Titan Games Kalamazoo

Its E3, and I could not be more excited!! I really wish I could be there, but I am not. I am watching the press conferences from the comphert of my desk..or home depending on the time.

The Nintendo press conference kicks off with The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (for the Wii). Its going to make full use of the wii-mote, making the player put on there Link hat, and swing there mighty sword! Iv never really been a fan of this type of gameplay, so lets hold out hope for other control options. The game itself encountered a bit of technically difficulty, and the controls seems a bit buggy. We were reassured that this will be fixed by its release..but seeing it as Nintendo’s starting point scared me a bit for the rest of the confrence..

Mario Sports Mix (for the Wii). Well, at least its not another Mario Golf, right? I’m actually looking forward to this title. Instead of one sport, its a collection. On display at E3 was volleyball, hockey and basketball. I love Mario sports games, even though Im nonathletic. Its looking like something fun you can get for Christmas and play with your cousins, or prehaps another game that you can play with your girlfriend. Oh and Wii Party is coming too…its a “Wii Games” title so you know what its going to be.

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn (for the DS). Golden Sun games were originally for the Gameboy Advanced. There your normal JRPG fair, and everything you would expect to find in one..and its awesome. The story was solid, and theres a reason they still sell for 17 bucks. The graphics for the upcoming DS Golden Sun are reminiscent of the Square-Enix titles for the DS. This is not a negative comment, I like how those look. Not too much information as given, but if its anything like the previous Golden Suns, Im sure it will be amazing!

Goldeneye 007 (for the Wii). Its a remake of the N64 classic shooter. Im sure everyone is excited by this news, but I can’t help but point out a few flaws. For one thing, Daniel Craig is 007. I know a lot of you are like “who is that?” or “who cares?”, but if your anything like my male friends, you are mad. The grahics are a bit lack-luster for a Wii title. When you put it up aginst recent titles such as Super Mario Galaxy 2, you can’t help but notice the diffrence.

Kirby: Epic Yarn (for the Wii). Its epic. It has to be. Its in the title. Kirby has always been a favorite, and as it was pointed out, has not had a real game on a home console in a long time. There is only word that went through my mind besides “awesome” during the demonstartion..which was “Awwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!” This is Kirby even more adorable then you have ever seen him before! I know a lot manly gamers are like “oh no!” but the gameplay looks solid and fun. Its hard not to love Kirby, and I dare any of you to come in and tell me with a strait face that you don’t love the little pink ball.

Dragon Quest IX (for the DS): Its Dragon Quest. If you are into this series your going to buy it. Its got 120 mini quests, 300 monsters, 900 items, and randomly generated maps. Oh and it has muliti-player. Also, like TWEWY (The World’s Ends with You) it will seek out other people playing the game near by, and reward you for that. It will be taking your life in 25 days.

Metroid the other M (for the Wii): Our lovely lady Samus returns to us, and wow, the game looks great. A lot of people talk about how the Wii’s graphics are “not up to par” with the PS3 or the XBOX 360, but this will make you eat those words. It will be interesting to see how the controls for this feels, and if we will again have the option to use the classic controller (my controller of choice).

Oh yea and a new Donkey Kong platformer. Sweet!

Rising from the fog, in a glorious entrance was the new Nintendo 3DS. Oh dear lord, yes. Anyone who was in the shop yesterday knows I am excited about this (mostly because I ran out of my office celebrating). Its going to be a glorious machine. Heres the specs:
DIMENSIONS (when closed)

5.3 inches x 2.9 inches x 0.8 inches

WEIGHT

8 ounces

TOP SCREEN

3.52 inch widescreen display / 800×240 resolution (400 pixels for each eye during 3D gameplay)

BOTTOM SCREEN

3.02 inch touch-screen display / 320×240 resolution

CAMERAS

Three cameras, two on outer casing, one above top screen / 640×480 resolution (0.3 megapixel)

STORAGE MEDIUM

Cartridge slot for both 3DS and DS cards (3DS cards have a 2GB capacity “at launch”, suggesting larger sizes to come) / SD memory card slot

WIRELESS

2.4ghz / 802.11 wi-fi / Can communicate with other consoles or internet when in sleep mode / wireless can be switched off to preserve battery life

CONTROLS / INPUT

Touch-screen / D-pad / 360-degree “Slide Pad” (the analog stick) / motion sensor / gyro sensor / 3D “depth slider” can reduce (or even disable) 3D effects in games

STYLUS

4-inch stylus (when full extended)

AUDIO

Stereo speakers (includes stereo headphone out jack)

BATTERY

Lithium ion battery (lifespan details TBA)

PARENTAL CONTROLS

The 3DS will include parental controls

Its release colors will be blue, red and black. No pink.

