Wanda and the Colossus

Ah Ico, the one game I have been meaning to play above all others and have still not got around to doing so. It intrigues me and allures me in so many ways. Dubbed as a true work of art in game format, everything that Ico stands for has me truly hooked. Now, after a few years time, there is a sequel of sorts set to arrive. And it looks beautiful.

Not exactly a true sequel, Wanda and the Colossus is a sequel in spirit only. Having (from what I have heard), no relation to ICO other than the developer, you can certainly tell from the style that it is looking to perform in much the same way.

Wanda and the Colossus looks to be a merger of the action and puzzle genres, it has you hunting down massive, living stone structures (the colossi) and taking them on in battle. Each colossus however can only be beaten in certain ways however which is where the puzzle aspect comes into play.

To say that the graphics are looking beautiful so far is a rather large understatement. More like a moving painting than a video game, Wanda and the Colossus looks to put some amazing presentation value on top of what will no doubt be an intriguing game.

With no confirmed North American release date, I can only wait on Wanda and the Colossus with bated breath. I promise to this time not miss out on picking up what will no doubt be a very impressive and stunning game. For now I will leave you with some very nice screenshots to wet your appetite.

Pics Courtesy of GamesAreFun.com:

Comments (0) | Permalink | Lee Babin | 4.20.2005

An Update

What's this? Two blog entries in one day? Well, the idea is that I wanted to continue on with my PokeJournal but also have a lot to get off of my chest, so I figured there is no real way to do that without writing two separate entries. For those of you who want to read my PokeJournal, don't miss it here as I continue to make my way through Sapphire in anticipation for Emerald. Anyway, the point of this post is to wrap up a bunch of random thoughts that I simply have not had the time to articulate. That actually seems like a good starting point, so here we go.

Where Have I Been?

Well, it's not so much where have I been as what it is I have been doing. I don't want to go out like one of those bloggers (there are really too many to mention) who do not have the time to blog anymore so just quit. I will have the time again and I love the community and I love blogging. I will always be here, rest assured, though there may be times when I am here less than others. This is one of those times.

Basically what it amounts to is that I have been working 12 hour days every day of the work week and then 8 hour days on the weekend. I have been tasked at my regular job to learn ASP.net and was given 3 days to do so. Creating a functional, bullet proof content management system in a programming language I have never touched before is a daunting task to say the least. Being the lover of challenges that I am however, I stepped up to the plate and managed to come out on top with a nicely successful application. I was however, in to work at 7am and leaving at 6pm every day to get it done and did not stop for anything in between. Coming home after a few days like that and then working on my book for another 4 hours is enough to sap all of my will to write a blog as well as basically force me to pass out when it is all done.

Needless to say, the ASP.net is now within my grasp, but the book remains. The current chapter I am working on (I hope to submit the first draft today) is just over 20 pages in length and had me up until 11:30pm last night working on it. Suffice to say I dropped to sleep like a bomb after finally finishing the proof read and woke up this morning to a call at 6:21am that my wife's ride to work wasn't going to be able to make it. *Sigh*, up I got and to work we both went. The good news however is that 3 out of 7 chapters (first drafts) are done now and I am completely on schedule to finish the rest. It is a pure challenge, but I think the stress relief I get by going to the gym during lunches will get me through.

To summarize, I am busy, but I have not forgotten the community nor am I going anywhere.

What Have I Been Playing

Baten Kaitos! Thanks to the wonderful fellas at IOGC.net, I have been making my way through this beautiful game during the one hour break I (usually) have in the mornings to play games. While the story is extremely bland and the voice-acting is atrocious, the rest of the game is plenty of fun. The fights are very strategic and last long enough to be boss battles in other games. Thankfully, due to the spacing of fights, it doesn't really get overbearing.

The graphics are nothing short of amazing. Incredible environments with genuinely imaginative locales make me smile inside. Remember that feeling you had when you first entered the magical realm of Zeal in Chrono Trigger? Be prepared for the same experience. The music is rather amazing as well, I am enjoying it. Now if only the story would pick up to a level to match the shiny coat of paint and I would be in game heaven.

What Have I Been Writing? (Besides the book I mean)

Well, I am happy to say that my very first (and hopefully not last) review has been posted here at 1up.com. Many thanks go out to Sam Kennedy (known as "The Man" by most of us on the site) for giving me the opportunity to try my hand at review writing on the highly successful online resource we call 1up.com. I have of course written quite a few articles for RPGFan, which is a fine source as well, but I feel truly proud of my review here at 1up.

Past that, I have also just finished my review of Shadow Hearts Covenant. I LOVED the game and truly encourage those who have not tried it to give it a go. My praise is gushing, so I will simply direct you to the review and let you check it out for yourself...

