NewNews - Happy Halloween 2011

I apologize for missing Friday's post.  I was out of town and couldn't find the time to do one.  Today's Halloween!  Some will dress up and go trick or treat.  Others will dress up and go to a party.

Source: http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/10/31

Me?  I wanted to dress up, but I'm too lazy to scare little kids and hand out candy this year.  I'm just going to stay indoors and play a bunch of horror games I usually don't play to celebrate.  Have a safe Halloween everyone!

NewNews - 2011 Halloween Sale on Steam

Official Site: http://store.steampowered.com/sale/scary_sale_2011

It's 4 days before Halloween and Valve helps us celebrate it by having a large collection of frightening games on sale in the steam store.  There's no tricks, just some awesome treats.  Here are some recommendations from the list of games:

F.E.A.R. Collection ($6.79) - It's not entirely a horror game and has plenty of action in it.  With the suspenseful atmosphere, challenging gunfire exchanges and occasional scare, this will be a good game pack to play for Halloween.

Devil May Cry 3 & 4, Resident Evil 5 (different prices) - So maybe you don't want to get scared, but still want ghouls, monsters and zombies in your games.  These three Capcom games has all sorts of nasties with less of the scare and more of the tear (meaning you being the one tearing the monsters apart).  DMC 3 can 2-player co-op when you get the doppleganger style and Resident Evil 5 is also co-op.

Left 4 Dead 1 & 2 ($6.79 each) - If you want the ultimate co-op experience with the action and scare at the same time, then Left 4 Dead might be your calling.  I shouldn't even have to recommend this as anyone with a Steam account probably has one or the other in their list of games.  Yes, it's that fun.

Plants vs. Zombies GOTY ($4.99) - This is a good game for the entire family to enjoy.  Even though there are zombies in the game, it won't be too frightening for even younger audiences to play.  It is pretty gruesome to see your beautiful flowers get chewed up by the undead though...

Bioshock 1 & 2 ($4.99) - The Bioshock series has more "pop up and scare" sorts of moments than anything.  The dark chambers and crazy enemies that rush toward you is scary, but not so much once you pump some lead into them with your shotty.

Dead Space Pack ($16.99) - Hey, that's a pretty good deal.  Dead Space is more true to the horror genre than the ones below, but it can be pretty hilarious too.  I found it funny to chop off the legs of your enemies, pick them up and throw it back in their faces only to have them fall off the platforms.  But yes, this series can get quite scary.

And other's that you should check out:
-STALKER Bundle
-Penumbra Collector Pack
-Rock of Ages
-Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
-Dead Island
-Killing Floor Bundle
-Amnesia: The Dark Descent
-F.E.A.R. 3
-Terraria (I highly recommend this one for $4.99)
-Borderlands

There's a lot more listed on the steam store, so check it out and have a safe and spooky Halloween!

NewNews - Rusty Hearts Update Delayed

Official Site: http://rustyhearts.perfectworld.com/
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/36630/?snr=1_4_4__13

While everyone was waiting for Battlefield 3's release on October 25, I was waiting for the release of Beat-em-up MMO Rusty Heart's 4th character Natasha.

Source: Youtube Channel SintSuke

Natasha is unique in being the only character out of the four to use a non-melee weapon and abilities that don't fall into a combo (such as deploying a turret).  So the problem right now is that it's the afternoon of October 26 and Natasha is still not playable.  I checked the official page and found out that there was a problem in trying to update the game last night to implement her in.  It is now set to update sometime today in the evening, and the anticipation is driving everyone nuts!  I know for sure that when I log in there will be Natashas everywhere, but that's what usually happens when a new character is introduced to a game.

To those who haven't come across this magnificent game: Rusty Hearts is a Free-to-Play Online Beat-em-up where players journey through sewers and a castle to put down the evil Vlad from his reign of terror.  Players can party up to 4 players and fight countless monsters.  There's also the option for competitive PvP if you like fighting other players.  If you're still in the dark as to what Rusty Hearts is, read my review.  Or better yet, click either on the official site or steam page on top to play as it is a free online game!

My main interest in Natasha is the faster attack speed compared to the other characters (well, maybe except Tude) as well as her flashy combos that has a similar resemblance to Dante from Devil May Cry when choosing "Gunslinger" style.  Also, it might be easier to stay out of harms way as Natasha is the only ranged character in the game.  The only thing I'm worried about is damage output and input.  It doesn't matter how flashy her combos are if she can't deal that much damage and loses half her hp bar from one hit.  I guess I'll find out when the update finally launches.

