Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two Isn’t The First “Musical Comedy” Game On A Console…

As much as I respect Warren Spector, I noticed he made a slight error in a recent interview when he noted that Junction Point’s upcoming Epic Mickey sequel would be the first musical comedy video game.  Wellll, I bet Nippon Ichi Software may have a tiny issue with that. Their insanely cute, insanely easy and on a few occasions, insanely hilarious PlayStation One strategy/RPG, Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure gets to wear that crown. I was working in an indie game shop when it hit the US back in 2000 and it was one of those titles that we couldn’t keep in stock because a wide range of customers found something to love about the game.

Parents with young kids liked the total lack of violent content, kids liked the songs and jokes and JRPG fans of a few ages found the game easy, but funny enough to dive into just to hear every one of the songs in the game. I did have to explain why there were a few too many panty jokes in the game to one concerned parental unit, but overall, I remember it as a lighthearted romp that was also one of the simplest JRPGs I’d ever played. A wee bit too easy, but then again, it WAS a kid’s game. Anyway, there were a couple of sequels released (in Japan only, of course) and the game got a nice reworking on the Nintendo DS that changed up the combat somewhat and can be found pretty cheap online if you know where to look.

Anyway, I’m not her to raise a “gotcha” game ruckus about this at all – just pointing out a fact or two in case you’re wondering about this sort of stuff. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing how Mickey looks in HD and plays with the Move setup here, that’s for sure…

Oh, Hell… It’s Diablo III!

To make my Monday even more a kick in the pants, I get a retail copy of Diablo III (whee!) that I can’t play for a few reasons (booo!). However, unlike the Windows debacle I’m currently dealing with, i actually have a plan B that I set in motion a while ago so I can actually play the game using a friend’s PC at his place. Fortunately, I hooked him on Diablo II a while back and as he’s not what you call a “core” gamer, he’s happy that he’ll get to be see what all the fuss is about (and eventually play the game himself, as he’s in no tearing hurry to be a day one fanatic). Anyway, there’s nothing I can do now except wait until the servers go live. Too bad the game can’t be installed and played offline (as it should, grrr). Hell, I’d at LEAST have a single player review up by the end of the week if that were the case…

Double Fine Adventure Episode One: They Still Want Your Money. And They’re Going To Get It, Too…

Now with PayPal! Yup, even though about 3.3 million dollars was raised so for, a LOT of people who wanted to get in on the Kickstarter thing couldn’t because the wanted to go the PayPal route. Now, you can indeed not only get a copy of the game if you have an account there, you’re also getting access to the dev diaries as they’re released and you can start posting your thoughts and such in the game’s contributors forums. Nice!

Gangster Squad Trailer #1: You’ve Just Witnessed a Crime (Or Three)

While this film does look great and seems to be in the spirit of L.A. Confidential, Public Enemies, The Untouchables and a few other modern crime sagas, as a film fan for decades, I do have some beef with a few things:

Why the hell does a period piece such as this get stuck with a blasted rap song in the trailer? And yes, I’d say the same damn thing if it were a rock, country or other song that didn’t make sense for the time this is supposed to e set in. Hell, there are PLENTY of songs from the era that would have fit, even if they chose something that was recorded a few years after these “based on a true story” events took place.

And really? Which true story was this based on? I know we live in an age where short attention spans RULE, but a little text blurb before the shootings and sexy glances placing the dates and context would have been nice. All I got from the trailer was lots of old cars, clothes angry cops, a token black guy as a G-man and Emma Stone’s big eyes.

Er, ahem. Anyway, if that slo-mo scene with the four guys walking away from the exploding car is IN the movie, I want my money back. Or someone else’s money who pays to see this and also hates that crap, That shot is the most played out one EVER in a trailer that I never hope to see in the films I see trailers that have it included. Wait, what?

Finally, the title stinks. Even if it were the actual name of the shady take no prisoners kill the gangsters with no mercy agency portrayed in the film, it stinks. It sounds like some low-budget TV show from the 50’s or worse, a movie from the 1930’s you’d catch on TCM in the middle of the night…

Oh, wait… Er, never mind…

Wolfenstein 3D Is Older Than Too Many People Who SHOULD Pay It More Respect…

Sure, it looks hideous compared to whatever modern FPS you drool over and line up for year after year, but if not for John Carmack and this formerly controversial Nazi-killing corridor shooter, you wouldn’t all be standing outside in the rain at midnight for Master Chief, any Modern Warfare game or hell, pretty much every other FPS on the market. That said, Bethesda has made this classic shooter playable for free as a browser game on Bethsoft’s Wolfenstein page or the game’s official Facebook page, so go check it out. Also, click away HERE for a great YouTube video commentary with Carmack about the game – you just might learn something in the process (like some respect!)

