Trailer for Final Fantasy Versus XIII, which is much better looking than the trailer for the normal Final Fantasy XIII:

I dunno, maybe it's just the kind of weird music in the FFXIII trailer that ruins it for me. It's not very... Final Fantasy-like. Oh well, we'll see. FFvsXIII looks great though, I wish the PS3 wasn't so freaking expensive. Because I also really really want MGS4. :sigh:

There's nothing really enticing me to buy a PS3 at the moment, no matter how much I want to play MGS4. However, there is an interesting game coming out for it called LittleBigPlanet, which is supposed to be a cooperative platform game. You can also create your own levels or download custom levels from online. The game looks GREAT, not to mention adorable. Here's a clip from the recent Game Developer's Conference that demonstrates creating a level:

A trial version of LittleBigPlanet is expected to arrive on the PlayStation Network this fall, with the full version following in early 2008.

I LOVE the Ratchet and Clank series. I rented one of the games from Blockbuster, tried my hardest to beat it in the 7-day rental period (didn't happen), and had a very hard time giving it back. Hm, I guess I could probably find some cheap copies online these days...

Anyway! This new addition to the franchise looks fantastic! Graphics are jaw-dropping =O (though let's hope so since that's really all the PS3's got going for it right now, heh). Hopefully it's still the satisfying hack-and-slash fighting style that I loooooove. Oh, and then collecting all the nuts and bolts, :sigh: I don't know how to explain it, but something about the hacking and then having your loot magnetize towards you (Ratchet and Clank, Kingdom Hearts) really gets me off... ^_^;

A PS3 game... about rubber duckies. It's like Super Monkey Ball, but with rubber duckies, and plastic sharks. Don't get me wrong, this game looks beautiful, the water physics are awesome, the whole feel for the game is so soothing and would put the biggest smile on my face after a long hard day at work. Actually, I guess there's nothing bad about this game. Except that it comes on a $600 system and will cost $60 for me to save little rubber duckies.

(from Kotaku)

Dear Playstation: Please stop giving me more reasons to want a PS3. I really can't afford one right now, and Super Paper Mario is coming out for the Wii on Tuesday. I have credit cards that need to be paid off and an empty tank of gas. Please just make more sports games. Love, Joanna.

P.S. - This game looks.....fantastic.

The official Beautiful Katamari website is up as of Sunday morning! It's all in cryptic Japanese, but from what I've gathered, it looks like the same roll-up-junk goody goodness. There is also a new surprise for us:

New cousin! Though I am seeing a reoccurring theme in video games lately - blatant old video game references. I'm kind of... getting annoyed of them; I like subtlety, I don't need a cousin who's FACE is a video game. This cousin looks ridiculous, but at least it is keeping with the ridiculousness of the game ^_^ Oh well!

There also was a press release a few days ago for Beautiful Katamari; the game will definitely have a US release, and will be made for the PS3 and the XBox360. No mention of the Wii - they haven't figured out how to develop the game for the Wii's controller. The game will also be in hi-def (720p), and will feature online capabilities through XBox Live and Playstation Network. I wonder what will be online? I really liked the multi-player where you tried to roll up your opponent, but I HATED the one where you had to cooperate to roll the ball.

The game releases "later this year". Ha! Maybe by that time, I will be able to buy a PS3 or an XBox (Elite even!) Click to read the press release!

This is the newly debuted trailer for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots that was shown at E3. The future looks grim. And the crazy sword dance at the end? Wow. According to Kojima, this is the last in the Metal Gear Solid series, and it looks like one craaaaazy ride.

So cute! So creative! So jazzy! So full of cool physics! I want this game NOW.

This little worm boy is all we have of the next great project from the creator of the Katamari games, Keita Takahashi.

Entitled Nobi Nobi Boy, we can assume from the artwork and name ("nobi" can mean "to stretch" in Japanese) that the game will feature this little stretchy boy. Perhaps this will be the next in the Katamari craze?

Metal Gearl Solid 4 looks soooooo good. Good Lord. This 15-minute video is straight from the Metal Gear 20th Anniversary Party on Monday, and is narrated by Hideo Kojima the whole time. Aaah, if only I could get my hands on a free PS3...

This game sounds fun! Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball will be a downloadable game, and will support four players locally, eight players online, or four co-op. The players also aren't restricted to a left or right side of a court - they can roam around the whole area! So it's like paintball, but with a much larger ball, heh. Characters also have special moves and abilities, whatever that could mean. Did I mention there are pirates and ninjas? The game comes out sometime in 2008.

