Sunday, October 31, 2010

10/31/10 - A Brief Halloweenish Update

Hello everybody, SlimKi….BOO!

Did that scare you? Probably not, so let’s try that again and just do it the normal way.

Hello everybody, SlimKirb...BOO!

Still no? Bah, fine, I’ll stop trying.

Hello everybody, SlimKirby here, and welcome to another exciting blog entry! I hope you guys are having (or had) a Happy Halloween. As usual, because on college campuses the mindset of everybody except me is to go out partying and get drunk on Halloween, I of course have stayed in my dorm room chilling and working on homework. I know, it sounds kind of sucky, but I’d rather do something boring than go out and do something stupid. Besides, it’s not all boring. As I write this I am watching MadameWario’s Horror Land stream, which is going pretty fiercely, as she would say. :P

Anyways, don’t expect this entry to go on for very long. I know I promised to talk about Epic Yarn in this entry, but considering that I just now finished it and I had and still have a lot of work to do, I haven’t been able to collect my final thoughts on the game, but I will definitely do it next week, I promise! Besides that, other news in gaming, not much I really feel like getting into at this time. Donkey Kong Returns should be coming out in the next month, which I will probably be getting. Not sure if it will be on release or not though. I guess we will wait and see.

In Youtube news, Donkey Kong 64 has been completely filmed at this point, and I will be posting the extra video (the final video of the project) on that Monday, November 8th, so that should be ending really soon. Final project thoughts will of course be posted next weekend, but I’ve pretty much said throughout the project that it went pretty well, especially when you get a longer time limit near the end and get to finish it in less videos =3. For those wondering, in numbered parts, it will end up being 55 videos, the old project being 29 videos longer.

For Mario Party 7 (once again, spoiler warning for those who haven’t seen the actual playthrough yet, so if you haven’t and don’t want to be spoiled, you will probably want to avoid this paragraph), this week’s board went pretty well for the most part, except for that random span of like 3 or 4 turns at the end where I got jipped by Toadette. Thankfully though, the bonus stars were very kind to me (they could have been the exact opposite). As usual though, I held my ground really well when it came to the mini-games, and usually that is what does it for me, so I stuck to what I know and do best, and that seemed to work. The next board, Pyramid Park, should be interesting just because the game is played a bit differently than the other boards (the whole “everyone starts with 5 and you gain stars by stealing” thing is in effect). It’s definitely not my favorite board in this game, but for what it is, it’s all right I guess. I guess I’ll see you next weekend for that, but for now, I’m going to celebrate my perfect 2-0 record =)….before I get screwed out of it =(.

The last thing I want to mention, once again, is that I really want to thank all of my wonderful Youtube subscribers for being so awesome with subscribing lately. Barely even halfway into the month I was just approaching 18,000 subscribers, and now I’m halfway to 21,000. I just can’t believe it…I really can’t.

Anyways, once more, I do apologies for the somewhat short entry this week. I’ll have more to mention next time when I don’t have a million other things going on, and of course I’ll have my Epic Yarn discussion about how awesome and cute the game is. :P

Later fol….BOO!

Bah, still can’t get you guys. =(

=P

-SlimKirby

Sunday, October 24, 2010

10/24/10 - October Partyin'

Hello everybody, SlimKirby here, and welcome to another fantabulous blog entry! Wait....I'm getting a red spell-check line under the word "fantabulous." WHY ISN'T THAT A WORD YET? And better yet, why isn't "SlimKirby" a word yet either? I guess the world will never know.

Anyways, what a week it has been. I'm reporting to you guys on the last day of my Fall Break. Yes, it has already come and gone, unfortunately, but what can you really expect from a 1-day break? Not much! That's what. For what it was though, it was pretty sweet. I got to hang out with the family, I got to play some sweet new games (which I still won't be talking about on here for a week or two), got to watch old Rugrats episodes at 6 AM.....the perfect 3-day vacation, am I right? =P

Aside from that though, things are going pretty well. Really starting to get hit hard with work at school though, and one of my class grades isn't exactly in a place where I deem acceptable, so I'll have to start paying attention to that more, but it shouldn't really effect very much if you are a reader or viewer. I still have ample amounts of time to do all of that stuff. It's just when I have a choice to work on class stuff or relax/nap, I sometimes choose the latter when I shouldn't. It's something I will work on though, and I am usually dedicated when it comes to my studies.

