Videogame Classics - Wii Music

Wii Music is spectacular, incredibly rich and deep, and arguably the most revolutionary videogame since Super Mario Brothers. In time, it may well be seen as Shigeru Miyamoto's crowning achievement.  It's difficult to describe it accurately to someone at first, and there is a learning curve until you "get it." It helps tremendously if you are a creative type. But this is perfectly normal and to be expected; this is not a "music rhythm" game at all, but the next evolutionary step, the Pure Music game.

I think you definitely need to sit someone down and show them what Wii Music is really about. The Wii Sports graphics and motion controls give the impression that you're dealing with a simplistic child's toy, a glorified baby rattle. The reality is about as far from that stereotype as you can imagine, but that tremendous depth is hidden below the surface. It's kind of like the original Super Mario Bros in 1985. At first glance, it just looks like another side-scrolling arcade shooter. But then some curious or lucky kid discovers hidden pipe rooms, coin boxes buried in the walls, 1UP mushrooms, minus world, and warp zones. The game then becomes a completely different experience.

It's the very same with Wii Music. This is a game about live performance, about learning music theory, about composition and song structure, about group dynamics, and most importantly, about improvisation. This is the revolutionary break, and it affects absolutely everything. The 60 instruments can be mixed and matched in any combination. Songs can be played in any number of styles. You can change the tempo of the songs. And you can play the instruments any way you wish.

Think of it as multiple skill levels. Level 1 is just shaking the Wiimote on Improv mode, banging at the cowbell for kicks. Level 2 is learning to play the songs perfectly, matching the beats and rhythms like the old rhythm music style. Level 3 is learning to improvise, learning to create solos, leads, learning to hold and bend notes, and working together as a group.

I think if you make it to Level 3, you've done very well. You will have learned a lot of music theory, especially if you take the music lessons. And it takes a lot of practice to become skilled. Just like real music. Pretty soon, you'll start wondering what will happen if you swapped instruments around, or changed the tempo. Should I use a beatbox and rapper for percussion on the Animal Crossing theme? What can I use with steel drums on the Super Mario theme?

Then you start re-arranging the parts. You add in pauses and breaks, space for the drummer to play four beats after the verse, space in the middle for that trumpet solo you've been practicing for. I think I'll play the F-Zero theme with a guitar solo, and then cut out and bring in the rapper. Or maybe three singers for the classical songs.

Finally, you dig deep enough and reach Level 4 - Wii Music Nirvana. Now you are no longer playing and improvising the existing songs. Now you will rip out the parts, reinvent the beats, and create a completely new song - a strange mutated beast. Now you're in the Wii Music Minus World, my friend. "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" has been turned into space techno with galactic trumpet. "Ode to Joy" has been turned into Sgt. Pepper. "Frere Jacques" has been turned into Radiohead trip-hop. "F-Zero" has been turned into some fusion of Miles Davis and Metallica. And everything has been turned into Public Enemy.

Wii Music is not random waggling. There is nothing random about Wii Music. There are, in fact, two competing musical scales for every song. There are the "official" notes for the melody, harmony, rhythm, and bass (two percussion spaces fill out the six tracks). Then there is a second set of notes, the "improv"scale, for all four parts. You can weave back and forth on your instrument at will, sometimes weaving between chords and notes.

And then there are the drums. The drum kits are based on the song's "official" rhythm when using standard controls. If you just want to follow the beat, you'll get a good sound. Now add the Wii Balance Board...and the drums are now opened up to you. I don't mean you get more beats or rhythms. I mean that you have a complete virtual drum set, and you have complete freedom to create whatever the hell you want.

The old rhythm music genre has just been smashed to bits. Wii Music lets you goof off, play songs, remix, mutate, and improvise. Your imagination is the only limit. Rock Band lets you press buttons. Guitar Hero lets you press buttons.

If you're still skeptical, that's perfectly alright. Come to Youtube and I'll prove it. Watch Wassi JJ's videos. Watch Alasted's videos. Watch Tirelat's videos. Watch 3GAAC's videos. Shigeru Miyamoto is universally hailed as the world's greatest videogame designer for a reason, kids. He has revolutionized the medium countless times. It's what he does. When Miyamoto-san tells you that Wii Music is a masterpiece, believe him.

