Nay, Hell hath not frozen over, though it nearly did while I was making this video. I’m not sure why it was in production hell for so long, but it’s finally over! I really hope you enjoy it.
From October 26th (which is now in the past for me) to November 1st, you can get a free table, called Paranormal, for the game Pinball FX2 on the Xbox Live Marketplace. Once the offer is kaput, table’s price will be raised to 240 points.
You seem to have to depend on word-of-mouth to know about anything free from Microsoft–that’s just how it was when I found out I could get Carcassone and Undertow for free. So thanks to my friend Terry for the info!
Pinball FX2 doesn’t cost anything, and comes with some trial tables. I’ve had it for a long time, but I couldn’t justify paying the asking price to unlock some of the full tables. I’m actually very fond of pinball games, so I’m glad they put this one up for free (especially with the spookiest day of the year almost upon us). I’ve already played it for a couple hours, and it’s shockingly realistic, fun, and full-featured–but I guess all modern games seem that way when memories of Sonic Spinball, Kirby’s Pinball Land, and Maxis’ 3D Pinball for Windows still swim around in your head Anyway, addictive and authentic pinball action it is, and I highly recommend it.
I guess whoever was “holding” my domain name when I let my registration expire finally gave up the ghost, because I was able to buy it back just a few days ago. As if you haven’t noticed…
Well, it just made me happy.
Here’s a brief update on my gaming activities of late.
Playing:
Banjo-Kazooie on N64 – possibly the best game I almost didn’t play. May have to get XBLA version one day, but only after I’ve played Tooie.
Kirby: Return to Dreamland on Wii – a really nice throwback to 8- and 16-bit days in a lot of ways. Highly recommended.
The AVGN recently wrote a blog entry about the bygone era of video rental stores. He invited readers to share their own memories, so I did–and it ended up being long enough to be its own blog post! (I feel kind of bad for co-opting the post like that, but oh well).
I was already planning to incorporate these memories into a video someday, but really, this is the best way I can tell the story So here we go!
Yes, it has been quiet here for over a month as I cobble together a new video. But rest assured, it is coming! I have a lot of footage for SMB’s 2 and 3, and the script is advancing. It will be a bigger-than-normal video… maybe the biggest I’ve done to date. I won’t be able to work on it next week, as I will be out of town, so I don’t know when it will be finished exactly.
We just have to keep telling ourselves: Krusty is coming, Krusty is coming… er, the video, that is
More nostalgic gaming goodness. This time, we’ll be taking a look at my first, and favourite, peripheral on the NES–the Zapper light gun–and three games for it that I grew up with.
EDIT: sorry for the video’s absence up until now. I think this standard player is the one I have to use in WordPress.
Finallyfinallyfinally! A new video, made by me, for you! Well, I hope some of ya will take an interest. It’s part 1 of my personal gamerography, with a focus on my first video game, and that of so many other people my age: Super Mario Bros.! So if you want one girl’s honest, heartfelt account of her 8-bit gaming memories, this is the right place. And if you want more, there will be more! (if you don’t, well, there may still be more.)
Here is Part 1: “The Wee Years”
EDIT: Look how much bigger the standard Blip player is!! A shame I only realized it now, because my second video wouldn’t display at all.
Wh–what is this? I’m… “blogging”? I remember this! This feels… good!
(Well, I still do write for the PSP blog on About.com, but that doesn’t _really_ count.)
Now, a few words about the curious circumstances that bring me here. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking (read: gaming), and boy, do I have a lot of new games I could talk about. Maybe even… PROBLEM games. Marvel vs Capcom 3 is one I’ve poured all too much time into.
I recently bought the whole AVGN DVD collection, which has been a complete blast to watch (I watched them all in about a week). I really recommend getting this set just to get properly immersed. When I see all those boxed carts and the posters that came with them, or hear the sounds of the NES for 6 hours straight, it really revives my nostalgia for the games of yesteryear.
It’s all begun to remind me why I got into making videos, and his most recent behind-the-scenes episode reminded me a little of what it was like to make my own videos (granted, on a much smaller scale).
I don’t really know why I’m writing this… but I do want to get working on another video project some time. I’m a writer first, but few things beat making a movie.
Since last update, I have been contracted by About.com to write articles for their “PSP Games for Kids” sub-specialty. This is pretty awesome news for me, though I was really holding out hope for “DS Games for Kids”. Oh well. I’ll be writing 12 pieces monthly and getting paid decently for it, to boot. Well worth learning a thing or two about PSP games! And if I’m reeeeally lucky, I could ostensibly score a PSP2 — though I might have to send it back >.<
I haven’t had a working camcorder for some time. The gold pressure plate (where the ‘+’ end goes) in the the battery compartment of my Kodak Zx1 had an apparent susceptibility to metal fatigue, and broke clean off. I would have to ship the 2-pound box to Manitoba at my own expense and, since it’s half a year out of warranty, pay for the repairs or replacement, whatever they decided. Since the estimate was $63, I’m not really too keen on doing this, and I think I’ll be avoiding Kodak camcorders from now on. Or at least, ones that aren’t brand spankin’ new (as was the case with mine, though they never told me it was a return when I bought it).
The moral of my cautionary tale is that you shouldn’t settle just because something seems great and is (almost) exactly what you wanted. Or maybe it’s that Kodak pocket camcorders are cheaply made. This was the rough-and-tumble weatherproof model, for crissakes… but I did get some good use out of it.
Here’s hoping my next one will be a little more long-lived.
Also, I would like to do another video at some point!
I’ve had my nose buried in my DS with Professor Layton and the Unwound Future, and the musical influence of that game shows a bit in this remix, which is dedicated with undying love to all things Phantasy Star IV and the original series. I hope to do more remixes from this game, which is surprisingly under-represented on OCRemix and in VGM appreciation circles.