Music Video of the Day (4/30/08): Busta and LP

Okay, I was a day late on this one, but here's the video for Busta Rhymes and Linkin Park's video for "We Made It." This is also my first time listening to the song and even though it is a Busta song, it felt more like a Linkin Park song instead (looks like Mike Shinoda produced it). The video itself is a little basic promoting the simple message of "making it." It is quite different for Busta (The Big Bang being sort of a return to form for him to me). I'm curious to see if his new album, Blessed, will retain what makes Busta the rapper he is, but this song feels a little pop-ish to me.

Music Roundup for 4/29/08

This week's Music Roundup focuses on a new song from one of my favorite bands and the soundtrack from GTA IV.

We start with a new song from Coldplay called "Violent Hill" for their new album, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends. I only listened to this song once and it seems different from previous stuff, but I approve of change. Coldplay's albums are pretty good, specifically A Rush in the Blood of the Head. X&Y wasn't that bad, but it could of been better. Well, this is another album I'm looking forward to this year I guess.

Lastly, I'm talking about GTA IV again, mainly its amazing soundtrack. Rockstar delivers again with this one being a mix mash of old and new. For now, I have been listening to the hip hop and R&B radio stations since I know the songs. The soundtrack CD that comes with the Special Edition contains the exclusive songs when I couldn't find them to download. Sure, you will find certain hits like Flashing Lights, Ne-Yo's Because of You and R. Kelly's Bump & Grind. Then there's the other genres of music u will find, which are good stuff too. I'll probably mention more about the music in my review, so wait till then.

That's it for the Music Roundup, so I'll be back next week for more maybe.

A Day in the Life at Liberty City (Part 1)

Today is the big day that Grand Theft Auto IV is out and I actually did get it at midnight over at a nearby GameStop while waiting in a line for nearly three hours (I came early since the line did get pretty long around 10 pm). I woke up and booted up to see if it works and it does only to turn it off three hours later after doing some missions here and there. So far, I'm loving it a lot even though the missions themselves are not much yet till later in the game (probably when I start getting missions at Manhattan). The driving feels different than what you're used to in past GTA games, but it was worth getting used to. I haven't done much shooting yet since the missions at the beginning are not really focused on that. The story already feels like something special with Niko being the awesome dude he is even from the beginning (I stopped after rescuing Ivan, which is not much for now). I like the fact there are branching paths now as with the last mission I finished, so it is cool to explore different sides (or just having multiple saves). Then again, I died a few times already and the punishment wasn't much going to the hospital keeping my weapons and losing not much money. At the same time, I didn't get busted yet either. I can see why Niko is chasing the American Dream being at Liberty City for the first time and feels screwed by Roman telling him all those things, and I can relate to him in some ways of trying to make it in this society we live in. 

Good thing my copy has not screwed up yet even though some folks over at NeoGAF seem to have some problems with their game (majority is PS3 version for now I think). The 360 version, meanwhile, looks great and pop-in appearing time to time. The casual activities like bowling, going to the strip club, and getting drunk are quite fun (especially drunk driving being all blurry and stuff causing me to drive conservatively since I was on a date with Michelle going to the bar). Even with 3 hours so far in this new Liberty City, I feel like I done a lot in that time with the cell phone system being an awesome addition and watching TV can kill some time since some of the shows (especially with San Andreas references from Las Venturas) commercials can be interesting at times. I already encountered good moments already with people hanging on your front door of your car after u steal it from them while listening to Flashing Lights.

I'm probably done for the day playing GTA IV (maybe later which is pending). I love the Special Edition and how it is all packaged in one small box. The duffel bag is not as big as I thought, which is okay, and the lockbox is cool too. Let's just say it is going to be a while till I done with this one and Mario Kart Wii is already pushed to the side due to GTA IV's awesomeness (shockingly GameSpot gave it a 10 too).

A Day full of Spike Shells & Lightning Bolts

Today, I got Mario Kart Wii and played the hell out of it (Well, I got it at midnight). So far, I made significant progress especially with GTA IV around the corner. Basically, most of my six-to-eight-ish hours was in the Grand Prix mode beating all cups on 50 cc, 100 cc, and 150 cc. I realized it takes some work to get all the unlockables (kind of like SSB Brawl), but that can wait for a later time. Once I stuck with the Nunchuk/Wiimote control option, its more likely I'm staying with it, but I'll try the wheel out in a later day.

As with Nintendo games with a multiplayer focus like this, the single player GP mode is grinding to unlock everything. 50 cc and 100 cc are breezes for veterans, but 150 cc and Mirror will need some luck to pass by especially when the rubberband A.I. is just simply overboard with spike shells and lightning bolts likely hitting you while in first place. Then again, the traditional Mario Kart formula is there in full force and if you're hoping for a significant overhaul like what Double Dash did, you're not going to find it there.

The difference between karts and bikes is not that much other than size and levels of drift since the karts have two levels rather than bikes with the blue only boost. Personally, I prefer bikes right now because of the wheelies for more speed. Surprisingly, there are more ways to gain speed in this Wii iteration to spice up the action with drafting when it works when you're directly behind an opposing racer and gaining boost after nailing tricks. Speaking of the trick system, it is simple to pull off shaking the Wiimote even though your wrist will start to feel it doing that many times. Actually, the sound effects were too loud and annoying on my Wiimote speaker (Well, I had it at max) making me turn it down a little bit because there's a lot of speaker usage. Mario Kart is also known for dirty comebacks and the agony of defeat getting the lucky item towards victory (Stars or Golden Mushrooms for example) or a Bullet Bill barely beating you at the finish line. 

I'll mention the graphics on my review, but so far it is marginally improved over Double Dash. I haven't tried the online yet, but I downloaded the Mario Kart Channel for my Wii Menus just in case. I did give local multiplayer a shot and that's a totally different story and perhaps one of my biggest disappointments in the game. The framerate differences are way noticeable and splitscreen with 4 players is where it matters for that. For 2 players, it is not that bad framerate wise being similar to the single player action, and who knows online since u can have another player along for the ride. I haven't tried battle mode yet and that's also disappointing being team based with big maps.