We're All in Mario's Castle Now

Behold!  Another master of Wii Music emerges!  Wassi JJ completely reconstructs songs into strange, spacey, melodic creations.

Just sit back and contemplate this for a long moment.  Wii Music is intended for anyone who wants to create, regardless of musical skill or talent.  At the entry level, it is so simple as to appear simplistic.  But underneath this surface lies a deep, dark secret. Improvisation.  Everything can be improvised, altered, remixed, and deconstructed.  There is no right or wrong, no lives lost, no timer counting down, no Pavlovian judgment - only the pure joy of discovery and creation.  This may be the most gleefully anarchistic videogame ever made.

We are no longer among the denizens of the music rhythm genre.  That ancient fad has peaked, and now it seems like a mirage, an illusion.  Guitar Hero promised the fantasy of being a rock star, and that's what it delivered - a fantasy.  The music rhythm genre cannot create music, and so it fails and dies.  In its place stands a new creation - the music game, a true music game.

This is a game where a child can play a hundred perfect renditions of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" (of course the music is iconic; all paradigm shifts are iconic), a note-by-note copy.  Or he may abandon the melody and create a new one.  In time, he will learn to smash the song to atoms, then reconstruct new worlds.

And below all of these layers, at the very deepest core, Shigeru Miyamoto's greatest achievement: he has smashed all the ancient conventions of the arcade video game.  No more time limits.  No more credits.  No more Pavlovian risk/reward systems.  The video game is not a movie, it is not art.  It is play.  In Super Mario 64, he constructed a castle garden for players to run, jump, and swim in freely, without any rules or goals or threats.  We are all in Mario's castle now.

A Look at My Mii's

Here's a look at my collection of Mii's on my Nintendo Wii.  I'll have to add more pop culture figures when inspiration - and my next visit to Mii Characters - strikes.  The plaza is already resembling the album cover to Sgt. Pepper.

Row 1 (front): C-3PO, Me, Garfield, Ice Cube, Jesus
Row 2 (mid): John Lennon, Lando, Marilyn Monroe, Mr. Burger, Orson Welles
Row 3 (back): Spider-Man, Weird Al Yankovic

Wii Music - One Song, Three Different Takes

Because Wii Music is rather difficult to explain, I thought this would prove an effective example.  What we have are three different takes on the same song.  The song, K.K. Blues, comes from Nintendo's Animal Crossing, Wild World on Nintendo DS.  It's one of several video game songs that can be performed on Wii Music.  It's a pretty straightforward blues number with a catchy melody.

Listen closely to these three performances.  There are many similarities, and that's to be expected, since they're reading from the sheet music.  But take notice of the differences, not only the instruments, but the arrangements.  Pay very close attention to the improvisational bits, little bits here and there that bring each unique performance to life.

I should also point out another key point that won't be noticed by casual observers - this is a lot harder than it looks.  Even when following the musical cues perfectly, and overdubbing all the parts yourself, it's a serious challenge to bring all these parts together in a good song.  It's very easy to rush through and miss beats or melodies, and the result can be a lot of noise.  But that is true of music in real life, and it's a testament to Shigeru Miyamoto's genius that he makes it all seem so much...well, so much fun.

Tirelat's Wii Music - Sgt. Pepper's Ode to Joy

"Tirelat" is a master at Nintendo's Wii Music.  He has been posting videos to Youtube on an almost weekly basis since the game was first released last year.  For all the doubters and skeptics of this much-maligned music game, all I can say is: Watch Tirelat's videos.

This is his latest creation.  It's Beethoven's Ode to Joy, played by The Beatles, and rearranged to sound like Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.  It's really quite remarkable how closely he matches Sgt. Pepper's rhythm in the verse.  The closing verse returns to Beethoven, playing to the same rock beat.

