Other reports claim that it bricks immediately after the update, but apparently it only happens to those that upgraded their hdd. And that this issue only effects those who have upgraded their hard drive.

Sony has released the following statement:

"We are aware of reports that the recent PlayStation 3 system software update (version 4.45) has caused the XMB to not display on a small number of PS3 systems. We have temporarily taken 4.45 offline and are investigating the cause of the problem. We will announce when the system update is available for download as soon as possible. We apologies for the inconvenience."

It's currently unclear or at least not immediately obvious how Sony will roll out a fix for those who can't access the XMB. One option according to this site suggests that the fix will include a downloadable file to put on a USB stick or hard drive, then asking users to boot into safe mode.

JOIN THE DISCUSSION ON SYSTEM WARS

Sources:

[Kotaku] 
[Geeks are Sexy]
[Joystiq]
[PlayStation Support] 
[GameSpot - System Wars] 

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

Firstly my own reaction to the news in it's uncut unedited form http://youtu.be/lGiMoojE8V4

So I'm sitting at my PC desk I have Gamespot's live coverage of the Microsoft conference streaming not much is exciting me. Suddenly the screen glows a green hue and the letters KI are formed this is when I knew Killer Instinct was set to return. We were treated to a short 30 second trailer however just seeing those letters was enough to send me into a crazy frenzy screaming It can't be true the neighbors must think I'm a lunatic by now. I cared little surrounding their opinions of me however as the game I've waited nearly 20 years for is finally getting it's well deserved release.....on the Xbox One

My initial excitement slowly turned to dread as I realized the game was an exclusive on MS's new console. My thoughts turned to money, was I seriously going to spend more than  500 (console, game plus another controller) to enjoy an experience 20 years in the making? Damn right you are, says my inner 14 year old self, you gotta be joking says my 30 year old hardcore gamer pychy. To make matters incredibly worse the more I saw of the game the more I wanted to get my hands on it. Every new KI related video made me hunger more for it, and unquenchable thirst that simply would not be ignored.

Delving deeper into the core mechanics the developers Double Helix are really pushing to make it tournament worthy and casually appealing. Punishing turtle like play and balancing out the combo breaker system is pleasing to the ears of the hardcore tournament player. However alternate colors and costumes plus a comprehensive 1 player experience promise joys to the casual onlooker. The game certainly looks the par too with fully destructible stages fats flowing combat all in beautiful 1080p 60 fps.

At the moment I am in two minds as to what I should do, I love KI and the new game looks amazing however can I really spend that amount of money for one game? What would you guys do given the circumstances?

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Why?

Microsoft as a company, over the last 10 years, has been pretty crap. The Xbox 360 is designed poorly and the User Interface was terrible from the get go with the blade design. Once the New Xbox Experience hit it was much improved, until the next major update a year later. Downhill from there. Now, it looks like the Metro UI which isn't half decent, but still has stupid issues.

If I have a gold membership, why do I see ads? You're getting my money anyway, it's a way to pay you for your services - you don't need to advertise to me that I can order Pizza Hut with Kinect. On top of that the Xbox 360 has terrible build quality (as is the case with almost anything hardware related Microsoft does). Loud. Hot. Issues with connectivity. 

I've been Windows free for about 3 years now, using Ubuntu as my main OS of choice. Windows 7 is a great OS, but Windows is too restrictive for my liking. Windows 8 on the other hand, might be better with performance than 7, but Metro on a desktop is riddled with stupid limitations and Microsoft's attempt at converging tablet and desktop interfaces with Metro really is a poor attempt. 

Don't even get me started on Windows Phone and Microsoft's laughable attempt to compete with iOS and Android.

Microsoft is a confused company. Steve Ballmer is a terrible CEO. They need some restructuring, because right now they're falling into irrelevancy. The Xbox One is a big issue to console gaming, but the bigger picture here is how the Xbox One is just another example of how behind Microsoft is. The whole idea of the Xbox One being a TV hub is over and done with. No one wants that anymore, because more and more of the younger generation aren't getting cable anymore. Furthermore, Microsoft likely saw Google attempting this with Google TV. Google TV failed massively. Instead of learning from what Google TV did wrong and trying to make the Xbox One's TV features relevant, Microsoft's doing what Google did.

It's hard to imagine that Microsoft - once tech giant overlord - is falling into irrelevancy. Apple and Google are both better and more forward thinking than Microsoft will ever hope to be under Steve Ballmer. Fire him as a CEO, restructure the company, become forward thinking once again. They're running out of time and space.

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Tales Of Phantasia (SNES): Times Completed: 0
Normal: (In Progress)
Hard: (Not Started)

Tales Of Phantasia (PSOne): Times Completed: 3
Normal: Cress: Level 84, Chester: Level 83, Mint: Level 84, Claus: Level 83, Arche: Level 82, Suzu: Level 80
Hard: (Not Started)
Mania: Cress: Level 308, Chester: Level 304, Mint: Level 306, Claus: Level 301, Arche: Level 300, Suzu: Level 298
Unknown: (Not Started)
God: (In Progress)

Tales Of Phantasia (GBA): Times Completed: 2
Normal: Cress: Level 247, Mint: Level 246, Chester: Level 244, Arche: Level 245, Claus: Level 244, Suzu: Level 237
Hard: Cress: Level 501, Mint: Level 999, Chester: Level 496, Arche: Level 498, Claus: Level 497, Suzu: Level 496
Mania: (In Progress)

Tales Of Destiny (PSOne): Times Completed: 1
Stahn: Level 94 (Dymlos: Level 93), Rutee: Level 93 (Atwight: Level 93) Philia: Level 94 (Clemente: Level 94), Garr: 89 (Ignetos: Level 73), Leon: 43 (Chaliter: 43) Chalsea: Level 84, Bruiser: Level 86, Mary: Level 42, Karyl: Level 37
Lilith Course: (Not Completed)