NewNews - Game Releases

Battlefield 3 (Released Today)
It's a big day today as FPS fans get their hands on Battlefield 3 and has started fragging each other as of last night.  My friend just told me he beat campaign, but it's longer than most FPS games' campaigns (I won't spoil anything, even the duration).

Source: Youtube Channel Battlefield

The Cursed Crusade (Released Today)
Published by Atlus, The Cursed Crusade provides a unique co-op hack-n-slash Action game with over 90 combos, dozens of weapons, and a lot of chaos.  Right now, the game is getting killed by the critics.  Not to mention that it released on the same day as Battlefield 3 with little to no advertising at all (not even on the front scroller on Steam).  Oh well, I am very interested in this game and will eventually check it out.

Some games to look out for in the next month:
-October 31: Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
-October 31: Lord of the Rings: War in the North
-November 1: Sonic Generations
-November 1: GoldenEye 007: Reloaded
-November 8: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
-November 11: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
-November 15: Assassin's Creed Revelations
-November 20: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
-November 22: TEKKEN Hybrid Limited Edition
-November 22: The King of Fighters XIII

GameLight - Wizardry Online

Official Site: http://www.gamepot.co.jp/wiz_en/

Source: Youtube Channel Gamehelper

Does the video remind you of any other game?  It seems the graphics style is highly influenced off of From Software's "Demon's Souls".  Wizardry is a series with a history longer than most games as it first started as a Table-Top, pen-and-paper RPG like Dungeons and Dragons.  It was first conceived as a computer RPG in 1981 and has since influenced the videogame RPGs that we play today.  Wizardry has been known for its complicated gameplay, intricate skill and stats building and unforgiving nature of perma-death (like in the old pen-and-paper RPG days).  From 1981 to the latest Wizardry Game on the PS3 (only available in Japan), the game has been a turn-based game with the players facing the enemies in a first person view, much like Dragon Quest.  The big change in Wizardry Online is that it will be a MMORPG played in a 3rd-Person Action Hack-n-Slash gameplay.  So it kinda looks like Demon's Souls, but will play more closely to games like Divinity 2 and Hellgate London.  In the original games, it was very possible to have all 6 of your party members to suddenly die from a trap, a monster, or doing something really dumb like teleporting the whole party into the wall.  Those characters are gone, and you'll have to start over with new characters.  It's very much the same in this game.  If you die, you have one chance to revive or you lose your character forever.

Source: Youtube Channel poponta001

I am very interested in this game and it has recently launched in Japan.  It is being brought to EU and North America in 2012 by publisher GamePot.  I'm not sure how I feel about the Permadeath idea for an MMO since we would pour dozens, if not hundreds, of hours into the game.  It will be a crushing experience to lose a character you've worked so hard on.  Still, I'll keep an eye out for this game and definitely give it a try when it comes out.

GameLight - Blizzard DotA

When Valve announced that they had copyrighted the term DotA, Blizzard was befuddled by it as the Custom Campaign game originated on their property (Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne).  Everyone's only guess was that they were working on a "DotA" game as well.  Sure enough, Blizzard announced "Blizzard DotA" sometime after.  Months later, a trailer is finally shown (earlier today at BlizzCon 2011).

Source: Youtube Channel starcraft

So what I hear is that it's a MOBA-based game, much like the original DotA, with a cast of heroes (and villains) from the universe of Starcraft, Warcraft, and Diablo.  The characters are categorized in the usual terms: A tank to take damage, DPS (Damage Per Second) to deal the most damage, Support to keep the team in the front lines, and a siege is possibly a pusher (the one to move a team's minions into the enemy base).  It is being built on Blizzard's Starcraft 2 Campaign Editor and will be free to play (granted that you have bought Starcraft 2 already) as a custom campaign on Starcraft 2's servers.  This seems like a really fun custom campaign to play, and it's a reminder that the whole purpose to buying Starcraft 2 for me was to utilize the Campaign Editor to improve as a game designer...

NewNews - Ezio of Assassin's Creed in Soul Calibur 5

So yesterday, I saw this on Penny Arcade:

Source: http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/10/19

I wondered "why would they make a comic like that?"  I looked up online and sure enough, Joystiq had received a screenshot of what looks like Ezio Auditore from Assassin's Creed 2 in the roster of Namco Bandai's upcoming Soul Calibur 5.

