Free Running to the Extreme!!! Mirror's Edge Demo Impressions

A demo for Mirror's Edge is out on Playstation Network and Xbox Live Marketplace at about a GB of hard drive space which is basically a tutorial of the game's basics and the prologue level that was the first thing shown when first gameplay footage of the game surfaced earlier this year. The tutorial is a pretty good one is gets you familiar with the controls along with timed jumps and some combat stuff like weapon disarms (timing is key especially trying to do the cool ones. The prologue level can be done pretty fast after a few attempts which less than ten minutes or even five if you're good at the time trial for it (The time trial mode for the demo is only offered by pre-ordering the game to get a code to enter on the demo menus). After the demo ends of hanging on a helicopter just like the first gameplay video, another brief trailer is shown of the later levels and then some.

I totally believe that it is possibly a true breakthrough in first person gaming. It is unlike any other FP game you seen more specifically shooters even though Mirror's Edge has first person shooting elements. DICE has truly nailed the first person feel down as Faith being a free runner as momentum and speed matter when transversing the levels. The core gameplay seems solid based on the demo with the simple controls (it might be a little awkward pressing left bumper to jump compared to a face button at first) and running. The combat itself is okay, but you don't need that much of it to beat the demo unless you're going for weapon disarms against the 5-0. Being immersed in this first person perspective feels pretty good, but I can totally see the core gameplay getting repetitive later on other than going through alternate paths than the recommended red path. Another thing I'm hoping for in the final game is the levels having more variety other than the setting in which I think DICE will deliver on that end.



Graphically, Mirror's Edge is a stylish looking game with a futuristic-like city to jump around and the music (specifically the soundtrack - theme song in the video above) feels calm, moody, and soothing. Of course that soothness doesn't cut in when being chased by cops. There is no sense of slowdown based from the demo, but hopefully the environments stay fresh enough for the rest of the game.

I was on the fence with Mirror's Edge for a while, but after playing the demo, I can see why this game feels somewhat original as a first person game. I won't get it right away (the game is out on November 12th), but it is definitely in my December stash with Fallout 3 and Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. If you're in the same position like me considering buying the game, play this demo to get a feel for the core gameplay and determine it is something really cool to do compared to the other big releases out there. I can also see the game as this year's Assassin's Creed in terms of hype and success, but as long as reviews seem mostly good and EA's marketing push for it to do well since it is another new IP from them, then Mirror's Edge is worth checking out.

Off-topic: Another demo came out today on XBL Marketplace which is for Naruto Broken Bond. No detailed impressions other than it is another Naruto game and fans of the franchise (especially Ubisoft's last Naruto game, Rise of the Ninja) will like it keeping the cartoon faithful and the option for Japanese voices at the gate since you change them in this demo.

Basketball is back and here's some funny moments...

This is just funny and Sasha the Machine should of just shot that thing. Good job Lamar Odom...



The Hack-A-Shaq is back already and it is going to be a long season for the big fella.

Off-topic: Congrats to the Phillies for winning the World Series...

Reunited with a bear and bird... Banjo Kazooie N&B Demo Hands-On

Another day and another big demo is up on Xbox Live Marketplace which is for Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts by Rare. I think its pretty smart that Microsoft decided to put up a demo for this game before its release to get players who never played the original BK and its sequel on the Nintendo 64 to get familiar with the bear and bird along with the vehicle-driven gameplay that this entry focuses on. For me, this demo felt like a reunion with them as I loved the original BK that much back in its day that I 100% the game], but I never played Banjo-Tooie yet. Since it is a reunion, Rare has brought back the franchise's signature humor and personality of the characters to Nuts & Bolts. In addition to all that humor, there are lots of references to the previous games already in this demo just by the quotes, Banjo Land (which feels like memory lane of previous worlds in Banjo games), and other random business like more teasing for Killer Instinct 3 and a plug for the XBLA port of the original.


In this pic above (thanks to NeoGAF for pics), Kazooie is pissed that he doesn't have his signature moves like flying and his peck. All he does in Nuts & Bolts is to use a wand that can move objects around (compare it to the gravity gun). Banjo himself can't really attack either missing his roll and other abilities. It is clear that Rare is taking the vehicle-driven gameplay more seriously than making just another Mario-like platformer, which fans want to see the platforming return in huge ways, but you're not going to do much jumping around unless you're at Showdown Town, the hub world, trying to get on the top of buildings getting music notes and various parts to bring to Mumbo's garage where you customize vehicles. Since the beginning of the game has some weak parts to add to vehicles, the handling of them seems sluggish and it can lead to some frustration tackling some of the missions especially in this demo. Hopefully, with better parts allows for better controls in the later worlds of the game. Collecting music notes in Nuts & Bolts is basically the currency to buy blueprints and more parts for vehicles. For jiggys, aka the puzzle pieces, collecting more of them unlocks more worlds to transverse as long they are deposited to the jiggy bank at Showdown Town. In this demo, there are four jiggys to collect once you enter the second act of Banjo Land, the demo ends.

