G-pinions

So, before I get to my own post, I just wanted give my final thoughts on the previous topic (Mac vs. PC vs. Consoles). I agree with pretty much everything Tom said as to why console gaming is superior to PC gaming. I don't really think that consoles necessarily now have the best FPSs, they just have very different ones. While many would argue that nothing beats the mouse/keyboard combo for control, I just look at them as two very different approaches, not one being better than the other. Mouse aiming is fast and reflexive, but moving and aiming with analog sticks is much more visceral, which important in a lot of level design. Eh, anyhow...just wanted to also mention that there are many Macs under $1250, and good ones too, even iBooks. You're not going to get a G5, but you can still get a quality computer.

So, on to more important things. There are two games coming out that severely tickle my fancy based on what I've seen/read so far. Well, there are plenty more than two, but I only feel like talking about two right now, asshole. The first is Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy. The game was originally called ESPionage, which is only slightly less lame a title. You don't have to incorporate a stupid pun about the theme of the game into your title, just in case anyone thought otherwise. Anyhow, the game is published by Midway and comes out in June. Midway has had a somewhat shady track record since MK, but they seem to be getting back on track with stuff like this and the Suffering (both of which are coming to PS2 and X-Box and both of which has had the GC version canned). Psi-Ops is basically a typical third-person action/adventure game, but with the baddestass of all twists - you have several mind powers you can use to manipulate the environment and your enemies, and the way you approach pretty much every situation in the game seems to be affected by this. It's a simple idea, and 9 out of 10 times it would fail, but it looks like these guys pulled it off. Watch this video, and you'll see what i'm talking about. The idea of taking control of your enemies and making them kill themselves and their teammates is nothing new, but it seems more satisfyingly violent than usual. The whole "move shit with your mind" thing looks sweet too; if you can't watch the video for whatever reason, you can pickup a giant chunk of cement from ten feet away, fling it at your enemy, make a bridge out of it to cross a gap, or jump onto it and mind-move the whole shebang. Picking up your enemy with telekinesis and slamming them into walls seems like something I should have had the joy of doing a long time ago, I'm glad someone finally put it into action. You also get pyrokinesis (set shit on fire with your mind, for those of you who are idiots), and a couple other powers (instant oatmeal?). I assume there will be some sort of ESP meter so that you can't just go buck-wild with this stuff all the time (you do have a gun, after all), but as long as you get a decent amount to fuck around with i'll be thrilled. So, case in point, this game looks money and it better be as good as it looks, or someone at Midway is gonna get pyrokinisized. What a sweet power. I'd toast all my sandwiches, all the time.

The other game I want to talk about is Onimusha 3: Demon Siege. I played most of the first one, which rocked, and I can safely assume the second one rocked at least as hard (I just couldn't play as anyone else after playing as the King of Ass-Kicking, Samanosuke. Onimusha 3 looks to reach new levels of rock though, with Samonosuke back, Jeno Reno pretty much playing himself (with an energy whip, no less), a time-travel plot with present-day Paris and old-school Japan, and the best CG intro ever. Seriously, check it out. It's better than the Animatrix, FF:The Spirits Within, and Toy Story having an orgy. I guess Jean Reno is hugely popular in Japan (they must have loved Mission Impossible, or something), so they put his likeness in the game and had him do the voice and such. Him and Samonosuke switch places in time, and duel it out with demons a'plenty in each others cribs. The game is all 3D now too which allows for better camerawork and control, but still looks almost as good as the previous pre-rendered backgrounds. It just looks amazing. Go read up on it somewhere. This is an opinion site, not a preview site, dammit. Besides those...previews...I just....wrote. Dammit.

Well, that's all for now. There's nothing like listening to The Cure while writing about videogames at 7 in the morning. Except sleep, which has eluded me thus far. Shalom.

p.s. Tom, you're gonna have a field day with the Penny Arcade comic today.