NewNews - Sad day for the Game Industry

For whatever the reason may be, Capcom has decided to cancel Megaman Universe.

Source: Youtube Channel GrafWutzenstein

Sony Online Entertainment cancels The Agency and lays off 205 of its employees and closes 3 studios down.

Source: Youtube Channel machinima

And THQ lays off 33 of its employees between Kaos Studios and Volition.  And they just finished making Homefront too.

Economy still suffers and companies have to make some sacrifices and decisions to avoid getting bankrupt or shut down entirely.  It's already hard enough for people with little to no experience in the game industry to find a position to fill, but to have veteran employees having losing their positions and apply to those same position makes it harder for everyone.  If you're too experienced, they may not want to hire you in fear of having to pay too much.  I do hope those affected by the lay offs can get back on their feet soon, but I also reach out to those who are still looking to get into the industry.

Sources:
-Gamasutra - Capcom Cancels Downloadable Mega Man Universe
-Kotaku - Sony’s MMO Studio Confirms Massive Layoffs, Closes The Book On The Agency
-Joystiq - THQ lays off 33 across Kaos Studios and Volition

GameLight - Mortal Kombat 9

I think it's been something over 7 years since I played a Mortal Kombat game.  Don't get me wrong, there has been (seemingly) a lot of MK games that came out that I had interest in playing but never bought.  I know it's been a while since the last Mortal Kombat I bought and played was "Deadly Alliance" on PS2.  It wasn't too bad of a game, but I kind of got bored of it after a while.  My friends and I were more concerned about seeing all the fatalities than playing the actual game.  I'm thinking of going back to the game and finishing parts of the game I haven't played yet.  Mortal Kombat 9 seems to go back to its roots with a focus on an enhanced combat system (everything seems to chain very smoothly from the gameplays) with beautiful graphics and animation.  For those who like the violence of MK, you won't be disappointed as its some of the most gruesome stuff I've seen in videogames in a while.  I didn't play Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, but I heard a lot of the complaints had to do with the lack of violence.  But from what some of my friends have said, the combat system was decent and was entertaining for a while.  So a revival in the main series of MK is sure to bring back a lot of MK veterans and perhaps some new comers to the franchise.  Last night, a friend of mine told me that music artist Skrillex made a song for the character "Reptile" and was shown with a trailer of the game:

Source: Youtube Channel XboxViewTV

I'm not a huge MK fan, but I gotta admit that this upcoming release looks fun.  I was actually confused at first of having dubstep sensation Skrillex (I didn't know about him until just 4 months ago) creating a song for MK 9, but I was highly convinced at how appropriate it was for the trailer and the game to have such high energy music after watching the video once.  I'm hoping that there's more music from Skrillex rather than just that one song.  MK has had quite a few good tracks in its series, but I never cared too much for them and so never took notice (other than the main Mortal Kombat theme song).  I'm not sure what to expect out of this next Mortal Kombat.  I want to play it, but I'm not too interested in buying it.

VGCulture - Music - Deadmau5's cube has Super Mario Bros. 3 on it

Skip to 3:20

Source: Youtube Channel 794littleman794

Sorry for the noise, it's mainly to show Deadmau5 using the cube to show clips of Super Mario Bros. 3.  Just a while ago, I posted a video of Deadmau5's setup playing "Vampire Killer" from Castlevania".  Deadmau5 has been releasing music for quite a while and has become a mainstream hit sensation with his catchy tunes and high energy beats from his music.  He is known to have some videogame background and has played Minecraft with the community many times before.  I found out about Deadmau5 from a friend December 2010 (yeah, pretty late) and really liked the way he arranged his mixes and utilizes his equipments.  His music may sound like plain loops, but those who listen to the genre often enough can appreciate what is greatly produced and what was randomly laid down on tracks.

Source: Youtube Channel KasumiChanTV

He was also featured on Activision's DJ Hero 2.  I haven't bought or even played the game yet, but I did enjoy it when I tried the first one.  The only problem I had with it was that it charged nearly $60-80 for the controller with the game costing $50-$60.  So when it finally gets a huge discount, I'll probably buy it (it'll be only music game.  That's right, I didn't guy Guitar Hero, Rock Band or anything.  I always played it at a friend's house).  Anyways, I recommend checking out his stuff: http://www.deadmau5.com/

Source: Engadget - A day with deadmau5: LEDs, Super Mario, and techno

NewNews - Two Things This Week

I'm going to be having a very busy and tight schedule this week and so I'll be keeping posts brief, informative, and hopefully entertaining.  So this is a special week where two great things of interest are released:

Nintendo 3DS
I'm excited for it, but not desperate.  I really want a chance to try it out, but I don't plan on buying it until later (with perhaps an upgrade like the DS Lite had with the DS, or at least with an orange casing like the one I saw at E3).  If I bought it now, I'd buy Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition, Samurai Warriors: Chronicles, and maybe Kid Icarus: Uprising.

Source: Youtube Channel AlphaProtocol360

I'm still debating on getting Super Street Fighter IV on PS3 as well.  I'm still playing the original and still have a huge backlog of games, which is why I'm holding off on so many new ones.  I am actually really hoping for some sort of incredible action RPG to come out like another Phantasy Star game.  Phantasy Star Zero and Portable for the NDS and PSP respectively were really amazing games.

Dynasty Warriors 7
This might be one game I can't hold out on and might get very soon.  With Dynasty Warriors 6 being a disappointment in changing the characters unique characteristics from the previous installments, having duplicate animations for several characters, and having an incredibly dumbed down combo system, I am hoping for something great to come out of this one.

Source: Youtube Channel KOEIWarriorsMedia

I'm so excited for this game, you don't even know.  I've known about the Three Kingdoms series that Koei started back in the 80's and 90's when I watched my father playing them.  It became increasingly interesting to me (the history that is) and I continued to look for ways of learning about it (I really need to find the time to read the books).  As for the game itself, I'm having high hopes in it being great with lots of improvements and hopefully the developers didn't skimp out on extra features like custom officers or weapons customization, etc.  It releases on March 29th, hopefully it's good.

GameOn - VGCC - Facebook / Browser-Based Games

Wow, it's already so late that this post will be considered as the next day.  I'm glad it's Friday and I'm glad that today's topic will be a one that's more straight-forward.  Facebook games such as Farmville and Brower-Based Games such as Evony has captured the attention of the world.  Non-gamers suddenly become farming pros, web-based gaming becomes a billion dollar market (for Zynga at least), and now all the game companies want a piece of that casual audience market.

http://venturebeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/020909121934gameBig_farmville.jpg

I couldn't find an appropriate video since most facebook games and browser-based games don't have videos of their gameplay.

Money Based Games
Many online games, including MMORPGs mentioned yesterday, run on a free to play basis with the option of paying small amounts of money for in-game items or perks that help speed up the process of leveling or giving advantages to players.  This structure is known as "micro-transactions" and has proven to be profitable by bringing in a lot of players to little by little as opposed to having a small amount of players pay a medium fee once or monthly.  As much as I am against the idea of creating semi-applications passed for games on facebook and having players spend tons of money just to get to the next level, I think the initial companies that started on the Facebook frontiers (Zynga in particular) are geniuses.  Because Facebook is a popular site for friends and family to keep in touch, companies are able to bring in more players by giving an incentive to  have more people from your friend's list to join their game.  I actually never played FarmVille but have played one of their games and many similar games on facebook where a player's stats become stronger by having more friends join the game that I was playing.  So when my friends join, they'll want to invite their friends to become stronger.  It then spreads like a virus and reaches everyone on facebook.  With their publicity taken care of, they have an idea of keeping players interested and tempted to buying points and items with real money.  Along with going through quests in the game, the main attraction was attacking other players.  The more friends and items they had, the better the chance they had in winning a fight.  Quests and player versus player is nothing more than clicking a button and seeing if you won or lost, but it got people playing since it was on-going and it didn't require much time to play.  So with players hooked to the game, they make players frustrated each time they log on and find that they've been attacked by 30 players and lost 28 of those attacks.  This may cause a player to purchase the in-game points and items to become stronger and gain advantages over other players.  When those players start losing, they'll start to buy more items.  And thus you have an endless flow of money from the players cashing in on the game.  So the complaint for the players of a lot of these games is that they're based on how much money you spend.  "If you don't spend any money, you won't win any matches."  That's not true for all games, and it's not necessary to fight other players (it's an option).  I'm a passive gamer when I get the choice (RPGs, Strategy games, etc.) and concentrate more on the quests and story rather than trying to over power players because I know I won't be able to win and I don't plan on spending any money.  Some games really are imbalanced and become difficult to play even the story without paying, but I guess I could consider it an extra challenge.