The levels themselves feel different to the original games in terms of structure of progression and exploration as they are huge with lots of scope and no wonder vehicles are needed because running around will just take a long time. Various missions and challenges are scattered throughout the levels by talking to certain characters to start them. In the demo, there is a race event, time attack, a different twist of soccer, and defending Clanker fromn Grunbots. There are not really a lot of enemies in these levels, but completing these challenges at a faster time earns you more notes and jiggys. I can see the replay value of playing them again and again to go after T.T Trophies (a nod to Diddy Kong Racing) which require a perfect run of these challenges to earn them. Usually, the right vehicle of choice is the way to go to beat them, but there could be other solutions to beat them as well. Sure, the missions provided in this demo may seem a little boring and frustrating at first, but I can see them being fleshed out more in later levels. I haven't really messed around with the vehicle customization (Did today and the potential is there to be amazing as you can spend hours just trying different parts and assembling vehicles like Legos) and the multiplayer yet as this first run-through of the demo is just trying to finish it.


The graphics for Nuts & Bolts look amazing and Rare has done a good job delivering big worlds while maintaining the personality and style they have known in their previous games on 360 (mainly the Viva Pinata games and Kameo, Perfect Dark Zero doesn't count). I did notice rare instances of slowdown in this demo, but the game looks at a smooth framerate. As for the sound, there is some great music in this game already that sounds standard for the genre. Rare also kept the voice acting to only grunts like the original games, which works for games like these, but I can see why fans are complaining about this especially with the small text of the subtitles. Plus, for this generation, all-out voice acting feels like a requirement these days - the Ratchet & Clank games are good with that.

For 1 GB of hard drive space, I highly recommend downloading the demo for Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts if you're on the fence considering how much of a departure the core game is from the previous platform-heavy games. I believe this will be Rare's best game with Microsoft so far trying to put a different spin on the platforming genre, but with competition from Sony and Media Molecule's LittleBigPlanet, which is pretty much amazing, who knows if people will still buy this. Fans of the franchise that appreciate the change like me and little kids would enjoy this, but it won't be that much of a success sales-wise. At least Microsoft dropped the price for N&B at 40 bucks and if you pre-order it, you get the XBLA port of the original BK for free, which is a good deal. Speaking of pre-ordering, I need to do that on Friday to get that free code.

Pre-Order UPDATE - I placed my reserve after trading in Wii Fit and the Balance Board, so I'm set on that being paid off along with Gears 2.

Yes, I will buy this over other big fall games as it will be my calm and refreshing game compared to the juggernaut that is Gears of War 2. Expect a review on this soon (likely December-ish).

Let's officially welcome Dan and Fei Long to SF IV...

Fei Long and Dan have been confirmed for the console versions of Street Fighter IV for a while, but Play Magazine has the first scoop on them along with the first pics of the two characters in their cover story. I'm curious to see if any significant changes will be made to either of them, but I'm guessing they will fundamentally stay the same from previous games. Fei Long should likely remain his special moves with the SSF2T HD Remix movelist and have two versions of his super from ST with his Ultra being the better version with his crazy anti-air flame kick to end it. Dan's Ultra could be a mixed bag. It can be possibly his self-destruct like super from Marvel vs. Capcom 2, a crazy taunt that leads to a deadly combination, or even a better version of his weakling fireball. Anyway, they're now official with pics as proof, but now they need to confirm Cammy or Karin and they should stop expanding the roster from there.

Thanks to the Street Fighter Blog and Shoryuken for the pics.

Re-Emergence Day draws closer...

Gears of War 2's "Launch" trailer has surfaced and some later parts of the campaign were revealed by quick flashes ranging from huge boss battles, Reaver chase scenes, and more. I probably said this already, but I'm way more excited for the campaign than the multiplayer, even though I will play MP like crazy for the first month. This game is going to be filled with so many Oh S*** moments that will be amazing. November 7th is getting closer and closer than u think...

UPDATE - More multiplayer footage, this time in Stasis. Check out this user's page for more MP ranked matches like this.

Lara Croft shoots more animals again... TRU Demo Hands-On

A demo of Tomb Raider Underworld came out today on Xbox Live Marketplace (PC demo coming later in the week and who knows if this demo will be out on Thursday for PSN) and its also a big download of 1.3 GB showing off the Thailand level. For fans of the franchise, this sequel won't disappoint maintaining the Tomb Raider formula of platforming puzzles, shooting combat (especially against some animals in this demo), and Lara herself looking good. I do however have some nitpicky issues with it that ranges from the camera being too close at times especially at times when I try to angle jumps. Also, when you first swim around at the start of the demo, the world may seem open, but invisible walls do make that section a little annoying. Another thing I'm annoyed about is Lara taking damage after taking a fall. It does seem realistic at first as even medium distance falls can kill Lara especially if a jump is misjudged. The trial and error mentality of tackling the puzzles can be annoying too especially for non Tomb Raider fans like me, but the checkpoint system is pretty generous. As expected with TR puzzles, these require some observation that takes some time to figure out, but the hint system does help a bit. Graphically, the game looks pretty good with the water effects, Lara's player model, and the environments themselves.