Tales Of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon (GBC): Times Completed: 0
(Not Started)

Tales Of Eternia (PSOne): Times Completed: 0
Normal: (Not Started)
Hard: (Not Started)
Hardcore: (Not Started)

Tales Of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 2: Times Completed: 0
(Not Started)

Tales Of the World: Summoner's Lineage: Times Completed: 0
(Not Started)

Tales Of Symphonia (GC): Times Completed: 9
Normal: (1/2 EXP Used) Lloyd: Level 39, Colette: Level 38, Genis: Level 39, Raine: Level 39, Sheena: Level 38, Presea: Level 38, Regal: Level 39, Kratos: Level 26
Hard: (Double EXP used and played as Kratos.) Kratos: Level 108, Lloyd: Level 106, Colette: Level 105, Genis: Level 104, Raine: Level 104, Sheena: Level 104, Presea: Level 105, Regal: Level 105 Zelos: Level 87
Mania: (10x EXP Used and played as Kratos.) Kratos: Level 250, Lloyd: Level 250, Colette: Level 250, Genis: Level 250, Raine: Level 250, Sheena: Level 250, Presea: Level 250, Regal: Level 250

Tales Of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 3: Times Completed: 0
(Not Started)

Tales Of the Tempest (Nintendo DS): Times Completed: 0
Easy: (Not Started)
Normal: (Not Started)
Hard: (In Progress)

Tales Of the Abyss (Nintendo 3DS): Times Completed: 1
Normal: (Normal EXP) Luke: Level 186, Tear: Level 183, Guy: Level 181, Jade: Level 181, Anise: Level 178, Natalia: Level 181
Hard: (In Progress)
Very Hard: (Not Started)
Unknown: (Not Started)

Tales Of Innocence (Nintendo DS): Times Completed: 0
Normal: (Not Started)
Hard: (Not Started)
Mania: (Not Started)

Tales Of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World (Nintendo Wii): Times Completed: 3
Normal: Emil: Level 102, Marta: Level 102
Hard: Emil: Level 200, Marta: Level 200 (Didn't complete Gladsheim Side Dungeon)
Mania: (In Progress)
Unknown: (Not Completed)

Tales Of Vesperia (XBox 360): Times Completed: 1
Easy: (In Progress)
Normal: (Normal EXP) Yuri: Level 78, Estelle: Level 76, Repede: Level 76, Karol: Level 75, Rita: Level 77, Raven: Level 77, Judith: Level 76 (Main Story and Fell Arms Sidequest Completed)
Hard: (Not Started)
Mania: (Not Started)
Unknown: (Not Started)

Tales Of Hearts (Nintendo DS): Times Completed: 0
Normal: (Not Started)
Hard: (Not Started)
Mania: (Not Started)
Unknown: (Not Started)

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

Things have been doing pretty good with the new gig. It sometimes doesn't feel like work because it is that much fun. Our game will be at the NVIDIA booth so if you're attending be sure to drop by to check out the tech destruction demo, currently not in the open beta. Oh, I guess the secret is out if you follow my Twitter (HWKJody. The game is HAWKEN.

Lastly, I can't believe my last blog reached over 200 comments. Thanks again for everyone's kind words. I only saw one rage quit from  the site, and even he wished me well. Also, if you don't already have me on Steam (xpcaligirl) or Raptr (CaliGirl), feel free to add me! 

And.. have a Happy E3 week full of exciting news and hype! I'll have to make sure I take a peek in System Wars this week to see what you all think about the hardware and games. <3

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Well, actually, there isn't much to say about the game. The games puzzles and story are as rich on quality as they have always been, the story being slightly better than that from the last game. The new visuals of the game are quite good. They still contain that cartoony feel while at the same time being totally 3D now. However, the game's cinematics still contain the same old 2D cartoon style. And while I like the looks of those cutscenes as well, I always was forced to turn off the 3D during them because the 3D was awful, often even a little broken during those cutscenes. Furthermore, the new controls took a bit of time to get used to, but in the end they worked perfectly well. The game's music is also pretty good. Most of the tunes sound very familiar, some of them generic, some of them not as good, but a big part of the tracks are pretty catchy and nice to listen to. However, there are a few tracks that stand out from all other, especially the "Norwell" music piece that sounds absolutely beautiful.

However, I've got mixed reactions about the ending. While much better than the one from Last Specter, with a more believable solution, it seemed still a little weird. Sure, I do know now that Layton games are far from realistic, but in some parts I still hoped for a better final ending. But the one thing that really bothered me was that that Descole guy was pulling off all the strings again. Do not misunderstand me, I think Descole makes for a good antagonist. But when a game keeps it's solution and the bad guy behind all this chaos so secret until the end, you should expect a cooler solution than the solution that the same, old villain from previous Professor Layton titles is the bad guy again. And let's be honest, Randall being the masked Gentleman was pretty obvious. I must say I had a grin in my face when Layton suddenly pointed his finger at Angela, accusing her to have cause all this trouble, but as soon as I heard a man's laugh and then seeing Angela turn into Descole, my grin vanished in seconds.

And I do wonder how Descole was able to imitate Angela's voice so perfectly, and how she was able to imitate that butler guy's voice so good. But nevertheless, Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask was a great experience and quite better than Layton's last outing, the Last Specter.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

NEW CHARACTERS: While the original WeaponLord only had room for seven characters, the team had plenty more ideas for other barbaric fighters. These included a spear-wielding orc, two gargoyles stacked on top of each other, and a demonic pit beast that would have been the tortured pet of Zarak. Having more dual-wielding characters was also something the developers wanted.

