A Quick Hands-On with DJ Max Technika...

Other than the Ladies of Street Fighter IV tournament happening that awesome Saturday, I decided to take a shot of the return of DJ Max Technika in Arcade Infinity. This game costs a dollar to play and six dollars for a card tracking your data. DJ Max Technika is a rhythm game that uses two screens (one on top for display and the bottom for gameplay like playing a Nintendo DS) as you use your fingers to touch the screen along to the beat. Yeah, it is Japanese-based in terms of what music is being offered for the anime crowd, but its not bad if you're into that type of music. My experience with this game playing for the first time was trying to get used to the speed as I underestimated how fast it can go and as a result I failed the song. It is still fun to play and hopefully get better as I play it more if I get the chance to go to AI more frequently. This definitely feels like you're playing a Nintendo DS game, but at an arcade which is cool in some way. Definitely an unique arcade game worth checking out if you see it around.

The Epic Day that was Ladies of Street Fighter IV...

Oh man what an epic and awesome day yesterday as I was at Arcade Infinity for the first time in a month to watch the Ladies of Street Fighter IV tournament hosted by AI tourney hostmaster Shoo. I gotta hand it to Shoo as this was a brilliant idea (Well, girls + Street Fighter = success!!!) and it definitely lived up to being an event for the summer. Plus, it seemed like he went all out for it with a photo shoot with the competitors as some did dress to impress as if they're going clubbing before the tournament (photo shoot pics here and they were awesome!) and Get Your Tournament was there providing the awesome coverage with live blogging/video interviews after the event by the SoCal SF4 ambassador Gootecks (Thanks to Glenn for the coverage and Kara for the awesome pics). Good thing I showed up early for decent parking especially at Diamond Plaza despite the usual frustrating traffic at Rowland Heights (The 60 was slow and Colima Rd, as expected was what it is).

There were certainly some recognizable ladies I saw at the tournament since they were girlfriends of some of SoCal's best players as they coached them to do well in the event. It was an wide open tournament in terms of who would win in the end, but some clearly had the confidence to take it like Ciji aka StarSlay3r (played as Sagat), coached by her boyfriend, the one and only Mike Ross (pic of them above along with ComboJack). Early on, it seemed like the Russian invasion as I think a fourth of the field was using Zangief and I can tell that the other competition hates a dangerous Zangief player that knows what's she doing using Lariats and Spinning Pile Drivers to get easy victories. Eventually, players learned to take advantage of Zangief's weaknesses using spacing and the matchups to their advantage like Ciji and Stacy, aka the manager of AI. The other theme of the tournament that I noticed besides the Zangief show, was Chun-Li's jump crossup kick being dominant for the first half of the tournament by some Chun player (Louise I think), but eventually the competition figured out how to counter it. Most of the field that consisted of sixteen ladies were indeed trained by fellow AI regulars to make them competitive players. Also expect video of the matches at top 8 and beyond with commentary by Gootecks, Shoo, and KillerKai soon.

Yesterday was also a great opportunity to hang out with the SoCal SF4 community seeing the usual folks like Keno, Mike Ross, Gootecks, KillerKai, shglbmx, Kyrojenix, Luka, Jack, and more. Keno, his girlfriend Teresa (second pic above), who also competed in the tournament playing as Balrog, and I were talking to Gootecks (I'm in the background in the first pic above) about his "shimmy" dance he did at the GameStop tournament and how it is so godlike. Seriously Ryan, don't be embarrassed for the "shimmy" its amazing! I also chatted with Mike Ross about his win at last Thursday's Shadaloo Lounge tournament in Chinatown LA (also promoting the Street Fighter: Legend of Chun-Li movie release on DVD & Blu-Ray) and him living a "nerd fantasy" of three Chun-Lis giving him 2,000 dollars for the win. Mike told me he just wanted to go home when that happened, but still Mike, you're still living a "nerd fantasy," be proud of it! Even though I was told from many people that Shadaloo Lounge event wasn't all that even with the open bar and also Devastation the other weekend, I still overheard Gootecks going crazy on how two of the Chun-Lis were fine as hell (lol Ryan). At that rate, Gootecks might as well get one of those Chun-Lis to appear at Bar Fights #2 and also get a female 2 on 2 exhibition match going too.

Other highlights of the tournament consisted of JayJay (first pic above) getting her drink on and hype with her Akuma landing Raging Demons as well as shouting out the first "You Just Don't Know!!!" of the day. I expected someone to say YJDK more than once and I got that as I looked at Mike Ross when it happened and we were like nodding our heads "Yup!!" The hype quickly rose up near the end of the tourney with Naomi and Teresa's match as it was intense stuff and it never died down since. Ciji and Stacy (second pic above) really stepped up their game in the losers bracket after being sent there and when the two faced off at losers semis, I thought it would be the match of the night and it was when Stacy pulled off an "Eagle Eye Ultra" once Ciji did a Tiger Knee which cost her the match. In the end, it was Miyuki, who played Abel and knew how to play him well using his command throw along with his crouching fierce to ultra combo to win the tournament defeating Stacy's Bison. The bonus challenge was a "boss fight" against AI regular Tatsu who decided to play Ken instead of his main Vega. Tatsu tried to do Ken's "empire" combo in the end, but failed as Miyuki won that match. After the tournament ended, Get Your Tournament did post-game interviews with some of the entrants as Gootecks asked about how the tournament went for them and what not.

Then it was the "after party" at the bay that is filled with bananas, otherwise known as Banana Bay. This is the first time I decided to go to Banana Bay after an AI tournament and realized what I have missing out on as it was awesome times. Besides the food (Thai Fried Rice!!!) and drinks like Thai Iced Tea, decided not to go crazy with the alcohol, craziness ensued in the place. More of the known SoCal SF players showed up such as Sanchez, Kai, Mr. Bean, and more to eat along with most of the folks from the tournament. I felt like my mind was blown just being at Banana Bay witnessing the shenanigans for myself like Kryojenix and Tatsu dancing together near the music stage, some of the female competitors dancing together as well, and ComboJack doing his karaoke thing rapping the Ludacris verse from Usher's "Yeah." Damn, that was some good times and the night is not even over yet.

After Banana Bay, fellow AI regular Warren told us about this random place called Tea Bar nearby where it also has midway-like basketball with tournament settings. So most of us decided to go there and check it out as it felt like an actual midway arcade with basketball and those claw things for stuffed toys like Yoshis, mushrooms, and Kirbys. The basketball game they have consists of scoring more points to advance further by rounds as it requires specific coins provided by the staff to play, which is a dollar. After knowing about this place now, it seems to be the new spot to go to after Banana Bay on tournament days or just any other ordinary day at AI.

All in all, the Ladies of Street Fighter IV tournament is a huge success at Arcade Infinity with an amazing turnout of competitors as a first all-girl tourney at AI along with the numerous spectators like me as if we were watching a normal AI Ranbat tournament. The HYPE was everywhere from the tournament, to Banana Bay, and then Tea Bar. It is always awesome times hanging out with the SoCal SF4 community and they are nice people to chat even for a little bit. Congratulations to all the ladies who competed, everyone who showed up to watch and support the scene, and especially Shoo for throwing this amazing event together (Interview with him and his girlfriend Naomi, who finished tied for 7th at the bottom at this post). More photos (specifically the photo shoot before the tourney) are up courtesy of Karaface, who does an awesome job at these events, and the usual AI videos of matches with commentary in the coming days as well. So yeah, it was an awesome day and once again it was nice seeing everyone there.

