So, a long time ago, in the seventh grade, the guy sitting next to me introduced me to a device I wasn’t familiar with, a gameboy advance. I was familiar with it’s older brother, the Gameboy Color, because my brother owned one, and I spent many hours toiling away at Tetris Attack, as well as trying to speed through Zelda: Link’s Awakening. He asked me if I was good with puzzles, I responded with a “Yeah, I guess” and he handed me the gameboy; the game currently playing was Golden Sun. It wasn’t too long afterward that I spent the summer saving up to buy one of my own, and with it, the game Golden Sun. Golden Sun was something of a grand gift from the gods to me. Much of the time the best RPGs around were on the Playstation, and my Sibling had issued an Embargo on the dang thing, so I never got enough time with it. While I awaited to journey through FF7 – FF9, I walked through the grand world that was Golden Sun. At it really was grand at the time. In fact, I hadn’t seen an overworld that big on a cartridge game since…well, Zelda: A Link to the Past. I feel that’s something that has yet to be recreated in today’s RPGs. While everyone is trying to please with better, more colorful graphics, there has been a lack in originality. This is especially true with handheld RPGs. Few have come out over the years to really get at a brand new take on the RPG.

I recently had the pleasure to play one such RPG that changed all that. I’m talking about Avalon Code. It’s an RPG like no other on the DS. The game is set in a fantasy world that is on the brink of destruction. The catch? You can’t save that world. But what you can do is make sure all the good aspects of that world are brought into the next one. Your hero, (being Girl or Boy depending on your selection) is given the Book of Prophecy, a relic that saves aspects of the world to be recreated in the next one. It also allows you to change and modify these aspects as you see fit. The odd thing is, to save an object, you have to whack it with the book.

Changing around codes is one of the best parts of the game. By hitting an NPC, you get his or her code, allowing you to change them and take aspects away. You can also modify weapons in the same way, allowing you to change the look and feel of your weapons, as well as their strength. Nice little touches come into play with this. For example, I took an aspect from a person, “Dog-Loving” and used it on my sword. Now, whenever I swing that sword, the blade barks. The game also features a neat juggling mechanic called the Judgment Ring. Knocking an enemy in the air starts a combo meter, as well as a height meter. The goal is to repeatedly hit your opponent with perfect timing, sending the jerk higher and higher before he explodes. Eventually he reaches the atmosphere, and then space. I have a sneaking suspicion that with the right weapon, you can knock him into another Galaxy. This game is pretty deep, but it’s only one of the few new RPGs coming out this year that seem to be this way. This is the Promised Time of RPGs!

Sands of Destruction, Knights in the Nightmare, Black Sigil, and The Dark Spire are all games that look like they’ll be making RPGs a main staple with the DS. I was surprised that it took this long for developers to start making more handheld RPGs. Now if only we can get them to start making blockbuster titles for the Wii…

-Locke

Thought I’d start your Monday off right. Look for CliffyB at the end of the Video.

This was done by the Mega64 guys, released at this year’s GDC.
Good work guys,

-Locke

A redesign of the classic!

Capture the rats of the sky while wearing this awesome t-shirt! Now available in the Massive Pwnage shirt store!

Did someone ask for an Imp shirt?!

I actually really like the way this shirt came out. It’s perfect. I REALLY want one.

Get it now from the Massive Pwnage shirt store!

The current tagline for Massive Pwnage is “The webcomic about video games and the people who play them. There’s so much pwnage that it occupies a large area.”

I think that’s actually pretty silly, so I’m trying to come up with a new one. The first part is okay I guess, but I definitely want to change the second part.

There’s so much pwnage that (something epic)

Any ideas?

It’s been such a loooong tiiiiime!
Okay, no more Boston references.

Things are pretty hectic in MP HQ: South. As I stated in an earlier post, I’m well into finals season. All the projects and essays are going to take up quite some time, so I apologize if my blog scheduling and comic writings are nonexistent for two weeks or so.

I’ve been trying to learn to sing, and not just for Rock Band. My parents are renewing their vows and have asked me to perform with my brother for them. Singing is difficult. Very difficult. I’m going to attempt Bryan Adam’s Heaven at my parent’s bash, so it’s not like they are asking me to do something extreme. Any tips from budding vocalists would be well appreciated.

I also got my 360 back!!! If any readers wanted to play a few rounds of CoD4 or Gears of War 2; I’d be more than happy to oblige. I’m not very good at GoW2, but I can hold my own. CoD4 is a different matter. I’d like to think I’m not too shabby. My dad however clocks in so much gametime that I can only beat him by taking the fight into close quarters combat.

Anyhoo, hope you guys are doing well, and have a good week!

Also, my gamertag is MPLocke, feel free to send a friend invite my way.

This month is crazy. Most of the time I’m trying to figure out what I’m going to do for my writing projects, but every now and then I catch up with my Anime.

