Like Tycho, I have been avoiding a lot of game news lately. I don't know if it's just nostalgia or what but I've been thinking a lot about what it was like buying games when I was a kid. I remember getting games based on the screen shots and stories on the backs of their boxes. I've gotten kind of tired of knowing every detail about a game months before it comes out. KOTOR was really the first game that I purposefully avoided all news for and it was one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had. Obviously that has a lot to do with the fact that the game is awesome, but I think going into it with no knowledge of the story or mechanics really helped. Recently I picked up Onimusha 3 after a similar media black out. Since I haven't read any reviews or anything I don't know what other sites are saying, but I know I love it. I was disappointed by the lack of action in the second game. Onimusha 3 delivers enough action to more than make up for the slow plodding pace of the second game. I don't want to say much more about it because I don't want to ruin it for anyone. I highly recommend renting it at least if you're a fan of the series or action adventure games in general.
Another game I have been avoiding news on is Jade Empire. I couldn't stay away from it at E3 though. It turns out that it's even cooler than I expected. For some reason I assumed it was going to be a classic RPG with similar mechanics to the ones found in KOTOR. It turns out it's actually a fucking action game that's heavy on the RPG elements. The combat is fast paced and real time. Switching between fighting styles is accomplished with quick taps of the D-pad making it easy to flow seamlessly from one style into another during the course of a fight. When I saw the main character punch a guy so fucking hard that the dude actually exploded I turned and hugged the guy giving me the demo. Punching a ninjas head off will send a geyser of blood spraying out of his neck as he drops down to his knees and then onto his stomach. I asked what kind of rating the game will have and they all sort of smiled and shrugged. I had high hopes for Jade Empire and I actually came away from the show even more excited for its release. It's a bloody Kung-Fu action RPG with incredible graphics, a fantastic story and a unique visual style that only Bioware could deliver. What the fuck more do you want?
In other news, Kara and I found out that we are having a boy. I am actually going to have a son… wow, that feels so weird to say. Little Gabe will be making his way into the world some time around September 28th and I can't wait. I'm super excited to start teaching him how to pee and throw a football. We spent about an hour at the ultrasound place. I honestly don't know how doctors can tell what the fuck is going on by looking at that indecipherable video feed. She kept telling us the baby looked great and everything was normal. I stared at the black and white images with her trying to pick out the things she was showing us. Obviously I'm not a doctor but to me our baby bears a striking resemblance to hammerhead from Star Wars.
Man, I am totally going to fuck this kid up.
Don't foget, my e-mail address is now gabe@penny-arcade.com
-Gabe out