In terms of Youtube, quite a bit went down this weekend. Mario Party 7 has officially started and after the recording of the first board, I've never been as satisfied as I was with the first recording than I have in a long time...which is kind of funny because my first attempt at recording the board was horrendous, and I stopped after 20 minutes. XD I'll get more into that board in a second; first I'll briefly discuss Donkey Kong 64. At this point, I have up to Episode #50 recorded, and assuming all things go well, that project will be ending within the next two 2 weeks (I'll have a better estimation next weekend after I record the final world of the game). What can I say? The game has treated me very well thus far, despite the malfunctioning controllers and the gloomy galleons. For those of you wondering about the bane of my existence in that project, make sure you check out my video on Tuesday for some sweet rabbit race action.

Getting back to Mario Party 7, as I said before, the recording went well....very well...in both the technical sense and the gameplay sense. I can't believe how much I dominated that game. Sorry for spoilers if any of you haven't watched that board yet. I would say that was my biggest domination of all time, but I'm sure there has been another instance where I was on the ball. My only regret in that game/recording was losing on Funderwall the first time as I could have dominated even further, but the fact that I would have won all of the bonus stars no matter what they were kind of speaks for itself. Because of how well this recording went, I am very much looking forward to Friday when I will record Pagoda Peak, which feels very weird to say, considering how much I have bashed Mario Party 7 in the past. But basically, it went well, I enjoyed the experience, and I hope you guys enjoyed the videos as well.

With Donkey Kong 64 coming to a close very soon, once again, the thought of what my next project will be continues to jump around in my mind. I have to honestly say that I am still not really sure what to do next, but I'm sure I will figure it out eventually. I just hope this lack of being able to come to a decision doesn't delay the project or any other projects of mine.

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Game Chat:

Last week I mentioned that I had purchased both Wii Party and Epic Yarn, and so many of you guys have been asking me to give me thoughts on the game. However, I'm still trying to soak up what I can of these games (or rather, what I have left of these games), before I can give my final thoughts. So in the meantime, I'm going to get a little nostalgic and talk about another game...a very old game that I grew up with which I recently rediscovered and haven't been able to put down very easily.

Lemmings


After seeing this game, here is how I imagine your reactions. Half of you scratched your heads in confusion, while the other half gasped and immediately got flooded with very fond and nostalgic memories of this game. I don't like to think that I'm THAT old, but Lemmings goes back quite a ways in the world of gaming, back in the olden PC and early SNES days (probably even before that). Back in the day, Lemmings was a legit, hardcore PC game.

Basically, Lemmings is a puzzle game where you have to navigate these creatures (called Lemmings) to the exit in a very wide assortment of different levels, and puzzles (that obviously get harder and more complex as you continue). The lemmings themselves have a variety of different tasks and jobs they can take on while trying to make it to the exit, such as climbing, digging, building, and blocking, and you have to use these tasks effectively and correctly if you want to get these lemmings to safety before time is up, or before the Lemmings get viciously and utterly destroyed by traps and obstacles, which can range from lava and acid, smashing walls, or to simply just having them all walk off a cliff. At first, the puzzles are really easy and they give you enough tools to work with so you can easily figure out what you need to do in order to succeed. However, in later levels, they limit you on what can do and use, and try to get to you to focus on different strategies, some of which require you to use simple tools in ways you wouldn't imagine. You really have to know this game, inside and out, if you want to complete the entire thing. Speaking of which, if you want to beat this game 100%, expect to devote quite a bit of time to doing so. There are 120 levels (4 different difficulties, 30 levels for each), and while the first half of the game moves pretty quickly, the later levels have the capabilities of stumping you for a good 30 minutes or up to an hour. It's that complex, even when the exit could be right in front of your eyes. Getting there is usually the problem.

