Didn't realize this thing is already a year old...

So this blog is already a year old... and it will still roll on for more.

And apparently, I'm 22 in about a hour... So yeah.

Okay, I'll end this post with a song...

Music Video Roundup for 3/25/09

First off the gaming stuff - My thoughts of Nintendo's GDC '09 Keynote are on my Twitter, so read that. I'm also still considering typing up a Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty review even though I beaten it on Saturday. If I'm not reviewing it, here's the short version: Buy it at the discounted 10 bucks and its worth it if you're never played any of the other games in the franchise like me. Also, I traded in Skate 2 and some Wii accessories for Buzz Quiz TV and apparently I can dominate at some categories, but suck at everything else (Doesn't matter, it is a worthy purchase anyway).

Okay off to the music...

First up is "Love, Sex, & Magic" by Ciara featuring Justin Timberlake. These two make a great duo together and it shows in this video.

Keri Hilson featuring Kanye West & Ne-Yo: "Knock You Down"

Pretty straightforward video considering the song...

Arcade Infinity Ranbat 2.1 Madness!!!!

Yesterday was a long day being at Arcade Infinity for the Ranbat 2.1 tournament. There were so many people in one place that the tourney was capped at 64 entrants and lasted 12 freaking hours ending at 1:20 am on Monday (Craziness indeed). As a special intro to the Ranbat, the hosts Sanchez and Shoo did some special introductions with the first time entrants like me (See video) asking us random questions and I think I answered wrong (could of picked a better cartoon). The picture above is from Gootecks's Twitpic (see if u can spot me there) as I had a great pleasure to meet that man, aka the SoCal SF4 ambassador and chatted with him for a bit. Anyway, I at least won my first match, which was my goal for the tournament (better than going 2 and out on Tekken 6 BR). My first match was against some average Viper player and the first round was the first double K.O. of the day. I never felt the tournament atmosphere had some kind of rush, but it was intense. Then I lost to Bebop, aka the best Vega player in SoCal as I rarely fight awesome Vegas, so I didn't know how to play the matchup. After Bebop sent me to Losers, I lost to Moval's Blanka in a fun yet close match. Unfortunately, Blanka's Ultra was too much for me in the end. I finished tied for 33rd out of 64, but I was there for the rest of the tournament and the hype was everywhere.

There were so many awesome close matches and funny "hype" moments from Sanchez "Hulk Smashing" the 1P machine breaking the strong punch button for a bit after doing Bison's Nightmare Booster Ultra during Rufus's EX Messiah Kick (played by Bobino) to a little kid by the name of Private Link winning a Losers Bracket match beating an average Zangief player by his Ken, but in one match he did I think EX Hadouken to Ultra and the place went crazy. I hope these moments were on tape as there was an awesome setup for direct feed footage on YouTube as well as commentary by Sanchez and Shoo during Top 8. Gootecks was also handing out posters throughout the day for Street Fighter Bar Fights on April 5 at Pasadena showcasing key fights among SoCal's best players. 

The MVPs of the tournament to me are Slinkun, a Guile player from out of town, and Kyrojenix's Viper, an A.I. regular and has improved (The best Viper player in SoCal I personally have seen). In the end, at 1:20 in the morning, Mike Ross, the best Honda player in the country, won the tournament beating Ronstoppable's Balrog (The OG SF4 Balrog of SoCal). Keno's Balrog finished 3rd and Bobino's Rufus finished 4th. Funny note about Mike Ross, I played him at his old game, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and he perfected me, but I didn't mind it. Despite all the claims he stopped MvC2 seriously for SF4, he's still got it. The character selection was basically charge character heavy with lots of Blankas, Bisons, Balrogs, and some Guiles and Vegas. El Fuerte was only played once, since Kai, the best Fuerte player in SoCal, wasn't there. Basically, the whole roster was playable at least. The Tekken community also showed up in numbers from Rickstah's Dhalsim, who was tearing it up for a bit, MYK's Sagat who finished 9th, and others like Rip, True!, and Chojin. Despite the tournament lasting as long as it did due to the big turnout, it was arguably the best time I had regarding Street Fighter IV. It just feels good to be the premier arcade at SoCal playing and hanging with the best SoCal SF4 players like Mike Ross and Keno (cool dudes). I hope I can make it for the next Ranbat, but that day was pretty hype!!!