Button Clickers
This one's easy to explain.  Most all the facebook games that initially launched were nothing more than a few words and a few art assets to accompany a story.  How did the players progress through the game?  By clicking a few buttons.  By spending "energy" or anything synonymous to turn points, players complete quests and fight other players by clicking a button and continue doing that for the rest of the game.  And when those turn points are depleted, the player has to wait a certain amount of time before it gets replenished.  Or, you can buy "potions" to recover that bar and continue clicking that button.  The complaint here is that these games are a disgrace for even being called "games" when the objective that it achieves is making money for the publishers and developers.  I'll admit that I play a few Facebook games, and I like how some of them are evolving into actual games.  Destiny Stone is a 2D action platformer (but totally geared towards young girls...very young) and has some RPG elements in it (which is how they get players to pay money).  Brave Arms is a 3D First-Person Shooter that's played within facebook through the browser.  And Dragon Age Legends has a very interesting take on the Facebook type RPGs by adding in turn-based fights that requires actual strategy and a simulation like gameplay when building the castle.  And for justification, the reason why a lot of these games are just button clickers is because it's meant to be played discreetly (like at work or in a classroom without anyone knowing).

OCD Syndrome
Remember hearing news reports about boyfriends, husbands, and family members having to miss out on a Thursday night event or outing because they need to participate in a "raid" for World of Warcraft?  I thought it was pretty hilarious when the tables were turned for Facebook games and every other hour, a girlfriend, mother, or sister had to check on their farm on Facebook to see if it's ready for harvest.  One of the things I started disliking about these facebook browser based games was having to wait for the energy to replenish and then returning back to facebook to click some more buttons.  It was even worse when these games started to release on mobile devices such as iPod touch.  With the access to the internet, a player will have the urge to log onto facebook every other hour to check on the status of their character/account for their game to see who attacked them, whether they won or not, and to use up the energy they've replenished.  This causes a sort of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Syndrome where a player can help but check their game everyone hour (even if the person really doesn't have OCD).  The reason for players to argue about this problem is that the only way to level up and progress through the game quick enough is to not waste any time spent doing nothing on the account.  I conquered this problem by simply not caring how fast I get through these facebook games and to log on whenever I felt was okay to play for a short duration.

Facebook games and Browser-based games may seem evil to a lot of you, but it's becoming one of the main platforms for the industry to work on right now.  Casual is the new hardcore for the developers and it's more profitable than traditional games.  I'm all for supporting casual games, facebook games and browser games if they're truly entertaining to play; however, I don't think we should ignore the main videogame market for the hardcore or traditional.  Don't let button clickers affect deep game play experiences.  Resist spending $500 worth of facebook points if you can go and buy a console/PC to play retail games.  Retail sales are declining and it's slowly affecting the quality of our games, please don't let that happen.  As long as the main traditional game industry is intact, Zynga can make as many -ville games they want and facebook can continue hosting games on their platform.  Good night, TGIF, and have a great weekend.

GameOn - VGCC - Role-Playing Games (RPG)

Role-Playing Games have become an integral part of in modern day game designs as some form of RPG element becomes integrated into other genres such as action games, strategies, racing, sports, and even puzzle games.  It is most likely due to the acceptance of RPG elements within familiar genres that might be more easier to pick up and play as opposed to pure RPGs where a lot of planning, research, reading, and extraneous tasks might be taken.  The thing is, people who like RPGs enjoy all the elements of character growth, story, research and planning.  But as time has passed, the key elements of RPGs have been mis-interpreted and has created a spiral of different evils within our games.  What was once played by a certain group of gamers is now one of the most popular genres in the market that reaches out to players of all ages.

Source: Youtube Channel machinima

Grinding / Farming
There were (and still are) many aspects of RPGs that I loved: Story, music, learning new abilities, gaining new weapons, creating your own characters and watching them grow in strength, and of course fighting monsters.  Since the early days of Japanese RPGs, such as Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, players were required at some point in the game to "grind" a little before being able to progress through the story.  Back then, it was exciting seeing your characters getting strong enough to one shot enemies with any attack after fighting a few battles.  But over the years, grinding became synonymous to RPGs because of how frequent it appeared in every RPG that released.  To make matters worse, some games made farming for an item mandatory which made the grinding last longer.  Grinding is when a player is subjected to fighting the same spawn of enemies in order to gain enough experience points to level up or become strong enough to handle the difficulty that lies ahead and sometimes it becomes a monotonous task that becomes more of a chore than playing a game.  Farming is when a player sets out to find a certain item or material in order to fulfill a quest or create an item by killing a certain spawn of enemies over and over until an enemy drops it.  Put these two together and you'll spending 80% of your time repeating this crazy cycle of grinding and farming with the other 20% with some story, a few instances, and maybe some special events and Player versus Player if you have the right equipment for it (for online RPGs).  MMORPGs follow this suit in all the free ones that are released nowadays (with the exception of a few games).  Grinding and farming isn't always bad in RPGs, but it stops feeling like you're progressing through the game when it's the only thing that you do in the game.  Even traditional RPGs feel painful to play when it requires hours upon hours of fighting the same spawn of enemies to prevent getting killed immediately when stepping into a new area (I'm playing the DS remake of Final Fantasy IV and am enduring it now).  Pokémon is also another RPG series notorious for its grinding and farming due to the amount of time it takes to get in and out of battle while leveling up.  Phantasy Star Online didn't feel like a grind when setting out to do so since the player had to progress through a level in order to fight the monsters.  The same goes for Demon's Souls.  It's pretty exciting when grinding and farming in moderation for games and suddenly finding a rare item or gaining new levels and abilities that empower your character, but some RPGs really do take Grinding and Farming a little too far and loses its entertainment value.  (Note: One of the main reasons for many free MMORPGs for doing so is to keep players on the game for longer durations and to give them an incentive to buy items that lessen the grind.  It's not always true, but it is largely due to the free-to-play marketing system).

Passive Game
This doesn't pertain to action-RPGs like Vindictus or Dragon Age as much, but there are a lot of RPGs where the player really doesn't do much.  A lot of console, turn-based RPG battles usually require the player confirm to attack enemies the entire time.  Pair this up with grinding and all you'll be doing is pressing that confirm button for several hours while walking left and right to encounter the next enemy.  For top-down, point-n-click RPGs, you might end up clicking an enemy and then sit there and watch the enemy get killed.  This is what I call the "Passive Game" where the player is watching more than playing (I'm not sure if there's another phrase the gaming community use, but that's what I call it).  This can also be applied to any story driven game where you might end up watching cut-scenes or listening to a dialogue for 10 minutes (or in rare cases an hour.  The Metal Gear Solid series is awesome, but you gotta admit that some cut-scenes are amazingly long).  Bioware gets around the "passive game" problem by implementing a good/bad meter to their RPGs by choosing certain dialogues to influence that meter.  By doing so, the player is still interacting with the game even when the game is telling its story through dialogue.  As for the first two examples, certain games will set the combat up in a certain way so that the player has to plan, think, or interact beyond just simply attacking in order to win a battle.  In the Pokémon series, not all attacks will defeat any opponent.  This forces the player to know the different types of elements there are and plan out what abilities to actually use in certain situations.  For top-down RPGs, Diablo or Torchlight requires the character to move through a dungeon since enemies do not spawn after being defeated.  Enemies in those games also requires the attention of the player in terms of proximity, skills to use, and making decisions on the spot when being mobbed.  Trying to click on an enemy and waiting for them to die could lead to a lot of deaths in harder difficulties.  It's mainly the games that don't require that much interaction or thinking that bugs me (and those that don't like grinding too).  I remember playing Maple Story when it first came out.  It would take forever to level up, and grinding usually meant sitting on a platform an enemy can reach and holding down the attack button.  I heard it's a lot better now, but I really think I should stay away from that game from now on.

Traversing
This isn't as big of a problem for most games until MMORPGs started to become more popular.  In MMORPGs, the play field really does feel like a world of its own because of how massive it is.  It's an amazing experience when playing games like Shaiya, Fly For Fun, or Perfect World and being able to see all the mountains, trees, and flying through the air.  It emulates a feeling of freedom (even though it virtual and fake).  The problem occurs when the game requires a player to go from one side of the world to the other...on foot (or air, depending on what you're playing).  The problem is that some places take 5-10 minutes (maybe even longer depending on which game you're playing and how far the destination is) to reach an area and the player may not run into any action along the way.  A lot of Chinese MMORPGs went as far as adding an auto-routing system so that the player can click on the destination and watch (or not) their character run over there for 10 minutes.  In World of Warcraft, airborne travel can take a while (I'm not sure how long it takes to get somewhere now since I haven't played the changes within Cataclysm).  I've had players leave their character traveling to another city for 20-30 minutes while they do battle against me in League of Legends.  This adds more to the idea of playing a "passive game" when the player can't really do anything but watch their character traverse to their destination, and worse if they have to take control to get there.  A small journey is fine, but running a marathon in an RPG takes too much time out of what the player could be doing such as fighting a boss or running through an instance.

