The iPhone 3GS, my new obsession

Hopefully the last iPod I will ever buy, at least for the next three years.

Hey folks, I’m back. Right now I’m currently on hold waiting to speak with a Rogers Billing Management agent in order to discuss the terms of my new contract, as I have finally decided to bite the bullet and get the iPhone 3GS, which comes out today. The purchase is part of my continued plan to consolidate, simplify and streamline my electronic lifestyle, and part of this master plan is to finally merge two increasingly indispensable gadgets in my day to day activities, my iPod Touch and my cellphone. Simultaneously, I will be getting rid of my home phone service altogether, which means that my iPhone will be my phone, period. I’m a little wary about that last point, putting all my eggs in one basket, but iPhones (like most smartphones) require additional data plans and I would much rather spend my money enhancing services on my cellphone than keep my barely used home phone line active.  This also means kissing my 416 area code goodbye, which saddens me a little…as it feels like I’m losing a little of my “Torontonian-ness”.  “416″ back in the day literally meant the Toronto area, while the new “647″ seems so generic…it’s almost like the phone company saying “sorry, we didn’t have room for you, have a 647 and keep yourself entertained in our riff-raff room”.

Anyway, I’ve been following reports on the 3GS for some time, and believe it or not, despite the new enhanced OS (OS 3.0) and the many new features that the phone offers (too many to list here), the feature that pushed me off the fence was the inclusion of A2DP Bluetooth support. If you’ve read my earlier posts, then you already know just how crazy I am about Bluetooth headphones. I’m on my third set now, the Sony DRBT50s (I sold the others), and I simply adore them. I currently use them with my iPod touch via Sony’s TMRBT8iP Bluetooth adapter, and love being able to pause, play, rewind, fast-forward and skip tracks using the headphones without having to touch the iPod, so it should come as no surprise that the previous iPhone 3G’s lack of stereo Bluetooth was a big annoyance for me. The new 3.0 OS STILL lacks some Bluetooth functionality, namely the AVRCP protocol that allows the skipping backward and forward of tracks, but I’m just going to have faith that Apple will patch this or address it in the next update, and make do with simple pause, play and volume control for now. Besides, I can “shake” the iPhone to shuffle tracks or use the new Voice Control feature to request certain songs or content now, so this might make up for some of the inconvenience. In any case, I simply cannot put up with another year of juggling my cellphone and iPod and wasting money on my archaic home phone service.

So that’s where my mind has been most of this week, working out a feasible plan for my new contract, as it also involved working out a desirable re-contract offer for my wife, whose phone is on the same account (update: I just got off the phone and Rogers gave us everything we asked for). Well, after three hours of being on the phone with Rogers, I need to go and actually eat some breakfast and get ready for work. I’ll return with my thoughts on E3 in my next post (for those of you who actually care), promise!

What’s my excuse? I have plenty…

Sorry for dropping off the map again.  The past couple of months have been rather eventful, but not so much that I thought I should be writing about them (even though I know I should have been).  It started with three Xbox 360  game reviews that were nearly back-to-back, Raiden Fighters: Aces, UFC 2009: Undisputed and an early review of Red Faction: Guerrilla.  The latter review literally came right on the heels of UFC 2009, and I won’t lie to you, there was a lot of pressure to get the review up fast, as THQ wanted it done several days in advance of the actual game launch.  I ended up pulling an all-nighter to write the final review, and I hope to never have to do so again.  At the moment I’m still waiting on a review copy of Prototype, but the game has already been out on store shelves for nearly a week and still no word from Activision.  If this were the movie business, I’d pull a page from Roger Ebert’s book and give Activision the “wagging finger of shame”, but the delay is more likely a shipping issue rather than a deliberate effort to avoid press, as the game has been getting fairly good reviews (not great, but good).  I’m avoiding reading these reviews in order to not have my opinions clouded by other sites, so you’ll have to wait a little longer for my final impressions.  One thing I’m realizing though is that having my own blog also gives me the chance to go back and share some afterthoughts about the reviews I’ve written.  It won’t change the original score, but at least I can provide some comments as to why I decided upon that score in the first place.  More on that later though.   As you all probably all know, E3 took place last week and there is a wealth of gaming  news that has been dissected over and over, but I hope you’ll endulge me by letting me discuss it here one last time in my next post.   Stay tuned!

