Nintendo 3DS Black Screen of Death

Nintendo 3DS Launch: Black Screen of Death HA! So much for the almighty 3D technology >D

Maybe I'll wait til they perfect holigrams :)

Why Live Action FMVs Should Make a Comeback

So I'm sitting in my room trying to figure out what game I should play next (which is a tough decision when you have a wide range of consoles spanning multiple generations).

I decided to give my PS2 a rest and backtrack to my SegaCD collection. I was pleasantly surprised how well the games played after all these years. But what also surprised me was how 'different' the games were and the amazing variety of the styles of gameplay. A lot of them you don't see anymore, especially Live Action FMVs.

I'm not talking about "movie franchise games", where they cut up random segments of a movie and squeeze in some gameplay here and there. I mean games that had live-action videos made specifically for the game. Some great examples are: Dracula Unleashed, NightTrap, and Corpse Killer. SegaCD and other systems like it were defiantly ahead of their time. Unfortunately, there were two major setbacks that killed this style.

The first issue was bad audio and video quality. They put analog footage on a digital medium, combined with the hardware limitations of the consoles themselves, often resulted in muddled, pixelly videos. Also the fact that the SegaCD had mono audio didn't help the sound, making a lot of voice-acting hard to hear properly without raising the volume up to maximum levels.

The second problem, bad acting. Unfortunately, the people who stared in video game movies weren't exactly Hollywood level thespians. They weren't even Independent film level. Its one thing to have bad voice acting, its almost forgivable. But actually seeing the person kind of kills the gaming experience.

But we've come a long way since the 90s. Videos (both digital and analog) can be shown on DVD and Blu-ray without the fog of pixels. Even TV shows are almost cinema quality now. And it seems even bad acting is forgivable now (i.e. Twilight).

This is why I think they should give Live Action FMVs another chance. If this sort of technology was available in the 90s, just imagine the games they would have conjured. Games like Grand Theft Auto and Tomb Raider and could benefit from this type of game style.


Do you think Live Action FMVs should make a comeback? Leave a comment.

Crisis in Japan

The Japanese are an intelligent and brave people.

Even superstar Miyavi has turned his twitter page into a channel of news and information on the disasters in Japan, go check it out (if you can read japanese)

My heart goes out to the families of those brave souls risking thier lives trying to stop the reactor from melting down.

God bless Japan.

Check out more resources for helping Japan!

Games That’d Be Great in 3D

I'm not a big fan of this new '3D' movement for movies or games. A lot of the time I feel the effects are a waste of money and aren't utilized to their full potential (and strain your eyes and brain in the process).

But here is a small list of Games that would look cool in 3D, if done properly:

DOOM -- Just imagine, first person shooter, aliens come running at you and you blasting them to slimy pieces, all in 3D, that would be awesome! Ecco The Dolphin -- This game is beautiful in 2D, just imagine the potential in 3D. Knuckles Chaotix -- This would be a fantastic co-op 3D game. The original already attempted some 3D-esque graphics, the really thing would be even cooler. Corpse Killer -- first person shooter with zombies; zombies in 3D; blasting zombies in 3D. Need I say more? NiGHTS -- I know the Wii sequel to the Sega Saturn original was a bomb, but imagine the original remade in full-spectrum 3D, accompanying that with an epic orchestral remake of the soundtrack. It'd be mind-blowing! Ristar -- This little guy deserves another chance, in 3D. I can imagine a beutiful, spacey, stary, galactic, planet hopping adventure.

What do you think? What games do you think would look great in 3D?