Favorite iPod Apps..

In no particular order...

Zen Bound
Peggle
IGN Reviews
Rolando
Pocket God
Tap Tap Revenge
Twitteriffic
Facebook
Skype
Flixster Movies

Also, Scribblenauts is awesome. I'd recommend it to any gamer, casual or hardcore.

eh

Hey-o, Bloggers. I got a DSi. Woo.

Also got the starter kit. Came with protective screens, extra styluses, carrying case, ear buds, car adapter, and game card cases. I'd say it 'twas a fairly good investment. Don't wanna scratch up the touch screen, especially since I didn't pay the extra 20 bucks for 2 year warranty..

Annnd I picked up a 2 GB SD card at Wireless Toyz and tried out the DSi store.

I linked the DS to my Club Nintendo account, downloaded Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again, Bird and Beans, the Internet Browser, Flipnote Studios, and the Facebook app for the camera. It was all free of charge. Woo.

I probably wouldn't have payed for that stuff anyway, though.. <.<

Games I've Been Playing:

"Drawn to Life" - Despite the game coming out like 2 years ago, I only just got it.. mainly because 1) it was only 10 bucks (used), and 2) it's from the same developers who are working on "Scribblenauts"-- 5th Cell.

In the game, you play as the creator of the world. You create stuff by drawing doodles in a book. But one day the book is stolen, so you have to make a hero to get it back.

From an artist's perspective, I must say the game is pretty impressive.
But from a gamer's perspective.. a little on the kiddy side.

They have a really cool concept, it's just.. the gameplay isn't there. And you get the feeling that it's skewed for a younger age group. You can do some cool stuff, though. I drew my cartoon character "Piggy" as my hero.

It's probably worth trying out. Nice little rental for a rainy day.

"Peggle Dual Shot" - You probably have heard of Peggle before, it's been around since loike 2007, but it just came to DS early this year. It's from Popcap, makers of "Bejeweled". It's kind of like a cross between pachinko and pinball. Here's teh basic idea: You launch a silver ball into a maze of pegs, and try to hit the orange ones. The concept is simple, and a lot of the game is based on luck, but it's really addicting. Finishing off levels feels very rewarding; when you hit the last orange peg "Ode to Joy" starts playing.

"Team Fortress 2" - I'm not even a big FPS fan, and love 'dis game. peoplez at valve is genius! 'Nuff said.

Games I'm Highly Anticipating:

"Metroid Prime Trilogy" - Comes out tomorrow. I didn't reserve a copy, though. Probably will get it but not opening day.

"Scribblenauts" - Preordered this like a month ago. Looks amazing.

"Mario and Luigi Partner's in Time" - Veddy nice. I clicked "intend to buy" on my club nintendo account. :o

IGN

I've started blogging on IGN.com. But fear not!! I shall continue to update this blog with exciting posts, as well.

Anywhoo, check it out!

http://blogs.ign.com/PigKay

I cleaned out my closet yesterday...

I was cleaning out my closet yesterday and I found a lot of old junk. It's so old, that it's almost like brand new. For some reason, I felt the need to share it with you guys. (and I took pictures. :D Isn't this blog just riveting?)

A VHS of an episode from the old legend of Zelda cartoon. Excuuuse me, princess!

Two bags of skittles (empty) :(

Ahh, the GBA.. So many memories...

Link action figure. :O

Hip flask

Ol' Spider-Man comic

Chase truck. Made of foam. It's like a stress reliever thingy...

My old CD player..

Old picture of Piggy. From 2003, I believe.

My movie ticket collection! You probably can’t tell what they are from the blurry photograph, so I’ll list them: star wars 3, the nativity, dark knight, iron man, the hulk, eragon, wolverine, pirates of the carribean 2 and 3, the incredibles (my oldest one, I think), star trek, superman, Indiana jones 4, king kong, spider-man 3, and terminator salvation. And then there are two that are too faded to read.

A yu-gi-oh card...

<.< >.>

…I admit it. I was a fan once.

Broken glasses

Mario action figure. I think they were selling these at McDonalds or something.

Broken Yoshi wind-up toy.

Ice kirby. Awesome.

That's pretty much it.
If you made it through this ridiculously boring blog post, you should treat yourself to a cookie. :P

Tweet

Hai thar. Guess wha? I'm on twitter! Follow me for exciting updates!

Shameless plug:
http://twitter.com/PigKay

I've also added the Twitter gadget onto this webpage. It's to your right... Check eet out.

