ABDC Season 3 Episode 3 Recap

The Britney episode turned out way better than I thought. We're already in the third episode and you can already tell who's good and will go deep compared to those that will leave eventually. Even though tonight's elimination of Team Millenia (Shout out to Fullerton!!!) was shocking, that moment may be the last straw for a lot of people and stop watching this season. In NeoGAF terms, America loves gimmicks confirmed.

Here are the top 3 performances of the night...

Quest killed it with "Toxic" and clearly the best performance of the night.



Beat Freaks murdered "Womanizer" and at first when the song debuted, I wasn't feeling it, but this song gets u hyped like crazy!!



Strikers All-Stars also killed it with "Gimme More" and the mirror prop.

Here's my rankings after this week.

1. Quest
2. Beat Freaks
3. Strikers All-Stars
4. Fly Khicks
5. Dynamic Edition
6. Ringmasters

Next week we do this again I guess...

UPDATE - Yeah the videos usually get taken out once they are up the day after the episode, so watch if u can here, or just search YouTube and get lucky or go to MTV's website to watch them there without the judges' thoughts.

Okay, I'm excited about Final Fantasy XIII again...

A new trailer for Final Fantasy XIII has arrived hyping up the upcoming demo that comes with the Advent Children Complete Blu-Ray (Japan only). Let's just say I'm excited again for this game and now I'm considering importing it to be played on my PS3 (It is region-free). I think it is out sometime in April and will sell like gangbusters because of the demo itself and hopefully I can import it or maybe get it during my vacation to the Philippines that same month.

Music Videos of the Day: "That's Not My Name" and "Spaceman"

Looks like a second video for The Ting Tings' "That's Not My Name" has surfaced for the U.S. audience. I think I like this one better than the original video (The song is now out in U.S. version of Singstar PS3 and uses the 1st video). It is one of my favorite songs of 2008 and this video has brought it back to my life.

UPDATE - Also adding "Spaceman" by the Killers for this post (Another weird video by them). This song is playable in Rock Band.

6 Hours of Tekken 6 BR!!!! (Hands-On Impressions)

Originally, I was going to Super Arcade at Walnut, CA to play more Street Fighter IV and surprisingly, Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion is already out (it came out on Friday) in SoCal. Six hours and over ten bucks later, I was done for the night playing with SoCal's best players and Super regulars ranging from Kane, Cynnik, Suiken, Unconkable, Rip, MYK, Calsonic, and more. These six hours were pretty fun times even though I lost all my matches, but came close on several against some of these tourney-level players. Every 50 cents spent per game is a learning experience in terms of what to do and not in certain spots. I as usual was playing my main character Bryan Fury and it is about time I return to the Tekken franchise even though console SF IV is just around the corner.

Anyway, your card from Tekken 6.0 works in Bloodline Rebellion as a transfer, but your character resets to the default costume even though the items you bought from the previous game are still in. The character customization in terms of wardrobe is pretty crazy with more wacky items. Some customizations can be too nuts and you can't tell if your character is the same from his or her's default appearance. Other than that, the card system is the same as before winning matches gets you more money even though you still earn money by losing. Also, the roulette is the same as before with more opportunities for money and getting lucky for rare items.

As far as gameplay is concerned, it is pretty much the same as Tekken 6 with the obvious changes to characters' movelists and properties to balance the game further. The low parry is now an automatic bound and certain things you can get away in Tekken 6 doesn't work anymore in BR. From what I seen, the new characters, Lars and Alisa, are fun to play as adding more unique styles to the huge character roster (about 40 to choose from, which is nuts). Even though the machine is set to three rounds, eventually, it will be five in a month or two. The rage and bound systems are basically the same as before too which change the momentum of a match to someone's favor pending on the situation. Sure, its still a combo heavy juggle festival, but its Tekken, and it is still the most fun I had with a 3D fighter.

Okay, I save other thoughts for my review soon, so stay tuned for that. If you're around the SoCal area and a Tekken fan, go play Bloodline Rebellion because it will be a while before it comes out on consoles.