Photos by Kara and other video by the AI YouTube channel / Get Your Tournament (more interviews with the ladies such as the champ Miyuki, the runner-up Stacy the AI manager, and JayJay the drunken master at their YouTube channel).

Also, the AI Blog for official results and more...

The "I Got Next" Doucmentary (Short Version)

Earlier today was the preimere for the "I Got Next" documentary by Ian Cofino that focuses on the Street Fighter IV tournament scene. Hopefully, this spreads to more than just us hardcore fighting game fans and reaches to a mainstream audience that can appreciate as special like this. This is currently a short version of the film that features Sinstation Fight Club and Final Round while a longer feature-long cut will be out after Ian films at next month's Evo. This is a great example of how the scene is pretty much these days with Street Fighter IV still being a fresh game, but the hottest thing going now in the genre as everyone is playing it. The West Coast/East Coast beef is somewhat shown claiming they're the best, but it is all still a "brotherhood" in the end for the love of the game. I hope people would enjoy this and get a sense of what I'm also into, but it doesn't mean I'll be like them.

My "General ProTips" Guide for Street Fighter IV

My most played game this year, Street Fighter IV, has been out on consoles for some months already and with Evo right around the corner next month, I will give my own version of how to become a little more serious player than someone playing it for kicks and giggles. So here's some general protips of how to be more competitive especially against the top players.

• Execute Execute Execute!!!! - When it comes down to games like this, it is all about execution first and without that, you'll go nowhere. Make sure to practice up combos and strategies as the more you do them, you'll likely perform them consistently. Even the simplest of combos and moves require practice which could take hours, days, or weeks to perform on a consistent basis. Some good execution warmup combos are Ryu and Sagat's Shoryuken and Tiger Uppercut, Focus Dash Cancel to Ultra combos as well as Balrog's Buffalo Headbutt to Ultra. I still have a hard time nailing these consistently especially Balrog's bread and butter combo with the charging and such, but these exercises provide good execution practice. Basically, execution is arguably the most important thing to learn in this game and more important than winning.
• Patience matters - The best players are usually the ones with the most patience utilizing the full game clock rather than trying to beat them up quickly. Take your time and once you have the opportunity to capitalize on an opponent's mistake, take full advantage of it punishing with a high percentage combo, or an ultra if the situation comes. Don't force yourself to the open if you're trailing in the match by health, your time will eventually come and if you have to turtle to wait for your opponent to mess up, do it.

• Spacing & Zoning are key - Distance between you and your opponent are pretty key in certain match situations. Sometimes, being the perfect distance away like sweeping distance for charge characters will keep them guessing for possible footsies and poking opportunities. Characters with projectiles like Ryu and Sagat can deal great zoning with fireballs drawing people to jump in and get punished for it. It might be a cheap strategy for some folks who don't know what to do of characters fireballing all day long, but it is a strategy that works especially at the right distance and proven successful for some top players in this game.
• Meter management - Having the right amount of meter also plays a big role in matches that players would reconsider their plan of attack when someone has three or four EX bars ready. There are characters out there that totally rely on meter specifically to perform tougher combos like Rufus's EX Messiah Kick, Chun-Li, and others. Players with no meter feel limited with what to do before building it back up again, so that's a good opportunity to strike. Certain characters can build meter on safe like Bison's Devil Reverse and others with projectiles across the screen at a safe distance. Usually wasting all meter on a super is not a good idea if you have your revenge meter built up, but some characters don't rely on EX moves as their super works well with their game like Zangief and Dhalsim. Revenge meter also plays a role especially when the match wines down because someone can make a comeback with a maximum damage ultra. Managing meter can separate the best and the worst as wasting it can lead to mistakes.
• Expect anything - In Street Fighter IV, anything can happen and nothing is ever formulaic when playing matches. Be prepared to expect the best or worst out of everybody. Don't get caught up in random Ultras especially on wakeup because some players would get desperate to use their Ultra praying that it hits for a victory. Also, be prepared to expect reckless play especially online against flowchart Kens and also my latest frustrating character to fight against, Cammy. Cammy in particular can be annoying to face as her Cannon Spike has too much priority at times. Usually its best is wait for her to whiff out Spiral Arrows and Cannon Spikes to then capitalize on their mistake. Then again, sometimes if reckless play is actually working like in this clip below, then hey it works if your opponent can't punish.

• Learn the character matchups - Street Fighter IV is all about matchups and who has the advantage over the other. Learning your character's advantages and weaknesses against certain characters can lead to victory especially counterpicking who your opponent picked. Most matchups are usually lopsided like Bison over Zangief, Sagat over Honda, and so on, but definitely still winnable for the character on the losing end of the matchup. Even if you picked the wrong character that doesn't favor your end, don't give up and maybe you can still pull off a win if your opponent can't take advantage of it.
• Don't try to be someone else, establish your own playstyle - Usually watching match videos on YouTube or watching people at the arcades, it can be easy to replicate their playstyle to your own, but sometimes that's not the best idea. You can't be exactly the same as someone like Justin Wong or Gootecks, so it is better to establish your own identity in the Street Fighter scene with your playstyle that fits you. Don't try to be someone else, but it would likely get you nowhere. It is still okay to get help from the best, but playing the exact style as them is probably not going to happen. Try to be your own player even though you can still get advice from the elite players.
• Most importantly, play to win... no need to be flashy and show off smack talking to your opponent - At the end of the day, you play to win and you will do whatever it takes to take victory from your opponent. There is no need to be flashy performing crazy combos even though it can provide some entertainment to the crowds, but just getting the job done is good enough. Whether you play a style of rushdown, old school Super Turbo style, or turtling, the win and loss is what counts at the end and even though winning is a sweet feeling, losing is something you will expect lots and if you're willing to learn what you did wrong making the right adjustments, you'll become a better player. Don't expect yourself to win every match you compete in as being perfectionist especially in this game, will never happen. I think Street Fighter legend Alex Valle said this the best from his Twitter in which you have one round to win the whole match and figure out your opponent. After that, it comes down to whether or not you made the right adjustments to do better. Also, you don't need to be a show off trash talking at your opponent especially if you have a big ego. If you can't back up your smack talk, then why talk trash at all to your opponent. Honor and respect the game by shaking your opponent's hand after victory or defeat. You don't need to be a thug to win, but if you can back up your smack talk and win, then go ahead and do it.

Well, I hope this hopes this helps some people out there that want to take their Street Fighter IV game to the next level than just another casual player. SF4 is still a great game and currently the hot thing going for competitive gaming these days, but these are general protips to consider when playing. Of course, if you want more in-depth strategy like character specifics, using the focus attack wisely, and frame data of all the moves, check out Shoryuken.com and Gootecks's website gootecks.com for his podcast among other stuff.

Anyway STREET FIGHTER FO!!!

Arcade Infinity's Ladies of SF4 Tourney Pre-Hype!!

