Rebates Solve Industry Problems?

One person on a MSNBC story (not cited here) called it one of the worst ideas in history. The idea that Senate Republicans has come up with is to give tax-payers a $100 rebate to help fend off the gas crisis (story: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12509275/)

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One: How in the frak will that work? The problem is gas prices are hitting an all-time high, even when you account inflation. So, how will giving people another $100 help lower prices. Only people like me, who doesn't drive most of the year (I left my car at home while I'm going to college) will see any kind of profit from that. For people who drive regularly, it will barely dent the hit we're taking.

Two: This will seriously dent the fiscal problems even more. The US government is already running a huge deficit, and this would put it further in the red. I just think it would be smarter to save our money on, I don't know...REAL SOLUTIONS.

Three: Also on the bill is, once again, an attempt to open up the Alaskan wildlife refuge for oil drilling. Yup, another attempt to get this legislation through. Can't they just take the message that this isn't a good idea.

The actual problem: we're hitting all time high on gas prices with no real perception of gas shortages. You can go to any gas station and, barring station specific issues (like maintenance or traffic), can easily fuel for your SUV. Back in the 70's, stations were closed because they lacked their product; this just isn't the case for this crisis.

Too Much Wii...or How Bad Nintendo Can Screw Up a Name

A suprise announcement by Nintendo revealed their name for the Revolution.


Wii




Pronounced "we" or "wee," as in "Wii are trying to sound post modern." or "Let's name our system after a pajorative term for urine, but spell it differently."
All over the IGN blogs, you will find almost every post will be some way to mock this new name. Revolution not only sounded good, but was a good name for the system that was about change. Now, wii got a very mockable name, something that seems like an inverse Reggielution.
Here's to hoping that this becomes a similar situation to the PS3 controller; Nintendo figures out that this isn't all that good. Or better, it was a late April Fools (darn good way to do so).

Gaming on TV & Nintendo Download

First, I went to Best Buy this weekend to see how the Nintendo Download Station was. The actual display was simple: a plastic display showing the instructions on how to get the demos, and (I am not kidding) a Nintendo DS which distributes the demos.
I went down the isle a bit to check the range, and its fine. Mostly I found it best to be near it when initializing the download, then you can look around a bit. Which is good, since it takes just long enough to be boring while watching it exclusively, but short enough that it isn't that much of a hassle.
The demos I tried was Tetris DS (Push mode), Brain Age and Meteos. Meteos was as I expected, a still great, but much harder version of Tetris Attack (aka Panel de Pon in Japan, also Pokemon Puzzle League). Brain Age was something that I just had to quit. It wasn't that it was bad (just the opposite), but talking into your DS in the midst of a crowd just made me look insane. I prefer to have closet insanity. Tetris was unexpectedly good, and was the demo I took home. Unfortunatly, you can't keep them, since powering down the DS.
Also, a bit on Brain Age, I was on a section that asked me to say a word, while the word was colored, and all the words were that of colors. Then one entry came up as "Yellow," and I said "Yellow." It said I got it wrong, so I said it again. Then again. Then again. Then I said, "Yellow damn it!" It passed me. So remember, if Brain Age doesn't understand you, you just aren't cussing enough.

Yahoo News has put out an article saying that USA Networks will start showing the Major League Gaming tournaments (here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060417/ap_on_hi_te/video_gaming_tv_show_3). This I find good, since it legitimizes videogames a bit more in the mainstream.
I just hope they treat it more like World Poker Tour then baseball.
Also, G4: You just missed a shot at goodness.

Bush: Bring the Truth, One False Statement at a Time

Bush has been very careful not to appear to lie. Usually, he gives technically true statements that often give a false impression. Now that the truth is catching up to him, he has to weave more pratical, but not technical, lies more and more.
Today, he admited that he "declassified" the intelligence, essentially revealing the identity of Valery Plame (story: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=1828371). Plamegate, as it is known, is growing because "Scooter" Libby has said that he got orders from Cheney, who in turn got them from Bush, to reveal Plame's identity in an attempt to counter Joseph Wilson's testimony over the Niger accusation.
This is becoming big for one simple reason: Bush, in the 2000 election, claimed that he would bring "honor" back to the White House. The claim was that he would be honest, not parse words, and never lie to the American people. It is showing that more and more this isn't the case, but actually worse then what Clinton ever did, even to Republicans.
The claim that "he was bringing the truth" to the forefront is an utter sham. This is because everyone already knows that the Niger claim was completely false. I won't go as far as to say this was an attempt to get restitution against Wilson, but I do believe it was an attempt to discredit him in the eyes of the public.
Republicans are calling for Bush to come out with the whole story, but Bush still isn't doing that. If there's one person who can do that, actual truth and all, it will be prosecutor Patrick Fitgerold.

