Vid game post and lonely

I've just seen the new guitar hero clip. This newest edition will be like Rockband and have new drumset, new guitar, and a regular mic.

It even supports making your own tracks, and sharing them with others to play. Another online feature they speak of is dueling 4-player bands.


All this is exciting to me, but at the same time: overwhelming. New peripherals? I've already got three guitars... New drum kit? Granted... this one does seem to have major improvements from Rockband (pressure sensitive, raised cymbals, wireless), but I'm running out of room near my TV for all these peripherals.

I enjoy the novelty (and improvements) of all the guitars and other music accessories and the interesting additions the Wii has, but I miss the days of not having to change controllers.

All my systems and games seem to require me to change controllers. This is getting old, and storage is starting to be a problem. I have been going back to games that use the original PS2 controller and classic Wii controllers that came with the system.

PS2 bargain bins and the Wii's virtual console are great for playing games old favorites and ones I never got to play (and much cheaper than newer games!!!!). And what's even better: no controller changing!



Another development of gaming came when I had kids: decrease in violence. While I would like to play the new Fallout 3 when it comes out I don't think I could get much play time as I tend to have young audience members these days. In addition to the questionable content for my younger viewers I would also need new hardware as in 'new computer'. Apart from being rather expensive this also fits in with the peripheral complaint... more 'stuff'.

Music games have been safe, but the kids often lose interest. Definitely more fun to play than to watch! Cian likes to sing on Rockband (and he does very well on a few select songs), but one or two songs and he's done. RPGs have been a family favorite. Following the adventures in Paper Mario or Dragon Quest VIII have a book feel. A new chapter opens up each day/night... new characters and places. While some of the newer RPGs have voice acting and cinematics a lot still have copius amounts of text. Soon the kids won't need my narration as they are starting to read.

(Note: Gaming for the busy parent brings up 'save game' features. I particularly enjoy games that have 'save anywhere' features. Playing for hours to reach a save point is many times impossible.)



SO NOW... everyone being gone is leaving me chapterless. The kids and I finished our subbed anime series, Future Boy Conan; and I don't want to watch ahead on the Mysterious Cities of Gold. I've got a few more games to finish that I've not beaten, but in the meantime I thought I'd write about it...