Even though videos of Top 8 will be posted soon with commentary by Sanchez and Shoo, the hosts of the tournament, here's one match earlier in Winners Bracket with Kyrojenix's Viper and Jack's Sagat. Too bad the cheering was left out, oh well.

Music Video of the Week for 3/18/09

This week's music video roundup features one song and it is a club banger. Admit it, you would go crazy when this song gets played.

Okay, a bonus one since I'm in a Pitbull mood for this post.

Appreciation for the Power Rangers franchise

When I read on the SRK (Shoryuken.com) forums that the Power Rangers franchise has been cancelled, it felt like another end of an era for me as that series has been a part of my childhood for a while and I admit I was still watching it in my high school days. In the 90s, the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers era was pretty awesome and nothing has really come close to topping that in recent seasons except for taking advantage of CG in some cases with the Disney takeover. After the Space season ended, that was then Power Rangers was at its peak and it went downhill from there even though I kept watching. The OG show brought many memorable moments like this:

At its 17th season on ABC / Toon Disney called R.P.M., its pretty much over for the franchise. I remember watching clips of some Power Rangers convention that happened two years ago, which was pretty crazy. This whole series brought us lots of badassery from certain rangers (usually the red ones and bonus "6th" ranger) along with sexual fantasies if anyone went down that dirty path with the female rangers. The last season I seriously watched was Dino Thunder with the return of Tommy (the Green and White Ranger from the OG season) and pretty much stopped caring catching time from time with S.P.D., Mystic Force, Operation Overdrive, and Jungle Fury. When it was on Fox, it was good times, but I think with Disney taking over sometime during the Wild Force season, something special was missing. Usually the can't miss episodes are when the sixth ranger gets introduced, a team up of a current season that's going on and the one previous to that, and the finale. Then again, certain episodes came out that were awesome were "Forever Red" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg1Uf_gj4Nw from Wild Force and "Once A Ranger" from Operation Overdrive.

Yeah, I also watched the first movie when it also on theaters and that was basically an extended everyday episode. Some of them have moved on from those days, but certain rangers had more successful careers like Adam (OG Black, Zeo Green) played by Johnny Yong Bosch, who moved on to do voiceovers for lots of big animes and even Nero for Devil May Cry 4. Okay, I feel like I rambled enough for this while getting nostalgic for it at the same time. Here's the SRK thread remembering the good times from certain moments to debating who's the hottest girl in the franchise: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg1Uf_gj4Nw

Okay, I'll try to rank them (I'm probably wrong)

1. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
2. Space
3. Zeo
4. Turbo
5. Lost Galaxy
6. Dino Thunder
7. Ninja Storm
8. Time Force
9. Lightspeed Rescue
10. Wild Force
11. Operation Overdrive
12. S.P.D.
13. Mystic Force
14. Jungle Fury
15. R.P.M. (Haven't watched it)

This Week's PSN Demo Showcase

Yesterday's PSN Store update had a lot of demos out, which are for WWE: Legends of Wrestlemania, The Wheelman, and The Chronciles of Riddick: The Assault on Dark Athena. These have been out on 360 for a week or two, but now they're also out on PS3 and here's my impressions of them (Footage is from the 360 version, but they're pretty identical).