You see, this is what Wii Music is really about.  It's a music program that inspires you to create music.  There is a genre of videogames called "music rhythm," but there's nothing truly musical about them.  Shigeru Miyamoto has crafted another groundbreaking masterpiece.  Not many people realize this yet, but these things happen.  Give it time.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

New Super Mario Bros. Wii is coming to the US this weekend (it's already out in Australia), and it is looking spectacular.  The big innovation is 4-player action, which turns Super Mario into a chaotic party game.  This is going to be soooooo much fun!

The multiplayer Coin Battle looks especially fun.  This might just become required for future drinking games.

Giant Bomb has a long (37 minutes) video, taking us through Super Mario Wii, showing several worlds, the ghost manors, the boss castles, and the warp cannons.  Four players are jostling and laughing the whole way through, and it seems Shigeru Miyamoto's dream of cooperation has gone up in smoke.  Cutthroat Mario is much more fun.

I think it's a safe bet that Super Mario Wii will be a blockbuster smash.  I say it sells 20 million copies, easy.  Nintendo is going to have a spectacular Christmas.

Improvisation in Wii Music

Improvisation and the sheer fun of playing music lie at the heart of Nintendo's Wii Music. It's too easily lumped into the "casual games" ghetto, but there's a clever impishness below its surface. This is a far deeper and more rewarding experience than many people realize. Hopefully, these Youtube videos will show you what all the fuss is about.

In these freestyle jams, the backing players will jump into a rhythm to support you, and they'll match your own tempo, but it still takes some effort for the music to gel together. But that's part of the magic of creating music.

Wii Music - Playing Group Songs

Playing songs in a group setting is a main feature of Wii Music. You can even make your own records and videos. This is where playing with family or friends really pays off.

You can see the diversity in musical instruments and styles; it's almost overwhelming at first. There are even some "joke" performers like a cheerleader, or a person dressed as a cat or dog! Hah! Yeah, they even bark and meow to the songs.

If you pay close attention, you'll hear moments of improvisation in these songs. The players are following their own musical cues, but there are opportunities to be creative. The fourth video, playing the song from Legend of Zelda, even includes a scorching guitar solo! How awesome is that?

These first four videos were all created by the same Youtube user - 3GAAC. He recorded all the parts by himself, seperately, in "one take." Very impressive.

The final video is one I had to cram in somewhere, before I overwhelm this humble blog with video clips. It's called, "GhostFace Rap," and it's an excellent moment of hip-hop bliss. The band includes DJ, beatbox, rapper, singer, and dog. When the rhythm kicks in...ooh yeehh!

In Defense of Wii Music - Swan Lake Version 2

This Wii Music video was posted by a dedicated fan who wrote the following message:

The reason I have posted this video is that I believe that Wii Music is much better than many reviewers give it credit for. I think that Nintendo has a pretty good engine in this thing that allows a novice to do some interesting improvisation. NONE of the reviewers out there have discussed this technology in depth. The reason for this is that it will take a long time to figure out just how effective this technology is. This video is my attempt to show that Wii Music has more under the hood than most reviewers give it credit for. My hope is that other fans of this game will do a much better job than I have, and prove these reviewers to be WRONG.

On a personal level, having completed this video and a few others, Wii Music has already payed [sic] itself off for me.

It's fairly difficult to explain just what Wii Music does.  Its premise is easy, yet murky at the same time.  But it fits in perfectly with Nintendo's current obsession with creating new expressions, and finding new audiences, in video games.  They're embracing the very idea of "fun" in whole new ways, and if you haven't been paying attention these past few years, you'll miss it.


Who would have guessed that Nintendo would become avant-garde?  They were the buttoned-down conservative ones years ago.  Now they've embraced a surreal brand of Warhol Pop.

Dork Band

Hah hah hah hah....Here is another hilarious fake ad from NeoGAF.  These guys are really creative with their Photoshop skills; and true to my character, I prefer the viciously funny ones.

Wii Music has become one of those defining love-hate games.  You either click with its fun sense of group improvisation, or walk away disgusted with a simplified gameplay.  I'm sure the Guitar Hero phenom plays a part in this, too.  Both music games couldn't be further apart.

Still, you can afford to have a good laugh at Wii Music's expensive.  It's not a game that takes itself seriously, anyway.

Greatest Videogame Ad of All Time

Okay, this isn't a real print ad, but it should be.  This comes from a running thread on NeoGAF.  Find more here.