I have very fond memories of me playing this game with my dad when I was very young, and even he had problems with getting past some of the levels in the Level 50 range. But nevertheless, it's an experience I will never forget, and because of those fond memories, I decided to pick the game up once again.....that and a fellow Youtuber I watch (roundthewheelrtw) started a a playthrough (technically a replay, since his channel got deleted) of Lemmings that I've been keeping up with. At this point, even after playing for very long periods of time over the last few days, I'm still have quite a few levels to go (difficult levels at that). Although the words don't say much, that may give you an idea of how complex this game is, if it's giving the great SlimKirby so much trouble. =P

Anyways, one of the reasons why I started talking about this game today, is that I think I have decided that I am going to do a playthrough of the game on Youtube. It won't be a playthrough I start soon (maybe not even in 2011 either), but after getting so familiar with the game again, accompanied by so much nostalgia and fond memories, it's something I do want to share with you guys at some point. Again, just don't expect it to be soon. =P So in other words.....LP Possibility? Yes!

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Anyways, that is my entry for this week, join me next week on Halloween (if I decide to update) when I talk about more stuff, and possibly Wii Party or Kirby's Epic Yarn. See you guys then!

Later folks!
-SlimKirby

Sunday, October 17, 2010

10/17/10 - Is it Time to Spin Some Epic Yarn?

Hello everybody, SlimKirby here, and welcome to another blog update!

Lot of excitement this week and the coming week(s) with a lot of major stuff happening in the world of games and the world of SlimKirby. So much that I don't even know where to begin....

First off, if the title isn't any indication, I have purchased Kirby's Epic Yarn at this point, as well as Wii Party. I unfortunately have not played either though, because I just returned from purchasing both games, and I need to get this blog done immediately because I have a group meeting in a few hours. After that, I should get some time to at least play one of the games (probably Epic Yarn), and then the other game tomorrow. I may give some updates about game progress through Twitter, but I probably won't talk about either games on the blog for a few weeks until I'm finished with them and when I can look at them and give my final thoughts. I have finished Metroid: Other M though, and will be talking about that game at the end of this entry.

Second, as for other things going on, I really don't have much to say. Things are going well, and are kind of calming down for the time being. I expect things to pick up and get more intense really soon, just from the nature of what my life is, but I'll be ready for it when the time comes!

In Youtube news, by the time the next entry rolls around, I will have started a new project, that project being Mario Party 7. Not going to talk about it much, as I'll wait for the first board to release before I do, but it should definitely be some good times. Whether that is sarcasm or not, I don't know, I guess we'll just wait and see. =P In Donkey Kong 64 news, I'm still chugging along collecting gold bananas, continuing to get closer to the end of the game. By the time the next entry rolls around, I should be about finished (or finished) with the 6th world, ready to start the 7th, and final of the main worlds. That's really all I have to say about that project though, so I guess you pretty much get the standard "Still moving along, still going well" update I usually give for that project. =P Anyways, I also need to make an update video pretty soon. I'm not sure if I'll do it though between this update and the next. It really depends on if I can get motivated to make one. I may just wait until after I'm finished with Donkey Kong 64, because I really don't have much to discuss.

Also, speaking of Youtube, as of today, I'm sure you guys have a lot of questions and congrats for me and my channel, in regards to its current state. At this time, I am not at liberty to divulge any sort of information now, or possibly ever, so I'm going to have to keep quiet on that front. However, I will say thanks for all the congratulations I have gotten thus far and will continue to get. It means a lot to me. =)

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Game Chat:

Metroid: Other M


I still remember my first reactions when this game was first revealed at E3 2009. It was right after being shown Super Mario Galaxy 2, the sequel to perhaps my favorite game of the last decade, and I was just wondering what this next big surprise was that Nintendo was going to reveal. Then entered Other M with its incredible graphics and design, unique looking gameplay and combat system, and the "Mysterious Black Dude" (as he was referred to as for several months) who asked the timeless question that hit the video game world by storm, "Remember Me?" despite him not ever showing up in a game prior to Other M. Safe to say, Other M made quite an impact on the World of Nintendo during that conference and throughout the next year.

