Well I made another Mario chainsaw carving. I think I have about ten hours into the carving, about 8 hours with the chainsaw, and two hours with the stain. I finished it a while ago. I let it sit for some time before staining and sealing it. The entire carving is 4′8” tall. Because of the little cracks, I’m selling it for $400. E-mail me at rlk89@rlk89.com or preferably call me at 1 (586) 212-2999, if you have any question or are interstred in buying it or another carving(whether it’s video game related or not).
A Bigger Mario Carving
October 3rd, 2009
Game Influence is going through some changes.
September 14th, 2009Game Influence is going through some changes. Please be patient. It may take some time.
Pokemon Heart of Gold and Soul of Silver Confirmed
May 8th, 2009
The official Japanese Pokémon site has recently confirmed what I, among other people, have predicted. No, not DawnSilver, and DuskGold, once again my guess for the next game’s title was wrong. But, yes that’s right, Nintendo is remaking Pokémon Gold and Silver for the Nintendo DS, they are calling the two titles Pokémon Heart of Gold and Pokémon Soul of Silver. They will be released in Japan later this year(the 10th anniversary of their original Pokémon Gold and Silver), no release date has been set in North America, but everyone is sure that it will come stateside. No other information has really been released, but if you look at what ninendo did to Pokémon FireRed and Pokémon LeafGreen, you can assume that Nintendo will add features from the current generation to the remakes. If any other news comes up, I’ll be sure to report them to you, so check back later.
Introduction Necessary
May 3rd, 2009Hello out there to all you fellow gamers, I’m KalbooseThe180, and I would like to say that I take gaming with the utmost seriousness. So in that I deem to give all of you my complex thoughts and immense logic behind what I believe gaming to be. I am very excited at being able to discuss gaming down to the very core, so let us begin…
First off I will say that I’m predominantly a 360 fan though that does not exclude me from enjoying other systems. As for the systems that I own I have an Xbox360, Xbox, PS2, Wii, numerous PCs, and a retro GameBoy. It is a great honor to be requested by Kuefler to discuss and elaborate on the world of gaming, so that’s really all that you need to know and once again I look forward to write for Kuefler and this Blog.
To give you something to chew on for the meantime I recently had money burning a hole in my pocket so I decided to pick up two new games. Now I will start by telling you that I highly respect games that try something new, different, or have an interesting way of playing them(I like First Person Shooters as much as the next gamer, but it’s done a lot.). So one of these games happened to be Ubisoft’s Prince of Persia (I am always skeptical about anything that has numerous titles that tie together). Now I’ll admit that I was somewhat skeptical about them making a new PoP game, mainly due to how the trilogy ended with PoP: The Two Thrones. So after purchasing it and cracking the case open and popping the game in I was relieved to find that it was in fact a reboot of the series, and may I say a very good one at that.
I can say for certain that those of you who enjoyed the pervious titles on the PS2 and Xbox will be happy to find that the series still has its appeal and basic construct of gameplay (Acrobatics and acrobatic fighting). But the reason that PoP is one of the shining examples of the kind of games I like is because for one the game is cell shaded, which adds a unique characteristic to the environment and to be honest I hardly noticed the cell shading after playing through it, the game also used the separation of regular gameplay and combat so you knew when you where fighting and when you where just playing (Unlike in the other PoP games where enemies where free roaming.). Another aspect that surprised me was the open world and pick-your-own-path within the game. Which I believe that the industry is moving closer and closer to games that are open and choice oriented. Also another interesting thing I noticed about PoP was the Achievements (Xbox360) could be obtained in a flowing constant manner, there were a few that you had to work for, but personally apart from Fable II’s achievement system I think that PoP has some of most obtainable achievements just through regular gameplay each around 10 to 20 points. Finally the best for last about PoP was that you could never die in the game, though you still received penalties for ‘almost dying’ but still the concept that in game you can never ‘die’ is another thing that I believe developers should be looking at and they have been. The aspect of gaming ‘death’ has plagued us all as gamers, I for one enjoyed the fact that I would never die in game, though there where penalties for failing.
And that was just a taste of what is to come, I hope you enjoyed this small insight into my opinion of gaming and I assure you that I will do my best to provide you with accurate information regarding anything that I discuss. So I say good luck to you all, and good gaming!
Trip to the Game Store: December 30, 2008
January 7th, 2009
A week ago, I went out for my last trip to the video game store for 2008. I of course went to Game Stop, not like I have much of a choice there with their monopolization of the market.
