I believe that there's what they call a "false start"

Well, that plan kind of failed... Entirely. I think this deserves some explanation...

I'll be moving in two months (Pretty much exactly two months, actually) and I'm pretty stressed out about it. I've never moved before, and I don't really know what to expect during this whole deal.

So then, to make a short story shorter, I'm stressed out and it's affecting my ability to think for extended periods of time. What does that mean for the blog? That's hard to say. For most bloggers this would mean a temporary drop in update frequency, but that's not exactly possible in my situation (Unless I want to start deleting posts, but that's just insane).

So... I really don't know. There very well could be less than a handful of posts between now and August (Yeah, I know, huge change from the norm, huh?). Even if that's the case, though, August will bring many good things. I'll finally be getting my 360 online after the move, meaning I'll be able to fully experience all my new games and actually get to review them. Good things will come of this, I assure you!

In the more immediate future, I hope to make some time for a few smaller articles in the next week or so. Just keep on gaming until then, folks!

April Fools' Day wrap-up, site news

Ah, isn't April 1st a wonderful day? Nothing like some organized insanity to brighten up one's life. Yes, folks, everything published here yesterday was a complete lie. This isn't becoming a news site, all Nintendo-related hoaxes aren't true (Or are they?), Miyamoto wasn't caught getting Shiggy with it, Sony didn't announce the PSP 3D (But it's only a matter of time), and Microsoft did not, in fact, buy the moon. I figure this should all go without saying, but after hearing some people believed last year's fictitious PETA vs Nintendo lawsuit, I just wanted to make sure everyone gets the straight story.

Now then, moving on to the matter of this blog's nearly bi-monthly update schedule... That's something that actually will be changing. Starting now, there will be at least one post published to One Duck's Opinion every single week. I hope eventually to nail updates down to every Wednesday, but for now, once a week is how the schedule's going to be.

I suppose that's all that really needs to be said here... Oh, with the exception of one thing. Just in case you believe anything I said yesterday... APRIL FOOLS'!

This is Psycho J. Duck for ODDLY News. Goodnight everyone!

Spam eggs spam spam bacon and spam

Well, I may not have been all that active here lately, but some random Japanese spammer sure has. I woke up yesterday morning to seventeen e-mails waiting for me, fifteen of which were alerting me to comments on my blog, all of them spam. I figured I'd just delete these and it would all be over with.

...then I woke up today to find seventeen more e-mails in my inbox, and once again, fifteen of them were spam. From the same guy. On all the same posts. Either it's a bot that managed to circumvent the word verification thirty times, or some weirdo in Japan has way too much time on his hands. Either way, I've decided I've had enough of this crap. I've locked all but one of the comment sections that were spammed (I left one open due to it still being somewhat active), so maybe that will take care of things. Then again, maybe it won't. I guess I'll find out tomorrow when the bot/weirdo strikes again, as it/he seems to attack every night.

Well then, with that out of the way, here's a bit of news. I've been working on an article for the past little while. It's gone through about five different major changes in structure and subject, and currently only looks to be about half as long as the pseudo-novel I originally had planned. It may be shorter, but it's certainly more focused and it actually makes sense this time around. Bonus!

I'm aiming to have this article posted later tonight. Apologies for the inactivity in January. It was quite the hectic month for me, with a death in the family, a stabbing in the neighbourhood, a car fire in the underground parking lot (Located directly below my apartment, no less), and, on the bright side, my birthday. I suppose that helped balance things out a bit.

Well then, I suppose I'll be getting to work on that article now. In the meantime, feel free to peruse the following rejected titles for this post:

"James Spameron's Avatar", "Spamming Private Ryan", "Spam Spam Everywhere and Not a Link to Click", "Spam It All To Hell", "Mama Always Said Life Was Like a Box of Spam", "Don't You Worry About Spam, Let Me Worry About Blank", "Spam! Unh! Good God!", "Spam In The Hall: Spam Comes To Town", "Another One Spams the Dust", "I Am Spamerica And So Can You", "The Bugs Bunny and Spammy Show", "Spam Me Once, Shame on You. Spam Me Thirty Times... Shame on You", "NBA Spam", "Harry Potter and the Spammer of Spamzkaban", "The 52nd Spammy Awards", "Spamming 101"

Oh, this appears to be the first post of the year. Uh... Happy 2010?

