Wow, that does actually sound kinda cool. I really haven't read up much on the new Mario game.

Is it going to have normal controls? The DS game was still 2D can I assume that this one is as well? If its a 2D game with normal controls and the koopalings come back then that shall be a recipe for something awesome.

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Based on what I've read/heard about it, it is going to be a 2D Mario with the following features.

1) 4-player cooperative action. Yeah, four players. The four characters are Mario and Luigi obviously and two random Toads (yeah, I don't know either lol).

2) YOSHIS ARE BACK!!!!11!!!!!11!!! HELZ YA!!!11!!! : DDDDDDDDDD

3) Graphics identical to New Super Mario Bros. for DS.

4) New Power-Ups include Propeller Suit and Penguin Suit.

5) New "Super Guide" mode that, when paused, the game will play the stage for you until you unpause the game, but can only be done under two conditions: a) you're playing single-player mode and b) you lost eight lives on the same stage. While it sounds nice IN THEORY, I can only imagine how many people will explicit this "feature" and be all like "LOL I CLEAHZ TEH GAMZ LOL"

Unfortunately, based on what Wiki says, there will be some motion context actions (spinning in the air and picking up stuff will be done by shaking the Wiimote, for example), but it's not too extreme either. It sounds similar to Super Paper Mario in terms of controls and such, as you hold it sideways like a NES controller. Don't know if this exactly answered your question Reggy.

Yeah, I was a bit turned off by how easy NSMB was as well. Was hardly much of a challenge at all (although it had some pretty cool music). Apparently, this game is coming out in exactly one month from now in the US. And yeah, seeing the Koopalings again in a non-cameo appearance would be awesome. Even though they were in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, I couldn't help but feel as if they were thrown in just for the sake of fan service (not necessarily a bad thing, but they didn't have dialogue for crying out loud and served only as bosses in Bowser's Castle).

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The Local Video Gaming Lunatic

Recent stuff I'm into:

Watching: A Certain Scientific Railgun (ep.14, stalled), Hoshi no Kirby (ep. 71, stalled), Nazo No Kanojo X (ep. 8), Acchi Kocchi (ep. 8)
Reading: nothing

I heard about that 4-player mode, though I guess I was under the impression it was a competitive thing like Super Mario War. Anyway yeah, this game does sound interesting.

I'll certainly play NSMB:WII, but I'm not expecting it to be to the level of quality I expect based on SMB3 and SMWorld. If it is it will be an instant classic, but if it's not there will be little reason for me to beat it more then a few quick times instead of just beating the superior older titles again (or custom level sets of those games). (I somewhat expect NSMB:WII to be mediocre, and the new levelset of SMG2 to be well more exciting).

Also I enjoy a round of mario war from time to time, I only wish there was a good network mode so I could play it at lans, local mode works alright though.

As long as we're on Mario games I was playing a lot of emulator games last week at a lan party, and completed a no death (but using warps) run on Mario 3, so I've been pretty happy about that as it's not something I've actually succeeded in before (it's very rare that I'll end up warping anyway).

I admit New Super Mario Bros. Wii is really the only game I'm looking forward to at the moment; I haven't been keeping up with modern gaming, both because I don't have the time I used to have, and also because I'm a cranky mofo. Most new games I've played just bore and frustrate me, I'm afraid. I've had plenty of fun just going over old games I never finished before.
I'm definitely not expecting anything amazing from NSMB Wii in terms of level design or difficulty (the "Super Guide" function doesn't bug me, it's not like it's forced upon the player or anything, and it could certainly be worse), but honestly, actually getting co-operative multi-player after Nintendo's track record of advertising it and then abandoning it is enough to get me hooked. All they need is the ability to create your own stages and I may very well be occupied with it for a long time - but what are the chances of that?

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I liked your "it could certainly be worse" That was hilarious.