When the next E3 rolled around, and with Other M still not ready to be released quite yet, quite a few other games ended up stealing the show and the spotlight that Other M had been comfortable in for the last several months. However, it was revealed that the game would be coming out very soon, and sure enough, it did within the next two months, so that still kept the excitement going. However, then the game reviews started coming out....

Now, let me make this straight right off the bat. First, I've NEVER been one to take game reviews with more than a grain of salt. After Nintendo Power's low score for Mario Party 8 (despite them not really saying anything negative about the game in the their review), and various other review sites' idiotic reviews and miscalculated scores for other games, I try not to listen to reviews very much until I have at least some experience with the game myself. Second, I'm not implying that Other M had any bad reviews...if anything, most of the reviews have actually been pretty positive, but with a few noticeable and almost insistent complaints and critiques. It's just that....ugh....the things they complain about sometimes, I just will never understand.

So, I'm just going to put this simply, and bluntly.....I think the game is awesome. In the long run, I think the game was made very well, the story, although somewhat odd for a Metroid game (especially in the personification of Samus), worked for what the game was, and just playing the game in general was just fun and an overall enjoyable experience. My only real gripe about the game is that it is actually pretty short. In terms of other Metroid games, it was about the same length (for a first, blind playthrough, mind you), probably even longer, but when you play those other, older games, and when you get to the end, it feels like the end. With Other M, it just didn't seem like it. I wasn't quite ready to put the controller down and I wanted more (and yes, this was after the ACTUAL ending, so I did beat the actual final boss and do the escape sequence). I guess it's because the game's story itself didn't really have much of a general direction. It was pretty much "let's sit down and watch the events unfold, and once everything does, we'll call that the end." While I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing, again, it did give me the feeling of wanting more, which you can interpret as a good thing, a bad thing, or both. In my case, it's both.

The story and the characterization of Samus Aran were the main things I've seen reviewers and game fanboys gripe about the most. As I said earlier, while I do admit that it was strange direction for Metroid and Samus Aran, I honestly think it was more strange because it was different than it was bad. I mean, if we take a look at the past, although Samus has not necessarily been a silent hero (as shown through Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion where she does have some dialogue and the journal entries), she's still a pretty quiet character, and because of this quietness, she kind of gets that "Female Badass - I'm Gonna Blow You Up Because I'm On Important Mission" kind of vibe. Other M ended up downplaying that vibe quite a bit actually, and because of that, I can kind of see why that didn't please the fans very much. On the other hand though, when you look at the facts, Samus's complete personality was still pretty much a stab in the dark, and I thought the attempt made by both Nintendo and Team Ninja ended up being a good one that worked for the game and the storyline. Yeah, Samus has some emotions, and yeah, she talks about her commanding officer and the crush she has on him for a large portion of the game, but no emotions and feelings only would have been worse. In fact, this game's characterization almost seems sensible when looking at Metroid Fusion, another Metroid game I'm really starting to appreciate after Other M, so I really don't see what the issue is. Just be thankful that Samus doesn't say "Ewwww! A Bug!" every single time she enters a room, if you are one of those complainers.

As for gameplay, obviously one of the main gimmicks is the way that you switch between 3rd-person and 1st-person perspective, and you do this by the position of the Wiimote (controller style for 3rd, remote style for 1st). This "change" is a bit awkward at first, but in the end, it works well and it is implemented pretty well. It's just something you have to get used to at first. A good thing about this feature is whenever you change into 1st-person (since you have to whenever you need to use missiles or your grappling hook), the game actually slows down a little so you can adjust yourself to the new perspective, which I think was a nice feature. You can tell that the game developers really tried to get you accustomed to the game mechanics, which I think is a plus for the gamer, and the developer.

