Watch Us Play

Hot Pursuit [ish] Interview

noreply@blogger.com (Kyree (Kero)) — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 23:33:00 +0000

So I’ve been playing a lot of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and needless to say, I’m really enjoying it......

.......except for when I lose, then it can go to hell.

Anyway, I started wondering what it’s like for an actual street racer, followed by an awesome idea to interview one for the blog…site…thing. I figured it would be a fun thing to do and I wouldn’t have to be creative with the dialogue and I could just write down the conversation as it took place.

Now, being the genius that I am and using my internet friend who goes by the name of George Oxford Oscar Gumbo Leonidas E (who gives their child five names and a letter?), we did somehow manage to find such a person.

What follows below is the resulting interview that was in no way pre-planned.

**Editor's Note. These: "-----------" signify a skip in time.

***Editor's Note 2. Look at me trying to be professional. "Editor's Note" Ha.

Me: I assume that we’re both busy people so let’s get started now. Oh, and thank you for your time, Mr. Stone.

Mr. Stone: Uh…I thought we agreed to not use my real name?

Me: Well it’s not like the cops are going to read this, but if you insist, Racer X.

Racer X: Really, man? That’s what you’re going to call me?

Me: Would you prefer NASCAR McQueen?

NASCAR McQueen: Racer X it is.

Me: Let’s start over.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Me: Let’s put the pedal to the metal!!!

Racer X: Start Over.

Me: ………..

------------------------------------------

Me: Really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me.

Racer X: No problem. Although I do have a car back home that needs a test drive.

Me: Would that be the car you won from Takeshi Mikoto? Or your spare after you were busted last week?

Racer X: Excuse me?

Me: Joking. Just a joke that I heard from a guy. (It’s not a joke)

Racer X: Well, joking or not. We don’t bet our own cars anymore, it’s too risky. We race for rep now. We
earn new rides each time we hit a certain amount.

Me: Sounds like a game I played once—wait, hold on. Someone is basically just giving cars away due to an imaginary number?

Racer X: Right.

Me: …….

Racer X: ….What?

Me: Who, you fool?!

Racer X: Oh, well, none of us really know. We kind of just take the cars and go on about our day. Don’t go questioning a good thing you know?

Me: Um, I see…I think. The ancient art of “Don’t ask. Don’t tell.”

Racer X: I like to think it keeps things simple.

Me: Too simple if you ask me, but let’s move on.

Racer X: Alright.

---------------------------------------------------

Me: I have here your rap sheet. Or your profile---

Racer X: Wait, what? How’d you even get that? Those stats aren’t tracked.

Me: Yeah, they are. Otherwise I wouldn’t have them in my hand right now, Mr. Stone.

Mr. Stone: Uh, Racer X.

Me: Pops Racer.

Mr. Stone: What?!

Me: We’re not randomly naming Speed Racer characters?

Mr. Stone: No! You’re calling me Racer X for this interview, remember?

Me: ...Oh, right. My bad. Anyway, your profile. According to this, you’ve won 9 races, lost 23, and have been busted by the cops 42 times…dude you suck.

Racer X: 42? That can’t be right. I always restart or quit before I’m caught.

Me: You restart a police chase?

Racer X: Well yeah. I hate losing.

Me: You’ll have to explain how you manage to restart a cop chase.

Racer X: Press Start, and then hit Restart.

Me: I’m more confused and concerned than before.

Racer X: It’s a street racer thing. Clearly you’re not one.

Me: Touché, but I still find it a bit odd.

Racer X: Don’t worry, man. But, uh, I think you got the wrong info.

Me: Weird. Well, like you said, I’m not a street racer in any way.

Racer X: Mmhmm

Me: So. How does one even begin to start a career as a cop instigator—I mean, uh, yeah.

Racer X: It’s okay. But getting started is really easy. You just go to the menu and choose “Career.” You even start off with a few nice cars.

Me: Did you just say “you go to the menu and choose career”?

Racer X: That’s right. Then you just pick a car and go. The races are even named for you. The first one is called Racers Reborn.

Me: ………………

Racer X: ………………

Me: Um…

Racer X: Yeah?

Me: Your story is really starting to sound like Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit.

Racer X: Oh yeah, that’s the name of the online company.

Me: Company?!

Racer X: Yep.

Me: And once again I think you’re gonna have to explain yourself.

Racer X: It’s really simple. This company contacted me by sending me this case, and in that case was a disk. Luckily, I had just the hardware to run the program on the disk, which was called Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit.

Me: Back up. Do you think Need for Speed is real?

Racer X: Of course it’s real. The case even had Limited Edition on it—

Me: Wait—

Racer X: --Besides, why would you have contacted me if it wasn’t real?

Me: Because I thought you were an actual street racer.

Racer X: I am. It’s all online now, but only for certain people.

Me: Can you—can you excuse me for a minute?

Racer X: Gotta take it all in in private, huh?

Me: Yeah…not so much.

------------------------------------------------

                                                           Couple minutes later
Me: See this in my hand?

Racer X: Hey, that’s the same case I got. You must be a member then.

Me: No. This is a video game developed by Criterion for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. You, sir, are either crazy or stupid. Maybe both.

Racer X: That’s what those nuthouse doctors called me. Crazy.

Me: Say wha now?

Racer X: They said I was crazy too. That it was just a game—

Me: Both of those being true—

Racer X: But they’re wrong, just like you.

Me: Prove me right some more, please.

Racer X: Well you know what?

Me: You’re insane?

Racer X: No!

Me: Someone's in Denial.

Racer X: I’m not gonna sit here and take it. This interview is over!

Me: Phew! Well then, goodbye, Racer X.

Racer X: Chim-Chim!!

Me: Yep, crazy.

------------------------------------------------------

Me: Welp, that’s done. And thank god I wasn’t stabbed like last time…yep.

Me again: Wait, I just let a madman walk out onto the streets of society……eh well, not my problem, for there are more pressing questions before me!!

Like: What was my patient’s real name?

          How did George Oxford Oscar Gumbo Leonidas E find this guy?

          Whose police profile do I really have?

          How did I manage to write all this stuff down while talking with a crazy man?

          And why am I still writi--

Oh snap, it's an update...I think.

noreply@blogger.com (Kyree (Kero)) — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 23:08:00 +0000

Happy Holidays, people that follow this blog and don't comment. (kidding...not really...maybe).

Gobble-gobble?

Black Friday is upon us, and some of us that post stuff on this blog plan on braving the mass of crazy that is the human race. Some are going for NFS: Hot Pursuit, I might be getting Halo: Reach, and others are going just to leave the house.

I'm going to be taking my camera and attempting to record something without getting yelled at or arrested. So look forward to that, provided that we don't get shoved and/or trampled on.

5 'Guys' You Do NOT Want to Meet in Real Life

noreply@blogger.com (Kyree (Kero)) — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 00:13:00 +0000

*Note. Picture has nothing to do with the following article.

Ahh, video games. Where even the wimpiest of people can feel like badasses with quick reflexes of the thumbs and several button presses. Where even the scariest and most dangerous of enemies can be brought down by side stepping them or just running away until a cutscene takes care of things. But what if certain enemies were to be translated into the real world? What if, you actually ran into several of them and they retained their abilities whereas you gain none? Things would probably suck depending on whose encountered, right? Yeah, most likely. We humans even had trouble with those Gremlins, and they were only 2 ft tall. How about if it was, say….

A Big Daddy (Bioshock Series)

So you’re outside walking around or driving your car, as some of you more privileged people do, when you turn the corner and, BAM!, Big Ol’ Daddy wandering about all in your way.

But you’ve seen these guys before. You know what they look like. No big deal, right? But that was fictional. In fiction, a crazy, angry guy swinging around blades attached to his arms and killing the God of Olympus is normal. Outside of the Matrix; anyone above six feet gets stared at a couple seconds longer like they’re a myth or a rare sight to behold.

A seven foot tall dude in a scuba suit and nowhere near water…that’s beyond the normal standards of weird.

I can almost hear you saying: “No worries though; because in Bioshock you had to throw the first punch, or shoot the first shot in order to piss off one of these things.” And while that was true for the ‘game’ this is the real world we’re talking about. You know, where you least you have to do to start a fight is blink in someone’s general direction?

Uhh, no, not really.

I feel like I forgot to mention something crucial about the Big Daddy…oh yeah, the GIANT, FULLY, FUNCTIONAL, DRILL ON IT’S ARM!

And god forbid that this one can also use the Rivet Gun…or worse, Plasmids.

