Brad's Random and Pre-TGS Thoughts.

- MGS4 is playable for the public at TGS. David might owe Nick 10 dollars after all.

- Team Ico is supposed to be working on two games and I have a feeling we will see something this year at TGS. Very excited.

- Will they announce Parasite Eve 3? It has been strongly rumored that they are working on a project besides the cell phone bullshit. My fingers are crossed.

- Final Fantasy XIII will be showed in some form this TGS. So many people seem to be pissed it won't be playable but as long as we get to see some gameplay footage (i think likely) I will be more than satisfied. Lightning will probably move into my top 5 crushes as well. She currently graces the background on both my DS and PSP.

- I also considered Dagger for my crushes list but forgot to add her to honorable mentions. I must admit though, I would have listed her as Garnet since I didn't let that dork rename herself to Dagger. I bet Japanese players thought it was cool, but it doesn't translate well over here.

- Anyone else excited about Namco Museum for the DS? It's going to have Pac-Man Versus on it. That could be pretty awesome with other people.

- I don't want Ken Levine to work on a Bioshock sequel. Not for the irrational reasons David doesn't want one though (seriously David, with all the big mainstream hits coming out this fall *coughHalocough* why choose to jump on the Bioshock anti-hype bandwagon?). What I want is a spiritual successor to the series and have the game set in another world. Two of the major strength of the game are its setting/atmosphere and its story. Both I feel would be hindered if forced into a sequel. Give me a new setting, character, and story. Don't forget that Ken Levine isn't just responsible for the Shock series. He's worked on other critical successes such as Thief, Tribes, and Freedom Force. I kind of want to see what else can come out of his studio. It's similar to how I feel about Team Ico. I love Ico and Shadow of the Colossus but I would be upset if their new games were just sequels. It would almost be a waste of creative talent.

- I'm disgustingly addicted to Picross for the DS. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it but I heard you can unlock some really badass Nintendo puzzles later. David was right about the stylus and accidentally tapping the wrong square. I got around this by switching the options to button control. Not only is it more comfortable this way, but I find it faster actually since you press A to select, B to put an X, and Y to zoom in and out. It's much more quicker than selecting from that damn mini-menu with the stylus.

*** Online play just super confirmed for Smash Bros Brawl. Lot's of details too --> SSBB Dojo


brad