The combat is pretty standard for the franchise of gunning and evading in which the demo has birds, tigers, and annoying insects to shoot. Other than that, I can see why Tomb Raider Underworld is will be great for fans of the genre and the franchise. As for non-fans of Lara's adventures, it is a good rental to try out, but this demo is worth a shot to see if the game is worthwhile to you despite taking a GB of hard drive space on 360.

Fallout 3 = My RPG for December

Last December, I played through Mass Effect during my holiday break (Check my old-school review on that on the reviews section). I loved that RPG at the time since everyone else is going crazy over it and its flaws are pretty noticeable too. This December will be another RPG journey to tackle, which will be Fallout 3 (not Fable II). I enjoyed Bethesda's previous game Oblivion (100+ hours of it and no Shivering Isles) and now that Fallout 3 is already a GOTY contender, I will likely enjoy this one too since everyone else is going crazy like ME last year. I'm not in a rush to buy it now even though I want that Collector's Edition lunchbox, but I'll wait till I have more free time to mess around in post apocalyptic D.C. soon. It is definitely leading my December stash of gaming (2nd being MK vs. DC Universe and then Midnight Club LA).

Gears 2 = Less than 2 weeks away...

As people are luckily getting Gears of War 2 hella early thanks to connections or torrents, more multiplayer footage is rolling out and yes, this game will be awesome. This video has lots of headshots and shotgun close range business. I tried playing Gears 1 MP again the other day and I still suck at it. The good thing for me in Gears 2 MP is that it will be a clean slate all over again as the first month will be an all-around festival, but the good players will separate themselves soon enough.

Off-topic Update - Tonight's Entourage was amazing.... This show is so good!!!!

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix Blowout

Last night, it was the East Coast's turn for Capcom to go underground showing off the console versions of Street Fighter IV and the complete SSFIIT HD Remix at some random place in Brooklyn (West Coast was at Downtown LA in July, which I wished I was there). As for SF IV, Sakura makes her U.S. debut as Justin Wong, aka the King of Marvel, supposedly had a 50-win streak with her, which is crazy as he already knew her advanced stuff like her EX hurricane kick cancel to ultra. I'll focus on Super Turbo HD as more footage has rolled out now with everybody playable. This game is likely out next month, but no official date yet and I can't wait!!!

Check out the YouTube videos here for more by those users... (Also check out the Shoryuken thread for more details and how everyone there loved it).

The Biggest Sports Althetes Endorse Guitar Hero too...

Apparently, Kobe, A-Rod, the Birdman Tony Hawk, and Michael Phelps, also love Guitar Hero. Another version of the Risky Business ad for GH World Tour has surfaced and now more celebrities support it. As if Rock Band 2 needed big names to promote their game.

The Gears 2 Commercial that u will see on TV...

The official commercial for Gears of War 2 is here and while it is not as good as the "Mad World" commercial for Gears 1, this one is not that bad as it is titled "The Last Day." Gears 2 has already leaked to the masses (torrents for modded 360s), but I'm still patiently waiting till November 7th for the awesomeness. Veterans' Day Weekend is going to be amazing with Gears 2 all day and night for those days.

Another awesome trailer for the 50 Cent game...

Seriously, every trailer for 50 Cent: Blood in the Sand has been awesome and now that the game has a new publisher, THQ, it will finally come out in January 2009 to maybe surprise lots of people. Is the awkwardness of 50 saving the world? Or the music? I don't know how these trailers are that awesome, so yeah.

A new Star Wars MMO emerges...

The KOTOR MMO (Knights of the Old Republic) is now a reality as LucasArts and BioWare announced Star Wars: The Old Republic for the PC today. This has been a long time coming since the first KOTOR was one of the greatest Star Wars games of all time and now with BioWare Austin developing this MMO, now everyone can pretty much forget about Star Wars Galaxies. IGN has the first "Exclusive preview" of the new MMO split for the rest of the week, but the press conference is going on now at San Francisco as 1up is liveblogging it. Of course, I'm not into the MMORPG genre, so this is a pass, but at least it officially exists now.

The pros that will appear in Skate 2...

The roster of pros for Skate 2 has been revealed in this clip and most of them are returning from the first game such as Danny Way, the headliner of the group, Rob from MTV's Rob & Big show, and more as well as having more skaters that I don't know (that is what I get by just only watching X Games every year). Other pros that I know who they are that appear in Skate 2 are Jake Brown and Eric Koston. Gosh this game is going to be an amazing sequel to the first one that established the innovative control scheme and pure skateboarding that nearly emulates the real deal (let the Tony Hawk games continue to go crazy).

Off-topic: Peace out EliteXC!!!!

