Alpha Counter

I noticed that someone on GameFAQs finally posted an Echochrome game save with all of the puzzles solved. I may download it just so I can see a solution for the one I can’t figure out (I think it’s B7?). Of course, I’d quickly re-install my own save file, since that would be like buying a crossword book with all the answers written in for you.

Still no sign of people posting game saves with custom puzzles, which is disappointing. I wonder if it’s only a matter of someone making that first step to inspire others to follow suit. Should I come up with some lame puzzles, only to encourage others to upstage them? Sounds pretty genius, but then I’d have to get over my extreme laziness.

It didn’t take long, but someone’s already used Street Fighter IV to make fanboy porn. On this Japanese site , you’ll find shots taken from Street Fighter IV’s training mode, etc, depicting shots and camera angles of the femme fatales that show them in a more…suggestive light.

None of what you see in these images is any more risqué than what’s appeared in previous Street Fighter titles. Certainly less titillating that anything found in a Dead or Alive title. Or Soul Calibur for that matter. But it doesn’t take much to fuel an adolescent’s theater of the mind when erotica is concerned.

Hooray! I finally finished Symphony of the Night! I think I got the best ending. I know I didn’t get the 200.6% possible, but I’m quite sure I got the usual 200%. I have a game save that I downloaded with the other endings open, so I’ll be checking them out later.

By next weekend, I’m sure I’ll receive Prinny: Can I really be the hero? I’m pretty excited since I don’t really know what to expect from that game. All I’ve heard (via Penny Arcade’s Tycho) is that it’s hard. That worries me a little, since I try to aim for more casual games to play on my portable devices. But it’s Prinny, so I’m sure it will still be fun!

Tonight I realized that childhood dream of mine of watching Transformers: The Movie in a theater. It almost didn’t happen, though!

Durham is a terrible town. It’s worse than Raleigh in that they make it very easy for you to get lost. I arrived at the right block in time, but took 25 minutes before I could navigate around to the right point to enter the parking complex. The show was scheduled to start at 7:30pm and I didn’t make it to the box office until 7:45!

The good news is that they had plenty of pre-show stuff on the front stage and I walked into the theater just as the lights began to dim.

All in all, it was a fantastic night. I never thought I’d experience that again.

I’m almost through Symphony of the Night! I think I have only two bosses left in the inverted castle, and then it’s just a matter of covering all the remaining rooms I’ve missed.

Once I finally finish it, I guess that means I gotta get back to Crisis Core. I still have that lame stealth area to get through. If you’re going to design a stealth level for a game, you should make it so that while the enemies can’t see you, you have a pretty good view of them. Crisis Core has this backwards. I can’t see anything except what’s directly in front of me. So if I’m trying to sneak past a soldier on my left, I can’t see where he is once I walk past him in order to see if he’s coming back.

I’ll give that area a couple more tries before just plowing through. Even if it means losing those sweet treasures.

This Friday at the Carolina Theater , there’s a film festival that starts off with a theatrical showing of the original Transformers: The Movie. Hells yeah!

It’s been a fantasy of mine to be able to see that movie again on the big screen. I can barely remember seeing it when it first came out 23 years ago. (Holy crap… 23 years?? Damn, I’m old.) It’s incredible that I have the opportunity to relive that experience.

I plan on taking my kid sister, who is also a big Transformers fan. She didn’t get to see the movie in theaters like I did—probably because it came out two years before she was born. So while I’ll be reliving this memory, she’ll be experiencing it for the first time.

This past Friday, my interview with Omi Gibson was linked in the “Worth Checking Out” section of Ain’t It Cool’s Cool News. It’s a small blurb, but it’s a breakthrough in my book. It really encourages me to keep doing what I’m doing.

I picked up a copy of the latest Writer’s Market, as part of my writing class’s instruction. That and the feedback I’ve been receiving opens up a lot of doors for me. Granted, I doubt I’ll be interested in walking through most of the ones listed, but should I need to ever knock down the road… This is exciting!

My girlfriend and I went to see Coraline the other night. It was a fantastic movie! I just wish that the theater we saw it at was equipped for 3D. There were so many shots where you could tell that the movie was made to be seen in 3D.

I’ve never read the book, but my girlfriend is a (self-proclaimed) Neil Gaiman whore. I was surprised to find out that the Y.B. character was not in the book at all! He was specifically created for the film. I guess they needed some kind of “boyfriend” type, even if they didn’t become anything more than close friends.

The movie also greatly reminded me of the game, Psychonauts. That game was so good! I should play it again soon.

I’ve been pretty impressed with Echochrome so far. Though there’s one puzzle I just can’t bust! It’s driving me crazy! It’s the last puzzle in row ‘C’ (is it C7?). The little guy keeps walking in a circle. No matter which platform I manager to connect to the one he’s on, he refuses to walk onto them. He just loooooves his circle!

Much like in searching for fan-made levels, I’m disappointed to find a lack of FAQs for the game. What’s up with that? Am I the only person who bought the game?

I must be. Especially since I emailed Sony asking why the game and add-on bundle is listed at half the file size as the game solo, and they couldn’t answer. Good work, Sony.

Nippon Ichi Software posted the Penny Arcade comic that comes packed in their pre-order bundles of Prinny: Can I really be the hero? earlier today. I’d originally assumed that it was simply a print of this comic, but it turns out that this is completely new material!

On top of that, they’ve announced a contest involving the comic. They’ve removed the text from the speech bubbles and have left it up to creative fans to rewrite the dialog! The winner receives a stainless steel water bottle with prinnies printed all around. Quite snazzy!

You only have until February 9th to submit your entry, so get those creative juices flowing!