This Saturday, I'll be at Arcade Infinity for pretty much the whole day not to compete at another Ranbat tournament, but to watch the Ladies of Street Fighter IV tournament featuring ladies from SoCal trained by the best of the area. Besides checking that out, I'll probably be there to play other games like KOF XII and BlazBlue again to hopefully get better (maybe), MvC2 for the hell of it, and the newer games AI has received recently like some Tetris game and the return of DJ Max Technika. Rather than let me talk more about hyping this up since I still support the SF4 scene here at SoCal, here's some interviews that Get Your Tournament did with the some of the girls that will be competing.

Oh, I might as well also bump some upcoming things Street Fighter IV related like the long awaited I Got Next documentary which air live on UFragTV on Friday and I have been thinking of doing some general ProTip guide for this game if you want to step up to the next level than just playing it for kicks. Of course, you can check other sites like gootecks.com and SRK for more in-depth strategy, but I might as well give my own two cents on how to become a slightly better player especially with Evo next month for those who don't know what to expect. Then again, I'm just gathering things from what I know myself and other top players to condense into one megapost, so expect that tomorrow.

Some thoughts about Transformers 2...

So I watched Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen earlier today and while I said "holy balls" on Twitter, it is entertaining and slightly better than the first movie, but not much. I don't want to go on an epic rant on what I liked and hated, but I'll leave in short form. (Potential SPOILERS, so read at your own risk if u haven't seen it yet).

Pros:

• More of the robots in disguise > human interaction
• More fights between the Autobots and the Decepticons
• Very Michael Bay-ish with lots of explosions
• Something for everyone (Kids and nerds for the robots, the guys for crazy action and Megan Fox, and the ladies for Shia and Josh).

Cons:

• Longer than it should be (Its 2 and a half hours long!!)... Could be a better movie with some scenes taken out.
• Humor feels forced and unnecessary
• Predictable as expected... Would have been cool if a twist happened
• The Fallen wasn't all that, but he looks cool though
• Over-usage of the Linkin Park theme song (even though I like Linkin Park) just like the 1st movie.

I may seem nit picky but Transformers 2 is still an enjoyable summer blockbuster. It is obviously not the best movie out this season personally, but you're probably going to watch it anyway.

Devil May Cry 3 Appriecation Post

A NeoGAF thread regarding Devil May Cry 3 reminded me of how amazing this game it is and actually in my top 5 of best PS2 games in existence. After the disappointment that was DMC2, this franchise looked like it was done for, but Capcom decided to try again to bring it back to when it was good with the first game and succeeded. Taking place before DMC1 was arguably the best idea they came up with having a younger and cockier Dante take down his brother Vergil for his pursuit of the Sword of Sparda. This is also the first time in the storyline Dante gained his Devil Trigger powers and becoming the badass that he is opening up the "Devil May Cry" shop. In addition, it has been known that the original DMC3 was one of the hardest games in recent memory, but the challenge is good enough and so satisfying once you beat the game on the default difficulty or harder.

I actually never played the first game and started with the second, which was probably a mistake in the end. This third game exceeded everyone's expectations as it is filled with badassery from the beginning to end despite the difficulty. It pushed style to its limits at its time in the action genre as DMC3 introduced specific styles like Swordmaster, Gunslinger, Royal Guard, and Trickster. At that time, I preferred Trickster due to being more evasive against the opposition while each style catered to certain players who prefer swords, guns, or defense. Even the bosses were crazy and difficult, but very beatable. I can honestly say that the beginning of the game was pretty hard because you had limited abilities, but once you got Devil Trigger, it was pretty much on from there. All the boss battles with Vergil, you felt like you want to kick his ass so bad and once you do, it feels as satisfying as beating other memorable bosses in similar games.

Even though the story could be laughable, it is the badassery that counts and that's all you need. Also, the various weapons are very memorable from the standard Rebellion sword, the twin elemental swords, the guitar that spits out electricity, and the Beowulf gauntlets that has moves that remind you of the Street Fighter games. I would like to also the rockish soundtrack especially the theme song that to a point you're motivated to own the opposition. I even bought the Special Edition to play this awesomeness again which made the game easier and Vergil was playable despite its limitations, but still fun to play as like Dante. Despite Devil May Cry 4 being somewhat of a disappointment to some people like me because it didn't really recapture the magic DMC3 brought on, DMC3 was truly a special game for the genre at the time before God of War came around and westernized the genre. It is still nice to appreciate two styles of this genre whether by a Japanese direction with challenge or a westernized approach. Personally, my favorite memory of this game beating Vergil for the last time after many attempts shouting really loud that he deserved it. Now I'm reminded of this amazing game again, I kinda wish Capcom can bring it back to this current generation of consoles, but maybe its best it stays where it shined, which is on the PS2.

The latest on my YouTube channel for this week...

This could be a new feature I'll do here and it is somewhat a return of YouTube surfing from my old GameSpot blog, so I'll bring in the best of my YouTube channel every week even though I don't upload stuff of my own (Yeah, like that will happen).



We start off with a spinoff of the Tiger Woods game commercial where last year, Tiger actually pulled off the "Jesus Shot" for real, which is an infamous glitch in previous games. With Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 out, it looks like Rocco Mediate wants to take a stab of what Tiger did last year and attempts the shot on his own. Let's just say that things went differently for him.

Guitar Hero Smash Hits came out last week and even though it is more milking of the franchise by Activision, the game has been completely FCed by GuitarHeroPhenom and his last FC was the infamous GH3 classic, Dragonforce's "Through the Fire & Flames." We all know how impossibly hard this song is on Expert for the normal GH/RB player like me (well, used to be me), but just watch the amazing above. Actually, GH Smash Hits is worth it for like a third of the songs especially from Guitar Hero I, II, and 80s with a full band, but just wait for Guitar Hero 5 for the next real game if you're still interested in the franchise despite Activision's milking ways. I learned this the hard way basically, but I still support it however.

On the music end (even though u can check out that on the right side of this blog), I might as well bump my "guilty pleasure" song which is "Patron Tequila" by the Paradiso Girls. Yeah, the comparisons to Pussycat Dolls are there and it seems just like another one hit wonder, but it is hella catchy and I'm fan of the beat too. I still don't know why I like this song...

This just went up as I'm posting this as it is a new episode of The Dogface Show featuring SoCal SF4 players Kai and somuchdamage. If u follow Street Fighter IV seriously here at SoCal, Kai is a well known El Fuerte player and still thinks he's the worst character in the game (lol) and somuchdamage is a Sagat player who plays old school style firing Tiger Shots at will and gets the job done not being flashy. Kai puts out the challenge of money matching all the big names of East Coast at this year's Evo and could be interesting to see if Kai can pull this off especially with El Fuerte.

That's it for this week... I might post something about Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen since I'm watching it tomorrow morning.

Current plans for G Unit Ver1's World in the coming months.

Since its summer, I need to get back on the review train and hopefully have my reviews of inFAMOUS and Punch-Out!! this week. Plus, expect the usual Street Fighter IV shenanigans periodically as I continue to play it every now and then to get better (G2-D in Championship Mode) along with me going to SoCal SF4 events like this Saturday's Ladies of SF4 tourney at Arcade Infinity and John Rog's West Coast Warzone next month (that's a maybe). I don't see myself going to Evo next month at Vegas even though I wish I can go to live it up with the fighting game scene competing and hanging out with the best (I would just play SF4, KOF XII Tekken 6, HD Remix is a maybe, but I haven't played that in forever since SF4 came out).

