All will be revealed at the start of 2007.
This Colbert guy is meant to be some hard-nosed, cutting-wit interviewer guy. I reckon Paxman would eat him for breakfast. Will looks worried. I don’t know if it’s the fear of being interviewed live on TV by some wannabe politico or the thought that every word he says is being scrutinised by his paymasters at EA.
For the record, I reckon Spore will be a bit meh. Nice idea but, like all creation games, once you’ve gone through all the tiers of creation it’ll grow old fast. Not fast enough to sell like crazy though.
Koffdrop.com finally hits the zeitgeist!
Yes, I know I’ve truly arrived once my site gets hacked. I noticed some strangeness a little while back and today I checked things out and everything was gone! Yup, all the files that make up the site, all my hosted files, all image files – the works!
Not only that but my site admin panel had been changed – effectively locking me from my own site.
Fortunately, my host is not only extremely helpful but very thorough in his work. He’s been able to provide me with a lot of information relating the the trail of breadcrumbs the wiley little scamp left.
What I find highly suspcious is the rather blunt methods used. A mass ‘delete’ was done of all my unprotected files.
Most interestingly my last two posts – the one laughing at the tantrums thrown by Zelda fanboys and the one belittling a community that was taking itself far too seriously – both those posts have been mysteriously deleted from the database that holds the koffdrop.com site data.
Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?
Now, in a mature and civilised arena there’d be discussion and an effort to understand the broader view.
That’s not the case in some areas. In spite of being someone who is in the position to offer gamers a wider, truthful and unique view of their ‘passion’ I trolled too many times by not bowing and scraping to Wiidophiles and their immature, nonsensical views and the mighty teenager whose ego runs a community I’ve given far more to than it deserves (considering the invasion of my privacy and my other sites they conducted) have seen fit that I must be done away with.
You see, fact has no place on gaming communities. Neither does criticism of Nintendo.
For all that I can offer (and have offered) I have committed far too many sins of outwardly not tolerating fools and refusing to suck down hype like the besotted chidren biting at my ankles.
What do stroppy teenagers do when when their more informed, more experienced, more impartial elders highlight the inadequacies of their behaviour?
They slam the door!
The gaming community never fails to show it’s intolerance and willful ignorance. It happened today, it’ll happen tomorrow. And those on the other side of the door will congratulate themselves on how clever they are for knowing how to slam it in the first place.
Here’s a little fact that I hope pisses off a great many of you: game developers rarely mix online with gamers because gamers can’t cope with being told some cold realities or having to deal with facts that burst their little bubble about what happens in the REAL world of videogames. Developers frequently mix with one another on communities – but they make damn sure that gamers don’t know where these communities are. They’ll just crash the party, shoot their mouths off and spoil it for everyone. Gamers show that, despite their apparent ‘love’ of games and ‘interest’ in gaming they’d rather kick those in the know out than tolerate a view that differs from their own.
Game developers, on the whole, really don’t mind being excluded from the ranks of mediocrity.
Tomorrow, another bunch of stroppy teenager-like gamers will do something equally stupid. And the day after. And the day after that..
So, as the mad rush rush to be the first with THAT Zelda review dies down so does the hysteria. Let’s face it, Nintendo zealots are a predictable bunch. They already know that the unproven, unreleased Wii is The Second Coming (because Nintendo says so). They already know that the unreleased, unplayed Zelda game is The Greatest Game Ever because it’s the new Zelda game!
You know what? They’re prejudiced children.
This is highlighted by the fact that Gamespot (A site I freely admit to having a fondness to and for paying a yearly subscription to) has finally put out their Zelda review. Looks like they weren’t rushing to get those important web-hits by being the first to praise the game.
The reception to this ‘terrible’ review has been savage. The prejudiced fans have practically put a fatwah on the reviewer’s head and started to throw tantrums using words like “boycott” and calling the reviewer “fat” and a “hater”.
