Protocol Snow

Halo 3 mania is reaching, well, maniac proportions. Accompanying the enormous promotional campaign is the website of the Halo 3 “Believe” diorama that was used to film the TV commercial. This diorama isn’t like those shoe box projects you did in elementary school. No, it’s a work of art that requires a warehouse to house it. The site allows you to embark on a guided tour of the diorama, hovering alongside a diving Banshee, twisting around a Scorpion tank in mid-fire, soaking in the scale of a pivotal battle frozen in time and preserved for history. Definitely check out the site, it’s among the most impressive advertising vehicles I’ve seen.

I love Penny-Arcade’s strip today on the Halo 3 marketing blitz. I actually remembered to look for the Halo 3 drinks while grocery shopping the other day, but they were nowhere to be found. They couldn’t have been sold out, right?!

Speaking of Penny-Arcade, I’ve come to appreciate Tycho’s regular posts, but I used to be annoyed reading his intentionally wordy and obfuscated prose. In fact, I had what I thought was an amusing joke: after taking the MCAT, I would thank Penny-Arcade for my verbal score on what was then my GameDaily blog. The idea was that after reading Tycho’s writing, no verbal passage on the MCAT seemed intimidating. Of course, I didn’t perform as well as I hoped I would (especially since I had literally aced the SAT), so I didn’t have the heart to make the joke. Which just goes to show: don’t plan ahead for the punchline. Lesson learned.

Anytime I get a break from hardcore med school studying, I like to quickly browse through my RSS reader and check out the latest gaming headlines. In doing so, I desperately try to cling onto any trailing threads that lead to a life I left behind seemingly years ago. Yeah, medical school isn’t easy. It’s only the end of the second week!

Anyway, Halo 3. Exactly one month from now. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that I’ve been on a near complete media blackout so whenever I finally get an opportunity to play Halo 3, it’ll be a completely fresh experience. I’m counting on Bungie not to let my anticipation be in vain. It might be Christmas break before I get to unwrap my Halo 3: Legendary Edition.

What’s the most hardcore stunt you’ve ever heard of? How about dropping out of med school to become a Halo 3 master?

Don’t worry, I’m not talking about myself. I haven’t gone that crazy yet.

…

This is why I leave my consoles at home, a few thousand miles away. I don’t even want to be tempted.

I went into Tokyo having throughly planned a list of stores I wanted to visit, mapping their locations using Microsoft’s Virtual Earth software. For pretty much any other country, this level of preparation would be overkill. But if you’ve ever been in Tokyo before and wanted to find a specific address, you’ll know how difficult it can be to arrive at your destination.

Tokyo blocks and buildings are organized very haphazardly, and hardly anybody besides the government uses the address system, preferring instead to navigate using landmarks. If you get into a taxi and give an address to the driver, chances are he’ll have as much of a clue how to get there as you do.

Let’s take a look at a sample address: 2-29-1 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. This says that the store is in the city of Tokyo, in the ward of Shibuya, in the area of Dogenzaka. That’s pretty easy. Going deeper, the store is in the No. 2 chome (sub-area) of Dogenzaka, in the 1st building on the 29th block.

Without a detailed city map, it would be nearly impossible to figure out which block is the 29th (let alone where the 1st building is) as there aren’t any signs posted on the streets or on the buildings. None of the maps I have go into sufficient detail to label individual buildings, so the best you can do is find the 29th block using a map by orienting yourself with nearby landmarks, and then walk around the block until you see a sign for the store.

It just so happens that this address is for Shibuya 109, which is a major landmark in Shibuya where trendy teenage girls shop for clothes. This place would be easy to find even without a map.

Anyway, here’s the multimedia goodies I picked up on vacation. Even though I went to all this trouble finding stores, I actually didn’t have specific things in mind that I wanted to buy and just browsed around. This was probably a bad idea going into Akihabara, the electronics neighborhood of Tokyo and the “gaming mecca” of the world. I’ll explain in a future post.

(clockwise from upper left)
Phantasy Star Online artbook, purchased at Mandarake in Shibuya.
Railfan: Taiwan High Speed Rail, purchased in the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi shopping mall in Tainan, Taiwan. This is the PS3 game that I alluded to several posts ago. I bought this even though I don’t even have a PS3 system and have no plans to get one anytime soon! But I did ride the Taiwan HSR twice last month, which was pretty cool. This game lets you drive it.
Bomber hehhe!, purchased at MediaLand in Akihabara. This is an obscure game about blowing up skyscrapers and one I’ve been wanting to get for years. I believe this game was released after 9/11, which is surprising in itself.
Pro Yayku Team de Asobou! (Let’s play pro baseball team!), purchased at Super Potato in Akihabara.
Frame Guide, purchased at Super Potato in Akihabara.

Cowboy Bebop limited edition boxed set, purchased at Trader in Shinjuku. This is the PS2 game based on the popular anime series.