The gaming queue as it stands and likely will change:

• The Conduit (Wii) - Thought about it, but will pass
• Fight Night Round 4 (PS3) - Passing on this too, UFC 2009 Undisputed is better for me even though I suck at that game now not playing it anymore.
• BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (PS3) - The wheel of fate is turning next week and not sure I'll get it.
• King of Fighters XII (PS3) - Likely the next game I'll buy. I'm actually preferring this to BlazBlue and I hope it comes out early, but it is likely delayed to the end of July now or even August, which sucks.
• Wii Sports Resort (Wii) - Also buying this as well since its the Wii Sports sequel and it comes with MotionPlus... Not sure if I want to buy three more MotionPluses for an even multiplayer experience, we'll see.
• Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (PSN) - Also coming out next month... "I wanna take u for a ride!!"
• Fat Princess (PSN) - Who knows when this comes out this summer, it is shaping up to be the PSN's "Castle Crashers" in terms of hype for a downloadable game.
• Madden NFL 10 (PS3) - Actually skipping this year... then again that would likely change once its out.

As for this fall, the current plan is:

• Tekken 6 (PS3) - I need to pre-order the LE bundle like asap since it comes with a wireless Hori arcade stick and its 150 bucks, but its excuse to get a 2nd stick rather than getting another one too.
• DJ Hero (PS3) - If this comes out the same day as T6, then this is a pass.
• Uncharted 2 (PS3) - I already love this game by playing the MP beta and its my #1 on the most wanted for a reason.
• New Super Mario Bros. Wii - Likely my only Wii game for that time. Its 2D Mario with 4 players = Good for me!!

And of course, I hope this blog can reach out to more people and it has been a slow but satisfying process (on Feedmil now). Hopefully, big things are ahead, but we'll see on that.

Nathan Drake gets competitive... The Uncharted 2 MP Beta Hands-On Preview

So I have been playing the Uncharted 2 multiplayer "closed" beta ever since its release two weeks ago during E3 week. There have been lots of ways of people getting in this beta, whether by a Qore subscription, buying inFAMOUS, or by giveaways by various people. At least more and more people are getting in to try this out because this will be a big game for Sony and Naughty Dog as it comes out on the fall. The beta lasts I think till the end of this month as it consists of both co-op and competitive multiplayer with three maps (one for co-op and two for competitive). After playing it for a while and dealing with the patch, it is safe to say that Uncharted 2's multiplayer does not feel as tacked on as many people have feared since its announcement and it is actually fun if you love third-person competitive shooters.

The co-op mode only has one map in this beta which is an urban background that has shown already. Three players are required to play an online co-op game playing as Nathan, the new female introduced in this game Chloe, and Sully. Basically, you are going through sections of the main game with two more teammates as it is kill room after kill room with some sections requiring teamwork to proceed on. The computer A.I. will give you a fight, which is nice as making the wrong move such as going into open territory getting blasted by enemy fire would likely lead to death. At least there's a simple revive mechanic if your teammates are down for the count, but it is for a limited time like Gears of War. There's also a multiplier in which your score gets increased by killing enemies at a consistent rate and getting various awards. The co-op session does end with a tease of a "to be continued" type of deal as you receive your points towards your level.

The competitive multiplayer is the main attraction of this beta as it consists of two modes, team deathmatch and Plunder, a variation of Capture of Flag. Both modes are pretty self-explanatory and stuff you seen before, but with Uncharted's style of combat, it is surprisingly good with great maps (The Plaza and Village are the only ones playable) that are large enough to fit ten players. There is also light customization in which you choose the character you play as for either the hero or villain team and boosters, which are COD4-like perk abilities to raise ammo or hold a bigger clip for example. When the beta started, games were only up to 25 kills or three captures in Plunder, but recently the number to win was considered in both modes which allows for longer games like 50 kills and five captures. If you played a cover-based shooter like Gears of War or Army of Two, Uncharted 2 is no different at its core, but with its acrobatic controls and diverse settings to fight in, it does enough to separate itself from the rest of the pack. The shooting feels fine with all the weapons available like my personal favorite, the FAL Rifle, a burst rifle with a scope that reminds of Halo's Battle Rifle, the M79 grenade launcher, a portable minigun, shotguns, and other standard weapons you expect in a multiplayer shooter. Like the co-op, the ranking system consists of players getting kills and racking up the various awards like melee killing someone, getting a kill from the grave, and more.

Since Uncharted 2 was considered as the best game of E3 at many game sites, it is because of its amazing graphics and sound, which shows in this multiplayer beta. Even with playing the various maps, it still feels one of the best or perhaps the best looking PS3 game out. The characters look very detailed and alive with their acting and the backgrounds flat out look stunning. Of course, it is still a beta as there were some technical issues such as players getting stuck in various parts of the maps and levels getting reset, but it seems to be fixed by the recent patch that came out the other day. The sound department is no slouch either continuing with the epic theatrical soundtrack and loud sound effects from the weapons to the explosions to a point it feels like a high budget summer blockbuster.

The Uncharted 2 multiplayer beta has been an enjoyable experience despite my rank getting reset twice, which is okay since it is easy to rank up by racing up kills and awards. All the fears of it being just another mode in the already epic single player game are washed away as it is pretty fun. This is pretty good especially for Sony and Naughty Dog since Uncharted 2 is the PS3's biggest exclusive for the holiday season and it needs to deliver on being an amazing game. Even though I still look forward to the single player campaign more because of the storyline revolving around Nathan Drake's adventures, the multiplayer is pretty solid and will likely give the game the replayable legs that the first game needed. Plus, it is still the best looking game to come out for the PS3 this year, so if you're looking to get one game on PS3 this fall, count on Uncharted 2 to deliver and live up to the hype.

Budget-Priced Tapping!!! The Let's Tap Review

The Wii has been obviously been known as the casual gamer's machine and Sega is looking to tap with that market with the conveniently titled Let's Tap. Prope, the developer of this title, is headed by Yuji Naka, creator of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, NiGHTS franchise, and Samba De Amigo, and it truly shows in his first retail game for the new developer. Let's Tap is pretty self-explanatory just by the title itself as the gameplay completely revolves around tapping on flat surfaces to a minigame collection that consists of five games. The game recognizes the tapping by setting the Wiimote down with the A button facing the surface you're using to tap. Unfortunately, this game does not come with a tapping box as seen on the box art above. Even the Best Buy "limited edition" comes with a tapping pad that is arguably false advertising because it is not really a tapping box other countries would get when they get this game even though it did come out in Japan first bundled with boxes. Anyway, Let's Tap is a whopping 30 dollars and it is truly worth a steal at that price because it is surprisingly one of the better casual games out on Wii.

Let's Tap consists of five mini-games as mentioned before. Tap Runner is the premiere mini-game in this collection as you guide a player through various obstacle courses racing against other opponents by tapping. Just tapping lightly allows your player to run and firmly tapping makes him jump, which is needed in various stages. This mini-game is pretty unique in a way that it tests your tapping abilities of when to tap firmly to jump or tapping softly when crossing a tightrope as one mistake can lead to defeat especially against the computer A.I. Rhythm Tap is a rhythm game similar to Samba De Amigo and Taiko Drum Master in which you tap to the beat. The way the tapping works depends on how loud you tap to accurately get a better score as there is no failure when playing the available songs. In a way, it is pretty forgiving how the game measures how loud you tap and you can get away from perfect stretches at times. The other reason what makes Rhythm Tap great is the energetic and charming soundtrack, consisting of various J-Pop and electronica like you hear in a DDR game, so it depends on your taste whether or not you enjoy that type of music to get enjoyment out of the mode.