I was looking forward to buying two more controllers for my Xbox 360, in addition of the two that I already own, but I was sadly disappointed when I found that they only had new wireless controllers and new Controller and Charger Bundles in stock. That’s right, no used wireless, no new wired, no used wired, no used off brand wired, and no new off brand controllers. The store only had the two most expensive packages for controllers. Why not have the used and cheaper controllers? Did Microsoft give money so Microsoft could dominate the controller market? Who knows.
So what did I actually buy? Well, I just got Xbox 360 games, including Saints Row, Assassin’s Creed, Mass Effect, Sneak King(technically a classic Xbox game), College Hoops 2K6, and Sonic The Hedgehog. Sonic the hedgehog is a glitchappaloosa©. While you are playing, you are repeatedly reminded that it’s a game, with all of its visual problems. As soon as Sonic hits the water, his dies in the same fashion as he would if he fell of a cliff, same speed, same camera-follow, same everything; it’s very annoying. The game constantly has visual issues; the camera often doesn’t display the terrain at all, just displaying the non-terrain objects and Sonic. Oh yeah, the stickers where such a problem to get off, more then usual. Do they really need to put the stickers on the sleeve itself?
Anyways, I’m having fun with my new games, I’ll be sure to report back if I feel anything needs to be shared about my experiences with them.
Resident Evil: Degeneration
January 1st, 2009
I ordered Resident Evil: Degeneration through my Netflix membership; it shipped a few days ago, and arrived recently. People have told me that if you like the game series, you will like the movie, but I will tell you guys what I think after I watch the movie. The film is and has been receiving mixed reviews, which I think suggest that people who have not played the games aren’t liking the movie, while people who have played the game are enjoying the movie. The movie is the first full-length CG animation feature based upon Capcom’s Resident Evil video game series. In addition to that, and to much of the Resident Evil video game’s fan’s delight, Resident Evil: Degeneration is set within the same universe as the original video games, unlike the previous Resident Evil film trilogy. If anyone has seen the movie, I would love to hear what you think of it.
Catch-up
December 26th, 2008Well, let us begin the catch-ups so be can go to business as usual as soon as possible. First off, on a personal note, the Mario carving sold, but the Yoshi chainsaw carving sold is still up for grabs. In late November, I also got an Xbox 360, bundled with Kung Fu Panda and Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures. I also recent bought Call of Duty: World at War.
Nintendo announced the release of the DSi. The new system is 12 percent thinner than the DS lite and the GBA slot is now gone. The new system will have an external 3 megapixel camera, as well as a front-facing camera, an SD slot, internal storage, and a DSi Shop(like the Wii Shop channel for the DS). The system was released in Japan on November 1, 2008, and will be released in North America in Spring of 2009.
Rather than Wii points, the DS and Wii will now have Nintendo Points. Once you buy the new points, you will have to chose whether you will use all the points for the DS shop system of the Wii Shop system; you will not be able to split the points between the new systems. The DSi will be somewhat, if not completely region locked.
Now on to homebrew, many new updates to thwart home brewers where released, but the home brewers found work arounds. The Wii Homebrew Channel turned 1.0. The DSi render all the old hombrew cards useless, but it appears that one new card, called Acekard 2i, will work on it.
Some big games that where released during Game Influence down time include: Call of Duty: World at War, Animal Crossing: City Folk(with the Wii Speak peripheral), de Blob, Wario Land: Shake It!, Guitar Hero World Tour, Chrono Trigger, Spore, Resistance 2, Fallout 3, the re-franchised Prince of Persia, and Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. A personal favorite, Wrath of the Lich King, was released in November, My girlfriend gave me this for my birthday, if you think about it, it’s quite ironic.
Not much in terms of digital releases, although Mega Man 9 was released for the Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3World of Goo was also released as a Wii Ware title.
Some big games that where announced or gained a greater popularity with a future release during Game Influence’s down time include: No More Heroes 2, Resident Evil 5, Sin & Punishment 2, Sega’s The Conduit, Killzone 2, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, and games from the Wii remake program. The Wii remake program will release games from the Game Cube to the Wii, with updated controls. Games in the Wii remake program include Metroid Prime 1, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Pikmin, Mario Tennis, Chibi Robo, and Pikmin 2.