Plus, here's an achievement tip for Rock Band 2 with the 100% drums points for crappy drummers like me. Play "Polly" by Nirvana which has only three notes in the whole song (just keep watching for them since they're spread out). It is a cheap way to get the achievement, but hey it works. Speaking of the Nirvana Pack DLC, it was okay since it was Nevermind without the hit songs ("Smells Like Teen Spirit," "Come As You Are," "Heart Shaped Box," and "Lithium.") as "Breed" is the highlight of the pack for this week.

Alan Wake returns from the dead...

Remedy's Alan Wake looks like it will never come out being delayed countless times, but a new trailer has finally shown up. The folks that brought you Max Payne takes a different step into the survival horror/adventure field with Alan Wake (This is a Microsoft exclusive since they are publishing it). It also seems like it will come out next year after all.

On the Fence: Midnight Club LA

After trading in Madden 09 Collector's and Soul Calibur IV to pay off my Gears 2 LE pre-order as well as stocking up on MS points, I'm ready for November, but the December stash of gaming will likely begin with Midnight Club LA (along with Fallout 3). I'm a fan of the series since the second game on PS2 and while it feels like good old fashion Midnight Club on the current generation (PS3 and 360), I just want to play a different racing game again (I still have Burnout Paradise for the new island DLC coming soon). I feel like MC LA is going to be the racing game of the season compared to Need for Speed Undercover because of the franchise continuing to deliver with fast racing and customization options. From what I read so far, this new MC is as hard as the second game (Yeah that game got frustratingly hard in the end at Tokyo and I used cheats to beat it) which I don't mind, but if the difficulty goes to that level, then yeah. I felt the difficulty in DUB Edition felt right being a little easier than II, but you still need to earn those wins especially at the end using shortcuts and wisely nitrous.

If I buy this (likely in December), expect my own review on Midnight Club LA around that time.

Off-topic: So E3 is actually returning next year now allowing the public to come on two days. It does sound tempting to go pending on the games there next year, but we'll see about that (I did go to the 1st E for All Expo last year and it was okay, so E3 should be way better if the right games are there).

On the Fence: Tetris Party and Portal: Still Alive

Despite the crazy amount of big games out this week (I haven't bought any games this month yet, which is good considering how tempted I am to do so during this crowded fall season) like Fable II, Far Cry 2, and Midnight Club LA (I would so buy this), the downloadable services are also getting good big titles as well. First off for WiiWare this week is Tetris Party for 12 bucks (1200 Wii Points) and I do love Tetris (enough to buy Tetris Evolution and Tetris Splash on XBLA even though Splash was disappointing), but Party is almost like the second coming of Tetris DS in terms of new modes to mess around with Tetriminos. The video above is some new Race mode where you have to guide some piece through some obstacle course (Reminds of me that stick challenge in Unbeatable Basuke where you have to hold that stick in the air) where spins are a matter of success or failure. There are other new modes like a Shadow Puzzle mode of using Tetris pieces to make some shapes (a smiley face as an example) and another mode that requires the Balance Board. From what I read, only the default Marathon mode is the only online mode against other players and the Mii support is everywhere too. After beating Mega Man 9, my Wii is back to collecting dust, but Tetris Party looks like a great WiiWare game to get even though my fringe is starting to get full soon too (I'm passing on World of Goo despite how amazing it is).



On Live Arcade this week is Portal: Still Alive, which is my favorite thing of last year's The Orange Box plus some new content for 15 bucks (1200 MS Points). Sure, Portal is still amazing, but I don't know if the new content is enough for me to beat it again. Kind of like BioShock, I feel that Portal is an one time thing, meaning you see the awesome ending and that same feeling that cannot happen after multiple times. Plus, it is about a 600 MB download which is the largest XBLA game in terms of taking HDD space, but for those who never played Portal skipping The Orange Box last year, they should buy this game as soon as possible. I need to buy Points anyway to prepare myself for the next month of DLC and XBLA games (Buying Nevermind without the hits on Rock Band 2 on Tuesday plus other games like Super SFII Turbo HD Remix, Vigilante 8 Arcade, and Marvel vs. Capcom 2 if Capcom confirms a surprise release on XBLA).

So yeah, I'm saving those big retail games for December during my Winter Break (my backlog list is in a previous post) as I'll let Gears 2, Banjo N&B, and XBLA be my fall gaming during this crazy and crowded stretch of greatness.

BioShock 2 gets teased...

The PS3 version of BioShock is out next week, still an amazing FPS for this generation of consoles, but a special teaser has showed up in the menus for the sequel, now called Sea of Dreams. This quick tease is nothing much other than maybe Rapture not being an underwater city anymore, but its still coming out next year.

Skate 2 allows bigger and more painful bails...

This new trailer for Skate 2 demonstrates the new Hall of Meat bail system allowing for more control when you want to beef it whether by flipping like a madman, letting go of the board, and more. If the best bails of Skate 1 are crazy enough, imagine how crazy the bails will be on Skate.TV on the sequel.