The other mini-games however are hit and miss compared to Tap Runner and Rhythm Tap. Silent Blocks is a Jenga-like game where you have to tap softly to get rid of pieces of a tower like in Jenga or like playing Boom Blox with the Wiimote. Now it seems like a nice concept at first, but it seems flawed in execution and plus it is somewhat boring of a mode compared to the other mini-games. Bubble Yovager is also an interesting mode just by the concept alone, but also feels like it is missing something to make it better. This mini-game is a horizontal shooter guiding some guy by tapping softly to float and firmly to fire missiles and other power-ups. At least it is still unique in a way that you're a controlling a person by tapping to avoid obstacles, enemy fire, and blow up anything that comes up in your way, but without tapping controls, this would of been just another shump in a world where better shumps exist. Lastly, there is a visualizer mode controlled by tapping, which is self-explanatory as well as there are five visualizers you can mess around with tapping to make special effects appear. All of the mini-games in Let's Tap are playable with up to four players, which is neat especially for parties since it is a casual game and easy to pick up by just tapping.

Graphically, Let's Tap looks pretty good as a mini-game collection. It definitely has a Rez-like vibe when playing the mini-games and Tap Runner has its own visual style that seems somewhat futuristic racing in space. The visualizers do their job as well as being visualizers, but certainly there are better ones out there besides on Wii despite its interactivity. As for the sound, it will depend on whether or not you like J-Pop and electronica music as mentioned earlier because this game is very Japanese in terms of production on both audio and visuals. As a soundtrack that contains that type of music, it is actually one of the better ones around and just playing the song alone makes Rhythm Tap more replayable than trying to get S ranks.

Even though it is budget priced at 30 dollars, Let's Tap is one of the better casual games out on the Wii with its unique tapping controls. You can use any flat surface like a stool to play this game even though a box is highly recommended. The Tap Runner and Rhythm Tap mini-games are indeed the stars of this mini-game collection as the other ones feel somewhat boring compared to the other two despite all games having multiplayer with a maximum of four players. Of course, playing this alone will eventually be boring if you're just trying to get high scores and fast times, but the multiplayer makes it more replayable since it is easy and pick up and play in the end. Let's Tap also has connectivity with the WiiWare game Let's Catch in terms of unlocking more content, which is still doable in the game itself. After all, this is a great start for Yuji Naka's new company Prope as I look forward to what's next from them and Sega for starting their "Let's" series on the right track too.

Score = 8/10

Pros:

• Tapping controls actually work and it is forgiving that it doesn't feel like a gimmick.
• Tap Runner and Rhythm Tap are the stars of this mini-game collection.
• All five mini-games have multiplayer support with up to four players.
• Great soundtrack for Rhythm Tap if you're into that type of music.
• Budget priced at 30 dollars!!!

Cons:

• Silent Blocks and Bubble Voyager feel like hit and miss mini-games.
• If you don't have friends, playing this alone will eventually get boring other than improving high scores.

More Vegas shenanigans...

While I missed on graduation weekend for more colleges and universities back at home (Congrats to those who graduated - u know who u are...), I was at Las Vegas last weekend for the first time since that crazy trip back in late December. Friday night was just shenanigans as I was randomly walking around The Mirage and checked out who would be at the Jet nightclub. Turns out that the Beat Freaks from America's Best Dance Crew season 3 are there performing, and I was like I'm going in as an one man army. So, I jet-setted back to my room in the Palazzo to quickly change to "nightlife attire" in which I brought along just in case something like this would happen. I did see the crew walking along entering the club for a quick second or two while I was in line for about an hour alone, and then I got in around 12:30 am. I didn't think rolling into Jet alone would happen, but I got in no problem so that was cool. Now, I know if you're in a place like Jet, you're supposed to go crazy dancing like a freak and drinking till you can drink no longer. For me, however, I was just there to enjoy the music, the atmosphere, and the performance as I rolled in solo and I didn't want to do anything stupid, but considering the shy person that I am especially at a place like that, maybe that is a good thing even though it is Vegas. Then again, "Sandstorm" with the timed lights is pretty nuts. Just being in Jet for the second time made me realize how I missed the friends back at home and especially my original Jet partners in crime back in December (I wished they were there too for more good times).

Around 1:30 am, The Beat Freaks finally came out to perform a 10-15 minute dance medley. At first, I thought I missed the performance while I was in line and I was about to leave too, but good thing I waited around just in case. The major songs they danced to were "Universal Mind Control" by Common, "Boom Boom Pow" by Black Eyed Peas, and "Beggin" by Madcon. My view watching them was from the middle of the dance floor, which wasn't really the greatest view especially watching a dance group, but it was good enough for me even though I couldn't see the footwork (oh well). After they finished performing, I decided to leave as well and that was a fun time actually seeing them perform in person (Also they look cooler in person too).

The rest of the Vegas trip was pretty much chill as I went to as many hotels/casinos as I can to check out what's new and who's performing in the coming month. Some upcoming acts made me wish I would come back to Vegas like The Dream & Keri Hilson at the House of Blues on the 20th, Pitbull at LAX on the 26th, and Lil' Jon at Prive on the 27th. Last Saturday night, I didn't feel like going to the nightclubs as I wasn't really feeling the performances there such as Fat Joe at LAX, Eve at Pure, and the Ronnie G Audio & Visual Show at Jet. Plus, it was a Saturday night when there's more people in long lines ready to party and so on. I decided to go on my usual Vegas marathon walk going to the MGM Grand from the Palazzo to shop around looking at stuff if they're worth purchasing and stare at whatever is left of the Vegas casino arcade scene, which is indeed slowly dying as I mentioned before. Pretty much the new hot game at hotel/casino arcades is Guitar Hero Arcade, which is basically Guitar Hero III for the arcade, meaning it is a year or two late compared to console versions. The guitar has no whammy bar, but generates star power generously when playing those long notes and the fret buttons/strum bar felt fine as well as I didn't really have any problems. Then I was staring at Blazing Storm in GameWorks, a light gun shooter by Namco that is a combination of Time Crisis and Criterion's FPS Black with a huge emphasis on destruction. Plus, that game has Shadow of the Colossus-sized bosses to defeat as well, but my issue with the game as a whole is the choppy framerate, which is 30 frames per second. If it was at 60 frames, it would have been way better.

Okay, that's enough of my Vegas shenanigans. Other than making 8 bucks to 40 bucks at the slots yesterday, it was just another Vegas trip for me besides rolling into Jet solo. Other fails consisted of me not buying anything at all shopping-wise and staying alcohol free the whole trip (I thought about getting a Fat Tuesday to remind myself of the last time I had one when I completely lost it), but I made it up by drinking at Ra last night with the friends to celebrate the Lakers' title win. Hopefully, I will go back to a regular schedule and try to catch up on reviews like the Uncharted 2 MP Beta and inFAMOUS (I still wanna talk about it even though it has been 2 weeks since beating the good run and I want to start an evil run maybe today). Perhaps, Fat Princess, the highly anticipated PSN game of awesomeness will come out this week too and my mind will be blown. We'll see on that (Update - Just bought Let's Tap for the Wii.. This should be interesting).