As for extra features and replayability, since this is a Metroid game, you can expect that the game allows you to finish the game on your own terms with whatever items you have, but as a bonus, also encourages you to explore each area thoroughly to make sure you collect every item in the game. As usual, finding all of the items can be very tricky, and at times, very tedious, but keep in mind, you don't even have to play that way if you want. One of the things I noticed in this game is that whenever you leave a room, sometimes the game will mark the map if you missed something, and by the end of the game, everything is marked for you, so you don't have to worry about spending hours looking for one small indentation in the wall in each room of the game. This way, you can just go to the room where the item is in (or near) and just observe the surroundings. As for bonus features, when you fully complete the game, you get a Hard Mode that you can play, which I assume has areas with more enemies (or if not, tougher enemies that do more damage), and is just in general, harder to complete. I'm not sure if there is a prize for completing this mode (100%) or not, because I haven't attempted a 2nd playthrough yet, but I'll probably give it a try next time I decide to play through the game again. Also for unlockables, you can unlock some gallery art of the game and characters in the game, which is pretty cool, along with a Movie Gallery mode where you can watch every cutscene in the game. A cool thing about the movie gallery is that you can actually watch all of the cutscenes in one giant block, and it actually includes small little gameplay clips in between each cutscene, so it feels like you are actually watching a movie of the entire game, which I thought was a really cool feature.

Anyways, I think I've said all I needed to say about this game. Overall, it was a very neat experience and I enjoyed every bit of it, even though it was a little on the short side. Despite all of the criticism and negativity the game got (even though the reviews were generally pretty good), I don't think the "negatives" really got in the way of the actual game, if anything, I think they worked with what the game actually was and was intending to be, and that's why I enjoyed the game and could almost look past them. Although it's not a perfect game (not that any game is perfect) it's definitely one I would support, and on a review scale, I would give it a 4/5 (4.5 at most).

LP Possibility: Ok....so, will I LP this game? Well, in the grand scheme of things, if I ever did do a Metroid LP, first I would probably do Super Metroid, and then Zero Mission before I would even think about doing Other M, just because I've had more nostaglic moments with those games. But in the long run, yes, if I ever felt like doing Other M sometime in the future, I would, because it's a great game. Don't expect this to happen until much later though.....I'm talking months or even years from now.

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Well, that's about it for this entry! I'll talk to you guys next weekend and I'll see you throughout the week for my normal video updates and random twitter updates. Later folks!

-SlimKirby

Sunday, October 10, 2010

10/10/10 - That's A Lot of Tens!

Hello everybody, SlimKirby here! I hope you guys are having a pleasant 10/10/10! I wish I could say the same, but things have really only been average for the Slimster. Nothing bad, but nothing really that amazing or interesting either. I'm kind of just at that point in my semester where things are just "meh", wishing I could be doing something much more exciting, but unable to do just because I'm so stuck on my normal routine. But alas, I'm sure you guys don't want to hear me talk about that.

First off, I do have some great news! My Wii was actually returned to me quite a bit earlier than I was expecting! And after running some tests, things seem to be running well. What does this mean for the future? A lot of games I can play over the next few months, and the start (and return (CSS)) of some Youtube projects. I actually got to play some Metroid: Other M this weekend, and I gotta say....it's been a lot of fun and I am enjoying the game a lot. It's not the most perfect game (obviously), but what game is? I'll talk more about the game in the coming weeks when I've completed it (and maybe 100%ed it), but I am definitely glad that I purchased the game, despite all of the so-so reviews. This next weekend I am probably going to get both Wii Party and Kirby: Epic Yarn, so soon I'll probably have a lot to say about those games as well.

