Eros' Entropic Tundra

Ikaruga is headed onto Xbox Live Arcade. My feelings? Excited. Xbox Live Arcade provides a great platform for developers to work with. Especially when considering projects that otherwise became vaporware or were released with a limited printing run. It's an outlet for developers to produce low-cost games that they would otherwise have to charge a ridiculous premium for if it saw an actual printed release. Okay, so I'm running off on a tangent. I digress, I want to see other "rare" titles hit Xbox Live Arcade. The prospect was raised on NeoGAF that Radiant Silvergun could also see an Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA, getting sick of typing that out). What options do I have to play a game like that? Pay a lucratively overpriced fee off of Ebay, or piracy. Emulators work too, but of course, emulating Saturn games has been proven to be a shoddy and nearly nigh unplayable experience. If developers took the time to port some of these otherwise lost relics of gaming to XBLA, it'd be a wondrous thing.

Oh, Symphony of the Night? I'm going to be all over that. For a few reasons:

- Difficult to obtain without resorting to piracy/emulation.
- Ebay, no thanks.
- Accessibility. It's permanent, it's easy to boot up my Xbox 360 and constantly have access to it.
- I haven't played it before (my reputability has just been slaughtered).

As my other entry previously specified, I've taken it upon myself to indulge in the Castlevania series. How have I come away from that? I love it, I'm absolutely a fan now. It's a shame though, because I only have Symphony of the Night left in the vein of a "Metroidvania". But, what a title it is, the most critically and fan lauded of the bunch. I'm anxious for another DS Castlevania to be announced, because I don't possess a PSP of my own. Also, the remake of Rondo of Blood isn't enough to satiate my lust for Castlevania. I'm more inclined to play the "Metroidvania" structure, and Rondo of Blood doesn't offer that. Had this been a title in that style I would've taken it upon myself to purchase a PSP.

...Okay, I digress again. So, what games would I like to see on XBLA? Probably a lot that I couldn't even begin to fathom unless they happened to fall on my lap. I'm interested in titles that appeared on obscure or niche consoles. Neo-Geo, PC-Engine, Saturn, etc.

What titles would you (all one of you), like to see on XBLA? I'm sure there's a diverse selection of noteworthy games out there.

VK2K2

As you may or may not have noticed, there is now an "Affiliates" bar to your immediate right. This newly devised bar will host two (currently) blogs that you, the reader (all one of you, still), should feel inclined to also enlighten yourself with. We are a self-proclaimed blog webring. A trifecta of video games, music reviews, and technology. Bêtise is heading the tech front, as I'm not nearly as technologically versed nor inclined as Brian is. I try my best, but I tend to fall short every time I attempt to read an Engadget blog post. Audiosyncratic is a joint effort between Brian and myself to review albums and provide music related news when we feel it's applicable. I can't write at all about music, so at least check it out for Brian's sake.

That's about it, that spiffy new Wii Channel just debuted a bit ago. "Everybody Votes" or something to that affect. Seems we can vote on important pressing matters such as, "Do you prefer cats or dogs?" And, "Is chocolate or roses a better Valentine's Day gift?" Well, you know, I was kind of hoping we could discuss (see: vote) potential political candidates for the 2008 presidential race. I guess not though.

Oh, and in case you're wondering; cats and chocolate.

DS Lite Get

Swinging Chandeliers

I just realized something. Linking to my review of Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin would shatter my veil of anonymity. I don't want that, what fun would there to be had in that case?

So, uh, I guess in the future I'll just bitch about games in an informal manner here when I feel up to the task. As I did with Portrait of Ruin already, so that's one game down.

As a side note: I'd kill to have my DS DS Lite right now. I purchased Elebits in the meantime to keep me occupied, but my limited time with the title is already pointing towards some glaring flaws in the game.

Here's an idea, how about less slowdown? It escalates to the point where I can't properly use the motion controls because my movement is going quicker than the pace of the game. After an hour with Elebits, my arm was properly sore due to the repetition of said movement because actions weren't executed properly on screen the first time I swung my arm. All thanks to the prevalent slowdown. An hour.

I'll leave Konami alone...for now. But, there's no guarantee that I won't be coming back to Elebits with even more demeaning things to say in a future blog post.

Atom Feed

Link to the Atom feed is at the bottom of the page. But, for those unfamiliar with scrolling, here's the direct link:

http://taciturnblog.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/defaultt

So now all of one person can be notified when this is updated.

Tulip Baroo

My recent outings with the Castlevania series has been derelict of criticism or annoyance. A startling turn of events, as I went in with moderately high expectations, and generally leave with bitter remorse after having such notions. This sentiment, however, returned in a cataclysmic fashion with my latest endeavor: Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin. It's sort of ironic, because initially I was dreading playing them (the GBA/DS incarnations) chronologically from their respective dates of release. Portrait of Ruin -- being the most recent -- was obviously last on the list of five titles.

The irony sets in because I'd consider Portrait of Ruin, the poorest of the GBA/DS titles; and it was the one I wanted to play the most. At this point, I'd direct a lot of animosity at the title after playing the previous ones. For one, there's a castle; it is Castlevania last time I checked. So the most essential element for any Castlevania is there, that's a positive. What's inside the Castle though? Paintings. Not just any paintings though, no. One's that bend the space-time continuum and act as interdimensional portals to other places that have nothing to do with Dracula's castle. The game is a convoluted mess; the castle stands merely as a host to the various paintings which are just small scaled levels. So, basically, I'm playing a game that's essentially a redux of older Castlevania's, but done in the vein of a "Metroidvania". A.k.a., post-Symphony of the Night.

There's more wrong with it, but I'll highlight its shortcomings when I write a review in the coming week.

First blog post and it's spent griping about a game. I guess I should detail what this blog itself will host. This castle blog will be filled with paintings motivational as well as educational posts revealing and discussing game-related and occassionally music-related news and the like. I guess that means you can expect what the rest of the blogosphere is already doing, only with my take on it. Awesome, exciting, rejuvenating, delectable, stimulating, and most of all, pleasurable.

Oh?

I'll update when I feel it's suitable that my thoughts be condensed in a proper blog format.