Source: http://www.joystiq.com/2011/10/17/rumor-assassins-creeds-ezio-coming-to-soulcalibur-5/

So the rumor is that Ezio is going to be the cameo character for the game.  This isn't the first time a character from a totally different game (or universe since Darth Vader and Yoda didn't start from a game first) appear as a combatant in the Soul Calibur series, but it was still a nice surprise to see Ezio being the one to possibly make an appearance as a playable character.  I wasn't very sure about getting Soul Calibur 5 considering how little I played the 4th in the series, but Ezio's inclusion makes a nice incentive for me to get the game now.

UPDATE: Not a rumor anymore (took just one day to reveal, haha):

Get More: GameTrailers.com, Soul Calibur V - Exclusive Character Reveal Trailer HD, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

GameLight Review - Torchlight

Official Site: http://www.torchlightgame.com/
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/41500/

Source: Youtube Channel runicgames

Developer: Runic Games
Publisher: Perfect World Entertainment
Platforms: PC (Available on Steam), Xbox 360 (Available on XBLA)
Release Date: October 27, 2009
Genre: Action-RPG

Pros:
-Very easy to pick up and play
-Bright and colorful art style makes it easy to navigate around the game
-Intense action for beginners and veteran players (inclusion of hardcore mode)
-High replay-value

Cons:
-No multiplayer
-Can get repetitive
-Some dungeons are confusing

For a game I paid $5 for, it was quite an entertaining experience playing the game.  The pet system allowed me to continue venturing through dungeons while my pet goes back to town to sell items for me.  The simple gameplay made it very easy to follow along and learn how to play.  The bright and color art style is charming and also made it easy to distinguish objects within the game such as characters, enemies, items, traps, and environments.  It was a very good game to play when I wanted a break from all the others games as the game focuses a lot on exploring, spamming a lot of flashy skills, and killing a ton of baddies while taking their loot.  If you're one of the people waiting for Diablo 3 or Torchlight 2 or have played similar games in the past, I recommend giving Torchlight a try.

Graphics
I was a bit surprised with how the game looked the first time I started it up.  It has a cartoon-ish type look to it with an almost cel-shaded type of style.  I learned along the way that this was possibly a design choice as I had a easy time distinguishing the many objects around me.  I was also shocked that the game's art was done within the Ogre engine (look it up).  The character designs, vivid color effects from the skills and amazing dungeon environments are quite impressive using an art program I find very rigid and limiting.  But because of this, some models look blocky and some of them can look archaic.  I really like the colorful environment in the game as it stands out.  Some of the areas do feel sort of repetitive and boring at times though.  Some dungeons can be dark as well, and the many path breaks can make for a confusing journey.  After fighting for 2-3 hours in one type of dungeon, you'll want nothing more than a change of scenery.  Besides the environment, I really liked the effects and animations for the character skills.  They're bright, flashy, and dynamic.  And for a game that focuses a lot on the usage of character skills, it makes a big difference.  It's quite satisfying seeing all those lights and powers mow down hundreds of enemies as the screen shakes from the sheer power your character unleashes.  For character creation, there isn't a lot the player can customize and there are only two choices for pets.  In lacking a in-depth character customization, equipment does have a change in appearance for the character.  So armor and weapons will be more than just mere point progression but will also show the differences each particular item has on the character.  Graphics: 8/10

Audio
The composer for Diablo 1 and 2 joined Runic Games in creating an awesome soundtrack for Torchlight.  The music is more melodic than the compositions he did for the Diablo series, and so they're actually pretty enjoyable to listen to even out of the game.  It has the similar fantasy/mysterious atmosphere in the delayed/reverb guitar strumming with the low drums and synth tones playing.  The music is subtle and is between thematic and ambiance.  One of the reasons I enjoyed playing through Torchlight was listening to the music, especially in the one in town, the mines, and the lava kingdom (which is the one playing in the trailer above).  The sound effects were important in many of the gameplay aspects.  Certain items such as gems and rings made a distinct sound when dropped by a enemy.  Certain enemies can be heard from a distance and prepare the player on how to react.  Voice cues notifies the player of particular situations such as running low on mana, health is low, pet is fleeing, backpack is full, etc.  And the usual things such as getting a critical hit makes it so satisfying.  Overall, a superb job in the audio department.  Audio: 9/10