Anyway, if you think you have a chance at besting that thing, have fun. For the rest of you, find a pretty dress, because you’re now playing the role of ’Little Sister’ a.k.a in the Big Daddy Underwater Society: “Bitch”

Tank (Left 4 Dead Series)

'Sup

It’s a zombie, you’re a human. That fact alone is all the reason a Tank needs to hate you and want you dead.
Veterans of Left 4 Dead know all too well how much of a pain in the ass one of these things can be. If you’re lucky, no one gets killed. Notice how I said ‘killed’, because getting incapacitated is guaranteed at some point. It’s like a toll to pay if you want to succeed in putting a Tank down for good.

I mean, look at that thing. Being able to stand up and run on those tiny legs should be enough of a signal that you can’t survive against one of these things in real life. Look at the arms, man. LOOK AT THEM!

Let me run down a list a things those arms can do when attached to a Tank:

-throw you half a mile

-throw a car half a mile…and still hit you

-picking up debris and throwing it at you

-giving you the worse noogie ever

And my favorite: killing you!!

Tanks are also notorious for showing up at the worst possible time, or when you least expect it. So say a prayer next time you come out of the bathroom. Tanks play dirty.

Want some advice? It’s on me: You EVER see one of these things in real life, be it up close or at a distance, you’d best crap your pants so hard you propel yourself upward and into space; because there’s no way your fragile human body can stand up to one of those Tanks.

For those of you unfortunate enough to activate “crap propulsion” (phrase owned by me from now on…and ew), frickin run, crawl up a wall or just take it like a man*

*by ‘man’ we mean “poor soul that couldn’t run fast enough”

[…Wait, “we”?]

Giant Spider (Limbo)

Ugh, who put this log here?!

Be honest, people. First time you encountered that spider and saw that big, black mass uncurl itself, you freaked out a tiny bit (if not a lot). I know I did. Yours truly promptly turned around and ran back to the left.
Normal, natural sized, spiders are already creepy, disgusting creatures. So when you enlarge one to the size of a Hummer and give it the same color palette as Batman, I think you’re screwed.

I a'int afraid of no spider.

Imagine, if you will, walking out of your front door at night to put the trash out or something and there’s this Giant Black Silhouette of a Spider just relaxing on your roof. Unlike the game, I doubt this spider will be dumb enough to step on a Bear Trap (although, why you’d have one at the ready is beyond me).

Real spiders are a pain in the ass to kill as it is. Let me guess how your typical run in with a spider plays out:

-sees spider, “Oh s#!t a spider!”

-leaves to get a spider smearing weapon

-comes back and looks at the spider’s location

-spider is gone

-[insert profanity here]

-go back to doing your business while scanning the area for the spider

Is that pretty spot on? Or at least close enough? Thought so.

You’d better hope that works in reverse, or a plane falls out of the sky.

Killing the spider of course, not you. (I figured I should clear that up)

Master Hand (Super Smash Bros. Series)

Obvious – It’s a giant god damn hand!

Master Hand’s entire reason for fighting you in Smash Bros. is unknown other than the fact that he’s a final boss (depending on how good you are). He also shoots missiles from his fingers, smacks you off the stage, charges you from the background, grabs you and squeezes you to death, and probably two or three other things that I can’t remember at the moment.

So Basically, Master Hand is the severed hand of a magical giant pimp; and pimps, ladies and gentlemen, do exist. Master Hand fits perfectly into the real world, more specifically, New York, because New York is always getting attacked by weird stuff. (I.E, Cloverfield)

Did I forget to mention that there’s a chance that Master Hand will double team you? Yeah, pimps do that too (I think). Pimps do that, right? Well if they do then the possibility of Crazy Hand showing up fits into my magical pimp theory quite nicely.

(Or they both belong to a Big Daddy…wait.)

Best advice I can give when it comes to Master Hand: try to trick him into an infinite game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, hope you keep tying and that he (it?) doesn’t cheat.

Advice for Master and Crazy Hand: try your hardest to pull off that Tom & Jerry joke where everyone shakes each other’s hand and pray they both fall for it.

Special advice for those close to Washington D.C: Washington Monument.

Old joke, I know

Berserker (Gears of War Series)

Hug Me!!

Hide and Go seek for the extremely stupid.

Berserkers are big, diesel looking…things that can put the Kool-Aid Man to shame when it comes to wall busting, then proceed to murder said Kool-Aid Man.

Oh no, my friend...oh...no.

Actually, I think I understand why Berserkers are always crashing through things. It’s because you’ll shout out ‘Holy $#!%’ or ‘What the f—k’ so loud that it’ll never have to guess where you are from that point forward.

It’ll have your breathing, your very lungs memorized.

Now, I’m pretty sure I know what you guys are thinking (well those of you that actually played the Gears of War Games), “as long as I keep quiet, I’ll be just fine.” Which is true, but I guarantee you that while you’re doing your ninja thing, your phone will start ringing; because you know: it had to be this one time that it’s not on vibrate and someone’s seriously calling you.

And you want to know who it’ll be calling you and becoming an accomplice to murder? One of your friends who’s in an argument with one of their friends over which one is better, Cake or Pie.

In this situation though, you answer should be, “LIFE!!” Or just, you know, don’t take the time to answer. (Provided you’re still alive to have that logical thought).

Do I REALLY want Goldeneye 007?

noreply@blogger.com (Mark (Light.bro)) — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 20:49:00 +0000

The iconic video game that everyone should know.

Here's something that I've really thinking about lately. Even though it's more of a confession, I never owned nor played this game. I know it's kind of shocking to hear, but I didn't know of this game and its addicting multiplayer, and I didn't even know this was based on a James Bond movie with the same name. I did, however, have an alternative (yet mediocre) James Bond game called The World Is Not Enough.

This wasn't the best in the Bond game canon, but hey, I was in my early ages.

Yes, this wasn't as ambitious or as deep in the multiplayer department as its predecessor. Yes, it didn't have the same level of complexity or unlockables in the singleplayer like it did in the first game. Hell, it wasn't even made by the same company like the original game (Rare made Goldeneye, EA Games made this one). But I'll let you know this. It didn't have to because I still liked it and was fun to play. Not to the same extent, but still fun otherwise. Here's a sample of some of the singleplayer missions (you really don't have to watch the whole thing, just watch a few minutes to get an idea of it):

Now, even though I never played Goldeneye, doesn't mean I don't know how it plays because from the look of it, The World Is Not Enough plays a little similar to Goldeneye (auto-aim, crouch/jump, strafe, etc.). I doubt there are major differences to the controls of each game, except the inventory of guns given in each.

The problem I have with it, though, is that the new Goldeneye for the Wii seems to just be a Call of Duty clone with the James Bond license just slapped on top of it. I started to notice this when I was watching IGN's Extra Life charity and miscellaneous videos on their site where they were playing the multiplayer of the game (shout out to IGN!).

Where do you rank?

noreply@blogger.com (Kyree (Kero)) — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 20:42:00 +0000

We’ve all seen them, not all of us have participated in them, but we know what they’re meant for: those lists of ‘x’ amount of things where the author tells you to grab a pen and take note of how many things on that list that you can relate to. Then after you’ve gone through the entire list, you count how many you matched and you’re given a title, or a rank.

Well, guess what I’m gonna do?

This is more of an experiment than anything, so bear with me as I list out twenty-three things (with no particular theme or order) that all, or most of us, have probably done related to video games.
So put 10-15 mins to the side for this and grab a pen/pencil; it’s time to see how into this culture you really are.

I like to call this: “Have you ever…?”

•    Stopped playing a game out of fear?

•    Recorded yourself gaming?

•    Bought a console for one game?

•    Bought a game on impulse?

•    Had a dream about a game?

•    Rage quit?

•    Broken a controller or tv?

•    RROD (Red Ring of Death)?

•    Erase a save by accident?

•    Borrowed a game and never given it back?

•    Given someone a game and never gotten it back?

•    Wish you bought a different system?

•    Played your Wii in the last six months?

•    Jumped through the door(s) instead of walking through them in any Mega Man game?

•    Saved frequently (every 5 mins or so) in RPGs?

•    Caught all 150(1) Pokémon?

•    Argued over a game or about games in general?

•    Refused to play certain games with certain people?

•    Played E.T?

•    Sold on console just to buy another?

•    Become addicted to a game?

•    Gone for a headshot instead of a simple kill?

•    Grenade spammed?

How many do you have? Are you awesome or a chump?

Ranks are as follows:

1 – 6: F.N.G

7 – 12: Casual

13 – 18: Semi-Pro

19 – 23: Hardcore

Thanks for taking part in this Beta, but there are no achievements for this. My bad.

Contact

noreply@blogger.com (Kyree (Kero)) — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 22:42:00 +0000

Contact page has been updated (barely), as yours truly is now on twitter. Feel free to follow, we could use the attention.

