October 1, 2008

Free Seating? Sweet!

Asahi!

Finding Jingu Stadium, where the Tokyo Yakult Swallows were playing the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, was easy enough. I just got off of the train station and followed the row of food vendors toward the bright lights in the distance. I still had no clue how to go about getting tickets, but I was about to get a great deal of help.

“Are you going to the Swallows game?” asked a British child who could clearly see I was seeming a bit confused. I replied that I was, and he and his brother told me — both decked out in their full Swallows gear — that they were also going. I asked about tickets. They said I could sit close up, but the cheapest seats are the Swallows Free Seating. Free tickets! Nice.

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September 30, 2008

Let’s Talk Sumo!

I really wanted to see Sumo, so I ended up paying an agency an extra $25 on top of the ticket price ($35) to get the tickets. I had tickets in the second-to-last row. Sophranes, from Cypress, really wanted to see Sumo, so he left the hostel at 7:30, walked to the Sumo venue (about 15 minutes from this hostel), paid $21, and sat in the last row. Oh well. I was even up when he left!

The bouts start with the lowest class of rikishi, and work their way upwards. When the first group is going, there is hardly anyone there. 300-400 tops. So they let us go down to the very very front. We sat only a few feet away, and boy are these guys huge! You think I’m huge?

Anyway, there is a lot of ceremony for a very short bout. Some of them last a few seconds tops. In the second level, called Juryo, the guy who won beat his opponent in about 2 seconds. He just stepped backwards and tossed the guy down. This was one of the times the fans laughed. Laughed! I must say that this was the most surprising thing about this event: the fans did not act like I expected. They basically cheer for the popular wrestlers, but it seems no one is even paying attention most of the time.

The funniest part of the entire event was the awards ceremony. Hakuho, the champion, is given some awards. It starts with the Emperor’s Cup, which is gigantic. Then there’s another trophy. And another. And a proclamation. And more trophies. Then there was a giant hookah. Then there was a statue of a cow on a pedastal. A huge line-up of Japanese men in dark suits were presenting these trophies. Then a representative from Toyota gave him a truck to take home all of his trophies! (No, not really.)

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September 30, 2008

Where’s my downtime?

I keep thinking I’ll blog during my downtime. But where is it?

So before I run off to another action-packed day, let me just show you this amazing video I took yesterday in Nikko.

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September 27, 2008

Japan = Expensive? Pshaw.

The first thing people always tell me about Japan is that “it’s so expensive!” This comes normally from people who have never been here, and now I know why. Japan is as cheap as any American city! In fact, I think it may be cheaper than San Francisco if you want to do it on the cheap. The minimum price on the train is $1.30, not $1.50. A plate of chicken katsu with curry and rice runs less than $4, and a yummy bowl of ramen with pork and veggies starts at around $3. If you were someone who was used to fancy restaurants and 4-star hotels, you’d probably find these things expensive, but the basics are quite reasonable. One liter of Evian? $1.79.

Of course even my own research showed that sushi would be very expensive. Wrong! I’ve had two sushi meals already. Both cost me less than $9! Amazing! Now, let’s go bit-by-bit through my first evening and first full day here.

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September 26, 2008

I’ve landed!

I’m at the Khaosan Tokyo Ninja, which is my hostel for the next week. I’m tired but it looks like I may go to a quick dinner anyway. Need to adjust my schedule.

I’ve had some “holy crap I’m in Japan” moments, but nothing too exciting yet. More later when I have more to say.

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August 23, 2008

Japanese Tourist Blog – Pre(r)amble

From September 25-October 13, or thereabouts, www.isuckatvideogames.com will become my Japanese tourist blog. Why put that stuff here? Because I can. And because video games and Japan go hand and hand. And because I am going to the Tokyo Game Show as part of my trip. And because I’m sure to go to Akihabara and buy too much video game crap. Well, see? There are lots of legitimate reasons!
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My trip outline has been completed, and it looks something like this:

Tokyo: Sept 26-Oct 2
Kytoto: Oct 3-7
Osaka: Oct 8
Tokyo: Oct 9-13

There are some big events in there. Let me tell you about the highlights are likely to be!

Sept 28: Sumo! I have two tickets to the final day of September’s Grand Sumo Tournament. I will get to see the crowning of the Yokozuna! I hope a Japanese guy can become one. The two current dudes are Mongolians!

Sept 29: Studio Ghibli Museum! This is so awesome. They say “you can do the whole thing in two hours.” I plan to be there for at least six. I’ll likely murder the gift shop. This is the most dangerous place in Japan for my wallet. I may stay till closing, depending upon how long it would take me to get to …

Sept 29: Judas Priest, Live at Budokan! Seeing a classic metal show at Budokan is kinda cliche and kinda awesome, and also really cliche and really awesome.

