Skate 2 takes over GameTrailers TV

This weekend's GameTrailers TV is a Skate 2 special (Yes!!!) on Spike. The full episode should be up soon online, but here's the new trailer that focuses on the storyline here.

2008: Then and Now (My GOTY Preview) Part I

Sometimes, some of the reviews I have up here were perhaps underrated or even overrated after posting them. Maybe its time to revisit this year's games so far in a "Then and Now" feature in preparation for my Game of the Year feature posts.

Omega Five (XBLA)

Then: 8/10

Now: 7.5/10 - This was a great 2D shooter to start out the year on Xbox Live Arcade. It was short and sweet being a hour game (even two hours), but having four characters that play differently (okay two of them were basically the same, but still different in other ways) did spice up the gameplay a bit. At first, being a 2D shooter means it will be hard and it is when playing for the first time, but once you learn patterns and strategies for weapons to use, it is actually one of the easier 2D shooters in a while. After getting all 200 achievement points, there's nothing else to worry about unless you feel like tackling the harder difficulties and that game can be hard along with competing for high scores.

Burnout Paradise (360)

Then: 9/10

Now: 9.5/10 - Thanks to lots of replayability with downloadable content Criterion has been pumping out throughout the year with more freeburn challenges, bikes, the upcoming island, and the Party Pack re-release in January, Burnout Paradise is arguably my favorite racing game of the year. I do want to play Midnight Club: Los Angeles,maybe Need for Speed Undercover, WipeOut HD, and Motorstorm: PR, but Burnout continues to be amazing even in November of this year. Its seamless drop-in and drop-out online world began a new trend for this generation of games. Of course, no race restart still remains Paradise's biggest flaw until Party Pack re-release, but Paradise City is still a great place to drive and cause havoc.

Rez HD (XBLA)

Then: 9.5/10

Now: 10/10 - Yeah, Rez is surprisingly my favorite Live Arcade game of all-time likely till SSFIIT HD Remix comes out. That game is just something special and especially never playing the original on PS2 and Dreamcast to witness it in its true glory. Even today, I still feel playing Area 5 (not counting the boss rush in the end) because of the Adam Freeland song, Fear, and I still get better at it on score attack every time I play it, which is crazy. Rez is just pure perfection on Xbox Live Arcade and I wished more people played this to appreciate its awesomeness.

Devil May Cry 4 (360)

Then: 8.5/10

Now: 8/10 - Devil May Cry 3 is one of my favorite PS2 games (both original and special editions) and the fourth game didn't really live up to the hype as I hoped. Sure, it still has the core DMC action with Nero and Dante, but I guess I didn't feel compelled to beat it on harder difficulties (Beaten on Easy and Devil Hunter). Plus, the repetition of boss battles and going backwards when being Dante is DMC4's biggest drawback in being as good as the third one and even the first game.

Tekken 6 (ARC)

Then: 9/10

Now: 9/10 - I still enjoy Tekken 6 and its gameplay additions like bound and rage, so I hope Bloodline Rebellion makes the right changes with these new systems and the new characters Lars and Alisa being fun characters to play as. Yeah, it is not a huge leap over Tekken 5 DR with the core gameplay of being combo-driven, but I still believe T6 is indeed Namco's better fighting game not taking huge risks and making silly decisions like they deal with the Soul Calibur franchise. I guess I prefer Tekken's simplicity over Soul Calibur's depth.

Part II of this feature will be soon (maybe tomorrow).

More Killers for Guitar Hero WT and Rock Band...

Even though a Dead Kennedys DLC pack headlines next week's Rock Band songs, looks The Killers will have DLC for both RB and Guitar Hero World Tour.

Here's GH World Tour's pack:

• "Mr. Brightside"
• "Human"
• "Losing Touch"

Here's Rock Band (2)'s pack:

• "Mr. Brightside"
• "Smile Like You Mean It"
• "Spaceman"

"Human," "Losing Touch," and "Spaceman" are off their new album, Day and Age, which these DLC packs which come out day and date with the album's release on November 25. These are both great packs of songs for both games, so Killers fans will enjoy them whichever game they're playing.

My fourth 360 is dead...

Yay.......

My Halo 3 360 got the E74 System Error, which is one red ring of death on the lower right corner saying it is an error in many languages.

My previous times with the console's death were the infamous 3 red rings, but this one is a little different.

Banjo N&B messed it up I guess with weird stuff occuring in-game. I went back to Banjo XBLA for a bit to play the swamp level and then came back to Nuts & Bolts with the same issue happening. I decided to turn off the console and turn on again which led to the system error.

So I'm sending it to repairs and missing the NXE launch, but I'm hopefully returning by the end of month if things go smoothly.

Get Ready for February 17, 2009...

Capcom finally announced the release date for Street Fighter IV, which is February 17, 2009. As u already know, I'm still playing the arcade version since its release (so many spots in SoCal have the game which is crazy). My review has been modified a bit recently and will be significantly updated for the console versions (I won't type a new review for it). Of course, I'm hyped which is three months away and shows why Capcom is king of the first quarter of the year (Bionic Commando in January, this in February, and Resident Evil 5 in March) avoiding the fall holiday rush. At least the 1up guys have a preview build hopefully with some console exclusive characters to play with. Also check out this week's 1up Show (up now) for a SSFIIT HD Remix preview as they have the final game now (likely on Partner.NET). I doubt HD Remix will come out next week because of the NXE launch, but a Thanksgiving week release (even though Banjo XBLA is out that week for those who didn't pre-ordered Nuts & Bolts) seems likely now.