I’ve been watching Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood as of late. It’s a reboot of the series, following the events of the comic exclusively. It’s a brilliant and refreshing take on the Elric Brothers’ journey, with totally new animation and fight scenes. I’m digging it, most definitely.

Another that has caught me unaware is Hajime no Ippo (“The First Step” roughly translated in English). It’s an anime centered around a kid who got bullied a lot in high school, only to be rescued and taught the ways of professional boxing. It chronicles his journey through the ranks, and the other challenges he faces as both a boxer and a person. The most drawing part of the series is the humor. Few times do I find myself laughing hysterically at Anime. This show never fails to make me laugh at least one or twice per episode. Mind you, some viewers might find the humor crude and raunchy, but the way that it takes you by surprise is blindingly exquisite.

I’ve kept up with the standards; Bleach and Naruto. I seem to have a balancing act going on with these two. At times Naruto gets interesting, then it gets boring, leading me to look forward to Bleach picking up the slack. Right now both anime are moving at a crawling rate, leaving me very satisfied to have Ippo to watch every week.

This month will be the end of me, I just know it.

-Locke

Well, I’m done writing my essay for my Journey of the Hero class. We basically had to take a work of fiction and explain how it fits with the Monomyth.

My work of fiction was the novel, “The Fall of Reach”, by Eric Nylund. I wanted to show everyone who still believed that games were all about 1-ups and POW blocks that there was some kind of PLOT to Halo.

It worked rather well if I do say so myself. My group project in the class however may consist of Full Metal Alchemist. If I’m lucky.

I’m starting to side with Ence’s opinion of VGcats. I’m saddened by the fact that they no longer update…ever. Of course the excuse comes from one of two things. Either Scott’s computer crashes, or he has to go to a Con. The thing is, you have to continue writing for people to continue to care about it. Although, I’m sounding a bit hypocritical there, I haven’t written a comic in weeks. 

But summer is on the way, and I’ll have time to dish out MP goodness, lord knows I’ll have time then.

Speaking of Cons however, it would be nice to know if any fans in the Pacific Northwest would be interested in seeing us set up a booth at a Con sometime. Ence and Tikara went to Komurikon last year; they had a grand old time. This guy yelling Girugamesh scares the hell outta me.

-Locke

To be clear…I’m not okay with the Team Fortress 2 update. The Spy gadgets? Brilliant. The Sniper doodads? Superb. The means to which these weapons are obtained? Hours of failing = reward? I don’t get it. Although I like that Achievement Servers are not swarmed to anymore, and that everybody has a fair share at the weapons, but COME ON! I have people on my team asking why the Backburner doesn’t have air compression, then when answered, asks what the benefit of the newer weapon is. It’s frightening how our favorite passtime has become prey to fools who know not what blessings are upon them. Why is it that people are flooding the WoW servers with questions that are answered simply by reading? Why do they refer to World at War as Call of Duty 5?!? It’s not Call of Duty 5. And Modern Warfare 2 is NOT Call of Duty 6, for Moogle’s sakes.

I have the answer.

The gaming industry has slowing been leaning to noobify the games that are for sale so that it can be enjoyed by a wider group of consumers. This causes the industry to spew out many games that these new consumers consider incredible, but do not really understand what makes a GOOD GAME. TF2’s achievement based system had it’s flaws. Yes, achievement servers kind of killed the whole earning aspect of the weapons. But dang it, it felt good to finally get that Flaregun! It was awesome to get the Sandvich. It rewarded players for a job well done. Now it’s a race to see who can waste the most time. Players don’t care about the objective, they just want to earn their new toys and fool around until they get bored and buy the NEXT game to waste time with.

It reminds me of the players of Magic the Gathering who make up their own cards by adding stats to Runescape screenshots and attempting to play with people who like the occasional Friday Night Magic event. I detest that.

My point is this. We gamers are slowly being absorbed and digested by the machine that is Industry. What was once colorful and diverse is now a parade of generic and cold replicants whose sole purpose is to fulfill baseline expectations. What can we do about it?

Read up on games. Enjoy it as a hobby. Recommend good games to friends, and reflect on what makes games great. Ignore stupid ploys like the Guitar Hero reality tv show. Don’t be a sore loser on the Internet. If you got pwned by a person who is more skilled than you, pay attention to his kill cam, you might learn something. Always say Good Game after a match. Games were meant to be enjoyed, not ravaged.

- Locke

Upon Ence’s recommendation, I attempted to place a Twitter panel beneath his. But because I haven’t written HTML in ages, and Copy and Paste has failed me, I &#*@ed up his twitter section. My apologies buddy, I was just trying to be cool and do it myself. It could be worse I suppose, I could have broken the entire site. I’ve restored it to how it was, but it’s still incorrectly displaying the site. Either because the editor is slow, or because the internet hates me, I don’t know which. Hopefully it’s the former, and I can fix this mess and start my Twitter section without having to pull some teeth.