UFC 2009: Undisputed and UFC 97: Redemption Aftermath

Hey folks,

I’m back and fully recovered from my trip to Montreal (man, I must be getting old) and glad to be not covering an event or review for a little while, as I can now actually play some games for fun at my own pace, as well as catch up with real life.

Not to say that Undisputed was not fun, in fact, it was actually quite the opposite, and I’m looking forward to the full game.  My preview of the game is up on MSXbox World.

As for the event itself, it was something else!  I was able to rub shoulders with UFC President Dan White (who also is a host on the Spike TV program The Ultimate Fighter), and meet UFC fighters Georges St. Pierre and Cheick Kongo in person and meet several other game journalists, including IGN’s Nate Ahern and Aaron Boulding and G4 TV’s Donna Mei-Ling Park (of Electronic Playground fame).  It is meeting seasoned industry folks like these that make you want to bring your A-game to these kinds of events.  My main mission at these functions is to just cover the game, but I at least try to get in an interview with a developer or producer and get some half-decent photos, and I promise that whatever gets left on the cutting room floor that is worth seeing or reading will be posted here, as I need to get into the habit of getting this stuff up consistently.

On this trip I was more “off the leash” than I was in Vegas, and it was nice that the day after the Undsiputed preview, we were free to do whatever we wanted in Montreal until 6pm.  I spent most of the day window shopping in downtown Montreal and hunting down a local Chocolatier to buy chocolates for my wife.  There was barely enough time to do it all:  I definitely need to go back and truly explore this city.

A pleasant discovery in Montreal was a local franchise called Game Buzz, a game store chain that is like the hardcore version of Microplay, and apparently is even bigger than EB in the downtown core.  Within three blocks, I found three Game Buzz stores, all close to Rue St. Catherine.  These guys are a tad more hardcore than EB and carry more rare games and collectibles (like MGS4 and Final Fantasy figurines, official and unofficial game-themed T-shirts and other memorabilia).   Their older used game prices are a little steep in comparsion to EB, but this is a franchise that knows vintage games’ true value and prices acccordingly.  In any event, it’s nice to see an alternative to EB/Gamestop!

Finally, UFC 97 at the Bell Centre was truly an expereince.  THQ box seats, open bar, lots of great food and a great (although distant) view of the action.  No problem, as the big HD jumbotrons gave us the best view anyway.  Canadians fighters in particular came out and represented that night, sending Swedes, Americans and Japanese home licking their wounds.  And even one who lost still flew the country’s colours by bleeding red all over the place.  The headline fights were a letdown, though.  “Shogun” Rua rocked Liddell with a devastating left hook just as the first round was closing, pretty much putting an end to Liddell’s career, and the Silva vs. Leites match was a disaster.  Leites spent the majority of the five rounds on his back like an overturned crab, hoping to lure Silva into a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu trap, and all Silva would do is kick at him in frustration because he wasn’t stupid (or brave) enough to take the bait.  Someone needed to do something.  Oh well, at least there’s a chance to right those wrongs in the game.

Props again to THQ for not only putting on a good event, but also putting out a promising game to make the trip worth it.

Thank Goodness for A&C Games

This is the love that is missing from your local EB.

On a note completely unrelated to my business trip to Montreal, props to my former co-worker and friend Matt who gave me a tip on a cool vintage game-shop in Toronto that until now I had no idea existed, but is now officially one of my new favourite spots in the T-Dot, A & C Games. Walking into this narrow, cozy little shopwas like walking into a hardcore otaku slice of Tokyo’s Akihabara district…new and used classic games, peripherals and memorabilia for literally every console I’ve ever played or known can be found here, and that includes import versions. If you can’t find what you are looking for, you can put in requests and be placed on a list, and as soon as someone trades in that game, they will contact you if you are at the top of the list. I wasn’t able to find the games I was looking for, Persona and Persona 2 for the PSOne and Psychonauts for the Xbox, but just the fact that a place like this exists in Toronto was reward enough for making the ride out to Spadina and Bloor. Best of all, any game in the store (I’m assuming not brand new) can be rented, so you don’t necessarily have to spend a fortune on a classic game if all you want to do is play it. Serious T.O. gamers, CHECK THIS PLACE OUT…more places like it are needed in the downtown core!