EXPANDED STORY: As outlined in this document, the canonical story would have Korr's long-lost brother, Kang (who was also Bane), returning to lead his brother's tribe after Korr is mortally wounded; Zarak's father, Raith, who is mentioned throughout the original game, would become a fully-fledged character; and Zorn would have also returned, however, as Goddard noted, "he would have been changed by his encounter with the possessed shield." The idea of WeaponLord 2 being able to read your save data from the original game and tailor the story based on how you played and which endings you received was also tossed around, though Goddard admits this would be a nightmare to program.

SMOOTH DIFFICULTY CURVE: This was a big issue for Winstead and Goddard. WeaponLord was a complex game, and the designers think its sequel could retain the first game's play style without being so impenetrable. As an example, they mentioned how, in Street Fighter IV, a new player could pick up the controller and start throwing fireballs and doing ultra combos without too much effort; they could feel badass right away. Then, when those new players saw combos using one-frame links and focus attack canceling, they were incentivised to improve their skills so they too could use those techniques. The original WeaponLord didn't have this; if you weren't already proficient at the game you got destroyed.

2D VERSUS 3D: The debate between making WeaponLord 2 a 2D or 3D fighting game is still up in the air. Should it be a fully 3D fighting game, like SoulCalibur, or a game with 3D character models fighting in a 2D arena, like Street Fighter IV? That decision hasn't been made, yet. In either case, Goddard is confident he could use 3D characters and still retain the same soul of the original game--while also adding in a ton more animations.

So, why hasn't WeaponLord 2 (or WeaponLord HD) happened yet? There are lots of reasons: time, money, and the fact that Namco--publisher of the original WeaponLord--still holds the rights to the WeaponLord IP. Goddard and Winstead considered trying to buy the rights from Namco after launching their joint-venture Crunch Time Games. However, when Crunch Time's first game, Shred Nebula, didn't take the world by storm, the idea of buying back WeaponLord was put on the sidelines.

A crowd-funding campaign was also considered, but ultimately deemed unfeasible as well. As Goddard explained, "In early Spring of 2012, [Winstead] and I were considering a Kickstarter to build a 3D WeaponLord that would have featured a professional fighting 3D engine that, after the project was completed, would have been open source for the community to do non-profit games with (the 3D equivalent of MUGEN, but with much easier work flow and pro-grade tools).

"However, if we were going to ask for crowd funding to build that, it was critical we be able to ship it and not run out of cash. The estimates got up to the $5 million mark and we decided that was not the right way to go. That project was very much motivated by building a fighting engine equivalent to unity for the community and the goals blew out the budget. Neither [Winstead] or I were in a position to take on, despite having built many combat engines and worked on so many fighting and combat games."

The fate of WeaponLord is still up in the air. The creators definitely want to make sequel, and it sounds like a lot you readers out there want to play another WL game as well. Rest assured that if the stars align and the opportunity presents itself, Goddard and Winstead will dive into WeaponLord 2 as soon as possible. They've learned a lot over the past 18 years, and have received a lot of feedback on the original game. "Honestly, that's the worst thing," said Goddard, "we didn't get the chance to take that feedback and do the right thing by growing the franchise into what players wanted." Hopefully, some day, they'll get that chance.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

Subsequently, a lot of people have been in touch asking what I'm up to now. The last couple of weeks have been really exciting -- I've put out the first episode of my new weekly podcast, which not only reunited me with Jane Douglas, Lucy James and Dan Maher, but also went to number one on the iTunes chart. I've also been busy writing for Wired, appearing on BBC and Sky News, and updating my YouTube channel with new videos. In the next few weeks I'll be sitting on a BAFTA games journalsim debate, interviewing Rhianna Pratchett at the Hay Festival, talking about the next Xbox on CNN and BBC, and of course heading out to E3. If you're going to be attending any of those events, please say hi, and if not, I look forward to hearing from you over on my website or on Twitter. There's loads more coming down the line, but for now, please let me know what you think! See you all again soon.

Jane, Lucy, Dan and I recording the first episode of my new podcast.

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10. The World Ends With You

After you defeat the Game Master of the third and final Reaper's Game, you come face to face with the Conductor of the game, Megumi Kitanji. He's passionate about what he's trying to do (spoilers aside) and he's going to do his best to stop you from beating him which would result in his objective not being met. He confronts you himself, and after beating him once, he transforms into his Noise form, a giant serpent called Anguis Cantus.

After defeating HIM, he transforms AGAIN after transforming with someone else (spoilers withheld), to a more dangerous serpent Noise called Draco Cantus. The entire last day builds up to this climactic fight, and it has a few small twists to the battle formula and is one of the only fights in the entire game you'll mostly be tackling with just Neku by himself. Needless to say, it is one epic fight and I can't say much more without giving away very important story elements. 

9. Pokemon Black/White

Normally, Pokemon games end at the Pokemon League of a given region, and your journey ends when you defeat the Champion. BUT NOT THIS TIME. After defeating the Elite Four, a castle comes out of the ****ing ground and surrounds the Pokemon League. It's N's castle. you have to confront him one last time, in what is an epic fight between truth and ideals. After that, his own father and a member of the Seven Sages of Team Plasma, Ghetsis, flips out at N's defeat and fights you himself after revealing the full intention he had for Team Plasma, and you take him down and bring an end to Team Plasma for the time being. 

This endgame blew my mind despite being 19 years old at the time I played it and having been into Pokemon for over 11 years. I thought Pokemon was falling into a routine, and while I really liked Cynthia in Diamond/Pearl, I was waiting for when there'd be a twist to the plot somehow. And in Black/White, N's success with the Pokemon League up until you beat him was a welcome change and not actually fighting any sort of Champion for a final boss with Ghetsis was really cool too. N having a legendary Pokemon helped crank the intensity up to eleven.

