Jeroen's Repository

Amazing?

Was reading the latest issue of Edge (best videogame magazine in the world), and came across this quote by Don Mattrick who is the senior VP of Microsoft's entertainment division:

A recent study showed that that 18-26-year-olds are roughly spending 75 hours a week with our box [Xbox 360], which is pretty amazing.

I'll grant that this is, in a way, pretty amazing. It's also pretty pathetic. Don't these people have anything else to do? A week has 168 hours and people sleep about 6.5 hours a night on average. So subtract those hours from the total hours in a week and you're left with 47.5 hours. That's 6.8 hours a day in which you're not gaming or sleeping. Don't get me wrong I love me some videogames, but that's just outrageous.

Currently Playing: Heavenly Sword

While Heavenly Sword may not be the triple A title some people expected it to be, it certainly has a few redeeming qualities:

1. It has the best voice acting I've ever heard in a video game.
2. It looks stunning.
3. The story may not be that original, but it is well-presented.
4. Combat is a lot of fun.

What holds it back is that it is very short. I beat the game in a weekend, and I'm not a hardcore gamer by any measure. I'm still trying to unlock some of the bonus material, but the main storyline isn't a huge undertaking. Heavenly Sword is a good game, but not a great game.

Rating: 75/100

Currently playing: Super Stardust HD

I'm currently very addicted to Super Stardust HD. Really easy to pick up for a quick game, but very difficult to put down. Going for the big scores is the name of the game. I'm currently somewhere in 7000s with my 24 million score. I'm not quitting until I get into the top 5000.

European PS3 price cut coming?

OK so I love my PS3, but it is *ahem* a tad expensive. Today Sony's US division announced a price cut for the 60GB version from $599 to  $499 while at the the same time  announcing a 80GB iteration of the console for $599. The 80GB version also comes with MotorStorm (great game!). And what about Europe? Well, today Gameindustry.biz learned that Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is going to have a major announcement on Thursday. A day after the SCEA press conference at E3. I sure hope this means there will be a price cut for the European market as well. As this is E3 week expect a bunch of geeky gaming related posts over the next few days.

Currently playing: God of War

Since I had a pocket of spare time today I booted up the Playstation to play some God of War. Yes, God of War one. It took a while to get into it again, but it's such an exhilariting game. Epic environments, cool powers a decent story and imaginative design may not change that it is at ts heart a button-mashing action game, but it is one of the most engaging button-mashing action games that I have ever played. Can't wait to get playing GoW:II over the summer.

God of War, somewhere in a bargain bin near you. Pick it up.

PS3 available everywhere!

Was walking through town with my brother and that PS3 is definitely not selling out right now. It was still available in every store we checked. It's a really compelling machine. It looks great, has awesome media features, and while the games aren't quite there yet they're certainly coming. But 599 is a lot for a console and if you don't have an HD TV yet it's quite the investment to play a single game!

PS3: 599
HDTV: 595 (a decent LG)
Cheap HDMI cable: 20
A Game: 65
______________________ +
Total: 1279

Of course, you don't have to get it all at once. You can hook up to a standard definition TV. But do you really want that?

Weirdly unexcited about Super Mario Galaxy

You know I'm a Nintendo fanboy. I'm currently loving the Zelda, have lots of small bursts of Wii Sports gameplay, and considering getting Excite Truck. Oh, and I'd love to buy a few Wiimotes to play Wario Ware if I could just find them. Somehow though I just can't get too excited about the next iteration of Mario. Maybe I just don't think hopping from planet to planet is that exciting. I'm sure I'll get it when it comes out, but for such a flagship title shouldn't there be a sense heightened anticipation. Check out the video and tell me what you think...

New Zelda Videos

Loving the new trailer:

And here's the opening sequence for the game:

Can't wait [thx: kotaku]

Envy, redefined

As you probably know my inner geek has a special place in his heart for everything Nintendo. I'm anxiously anticipating the release of Nintendo's Wii console and the new Zelda, so you can imagine my envy when I read that IGN's Matt Cassamassina gets to spend 48 hours with The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess:

By this time next week, I will be preparing to spend 48 hours with The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for Wii. Not exactly how I thought I'd be spending my Halloween, but hey, this is an offer that simply can't be refused. The wait for quality time with the game has been far too long, but it's finally nearly over.

While I do get a little envious when I read this, I must say that Matt is one of the best video game writers in the world; if anyone should get his hands on the next Zelda prior to the release it probably should be him.

E3!

You may have noticed there's not a lot of blogging activity here this week, and that all has to with the big E3 Gaming conference. I have been blogging like crazy (yes, crazy!), just not here but over at my Nintendo blog. Lots of stuff over there so if you're into Nintendo, especially the upcoming Wii console, then be sure to check it out.