It has 3 cameras for God's sake!

And whats coming for the new system? Kid Icarus: Uprising!. Im really glad they took the Super Smash Brothers Brawl Pit instead of coming up with some muscular version.

If you would like to see the conference for yourself, here is a link http://e3.nintendo.com/e3-presentation/index.html

Im sure of you have noticed that most of the posts (in fact its about 90%) to our website are now gone. We decided that with a new owner, we would like to start off fresh. Have no fear, we will still post all the time, with updates and editorials.

I did leave a few posts that I had made over the year. I had been updating our site since May of last year, and I will continue that fine tradition.

Tomorrow is our Warhammer Gods of Chaos Tournament at Titan Games. We are so excited! Iv been watching our Warhammer crowd come in and play each other for a year now, and now I get to see them play hard ball! I wish the best of luck to all our participants. Ill be updating the bracket on our website after each game, so those at home can keep an eye on who’s winning.

Click the image below for a bigger image of the bracket.

We are really excited to house the local Blood Bowl League! Want to get on that action, or curious as to what it is?

lood Bowl is a two-player, turn-based board game that typically uses 28 mm miniatures to represent a contest between two teams on a playing field. A board containing a grid overlay represents the field. Using dice, cards, and counters, the players attempt to outscore each other by entering the opponent’s end zone with a player who possesses the ball.
The “Blood” in Blood Bowl is represented by the violent actions available to players. Game play is based on a hybrid of American Football, Rugby, and ultra-violent fictional sports events such as Rollerball. Players may attempt to injure or maim the opposition in order to make scoring easier by reducing the number of enemy players on the field.
The player races are drawn from the ranks of fantasy races and have characteristics that reflect the abilities of those races. Elves tend to be agile and good at scoring, while Dwarfs and Orcs are more suited to a grinding, physical style of play. Players are also divided up into positions suited to their role on the field, including Throwers, Catchers, and Linemen.
In league play, players gain additional skills and abilities based on their accumulation of experience points. Players face potential injury or even death on the field throughout their careers. Teams improve by the purchase of off-field staff such as cheerleaders, assistant coaches, and apothecaries.

Its gonna be a lot of fun! We will be starting at 7pm here in the shop, and staying open till 10!! wow!

Last weekend was Marmalade Dog and of course we were in attendance. While I’m sure my presence was missed here in the shop, I ended up having a lot of fun at the convention.

It was a lot more of a friendly feeling then I get at other cons. I have been attending the larger ones, such as GenCon and Origins. They are wonderful conventions, and more fun then I should be allowed to have, but I talk to at least 1000 different people in one day. At Marmalade Dog, its a lot of the people I already knew, and those I met felt like old friends.

It was also nice to be able to over hear some of the games while working. Its not that I was eavesdropping mind you, but we gamers get excited and loud! I could tell everyone not only was having a good time, but was very comfortable with one another. I love it!

We will be back next year! Thank for a fun time!!

While we were having our fun, across the land there was a gathering known as PAX. This is a HUGE gaming convention created by the people who brought us the online comic Penny Arcade, and the charity Child’s Play. You may remember us talking about the charity back in December, as friends of ours held an event to raise money.
Pax not only focuses on video games but also board games. Its a wonderful thing for my kind. Im sorry I missed it, but a couple of my friends made it out there. With that being said, Ill congradulate Dan on winning Omegathon!!

Dan's Signed DS. Compare your DS to his and be sad

The evaluation of “Comic book shops” have come a long way, even in my shorter- then some life span. I find it interesting to compare when I was a child going into a comic shop, to now days.

I grew up somewhere you wouldn’t think there would be a “comic nerd” to be found. I was raised in a farm area of southern Ohio, where the was very little shops in general. Its just a little speck on a map called New Holland. Not too far away (about a 20 minuet drive) there’s a city called Circleville. Some people may actually know this place, only for its famous Pumpkin Show every year.