ABDC Season 3 Episode 2 Recap

Last night's ABDC was okay with Boxchuttaz being eliminated. Here's my top 3 performances of the episode.



Quest doing "Let It Rock"



Beat Freaks consistently doing well.



Team Millenia were in the bottom 2 and did better than last week (Definitely the best "dancing" number of the night).

Here's my rankings heading towards next week.

1. Quest
2. Beat Freaks
3. Strikers All-Stars (They stepped up this week - Honorable mention)
4. Team Millenia
5. Dynamic Edition (Also good this week)
6. Fly Khicks (likely bottom 2 next week)
7. Ringmasters (Their gimmick is running out of time)

Next week is the Britney episode and it should be fun...

Another example of how Street Fighter IV gets mad hype!!!

Yeah, another post about my favorite game right now, Street Fighter IV, but this is from my Twitter and I had to post it here too. Here's another example of how this game delivers mad hype over at Arcade Infinity (located at Rowland Heights, CA in Diamond Plaza). I go there sometimes to play SF4 and hopefully I'll come and watch a Ranbat tournament (or even give it a shot) in the future. Actually, California Regionals, a big Cali tournament with players from NorCal, SoCal, and other spots, happened last weekend at Denijin Arcade (over at Simi Valley, CA which is pretty much a hour and half from where I live - I should of went there to hang out I guess) and supposedly was a crazy weekend filled with fighting game goodness from SFIV, 3rd Strike, MvC2, BlazBlue, and more. If u know the SFIV scene here at SoCal, it is pretty much charge character heavy with lots of Balrog players, some Bisons (my main in this game), Blanka players, and more. Even though Honda is bottom mid tier, he's still a pretty good character at times and he's my secondary character (Blanka and Guile are next in the list after Honda).

I'll also plug Gootecks's Street Fighter podcast over at Gootecks.com (link is at the right side with the other links I put up of other sites) and its pretty good if you're into Street Fighter IV and want to know the scene at SoCal. I am sort of taking an arcade SF4 break because of Skate 2 being out tomorrow (review hopefully by the end of the month), but will return closer to SF4's console release on February 17. 

UPDATE (Minor) - Oh I guess that I'll post the console intro up here too. My original reaction is that it sucks because of the "pop-ish" theme song, but now I can tolerate with it.

My 2 picks to win ABDC Season 3...

The third season of America's Best Dance Crew starts tonight on MTV and here are my picks to win the whole thing (I already mentioned them on my Twitter, but here they are in action).

Quest (My #1 pick)

Team Millenia (#2 pick)

Sleeper Pick: Beat Freaks



Remember those episode recaps I did for Season 2 last year? I'll do them again, but they will resume next week.

UPDATE - My sleeper pick is added, which is the Beat Freaks. Also, here's my rankings heading towards next week.

1. Quest
2. Beat Freaks
3. Team Millenia (rocky start, but I'm generous)
4. Ringmasters (We'll how long their "flexing" style last)
5. Dynamic Edition (Another sleeper contender despite their clogging style)
6. Boxchutthz
7. Fly Khicks
8. Strikers All-Stars

I'll say the competition is way more even this season compared to the last two since those seasons, u can tell who will win right away (look at Jabbawockeez and SuperCrew) and who will go far (Kaba Modern and So Real Cru for example). It will depend on the themed weeks which crew will stand out from the bunch.

3 Arcade Games that u should be playing...

The arcade scene (at least in SoCal) is still alive and well with places like Super Arcade at Walnut, Arcade Infinity at Rowland Heights (over at Diamond Plaza), and Family Fun Arcade at the San Fernando Valley. Only a handful of arcade games are pretty much worth your attention and here are 3 picks of what u should be playing next time you go to a place like the ones I mentioned.

Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 3 DX

The current #1 racer at arcades is the Maximum Tune series and a new expansion of sorts for 3 (hence the DX name) just came out recently at SoCal. It is basically more Maximum Tune 3 with the option to go 825 HP with your car along with a new course (Nagoya Speed Ring) and new music by Yuzo Koshiro. There are also other features involving ghost battle in which I forgot how it works now. This race is still as addictive as ever even though it is not the best looking racing game at arcades now, but people are still playing it like crazy customizing their cars and having numerous IC cards.