Well all in all it doesn't sound like a bad game. I'll probably give it a shot. If the wii gimmicks aren't too much of a focus and it just kinda feel like an old mario game I might just like it.

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Monster Hunter Freedom Unite at the moment, that is, once I get a PSP.

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Good luck with that PSP. I still haven't gotten around to buying mine to play the copy of Bomberman Land Hudson Entertainment gave me. lol It's superior in some ways to other copies and I still have no way to play it.   Someday I guess...

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Actually, I thought that the fat and slim PSPs are cheaper now thanks to the release of the Go? So it should be somewhat easier to get one now (unless it's a matter of motivation lol).


I read that the game has some competitive aspects (like getting higher score and coins then other players), but it's still sounds like a otherwise cooperative game. Dunno if that's what you meant or not.

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The Local Video Gaming Lunatic

Recent stuff I'm into:

Watching: A Certain Scientific Railgun (ep.14, stalled), Hoshi no Kirby (ep. 71, stalled), Nazo No Kanojo X (ep. 8), Acchi Kocchi (ep. 8)
Reading: nothing

It has always been a matter of motivation. That and being patient and thrifty.

Edit Been playing a lot of DS Metroid Prime Pinball, and fiddling with the DS homebrew music apps. Found a couple others that I had missed my last go round. I really need to make a big blog entry with video and audio samples of what every piece of software can do and what they look like.

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LOL BUMPER STICKER

What games I've been playing as of late: Final Fantasy IV (old school RPG action, HELZ YA BOI), Resident Evil 2 Director's Cut (via PS3/PSP, actually quite scary and surprisingly I haven't died yet and haven't need to look up a FAQ yet), BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (TIS AWESOMESAUCE LIKE GUILTY GEAR), little bit of Devil May Cry 4, little Resident Evil 5 (until the expansion for it comes around, then it'll be amongst my top played lol), Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

What I'm looking forward to play: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 (JUGGERNAUT! :DDDDDD), Batman: Arkham Asylum, Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations (still don't have it lol), Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Mega Man Maverick Hunter X, Mega Man Powered Up! (still don't have 'em even though I've wanted them ever since I first heard of them lol), the new Metroid game (TEAM NINJA HELZ YA!), Ninja Gaiden Sigma 1 and 2, Bayonetta (LOOKS LIKE AWESOMESAUCE! : DDDDDDDDD), Phantasy Star Zero (TIS AWESOME, but need English to understand the plot... D: )

NEW SECTION!

Games I really should work on: Xenosaga: Episode I (just stopped for no reason; probably because of an annoying boss I'm stuck on), Phantasy Star IV (I'm right at the end too and I just put it on hold), Metroid Prime Trilogy (need to eventually start MP2 (the most boring/uninspired of the trilogy IMO) and then MP3 (lol) again (which was awesome, although the first is still the best of the three)), Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia.

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The Local Video Gaming Lunatic

Recent stuff I'm into:

Watching: A Certain Scientific Railgun (ep.14, stalled), Hoshi no Kirby (ep. 71, stalled), Nazo No Kanojo X (ep. 8), Acchi Kocchi (ep. 8)
Reading: nothing

Lately I've mostly just been playing my Touhou games and I have started up on my JAST USA collection of classic dating sims for the comp.

Other then that I've mostly been watching anime and stuff.

If I am to work on any other game it'll probably be Beyond the Beyond. I'm about 10-15 hours into it.

I also want to get in the near future Phantasy Star 0, and the Sakura Wars game coming out for PS2 this winter.

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Yeah, Touhou's another game I'm playing on and off, along with Warlords III.

OH! Speaking of games that may interest you, remember how that Fate/stay night fighting game got ported to PSP? The PSN store has it for 15 dollars, which I think is a little cheaper now if you're interested (although I know both of don't necessarily care for fighting games on portable consoles).

