GameLight - Warriors Orochi 3

Official Site: http://www.tecmokoeiamerica.com/orochi3/

Source: Youtube Channel ZhaoYun2011

Happy Lunar New Years Everyone!  According to the Eastern Animal Zodiac, it is the year of the Dragon.  Speaking of dragons, the dragon of the Hayabusa clan is returning in a new game; and I'm not talking about Ninja Gaiden 3.  RYU HAYABUSA IS IN WARRIORS OROCHI 3!!!

Source: Youtube Channel KING90I

Oh man, a chill went down my spine when I heard the remixed version of Ryu Hayabusa's original tune from the NES days come on.  I didn't pay much attention to Warriors Orochi 3 after I learned that it wasn't going to be brought over to the Western market early last year.  So it was a huge surprise when I heard today that it was going to be released in North America in March this year!!! (Supposedly March 20th)  Even more surprising was that Ryu Hayabusa of the Ninja Gaiden series was going to be in it!  Not only that, but characters from Warriors: Legends of Troy, Bladestorm, Trinity: Souls of Zill O'll and Dead or Alive are also going to join the huge cast of characters from Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors:

Source: Youtube Channel ZhaoYun2011

Altogether, the game has 120+ characters to choose from!  For those unfamiliar with the Warriors Orochi series: It's a spin-off that started with only Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors back on the Playstation 2.  A dimensional rift pulls the warriors of Ancient 3 Kingdom Era China and Sengoku Era Japan together to a strange land where they either join or oppose the Snake King "Orochi" (A snake demon in Japanese culture).  Some major differences in gameplay are the ability to switch between any three characters chosen for battle at any given time, chain attacks from multiple characters together, every individual character has a special attack unique only to them, and your proximity to allied troops has an influence to how they act on the battlefield.  Warriors Orochi is possibly the best spin-off Koei has done for the "Warriors" series and am incredibly happy to hear that it's being brought over.  I'm saddened that I never got around to getting and playing Warriors Orochi 2, but I had anticipated a 3rd one to come out and didn't get it.  So upon hearing that it wasn't being brought over made me lose my interest in pursuing the series any further.  Now I'm more excited than ever about its release, especially with even more collaborated games from within their IP.  If you're new to the series, I highly recommend picking up Warriors Orochi 2.  It's really a lot of fun!  THANK YOU TECMOKOEI!

GameLight - Pokémon Plus Nobunaga's Ambition

Official JP Site: http://www.pokemon.co.jp/ex/ranse/
Wikia Page: http://koei.wikia.com/wiki/Pokémon_Plus_Nobunaga_no_Yabou

Source: Youtube Channel ThePokemonCompanyCH

A new Pokémon game is coming out (at least in Japan)!  But it's not what most are expecting.  Nintendo has teamed up with historical war game developer Koei in creating Pokémon plus Nobunaga's Ambition, a Tactical Strategy RPG for the Nintendo DS.  When I saw the video on Kotaku, I was excited.  "Whoa, Sengoku era warlords fighting with Pokémon?  Awesome!"  The article shared on Kotaku was written by Brian Ashcraft (I go to Kotaku specifically to read stuff he writes) and he explained his reaction of watching the trailer with his 8-year old child.  They were both perplexed and confused with why they would do such a cross over.  This is not surprising as it's a strange mash-up.  I told my father, once an avid player of Nobunaga's Ambition back in the NES days, about the cross over and he thought it was absolutely absurd.  "It's just too strange."

Just some background on what Nobunaga's Ambition is about: It's part of a long series of historical strategy games developed by Koei based on Japan's Sengoku Period (1467–1573) where many feudal warlords seeked to conquer and unify Japan.  Among those leaders was a man named Nobunaga Oda who held one of the largest armies and was a forced to be reckoned with.  Games based off that time period are numerous and should be familiar in one name or another.  Some of these games, aside from Nobunaga's Ambition, that is based off the history or references historical figures are: Sengoku Basara (known as Devil Kings in the Western market) (Capcom), Onimusha (Capcom), Samurai Warriors (Koei), Kessen 3 (Koei), Shogun: Total War (Electronic Arts, Sega), Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties (Microsoft Game Studios), etc.