(from Destructoid)

It's been a while. Let's talk video games, shall we?

There's a ton of stuff I want to update about, but I've been bogged down by school and work and trying to catch up on sleep. But my bookmarks folder is getting pretty insane, and I'm tired of not updating. So I'm thinking I'm just going to knock everything out in one whopper of a post, seeing as most of this stuff is pretty old news, and my night class got canceled so I have three extra hours to bum around ^_^ Sorry, this is going to be pretty unorganized and to the point!

ONLINE TIMEWASTERS
To start things off, here are the two main reasons why I'm doing terribly this semester - Scrabulous (online Scrabble) and Warbook (a strategy, level-up type game), two of the most popular applications on Facebook. Be forewarned - these games are incredibly addicting.

DiggKiller is a simple shooter game where you kill recent top stories on Digg.com. I like how when the stories explode, you can collect all the comments, heh. Pretty clever.

Even though it's not really a game, the treehugger in me has to plug Consumer Consequences, a flash application that calculates how many Earths it would take to sustain life if everyone lived like you did. It takes 4 Earths for me, but there's little I change while I live in an apartment complex :(

Lastly, some of the best time wasters on the net - Grow Games. I've mentioned these before, but they're still fun and challenging, and very cute, of course. ^_^

SO YOU WANT KAWAII...
Wan! Entertainment Music Channel

Angel Love Online

MUSICAL GAMES
To the makers of the fully functional Lego and Kiss Guitar Hero controllers - you're insane! But good work.

Anna has introduced me to Anime Song Generator, and while I'm not sure this is a game, it's closely related enough. It's a computer program that lets you create sickeningly poppy anime songs, and the results are pretty impressive. It's like GarageBand for otakus, yikes.

I haven't said anything about Rock Band yet. Wired has covered it pretty extensively, so I say just go check out their articles. But basically, it's like Guitar Hero but with the whole band, the setlist is killer, and since this game is produced by MTV, the game includes the actual songs rather than covers like in Guitar Hero and all the other Konami games (like the RATM cover in GH3 :shudder:). The only kicker? it's $200. Sigh.

SMAAAAASH BROS.
Let's see. This game will have Wi-Fi capabilities. Lucas from Mother 3 will be in the game. Watch Snake kick everyone's ass. Think that about covers everything new that interested me. Check Smash Bros. DOJO!! for daily updates.

BECAUSE YOU LIKE TO READ
The Next 25 Years of Video Games - Man I can't wait for Spore!

57 Things We Know Because We Game - Killing people makes you stronger!

101 Things You Didn't Know About Games - No list should be longer than 50. But this still includes a lot of interesting trivia to, you know, impress the stranger in the elevator with.

UP AND COMING WII GAMES
Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law is coming to the Wii, PS2 and PSP this holiday season in a Phoenix Wright-like crime solving game.

Be prepared to use the force as you swing your light saber Wiimote in the upcoming Star Wars game.

Read everything you ever wondered about the new Wii title, MySims, which is high on my to-buy list.

This beautiful 2D platformer, Eternity's Child, is making the move from XBox's Live Arcade to the Wii and DS. I don't know much about this game, but it looks gorgeous, and the plot sounds intriguing.

I don't know what the heck Miburi and Teburi is about, but it's coming out for the Wii, so I guess it fits in this section. Basic description: "It's not just a crossword game, but a crossword game based on charades and cosplay." Perhaps this photo will suffice?

RELIVING THE LEGENDS
Chrono Trigger, one of my favorite games of all freakin' time, has been lovingly retranslated into clearer English! It's available in HTML, Excel files, text files, and as a playable patch. I'm excited, I'll happily replay this game.

I thought I had more for this section, but I guess Chrono Trigger is it. Whoops.

ARTSY FARTSY
The Most Stunning Gaming Fan Artwork of Zelda - Well, the title says it all. Much better than, oh say, the Zelda cosplay event that went down this Sunday to promote Phantom Hourglass. Heh.

A fabulous papercraft of Master Chief!

Wowzers. That's all I have to say.

And one of the most beautiful games of all time - Okami - now has a book completely dedicated to the art from the game. Really, it's more a study of Japanese art rather than video game art. I'd really, really like this for Christmas, thanks. ^_^

And finally, I leave you with this:

Hopefully I'll be updating again soon!