Down By Avalon, Cosplay, Shenmue II

So, there’s this great band called Down By Avalon appearing at The Cave on February 7th 2003. My good friend Pretzelboy is in the band. Be sure to pay them a visit! Speaking of upcoming shows, don’t forget Groovelily is coming to The Six String Cafe and Music Hall January 30, 2003. I hope those links work, my internet’s running slow right now. maybe because i’m downloading a bunch of stuff.

Speaking of downloading a bunch of stuff, want to see what i’m downloading? Today I found a great Chinese site with pics from cosplay’s there. What is cosplay? People dressing up and playing the role of a character from usually an anime series or video game. This is usually done at anime conventions. Anime usually coming from Japan, this site is in China. However, in the background I noticed the Tokyo Dome. That’s where some great artists like Ayumi Hamasaki have performed huge concerts. Anyway, they also have some great wallpapers and music from different games and series if you’re adventurous enough to navigate the site without knowing the language. If you think that kind of stuff doesn’t happen here, think again. Check out my links to Con Reports. Right now it’s located on the left hand side of the screen. It’s got pictures i’ve taken from the local cons i’ve been to. Next one extremely local to me is Animazement, in Durham, North Carolina from May 23 to May 25 2003. These events are 24/7 so be sure to get a 3 day pass and a hotel room.

In other news, I received an Xbox for Christmas from my Mom. Thanks mom. and the other day, i finally went out and bought my first game. Shenmue II. When I received the first Shenmue on Dreamcast, it was a new experience. It really throws you into this other world. It’s so realistic and realistic doesn’t have to mean only graphically you unimaginative fools. You can conversate with anyone. yes, i meant to say conversate. You can go anywhere, enter any store. Buy something. doesn’t matter. It was such a great game that I began to have dreams about it. I was there, in that world. I was Ryo for a while. and what i wouldn’t give to kick Ryo in the balls and tell him to ask Nazomi out. its obvious they like each other. She’s extremely interested, but he just blows her off. he’s not apparent at all, until the very end – if you call Nazomi just before she leaves town, he almost spills the beans.

Anyway, Shenmue II takes the step much further. You enter into this new world, (you’ve just arrived in Hong Kong) and there are so many people there. You exit the boat and can wander the harbor, the streets and what not. Talk to anyone. See anything. So much going on. People say the game is no better on Xbox than on the Dreamcast version and that’s just crazy. Even though the Dreamcast Shenmue I was very technologically sound, it was a step above what had been done on any console before. Yu Suzuki said that the game was really an experiment. To create a new style of game. Put you in this world and let you go. Live it.

Walking the streets of Shenmue II there is sooo much to see. the shops are incredibly detailed. Even the signs and banners above the streets are polygonally amazing. And moving 30 or so people around on the screen at once is no small challenge. Anyway, point is Shenmue II is awesome. Get it. Watch the DVD movie of Shenmue I if you didn’t play it or you will really be lost. Not too bad, but it wont make a whole lot of sense. Besides, props to Yu Suzuki, quoting here from Gamespy: “SEGA Chief Executive Officer Yo (edit – i think it’s Yu not Yo) Suzuki will receive a Hall of Fame award from the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) during the 2003 D.I.C.E. Summit on February 27. Last year’s winner Will Wright of Maxis (edit – Sim City hall of fame) will present the award to Suzuki, who has “not only created some of the best video games in the world, but he has also helped enhance awareness and appreciation of this interactive art form,” according to AIAS President Paul Provenzano. The industry veteran is best known for the games Outrun, Space Harrier, Shenmue, and the Virtua Fighter series.”

moving on. what do you do otherwise? when the realization sets in.