I guess I better save what I still have left in my mind regarding Mario Kart Wii for my review soon.

Okay, Glow in the Dark Tour is Sick!!!

When Kanye first announced the Glow in the Dark Tour, I was pretty excited and hopefully see it for myself, well that didn't happen. He recently performed at Los Angeles earlier this week along with opening acts N.E.R.D., Lupe Fiasco, and Rihanna. Then again, this is some sick stuff Kanye is pulling off with some of these performances (I'll use "Flashing Lights" and "Stronger" as examples).

The orchestral remix of "Flashing Lights" is just beyond sick and Kanye's show is full of brightness. Then again, I'm ready to blast this song in Grand Theft Auto IV doing a drive-by or driving hella fast in a sports car. Also, "Stronger" is just amazing in this clip below.

As If 50 Cent can really drive a Hummer while chased by a rocket.

This trailer is just hilarious to me, which is for 50 Cent's new game, Blood in the Sand. Then again, this can be surprisingly good according to recent previews. The story sounds like nonsense so far and 50 himself getting caught in a Middle Eastern-like place killing dudes with guns and hand-to-hand combat is simply crazy. Anyway, enjoy laughing at this because maybe 50 would do this in real life if he wants to. 

GTA4 Review Madness begins!!

Looks like this weekend is going to be fun reading Grand Theft Auto IV reviews and IGN shockingly gives it a 10. Here's the video below (Flashing Lights is one of the songs in the game?? Yes!!!). One line that struck me right away from IGN's review is that GTA IV is the best game ever since Ocarina of Time. Hopefully it will be that way when I play for myself next week. I guess the other gaming sites' reviews will roll out during the weekend or beginning of next week. Since a review is now out, I can take out GTA IV from my Top 10 Most Wanted list because it is that close to release.

Battle of the Bands (Wii) = A Weird Rhythm Game

While Rock Band is still my definitive rhythm game for now (even though the Def Leppard DLC for Guitar Hero III is okay stuff), there are probably will some stinkers that will try to take advantage of Harmonix's winning formula with Guitar Hero and Rock Band.

I never really paid attention to this awkward rhythm game, Battle of the Bands, for the Wii until I saw a commercial for it earlier this week. This is out now to buy for the Wii for a different twist on the rhythm games of today. Battle of the Bands is simply a cool concept of playing different versions of cult mainstream classics using different genres of music to spice things up. These YouTube videos are just examples of what this game brings to the table, but it is simply weird and random of a Spanish band rocking to Gorillaz's Feel Good Inc. and so on. I'm pretty sure the hardcore crowd won't appreciate this crap, but this is definitely designed for the casual audience (its only on the Wii). In the end, it is just THQ (who published this) trying to get a piece of that Guitar Hero pie and get some easy sales out of it, but I think it will flop hard. Then again, I might be underestimating the Wii casual audience and they will eat this up.

Madden's "Love" for Brett Favre pushed to a new level

Word from the streets, mainly Gamedaily who broke the news, that Madden NFL 09's coverboy will be the one and only Brett Favre. It seems like an odd choice considering he is retired now after one of his best seasons in a while, but it seems true and will be made official tomorrow. Of course, there are better candidates out there to be on the cover of this year's Madden, but maybe they are too worried about the Madden Curse striking again (ask last year's coverboy Vince Young even though his Titans made the playoffs). Then again, having two quarterbacks be on the cover for two straight years is interesting.

UPDATE - That looks like the cover alright and now official. EA is ready to reveal the details tomorrow and throughout the NFL Draft Weekend.

Clip of the Day (4/24/08) - The Kobe Aston Martin Jump, TNT Style!!

If you watched Inside the NBA after the Lakers winning Game 2 against the Nuggets, the TNT folks (Ernie, Kenny, and Charles) interviewed Kobe Bryant about the victory and his infamous Aston Martin Jump. Hilarity ensues when Kenny Smith tries it out for himself. This is why TNT delivers in pre-game and post-game shows for the NBA better than ESPN in some ways even though Sir Chuck can be crazy at times.

Another Racing Game gets the Bike treatment

It seems like more racing games (mainly arcade racers) are adding more than just cars as the main vehicle of choice. The Midnight Club series (started with 2) pretty much made bikes in console racers kind of fun and changed up the gameplay a bit. Now more racing games have seem to add bikes with PGR4, Test Drive Unlimited, and Mario Kart Wii. Looks like another racing game will add bikes into their repertoire of cars, which is Burnout Paradise.

The folks of Criterion are still piling up the DLC for the latest Burnout game, with a recent auto-update showing up on 360 (later this week on PS3) even though it is causing framerate issues.  They will fix that issue and the "Bogart" update will return in May 2. Meanwhile, that screenshot of a bike in Paradise City is also in a different time of the day. They also plan towards putting nighttime in Paradise along with bikes and supposedly planes in their "Davis" update later this summer before their "Eastwood" update, which is the promised expansion of Paradise City with another island to explore. Before those two updates is the "Cagney" update adding this SUV, which can't boost at all (pic below) as well new types of freeburn challenges and more online modes (mentioned in a previous post) to mess with (some of those are timed). Plus, PS3 fans will be happy of getting custom soundtracks in that update as well.

It is just impressive that Criterion is still willing to make Burnout Paradise better way after its release as other companies would just put up some pointless items up for download and stop there. They are pushing the concept of DLC to a whole level and all of this will be surprisingly free, which is awesome. The addition of bikes to Burnout could lead to some new challenges for the developers and how they can maintain what makes Burnout the intense racing game it is with different vehicles.

The GTA4 Marketing Train Commences....