First up is the WWE: Legends of Wrestlemania Demo and my obvious favorite of the three. This is potentially my return to the wrestling game genre as it is basically a simpler version of the Smackdown games with lots of QTE (Quicktime Events) moments. The first thing that struck me in a good way is the presentation as it is faithful to wrestling fans and those who appreciated it back in the day. You hear Hogan's enterance music, "Real American," when you boot it up from the XMB and then hear others' enterance themes on the main menus. The demo has an exhibition mode in which only Hogan and Andre the Giant are playable, but there's an option to put Hogan's title on the line and add along a manager as well. The demo also shows off the main mode the final game will have, which is the relive mode. The relive mode is basically trying to repeat what happened at a Wrestlemania event as the demo features Stone Cold Steve Austin's Wrestlemania 15 victory over The Rock. One nice touch this mode has is a WWE-style promo video to hype up the match just how the WWE does before big PPV matches. In this instance with Austin/Rock, you get to see the buildup to the match and then highlights of it showcasing certain objectives you have to do to gain points. The wrestlers themselves look good in the ring and the animation could be a little bare bones and not as fluid, which is expected, but the crowd themselves look pretty horrible and I hope it gets improved in the final game. The gameplay as previously mentioned is a simplified version of the Smackdown games with three bars to build up as levels. The higher the level, the more moves you have at your disposal. At level three, your finisher is available in which is two face buttons in this game. If you're trying to relive specific moments, these usually require a quicktime sequence (pressing one button at a time to initate an action) for them to go down. The same thing goes for finishers as Austin would his Lou Thesz Press as one button, his signature elbow for a second button, and then finish it off with a Stunner pressing another button (For Hogan, it is three punches leading to the Irish Whip as one button, the big boot as the second, and then his signature Leg Drop for the finish). The controls are also simplified, but you're still used to Smackdown vs. RAW's deep controls, it may take a little time to adjust. THQ and Yuke's wanted Legends of Wrestlemania to be more casual friendly as it is sort of a back to basics thing and I think it works. I had a fun time with the demo and I might actually buy this game because it is a representation of the good times for wrestling rather than today's era.



Next up is The Wheelman by Midway, Ubisoft, and Tigon Studios. This open-ended driving/action game stars Vin Diesel as he is the Wheelman and he's good at driving. You're given objectives or jobs to drive certain people around to their destination avoiding the opposition (either gangs or the police). Any car is actually a weapon and tilting the right stick left and right allows the car to sideswipe enemies. The game also has drive-bys using a gun while driving and also special powers that depend on a focus meter to initate a slow-mo sequence of shooting enemies out of the way. The focus meter is also used for boosting as well. The majority of the demo is a chase mission from the police as you go through the streets of Barcelona, both narrow and wide, to avoid getting busted. The driving and shooting itself feel a little awkward or janky at times. In addition, the graphics don't really impress me even though it is a demo as it looks like a early current-gen game. Sound-wise, its okay, but it mostly depends on whether or not you like Vin Diesel. The Wheelman could be a decent game, but definitely a rental at best.

Lastly, there's The Chronicles of Riddick: The Assault on Dark Athena Demo with more Vin Diesel action. First of all, this is a remake of the XBOX classic with the Dark Athena content added. Not a lot of people bought The Escape from Butcher Bay when it first came out on Xbox, as Dark Athena is its second chance. I didn't play Butcher Bay as this is all new to me. Just from playing the demo, I can see why Riddick was an amazing game from the atmosphere and the gameplay. The demo is quite short, but for those who never played it last generation, but want to now, I think it is worth it and still holds up compared to today's shooters.

So that's it for this week's PSN Demo Showcase. I recommended playing this demos in case you're not sure you want to buy them.

3/8/09 Tekken BR Vid 94 Tournament Highlights...

Last Sunday was another Tekken 6 BR tournament at Video 94 and well it was another early exit for me, but I lost to some heavy hitters. My first match was against Kane and that was pretty much no contest. My second match was against Rickstah with his Ganryu and that ended pretty quick too. Other than Street Fighter IV casual madness full of hype and laughter, there are some highlights from the event (One match that wasn't recorded was Cynnik's loss to Hellsent in a Raven mirror match).

Other than the crazy SF4 commentary, this game between Cynnik's Raven and ChetChetty's Paul went down to the wire. (Rage Death Fist FTW!!!!)

From the same match, this last game was also a little tense.

The next Tekken 6 BR tournament will be on the 21st at Super Arcade, but I think I'll practice up for the Arcade Infinity Ranbat 2.1 SF4 tournament which is on the 22nd. We will see how SF4 will go for me that day.

The Latest in the Fan-Made Gaming World... (3/10/09)

Mushroom Kingdom Fusion is still not 100% done yet as it is a pretty big game that more people are involved in the project making more characters and levels. It is still a Mario style game featuring various characters in diverse worlds. Here's a run of old school Mario (with NES Mario jump physics and power-ups) through Birabuto Bash, a level comprised of World 1 in Super Mario Land.