DJ Max Technika

I saw this at Arcade Infinity and it is something different even though I think it is already a franchise. It is a DJ game where you touch the screen to correspond with the beats compared to something like Beatmania. It is very Japanese with the whole anime look and song selection, so basically the DDR-like crowd will like this.

Street Fighter IV

The arcade version of SF IV has pretty much one more month till the console versions come out in which the scene will change, but it doesn't mean SF IV will be dead at arcades as tournaments at places like Arcade Infinity will keep it alive. The console SF IV is a good tool for practice as the arcade version is a different beast in terms of competition and tournament atmosphere. Anyway, I'm talking about this game too much.

So the next time you're at an arcade, especially in the Southern California area, play these games whether or not you're good at them and bring people along for the fun.

Using Twitter like a madman...

So I have been going crazy on Twitter since I started it on New Year's Day and I haven't done a lot of posts here yet this month. It actually makes sense now that my Twitter is where the short posts happen (That is its purpose anyway) and I'll let the blog here be the place for the longer posts like expanded thoughts and reviews.

Recent highlights from my Twitter feed range from last weekend's football games, the four hour preimere of 24 Season 7, Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 3 DX, and the rumored Nintendo DSi launch date and price over at IGN (Rumored for April 4 at 180 bucks).

1up just had their Game Night showcasing the console versions of Street Fighter IV (They were playing the 360 one) and while we get to watch a hour of SF IV footage, its pretty clear what audience this hour is intended for people who are on the fence, which pissed off the hardcore crowd (mainly the folks at SRK and I don't blame them) who have been playing the game like crazy (like me at Super and Arcade Infinity) because of the skill level shown by the 1up posse (Former and current). Good thing my "game of the forever" is about a month away, so it is getting close, but if you're disappointed of the footage being shown at 1up today, here's a Balrog/C. Viper match that is something better.

The Obligatory List Naming My Top 10 of 2008...

Last month, I had a plan of doing a series of posts revolving around my best of 2008 with the Then and Now feature, but I got lazy in doing them. Instead I'll just do a good old fashioned top 10 of 2008 megapost. My Then and Now thoughts do apply here in some form in terms of which games I loved at the time they were out and whether or not they're still that good. Plus, it does feel a little lame now talking about last year now that 2009 is off a crazy start with the whole 1up/EGM situation and perhaps my favorite first quarter of a year in terms of game releases. The PS3 Experience posts also do not factor into this top 10 I have listed because it is just too late to consider them in the list. Anyway, here's my top 10 and you may be surprised.

10) Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)

So Brawl is my only Wii game in this top 10 and the best game on that system for the year personally (Mega Man 9 and Mario Kart are the runner-ups). Other than Mario Kart, Brawl was basically the only hardcore game out for Wii in 2008 as Nintendo continued their casual direction selling millions of Wii consoles (Wii Sports is now the #1 selling game beating the original Super Mario Bros.) along with Wii Fit and even Mario Kart was casually focused with the wheel. Anyway back to Brawl, even though it was a disappointment to the Smash community with the gameplay changes, I still enjoyed it during its first month back in March. It is filled with so much Nintendo goodness from the crazy roster to all those cameo appearances. Sure, the Subspace Emissary could have been better and the online didn't turn out the way Nintendo fanboys wanted to be, but Brawl is still a brilliantly packaged game with tons of replay value. This game is the reason why I have four Classic Controllers, four Nunchuks, four Wiimotes because I don't have GameCube controllers anymore. I like to also mention the soundtrack, which is like some Now Music compilation but filled with Nintendo tunes past and present making me go nuts. After the awesome year that was 2007 with the Wii because of Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3, Brawl in 2008 was good enough to fill the Wii void in my top 10 despite its shortcomings.

