The Fruits of Negligence
So I still love my 3DS. It’s been fun to try out what a modern handheld experience feels like, as compared to the somewhat lean offerings of the past. Revisiting older titles has been pretty awesome too, although some of which have chosen to punish me for their time in exile. Animal Crossing, for one, has the mechanic to instill regret built right in there, in the form of making my old town look like shit. It’s the opposite of rest experience, and means the next hour or so will have you plucking goddamn weeds out of your virtual yard. That, or you’ll stop, turn around, and walk back in the house to re-enter the Odinsleep for however long it takes you to forget the beleaguered state of your home. Either way, they win.
On the other hand, my experience with the newer titles has been overwhelmingly positive. The line dividing portable and home console is reaching a mirage-like quality that wavers out the longer you stare at it. Consider Monster Hunter Tri Ultimate (the most ultimate form of Tri, they say); it is the same game on both the Wii U and 3DS. This isn’t some imperfect doppelganger nonsense, we’re talking serious same-game scenario. I can even play locally with Wii U owners, if such people actually exist outside of sales records. All I can say is that you offer me a handheld game with the same content as its console-bound kin, price it twenty bucks cheaper, and let me play it on the bus? You got a sale.
If you happen to find yourself at PAX East this weekend, I will sadly not be in attendance. Nearly the rest of the Strip Search team will be, however, and be sure to check out their panel and hunt them down on the show floor! Do weird stuff like rub their bellies and act like they are supposed to recognize you from back in high school. That will definitely break the ice. Most of all, give ‘em some well-deserved love, but save the good stuff for me. You’ll get your chance to hand it off at PAX Prime this Fall, and I hope to see you all there!
-Alex
Okay, the “waking from the sleep of the dead” panel cracks me up.
Realtime clocks that ruin your efforts behind the scenes if you don’t play for a bit are what turn me off from most AC-esque games. There’s a reasonably okay cow-clicker based on The Sims on iPhone, for instance, but if you leave it for a few days you have to work like hell to get your little dudes healthy again because apparently they can’t even PEE without your direct orders.
Still not as bad as the rant from Resetti. Man I hated that guy. I’ll turn it off whenever I damn well please.
I love it – I had to take a moment to understand at first (never played Animal Crossing, so perhaps that’s why) but I did eventually get the waking up thing, and even without looking at the news post!
One of the best bits of PA, for me, is reading what Jerry has to say. I quickly find myself looking forward to your news posts in the same manner – please continue to do them. Your reference to “Odinsleep” made me giggle for a very long time.
I dislike feeding people a joke, but the opposite of that is often making it too vague to understand. I’m glad it was neither. And you can count on posts for every entry! I try and put as much effort into them as the comic, and it does me good to hear it pay off.
http://brawlinthefamily.keenspot.com/2008/12/05/110-townfolk/
Still funny though. And Mike and Jerry weren’t lying when they said you were them back in ’98. The writing, even the newsposts, and the art are very similar.