No, nary a watch in sight!

Well hell yes! You know those awesome wristbands the nonary game participants wear in Virtue's Last Reward?

Well, ok, maybe they aren't so awesome because they kill you but let's forget that for a minute....

If this were my watch I'd send it back!

Awhile back it was revealed there would be replicas of these that worked as digital watches for anyone who preordered the game on Amazon. There was a bit of a debacle though as Amazon wasn't able to fulfill this promise to all customers. Amazon recommended cancelling and re-ordering, Aksys said you'd have a better chance if you kept your order in. Amazon said it was Aksys's fault, Aksys said it was Amazon's. Cats and dogs were living together. It was mass hysteria.

If you ask me, I'm more likely to think it was Amazon's fault, but then again I've made it very public that they have screwed me over in the past.

Needless to say many didn't get their watch. Two people who I know were among them. It was disappointing, but it wasn't the end of the world. I mean, at least they got the game itself just fine. The angry mob died down shortly and people realized how awesome the game is and all was right with the world. Lo and behold, a new hope appeared. Aksys games took whatever remaining stock they had on these watches and decided to sell them on their new online store.

My initial reaction was nearly one of rage "Aksys Games has brought back the Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward watches (while supplies last)..." Those fuc- "...in order to help raise money for relief efforts for Hurricane Sandy. By purchasing a Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward watch, you will be donating all $20.00 to the Red Cross Hurricane Sandy fund and helping those affected by this devastating storm." Well played, Aksys, well played. Needless to say any rage I had abated rather quickly. Keep in mind I didn't even preorder the game, I had received a review copy from Aksys directly so it isn't even like I was directly involved. It's simply the fact you too often see companies do all the wrong things. I am very glad to know that didn't occur this time.

Anybunny need a watch?!

For those of you asking why Aksys didn't just try to distribute the watch to those people who preordered the game and didn't get one, can you imagine what kind of nightmare it would be to get order information from Amazon to confirm all those claiming to be owed a watch? Yikes. That's one trainwreck I don't blame Aksys for avoiding. Hell, whenever I call into Amazon I don't even get help on my issue until after I've yelled at the poor rep (I do feel bad for them, but they act like complete tools) enough. It's like they have an egg timer on their desk, and once you've yelled for its duration they finally offer to make it right.

On that note, companies: if you want your customer service reps to hang around instead of turning over every month, you need to instruct them to ACTUALLY HELP. Imagine that?

Anyways, the point here is Aksys is a pretty cool guy. He raises money for Sandy relief and doesn't afraid of anything. I can wear the watch I ordered with pride, knowing that if it injects me with Soporil β and Tubocurarine at least my $20 will have helped someone!

A big shoutout goes to Ben Bateman, Editor at Aksys Games, who heard my mad ravings on Twitter and helped fix the store, allowing me to buy one of these watches. His twitter account is @benspants. I think his body is made up of 70% puns. You should follow him then bask in his nonsense!

Oh my glob you guys, this collector's edition is so math!

In addition to Persona 4: Golden I also picked up Jet Set Radio on my Vita, and also Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?! Enchiridion Collector's Edition for 3DS.

Yes that is the full title. Yes this is real life.

I kinda chickened out on an unboxing video for this one after I found out my laptop's crappy built in webcam makes me look like a muppet. In the interest of still showing you all how awesome it is though, I'll post some pictures I took.

The outside cover is really just a protector for the steelbook underneath. The whole thing is stylized to look like Finn's Enchiridion, the book that teaches would be heroes how to save princesses and apparently also how to kiss them. I love the tie-in to the game, but the paint they used on the steelbook seems weak. A couple spots have been scratched off by the cardboard cover that is supposed to be protecting it so be warned if you pick this up... keep it well protected.

What's inside you ask? Well here ya go. We have a Finn's gold sword replica stylus, the Book of Beasts strategy guide thingy, a map of Ooo and the game itself.

The map of Ooo looks like it only covers the areas in the game as the Fire Kingdom and Nightosphere don't seem to be anywhere on the map. It is also printed on normal paper, which bums me out. I know, it seems dumb for that to bother me, but well I love me some nice maps. The Gamestop preorder map for Skyrim was on some parchment-like paper which game it an awesome texture and feel, and I have several other maps (like for Lunar: SSS) that are cloth. Again, I know it's silly but I love me a nice map.