People don’t like to hear news that doesn’t fit in with their ideas. Nintendo zealots are the masters of this behaviour – instantly branding any critic of their dream an idiot/hater or someone who doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Even if he’s a professional reviewer, an award-winning game developer or someone who’s been involved in games development longer than Nintendo have been producing consoles.
I knew this would happen.
I have said for years (and in previous koffdrop.com posts) that Zelda is nice but it’s not amazing. The formula is getting old and, more significantly, games of a similar ilk are surpassing Zelda’s block-pushing antics by a considerable margin. Clover’s PS2 swansong Okami immediately springs to mind.
Nintendo fans have enjoyed telling people it’s all about the gameplay – yet now there’s a new Zelda game that equates to little other than the same game as before but with shinier graphics and, crucially, with gameplay that’s been described as ‘aged’ instead of ‘classic’ the knives are drawn.
Some games news sites have this ‘terrible news’ on their front page as a news item. I think that says a lot about where the collective culture’s mindset is at. The fact that a game scoring lower than people’s pre-judged expectations is becoming news? It seems common that when people have expectations of something, when those expectations are not met the immature thing is to blame anything other then those expectations.
I don’t have the need for webhits. That’s because I don’t have adverts on my site and a need to bring people here by posting news they want to hear. That’s why I don’t need to spin any news. This culture shows itself up for the immature sham that it is and incidents like the reception to this Zelda review prove my point perfectly. I will probably buy Twighlight Princess as I bought WindWaker. I will play it as a game first and as a Nintendo Zelda game … never. What’s the point? That’s just being led by the hand by marketing men.
I prefer to think for myself. It would seem like that is a revolution in this culture.
I chanced upon a collection of MP3’s that went by the heading It Takes A Nation of Tossers recently. Naturally, my curiosity got the better of me and I took them to one side and had a listen.
What greeted my ears was what I can only describe as a cross between Eminem and Geof Boycott (well known cricketer of yore and outspoken yorkshireman). The artist is called Pitman – a reference to working down a mine pit – and the content was pretty accomplished and highly amusing.
It’s possible that I’m fond of it due to the fact I’m a southerner that’s now living ‘oop north’ – where terms like cob, mardy and calling people duck still seem a little alien to me.
Anyway, enjoy a new feature of Koffdrop.com – streaming audio – and have a listen to one of the tracks. If you want more just head to my files section and help yourself.
If you grab any files or stream the audio please write a comment and let me know if you found it useful and if the streaming speed was decent.
[audio:14.mp3] Pitman – It Takes A Nation of TossersI’m not an Ice Hockey fan – in fact, there’s few sports that spark my interest. However, my employer had kindly organised a trip to a big game and myself and the good lady wife enjoyed some exciting sportsmanship, the odd scrap and some free booze.
For those interested, the result was a 2-2 draw.
I have to admire the attitude of my employers. In my first week I was on a trip to Alton Towers, they’ve organised bowling trips, tonight’s hockey game and then there’s the Christamas do (whatever that my turn out to be) looming – not to mention last week’s fun Gong of Terror and other Game City events. All have been great fun and just make me happier knowing that not only am I doing a job I enjoy with a firm who has a reputation for quality – but they’re also good at looking after their staff!What a difference from 8 months ago!In other news, my US copy of Final Fantasy XII turned up ONE DAY after the US street date. Got to admire that! EB must have shipped it one day early and UPS did the rest of the work. OK, I got stung for £20 of import tax but that’s the first time it’s ever happened to me and, strictly speaking, I can’t complain.
I’m looking forward to getting stuck into it. It’s a shame that I’ve not managed to find the time to stick the damn disc in my PS2 yet!
Allow me to direct you to Nottingham’s GameCity event. As the name suggests, there are various gaming seminars, tournaments, lectures and gatherings being held RIGHT NOW across the city center.