Remember an earlier post about a fan-made Streets of Rage IV, now its called Bare Knuckle IV, which makes sense since Streets of Rage is called Bare Knuckle at Japan. Here's some of the remixed music featured in the game as they try to make it as Genesis-y as possible. Don't forget that this is different from Streets of Rage Remake (version 5 is still not out and lots of additions are in that update).

And that's the latest in the fan-made gaming world for now (Well these are the games I have my eye on for a while anyway).

Off-topic UPDATE: My Spring Break is approaching soon and I'm still trying to figure a gaming plan for it. It consists of these titles:

• MadWorld
• Resident Evil 5
• Killzone 2
• Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection
• 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
• WWE Legends of Wrestlemania

I have been setting my sights on MadWorld as my Spring Break game as it is awesome and a reason to finally play my Wii again (last time the Wii was seriously in rotation was Mega Man 9). RE5 and Killzone 2 are sure hits, but the last three are interesting picks. Then again, I might as well stick to Street Fighter IV since the Arcade Infinity 2.1 tournament is happening around that time and I should practice up. We'll see what happens, but at least a Legends of Wrestlemania demo will be out on PSN this Thursday so I'll check that out to see if it is worth it.

What's ahead for Gaming This Week... (3/9/09)

Just like the End of the Week Recap I might do if I feel like it, let's try what's ahead for gaming this week...

Yesterday was another Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion tournament at Video 94 and as expected, another 2 & out. More on that soon here when the videos of top 8 are put up on YouTube.

The latest episode of the Dogface Show went up yesterday featuring more of Gootecks and Mike Ross (who won last Friday's SF4 tournament at Cal Poly Pomona). More hilarity ensues in this clip from MvC2, losing/gaining fingers, and the reason why Dee Jay is not in Street Fighter IV (yet).



Peggle is finally coming to Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday (footage above is the PC version) and now 360 owners can experience this awesomeness. It is coming soon to PSN, but I should see for myself what the big deal is about this game and why is it so damn addicting.



Most importantly, Resident Evil 5 is out this Friday and I'm still tempted to buy it as my Spring Break game (Still a tossup between that and Killzone 2). The game is already out at Japan last week, so it could be tough to try to avoid spoilers (unlike me) cruising around the interwebs.



Oh wait, there's also MadWorld, aka the Wii's saving grace out on Wednesday. Maybe I'll buy that instead of RE5 and Killzone 2. Here's a clip of why it is awesome (also check out ign's video review).

I don't care what the critics say. Violence is a beauuuttifful thing!!! The Street Fighter IV (PS3) Review

Note: This review is a revised cut of the arcade version of Street Fighter IV as I'm adding in the stuff included only in the console versions and more. Some videos I have posted will showcase both console and arcade versions with middle to tournament level gameplay.

Street Fighter IV felt like a dream that became a reality when it was announced in late 2007. After years of waiting and waiting, it is finally out on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. The last significant Street Fighter game, 3rd Strike, was a success among the tournament crowd of fans, but it failed to reach the mainstream audience the way the Street Fighter II games did back in the 1990s. This fourth game Capcom is putting out hopes to recapture that magic SF II while keeping the depth 3rd Strike had, and I truly believe they succeeded. It feels like Street Fighter II for the 21st century in terms of fun gameplay, gorgeous graphics under a new engine, and amazing depth with its new focus attack system. There are a handful of games I can't stop playing and looking at because it is still amazing. That is how I feel with Street Fighter IV and it is an early contender of mine for game of the year and perhaps my favorite.

Capcom wanted players that skipped the Street Fighter III series of games to come back to this fourth game by bringing back the simplicity and the familiarity from Street Fighter II and it worked. In terms of familiarity, all twelve characters from Street Fighter II are back in this game since the storyline takes place between II and III. Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Guile, Zangief, E. Honda, Blanka, Dhalsim, Balrog, Vega, Sagat, and M. Bison are all in SF IV with the same signature moves with some new tricks. Other than those twelve fighters, four new ones are introduced in Street Fighter IV. Crimson Viper is the new female in the game with electric moves, flying flame kicks, and a ground pound attack. Abel is a mixed martial arts expert that plays like a combination of Fei Long and Zangief in terms of grappling skills. El Fuerte is the masked wrestler with high flying acrobatics and speed moves. Lastly, Rufus is a fat American who has a nasty beef with Ken. The final boss in Street Fighter IV is Seth, who reminds me of Urien's appearance wise that has most of the characters' special moves and some of Urien's attacks from 3rd Strike. There are also secret bosses such as fighting Akuma or Gouken if you performed well in the single player arcade mode as they are unlocked when you beat them the first time. The console versions have exclusive characters that the arcade versions never had such as Cammy, Rose, Sakura, Dan, Fei Long, and Gen. These characters are pretty fun to play as making the transition well from previous games they appeared in.