Less than a week till the whole world stops for Grand Theft Auto IV and the marketing train has commenced here at the U.S. We seen the European ads and even hear about reported leaks at various spots of the world (Australia and some spots in Europe), and the billboards have started to rollout. These sets of billboards are nearby my neck of the woods at Downtown Los Angeles while other billboards have surfaced at other spots. What's interesting about these billboards is that they are not advertising both PS3 and 360 versions (I think this Downtown LA one is for the 360 while I have seen other ones promoting the PS3 version). Then again, these ads have somewhat in question with Fox News trying to ban them at Chicago. I'm still curious how much baggage this will carry with the government being how controversial it is in the past, but I think it won't cause any problems unless something questionable is seen and noted to make them pissed off. It is only a matter of time when the leakage of footage spreads among the interwebs, and Rockstar has been on tight lockdown on anyone who uploads some of it as well as playing it early to be recognized in PSN and XBL servers. To me, it's still amazing that we are a week away for gaming nirvana with GTA IV.

Super Mario Fusion = Mushroom Kingdom Fusion

A name change later and we have now Mushroom Kingdom Fusion, previously Super Mario Fusion (blogged about it last month). YouTube user JudgeSpear2 has added a couple more members to his team to make this game better and better, which is still in a beta. I'm looking forward towards their new beta soon with some new additions and changes as he noted in these YouTube clips.

Other than Megaman Mario and more levels in the Mega Man world and now some levels in the Sonic universe (Labrinyth Zone for example from Sonic 1), more playable characters will be added, which is the major reason for the name change. Luigi is introduced and the gameplay differences are definitely noticeable as expected in Nintendo's Mario games with his SMB2 jump and Smash Bros. style fireballs, which I approve. Mario has some new additions as well with the Spin Jump from Mario World and more hopefully. This new beta seems improved drastically with some animation fixes and other gameplay changes with the Spartan suit power-up acting like Halo-like rechargeable shields now. This fan-made game is still ways off from complete, and hopefully it will deliver.

Music Roundup for 4/22/08

Time for a blog about today's world of music...

We'll start with what I have been listening to lately, which is mainly the new Atmosphere album, When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That S*** Gold, a cool name for an album I would say. Anyway, Atmosphere is pretty much one of the more known underground hip-hop / rap artists around even though the first time I knew about this album coming out was that it was on the pre-order section of the iTunes Music Store (that cover above is not the retail cover). Other than that, it is a pretty chill album to listen to with the fellas rapping and such with the chill beats compared to all the mainstream hits out there (most of them being crap, but still catchy). Atmosphere, to me, is about the rapping first, beats and melodies second, and it shows in their latest album. Basically, this is underground hip-hop and rap at its finest, and if you're looking for a chill album to listen to escape such songs as Ray J & Yung Berg's Sexy Can I and Lil Wayne's Lollipop, Atmosphere's latest is worth checking out.

I also happened to listen to a little bit of Madonna's new album, Hard Candy, which is out next week. I guess some of the tracks I downloaded weren't the real versions, so I have to go back and try again on that. If you like her last album, Confessions on a Dance Floor, it is basically a familiar vibe with Hard Candy. The productions actually do take center stage themselves rather than Madonna herself so far with the album divided up to productions from two of the best producers now, Timbaland and Pharrell Williams. Of course, you have your first single and current club banger, "4 Minutes", with Timbaland and Justin Timberlake, but then u listen to other songs like "Give It to Me," her newest single, and it is surprisingly good for what it is (that is produced by Pharrell). There's also a song called The Beat Goes On with Kanye West, but it is not as good it could be especially with someone like Kanye. If you're into new banging productions from Timbo and Pharrell, Madonna's Hard Candy is worth a listen even though Madonna herself is not that as worth it. Plus, I rather listen to this than Mariah Carey's E=MC2 album, which is odd for my tastes.

Okay, this is a little related to games with Judas Priest's album, Screaming for Vengeance, out on Rock Band today. This is not bad for a first album to choose to start up the albums for Rock Band, with such hits as "Electric Eye" and "You Got Another Thing Coming." Most of the songs have ridiculous solos, specifically the title track, "Screaming for Vengeance" (Notechart video below thanks to YouTube user Npaeen), and I barely passed that (good thing I had Overdrive ready for it just in case). Overall, the whole album is worth the download (15 bucks or 1200 Microsoft Points) for the challenge and accepting the fact that albums finally made it to Rock Band.

Lastly, this pic above may seem weird at first, but yeah that's Busta Rhymes and Linkin Park together. I first read about this mash-up or collaboration at IGN which is basically Busta's first single called "We Made It" for his new album, Blessed. I happened to like Linkin Park's mash-up with Jay-Z a lot with Collision Course with "Numb/Encore" being the smash hit it is and the fact the mash-up actually worked. I don't know if this Busta / LP song will work since I haven't listened to it, but it is interesting to say at least.

That's it for My Music Roundup for this week, maybe more next week, who knows if there's something good worth mentioning.

Is This Madden NFL 09??

Today on GameStop's Blog, yeah the game retail giant has a blog too apparently, they are continuing their Monday series of blogs revealing some features in this year's Madden along with this screenshot above of a snow game since today's post was about the weather effects. This pic has raised some eyebrows of whether or not it is real or fake as they did a comparison of shots to Madden 08's snow effects. Then again, this is getting closer to what EA showed that target video before the Xbox 360 even came out. I have a feeling EA is ready to blow out a cover athlete and the major gameplay improvement (if there is) at this weekend's NFL Draft, but as history says, last year was the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare reveal and that shook the gaming world for a week. I also have a fetish of buying the new Madden every year since 2003 being a cultural phenomenon it is now, so I will still give 09 a shot whether if it sucks or not.

Clip of the Day (4/21/08) - The Presidential Candidates on tonight's WWE RAW

To prepare for tonight's WWE RAW featuring the return of King of the Ring, our presidential candidates for this year's election have decided to make an appearance. Here's their promo for the night, but be prepared for a horrible spoof in the actual ring like what WWE tried to do with the feud between Rosie and Donald Trump last year. This upcoming segment has Botchmania material all over it as if Mike Adamle's horrible announcing from last week's ECW was enough. Anyway, enjoy Hillary Clinton, Barrack Obama, and John McCain try to make their own versions of past WWE superstars' catch phrases.