I'm guessing that the team behind the Pokémon franchise wants to try something new and grab a new audience, specifically those who are interested in historical Japan/the matured audience exposed to the history.  In all honesty, I'm really sick of the same Pokémon games that have been spewing out over and over.  So whenever Nintendo decides to develop or have another company develop a new type of game like Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, Pokémon Pinball, or Pokémon Rumble, I get excited and am willing to try it out.  With a crazy mix between Pokémon and Samurai fighting, I say "why not?"  I'm hoping that it gets brought over to the Western market, though I'm not sure how well it would sell.

Source:
-Kotaku: Watching the New Pokémon Trailer with an 8-Year-Old

Retroview - Sonic the Hedgehog CD

Official Site: http://www.sega.com/games/sonic-cd-2011/
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/200940/

Source: Youtube Channel rogueyoshi

Sonic CD was re-released today on Steam as well as other major systems (PC, PS3-PSN, Xbox 360-XBLA, iPod touch, iPhone, mobile android, iPad).  When I saw it on the steam page, I was thinking "hey, I remember that game!  I feel like playing it again."  Well I can't find it and it's somewhere in my room, haha.  Sonic CD was a unique game compared to the other Sonic games being developed.

"Following the release of Sonic the Hedgehog, Lead Programmer Yuji Naka had grown dissatisfied with the rigid corporate policies at Sega and moved to the United States to work with the Sega Technical Institute, along with several members of Sonic Team, to develop Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Meanwhile in Japan, a separate development team headed by Sonic creator Naoto Ohshima handled development on Sonic CD. This game and Sonic 2 were initially intended to be one and the same, but during development, Sonic CD evolved into a vastly different type of game." -Wikipedia

Sonic CD is seemingly longer and more difficult than the first Sonic that was released.  It was initially released for Sega Mega CD in 1993, and later on Windows 9x's series in 1996.  Since a CD was able to hold more data, the animations, graphics, and music was more advanced.  It was the first Sonic game to include animated cinematics.  Most people probably haven't heard of Sonic CD as the most popular Sonic games came from the Sega Genesis.  Sonic CD is like the "Rondo of Blood" of its series, albeit the fact that it was actually released in the Western market when "Rondo of Blood" wasn't brought over until much later.  It was released on a console that didn't take off and was thus neglected by the mass market as well.  This re-release doesn't seem to have anything new other than the fact that you can play as Tails as well now.  They might have taken out some of the those glitches you can see from the Tool-Assisted Speedrun (TAS) video above.  Sonic CD still had that fluid platforming mechanic that made Sonic feel really fast and exciting.  Sonic the Hedgehog 4 - Episode 1 was also released on Steam today with a reduced price from its console counter-parts.  Sonic 4 seems to have lost that ability to convey fast and fluid gameplay with its clunky controls and floppy running animation.  As many Sonic fans or even general gamers might know, the Sonic series has had a very difficult time keeping up in the market and satisfying its fan base ever since it left the console wars (and to some, ever since it left the Sega Genesis).  I suppose Sega's decision to bring back the classics, both "figuratively" (same mechanics as its retro counter-parts in Sonic 4 and Sonic Generations) and "literally" (Sonic CD, Sonic 1-3, Sonic 3D Blast, etc.), is a way to remind their fans why they loved Sonic in the first place (and to make money for course).  I loved Sonic and I still do.  Something about its colorful environments, fast-paced action gameplay, and unique characters has me consistently interested in the series, despite not having played a lot of the 3D ones (ever since the Genesis days, I've played a little bit of Adventure, Heroes, and then played mostly the handheld ones such as Sonic Battle and Sonic Rush).  Since I can't find Sonic CD, I'm thinking of getting it off Steam as it's selling initially for $4.99.  During a sale, it might go down to $2.49.  Also, Steam players who also play Spiral Knights (a free-to-play Action Online RPG published by Sega) will also get a Sonic and Tails Chassis to wear in the game.  If you have never played a Sonic game before, go onto Steam, Playstation Network, or Xbox Live Arcade and grab a copy of Sonic the Hedgehog 1, 2 or 3.  You'll be able to experience a videogame in its purest form of entertainment: Simple to learn, challenging levels, catchy music, bright and vivid graphics, and being able to have fun!

Seriously though, even with all the poorly received games in the past 1.5 decade, I want to eventually one day buy every Sonic game I haven't played yet and go through them.  I just can't bring myself to pay money on the ones that are considered "bad" since they're still $20-$40.  I'll make Sonic Generations an exception since that looks really fun.

