cabel.name: Gaming Bits

I swear I did not intend for this to be a gaming-only blog — maybe it's just an exciting gaming time? I've got other stuff to talk about, too! Ah well. Here are three miscellaneous gaming tidbits I wanted to mention.

LocoRoco Joy

Holy wow. I haven't felt such genuine "fun" playing a game in a very long time — probably not since Katamari. Have you played LocoRoco yet? If you own a PSP, and you've upgraded to the 2.70 firmware, download this free demo, and place it on your Memory Stick in PSP > GAME > UCJS10041. (You'll have to make that folder. Japanese instructions here.)

Watching my happy yellow blob merrily sing the (very catchy and great) in-game music, then hitting the "break apart" button and having 15 tiny guys pop-out and start singing the same song in three part harmony, instantly ranks as one of my top gaming moments. Watch "Bits of Blob Fun"!

VS. Brightness Bros

To gently address the concerns of the latest e-dingus over my DS Lite vs. PSP brightness comparison — the PSP screen wasn't white! if it was white it'd blow the DS Lite out of the water! — I will only present to you my final thought on the subject, in pure white. I assure you no witchcraft or ancient german sorcery has been performed here: check the raw file.

Wiird

By now, you've likely heard all about Wii. In general, I'm not a fan of your Viiv's and your Wega's. And, sure, it's joke-packed and awkward for now. But, my friends, I'll tell you this: having lived through some initially-awkward names in my life ("Mac OS X" springs to mind), I know that, eventually, it'll settle in, we'll all be at peace, and it really won't be all that bad. I think. Chris Morris has more on the topic. First, though, we've all got to collectively work through the snicker-zone — particularly here at the Panic office.

(One last note for the curious: here's what your bandwidth looks like when a video post gets Dugg! Ka-zow!)

23 Comments:

Great Post. Glad to see your handle these PSP fools with such maturity (not that that PSP is a bad system, just taht some people can be really dumb).

My friend and I at work yesterday were wondering what type of camera you have been using for your videos? We're looking for some sort of Cam and we were very imprese by the quality.

My buddy seems to think that yoru cam must have built in anti-aliasing, i'm not so sure. Could you enlighten us?

Thanks :)

Hardtarget 4/27/2006 1:53 PM

One thing about Nintendo is certain...EVERYONE is talking about the new system now. I swear the internet actually seems likes it's moving slower today because of it. Even you felt compelled to give the Wii a mention.

I kind of dig the name, actually, and think it comes off as kind of edgy, like it's not just another game system, but a whole new thing. Very smart indeed.

As for those naughty thoughts that fill our heads when we talk about the Wii system, it doesn't really sound any different than whipping your DS out in public.

Touching is good. I can't wait to play with my Wii.

Anonymous 4/27/2006 3:25 PM

Waouh the effect when you click on "bandwidth looks like"

How did you do that ?

K-Surf 4/27/2006 3:32 PM

Cabel, the picture does not tell anything, you might have set the PSP on a lowest brightness, you are just dissing PSP for a purpose, how much does Nintendo pay you for this guerilla marketing?

No, I'm just joking, thanks again for the reviews.

-- J

Anonymous 4/27/2006 4:15 PM

locoroco really is awesome. one of the most bizarre games i've ever played, i think. :) but i'm too hooked on me & my katamari now to be able to concentrate on locoroco fully now.

and yeah, wii is a silly name but i suppose everyone'll get used to it.

Ylvaes 4/27/2006 4:27 PM

Hopefully Sony will continue to release demos for all their current releases and future releases in a good constant rate.

Anonymous 4/27/2006 6:40 PM

Locoroco sounds really neat, but, uh, I don't speak japanese. Mind posting a translation of the controls (and maybe menus as well)?

Kevin Ballard 4/28/2006 2:51 AM

For anyone else who was confused like me, the trick is you press both L & R to hop, not just L or R alone. And Circle makes you break apart. That's pretty much it.

Kevin Ballard 4/28/2006 3:07 AM

I understand why a lot of people dislike the name Wii, cause it sounds kinda weird. But I like it because of the fact it's different. It's not another console name with a number put behind it. It's new, it's fresh, it's never been done before. And the fact that we'r talking about it here, means that Nintendo's plan is working, it's getting attention. Besides I think the logo is hot and not kiddy in any way.

Anonymous 4/28/2006 3:15 AM

"First, though, we've all got to collectively work through the snicker-zone — particularly here at the Panic office."

The best part about games is you never have to stop laughing. I'll never be able to say "Wii" with a straight face and that's exactly why I love it! I hadn't been given cause to shout out "weeeeeeee!" in too long. Thanks Nintendo!

swarmster 4/29/2006 1:19 PM

LocoRoco looks very similar to the indie game called Gish. Of course, Gish didn't sing the whole time and died if you broke him apart into bits but he was basically a blob that you would bounce around in a realistic physics simulation. Check it out (for Mac & PC), it's a great little game.

Nick V 4/30/2006 12:52 PM

I agree. I am not the big fan of Wii right now, but I am sure it will grow on me. I hated the name Playstation at first, it sounds so much like a kids toy.

Courtney 5/01/2006 8:24 AM

At least Wii is not as bad as "Virtual Boy." What were they thinking with that one?

Jeff 5/01/2006 4:28 PM

Hullo Cabel, just wanted to leave you a quick comment, as I recently discovered your blog and have been reading it enthusiastically since. Trouble is, I use opera as my main browser, and it doesn't look so pretty... You might want to give it a look and re-jig some code. Then again you might want to just tell me to use firefox :/

Barny 5/02/2006 7:38 AM

Come on! Update! :)

Dane 5/03/2006 6:57 PM

DS Lite US release date just announced...June 11.

I'll be getting a DS Lite on my birthday!

topfunky 5/04/2006 12:51 PM

'lo Cabel.
wow! locco rocco is so random. but i have to admit that seeing those little yellow blobs singing in chorus DID bring a smile to my face the likes of which only perhaps Seeing my nintendog after a hard day's work or playing wario ware touched has before. also you sir, are a genius! the DS lite is an amazing system and your video reviews are what pushed me to get one. actually, it's arriving tomorrow... so please disregard my other post in the "dslite third look" bit... i'll be able to find out for myself wether the DS lite and the GB micro use the same charge port (that would make things a helluva lot easier(however i've heard stuff on the interweb that say it doesn't))

anyways. congrats on the great blog. keep it up, dude.

Retroman 5/04/2006 2:17 PM

I hope LocoRoco Joy comes to DS. It looks great, but I'm not interested in getting a PSP.

Anonymous 5/05/2006 3:53 PM

Locoroco makes the PSP worth the price, and this is coming from a Nintendo Fanboy. The DS still wins in my heart, though. I'm getting my DS back from Ninty tomorrow (repairs), and as soon as I get it, its going on Ebay with my N64 so I can get... a DS Lite!

Anonymous 5/05/2006 6:20 PM

on vs/ brightness bros. ds lite still dominates.

Anonymous 6/01/2006 7:09 AM

dadz ballz mayaddaaa rami fukin ancient gypsy hobo

Anonymous 10/20/2007 12:00 PM

I think that ds lite suck and start revew dsi on youtube

Anonymous 3/14/2010 4:52 PM

O HELL NO I YOU HAVE NO DSI OR DSI XL

Anonymous 3/14/2010 4:55 PM

Gaming Bits

Thursday, April 27, 2006

LocoRoco Joy

VS. Brightness Bros

Wiird

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