Summer Movies

Yoikes. It's been too long, hasn't it? <.< Well, I'm not dead. I'm here with another bloggity blog. A special bloggity blog, actually!! Today I has a triple-movie-review-featurette for you, my two or three readers!! Let's start with X-Men Origins Wolveriene:

It was okay. A little corny, but it tied everything up nicely. I liked it better then X3 (which isn't saying a lot) but it definitely wasn't as good as X1 or 2. It had a completely different feel to it. Kinda goofy but you could tell the movie was trying to take itself seriously.

I didn't like how {spoilers} his girlfriend just pretended to die and came back at the end. It just added pointless drama to the story. Why does Wolverine still hate his brother after he found out that he didn't actually kill her? Ugh.. The whole thing was completely pointless. {end spoilers} And the special effects were lacking, as well. It was fun, though. Some pretty cool action scenes.

All in all, I give it 2 out of 5 stars.

Star Trek was amazing. Had a different feel to it then the old Trek movies, but it still maintained some of the elements. There were a lot of small references to the show. It was kinda weird how {spoilers} it was set in like, an alternate reality. But it works, because now it doesn't interfere with the Original series's storyline. The hardcore trekkies are still happy. {end spoilers} Abrams really walked a fine line between tribute and complete reinvention. I applaud him for it.

All in all I'd give this movie 5 outta 5 starz.

Finally we have Terminator.

This movie was okay. Kiiiind of a disapointment. Not as good as the first or second, but I'd say it beats the third. I liked the first Terminator the best because it had a good story and it was kind of a horror. Salvation is all action. Good action, but still..

I'd give this movie a er uh.. 3 outta 5 stars. A respectable score.

Quick Lil' Rant on Blu Ray

Blu Ray:

• It's expensive
• It's not half as big of a jump as DVD was from VHS
• It's on PS3. >=\
• It's higher def. Big deal. What are we? Eye doctors?
• It's just an excuse to resell all teh old vids again

It is a rich man's privilege and I refuse to support it!!

I have made the switch...

Well... I have finally made the switch... from Internet Explorer to Mozilla Firefox!1!!1! I must admit, I wasn't entirely sure about it at first. But ya' know, I think it's really workin' for me. IE always seemed kind of.. Lacking. Firefox is quite noticeably faster. (and I like teh desktop icon better. =P)

My friend was the one that convinced me to make the switch. I'm usually very squeamish about downloading stuff off the internet. But he was like "Dude, it's free and Google endorsed. Just try it out and if you don't like it, you can go back to IE."

I don't think I ever will. :D

Wikihow is AMAZING

It is. I just wasted the last half hour browsing through random articles. They have a section on how to chew bubble gum. Bubble gum!

Very short blog post, I know. Sowwy.

Quantum of Solace Review

This movie came out months ago, but I'm cheap and waited for the video release. Anywhoo, teh latest installment in the Bond series brings us a much darker and serious story. Quick overview of the movie ~SPOILAHZ~ (omg no wai!): Picks up right where it left off, Bond has captured Mr. White and is taking him in for questioning. One high speed car chase later, we're in Siena Italy. M interrogates White, M's bodyguard turnscoat and runs. Bond gives chase. He kills the dude. Then theres a motorcycle chase, followed by a boat chase, followed by a plane chase followed by a footchase..

The whole story moves so fast, it just becomes a blur, and all we're left with is teh action scenes. Which are good, don't get me wrong, but they're just.. Ugh.. They relied too much on special effects, is what I'm sayin'. Not a very good story, just some nerd who runs this company that steals water from poor nations.

Craig was okay, not my favorite Bond, but okay. I kinda liked Bond's character in this one. He was more angry and crazy. He was like "Rogue Bond". >=D Though sometimes it got a little too serious. 'Specially for a Bond film.

All in all, I give 'dis film a er uhh... 2/10. And the reason it received such a low score is because he never said "Bond. James Bond."

...No seriously, I give it a 7/10. A goo' effort.

120 Starz

I just picked up Galaxy again. Two years and the game is still amazing.. Anyway, I got all 120 stars the other day. Unlocked the secret ending and the ability to play as Luigi. :D

Picz 4 pr00f:

'Twas a very fun game. This has inspired me to go back and play sunshine again. I'm goin' for all 120 shines. I have 116 shines, but it'll still probably take awhile, anyway. It's been so long since I've played, and I forget which shines I'm missing. xP

Anywhoo, since I probably won't be able to get on tomorrow, Happy Easter in advance.

Wiimakez

I hatez Wiimakes.

They're just all the old games I've played like six or seven years ago reincarnated with new play control for people who were "late to the party".