9) Bionic Commando Rearmed (XBLA)

I never played the original Bionic Commando on the NES as Rearmed was the start of the franchise's return to the gaming world. If I had to give a best video game company of 2008 (publisher or developer) award, it would be to Capcom for appreciating the old-school and bringing it back to the current generation in awesome ways (more on that later). The developer Grin did a great job with this HD remake by keeping it faithful to the original game in terms of gameplay and brutal difficulty (Yes, it is still a hard game, but definitely beatable). Rearmed also sets the bar for HD remakes for classic games in terms of satisfying both fans of the original and new fans to the franchise trying something different and unique. After playing the 3D Bionic Commando at Comic-Con last year, I still have high hopes for that game to be pretty good considering how amazing Rearmed was and the mutliplayer could be as good as Capcom's last third person shooter, Lost Planet, which some people loved.

8) Burnout Paradise (360)

Burnout Paradise was the only racing game I bought in 2008 even though I wanted to play Midnight Club LA and Motorstorm: Pacific Rift. Anyway, Criterion gambled with Paradise by taking Burnout from a structured racer to an open-ended experience and it worked out in the end setting the bar for how you handle seamless online play and keeping it playable even after a year of its release. Yeah, people complained about the lack of race restart and the franchise going to a new direction, but is there any other racing game out now that still feels fresh with all the updates and downloadable content out during the year and the re-release next month? Paradise proved that the racing genre can still be improved upon and there's still more room for innovation.

7) Gears of War 2 (360)

Gears 2 is surprisingly not as high on the list as some may hoped. I still enjoyed the game a lot, especially the single player. I guess it was the problems with multiplayer and my lack of playtime of versus and Horde hampered its position in the list. Also after playing Gears 2, I started to get shooter fatigue even though I didn't play all the good shooters that came out in the fall season. As the genre that gets oversaturated like fighting games and platformers were in the 90s, I have to say I'm getting tired of them and I rather play other types of games that don't feel oversaturated. Other than that rant, Gears 2 did provide some great moments like the cutscene above and it still one of the better games I played last year beating it on the first night.

6) Rock Band 2 (360)

I think 2008 is the last good year for the Guitar Hero/Rock Band phenomenon. Despite saying that, Rock Band 2 is still the best rhythm game of the year beating out the competition like Guitar Hero World Tour. It improved everything the first game didn't have like making Band World Tour online and playable alone, the best soundtrack on a disc to rock out to. And yes, this game still has the best legs with its never-ending replay value due to the weekly downloadable content (whether good or bad). Harmonix made the right decision after all by not continuing the Guitar Hero franchise and taking things to the next level with the Rock Band franchise. Let's just hope they continue making it as a platform instead of milking it like Activision is doing with Guitar Hero in 2009.

Video note: The video I posted is a full band run of Disturbed's "Down with the Sickness" featuring the "Queen of Vocals" Vixenita. Don't mind the overhits with the drummer as it is still a FC run of the song.

5) Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix

SSF2T HD Remix is the definition of how to make a 14-year old fighting game better and fresh again. The new rebalanced gameplay feels natural now with easier move inputs and change in priorities. Those new changes made Street Fighter more fun than it used to be in the 90s. The online play has the best netcode for a fighting game (at least on XBLA). It attracted veterans and tournament level players as a "new" game to learn as well for newcomers with the remixed gameplay. All of this in a downloadable game is pretty crazy, but it is and proven to be one of the most successful downloadable titles for Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network in terms of sales.

4) Tekken 6 (ARC)

While Tekken 6 is not a significant leap for the franchise like from 4 to 5, the new gameplay additions and a balanced roster are good enough for me to be happy. Namco usually do not make stupid decisions with the Tekken franchise compared to Soul Calibur. The bound and rage systems make the core fighting more intense compared to last time around.  Even the new animations to certain moves make the experience a little more fresh, so the same new animations are not appearing in this one unlike the last 5 games. Even though vanilla Tekken 6 is at the end of its heyday due to Bloodline Rebellion out at Japanese arcades and hopefully SoCal in the coming month, it keeps the 3D fighting game genre alive being more fun and pick-up/play than Dead or Alive 4 and even Virtua Fighter 5.

