Collection Update: One WARP Mystery Solved, One Begun!

WARP Duo

 

Well, now. I knew about the kooky Flopon World on the 3DO for years, but have never seen a copy until a few weeks back when someone pointed to one up for sale on eBay. I let it sit there for a while watching it and hoping the cover would scare the more prudish collectors who might have wanted it off (how you explain two near-naked dudes on the cover of a match-3 variant puzzle game is all up to you, folks!) and I guess it worked. I made an offer and grabbed this for less than I thought I’d be able to. One down and what I thought was the LAST game I needed in my WARP collection (well, except for that legendary Enemy Zero limited edition that I’ve NEVER seen an image of) other than whatever other demos the company produced for the Japanese 3DO magazine than what I have here.

I guess I was wrong, as a few days later I see Flopon P!, a PlayStation game not listed as part of WARP’s output on GameFaqs… which has the WRONG cover image for Flopon World, by the way. I have NO idea what game is pictured other than to say it’s on the Flopon World disc as one of at least four games, so perhaps it’s a demo disc I’ve never seen? Anyway, the PlayStation game was published by Asmik in 1995 and the serial number SLPS 00032 just may mean that not counting demo discs, it was the 32nd PlayStation game released in Japan. But I think that numbering system went off the rails at some point. While it doesn’t have the WARP logo on the package or in the manual (and I don’t have the spine card to check if it’s there), both WARP and Asmik have copyright info on the game and the late, great Kenji Eno’s name is in the manual’s credits page. Hmmmmm… perhaps this was a co-production and thus not an “official” WARP game? I need to find this out, as it’ll make those who collect the few games made by this defunct company run out and track this one down. I think this one only cost me about six dollars, so that’s a steal and a nice addition to the library.

Tech Review: Audio Technica ATH-ADG1

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAs gaming headsets go, Audio-Technica’s ATH-ADG1 High-Fidelity Gaming Headset is hands-down one of the best I’ve used, but it does come with some minor caveats. It’s wired, the open ear design means it’s more for home use than a set you want to bop around with in public (it’s your call, of course) and at $299.95, it’s not for budget-brained audiophiles.

Then again, I’d say the words “budget” and “audiophile” don’t quite go together, particularly when it comes to headphones of this outstanding quality. Sure, you can use them for their intended purpose (super high quality audio in your PC gaming experience), but if you’re like me, you’ll stick these lightweight wonders on your head every chance you get… Continue reading

Risen 3: Titan Lords Update: “Back to the Roots” Means A Very Strong Tree, I’d Say…

 

If this excellent video preview is any indication, fans of the first Gothic and Risen games will be pleased to see developer Piranha Bytes (and I love the way the announcer pronounces that in the video!) is taking Risen 3: Titan Lords back to the look and feel of those two games. This is another one of those games I’ve been dying to play because warts and all, I liked the Gothic games and Risen, warts and all. Granted, the pirate focus and the not so hot-looking PS3 version of Risen 2 was a bit disappointing to many fans. But it looks as if Deep Silver will have a nice little gem of a game when this ships out August 15, 2014 for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. I do hope this one’s in stock as a physical release, as I hate large games as download-only titles. Eh, I’ll poke my big head into a game shop around here and ask, as I don’t think Deep Silver will shoot over a review copy…

Hyrule Warriors Direct: It Would Seem That The Missing Link Is MORE Action…

 

Hyrule Warriors may not have BUY ME stamped on it in shiny gold letters, but based on the response to the game so far in video form, I’d say Nintendo has a hit that’s not just for Nintendo fans only. The long-running Dynasty Warriors franchise is indeed “niche”, yet it has mass appeal to action game fans who may or may not be into The Legend of Zelda games. As you can see in this Direct presentation, the gameplay is quite similar to the Dynasty Warriors games down to the packs of enemies, powerful attacks, large battle maps and multiple objectives that need to be tackled as they pop up. But seeing it all with familiar faces from the LoZ series makes me grin a lot and my wallet hurt even more.

Oh yeah, and Gannon(dorf*) pops up as a playable character (oh, this should be interesting, folks):


 

As I’ve said previously… SOLD. Hell, this was sold from the first moment I heard it was being made. Anyway, I’m betting Nintendo gets a nice surprise once this ships and they see it sell faster than even they anticipated. If it does, Team Ninja and Omega Force will have to probably hire a semi-permanent HW team for the inevitable sequel and perhaps even consider a 3DS version that’s some sort of side story, as that handheld certainly isn’t outputting HD visuals anytime soon.

*I tend to call Gannondof “gannon” as that’s the name I first encountered him under and “dorf” makes me think of the always hilarious Tim Conway because I’m as old as the hills and not one of you under a certain age will get that reference at all unless I clue you all in. Get it? Got it? Good. Now you can call him Gannon as well…

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls – Ultimate Evil Edition TV Spot: Giving That Devil His Due (Before He Does You In)…

August 19 is right around the corner and that means quite a few people are planning to take a little vacation to hell and back with this console version of the Reaper of Souls expansion for Diablo III. This one’s going to eat away at productivity here, which isn’t a good thing at all, so I’m actually going to hold off picking it up for about a week or so while I knock the pile of work I have here down to a more manageable size. That’s not to say YOU shouldn’t run like hell out to grab this one on day one if you’re a fan of the series (you absolutely SHOULD). I just know myself all to well and know I’ll just pull a disappearing act if I get this and there’s “suddenly” some “free time” that pops up like a rabbit out of a hat…

I Hate You (Again and Always), Internet…

Status

geelw's avatar

Ugh. Here we go again with the “Change your passwords!” craziness. This internet stinks because it’s like someone swiping your house keys every few weeks (or more) and you needing to pay for new locks each and every time. Er, with the exception of one forgetting to take all the old keys off that huge keyring. Amusingly enough, I’ve changed my passwords so many times this year that I think I’m behind in sending myself coded hints as to what they are on some sites (yaaaaah!).

Anyway, I think we need to start hanging some of these annoying cyber crooks in the virtual public square just because it’s a pain in the ass to have to wake up to yet ANOTHER “Change your passwords!” panic that just shows how crappy “security” is online.pretty much everywhere you go using any device. And screw the vague “reporting” on this story. A billion people and 400,000 sites compromised? Well, no names and no sites listed means yup, madness (again). I despise changing passwords because I tend to use some slightly elaborate ones and it’s getting harder to think up ones I can remember easily. I don’t trust password generators or sites that save passwords in bulk because they’re ON the internet (duh) and no doubt targeted by these not so nice folks.

Feh. Off to change some passwords. This could (and will) take a while, grrrr. Stupid Internet.