And as to why I'm posting this here and not on the 'Team Blog' page...well here there's a better chance of people seeing it.

Written Reviews: Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Mark (Light.bro)) — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 04:32:00 +0000

Hey, here's a question for you all. Who cares about a story in a game? Is it the most important part? Or is it just something to make you continue playing and feel like you're part of it?

Well in the case of Dragon Quest, and moreso as the series as a whole, it's more of the latter.

Is a story in a game really important?

In many popular RPGs, they are mostly known for having a story arch (they are also memorable for gameplay, but let's be real here...). Many of the memorable moments in this genre are because of the characters you control in battle and the non-playable characters (or NPCs if you will) you come across. You become attached to these people in your playtime, like the people you would watch in a movie or the ones you read in a book, and their actions that shape up future outcomes.

Now, as much as you THINK Dragon Quest IX, along with some of its predecessors, would try to emulate this, the game doesn't really do that to the fullest extent. By this I mean you don't really have any memorable party members. The reason for this is because you can make your own team, with you (or your alias or alter ego) being the leader of the 4-man group. You can make team members from scratch thanks to the create-a-character feature or even choose from pre-created people within the game. It's not that groundbreaking, but because of this change, they don't utter a word or have any interaction between each other. The only dialogue that goes on in the game is the NPCs talking to your main person.

This is your band of heores. Name them anyway you want.

Somehow, with this omission intact, I sort of had a connection with the team I created. I didn't make people from scratch mind you (only because I have no imagination or creativity), but I did select from the characters already made. But as I went from place to place, sea to sea, and leveled up my party, I felt I couldn't be without them. My team was unstoppable and I went through so much with these people, but during my travels, there were some scripted moments in the game (no spoilers HERE folks) where I had to go solo in a dungeon. Most times I didn't want to because I wanted to go there as a group, with my fellow heroes, but I couldn't progress unless I was by myslef.

So, typically speaking, the character development isn't as traditional as you would believe, but if you have a group that you start and end the game with, you'll remember them. That's why I would recommend people use the pre-created individuals in the game.

Best way to play is be lazy and use the people Square Enix gives you.

Other than this, there is a story behind everything. It isn't epic in any way, but it is something that ties the whole game together. I'm not going to go into full detail, but I'll give you a general idea. You (or the neighbor you want to be) are an angel who is trained to watch over a town and fulfill wishes. In doing so, and granting said wishes, the ground people (or humans I should REALLY say) will praise you and pray upon your name, which in return you receive something called Benevolessence. You take back said item to the Observatory, the place where all angels watch over the people under them, and give it to a sacred tree Yggdrasil. Once enough Benevolessence is obtained, the tree, according to its mythology, is supposed to bear fruit that will send all the angels in the Observatory to the Realm of the Almighty (think of it as the equivalent of Heaven for us, but for angels).

But of course, as cliche as it sounds, something goes wrong when you get enough Benevolessence and the fruit come up. When this happens, you lose your wings and are demoted to roaming among humans. So NOW your new mission to uncover who was behind the mishap and recover the lost fruit.

Yes I know, sometimes you feel the same way
when you hear the SAAAME story 50 bajillion times.

Thankfully, through all the monotony, the places you go to each have their own sub-story with interesting NPCs to interact with in the towns. Many of the subplots are funny, others are sad, and some are even questionable. It feels like each town you enter is run like an episode of a TV show where there's a different problem to solve and the answer will get you that much closer to your main goal.

That, as a whole, is where the "story" comes into play within the Dragon Quest series (and really any other RPG if you think about it). It isn't emphasized as much as many would like and is lighthearted, but it keeps you interested in going from place to place to see what kind of problem you will find and solve. This picks up the slack in where there isn't much in terms of character development. And thanks in part to the gameplay aspects, the story will keep you going along and finding what is next to come.

And that is basically the jist of the story component. Like I said, the story isn't the main draw, but it will keep you interested while trudging trhough the game. There aren't many shockers towards the end of the game but overall, its still something worth noting.

That just about it for the story.

With that out of the way, there isn't much else to talk about other than its flaws. Like I say, no game is perfect unless God made it (okay I normally don't say that...just made it up). But I also say, wait until Part 3! It ain't gonna kill you to wait. Will it?

5 Franchises I've Never Played

noreply@blogger.com (Kyree (Kero)) — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 19:53:00 +0000

I’m pretty sure I’ve said before that I’ve been a gamer for a few years. If I haven’t…well then there you go. I’ve also said in a previous ‘Top 5’ that as a kid there were many games that I didn’t bother beating. Mega Man Legends, for example. And almost on cue, Mega Man Legends 3 was announced.

Now I’m going to talk about something that may very well get me yelled at by many people (well it would if we had anyone following us)…actually, you’ve already read the title if you’re reading this, so I guess I’ll stop stalling and get on with it.

Resident Evil

WAIT WHAT?!

Yes I have never played a Resident Evil game! I’m sorry. I know RE4 was awesome and I think people have said it’s the best one, but I haven’t played it. Well, unless you want to count the 20 minutes of RE5 that I played. Then again, maybe you don’t want to because I was playing it solo and that game is made for Co-Op. (To be enjoyable anyway)

Excuse(s)?

I was a kid when Resident Evil was out on the Playstation 1 and I got scared easily back then, so I avoided it. I watched my dad play RE2 one day when I was at his house and later on that night I had a tiny nightmare about it.

And now…?

Now I guess I have no excuse. I still have a PS2 and RE4 was ported to it in ’05. Plus it’s probably super cheap now, never mind the prices for the original Playstation games.

Man, that was only number 5 and I’ve already shot myself in the foot. You must be thinking: “If this is the fifth one, what else hasn’t he played? Tetris?”
Well I’ve played Tetris (and can’t stand it, personally) but the next one won’t be all that bad…

Jak and Daxter (…okay, that was a lie)

WAIT WHAT!?

“You mean one of the best exclusives for the Playstation 2 you never played? What in the f—k did you play? Monopoly?!”

You mean that? Yeah I had it. It was a Christmas gift.

Excuse(s)?

Jak and Daxter was from Naughty Dog right? They made Crash Bandicoot, holy Crap! ….Wait, I didn’t finish Crash Bandicoot.
I think there’s a message in that somewhere.

Hey! Give me some credit. I did give serious thought to renting Jak and Daxter back when I used Gamefly. I was really looking forward to playing it since I had skipped it, but Gamefly never sent it and that account ended up being cancelled.

And now…?

I’m over Jak and Daxter. It’s been a while since Jak 3 hasn’t it? In fact, even Naughty Dog has moved on from Jak and Daxter, they went on to Make Uncharted and Uncharted 2: Amount Thieves. Those are what I really want to play from them. Unfortunately, I don’t have a Playstation 3.

God of War

WAIT WHAT?!

“Kratos himself should show up on your doorstep and rip your fingers off.”

Probably, but then I’d never be able to play any of the God Of War games, and I really want to.

Excuse(s)?

I remember when the first God of War came out. I ended up comparing the game play style to Kingdom Hearts (how I’m not sure, I was still on a Kingdom Hearts high three years later) but I still told myself that it looked pretty cool and I should give it a shot. But I was 13/14 and I’m pretty sure even GOW1 was rated M, so that was a no go.

And now…?

God of War 3 made me want a PS3. I didn’t care that I hadn’t played the previous 2, but then they announced the God of War Collection, meaning that if you had a PS3 and had never played the first two, then you had no excuse, but I still don’t have a PS3. Sorry if you thought I would somehow spawn one after talking about Jak and Daxter just moments ago.
Although it would’ve been awesome if I had.

Ratchet and Clank

WAIT WHAT?

When I first saw Ratchet, I could not figure out what the hell he was, now I know that he’s a Lombax (a what now?)

Excuse(s)?

Anyway, I wasn’t into platformers, I’m still not all that into them, but I’ll play one if it’s something I really want to play. I can handle platformers if they’re only one part of the game play, but to the best of my knowledge, isn’t Ratchet and Clank mostly a platformer? By all means, correct me if I’m wrong.

For the record, I wanted to play Deadlocked.

And now…?

I can do without it, I mean I have so far, right? I have nothing against the series but they just aren’t my thing, I do think I should play it though, I look forward to it. Hell, it might even get me into the genre.
I did like Limbo after all.

Ico/Shadow of the Colossus

WAIT WHAT?

I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I know I should probably have no right to play anymore games, ever, until I play these. Even more so with The Last Guardian coming out in the future.

Excuse(s)?

When it came to Ico, I could not see what the big deal about it was. You were a kid with a stick, leading around some woman by the hand, fighting off these shadow beings. It looked like a long escort mission with some puzzle solving.