A bit of news *UPDATE*

The Golden Duck Awards may be a little late this year due to unforeseen delays arising from holiday preparations and the like. The article is currently a little more than half-written, and due to go up tomorrow night. Usually this wouldn't be a problem, but I am going to be very busy tomorrow, and I'm unsure if I'll be able to finish them on time. I will, of course, do my best to do so, but I cannot promise anything.

I'd also like to apologize for the lack of updates so far this month. As I said (And you are no doubt aware of), the holidays are approaching, as well as all the associated work and anticipation associated with them. On the bright side, in addition to this year's Golden Duck Awards, another article is on the way, and should be out by the end of the year.

That being said, it's time for me to get some sleep. I must be off in the morning, and I'd like to be rested for tomorrow's trip. Heck, I'll probably end up sleeping on the subway anyways. Anyways, goodnight, folks. I hope to see y'all later tomorrow.

*UPDATE*: I'm so sorry, but I am just too tired out from the trip to finish the Golden Duck Awards tonight. I'll probably have an hour or so of free time available tomorrow, and I'll do my best to finish things up within that time. Again, I apologize, but continuing to write while barely being able to keep my eyes open just wouldn't make for a very good article, would it? It's generally a better idea to be conscious while writing, I find.

Hello? Anyone there?

This break lasted a little longer than I intended... I really hit one hell of a writer's block back there. Right now I have, oh, five or so unfinished articles sitting around. I just couldn't figure out what to write. Well, until today, as there's a new article right below this one! Really! No, I'm not kidding! Look! It's alright, I'll wait!

...

See? Bizarre, huh? Yes, I know it's not the longest update, but more extensive articles are on the way.

Now then, as for future updates, I hope to have something posted every week, with the occasional "bonus" update once in a while. As I said in the last post before this break, upon their return, polls and banners won't be weekly. They'll just change about whenever a new topic comes along. Having to change it every week led to lackluster topics, and I really try to avoid anything that can be described as "lackluster". It's not a pretty word.

One last thing. If you look below the banner (Below the ads if you don't have AdBlock), you may see some new randomly-selected text floating about. I decided to add a few random non-sequiturs during the last two and a half months. See, I wasn't being completely useless! ...just mostly! Anyways, there's 29 of them now, with more being added whenever something occurs to me. Catch 'em all!

For those of you still here, I thank you! All two of you! For anyone who has left, I hope you return. And for anyone visiting for the first time... Read the archives while I get things back up to speed, okay?

One Duck's Opinion: Dead No More!

Gee, I bet nobody saw this one coming

As if you hadn't noticed, nothing's happened here in over a month, save for some poll results (The latest of which are slapped on the end of this post) and crummy five-second banners. Not exactly activity-central around here.

Long story short, I've just had no will to write. Ideas? Oh, I have some ideas. I just can't freaking write them. Hell, I'm finding it hard enough to write this. Well, let's get it over with...

I'm taking a break. Yeah, I know, I've technically been "Taking a break" for the past month, but this is different. There will be no new polls or banners until further notice. Posts will commence... Well, they'll actually resume whenever I feel able to write. Could be as soon as this weekend and as far away as next month. I don't know. Things WILL resume, though. I am NOT abandoning this blog. I haven't been doing this for two years just to quit now.

Stepping back quickly to address the matter of banners, for now I've tossed up the basic logo as the banner. In fact, I think I'll leave it like this, at least until I think of a new "generic" banner to take its place. Not that anyone's really looking at it anyways...

So that's how things will be. Notice how I didn't once use that dirtiest of words... "Hiatus". I hate that word. It always ends up meaning "Yeah, it's basically over, you can leave now". That's not what's going to happen here. This is not a hiatus. This is a break. Similar? Yes. Precisely the same thing? Not in my eyes.