NewNews - SOPA and PIPA endangers the internet

What is:
-Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
-Protect IP Act (PIPA)

So anyone who uses the internet on a daily basis must have heard about the two bills put into consideration of passing that protects the rights of copyright holders (in other words, corporations).  That, or some may realize that their favorite search engines, online encyclopedias, web-comics, and gaming blog news have been blacked out or references it.  It's a bit complicated to describe what SOPA and PIPA would "exactly" do as it is a bit vague in itself of what would be considered legal or not when the bill passes.

I'm not entirely sure of every detail of the bills, but I will try my best to explain what would happen were the bills passed: Any sign of copyrighted materials not belonging to the owner of the site it's on is susceptible to having the site shut down for copyright infringement.  These two bills are being discussed as a method of stopping the circulation of copyrighted piracy and counterfeits.  That is the gist of it.

It's great that the government wants to protect people and companies of their intellectual property (IP) and copyrights, but such an extreme method would solve very little and harm a lot to free speech and to the economy.  Imagine if the bills were passed and websites started to blackout:
-Social sites such Facebook, LinkedIn, or MySpace would longer be able to share links, pics, or videos
-Friends would no longer be able to share links or videos on sites or forums
-It endangers sites of collected information such as Wikipedia, VGmuseum, etc. from continuing
-User created or fan-made media wouldn't be allowed (Youtube, Deviant Art, SoundCloud, etc.)
-Any hint of copyright infringement may cause sites to go down and go into long delegations of resolution
-Foreign sites, personal sites, and small business sites would/could be blocked out from search engines
-No freedom to share and talk about interests of copyrighted materials (such as this blog)
-Small businesses and entrepreneurs wouldn't be able to mediate against user shared materials on their sites before they get their site shut down
-Major news media wouldn't be able to report anything (yahoo, AOL, gamasutra, maybe even CNBC)

The list can keep going as it affects many sites, users, and companies that have nothing associated with copyright infringement, piracy, or the circulation of counterfeit materials.  The internet would become extremely business and corporate orientated that it will just come down to making more money for those who own all the major businesses.  Innovation would be impossible and shared knowledge would cease.  All these two bills would do eventually in the future is blind everyone from everything else in the world and show only things the government wants us to see.  Anyone and everyone can help stop these two bills from passing.  To learn more, check out the links below.

-Contact your representatives with Wikipedia
-Learn more about SOPA and PIPA from:
  -Wikipedia
  -Google
-Companies and Media who are opposed to SOPA and PIPA and their thoughts

GameLight Review - Homefront

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

Source: Youtube Channel IGNentertainment


Developer:  Kaos Studios, Digital Extremes (PC)
Publisher: THQ
Platforms: PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360
Release Date: March 15, 2011
Genre: First-Person Shooter

Pros:
-The game wasn't revolutionary, but it was fun
-Multiplayer was a nice blend of Call of Duty's fast-paced action and Battlefield's vehicular warfare
-The class and point system in multiplayer encourages using all classes and learning their role

Cons:
-Single-player Campaign took only 4 hours to complete
-The game's graphics is still not optimized (for the PC version) just like previous games like Frontlines: Fuel of War
-Maps were sometimes too large for on-foot fighting and too small for vehicular warfare
-Servers were laggy when there were a large amount of players connected
-Multiplayer is completely dead now (On PC at least)

With the controversial (even if it is fictional) plot the game is set in and Kaos Studios' previous mediocre game Frontlines: Fuel of War, I wasn't sure what to expect out of their newest creation Homefront.  After watching some trailers, I was finally convinced to try it out and added it to my list of most anticipated games of 2011.  The single-player wasn't revolutionary and is what one would expect from a typical military tactical shooter campaign, but it was at least pretty fun.  The problem was that it only lasted for 4 measly hours.  Multiplayer was interesting with the ability to use vehicles, special equipment, and choose from different classes; however, there were problems with lag and level design.  Homefront is still being sold for $30+.  With a 4 hour campaign and a dead multiplayer, there is less of a reason to get the game than when it was $60 when it still had a decent multiplayer.  Possibly the biggest problem it probably faced was that it was sold at a price that didn’t reflect the expectations gamers had for it.  If you just want to play the campaign for the experience, play it at a friend’s house or rent it.