Death of Trek: Yup, another rant about Star Trek

I caught the last bit of a History Channel special, "How William Shatner Changed the World." It was on how Star Trek, mostly on the original series, changed how people looked at the world.
But it was then last segment that got me iffed. What it was on how Star Trek fell. Their assessment: first, people wanted a darker view of technology (which born the ideas of the Borg and Deep Space Nine). Second, people wanted more technology at work rather then less (making much of Voyager's techno-babble). But that didn't connect as many people, and viewership went down until Enterprise was cancelled.

That is a terrible, corporate style assessment that doesn't even face what was the problem. What killed Star Trek was not its enviroment, but its story.
Almost everyone agrees that the last great Trek series was Deep Space Nine (DSN). Ironicly, much of its greatness came after Voyager went on, where Rick Berman and Brannon Braga left DSN to do Voyager. In came Ron Moore. You should recognize that name, since he is also the guy behind the new and much acclaimed Battlestar Galactica series. DSN went from an okay series to a good one. The format even changed to serial, where each episode affects the next (see Babylon 5). And epic storylines came along, including the Dominion War.
Voyager never had that. It was partly serial, but nothing actually that good. If anything, Voyager had more unoriginal ideas in its run then the animated Legend of Zelda series. In fact, here's one paragraph from the IGN review of the second season DVD (found here: http://dvd.ign.com/articles/517/517614p1.html).

"With The Next Generation, Trek's top brass waited until the show was accepted by fans before bringing in the old names. Unfortunately, that didn't happen here. They pulled the trigger too soon, bringing back Captain Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and quite possibly the best character since Khan, Q (John de Lancie)."

Yes, it took only the second season to bring along past Trek characters. At least DSN did something with the Next Generation characters it recieved (notably Worf).
But mostly, it was Pinocio style characters that dominated the scene, especially in Voyager. You have both Seven and the Doctor taking the "trying to be more human" role. One of the reasons Data worked was not just that part of his character, but that he was a neutral observer. He didn't have emotions that other races have, so he thinks purely through logic. This aspect wasn't in, nor needed, in the other Treks.

Mostly, the bad Trek series was lost. Berman and Braga just didn't know how to make a good story good. I'll admit they did have some good ideas. Heck, Nemesis was full of good story ideas. They just couldn't get it translated to a full story, including real, evolving characters.

The only saving grace for Trek was when new blood was introduced to the creative team. Manny Coto, who headed up the last season of Enterprise, did a terrific job with it. Viewership notably went up in the last season. I just think the execs didn't care much of if that last season succeeded or not (note only one possible reason why Coto was brought in); the show was axed.

The point, which I probably didn't convey all that well, was that story killed Trek. Berman and Braga's means was not to make a good story, but to get good ratings. The problem with focusing on the latter is that it leads to the creative team making decisions more like an executive then a story teller. What execs should know when something works, let the creative team do their job. If the team can't, then throw them out. If they are doing a good job, let them be. Don't make decisions to boost ratings, because most of the time it does the opposite.

Review: Metroid Prime Hunters

Hunters is the latest entry to the Metroid series, and it is more of a spin-off then even the Prime games were. This game isn't concentrating on translating the Super Metroid experience, but at making a good Metroid themed first person shooter.
The story goes that a message has been sent from the Amblic Galaxy (more like Amblic solar system), and Samus now has to obtain multiple keys to obtain the "ultimate weapon" before any other bounty hunter does.

Graphics/sound: The graphics are good, being at least at the same level as late N64 games. The game almost always is smooth (rare exceptions online), and the art style is very much in tune with the earlier Prime games, but still puts in its own niche. Of minor note, the videos are good, although short.

Controls: The controls are great. Using the touch screen makes for precise aiming that only a mouse could previously give. While it feels awkward at first, mostly because there hasn't been anything like it before, it will become second nature fairly quickly.
One problem most people seem to face here is in using the thumb-strap giving terrible pains. I have been using the stylus (steadying my aim by cradling the DS in the palm of the same hand) and have yet to feel any pain what so ever. I suggest people try to find their most comfortable configuration, which is the most difficult part of this.