Dedicating Time
This one is definitely arguable.  What scares gamers about RPGs is the time and effort it takes in order to play through or even play well in one.  Console RPGs generally range from 20-80 hours depending on the length of cut-scenes and how long one took on grinding, farming, or doing optional side-quests.  This is to get through the story and perhaps finding the secrets within the game.  With online RPGs such as Phantasy Star Universe or Demon's Souls, players can go anywhere from 50-1000 hours (I kid you not, I spent over 1000+ hours on Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 & 2 playing...offline!).  This is spent leveling (character levels can reach 200+), farming for rare equipment, finding all the secrets, experiencing all the different pathways, playing with other players and going against each other.  Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) range from 100-5000+ hours depending on how it's set up.  Most MMORPGs are open world, ever-changing, and highly interactive (or it should be) games that players hang around in to fulfill quests, complete stories, interact with other players in conversation (yes, it happens all the time), run through group instances, and competing against each other in large battles.  It is because of the sheer amount of time that players spend on RPGs (usually MMORPGs) that the media likes to point out all the problems people have in their lives because of it such as having an anti-social life, anger issues, malnutrition, broken relationships, and negligence to responsibilities.  For other games, they may not want to dedicate their lives on playing for such long durations on a single game.  For me, there are games I feel that it's worth placing the time in playing the game if I sincerely enjoy it (not because I want to get to the next level.  I love my free MMOs, but I simply can't dedicate my life to them).  Currently, my RPG of choice is Demon's Souls and I have 45 hours logged in so far.  I'm hoping to get around playing Final Fantasy XIII (and I bought it when it came out too...).

There are a ton of other things about RPGs that players will probably bring up such as the generic RPG structure, griefers, gold farmer's chat spamming, etc. but it would take quite a while bringing all that up right now.  Although I've listed these topics as Videogame Common Complaints, some of them have reason and are justified when looking deeper into the problems of a lot of our RPGs.  I'm sorry I didn't add more videos for this post, I couldn't think of any interesting videos to post up.  Watching someone grind in-game can be just as boring as having to grind in a game yourself, so there wasn't any point for me to put you readers through that agony.

GameOn - VGCC - Fighting Games

Ever played a fighting game with someone and you start beating them with crazy moves or a single, repeated attack and get accused of foul play?  Fighting games occasionally have their problems when creating a balanced match between all the characters.  We'll discuss a bit of these "problems" for today's GameOn topic on Videogame Common Complaints (VGCC) for Fighting Games.

Source: Youtube Channel biffotasty

Imbalanced Characters
Usually when someone says that the character you're using is overpowered (OP) or that the character they're using is way to weak, it sounds like they're whining or being a sore loser.  A lot of times, that might be the case (no offense to anyone); however, there are time in occasion where some of the characters really do have advantage in every way over all the other characters.  Marvel vs. Capcom 2 had tons of characters, but it some of them were pretty useless (I love using servbot to screw around, but I've never seen a pro use him before).  In all honesty, it's very difficult for a developer to balance the characters in a game (not just fighting, but all multiplayer games) especially when there are a lot of characters to choose from and so many different play styles out there that players utilize.  The last game I bought that had imbalanced characters was probably Castlevania Judgment.  The game was alright as a single player game (to a certain extent), but trying to play a fair game with a friend or against others online (which I never tried) can prove to be difficult.  Carmilla is the fastest and strongest character in the game and can constantly chain her attacks to prevent any counter or attacks against other characters in the game.  Another imbalance the game suffered was the specials that can finish off an opponent if they're less than 50% health if landed.  Unfortunately for Konami, Nintendo's Wii doesn't take DLCs and patches and so the game stayed in its broken state.  One of the fighting games that took a developer many late nights finishing the project was Super Smash Bros. Melee.  Though not a traditional fighter, it was still a competitive game and demanded balance (back when games couldn't be patched).  A player's cry of foul play due to imbalanced character could be a legitimate one (and we can sympathize with them), but it seems much easier to say that they need more practice.  If a fighting game is done well, it will be balanced.

Button Mashing
If you're wondering "hey, didn't you mention this on Monday for Hack 'n Slash games?" it's a different situation.  For Action Hack n' Slash and Beat 'em Up games, players complain that there's nothing more to do than press the same buttons which makes it a Button Masher game.  The term Button Mashing is used in fighting games when players complain that the game requires no real skill to play and that anyone can play well by randomly pressing a combination of buttons.  Games that fall victim to this complaint are the Tekken, Virtua Fighter, and Soul Calibur series (any of the 3D multi-plane fighters).  Any professional fighting game tournament player will tell you that button mashing will not work if they're up against someone who knows what moves they're executing because they've already found ways around stopping button mashing players.  The reason why button mashing seems to work is that the moves are executed without intention and so the opponent doesn't know what to expect.  A lot of the 3D multi-plane fighting games have intricate and in-depth move systems that can execute a numerous amount of different combination attacks.  So when the player isn't worrying too much about what does what and just press what feels right, magic seems to start happening and they'll do ridiculous 14-hit combos.  For me, I can't button mash.  I've tried it many times before, and the magic doesn't seem to happen.  A game can be still considered a button mashing game to many gamers, despite knowing that it really does require a lot of skill.  (Besides 3D fighters, the versus games from Capcom seem to have that aspect in which magical things happen when the player button mashes).

Spammers / Cheap Moves
This one's an old one, and people don't complain about it as much anymore.  When a player "spams" or uses a "cheap move", they're using a repeated skill or attack that other players would fall into.  Players that have a bit of experience against spammers will know what to do against them, which is why not many people complain about it as much anymore (at least I don't think so).  When I go against someone that's experienced or someone I haven't gone against before, I'll avoid using spams and cheap moves.  Other times, I'll use it when I know it will help me.  I remember back in the Super Nintendo days on Street Fighter 2, spamming and cheap moves was all I did.  Doing constant Hadouken attacks while following up with a shouryuken if they get too close was the best I could do with Ryu or Ken.  For characters like Vega, M.Bison, or Dhalsim, I'd use the slide kick over and over.  I'd try doing that today and I wouldn't get a win at all.  Spamming does work in some cases because it attacks the mental stability against the other player (considering that the opponent is a human player and not a computer) if they can't get past your onslaught of fireballs or they keep falling into your leg sweeps or grabs.  Just make sure you don't do it against Daigo Umehara, it...won't...work!

Any Fighting game player will tell you that playing against other players is more fun than playing against the computers since everyone has a different play style and the challenge is exciting.  Pros fight hard against such slander of their favorite fighters being considered broken, a button masher, or for spammers and continue to show that fighting games really do require time, patience and skill gained from practice.  It's almost like an art form the way fighting game players talk about strategies, timing, and techniques.  So the next time someone calls you a button masher, spammer, or cries foul play for using an OP character.....Button mash, spam and dominate the heck outta them!  Or you can beat them legitimately and see if they're satisfied with that.

GameOn - VGCC - First-Person Shooters

Videogame Common Complaints on First-Person Shooters, Whoo!  FPS is an extremely popular genre within the gaming community right now, especially with franchises such as Battlefield, Call of Duty and Halo.  They're exciting, fast-paced, and most definitely entertaining.  Once you jump into online multiplayer, the game changes and players will use strategies that they normally wouldn't use in single-player campaigns.  Other times, you'll wonder why you even bothered jumping into online multiplayer in the first place...

Noob Tubing
Wow, I actually didn't know what a Noob Tube was until I looked it up just now...I always thought it meant having to spray in a narrow pathway that is commonly used by the enemy to acquire kills without even aiming.  Noob Tubing is when a player uses a grenade launcher attachment to get kills and derives from having those who just started playing the game (usually this happens in the Modern Warfare series), being a new beginner (newbie -> noob), gain lots of multi-kills for firing at a group of enemies since the grenade launcher is a tube.

Source: Youtube Channel Ownu328
 
Now that it makes more sense to me, I have to ask if noob tubing is really that effective or unfair as many Modern Warfare 1 players claim it to be?  I ask this because I fail at noob tubing.  I get more kills in Call of Duty by knifing than I do using a grenade launcher.  But I have experienced being noob tubed with the same player killing 2-5 of my allies with each shot.  It does suck, but I feel that it still requires a bit of skill.  I wonder what a pro tubing looks like?

Spraying
Not to upset anyone, but I am a sprayer.  I became a sprayer when I realized trying to legitimately aim and shoot didn't always work because of armor, lag, or getting flanked.  Spraying is when a player uses an automatic with a high rate of fire to "Spray" towards a general vicinity of where an enemy is situated to get a kill.  It's not always effective, but players that complain about it tend to since the player that's doing the spraying moves faster when shooting from the hip and doesn't have to aim down the sight to have bullet contact.  For me, I get annoyed when I die multiple times from a random headshot due to spraying and not from the spraying itself.  "Spraying is a legitimate tactic and can provide cover for your team mates to flank!"  At least, that's what I'd like to think.

