Pocket Universe

Pac-Man is 25! Read a little history about video gaming’s first mascot at CNN. And if you have any interest in building an arcade cabinet of your own, SlikStik can supply you with authentic control panels, or even a ready-to-assemble arcade cabinet. Then all you need are a computer running MAME (the Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator), some sort of arcade-perfect multisync monitor, maybe an authentic coin door, and of course, your legal arcade ROMs. If you want to read reviews of any of the above products, RetroBlast has painfully-detailed reviews.

For those who asked about Janie Porche, here is how she saved Christmas.

Speaking of Apple ads….

Quick, check it out before it gets pulled: the Xbox 360 promo video.

Andy’s Rating: one notch above Liked It (8/13)*

After 25 years of development, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has finally made it to movie screens. It seems only appropriate, considering it has already been (among other things) a radio show, a book, and a computer game. (Incidentally, you can now play the computer game online, and interested parties can read some background info about its development.) It is also worth noting that each version has been substantially different from the others. So, with that in mind, how does this version hold up in comparison to the others?

Do you like Disneyland? What am I saying…of course you do! Well then, you’ll be interested in reading about these secrets of the Haunted Mansion (if you didn’t already know them).

Here we are on the cusp of E3 2005, and a flood of videogame news is imminent. Unfortunately, I will not be attending E3 this year, as other duties have taken priority. But really, besides the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Revolution, will there really be that much to see?

Before the new information comes rolling in, here is a quick summary of what has been announced so far, and what is rumored for the new systems:

Xbox 360: There is the most information about the Xbox 360, as Microsoft is trying to get the jump on the other console manufacturers to combat their perceived also-ran status since the Xbox came out so much later than the PlayStation 2. (Of course, the original PlayStation came out much later than the Sega Saturn, and that case is cited as giving Sony the advantage, since they had more time to hone and perfect their system without rushing it to market. I guess whatever happens in the marketplace, people will provide retroactive explanations for it.) Not only is Microsoft providing information earlier, but their console is supposed to be available this year, as opposed to early 2006 for the PlayStation 3. As for what the name “Xbox 360” means, my theory is that they changed it so it would be numerically close to the PS3. After all, why would you want to buy an Xbox 2 when you could get a PlayStation 3?

The design of the Xbox 360 is based around the “inhalation” or “double concavity.” Yeah, whatever. It’s white, very clean-looking, and can sit horizontally or vertically. The CPU is an IBM PowerPC (wait, I think that’s been used somewhere else…) with an ATI graphics processor (which, since the Xbox used an Nvidia graphics processor, leads people to assume that the 360 will not be backwards-compatible). It has an externally-attached 20GB hard drive, although it is unclear whether this will be included with every system. (There were rumors of two configurations: one with the hard drive, and one without.) This is good because you can take your drive over to a friend’s house, and also upgrade it in the future.

All Xbox 360 games are required to support high-definition output, either 720p or 1080i (or possibly both), 16:9 aspect ratio, multichannel surround sound, and custom music playlists. The system will also play standard DVDs in progressive scan, but will not support any of the high-definition DVD formats (unlike the PS3, which will support Blu-Ray). The system also includes built-in 802.11g wireless networking, USB 2.0 ports, and slots for memory cards. And finally, the system includes support for up to four wireless controllers, a console first. (The only other first-party wireless controller is the Nintendo Wavebird, but even that is a separate purchase.)

So in all, the system looks really impressive. I haven’t even gone into the details of the new Xbox Live service, which will have both a free version, which will allow you to download new content, chat, send messages, and other things, but you will have to upgrade to the pay version to play other people online (except for specific free-weekend promotions). Seems like a good way to hook people in. I haven’t seen much in the way of actualy game demos yet, but if you assume the graphics will be suitably impressive, you probably aren’t too far off.