The second coming of MvC2 is upon us...

Pardon the language of the pic above (taken from NeoGAF), but Microsoft's PartnerNET service has a mysterious game I have been waiting for to be on Xbox Live Arcade (also ESRB rated for PSN as well) which is Marvel vs. Capcom 2. With the ESRB rating in place and this pic as proof that it exists, it is only a matter of time when do you go crazy with Hailstorms and Magnetic Tempests now that MvC2 will be out on Live Arcade and PSN soon (hopefully online and other stuff in). Even though a HD Remix-like version would have been cooler (then again, it will take forever because of new art like SSF2T HD Remix), at least it is still coming. Who knows when Capcom themselves will officially announce it, but as many have said, if out in a month or two, this could steal SSF2T HD Remix's thunder a bit. A possible scenario is Microsoft putting this to the Xbox Originals lineup, which means it will have the backwards compatibility issues that the Xbox version when it runs on 360. Another good thing is that Marvel wants a second coming of this game to happen too, so maybe those 2 companies finally made it happen and now in good terms that the dream MvC3 could happen someday (If Street Fighter IV can happen, this can happen too).

As a reminder why Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is awesome, here's one of many infamous videos to prove that.

Guitar Hero World Tour Blowout Part IV

This fourth part of the GH World Tour Blowout features "Beat It" by Michael Jackson (Yeah, that song and surprisingly fun too), "Re-Education Through Labor" by Rise Against, and "Assassin" by Muse.

Guitar Hero World Tour Blowout Part III

Another set of GH World Tour footage with "Rooftops (A Liberation Broadcast)" by Lostprophets, "Santeria" by Sublime, and "Shiver" by Coldplay. At least the new long note system seems like a good gameplay improvement as well as getting more star power while in star power like Rock Band too. The new HUD seems okay with me even if the multiplier display is smaller than last year.

Someone is already playing Gears 2...

Watch live video from Gears of War 2 on Justin.tv

Perhaps the biggest game this fall has reached gold status and some lucky guy already has a physical copy of Gears 2. Check NeoGAF for more on this especially which stream site he'll use for gameplay videos of the campaign (Spoilers obviously), Horde, and multiplayer (with bots). Yes, Gears of War 2 is already insane from the first act on and who knows what will happen in the later parts of the campaign (I don't mind the spoilers since its still 3 weeks early and plus its off-screen, so when I play it on my own, at least it will be way better on my HDTV blasting the volume to high at all times).

Guitar Hero World Tour Blowout Part II

Another set of clips I'll put up here with Korn's "Freak on A Leash," and "Misery Business" by Paramore. Now I'm tempted to buy this even though I should not.



UPDATE - "Hotel California" by The Eagles

Guitar Hero World Tour Blowout Part I

So the same dude that got Guitar Hero III early last year, pdtecrj, now has World Tour too. He just started the game rolling out the first tier of songs so give him some days to get the rest in. Here's "Beautiful Disaster" by 311 for a start.



UPDATE - Now with Blink 182's "Damnit" and GHWT's version of "Everlong" by the Foo Fighters.

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe Kollector's Edition cover

MK vs. DC Universe now has a Kollector's Edition with an awesome cover by Alex Ross. In terms of the content offered in this LE, its not really much with developer videos, but a comic book of the storyline made by John Tobias, the other co-creator of the Mortal Kombat franchise with Ed Boon could be cool. Anyway, I would buy it for the cover.

I'm still considering buying the game after its November 3rd release (add that to my December stash of games to check out) because I'm a supporter of the fighting game genre (its my favorite genre of gaming after all) and this game is not that bad as a fighter of being different from the rest of the pack.

About that December stash of gaming, it could be all of this:

• Fallout 3
• Left 4 Dead
• Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
• Midnight Club Los Angeles
• Mirror's Edge
• Saints Row 2
• Prince of Persia

Yeah, its missing other big games like Fable II, Guitar Hero World Tour, and PS3 games since I don't have the system still, but those seven games are likely candidates to be part of my Winter Break gaming.

Clips of TGS

The Tokyo Game Show is off and running perhaps the best gaming show this year (easily better than E3 and Lepzig). Now to the clips of TGS...



First off is a new PS3 game from Tecmo called Quantum Theory (Team Ninja developed?). I can see this looking cool as first glances feel like a Gears/Devil May Cry hybrid of action.



Prince of Persia looks like it is coming out next month or December (still saying Holiday 08 release). It definitely looks and plays good, but who knows if people would buy it as it could suffer the same fate Sands of Time did sales-wise.



Hot off the announcement of Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion coming to PS3 and now the 360 next fall, a new trailer has surfaced and don't be confused of it just saying Tekken 6 since it has the BR content in it (the new stages and characters). This trailer is out on XBL Marketplace as Tekken 6 (they should change it to include BR) and likely on PSN later today.

Here's the montage of XBLA games shown at yesterday's Microsoft keynote with Space Invaders Extreme, Arkanoid Live, Metal Slug 7, KoF '98 Ulitmate Match, and R-Type Dimensions. Yes, all of them will be pretty good.