Now with Shadow of the Colossus, it looked great, and the bosses were something that I had never seen before. They were freaking huge!! Then I started hearing things about how the game was extremely difficult, and how the bosses can take a good amount of time to find and even beat.

That turned me off to the game.

I have no problem with difficulty, if I can work my way up to the highest difficulty, I’ll probably play it, but back then Shadow of the Colossus sounded like it started out hard and only got harder. I wasn’t even a ‘Hardcore’ gamer back then either, so I felt that I wasn’t good enough to try it.

And now…?

Shadow of the Colossus is almost universally considered a great game and one that every gamer has to play (Which, I think, is something Morgan Webb has said).

I want to see if Shadow of the Colossus is as hard as my younger self imagined it to be. Plus, I think I have to play it to keep me right to play video games.

--------------------------------------------------------

You know what I’ve noticed? With the exception of Jak and Daxter and Resident Evil, everything else has a good game in its franchise on the Playstation 3 (Ico and Shadow of the Colossus are getting HD re-releases).

It’s kinda weird that I don’t have a PS3 but I have an Xbox 360. I say that because I had a PS1 and a PS2, but I never bothered with the original Xbox. It’s like I changed teams or something.

Well, then again, the PS3 starting at $600 didn’t exactly help.

You lie, Kyree.....!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Kyree (Kero)) — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 19:17:00 +0000

Lesson learned. Setting due dates makes me lazier, who knew.

But it shall still be done!!!!

Upcoming

noreply@blogger.com (Kyree (Kero)) — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 21:39:00 +0000

I'm really enjoying these "Top 5" articles. For some reason I think they're easier to do (plus I've been on Cracked.com a lot). Anywho, I figure if I post about the ideas I'm having for articles, I'll be obligated to do them.

First: 5 sequels that can't beat their predecessor(s).

I had planned this one out a while ago and had forgotten about it (my bad).

Second: 5 MAJOR Franchises that I've never played.

I'm a little afraid to do this one. I might lose my gaming license.

Third: Have you ever....?

Hmm. How do I explain this without it sounding stupid....This thrid one is going to basically be a list of things I know we've all done because of Video Games. (Example: rage quitting, trade-ins, etc).

I'll most likely do the 5 Franchises article first, should be up before the week is out. (Well now that I've said that, it will be)

Oh Criterion...I LOVE U!

noreply@blogger.com (Mark (Light.bro)) — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 23:49:00 +0000

Yes, I know it's a sad title, but that's how I really feel about them.

If you've been under a rock for the past, oh I don't know...9 MOTHAF**KIN' YEARS, and don't know them and their work by now, I wanna say this. WHAT THE F**K HAVE YOU BEEN DOING WITH YOUR GAMING LIFE?!?!?!

If you don't know who they are, YOU DESERVE TO GET CHOKED!!!

Excuse me if I seem a bit brash, but if you don't know their gaming series, then you CERTAINLY don't know some fun racing games. Criterion Games is best known for their racing series called Burnout (also seen on Kyree's list of Top 5 Moves). They have been making this fantastic franchise for nearly a decade now, and have had countless countless iterations that spawned on the Xbox, Gamecube, and even made it to the Nintendo DS (though that wasn't their best one). The one Burnout game that, to me, stands out above the rest was Burnout 3: Takedown.

I'm not going into detail about this AWESOME game, but here's a little something for why you should know this game and Criterion:

Now if you didn't think that wasn't cool, something is COMPLETELY WRONG with you!

BUT, there is one series that I will agree with on terms of good quality. Not as exciting and flashy as Burnout, but something more streamlined. If you know a little game called Need For Speed, then I can't be entirely mad at you, because that is a racing game that I like. Isn't the greatest racing series out there (because Burnout is SOOOOOOOOO MUCH BETTER!), but I enjoy it nonetheless.

But some of you may be asking, "But Mark, why are you comparing these two games? They aren't alike in any kind of way!" in a nasaly voice and pushing up your glasses. Well, rather than answer said question in a statement, let me SHOW you why I did this:

And THIS is why I brought both of them up. The same racing game people know and love is now merging with the same folks who made Burnout. If you didn't think that video earlier didn't make you into a fan, THIS will:

Seriously. No words can describe the pure AWESOMENESS of this game. THIS is why I love Criterion's work. Though it may SEEM like the traditional Need For Speed games (and granted it still is), there is a lot of aspects from their own series that make this game shine not only as a new NFS game, but also as a new Burnout title. I LOVE U Criterion, and don't EVER stop doing what you're doing.

Written Review: Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies

noreply@blogger.com (Mark (Light.bro)) — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 02:39:00 +0000

Now, I'm gonna let you guys know something RIGHT NOW. I've only played two games in this series. I never heard of the series when it first came out on the Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES if you will, but that is only because I wasn't born when it came out ( '89 I believe).With this backstory intact, I now bring you to the game I'm reviewing. As the newest installment in the venerable series, I bring you Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies.

I wanna tell you a little bit of the history of this series a bit, just to clarify why I LOVE this game and the franchise. Back then, it was originally called Dragon Warrior in North America for over 15 years until the 8th installment came out and changed the title with Dragon Quest VIII: The Journey of the Cursed King. This was, in fact, my very first Dragon Quest game, even though I had no knowledge of the past games.

As you can probably recognize from the cover art of DQ8, you think to yourself and say, "Hmm, those characters look a LOT like those in Dragonball Z." Well, you wouldn't be too far off. The same artist who drew Goku and co. in the TV series did ALL the artwork in DQ8. And because of that pedigree, that is possibly what attracted me to playing this game and putting my first footsteps into the series.

To start, gameplay is something that has stayed with each new version of the series. Even from Dragon Warrior to Dragon Quest IX and the other remakes on the DS, each game has never deviated from the core mechanics on how to fight each battle. Yeah, this series has the same "go to next town, fight enemies along the way, go to a dungeon, kill a boss, and get a reward from a town" method like all the other Square Enix games, but in DQ, it's different. The fighting style has something that has been so successful with the series in Japan and has convinced me to believe this series is better than juggernaut franchises like Kingdom Hearts and even Final Fantasy. That one "thing" is simplicity.

Yes, it seems SO mundane to think that an RPG's gameplay being simple can't stack up to the complexity of Square's other franchises. But hear me out, because it's simple but ADDICTIVE AS HELL! Even Satan HIMSELF would think the same thing if he played it.

Also, even though we are in an era where many RPG games have real-time combat, this is one that sticks to its 20+ year-old traditions and is strictly turn-based. Even that seems like something else to complain about. Again, trust me in my judgement when I say that it truly works for this style of game. If the game wasn't turn-based AND simple, the game would have major issues. And with the hardware that we're dealing with here, I don't think it would be possible. We're talkin' about a frickin' DS for cryin' out loud.

One thing it DOES take from modern RPGs, though, is something that wasn't in DQ8 but thankfully changed for DQ9. NO RANDOM ENCOUNTERS!!!! This was a BIG problem I had with 8 that made it seem like a struggle to do when all you wanted to do was go to a town. It isn't anything new to other RPGs, like Final Fantasy XII and XIII, but I am happy they ditched that old mechanic and made it work in this game. This is a trend that they should continue to do for future games in this series.

Going back to the simple nature of the combat, each character has 6 commands that the can perform. They all range from the most common "Attack", "Spell", and "Abilities" commands for each class (here it's called Vocations, but its basically like every other class-based RPG), but one thing that stands out is called the "Coup de Grace" (it's French FYI, don't ask me why it's in a Japanese game). This command is randomly available in battle and works more or less like a Limit Break from Final Fantasy X.

Outside of that simplicity, though, is where the addictive nature sets in. Again, where many recent RPGs have a craft system in their games, and with only two games to finally have it, this series just has a knack for making it addictive like no other franchise. It uses an alchemy pot, a.k.a. "Krak Pot", to merge weapons, armor, and accesories with alchemy items to forge stronger ones.

This isn't the actual pot. Just think of it as a substitute to what I can find.

The thing is that many of the ingredients are on the game field and from each and every monster, whether it be dropped or stolen. Even though it isn't convenient to throw random things into the pot, recipies are found from reading books within towns and even dungeons. So, in turn, it gives you more incentive to explore through every nook and cranny of every place you go to. This amount of depth makes the simple nature of each battle and dungeon crawl turn into something you frequently wanna do. This is the MAIN reason for why I sank 120+ hours into one save file. That is a RARE feat for me to do on ANY kind of game.

And that's just about it gameplay-wise. There's a lot more to talk about this game, being the graphics and the story (not the biggest thing of the game). BUUUUUUT I think you all can wait a little to get that info later..in PART 2!