Nintendo Revolution: Okay, these next two will be much quicker, since there is not much information about either. The Nintendo Revolution is the follow-up to the Gamecube, and Nintendo has only provided a quick press release about it, prior to the big press conference on Tuesday. The salient points are: next-generation console, small (about the size of three DVD cases), horizontal or vertical alignment (thank you Sony!), built-in wireless internet, and backwards compatibility with the Gamecube. Backwards compatibility makes sense, as Nintendo has repeatedly said that the current technology should be able to deliver any number of fantastic games, and that companies should work on more-creative ideas, not faster processors. That said, I am not sure how advanced the new system will be relative to the Gamecube, which is quite a good system by itself.

Much more interesting are the rumors. Nintendo has said that the Revolution will be unlike any previous console, and will change how you think about console games. The Nintendo DS ad campaign focused on touching, and someone from Nintendo said about the Revolution, “Touching is good, but feeling is better.” Rumors are that the controller will not even have a standard joystick, but perhaps a touchpad or something similar. I have no idea of what that would look like or how it would play. Other rumors are that the system will have a built-in monitor, or possibly that it will support 3D (as in “3D glasses” 3D). I have reserved faith in Nintendo, but the DS didn’t blow my skirt up, so maybe the Revolution will.

PlayStation 3: There is the least information about the PS3. The new Cell processor is rumored to make it more powerful than the Xbox 2. It is supposed to come out next year. Other than that, nobody knows anything. Based on the other consoles, I would presume built-in wireless networking and wireless controllers. Other than that, your guess is as good as mine.

Game Boy Advance: Rumors are also circulating of a new game Boy Advance at E3, but it is unknown whether this is a new machine, or just a redesigned version of the current one.

So that’s all the rumors and news as of right now! Expect much more information this week!

For up-to-the-minute news about E3 and the new systems, I would recommend the following sites (in order of preference):

Evil Avatar (great gaming news in a blog format)

IGN (general all-purpose gaming site)

Penny Arcade (not as timely, but they’ll have good coverage of things of interest)

And of course:

Sony PlayStation

Xbox 360

Nintendo

Sony has finally announced the specs for the PlayStation 3. Most of the data won’t mean anything (3.2GHz PowerPC core, 1.8 TFLOPS GPU, etc.), so I’ll just highlight the important points as I see them:

Video: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS, LPCM, etc. Storage: Detachable 2.5" hard drive (capacity unknown) Ports: USB 2.0, Memory Stick Duo, SD, CompactFlash Communication: up to 1000Base-T (i.e. gigabit Ethernet), WiFi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth 2.0 Controller: up to 7 Bluetooth controllers, USB 2.0 (wired), PSP (WiFi) Video Out: HDMI Media: Blu-Ray disc

Note that the Xbox 360 only does (“only”!) 1080i, and has four wireless controllers, not seven. No shots have the controller have been shown, but the system itself looks nice. (Funny…it’s convex, where the 360 is concave.) Comes in white, silver, or black. I really want to see the controller though.

I’ll probably post shots once all three systems have been revealed, so sometime after Nintendo’s press conference tomorrow morning at 9:00.

Here’s a good article from Anandtech about the PS3.

After seeing Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith last night (more on that later), I noticed what looked like a familiar face in the cast. I looked him up today, and I was correct: The character of Tion Medon is played by Bruce Spence, who you may remember as the Gyro Captain in The Road Warrior (and, incidentally, a very similar character in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome).

More importantly, his role in the Star Wars saga complements his other recent roles: the Trainman in The Matrix Revolutions; and the Mouth of Sauron in the extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. As far as I know, this makes him the only actor to be in the Matrix trilogy, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the Star Wars saga (and, specifically, in the final film of each). Prior to that, we had only Christopher Lee (in both Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings) and Hugo Weaving (in The Lord of the Rings and The Matrix). I had really hoped that Lee would end up in The Matrix, or Weaving would end up in Star Wars, just to complete the circle. But it ends up that Bruce Spence achieves that honor after all.

In case you have some free time, you might want to browse this archive of Star Wars early drafts.

Now that Revenge of the Sith has been released, I obviously need to write a review. However, it is difficult to review the final movie of the saga without placing it in the context of the other five films. Therefore, I think it’s time that I present my definitive reviews of each movie in the Star Wars Saga, presented in order from Episode I to Episode VI.