Gameplay
The game is developed behind veterans who worked on Diablo 1+2, Fate, and the original Mythos (done to test out the servers for Hellgate: London originally) and has a strong background in creating Action RPGs.  The game started out how I imagined it.  Something is wrong, you go into town, talk to the NPCs, get a quest, and then you start killing stuff in the dungeon.  The story, while not incredibly enticing, moves the game along.  Syl, one of the main NPCs, is summoned by her mentor Alrich to see him; however, she arrives at the town of Torchlight with her friend Brink only to find a swarm of monsters at the entrance of the mines.  The player finds out that Alrich is corrupted by the power of the embers below and attempts to awaken Ordrak, a powerful being deep below Torchlight.  The game consists of a lot of clicking (on items, enemies, objects, and paths) and a whole lot of spamming of character skills on the number row.  I've always hated how so many RPGs use the number row since it stretches so far from each other.  Luckily, I have a programmable speedpad (which has made my experience with a ton of RPGs much more enjoyable) so that all my skills are withing reach.  I didn't get the game at first and just used my regular attacks a lot.  After realizing how many potions I kept picking up, I started using my skills a lot more often and I saw the strategies I could use in large hordes of enemies by utilizing all my skill abilities rather than having them be a small complimentary attack damage to my regular attacks.  It's fun when there's a lot of fighting, but traversing through some of the dungeons can be bothersome if not repetitive.  After a while, it feels like you're just mashing a lot of buttons.  I got the most fun out of fighting bosses (though most all of them were easy except for the final boss Ordrak) and swarms of enemies.  Whenever I missed a quest because I didn't go to one of the forked paths, it's a bother to run all the way back to get it.  The gameplay will be much slower to those who are used to Diablo 2, but I suppose it was made that way so that it's easier for even beginners to gaming in general to cope with the game and be able to reaction to situations.  After beating Ordrak, the player can continue playing the game in a new dungeon.  They can also retire their character and pass down an item with improved stats for a new character.  After beating Ordrak, I wasn't very compelled to continue playing other than trying out the other two classes (I played through as a marksman vanquisher).  I'll probably jump on it once in a while to play through the new area and my newly created Alchemist, but I think I'm mostly ready for Torchlight 2.  Gameplay 7/10

Overall
I had fun with it, and I got my $5 out of it.  And if I really wanted to continue playing, I could.  One of the main reasons I'd go back to Torchlight, were I to play it again, would be to try out different builds and skills for the characters.  I mostly enjoyed the game, but at times I felt like I wasn't getting very much out of playing it.  Still, I'm glad I got the game and played through it.  It's a simple and fun distraction to play once in a while between my other games.  But because of Torchlight, I have very high hopes for Torchlight 2.  I'll probably play Torchlight a little more before the 2nd one comes out.  Overall: 8/10

Retroview - Diablo 2

Official Site: http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/games/d2/

Source: Youtube Channel XdiabloX125

Diablo 2 is considered by many PC gamers as the best Action-RPG gaming has to offer, and it took me 10+ years to find out.  I finally tried out Diablo 2 last week after beating Torchlight (created by developers who worked on Diablo 2, Fate, and Mythos) and playing Titan Quest last week and found that many gamers still prefered Diablo 2 over it.  I had previously tried out D2 a few years back when I was still busy with college and didn't have the time to truly sit down and play the game very much.  Both Diablo 2 and Titan Quest took about 1-2 (maybe even 3) hours before I started having fun.  It feels slow and monotonous in the beginning as it introduces the story and the gameplay mechanics to the player.  But once the real challenging enemies appear, better loot falls out, and the player gaining incredible skills, the game gets really interesting.  One very refreshing concept that I always liked about older Action-RPGs is exploration, and Diablo 2 is a ton of that.  Sure, the player can revisit past dungeons and gain experience/get better items; however, the player is rarely in the same spot or area for more than a minute.  Many RPGs, especially MMORPGs, have players fighting the same spawn of monsters for long durations (for some, it could be hours, or even days).  Loot can come in all varieties with some being strong, other more useful, and most being useless.  There's isn't a strong linear equipment progression that a lot of RPGs have which forces the player to stick with the same equipment until they find the next level.  In Diablo 2, the player has to delegate which equipment would be more beneficial.  Diablo 2 has such a strong sense of dynamics in every aspect of the game that I'm surprised so many RPGs now (not all) seem to have gone so linear.  I suppose it makes it easier to progress through the game without having to plan and organize as much.  After playing Torchlight and Titan Quest, I wasn't prepared the first time my character died in Diablo 2.  In Torchlight, you can choose to sacrifice gold and fame to respawn where you died or at least the beginning of the dungeon if not choosing to respawn in town with no consequences.  In Titan Quest, you respawn at the last save fountain you came across with some experience penalty.  But in Diablo 2, dying meant that you drop everything that was on your body (weapons, armor, shield, charms, and such) where you died and end up back at town with nothing on you.  The repercussion of the first death put me on edge from then on, making it more challenging.  It reminds me of the tense nature that Demon's Souls gave me whenever I fought a formidable foe.  Luckily, I was able to go back to my body and pick up everything I had equipped before.  The pace of the game is very fast, and perhaps ARPGs are slower now so that players can be more strategical rather than relying on quick reactions.  Still, I am very bothered by games where I'm walking for 5-10 minutes just to get to my destination (mainly in MMORPGs).  There are always monsters that needs to be fought along the way or things to do to keep the player on edge and focused rather than watching their character run a marathon throughout the entire game.  There's still much to say.  But to make it short: if you like point-n-click Action-RPGs or waiting for Diablo 3, I highly recommend playing Diablo 2 (with the expansion).

