PSN Friend List Error #2

A lot of people have been adding me lately, some requests go through, others do not. If you added me recently and noticed that I'm still not on your list, try again or leave a comment here so I can add you. Sorry about that! I wish I knew what the problem was.


Feel free to add me, "zoopp" without the quotation marks of course.

24-Hour PixelJunk Eden Marathon!

I’m obsessed with video games. How obsessed? On Wednesday July 30th at roughly 10 p.m. GMT-7:00, I’ll be live blogging an entire 24-hour PixelJunk Eden marathon! SEEDING, YAY!
What to know:

• Where? 24-Hour PixelJunk Eden Marathon!
  
• “Are you serious?” Yes, I really will be playing PixelJunk Eden for 24-hours straight; with the exception of bathroom breaks, food, sugar induced hospitalization, and whatever else is crucial to my well being.
• I’ll be broadcasting using a Ustream account. I believe you’ll need one in order to chat.
• Feel free to ask gameplay questions, make requests, etc. That’s the whole point of live blogging this… Otherwise, I’d just play the game for 24-hours by myself.
• The game will be released on July 31st in Japan, which depending on the time of day, means the 30th for those of us in the United States. J-PSN updates are often sporadic, so I don’t know the exact time the game will be uploaded.
• Of course, this is all tentative to my school schedule. Expect the broadcast to happen -- it just might not be for a full 24-hours. Like I said, it all depends on my schooling. *shakes fist at responsibility*
• If I manage to get 100% on single player, including every trophy, I’ll stop before the 24-hour period ends.
• For those interested, check back here on July 27th for all of the details.

Have a good one,
-Tim

PixelJunk Monster Encore Impressions

Well, the expansion to Pixeljunk Monsters was just released in Japan and I've already beat the game. It'll be released in the US next week. Needless to say, I couldn't wait that long. So I went ahead and purchased a Japanese Playstation card and downloaded the game off the Japan Playstation Network.

I was disappointed to find out that my previous game and saves files were not compatible. So I had to re-purchase the full game in Japanese for the expansion to work. I think it ended up costing me something like $15 and I’ll gladly pay $15 for a game I love!

In one day, and in almost one sitting, I was able to completely beat the original game as well as the expansion! Oh and to top it off, I beat the entire game in two player mode....BY MYSELF!
I'd move a character, set the controller down, move the next character, and repeat. I eventually got to the point where I could move both characters at once, not well mind you, but I could.

For some people, two player mode is much easier and for me, I'd agree with that statement. The game is still difficult, but with two characters, you're able to multi-task much more freely. Also, playing in two player mode by yourself, was really enjoyable. It added a whole new dimension to the game that I hadn't previously experienced, and as you can see below, its entirely doable. I got multiple first place global rankings.

My impressions on the expansion, including minor spoilers:

The expansion is more difficult than the original game. Most notably, the last level was especially difficult, resulting in tactics that I had never fully explored. Oh, and the expansion will throw some twists and turns at you, stuff that you've never seen before and would never expect. There were quite a few "WTF" jaw dropping moments.
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I really appreciated the variety of levels. Overall, the levels were much prettier looking and were much more frequently themed. For example, one stage was inspired by Pixeljunk racers and resembled a race track.
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There are five new songs from Otograph to listen to, some are better than others. Kudos to Q-Games for adding more songs, my insanity level was wavering.
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I was disappointed to learn that there were no new towers or monsters in the game. I suppose adding those things would have created more play test time, but it still would have been nice.
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Finally, there's a secret at the end of the game which is simply amazing! If you don't want to know what that secret is, you can stop reading here. If not, click the link below to take you to the full post with screenshots (containing spoilers) and new information straight from Dylan Cuthbert of Q-Games, whom I recently contacted.

Also, check out the video below for a brief preview of Pixeljunk Monsters Encore:


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After completing every level in both the main game and the expansion, you unlock a third island called Tum Tum island. This presented a problem for me because, as I mentioned above, my US save files wouldn't transfer over, so I had to beat the entire game again.

On Tum Tum island you are able to enter a phrase consisting of five spaces, using letters, numbers, etc. By doing this, you are able to randomly generate a level. Which in theory, provides for infinite replay value.