8. Kingdom Hearts II

HOW OVER-THE-TOP CAN YOU MAKE ONE STRING OF FINAL BOSSES? First you go through a strange city, then you fight Xemnas in a weird knight form. Then you have to fight him on a giant Nobody dragon. Then you fight him in the knight form AGAIN but you're falling from the sky but you look like you're flying and you have to make your way to him. THEN you fight him finally in his usual form but in a different white/black cloak in a strange void of nothingness. AND I MIGHT BE MESSING UP MY ORDER BECAUSE THE ENDGAME JUST CONSISTS OF SO ****ING MUCH.

The first Kingdom Hearts almost made it to this list too because of how over the top it was, but few endgames can boast being that exaggerated as Kingdom Hearts II. And you get the epic partnership of Sora and Riku, who was reformed from falling into darkness in the first game and now a sweet dark hero type character. It just screamed awesome for me. Cheesy admittedly, but still a great way to wrap up the game.

7. No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle

I love NMH2. I really do. It took the solid foundation of the first, and made it better. It did away with the unnecessary hubworld fluff (as novel as it was), and polished up the rest of the game. And the entire game revolves around Travis' thirst for vengeance against Jasper Batt Jr. and how he killed a good friend of his. Travis relunctantly assassinates his way through the top ranked assassin's a SECOND time, and learns that Jasper Batt Jr. himself is the top ranked assassin. He confronts him. After learning what his identity was (which surprised him), you begin the epic final boss fight with him.

And that boss fight ends up with three phases. You first fight him inside a small car and have defend yourself and make openings to hit him. After that, he makes himself buffer though some power and larger, and you fight what essentially is an evil superhero (looks like a superhero, but really isn't). After warding off attacks and knocking him down again, he increases in size AGAIN, in a parody to how final bosses progress in other games, and he's literally this giant balloon version of himself, and you fight him on the top of his destroyed office building. It's a challenging fight, but it's soooo satisfying when you finally bring him down.

6. Dark Cloud 2

Few games are beloved to me as Dark Cloud 2, and the game did a great job of wrapping up its story. You fight Emperor Griffin in his palace, only to learn that a dark creature had parasitically taken over his body and controlled him to do everything that he did. You then go through a weird dream realm and fight a bunch of bosses, and you confront the Dark Element, the real "Emperor Griffin", while it threatens to DROP THE FREAKING MOON ON THE PLANET. No, I'm serious, Majora's Mask is not the only game to have the threat of the moon being used as a weapon. Dark Cloud 2's world also had 2 moons, 1 of which was to be used to destroy the planet by the Dark Element.

You have a pretty good view of the second, fake moon and you have a tense countdown of 5 minutes to kill the Dark Element. The battle takes place on a small space of floor inside the strange colorful place near the top of the long spiral that you climbed up on the way. It's pretty atmospheric and the fight itself, which has the Dark Element switching its cloak coloring to grant immunity to long-ranged or close-ranged weapons (since the two main characters get 1 each) was a nice twist and added strategy. 

5. Sonic & Knuckles

I have a hard time loving bosses in platformers because they tend to lack the intensity of a well-established RPG fight. But Sonic & Knuckles, which wraps up the Death Egg saga of the Sonic game timeline, ends beautifully. First you have an ordinary boss fight in the Death Egg Zone, which following that you chase Eggman before he jumps into his Death Egg Robot, and you have to hit the fingers of the hands he's using to try to crush you.

When that fails, he destroys pieces of the Death Egg as he follows you and attacks you with fire from his robotic nose (I'm serious), and a charged laser beam from the Master Emerald he's using for energy for the robot. In order to damage him you have to hit the Master Emerald's holding machine carefully and bounce off it before you fall from the platforms the robot's knocking down in its wake. And if that's not enough, destroying the robot doesn't end the game. Eggman tries to get away with the Master Emerald riding his little ship, and you get to chase him down and hit him while the rest of the Death Egg falls apart behind you. 

Leaving out the Doomsday Zone which is a whole 'nother layer added on entirely, this is one of the most epic endgames I've ever gotten to experience in a platformer, and while I tend not to give Sonic & Knuckles enough credit, it did wrap up the Death Egg saga in a very cool manner.

4. Touhou Shinreibyou ~ Ten Desires

Not all of you know Touhou so here's a video link to the boss fight, because this might be hard to imagine what I'm explaining otherwise: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIZG7Rb8yMk. Good? Okay. So the plot here is Reimu found a weird disturbance and had to find out why spirits were flying around everywhere. She finds Toyosatomimi no Miko and a small group of people who practiced Taoism and tried to become immortal (and had people stop believing in them, sending them to Reimu's world, Gensokyo), and then Reimu (or whatever girl you pick) confronts Miko. After this, an Extra scenario can be unlocked, where Reimu goes to the Moriya Shrine and is intercepted by the playful tanuki girl Mamizou. And this fight happens.

IT ****ING HAPPENS. I love the playful music, and the entire theming of Mamizou's attacks is just bizarre in the coolest way possible. Her normal, non-spellcard attacks, she doesn't fool around with and literally just hurls large orbs every ****ing direction, but her spellcard attacks feature her bullets TURNING INTO LIVING THINGS, including gingerbread man looking humanshapes, frogs, birds, and dog-things. Land, sea, air, human. And to turn it up to 11, one of her spellcards has her transform into REIMU HERSELF and shooting trademark amulets at you, as well as leaving behind frogs which explode into amulets (as opposed to the feather-like bullets they normally explode into). 

I've only ever beaten her one time, but fighting her is so satisfying. And I have a thing for tanukis ever since Super Mario Bros. 3 and Mario and Luigi being able to turn into them through that power-up. And Mamizou delivered.