I shrunk this down because it uses some naughty words, and some of you might not care for that.  If you're fine with the language, then just click on the photo to see it in full size.

Poster - R-Type

Here is the original Japanese arcade poster Irem's R-Type.  R-Type is unquestionably the most influential side-scrolling shoot-em-up ever made (Gradius would be number two).  Every arcade and console shooter for the next decade looted and pillaged freely.  Some stole a little.  Some stole a lot.  But in the minds of hardcore shooter fans, Irem's original remains the king.

The best games managed to build upon Irem's original ideas and move the genre forward.  The best example would probably be the TOZ unit in Telenet's Gaiares on Sega Genesis.  The TOZ unit could be fired on enemy ships, where it would steal its weapons like a virus.  Your own ship was barely armed with a pea shooter, so strategically stealing the correct weapon for each scenario was key.

This is a terrific poster for a classic videogame.  The H.R. Giger designs continue to stand out, and the art direction is superb.  And R-Type is a tough game, damned hard.  Games in the '80s were really hard, weren't they?

Videogame Classics - Herzog Zwei

January 23, 2003

Herzog Zwei
Technosoft for Sega
Sega Genesis
1989

Technosoft was one of the truly great videogame studios. Based in Japan, they are best known for their brilliantly innovative shoot-em-ups, their careful attention to visual detail, and their unforgettable musical scores. They hit their creative peak in the early '90s on the Sega Genesis: the masterful Thunder Force series; the surprisingly clever Elemental Master; a superb rendition of the best video pinball game ever made, Devil's Crush. And early in the Genesis' life span lay a little gem called Herzog Zwei.

Herzog Zwei is very probably the finest videogame you've never played. It is a fiercely competitive strategy game so innovative as to practically create a new genre; easily deserving a place alongside the two other great genre-defining games of its time, Populous and Tetris. Unlike those widely-recognized classics, however, Herzog Zwei went virtually ignored for years. In the American videogame press, it was either dismissed or harshly criticized by reviewers; Electronic Gaming Monthly handed out its lowest scores of any Genesis title.

Why was this game not well-received? I suspect that the reviewers simply did not know what they were facing. Traditionally, strategy games followed a certain formula. They were turn-based, like Avalon Hill's pen-and-paper war games, or Hudson's Military Madness on the Turbografx (also released in 1989). Players separately took their turns moving units and fighting battles. It was all very cerebral, but not much fun. Herzog Zwei changed all that. Players still fought for control of territory, capturing bases and attacking enemy units; but now the action was continuous, like an arcade game. This was no longer just a strategy game, but it wasn't just a shoot-em-up either; it was an altogether new beast. Technosoft had brought the genre into real-time.

Back in Japan, Technosoft was quietly experimenting with melding the war game with the arcade shooter. Zwei is, in fact, the sequel to an even more obscure game called, simply, Herzog. Appearing on the MSX computer in 1988, Herzog allowed players to control a transforming robot who leads his army against an opposing army. The game was simplistic, maybe even a little crude, but a spark was undeniably there. Somewhere in the mix lay the foundation for greatness.

Real-time strategy games have since then grown and flourished, becoming one of the most profitable styles of video and computer games. Dune, Cannon Fodder, Command and Conquer, Battlezone, Starcraft, Age of Empires, Warcraft - all owe their existence to Herzog Zwei.

And yet none have really surpassed Technosoft's classic. Why is that, I wonder? The masterstroke, I believe, lies in the Mech. Most RTS games put the player in the role of general, but not soldier. You cannot march into battle alongside your soldiers and tanks. But Zwei offers you both roles. You know that visceral thrill you get from clearing a roomful of monsters in Gauntlet? That sense of overcoming great odds, and surviving? Herzog Zwei gives you that thrill. There is a perfect, almost Zen balance, between military strategy and arcade action. Relying on only one skill is suicide; success lies in knowing when to play the general, and when to play the soldier.