In this city, when I was a very young girl, I was introduced to my first comic book. I don’t remember the name of the shop sadly but I recall exactly what it looked like on the inside. It had this old blue carpet, and white walls littered with art and random pictures from books. It even had its own unique smell.. not a bad one..but it was something that belonged only to that shop. There high tables (they actually were most likely normal tables, but I was a very small child), and cases full of cards.

The thing that puzzled me most, was that there were adults there. I always thought that comics and cartoons were for children, and adults had those boring shows with real people in them. I asked my mother why there was so many grown-ups and she told me that you never had to out grow comics. She also picked me out some books to show me, that she told me she read as a kid. This also shocked me, since I thought that it was a boy hobby. That was the day I found out that even a big girl could love comics, and some how its something that had a greater influence on me then at the time anyone could have guessed.

Over time all things must adapt to changing situations. Comic shops are no different. What used to be a small, normally family operated business has boomed into much more. Influences from all over the world can be found gracing the shelves. From Anime and Manga from Japan, to board games from Germany, there is something for everyone.

I look around the shop, and the people I have met here, and can’t help but be in awe of it. While some may see it as just four walls with some shelves, I see it more of a sanctuary. Everything on our shelves are meant to bring happiness to those who pick it up.

Warhammer is something HUGE here, and while I first wasn’t sure of it, I am a believer now. People spend hours collecting, painting and readying there army, looking forward to Saturdays. The day finally arrives, and the come carrying there big boxes, ready for the action. People who normally are so calm and collective when they speak to me, are shouting and laughing. The same can be said for anything here. There’s nothing like the rush of rolling the dice, and they come out in your favor.

I admit, its a bit exciting to see so many strike up conversations about there passions here with strangers. Can you imagine if the whole world was like that? Its odd to think of a business as a place where everyone can laugh and play together, but that’s why we hold events here. A lot of man hours go into our events. Even when its not the days of them, there’s still letting everyone know, setting up everything needed and so much more. We wouldn’t have it any other way though.

Comic shops have gone from little stores you go into once a week to pick up your comics and cards, to something I think is much better. Its turned into a community where you get a warm greeting and there’s always something waiting for you.

I wonder if this is were my mother imagined when she told about comics that this is where I would end up. I remember the day I told her I was leaving my home to move up to Kalamazoo and begin perusing my dream of being a comic artist. She didn’t believe me. The I found myself with a job in a comic shop while I’m here learning to improve my artistic ability, and she told me its exactly where I needed to be. I think shes right about that.

As many of you know, I was missing from the shop this past weekend. I was in the not-so-far away land of Deer Born, Michigan at Youmacon.

Youmacon is my favorite anime convention. It is not the biggest, but the staff runs it very well. Even the dealers will tell you how they enjoy attending this con in comparison to some of the others. I will always complement the staff on how they are not only very good at their jobs, but always polite and helpful. Iv been to cons where the lines get out of control, and people get confused, then the yelling starts. This con, however, the staff is much more calm and kind enough not to scream in my face for being in the wrong line.

Another thing I love about this con is the guests! This year we had on board:

Catlin Glass. Shes been going to this con longer then me even (I believe she has gone all 5 years). She is mostly known for her vocal roles. Shes played Whinry in Full Metal Alchemist, Haruhi in Ouran High School Host Club and countless others. She also is a director at Funimation, directing the English dubbing for the new Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood and reprising her role as Whinry.

Michael Sinterniklaas. Yea quite a name. He is best known for his non-anime roles. I think most people on campus know him as the voice of Dean Venture from The Venture Brothers (on Adult Swim!) He is also a few voices on Bleach, including the Espada, Luppi. He also is a director for dubs.

Travis Willingham. For all of you who sit there and think that vocal actors are just doing voice work because they are nerds and unattractive, you should stop thinking that now. Travis is one of the handsomest mans to ever sign something for me. Travis is best known for lending his voice to Roy Mustang on Full Metal Alchemist. He has done a few other well known shows such as One Piece and Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion.