Then there's the Book of Beasts. This one is actually pretty functional. It seems to have a list of every monster in the game, divided by region, with their HPs listed. It's worth noting even boss enemies appear in here, and not that the name isn't already an indicator, but if you didn't want to spoil anything for yourself you might want to limit yourself to it page by page.

Not currently pictured in its entirety is Finn's gold sword stylus. This is probably the coolest thing next to the steelbook case. It's functional and actually really great as a stylus. It's far more substantial than the telescoping stylus that comes with the 3DS and it feels a lot nicer in your hands. It's pretty solid too, which is a huge plus. I don't feel like I'll break it at all, though just like with the steelbook, the black paint on the hilt and pommel of the sword feels like it might scratch off easily. So take your chances there. You don't really need a stylus so much for the game itself, but I do plan to use it when I play Theatrhythm or Kid Icarus since hand cramps can easily set in on those.

Well there you have it, all this glory for $40 is not bad if I do say so myself, even if the paint seems to be kind of cheap. Needless to say any fan of Adventure Time will take adequate care of it and it is really geared towards them anyways.

I'll let you guys know how the game is once I'm done being totally addicted to P4G!

Persona of the WildCard!

So Persona 4 came out.

Mother of God.

Yup, yup, I know what you're thinking. Oh man, WildCard's hooked on another JRPG. Oh that WildCard, when will he learn Japanese games are crap.

Sorry guys, newsflash. Japanese games are awesome. No, seriously. Why are you laughing? Well the whole NA vs JP arguement will have to wait for another time because after literally 30 hours of gameplay is less than a week (six days to be exact) I have so much to say about Persona 4: Golden.

First off this is part of Atlus's Shin Megami Tensei series, though it cut down on the nomenclature of sorts. It also originally came out on PS2 back in late '08 despite the PS3 already being established at the time. This is the reason I didn't pick it up originally. Everytime a game comes out on last generation's hardware when where is a current gen, it almost always gets 'ported. This goes mostly for bigger publishers, but Atlus seems to have this as a rule of thumb. So I skipped the PS2 version and regretted it for many years... until now. It took a little longer than I expected (4 years... really? REALLY!?) but that wait is over and man was it worth it.

From initial concept Persona 4: Golden is already an exemplary title in the JRPG library. You can take control of every character in your party which is so refreshing considering so many RPGs have gotten away from the turn based format for the action/RPG hybrid games I find so hit or miss personally. You can also let them control themselves with basic AI behaviors you can select. Combat is exciting with all the cutaways, battle animations, extra attacks, and all-out attacks that really make the game a feast for the eyes. The story is killer (no pun intended). The characters are surprisingly likable. Kanji Tatsumi in particular shocked me, as it's not every day the concept of a man being sexually confused in a Japanese video game makes it to print. It was a bold move, but one I truly admire as the issue of acceptance is his true desire, and one we can all relate to despite being straight, gay, or whatever. Social links are totally addicting as well. As you decide how best to spend your time afterschool or on Sunday, you'll begin to notice there are so many things and so little time. You can enhance your social links which strengthen the Personas you create, and even enhance your party members proficiency in battle as well. You can also do stuff like eat out, study, and train which will help you raise your social attributes, which in turn help you enhance your social links. You of course can also jump into the TV world to complete story missions, grind, or complete quests. It's all pretty daunting, but in a good way.

That is all really just in the main game itself. The "Golden" in Persona 4: Golden is really, well... golden. The Vita version has new features like the dungeon SOS, a "call for help" function what will allow people to send you small amounts of HP and SP between battles to help keep you on your feet. There is also the "Voice" feature that will display the choices of what players connected to the PSN while playing chose to do that day. It's actually handy to be able to see who has chosen to do what, and sometimes you can see choices you didn't know you even had. There is also more animated cutscenes and voice overs, both of which are awesome. There are new songs and new school events such as festivals and other things that would exist during a normal Japanese high schoolers life. There are new social links with Tohru Adachi and the new character Marie. There are also new Personas and new ways to spend your time such as gardening. Combine this with the already humongous amount of content in the original release... and the choices are staggering.