There are other brilliant qualities to the game. Each of Zwei's eight battlefields is wonderfully designed. Battles take place in forests and caves, across lava pits, over islands, and through a futuristic city. Every map is just large enough to force players to rely on conquering territory (by capturing bases), but small enough to maintain a high level of tension. You are never more than five seconds away from the action. Perhaps the very simplicity of Herzog Zwei is its strength. Only eight different kinds of military units are at your disposal; of those units, only seven different orders are given (mainly attack, defend and supply).

Visually, Zwei is marked with a style that's detailed and varied, almost Zen; the rushing of water on a shoreline, the turning of a tank turret, the way a foot soldier explodes in a wash of blood. It's all very smooth and clean. Even the game's objective is uncluttered: destroy the opponent's home base. Since they cannot be repaired, yet another layer of tension is added. Do you stay and fight on the front lines, or do you fly back to stop that pesky motorbike that's pecking away your home's life bar?

Was this the Genesis' finest hour? Very likely, yes. If asked to name my absolute favorites, I'd choose Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Gunstar Heroes, Thunder Force 3, Gaiares, Fire Shark, and the EA Sports games. Herzog Zwei would top them all.

M.U.L.E. - The Gatefold Album

Way back when Electronic Arts began as a software company for home computers in the 1980s, floppy discs were the standard storage medium.  They resembled small records, so EA, in a fit of brilliance, packaged their games in gatefold albums.  The goal was to present their game designers as artists, as creators in a new medium.

Since I was going to reprint my 2003 MULE review here on Videogames of the DAMNED, I thought I should show the game's terrific album cover.  It's really quite impressive.  The four men of Ozark Softscape - Dan Bunten, Bill Bunten, Jim Rushing, and Alan Watson - are not shown as computer nerds hunched over mysterious machines.  They're portrayed as rock stars, as cool.  The "electronic artist" was a pioneer in this new, futuristic medium, and they were going to get all the perks of celebrity stardom.

That sort of recognition has always been a goal - and a source of frustration - for game designers ever since the Atari era.  Even in 2009, there are only a small handful of "names," and you almost never see any names on the boxes.  Development teams are immensely large today, hundreds of workers for a single big-budget project.  The artists have become swallowed by the machine they created.

I think the rise of digital distribution and the growing indie game scene may be a successful route for the artists.  If it is still possible for a small team to create a great video game, then a future of "electonic artists" may yet become reality.

I'd like to see indie game designers pursue this dream of the designer-as-pop-star.  I'd like to see what you could do with that in the iPod era.  If you want games to be seen as art - low or high art, it doesn't matter - then you're going to need recognizable artists.  You have to create something that isn't mere product, but something valuable, something that brings people together.

MULE brings people together, young and old, children and grandparents, casual and hardcore gamers alike.  It really is the greatest multiplayer game ever made, and you can see that creative, communal spirit on the MULE album cover.

Videogame Classics - M.U.L.E.

March 17, 2003
M.U.L.E.
Ozark Softscape for Electronic Arts
Atari 800 (4 Player), Commodore 64 (2 Player)
1983

Playing around with Super Bomberman 2 got me thinking about the truly great multiplayer games. The best ones always allow for that extra edge. It's fun to outmaneuver your friends, but when you can really put the screws to them, you're on to something. A brilliant example, one of my personal favorites, is the computer game classic, M.U.L.E.

MULE was the product of an Arkansas-based development team called Ozark Softscape. The team was comprised of Dan Bunten (project leader), Bill Bunten, Alan Watson, and Jim Rushing. These were the heady days of the early 1980s, with the fall of dedicated consoles (Atari 2600), and the rise of home computers. There was a great desire to experiment and create games that stretched out in new directions. An upstart company named Electronic Arts was entering its own "golden age," with a solid string of excellent, original games like Pinball Construction Set, Archon, Murder on the Zinderneuf, and One on One.

Electronic Arts followed the trail blazed by Activision. Game designers weren't stereotypical computer nerds, but young, creative, and above all, craving attention. They imagined themselves as the new artists, and their games as a creative work. These were not merely children's games, they were…something more. Different. New. Electronic Arts promoted this idea, and Bunten and his team were willing to accommodate.

