E3 Reactions

For those of you that are unaware, E3 is going on now, and there are always huge announcements made there!

I just wanted to post my most favourite announcement thus far.  No, it’s not the new Apple iCloud, or the WiiU, or even the PlayStation Vita  (which looks strangely like my old Sega Game Gear… hmm…).

Behold, Soul Calibur V!

The narrative on this trailer is pretty lame, but the graphics and characters look great!  I loved the story mode of IV and really hope that this one is just as good, if not better!  Of course, if that’s the case, I am so going to sink some hours into this one, FTW!

Tablet Fever!

I just got my iPad2, and will be sure to post a review on it once I play around a bit.  I’ll be posting reviews of apps, software, and accessories as I purchase them, too!  In the meantime, I’ll share this article I saw on gamesradar:

“Sony unveiled the two ‘PlayStation Certified’ tablets at an event in Japan last night. Running on Android 3.0, both tablets are scheduled for release in the fall of this year. The first device, codenamed S1, features a 9.4-inch display, while the other hosts two separate 5.5 inch displays and a closeable clamshell formfactor. The S1 is designed for home use, while the S2 is for more mobile-minded consumers.  Both tablets will receive what Sony calls “high quality first generation PlayStation titles”,” which gamesradar believes will be just PS1 games.I am a fan of PS1 mainly because it’s the one I grew up on.  I only played a few PS2 titles, so I think the old titles would be ok with me, but for the mainstream audience, it seems like Sony needs to be more forward-thinking and begin to make new titles for these tablets, or at least find a compatible clone of PS3 titles for these tablets.  The Nintendo DS, for example, has a massive games market and online content which make it thrive as a portable gaming platform.

There are an abundance of tablets on the market now, and it will be very interesting to see what brands will make it out of this decade intact.  I opted for the iPad mainly because of the app store and the ability to use it with the apps as an art tablet (although there is no pressure sensitivity yet).  I had a mac as my first laptop, and I loved it, but it is getting to be obsolete and needed to be replaced.  I have my eye on the ThinkGeek bluetooth keyboard, so that this new and trendy tablet will also double as a travel laptop for me.

Do you have a tablet? What are its pros and cons? Which are the forerunners right now?

Nintendo – My First Geek Love

 

The Original Nintendo Entertainment System

I’m a Nintendo Girl through and through.   I began playing the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System at my birth-buddy’s place.  He and I were born at the same time, but his family was more affluent than mine.  Thus, they got a NES, and I went to his house all the time to play.  We got Super Mario Brothers to begin.  Over time, more of my friends got Nintendos.  I played Castlevania, Donkey Kong, Mario 2 and 3, Track & Field, Double Dragon, Mike Tyson’s Punch-out, all three Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games and Final Fantasy (to name a few!).

Then, one Easter it happened.  The Easter Bunny left my sisters and I a Nintendo!  We were enthralled.  We owned games such as The Legend of Zelda, Dr. Mario, Star Tropics, Tetris, Duck Tales, and yes, a McDonald’s game called McKids.

What the hell kind of brainwashing was this?

We couldn’t get enough.  We borrowed games from friends.  We rented games from the video store.  My babysitter brought us games like Paper Boy, Bubble Bobble, Skate or Die! and Jaws.  It was a never ending gaming party.  I loved it.

Of course, I played outside too.  I was a healthy kid.  But I was a kid born at just the right time to live through the evolution of console gaming.

Alas, Atari. I never knew you.

Although I didn’t have an Atari, my dad did.  I have no recollection of playing, but I think it’s still mouldering in his basement somewhere.  I hope someday to find it.  But I did play through a ton of systems.  Of course, as I said, I’m a Nintendo girl, so I owned the Nintendo iterations and played on my friends’ Sega and Sony systems.  The only time I folded and bought a Sega of my own, it was the Sega Game Gear.  Not a smart move.  I totally should have gone for the GameBoy.

In the future, I may go into more detail on the myriad of systems I have played, but I felt it best to start with my 8-bit baby.

Did you play NES back in the day? What was your favourite game?