How will I be using this time, you may ask? I'll be catching up on my gaming. Hopefully, when I return, this will provide a nice wave of reviews to kick things off once again. As of now, I'm approaching the "review point" on about three different games, hopefully indicating a return sooner rather than later. Let's hope this proves true!

Finally, what will things be like when posting resumes? To be brief, they'll be sporadic. Some weeks there may be four posts, and others there may be nothing at all. It all depends on inspiration and presence/absence of a writer's block. Also, polls and banners are likely to remain absent for a while, since, to be quite honest, there's been nothing at all to make a banner/poll about. Maybe I'll turn to monthly banners and polls instead, sort of like what I've Never Liked Your SpinachPuffs did before it went on... *Shudders* Hiatus.

Well, that's it, I guess. I'll see you all later!

Oh, and here's those poll results in case you still feel like reading after all that.

Poll #97: "DS Lite or DSi: Which do you prefer?"

"DS Lite" 2 votes (14%)
"DSi" 8 votes (57%)
"I like them both equally" 2 votes (14%)
"I don't know" 2 votes (14%)

...you know, this is somewhat ironic, but... Writing this has made me feel more like, well, writing. Looks like things may resume soon after all! Until then, folks!

Poll #96: "What do you think of Wii MotionPlus so far?" results, no new banner, additional textual screen-filler

"It's amazing!" 2 votes (11%)
"I like it" 2 votes (11%)
"I don't like it" 0 votes (0%)
"It's terrible!" 1 votes (5%)
"I'm indifferent/don't know yet" 1 vote (5%)
"I haven't tried it yet" 11 votes (64%)

I'm surprised so many people haven't tried it out yet! Well, at least those who have tried it seem to enjoy it. Except for that one guy... What's his deal?

As for this week's banner... There isn't one! I figure almost nobody saw it last week anyways, so why replace it? Also, I'm tired.

Moving along to this week's poll, the question is "DS Lite or DSi: Which do you prefer?" Both systems have their advantages, but what's your preference? To be honest, I can't pick one. I hope most other voters are more decisive than me!

Now, about the utter lack of activity here... I'm feeling much better now, so things will certainly be picking up very soon. I will write something this week, no question about it. Just not now, because it's 2:32 AM. But soon!

Poll #95: "Do you prefer 2D or 3D platformers?" results, banner, a word on recent activity

"2D" 7 votes (36%)
"3D" 5 votes (26%)
"I can't decide" 7 votes (36%)
"I'm not into platformers" 0 votes (0%)

It seems that those who aren't indifferent tend to lean in the direction of 2D. I guess you just don't forget those early days of Super Mario Bros.!

This week's banner is based on that funky-fresh Zelda concept art the internet has been chewing on for the last month. Is she the living version of the Master Sword? Or is she maybe the queen of the fairies? Hell if I know... Or care. I just want the damn game!


For this week's poll, the question is "What do you think of Wii MotionPlus so far?" It's been out for a little while now, so those who've picked it up probably have quite a bit of play time to base an opinion off of. Personally, I'm waiting until Wii Sports Resort, so I can't really say. Perhaps you have had a chance to give it a go, and if you have, let everyone know how you feel! And if you'd like to elaborate on your choice, you can always drop a comment!

Now, you've no doubt noticed that preceding this poll results post is another poll results post... Preceded by another (Not counting that little paragraph in between). To put it briefly (And to spare you all the details), I've been unwell lately. I've been unable to concentrate on much the last little while, including my love of gaming. And when I'm not gaming, I'm not coming up with article ideas. I'm feeling somewhat better as of today, but I've got a little ways to go before I'm back to normal. Don't worry, folks, I wasn't in some sort of crippling car accident and I don't have cancer or anything. It's just a... Well, I suppose you could say it's a condition I have. Nothing deadly, nothing like that, relax. Just something I'll have to deal with over the next little while.

As I said, I've been feeling a little better, so I would expect I'll have something written and posted soon. Don't expect anything big, but it'll be something. Hopefully I can keep things running smoothly from there. Now, though, I'd better be getting my sleep. See you all again soon... Sort of. I really don't actually see any of you ever. Awkwaaaaaaaard...