Racing Games for 2008 (My Picks to Watch Out For)

So the racing game genre has been doing well this year with Burnout Paradise and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, but the remainder of the year for these games seem good so far (I'm not counting Mario Kart Wii even though it is a racing game). Here are my top picks of racing games to watch out for the rest of the year (I may repeat this post again to remind y'all of this).

WipeOut HD - I already went crazy about this one in an earlier post so read that and watch some awesome footage while you're at it. It is still one of my reasons to get a PS3 now for its June release or maybe even next month.

Race Driver GRID - (pictured above and below) After the success of DiRT, Codemasters is at it again with GRID, their current-gen take on their TOCA Race Driver series, and changes are abound if you're played the previous TOCA games before with this one being more arcade-focused than simulation. This is also one of the best looking racing games so far even though it is based from screenshots and limited trailers. If this is running at 60 frames per second (I think it is 30 for now, but steady), this could be another sleeper hit like DiRT was last year along with the DiRT style navigation menus maybe making a return to this one and proper online multiplayer. I'm hoping for a demo of GRID before its June release (also pictured below). If u want more info on GRID, check out this recent IGN preview.

Midnight Club: Los Angeles - (pictured on the right) I was a fan of the last two Midnight Club games with 2 being a challenging, but fun racer and DUB Edition being a little easier along with the addition of licensed cars. With this new one, but set only in Los Angeles (previously seen in Midnight Club 2), so far it looks like the same old Midnight Club game adding along elements seen in 2006's sleeper racer, Test Drive Unlimited. Cockpit views are also added in this game as well. The release date was announced today for MC: LA which is September 9th and I can't wait to go back to Rockstar's successful racing series even though not a lot of features have been finalized yet or any footage despite a recent showing at an Auto Show. As long as it is done right, I'm happy (also pictured below).
Well's that my top 3 picks for racing games to watch out for this year (still not counting Mario Kart Wii). Even though it is still April, there's still more racing games to be announced like another Need for Speed game that EA is promising a return to the series' roots and the inevitable F-Zero game for the Wii along with others I won't even mention. The racing genre is not usually as consistent as the constant flow of first / third-person shooters, but the limited number of them are great quality, which goes along to the whole quality over quantity thing. Also, factor in more downloadable support for Burnout Paradise, last year's Forza 2, and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, and we will have another good year for racing games.

Tekken 6 Tournament at Super Arcade

Unfortunately, I wasn't there to witness the craziness of a Tekken 6 tourney in Super Arcade at Walnut yesterday, but thanks to YouTube user SuperArcadeBox, u can watch the matches that took place. Even if I showed up there and entered, I would likely get my ass whooped so it was better to watch anyway since I have faced most of the guys that are in it and they're pretty good. Here's one of many that took place.

Speed Runs!!! The DMC4 Edition

Speed Demos Archive has finally put up a speed run for Devil May Cry 4 which is beaten in about 98 minutes. I'm currently downloading it now, and I can tell that usually DMC speedruns are nuts due to skill and luck. Maybe this run will make me play the game again, since I started Son of Sparda difficulty, but never bothered to finish it. Plus, if I play DMC4 now, I'll just play Bloody Palace to stock up on more Proud Souls considering my average is at Level 20, which is Berial. I'm also curious that Capcom is still considering downloadable content of some kind at this point, but it is likely that they are not thinking about it.

If u haven't checked out Speed Demos Archive yet, check out all the other speed runs they have up for download with such favorites like Super Mario Bros., Super Metroid, Metroid Prime, and more.

Time to Jump on the Bourne Conspiracy Hype Train

I have to admit that the Bourne movies are on my pile of shame list since I never seen them yet. After watching this week's GameTrailers TV episode featuring The Bourne Conspiracy, maybe I should jump to the hype train of being an awesome license-based game. Just watching it in action feels like watching the movies of all the hand-in-hand combat with that intensity. Good thing there's a demo coming out on May 5 for a chance to try out this awesomeness. Then again, I'm worried that watching all those counters in the hand-to-hand combat would get a totally different reaction than playing it myself. Here's the latest trailer if you're thinking on jumping on the hype train towards its June release.

Sega's Iron Man game needs the Proton Cannon... Demo Impressions

I played the Iron Man demo today, which is up on Xbox Live Marketplace now and after two run-throughs (the demo is timed), the gameplay is not that deep as I thought it would be. First of all, the demo is timed, which is nine minutes to destroy tanks, helicopters, turrets, and crates as Iron Man. I have a feeling the final game's objectives will be more variations of what I played in this demo, which seems repetitive to me. All you do in the demo is fly, hover, and shoot, and repeat at what I mentioned. Occasionally, you can use the Uni Beam attack with the right bumper to take out tougher sets of enemies, but it takes time to set it up and leaves you wide open for to be hit. As seen in the demo trailer, you can use enemy vehicles to your advantage back at them, but nailing it in action seems sketchy and wonky to do. Quite simply, the overall controls for Iron Man feels really sketchy. Hovering and flying seemed confusing at first, but you will notice the differences after some play-throughs. Once you nail the flying controls, it makes you think you're freaking Iron Man flying at supersonic speeds boosting around, but I am worried after the playing the demo is that the combat doesn't make you feel like you are Iron Man especially when he is a high-tier beast in Marvel vs. Capcom 2 with Proton Cannons, Smart Bombs, Repulsor Blasts, and Infinite combos.

The graphics are at least the only good thing I can say about Sega's Iron Man game. At least Iron Man himself looks good and sharp, but the backgrounds can be somewhat dull in the final game (that's a prediction). The voice-overs also seem half-assed like most games based on movies with no emotion coming out of it from Tony Stark and your computer friend. Before jumping into action, there are some customization / RPG elements which is your basic spend money on upgrades ordeal. Even on Easy and Normal, the computer A.I. does not really put up a fight with your health being rechargeable quickly and a matter of avoiding missiles.