Being based in Nottingham, Free Radical are involved in a few events. I’ll be attending the Free Radical Gong of Terror that kicks off tonight. The event is a sort of talent show where hopefuls pitch game ideas to a panel of judges. There will a gong. Terror is optional. The prize? Well, it’s something money simply can’t buy!
You can find out more about precisely what events Free Radical are involved in by checking their web page here.
If you’re near Nottingham (or even if you’re not!) you should pay the GameCity event a visit. Maybe I’ll see you there!
I take my gaming fairly seriously – and with good reason.
My home currently has two televisions, one in the front room which is connected to the Sky box (soon to be replaced with the Topfield PVR) and one in the back room which is totally dedicated to gaming. Both are 28″ CRT models using SCART for their input.
As my desire for next-gen consoles begins to grow serious I’ve realised that I’m going to sulk if I don’t play games in HD. I freely admit that it’s not just about the image quality. I know that if I were to be playing a X360 or PS3 on a regular TV I’d be sitting around thinking “I know this would look better if I had an HD TV” – subsequently, I’d be spoiling my own enjoyment by focusing on what I don’t have rather than what I do.
Now, of course, that’s all in my head – but that’s the way I am. I’m not sure if that makes me some sort of HD sucker or someone who’s fallen for PR. I just know that I want to get the best out of whatever box I connect to a TV.
So I’ve decided to hold off buying any new consoles (including the Wii) until I upgrade my TV. Speaking to my best friend at length and walking around a few retailers I’ve decided to plump for a 37″ LCD HD model. Specifically the Toshiba 37LW66. It fits to a budget of around £800 (if you shop around online) and also 37″ is about the biggest screen I think I can put into that room in any practical form. I’m still quite happy with 28″ of CRT so anything larger than that will be fine. In fact, having viewed the TV in-store it looked surprisingly big to me and my wife. And, as we all know, things always look bigger at home than they do in the store.
The model seems to have been well established and garnered positive reviews all round. My space concerns are more to do with width than anything else so the design of the TV is appealing. Speakers placed somewhere other than the sides of the screen mean the unit isn’t any wider than it needs to be.
Being the tight-fisted git that I am, I’m refusing to buy the beastie until I’ve got the cash in place for it. I really hate buying stuff on credit and try to be a cash-only guy. With the holiday season fast approaching and all the strain that puts on one’s finances I think it’ll be 2007 before I see it in my home. Not long into 2007 though!
The next step is to grab component cables and a component switcher for my consoles to that I can take immediate advantage of the screen quality with my existing machines.
So, if anyone wants to know what I want for Christmas, there’s your answer!
Those few of us that bought the PAL PlayStation game Castlevania – Symphony of the Night will recall with some smugness that the package contained an audio CD and artbook. A pretty good deal and one that fetches a fair price on ebay.
Well, look lively, because the second Nintendo DS Castlevania game (Portrait of Ruin) has a pretty spiffy pre-order incentive in the US:
Order Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin for the Nintendo DS and receive a Castlevania 25th Anniversary Gift Pack FREE! Gift Pack includes a Soundtrack CD, DS Stylus, DS Game case that holds 2 games and a Castlevania art book! Offer good while supplies last.
Now, that’s pretty nice!
I’m only aware of it being on offer at EBGames / Gamestop sites in the US. The EB product page is here. The price is $39.99 plus $15.99 international shipping which when you feed it into a currency converter comes out to a reasonable £29.73. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the UK retail price of the standard game be £29.99 when it eventually comes out over here – so it’s a no brainer for people like me! US street date is 5th December.
The game itself looks extremely good – and sure to please fans of the Castlevania series.
I’ve ordered from EB online only once before and that’s for the Final Fantasy XII Special Edition (poncy box). For some reason it took a number of times for the site to accept my details but I got there in the end. Seeing as neither of the games I’ve ordered are out yet I can’t comment on the delivery service or speed. If any readers of this site have any experience of them be sure to let me know what you think!