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The Local Video Gaming Lunatic

Recent stuff I'm into:

Watching: A Certain Scientific Railgun (ep.14, stalled), Hoshi no Kirby (ep. 71, stalled), Nazo No Kanojo X (ep. 8), Acchi Kocchi (ep. 8)
Reading: nothing

Well if its down to 15 dollars now I'll definitely give it more consideration. 30 or whatever it was before was a little much for a PSP fighting game I'm likely not going to play much. I wish we would have gotten the PS2 version instead. I really would've enjoyed that a lot more.

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Yeah, it'd probably be better that way (or at least make it playable for PS3), but they probably didn't want to risk releasing what is probably considered a niche game out here (for PS2, in fact).

But yeah, for anything DLC related, anything over 30 bucks is absolutely ridiculous, considering you get nothing but the game on your system (the only DLC game I bought (not including PS1 games) was MvC2, which I believe was 25, and the only reason I bought it was because there was no way in hell I'd be paying 100 bucks for a hard copy. No way). No box, let alone box art, no instruction manual (and no, online manuals do not count), certainly no hard disk.

Although, since we're on this subject, I kind of liked what some DL games did (Patapon 2 comes to mind for me) and released the box that came with the manual and the download voucher for the game (so you aren't buying the same thing twice). Definitely not the same thing, but it's still kind of nice (at least you get an almost complete box).

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The Local Video Gaming Lunatic

Recent stuff I'm into:

Watching: A Certain Scientific Railgun (ep.14, stalled), Hoshi no Kirby (ep. 71, stalled), Nazo No Kanojo X (ep. 8), Acchi Kocchi (ep. 8)
Reading: nothing

Yeah I'm very against downloadable content now, streaming and all this digital nonsense but it looks like it really is trying to take over and may succeed in doing so. There seems to be a rediculous amount of support for it and I can't understand why. It's all lazy, cheap people who are getting lulled into it.

Only a few of us older hardcore gamers really seem to understand how terrible this whole situation is. I want to keep hard copies of games around. It's so much better then digital downloads. You buy it and its yours to do whatever you want with. Play it when you want, take it where you want and display it on your shelf. What happens with Downloaded content. You lose the system you had it on then it's gone, you'll have to buy it again. You can't display it in your collection so no one knows you have it. It creates a very plain boring and unreliable perception of things related to gamers.

Is the world going to come to the day where everyone wears a white shirt and white pants and eats a ham sandwich for breakfeast, lunch and dinner, and all they have in their white generic apartment is a white computer that does everything for them?

I'm sad i'm so broke right now, otherwise I'd be out their supporting what's left of my hard copy videogame industry.

I think I'll save my money and eventually get the import version of Fate/stay Night for the japanese PS2.

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Yeah, I don't understand it either. All of these dumbsh-- I mean gamers, are so into this DLC based bullshit it's not even funny.

I've read some people whining that they want BlazBlue 2 to be released as DLC because they feel that, since its "pretty much the same game", you shouldn't have to pay full amount for it. Which is a load of crap. And then there's other nonsense about how the expansion for RE5 is only going to see a hard copy release in Japan. Like, WTF.

I guess these people do not understand how valuable a hard copy really is. You can display it, play it, do whatever with it, as you said. With DLC, all you can do is play it and... that's it. If you don't like it, you wasted money and you can't get a refund or anything from it. All you get is just the ability to download a game you didn't actually like. And what good does that do you?

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The Local Video Gaming Lunatic

Recent stuff I'm into:

Watching: A Certain Scientific Railgun (ep.14, stalled), Hoshi no Kirby (ep. 71, stalled), Nazo No Kanojo X (ep. 8), Acchi Kocchi (ep. 8)
Reading: nothing

Yeah it's mostly people whining cause they are a bunch of lazy, cheapshits that don't want to pay for games but if everything goes digital They'll be in for a reality check. Going digital isn't gonna make anything cheaper, and if it does it'll only be ever so slightly. They'l put the money you could save from cutting all those production costs into something else, like advertising or releasing a game digitally then still charging you for expansions and add ons in addition to that. Or they'll charge you for the service and bandwith. They'll get your money somehow. And what do you get? Nothing but a game that's stuck on your system's hardrive. Especially a game like Blazblue, no soundtrack? no artbook? no collector's case? the horror of it all..... In stead of paying 60 dollars for a beautiful collector's set I spend 40 or so on a download that's gone when my system craps out. wow! I really make out!!!