Retroview - Titan Quest

Official Site: http://www.titanquestgame.com/
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/sub/402/?snr=1_5_9__13

Source: Youtube Channel IGNentertainment

Released back in 2006, Titan Quest was not much of an interest to me.  I actually don't even remember the game coming out.  I just knew about it last year when I saw a friend playing it.  I asked her whether it was fun and she said it was to hold her down until Diablo 3 came out.  Up to that point (and even up till just last week) I have not play any of the Diablo games.  I don't remember what the reason was that I didn't get it (probably because I wasn't even allowed to play much videogames, much less buy one) back when I was in Jr. High and everyone was talking about it, but I suppose it's good to know that I've given it a try now.  So a few years back (about 3-4 years ago), I tried out Diablo 2 for about 5 minutes and I thought to myself "I fail to see what was so great about this game".  It was during this time I was still in college and had very little time to play games and so I had stuck with a lot of Fighters, Shoot-em-ups, and First-Person Shooters since they were all short and required little time investment.  Fast-forward to the present where I've already graduated and have more time to myself, I've gotten back into RPGs and Action-Adventure games.  I got to try out Diablo 3 back in 2008 at BlizzCon and really liked it.  So with the anticipated wait for Diablo 3, I've been trying to fill in that void and thirst for Diablo 3 with similar games.  I had beat Torchlight recently (which I need to do a very late review for) and felt I needed something more.

Just last week, Titan Quest and Titan Quest Immortal Throne (packed together as Titan Quest Gold) was on sale for $5 on Steam.  Watching back at the gameplay (such as the one above) and screenshots, I really didn't have much interest in it.  But I remembered my friend told me it was fun and it was much like Diablo.  I decided to take a risk and bought it, and boy am I super glad I did.  The game's class system is what really turned me on in the game.  A player starts out naked (figuratively) with no specialties or skills.  They eventually choose 2 different masteries which narrows them into a certain type of class.  I'm playing the original one right now which has 8 masteries to combine (the expansion adds 2 more I think) and has all sorts of different combinations that define the class the character plays as.  I combine the mastery "warfare" which focuses on dual-wielding and strength with "rogue" which excels in poison and damage to create an Assassin.  I'm able to dish out a ton of damage and combine all sorts of elements with my weapons so that I have fire damage, lightning attacks, poison, bleeding, and leech life going when I'm attacking hordes of enemies.  The game is exciting in that with an alarming amount of enemies coming at you, the player still finds a way to overcome them.  It does get challenging at times and isn't just a clicking game (as most have pointed out in top-down, point-n-click Action RPGs such as Diablo) as strategy, timing, and skill/equipment allocation all contribute to a wholesome Action RPG experience.  The biggest problem I had to face in the beginning was having to go back every 2-3 minutes to sell all the items that drop.  I learned from a buddy of mine from playing Diablo 2 with him that you don't have to pick everything up and just picking up rare items to sell them is enough money for all that the player needs.  I'm seriously having a ton of fun playing Titan Quest and can't believe I didn't try it sooner.  I'm questing around, killing tons of enemies, learning new skills, looting incredible weapons and armor, and fighting formidable bosses.

Even with all the fun I'm having with Titan Quest, I read up online that many ARPG fans still prefer Diablo 2 over it.  I still had the Diablo 2 from the 3-4 years ago I tried and decided to give it another try (this time with the expansion and playing longer than just 5 minutes).  I'll admit that both Titan Quest and Diablo 2 were kinda boring and made me skeptical in the first 1-2 hours.  But after that threshold, I got hooked.  I can't stop playing as I'm always trying to find better loot, fight harder enemies, and gain more experience to get more skill points to utilize new abilities in the game.  I'm very glad I bought Titan Quest and more so that I bought the expansion with it so that I may try out some new class combinations.  This will hold me out until Diablo 3 I think.