Platinum Games continues to own hardcore gamers with their new trailers of MadWorld (last seen at last week's Nintendo event) and Bayonetta, a new action game from Devil May Cry mastermind Hideki Kamiya. Supposedly, Bayonetta is going to change the script for Japanese action games with this female protagonist that is crazy stylish and I hope so because I would buy this.

I think BlazBlue is already out at Japanese arcades or close to being out (no official word on console versions yet by Arc System Works, the folks that brought you the Guilty Gear games) as this is the intro the game. Even though I love Guilty Gear, it is definitely a harder game to learn and master compared to other fighters and I think BlazBlue will have that same feeling. Plus, the HD 2D graphics is simply gorgeous as being competition for best looking 2D fighting game with Street Fighter IV and King of Fighters XII. Another trailer is below focusing more on the characters and gameplay.

Next up is arguably Japan's most anticipated game, Monster Hunter 3, for the Wii. Yeah, this franchise is a juggernaut at the land of the Rising Sun, but not here in the U.S., but the Japanese will still go crazy for anything Monster Hunter these days.



Finally, Konami has teased up a new Castlevania game for the first time on PS3 and 360. Who knows whether or not its 2D or 3D and no official word who will be the protagonist in this new one even though it may be Alucard according to the clip.

More clips of TGS tomorrow.

Microsoft delivers a strong TGS keynote

Microsoft just finished their keynote at the Tokyo Game Show and they delivered a strong one announcing hardcore title after hardcore title.

They first showed off a Last Remnant trailer and reminds everyone of 360 timed exclusivity on November 20 (Japan date?).

A new trailer is shown for Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope with a February release in Japan and a March 3rd release for the U.S.

Next up is Resident Evil 5 (I put up the trailer in an earlier post, so check that.

Then MS announced some surprising games, first of which being Ninety-Nine Nights 2 for a 2009 release. I didn't this one coming since the first game wasn't really that good. Their second game would piss off Sony fanboys as Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion is also coming to the 360 in fall 2009. I guess this is why the console versions are taking forever to come out since Namco are busy with both PS3 and 360 versions along with putting in the BR content. The 360 is quickly becoming a fighters box with this, Street Fighter IV (new trailer above with Dan, Sakura), and others out next year.

The new stash of Live Arcade games MS announced for next year is crazy with games I want to see on the service. Space Invaders Extreme (previously on DS and PSP), Arkanoid Live, Metal Slug 7 (Yes!!!), King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match (Yes!!), and R-Type Dimensions. That alone is from Japan, which is nuts. I'm pretty sure I'm buying all of these.

The Next Xbox Experience in final form is shown with a November 19 release date. Cool stuff that I'm interested to mess with is the new 3D themes, using Marketplace on the PC, and the new menus as a whole. I don't mind the avatars, but at least this thing has a release and Xbox Live is going to get rocked that day with people DLing that update.

Microsoft concluded the keynote with Halo stuff starting with Halo Wars. I'm still skeptical on this RTS, but it is still out next year. The Flood did make its debut in the new demo they showed off. Finally, Bungie answered some questions from that crazy "Keep It Clean" teaser for the Halo 3 expansion, now called Halo 3: Recon. This prologue to Halo 3 stars an ODST Marine instead of Master Chief (He's still in that ship coming toe Earth). This campaign expansion will be out in fall 2009 (kind of a long time). If its DLC (likely), this thing is going to be a GB+, but it could be retail as well.



That's it from Microsoft's keynote and they delivered a strong lineup that will satisfy the hardcore. Some surprises happened while I've been waiting to Namco to admit a 360 version of Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion and they did. Of course, they want more money and seeing Soul Calibur IV's success on 360, this is a no brainer to release Tekken. It would be cool if Namco releases an old Tekken game on XBLA as a teaser for T6 BR like Tekken Tag with online play.

This post will be updated with new clips, but a "Clips of TGS" post will start tomorrow.

Another saving grace for Wii? No More Heroes sequel announced

A surprise announcement at TGS as a debut for No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle has surfaced. I didn't a sequel this early, but its worth it since the hardcore audience that played the first game earlier this year really liked it. Grasshopper is handling the project again, so some improvements could make this game another possible saving grace for the Wii next year along with Nintendo's big hitters.

A new Resident Evil 5 Trailer for TGS

First premiered on 1up about two hours ago, this new trailer for Resident Evil 5 has surfaced for TGS. This new clip is another reason why it is still on my top 10 most wanted list of games because it just looks stunning. A little more of the story as well as a returning character from the franchise is the focus of this clip. In addition, Chris and Sheva's partnership becomes more of a vital point for the game too. The RE4 reference is also crazy when mentioned in this trailer. RE5 will be out in March 09 for PS3 and 360 (plus new hands-on footage will surface from TGS in the coming days).

Another trailer showed up on Gamevideos, which is the one shown at the MS Keynote.