I’ll be visiting A&C again this Sunday with some friends and I might even leave with something this time.  I haven’t been this pumped to visit a store in Toronto since I discovered the Silver Snail for comics and Video Connections for import games (may the latter rest in peace)…

UFC 2009: Undisputed Preview in Montreal

(originally written on the morning of March 17th)

Hello again, all. It feels like only a week ago that I was in Vegas previewing Red Faction: Guerrilla and now here I am again at another preview event, this time much closer to home in Montreal, Canada. This time, the game of honour is THQ’s UFC 2009: Undisputed, and in true THQ fashion, the event is taking place in conjunction with a much anticipated live UFC event, UFC 97: Redemtion, a multi-bout match with two headline fights, Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites and comeback kids Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Chuck Liddell. Until yesterday I practically knew nothing about these fighters, but thankfully www.ufc.com  had the video hookup.
As I was unable to fly in on Thursday night with the majority of the invited press, my hotel room at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth was not available yet when I arrived, so I had some time to kill. I decided to head down and around the block to look for an inexpensive all-day breakfast spot and ended up settling for a business café called Table Bistro. I thought this might be a good opportunity to utilize what little French I remembered from 13 years of academic study, and managed to fail utterly at getting the eggs in my “petit déjeuner” over-hard (they came out sunny-side up and runny), but when I’m in Quebec I try not to rock the boat. However, my reading and listening skills were always stronger than my oral abilities and given how much I’ve been able to comprehend on signs and in other people’s conversations since my arrival, I’m seriously considering taking another stab at becoming bilingual, as the current state of the economy has had me thinking often of new survival plans. Maybe Ubisoft Montreal will still be hiring in five years?
Anyway, it is a shame that I can only be in Montreal for two days to cover the event, as while I have visited my relatives in the Montreal suburbs several times in my youth, I have never really seen or experienced the city proper, and to be honest, the surroundings of the Fairmont and the nearby Bell Centre where UFC: 97 will be taking place are quite stuffy. Hopefully this afternoon I can hook up with some other journalists who know the city a little better and tag along with them, as there is a good chance we will be let off the leash after the 5:00pm weigh-in. Don’t worry though, my Vegas hangover is still very fresh in my memories and I have no plans to revisit that experience…at least not this weekend.
Getting back to UFC 2009: Undisputed, it looks like this time there won’t be any hands-on time with the game before the formal preview event, so I’ll need to get up to speed fast in the first hour before the interview session. The last UFC game I played to any true extent was the first title on the Sega Dreamcast, and while this game seems to lack the smooth framerate and polish of that vintage title, this game looks to promise a much deeper experience, so there will be much to examine.

Back from the Dead

Long time no blog, everyone. As the title suggests, I fell off the radar for a while after I jetted off for Vegas. Long story short, after an amazing couple of days, I returned to Toronto with a massive hangover, jet-lag, a very tight work schedule and an important preview article for THQ’s Red Faction: Guerrilla hanging over my head. As it was my first article of this kind, I decided to take a week to concentrate solely on this project to make sure I got it right. In retrospect, I probably took things too seriously and put way too much time into it (I had planned to throw in an interview article as well but dropped it in order to meet the deadline), but in any case, both THQ and MSXbox-World were happy with the results. In case you are curious, the article is already up.

The trip to Vegas was an all-expense paid affair that included a private room at the Four Seasons, a visit to the Desert Lake Shooting Club where several journalists like myself were given the opportunity to fire real-life guns like the 50-Cal sniper rifle, the M60 and even a grenade launcher, some great face-time with the developers and producers over great food at the Charlie Palmer Steakhouse and LOTS of alcohol at the Eyecandy Sound Lounge. Oh, and did I mention several hours of hands-on time with the single-player build of Red Faction: Guerrilla as well as a 3-hour multi-player session in the Four Seasons Presidential Suite? Not bad at all.

Now you’d think that with all this pampering that THQ was trying to butter us all up in order to give the game glowing previews, but with all honesty I can say that despite a few bugs and A.I. problems that we journalists were quick to bring to developer Volition’s attention, the game is shaping up to be an incredibly fun experience and truly deserves much of the positive buzz it has received so far. The environmental destruction that the game’s new Geo Mod 2.0 engine offers is truly phenomenal, and when combined with the wide selection of weapons and special backpacks, the game gives a whole new definition to the word “mayhem” in both single and multiplayer modes. Multiplayer was especially tight and I was extremely impressed by the level design. Basically, imagine Lost Planet multiplayer without the lousy hit-detection and ten-times more variety, and you’ll have an idea of just how much fun RF: G multiplayer is. You can read more about my first impressions of the game at MSXbox-World, but rest assured I’m looking forward to getting my review copy (fingers crossed).