BEST. VIDEO. IN THE WORLD!

noreply@blogger.com (Mark (Light.bro)) — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 23:17:00 +0000

I don't know about YOU guys, but this week I saw THE MOST IMPRESSIVE and devilishly teasing video I have EVER SEEN! This is something that EVERY GAMER SHOULD WATCH! NO QUESTIONS ASKED! Just continue from the break. It'll speak for itself...

More BioShock: Infinite Videos

5 games I never bothered to beat as a Kid

noreply@blogger.com (Kyree (Kero)) — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 01:54:00 +0000

Back when I was a kid and was old enough to be left alone with a tv in my own room without smashing it, I had a Playstation. The original one, the rectangular one that was probably heavier than I was back then.

And with that PS1 (as I’m going to call it from now on) I had a bunch of games that my parents bought me or I just got from family members. These games ranged from Monopoly (yeah, really) to Jet Moto 2 to even Crash Bandicoot and Megaman, and I had no idea how much some of these games would mean to people in the future, because well, I was like 7.

Now back then, I didn’t play games with the intention to master them or even beat them, I was just playing for fun, and going outside was more of my thing…well that an tv.

And when I say ‘just playing for fun’ I mean it, there was no saving, there was just turning the game off and leaving, then coming back later and playing the same level again for the Nth time, which I was cool with. Hell, there were some games that I didn’t play again out of fear (but more on that later on).

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

I had no clue what I was doing in this game. All I had figured out was how to jump, spin and run from those boulders that would chase you. Oh and that mask (or were there masks) that would turn Crash invincible for a brief period, and that was awesome.

The first two stages were the ones I played the most, if memory serves me correctly (which it probably doesn’t) and that was because I never saved or I lost all my lives goofing off and getting killed. But I didn’t mind because after a while I had those first few levels memorized and I would just blow through them, then get to the next stage and quit or get killed.

I wish I could talk more about my experiences with Crash 2 but I don’t remember it as much as I’d like to, I should go buy it again and play it through to the end (this blog is called Watch Us Play after all….hmm).

Pac Man World

Ha. Pac-man with arms and legs, that’s funny.

Crap, so that wasn’t something my child mind made up.

I’m not even sure where I got this game from. I’m going to guess that my mom got it because she used to play Pac Man…actually, what parent hasn’t played Pac Man?

I remember running to and away from ghosts in 3d graphics, jumping on platforms and swimming. Oh and Pac Man spinning around several times and throwing a pellet down and an explosion occurring….

…WHY!?

Okay back then I didn’t care, but now I can ask the world: Why would you do this to Pac Man? Why complicate things? It an arcade game about a dude—nay, a thing eating yellow circles, fruit and ghosts. Done. No need to reinvent, reverse engineer, and reboot the wheel, I mean really.

I think at one point I did try to play through the game and finish it, but I just couldn’t, I kept getting stuck and my young, fragile mind refused to do any critical thinking before Pokémon came on. At most I kept doing that spinning explosion thing until I ran out or pellets (you needed ten in order to do the move), at that point I would move on to….

…Spyro the Dragon

SPYRO THE MOTHER-EFFIN DRAGON…who can’t fly.

Child self: “Why can a dragon not fly and only glide?”

Current self: “I’m pretty sure it’s because Spyro was a kid dragon, not a full grown one.”

Child self: “Oh, okay.”

I NEVER played Spyro the dragon like an actual game. I literally spent hours chasing down ogres…orcs…those green dudes and head butting them or shooting fire at their but and watching them run around. And I giggled like a gremlin. I did find a couple of those statue dragons though, but that was only by accident or because they were right there (so why not).

My fondest memory of Spyro the Dragon was in the first stage/world and there’s this waterfall and lake with six stone platforms in it. I randomly decided to jump on all six of them, and after the sixth one, a secret world opened up behind the waterfall. I was so freaked out and excited that I put the controller down and walked away for a minute, then came back, still debating about whether to jump in or not. I did…

…and I don’t remember if it was a bonus stage or an actual world, because all I remember is flying around in circles trying to figure out what I was there for.

Mega Man: Legends

I going to be completely honest with you: This game scared the shit out of me when I was a kid; the atmosphere, the background music, the starting enemies, all of it. Aside from the first 10-15mins of the first level, I have no clue what the rest of the game looks like, except for screenshots in the instruction manual. I even had another friend who even said that he was getting a little scared himself the first time he played it, so it wasn’t just me.

The main thing that scared me away from this game was this one enemy that I ran into on my first play through. It was this mechanical spider creature that would drop down from the ceiling and attack you, and in that area it’s easy to get lost. So me, I see this spider thing, freak out, turn to run away and can’t find the way back to the easier enemies that I could just kick in the nuts, and I get killed.

Some of you may not get this, so let me put this into perspective: all I had really played up to this point were racing games and wacky adventure games, i.e. the games above. My favorite shows were Power Rangers, Pokemon, and other bright colorful cartoons. So this was my first time experiencing something so dark and lonely, I wasn’t ready for it.
This is another game that I want to go back to. And you know what? I think I will…as soon as I find a copy and figure out how to capture footage from my ps2.

Vectorman

This is a Sega Genesis game, but the bigger plot point is that nobody I know has ever heard of this frickin game. The first time I ever brought it up to someone, they thought I was crazy when I described it to them, and rightfully so, because the concept, when said out loud, sounds about as intelligent as a blue hedgehog running through loops…wait a minute scratch that.

Here’s an excerpt from Wikipedia:

The game itself is a straightforward 2D action platformer. Vectorman is an "orbot" (a robot whose body is composed entirely of orbs) powered with a ball gun in his hand; powerups include a machine gun, "bolo" gun, and triple-fire guns.

Vectorman possesses the ability to transform, through the use of powerups, into several different forms: including a drill, to cut through floors; a bomb, to destroy all surrounding enemies or breakable walls; and an aquatic form, useful for swimming underwater.

Now say that out loud to someone who has never played a video game. I’ll wait.

………………………….

How’d it go? Did you get that “you’re kinda weird” or “okaaaaaaay” response?

What? No? Well screw you and you’re normal society like friends.

-Sigh- Well, long story short: I never got past the second level. I always got as far as a boss fight against a plane that swung two wrecking balls at you. And for the life of my childhood self, I could not figure out how to hit that %&^$ing plane.

But now….oh now!!

I still have that genesis, and I might still have that copy of Vectorman. I will defeat that plane and see past the second level before I die. Consider it an idea for a Retro Gaming segment.
People who somehow end up reading this: Hold me to this.

Hey Folks! I'm Still Alive!

noreply@blogger.com (Mark (Light.bro)) — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 21:57:00 +0000

Hey internet people! If some of you were wondering, I'm still here. I'm just having to deal with college, is all. I STILL plan to write up posts and come on here on a regular basis. It's just gonna be tough dealing with an ENGINEERING major, F.Y.I.

So, don't feel like it's only one or two people doing this by themselves. I'm still here but just not as frequent. But juuuuuust to tide you over, here's a list of some of the games I do plan to talk about, be it a review or an underrated game.

Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Stary Skies (finished but still playing and finding extra things to do)
Bayonetta (finished on two difficulties but eventually traded it in for the next game...)
Red Dead Redemption (I'll share my judgement later)
Mario Golf: Advance Tour (trust me...you'll know why)
Grid (once again, I'll share my feeling later)
Limbo (a dark and somehow depressing and mindbending game)

Extras (Kingdom Hearts)

noreply@blogger.com (Kyree (Kero)) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 19:17:00 +0000

There are several pictures up in the Extras section of my Kingdom Hearts stuff. Now I'm sure that someone else out there in the world can easily top me, but I'm quite proud of my little collection.

And now that I think about it, I think I need a Birth By Sleep Guide.

Where is everyone?

noreply@blogger.com (Kyree (Kero)) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 04:40:00 +0000

Quick update here. I've been a little under the weather for the past few days and felt like crap. I'm feeling a lot better, so when my mind gives me an idea for an Article I'll get right on it.

Also, I was supposed to be shooting a video of all the Pokémon stuff I have (games, plushies, pokéballs, etc) and you may or may not have noticed that that didn't happen. At the moment, though, I don't want to do it right now because I'm still a little congested, and no one wants to hear/see that. But fear not, because I shall do it as soon as possible...which is what I told myself to do last week before I got infected with the T-Virus.

Now in other news, there's a certain game than came out last Tuesday that's been eating up my time for the last two days:

Kingdom frickin Hearts!! And Birth By Sleep no less!

Now my closer friends (might be 5 or 6 of 'em) could probably tell you without thinking that I love the Kingdom Hearts games. I even announced that I'd disappear for a bit when I finally got it (didn't work out. not ninja enough).