You’ll notice that there is a LOT of time in between now and the next big event. This will be taken up by trips to Nikko (to see monkeys and lakes), Kamakura (to see the giant Buddha), Nara (temples) and who knows what else? Japan is a big place, and I am a big guy, and we’ve got to get some big fun together. Kyoto will probably be somewhat more relaxing. I am staying in a smallish guesthouse there, and the host apparently makes meals for the people staying there. I hope that’s true; I could save some money to spend on crap (or presents for the likes of you.)

Oct 8: The Umeda Sky Building! There is a building in Osaka that looks to be one of the coolest anywhere in the world. There is a giant garden observatory on the roof overlooking the entire region. In order to get up to it, you need to go up this escalator that just floats above multiple stories. I can’t wait. Pictures to come!

Oct 11-12: Tokyo Game Show! The biggest video game show anywhere, this will be attended by tens of thousands of crazed Japanese video game fans. Many of them will be cosplaying, many of them will probably scare me, and all of them will entertain me to no end. I hear it’s nearly impossible to actually play any of the desired games during a visit to the show, but the point is the spectacle and the energy, and I have no doubt I will love it.

Other highlights will be riding the shinkansen–the bullet train, seeing the crazy kids in their crazy outfits in Shibuya, seeing the shops of the Ginza strip, shopping for electronics in Akihabara, getting confused by the trains and subways, and meeting interesting international travelers in the assortment of hostels I’ll be staying in.

That’s the basics. I’ll be blogging here when I can, as well as posting pictures on my Flickr account. I’d love suggestions or must-sees, so please send them along!

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August 21, 2008

Bangai-O Spirits Makes Me Discuss Shooters

Bangai-O Spirits is one of the highest rated DS games on Metacritic right now. Eurogamer says “Playing Bangai-O Spirits is a pleasure. If I could, I’d play it for every waking moment.” NTSC-UK (who I’ve never heard of) says “It’s a gamers’ game to be truly savoured – here to show anyone who forgot or missed it the first time, just how ridiculously good it is at what it does.” And then Cheat Code Central says “The most challenging and rewarding experience currently available for hardcore gamers on the DS!” And there it is, the reason why I’m not going to buy Bangai-O Spirits.

If you’ve followed my gaming life at all, you’ll know that I am far from a hardcore gamer. I want to be a hardcore gamer, and somewhere in the back of my mind, I am one. Then put me up against a game with a high level of difficulty, and here’s what happens. Level one is pretty easy, looks beautiful, and I tell my friends, “this game is great!” (See: Bioshock.) Eventually, I find myself on a level that is impossible to beat. I go to Gamefaqs to find out how to get past the sticking point only to find out that I am about 5% of the way into the game. One of two things can happen now: I can keep my laptop next to me with the hints open, or I can just quit and move on to the next game. Neither of these is tremendously appealing.

Shooters such as Bangai-O Spirits, and other Treasure classics like Ikaruga or Gradius bring on an entirely different challenge. They are remarkably fun, but eventually I get to a point where I just cannot beat a level. (This happens very fast in Ikaruga; that game is impossible past the point of being fun. See below.) In this case, though, looking at some FAQ is just not going to help me. What would it say? Avoid bullets? And yet I keep repeating this error. It’s time I talk about the well-regarded shooters I’ve played recently, and how I’m doing at them.

Space Invaders Extreme: The first two levels of this game are about as much fun as I’ve had playing a shooter, ever. The music is great, the power-ups are fun, and the level design is really clever. I recommend this game highly to just about anyone! But then, I get to level 3–the easy version of it–and I cannot beat the boss fight. Just can’t. The bad guys here shoot bullets that hit the player instantly. Instantly! It’s completely unfair, and the FAQ basically says “avoid bullets.” Thanks! I have the U.S. version of this, and there is a Japanese edition that comes with a paddle controller for attaching to the DS Lite. This sounds like an extra level of fun, and I may have to get this paddle controller when I go to Japan. As for what I have here, it’s fantastic, but I hate it.

Ikaruga: As I said above, this game is too hard to be considered fun for me. It’s a well known game, but in case you’re new to it, I’ll recap the basics. You have a ship that can change color from white to black. Then there are bad guys and bullets that are white and black. Anything white is powered up by white bullets and hurt by black bullets, and vice versa. It’s a race war brought to life as an impossible video game! There are videos online where one player plays two players simultaneously and beats the game. These people are scary, and will eventually breed and create a super race of the ultimate nerd. I can’t take much of this game; in fact, I probably should have sold it when it was valuable, as I’m extremely unlikely to ever play it again.