3. Chrono Trigger

After going through time many many times you finally get to fight Lavos in the Black Omen, and you learn that there's more to Lavos than that exterior meteor monster you've seen all game. Not only do you fight a boss rush of a lot of the game's bosses with Lavos as the proxy, you get to fight Lavos itself normally, then you fight a strange Cell-like creature inside of Lavos. You go INSIDE OF LAVOS when you finish this beast off because its head retreated into its body. And then, after THAT, you fight its core: a weird alien being and 2 small bits accompanying it...

Until you learn the twist that ONE OF THE BITS IS THE CORE AND THE ALIEN ISN'T THE REAL TARGET. Many gamers who are genre-savvy get thrown for a loop when they learn Lavos' last form isn't the unique alien creature, but actually one of those bits. And until you start throwing attacks around, you have no way of knowing, adding to the tense challenge of finally ridding the planet of the horrible beast. To accompany it, the background spans through space-time and you get to see the various settings you've been to, which influence some of the core's attacks. Really cool indeed.

2. Final Fantasy VII

You dive deep inside the earth through the North Crater to fight Sephiroth for real. You defeat JENOVA for the 4th and final time, and then you face Sephiroth, who was turned into some strange monster. You get to tackle the fight with multiple parties if you want to. Then when you think Sephiroth's defeated, he becomes an angellic god-like... thing, with epic latin choir accompanying this. It's one of the coolest final bosses I've ever gotten to play, and while a lot of people like to mock it nowadays, I like to give credit where its due; if not for this game, I wouldn't have played any other Final Fantasy titles, and Sephiroth is an awesome villain. I found the final boss fight with him highly dynamic and entertaining. It helps that his forms gain stats depending on whether you used the gamebreaking summon on JENOVA before him or if you have any Lv.99 characters.

1. Pokemon Gold/Silver 

Yes, wrapping up our countdown is another Pokemon game. And no I'm not talking about Lance here. I'm talking about the game's TRUE final boss. You've collected Kanto's badges after defeating the entire Johto region, and been given permission to venture to Mt. Silver. You traverse the eerie, dark cave. You reach the last room of the final dungeon of this 60+ hour Pokemon game, and you see nothing but a single path forward and black void surrounding you (assuming the original here, for atmosphere). You reach the other side to see a trainer standing there, and approach them. All they say before you're rushed into a fight is "..."

This is how the epic final battle of Gold/Silver pulls you in. You fight not just any trainer, but the hero of the entire Kanto region from 3 years ago. You're fighting a former champion that stepped down in order to continue growing stronger. You're fighting a trainer that was the FIRST to mess with and successfully defeat Team Rocket. And you get that epic Champion Battle music that Lance got along with Red holding nothing but Pokemon obtained through events in Yellow (Espeon implied to be the Eevee from Celadon). You get to know why there's only 1 Snorlax in Kanto. He has the second one.

Red is in himself an epic character in Gold/Silver for being a hero 3 years before you began your journey in Johto. And you get to fight him. Not many games can make a new installment and have the game wrap up by BEATING THE FIRST GAME'S PROTAGONIST. But to this day Gold/Silver are my favorite games in the series, and not only was the pacing of the game great, but having Red as its final fight just makes it that much more awesome. 

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I Platinumed Hyperdimension Neptunia and I'm excited for Tales of Xillia's Collector's Edition.

I have at least three dead batteries in Pok mon Crystal, Ruby, and Emerald. Luckily, I don't have to worry about save files.

I don't know how I'm this lazy, but I still haven't finished anime from the Winter 2013 season. Therefore, I haven't watched any of these yet even though I have a total of 22 episodes downloaded.

1. Haiyore! Nyarlko-san W

It's season two. Just more moe anthropomorphizations of your favorite Lovecraftian monstrosities.

2. Hataraku Maou-sama!

From what I can tell, it's about a demon lord who wants to take over the world, but has to work part-time at a McDonald's. Reception is that it's very funny.

3. Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko

Other than the title, I don't really know what it's about. However, it was probably the post anticipated anime of the season, so it's worth taking a look, at least.

4. Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai 2

Again, it's a season two. I have even less to say about this series since it's so well-known by now.

5. Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru

I'm watching this series because, as the fansub group says, "shows with 'Ore no' in their names are awesome". I'm guessing that this is one of the more generic titles on the list and I have absolutely no idea what it's about.

Here are the Songs of the Day for 3/24/13 3/30/13
Date (MM/DD/YY), Artist, "Song," Anime it came from

• 3/24/13- Harada Hitomi "Once" Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi
• 3/25/13- Sharyn Scott "Talent for Love" Tenchi Muyo!
• 3/26/13- Yucca feat.Hugh Anthony Disward "Cras numquam scire" Dantalian no Shoka
• 3/27/13- Misato Aki "Kimi ga Sora Datta" Mai HiME
• 3/28/13- SV Tribe "Whodunit night?" Tantei Opera Milky Holmes Alternative One
• 3/29/13- Chisa Yokoyama "Tsukikage ni Oyasumi" Galaxy Fraulein Yuna
• 3/30/13- Aso Natsuko "Programming for non-fiction" Yoku Wakaru Gendai Mahou

Here are the Songs of the Day for 3/31/13 4/6/13
Date (MM/DD/YY), Artist, "Song," Anime it came from

• 3/31/13- Komine Lisa "Resuscitated Hope" GoSick
• 4/1/13- Okui Masami "Aoi Namida" Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon II
• 4/2/13- Otsuki Kenji & Zetsubou Shoujo-tachi "Kuusou Rumba" Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei
• 4/3/13- L'Arc~en~Ciel "DAYBREAK'S BELL" Gundam 00
• 4/4/13- Kanon Wakeshima "Still Doll" Vampire Knight
• 4/5/13- Atsushi Miyazawa "Kimi to Deatte Kara" Princess Princess
• 4/6/13- Kazami Gakuen Shinbun Bu "Sakurasaku Mirai Koi Yume" Da Capo III