An assortment of music CDs purchased at Book Off in Harajuku and HMV in Shibuya. (clockwise from upper left)
melody. “Be as one” album
melody. “Lovin’ U” single
melody. “Ready to go!” album
Genki Rockets “Heavenly Star” single
Nobuchika Eri “nobuchikaeri” album
Leah Dizon “Koi shiyou” single

Most of these games and music CDs were purchased used, which has none of the negative connotations associated with it in the U.S. In fact, I prefer buying used goods when I’m in Tokyo. The conditions are graded with labeled tags by the stores, and you get high quality merchandise at the low prices. For example, I found a used copy of the melody. “Ready to go!” album a few days after its official release in stores. I bought it for $10 less than the new price and the condition was pristine.

I’m at the Kaohsiung airport right now, flying to the Taoyuan Airport near Taipei so that I can connect to a Los Angeles flight. I thought I would check the D-Addicts forum briefly to see whether subtitles for the 2nd episode of Yama Onna Kabe Onna had been posted (they weren’t up earlier this morning). Lo and behold, the subs are up! Now the trans-Pacific flight will feel one hour shorter ;)

More on Yama Onna Kabe Onna when I get back. I also bought my first PlayStation 3 game despite having no plans to get the system anytime soon. Bet you can’t guess what it is…

I just found out that GameDaily ran a pictorial last week on Lara Croft visiting the office for a day. I don’t know if she is the official Lara Croft model or just a cosplayer, but still, check it out!

Like many internet-savvy gamers, I have free subscriptions to several videogame magazines. I used to read these religiously, never missing a word. Nowadays, I flip through an issue for fifteen minutes and then toss it. I said previously that gaming doesn’t play as big a role for me now. Is playing video games merely a momentary phase in life, like studying dinosaurs or collecting basketball cards? Do you think you’ll be a big videogame aficionado one, two decades from now?

Readers perhaps might be surprised to know that my previous blog (updated continuously for about three years) was exclusively about gaming. It’s been quite some time since I’ve written about games informally, let alone for a published article on GameDaily. I guess that’s representative of the diminished role that games are playing in my life currently. Good/bad?

One reason for that is because last year I decided to leave my consoles behind at home instead of lugging them back and forth cross country every time I had a college break. But while I’ve been largely gaming-free at school, my house is always gaming central whenever I come back. So when everybody else is complaining about the summer gaming drought, I’m having a blast catching up on old releases!

God of War (PlayStation 2)

I’m a couple years late on this one, and I was actually debating whether to just skip it and try the sequel (which I’ve heard is more combat heavy with less emphasis on puzzles). Yeah, I’m not too big a fan of puzzles in my action games. Nevertheless, I don’t have much to complain about here. The combat largely consists of button mashing and isn’t too deep, but the incredible atmosphere provided by the Greek mythos and orchestrated soundtrack make this game quite memorable. I’m looking forward to playing the sequel, and God of War 3 on PlayStation 3 might be the killer app that finally makes me get the system.

Crackdown (Xbox 360)

I’m usually not a fan of these sandbox games because I feel overwhelmed by the sheer freedom and numerous number of objectives to accomplish, but I enjoyed the demo and went on to pick up the full game. Leveling up my character’s abilities so that he can jump on top of buildings and leap from one block to another is pure fun. The main “plot” of the game, which involves destroying the hideouts of gang members and cleaning up the city, is very shallow and repetitive, but I’m enjoying progressing through the campaign nonetheless. Be warned that the full version of the game is merely an extension of the demo, except with the time limit taken away and access granted to the other islands of the city. Well, cynics will see it that way, but it’s true.

Tomb Raider: Legend (Xbox 360)

Other than a demo of Tomb Raider 2 with my old Voodoo Banshee video card, I can’t remember ever playing a Tomb Raider game. Tomb Raider: Legend makes me want to try TR 1 and 2 though (which I hear are the only worthwhile installments of the series). Legend features some of the best 3D platforming action this side of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time and, other than some dull vehicular sequences, is a joy to play throughout. I loved this short eight hour adventure, braving through breathtaking locales such as South American jungles and icy cliffs. There’s an especially memorable scene in the game where Lara Croft climbs up a cliff overlooking an enormous waterfall spread out in front of her that fills the entire screen. I just love quiet yet moving moments of discovery like this, and there are quite a few in this game.

Tomb Raider has been largely an industry joke for the better part of a decade thanks to many subpar sequels in a once heralded series, but it’s very fair to say that Lara Croft is finally back in true form. Think of Tomb Raider as Indiana Jones with a sassy and sexy British female lead… the spirit of adventuring is very strong with TR: Legend.

This is very awesome, GameDaily has been nominated for a Webby award in the gaming category. Even if you haven’t heard of the Webby Awards, you might be familiar with their famous five word requirement for acceptance speeches. I’m currently not as involved with the website/company as I used to be, but this is a cool honor and I’m really proud of all the hardworking guys at GameDaily. Start thinking of a snappy speech, just in case…

Quick update on this blog: school projects have become my life as my senior year of college winds down. I’ve got about half a dozen topics I want to write about that I reluctantly have to put on hold until things get less hectic. So stay tuned!