Just what kind of game is MULE? It really is difficult to describe, since it seems so different from the conventional shoot-em-up, sports, and adventure genres crowding today's market. Perhaps it is most similar to Monopoly, with a dash of arcade action and commodities trading added to the mix. Taking place on the world of Irata, four alien settlers set out to develop the land over the course of 12 monthly turns. Each player selects a plot of land, and then equips that plot for production of food, energy, or mining ore and crystite. At the end of each turn, the plots bear fruit, and the players buy and sell their goods at the market.

I'm afraid that I am making MULE sound boring, but it is anything but. The casual pace belies a fiendishly competitive atmosphere where friendships are made and lost in a matter of minutes. If you do not grow enough food, you will lose precious time for your turns and risk falling behind. If you do not produce enough energy, your plots will suffer. And if enough ore is not made, there will be a shortage of mules.

The mule (for Multiple Use Labor Element) is one of the game's more clever touches. Each plot of land needs to be equipped for the proper function, and for that, you need mules. A mule is bought at the colony store, equipped, and then added to your plot.

This development phase is only one part of the game. The other part is the trading phase. After the monthly harvest, players meet at the market, watch the progress of their crops, and buy or sell with each other or the store. This is where MULE can become so fierce. True, it would be nice to share your extra food with everyone for the good of the colony, but what fun is that? Sharing is for losers. The real fun comes from cornering the market. When there is plenty of food in the store, for instance, the price is very low. But when there are shortages, the price soars.

This is where you screw your friends into the ground. How desperate are they for that extra unit of food or energy? Make them run up the screen and raise the price. Skilled players can learn how to control the market and make a killing in the process. And, yes, this is where shoulders start getting punched between curses.

The bidding in MULE is simple, with buyers on the bottom and sellers on the top. A price is found by both parties meeting somewhere in the middle. There is a certain, almost masochistic joy in watching other players desperately running up prices while you sit safely at the top of the screen. Another great "fuck you" moment comes during plot auctions; the leader runs up the price, then quickly darts back down at the last second, sticking someone else with the bill.

In the end, we are all competing for bragging rights and the rank of "First Founder" at the end of the game. However, in another inspired stroke, the colony as a whole must survive together. If the colony fails to make enough money at year's end, nobody is the winner. Think about that while you're cutting everyone off at the knees.

There are still more surprises to be found in MULE that I haven't mentioned. Mules go crazy and run off; pests eat your food; pirates steal all your crystite (diamonds); there are earthquakes, acid rainstorms, and meteorite strikes; the store catches fire, taking with it all surplus goods. And the game itself subtly teaches market economics: supply and demand, economies of scale, the Learning Curve theory of production, the Law of Diminishing Returns, the Maslow Hierarchy of Needs.

There really has never been a game like MULE, and that is a tragedy. It deserves to be seen by anyone who considers themselves a lover of videogames.

"Key Oil Figures Were Distorted by US Pressure, Says Whistleblower"

Peak Oil is far closer than anyone in charge wants to admit.  And now whistleblowers have accused the International Energy Agency of spiking the numbers on future oil reserves to prevent a global economic panic.

Guardian UK reports:

Now the "peak oil" theory is gaining support at the heart of the global energy establishment. "The IEA in 2005 was predicting oil supplies could rise as high as 120m barrels a day by 2030 although it was forced to reduce this gradually to 116m and then 105m last year," said the IEA source, who was unwilling to be identified for fear of reprisals inside the industry. "The 120m figure always was nonsense but even today's number is much higher than can be justified and the IEA knows this.

"Many inside the organisation believe that maintaining oil supplies at even 90m to 95m barrels a day would be impossible but there are fears that panic could spread on the financial markets if the figures were brought down further. And the Americans fear the end of oil supremacy because it would threaten their power over access to oil resources," he added.

A second senior IEA source, who has now left but was also unwilling to give his name, said a key rule at the organisation was that it was "imperative not to anger the Americans" but the fact was that there was not as much oil in the world as had been admitted. "We have [already] entered the 'peak oil' zone. I think that the situation is really bad," he added.