Here are the Songs of the Day for 4/7/13 4/13/13
Date (MM/DD/YY), Artist, "Song," Anime it came from

• 4/7/13- FIRE BOMBER "Try Again" Macross 7
• 4/8/13- Gumi "Catch You Catch Me" Card Captor Sakura
• 4/9/13- yozuca* and Faylan "Reincarnation" Ga-Rei Zero
• 4/10/13- Kurosaki Maon "Kimi to Taiyou ga Shinda hi" Highschool of the Dead
• 4/11/13- Melocure "So Far, So Close" Stratos 4
• 4/12/13- Tsugumi-ryou Ryouseikai Gasshoudan "Sayonara no Kawari ni" Kono Aozora ni Yakusoku wo
• 4/13/13- Kuribayashi Minami "Rumbling Hearts" Kimi ga Nozomu Eien

Here are the Songs of the Day for 4/14/13 4/20/13
Date (MM/DD/YY), Artist, "Song," Anime it came from

• 4/14/13- Uesugi Hiroshi "Uesugi Hiroshi" Papa no Iu Koto wo Kikinasai!
• 4/15/13- Meu "Rashiku Ikimasho" Sailor Moon Super S
• 4/16/13- Aso Natsuko "Everyday Sunshine Line!" Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou
• 4/17/13- Megumi Hayashibara "Shakunetsu no Koi" Slayers EX
• 4/18/13- Yousei Teikoku "Valtica" Kurokami
• 4/19/13- Satou Tenpei "The Warmth of This Heart" Makai Senki Disgaea 2
• 4/20/13- Ito Kanako "Kanashimi no Mukou he" School Days

Here are the Songs of the Day for 4/21/13 4/27/13
Date (MM/DD/YY), Artist, "Song," Anime it came from

• 4/21/13- Mix Speaker's,Inc. "Capsule" Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou
• 4/22/13- Shikata Akiko "Kata Tsubasa no Tori" Umineko no Naku Koro ni
• 4/23/13- Rie Fu "Life is Like a Boat" Bleach
• 4/24/13- Tommy heavenly6 "Monochrome Rainbow" Bakuman 2
• 4/25/13- Taketatsu Ayana, Tatsumi Yuiko "Balance KISS" Kiss x Sis
• 4/26/13- Yoko Shimamura "Song of Mana" Legend of Mana
• 4/27/13- DoCo "Sukoshi Dake Sakamichi" Ranma  

Here are the Songs of the Day for 4/28/13 5/4/13
Date (MM/DD/YY), Artist, "Song," Anime it came from

• 4/28/13- WHITE-LIPS "Kataomoi Nikkichou" Tapestry -you will meet your self-
• 4/29/13- Black Berry Recordings "Fumiluill" Utawarerumono
• 4/30/13- Didn't Get It, "Didn't Get It," Didn't Get It
• 5/1/13- Sanada Asami, Kobayashi Yuu, Inoue Marina "Kimi ni, Mune Kyun." Maria+Holic
• 5/2/13- Ryoika Yuzuki & Yumi Kakazu "Yuuhi no Negai" Sister Princess
• 5/3/13- Shintani Ryoko & Gotou Saori "Jelly Beans" Galaxy Angel
• 5/4/13- Sakura Ayane, Uchida Aya "maelstrom" Vividred Operation

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I've been spending a lot of time pairing up characters so that they get married and then I get to meet their time-traveling  progeny. It's fun to see what characteristics the parents pass on to their kids and get an extra perspective on this doom-and-gloom future everyone is ranting on about. It's also rewarding to fill out my party with new blood; the excitement of new life offers a soothing counter to the anguish of life lost.

Today I mourn Vaike.

Look at this cocky bastard. Weird chains dangling off his neck collar like so much Ylissian bling. Can't be bothered to keep track of his axes. Refers to himself not just in the third-person, but makes himself into a proper noun: "The Vaike." No shirt, no helmet, no problem. 

But what a soldier! When he torqued those practice-hardened muscles back and uncorked a ferocious axe strike, the Risen rose no more. He was a fierce fighter and a trustworthy ally, lending unbending support and an easy smile to all his compatriots. We'll all remember "Teach" sharing his strategies and tips freely, solicited or no. His confidence, his self-assurance, and his gusto made us all better soldiers, better allies, and better friends. 

Vaike, for your rockin' hair, your rockin' bod, your rockin' attitude, and your rockin' axe, we salute you. Rock in peace.

[ Watch Video ]

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He didn't pull me from a burning building or rescue me from a frozen lake. But when I was suffering from a depression that had me constantly on the brink of suicide, he was the man who kept me on this side of the abyss. 

He was my therapist, but that word is so clinical, and doesn't accurately describe who Dan was to me. Friend? Yes, even though I usually only saw him in the confines of the office of a mental health clinic in Warren, PA. Father figure is more accurate, I suppose, but whatever you call him, he was the one that convinced me that life was worth living. His office was the safest place on the planet. It was there that I felt most vulnerable, and most cared for. He is the reason I am still here today, rather than a memory, or at very least, rather than a human husk, withering away in a hospital for the remainder of my days. 

He shared with me stories that a professional therapist shouldn't generally be sharing with his patient, and yet it was exactly the right thing to do in my case. I would record myself playing Christmas music on cassette tape and give it to him as a Christmas gift. I went to a church where he was a guest pastor one Sunday and marveled that this man could radiate such kindness and generosity. I read about his exploits with his boy scout troop, and wondered if those young men knew how fortunate they were that someone like Dan could be in their lives. 