(Pics courtesy of Beat Freaks' TwitPic)

The insanity that was SF4 SBO Qualifiers...

Last Saturday night at Denjin Arcade was the West Coast block of qualifiers for Super Battle Opera 2009 (or SBO or short) and even though I wasn't there myself (Simi Valley is "too far" from where I live), watching the insanity on UFragTV was arguably the best Street Fighter IV tournament ever since the game out last year at arcades. Even though staying up till 3 am to watch the madness was crazy, the HYPE remained throughout the tournament till the end as it was the best Grand Finals I have ever seen with Alex Valle/Combofiend against Edma/Ken I. It turned out that Valle & Combofiend won it in the end with the craziest comeback ever with Combo's Viper against Ken's Rufus. Those four players played like crazy from Valle's OG instincts (since he is an OG SF player from back in the day), Edma's Akuma being too good (EX whiffed Hurricane Kick to Raging Demon = sick!!), Ken I's consistent Rufus play (even though he was also playing 3rd Strike SBO qualifiers as well), and Combo's Viper not being stopped the whole day.

Lots of other things happened at the long and draining event from team East Coast that consisted of LongIslandJoe and Arthuro Sanchez proving that East Coast is not just Justin Wong with their deep run at the tourney finishing 3rd in hostile territory (Going to the other coast and going deep is very good). Perhaps the most epic moment of the day was Mike Ross's legendary Honda comeback against Haunts and Magus1234 (video below) as the whole place went crazy (I went crazy from my computer) when he did the "eagle eye Ultra" countering Haunts's Sagat EX low tiger shot to win that game and then perfecting Magus in the last round with 2 Hundred Hand Slaps to super combo to win the match making him and his partner Keno continue on in the losers bracket eventually losing against Team MoMuchDamage (Moval and Paul "somuchdamage"). 

UFragTV was hosting the tournament throughout the day with Slasher and SoCal SF4 ambassador Gootecks doing commentary and all that jazz along with IRC chat going off the whole event. Other than the IRC chat going crazy with the HYPE moments happening, there were the obvious comments when girls showed up at the cameras doing their thing along with hate for Slasher for getting things wrong and Rockfeller making a rare comeback appearance to commentate for a bit. I gotta give them credit for 13 hours of coverage for the whole event as they did the best they could with crappy Internet streaming it live and HD on-demand coming soon (maybe tomorrow).

With Alex Valle / Combofiend going to SBO for the U.S. along with four other players, this is arguably the U.S.'s best chance of taking Japan down at the event even though Japanese SF4 players are just too damn good in their own right. We'll see when that happens sometime in August. Speaking of more SF4, I might show up at Arcade Infinity for another Ranbat tournament on Sunday, but I'm not sure yet whether I'm competing or not. Let's just say that last Saturday's SBO Quals was an EPIC event for Street Fighter IV and the community as well.

Clips of E3 '09 (Part 2)

Damn, I wish I can go this year... Gotta know some connections.

Arguably the trailer of the show is for Star Wars: The Old Republic, the "KOTOR" MMORPG by BioWare. Even though this is just a cinematic clip that showcases none of the actual game, Star Wars fans are going crazy over what transpired in this Jedi/Sith battle. None of the movies never had that many Jedis and Siths in one building tearing each other apart. This game is only coming for the PC for now sometime soon.

A new Castlevania game was announced at the Konami press conference today called Lords of Shadow for the PS3 and 360. The crazy thing about this one is that Kojima Productions is involved in the development for the game and not the franchise mastermind, Iga. Other than that, it looks somewhat like a Devil May Cry inspired game (like that has been done before for the Castlevania franchise) to me.

I have said before that I am pretty much done with the "plastic instrument" genre, but I am awesomely sold on DJ Hero now to the point that I will buy this thing this fall. No official word on pricing yet, but count on it being 100 bucks like the Guitar Hero w/ Guitar bundles. Here's some gameplay on Expert difficulty from the show floor itself. The songs shown are "Boom Boom Pow vs. Satisfaction" by Black Eyed Peas and Benny Benassi (above clip) and "Hollaback Girl vs. Give It to Me" by Gwen Stefani and Rick James (below clip). Screw Guitar Hero IV and Rock Band this fall, DJ Hero is where it is at now for me as my rhythm game for the fall. Looks like I will be DJing some parties soon if I get good at this. (Lol)

That's it for now... More clips of E3 throughout the rest of the week even though I pretty much posted the big ones out of the show already.

Sony E3 '09 Press Conference Liveblog

So Nintendo already their presser today announcing games both for the casuals, the hardcore, and the fanboys, but now its Sony's turn to go crazy. Expect lots of PS3 stuff and a big focus on the new PSP Go. Anyway, we'll do this liveblog style with video up when it shows up online later today.

10:57 am - Should be starting soon, maybe a slight delay for people to show up.

11:02 am - Switching to the G4 feed (Looks like 1up won't be streaming according to David Ellis's Twitter).

11:10 am - Its starting. Expect this one to be the longest of the three big conferences having the traditional touches of a presser (data charts, big announcements, and speeches).

11:13 am - Alright Jack Tretton... Let's do this. (They're at the Shrine). Don't worry this dude knows how to speak. Oh yeah, there's pressure being the last of the three... Better end with a bang.

11:16 am - Starting off with the PS2 talk... Its still 100 bucks people.

11:19 am - Stats talk... The usual stuff about success.

11:19 am - Yes, Jack, I have been playing inFAMOUS and its awesome!!!

11:20 am - Oh yeah, the Uncharted 2 MP Beta starts tonight... Demostration of the game to follow now. Campaign footage = Yes!!!

11:23 am - Now this is intense stuff... Uncharted 2 delivers!!! Nathan Drake feels like a live character... Yes one of the better looking games out and only on PS3.

11:26 am - MAG up next... This is by Zipper, the folks that brought u the first 3 SOCOM games. Yes, folks 256 players max online.

11:27 am - Oh man, feels like an old-school E3 crowd at this conference.

11:30 am - Yeah its 30 frames per second for a reason... to handle 256 players at once (One of many reasons I guess).

11:32 am - PSP time... PSP Go time soon?

11:34 am - Hannah Montana PSP = Yes!!!

11:35 am - "Krazy" Kaz Hirai time... Ridge Racer!!!

11:36 am - Yeah its PSP Go time!!! (Cue the montage... Worst kept secret of E3 indeed!!)

11:37 am - That thing is pretty stylish than the old PSP.

11:38 am - Media Go announced... A simpler way to navigate the PS Store on PC and PSP. Sense Me also announced for PSP only (Sounds like iTunes Genius for the PSP).

11:41 am - PSP Go out on October 1st for 250 bucks. (Encore of the PS3 price crisis?)

11:43 am - Finally Kaz of Polyphony is here to confirm Gran Turismo PSP. (Finally indeed!!)

11:45 am - Except it is "technically" not being shown now... It works on the PSP Go at least, but Kaz is just talking about the game's features.

11:47 am - This is almost an encore of James Cameron talking about Avatar last night at the Ubisoft presser.

11:50 am - At least a trailer showed up... out with the PSP Go launch. Then again, no GT5 = Boo!!!