Cosplayers, some of you were amaizing. I have a huge problem with “not-even-trying” cosplayers. No, I am not talking about “lazy cosplayers”. How do you know what kind of cosplayer you are? Here’s how to tell:

Did you put thought and planning into your costume at least a month before the con? Did you order it from a seamstress? Did you spend more then 3 hours on it? Chances are you did a good job and are an acceptable cosplayer.

Are you L? Then you are a lazy cosplayer.

Are you wearing your bra with some wings attached to the back and a skirt you have had for 2 years? Did u cut a sheet, spray paint it in your room then leave? Are you wearing something you normally wear? Did you put on ears and tail and thought “you know, that’s good enough”. Then you are not a good cosplayer. In fact that’s not cosplaying at all. Sorry.

The events and panels were mad fun. Mario Party After Dark is always a classic (but I am sad I missed that one this year). I hear it was great. Anime limbo was an exciting rework of a new classic.

There were more guests and such I just don’t have time to type about. I could write a book on how much fun I had this year, but I guess you’ll have to suffice with a summery.

My Costume. Im Melon from Akikan!

Blue

I would love to tell you that Im coming to you live from Japan’s famous city, but alas I am still on US soil. That’s OK though, since Iv been keeping a close eye on what is going on this year. Here’s a few of the highlights I am super excited for.

Level 5 is a great publisher. Its made of the games that keep us glued in our chairs for hours. An example of there excellency can be seen in the amazing White Knight Chronicles. With up and possibly over 100 hours of game play it is a true vision of what an RPG should be. White Knight Chronicles 2 was announced and is development. No word on a release date, but the wait will be worth it.
On that note, for the more modest gamer, Level 5’s first series on the PlayStation 2 was Dark Cloud. If you have never heard of it, I am not surprised. I found Dark Cloud 1 and 2 used, cheap at a Gamestop 5 years ago. It was fantastic. The 2nd one is better then first, so if your going to chose, I would stick with 2, but they are really interesting games.

Do you like to make things blow up? Yea, it makes you feel like a man! Then you will be excited to hear about Tecmo’s “TPS” (thats third person shooter for those not so gaming inclined) Quantum Theory. In a lot of way, it compares to a lot of modern shooters. What is different about this? Women tossing. You are followed by a female partner controlled by AI (though Im sure there will be a 2nd player feature) named Filena, whom you can toss. That is right. You pick her up and throw her at an enemy. Fun!
As for a cheap Tecmo game..its Tecmo. Its been around since the dawn of video games. We carry a lot of the old cartage games here in the shop, so your always welcome to come check those out.

Namco-Bandi. I love you. I love the “Tales” games. I can forgive Tales of the Abyss for the main character. I can. Its OK. We have 2 games for the Tales series at TGS, one old and one new. First there is the port of Tales of Vesperia to the PS3 with new, unreleased material like a new playable character! Then we have Tales of Graces. Yes, they are running out of names. It looks like our slandered installment. The battle system has upgrades, like you can now turn 360 degrees to attack, which is nice.
For a low cost game, try Tales of Symphonia, one of the few good games for the Game Cube. It even has a squeal for the Wii.

Then my final notice of the day, Square Enix. Final Fantasy. You knew it was coming. Anyone who knows me know I enjoy Final Fantasy games, and 13 has me quite excited. It now has a release date of April 2010. It also was announced that with it would come out a limited editon pink and white ps3. Nice.
A cheaper alternative of course is any of the 8-12. 7 is still really expensive, unless you download it from the Playstation Network.

Its been 10 years since the epic date of 9-9-99 when the Sega Dreamcast bounced its way onto the market. It was a shining achievement in gaming technology. It was the first of “next-gen” console, beating the PS2 by over a year. It was also the first system to come out of the box internet-ready. So, then why did it die in under two years?