I also know that Dan was an imperfect man. But I wasn't prepared to discover that several weeks ago, this man responsible for me being here to share this story today went missing. Vanished from his house, his wallet and keys left behind. No note, no goodbye to his wife Penny, no sign of a break in, no indication that something was wrong. He was simply gone. 

The police have searched, and the Conewango Creek and local branch of the Allegheny River have been scoured. No one knows if Dan, at the age of 69, wandered off to take his own life, or fell into the river and was washed away. Perhaps he was discontent and troubled, and decided to travel where he couldn't be found and live out his last days in peace. Perhaps he simply went for a walk to some unknown place and suffered a heart attack, and hasn't been found in spite of the exhaustive search. 

But it doesn't seem that Dan is coming back. 

The last time I talked to Dan was a few years ago. He sent me an email entitled "The real story...for those with a warped sense of humor." It was a typical viral email that people might send, this one with pictures of fairy tale princesses as they might have ended up. Snow White with her several babies and a good-for-nothing prince sitting in front of the TV. An obese Little Red Riding Hood wandering through the forest, sipping on a Big Gulp and carrying a basket full of bread. It certainly wasn't the most socially sensitive communication, but it's what I have. 

I love you Dan. I hope that you are close to God now. 

Edit: My mom shared this YouTube link with me of Dan leading vespers in 2012. http://youtu.be/dmVaCIoxeI0

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First of all, I want to thank Krystal for the respectful response to my piece, and for not tolerating comments in the blog from those who are more interested in directing personal attacks my way than in having a civil, open-minded conversation about this.

As for the nitty-gritty of my response, I want to start with something Krystal says at the end of her blog. "In no way would I ever defend it if I shared Carolyn's sentiments and thought that the game was even remotely disrespectful and offensive." That sounds like a reasonable position, but it's not really one I feel like I can afford to take if I want to be able to enjoy most video games, or even lots of movies and television. If I demanded moral perfection of the games I play, well, that would have prevented me from playing a great many of the games I love. Generally speaking, I think games could be so, so much better with regard to their treatment of women, cultural minorities, and LGBT people. But because I love games as much as I do, I'd much rather engage with games in these areas, thinking about and writing about the ways they could be better, than just throw my arms up in frustration and walk away. This is certainly the case with Persona 4. If you look through the comments on my feature, I think you'll see that a lot of people were clearly upset simply because I was criticizing Persona 4, a game that they hold dear. But here's the thing: I love it, too. I mean, I really love this game. I think it's one of the best games I've ever played. Even so, I'm not going to give it a free pass. I don't know if you've watched the first part of Feminist Frequency's Tropes vs. Women in Video Games series, but as the great Alyssa Rosenberg writes here:

"At the beginning of the video, Sarkeesian, explaining that This series will include critical analysis of many beloved games and characters, says something that everyone who loves a piece of culture ought to be required to recite five times every morning while looking in the mirror: Remember that its both possible and even necessary to simultaneously enjoy media while being critical of its more problematic or pernicious aspects. If that ability to hold two ideas in your head at the same time, to enjoy something while recognizing that it might have problems, is what the people who tried to harass Sarkeesian into silence are so afraid of, it only reinforces how intellectually cowardly and inept they are. The need for something to be immune from criticism isnt a sign that its perfect and everyone else is wrong: its a sign you cant defend the things you love. Thats a position any self-aware person ought to be embarrassed to defend."

I agree with this, that we need to be able to look at the things we admire and enjoy and accept that not all of them are  entirely above reproach. I can simultaneously adore Persona 4 (and I do) and feel that in certain ways, it could have been better. Krystal also states near the end of her response, "I don't think it was Atlus' intention to mock or shame homosexuals and transgender people." Well, maybe they did and maybe they didn't. This is beside the point. A work--be it a game, novel, film or what have you--can have meanings and messages that its creators did not intend it to have. Many feel that Kathryn Bigelow's film Zero Dark Thirty endorses torture. (This is not a view I share, but it works here as an example.) People who see this message in the film see it there regardless of Bigelow's assertions that the film does not endorse torture. Once a work of art is completed and is sent out into the world for the public to view and to contemplate, the artist(s) relinquish control over it. They cannot control how it will be interpreted by others, what meanings or values those who experience it might find within it.

Nothing makes you a better person quite like taking on the Aiya Rainy Day Mega Beef Bowl Challenge!

Similarly, I don't think it's especially relevant that, as Krystal says, "Japan's views of gender identity and sexuality are probably much different than they are in the US." That's certainly true, but I don't give what I see as problematic aspects of a game a pass simply because they come from another culture. If I feel a game or movie or TV show is sexist, for instance, I think that sexism is worth criticizing, regardless of where it comes from. "That's just how it is over there" is not, in my view, an excuse. Krystal goes on to say, "Couple that with the fact that video game stories still have a lot of growing to do as a whole." I certainly agree with that. It's because I feel so strongly that they can be better and because I want them to be better that I write things like this in the first place.

So, okay, let's talk about Kanji. With regard to my criticisms of Kanji's storyline, Krystal brings up the dungeons of other characters, saying, "the characters' personalities and actions do not PERFECTLY match with the personalities of their shadow selves." She gives a few examples to support this. 

"It's actually said in the game that the shadows are only one facet of the characters personality. Also, the shadows and the dungeons are very extreme manifestations of the characters' deepest troubles and fears. 

For example, Rise's strip club dungeon was the result of people not seeing the real her. Rise constantly had to be everyone's charming, cute, and most of all, perfect idol for the camera. Fed up with this fake personality she was forced to show, she left show business and went to live a normal life. But of course everyone still approached her, wanting to meet Rise the media darling, not the real her. Therefore, the whole "I'm going to strip and bare it all" was a very extreme way of saying she wanted to shed her generic idol shell and show the world the real her.