So with the exception of an Extras Pokemon video and maybe some Kingdom Hearts related pictures also for the Extras section, you might not see an article from me for a bit, but I have, in no way, forgotten the site.

Come to think of it...where are those other two guys anyway? Maybe one's to ashamed because of the ass whopping I gave him in Pokémon? >_>

First Video

noreply@blogger.com (Kyree (Kero)) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 01:11:00 +0000

Our first video is up on the Videos Page. Careful, it's a big one, and is best viewed in 720p (because that's what my camera shoots at).

Top Five Favorite Moves (For Kyree)

noreply@blogger.com (Kyree (Kero)) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:30:00 +0000

Compared to all the games that have come out between the era of the Playstation 2 and now, I haven’t played a damn thing, but you know what? I don’t care. I play what interests me and what will keep me occupied. And within that group are a few games that I absolutely enjoy, and to a deeper extent are moves and tactics that I have come to adore; moves that I use in games because they’re necessary, because I’ve earned the right to use them, or just because I feel like it or just want to stare at their sheer awesomeness. So right here in this article you’re going to read, imagine and watch five of the moves that I’ve grown to love…right after you click ‘continue.’

First up: Takedowns from Burnout 3.

You’re sitting there, finger mashed down on the [if you had a PS2] X button, just blazing and drifting through the city and out of nowhere this random A.I player gets all up on you trying to push you off to the side, screwing up your good mood and interrupting whatever background music is playing. Well you know what? F—k him!! See that pole/semi truck/convenient tree? SHOVE!

And then to make it even more awesome, the game slows down for a minute, points a finger at the dude you took out and goes “Daaaaaaaaamn.”

Heh, if memory serves me correctly, weren’t there Signature Takedowns?

Video below has no audio (not my fault!)

Ars Arcanum from Kingdom Hearts

Getting swarmed by enemies that have more health than you would like them to have? Boss giving you a hard time and you need a breather? Bust out Ars Arcanum and enjoy about 10 seconds of invincibility, ass kicking, and epicness. Upon choosing Ars Arcanum from your list of commands, Sora (the protagonist) would go into a fury, swinging around his Keyblade and completely destroy huge chunks of health from whatever poor soul happened to be around you at the time.

Best part? Even after the move ended you could continue it by timing you button presses with your command list as the move lit up (if that makes any sense).

I believe you get this move after beating Riku at Hollow Bastian the first or second time. Allow me to consult my strategy guide….

….nope, sorry, it’s after you beat Captain Hook in Neverland. My bad….anyway!

This move has saved me many a time against bosses in the game, ESPECIALLY against that prick Sephiroth.

Unfortunately I can’t find a video that best shows off the move. So you’ll just have to take my word for it.

Amaterasu’s Shield Counter leading into a Pile Driver from Okami

I love pile drivers. Especially when the user spins in the air while doing it, it just makes the move seem all the more awesome. Combined with the fact that a Wolf God is doing it and how can it not go right?

Ironic though, because I’ve only found one type of enemy in the entire game that I could actually do the pile driver on; and those were those giant demon wheel things, and even then you had to wait until they started rolling around the area at high speeds.

Regardless, it was always glorious when you timed your counter perfectly and watched as you K.O’Ed that S.O.B.

For me personally, it got to the point where I would just wait around on purpose so that I could do it.

Again, there’s no video that I could find showing the move. (I’m not making these moves up!)

And if you haven’t played/finished Okami…SHAME ON YOU AND YOUR SOUL.

Megiddo/Odyssey from Golden Sun: The Lost Age

Let’s start with Odyssey. What’s a giant sword? A claymore? Okay, well imagine stabbing two of those things into your enemy, then charging at him with a third right into the chest. Got that image in your head? Good. Now change those claymores to even bigger claymores made from pure energy, like about the size of a bed or so and the third being about the size of a car. That’s Odyssey.

Still having a hard time imagining it? Well here’s a video that I DID find.

See?

Now as for Megiddo…

Last on this list: Roy’s Counter Attack from Super Smash Bros. Melee (The better Smash Bros.)

I absolutely love this move. Not only is it nice to watch, it’s also powerful (depending on what you’re countering) and makes your opponent look like an idiot for basically hurting himself.

Falcon Punch? Pfft. Counter.

This move has saved my ass more times that the previously mention Ars Arcanum. Hell, Roy’s Counter would completely screw over Sora if the situation was right.

Only downside to the move is the timing. You have to be a goddamn Jedi or mind reader or just frickin lucky to get it to work to perfection. Otherwise you leave yourself wide open for a (goddammit) Falcon Punch.

Oh, I know the video below showing Roy’s Counter is more or less showing a glitch or something but it’s the best one I found to show off the move. Oh hey look: Roy and Captain Falcon.

Oh snap! Bonus Move! Army of One from Final Fantasy XIII

For Nostalgia's Sake - Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space, Part II - Newtypes shouldn't be destroying each other.

noreply@blogger.com (Mike-san) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 04:02:00 +0000

Two Japanese mecha legends in Gundam and Robotech/Macross have been the cause of many world wars, several colony drops and advanced fighter-jet technology able to warp through time and fight off the hordes of worldly (and unworldly) scum of the earth in an epic war between fanboys of all ages. Now, both are considered epic masterpieces in Japan, much like Star Wars and Star Trek are in American Culture. Both also share the successes in their contrasts with the other, which makes the two for good sparring matches on the holy ground of Trek and Wars conventions. How did this happen? A cast of young, hormonally-driven teenagers with an urgent desire to end their wars in any way, shape or form and still appeal to the masses as something more than a Holden Caulfield clone in disguise. Truth be told, both are different in the very same way that Trek and Wars are different – and here’s why.

Star Trek focused on the military aspect of the Star Trek’s voyages into the great unknown, encountering Klingon and pretty much every other neighbor humans have in the Galaxy. Now, Robotech and Macross operate in this same manner, with the exception that their ship is a massive mech and they travel through time, rather than space. Star trek features the Jedi, the destiny of a young man bound by their code and ultimately, redemption. Gundam doesn’t stray too far away from this fact, and instead focuses on the aspects of that spiritually that Newtypes (the equivalent of Jedi) possess and what their role in the galaxy is. This is why I found myself clinging to both Star Wars and Gundam for my childhood and still hold true in my adult life; that inner level of humanity and responsibility even amongst arguably the wimpiest main characters in existence still redeems them and creates an iconic character that one can awe at and inspire to be.

In Encounters in Space, we get the final leg of that journey that Amuro and the White Crew take in order to become the heroes that would forever make them iconic in the anime community. After learning about the casualties of war and the psychological damage that one can endure only so much of, the crew of the White Base returns to space to act as a Trojan horse for the Federation, who plots one last attack against the now morally-depleted Zeon forces. Though Amuro is still the main character within this mode, the aspect of the crew’s emotional tension is the eventual sub-plot that compels the player into following the struggles of the White base in their conquest to end the One Year War.

The plot, despite being based on the anime has many new variations to not only create wonderful cameo appearances by some of the game’s ace pilots (Johnny Ridden attacking the Magellan after Axis’s destruction, or Anavel Gato at the battle of A Baoa Qu are just a few examples.) Even if you play without ever going through another mode, the levels in White Base mode mimic the intensity of each climactic battle of the One Year War’s spacial campaign. The actual battles themselves become pretty intense as the games marches on through White Base mode. (If you think that the Bigro’s bad now, just wait until you fight Byg Zam.) Like Journey to Jaburo, hordes of mobile suits await your every launch. The White Base mode, while being the major plot-teaser for the game is nothing without the extras being unlocked, and the more you unlock in other game modes, the more exhilarating the battles become. However, we’re not here to praise the unlockables. Let’s focus on some of the gameplay features and infamous battles recreated within the game.

In a matter of minutes to the amazement of Char Aznable and Lalah Sune and the horror of their commander, a dozen DOM units were wiped out by Amuro Ray and his Newtype abilities. Marking this as an absolutely significant display of prowess by the improved abilities of Amuro Ray, this ‘skirmish’ of battles gave Char the adversary worthy of his full attention. Though his revenge on the Zabi family would have to wait, Char would pursue Amuro and the White Base relentlessly in his attempts to impress Lalah. However, as time progressed it would be Char and not Amuro that would fall short of their true destiny. This skirmish battle, which shot down a dozen mobile suits in a matter of two minutes was the turning point in Amuro’s career as a pilot.