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Not to mention that as soon as the server shuts down, there's no way to get anymore new stuff you may have missed prior, or you may not even be able to use that content. Also, if something happens server side (like that whole ApolayPS3 nonsense that was going on a month or two back), you can't do anything with your DLC based stuff, or even things involving the internet (during the two day ApolayPS3, you could not play PS3 games with trophy support, you could not play any DLC based games or they'd be reduced to their lowest format (like a demo), or even access the PSN Store).

Anyway, with that overdue rambling aside, I have a few new things to share with you all.

Dissidia: Final Fantasy - I gave in and bought the game (mainly cuz it was only 20 dollars. Thank goodness for Game Day sales!). It's actually pretty fun, if you're even the slightest bit into Final Fantasy. It's pretty much a 3D fighting game with RPG elements and lots of Final Fantasy fanservice (the whole thing is you can play as a hero or villain character from the first 10 main FF games). The game features a impressive roster of characters, 22 playable characters total (10 of which, the villain cast, must be purchased for use outside of Arcade mode, and two secret characters, a good character representing 11 and a villain representing 12, whom must be unlocked and then purchased for use) and all of them have fairly unique play styles. It's a great game if you're even the slightest bit into Final Fantasy. If you aren't, you probably wouldn't enjoy it as much. I recommend it to anyone who has some interest or is somewhat familiar with FF.

Phantasy Star Zero - Since I replaced my DS Lite, I've been playing this game again. It's a lot like Phantasy Star Online if any of you have played it. The story and themes are kind of typical (friendship and teamwork can overcome all!), but the gameplay makes up for it. I've only played it with another person a few times, but it's pretty fun and even the singleplayer mode isn't too bad and there's plenty of different things to do. Good game for anyone who likes action RPGs.

Phantasy Star Universe - I was playing this during the server's last month of service. It's a shame I wasn't able to play the game on it's last day. It's even more of a shame that the game never saw it's full potential no thanks to SEGA's lousy management. :( I now eagerly await any opportunities for a private server to come around.

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker - I was excited for the game when the first playable demo came around, but with the new trailers and such, I've become less excited for the game. Mostly because of dumb things like in-game advertisements (and they weren't even done right for crying out loud), certain weapons (a grenade that summons a helicopter that drops a cardboard box? A laser that makes a friend invisible? A laser that crosses the streams when another such laser connects to it? WTF?), stupid enemy AI, amongst other things. But I'll probably still pick it up, I may even consider getting one of the pre-order PSP bundles for it since I like the bonuses (a PSP carrying case, a camo patterned PSP, and a voucher for exclusive content). But yeah, I'm not as excited about the game as I was half a year ago.

Final Fantasy 4 - Thanks to Dissidia, I've been motivated to finish this game as there was no reason for me to stop playing it (I'm almost certain that I'm almost finished). I'm just grinding right now as the enemies at where I'm supposed to go are really strong, almost too strong, for my current party. Maybe finishing FF4 will also inspire me to finish some of my other unfinished RPGs (Xenosaga and Chrono Cross).

Well, that's it for now.

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The Local Video Gaming Lunatic

Recent stuff I'm into:

Watching: A Certain Scientific Railgun (ep.14, stalled), Hoshi no Kirby (ep. 71, stalled), Nazo No Kanojo X (ep. 8), Acchi Kocchi (ep. 8)
Reading: nothing

Epic Mickey and Deadly Creatures, both for the Wii

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Better graphics don't make a better game

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