Aesthetics
Anyone who has played a modern-warfare military tactical shooter should be familiar with the controls, thematic look, HUDs, and story concepts.  The game is mostly set in urban streets and houses of California.  It has the same action and feel of games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare with scripted scenes, explosions, firefights, and cinematics.  The graphics were alright, but they weren’t optimized for the PC just as Frontlines: Fuel of War wasn’t.  This caused the game’s graphics to skip, glitch, discolor, and impede on the experience.  The HUD system is fairly easy to understand, and it was very clean for multiplayer as well.  The voice acting was pretty good for the most part, but the story never really evolved past “we’re oppressed and we’re resisting it”.  The audio for the guns and effects were decent and worked well for both campaign and multiplayer.  The game looked, sounded and felt very average though.  It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either.  Aesthetics: 7/10

Buttons
As mentioned in Aesthetics, anyone who’s played a modern-warfare military tactical shooter should feel at home.  Campaign feels a lot like Call of Duty or Battlefield Bad Company’s style of singe-player with cinematics, point-to-point objectives, and vehicle chases.  The controls are the same with aiming-down-sight (ADS) system, sprinting, crouching, etc.  Some of the differences would be the equipments in both campaign and multiplayer.  There are certain computer controlled vehicles the player can command using devices to target enemies or mini-copters, etc.  There was nothing really new about the concepts and controls which was alright because it worked for the game.  Anyone who was familiar with First-Person Shooters could easily pick up the game and know how to play it albeit learning the maps and new equipment for multiplayer.  Buttons: 8/10

Concept and Content
Homefront isn’t as unique as Kaos Studios’ previous games Frontlines, but it felt more polished and engaging.  The story is a lot more provocative and controversial than Frontlines which caused quite a stir in the media.  The problem is that the story didn’t go any farther than people resisting the oppression.  All the objectives are point-to-point which leaves the player with very little freedom but marks the goal very clear.  There were a few variations in the campaign such as chase scenes and sniping, but not much else.  Multiplayer had an okay amount of choices between classes, weapons, and equipment, but it didn’t really provide that large of a difference in play styles overall.  Also, there were that many maps to play on for the initial $60 the game charged and DLCs didn’t help very much.  Now the multiplayer community is dead and so campaign is the only thing going for the game.  With no other modes other than campaign and no support for the multiplayer community, a $30 charge for a 4 hour campaign doesn’t justify the purchase for it.  Still, the game’s campaign was fun and I would’ve still been playing multiplayer if there were others still playing so it isn’t completely disappointing.  Concept and Content: 6/10

Duration
I keep mentioning how the campaign is only 4 hours long, but my main concern isn’t even the length of the story.  It’s that customers were being charged $60 for a 4 hour campaign that bothers me.  Perhaps it is correct to say that most people were paying for the multiplayer, but it took no longer than a month after I purchased it before the entire online community bailed out and abandoned the game completely.  The pacing of the campaign moved along pretty well and delivered a decent single-player experience in terms of gameplay; however, the story didn’t do much.  Multiplayer was actually pretty fun.  It had its high-action moments with fire-fights between teams and then there were the more tactical times where teams flanked, used vehicles, and went around enemy lines that made it more strategically challenging.  Unfortunately, multiplayer quickly died and I pretty much lost all interest in the game with not extras modes and no desire to replay campaign again.  If only multiplayer were still alive, the game would probably be viewed differently.  Duration: 4/10

Fun
The opening scene and first mission of Homefront had the most impact throughout the game.  The story had a lot to do with the flow of the game and the tension it conveyed throughout the campaign.  As part of the resistance against the oppression of the Korean military, the player will continually have a sense of desperation, struggle and helplessness.  There were a few scripted scenes where I felt it was unnecessary or slow, which might have been used to add the length of the short campaign.  The game was entertaining for the most part.  The gun firing felt powerful enough, the HUD felt comfortable to the eye, the various guns was fun to experiment with, and some of the gadgets were pretty cool.  I got to play multiplayer for a short while before the community bailed and it was actually pretty interesting.  Getting enough points from fulfilling goals and helping team mates granted equipment such as the mini-copter or a RPG.  Some of the vehicles were fun to use.  Other times, they’re a hindrance since the maps sometimes have very little room to maneuver around.  Some of the problems with multiplayer are that some maps are too big for ground fighting while some are too small for vehicular warfare, the network starts to lag for everyone when it starts to get populated, and some parts of the map are poorly designed to create one-sided battles for certain modes (such as one of the maps for capturing points had a high hill above one of the points for opposing teams to camp and snipe on the other team trying to capture it.  I would probably still play Homefront now for the multiplayer, but no one else plays it which pretty much makes it pointless to play it anymore.  Fun: 7/10