11:50 am - Metal Gear?? Oh its Kojima again!!! New MGS game called Peace Walker out for PSP. Story being detailed (10 years after MGS3).

11:57 am - Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker trailer is awesome!! Kojima trailers always deliver the goods and the lulz... (4 Snakes?). This is out next year.

11:59 am - Capcom secret game #2 is Resident Evil PSP, out next year too.

12:00 pm - PSP game montage now playing (featuring LBP, Jak, Monster Hunter, and more).

12:04 pm - PSN time = Yay!

12:05 pm - FF7 out on the PS Store soon like tonight!!!

12:06 pm - Home talk... I guess it is successful so far. (Montage now playing... People are using this really?)

12:09 pm - PS3 montage now (More montages...)

12:14 pm - Rockstar exclusive coming to PS3 called Agent.

12:15 pm - Assassins Creed 2 demo time. This is not from the Ubi conference last night.

12:18 pm - He can fly?

12:20 pm - Two man stealth kill was nuts. (PSP and PS3 connection confirmed with new weapons)

12:22 pm - New FFXIII trailer with English VO (out Spring 2010).

12:26 pm - Final Fantasy XIV? Already?? I think its MMO, which it is (Also PS3 exclusive). The second coming of FFXI? Looks that way.

12:29 pm - Sony entering the motion control business... Oh its "The Wand"

12:31 pm - Its being demoed now... Playstation Eye required for this to work. Oh a jab at Project Natal!!!

12:32 pm - This is getting nuts.. The crowd sure loves this tech demo of this "Wand."

12:37 pm - Is the gaming world really ready for motion control to take over?

12:39 pm - Sony Archery demo > Nintendo Archery demo.

12:41 pm - LittleBigPlanet talk... Disney costumes out this fall as DLC.

12:42 pm - ModNation Racers being shown now (A new game in the "Play, Create, Share" genre that LBP started).

12:43 pm - This looks like a mix of LBP and Mario Kart. Potentially could be awesome.

12:45 pm - Okay, this is awesome...  Track editor, Character customization, Fun gameplay. Definitely a mashup of LBP and Mario Kart.

12:50 pm - Wow, making a track in ModNation Racers looks so easier than making a level in LBP. I'm impressed.

12:51 pm - ModNation Racers is out next year.

12:52 pm - Alright, project Trico time aka The Last Guardian.

12:57 pm - Last Guardian looks good... Oh now its GT5 time!! (Where's the car damage Kaz? Then again, support for WRC and NASCAR is cool stuff).

12:59 pm - God of War III to end the show with a bang!!

1:07 pm - Gosh damn... GOW III will own your soul (Man, I love this!!!)

1:08 pm - Conference over (GOW III will be out on March 2010).

Nintendo E3 '09 Press Conference Liveblog

So today begins E3 proper as the other two major press conferences, which are Nintendo and Sony, should be starting in a few minutes. After Microsoft drawing first blood with a bang, the big N and Sony better step up their game to make a good impression at E3. The liveblog will be all in text, but video will be up as soon as it shows up on various sites. Too bad the G4 I'm running is on West Coast time so the press conferences are actually airing later than the live (lucky East Coast peeps) showing. After these conferences, the show truly begins as I will clips of E3 posts throughout the week.

Note: Refresh this post at will to keep updated on this or read other's opinions at the major gaming sites if you're tired of me already.

9:05 am - Cammie Dumway starts us off... Where's Reggie?

9:08 am - New Super Mario Bros. Wii!!!!!

9:10 am - This looks like the Zelda Four Swords Adventures, but with Mario now = Neat!!!

9:11 am - Oh if u want to watch this: http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3174515

9:13 am - New Super Mario Bros. Wii out this holiday... Buying!!!!

9:14 am - Oh Wii Fit... That was such a mistake lol. Oh its Wii Fit Plus!!!

9:16 am - Hmmmm... I wonder how Nintendo is selling Wii Fit Plus (Disc only and bundle with Balance Board if u skipped the first game = Oh Cammie just said of all this).

9:17 am - Reggie time!!!!

9:19 am - Reintroducing the Wii Motion Plus...

9:21 am - Motion Plus commercial - I'm getting tired of these already. Never mind, this is all for Wii Sports Resort, coming out next month.

9:24 am - A skydiving Mii Parade on Wii Sports Resort??

9:26 am - Archery being demoed with Motion Plus (Was it like this with Zelda TP?)

9:27 am - Oh Reggie and your smack talk!!!

9:29 am - 3 point contest on Wii Sports Resort being shown now. Lol Reggie wins.

9:30 am - Wii Sports Resort out on July 26th. Reggie also announcing other games with Motion Plus support (Tiger, Grand Slam Tennis, Virtua Tennis 2009, Red Steel 2).

9:33 am - Reggie talking RPGs now... Squenix showing more FF Crystal Bearers and finally Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days out on September for DS (cue the Utada theme song!!!)

9:35 am - Mario & Luigi IV: Bowser's Inside Story now being shown for DS (out this fall).

9:37 am - Golden Sun DS!!!! Finally...

9:39 am - Women's Murder Club announced... Whatever.

9:41 am - C.O.P.: The Recruit being shown - Another new DS game.

9:42 am - More DS games for the ladies...

9:43 am - DSi montage... Yay let's brag more about its success. (Sales numbers!!!)

9:46 am - Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again with a level editor and sharing... out this Monday on DSiWare (Finally something good again).

9:48 am - Flip Note Studio, Wario Ware D.I.Y. also coming to DSi this summer.

9:49 am - Sharing DSi photos on Facebook = Lol!!!!

9:50 am - Zelda: Spirit Tracks playable at the show floor (No new trailer??)

9:51 am - Iwata time!!! Bring the goods!!!

9:58 am - Wii Vitality Sensor?? Some pulse monitor thingy... I don't know Iwata.

10:03 am - Super Mario Galaxy 2!!!!! OMFG!!!! Game of the Forever!!!!

10:05 am - Wow this conference is not over yet... The Conduit being shown (The Wii's "Halo" out later this month). Resident Evil Darkside Chronciles also being shown.

10:07 am - Dead Space Extraction also being shown too. These three headline Nintendo's "hardcore" third-party efforts... Oh the sound is getting a little fuzzy.

10:09 am - Team Ninja on my Wii??

10:11 am - Holy **** a Team Ninja Metroid game called Metroid: Other M (out next year). Wow Nintendo, I didn't expect this.

10:12 am - Conference over... Wow Nintendo definitely surprised me today with their hardcore efforts. Where's Miyamoto?

10:20 am - Oh... Sony presser will be in 40 minutes. A new blog post will be up by then and we'll do this again.

Microsoft E3 09 Press Conference Recap

Note: Due to various complaints, I will do liveblogging of Nintendo and Sony's press conferences tomorrow here on this blog instead of Twitter and FaceBook. I already issued an apology if you're offended of all that spam/cluttering I ensued there earlier today. I guess I got carried away being on game journalist mode posting random thought after random thought of what I saw during the event. Maybe the E3 hype was too much for me to handle today.

Anyway...

E3, aka the Electronic Entertainment Expo, has jumped off in a big way with Microsoft's Press Conference which happened this morning somewhere at Los Angeles. Since they were the first of the big three conferences (Nintendo and Sony's are tomorrow), they had to throw down the gauntlet and indeed they did. I came away really impressed of what Microsoft shown during their 2 hour briefing.