Knife Sprees
Knifing is the best ever since I first played Call of Duty Modern Warfare.  Knifing sprees were more of an issue with players on Modern Warfare 2 than any other FPS out in the market because of perks such as "Commando" with infinite sprint and faster running since players were able to by pass enough gunfire to get a one-stab kill.  I do knifing sprees quite a bit since it's been the method I've used to get the most kills.  I made a specific class that involves running around tight pathways so that I only have to dive forward to get a stab kill.  People won't complain about this one as much if you're dying a lot.  Playing an entire match using knife takes a bit of skill, but it also involves a lot of luck (it really depends which way the player is facing).  I generally turn to using knife since it's silent, it's a one hit kill, and I get annoyed when shooting doesn't kill a player (even after 2 clips).  Call of Duty players do have to admit that knifing is pretty fun.


Source: Youtube Channel southgat3

Camping / Sniping
Probably the most common tactic for players to start yelling in the microphone for.  Camping is when a player sits in an area waiting for players to pass by them and kill.  It's extremely effective when done right, and probably the most notorious tactic out of all FPS games.  Sniping usually requires a player to situate themselves far enough from danger while being able to kill opponents without being noticed.  For me, I usually despise camping since I have to wait for the action rather than being able to dive into it.  Even when I snipe, I have to move after every kill in order to avoid getting killed from behind or getting shot by another sniper.  But those that are good enough to find the right spots to hide can reach 30-50 kills a match in most modern shooters if done right.  I can't do it, I'm a camping noob (not a noob camper, those are two totally different things).  There are times where I love messing around with campers and snipers though (they're so focused on what's in front of them they don't know what's on the side or behind them).

Lag / Hit-Box Inaccuracies
Lag is near impossible to avoid in any online game, and it is the bane to the online experience in every game possible.  In FPS games, it's the difference between getting a head shot and totally missing.  Because of Lag, the hit-boxes doesn't display certain kills accurately.  So during a lag between players and the server, players will start to look like they're teleporting, some players won't be even able to move, and bullet contacts won't register as being hit since the player's graphic might be there, but not their hit-box.  This is what I meant by hit-box inaccuracies.  You could be well behind cover when running away and the opponent still kills you.  When you look at the killcam (if you're playing a game that even has that), then you'll see yourself getting killed before you even reach the place you went for cover.  This one is hard to argue and say that people that complain about lag are all noobs, because in most cases lag really does affect the game experience...A LOT!

Griefing
Grief videos are fun to watch, but being the one the player is griefing can be a very annoying experience.   Griefing is when you...maybe it's better just to see it in action:

Source: Youtube Channel TEAMROOMBA


Source: Youtube Channel dsSLAY3R

Griefer - A player in a multiplayer video game that deliberately irritates and harasses other players. - Wikipedia

I'm not sure what else to say about this one.  Griefing is annoying when it happens to you, but it's pretty hilarious to see it happen to other players.

Aim-Bot Hackers
If you've played any online multiplayer FPS, you might have come across someone using Aim-Bot or accused of using one.  What is it?  This parody video sums it up:

Source: Youtube Channel freddiew

This parody reflects the actual thing pretty well.  Players are able to whip 180 degrees and get an immediate headshot on other players near them.  This is a legitimate complaint that really affects the community within a game and can kill off its player count because of hackers such as those using Aim-Bot.  I once had a aim-bot hacker reason with everyone saying "Chill out, it's just a game."  True, it is just a game; however, breaking the rules of the game destroys the whole structure and it no longer stands as a game but rather a playground for an individual to enjoy at the expense of every other player.  Could you imagine playing basketball and having a player teleport the ball into their hand and teleporting it once more into the net?  You no longer play the game but rather being a passive spectator.  If you're going to hack, cheat, or exploit a glitch, make sure it doesn't affect other players.

I've played a lot of FPS games in the past few years, and I mainly played multiplayer mostly these past two years and have seen many of these shenanigans and others happen in all FPS games.  Despite all these problems we have on FPS games from other players, people still play them.

GameOn - VGCC - Hack 'n Slash & Beat 'em Ups

It feels like a while since I've done a GameOn segment.  Just as a reminder, GameOn is when a week's worth of posts follows a common theme that touches upon the interests, controversy and/or culture of videogames.  This week I'll be talking about Videogame's Common Complaints (which I shortened to VGCC for convenience) in certain genres.  Some of these explanations can turn out to be long discussions, so I'll do my best to shorten them and keep them open ended for the reader to poke at their own opinions on things.  Today, I'll be talking about Hack 'n Slash & Beat 'em Up games.  I've wanted to do this one ever since I started this blog, and the main target of interest for gamers to bag on is the "Warriors" series by KOEI (now known as TecmoKoei due to their merger).

Source: Youtube Channel MyKOEITV

Repetitive Gameplay
This is probably the most common complaint people use whenever a new Dynasty Warriors or recently "Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage" game comes out.  True, the goal is usually the same with killing hordes of men and then either beat the last guy or escort an ally to safety; however, it's not the goal that's important (or fun) but the journey there.  The truth is, Dynasty Warriors and other Warriors games have much more depth to them than most gamers think.  Some of these Warriors games contain 40-60 characters, each with their own attributes, weapons, style of play, and skill sets.  All characters have the capability to grow like in RPGs where the player can earn experience points by fulfilling goals and killing enemies to receive more power, items, weapons, and abilities.  The game gets more interesting when the player has a stronger character and plays on a harder difficulty level, because playing on the easiest mode really can feel repetitive since you only have to whack away without blocking, dodging, or parrying.  Others will complain that the "Repetitive Gameplay" they refer to is the same game that KOEI releases with different maps, graphics, and modes and that the core gameplay is the same.  Well...games like Super Mario Bros., Call of Duty, and Final Fantasy have gone through lots of graphic changes and some new design concepts, but the game is essentially the same which still makes them great (for the most part).  I personally like the additions of custom characters, destiny and xtreme mode, and the 7th Dynasty Warriors that's coming out will have an extension of the timeline into the Jin Dynasty with new characters and a conquer mode.  My guess is that some people don't actually think that the Warriors series is repetitive, but that Hack 'n Slash and Beat 'em Ups just don't interest them.

Button Masher Game
A follow up to repetitive gameplay and the "main reason" for being monotonous for most players is that the game seems to be based solely on mashing on the same two attack buttons throughout the entire game.  If you're playing on the easiest level, it will definitely feel that way since there's no immediate threat.  For the Dynasty Warriors series, you can't win simply by using any sort of combo throughout the game when playing on normal and above (especially Chaos mode).  Dynasty Warriors prides itself on being a strategy hack 'n slash rather than be an all out action game.  Being in the right place in the right time is pivotal to winning because even if you're an incredible player, your main general may not be and get overwhelmed by 100 men trying to maim him (or more closer to what the game is like, juggled to death).  When fighting certain generals, you have to execute more singular, vertical attacks to deal the most amount of damage while keeping them off the ground in order to prevent them from retaliating when recovering from an attack when compared to using horizontal attacks against dozens of lackeys.  It certainly doesn't feel like a simple button mashing game once you get past hard mode and into the really difficult missions.  The player has to fight through enemies, strategies, and time.  Fist of the Northstar: Ken's Rage is a bit on the button mashing side with a linear path rather than an open world and with every attack doing devastating damage.  But this is how I look at it: each type of enemy will still have a certain way of defeating them and the game is more of an arcade beat 'em up in 3D rather than 2D like in the old days with Final Fight or Double Dragon.  These games are much more than what critics and certain gamers are claiming, it really depends on the preference of the one playing the game.

Dumb Artificial Intelligence (A.I.)
If the computers were really as dumb as some critics say they are, why is it that they still lose from them?  The problem here is not that the AI is entirely "dumb," but rather "unrealistic".  Dynasty Warriors has always been about "over-the-top" martial arts fighting with one warrior fighting against ridiculous odds like Keanu Reeves fighting all those Smiths in The Matrix Reloaded.  It was the developer's choice to design the AI to be competent enough to give a challenge, but not so much as to have every little soldier fight like a real player.  Could you even imagine that?  You would be infinitely juggled by smart enemies the second you let one of them touch you.  What's funny is that the main generals in Warriors Orochi are capable of doing so and thus the player has to formulate strategies against that.  I do have to admit that the allies are pretty dimwitted when it comes to survival or aiding in battle.  Characters you're supposed to protect run in on their own, bodyguards that are supposed to heal you fail when you need them the most, and tons of your own men stand in the middle of nowhere when they're needed elsewhere for battle.  Koei has continued to improve the quality in the computer AI and sometimes it works and other times it doesn't.