Sega was always an innovator. If you stop and compare the Gameboy with the Game Gear its hard to believe they were in the same generation. The Gameboy was released in 1989 and and the Game Gear came out just one year later. In just that short year gaming went from this:

To this beautiful thing:

The Game Gear is an impressive piece of work, but it had its flaws. For one, it was heavy. I was only 5 when it came out and 6 when my mother placed it in my hands, and the weight made it a little hard to play. Another huge problem was its battery life. The monster took 6 AA batteries and ate them up in 5 hours. That really sucks. It did have an adapter, but that’s not what you want in portable game systems. Sega did later release a rechargeable pack that gave it slightly more playtime, but this was sold separately and brought even more weight to the already hefty console. The Game boy only took 4 AA batteries and lasted 10-14 hours.
The Game Gear also lost out in price. It was around $150 at its release, which is much more then the $89.99 cost of the Gameboy.
The Sega Nomad followed after in 1995. It was also bulky, expensive and ate batteries, and slipped into only the true Sega-fan’s hearts soon after.
Sega did a lot of things first. It was actually the first one to have a system that would allow owners to go “online” where users could download games for a small monthly fee. So why has the empire fallen?

One could argue that Sega was just ahead of its time. Its systems were more advanced, but it came with an advanced price. The 5th generation consoles saw heavy price tags, but none weighed like Sega Saturn’s. The N64 was priced to move at $199.99 and the Playstation was at $299.99 but the Saturn’s was $399.99. This is the 5th generation, in the middle of the 90’s. It was hard to get a parent to shell out $400 when they could get another system for just half that price.

The Dreamcast (under the code names like Katana and Black Belt) was first heard of at E3 2008, then released not soon after in Japan. For a while it was a power house. It had amazing new titles, with the best 3D seen. Sonic Adventure was breath taking for its time, and it breathed some new life into a series that was fading fast. This was the golden days in the sun for Sega’s ill fated system. Impressive titles which many gamers still swear by today were released. Shenmue was out of this world when it first came out. Its high attention to detail draws you in and doesn’t let go. Even Square Enix praised the system (yet they stayed clear of it when it came to releasing games). It did get some impressive RPGs though, such as Skies of Arcadia and this gamers favorite Grandia 2. Yes, before you say it, there was holes in the story. It needed some more work, but when we look at the battle system, and magic system..its fantastic. I actually did enjoy the story quite a bit, and was able to look past some of its flaws. That and I though it was pretty.

Then came the cancellations…

Major companies soon started stalling or canceling upcoming games for the system. Konami canned both Castlevaina: Resurrection and The Mummy. Collin McRea Rally, a much awaited squeal was also canceled so that Codemasters could concentrate on PS2 titles.
The Playstation 2 exploded onto the scene selling out over much of Japan and later, America and other countries. It had a powerhouse of titles both from Sony and from 3rd party developers. The Xbox also showed up out of the shadows to land another blow.
You notice I didn’t mention the Gamecube in that…hm

It died here in America in 2002, but it kept on going in Japan untill 2006. Even today people all over the world still enjoy it, and home brews have opened a whole new chapter into the consoles life. I played mine last night, some Soul Caliber and a couple Japanese titles I own. I still love it…and so do many of you.

I love GenCon. The sights, the new people, the excitement! This year did not disappoint me either. Though most the day I was in the booth, I did get a nice taste of the con. I can’t help but notice while I read Marcus’ view on it, that we have very different takes on the who experience (which is not surprising seeing that I am a 23 year college student and he a …slightly older business owner). You can read his GenCon report here.

First Id like to thank the people at the Indy Hostel. They did a wonderful job of making me feel welcome. I had my reserves about staying in a hostel, but I found it a wonderful experience. Its a nice homey feel, and the owners are very friendly.

There was a tidbit of information about the upcoming film 9. 9 is based off a 2005 short film about a sentient rag doll living in the ruins of a decaying world. The full length feature is being produced by Tim Butron and Timur Bekmambetov and is set to hit our theaters on 9.9.2009 (shocker, I know). From all the footage Iv seen, I think this is going to be a good one!

Not a lot was there for video games. We were right across from Atari who was showing off their new game Champions online, due out in September. It looks at lot like City of Heroes. ALOT like it. I honestly thought that’s what I was watching at first. I know that sounds a bit harsh, but I feel like this is just another MMORPG that we have seen before.

I also took note that there was a lot more anime and manga related things this year. Now, I am a huge anime nerd. I love anime. I love watching it. I have a massive collection that would make even the most hard core Otaku fall to his/her knees and weep. I can’t help but stop and ask myself though, is GenCon really the place for that? Do I really want to mix my Dungeons and Dragons with my Gurren Lagann? Do I need Settlers of Catan and an L plush in the same shopping bag?

Lets see what next year brings!