3) Grand Theft Auto IV (360)

Despite all the backlash with Grand Theft Auto IV being the "perfect" game (Even I regret giving the game a 10), it is still pretty awesome. I appreciated the realistic direction with the storyline with Niko and the American Dream, while I can understand why others are disappointed expecting more of the same insanity like San Andreas (that's Saint's Row 2). The gameplay is better with the shooting mechanics and the cover system while the game is long enough for people to breeze through the story or even 100% the game getting the key to Liberty City. While the multiplayer could have been better, it is a good attempt by Rockstar trying to emulate the open-ended experience into competitive aspects.  GTA IV naturally feels more like a mature experience than some fantasy in which other games like Crackdown and Saint's Row 2 mastered).

2) Rez HD (XBLA)

Rez HD is unlike anything else today even though the original Rez was out earlier in the decade on Dreamcast and PS2. It is about time that Rez is experienced in true HD quality and it is truly amazing. I also never played the original as playing this in HD felt new and unique in addition to now being a Q Entertainment supporter thanks to this and Lumines. Area 5 (the video above) is perhaps one of my favorite gaming moments of all-time and I still play it every now and again till I got my rid of my 360. I wished more people played this and experienced true greatness being an example of the "games as art" argument (along with Braid).

 

1) Street Fighter IV (ARC)

I'm counting this one as my #1 game even though it is coming to consoles next month. I just can't stop playing this game and I feel like going to an arcade like Super or Arcade Infinity and play this right now. When Street Fighter IV came out at SoCal arcades in the late Summer, it almost felt like the 90s arcade scene all over again (in its first two weeks of release) of people waiting in line putting quarters up just to play Street Fighter. For now, IV is doing everything right. It is bringing back the fans that skipped the III series of games (3rd Strike for example) by making the core gameplay like Street Fighter II. It is also deep enough for veterans and tournament level players with focus attacks and Ultras. Plus, it flat out looks beautiful in action (don't let the screens or YouTube quality fool you - it looks damn good in person) with the crazy facial animations applying more personality to the characters. Even the music is awesome from the Snowy Rail Yard and Drive-In at Night to remixed character themes during rival battles. Street Fighter IV is truly something special and I don't mind it being 2009's game of the year as well either.

Well that's it for my top 10 games of 2008... With that out of the way I don't want to talk about 2008 anymore in terms of games.

The Legend of Chun-Li movie trailer in English...

Its still out next month (February 27) and will be a little better than Dragonball Evolution, but not by much.

First gameplay footage of Gen and Rose in Street Fighter IV...

Earlier, I posted in my Twitter footage of Cammy and Fei Long in Street Fighter IV and now 1up/Gamevideos put up the first gameplay footage of Gen and Rose in action. Keep in mind that these console exclusive characters have to be unlocked via arcade or challenge mode. Good thing more stages were added even though some of them are just nighttime versions like the jungle at night and Crowded Downtown at night (the stage shown in this clip). I'm still not a fan of the English voices for some characters (like Fei Long saying "I lost!!!" when he loses) as I prefer the Japanese voices, so hopefully they will be available from the get go (if the rumors of unlocking them are not true). Both Ultras and Focus Attacks for both characters are shown in this clip, which is good. If 1up's recent footage and tomorrow's Game Night doesn't get you hyped for Street Fighter IV, then I don't know what will.

The PS3 Experience so far... (Part II)

Winter Break is pretty much over and I might as well recap the PS3 Experience so far from last time. This time two games get the spotlight in this post and I actually don't have plans of typing of a long review for either of them. Skate 2 will likely be my first review of 2009 later this month.

Lumines Supernova - This is officially my kick back game on PS3 as it is more Lumines, and that's good enough for me. Actually if you played Lumines Live (on XBLA) to death, there's not that much new here in Supernova in terms of content, but at least Q! Entertainment did not make the same mistake again by having a package that is worth the 15 dollars compared to the experiment on 360 in 2006. The gameplay is pretty much the same and as addictive with some new skins, but the majority of the skins have appeared in previous games. Compared to Lumines Live, the order of rotation for skins did change, so it is not really the same game as two years ago. Other than the disappointing Dig Down mode and no multiplayer, Lumines Supernova is worth it for chill sessions from all the stress other games may provide.