I'm not saying that some of these complaints are entirely wrong since some critics do bring up good points on the way Koei develops their games.  Such as all those expansions that came along with Dynasty Warriors.  Xtreme Legends and Empires were great additions to the game; however, why weren't those contents in the game to begin with?  If the original game with the 2 expansions all combined together, it feels more of a complete game.  For me, I have followed the Dynasty Warriors series since the 3rd release (in the West, the 2nd in the East) and have gotten every Xtreme Legends expansion for each release (didn't bother with Empires).

Source: Youtube Channel GamersDigestNet

Since then, I have become a fan of the Warriors and support the designs and concepts of the special attacks within Samurai Warriors, the 3 character system within Warriors Orochi (such a fun game), the even crazier version of Dynasty Warriors in Strikeforce, capturing the immense power of each character within Fist of the Northstar: Ken's Rage, and the awesome space battles in Dynasty Warriors Gundam.  I'm not really digging the changes within Dynasty Warriors 6 which killed off the combo system, unique character animation/weapons, and taking out things like custom character and special modes.  I'm having high hopes for Dynasty Warriors 7 and will continue to hope for a release of Warriors Orochi Z.  (I have no idea of what Troy Warriors of Legends though; I kind of don't care about that one).

GameLight - Dong Dong Never Die

It's getting late and I'm super tired from this week.  So to keep the post short, I present to you a crazy fan-made fighter by a group of developers in China who decided to take 18,000+ pictures and make a game.

Source: Youtube Channel Vysethedetermined2

I don't know too much about the game other than the fact that it took 3 years to make and uses photos of real places and people to create the backdrop and sprites of the game.  The animation is pretty fluid from what the video shows and the special effects really work with the game.  It's more of something to play and laugh about rather than a game to get competitive with.  I hear there's net play on it too.  It was created using Fighter Maker by enterbrain which was released back in 2001.  I'm downloading it now to check it out, but I don't think I'll really get to enjoy the story or any of the dialogue since my Chinese isn't up to snuff.  Check out the video on Youtube for the links to the descriptions of the game and the link for downloading it.  Enjoy and have a good weekend.

VGCulture - Music - Vocaloid Hatsune Miku

Last week, I posted a filler video of Snake dancing around.  The program used for those videos is called Miku Miku Dance which was created for creating dance visuals with songs users created with the program Vocaloid -Hatsune Miku.

Source: Youtube Channel pireze

To put it simply, Hatsune Miku is a virtual superstar that revolves around an active community of musicians, artists, choreographers, directors, and such.  Vocaloid is a program, developed by Yamaha Corporation, that allows users to manipulate the words, pitch and bends of a virtual voice used to create songs.  Users can then upload their creations on the internet such as Niconico (Japan's version of Youtube) with any other relating media and collaborate on creating products of an entity such as Hatsune Miku or any of the other Vocaloid programs such as Rin and Len (different developers).  This has since created a crazy phenomenon among the Animé, Japanese Culture, and Music community.  I first heard of Hatsune Miku through existing animé songs that people took and used the program to simulate the program singing it.  It wasn't the first time I heard of a virtual singer (or simulated singing), but I got curious and started to learn more about the Vocaloid program.  I think it's an amazing program that has since brought a community of different talents together to create such a strong sense of fandom for a virtual idol.

Source: Youtube Channel asahicom

This video pretty much explains the origin and phenomenon behind Hatsune Miku.  I personally love the idea of Vocaloid.  It has given many musicians and artists an inspiration for their creation and has reached out to parts of the world they did not expect.  Many Americans and Europeans know of Hatsune Miku and the work that people have done throughout the internet such as dances, 3D modeling, CG art, videos, and remixes all featuring the character.  I hear there's a rhythm game for the PSP based on the virtual diva now:

Source: Youtube Channel KujaSephy

That's it for now.  You can type in Hatsune Miku on Youtube to check out all the other songs or Miku Miku Dance to see some crazy dance videos that may or may not involve Snake from Metal Gear Solid.

NewNews - Dragon Age Legends on Facebook

Official Site: http://www.facebook.com/DragonAgeLegends

Source: Youtube Channel MyDragonLair

I've mentioned this before, but the quality on Facebook games are getting dramatically better than its predecessors.  Even with the simplistic game mechanics of Knight of the Crystals and Chocobo's Crystal Towers by Square-Enix was fairly entertaining and got some of my friends involved and playing.  Well, BioWare/EA has pushed beyond that and gave the player much more control in their new Facebook RPG: Dragon Age Legends.  The art style is similar to those of Adventure Quest with game mechanics similar to those that have been on Facebook and of other flash-based RPGs like Adventure Quest.  One of the incentives for people to play is being able to receive special items within Dragon Age 2 by fulfilling quests within Dragon Age Legends.  I tried a bit of it and like it already.  Fluid graphics and animations, quality sound and music implemented into the game, an in-depth class and skill system similar to the actual game, combat system with actual turn-based fighting and control from the player, and some strategy involved with time management and item making.  In short, the Facebook app feels like a game.  I've always felt like a passive playing clicking on buttons and watching the result of my battles automatically determined for me.  Similar to boss battles in Knights of the Crystals, you can summon characters that your friends made to join you in battle.  It uses the micro-transaction model to earn money while letting players play for free, and so those who want to progress faster can pay to do so.  I'm not sure if there's any PvP of any sort, but I'm pretty sure that those who spend more money will have the advantage over all other players.  That's fine.  Let me play my game for free and those who feel the need to gain the advantage do so by paying.  If anything, play enough of the game to get the items you want for Dragon Age 2 and be done with it.  I don't have Dragon Age 2 yet, but I think I'll continue to play DA Legends for a while and see how in-depth the game gets.

Source: Gamasutra - BioWare Releases Dragon Age Legends On Facebook

GameLight - Battle: Los Angeles The Game

If you haven't seen ads and trailers for it, a movie called "Battle: Los Angeles" came out:

Source: Youtube Channel IGNentertainment

And just recently on Steam, I saw a game version out for only $10, hmmm...

Source: Youtube Channel BattleLAMovie

When I first saw the trailer for the movie, I was pretty interested in all the action.  Little did I know that it was going to be ill received by the critics.  As for the game, I heard that the quality is laughable and that the game is shorter than the movie.  Whaaat?  The game is shorter than the movie?  Even for $10, that is not very much.  I've paid games that were $2 on steam that lasted longer than that.  The game's mechanics is mediocre and doesn't have anything new to show off, but many of those who played through it got a laugh out of the bad voice acting and story telling.  Sad, I was thinking of getting it on Steam when I saw it, but I hesitated when I realized there wasn't multiplayer.  After reading some reviews, I'm going to have to pass on this.  I'm already having a difficult time deciding between Crysis 2, Homefront, Brink, and Killzone 3, so I think passing on Battle: Los Angeles will be okay.

Sources:
-http://pc.ign.com/articles/115/1155782p1.html
-http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/108496-Battle-Los-Angeles-Game-Can-Only-Kill-An-Hour-Or-So
-http://kotaku.com/#!5782079/battle-los-angeles-the-game-is-shorter-than-the-movie

VGCulture - Filler - Deadmau5's Castlevania

Hey everyone.  Seeing how I'm super busy today, I'm going to have to do another filler today.  A friend showed me a video a while ago of musician/mixer Deadmau5 playing the "Vampire Killer" Theme of Castlevania through his studio filled equipment:

Source: Youtube Channel deadmau5

I started listening to his stuff since my friend told me about his music.  He has a lot of interesting use of electronic instruments done in all sorts of crazy ways.  He also plays a lot of Minecraft too from what I heard.

VGCulture - Humor - Miku Miku Dance with Snake Texture

Let's end the week with something light-hearted.  So I'm still working on Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and haven't beaten it yet.  I did manage to get through Medal of Honor and Bionic Commando: Rearmed this week though.  I'm going to finish MGS3 so that I can move onto playing MGS4.  Anyways, here some funny videos to watch:

Source: Youtube Channel xCrimsonAngelfirex


Source: Youtube Channel Cal12345123


Source: Youtube Channel Gotsutokkotsu1

Hope this made everyone laugh or smile as hard as I did.

Note: Miku Miku Dance is a program derived from the Hatsune Miku Vocaloid program made by Yamaha for those who wanted to create a dance sequence with the singing.  I'll be talking about it next week.  Have a good weekend everyone.

VGCulture - Dragon Age 2 Exploit Found Already

Dragon Age 2 was released two days ago and players have already found a exploit to gain an infinite amount of experience points and currency:

Source: Youtube Channel boricuacookie

This isn't the first RPG or game to have an exploit that grants infinite amounts of experience points and/or currency, but this finding in Dragon Age 2 has caused quite a stir in the gaming community.  Here are some of the complaints I've read on comments to articles and videos:
-This takes out the entire RPG element of leveling and gaining skills through side-quests
-Why would you want to ruin the fun of the game and make it unreasonably easy for the rest of the game?
-There's no purpose in playing side-quests anymore and the rest of the game will be too easy
-Exploits like these are only for those too lazy to work up to the levels
-Showing this glitch ruins the game for everyone who wants to play it legitimately!
(All these quotes have been reworded so that they don't pin-point to a specific user in the internet community).