I’ve posted the few photos that I took during the event on my Flickr page (see my sidebar), and I plan to put up a couple of videos shortly.  Also, as I manage to touch base with the other journalists that I met while attending, I’ll try to provide links to their pages as well to give you a better sense of what took place there. But don’t expect too much…remember, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”.

In the meantime, I’m gearing up for another THQ preview event taking place later on this month in Montreal. The game under the microscope this time will be UFC: Undisputed, which naturally will be taking place in conjunction with a UFC live event (UFC 97 Redemption). Having only watched UFC on Spike TV, seeing an event like this Live will be yet another first for me, so you can bet I’m stoked. Expect lots of pictures and videos for this one!

Cheers!

Off to Vegas!

Right now I am sitting at a Tim Horton’s in Pearson Airport waiting for my flight to Vegas, and I have to admit I’m pretty stoked. I will soon be attending an event held by THQ in Vegas to promote their upcoming game, Red Faction: Guerrilla. I will only be there a couple of days, and most of that time will be spent getting hands-on time with both the single and multiplayer modes of the game, but there will also be a little time for R&R and other activities organized by the game publisher. My flight boards in ten minutes, so I have to jet, but I’ll get more details up as the first day unfolds. See you on the other side!

Fightpad PWNS Hori Stick!

FINALLY!

Today I received my Chun Li fightpad in the mail, but I have a work shift in a few hours and it is taking just about every fiber of my being not to rip it open and get busy with SFIV.  Fortunately, last week I had the opportunity to try out my brother’s Ken fightpad at his house, so I know what to expect.  In case you were wondering, the situation regarding our EB pre-orders still has not changed.  I’m seventh in line for the pre-order I made back in mid-January, and my brother is still waiting for his second pre-order to come in.

In any case, after some intensive and enjoyable extended play at my brother’s house, I have to agree with the critics and declare that this pad is the s**t. The over-sized d-pad does take some getting used to, and even after a 2+ hour gaming session in versus mode I cannot say that I was completely able to master the new controller, but for the first time since I started playing SFIV, mastery of this game actually seems possible. The improvement over my experiences with the clunky Hori Fight Stick EX2 is like night and day, especially with any moves that require quarter-circle, half-circle, 360-degree or uppercut motions. Within minutes I was busting out Fei-Long’s famous three-hit punch (one of the true tests of a worthy SF controller), and in less than 20 minutes I was chaining EX and Ultra attacks into actual combos, something I was never able to do with the Hori stick. Charge moves are slightly more difficult, but become second nature with time.

In the EX2’s defense, one of us was always using the Hori stick when the other was using the Fightpad, and we were both able to put up a pretty good fight, but without question the Fightpad was clearly more consistent and reliable. Fightpad beats the EX2, hands down. Read ‘em and weep, folks.

While this may be a bit obvious, Another great thing about the Fightpads is that they actually make it possible to lean back in a chair and play the game in a relaxed position, rather than being hunched over a coffee table, desk or workstation. Many SF joystick users say that they can play with the stick in their lap easily, but I’ve never understood these kinds of people. All the joysticks I have purchased have always slid around in my lap whenever I attempt complicated moves or combos, and being a purist from the arcades, my sticks have to be velcro-taped down in order to simulate the near zero-motion that one gets from playing on an arcade cabinet. But now, with the Fightpad, I feel liberated enough that I can finally leave my old traditions behind and embrace playing ALL fighting games on a gamepad, now that one finally exists that is good enough to handle them.  I cannot wait to get home tonight so I can really put the Fightpad thorugh its paces, and I’m really stoked about upcoming fighting games like King of Fighters ‘96 (XBLA), King of Fighters 12 and Tekken 6 coming later this year.

The next post will definitely be about Vegas.  There are some embargoes in place regarding what I can and cannot talk about in advance, so once I’ve cleared things with my editor at MSXbox-World I’ll spill whatever I’m allowed to.   I promise!

Ebay Rules, Capcom, Mad Catz and EB Canada are Tools

The last joystick I will ever buy. I mean it this time!!!

It’s been two weeks since SFIV hit shelves across Canada, I am still without the fightpad which I pre-ordered back in mid-January, along with many other Canadians who are now realizing that they have once again been given the shaft by Capcom U.S.A and their new favorite (and likely soon to be ex-favorite) accessory maker, Mad Catz. While fightpads were available in many U.S. stores weeks before release, Canadian distributors were completely left out in the cold, partially due to the fact that Mad Catz’s previously infamous reputation for putting out shoddy merchandise had put them on the naughty list with distributors in the past, resulting in many of them refusing to become “Mad Catz Direct” clients. However, the lion’s share of the blame should be squarely placed on both Capcom and Madcatz for their incompetence in completely failing to anticipate the demand for the TE Stick, Standard Fight Stick and Fightpads by hardcore fans worldwide.

