Multiple:Option

DSi-XL.co.uk are having a competition for the best Nintendo-related website. Multiple:Option is in the running - so take a few minutes out of your game-playing schedule and vote for me here: http://www.dsi-xl.co.uk/dsi-xl-nintendo-website-contest/

I'm going on record now to say that the best game of this generation is... Xbox 360 Achievements and Gamerpoints. It's basically a real-life RPG for people like me that stupidly enjoy increasing numbers.

I hit 10,000 Gamerpoints a few days ago. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 tipped me over, having completed the Downed but Not Out Achievement using two controllers and my feet.

I scanned a bunch of retro game ads that appeared in various comic books from the 1990's - back when I was obsessed with polybags, backing boards, variant covers and keeping things mint (good times!).

To advertise a game back then, you needed to:

1. Use a pun or double-meaning; or
2. Note the game's technical prowess

While modern ads today don't really do much of (1) anymore, we still see lots of (2), which is kinda sad. Ten years on, the market is still being driven by graphics, not gameplay. Oh well.

Looking back at these ads, I was surprised that:

• Some of the games even existed (i.e. never heard of them before)
• Some of the games look quite good (i.e. might be worth tracking down and trying)
• A lot of text to describe/explain the game
• Acclaim did a lot of comic book advertising, which might help explain why they ended up buying Valiant Comics (who owned Turok, Shadowman, etc.)

Anyway, check out the gallery at Photobucket.

Simply the most dramatic trailer for any PS2 game involved half-naked Japanese gravure idols ever! Get it from Play-Asia if they still stock them.

A disc that contains a saved replay that can be transferred onto your memory card and watched in Gran Turismo 3's Replay Theater mode. I assume that the replay (or replays) highlight the Autobacs Toyota 2000 Apex MR-S GT car - "assume" that is, because my PS2 no longer reads CDs :(

UPDATE: It's not a saved replay after all - it's a rolling demo.

Windows versions of Megadrive games Gunstar Heroes, Bare Knuckle 2 (Streets of Rage 2) and The Super Shinobi II (Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master) by Sega. They are basically ROMs embedded inside a Sega-authored MD emulator. A bit disappointing as I was hoping for a true PC conversion. As far as the emulation goes, I didn't notice anything wonky. There's a graphics-smoothing option and it has support for save-states, but any MD emulator available on the Net has far more functionality.

This is one of Uniqlo's t-shirts from their Pac-Man 30th Anniversary collection. The design isn't that great, but I bought it because there's a screenshot of Pac-Man's kill screen on the front. 

   

I picked up Devilish on the DS having mistakened it for Devil Crush. 

Suffice to say, I was very disappointed. I got it effectively for free (using my points card and it was only 500 yen), but I've learned my lesson - read the box properly next time!

I couldn't afford the special edition Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days DSi, so I bought the Hori protective case instead. Note that the correct way to pronounce it is "Kingdom Hearts Three-Five-Eight Days Over Two" - which still doesn't make any sense. Got the Gyakuten Kenji strap from a gashapon machine for 200 yen.

Buy Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days at Play-Asia!

This DVD-Video edits the gameplay and cutscenes from Shin Onimusha Dawn of Dreams (AKA Onimusha 4) together into a 2-hour film. The disc contains the film, additional trailers and selections from the soundtrack. The bonus disc is a PS2 CD containing one maxed-out save file for the game. At 311KB, an entire disc for just a save file seems like such a waste. Capcom make a habit out of making these machinima game-films, with Okami, Resident Evil 4 and others also available. No English, unfortunately.

You can buy it from Play-Asia! 

Seaman 2 for PS2 has a custom controller that comes with a built-in mic - the rather long thing in the middle of it. I picked this up from a junk bin for 315 yen ($4) because it was USB and thus XP compatible. I'd been looking for a controller with a three-buttons-across layout suitable for my Megadrive/Saturn emulation needs and this controller works smashingly. You can remove the mic as well to make it less phallic.

Me wearing one of the two Tekken t-shirts from Uniqlo's Japan Game collection. I like this one because it's rather understated. You wouldn't know it was a video game shirt unless you were told otherwise - which makes you less geeky with the girls.

This is the special edition version of Pachislot Hokuto no Ken Special Edition for PS2, released only in Japan. The SE comes packaged in a record-style book case, a bonus DVD containing a playthrough of the game, and a book featuring artwork and notes. Why a slot machine game needs a special edition is beyond me, but since I picked it up for 100 yen ($1), my curiosity has been satisfied.

"What happens when two women want the same thing?"

Kotaku had a competition involving making a cover for an imaginary Tomb Raider game. This gave me an opportunity to think about an idea which I've had for some time: a crossover game starring Lara Croft and Carmen Sandiego.

Why would this game work? Let me share my reasons.

Mainstream Appeal - When it comes to video game characters that have crossed over into the mainstream, Lara Croft and Carmen Sandiego are up there with Mario and Pac-Man. Tomb Raider has the very public face of Angelina Jolie and two successful films, and Carmen Sandiego had a children's TV game show that ran for 5 seasons.

Successful Franchises - The original Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? is the mother of all edutainment games, having debuted in 1985, spawning sequels and spin-offs ever since. Tomb Raider and its sequels were key titles for the PlayStation and PS2, with the latest in the series having just been released (Tomb Raider Underworld, 2008).

CARMEN: "Me? A petty thief? And I suppose tomb raiding is a respectable line of work? Perhaps 'grave robber' is a more accurate description... and that means you are the same as me, my dear little thief."

Story and Character Dynamics - If we treat Carmen Sandiego not as a cartoon villian but as a criminal mastermind, we have a strong counterpoint to Lara Croft. You have the simple good guy bad guy angle, the older woman / younger woman clash, and the argument of what Lara does (as a "tomb raider") versus what Carmen does (as a "thief"). When approached with a serious and dark tone, both of these characters offer plenty of dramatic conflict.

Complimentary Game Styles - Designer Bruce Shelley said once that he believes that the only reason that kids nowadays know what a "trebuchet" is, is because of Age of Empires. While Carmen Sandiego games are first and foremost educational titles, and a stark difference to the action/adventure of Tomb Raider, the bringing of educational elements into the standard Tomb Raider experience need not be heavy-handed. Treating "education" in the context of a puzzle (which Tomb Raider has many of) would bring enough of Carmen to Tomb Raider.

"Famed archaeologist Lara Croft is asked to retrieve the ancient Hell's Fury Mirror from the depths of the Amazon jungle by a mysterious benefactor - infamous master criminal Carmen Sandiego. Lara is tricked into doing Carmen's dirty work and then betrayed. Can she find Carmen and reclaim the Mirror before it is lost forever?"

And for the nitty-gritty, it's a Tomb Raider game, so there's jumping and shooting in third-person. You probably shouldn't play as Carmen, or if you do, only for a level or two. Plus there's yet another chance for Eidos to get another Lara Croft model, and the world is dying for some real-life Carmen action too.

So what do you think?

PS. It turns out that Carmen Sandiego is now owned by The Learning Company, but their logo is kinda crap, so I didn't bother updating the mock cover.

Mario finds himself in Giant World once again.


Kirby is two pink puyo away from ceasing to exist.