I'm surprised that this exploit has caused such a commotion when it's within a single-player only game.  If it was for an online game or a multiplayer game that would affect other players and create an imbalance, then it would be reasonable to raise concern for the well being of the game experience for everyone else playing legitimately.  Maybe players who are more concerned with achievements feel as if they're being cheated out of since players who uses the exploit gains them much easier and faster than those who play according to the rules.  Personally, I think those who want to use the exploit should go ahead and do it.  If you don't want to cheat, don't do it!  A game should be played the way the player feels they'll have the most fun (as long as it doesn't hurt the game experience of other players by breaking the rules).  I use exploits all the time for single-player games.  If I'm playing Super Mario World and I can get an infinite amount of 1-ups in the "secret area", I'll do it because I don't want to go all the way back to a castle or ghost house if I mess up later on.  If I'm playing a fighting game like Tekken 6 and I find a cheap move that the end Boss can't block or gets confused with, I'm gonna spam like a boss if I can't beat him with actual skill.  If I'm playing Mega Man and I can kill a boss by pressing start several times when I don't want to go through with fighting him, I'll do it.  I don't have to do any of these things, but sometimes I like to experiment or have that little bit of edge when the game's too hard.  As for the Dragon Age 2 exploit, I don't think I'll be taking advantage of it when I finally buy the game.  But if there's someone out there who feels like they'll have fun with the exploit, then I don't think we have a right to say they can't play like that.  There's a reason why crazy, open-ended, sand-box type games like Garry's Mod, Minecraft, and Grand Theft Auto 4 are so fun and interesting to people.  There's so many different things to try and experiment with:

Source: Youtube Channel machinima

That's it for now, have fun with Dragon Age 2 (with or without the exploit).

GameLight - Homefront Multiplayer

Official Site: http://www.homefront-game.com/#/home

Source: Youtube Channel Gamehelper

I mentioned this a few time before, but I saw banners for Homefront in the hallways at last year's E3 2010 and didn't see any booths or videos for the game.  I eventually found information on what the game was about sometime after I got back from E3 and was astonished at the premise of the story taken place.  I find the idea of both North and South Korea to unite and suddenly attack America to be a frightening story to tell at such unstable times for North Korea's Government and the rest of the world's economic crisis.  Story aside, there wasn't any gameplay footages for the longest time.  Recently, there has been single player and multiplayer videos floating around here and there and I finally saw the video shown above.  It's kind of what I expected for multiplayer: Military Tactical shooter, urban areas, vehicles to drive around, deathmatch/capture points type modes, points system to level up, etc.  The footage didn't capture me like Crysis 2 did, but the game does look interesting and I'm considering on purchasing it for PC if my laptop can handle it.

What I'm hoping for:
-More strategical push factor like in Battlefield: Bad Company 2 or Frontlines: Fuels of War
-Lots of weapons to choose from as well as gadgets and vehicles
-My laptop can at least run smoothly on the lowest settings

Concerns:
-Lag!  Lag is a very common problem in first-person shooters that kills the experience
-The graphics too demanding for my laptop to handle even at the lowest settings (like Crysis 2)
-Nothing new to present.  What if I don't like the game?  I don't want to waste $50-$60 for that

Here's hoping for a great game!

Retroview - Bionic Commando

I bought Bionic Commando: Rearmed a while ago (2 months ago I think) but didn't bother touching it yet because I decided that I was going to play the original one before I started playing the remake so that I can fully experience and appreciate the game to its fullest.  When I say original one, I mean the NES version.  I didn't realize there was an Arcade version before the NES version until I checked just now.

Source: Youtube Channel Mmac2797

So, what to say about Bionic Commando?  I very glad I played it, that's for sure.  I tried it out years ago, but couldn't get myself to play the game after trying out the first level.  All I knew about Bionic Commando before was the music to the first level since it was one of the most talked about tunes during the NES days.  So when I tried Bionic Commando all those years ago (close to nine years now), I was frustrated with the concept of the game.  I couldn't jump, I didn't know how to swing around, I would get killed in one hit, and the game wasn't very straight forward.  Well, many years have passed and I've become more patient and willing to try new things (or old things I've never tried, haha).  Seeing how I bought Bionic Commando: Rearmed, I went back to the NES version to try it out one more time.

The game is so much fun when I knew what I was doing.  I guess I kind of cheated by watching a speed run on the game so I had an idea of what to do before I started playing.  So the game has four different parts to it: Mission selector, Mission level, ground fight, and town exploring (not official names, I'm making it up).  The levels within the game doesn't have to be in a certain order.  Instead, the player choose which level to go to and can even skip certain levels.  I didn't know how to get through the electric things in the first level, so I skipped it (little did I know I was a screen away from the boss fight).  When choosing a mission in the helicopter, you might run into an enemy tank and fight on the ground.  In towns, the player can gather useful information as well as getting special items.  The game felt like a combination of several great games into one, but it was done so cohesively that I can acknowledge it as being unique.  So my guess on why the developers decided not to let the player jump in an action platformer was to distinguish itself from other action platformers in the 80's (this is considering the first Bionic Commando in the Arcade) since most action platformers were about jumping and shooting and/or slash.  For the NES version, there were aspects that reminded me of other games on the NES.  The weapon acquisition reminded me of Mega Man.  The open ended flow of the game reminded me of Metroid.  Towns reminded me of Legend of Zelda 2: Link's Adventure.  And the ground battles totally reminded me of Ikari Warriors.  After getting the hang of the controls, I really liked swinging around and doing crazy tricks like bouncing off walls, grabbing from one object to another and such.  The weapon selection didn't really interest me all that much, even though it was kind of exciting whenever I got a new one.  I used the Rocket Launcher throughout the whole game.  What I didn't like was not knowing what was coming up and end up falling into spikes, a pit, or an enemy which eventually gets me killed.  There were also many instances where enemies pop out of no where and injure or kill me.  It was also pretty brutal having a certain amount of lives and having to start over after the Game Over screen.  Overall, the game was fun to play, challenging, and got me really engaged with the story.  It took me between 2-3 hours to beat the game.  After beating the game, I started playing the remake and am loving it:

Source: Youtube Channel Gamehelper

The gameplay is simply amazing.  It takes what was great about the original and further develops it into something that fits the modern taste.  The music is just beautiful to listen to and does such amazing interpretations of the original's music (especially Power Plant sampled in the trailer above).  Looks like there's more weapons, and more things to do so the game won't be as short.  The dialogue is extended, but with good taste (so it's fun to read through if not useful, it's not a bunch of rambling).  The challenges a really hard, but they do a good job of teaching useful skills for later levels.  I haven't tried multiplayer yet, but I like the idea of having two-player co-op.  I hope I get to try that soon.  After playing through Bionic Commando and now playing the remake along with the addition of main protagonist Nathan "Rad/Ladd" Spencer in Marvel vs. Capcom, it really makes me wonder what was wrong with the new 3D Bionic Commando.  I have high interesting in playing that game now, and I'll probably do so in the near future.  Bionic Commando isn't for everyone, but for those who want a challenge and likes action platformers, I highly recommend trying Bionic Commando and/or its remake "rearmed" out.  Bionic Commando: Rearmed 2 is out, but I'm hearing only okay reviews for it.  I'll get it if it comes out on Steam PC.

Also, when I got to the end of the NES version of Bionic Commando, I noticed something about the date of when Super Joe is telling his story:

Source: Youtube Channel humbledcowboy

Yup, that would've been 7 months ago.  I wonder if it's the same on the Rearmed version.

VGCulture - Wanting an Arcade Fightstick

With my recent purchase of Marvel vs. Capcom 3, I've been trying to get back into fighting games again and realized that I have 6 fighting game titles for the PS3.  Along with getting blisters on my left thumb, I started to think about buying a fightstick.  The problem is, I don't want to spend too much on one.  I was thinking of making my own like some of my friends have, but realized that it's just as expensive and takes quite a bit of tools to make.  I found one that was extremely cheap, but wonder if it has the quality that main stream sellers do.

Source: http://bit.ly/f1dDwE

Here's the one I'm looking at: the Intec Combat Arcade TURBO Fightstick for PS3.  It's only $15, has a small design, is compatible with not only PS3 but PC as well, neatly aligned buttons with a slight arc, a turbo function, and a hand-rest to accommodate for it's small surface space.  With so many pluses going for this arcade fightstick, I had to wonder why there were other ones so expensive.