Goodbye, Maurice…

It’s been a pretty awful year for creative folks I like passing away, that’s for sure. Celebrities I don’t follow aside, it’s been Ralph McQuarrie, Jean “Moebius” Giraud, Adam Yauch (MCA) and now Maurice Sendak, who died yesterday. I did this quick piece shortly after I heard the news, then I remembered that Sendak’s works were pretty cool reads because they all dealt with life’s realities in one way or another, very much unlike those shiny, happy fairytale stories where nothing bad happens, evil gets the boot and there’s a charming price coming to save the day. Bah! That said, this is turning out to be a really depressing year, even without the stupid doom-sayers and their busted Mayan calendars…

Hey! It’s Free Comic Book Day. So, Here’s A Free Comic (Sort Of, Part One)…

Actually, this is a test post, as I’ve been having some issues uploading stuff and am in the process of finding out what the problem is. The above is a panel (well, the ONLY panel, currently) from a not so real Man-Thing comic I did the other day. Anyway, now that things seem to be working fine, I can go back to sleep, wake up later and get to posting a few things about actual comics you can get today. Good Night! Wait, it’s after 6am already? Geez. Well Good Morning, then! I’m still going back to bed, though…

Geez. NOBODY “Owns” The Term “Indie.” So Shut It, Already, People….

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Status: lightly annoyed, mostly amused, thank you much. Look, kids – Grow up, already. Independent, music, film and now games shouldn’t be pigeonholed by anyone even with the best intentions. If Notch wants to have a hissy fit about EA wanting to make money by selling independently made games it happens to publish as an “Indie” bundle, it’s his problem. Maybe he needs to play the games in the bundle first and not hate on EA for merely trying too hard to capture a part of the market that’s trending because hell, that’s what mega-corporations like EA do to make more money for themselves and their shareholders. Funny that I’m saying this, but that’s the way the system works… even at the “indie” level these days.

Of course, this whole “blame the big boys” argument that constantly turns into “they make too much money, so they suck!” has gotten old fast, especially considering SOME people who have become millionaires many times over based on their own “indie” games. There’s a lot of Kettle Black paint being sold at Home Depot, is all I’m saying…

No matter where you are in this food chain, you’re not “selling out” if your game becomes a big hit unless you somehow hate being recognized (and if you make games for free) and eventually, paid for the work you’re doing. Unless EA or any other major publisher starts calling its mainstream titles indie ( whether it be Mario, Madden, Half-Life, Call of Duty and so forth and so on), there’s nothing to see here – move along. Go play more games, co-opted “indie” or not and knock off the needless arguments over semantics, I say…

OK, that’s done. All of you The Elder Scrolls Online haters are next in my sights (tomorrow, though – I need some sleep!)

Quick News Hits: More Ways For Game Companies To Get Your Money (They Hope)…

Gah, keeping up with all this breaking news is nuts (NUTS, I say!), so I’ll just do what comes naturally in these cases: make fun of the more important stories right from the inbox, but also post coolness where it counts. Hey, it’s tough love time around here all the time (as in I love the industry, but sometimes you guys make me wonder what’s in the water every so often)…

Ubisoft is releasing the 25-minute film Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Alpha on Blu-Ray and DVD on May 22, day and date with Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. The entire package (including extras) runs, according to the press release, 50 minutes. At $7.95 for the DVD and $14.95 for the Blu-Ray, that’s an OK price, but still a bit steep for those cheapskates out there who (paradoxically) probably wouldn’t mind paying ten bucks more (which coincidentally, falls in the center of that MSRP) for the game packed together with the movie in a retail package. Then again, given that the film and extras would probably have fit comfortably on a PS3 Blu-Ray (360 owners would have to get a separate DVD inside the case), maybe it should have been part of the game package after all?

Update: having just seen the film on tonight’s X-Play (it’s definitely well made, excellently paced and will absolutely drive interest in the game), I still think it should have been part of the package – maybe as something to watch while the game is installing, ha ha)

I’m just sayin’… there’s still a recession on among some of us, you know. Yes, I’m SO hard to market to, aren’t I? But I do pass on stuff I feel is important, so that’s the balance here.

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Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream’ Sold For Almost 120 Million Dollars Last Night. Eek!

Holy cats. Hell, I’d bet good money that Edvard Munch never dreamed his creepy little painting would rake in such an insane amount of money. Then again, he DID do four different versions of the thing, so perhaps he was trying to drive the future value down, a ha, ha and ha. Anyway, that amount of money rather greatly annoys me. So much so, in fact, that I did my own version of The Scream unintentionally yesterday. Hey, I can play the poor artist part VERY well, especially as I’m poor (and an artist when I feel like it). Say hello to the Grizzly Pawppet! Growl! Now, where’s my damn millions?

Oh, wait… Eddie (or is it Edvie?) Munch isn’t collecting a dime of that selling price, as he’s no longer with us. Good thing I don’t have his agent, I guess…