I certainly wouldn't wish to spread panic, but Peak Oil is a very real problem, and it's going to hit us far sooner than anyone would wish.  The impact on the global economy will be severe enough, without any serious movements towards a post-carbon future.  For the United States, whose empire has been propped up by Petrodollars for 35 years, this is a looming catastrophe.

We need to get off the oil now.  We need to get off the oil 25 years ago.  But Reagan shifted this nation in the direction of big oil, global empire, and staggering debt.  The Bush II/Cheney era was really just the logical end of those policies.  It was shortsighted, reckless, greedy, and immensely stupid.  And now we're left with a bankrupt, crumbling empire, dependant on smaller and smaller pools of black gold.

And yet, despite all the warnings, global oil demand continues to rise.  This is sheer madness.

Hey, Nintendo Actually Bothered to Make a Game

It's an updated Excitebike for WiiWare.  It seems to capture the look of the NES original, while including course circuits, user-created racetracks, and online play.  Sharing your own tracks online should prove popular.  This game has always had its fans, and they're going to be very, very happy.  And it only costs $10?  That's a great deal.

It must be deeply frustrating for Nintendo Wii owners, to almost never see any good games.  Goodness knows, I'm frustrated, and I've only been playing Punch Out and Wii Sports Resort at game store kiosks.  The Wii deserves more than stupid baby games and shovelware.

Although, in all fairness...this is cute.  He looks so happy.

"I Would Argue That We Almost Have a Seasonally Ice-Free Arctic Now"

This is very, very bad news.  The melting of the Arctic continues at a near-record pace, and the multi-year ice is almost gone.  Like nearly all the recent research on global warming, we are discovering this process is moving far faster than even our worst-case scenarios imagined.  Here's a clip from Reuters:

Vast sheets of impenetrable multiyear ice, which can reach up to 80 meters (260 feet) thick, have for centuries blocked the path of ships seeking a quick short cut through the fabled Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific. They also ruled out the idea of sailing across the top of the world.


But David Barber, Canada's Research Chair in Arctic System Science at the University of Manitoba, said the ice was melting at an extraordinarily fast rate.

"We are almost out of multiyear sea ice in the northern hemisphere," he said in a presentation in Parliament. The little that remains is jammed up against Canada's Arctic archipelago, far from potential shipping routes.

If you don't understand the implications of an ice-free Arctic, then I have one simple word for you: methane.  Read that paper on the dangers of methane and the melting permafrost, and then start apologizing to your children and grandchildren.

I try to remain optimistic when it comes to tackling climate change, just as I am aware the the human primate only takes action at the last possible moment.  But that's pretty much where we are right now, and I still don't see anyone in government offering any solutions that call for real sacrifice.  Preserving "the American way of life" is sacrosanct, even if that lifestyle - disposable consumerism, reckless greed, endless pollution - is the very cause of our crisis.  We can't stop global catastrophe by changing light bulbs and bringing your own bag to the grocery store.

I say give up your cars, and give up your hamburgers.  I say we learn to sacrifice for the sake of future generations.  Now what are the odds that I could get elected to Congress on that platform?

But, like I've said, I'll try to remain hopeful.  But the clock is ticking.

Ten Things I Love About Fire Shark

 

Things I always loved about Toaplan' Fire Shark on Sega Genesis

1) It was always challenging, even in easy mode.  Fire Shark has that perfect balance - it's never too easy, but never becomes overwhelming.  You're guaranteed a lot of value for your money, and you'll never get bored.  Too many arcade games are a cakewalk on the home consoles; their goal, after all, is only to take your quarters every couple of minutes.  It's a different story when you can just hit Start whenever you wish.  This game, thankfully, remains a challenge to me, no matter how many times I've beaten it.

2) The power-ups rock my world.  You had only three different weapons, but they were a joy when fully armed.  The spread shot covered the entire screen.  The green lasers snaked and weaved.  The flame thrower...well, that's the best of the lot.  Wooww!  Let's hear it for the flame thrower!

Oh, I should also mention the best part - rapid fire is an available option in the game.  On home consoles, that was usually available only on expensive joysticks.  Toaplan just saved my thumbs.  Rock on!