New poll and banner tomorrow

Way too tired to do it tonight. Garry's Mod is eating my life again. This post will probably be deleted in a matter of hours, so if you see it, well, hooray for you, I guess.

Well, so much for that.

Back on this blog's second "birthday", I said the following:

May those droughts be a thing of the past, and the one thing to be left behind in this new year!

As you can tell by the fact I haven't written anything other than poll results in over a week, I've failed utterly at leaving that behind. Not for a lack of trying, though, as I have seven article fragments sitting in wait, but I just can't figure out how to finish them. In short, I have author's constipation, or rather, writer's block (Take your pick). I suppose it could be worse, though. Chris Livingston hasn't updated in four weeks. Let's just pray I get over my writer's block in a more timely manner!

I won't make any promises as to when the words will start flowing again, but rest assured I'll be doing my best to restore activity... As I frag people in Team Fortress 2. While some people take showers to clear their minds, I'm the guy who's decloaking behind them and pulling out my knife. "PEEK-A-BOO!"

Poll replacement, new banner

Well, that poll was a bust, garnering only seven votes. It sure isn't easy making a poll referring to an event that will still work after said event. Instead of attempting to gauge overall thoughts based on seven votes this Monday, I'll just be replacing the poll with a new one, and letting it run straight through until the 15th. Now then, the question is "What did you think of E3 2009?" Simple, yes? Personally, I was pleased with what I saw. Nintendo fans got Super Mario Galaxy 2, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Metroid: Other M and the long-awaited Golden Sun DS. That's plenty enough for me to consider this a good week.

Now then, for this week's banner, the subject is Super Mario Galaxy 2, one of the games announced on Tuesday. The original Galaxy was an incredibly fun adventure that was downright beautiful to boot. If the image used in the banner is any indication, Galaxy 2 will be carrying on both traditions.


As with the poll, this banner will remain up until the 15th. Now then, with this taken care of, I'll get to work on a few article ideas I have floating about. Expect one (Or more!) to appear later today or over the weekend.

Another year, another sappy "thank you" post

May 28th, 2007: The day this blog began. The first ever article appeared on One Duck's Opinion, a review for Pokémon Diamond. Two years later, and Pokémon Diamond is just one of 462 posts here. Much has happened to One Duck's Opinion these last two years...

One Duck's Opinion gained a deal with THQ to review their games (A deal which has sadly just about dried up). The site also widened its focus from just Nintendo to PC games, and eventually (And somewhat silently) opened up to the entire industry (Although still focusing mainly on Nintendo). Post frequency shifted dramatically downwards from daily to a once or twice a week, but quality has certainly gone up. Over the last two years, this blog has certainly carved out its own nice little niche, garnering an average of some 200 unique hits a day (Double that of this time last year). Like I said in the first anniversary post, triple digit numbers may not seem like much, but to a mere opinion blogger like me, it's quite stunning. Sure, a bunch of these may be bots and Google Image results (In fact, I have proof pointing to both), but it's still a great milestone to have reached.

While many of those hits may be bots, Google Image search results and spiders and such, the few that are actual human beings coming here to see what I have to say mean a lot to me. The fact that you folks stick with me through the constant periods of no updates at all and the rampant delays is pretty awesome. So yeah, this is the "sappy 'thank you'" part of the post.

Next week brings us E3, and you can count on plenty of posting for the next little while (Even tomorrow and Saturday maybe?). May those droughts be a thing of the past, and the one thing to be left behind in this new year!

Celebrate And Scream And Party On The Forums

Regarding the review system

I've gotten a few questions about my Left 4 Dead review, and the complete lack of a rating at the end of it. Why is this? Well, quite simply, I've decided to ditch any sort of rating system altogether. While the new system worked for a while, it still didn't feel quite right to me. It resulted in me grouping together fantastic titles with games that were just simple fun. For example, take a look through "Review-a-palooza 2009: 55 DS games reviewed" and compare a few of the games that recieved "YAY" ratings. I've got amazing, epic-length games like Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and Final Fantasy III grouped in with more basic games like Brain Age and Feel the Magic: XY/XX. They're all good games, yes, but it just doesn't seem right to group them together like that.

