the crap out of, not some good friend of mine. I want someone like the jerk from Gold/Silver/Crystal to really get my blood boiling again. But no, we have to make do with rejects from an after-school special instead that practically encourage us to wipe their Pokémon off the face of the Earth.

When Pokémon Platinum rolls around I'll probably pick it up for one last go, but after that I think I'll be jumping off the Pokémon train for good. It's been a good nine year ride, but it's about time I move on to something new. Maybe I'll finally get around to tracking down a copy of Mother 3 and a translation patch.

How about you? Has Pokémon lost its grip on you? Let your thoughts be known in the comment section, or this forum thread. And, if you read this by the 12th, you can also let your feelings be known via the current poll, located in the sidebar. So go ahead, vote, comment and post! Or none of the above! Because, you know, I can't control you... Yet...

One Duck's Opinion: Back from the abyss of the holidays

The holidays are over, the turkey is thoroughly digested, and it's time I get back to writing like usual. Now then, since there's no poll results to post, I suppose I'll just jump right into the weekly banner. This time around it comes to us from camieman10, based on the classic game of Duck Hunt. I'm honestly surprised to have not seen a banner like this submitted up until now. I mean, come on, it's Duck Hunt and One Duck's Opinion! So surprised it took so long. Mind = Thoroughly blown


As for this week's poll, the topic is "What do you think of the Pokémon games?" My answer will come in the form of tonight's article, so stay tuned... Or whatever the internet equivalent of that saying is.