GameOn - Fighting Games - Street Fighter x Tekken

Official Site: http://www.streetfighter.com/us/sfxtk/

Source: Youtube Channel CapcomUnityVideos

I remember being excited and confused when Capcom announced Street Fighter x Tekken when both fighting games have a totally different battle system.  It seems that it falls more into the Street Fighter cross over style with games like SNK vs. Street Fighter and such.  The game features a 2-person tag team which means you can play along side a friend and even a full out 2 vs 2 with all 4 players on the screen.  The 2-player tag system allows a player or players to switch smoothly between the characters to chain a long string of attacks between them for the maximum damage output.  With a cast from both Street Fighter and Tekken, it's going to be very interesting with the mash-ups a player could do.  I'm not sure if they're going to be adding all the characters that people want since players already devising match-ups such as Fei Long versus Marshall Law and Akuma versus Heihachi.  Currently, there are 22 characters listed on the site.  There could be more, and I hope there will be without the need to buy them as a DLC.  But this is Capcom we're talking about, and they've been milking with DLCs like crazy lately.  I'm actually pretty hyped for this game since it's a different battle system and won't really replace a game that I'd be otherwise be playing (example: getting Soul Calibur 5 might mean playing Soul Calibur 4 a lot less).  Looks like this won't be out until March 2012, which is fine.  I hope this means more characters will be added.

GameOn - Fighting Games - Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3

Official Site: http://www.marvelvscapcom3.com/us

Source: Youtube Channel CapcomEuro

It makes me sad that I'm going to be buying another copy of Marvel vs. Capcom 3, but it seems to be the trend in fighting games to add some extra content to the existing game and resell it.  The thing is, there will be 8 new levels and 12 additional characters.  The one I'm most excited about is Phoenix Wright among other characters such as Ghost Rider, Hawkeye, Strider Hiryu (yay for his return!), Fire Brand, and Vergil.  With so many new characters joining the roster, I can't help but buy it when it's released.  I'm hoping there will be a new mode of sorts to play since I play solo quite often if I'm not playing local multiplayer.  I don't play any of my fighting games online, though I really should for the "Ultimate" experience.  From my experience with online play on MvC3 (the only fighting game I've played online so far), the connection is pretty smooth and delivers a pretty legitimate competitive experience.  One of the problems I had with MvC3 was the amount of characters compared to MvC2, and this new expansion seems to remedy that.  I'm not sure if I really want to spend $40 for those new characters right away.  I should probably wait it out and actually play the fighting games that's barely touched right now until I can get it for $20.  The only problem is if suddenly Capcom decides to release "Super Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3".  They seem to do that quite often.  I skipped over getting "Super" Street Fighter 4 and then got it when "Arcade Edition" came out.  Nonetheless, I can't wait to play as Phoenix Wright!

GameOn - Fighting Games - Soul Calibur 5

Official Site: http://www.soulcalibur.com/

Source: Youtube Channel RajmanGamingHD

The first time I played Soul Calibur was at a nickel arcade.  It was like many other 3D games out around time of its release such as Virtua Fighter, Tekken, and such.  What really got me into Soul Calibur was when my father bought me Soul Calibur 2 and I didn't really know what it was (I didn't even know I had played Soul Calibur 1 at this time), but I liked the premise of a fighting game based on swords (I love swords).  My father had bought me the gamecube version with Link as the special character for the system.  From the different swords, to the quest like legend mode, Soul Calibur was a different fighting game for me and I really enjoyed it.  When 3 came out, it was only for PS2 and I ended up not getting it.  When my father had bought me the PS3 one Christmas, he got Soul Calibur 4 with it (among 11 other games).  To my dismay, I was disappointed that all the characters were created using the customizer they created.  I felt a lot of the personality of the characters were all watered down since they had similar features.  On the bright side, the level of customization was very high.  I didn't play Soul Calibur 4 as much (I don't play a lot of my fighting games all that much because I have so many games now) but I'm still excited for Soul Calibur 5 for some reason.  It seems that Ivy is more properly robed.  I assumed she was gonna go all out seeing the progression from SC2 to SC4.  It's mainly the new characters being introduced that has me interested in the game.  One of them is Natsu, but I won't be as interested if she's a direct copy of Taki (she's Taki's student).  I'm still so interested in fighting games even if I don't play them too often (anymore) mainly because of the amount of games I have now than I did before.  It's also mainly because fighting games, shoot-em-ups, and First-Person Shooters were the main genres I played throughout college because I didn't have enough time to sit down and play for a long duration.  With more time now, I'm getting back into RPGs like crazy.  Still, with the release of fighting games like Soul Calibur 5, I want to get back into Fighting games a least a little bit.