Yukiko's dungeon was a castle; her shadow wore princess' clothing, and constantly spoke of "scoring a hot stud." Her shadow, once provoked, manifested as a bird in a cage who summoned a prince to fight for her. This represented Yukiko's feelings of being trapped in a life she didn't want to pursue."

Krystal provides additional examples. too, before saying, "these are extreme and exaggerated manifestations." My feeling is that, yes, most characters' shadow worlds and shadow selves represent exaggerations of one aspect of the character's inner life, but that in Kanji's case, what we get is not an exaggeration, but a contradiction. I did not want or expect the real Kanji to be an uncontrollably lustful gay man like his repressed shadow self. Instead, I hoped that the dungeon would resolve itself with him facing his sexuality and folding it into his larger personality in a way that was healthy and socially acceptable, as others did with the aspects of their personalities embodied by their shadow selves.

We sure made a lot of happy memories together.

And now, Naoto. Krystal says that, In the west, we refer to (people like Naoto) as tomboys. But this isn't true. Naoto isn't a tomboy. Naoto has lived most of his life as a boy. Not only does he not correct others when they refer to him with male pronouns; he clearly has gone to a great deal of effort to encourage and support this perception. If Naoto were a real person at a real high school, this would mean doing things like using the boys' restroom, for instance. For someone like Naoto to be accepted as male for years and years of life would take tremendous effort and carry with it a certain amount of danger; this is not something that tomboys engage in.

Krystal says, "Also, Naoto's reason for wanting to craft herself as the hard-boiled detective did not only stem from her attachment to fictional characters. She is descended from a line of famous detectives and she intends to continue the tradition." As I said in my original feature, the idea of someone living in a gender other than the one they are assigned at birth because they hope to pursue a particular profession does not ring psychologically true. I have never heard of a young girl living as a boy for many years of her life, for instance, not because she truly identified as a boy but because she wanted to be a police officer when she grew up and thought that the male gender was more fitting for being a cop. Nor have I ever heard of a boy who lived as a girl not because he didn't identify as a boy but simply because he wanted to be a nurse when he grew up and all of his nursing role models were women. 

Some may say, "So what if it's unrealistic? You're talking about a game in which a bunch of high school students pass through television sets and save the world by fighting monsters on the other side." Well, I'd say that the one area in which Persona 4 does need to be believable is in the psychology of its characters. What really makes the game special, ultimately, isn't its battle system or its dungeons or any of those traditional RPG trappings. It's the richness and complexity of its characters and the ways in which they connect and relate to each other. If those characters start behaving in ways that we find inconsistent or false, it takes us out of our investment in their relationships with each other.

So, yes, I UNDERSTAND that, within the game, we're meant to buy that Naoto is a tomboy, that, as Krystal said, his "true intentions were to become a splendid and ideal detective, not a man." I'm simply saying that, given Naoto's behavior in life up to the point where he becomes involved in the story, living as a boy, being known as the detective prince, and so on, and given what we see in his shadow world, I don't personally buy the idea of Naoto as a tomboy. To me, it would have been much more believable and consistent with these things if Naoto were transgender.

The quaint and lovely town of Inaba. If you haven't visited it yet, you really should.

Finally, a word on why this matters so much to me. A thought experiment, if you will, and one that I hope you will take seriously and participate in with an open mind. 

Imagine that you live in a world where a group that you identify with is frequently marginalized and discriminated against. Let's call this group straight people. Now, straight people have made some progress in recent years. In some states, they have the right to get married, and there are an increasing number of straight role models in the media; famous writers, TV hosts, and so on. But in your beloved video games, straight people are all but nonexistent. Never the heroes. Only very rarely do straight people like you even show up as supporting characters. It's practically unheard of. 

Then, along comes this amazing role-playing game called Persona 4, with a rich cast of psychologically complex characters. You venture into a land that reflects one character's mind, and what you find there is a facet of that character expressing heterosexual desire. Wow! Understandably he has repressed it, you think, because straight people are often not treated very well in society, but there it is, a true part of him, yearning to get out. 

When you finally complete his dungeon, though, the game tells a different tale; he doesn't actually like girls, you see. It's just that he was so afraid of boys, because they'd been mean to him in the past. You thought you were finally about to see a well-developed straight character in a game, but alas, no. The game veers away from that possibility, and goes down a different road. 

Ultimately, the game does this not just once, but twice! 

In a world with so few straight characters in games, it's hard not to see Persona 4 twice come near the brink of giving us a straight character, and both times backing away, as really, really disappointing, especially since so many things about the game are so wonderful. To have a game come close to giving us straight characters and then in both cases run away from that, especially in a world where there are almost no straight characters in other games, sends a message about straight identities, whether the developers intended it to or not.

Maybe you can put yourself in that position via your imagination and maybe you can't. I've received a number of kind messages from LGBT readers telling me that they felt similarly about the message the game was sending and thanking me for the piece, though, and that is good enough for me.

Anyway, I'm gonna give the last word here to Yosuke. This is an idea that's at the heart of the game, and I think it's something that all of us, women and men, gay and straight, trans and cis, should strive to do.

Sounds good to me, Yosuke. Thanks for all the good times.

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It seems to me after they did the forced format change things went south, anyone else see it that way. All I know is that I spent much time pushing my choice unions and certain items on here, and the more I used it, the more they screwed with it and changed things till it just seems that everyone just faded away, or at least their interest did. I am just as or more guilty than most, but you can only push on the broken car by yourself for so long before you give up and wonder off with the hope that it will survive the traffic, but not having much faith that it will.

Just curious why everyone else has moved on?

"B"

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