Against the indomitable force known as Solomon, the Federation was going to utilize every weapon in their power to capture the base as their own. Not only would the Solar Flare be utilized to wipe out the Zeon forces, but Amuro’s infiltration of the enemy base made it clear that his skills were notable even amongst the highest-ranking officers within the Federation. By this point in time, he began to bond with the transfer Lieutenant Slegger, a man who would eventually become one of the White Bases’s greatest icons. As the White Base exhausted every resource into the capture of their base, Amuro’s true strength was revealed during his campaign to bring down the Byg Zam, Zeon’s finest war machine that could wipe out entire battalions in a single attack. It was not a war against Zeon that drove his skills to such extremes; it was the mental war he had with that machine, the very unstoppable force that killed Lieutenant Sleggar in the process. Amuro’s talents seem best displayed against such unstoppable forces, and this was no exception. The fact that one mobile suit, let alone by a sixteen-year-old could wipe out such a force was phenomenal proved more than enough to Char that it may be Newtype powers that drive and compel both Amuro and Lalah. With an inferiority complex to Amuro, Char would continue to seek conquest against his rival.

The death of Lieutenant Sleggar already dropped morale on the White Base to a completely new low. However, as tools of war they were thrown into the thick of war to clean up after the Federation’s dirty-work. Challius Bull, already handling the assignment of ‘ghost’ as he wiped out the Federation’s docked forces with his pyscommu weapons would be in charge of bringing down the Gundam, to which he accepted without hesitation. Eventually, Amuro managed to defeat Challius Bull even when his Newtype senses were being matched on-par by Bull. It was another token of his strength as a Newtype that would eventually propel Char into doing the unthinkable – sending Lalah, his trusty lap-dog and love interest into combat against the battle-hardened Amuro, another fight that would eventually demonstrate Amuro’s strength at the cost of a Pyrrhic Victory.

“I can see time itself…” –Lalah Sune, upon ‘ascending’ as a Newtype.

Considerably, Amuro and Lalah could’ve been a couple. However, the fact remains that the White Base had to survive, and that Amuro had to ascend himself in a way that neither Lalah nor Char ever could. The pure emotion and replication of this scene was well done within the game, a moment in the entire franchise that defined what Gundam was about, and why the White Base mode was so important to me. Goddamn, did this scene swell some tears in my eyes when I was younger – it defined humanity’s prejudices of superbeings, how these super-beings handled their existence, and what ultimately man did to destroy what these beings so longingly tried to replicate.

Finally, the most important battle in the history of the Mobile Suit Gundam universe took place in A Baoa Qu. Amuro, a boy who has struggled through all obstacles (much like Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker did in the first three episodes of Star Wars) loses a love interest, best friend, his father and the morale of the White Base crew and simply demolishes the Zeon defense. It’s not that he embraces war, his mobile suit or anything of that nature; it’s that he’s come to terms with his destiny, that he was meant to be a newtype that could change the face of their presence and culture, the man who could retake history in the name of the Newtypes. What followed was one of the most iconic battles (and for real, I’m not spamming that word again) in the history of anime. Char’s Zeong and Amuro’s Gundam fought with such prowess and conflict, with such dictation and cunning, with such understanding and compassion that the battle was not one of attrition, but simply a psychological battle. Could Newtypes ever be understood by humankind? Would wars cease if Newtypes reigned supreme? This plague eventually ended with the destruction of both units before the eventual end of the game, played out surprisingly by an infinite fight scene within A Baoa Qu’s armory between Amuro and Char.

So what was so wonderful about White Base mode? What made this the crème de’ le’ crope above all other modes within the game? When you come to terms with the simple fact that the One Year War pioneering every other Gundam series to come after it, even to this day…there’s a lot of awe and inspiration from the sheer legacy that this game had to offer for its players and what it does to prove that this is trying to abridge the anime in a way that not only keeps the player excites, but beats the ever loving shit out of them. Need I say more? Amuro Ray is the greatest mecha pilot ever, and the One year War was the greatest anime event his history.

Continued in Part III: The Pocket War of 0083.

I choose you?

noreply@blogger.com (Kyree (Kero)) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 01:01:00 +0000

Oh snap, son! What could it mean? Are Pokémon real? Did a battle take place? Who battled who? Tell me Kyree, TELL ME!!

Well here's a hint: One battler was Asian.

Any takers on who the other was? Or who won?

....Anyone?

Underrated Games: Def Jam Fight For NY Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (Mark (Light.bro)) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 05:18:00 +0000

For all who are dumb and think EVERY game should be the holy f*cking grail passed down from the perfect God himself, don't hold your breath. Every game has a problem, whether you say it nitpicking or a full scale issue. Every game we play has something that needed a little extra development time to make it problem-free, but even if they did, for one reason or another, someone would find an issue. So Def Jam is not an exception to this standard and I will tell you why.

First off, no online play. There may be a few of you out there that think this is an issue and some of you may think it shouldn't have to be in it. My rebuttal to that is...it should have been experimented with. When this came out in 2004, Xbox Live was out in full swing. Halo 2 had it, Timesplitters had it, and even a few other games had this functionality. So typically, it was the hottest thing out then (it kinda still is today but in a different way). This would've made for a killer online fighter and it probably would've been a well known name like Halo. Sadly enough, it was never implemented.

On the other hand, fighting games did have a track record of having shotty framerates

when it did go online, and as we all know, fighting games require quick button presses and pin-point reactions for counters and grabs to take place. This may have been the reason why it was never put in the final product. One game that can be an example of this problem can be an old Dreamcast game, Power Stone.

This was one of the first party games to ever support online play, but many complained that the offline speed didn't match up online. This was an issue many gamers had to suffer through when this came out. So, it's understandable why Def Jam didn't incorporate such a mode. Great idea, but suseptible to more shortcomings.

Another problem is something sort of personal. Def Jam came out on all three of the major systems and I owned it on the PS2. Now, if this game has a 4-player mode in it, WHY THE FLYING F*CK IS IT ON THAT SYSTEM?!?! Let's take this in to context real quick. The original Xbox had 4 controller slots and the Gamecube supported it as well. The only one that DIDN'T have it was on the Playstation 2, with its special 2 CONTROLLER SLOTS and 2 MEMORY SLOTS. That means if you wanted to FULLY experience the multiplayer mode, you would have to get one of these:

Yeah...THIS big f*ckin behemoth...back then this piece of sh*t used to run you about $30 just to REALISTICLY play one game: MADDEN NFL! Not for any other game, and it's the size of the 360 power bricks (seriously, I'm NOT exaggerating). Set up was annoying cause you didn't know what slot in the PS2 you had to use and if your system wasn't on a table or on the floor, it was damn near dead weight that could cause your gaming rig to topple over. So if I were to choose, get the Gamecube or Xbox version for multiplayer (granted that either isn't thrown away, traded in, or used as a lunchbox).

My final complaint, that many other professional reviewers mentioned, is the grappling system. I really had no problem with it (cause most of the time I would win a match HANDS-DOWN! PWND!!!), others said that when you and the opposing combatant tried to grab simultaneously, the grabs would sometimes go into a "flip a coin" moment, and someone would get grabbed randomly.

Occasionally, I would experience that in the story mode fights here and there, but most of the time it didn't really bother me. It was irratating at times to know I lost because of a grapple I didn't get. Not a problem of astronomical proportions, but still jarring nonetheless.

With that out of the way, there is something I'd like to discuss about the rest of the series.

This was their next game, "Icon". Published by the same company, but not made by the same developer. Strangely enough, this was made by EA Chicago, the same people who worked on Fight Night Round 3 and 4, both being boxing titles. Weird right? How would a sports developer made a fighting game? Well get to that in a second in greater detail cause I want to talk about some of the good risks that they made with this iteration.

For one, the risked making the game look as good as their previous game NBA Street Homecourt, which in all honesty wasn't a bad choice. See for yourself:

Yep. Both games are running off of the same engine and neither don't look too shabby. Gas pumps would catch on fire in real time, glass would break nicely, and lighting effects were phenominal. Even in-game cutscenes and fighters benefited from using the same tech. The rappers seemed more life-like and the environments and effects looked realistic, even if a little cartoony.

Another rish they did with the game was making the story mode not all "fight a dude, watch a scene, fight a dude, watch a scene" that FFNY used. The difference this time was that you had to handle a business and earn money not only through fights. Icon moved from the "rep yo hood" moniker in the last game to a more "put myself to work to make this money" vibe, which somewhat made sense.

The one risk that REALLY backfired (and the worst thing they did to the franchise) was the fighting mechanics. This risk sounded good in theory, but didn't really translate for the better. The fighing in this game felt more like a slower version of the Fight Night games and didn't even compare to the original Def Jam Vendetta.