It also basically amounted to "YAY" equaling a game rating of 7.5-10, so while it was broader than numerical scores, it still fell back upon that primitive system I'd rather see the industry leave behind. Also, being a broader score, every game I've given a full review to since then has received a "YAY" rating. While I do think they all deserved the ratings they received, I'd rather the review board not turn into a massive field of green.

I actually started doing this back in the DSi review, but I suppose it went unnoticed due to the difference in subject matter. It wasn't until last night that things became completely clear. In hindsight, to avoid confusion, I probably should have made a post beforehand. I didn't expect people to react as if I'd made an error in my review. My apologies for that.

I used to think abandoning the conventional rating system and creating one of my own was the way to go. Now, though, I think I'm done with rating systems altogether (All: "I think I'm done with rating systems"*). A simple summary paragraph at the end is all any review really needs, and that's what I'll be sticking with.

And that's how it will be from now on.

*To any who didn't get this joke, watch AIRPLANE!, now.

Well... Crap.

I really really really really really hate breaking a promise, but getting that review today (Or rather, yesterday, as it now is) just wasn't possible in the end. The reason for it not being possible, though, is actually a piece of good news: This is a really freaking long review. If I had to take a guess as to what it will be like when finished, I'd put it at just about the same length as the DSi review, if not a little longer. So... Good news, yes? Silver lining and whatnot?

Alright, I've got to get to sleep now. Tomorrow I will bust my ass yet again to get this done, but this time, I'll succeed.

...I've gotta stop busting my ass. You only get one, after all.

Poll #86: "Are you happy with your DSi?" results, banner

"I'm very happy with it" 7 votes (31%)
"I'm content with it" 2 votes (9%)
"I'm disappointed in it" 0 votes (0%)
"I don't have an opinion on it" 0 votes (0%)
"I don't have a DSi" 13 votes (59%)

No surprise at the majority of voters not having a DSi yet, but a pleasant surprise came from seeing nobody regretting their purchase. Either the DSi is truly awesome, or we're just really easy to please!

This week's banner is really what last week's should've been, but hey, better late than never. Excitebots: The only place where racing robots assemble sandwiches while playing soccer.


This week's poll question is as follows: "Will E3 bring a new Zelda?" E3 may be over a month away, but that hasn't stopped people from going mad with speculation. Popular this year (And really, just about every year) is the notion of a new Zelda game (Because, you know, it's not as if we're getting a new DS one soon or anything...). Personally, I don't see it happening. Check out this article for my full reasoning. Long story short, I'm not expecting it to be revealed at E3. After all, we have to leave some space for Pikmin 3 to shine, don't we?

Now then, about that article I've been working on... I haven't been able to touch it all day. Left 4 Dead ate up my time faster than you can say "BOOMER!", so that article will have to wait. Have no fear, though! My reasoning for my vote in this week's poll will be coming up within the next few hours, so there will still be something to read. Hold tight!

I don't freaking believe this

So, I sat down today, all ready to go, got out all the materials I needed to get writing, stretched my hands over the keyboard, and...

BZZRT!!!

The freaking power goes out. No, really. Check these out:



See any lights on? Aside from the one emergency light in that lobby, not a single light was on in my apartment complex for a solid 4 1/2 hours. The plaza across the street was dark, the condo building behind us was out, and just about every house up the street was powerless, too. You wanna hear something really crazy, though? You want to know what caused all this trouble?

A freaking tornado. In Toronto. Right after the power went out, wind ripped through the driveway and blew everything everywhere. A kiddy pool I've never seen before in my whole life is under our balcony. I heard on the radio that some guy's 160 lb. dog nearly got blown away. There were reports of funnel clouds and tornadoes all over southern Ontario. So yeah, I got owned by a tornado. How was your day?