Recently, Nintendo finally provided American with a service that Europe and Japan have had for quite some time, Club Nintendo. Club Nintendo launched December 15. Before the service’s launch, Nintendo confirmed that Club Nintendo allowed users to earn Coins for registering Nintendo products and completing surveys, redeem Coins for limited edition Rewards, earn a set amount of Coins each year to gain Gold and Platinum status, create a Family Account and invite members of your family to join, and register your newly purchased Wii console or Nintendo DS on Club Nintendo and extend your warranty.
Well, I’m sure I missed a lot of news, If I remember anything I missed, I’ll try to bring it up laiter.
Comments Fixed and after Catch-ups Business will Resume
December 24th, 2008All right, the comment system on Game influence is fixed. The comment system, the fact that I’ve been busy with my new girlfriend, the fact that I’ve been busy posting on my new forum (Nintendo Destination), the fact that posting on a forum is easer to do then blog post, and the fact that I’ve been busy with school have been the reasons I haven’t been posting recently. So after I do some catch-up post on Game Influence, the site should be back to business as usual.
Issue with Comments
December 9th, 2008
There is an issue with the comments at Game Influence, please bear with me as I work to fix the issue. For the time being, it appears that the comment system is not working, and it appears that all the comments after 2007 may be lost. I am not going to return to the regular posting until this is fixed or a resolution is put into effect. So let us all hope that comment system on Game Influence is fixable.
Wii GameCube Memory Card Solution
September 10th, 2008
When the Wii came out people where complaining about the fact that the Wii has no internal storage method for GameCube games. And a few years later, no solution has yet to be implemented. My question is “why?”
I hate the look of the Wii when I leave the GameCube. Why is there not been a sleeker solution? I was thinking that something as simple as a hollow box to cover it. But some other solutions could include a box one centimeter tall that actually has storage built-in.
Another possible solution is a small game cube memory card that could fit in the console with the white cover closed, like you wouldn’t even know it was there until you lifted the cover. I mean it wouldn’t be able to store as much as the 16X cards, but it would be a sleek solution.
So people with the resources for mass production, get on that!
Sega E3 2008 Summary
July 28th, 2008
Sega announced Sonic and the Black Knight, a Wii exclusive game that would be released. The game will make use of both the Wii Remote and Nunchuk rather than the horizontal Wii Remote used in the wii-exclusive Sonic and the Secret Rings. The game will switch between between 2D and 3D perspectives and the game will take sonic to a medieval world where sonics is is armed him with a sword to aid in his effort to save the day.
Kotaku Reports that Sega might join Nintendo yet again to make a Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games type of venture. With the first three Mario and Sonic crossover games printing all sorts of money for SEGA and Nintendo, you’d think another one might be all but set in stone in the future. Simon Jeffery, president at SEGA of America, said in an interview with Brian Crecente they “would be delighted to do another game with Mario and Sonic.”
Sonic will appear in the Samba-inspired rhythm music game that was made popular in arcades and on the Dreamcast, Sambe De Amigo.
Nintendo E3 2008 Summary
July 23rd, 2008
So what happened with Nintendo, during this years E3? During the E3 Conference, Nintendo showed off Wii Sports: Beach Resort which would utilize the new one-to-one motion controller add-on and will be released this spring at a retail price of $49.99. The game take place at a tropical beach, hence the game’s title. Three of the mini-games included in the new package include, Frisbee throwing, Jet-skiing, and Sword dueling. The game will support up to 4 players, just as Wii Sports did.
Nintendo also showed some footage of Animal Crossing: City Folk, seen below with some images. The pictures paint a very familiar picture of the past games, not only in characters, activities, and places, but, unfortunately also graphics, the quality of the games still look much like the GameCube version. Hopefully Nintendo will make up for it in variation and quantity.
The Video also describes a new accessory that plugs into the Wii’s USB port, called Wii Speak. Yes, that’s right; Nintendo is finally going into home console voice chat, but instead of offering headsets, Nintendo is offering one microphone for all players. The accessory sits on top of your television. I think this is going to cause problems down the road though. I for one, blast the audio coming from games through my surround sound, and I’m thinking that the microphone will pick up all that sound, unlike traditional video game headsets that focus their reception on sound radiating from places close to the microphone.
Nintendo released some pictures and information on Wario Land Shake It. It’s not what I wanted. I wanted Nintendo to release a New Super Mario Bros style of game. But this may be a step in the right direction.