It was essentially making those pretty venues your weapon and using different parts of it to your advantage. What they did was basically make a game with the same controls that worked in the aforementioned boxing games but in a confusing fashion. They used the right analog stick to make all of the important attacks (pull down and sweep left or right to hit a person to make them fly left or right of you, up makes you grapple) and only used the face buttons as combos to make the opponent fly farther into hazards. Even blocking and countering were done with the triggers in conjunction with the control stick. Problem is, none of it works as fluid as you'd want it to.

Its only saving grace was the DJ system (which was actually one risk that was pretty interesting) that synced the music in the background with the venues themselves. I'm not gonna go into too much detail, but put this image and the image of a real DJ working or someone playing DJ Hero and you'd get the picture. (FYI: the 360 version let you use your music from an iPod to work with this feature, TAKE THAT PS3!)

This was a complete 180 from what its predecessors did, for good and for bad. This was a very promising franchise EA had going for them, but they took too many risks with its latest installment and the bad outweighed the good. I wish someone would make a new one with the same (or even better) graphics, story mode, and DJ concept that this game had, but its future looks pretty dim.

Oh, and DON'T get me started on that Karaoke-Revolution-ripoff Def Jam Rapstar bullsh*t. Don't even THINK aobout it...>_>

Quick Update For All

noreply@blogger.com (Mark (Light.bro)) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 18:16:00 +0000

Hey people! I know it's been a while since I did my last post (which was in the beginning of last month) but it was only because I was trying to finish a VEEEEEERY MASSIVE game that is on the most unlikely console. It's basically in the family of Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts, but it's a game series that I think beats out both of these notorious franchises. It made from Square Enix like the other two, but it's their longest running RPG series to date. That game is Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies.

I will likely have a review for you guys soon, but I have two things to do before that:
1. Finish up the last part of my DJ:FFNY post, and
2. Stop playing this AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWESOME GAME!

Once I'm done both of these I will have a review of it. Wish me luck and bare with me, cause it WILL be a while...just kidding! I'll have it as soon as possible people!

For Nostalgia's Sake - Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space, Part I - Gundam Fanboyism 101

noreply@blogger.com (Mike-san) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 01:02:00 +0000

Holy Fucking Shit.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters In Space…oh how I love you. How I adore your endless selection of Mobile Suits from the One Year War to Operation Stardust and beyond. How I envy your combat prowess and your wonderful campaign missions through the White Base, the Ace Pilots and the original Thoroughbred storyline. How I fall head over heels for your combat and how immersed I felt as I created characters to fight through the one year war. I love thee so…even if Gamespot declared that you were only a seven out of ten. But they don’t understand the love we share; they don’t understand what one year war junkies enjoy about you. Sure, you may be missing some of the more underground ace pilots, and while your selection covers pretty much every character and mobile suit from the anime/s, you still win me over time and time again. But how do you do it so well, you cultist game not intended for all audiences? It was as if you were simply built to function for the purposes of pleasing the fans. (Which by the way isn’t a bad thing. That is the whole purpose of a licensed game, no?) Even still, a licensed game should fail; with the exception of Riddick and the Twin Towers, most licensed games shouldn’t leave me wanting more. I shouldn’t have to find myself drooling as I stare into the mobile suit selection screen like some kind of fanboy-ish, indoctrinated zombie. But it’s true; I love Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space – just as I do Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2.

Now, considering how obscure this game must be to the general public, it would be relatively difficult for someone to get into the game without fully understanding what it was licensed after. Within the TV series of ‘Mobile Suit Gundam’ there were only three compilation movies that clustered together important episodes within the show, from the time the White Base escapes Side 7 in the original ‘Mobile Suit Gundam’, to the war on the Earth called ‘Soldiers of Sorrow’ and finally what’s known as ‘Encounters in Space’, the third TV movie. This game can be considered the sequel to ‘Journey to Jaburo’, which is also considered the ‘ground’ form of the two games. Encounters in Space, often considered the better of the two games despite being the least well-known added some additional content into the Gundam universe in a way that ‘Journey to Jaburo’ could not. For example, while the main story focuses on White Base crew and Amuro’s skills as a pilot increasing even as he re-enters space combat the addition of the ‘Ace Pilots’ mode allowed us to play as the likes of Anavel Gato from Gundam 0083 and even some relatively unknown but legendary pilots like Johnny Ridden and Shin Matsunaga. They even included the ‘Thoroughbred’ story about the G04 and G05 units that allowed for multiple endings according to your successes or failures within this mode. Created from Tomohiro Chiba’s manga ‘Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story: Space, to The End of a Flash’, it stars Ford Romfellow and Lusse Kessel as Gundam pilots in their attempts to help end the one year war.

To a newcomer, everything will get tossed about at once and it’s going to seem intimidating. But don’t fret, my friends; even without background knowledge of the Gundam series, one can enjoy this game to the best that the extent of blowing up giant mechs and partaking in some epic battleship combat can give you. If it helps, let me give you an introduction of how this felt for me going into the game:

My collection of Playstation games was disasterously short back when the system first came out. Because it was dominated by the likes of my two brothers hogging up screen-time with Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank, SOCOM 3, Need for Speed, Ace Combat and several other obscure games my own line-up games was short lived. There were two faults to this crisis; One, partially because I was rarely given time to play against the onslaught of children’s tears and friendship queers who would lovingly come over to play alongside my little brothers in whatever obscure things they were playing. But, even as a youngster I persevered for that one day where I might break the ice and finally have my turn at an addicting game. And that time came seven years ago, as I was able to save enough lawn-cutting money and allowance to find myself at the mercy of Gamestop.

Back then, I’d only have enough money to buy one game that would last me for a year or so before I’d eventually have to go through the vicious cycle again. Naturally, my choice had to be extremely careful and decisive lest I made the mistake of buying something completely half-assed and revolting to the point where I’d gorge my eyes out with a spoon. So, as I entered the Gamestop with the rest of the family in tow, I made a mad dash for the PS2 games without so much as a second though. Nothing could stand in my way as I leaped and bound over video game accessories and gift cards before I came across the new games section. At the time, the only subscription I had was to Nintendo Power, and even then it was at it’s very end of the yearly amount and I would lose the Magazine for another year. Considering I had no outside resources to tel me what was a good game or not, I simply had to make do with my gut instinct and my brazen courage as I traversed through the section to a find a game worth mentioning. I’ll be honest; I looked for games with character creation, and at the time there were few apart from that stubborn genre of games that were even remotely good.

As I continued to browse with disappointment looming in my eyes, I desperately tried to find something worth my common interest before I finally stumbled across what I considered to be the perfect match for me; Mobile Suit Gundam. As a kid, I watched parts of the show from recorded tapes my grandparents brought back from Japan, and so I was accessibly watching while I could. Amuro and crew were familiar to me, but acquaintances nonetheless. However, it was thanks to this game that I was able to spark back my love for the Gundam series. How did I know I would love the series as well as the game? For starters, I was always curious as to how the actual anime finished and though this might be the best escape back into the realm of Mobile Suit Gundam. Secondly; character creation. I mean, the actual customization was limited to six characters, but it was still pretty epic in the sense that you could change their voices and name them as well as increase their stats any way you wanted. The last and perhaps best reason for this game’s choice was due to the hundred-or-so different choices of mobile suits within the entire game, perhaps the largest roster I’ve ever seen of Gundams as a young teen. It took some debating however, in part because of how my brothers asked him for help buying another video game (not to be disclosed for privacy reasons). However, I finally managed to convince myself that this was going to be the game for me; the game that would last me an entire year before I picked up the lawn mower again or shoveled some neighbor’s snow.

Holy shit. Did I get what was justly coming to me.

This game wasted more than hours. This wasted years of my life. Never before was I so immensed in one of my favorite TV shows eve, and this game helped to bring it up to speed with me. I was thrown off by the Zone of Ender’s style controls at first, but even as I adjusted to the learning curve I was still getting my ass kicked on the harder levels and difficulties. And did I love every but of my sanity being thrown into this wondrous game. The adrenaline that coursed through my veins as I fought off Big Zam, or the chills down my spine as I battled through the final Battle of A Buau Qu left me hungry for me. This game was the Neeed for Speed killer for me; not only was I able to play this game ten times more often than my brothers game me the chance to, but suddenly they began to join, as well…

Continued in Part II: Newtypes shouldn’t be destroying each other!

Iphone Gaming - Fragger

noreply@blogger.com (Kyree (Kero)) — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 23:34:00 +0000

Have an iphone or ipod touch and enjoy playing games on it? Well I have a recommendation for you. It’s a newly released (more like a week old) game called Fragger and it’s only $0.99. The game breaks down to this: There are enemies on screen in various places and you have to aim your grenades throws and take them out; whether it be the explosion that does it, or the grenade to the face that knocks them off their platform.

Check out the Official Trailer after the jump.