Break the Bank

Tomorrow is the first of September and the first of September means that my birthday is a scant 25 days away. If that math was too hard to follow, it means that my September 25th Birthday is fast approaching. If you were planning on getting me something, might I suggest something from my birthday list?

A casual observer may notice that there are an awful lot of video games on that list. Although this is true, I don't expect (or even necessarily want) to get more than 4 or 5 of them. I always put too much stuff on my list so that people can decide what they want to get me and I'll still be surprised when I get it. That said, I still get some stuff that's not on my list. And that's ok too. I guess I just like stuff!

In conclusion, those games aren't going to buy themselves! Go get em' tiger.

And if you're here for video game info here's some stuff...

Viruta Fighter Cyber Generation sounds amazing!

I mean seriously. Check out this product description from NCSX:

"Sei wears a gauntlet of sorts on his right arm which shoots out a beam of purple light which works something like the prehensile arms last seen in Bionic Commando. In addition to its use as a grappling hook, the beam may also be shot out to grab enemies or to aid in a combination attack where a punch sends a foe flying but the hook brings him back for more."

Who knew taking Virua Fighter into Pokemon territory would involve a grappling hook? I think I'm going to wait for the US release on this one though.

BradyGames has been putting out some very serious guides!

Check out this Street Fighter Guide. It's pretty much exactly the guide that I was trying to get Brady to make while I worked in the Indianapolis offices. I was always pushing for the guides to have huge art sections, a presentation focusing on smaller details like combos and frame counts, and for the inclusion of extra bonuses like CDs and memory card stickers, and it looks like the Street Fighter guide offers nearly everything that could have reasonably been included.

When you're done with that link, check out this book about Japanese video games. This a major step towards bringing video game analysis to an American audience. Monthly magazines that analyze video games exist in Japan, but I believe this is the first time something like this has been released in the US. It won't be a huge seller for Brady, but I'm sure a lot of developers will read it in order to position their games for the Japanese market and schools will definately use it as a textbook for their video game classes.

Then check out the guide for Onimusha: Blade Warriors. This wasn't a major title, but the guide for it is superbly written. I know because I wrote it!

And in the last bit of video game related news...

Pikmin 2 comes out today!

When I finished the first Pikmin the only thing I could have asked for was more, and from what I hear Pikmin 2 goes beyond offering just more to create a near-perfect sequel. Rather than waiting for my birthday I'm going to go ahead and pick it up today. Don't worry, there's plenty of other stuff on my list that you can get me!