“When you stare into the abyss the abyss stares back at you.” — Friedrich NietzscheI want you all to watch that clip up there. Yes, all 8+ minutes of it.Done? Ok, that clip was the work of a man named Ulillillia (nom de reality: unknown). Thanks to the kind people atPortal of EvilI was exposed to his work earlier this week and between this clip,the others like itandhis website, I’m utterly fascinated by this misanthrope. He seems to care so much about games likeBubsy: 3Dthat his narration and thoughts on the subject go beyond being tedious and dull, to being savant-level ruminations on the nature of the game, and by proxy, on life itself.Oh, but the rabbit hole only goes deeper! This is where I’d quotehis website, but the information packed into the thing is far too dense to be taken in bits. It’s like it’s all been written specifically so that you’re forced to read as much of it as possible, and by reading more of it, you achieve a feeling of zen-like comfort and a sense that Ulillillia has gone beyond normal fascination or obsession and stepped into whatever term is used to describe a person who has playedBubsy: 3Dfor 4500 hours. Add to that the notion that he annotates absolutely everything in the sort of detail usually reserved for Department of Defense IT contracts, and that heactively lives a role-playing gameand you come to realize you’re glimpsing a world straddling the boundary of genius and lunacy and teetering like mad.
Porno is cool and all, butthisis why the Internet was created.
I”M SO HAPPY!
Leigh Alexander:You ready?
Galaxy, Mass Effect, Trauma Center: New Blood, Ontamarama,Phantom Hourglass(still! damn forest temple) andDracula X Chronicles.I have no life.
Nex:TONS ofWorld of Warcraft(I just got my account back),Virtua Fighter 5to get my custom Eileen to Master level online, and enoughGuitar Hero IIIto give me carpal tunnel cramps the likes of which are experienced only by chronic masturbators and data processing clerks.
Also, I spent 14 hours withMass Effect. You’d like to think this is the point at which I’m going to say it’s terrible in an effort to play the anti-hype card and show solidarity with Anthony and Jim, but that’s not really how I do things. I love the damn game. It’s the perfect evolution of the BioWare RPG style combined with new-gen FPS trappings, and aside from the terrible controls on the Mako, the lads at BioWare have earned your cash.
Niero:I’ve been mentally playingLoco Roco Cocorecchoin my head all week.Its more fun than the actual game.
Topher Cantler:Izuna, Geometry wars: Galaxieson Wii and DS,Rock Band, Ikaruga,Subarashiki Kono Sekai, andEternal Sonata.
Savant:After finally purchasing an HDTV, I’m going back through all my Xbox 360 games and seeing how they look. Mostly, though, I’ve been playing a lot ofAssassin’s CreedandCarcassonnewith the future-wife.
I’ve also been playing a rather dangerous game, as well. It’s called How The Hell Do I Calibrate Lag inGuitar Hero III?I just can’t get the thing to “feel” as good as it did on my old CRT. Oh well.
BlindsideDork:My brother let me brother his PSP so I got to play theGod of War: Chains of Olympusdemo andCastlevania: Symphony of the Night. But that doesn’t mean I have forgotten my old faithfulsTeam Fortress 2,Picross DS, andGhost Squad. So much gaming! So much good!
Chad Concelmo:I have played nothing butPhoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulationsall week long (I <3 Godot!). This whole “finish a game completely before starting a new one” policy that I have implemented for years may finally be the death of me. I have such ahugelist of games waiting in the wings that it is starting to get ridiculous. Here’s a preview of my July 26, 2025 edition of Games of the Week:I just started playing The Orange Box and, man, I love it!Ugh. I need more hours in the day.
Hamza “CTZ” Aziz:I played and finishedHalf-Life 2, Episode 1 and Episode 2. The ending would have been great except I read a damn spoiler by mistake. But, I did forget Alex almost dies so when I saw her get stabbed I was really in shock. I played somePortaltoo but didn’t really play far into it. So far, I’m not real feeling it.
Jim Sterling:Mass of Sh*tandWarriors Orochi. By the time this comes out I will have playedEternal Sonatatoo, but things keep getting in the way of my playing that one.
Faith:I’ve been playingViva Pinata,Puzzle Quest,Brain Ageand tonight I’m devoting 4 hours to installingFinal Fantasy XIon my Xbox 360. Sweet, huh?
Dale North:I just finished with my review copy ofNartuo:Rise of a Ninjafor the Xbox 360 and have moved back toPersona 3. I’ve also broken out the various classic game collections from Taito, Capcom, Namco, and Sega for the PS2. They’re such a better value than a Virtual Console download.
Dick McVengeance:Madden 08, Star Trek Conquest, andGodzilla Unleashedare what’s taking up my plate for the most part. That, andFinish My Screenplay or My Teacher Feeds Me To His Dogs.
Ron Workman:Lego Star Wars 2! How I went as long as I did without playing this, I will never understand. I really have a blast playing it.GRAW 2is another that I skipped and I am catching up on now. These games are totally worth the cheap price.LSW2can be found used for 10-15 bucks and I picked upGRAW 2for 20 new. Jim Sterling likes to have tea parties and dress his victims up like clowns before he eats and rapes them.N+on XBLA is really fun, as well asArkadian Warriorswhich is something that I never thought that I would play.Halo 3and my old stand byRise of Nationson the PC. Don’t forget to get the free DLC forBoom Boom Rocketon XBL by the way.
Tristero:I played throughDaxterfor PSP, which was a bit of a let down. There are four different types of bugs to fight against in the game, and that’s literally it. How did they get away with that? Interestingly enough,Me and My Katamariisn’t half bad, if you’re a complete nut for the series like I am. The controls are rough, but there’s some cute fun to be had with enough uniqueness thrown in to separate it from the other titles. AndGradius Collection… honey, don’t even get me stahted, okay? If you have a PSP, buy it now!
Gameboi:Still playing throughSuper Mario Galaxy, andMass Effect. I haven’t felt the need to play any other games at the moment.
Billy? Did you play video games this week? What have we told you about those games? That’s right: they’re Satan’s rowboat, and if you aren’t careful, he’ll paddle up your river of shame and steal your precious jewels!
So Billy, whatdidyou play?
