[PS3] けいじの挑戦：バイオ４の最高難易度をクリアする！

While I'm mostly into niche games, I'm not beyond trying out what the typical folks hail as "the best there is". Of course, after playing them, I often end up totally disagreeing with the pedestal sentiments.

Case in point is Biohazard 4. It drew praise for being a pioneer of several innovative gaming concepts that inevitably spawned countless imitators. While I agree that the atmosphere works, a lot of the gameplay elements were whacked.

Got the game via PSN download about two years ago during a price-down promo to commemorate the launch of Biohazard 6.

Having no experience with the earlier titles (since I'm not too fond of the clunky reverse and camera-dependent control scheme), this was nonetheless my first official foray into the Biohazard world. Note that this is also the first Biohazard game to not feature any zombies, as the enemies here are European villagers possessed by a bio-engineered parasite and are working under a cult. Again, the pioneering effort was strong with this one, and it showed a lot of promise.

Needless to say, things didn't go as well as I'd hoped.

[PS4] ソニーさん、絶望したよ！

Random post number 2 for month 2. It would seem apparent that Sony hasn't really learned their lesson from the Vita's limiting features (though they're being revamped little by little with every other update), the PS4 has it's own, and in far greater numbers.

Sales of the unit started in Japan last February 22, and it hasn't been flying off the shelves as projected. That's mainly attributed to the fact that less and less people are getting into console gaming due to being more busy and on the go, but more than likely the decline in interest is probably due to these... not all of them are atrociously bad, but Sony kinda overdid it:

Pic source is from one of the peeps I follow at Twitter.

*Note: Most people know this already from the initial US release... so sue me, I don't look up stuff that's not from Japan, being an otaku and all...

*PS3, PS2, PS games cannot be used.
*Video Output is through HDMI only.
*DVD/BDs have to undergo online verification, otherwise playback will not commence. (For customers with no internet connection, call the Information Center hotline)
*Cannot play Music/Video CDs.
*Online Play (Vs, Co-op) requires PS Plus Membership.
*Torne (HDD Recorder program) cannot be used.
*Nasne (Network Recorder + Cloud Storage System) cannot be used, a system-compatible version will be released at a later date.
*Bluetooth device compatibility is limited.
*The USB Charging Cable used for Dual Shock 3 cannot be used on the Dual Shock 4 (DS4 uses a micro B cable)

Speaking for myself though, I'm willing to wait until a 2nd/3rd gen unit is released anyway.  By that time a lot of those features will probably be amended.

If there are any good exclusives released midway, I might buy them standalone for now.

[PS3] アースディフェンスフォース インセクトアルマゲドン

Back in the PS2 era I fell in love with a fun little TPS developed by the then-fledgeling outfit Sandlot and brought out by D3 Publisher as a part of their "Simple Series" line: The Chikyuu Boeigun or Earth Defense Force. My copy eventually wore out from overuse (and my first PS2 soon followed), and I promised myself that should there ever be a next-gen incarnation of the game, I'd try it out first thing... but with the PS3 being what it is, there's always the possibility of only being able to earn certain things by playing online; a trend that I'm slowly losing patience over, being more a solo player by nature.

I later found a copy of Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon in a used game shop for steal-grade cheap. Though it's still a D3 Publisher title, the development was not done by Sandlot, but by a western outfit called Vicious Cycle. I had my misgivings, but since it doesn't seem to be an online-dependent title, I gave it a shot.

[その他] この中古フィギュアーは売るもんじゃないww

Random post for this month. Finally getting around to reworking the subsections (for the model kits at least). Anyway, chanced upon a fun little 2ch post republished at nico.

The subject is a figure of Touhou Project's Patchouli Knowledge being sold at a second-hand figure shop. Not something you see everyday, but there's one little catch...

Sale item condition: Large stain under the skirt.

What kind of stain it was is best left to the imagination. One thing's for sure, this item probably won't be getting off that store shelf for quite a long while....

[その他] 彼女達が泣いている！

One uncommon random post to cap off the month, since Blogger is finally becoming (somewhat) useable again.

Aside from KanColle (which I played for a bit but left in the dust due to my little 360 renaissance trip), another fun little game making waves in Japan is a social smartphone app called ガールフレンド(仮) (Girlfriend Beta). Since I'm a grizzled garakei user, I haven't tried it personally, but it's just hard not to hear about it... this little whack is all over Nico, 2ch, and just about every other place in the net where my fellow ota brethren often convene.

It all started with a promo commercial for the game which left people all "Zu-kyuun" over a baby-faced foreign exchange student from France: Chloe Lemaire, voiced by the inimitable Sakura Tange.

(^q^)くおえうえーーーるえうおおおですよ！

She proved to be quite popular in the game. So popular that the other girls seemed to have little to no users pursuing them, and the official site later posted this appeal image:

"Don't just dote on Chloe-chan, listen to our voices too! *bawl*"

I loled. If I ever do decide to get a smartphone and this is still available, might just give it a whirl for more lulz.

[Xbox 360] オトメディウスG+X=W実績百パ~!

2013 was a bleak year for the 360 when it came to interesting Japanese-made exclusives. With MAGES/5pb jumping ship by making PS3/Vita ports of their newer games and Cave going a bit mellow (the last few releases were merely compilations and remakes of their established shooter hits), times like these called for the proverbial barrel-bottom scraping.

Contrary to the context however, what you find at the bottom isn't necessarily bad.

I was able to single out a couple of shoot-em-up franchises that seemed worth my while: Cave's Deathsmiles and Konami's Otomedius series. While I'm no stranger to the genre (My childhood was spent trying in vain to clear Gradius, Star Soldier and Summer Carnival '92 Recca), I'm not too spectacular at it either. These titles were chosen for the appealing character designs, and of course, for being the most accommodating towards non-shooter fanatics like myself.

The main focus at the moment though is Otomedius G (Gorgeous) and X (Excellent), both of which hit the big 100% in this month alone.