Hotel Dusk sequel Last Window released September 17

I’m nearly a week late with this post, but better late than never, eh?

Last Window: The Secret of Cape West, the sequel to DS mystery game Hotel Dusk: Room 215, released in Europe on September 17.

First, the bad news: Cing, the developer of both titles, filed for bankruptcy on March 1, making a North American release of Last Window highly unlikely.

Now for the good news: The Nintendo DS is not region-locked. This means North American DS owners can import Europe region DS releases and play the import games in their North American DS.

Hotel Dusk holds the honor of being the only game that my wife completed before I did (which is high praise for the game’s design, story, and characters). The little I’ve seen of Last Window promises more of the same, which, in this case, is a very good thing.

So if you enjoyed Hotel Dusk, like old school adventure PC games like King’s Quest or Grim Fandango, or simply enjoy a quality game with a good story, you can’t go wrong with Last Window.

You can purchase Last Window: The Secret of Cape West from Play-Asia. If you decide to pick it up, please use the link in the previous sentence to purchase the game and help support Brainstorm Warning.

August 7 Dragon Quest IX event at Springfield, MO Best Buy canceled

I just got off the phone a few minutes ago with a Best Buy employee that confirmed that today’s (August 7, 2010) Dragon Quest IX event at Best Buy’s Battlefield location has been canceled due to Missouri’s tax free weekend.

The same employee attempted to find out but was unable to discover whether the event will be re-scheduled or not.

There are (to my knowledge) no other Dragon Quest IX events scheduled for the Springfield, Missouri area at this time. If anyone knows of any such events, please post a comment.

Local Dragon Quest IX event a success

Huzzah!

While Gamestop may not be my favorite company, I have to give credit where credit is due: Today’s Dragon Quest IX event was much more fun than anticipated. More people attended than I expected, most of the attendees were adults, and the children that attended were all very well-behaved. I didn’t attend all 4 hours of the events, but the time I did spend there was very enjoyable.

I had wondered how Dragon Quest IX’s Tag Mode would see any use in America. Now I know. While most Americans are highly unlikely to come across any other DS owners with DQIX in Tag Mode during their travels, “magnet” events such as this can be surprisingly successful, even in smaller metropolitan areas.

If you missed today’s event, don’t worry: There will be another DQIX event at Best Buy locations next Saturday (August 7) from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. And if you don’t already own a copy, you can purchase Dragon Quest IX from Amazon.com for $34.99 with free Super Saver shipping.

Thoughts on Joseph and Genesis

While reading the story of Joseph in Genesis today, I found myself angered when the chief butler forgot Joseph for two years (Genesis 40:23). No other element of the story is as aggravating: Jacob making public show of favoritism toward Joseph, Joseph’s adolescent error in sharing his dream with his brothers, the other sons of Jacob plotting to kill Joseph, Reuben’s frustrated plot to hide Joseph then sneak him back to Jacob, the sons of Jacob lying to their father about his favorite son’s fate, Joseph’s enslavement, and Joseph’s imprisonment for false accusations. None of them evoke the anger toward a man restored to prominence and who forgets an act of divine and personal benevolence for two years.

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Shadows of Truth: John Mayer’s Something’s Missing

Watching the anime series Angel Beats recently led my thoughts to other non-Christian artists producing art that hints at truths that Scripture illuminates more clearly. Specifically, it reminded me of John Mayer’s song, Something’s Missing, perhaps the most blatant recent example of non-Christians sensing a mystery that calls to all people.

The concept of non-Christians recognizing the existence of a higher power or force but misunderstanding or even denying that spiritual “nudge” is nothing new. Paul writes about the very same in his letter to the Romans:

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How to get StarCraft II delivered on release date with no tax and no shipping

Shopping around for StarCraft II but unimpressed with pre-order bonuses? Annoyed that the game costs $10 more than your average PC game and don’t want to spend a cent more than necessary? Not wanting to deal with the crowd at your local game store’s midnight release? Don’t want to pay for tax or shipping, but don’t want to wait until several days after release to play with your friends?

Good news, everyone! You can get StarCraft II delivered to your door on release date (July 27, 2010) for $59.99 USD–no tax, no shipping, and no other fees.

Here’s how:

  1. Log in to Amazon.com and start a free 30-day Amazon Prime trial.
  2. Add StarCraft II to your Amazon.com cart and proceed to checkout.
  3. Select Release-Date Delivery at checkout.
  4. Confirm the total as $59.99 USD. If the total is greater than $59.99 USD, clear your cart, review the steps above and try again.
  5. Place your order.

It’s that easy!

If you decide to use this method to pre-order StarCraft II, please use this link and help support Brainstorm Warning.

If you don’t want your Amazon Prime membership to automatically renew, be sure to visit the Your Account page on Amazon.com, click Manage Prime Membership, and click the Do Not Upgrade button. If you choose not to renew, your trial will expire after 30 days and you will not be charged.

If your trial expires before your order ships, don’t worry; you lock in the shipping method and price at the time of your order. (I called Amazon.com customer support and they explicitly confirmed this.)

DISCLAIMER: Amazon.com is still offering free Release-Date Delivery for Amazon Prime members (both trial members and paid members) as of today (June 11, 2010), but there’s always the (slim) possibility they’ll pull the deal closer to StarCraft II’s release date. But if they haven’t pulled it by now, they probably won’t.