Having recently watched The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones (I’m going to eschew the double-colon titles as much as possible) in preparation for the latest film, I will review those first. However, I will be reviewing them as if I had not seen Revenge of the Sith yet, so any plot inconsistencies will be pointed out, even if they are later resolved in Revenge of the Sith. Those retroactive improvements will be mentioned in that review.

After reviewing Episodes I–III, I will watch and review Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. I had not expected it, but Revenge of the Sith actually made me want to go back and watch the Original Trilogy again. As far as praise goes, that reflects well on this latest installment.

And a final side note for sticklers: Observe that even the IMDb refers to the 1977 film as “Star Wars,” not “Star Wars: A New Hope” or “Star Wars: Episode I: A New Hope.” As far as I am concerned, “A New Hope” is a subtitle, not the title of the film.

Sad news for Disney fans: Thurl Ravenscroft has died over the weekend. Among other things, he was the voice of Tony the Tiger, the singing voice in How The Grinch Stole Christmas, and performed numerous voices in Disney movies and at Disneyland, including the lead vocals (and the bass part) for Grim Grinning Ghosts in the Haunted Mansion, various pirates in Pirates of the Caribbean, the narration on the train and Mark Twain Riverboat, one of the parrots in the Enchanted Tiki Room (as well as one of the tiki gods outside), and numerous other miscellaneous voices around the park. Once you have heard him, you will be able to recognize him by his deep bass voice. He was also a strong Christian, and recorded various gospel albums.

Thanks to Mike for the story.

After an extended delay, NewsRadio is finally available on DVD, in a three-disc set covering the show’s first and second seasons. It was originally scheduled to be released sometime last year, but rumor is that the show’s creator, Paul Simms, found out about the pending bare-bones DVD release, and had it delayed so that he could add some extras. As a result, we now have creator and cast commentaries on 20 of the 29 episodes, as well as some other minor documentaries and blooper reels.

A quick primer on NewsRadio: When it originally aired on NBC, the show seemed to continually shift timeslots, which may have accounted for its poor ratings. Nevertheless, it was usually renewed, until the season following Phil Hartman’s death, when the show was finally cancelled for good. However, it was always a critical success, if not a commercial one.

It is difficult to pin down why NewsRadio is so brilliant. Part of it could be due to the ensemble cast, who are all very entertaining and (yes, I’ll say it) quirky. Dave Foley (from The Kids in the Hall) plays it somewhat straight, but with some subdued comic touches here and there. I am particularly fond of Maura Tierney, who I think is a brilliant comedic actress, especially when she is playing anger. And of course, Phil Hartman was stellar.

But besides the cast, I think the real genius of the show is that even though it is a fairly straightforward sitcom, the writers are very aware of that fact, and play with some of the typical conventions. For example, the will-they-or-won’t-they tension between Dave and Lisa, the two main characters, is set up in the first episode. On a typical sitcom, this would be stretched out over several seasons, until finally they consummate the relationship, whereupon the humor plummets and people stop watching the show. But on NewsRadio, instead of letting the tension build, the characters end up sleeping together in the second episode, setting up a completely different dynamic for the series. Or consider the “what if?” episodes, such as “What if NewsRadio was set in space?” Again, the writers are aware of this typical sitcom gimmick, so they basically make fun of the concept, where everything is called a “space chair” or a “space filing cabinet” or a “space heater”…you get the idea. Even better is the later episode, “What if WNYX, instead of being a radio station, was actually a luxury liner called the Titanic?” Again, the set doesn’t change at all, but now Matthew sits outside of the office window watching for icebergs, the building eventually floods…okay, maybe you need to see it to understand. Just trust me on this one: If you buy the NewsRadio DVD set and watch it, you will thank me later.

You have heard me talk about Samurai Jack before. This week, Season Two is available on DVD. Read what I wrote before about Season One, then go out and buy this DVD for more of the same groundbreaking animation and storytelling.

It's a well-known fact that Vin Diesel plays Dungeons & Dragons, but a lesser-known fact is that he plays D&D with Owen Wilson, Kevin Spacey, and Carrie-Anne Moss. Jeff Goldblum is the Dungeon Master.