Speaking of games, and since I kind of mentioned "Youtube" in my last paragraph, I promised ShadowMario41 that I would give him a small plug in this entry (although I would have done it anyways). Do you guys remember The Maze Game? If not, the Maze Game was a short Let's Play I did back in 2008, a game that was actually created by ShadowMario41 through Game Maker. Although the game and project has been highly regarded as a joke through my videos and other projects, it was actually a pretty well-created game despite the limitations of what it could be. Anyways, the reason I am bringing this up is because The Maze Game has actually been remade. Teaming up with Blargg Pit graphics designer, MegaFreak400, The Maze Game has been repolished (to the extreme) and looks amazing. Of course, the game itself really isn't a new game, moreso a remake of the original (so you will see a lot of the same levels), however, the work these two put into the game is incredible, and they would both really appreciate it if you would give the game a try. Of course, for those wondering if I am going to replay the maze game (or rather, play the remake) for my channel, it is something that I will probably do eventually, but not this moment. Anyways, you can download the Maze Game from the following link....
The Maze Game Remastered

Since I'm kind of transitioning into Youtube stuff, I'll go ahead and talk about that next. Still, not much really worth mentioning, as I am still working on (and will probably continue to work on) Donkey Kong 64. At this point, I have fully recorded up to Video #35, and will probably have another session during the week so I can continue right along through that game. I'm still not sure what # I will end up at the end of the project (in terms of video #s), but now I'm at the point where I wouldn't be surprised if I end before Video #60, although that's still kind of unlikely. The recording for the 5th world actually went REALLY well....so well that I was actually shocked by the end of the recording. I swear, the 4th world of the game is just a nightmare....a nightmare I am glad to be finished with. Hopefully the 6th world (my least favorite BEFORE the playthrough) goes at least decently.

With my Wii back, it's also time to start planning Mario Party 7, and just as a small preview for those who read my blog, I actually plan to start the project in the next 3, or maybe even 2 weeks). There are just a few loose ends I want to take care of before I start the project (one more mini-game to unlock, and one more mode to fully complete). However, even if I don't, it's not going to be a big deal, as I can always do that while I'm in the midst of the Party Mode portion of the game. Still though, I'd at least like to have ONE playthrough of the game where I have everything unlocked before I start recording. Anyways, despite this game being my least favorite of the console games, I'm actually kind of looking forward to it now. Keep in mind, "least favorite" doesn't necessarily mean I hate it....I just like it less than the others. The game is definitely the most long-winded of the Mario Party games, in that it always takes forever to play one game. But yeah, that's about all I need to say about that....look forward to the playthrough VERY soon.

As for other projects to start after Donkey Kong 64, I have to admit that I am still having some issues trying to decide. There are a lot of different ideas in the air....but it's just choosing one that I would be set on doing. That is where I'm having my most difficulty. There is one idea I've kind of been throwing around in my head more than the others, so it will probably be that game in the end, but I'm still not ready to tell you guys.

And finally, for CSS, we are going to get back into discussion about the rest of TTYD and future projects within the next week, do not worry. We should finally be back on track soon. It's just that the Wii's repair (of mine) and a few other things kind of just got in the way of things and prevented us from really making any progress on that front.

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Game Talk:

Although not really a "game," last week I promised you guys that I would take a little bit of time during this entry to talk about the 3DS, the next handheld from Nintendo, which recently got quite a bit of information revealed. Don't expect this to be complete coverage or anything, just a few things I've heard about and will spend a little bit of time discussing from an opinionated standpoint...that's really about it. This really won't be that in-depth at all.

First up, the new system is rumored to be released in North America around March 2011. Although I am relieved that it isn't releasing this year (since I barely have any currency), it still seems like the release is just around the corner in only 6 months time (at least), and I'm not really ready for it. Don't get me wrong, the system itself looks amazing and I am definitely going to get one, no question about it, but still...it seems like we only just now got info on it. I was personally hoping for a release sometime at the end of 2011, at the very earliest. So yeah, I guess I got to start saving for that (after all the awesome Wii games coming out of course =D). Another thing I am kind of disappointed about was that I only got a Nintendo DSi last Christmas, and I was kind of hoping that would be around for a little while before the 3DS came out. Instead, it feels like I got that system, and then only a little bit later, something new was announced. Felt kind of like a wasted purchase...even though the DSi is awesome too.