KEY INFORMATION
Wario?, Nintendo’s greedy, uncouth and rude anti-hero, returns to his roots. The Wario Land series is where Wario first appeared, and it’s back in all its side-scrolling, platform-jumping glory.* With the Wii Remote? controller turned sideways, veterans and newcomers alike can run, jump and smash their way through hectic side-scrolling stages. By shaking the Wii Remote, you can shake down your enemies, free coins from treasure bags and even cause earthquakes.
* Each stage is a masterfully crafted side-scrolling obstacle course of puzzles, enemies and assorted hazards. Every stage holds numerous secrets and treasures to discover (and steal). And each stage has multiple “missions” to keep you coming back again and again to unlock everything, collect more coins or just improve your best time.
* Wario returns to form, with all the jumping, power-dashing and butt-stomping we’ve come to expect. This is surly Wario at his finest.Game storyline:Wario receives an antique globe and telescope that allow him to travel to the once-idyllic Shake Dimension, now conquered by the tyrannical pirate, the Shake King. With the assistance of his longtime rival, Captain Syrup, he must rescue the Merfles, denizens of the Shake Dimension imprisoned by the Shake King. Only by defeating the bosses of all five continents of this strange world can Wario find and confront the Shake King, rescue Queen Merelda, queen of the Merfles, and, most importantly, claim the Bottomless Coin Sack, a never-ending supply of gold.
How to progress through the game:Each stage has Wario navigating an obstacle course of dangers and traps to find an imprisoned Merfle. Once he frees the little fellow, the countdown begins and he must find his way back to the starting gate before time runs out. Wario must also defeat a boss in each continent, and then buy a map of the next
continent from Captain Syrup. Once all five continents’ bosses have been defeated, Wario takes on the Shake King himself.Characters:Wario, our “hero.” Captain Syrup, a female pirate (and rival from previous games) who aids Wario on his quest. The Merfles, helpless natives of the Shake Dimension, and their queen, Queen Merelda. The Shake King, leader of a ruthless pirate band who has conquered the Shake Dimension.
Special powers/weapons/moves/features:Wario can jump and dash, as per previous Wario Landgames. New to this game is the ability to shake the Wii Remote for various effects. By default, a shake of the Wii Remote makes Wario punch the ground, causing a small earthquake and dazing enemies. Wario can then pick up dazed enemies and, with another shake of the Wii Remote, shake them for rejuvenating garlic and occasionally gold. Enemies can also be thrown, and you aim by tilting the Wii Remote.
Wario also takes control of three different vehicles during the course of the game, all of which are piloted in part by tilting the Wii Remote. The controls are standard for a Wii Remote held sideways (D-pad, buttons), but with an important twist: most of Wario’s special moves are accomplished by shaking or tilting the Wii Remote. This allows great versatility but without forcing the player to remember complicated button combinations.
According to Kotaku, Shigeru Miyamoto gave official confirmation at the Nintendo Developer Roundtable that Pikmin 3 will come to the Wii, simply stating “we’re making Pikmin.” IGN also reports that a new Zelda game is in the works, and that another Mario game might be in development. According to IGN Wii, Nintendo apparently apologized for is lack of big news.
If there is any perception that Nintendo is ignoring the core gamers, it’s a misunderstanding and we really want to get rid of that misunderstanding by any means… We are sorry about [the E3] media briefings, specifically for those who were expecting to see Nintendo show something about Super Mario or Legend of Zelda. However, the fact of the matter is the so-called ‘big titles’ need a long, long development period. … We really didn’t think this year’s E3 media briefing was the time to do so.
Yoshi and Mario Chainsaw Carvings
July 19th, 2008
I almost forgot to post this. When I say that I’m too busy with work to post on Game Influence, that means that I’m either lying or that means that I’m carving. I made a Yoshi and a Mario. I carved the Yoshi before the Mario. The carvings are stained, not painted. So you can see the grain and the color wont chip off like it would if it was covered with paint. I finish carving each character within 5-6 hours, and the staining process took about an hour each. I’ve only put two coats of sealer (Spar Urethane made by Minwax) on the two carvings. I would put another coat on it before I sell them; ask me, by the way, if your interested in buying one of them.
I’m might make a huge Mario carving, but outside of that, I don’t have any ideas on what video game charicters I should carve next. What character do you think should be my next video game carving?
Edit: Call 1 (586) 212-2999 if your interested.
