Metal Gear Solid 25th Anniversary Recap & Rant

Posted on August 30 2012 by Roy

Last night in Japan Kojima Productions held the Metal Gear 25th Anniversary event.  It was a closed event, so streaming was sadly not permitted.  Several big announcements about future Kojima Productions projects were announced.  Some good, some questionable:

Metal Gear Solid Movie: Yes, it’s true: after years of speculation, a Metal Gear Solid film is a reality.  The film rights are owned by Columbia Pictures and Sony.  Avi Arad, whom you know from all those award-winning Marvel films, will be the producer.  What awards, you ask?  How about the award for best one-liner and best metallic punch sound effect?  Yeah, that guy.

Metal Gear: Social Ops: Do you guys like social games yet?  Well, Metal Gear: Special Ops will be a developed by GREE, makers of those social games that ruin lives in Japan.  Android and iOS owners worldwide can look forward to reliving some famous battles from the Metal Gear series (on a tiny screen) this year.

Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zero[es]: Isn’t it a little soon for a 9/11 joke, Kojima? Won’t someone please think of the children.  But seriously, this announcement is the only one that makes my cold heart feel anything.  Word is that the game will use Kojima’s new FOX Engine which promises to literally remove your socks using CQC.  There is also talk of Ground Zero being the first open-world experience in a Metal Gear title, which is quite exciting.

BEGIN RANT….. (tune CODEC to 141.48 for full rant)…..

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Friday Link Roundup 8/12-8/17

Posted on August 17 2012 by Roy

Yikes, it’s been a while since I’ve made a post…  Possibly the longest since I launched Kotowari!  The reason?  I’ve begun working on a beginners guide to Monster Hunter which is pretty much monopolizing my time.  It’s part of a new project I’ll be a part of, called Culty.  Mum is the word for now, but if you’re interested here is where you can sign up for our mailing list and stay informed.

Every Friday I make a post containing links to interesting articles I have found throughout the week. If you already follow me on Twitter, then you will have probably seen most of the following links. Don’t forget to like the Kotowari Facebook page as well. Enjoy!

LOOK

WATCH

Dark Souls Prepare to Die Edition has a thunderdome.  4 warriors enter, everyone gets Wrath of God’d. If the creators were smart they’d have this feature offer an arena option, where gear and miracles are preset to keep the playing field even.

New trailer for Dark Souls Prepare to Die Edition shows some new enemies which look quite punishing.

Rain is a game Sony announced at Gamescom.  It looks beautiful, but I don’t quite understand the point of this mechanic.  Stealth gameplay perhaps?

Fuse Teppo Musume no Torimonocho is a film about a female hunter tasked with hunting down dog-human hybrids. And it looks beautiful.

I haven’t gotten my copy of Persona 4 Arena yet — but I did play a friend’s copy on release day.  We streamed the event and I made a short compilation of some of the better fights!

Tearaway, Media Molecules first non-LittleBigPlanet game, was announced at Gamescom. Here is the enchanting trailer which promises to make use of all of the Vita’s features in some interesting ways.

Why I Gave In And Imported Monster Hunter Portable 3rd HD

Posted on August 3 2012 by Roy

Right before my Playstation 3 went to the big Funcoland in the sky, I broke down and imported Monster Hunter Portable 3rd HD.  This was the first time I’d imported a Monster Hunter title which makes me a bit of an oddity among fans of the series.  Since so few Monster Hunter titles are localized (the last one being two years ago), and the games are so similar in terms of mechanics, most hardcore fans throw caution to the wind and choose to import.

I, however, stubbornly refused.  Patience is my strong-suit and I figured keeping up with the releases of other games would keep me busy.  Besides, since nearly everything is localized in some form these days, it would appear time is on the consumer’s side.

I underestimated several factors that eroded my patience:

  • Capcom’s frustrating inability to follow through on their vague promises (1,2,3,4):  I realize that there are a fair amount of legal obstacles to clear in the matter or localizing any game, but this… is simply… well, sometimes the only thing you can do is laugh.
  • Fatigue: I’ve clocked over 700 hours into Monster Hunter Tri and over 300 in Monster Hunter Freedom Unite.  Hosting a podcast devoted to the former certainly keeps me very familiar with the game, but it also leaves me wanting something fresh.
  • The Future:  Japan is like a crystal ball, allowing one to gaze into the future of the gaming industry — specifically Monster Hunter.  I’ve swatted away the flying monkeys and looked into this ball and all I see are tiny screens with less than the optimal two joysticks.  I’m speaking, of course, of Monster Hunter Tri G and Monster Hunter 4 — both the newest games in Japan and both for the Nintendo 3DS.  I’ve done my time with these small screens and I want the console experience. Since it doesn’t look like that ship is coming around again anytime soon, Monster Hunter Portable 3rd HD just made sense.
  • Community: I was inspired to take the plunge and purchase a copy of MHP3rd when a friend of mine on Twitter announced he’d be doing the same.  Knowing that I’d be starting at the same time as a friend sweetened the deal since the biggest allure of Monster Hunter is having someone to hunt with.  Since I hadn’t imported the game at release I missed the boat on the first wave of importers, but a second chance presented itself and I jumped at it!
So anyway, I’ve started the game and here is my character:

Her name is Akina (アキナ), which is a play on the Japanese word for autumn.  It can also be written as “秋名”, or “fall name” or “秋菜” which has the characters for fall and greens.  The aesthetics in Monster Hunter Portable 3rd are very much inspired by the colors and feelings associated with fall so it felt right.

I do still hope that, for the sake of those who are less capable in the Japanese language, Monster Hunter Portable 3rd HD does receive a western release.  I don’t doubt I would purchase it and play it over in its entirety.  But for now it’s quite freeing to have taken the leap.  I feel as if I’m not at the mercy of Capcom’s shortcomings any longer.

Related Articles:

Christian Svensson Speaks Out Regarding Monster Hunter Portable 3rd In The West
Further Monster Hunter Portable 3rd Localization Woes
E3 2011: Capcom Unity Q & A Event Hints at More Monster Hunter

So About My PS3

Posted on July 27 2012 by Roy

The fate’s have been cruel to me since last we spoke.  Not long after losing my 9 to 5, my 80 GB Playstation 3 (with backwards compatibility and 4 USB slots) gave me the dreaded yellow light of death.  I was playing I Am Alive when the system simply turned off, refusing to do anything but make angry beeping sounds.

I like to believe I’m a strong person — one who can get by without the distractions material things bring with them — but being without my PS3 while having so much free time was very difficult.  Being cooped up in a boiling hot apartment certainly didn’t help either.

At my lowest point, I recall sitting on my kitchen floor in my boxers just staring into the machine’s innards.  I don’t know what I was looking for, as any number of things can cause this error to occur.  I think I was secretly hoping I would jostle something back into place and the machine would spring to life — but it didn’t.

Despite my earlier post on keeping my PS3 tuned up, I failed to back up as much data from it as I would have liked.  I know the information is most likely not lost for good — there is a chance that I can eventually revive the beast and perform a full data transfer – or so I hope.

I’ve since acquired a new system, a slim 320 GB model which promises to not have the same issues as their more obese predecessors.  While I’m saddened to have lost an old friend (and at an extremely inopportune time) it is comforting to have finally made the upgrade to a system which promises to be more stable.  To anyone else wondering when their fat PS3 will kick the bucket, I encourage you to back up as much as you can while you still have the chance.  Don’t make my mistake!