Another thing that has kind of been turning heads (in a good way or bad way, that's up for interpretation) is the price of the system. The launch price for Japan was announced to be set at 25000 yen, which translates to about 298 dollars in American currency (if you are not American, sorry, I don't know all the exchange rates X_X). Now, while this may not be the exact price of the 3DS, I think it is safe to assume that it will still cost a pretty penny....a very pretty penny. Not everybody just has 300 dollars laying around (or even 200). However, when you look at the facts, they are using some high-tech stuff for this system, and it it is implementing a lot of different features, so the price is kind of understandable. If it were Sony releasing the system, you would be broke for even considering to purchase it. The price is indeed hefty, but as I said, it's at least understandable. Besides, as mentioned, the exchanges rates won't necessarily prove anything. The price could always go down for the final release.

One thing I actually got really excited about learning was that there is going to be a Virtual Console library for Game Boy games, which will definitely be a big hit among Nintendo gamers. Say what you want about the sparse updates for the Wii's Virtual Console, or the "Why pay money when you can emulate it?" excuse, Nintendo is still going to get a lot of money from this implementation, and die-hard Nintendo fans are still going to want to purchase the classic handheld greats. Super Mario Land and Link's Awakening are two of the titles that were announced to be the VC front-runners, but I'm sure there will be many other timeless classics to also grace the presence of the 3DS. Whether this library will include Game Boy Advance games...I don't know (don't remember), so if anyone does, please tell.

As for games, there is not much I really have to say. A new Kirby game was announced (which kind of reminds me as a cross between Amazing Mirror and Canvas Curse), which looks pretty sweet, but otherwise, there is not much I really have to say (that wasn't already talked about during my E3 discussions).

So far though, the system is looking to be pretty amazing, despite a things (early release and price), but those "negatives", if you could even call them negatives, are pretty minimal. If I find out some more information that I think is worth mentioning, I will be sure to post it.

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That's about it for this entry guys! I will see you next week for another adventure into The Mind of SlimKirby.

Later folks!
-SlimKirby

Sunday, October 3, 2010

10/3/10 - Attack of the Awesome All-Nighters!

Hello everybody, Messed-Up-ScheduleKirby here, and welcome to another week From the Slightly UnFocused Mind of SlimKirby! =P

Ok, not really sure what was up with that intro, but whatever. I'm really not that unfocused, just a little off balance. It's a weird feeling when there are only 7 hours left in the day after waking up, that's for sure. :P

Anyways, I guess should elaborate on what exactly I am referring to. I'm probably making this a bigger deal than I need to be, because this isn't exactly something that's really that foreign to people, but it's something that I haven't done very much, if not at all, and it happened twice in a period of 2 days. I'm referring to the act of "all-nighting," where you basically stay up all night. All-nighting is actually a pretty activity, especially for a college student like myself. You can really only afford to do it if you are good at planning around your normal schedule, and planning for a way to get back onto the schedule after doing it. I think I'm actually a pretty responsible individual, which is the only reason even thought about doing this. And the best part is, I had a lot of fun with it, because I wasn't alone. :P

On Friday night I was in a Skype call with good friend PowerToMario, and the always lovely and fierce MadameWario. We weren't really doing anything major, just chilling out enjoying our Friday nights to ourselves when we just decided to start a call. We really didn't expect it to last til 9 in the morning when we firs entered the call, but it totally did. We entertained ourselves by watching whatever was on TV at the time and commentating over it, whether it was paid programming commercials, a ridiculous cheerleading movie (PTM dreams of being a Clover), and even an episode of Pokemon Sinnoh. It was crazy, but it was also a lot of fun. And let me tell you, if PTM ever does an episode of one his LPs under the amount of weariness he was in....it would be the funniest, yet most incomprehensible LP episode ever. XD