The Iron Man demo feels like target practice as Iron Man with its auto-aiming system. The controls feel sketchy for both movement and combat. I wished he had more of a move list or other available weapons in the demo (maybe there's more in the final cut) other than a normal blast, Uni Beam, and melee when close. Graphically, it looks good and shiny as well as having the effortless voice overs as seen in other movie licensed games. In the end, Iron Man might as well be just another crappy licensed movie game that feels rushed to coincide with the movie itself on May 2nd. Then again, everyone will be playing Grand Theft Auto IV, but this Iron Man game can be a decent rental at best if you're a fan.

Okay the world is coming to an end... MK vs. DC

I thought I was going to the end the night with my last post, but this is just totally crazy.

This seems like the worst kept secret yet, but Mortal Kombat vs. DC Comics seems official according this poster even though the url there doesn't work for now. More details will surface tomorrow or in a matter of hours, but for now, this is nuts...

UPDATE - Here's the announcement trailer with some gameplay revealed as Ed Boon mentions "Klose Kombat" and "Freefall Kombat" as some of the new features to the fighting. Then again, this is still crazy stuff.

Clip of the Night (4/17/08) - The "death" of the new ECW??

I didn't watch ECW this week, but I was aware of the announcement of Joey Styles heading up WWE's website instead doing his ECW announcing thing. Sucks for Tazz, with his replacement being the horrible Mike Adamle. If Vince really wanted to kill the new ECW, this seems to be the solution with his abysmal announcing as shown in this clip.

More Good Times with Rob & Big

Here is some more of my favorite moments in the best MTV show that came to an end two days ago, Rob & Big.

He Does Whatever A Spider Can.... Another new Spidey game for the Fall

So Activision announced the latest Spider-Man game today, which is called Web of Shadows. Not  a lot of details have surfaced regarding the plot for this one since it is not based on any of the movies (Well, good since the movie Spidey games suck). Treyarch is developing it again for 360 and PS3 while Shaba Games are doing the other versions (PS2, Wii, PSP, DS, etc.). The main thing Activision is promoting so far with Web of Shadows is letting the players choose which Spider-Man to go with, which is your typical superhero saving, or someone out for himself. For any clues regarding Web of Shadows, check out the teaser thanks to ign and Yahoo.

Let the Countdown begin.... GTA4

Less than 2 weeks to go for perhaps the biggest game of this generation of consoles (sorry Halo 3), Grand Theft Auto IV. We read enough previews, heard people's doubts, and screamed about the delay. It is only a matter of time when Rockstar's juggernaut takes over the world again and controversy stirs with the government's problem. The commercials / ads have been rolling out in the past week worldwide and the whole $400 million in the first week possibility according to analysts can happen because there are enough 360 and PS3 owners that will buy this opus in a heartbeat. It is also a good time to rock a new screenshot as my new wallpaper. Be prepared for a mini series of blogs to my progress throughout single-player as well as multiplayer impressions before my biggest review yet sometime next month.

Soul Calibur Madness... The Soul still burns

Namco had a recent press event with no Tekken 6 PS3 (which stinks) but headlined by Soul Calibur IV. A whole slab of previews are now up at various web sites as well as this trailer above with some new footage (no official gameplay matches yet). The game is still coming out in July 29 with a limited edition and they are promising future DLC with costumes, weapons, etc. (maybe Darth Vader on 360 and Yoda on PS3). It still looks pretty good and while others complained about the boobage with the female characters (almost DOA quality to some of them), some are still wandering whether or not the fighting will be balanced with no arcade version to back it up like Tekken 6. Will the Critical Finishes (instant kill moves) break the game? Will online performance be pretty laggy? There are still many questions to be answered when we all play the game in July.

As if SC4 is enough, Namco announced today that the Soul Calibur 1 will be on XBLA sometime later this year (maybe around the time SC4 is out??). They might as well bring the best fighting game critically to please the fans. For now, no online multiplayer is planned for this XBLA port, but they promised HD graphics, achievements, and leaderboards will be in it. No PSN version announced yet which pissed off the PS3 fanboys and Namco themselves have been screwing the PSN for XBLA releasing their classics, but then there's still Tekken on the PS3 with DR Online and that's good enough for me since the franchise has been a staple for the Playstation brand. At least Tekken 6 is staying on PS3 for now. 

The end of good times for the best show on MTV

Last night was the series finale for Rob & Big on MTV and it was end of good times because that was the best show on that channel that doesn't play music videos that much anymore. Those great times introduced us to "Do Work Son" and the Net Gun. It brought us funny moments throughout its three seasons especially some of my favorite ones in the clips below (I'll put up more in a later post because this show is too good). It is sad to see such a funny show end especially on a crappy channel like MTV, but it was time to move on after watching the finale. So, now we're back to amusing crap like The Hills, The Real World (the Hollywood season premieres tonight), and a new season of A Shot of Love with Tila Tequila. Thanks for the good times Rob & Big and being the only TV show I buy on the Xbox 360's Video Marketplace.

Burnout Paradise Online is going to get better...

With the second major update to Burnout Paradise coming out sometime next week according to their countdown, the folks of Criterion Games are already cooking up a third update codenamed Cagney which will make the online multiplayer what it was originally meant to be. For the many players that wanted Stunt Run, Road Rage, and Marked Man in online multiplayer got their wish granted with Criterion's announcement of those modes making it online. They are calling it EasyDrive with the three modes available to those who want to gather high scores like a single player stunt run, but taking out the opposition will also increase the multipler while getting taken out loses the combo. Online Road Rage makes its return and it is team based like Burnout Revenge of two teams of 4 with the same goal of one team racing to the finish line while the other team chases them to take them out. Online Marked Man is basically the same as when played single player, but now plays like Juggernaut in Halo 3 to me of one person being the Marked Man and if one takes out the Marked Man, he then becomes the Marked Man. For more details on Online Stunt Run, Road Rage, and Marked Man, check out the article from Criterion's own web site. These modes won't make the new update next week, but I expect them to make it after the first major wave of DLC surfaces with the new areas and cars. All I can have say now is this will bring me back to Burnout Paradise just like what the Legendary Map Pack did to me with Halo 3. 