Here's an email I sent to Dylan Cuthbert of Q-Games:
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Hello there,

You might be the first person to get that far - that was pretty quick! We made that last level nice and tough... I'll bet you were surprised when all those bosses started showing up. :-)

Using the generator there is no way to know what stage will come out of the mix, that would remove the fun! Try any combination you want (there are 38 to the power of 5 combinations, which is a considerable amount) - such as D Y L A N, T I M M Y, D O G G Y, etc. Hopefully people will set up threads which list a daily or weekly challenge and then post their scores.

It was a complete experiment to include that and give people effectively infinite replay value, so hopefully more and more people will get that far. Because of the random nature some levels will be impossible to clear, never mind rainbow but your score is recorded locally even if you lose.

Regards

Dylan
Q-Games Ltd.
----- Original Message -----
From: Tim Russell
To: dylan@q-games.com
Sent: Sunday, April 27, 2008 9:43 AM
Subject: Pixeljunk Monsters Encore Tum Tum Island Question

Hey Dylan,
I've just completed Pixeljunk Monsters encore and unlocked the level generator. First off, thank you so much for making an expansion! Secondly, thank you for included a level generator. I was praying you guys would include something like that!

So I have a quick question about the level generator. I see that there are five slots to enter in numbers, symbols, etc. Is there a method to how these levels are generated? For example, is there a way to know what to expect, such as the specific level being played.

Also, can you recommend any good phrases for the level generator?

THANK YOU AGAIN! I love the game! (The last level was crazy hard)

kind regards,
-Tim Russell

My Dual Shock 3 Impressions

Happy Valentines Day to me! I just barely got this Dual Shock 3 PS3 controller in the mail today. If any of you have played the PS3, then you know that the controller doesn't rumble. Well Sony solved that problem by releasing the Dual Shock 3 recently in Japan. You can't buy these outside of Japan as of right now and no one's sure when they will be coming out this year in America.

I'm a huge PS3 fan boy so I decided to take the plunge and import. I haven't spent much time with it yet, but so far I can say this, "I MISS RUMBLE!" The controller is twice as heavy as the original controller. The white is very white, and all my favorite games now have rumble, including PIXEL JUNK MONSTERS!!!!

Hit the link for more pictures.

The Good And The Bad Of The Consoles

Want to know whats bad and whats good about the consoles? Want to know what kind of fan-boy I am? (hint, PS3) Or maybe you just want another opinion about a specific console before spending the dough. Here's my list of my pro's and con's of each major console....and yes, I do own all three consoles, so I'm allowed to bash whatever I feel like!

The PS3... the most surprisingly fun console.


-Classic Playstation controller except wireless
-Blu-Ray games and Blu-ray movies
-Upscaling dvd's via HDMI
-HD Graphics
-Sixaxis
-Downloadable content
-Best dashboard of the three consoles
-Bluetooth official remote control
-Remote Play
-Custom themes
-Constant firmware updates
-Plenty of hard drive space at a non Microsoft price
-Upgradable hard drives
-Free online play
-Most reliable console of the three. (yes, my Wii has broken once and my 360 is about to break any day now)
-Pixeljunk Monsters
-Everyday Shooter
-Uncharted
-Heavenly sword
-PS3 Home
-Little Big Planet
-Final Fantasy 13 in 2009

What I don't love about the PS3.
-It's freaking loud!
-It's freaking huge!
-It's freaking expensive!
-Not enough good games.
-Controllers are just barely getting rumble features.

Hit the link for the Wii and 360 lists.
The Wii...my most anticipated console
-Overall best multiplayer console.
-Cheap
-Unique
-Super Mario Galaxy
-Super Smash Bros Brawl
-Wii Sports
-Virtual Console
-Animal Crossing in late 2008-early 2009

What I don't love about the Wii
-Gimmicky
-Not enough "real" games
-Only 480p
-Controllers use AA batteries by default
-Expensive Virtual Console games
-Little to no online gaming
-Friend Codes
-Not enough of a reason to justify the Wii being "on" 24/7
-Still not available to purchase in stores

The Xbox 360... my least favorite console.
-HD
-Tons of downloadable content
-Scene It?
-Lots of Live users

What I don't like about the Xbox 360.
-CRAPPY D-PAD.......TERRIBLE TERRIBLE D-PAD
-Optical drive is noisy
-Consoles did not include HDMI support until recently
-Does not support blu-ray or HD-DVD GAMES
-Too many freaking FPS games
-Online service costs money.
-Expensive online rental service.
-Not enough variety in games.
-Red Ring of Death
-Accessories are freaking expensive!
-Controllers use AA batteries by default.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this post.