3) The loud, booming explosions and sound effects.  You should hear this game through stereo speakers.  The Genesis was great at this sort of thing, especially with the bass.  This is one of the best-sounding games on the Genesis.

4) The music soundtrack was fantastic. The music in Fire Shark sounds eerily like '70s guitar rock.  I was always reminded of Blue Oyster Cult or Thin Lizzy.  The buzzing guitar tones, the thundering riffs, the growling bass, and booming beats - it's all here, baby.  There was a time when "video game music" was an art, a craft.  The NES was great for music.  So was Genesis when in the right hands, as Fire Shark demonstrates.

Where can I find guitar tabs for Fire Shark?  I'm serious - there's some killer music and you should be jamming it with your local band.

5) Land, air, and sea targets.  I loved the sea stages, with the navy ships rolling after you, and the giant battleships. The tanks were always a blast; first you shoot off the cannons, then the hull.  And through it all, those endless waves of kamikaze planes.  Those guys are just insane in the later rounds.

6) Variety, Variety, Variety.  All ten levels were very different in style and tone. There's one stage with moving seas of sand.  Another one set in the arctic.  Another one sends you over caverns as you shoot down planes.  There's also a city stage that was really fun.  There was always something new on the next stage, never any cheap color swaps.

7) It wasn't impossible to claw yourself back.  This is a crucial distinction with most shooters of the 1980s and 1990s.  Most of the time, if you find yourself shot down in later levels, the games become impossibly difficult with only a basic weapon.  In other words, you might as well start over, and that's no fun.  Fire Shark avoids this trap.  Even though the final stages are very tough, you can beat the game with your basic machine gun.  It helps that you begin with a three-shot spread - a very smart move on Toaplan's part.

8) It's the little moments that are special.  There are little soldiers marching around your airstrips, directing traffic, moving around.  At the beginning, a group of soldiers line up in an arrow (that gag is seen in Porco Rosso and Finding Nemo).  The best gag comes at the end of one stage, where a soldier breaks formation to watch you land.  His Sergeant marches up and yells him back into line.  Hah hah.

9) Endless Replays.  Once you beat the game, it loops back to the beginning, ala NES Contra.  You get to watch a great little ending sequence, then you begin at stage one, albeit with a harder difficulty.  Why don't more games do this, especially the shooters?  Pay attention, kids - this is why Contra was so great.  We could play it forever.

10) Fire Shark has some of the best graphics on Sega Genesis.  Just look at the screenshots.  The art direction is just brilliant.  The landscapes show a solid variety of textures and details, and the colors are strong, bold, confident.  Explosions are colorful, fluid, never flat or dull.  You need good explosions for arcade games.  Your weapons looks great, especially that flame thrower...but check out the smart bomb!  Wow!  Now that is a real kick in the pants for 1990.

Notice how the tanks you destroy leave smoking craters?  That is great detail.  It's fun to see the carnage in your wake.  Same thing for the boats.  Planes will either incinerate or crash to the ground, another good moment of variety.

The large bosses that round out the stages, of course, steal the show.  Immensely large, difficult to take down, great to watch.  Here is where the allure of "16-bit" flexes its muscle against the older 8-bit generation.  These designers are trying to get you to put down your NES, remember.  Toaplan did a smashing job.

Thunder Force III - Some Really Cool Screenshots

 

 

 

As you can see, I've been porting over my old game reviews from DanielThomas.org.  It's best to have everything under one roof, especially when I don't know how long my old site will stay alive.  I'm not sure even the hosters know it's there anymore.  Heh heh.

As always, I played through Thunder Force III and snapped some really great screenshots.  I wanted to capture the energy of the game, as well as its variety.  This was a standout title for Sega Genesis in early 1990, at a time when the console truly came into its own.  Revenge of Shinobi, Castle of Illusion, Super Monaco GP, and Fire Shark were all released during this time, alongside Technosoft's shooter masterpiece.  Later in the year, we would see Hellfire, Grenada, Gaiares, E-Swat, and Strider.  Am I missing a few?

Somebody should tell Nintendo how this busness works.  You actually have to make games for your system.  More than three or four a year?!  Yeah.

Anyway, enjoy these screenshots from Thunder Force 3 on Genesis.