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Bundle = Not Worth It for 360 owners

Okay, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is out sometime in June and the obvious bundle is also out at the same time. Good thing it is not as mandatory to buy it now with the previous Guitar Hero releases had bundles. As seen in the pic above, the game comes with the Gibson Les Paul, but now with an Aerosmith faceplate. If you already have 2 guitars to play Guitar Hero III if u bought Guitar Hero II on 360 and Guitar Hero III's Les Paul, then what's the point of getting another one unless you're crazy for another wireless guitar. For PS3 owners, this is more worth it for another guitar since Guitar Hero II didn't come out on PS3 if u didn't buy another Les Paul separately.  Then again, bundles for Aerosmith have to be pre-ordered to be purchased on its June release so retailers are doing something right for once with this series. I'm still on the fence on buying GH Aerosmith anyway, and luckily if one of my guitars don't break, I don't need to waste another 100 bucks on another Guitar Hero game. I might as well skip it with Ninja Gaiden II and hopefully MGS4 PS3 out the same month if my financial status is good enough.

Slightly off-topic - Soul Calibur IV is out on July 29 and will have a limited edition as well being 80 bucks. I'm a sucker for limited editions so I might as well get this one too since I like the Soul Calibur games, but not as much as the Tekken games especially playing Tekken 6 for the past month.

Halo 3 Legendary Map Pack Impressions

So the new Halo 3 maps came out today with the Legendary Map Pack and quite simply, they are flat out fun to play and way better than the Heroic DLC.

Let's start with Avalanche, the biggest of the three and a throwback to the Halo CE map Sidewinder. Significant changes were made towards movement with tons of man cannons. Since this is a big map, it is also vehicle-heavy with Mongooses, Warthogs, Ghosts, Wraiths, and a Hornet. The map itself seems symmetrical and designed for Objective-based games like Capture the Flag and Assault. For those CTF and Bomb games, they bring nice moments of vehicle and man cannon madness of dropping to an opposing base with a warthog or mongoose to arm the bomb or get the opposing flag. There is a long way and a short way to navigate around this huge map and usually vehicle control will dictate the momentum of matches. I never had such fun in a huge map which surprised me since I'm not a fan of the big maps in the Halo games. Avalanche is truly worth a play-through with 8 or more people.

The next map is arguably worth the 800 Microsoft Points alone, which is Blackout, a direct remake of Lockout from Halo 2. From the snow of Lockout, Blackout is now in the nighttime at an oil rig in some wintry place. What I mean by direct remake, nothing is significantly changed for the map, but it seems bigger than it used to be. The weapons are at the same places (Spikers are the exceptions at some spots) and close-range combat at its finest. Lots of Slayer and Team Slayer matches happened at Lockout when I played Halo 2 and Blackout promises more playtime and memories in the times to come. This is highly recommend for 4 or more players for matches to feel somewhat special. It is also surprisingly fun for SWAT as well. Personally, my favorite strategy for rack up kills is the Bubble Shield and Sword combo as people will fall for it. Other than that, get ready to throw some grenades in tight spots.

Finally, there's Ghost Town, which Bungie described in the first place as a Counter Strike-like map. It seems that way to me with tons of opportunities for cover and many indoor places for close-range combat. The map's size is medium-sized, but big enough to try out some Objective-based games. Even though I recommend Slayer and Team Slayer for this map as well with Active Camo and Overshield present. This map can cater to long range and short range action, which offers somewhat of a balance. It is also surprisingly fun to play SWAT and Team SWAT with many opportunities for long-range headshots with the Battle Rifle. In the end, I'm also surprised how this map can to be fun to play in for 4 or more players.

Bungie arguably released the best DLC for a Halo game with this Legendary Map Pack. All three maps can provide memorable moments for saved films and interesting to mess around with Forge. Avalanche is now favorite big map in Halo 3, Blackout still remains the greatness of Lockout from Halo 2, and Ghost Town is one of the better maps in the game period. It is safe to say I will be playing Halo 3 again for a while with this new set of maps. Don't wait for this one to be free in a few months and spend 10 bucks (800 MS Points) as soon as u can to experience Halo greatness again.

The King of Iron Fist Tournament returns again.... The Tekken 6 (ARC) Review

Please note: This is the review for the arcade version of Tekken 6 not the upcoming PS3 version.

Namco Bandai brought back the Tekken games to their glory with Tekken 5 and its upgrade, Dark Resurrection. It focused on what made them great and also delivered on the storyline, which I think does the best job at it in the fighting game genre. Tekken 6 is the latest entry in Namco's famed fighting series and continues the story of the Mishima bloodline with Jin Kazama now heading the Mishima Zaibatsu, which was once owned by Heihachi in Tekken 5, and currently taking over the world being independent from the rest of them. The only other entity that can oppose Jin's company is the G Corporation and they offered up a huge price for anyone to capture Jin alive. All of this war and chaos starts the 6th King of the Iron Fist tournament for those fighters who want vengeance, the fame, and the power. While some may call Tekken 6 simply Tekken in high definition, its new gameplay changes make it enough of a different game for new players to learn new moves, combos, and strategies with their favorite characters, and that to me what makes the game fun.

The character lineup for Tekken 6 is a staggering amount, which is 40. The new characters are actually fun to play as and also high among the current tier list. Among them are, Leo, who is actually a girl going after Kazuya for killing her mother, Miguel, a Spanish brawler, Zafina, a spiritual lady with an unorthodox fighting style, and Bob, a fat dude who knows karate. The returning characters are all from Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection with favorites like Marshall Law, Paul Phoenix, Bryan Fury, the Williams sisters, Christie, Steve, King, and more. For veterans of the series, the old characters are still play the same way with the same moves, but some of them have different animations, which gives Tekken 6 some sense of freshness. Then you have your boss characters, which is a totally different story I will mention later.

