SuperPhillip Debunks Various Gaming Myths

Hello there. Superhero at large, SuperPhillip, here to save the day so you don't have to. Perhaps you've already debunked several of these gaming myths. Well, aren't you special, Mr./Mrs./Ms. I-Always-Choose-The-Hardest-Available-Difficulty-First-When-I-Play-A-Game-With-My-Gamerscore-In-The-30,000s-Biotch! For the rest of us, I've taken it upon myself to be fed up with memes within the gaming community that ae constantly being uttered by both media and the legions of gamers that they are forced to cater to.

Just by saying you "own" a system makes your criticisms more legitimate.

Don't you find it obnoxious when someone pretty much is completely negative-- maybe even an article or comment that is placed solely to troll-- ends by saying, "oh, and I own a *insert platform here*? To me, that doesn't entitle you to basically troll a game or console. For all we know, your mommy bought herself a Wii, and you played it for five minutes half-heartedly, and now you feel that you're an expert on the Wii, why it sucks, why it's killing gaming, and why no hardcore gamer should own one, yes? Wrong, buttercup.

Because a majority of games a console has to offer do not interest you personally means that said console has "no games".

How many times have you come across someone who completely ignores a list of games for a system with offputting comments like "sucks" and "lol"? If you're not a fan of shooters, a lot of the Xbox 360's best titles probably won't interest you. At the same time, there's more variety than just shooters for the 360, but for someone who doesn't even want to give the 360 a chance, it's a moot point unfortunately. It really comes down to fanboyism on all fronts sadly. Each platform has more than enough games for players to venture into.

"Waggle" is an appropriate term for motion controls.

This one gives me a headache. So much willful ignorance towards motion controls, but also towards the console that is killing gaming (i.e. making it so gaming isn't just our hobby anymore. When I associate the term waggle to something, it's usually the analog equivalent of button mashing. For example in Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition, the rapid shaking left to right to make Leon Kennedy jet away from an approaching boulder is waggling. Don't agree? Let's look at the actual definition from Reference.com.

Therefore, making a quick gesture like a tennis swing, using the Wii remote's pointer functionality, and/or using motion to control a car (Excite Truck) or dragon (Lair) do not equal waggling. If you want a shorter term to use other than motion control, how about motion, mocon, or whatnot? Anything but the degrading term waggle... which unfortunately is normally used a slight from critics.

The PSP is a failure.

This statement really depends on your own view on what failure is defined as. If you go by the PSP's success in being a great gaming platform, taking more handheld marketshare from Nintendo than any other company prior, or receiving a wide array of third-party support then you, like me, probably view the PSP as a success. However, if you go by the idea that many members of the media and gamers who thought that the PSP would destroy Nintendo's handhelds in sales, then sure, you can make a good case that yes, the PSP was a huge failure in that regard. It completely depends on what side of the fence you're on.

===

That does it for now. I hope you've learned something or at the very least nodded your head in agreement at least once while reading my own ramblings. If you have any ideas that you feel are gaming myths, write to me, and I'll do my darndest to shed some light on them.

SuperPhillip's Favorite VGMs - SEGA Edition

With the release of Sonic Unleashed for all major consoles this week, I decided to take a look at some other gems that SEGA has released in the past. Get ready-- it's an all SEGA-themed edition of SuperPhillip's Favorite VGMs! We start with the blue blur itself, and cap off with a dancing monkey. Now you have to stick around for that!

===

Let's kick off the third 100 with an old friend, Sonic the Hedgehog. I feel bad for the composers of this game. You have consistently great music for consistently crappy to mediocre games, and Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) is the crappiest of them all.



This is the theme of World 7 in Super Monkey Ball 2, a colorful, grassy series of labyrinths floating over the "Bubbly Washing Machine" the track is named from. It's an oriental sounding track. My favorite part is at the 53 second mark when the shamisen (correct me if I'm wrong) comes in to play its melodic phrase.



From Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg, it's a twofer. You'll understand why I combined the two tracks when you give the video a view and listen. Here's hoping Billy rolls on out of early retirement for a sequel.



The main theme of the NiGHTS series, Dreams Dreams. This version is the original adult version (performed by adults-- not XXX) from the Sega Saturn title.



These are two renditions of the main theme of the Samba de Amigo series. Recently, a Wii installment was released that has the same charm of the Dreamcast title only with less than optimal controls.



Direct Linkage:

Wave Ocean ~The Inlet~
Bubbly Washing Machine
Baby Dinosaur Dance/Volcanic Orchestra
Dreams Dreams
Samba de Amigo/Samba de Janeiro

Look forward to a Sonic Unleashed (Wii) review sometime in the coming weeks. Until then, check out my Youtube channel as it's there that you can find all of my past and future volumes!