The briefing started off with The Beatles: Rock Band as Harmonix performed a full song and also announced DLC after the game's release with full albums and exclusive songs for Xbox Live. Lots of support are from the record company and even The Beatles themselves as Ringo and Sir John McCartney came out to an arousing applause. Even though I don't have Rock Band 2 anymore, Beatles looks very promising with its own art style and slightly different looking notecharts. Plus, it is cool to finally have Beatles songs on your Rock Band collection along with support for multiple singers according to the demo shown at the briefing. The Beatles: Rock Band will be released on September 9, 2009.

After Tony Hawk briefly talked about his new game, Tony Hawk Ride, along with showing off the skateboard controller and a trailer about fellow skaters loving it, the fireworks truly began with a demonstration of Modern Warfare 2, aka the sequel to Call to Duty 4: Modern Warfare by Infinity Ward. They first showed that infamous trailer that first aired during the NBA playoffs followed by a demo of the snow level by the developers themselves. I have been claiming that Modern Warfare 2  will be indeed the first-person shooter to beat this holiday season and I'm still keeping that claim true because it looks awesome having it all. My favorite moment of this demonstration is obviously the snowmobile parts as the player is firing at enemies gangster style with a pistol while driving. I regretfully passed on the first game for Mass Effect back in 2007, but now I'm actually looking forward for this being my shooter for the year. Also, Infinity Ward announced two exclusive map packs for Xbox Live since Modern Warfare has been a major success for the platform.

Next up is Final Fantasy XIII in which it was announced for 360 at last year's E3. Some Square-Enix folks came up to the stage and demonstrated a section of the trial version that was for the PS3, but running on 360 now. Surprisingly, it actually looks identical to the PS3 version and this brief demo has all out English voice overs. At least, Squenix announced a release window for the game which is next Spring.

Then Microsoft started rolling up the exclusives that began with a sequel to arguably my favorite 360 game. Crackdown 2 is indeed a reality as Ruffian Games is developing instead of Real Time Worlds since they moved on to APB (All Points Bulletin). Crackdown is a favorite among the hardcore crowd and for me actually being an awesome game besides having the Halo 3 Beta attached to it. If there is one game for me to come back to 360, Crackdown 2 would be it.

Left 4 Dead 2 came out as a surprise to me even though it was rumored to show up at this briefing. I thought it was too soon for a Left 4 Dead sequel considering the first game just came out last fall, but now the sequel is here and it is at a different setting, New Orleans, with a new cast of characters to go zombie hunting with. This is indeed 360/PC exclusive for a Fall 09 release.

Splinter Cell Conviction makes a return from the dead with an impressive showing at the press conference. Considering how Double Agent is somewhat of a refresh of previous SC games, Conviction looks to innovate the stealth action genre again with Sam Fisher on a mission for vengenace for the death of his daughter. This game is also coming out this fall.

Forza Motorsport 3 was a no brainer to be at the show, which it will be released this October. This racing game sequel will indeed be feature-heavy with the awesome car customization to the new video editor. Also, cockpit view is finally in as well as car damage being pushed to its limits as the Gran Turismo franchise still doesn't have it (Maybe GT5 will have it after all?). Turn 10 claims Forza 3 will be the racing game of the generation and so far if Sony doesn't show GT5 tomorrow, it sure looks that way for Forza 3.

And now the Halo section of the press conference begins with a demonstration of Halo 3 ODST, the single player expansion for Halo 3 out this September. Bungie is still making this one as a slightly different HUD is shown since you're playing as an ODST soldier. Also making a return to this game is the Halo 1 pistol complete with the scope (A lol moment for me out of the demonstration). The new silenced weapons make the experience somewhat different to previous games, but it is still Halo at its core.

Surprisingly making the rumors true, another Halo game was announced, which is called Halo: Reach. This is just a teaser as the game is based on the Fall of Reach novel. Don't expect this game till next fall, but a multiplayer beta will be out with Halo 3 ODST.

Also returning from the dead is Alan Wake by Remedy, the folks that brought you the first two Max Payne games. This survival horror/action game has been a long time coming, but finally it exists and actually an early contender for game of the show. The atmosphere and suspense looks intense as well as the gunplay with crazy slowmo stuff. Alan Wake is expected to come out next Spring.

Microsoft decides to break from the games to show off what's next in Xbox Live features. Among those new features, they will add last.fm to the dashboard, managaing your Netflix queue on 360 (finally), buy retail games from XBL Marketplace (not shown at the press conference), and instant 1080p HD video streaming. All of this will be out this fall. Even with all of that stuff on your 360 console, they decided to go extra crazy announcing support for FaceBook and Twitter (Lol!!!!)

The Guild's Felicia Day (also a cutie among the nerd community) came out to demo Facebook and Twitter on 360, which is crazy. As if Twitter and Facebook are crazy enough on our computers, being on 360 is just pushing it.

Back to the games, confirming more rumors and fueling the fanboy wars to new levels, Hideo Kojima comes out to announce Metal Gear Solid: Rising on 360 (exclusivity still unknown yet) starring everyone's favorite badass cyber-ninja Raiden (not Solid Snake). About time MGS appears on 360 whether or not it is MGS4, but at least Kojima is showing support for the 360 now.

Don Mattrick comes out after all those blockbuster game announcements to announce their vision for the future of gaming. Project Natal is the codename for their new direction for motion controllers (okay it is the rumored motion camera). Microsoft believes in no controllers for their ambitious direction as your whole body is the controller engaging in various activities. Various mini-games like painting and evading balls are shown during the demo headed by former EA Chicago mastermind Kudo Tsunoda. This demonstration video below is a glimpse of what to expect from Project Natal (Minority Report vibes indeed) which launches next year. Microsoft's attempt of the combating the Wii's success with motion controls has lots of potential and perhaps take over since it does way more than the Wii could do.

Perhaps the most ambitious game out of Project Natal is Milo, headed by Peter Molyneux's Lionhead Studios (Fable II). This guy is so full of ambition claiming that this whole motion-driven direction is a breakthrough of computer technology. Oh we'll see about that Peter if it lives up to its potential, but this is pretty special stuff indeed.

That's it for Microsoft Press Conference at this year's E3. I must say that Microsoft came out swinging having blockbuster game after blockbuster game (Some of them worthy exclusives), push the all-in-one entertainment console to new heights with instant 1080p HD support along with using Facebook and Twitter on your 360, and announce a new beginning for video games as a whole with Project Natal using the whole body as the controller. There was no filler moments as John Schappert (spelling?) promised no numbers or pie charts at the briefing (Yay!!) even though I wished Xbox Live Arcade had more time than just Epic's Shadow Complex being demoed (Its a Metroidvania style shooter that headlines this year's Summer of Arcade lineup... Also Marvel vs. Capcom 2 will start it up as well). The absence of Rare at the conference raised some questions as well whether or not they were ready to announce something new, so that was a little disappointing. Let's just say that Microsoft now has the tools to take over the console wars with a stacked game lineup and Project Natal. We'll see what Nintendo and Sony will do to counter Microsoft's amazing press conference (one of the better ones in years I think) tomorrow.

Don't forget I'll be liveblogging those conferences here tomorrow instead of spamming on Twitter and Facebook (Once again, I'm sorry).