Another returning character in Street Fighter IV

The console versions of Street Fighter IV are being shown at this week's Tokyo Game Show and Famitsu has already revealed one of the console exclusive characters, which is Sakura, from the Alpha games. I don't mind her in the game anyway, but at least more ladies in SF IV. The final boss Seth is also hinted of being playable for the console versions (not yet on arcades). Another rumor is the Super SFII characters will also be playable (T. Hawk and Dee Jay along with Cammy and Fei Long) and some characters from SF III, which are Hugo and Ibuki. If true, the character roster could be 30+ (Dan and Akuma also playable in console versions), which is crazy.



Here's her debut trailer courtesy of IGN.

Love Lockdown...

Man, two videos in two days by two great rappers. Yesterday was Common's "Universal Mind Control" and now today is Kanye's "Love Lockdown" which premiered on Ellen's show today. Definitely a weird video by Kanye, but its good (of course it depends whether or not anyone likes the song).

I'm still excited for Mirror's Edge

EA and DICE's new game, Mirror's Edge is about a month away as this new trailer showcases the time trial mode that requires speed and precision to beat the times provided. I'm still excited for it even though I won't buy it right away (probably a month after) since I already figured out my fall gaming purchases plan. It is definitely an unique game, and hopefully the demo comes out sooner rather than later like after the game's November 13 release.

Gears 2 = 1 month away

Various gaming sites are rolling out new previews for Gears of War 2 focusing on the campaign. IGN has new footage which also includes epic Reaver scenes - Nutty stuff.

Universal Mind Control

• MTV
• Music Videos
• MTV Shows
• Entertainment News

Yes, the video is finally out and this song is indeed awesome. I can't wait for the album next month by Common.

EliteXC gets embarrassed

What happens when your moneymaker gets knocked out by a lousy jab, you know something is wrong. That happened to MMA's most overhyped fighter, Kimbo Slice, gets knocked out by Seth Petruzelli, who actually replaced Ken Shamrock because of a last minute eye injury, which was lame (I wanted Kimbo / Shamrock for the laughs, but I guess the laughs when Kimbo gets knocked out in the first twenty seconds. At least the rest of the card of the night was decent, but watching EliteXC again is a big tell that the UFC is leagues better than EliteXC (UFC 92 is looking like the best card yet with three awesome fights with Nogueira / Mir, Rampage / Wanerlei Silva, and Forrest Griffin / Rashad Evans for the LHW Title).

As many would say tonight, Kimbo indeed got exposed and who knows if he can recover his reputation from this night.

Off-topic - Yeah Dodgers!!! (or Doyers!!!)

Welcome back to the 80s... The Mega Man 9 Review

Nearly twenty years ago, Mega Man was introduced to the gaming world and provided a challenge and a formula that worked for the rest of the series. Recently, the franchise has been in hiatus in terms of the real games than crazy spin-offs, but Capcom decided to take advantage of their downloadable games initiative with the Blue Bomber and return to the glory days of 8-bit graphics and gameplay with Mega Man 9. This alone feels like a love letter to dedicated fans of the series that experienced the highs and lows to finally return to what makes Mega Man amazing. What I mean everything being 8-bit is even the music, the challenge, the frustration, and satisfaction of beating the stages. Mega Man 9 also feels like a test of whether or not players can still handle definitive old-school skills compared to today's world of games. With of all that, there is still a place for a game like this on consoles today and it is a fun time.

Dr. Wily is up to no good again using Dr. Light's robots to wreak havoc in the city while framing the good doctor at the same time for unleashing them. It is up to Mega Man to clear Dr. Light's name and stop Dr. Wily's plans for another time. A new set of robot masters are ready for players to tackle and then culminates again in a new Dr. Wily castle. While some levels can be simple such as the Splash Woman and Galaxy Man stages, other stages like the Plug Man and Tornado Man stages will test your patience and platforming skills with timed jumps and the return of disappearing blocks as platforms. They do have that trial and error mentality of it may take more than one try to beat these stages and then mastering them when doing speed runs. In addition, it almost feels like the developers themselves are playing mind games with you throwing curveballs from random enemies pulling you towards spikes, blocks that look like platforms but not, and even enemies disguised as items. The bosses themselves are not as a pushover once you figure out the boss order like previous Mega Man games, but only with the Mega Buster makes the bosses a little more tough as it comes down to pattern recognition to defeat them.