Sin & Punishment: This is another classic Treasure game, this time for the Nintendo 64. This one was never released in the U.S., and the Wii Virtual Console edition of it received accolades, so I decided to try it. Why do I keep doing this to myself? This is an on-rails, walk around shooter, though, and I can actually play it a bit. I’ve gotten reasonably far into it (I think), and I haven’t died too much. I also don’t have any cool combos or pickups or anything. I’m supposed to move with one stick and fire with another stick and jump with another stick and aim with another one and I don’t think I have that many sticks and it’s just a bear to control. Also, what was up with those Nintendo 64 graphics anyway? Is this the worst-looking game system in history or what?

Gyrostarr: This is a Wii Ware title that came cheap–700 points or $7 in cash money–and was also well received. I saw video of it, and it looked so pretty. All the colors of all the rainbows are in this game, and it has amazing starfields wherever you look. The game is pretty simple to play: you blow up ships and try to collect energy balls. If you get to the end of the level with enough energy, you go to the next level. Otherwise, game over. What makes this game completely excellent is the multiplayer mode, where each of you pilot a ship on the same course, and you work together to collect enough energy. If you line yourself up together, your shot powers up. This is insanely cool. There are bonus levels that fly by so fast, you really know what warp speed is like by the time you’re done.

What do all of these games have in common? Other than the genre? I’m highly unlikely to finish any of them! Remember the name of the site: I suck at video games. I’m not at the point in the last two where I can’t beat the level no matter how hard I try, but I’m getting close. And when it happens, I’m going to move on to another game. Maybe Geometry Wars 2? The new Galaga reboot? Someone stop me before I shoot again!

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July 18, 2008

Boom Blox

I’ve never been very good at Jenga. My hands are too big, and they shake a lot. I reach for a piece, and it just topples over. I am pretty good at Boom Blox, though.

Boom Blox is a new video game from Electronic Arts and Stephen Spielberg. It’s basically a collection of smaller games where you knock things over, blow things up, and move things around; all while using the Wiimote as your tool. Sometimes you throw a bomb at a bunch of blocks trying to knock gems off of a tower. Sometimes you throw a bowling ball at a bridge, hoping to knock some parts off but not others, and in the game that is the most addictive, you play Jenga. Just don’t call it that, please.

The multiplayer games on this disc are just awesome. In the Jenga variation, you have towers of sticks, and you use the Wiimote to grab certain of these sticks and then pull them out of the tower, hoping not to topple it over. If you topple it over, you’ll likely lose. There is this amazing tension when you pull them out, and the not-quite-realistic-but-maybe-it-is-I’m-not-a-physicist-so-I-can’t-be-sure gravity starts moving the tower ever so slightly, and you tense up and hope it doesn’t all fall over. When playing with friends, the trash talking opportunities are countless.

There’s also a game where there are towers full of blocks, and some of the blocks are worth points, and others will make you lose points. You take turns throwing a ball at the towers, and trying to knock the point blocks to the ground while keeping the penalty blocks on the tower. This game can get overly lopsided scores in a hurry, so sometimes you’ll want to spend your turn throwing your ball at the annoying block animals that mock you when you do poorly. When you hit them, they flop around and then disappear in very entertaining ways.

Another game is a bit of shuffleboard variant. Each player has blocks of their color, and they are trying to move them along the ice into scoring areas. You throw a ball at your blocks to move them, and you can also try hitting your block into your opponents’ blocks to knock them off the playing field. This game has amazing screw-your-neighbor opportunities, and could start fights in the wrong group.

There’s also some shooting games, and some blowing-stuff-up-real-good games, and some games I probably haven’t unlocked yet. All in all, Boom Blox is wicked fun as a multiplayer game. My flatmate and her boyfriend played for 4 hours on consecutive days. They would never admit this, but the Wii is kind enough to email me how often my games are played. (If Wii ever adds an “adult channel,” hopefully this channel won’t report its use.)

The single player game is a bit challenging, but bores me to tears. It’s more of a puzzle affair. Once you figure out where to hit the tower or how to pull the sticks, the actual doing of them isn’t too hard. And if I screw it up, which I’m always likely to do, it’s pretty forgiving of errors. It’s a pretty good game to play for someone who sucks at video games, and I’m thankful for that. It was probably made for kids; who knows? I never pay attention to stuff like that. A fun game is a fun game.

Go ahead and get Boom Blox for your Wii if you ever have friends come over who are tired of Wii Sports. It’s the next best competitive multiplayer experience going. (Will anything ever be better for parties than Wii Sports Bowling?)