The situation for anyone trying to acquire any of the new Mad Catz products outside of pre-orders is extremely dire at this point. In Canada, EB/Gamestop are the only  the TE stick and Fightstick are both rumored to be arriving in March, but could arrive as late as April and no new pre-orders are being taken.  The fightpads on the other hand, have been coming in, but in such small numbers that most EBs here won’t even admit to inquiring customers that they have been receiving them, instead opting to feign ignorance while calling the few lucky pre-order customers “on-the-down-low.”  Also, in what might be considered fair or unfair, it appears that EB stores that are getting some of their pre-ordered units in are limiting them to one per customer,  meaning that even if you paid full price for two controllers, only one order will be filled while the other will be postponed until all pre-orders from the first shipment have been filled.  This was the case for my younger brothers, who despite having a Hori Fight Stick EX are choosing to forgo online and co-op play until their second fightpad arrives.

With my local EB unwilling to give any definite timeline as to how much longer I will be waiting for my fightpad, nor  any indication as to which one it will be (Ryu, Chun Li, Ken, Akuma or Blanka), I decided to do what I never thought I would want or have to do…I decided to purchase my long-coveted Chun Li fightpad from a reseller on Ebay.  In the end, I paid $85 US, just over double the retail cost, but at least now I know what I’ll be getting, roughly when I’ll be getting it, and the cost includes free shipping.  Also, in the next few days I will be unloading both my and my brothers’ comparatively inferior Hori Fight Stick EX2 joysticks on Ebay as well, which are in unbelievably high demand right now.  So not only will my fightpad be completely paid for, I even stand to make a profit as well.  What’s good for the goose, right?

To be honest, I think I got off lucky.  On average, fightpads for the Xbox 360 are going for an additional $20-50 more than their PS3 counterparts, and a Chun Li pad for the 360 now goes for $100 to $120 US on Ebay and Amazon.   And heavens forbid if you want an Akuma fightpad, or limited edition Fight Stick or TE Stick.  Akuma will cost you at least $100 for the PS3 on Amazon and $150 on the 360 at Amazon.com, and if you can even find one on Ebay, expect to pay more than $200.  The Fight Stick is going for about $200 and the TE stick is now running at a whopping $400.

Anyway, my fightpad is officially on its way now, and once it finally arrives I’ll be able to play and evaluate Street Fighter IV the way it was meant to be played.  In the meantime, I’ll kick back with some of the other titles I’ve been neglecting as well as prepare for my TOP SECRET ASSIGNMENT IN VEGAS! That’s right.  In two weeks I’ll be going to Las Vegas on behalf of MSXbox-World to cover a big upcoming game.  This will be my first official assignment as a games journalist, so I’m really stoked.  I’ll have more details in my next post.

Cheers!

SFIV ****-Blocked

Could history be repeating itself yet again?!?

Thanks to lousy distributor Entertainment One, my Special Edition copy of Street Fighter 4 that I pre-ordered at my friend’s store did not come in today, meanwhile, Regular and Special Edition copies showed up nearly everywhere else and promptly sold out, leaving me feeling like a Grade A LOSER. This is not my friend’s fault, of course…if anything, it is my fault for wanting to support my good friend’s business during these hard economic times, instead of running to the nearest big box store. But to be missing out on one of the most anticipated launches in this generation because of an unreliable distributor simply makes my blood boil. If my copy does not arrive by tomorrow, I fear that my friendship could be in serious jeopardy.

Another disappointment is that the official Mad Catz joysticks and pads that I raved about a month ago are still nowhere to be seen, and I am beginning to fear that the debacle that took place four years ago with the Nubytech SF Anniversary pads is going to happen again. At least this time around, I already have a DOA4 joystick, but it is simply unacceptable that the game has now shipped on both PS3 and Xbox and there is still no proper peripheral to play the game with on either console unless one is fortunate enough to already own a Hori joystick (such as the DOA4, Virtua Fighter 4, Soul Calibur 4 or Hori Fighting EX 2 stick). It seems that even when Capcom is working directly with a peripheral developer they still can’t get a coordinated launch right.