The controls are as 8-bit as they could with a jump and shoot button with the control pad as movement. Playing it with the Wiimote sideways, aka NES style, is the recommended way to go for purists, but the game also supports the Classic Controller as well if you want to use that. The Wii version is definitely the one to go with compared to 360 and PS3 versions for the purity of controls, but the 360 and PS3 controllers are not bad playing Mega Man 9. Of course with previous games in the series, the depth of the controls comes from holding the button to jump higher and rapidly pressing the shoot button as fast as possible to take out enemies faster. The frustration you might have from 8-bit games also return with mistimed or misaccurate jumps,
not memorizing patterns of disappearing blocks or boss movements, and the mind games. Every enemy placement feels like they are there to ruin your moment, which means they are spot on along with getting hit to pitfalls or spikes. The shop makes a return to Mega Man 9 which makes the game a little easier meaning with you can get a little careless as long as you have E-Tanks and extra lives, but not too careless as managing them also factors in especially when tackling the Wily stages. Save points after beating a stage (except the Wily gauntlet) or getting the game over screen also makes Mega Man 9 easier than the NES games in the franchise.

Other than the main game, Mega Man 9 also has a time attack mode of tackling the stages as fast as possible with experts doing these stages in like a few minutes. Leaderboards track the best times for this mode and for beating the game especially doing it in less than 30 minutes is pretty amazing. The challenges are like in-game achievements that range from beating bosses in less than ten seconds, beating the game without dying, and defeating 1,000 enemies. These challenges also give Mega Man 9 way more replay value than intended for completionists that are really good at the game. Some challenges are pretty crazy as well from beating the game five times in one day to beating all bosses with one point of health left in each battle. The 360 version's achievements are tied to twelve of these challenges. Downloadable content from harder modes, special stages, and Proto Man being playable also raises the replay value up a notch even though Capcom went crazy with them being microtransactions. Then again, if players love the game that much, then the DLC will give them more reasons to love it despite spending more money.


Mega Man 9's graphics are another reason it feels like the 80s when 8-bit games were around and still doing well. It does feel like a 8-bit game being made in the 21st century with smooth framerate even though purists want that slowdown and jaggies that kept the personality of the NES games. The game is in a 4:3 screen compared to widescreen for all versions, but it doesn't ruin the experience. As for the sounds also being 8-bit, they sound well from Mega Buster shots and the death sound. The soundtrack, while not as good as Mega Man II, is still one of the better soundtracks in the franchise especially with some favorites being Jewel Man's stage and Galaxy Man's stage.

For ten bucks (1000 Wii Points), Mega Man 9 is truly one of the best games on WiiWare and also on the other downloadable services for the same price. It is definitely hard, but definitely beatable. It is also a showcase why the Blue Bomber was cool in the NES days and a love letter by Capcom to fans to show they still care about him being awesome. If I would pick one out of the three consoles on which version is highly recommended, I would go with the Wii version due to the controls being more pure to the experience compared to the others and it feels like you're playing the game in the late 1980s. The other versions are not that bad control-wise and buy it for whichever if you don't have a Wii. Mega Man 9 is a reminder why people still love the old-school game design of precision and challenge compared to today's game philosophies of trying to cater to both casual and hardcore audiences.

Score = 9/10

Pros:

• Pure 8-bit experience from the gameplay, graphics, and the sound.
• Definitely an old-school game with the challenge and precision.
• Wiimote controls feel great and the one to go with (NES style).
• A great soundtrack (not the best), but up there.
• Lots of replay value with time attack, challenges, and downloadable content.

Cons:

• The frustration of 8-bit gaming returns in which casual players may not handle it if they never played a Mega Man game till now.
• If you're expecting an evolution, you're not going to find it.
  

Trailers of Nintendo's current hits for 2009

Trailers have rolled out for both Punch-Out!! for the Wii as well as Treasure's Sin & Punishment 2. Nintendo finally decided to give fans what they want delivering games like these (S&P2 confirmed for stateside release - a big part is successful sales for the first Sin & Punishment on Virtual Console). Both games look great and I hope they will be amazing as more reasons to keep my Wii around (Then again, I'm still playing Mega Man 9 on that thing).

Nintendo reenergizes my interest in Wii and DS again

Nintendo fans should be happy today with their Japanese conference of announcing some bombs. The new DSi is looking like another impulse purchase for me (like the DS Lite), but I think it will be worth it in the long run with camera features, SD card storage, new shop for downloadable games (DSware), and more despite the GBA slot not in it anymore (180 bucks - but confirmed for Japan in November for now - maybe confirmed for here at the U.S. tomorrow with another press event).



Other than the DSi, Nintendo has figured out a storage solution to the Wii's "fringe" of direct downloading to a SD card starting sometime next year. In addition, new games like Punch-Out Wii and Sin & Punishment 2 has rejuvenated interest for me of keeping that system now.



That's it for now - Nintendo is not done yet with another press thing tomorrow likely announcing the same stuff.

New Super SFII Turbo HD Remix footage

A GameSpot tournament consists of both Street Fighter IV and Super SFII Turbo HD Remix that is going on this week. We all know how awesome SF IV is, but SSFIIT HD Remix is pretty much done at this point as this tourney is the first showing of the near final version (maybe final) with everyone playable. Here's some new footage featuring Vega, Guile, Fei Long, and Sagat in action (looks like Guile may get his old SFII voice back, or maybe it is an option to use it).

A brief teaser for the Dragonball movie

Yes it will suck... Nuff said.