Source: http://amzn.to/hPUJIh

This is a PS3 Street Fighter IV Round 2 FightStick Tournament Edition made by MadCatz sold at $175 for the lowest on Amazon with the highest being sold at $340.  With prices like those, I could buy another console to play on.  So here are some of the perks of buying the more expensive arcade fightsticks: More durable, larger and tighter joystick, large surface space, weight and balance attained through wood material, spring powered button recoil for faster button press recovery, and a sleek and artistic design in tribute to Street Fighter IV.  I like the idea of having higher quality mechanisms with the joystick and buttons along with the weight and surface space made with top quality wood, but it's just too expensive to invest in unless I went pro and started to play in tournaments (which I highly doubt I'll do considering how badly I play fighting games).  Not having that weight and durability on a light plastic casing for the Intec does worry me a bit, but if it breaks, it's a $15 loss and not a $175 one.  I'll consider buying a more legit fightstick in the future, but right now I just want something nice and functional I could play with.  It's been pretty hard getting back into fighting games considering how frustrating boss fights have become for all of them (except Soul Calibur 4).  I'm going to keep an eye out for that Intec fightstick or try to find an alternative that will suit my needs.

Fighting games I'm playing:
Marvel Vs. Capcom 3
BlazBlue: Continuum Shift
Street Fighter IV (Still planning on getting SSFIV)
Tekken 6
Soul Calibur 4
Virtua Fighter 5

VGCulture - Fighting Game Bosses

Since the purchase of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 last Saturday, I've been trying to get back into Fighting games as well as RPGs since I've been playing nothing but First-Person shooters in the past year and a half.  After playing versus mode for 2 hours, everything I loved about fighting games flooded back to me: distinct characters, flashy combat with crazy combos, amazing character theme music, fluid and fast-paced animations and graphics, ridiculous specials that's satisfying when it lands, intricate and convoluted storylines that draws the player in (except MvC3 doesn't have that), and exciting challenges from other players that are better than me.  After nearly a week of MvC3, I am reminded what I hated about single-player mode for fighting games so much: Boss Battles.  Since the early days of Street Fighter 2; where the retardly hard Sagat would spam his Tiger Punch, Tiger Uppercut, and Tiger Knee and M.Bison's Psycho-drill and long-ranged slide attack would counter every approach that the player made; I have hated Boss battles for fighting games.  The Boss characters are usually made to counter everything the player does in every position, which is mainly what fighting is usually about: distance, timing, and decisions.  So when the AI is set to counter rushes, ranged attacks, and jump attacks, it becomes very difficult to close in the distance without getting totally screwed.  As technology advances, the graphics, AI, and combat system get more complex in fighting games; however, what I hate more than anything about fighting these end game bosses is that they cannot be beat by conventional means.  Everything you know and excel in skill at will probably be useless in the boss fights because the developers already created a counter  to every move in the game within the AI to make it all the more difficult; therefore, I end up using a repeatable cheap move that the computer AI can't comprehend, to cause a sort of glitch if you will, to beat them.

Galactus - Marvel vs. Capcom 3
The first time I got to the final boss for MvC3, my first reaction was "what the heck, I have to fight a character known for eating planets?"

Source: Youtube Channel IGNentertainment

Well, you don't fight him right away.  Instead, he creates two metallic versions of characters in the game for you to fight...at the same exact time.  They're not too hard to defeat as long as you get one hit to start a combo.  If you're not hitting one of them, they'll probably be spamming their skills and juggling your character until it's down, block every attack you try to execute, and then pass you back and forth between the two characters in an infinite chain.  Good thing they share one life bar.  If you're lucky enough to defeat them without losing too much health, then you get the privilege to fight Galactus himself.  He's so big and mighty that you only fight the upper half of his body.  He doesn't get fazed by any of your attacks (until near the end) and a flick of his finger can cause serious damage to your characters as well as forcing them to switch out.  He slams his hand down which causes about 25% of your life bar to disappear, his lasers can put down one of your characters even when you're blocking, and his mighty slam pretty much kills your character in one hit if you don't interrupt it (which only happened once for me so far).  I'm not sure how hard he is in very hard difficult or very easy, I've been playing only normal up till now.  Fighting him and his minions is totally BS and will not help you get better in the game in any way, but at least it's a lot more fair than other fighting games I've played.

Cheap Move to use: Repeatable move or ranged ability with specials for the end!  So fighting the minions isn't exactly cheap, but just juggle them as much as possible and use a long lasting special that takes out their health as quick as possible.  Then when fighting Galactus, use any single hit move that will cause a good amount of damage such as a kick or skill and block when he strikes.  When he's down to half-health, block any attack (except for the mighty slam that one shots you, can't block that) that will hurt your character and shoot ranged attacks.  It's strange, but he will sometimes glitch and not do anything but sit there.  Ranged attacks will also reach him and do a good amount of damage.  If you have your hyper levels up, use them near the last 25% of his health and prevent him from using his mighty smash attack.  The first time I played, I used Chris with his sub-machine gun to kill him off and he just stood there.  Anything else I tried got me killed.  I really doubt I can beat players online by using ranged moves like Hadouken alone.

Azazel - Tekken 6
Having fought normal sized enemies in the Tekken series, I was very surprised to see such a large boss for 6.  Much like Jinpachi in Tekken 5, it can shoot a ranged attack that will kill off half of your health, block almost every attack and counter immediately, break through your own block to follow up with a devastating attack that will probably screw you over.  This boss is stupidly hard, but also stupidly easy.

Cheap Move to use: Jump-kick!  So my father played Tekken 5 a lot and had problems fighting Jinpachi.  I've beaten him before, but still had trouble doing so sometimes.  The AI in Tekken is pretty strange.  You could be playing normal mode and then all of a sudden one of the characters gets super pissed and turns into a nightmare with combos lasting up to 12 chains.  This one time, Jinpachi was like that and my father and I couldn't beat him with all the counters and ranged attacks he performed.

Source: Youtube Channel RoosterTeeth

My sister walked in and said she wanted to try and after the first round, she started to use only jump kicks.  Instead of blocking or countering the kicks, Jinpachi just took it over and over until he got KOed.  Keeping this in mind, we used this method for any Tekken game we played to beat the boss.  So when we got Tekken 6 and I couldn't beat it, I let my sister do her thing.  She kept jump kicking and *BAM* Azazel was dead.  Consider this, my sister rarely plays any fighting games whatsoever.  The only fighting game she played extensively was the Smash Bros. series, so for her to figure out how to beat stupidly hard bosses in Tekken is both amazing and lame at the same time.  It's lame because anything else you try would probably get you killed.  Freaking Azazel...

Seth - Street Fighter 4
I was so excited when Street Fighter 4 released and couldn't wait till it was out.  When I first got it, I really wanted to challenge myself and played on the hardest difficulty possible.  I used Ryu since I was so familiar with his move-sets by now.  It was so fun and challenging and I did have to continue a few times, but I accepted it.  When I got to Seth and started fighting him, I was thinking "wow, he's so easy.  He just takes it and gets smacked around."  And then the second round came along and I felt like I was fighting Daigo or something.  He starts teleporting around and then lands an unblockable kick, or grabs you from behind (and if you try to jump out of it, get ready for a shouryuuken), throws a sonic boom to get you either to jump, block or get closer to use his Dhalsim fist to smack you around before performing more Shenanigans.  After 30-50 minutes of losing to him, I caved in and started over on normal and got through everyone.  Again, he's stupid the first round and then suddenly on caffeine and crack teleporting everywhere and dishing out unblockable moves and specials.  I've never tried very easy, but one of my friends, whose skill in fighting games is comparable to tourney players, had more problems fighting Seth on very easy than he did on very hard.

Source: Youtube Channel Games

Cheap move to use:  Crotch shots!  I'm not sure why, but he gets confused with leg sweeps and crouched punches.  He'll counter intricate combos, specials, and grabs, but he gets confused when getting hit where it should hurt most.  Granted it will take some experimenting on exactly which move works with each character and when to attack, but I've been using this method to defeat him.  I freaking hate Seth, which is why I barely touch Street Fighter IV anymore.

Hazama - BlazBlue: Continuum Shift
I hate this man with a passion, and he's the most normal looking dude out of all the fighting game bosses listed today.  I started the game on normal with Noel not knowing how to play the game but hoped to learn along the way.  I was okay and didn't have much trouble, until I got to Hazama.  The boss form of Hazama grants him a green ring that recovers his health continuously while depleting the player's health when in it.  He has a chain-like skill that works like an anti-air, an unblockable special that eats up half your health, a special kick that works nearly instantaneously that wipes off over 30-40% of the player's health, and single strike attacks that deals a great amount of damage while pushing the player back.  He's very fast and incredibly difficult to beat.  I even switched over to beginner mode to try to beat him and did even worse with it.  Like SF4, I gave up and went down to the easiest difficult possible and got to Hazama again.  He was STILL hard as balls and was just as difficult as he was in normal difficulty.  I think I possibly hate him the most out of the bosses so far (with Seth being very close behind).
(SPOILER ALERT - VIDEO CONTAINS RAGNA'S ARCADE ENDING) - I didn't watch the ending.