Gameplay: This game really is split between the single player and multiplayer.
The single player is good, but flawed. You have to go around finding keys and octoliths (the keys to the final level). There are four planets to explore, and few power-ups to find. Certainly a departure to the previous Metroid games, but still comes out good. You still experience puzzles, but this game is more action based. Often times, you will be fighting enemies, including other hunters. The game actually works well with this emphasis.
There are two main problems that draw away from the experience. First, there is only one save point: your ship. This means that you'll either have to back-track to save, or slogg on until you get to a teleporter. Unfortunatly, there are only two teleporters per world. While the worlds aren't that large, they are just large enough to make this an annoyance.
Then there's the bosses. Of the eight octoliths you have to obtain, each is guarded by a variation of two bosses. Yes, for almost all essential purposes, you fight only two bosses four times each. While there is a seperate final boss, it just feels like the designers ran out of creativity too quickly.
Otherwise, this game is good, although you probably won't play it too often after the first time through.

Then there's the multiplayer; the real emphasis of the game. Here you get to play one of seven hunters, six never before seen. Each has a special ability related to their affinity weapon and their own morph-ball (or morph-ball-like) abilities of their own. Trace can cloak with the sniper weapon, while Spire can burn opponents.
Four players can play in all multiplayer modes, even with only a single card (albiet those without a game play only a Samus). Many modes of play are offered when playing Multi-card, including capture the flag and king of the hill.
The Wifi Find Game is similar to what you found in Mario Kart DS, although rank matching is a seperate option. Friends (and Rivals, which are friends you obtain in the Find Game mode) is much better implemented. Here, you play like a multi-card wireless, but it's online. You get all the modes, all the hunters, all the control over how you play. You can even talk to Friends (but not Rivals) while in the lobby.
The game does play solidly. Despite the lack of cover, it does seem like the game is split with skill and stratagy. Figuring out effective attacks and counter-attacks is essential to winning. I can best describe it as Metroid meets Quake, while retaining the goodness.
There is just one major flaw at this moment: when the server is busy (often at night), errors pop up, disconnecting you. This means that you will either play only against one other player, or you have to play in the morning for the real multiplayer experience. It's a major problem that Nintendo should have accounted for, and fixed. Games, of all things, are something that you just want to work with no hassles. Until Nintendo fixes this, considering dropping a point from the total score. It hurts it that much, especially for those who don't have too many friends (small f, as in people you know personally) with DS's.

Overall: It is a great game, but one that is best as a multiplayer game rather then single player. If you don't have access to a Wifi network or don't have friends with DS's, I still suggest renting. Otherwise, get this game now. It is the first good first person shooter on the DS, and is the best multiplayer experience on a portible system period.

Graphics/Sound: 9/10
Control: 9/10 (needs physical adjustment at first, but plays well once you're set up)
Gameplay: 8.5/10 (Single player's flaws put it down, but the multiplayer is 9.5/10)
Overall: 9/10 (subtract 1 if you don't have Wifi; subtract 1 for current Wifi problems)
Buyability: 5/5 (3/5 for single player only)

"The Hammer" Falls

Tom Delay has announced his resignation from congress. He appearently fell on the sword, since the normally uncontestable seat was nearing 50/50 against (for an incombant, 50/50 is always bad).
Some have speculated that this is worse for the Democrats then Republicans. This stems from that Delay has been one of the biggest targets, and his absence now gives one less target for Democrats to shoot in the face (sorry, I can not leave that alone). I disagree. Democrats will likely turn to a new target, most likely Bill Frist. It isn't as much the person as it is the tactic (see Bush v. Kerry).
I have no doubt that some Republicans, probably those in the moderate wing, are actually releaved. Delay was very strict in how thing ran in the House. Now some leeway has come along, which is especially good in a year where supporting Bush may or may not be the best stratagy. However, it still leaves a seat in contestion, not good when the possiblity of Democratic turnover is at the highest in a while.

Aftermath of April Fools

This year's April Fools was terrible. The best fake story this year was Blizzards multiple "announcements" (see: http://www.joystiq.com/2006/04/01/blizzard-celebrates-april-fools/). Really, there was nothing that was very good. Almost every story I saw on the gaming web sites could have been easily spoted as fakes, even if they weren't posted on April 1.

What happened to the good old days of internet pranks. To this day, people still think the rumor of Sonic in Smash Bros. Melee is true. Gamespot was one of the best pranksters, but even now have fallen off the wagon. Just look at their front page story (here: http://www.gamespot.com/features/6146818/index.html).
IGN was also great at doing April Fools. Alas, to avoid the hate mail, they just slowly withdrew from April Fools. This year, we got nothing. Where's the fun in this day anymore?

Best prank ever: Wizards of the Coast non-prank (thus pranking us by making us think it's a prank) announcement of their Unhinged set for Magic: the Gathering. It is the best set ever in Magic, and they couldn't have done a better job announcing it as well.

Also of note, Joystiq found a town with no sense of humor at all (here: http://www.joystiq.com/2006/04/02/tiny-ohio-town-freaked-out-by-mario-prank/). Seriously, they at least need to catch up on pop culture.