The single player game for Tekken 6 remains the same of fighting a set of characters till the last boss. Along the way, a bonus fight may occur with a huge robot named Nancy, which is an example of the wackiness the Tekken series had provided over the years. The last bosses were kind of cheap most of the time and Tekken 6 is no different with Azazel, a huge dragon that fills up nearly half the screen that can use rock-like projectiles and its size to its advantage. Other than that, the difficulty for the single player game is around the same as Dark Resurrection, which is not that hard, but the computer A.I. can give a fight most of the time. Let's just say be prepared to lose some quarters if you are really determined to beat Azazel. but he is beatable like past Tekken bosses such as Jinpachi from the last game.

The overall gameplay mechanics for Tekken 6 is still the same Tekken you know and love with some new additions. One of them is the bound system which refers to the juggle combos. This usually happens when you use a slam-type move to the ground during a juggle which gives you another chance to continue the combo with a low or mid attack. Sometimes, using these bound-type moves will cause the ground to break in certain stages that are multi-leveled to a lower level. The other major addition and often controversial before its arcade release is the rage system. Your character will be in rage when he or she is low in health and some signs of red glow will show up as seen in the screenshot above. Once in rage, you can inflict more damage to your opponent than normal and vice versa if your opponent is in rage. This usually can lead to comebacks in certain situations and rare death combos which makes the last seconds of a match more intense kicking in the nerves of not making a mistake. Despite those new additions, Tekken 6 is still a juggle festival for high-level players and fun for casual players because of its flashiness compared to other 3D fighters.

The arcade version of Tekken 6 uses a card system similar to Tekken 5 and DR. One card is a character of your choice and customize it to your liking as long you win matches for more money. You still gain money from losing matches against human opponents, but not that much. The character customization is still the same from Tekken 5 of various color changes and additional clothing. New to this game is more weapons (Bryan's shotgun for example in one of the first videos shown) that can be used during fights, but for no damage which is another example of Tekken's wackiness. Even though it is a little pricey to purchase a card (well from the place I play Tekken 6), it is worth it in the long run to brag about your winning record and show off a cool customization.

Graphically, Tekken 6 looks pretty sharp. For those who think it is Tekken 5 HD, think again because it improves significantly. The characters look great with more details added to them than previous games. The environments also look beautiful and diverse, which is a staple of the franchise. From an open snow stage, a graveyard with thunder in the background, a water stage similar to Tekken 4, and more. The ground does receive damage and will break as mentioned earlier meaning there are destructible elements in some stages and look great as well. The water effects also improved from previous games with splashes acting like splashes. Performance wise, the only time of slowdown is during the character screen at rare occasions. Despite that, the fights run at a smooth 60 frames per second with no sense of any slowdown.

The sound for Tekken 6 is the usual expectations of the franchise. Blocking sounds different now which seems harder than previous games and the hits still sound the same. There is little character voice acting when they are introduced before fights, but they seem accurate to their personalities which is good enough to me. Musically, Tekken games deliver great soundtracks and this one is no different of various rock, electronic, and orchestral. Even the announcer sounds better and not as annoying as some would say.

Overall, Tekken 6 is another great entry to Namco's successful franchise. The new gameplay additions make the fights more entertaining and intense giving players to new ways to mess with your favorite characters. It looks sharp in high definition and sounds great as expected. The wackiness that the series has maintained since its inception is still here in various places with a cheap boss and playing as a bear. The card system still remains addicting for the arcade scene of showing off a customized character and maintaining a winning record. Quite simply, Tekken 6 is flat out fun to play at the arcade which is a rare opportunity these days since only a handful of arcades here at the United States have the game.

Score = 9 / 10 

Samoa Joe = Finally TNA World Champion!!! The Lockdown PPV Recap

Turns out that Lockdown was another good PPV for TNA (They always deliver every year with Lockdown anyway). Okay I haven't watched it yet (maybe tomorrow if it is up online somewhere) and read the results. For the long version and more details, go to WrestleZone's article. Let's go to the obvious news....

- Samoa Joe is the new TNA Heavyweight Champion!! - In arguably the best match against Angle since their first match at Genesis 2006, Joe finally wins the big title. This match was promised to be MMA-focused and did deliver on that front. Good old fashion wrestling in this match with no interference despite Karen Angle being there just to watch and Kurt ordered her to leave.

Team Cage defeats Team Tomko in Lethal Lockdown

- Lots of heavy spots in this match like a ladder at the top of the cage (reminding me sort of the good HIAC matches in WWE) as promised with Rhyno surprisingly getting the winning pin.

Booker T & Sharmell defeated Robert Roode & Peyton Banks.

- Hopefully this is the last match of this feud, it got too long for me.

Gail Kim & ODB defeated Awesome Kong & Raisha Saeed.

Super Eric won the Cuffed in the Cage match

- It is like Eric Young is TNA's version of Cena except they cheer for him and I hate his superhero gimmick.

BG James defeated Kip James

- Kind of the not looking forward to this match for everyone, but this match signifies Kip's heel turn.

Roxxi Laveaux won the "Queen of the Cage" match.

Jay Lethal retained his X Division Title in the Xscape match 

- Great opening match from what I read.

Overall, Lockdown delivers and hopefully Joe has a long title reign. For Sacrifice, TNA's May PPV, we already have Joe vs. Scott Steiner for the TNA Heavyweight Title. Kind of nice that TNA is mixing it up with title contenders (well Big Poppa Pump has had that briefcase for a while) and King of the Mountain is likely in June, so it will be interesting how TNA will handle Joe's title reign.

Music Video for the Day (4/13/08) - Paris, Tokyo

One of my favorite songs from Lupe Fiasco's latest album, The Cool, gets the video treatment, which is Paris, Tokyo. This is really a chill song to listen to and the video also gives you that chilling vibe. Another good video from one of the best artists in the music game now (Looks like Hip Hop Saved My Life didn't get too much love for the video playback and I still hear Superstar on Big Boy's neighborhood on 105.9 FM every morning). Hopefully, this single can attract the mainstream crowd because I think it can.

Maximum Tune 3 Soundtrack Appreciation

With mainstream music continuing to suck these days (there are some exceptions), I always ventured to my favorite genre of music for escape, mainly electronica and techno. Other than that, it is mainly game music I have been listening to. A couple of months ago, I was crazy about the Super Smash Bros. Brawl soundtrack (yeah I downloaded the whole thing) and that was amazing. Lately, even though it is kind of late to the party, I have been blasting the Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 3 Soundtrack.