Then, the following night, we pretty much did the same thing over again, this time joined by long-time LP video uploader ThePastaKing (try to find the obvious joke in that statement). We didn't just watch stuff this time, we actually got some games out and played (unfortunately no wifi or co-op though). Me and Madame stuck to our common ground, Mario Party (BIG SURPRISE!) and PTM did too at one point, but also played his Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn file while getting information from me and the King. We also watched more Pokemon at one point too. Anyways, this call went on a bit longer, but not too much more, but it was also a lot of fun. Madame and I laughed at and teased each other about our Mario Party 3 experiences we were having, PK went on and on and on and on about his strategy game knowledge, and PTM was.....once again, just all over the place. It was just so awesome and totally worth the weird schedule for this weekend.

One thing I started thinking about though after these experiences, was the possibility of capitalizing on this for a future event. I'm not saying we'll have just another random all-nighter and then record it for Youtube or a stream or something, but definitely the idea of doing a late night event of some sort, possibly live. I mean, I've done late night streams before, in that my streams usually end up lasting until around midnight or 1 AM my time, but I'm talking later than that. Of course, they'd have to be planned well in advance, and planned around the notion of actually being able to host something like that. Sometimes, especially for me, I just can't randomly decide "Ok, I'm doing this tonight." I'm one who usually likes to stay on a pretty consistent schedule. I'll start workshopping some ideas, and we'll see what happens in the future. In the mean time though....BRING IT ON! >=D And if any of my readers have had some awesome all-nighters before, go ahead and talk about them if you want. Kinda inviting some audience participation here. =P

Something else I briefly wanted to mention, that I probably should have talked about before, is that I've kind of dropped the whole heavily-structured blog format, and I think I'm going to keep it that way. I have more fun writing these entries when they are done from a free-writing perspective rather than a "I Have to Stick to the Format" type of perspective, and I guess, what's more fun for the blog is probably the better way to go. It makes me feel less stressed about updating, and I have a little more fun with it. Plus, I think these last few entries have actually been pretty good. So yeah, no more formal blog updates from now on.

In other news, still no information on the Wii, although I didn't really expect to get any information on it yet. I'd expect maybe getting it back this week and then picking it up when I'm briefly home for the weekend, but I can't make any guarantees. I wish I could get it back soon though so I can start playing some Wii Party and Metroid: Other M. I also need to buy Samurai Warriors 3, and Kirby: Epic Yarn when it comes out. When I get it back, there will be a big wiiaction (reaction) from me. :P

Besides that though, things are going well, I guess. I'm about at the half-way point for the semester and things are looking ok, I suppose. Nothing really terrible anyways, which I guess is a good thing. My classes are definitely a lot more difficult than I originally expected, but that's sometimes the case for people.

In Youtube news, Donkey Kong 64 is still chugging along. I had a very brutal recording session with the 4th world of the game (not the most exciting world, that's for sure, and it's actually quite tedious as well). I would explain what happens/happened, but I'm sure you will see this week when I release the videos. Water worlds have never really been that fun! :P

For those wondering about CrystalStarStudio, other members of the Blargg Pit who haven't been updating as much, and any announcements regarding future projects, I only ask you guys, once again, to remain patient. There really is a lot going on for me and ALL of us, and for some it's been difficult to keep up with everything due to other priorities. However, we're all doing our best for you guys, and we're doing all that we can. One of the main things holding this back, specifically on the announcements and CSS, is my Wii being gone, so those things should be addressed before too long. For anything else, just be patient, please! :P

Ok, well, I think that about does it for this entry. As I hinted in a prior entry, Game of the Weeks are now no longer going to be done weekly (so I guess I'll come up with a new name for that section). I apologize if you really loved that section, but just keep in mind that it isn't going away forever....just not going to happen every week.

And kind of as a preview for next week, I'll try to talk about the 3DS next time because there was some information revealed to the public this past week. I would talk about it tonight, but I'm running out of time! So yeah, have that to look forward to!

Anyways, see you guys next week! Later folks!
-SlimKirby