In the console versions, there are four playable modes. The arcade mode is the standard eight stage run through of fighting various characters and then culminating against Seth. New to the console versions are anime prologues and endings as they act as cutscenes to tell characters' storylines. Before fighting Seth, there is a rival battle pending on which character you use such as Sagat fighting Ryu and Guile facing Abel. From the normal difficulty and harder, the computer A.I. can give you a fight at times especially when you're in the later stages. Challenge mode consists of time attack, survival, and trial modes as different stipulations change in increasing levels. The time attack and survival modes are quite different from other fighting games as time attack game gives you a certain limit to finish the level and time increases for winning stages, doing super and ultra combos, and perfects. Getting a gold medal depends on how fast you're able to beat a certain level. Survival mode gives you a set of stage wins to earn at least a bronze medal with various stipulations. Trial mode is an unique mode that players can learn the basics and then expert level combos. It is a nice way for new players to learn characters and their basic mechanics. These challenge modes are the only way to unlock more colors and taunts for the characters. There's also your training mode for players to practice their skills and master their character. Then there's the online play, which I'll mention later.

The fighting mechanics for Street Fighter IV is divided as it is 60% Street Fighter II and 40% 3rd Strike. As long as players have Street Fighter II skills, they can still pump out wins using specials, supers, and simple three or four-hit combos of a jump kick, low punch, to a special move. The 40% being 3rd Strike resorts to the spacing, pro tactics, and mastering the focus attack system. Throws are done the same way as 3rd Strike by pressing both jab and short kick. The focus attack system is the most important addition to Street Fighter IV being both simple and deep with multiple uses. The focus attack is an ink strike that if fully charged and hits your opponent, they get stunned allowing for a free hit or two. It also a parry of avoiding attacks like 3rd Strike when timed right against projectiles and other moves. Parrying moves does affect your health meter to heal slowly if you're already damaged, but you will lose that ability if you get hit. It is also used to cancel special moves which could lead to devastating combos. The focus attack is a great example of being easy to learn, but difficult to master and if mastered, you can truly own the competition.



There are two meters on the bottom of the game screen during fights. First is the EX meter in blue and when maxed out, you can do a normal super move like Ken's Shoryu Reppa and Bison's Knee Press Nightmare. The EX meter is also used for EX specials, which return from 3rd Strike. These EX specials are better versions of special moves with more properties like parrying and armor breaking through a focus attack for multiple hits such as fireballs hitting twice. The green meter is called the revenge meter. This thing works like K-Groove from Capcom vs. SNK 2 in which the more you get hit, the meter glows up in red or orange in which you can do Ultra Combos. The Ultras are basically more devastating versions of the normal supers that add some dramatic and cinematic effects that deal tons of damage. Once you're caught by them, you're pretty much screwed especially when they're used in a Focus Attack combo. Each character has one normal super and one ultra combo (Gen being an exception with his two fighting styles) which is good enough since most of the Ultras are pretty cool to look at and used with good priorities. Add those two meters and the saving attack system and you got a surprisingly deep fighting game with Street Fighter IV even though you can still get away with Street Fighter II tactics.

The online play of Street Fighter IV is the console versions' most anticipated feature that follows a similar formula of the arcade version's card system to track wins and losses. As long you keep winning, you gain more Battle Points for better ranking. In terms of lag, the gameplay flows smoothly as long as the connection bar is at three bars or more. If less than that, then the action would lag and significantly affect gameplay timing. The online modes are your basic quick and custom matches either ranked or not like most games out today even though a lobby feature will be added in a later patch. As you keep playing the online, you earn more titles and icons to customize your reputation in the online world of Street Fighter IV. More of these titles and icons are unlocked by playing the challenge modes. The online experience as a whole can be a mixed bag in terms of skill level as you will likely face a minefield of Ryu, Ken, and Sagat players who don't know what they're doing, but at times you can still face stiff competition of other players using various characters. Of course there's also local multiplayer with your friends on the same screen if online is not your thing. As of downloadable content, the alternate costumes as seen in Japanese arcades are available to buy and a free update that includes lobbies and replays will be out soon.