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May 27, 2008

PS3 beats XBox 360 in the Battle For My Wallet

I was sure I was going to get an XBox 360. So sure, in fact, that I bought a controller for it during a giant sale at some game site. It was less than half price, and I knew I would need a second one. Sometimes, I shouldn’t be so sure of things. I’ve decided to get a PS3.

Why would I make this change?

First off, we have the reliability factor. There are just too many stories about the Red Ring of Death, and although Microsoft is happy to replace those consoles, I don’t want to be in the middle of a game and have to wait a week to keep playing it. When game addiction sets in, I want my console to work! This was a big strike against Microsoft.

Secondly, there is the Blu Ray thing. I have a wee little HDTV, but this may not always be the case. It seems silly to not get Blu Ray discs once their price gets close to that of DVD. It may take a while, but I should be protecting myself against future obsolescence.

Then we have the games. Oh, the XBox 360 definitely has the better exclusives right now. Mass Effect and Bioshock come to mind. But here’s the thing: both of these are available on the PC, and I now have a PC that can play these things! I have a fancy shmancy 22″ monitor and a high-end video card. Why shouldn’t I play those on the PC then? Seems simple.

The online thing was a big plus for XBox 360, but I can skip that whole point collection thing knowing that I can get Super Puzzle Fighter for the PS3. However, it turns out that the majority of my friends who have a console have the PS3, so if I want to play online with them, I will need to have the same console. Plus, since it does not have as big of an install base, used games tend to fall in value a lot quicker.

So now that I’ve made this choice, and am ready to make the plunge, I wonder when my wallet will be ready.

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May 8, 2008

Casual DS Goodies!

The Nintendo DS has caught on with the masses, mainly because of the wide variety of so-called casual games. Some of these are downright offensive (Horsez, Petz, Pet Horsez), but most of them are in the puzzle category. The DS puzzle games are what I do on my BART commute every day, so I have lots of experience with them. I don’t even suck at them. So let’s take a look at some highlights and lowlights from the DS puzzle games I’ve played.

Brain Age (and Brain Age 2): It was 5 minutes of drunken Brain Age at Butter in San Francisco that convinced me to buy a DS. I was excited because after years of sucking at video games, here was a game I could be good at! Doing simple math problems as fast as possible! Brilliant! I played Brain Age for a long time until I got bored of the games. Some of them frustrated me (memorizing lists of words) and some just got too easy (3 people leave the house, 2 people go in the house, 5 people up the chimney, etc.). So when Brain Age 2 came out, I thought “here’s the game I love, but with new variety!” Well, I played it for about a week, and it has been left unplayed ever since. I can’t bring myself to sell it because I know I am supposed to like it, but I just don’t care for it anymore.

Puzzle Quest: This one had me seeing circles for weeks! This is an RPG, but instead of fighting with swords, you fight with Bejeweled. Brilliant! The story is so bad, I was just begging for opportunities to skip past it, but the actual battles were puzzlerific! And the system to get new spells and character upgrades was fantastic. I beat this game, collected all the spells, captured all the monsters, and realized I would never play it again. So to eBay it went. But before then, I had a great time with it.

Word Jong: Word Jong is kinda bad. It’s stacks of letters on tiles that you pull off piles to make words for points. The puzzle itself is entertaining enough if you like anagramming, but the actual game itself is really poorly done. The example that kills me is that there is a game mode where you battle against computer opponents. And the computer opponents will make words, backspace, make words, backspace, make words … oh you get the idea. When I am playing against a computer opponent, I want the thinking to happen off screen! It adds no value to the game. I got bored of this pretty quickly, and you probably will, too. Playing against a human opponent is probably fun if you are in the same room. Otherwise, I can’t recommend it.

Picross DS: Picross may have been played more than any other game in my gaming history. It’s phenomenal. It’s a Japanese picture/logic puzzler. There are numbers on the rows and columns that represent the number of dots filled in on a grid. And that’s it. You figure out which dots are filled in, which are empty, and you see a picture! The DS version allows you to download a bunch of additional puzzles, including all of the puzzles from the original Game Boy version of this game, which was called Mario’s Picross. Lots of Mario-themed puzzles in there, which is loads of fun. If you like addictive logic puzzles, this is the game to buy right away!

Clubhouse Games: This is the one I have in my DS right now. It’s out of print, and going for big bucks on eBay, and I can totally see why. It’s a very generous collection of classic games, from Dominos to Spit to Reversi to Bowling … it’s got lots in here. There are multiple game modes to play including a pretty difficult challenge mode. There are some games in here I’ve never heard of, some I’ve heard of but don’t know how to play just yet, and some I am too good at (I pitched a shutout in reversi against the AI). This is a great game collection, and my guess is that a sequel must be coming, otherwise there is no way that this should be unavailable. An absolute must for casual DSers.

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