'Nuff said.

Art Collab

I am currently involved in a forum art collaboration. For those of you who have never heard of such a thing, here's how it works...

You start an art thread on a forum (let's say for example the ah... STAR PIG FORUMS!!!) that has a certain theme. E.g. animals, building, etc., etc... Members post different pics, using this theme, whether it be done on a computer program or hand drawn and scanned in. After a certain amount o' time, the drawings are taken and put together to make a flash vid.

This particular theme will be focusing on 'Cubes' (probably because the thread was started on the Cubetoons forums)

I'll link to the forum topic at the bottom of this blog. We were limited to two entries per peorson, here are mine:

Not bad, eh? Don't forget to click the link below to check out the official topic for the art collab! Watch for it on Newground.com! Coming April 23rd 2009!

http://www.fredthemonkey.com/forum/index.php?topic=10163.0

Galaxy vs. Sunshine

Hello my faithfull readers. A new month, a new blog. Apologies for not updating on the 1st, but I was offline, hiding from the Conficker Worm. It seems there was nothing to be afraid of, though, but whatever. All riiiight, let's kick this month off with the age old question: What's better? Mario Galaxy or... Mario Sunshine?!?Let's compare story. In Sunshine, you're going on vacation with Peach and teh toads to a tropical island. However upon arrival, you find that the once beatiful island has been polluted with sludge. The culprit that was seen spreading the grafitti with a paintbrush is disguised as Mario, and it's your job to clean up the island and solve the mystery of the shadow brush so you can clear your name.

In the end, you find out Bowser is behind the whole thing (surprise surprise) and for the final boss fight, you smash his hot tub into bits and dump him into the ocean. Kind of a disapointing final battle, but the ending cinematic makes beating the game worth it.

Galaxy - Princess Peach invites you to the castle and then is immediatly kidnapped by Bowser. After a failed attempt to save her, Mario is catapulted across the cosmos and lands on a tiny planet where he meets Rosalina. Rosalina takes Mario aboard her mobile Observatory and tells him to go collect some stars for fuel, so that the ship can travel to the center of the universe (where Bowser has Princess Peach imprisoned).

So after you collect enough Stars you fly to the center of the universe and fight Bow-sah. This final battle is extremely disapointing, not only because it's easy, but also because it's divided up into 3 stages which are all exactly the same. Not to mention, this is the same battle you were forced to go through earlier in the game. It gets a little repetitive. Then the ending cut scene is pretty lame, too. Mario, Peach, and Bowser wake up and their lying on the grass, then Mario smiles and shouts "Welcome to a New Galaxy". And that's it. Kind of a lame ending for such an epic game.

But what Galaxy lacks in story, it definatly makes up for in gameplay. Galaxy has some pretty ingenious puzzles in it and it's very satisfying to grab that power star at the end of each level because you feel like you've earned it. So hats off to you, Nintendo.

Sunshine has a completly different feel to it, in SMS (I'm just gonna use acronyms from now on) you wander around alot, ya' know? In SMG you almost feel like your on rails, you go from puzzle to puzzle. Which is fine, and you can still goof off with the gravity and stuff, but there isn't a whole lot of exploring.

For example, in Delfino Plaza, theres a whole lot of stuff to do. Little hidden secrets and st00f. With the Observatory in Galaxy, it's a different story. It's really just there for you to go to different levels which is, I think, what they were aiming for. So it works, but Plaza is definatly bettah.

Sunshine is probably the longer game, but all around, Galaxy is simply more fun. You can play it for hours nonstop!!111

Controls - Mario feels a little heavier in SMG, he'll kinda skid when you stop running. In SMS, he's really light. He'll bounce and run around easily. I'd hafta say I like SMS's feel more, but it really isn't that big o' a deal. When you actually get into the game, you don't really think of it.

I must say, though, I miss the dual analog sticks of the gamecube. Fixed camera kinda stinks, and there are a couple of times in SMG that I wish I could control the camera.

All in all I give this game a Galaxy-is-better-then-Sunshine out of 10. Thanks for reading.

Zelder

STOP THE PRESS!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWgzie5vWJw

Wow... A new Zelda for DS. That's more like it, Nintedo!

Very strange concept, though. A magic train? What will they think up next? I would have preferred to see the next Zelda on the Wii, but beggers can't be picky, eh?

Waggle

I'm sick of just shaking the Wii mote.

Seriously, if you wanna incorportate the Wii's motion sensing capabilities, wait till the Wii motion plus comes out. I'd rather wait a few months and actually have some solid gameplay controls.