GameOn - Fighting Games - Tekken Hybrid

Did everyone have a good break yesterday for Columbus Day (assuming you got a break)?  This week's GameOn theme is upcoming fighting games (all of them being being spin-offs or sequels).  Today's topic is Tekken Hybrid; it's a 3D CG Movie packed with the original Tekken Tag in HD and I think Tekken Tag 2 Tournament.

Source: Youtube Channel NamcoBandaiGames

I'm not a huge fan of Tekken (even though I own Tekken 1-6) but I do like the premise of the stories for each character and how they all tie together.  I dreaded the creation of the live action movie for Tekken, and so I was really happy to see a 3D CG movie in the works planned to be released as Tekken Hybrid as that's how a movie for Tekken should be presented.  I just hope the story and choreography lives up to its reputation within the games.  Lots of tournament and/or competitive players are excited about Tekken Tag 2, and it makes sense if you see some of the crazy combos pro players perform utilizing the tag system:

Source: Youtube Channel MitsuGTO885

That's scary!  After 1-2 rounds in, your character will miss the feeling of the ground.  Tekken Tag 2 will have a steeper learning curve compared to the main game as its use of the Tag system is necessary if a player wants to be remotely competent against someone who plays the game often.  I'm already god awful at the game controlling one character, I can only imagine how bad it would be like controlling two characters.  The arcade cabinet should be available internationally sometime this month, but the PS3 version won't be seen until sometime next year in 2012.

VGCulture - Music - Fight Evil with Religion!

My friend sent me this video today:

Source: Youtube Channel machinima

The game is Castlevania: Harmony of Despair originally exclusive to Xbox 360 XBLA and was recently released on PS3's PSN.  It's not like the usual Castlevania with exploration and such but more like a huge boss rush mode.  It allows up to 4-player co-op.  I tried out the original release at E3 2010 and thought it was okay, but I'm not happy with the price.  It's $15 for the base game with an extra $2-$5 for the other 10 DLCs that contain extra maps, characters, and such.  The video did remind how great the past few hand-held Castlevania games were, and so I plan to replay them soon.  Have a good weekend everyone.

GameLight - The Cursed Crusade

Official Site: http://www.thecursedcrusade.com/

Source: Youtube Channel AtlusUSA

When I first heard that Dark Souls was going to be published by NamcoBandai, I was wondering what Atlus was working on since they weren't going to be the ones publishing it (since they published Demon's Souls).  So that's when I saw trailers for "The Cursed Crusade" (before, it was just hearing the name and seeing the box art) and wondered what sort of game it will be.  The Cursed Crusade will be a 3rd-Person Action-Adventure game set in the Medieval era.  It will feature split-screen local cooperative gameplay, which is something rare these days it seems.  You could almost say it's like a Medieval version of Army of Two.  I've been looking/waiting for a co-op game I can play whenever my friend comes over besides Call of Duty: Black Ops, but there aren't too many good local co-op games as most developers focus on online play for multiplayer.  I'm not sure why, but I've been getting more and more into the Medieval themed games again recently (such as Dark Souls, forth coming Skyrim, Dragon's Dogma, and Kingdoms of Amalur *though it's more fantasy than medieval*).  So far, The Cursed Crusade is a game I want to get for the co-op play; however, I'm still not sure how it'll turn out as it already has one review up on MetaCritic with a rating of 58/100 (PC) but a score of 83/100 on PS3.  I'll most likely get it on PS3 since it'll be easier to play with a friend and to avoid the many problems a PC version may have with compatibility, graphics, and requirements.

The Cursed Crusade will be released on October 11th, 2011 at (most likely) $59.99 for PS3 and Xbox 360 and $49.99 on PC.  I'm still not certain whether it will be available for digital purchase on Steam, but we'll find in five days anyways.

[Update]: NA Release is October 25th and EU Release is on October 7th.  These dates aren't for sure, but that's what I've found for now.