LittleBigPlanet - Okay, I haven't really played much LBP as I wanted to, but I'm loving it so far. Currently I'm at the Canyons in the storyline and I also have the Metal Gear levels DLC along with the free costumes (also the Street Fighter costumes). I usually just play some of the other levels out there online and who knows if I feel like making my own level (then again that it is a crucial part of LBP). I can also see why this game is pretty amazing and perhaps the most charming game in recent memory. The charm factor is just everywhere and it is hard not to love Sackboy as a character. Yeah, the gameplay mechanics could have been a little better like the jump and the three panes, but the game just puts a smile on your face that it eliminates the frustration whether playing alone or with friends. Of course, the servers still suck, but nothing is ever perfect. The soundtrack is also awesome which also surprised me. I do expect myself to play more LBP, but on a slower pace. Plus, it has the longevity to still be around a year later with the community levels and more developer-based levels on other famous franchises.

As for Q1 2009 for the PS3 Experience, expect me to get Skate 2, Street Fighter IV, Killzone 2, and Resident Evil 5 and we move on from there.

New Year = Twitter plus Random Musings from Vegas

The new year is here and I decided to spice up this blog of mine a bit as I decided to make a Twitter account and now my Twitter feed can be seen on the right side. Actually doing Twitter is a New Year's Resolution of mine, so now more insanity can happen I guess.


I guess I can also talk about my recent Vegas trip in which I was there for three nights. Two nights and three days seem to be the sweet spot in terms of how long a Vegas trip should last especially going there three to four times a year, but three nights to me is pushing it. Gambling was a pure fail at this trip (Oh well...), but the arcade scene there is truly starting to show its age and it is kind of a scary sight to see.

2009 at Vegas could be the end of arcades there as I think more hotels will close their arcades for better attractions for the 21 and over crowd (like me!!!). The likely candidates are Bellagio, Monte Carlo, Treasure Island, and New York New York (Last year, arcades at Luxor and The Mirage have closed down). The machines keep getting broken and becoming old as they will eventually have no use at all. They should let the kid-friendly themed hotel/casinos keep their arcades like the MGM Grand, Excalibur, and Circus Circus and take out the ones that probably don't need it anymore.

Anyway, GameWorks continues to be the place for arcade gaming at Vegas even though I'm surprised at Circus Circus's arcade/midway in terms of the selection of old and new stuff (That place is still ghetto anyway). New racers and shooters have shown up there since the last time I was there like the Rambo shoot-em-up, Sega Rally 3, which is pretty much Sega Rally Revo on the PS3 and 360, and other random crap by Sega. Actually I want GameWorks to stay racer and shooter focused as I can just play fighting games like Street Fighter IV and Tekken 6 BR back at SoCal because of the scene and playability (Playing fighting games with broken sticks or buttons is a pain and a waste).

Okay, enough with my mumblings with the arcades and off to the crazy stuff which is my first nightclub experience at Jet in the Mirage Tuesday night, which is rare considering who I am. Good thing I came with some of my best friends as it was very fun and crazy for three hours filled with dancing and drinks. When we got in, we were just ready to go loose especially having drinks before going to the club. Other than endless partying, 2008 American Idol David Cook performed the same two songs twice because they were showing it for Fox's New Year's Eve bash last night. My friends and I pretty much hightailed to the bar at Jet as we're not really David Cook fans, so we weren't on TV. Being 21 at Vegas is a crazy feeling as now I have the whole city to go crazy compared to being limited to shopping and arcades when being younger as my entertainment. You're bound to go a nightclub someday even though is not your thing at first, but I had one of the greatest times of my Vegas life there and I like to thank my friends who were there with me for being part of it.

That's pretty much my recent Vegas trip in a nutshell (My friends are still there probably partying and having as much fun as they can). Now I'm back at SoCal to chill and relax till my Winter Break is over by the end of the weekend.