Source: Youtube Channel tweakglitcher

Cheap move to use: Ranged or repeatable attack!  The guy in the video did a really good job of beating him three rounds in a row without having to result to being cheap.  Not so for my experience in fighting him.  So even at very easy using Noel, I had a lot of trouble fighting Hazama without being countered, hit with a special, or getting the life sucked out of me while he recovered in his green circle.  I ended up using only my gun shots from the far side of the stage to beat him without him touching me.  Last night when I played, for the first time in a long time, I had an aggravating fight with him using Taokaka.  It takes a lot of hits to deal a good amount of damage with Taokaka, and it makes it all the more difficult when he has a recovery ring around him that hurts my character when I get inside of it.  I tried my very best to play legitimately and bring his health down only to get hit by one of his specials which did the same amount of damage it took me 25-50 attacks to achieve.  I ended up going back to the dumb tactics and locked him in the corner with the continuous cat claw attack and watched him fall into my attack over and over.  Very easy shouldn't be so retardly difficult to beat.


So why do I play through single-player mode if I hate end-bosses so much?  I like the stories!  MvC3 doesn't have much, but each ending has a small bit of cameo from the Capcom or Marvel universe with references that fans may or may not get.  The stories to Street Fighter IV, Tekken 6, and BlazBlue Continuum Shift; however, are really in-depth with an overall story revolving around the characters with each set of characters having a story of their own with one another.  It's like a sample of existentialism (I liked learning the subject in school) within all the characters that I played through.  You see the same story through different perspectives and gives a sort of personality to the characters and the game.  Games with stories like these interest me since it goes further than just a bunch of people beating each other up.  I thoroughly enjoyed going through the characters of Tekken 4 to reveal all sides of the story and what-ifs between them all.  It made it more involving and gave purpose to follow the newer ones since it follows the overall story.  In Tekken 6, it reviews the entire Tekken saga in the beginning of the game before it starts the actual story to show how far back the lineage and characters go back and how they relate to one another.  I can go on and on about this, but the main reasons why I play single player mode is to try to get better on the particular character I chose while finding out their story and personalities.  But boss battles totally mess up the whole flow of the game and don't teach me anything useful in a real match since I end up using a cheap move anyways.  That's it for now.  I'm going to suck it up and try to play some more fighting games and get more endings.  Have a good weekend everyone!

GameLight - Recent Demo Games (March 3, 2011)

So I tried out Dragon Age 2's Demo last week and was able to grab four other demos to try throughout the week (well, the past two days to be exact).  I tried out Crysis 2 and Total War Shogun 2 on Steam PC with Killzone 3 and Sonic the Hedgehog 4 demo on PS3.  It was fun trying out the demos.  Demos are very difficult to make since they need to capture something great about the game and stuff it into a small package.  Dragon Age 2 did an incredible job of that (I couldn't get enough out of just the demo, it was that fun).

Crysis 2 Multiplayer Demo (Steam PC)
I didn't play the first Crysis (but I intend to) and so I didn't pay too much attention on Crysis 2 until I saw a video showcasing some of the special abilities of the nanosuit and the acrobatics the players are able to do in multiplayer.  Along with the multiplayer gameplay concept, the graphics caught my attention.  You do need to make an account if you don't have one already before trying out the demo, but it only takes a minutes to make one.  As far as I know, the multiplayer demo is unlimited in time with two maps and two modes.  So far, I really like the game but can't really play it very well with my graphics and latency lag (that or I just suck really bad).  I'm thinking of getting it on PS3, but would like to try it out on the system first.

Source: Youtube Channel machinima

What was cool:
-Graphics were amazing.  Crisp, life-like, fluid graphics, immersive environment
-The class system isn't new to the genre, but it's still a fun implementation to the game
-Sliding, hi-jumping, and ground slamming were really fun and added to tactics
-The Nanosuit really changes the way the game is played compared to other FPS

Concerns:
-My graphics card couldn't handle it very well, couldn't tell how well the aim system is
-Will probably get the game on PS3, but want to try it first.  No demo for PS3 yet
-Exactly how much content is in the game?  No "extra maps and weapons are DLCs" excuse please
-Will this make Brink pointless to buy now?

Total War Shogun 2 Demo (Steam PC)
The demo to this game is ridiculously long.  If you like actual war-time strategy games (not skirmish RTS games like Age of the Empires and Starcraft), then this game is for you.  It's a mix between turn-based strategy where the player builds up his army, gather resources, make diplomatic treaties, spy on enemy territories, and other such measures to defeat your opponents and unite Japan.  This part of the game reminds me of the games Koei used to make such as Nobunaga's Ambitions and Romance of the Three Kingdoms.  The other half of the game is the real-time strategy combat where you bring literally hundreds to sometimes thousands of troops to fight legions of samurai, archers, and calvary.  I didn't finish the demo, and I played over 2 hours of it before I decided to stop.  The game is meant to be played on a strong graphics card like Crysis 2 to fully experience the full extent of the game's visuals.  I set the resolution to the lowest for both game just to have it somewhat run smoothly.  It was fun, but I don't think I want to invest so much time into this one game.

Source: Youtube Channel machinima

What was cool:
-True tactics and schemes can be used as strategy to defeat the enemies, sometimes without having to fight
-The visuals is one of the main attractions of the game and displays large battles live-time
-There's a lot to do and a lot of depth in what can be done to achieve each victory
-Being able to command several hundreds of units was pretty amazing and fun to watch during battles

Concerns:
-How long would it even take to beat the game?  Weeks?  Months?  Years?
-Losing a battle causes the player to suffer a lot of loss in men and resources, is there interim save?
-Would the player have to start the entire campaign over again should they fail and get dominated?
-I'd probably like the game more if my graphics card could handle it.  Upgrading to its level is expensive.

Killzone 3 Campaign Demo (Playstation 3)
The multiplayer demo was only for those who applied for the beta, so I didn't get to try it out.  I never played Killzone, but I tried the demo to Killzone 2 and didn't like it.  The controls were unruly and felt like I had not definite control when aiming.  This was one of the issues they addressed in Killzone 3 and created the game from the ground up with a new engine.  After playing through the demo, the controls really did feel a lot tighter and better.  I'm not sure if I really had fun with the demo though.  After finishing it, it didn't draw me in and made me want to play more of the game like the demo to Dragon Age 2 and Crysis 2 did.  What did make me consider buying Killzone 3 was the addition of 2-player cooperative campaign.  Well, not so much anymore seeing how my sister is still in college and my friend is out of the city working now.  I still might consider it, I need to do more research.

Source: Youtube Channel GameManxVIDEOS

What was cool:
-The controls improved tremendously from Killzone 2 and still had the effect that the weapons were heavy
-I like the addition of a 2-player local cooperative campaign, not enough local co-op games lately
-The weapons were pretty cool.  The magnum pistol was useful, the rockets were flashy, etc.

Concerns:
-The controls still don't feel right and would cause a lot of difficulties for competitive multiplayer
-The cover system didn't really do much except hide part of the body out of harms way
-How does competitive online multiplayer feel?  Will I be struggling to just aim in the right direction?
-I might not be able to fully appreciate the story of KZ3 unless I play 1 and 2 first.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 (Playstation 3)
Sonic 4 has been out on the virtual market for a while now and I haven't seen videos or played it yet, so I thought I'd give it a try when I saw the demo for it.  Having played the first three original Sonic games and some of the other 2D ones such as Sonic Rush, I was hoping for something great to come out of Sonic 4.  It goes back to its roots of a 2D speedy side scroller rather than all the 3D games it's been trying to release (to be honest, I want to go through all of them and just know the story and experience the gameplay.  I like Sonic) but was ultimately disappointed with how they made Sonic 4.  The demo lasted less than 5 minutes if even that which presented itself to resemble what the original three Sonic games were like, but it tries too hard to be that and felt like a forced production of nostalgia rather than a solid concept for a great game.  The animation and controls made Sonic feel heavy and clumsy (though the ability to auto target and boost toward it is pretty cool).  The visuals were a bit too pastel and felt like the entire game was made on Macromedia Flash.  Sonic Rush was the last decent Sonic game I have played, and the only thing keeping me from playing the other Sonic games in the past is having to pay for them.

Source: Youtube Channel Haruchan2010

What was cool:
-Though I didn't like the art style too much, the sprites and environment were clean and distinguishable
-It was fun playing a Sonic game in 2D again with alternate paths and fast action

Concerns:
-The game controls, animation, and mechanics felt clunky and heavy when it should be smooth and fast
-The game tries to hard to be what it used to be but doesn't live up to its art, music, or gameplay of the originals.
-Is there no two-player mode in this iteration of the game?

That's it for now.  Out of the 4 demos, I'm most likely to get Crysis 2 in the future.