IGN Video: Scribblenauts Nintendo DS Walkthrough - E3 Demo

I stand by my belief that if Scribblenauts even comes close to meeting its potential, it will be an awesome game.

IGN Video: Scribblenauts Nintendo DS Walkthrough - E3 Demo

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Abstract ThoughtS of the Day (It's a Two-fer)

You know why Facebook is evil? Because eventually you get bored enough to go looking for old friends and classmates, and then once you find them, you have to debate whether you actually wish to touch base with them again. Was it indifference or emotional trauma that caused me to break contact with you. Hmm...

and...

Motion capture is apparently the next big step for gaming systems. Prepare to look like a spaz (or more like one) in the coming years.

Abstract Thought of the Day

Demon negotiation is a tricky business in the world of Shin Megami Tensei. And why on earth are so many demons disturbingly playful children who know grown up things they should not know? If you weren't helping me fight evil, I would totally leave you guys alone...

Legends Never Die

I didn't catch many pranks floating around the interwebs this April 1st, but I found this one incredibly entertaining. The only thing is that there's no way to believe that that would be an XBox 360 game.

If they had claimed it was for the Wii, though...

HouseTV: WCG Ultimate Gamer

Or: how I learned that even I could find a reality show that I can't watch.

Seriously, I'm as shocked as anyone else here. I've proven that I will not only watch but also will enjoy virtually any show with a reality or elimination format. There have, of course, always been exceptions to this. For instance, I was never a fan of some of the half hour dating shows (Elimi-Date comes to mind immediately, if only because I had that stupid theme music stuck in my head for years), and I cannot stand any of the Bachelor(ette) shows, if only because I can't wrap my head around there being any one person worthy enough to have a dozen or so people fighting over them.

But I'll give most hourly shows a try. And most stick with me enough that I at least want to see how they end. But WCG Ultimate Gamer? Nope. Don't know, don't care.

For starters, the premise sounds cooler than it is. Each week, the chosen group of uber-gamers participate in two challenges based around a given game. The first challenge is a reality challenge, meaning they have to compete in some real life aspect of the game in question. For instance, during the Rock Band 2 episode, the gamers had to perform in an actual rock band. They're all ranked in this challenge and a round of playing the actual game later. The scores are added up, and the lowest ranked player is automatically marked for elimination. The highest ranked player then gets to choose who that person will face in the "Elimination Stadium".

Why does this idea fail? For starters, see my previous comments on why Starcade was superior to Nick Arcade. For a show based around games, there is surprisingly little of any given game shown. Even the final elimination showdown is edited down to the point where you barely get to see the game. It seems that maybe they should have put more time into that, especially after noting my second fault with the show.

The fault? What else? The contestants. I'll be the first to admit that not all gamers fall into the stereotype of being boring or geeks or losers or whatever it's trendy to call them these days. But the problem is that I find it hard to care about any of these people. They try to make interesting stories of rivalries or potential hookups, but the pseudo-attachment that normally forms with reality contestants is lacking here. I think, as best as I can tell, that they're just boring people, and forcing them to live in the same house together (Reality Show Convention #3) just doesn't give them the chance to be more appealing at all.

I really want to give the show more of a chance, but I don't think it's going to happen. Boring players + boring premise = me finding something better to do with my time. G4's dalliance with professional gaming fared much better in my opinion, but then again, they actually focused on... you know, the games.

HouseTV: Retro Retro Gaming

Someone reminded me that I hadn't provided the link I claimed I would to this site here yet, so I might as well get around to doing it. Honestly, I hadn't remembered that this show existed at all until I ran across the website.

For those of you that recall the early days of G4 (back when it was much more gadget and games friendly and less Cops and Cheaters centric), you may recall the old game show Starcade. If you don't, then here's a quick primer: kids played video games and won prizes. Seriously, it makes its own gravy.

I know what you're thinking: how is this show different from the kids game show Nick Arcade? For one, Starcade does not suck. The two problems I always had with Nick Arcade were that the "quiz" portion of the game ran on for far too long and almost never ended without time running out. The true novelty of the show - getting to play video games - became uninteresting once you realized that these kids had seemingly never touched the games that they thmeselves were choosing. If someone gives you a goal like 800 points in level 1 (and it was always level 1!) in 30 seconds, you should be able to figure out the basics of the game enough to pull it off.

Starcade seemed to find kids that had at least stepped foot in an arcade, and even claimed to give them time to practice the games prior to the episode. Don't get me wrong; some of the kids are pretty crappy at the games. But the worst appearance on Starcade dwarfs the best appearance of any Nick Arcade kid.

So check out the website here, which lets you watch old episodes of the series among other things.