I am teh Flattered

I generally receive a fair bit of kind mail from people in the community and I truly appreciate it. There are so many of you out there right now with absolutely stunning blogs and I truly wish I had more time right now to read them. Once my book is finished I promise I will be digging through archives like a mad man. Past all of the praise and well wishing (thank you all), I have noticed an increasing amount of imitation. I don't mean full on imitation, everyone takes the ideas and fleshes them out (in most cases creating much more beautiful entries). I have noticed that creating "banner images" seems to be the new standard which I am very proud to have started and mentioned in my Blogging 101 blog. After that fad sort of got around, people immediately turned to rounding the corners of their images which seems to be the new standard. While I can hardly claim credit for inventing such a style (web designers have been doing it for years), I do feel slightly proud that I have turned on the community to the notion.

All in all, imitation appears to be the best form of flattery and I can honestly say that while I try to make my blogs as aesthetically pleasing as possible, there are many out there that have far exceeded my ability to do so. I am also quite flattered to have been mentioned in a certain contest that I am not really allowed to mention here (as per the rules). It involves a competition to see who has the best blog and is run by my polling system and (a fantastic blogger) Sean McFarland every month. I am happy and extremely flattered to have made it to the top 10 and top 5 respectively in the last two outings and have been topped by some very impressive bloggers. Just being mentioned in a contest with the likes of them however is more than enough for me.

Holy Procrastination Batman!

All of you know about the contest to go to E3? Well, I am surely going to participate in said contest. Me and the wife haven't really had a "true" honeymoon yet (by "true" I mean "warm") and so I feel I owe us at least an attempt at making the cut. Oh, and going to the greatest, most stupendous gaming event of the year is very nice as well! I will find the time to write out a blog for that, I swear, but I will be up against some very impressive bloggers! Just been rather busy lately...

On that Note

On that note, I think I will retire for the day. Sorry for the verbal diahrrea, there is just lots I have been meaning to articulate without any time to do so. And I also apologize for the lack of images, but really, what kind of image goes with me talking about writing a book on PHP? Anyway, take care all, keep up the fantastic blogs!

Comments (0) | Permalink | Lee Babin | 4.14.2005

PokeJournal Week 2

My journey to the top of the Pokemon league continues this week. I wouldn't consider this week to be much more exciting than the last really, two of my Pokemon evolved (Pelipper and Swellow) which I enjoyed, and two I have been frantically raising, attempting to evolve them (Aron and Combusken).

I cruised through a couple more gym leaders without much difficulty. As of right now I have 4 badges and am currently challenging the different trainers in my character's father's gym. They have pretty much all fell before Aron's mighty tough hide and I have no doubt that I will rip my avatar's father a new one as well.

The only real epic battle I had came from the battle with Flannery in Lavaridge town. Pelipper destroyed her first couple of pokemon in one shot each (thanks to the mighty Water Gun) but then got absolutely destroyed by the uber-powerful Torkoal's attack, Overheat. In fact, Overheat dusted off all of my pokemon until a well placed critical hit from Swellow turned the tide of battle.

Overall I am still having a good time with this game and am looking forward to getting the Surf HM but it sure does feel a little as though I've done this before. Team Rocket replacement? Check. Gotta catch em all? Check. Gym leaders? Check. Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying myself and am quite excited for getting Combusken and particularly Aron beefed up. When the egg I am dragging along finally hatches I will be replacing it with a Torkoal or possibly Skarmory who looks hella cool.

Current Team

Between Pelipper and Swellow, I have air support taken care of. Pelipper has the added bonus of knowing water type attacks so it is my pokemon of choice for dealing with fire types. All in all a solid addition to my team considering I raised it since it was level 2.

Current Job: Water Gunner

Aron is my choice for being an uber-power at some point in time. Currently it just takes attack after attack and does not get hurt. Its steel shell protects it from pretty much any physical attack and it bears the brunt of my team's damage. I look forward to its evolution.

Current Job: Pokemon Shield

Combusken continues to do massive amounts of damage and with its newly aquired Overheat attack, it's the pokemon I bring in when I want to end the fight in one turn. I expect this pokemon to grow even stronger when evolved, which it is rather close to doing.

Current Job: Massive Damage

Nuzleaf has fallen a tad behind. Lacking any truly powerful attacks has hurt this pokemon substantially. It has, however, become my earth and grass type of choice possessing both Dig and Seed Shot. All in all, until I can evolve it with a leaf stone Nuzleaf's role in my team will remain a backup player.

Current Job: Backup Ground/Grass Support

Swellow continues to kick arse and take names. Possessing the surprisingly powerful Secret Power, Swellow hits hard and fast. I have been attempting to get Aron and Combusken to evolve as of late however so it is not levelling quite as fast as I know it could.

Current Job: Heavy Air Support

Comments (0) | Permalink | Lee Babin | 4.14.2005

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