Overall
Had THQ sold the game for $15 or even $20, the game wouldn’t have been looked down upon by so many of those who paid $60 and felt like they didn’t get their money’s worth and those who didn’t want to pay for that much would be more willing to buying it to try it out.  The game is fun, but it doesn’t have as much content as other games being charged $60 to live up to the price tag.  It’s a wonder why it’s still being sold at $30 or more right now when a major component to the game’s content is within the multiplayer.  Without the support of players and servers for multiplayer, the game is hardly even worth a $5 purchase for its campaign.  I’m glad I got to play Homefront, but I still feel ripped off with my purchase as I spent the same amount of money on games that provided me with more gameplay time and entertainment.  If you want a single-player experience, rent the game or borrow it from a friend.  Otherwise, you’ll still be paying a hefty price for a short campaign.  Overall: 6.4/10

VGCulture - Technical Problems

In the middle of writing a game review yesterday, my laptop decided to go crazy, caught a really nasty trojan/virus/worm/whatever and destroy all major components of my windows.  One thing led to another and I ended having lost a lot of valuable information that I won't be able to get back.  I am now recovering at least a functional OS and programs in order to continue working, but it's going to take some time.  I'll be back on Monday January 16th.

VGCulture - Razer's Portable PC gaming peripheral

Official Site: http://www.razerzone.com/projectfiona

Source: Youtube Channel cultofrazer

Razer talked about the Razer SwitchBlade, and then the Razer Blade for portable PC gaming.  Today, the Consumer Electronics Show began and Razer revealed a new concept in the making: Project Fiona.  Project Fiona is a Tablet with "ergonomic" controllers made for true gamers with the ability to play PC games.  In the past decade, the rise of casual gaming on touch screen portables such as palms, phones, and tablets has inevitably strayed many game developers to creating games for the casual audiences.  Touch screen controls are unruly and obstruct the view of the player.  So Razer decided to jump onto the bandwagon of touch screen tablets by creating one with a strong enough processor to play the latest PC titles as well as adding tactile peripheral controllers.

Now that you know what it is, I can start yammering about what I think.  Tablets are a new trend, even though they've been around for quite a while.  A lot of games on tablets mimic those on PC or consoles and end up with clunky controls and poor game design.  The most successful games on touch screen consoles are ones that require very little controls, buttons and such (such as Angry Birds).  They're also made so that a player can jump in and out at any given moment while on the go.  PC games were developed under the impression that the player will be sitting down with enough time to play for a while.  The idea for Project Fiona is really cool in that you can bring your PC games around with you and play with tactile controls and not touch screen ones; however, it just doesn't seem very practical for the average PC gamer.  It'd be nice to bring it along and play it at a hotel during a business trip (or if you're younger to a relatives house), but it doesn't exactly look that portable compared to a 3DS, PSP, or even a regular tablet.  The thing that makes it easier to play PC games on a tablet is what makes it not portable (the two side controllers).  Also, to hold something that large up to play a PC game for long durations can't be comfortable.  The most practical form of PC on the go from Razer right now is the Razer Blade ($2799.99, yikes) as most PC gamers will want a familiar form of PC gaming to play with where they can bring it along anywhere.  Most PC gamers won't want to whip out their games in the bus or in line because they'll surely need more than 5-10 minutes to finish one match of League of Legends.  Most gamers will still want a portable system that allows them to play anywhere from 2 minutes up to an hour at any given moment, not a larger system system that will take long durations to play.  And if it ever goes back to my previous statement of bringing it to a hotel or relatives, why get this with unfamiliar controls and clunky transportation when one can just play on their laptop?

I'm a bit doubtful for the Razer Switchblade, but I think it's more viable for portable PC gaming than Project Fiona is.  It'd be a fun novelty gadget to be able to lug around and play, but it's not as practical as bringing a laptop around with an actual keyboard and mouse.