GameLight - War of the Immortals

Official Site: http://woi.perfectworld.com/

Source: Youtube Channel PerfectWorldVideos

War of the Immortals will be a sequel of sorts (I suppose, not sure) to Battle of the Immortals.  It plays similarly but with extra content such as new classes, more items, and new dungeons to explore.  It'll be a top-down MMORPG with all the usual stuff such as PvP, questing, and instances.  I finally tried out Battle of the Immortals last night and got up to level 21 in 2 hours.  The gameplay is much faster than most MMORPGs nowadays, though it feels like an old school MMORPG as Online RPGs have that top-down isometic type of view.  War of the Immortals will be getting three additional classes from Battle of the Immortals: Ranger, Duelist, and Enchantress.  The game utilizes the auto-path function that most all Chinese MMORPGs have which makes it really easy to progress from one point to the next without having to guess where everything is.  Just a word of warning: the game looks a lot like Diablo, but it's not Diablo.  The game plays more closely to games such as Twelve Sky 2, Mir 2, and Ultima Online (if anyone even remembers that).  I'm liking Battle of the Immortals so far, so I'm anxious to see what sorts of improvements will be brought in War of the Immortals.

GameLight - RAGE

Official Site: http://www.rage.com/

Source: Youtube Channel machinima

RAGE was released last night along side with the release of Dark Souls.  RAGE is an Action-Adventure First-Person Shooter with some RPG elements and semi-open world roaming.  No critic reviews were seen at all as of yesterday and I guess all of them were posted the second the game was officially released.  Currently, the scores average to 83-84/100 Xbox 360-PS3 respectively with no average rating for PC thus far from the critics.  From fan reviews, it seems that RAGE for the PC is riddled with glitches, crashes, ugly textures, errors and such.  As I've mentioned before in the past posts, I didn't have much interest in RAGE ever since the first time I heard about it at E3 2010.  I didn't bother to even look up any gameplay trailers until today and after watching a few of them and reading a few reviews, I'm interested in playing through it.  This means I'm not going to be buying it for a while.  A lot of people are complaining how it looks like a Borderlands or Fallout 3 Rip-off.  Looking at some of the videos, I can see that there are influences of Borderlands inventory system, level and artistic design, and open-world concept in the footages.  Is that a bad thing?  Of course not.  Borderlands was a great game, but RAGE doesn't seem like Borderlands at all in terms of an overall gameplay experience.  I guess some people are pointing out the post-apocalyptic theme that Fallout 3 had in RAGE, but the game doesn't look or playing very much like Fallout 3 at all.  If anything, the game reminds me of Doom 3 (which would make sense since the developers are the creators of Doom and Quake).  The game has "some" RPG elements, but it isn't an RPG.  The game has "free-roaming" missions and maps, but it's not an entire open-world game.  There also seems to a be a racing game implemented into this FPS-adventure.  Players can race, build their own car and upgrade them to win more money.  The game does look fun, but compared to several other fall and winter releases (not to mention ones I've missed during the spring and summer such as Deus Ex: HR and Dead Island) I'm just not interested enough to go out and get it...yet.  If you're concerned about spending the full $60 for the game, wait till Black Friday/Cyber Monday and see if you can get a good deal (sometimes a drop to $20-$30 can happen during that duration in time, even for new games).

GameLight - Dark Souls (Out Tonight)

Official Site: http://www.preparetodie.com/

Source: Youtube Channel NamcoBandaiGames


Source: Youtube Channel NamcoBandaiGames

Dark Souls is getting its debut release tonight at 12am at GameStops (not sure about other stores) and many are excited about it.  Having already 17 critic reviews on Metacritic with an average of 89/100 points, Dark Souls is already making its way to be this year's winter seller game.  It will be available for PS3 AND Xbox 360 tonight for North America and Oct. 7th in other regions thanks to the efforts of NamcoBandai.  The game looks excruciatingly difficult and makes Demon's Souls look easy in comparison.  I'm definitely going to buy the game, but not tonight.  I'm willing to wait a bit longer until there's a price drop or sale as this winter I will be spending quite a bit on new and old games (around black friday/cyber monday).  I'm a patient man, and I have a ton of games still unfinished.  And I still have Demon's Souls to hold me down as I've started a new character last night.  If you're interested in Dark Souls, haven't played Demon's Souls, and want to wait for the price drop for Dark Souls like I am, then I suggest picking up Demon's Souls as it's $15-$20 (for new copy) at stores now.  Now that the game's finally coming out tonight, I'll just have to wait a little longer before getting the chance to play through it.