Yeah, I know it's getting a little obscene. Just trust me when I say I am literally addicted to this game. From the excitement of combat, to the addictiveness of enhancing social links, I cannot put this game down. Like, at all. It's so bad I've spent a total of 24 hours in my first five days playing. What?! Seriously, I may have a problem.

Either way if you own a Vita and have even the slightest patience for RPGs, you will need this game. Even if you don't know you need it yet, trust me, you do. There is a reason why this game was a much needed boost for the Vita overseas, and why this is one of the Japanese games actually making waves over here in the US. It is that good.

I'm almost sad to say I'm not reviewing this game, but Beatboxtaun is handling it so it should turn out to be a great review. Considering she is as addicted to this as I am I think I can safely say we probably would review this to a similar score anyways. That's right, I trust her!

(That's saying a lot!)

Anyways there you have it. Everything about this game seems pretty spectacular, and I haven't encountered a single thing that isn't. I always have something negative to say about a game, at least something. This time though, nothing. You know what to do Vita owners!

Knives a duex -or- When Conner met Ave

So the temptation was too strong! I had my money all ready to go for Halo 4, and I had an odd change of heart. I'm actually confident the game is fantastic, many reviewers I trust have had nothing but good things to say so far, but for a couple different reasons I decided against picking it up Tuesday.

Whatever will I do with all that money you ask? Well not one to be wasteful I found a new home for it!

Yup I got Assassin's Creed III. I knew I would be getting this game, but I didn't think I would so soon. As it turns out I was wrong. I even picked up the PS3 version for the bonus missions, and Liberation connectivity.

I didn't plan on using that connectivity with Liberation so soon, but I did know I would eventually get it, and when I did I'd want the PS3 version. Well...

I'm seriously the worlds biggest sucker. I don't even know what to say, when I want something I want it now and there is very little I or anyone else can do about that. I'm just damn glad the things I want most are usually video games!

So I'll give you guys a fine run down in the what I'm playing segment but until then ladies and gents I'll bid you all adieu!

Boogie on down! 8bitfix Review: Orgarhythm

Troll box art is successful!

Another one bite's the dust! This time it's XSEED's groovy RTS/Rhythm hybrid, Orgarhythm for PlayStation Vita. Not really one for rhythm games myself (though Theatrhythm may have changed that a little) I was pretty intrigued what this would play like. Would it be more RTS than rhythm, or vice versa? In the end, just like a two piece harmony, there was a perfect blending of the two. The only thing holding this title back from being that new refreshing Vita entry is the fact that most people won't stop to give a strange title like this a try. It's a shame, but I'm under no illusions about the mentality of the majority demographic of gamers today. Well it is what it is, but anyone daring enough to risk a try at this $30 PSN only Vita title just might be rewarded with something truly special :)

Anyways here's the link: 8bitfix review: Orgarhythm

Oh, and a snippet, as always!

"Orgarhythm is actually very simple to describe, but difficult to convey the true experience. Here I go anyways. The game is equal parts rhythm and equal parts strategy. In order to properly dispatch troops you need to tap the screen to the beat. One tap on the God of Light, another to select which elemental trooper to use, and a third to select which type of attack they will perform. Then all you have to do is tap the screen, or tap and drag to send a certain number to a specified location on the map. As you continue to successfully tap, the "voltage level" will rise, powering up your troops, and allowing you to have more of them. See not hard to describe at all, but the game sounds plain. I assure you it isn't. There is a sort of excitement to the game you can't really appreciate until you try it. Something about how the music amplifies your drive to attack, and attacking continues to build your combo and voltage level; it's a cyclical excitement that builds with the better you are doing. Not to mention there are no technical difficulties whatsoever with tapping. The game runs smooth, almost surprisingly so when you have 48 of your own troopers heading out amidst a sea of enemies equal in number! It is absolutely essential rhythm games always run smoothly, and for one that incorporates RTS elements this is doubly so."

Say it with me... "Colors, Colors!"