Some games really had potential like Star Wars: Lightsaber Duels. When you first heard about the Wiimote, don't tell me you didn't think of how cool it would be to have a lightsaber game.

When we finally got one, though, the controls were a total phailure. Waggle left to do attack A, waggle left to do attack B, etc., etc.

And some games feel like they added the Wii's motion controls just for the heck of it, even when clicking a button would be more natural and precise. That is plain annoying.

Some developers need to know their limits. I'm talking to YOU, LucasArts! This is 2009!! The days of Twilight-Princess-sword-waggle should be over!!!!!!!

So I wrote a letter to Nintendo...

So I wrote a letter to Nintendo...

You guys seriously need to get your act together. What are you doing? We only have a handful of solid first-party games that are actually worth owning and the systems been out for well over two years now.

Where's the next Star Fox game that Takaya Imamura promised us back in 2007?

Quote: "I wonder how the adventure of Fox and friends is going to go next time?! I have come up with some idea in my mind, but it is still just a small one. I will try my best so that I can deliver it to you some time!"

Their response...

__INSIDE__ Hello and thank you for contacting Nintendo,

We appreciate hearing about the types of products that you would like to see from us in the future. While there hasn't been an announcement concerning a new Star Fox game, you never know what the future holds! As the worldwide leader and innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, and because of our history of pushing the limits of gameplay and design, you can always count on Nintendo offering the most imaginative products.

In the meantime, keep checking our website's "What’s New" section (http://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew) for the latest information and announcements.

Sincerely,

Alain Dao

Nintendo of America Inc.

Nintendo's home page: http://www.nintendo.com/

Power Line (Automated Product Info): (425) 885-7529

Nice. They completly sidestepped the question. i c wat u did thar.
Ah well. It was worth a shot.

DSi

My DS broke, and I've decided to just replace it with a lite rather then wait for the DSi. DSi has some cool new upgrades, but there are several things I like about the lite more:

1) Mushy d-pad. (as opposed to "clicky" d-pad.)
2) It's smaller.
3) It's cheaper. =P

I know that they're gonna be making some new games exclusively for the DSi, like "My beauty parlor" or whatever (where you take pictures of your face and spruce 'em up) but I don't really care about those as much as I do the GBA slot. (guitar hero ds is not compatible with the DSi. Not cool.) D:

Hardcore Gamers

Argh. Nintendo has abandoned us. Us: The hardcore gamers. The people who care enough to seek out other fans on message boards just to chat about the latest gaming news. The people who made them who they are.

What's with all these third party games coming out marketed towards the casual gamers? What's Nintendo doing? Taking a vacation? I'm a frequent visitor of IGN.com, so I'm up to date on all the latest gaming news. But theres absoloutly no new games coming out that are worth buying.

I was looking in an issue of Nintendo Power, and it gave a list of awards for all the games that came out in 2008. Brawl won over half the awards because that's like the only good first party game that came out for the entire year.

The only big title we got for E3 2008 was Animal Crossing. Animal Crossing sucked. Nothing new. Just the same elements stolen right outta the Gamecube and DS versions. And Wii motion plus keeps getting delayed. >8(

They've turned gaming into... (shudder) mAiNsTrEaM..

Videogames used to be like a sacred bond between nerds! Now I see moms and grandparents playing and it stops being cool. It's even effected teh internetz. Seriously, tech support forums...? What da' heck?!

They're just trying to play it completly safe-- extra thick wrist straps, and strap locks. Bah.
Not to mention they coated the entire controller in rubber.

*sigh* I like the Wii and all. I'm glad it's doing well and it's future is secure but honestly, I think the gamecube had a little more heart to it.

Who Watches the Watchmen?

I finally got a scanner =D The bad news is I need a power cord or something (which I don't have >.<) to hook it up D: Earlier last year I was at the movies and saw a trailer for the watchmen movie. It looked very strange but intrigueing. I'd never heard of watchmen before, but it's from DC so I had to find out more! Turns out it's a comic novel written by some physco, Alan Moore (I heard he wants the movie to fail... Cuz he's insane). Anywhoo, I bought the book since I figured I'd be going to see the movie. It's pretty cool, so far. A little gory. Rorschach is awesome. Mebbe I'll write a review for it in mah next blog. >=]


I've made several upgrades to the Star Pig site, including a podcast and downloads page. So check those out when you got the time.

Ahh... What else? Oh, I bought an electric tooth brush today. It's AMAZING.

Is this thing on?

Howdy, and welcome to the official blog for the Star Pig website!