On the graphics side, Street Fighter IV looks amazing. The new engine is excellent especially for the animations. Speaking of the animations, all the special moves are what you know and love from previous games with fireballs looking like fireballs, and so on. What is specifically amazing about the animations are the facial expressions. If you have been looking at screenshots and videos for the game, most of the characters truly feel the pain when they get hit and most of them are pretty funny too especially when a character starts an ultra and the opponent has an "Oh Crap" look on their face. The stages themselves look amazing too from jungles, temples, airports, and seaports. The arcade version had a lack of stages, but that changed in the console versions with a remixed version of the stages like the Chinatown and jungle stages at night. While the fights are going on at these locales, stuff also happens on the backgrounds with low riders going up and down, to people shopping at the China shop level, which also features a dude falling off his bike. The characters themselves look great despite the art style being criticized by fans when the game was first shown. The art style truly works in the game fitting to the theme along with the whole notion of ink when doing focus attacks. Graphically, Street Fighter IV is one of the better looking fighting games now with 2D gameplay and 3D backgrounds despite full 3D fighting games looking better, but on an artistic end, Street Fighter IV beats them on that end.

On the sound department, Street Fighter IV delivers as well. The Japanese voices sound great compared to the English voices because it just fits their personality more and most fans are used to their voices by now in previous games. On the music side, the soundtrack is another good one with themes that fit to each stage. For the rival battles, your opponent's signature music gets played such as Ryu's when fighting him as Sagat, which is a nice touch. These signature tunes are remixed versions of the original game's versions especially Akuma's new theme when you fight him. The other sound effects are also great with hits sounding like they truly hurt, specifically the Ultra Combos, even though the blocking sound has changed for the console versions. Then again, the announcer is better than previous games, but he can be annoying at times, which reminds me of Alpha 3. Other than that, Street Fighter IV has great sounds to satisfy even the hardcore crowd.



Is Street Fighter IV truly the second coming of the fighting genre and a stepping stone for the arcade scene to return? I truly believe so for being a second coming for the genre and the series going back to its SF II roots. The game's popularity at the arcade will die down once the console versions are played more, but if you really want the true competition against the best and not any scrubs that would spam moves, the arcades are there for that to happen. Even though it plays more like Street Fighter II, there is enough depth for 3rd Strike players to jump in and enjoy. The focus attack system is a great concept for a fighting game like this with tons of uses from parrying to cancelling. Using that system to your advantage can lead to devastating and amazing looking combos that look like they can't be done, but they can especially leading towards Ultra combos. The new graphics engine is amazing on both a technical and artistic aspect with funny facial expressions and great animations for the moves. All of this was a dream a couple years ago, but it is now a reality and Street Fighter IV is truly the second coming of Street Fighter II for the modern era of gaming.

Score = 10/10

Pros:

• Gameplay feels more like Street Fighter II, but still has some 3rd Strike in it that appeals to both the casual and hardcore crowd.
• The focus attack system is an amazing addition with tons of depth.
• Amazing graphics both technically and artistically.
• Great soundtrack with signature tunes at certain moments
• Has that addiction of being amazing every time you play it and watch it in action.

Cons:

• Some nit picky ones like the blocking sound getting changed and the online competition being mostly being a minefield of shoto players (Ryu, Ken, Sagat, Akuma)
• Otherwise, this game is pretty much perfect for fans of fighting games and gaming in general.

Music Video of the Day for 3/2/09

Today on the Music Roundup features some of my favorite songs out now...



Today's music video for "Blame It (On the Alcohol)" by Jamie Foxx feat. T-Pain. This song is too sick and makes me go nuts. This video features lots of cameos from famous people within the movie industry like Samuel L. Jackson and randomly Ron Howard.

UPDATE - This video doesn't work anymore... Here's the official version without BET subtitles

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYc875zkDxg&feature=channel_page