I have mentioned Maximum Tune 3 in a previous post, but the soundtrack alone sells me to the game, composed by Yuzo Koshiro, who did the music for the Streets of Rage games too. His music is just flat out fun to listen when playing the games he has music in mainly Streets of Rage 2 and the Maximum Tune games. Especially, for Maximum Tune 3, it is basically perfect driving music to listen to while driving compared to racing games here at the United States filled with crappy licensed music (Burnout Paradise for example). Plus, it makes you want to go fast in straightaways and whatnot when out on the freeway. Usually for racing games like Burnout and Forza 2, I usually listen to the electronica and techno other than the crappy mainstream rock EA tends to put out in their games.

Pretty much the whole soundtrack for Maximum Tune 3 is a blast to listen to. Here's the YouTube links to the album thanks to Yuzoboy. If u like electronica, techno, or trance, then I recommend listening to this soundtrack.

1) EntryMaxi3

2) SelectMaxi3

3) Inexhaustible Energy

4) In Your Dream

5) Get Down to the Drive

6) Top-Flight Mechanics

7) Wanna Try One Last Time

8) Get You Cornered

9) Love to Rise in the Summer Morning

10) Evil Association

11) Cause You're Different
12) Supreme Folly

13) Control Your Body

14) Shrewd Critic

15) Feel The Moment

16) Black Pressure

17) Phantom of Blue

18) Result Maxi3

19) Just Flat Out

20) Midnight Sanctuary

21) Shine

22) Opening Maxi3

Clip of the Night - Clone Wars CG Trailer

I guess we're still in the Star Wars mood, here's a trailer for the Clone Wars CG series.

If this one gets taken down, I'll try to find another one. Other than that, it seems okay to me so far. The Cartoon Network mini-series before Revenge of the Sith was pretty cool, but I don't know what is left to tell in this new CG series. I guess we have to wait and see.

UPDATE - Considering it was some international version, it did get taken down so I put up the old trailer that was released a month or two ago to refresh your minds.

Some new Street Fighter 4 tidbits and footage...

So I'm so still very excited for Street Fighter 4 (it is my #1 hyped game for a reason), but some new details that came out of the latest location test for the arcade version at Japan made me go a little nuts...

Supposedly, this new location test had more stages and 4 more characters playable. El Fuerte, the masked lucha-libre we knew about already, finally made his playable debut and this video shows why he could be a fun character to use (Well all lucha-libre type characters are kind of fun to use - El Blaze from Virtua Fighter 5 and La Mariposa from Dead or Alive 4). Watch out for his Ultra move as well because it looks like a move straight out of Ultimate Muscle (I liked that cartoon for a bit).

Another new character is revealed in this location test, which is Rufus. Rufus is some fat dude who does crazy things. This video below shows him in action, but not much. Nothing else was unveiled for Rufus at this moment compared to El Fuerte, but we will know something about him in the coming weeks maybe.

Lastly, word from the streets at Japan is that the four original bosses from Street Fighter II have reunited. We already know Balrog and Sagat are in SF4 from a previous location test, but Vega and M. Bison are also playable in Street Fighter 4. Bison alone in this game makes the story somewhat interesting to fans considering what happened to him about Super Street Fighter II Turbo. No screens or footage have surfaced yet for Vega and M. Bison (Claw and Dictator for the hardcore crowd), but eventually they might show up.

The excitement for Street Fighter 4 continues to rise for me. I don't care if I suck at this game to hang with the Evo-type competition, but I want to be good at it like the Tekken games. If this game ever sees a public playable debut, hopefully it is at the San Diego Comic-Con in July, but maybe at Evo 2K8 in Las Vegas in August (thanks to BronsonLee and SDTekken's MarkMan for putting out the videos on YouTube).

Saturday Morning TV Recap (4/12/08)

Okay, I woke up and watched GameTrailers TV with Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and so far it looks pretty good for what they shown.

Playing as Darth Vader in the beginning seems cool and it seems like it is the first time this happened in a Star Wars game. Even for a Star Wars game, this has the most ambition I seen since KOTOR. LucasArts seems determined that this will be truly special for Star Wars fans being the bridging the gap between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. They're even putting out action figures and Legos related to Force Unleashed which seems nuts that I would consider collecting them. In the end, it seems cool that Force Unleashed is being marketed and treated like one of the Star Wars movies with the hype, merchandising, and hopefully making Star Wars fans happy.

There was also new Soul Calibur IV footage featuring the two Star Wars characters Darth Vader and Yoda revealing new gameplay. All I can say so far regarding those two is that Yoda is already "broken" with that juggle combo he did. They showed Vader doing a Force-like throw, so at least Project Soul is keeping the characters faithful. Most of the footage was culminated in a new Star Wars stage, which is the Death Star hangar. That stage alone does not fit within the Soul Calibur universe at all, which is similar to the Halo stage in Dead or Alive 4 not fitting at all, but still a nice touch to see. That kind of made me glad Namco didn't do console exclusive stages in Soul Calibur II relating to Link, Heihachi, and Spawn, but then again it could of made sense having a Zelda stage, a Spawn stage, and a Tekken stage. I'm still excited for Soul Calibur IV (more details later this month at a Namco press event I think), but as seen in my top 10 Most Wanted list, it is not the fighting game I'm anticipating.

I randomly stumbled upon Cartoon Network and saw the Blue Dragon anime (There's an anime of this in English??). It seemed like the first episode of the series so far with the characters being barely introduced and accurate to the game. Shu seemed like he can't control his dragon shadow yet while Giro (spelling??) has his own problems with his minotaur shadow. Vola is currently playing leader training the two boys to became stronger with their shadows. The other girl (forgot her name) is still in the crossroads of the love triangle like the game. They haven't met the annoying pet thing yet, which is I think the next episode. Seems like a typical anime to me for the kids.

Other than watching another Pokemon D/P episode that is still the same feeling to me, that's it for now.