Needless to say, I'm in no mood to right (Anymore >_> ). I managed to pick up Excite Bots earlier today, and even though I said I wouldn't play it until after I finished this article, I need to let off some steam, so yeah, nuts to that. I'll get writing tomorrow after we finish house-hunting (Yay!). Oh, and if you want an apology for this delay, I got nothing. Next time you see a tornado, though, feel free to ask it for one.

Oh, and if Mother Nature's reading this on her godly Blackberry, I have one thing to say: I won't be forgetting this, old lady.

Bad news, everyone ***UPDATE***

Farnsworth returns, but with somewhat less-disastrous news.


Sorry, folks, but I've got to delay this article just one more time. I just wasn't happy with how the first half turned out, so I decided to start it over. I'm already far more pleased with the bit I've written so far of version 2.0, so I doubt we'll be seeing another rewrite.

One thing I want to say, though, is that I hope you guys don't get your expectations too high for this article. Although it is the first article of its kind I have ever written (A large factor in my decision to rewrite it), it's nothing you haven't seen before. Still, I'm sure you'll enjoy it when it rolls around, so be sure to stay tu- Er... What's the new internet version of "Stay tuned"? Is there one? Huh. Well, anyways, make sure to check back later tomorrow for the finished product. But hey, it's not like a little delay has ever killed anyone! ...has it? Oh dear.

12:58 AM, April 25th, 2009 UPDATE: I did not get nearly as much work done on this today as I hoped I would. After running some errands tomorrow morning, I'll get right on... Writing on. Sorry for all the insane delays! Really, I am!

Poll #85: "Have you ever played a Virtual Boy?" results, banner, explanations ***UPDATE***

9:31 PM, Wednesday, April 22nd: The article won't quite be ready to be posted tonight, but there's a good-sized chunk of it already done. It will almost certainly be ready for Thursday, though!

"Yes" 6 votes (26%)
"No" 16 votes (69%)
"I'm not sure" 1 vote (4%)

So that's six who have, sixteen who haven't, and one that just can't remember. Don't worry, I'm sure it'll come back to you soon enough!

This week's banner is themed on the DSi. Why? Because I can't think of anything else to theme it on (Except ExciteBots, but all banners based on that ended up looking like complete ass). More on that later.


As for this week's poll, the question is "Are you happy with your DSi?" I'd have to say I vastly prefer my DSi over my old DS Lite, but that's mainly due to my old DS Lite being horribly disfigured... Or, to put it less grotesquely, in a NERF case. That aside, I am quite happy with my purchase.

Now then, for the explanation. You'll probably notice that this post is a full 24 hours later than it should have been. Why is that? Basically, it's because I hit a writer's block at 120 MPH... About two weeks ago. This is evident from the grand total of two articles posted over the last fortnight. I've been unable to do much real thinking over the last two weeks, with reasons ranging to personal problems I'd rather not bore you with to a sudden renewed addiction to Garry's Mod. On the bright side, this mental blockage seems to have just about passed, and I've got a good feeling about something substantial being posted tomorrow, with one of three solid ideas ready to go.

Alright, so with all that out of the way, I'll get that new poll up and running and probably head to sleep a little afterwords. You folks have a great night, and I'll see y'all tomorrow!

Post delayed until tomorrow

Alright, I know I swore that there'd be something up today, but this is just taking way to long to get done. This is undoubtedly going to be the longest article I have ever written, and it's going to take more than one evening's work to finish. Rest assured, though, that it will be ready tomorrow, even if I don't end up playing a single video game all day to complete it. Consider this next article a symbol of the grand re-opening of One Duck's Opinion after the last two weeks.

Posting is indeed inbound

Sorry about the silence over the last few days, folks. I was feeling under the weather, but now I'm just about all better. I managed to pick up MadWorld on Wednesday, but I really haven't been able to concentrate on it well enough to form any sort of opinion as of yet, aside from the fact that I have a new appreciation for jet engines. I'll do my best to get a good session in with it tomorrow, so expect some impressions later in the evening.

Sorry about all this delaying and absence, folks! Believe me, I don't like it either. Time for it all to change!