Journey

If you haven't played Thatgamecompany's emotion invoking game simply titled Journey. Stop everything you're doing and go play it now! No matter what type of gamer you are, you won't be sorry!

Journey, the third game by acclaimed indie developers thatgamecompany (presented by SCEA Santa Monica Studio), is "an anonymous online adventure" featuring breathtaking visuals, enchanting music, and innovative gameplay which translates into a truly beautiful gaming experience unlike any other.



Journey is available on PSN. The Collectors Edition which features a plethora of extras including Thatgamecompany's Flower and Flow is currently available for pre-order (via Amazon and GameStop) to be released on August 28th.

Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings & the Lost Ocean

I don't know why I feel like I haven't played a video game in a long time. It certainly isn't true.

A few weeks ago I decided to resume playing Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean. I bought it back in 2003 when it came out. Played it for a little while and got distracted by something I can't remember. I was impressed by the visuals and the unique turn based card game style battle system.

Surprisingly over the eight years Baten Kaitos sat dormant in my pile of games, the quality held up to the standards I remembered and appreciated. I did run into a few glitches and a boss battle that was less than fair but that hasn't stopped me. Interesting characters, stunning scenery and enjoyable game play outshines the typical cheesy voices and complicated storyline of a Anime style RPG. Someone somewhere along the line of production had a sense of humor that I get. Occasional notes on items and battle dialog make me laugh out loud.

I haven't beaten the game yet. I am not expecting anything amazing but I doubt a lame ending would take too much away from the things I really enjoyed so far.

Sadly in-game cut-scenes are not as pretty...

Eddie Is Dead?!

When I saw the news that teen idol Corey Haim passed away my mind started spinning. I couldn't place him.

I've never been very good with movie or music trivia. I can't really name celebrities unless they are super iconic or I become a big fan of their work. I'm not proud of this so in order to broaden my trivia horizon I had to look him up.

That's when I found something I recognized but wasn't expecting. Corey starred in a full motion SEGA game called Double Switch. A game I wouldn't have bought but it just so happened to come with my SEGA CD. This person everyone else knew as Corey I knew as Eddie.

I never beat the game and didn't find out until today that Eddie wasn't the good guy he appeared to be. I'm sad. I liked Eddie. I wanted to help him. Even if this wasn't one of my favorite games I felt attached to the character as I played. These days I try to do my homework to discover the people behind the characters I enjoy. I'm sorry I didn't recognize you sooner Corey. Thanks for the memory.

I need to go back and play this game. I am now aware that R. Lee Ermey was in it as well.

Sonic Unleashed - Endless Possibility

When I got the game several weeks ago I cursed the Sonic Team's inability to remember the basic formula for a good Sonic game:

1. Run through pretty stages
2. Collect rings
3. Smash robots
4. Collect the seven Chaos Emeralds
5. turn Super Sonic
6. Stop Eggman
7. Mix well and enjoying the ride

Today I beat Sonic Unleashed and I'm much more content. Maybe it's all the holiday cheer but I don't think the game is THAT BAD. To be honest, once I discovered how to earn more than two lives, I actually started enjoying myself. The graphics are pretty, the music fits, and the characters are dead on. I struggled with the gameplay at first, but I got used to it. I have to give the Sonic Team credit for trying to find ways to incorporate the Wii motion controls into their games. The Sonic Unleashed controls are a major improvement over Sonic and the Secret Rings.

The story is cheesy. I mean come on, a "werehog"? Really? That's the best they could do?! Sonic changes into a monster at night and no one is even afraid of him. His personality shines through, as it should, I guess, but where's the drama? He could have at least struggled with the evil forces taking over his mind like most lycanthropes. Oh well.

Chip, the new character, fits in a lot better than Silver the Hedgehog (Sonic the Hedgehog PS3) or Blaze the Cat (Sonic Rush). I have no problem accepting him into the fold. I like to think of him as a less annoying Omochao (Sonic Adventure 2), except you can't pick him up and throw him over a cliff.

Eggman has evolved with a slightly more sinister sounding dialogue. He's no SatAM Robotnik, but you can really hear the hate in his voice when he's battling Sonic. I didn't mind the idea of Dark Gaia as the main boss, but I would rather fight Chaos (Sonic Adventure) again. The final battle with Dark Gaia was fun but odd.

I don't want to post too many spoiliers. I think any Sonic fan should get the game and play it. The running stages are fun and the credit music ("Endless Possibility" - Jaret Reddick) just makes you feel good. Just keep in mind the target audience and run with it.

PR: wait... I: wait... L: wait... LD: wait... I: wait... wait... C: wait... SD: wait...

MySims: Who Wouldn't Want To Play God?

I recently picked up a copy of MySims for the Wii and haven't been able to put it back down. The game is not as detailed as it's bigger siblings in the Sims series, but it's just as much fun. The game features customizable chibi-like characters which makes it an instant eye catcher for any otaku.

After picking a name for your town, you get to choose your skin color, hairstyle, outfit, pair of eyes, mouth and even a voice for your character. You character is then introduced to your town, which since "the builder" left, has fallen into ruin causing most of it's residents to move away. Awwwwwwww! But don't worry! There's still hope! It turns out that you are a builder who is able to harvest essence, the material used to create and decorate buildings and furniture, and save the town!

The residents who haven't moved away give you tasks to create items for them using essence that reflects their character. There are many types of essence and many ways to obtain it. As you complete tasks you are rewarded with new outfits and character features, items, blueprints and tools to obtain new essence. Also as your town grows more people visit the hotel and you get to pick which ones to invite to live in your town. You'll choose where their home will be and design their house based on their character (Please don't give Goth Boy a cutie pie house or he'll cry...).

Unlike the Sims, your characters don't have to eat, sleep, work, clean or use the restroom. Yes, you can still build a usable toilet and you can stop working on tasks at any time to roam the town, eat, sleep and play. There are no timed tasks to perform and no money system.

The only complaints I have about MySims is that it sometimes takes a long time to load and it can be a little glitchy when you build items. I do wish there was a way to create your own characters to live in your town aside from yourself. You can change the look of the other characters but not their names. Also when you run out of spots to build houses on you have to kick people out in order to move new people in and it would be nice if you could take relationships a step beyond "best friends." Still it's a really fun game. Super cute! Super addicting! I recommend it to anyone who likes cute and wants to spend more than a few hours unlocking stuff.

Monkey in the Middle #6

WritersNewsWeekly.com updated today and I am really excited to post my latest Monkey in the Middle comic which parodies the classic Donkey Kong video game.

Check out the other great comics at http://www.writersnewsweekly.com if you haven't yet. There's something there for everyone!