This music roundup is all about one of my new favorite artists of the year (while not really new, but new here at the States), Jay Sean. His U.S. debut album, All or Nothing, came out last week and I have been enjoying it a lot. Of course, it has the current smash hit "Down" with Lil' Wayne as I would sing that song like crazy on the car (no joke) as well as his current single that has a video out in the coming days, "Do You Remember" (the video is now up above) with Sean Paul and the crunk master himself Lil' Jon. The album starts off with a bang with "Do You," one of my favorites and "Fire" setting the tone up high with the bangers. Then it is the hit songs I mentioned earlier and then slows it down with "Ride It" (one of a handful songs reappearing in this album from his last UK release, My Own Way), which is my favorite song from both albums. The tempo goes back up again with "Love Like This" and "If I Ain't Got You," but slows back down with "War" and "Cry." Actually the only slow tempo song I like from his new album (if its considered slow tempo) is "Stay," another reappearance from his previous album. The bonus tracks are remixes of "Down" with a piano version as well as a techno version remixed by Jason Nevins, known for his awesome remix of N.E.R.D's Rock Star. All or Nothing is a great album for Jay Sean to start with here at the States and I hope he is not an one hit wonder either, but with Cash Money backing him up and a number one radio hit, he will be around for a while.
Before his new album came out however, I decided to blast My Own Way to figure out what to expect from him from the States and it is actually another solid album too with "Tonight," "Maybe" (video below), and "Stuck in the Middle" (also in the new one). It is also filled with hits that radio would play at a constant rate if he was popular in the States before "Down." The deluxe edition also has remixes of some of the singles, but they are not that different from the original songs. As an introduction to him, I enjoyed the album and I wonder why no one here at the States didn't pick him up then till Cash Money did.
That's it for the music roundup for now. As I mentioned in my last post, expect my top 10 albums and 100 songs of the year posts sometime next month. Out of the new male R&B artists that entered the U.S. gate this year, I think Jay Sean will have the most success out of them, but that's probably a given if you got Lil' Wayne, Birdman, and Drake on the same record label. In the meantime, I think the sky might be falling down now.
My Thanksgiving weekend so far for me has been a return trip to my "second home" Las Vegas. This trip however was one of the longer trips I have been on being there for three nights, so it is like I seen everything there. From eating a Pink's hot dog at Planet Hollywood, staring at the new City Center that opens in the coming weeks, shopping to take advantage of some deals around the area (not on Black Friday though), and gambling being a pure fail, that is some of the things I did at Vegas, but that's only the beginning.
After eating Thanksgiving dinner at Table 10 in the Palazzo where I actually had turkey, the "adventure" kind of began with watching Twilight Saga: New Moon alone at the United Artists theatre by GameWorks. Now if case you are wandering why the hell would I watch it, I did watch the first one during my plane trip to the Philippines earlier this year and it was okay being curious about what is the big deal with this popular franchise. New Moon, on the other hand, was one of the most hilarious movies I have seen in a bad way. The acting by the three main stars is just flat out horrible most of the time with their cheesy dialogue trying to express love. Those lines made me quietly giggle throughout the movie even though there weren't a lot of people watching. As the movie went on, I was like... damn Edward is such a jerk. Then later on, damn Jacob is a jerk. No wonder Bella has to choose sides and why Team Edward / Team Jacob is such a big deal. The slowmo action also was hella cheesy and expected since that happened in the first movie too. I don't know, vampires that sparkle = Ehh. Good thing I was drinking a Monster energy drink to keep me sane.
Then it was time for Jet later that night which was okay. The most random moment for me there was hearing the Cartman Remix of Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" twice there, which made me laugh. Personally that remix does not deserve to be played at nightclubs because it taints the remix in every way as it was originally meant to be something else. Other than having a beer and a decent sized crowd in the main room, Jet on Thursday night was whatever, but going there for four times already, I'm noticing trends in terms of music being played that seem like why are they playing it such as a "Wonderwall" mix or even a song mixed with "Smells Like Teen Spirit." At least they were playing some of the hits especially "Stanky Leg" in which you just gotta do the move every time you hear that. The next night, however, is a different story over at XS. My time there was better (better song selection as my favorites of the moment were being played, a great turnout of people to the point it got crowded, better ladies, and more random stuff). Some of the random things I saw range from a midget sighting at the one of the reserved tables as if he's having a blast, one dude before the dance floor filled up was dancing alone to the point I was like I should dance battle him, but I was like never mind and let him be. Other than that, I was at XS enjoying life and the surrounding environment even though my legs are so worked after four hours there (They still feel like that right now). Music moment of that night has to be this song when it played... truly awesome.
That's it for more Vegas shenanigans for now. Being at Jet and XS as an one man army again goes to show how much I miss my friends and I wished they were there as well, but there is always a later time for more of that since that Summer trip was the best Vegas trip I went to that was filled with good and random memories. Then again, living life as a G never stops whether alone or with others and the party, or I should say life, goes on.
So the new and "final" Japanese trailer for Final Fantasy XIII has surfaced on the interwebs and words cannot describe how amazing it will be when it comes out on Japan on December 17 and the U.S. on March 9, 2010. I promise myself I will buy this even though March is indeed a stacked month with that, God of War III, and Super Street Fighter IV out around the same time, which is crazy. This is one of many reasons why 2010 will deliver in terms of gaming compared to this year (still a great year, but the first quarter of 2010 is stacked!!).
I woke up today to read up on the newest news regarding Super Street Fighter IV according to Famitsu scans confirming three more characters for the expansion, which are Cody, Adon, and Guy. I definitely approve of these characters being in the game as that rumored list is looking more true as it gets revealed slowly. All three characters being revealed today will be interesting to see how they will play out in Super SFIV. Cody with his knives, Adon (another potential main for me), and Guy's "own get in that ass" style (also another potential main). It is also about time the Alpha games get more love in the SFIV series as if Sakura, Dan, Gen, and Rose are enough. The scans also confirmed a new stage for the final game (another stage was revealed on a G4 preview not too long ago, which is a India stage with elephants - not exactly Dhalsim's SF2 stage though), which is a metro city-like setting in a construction area. I think a new trailer showcasing these guys in action will surface later this week, so wait till then for that. I also already claimed in this blog that I will main as only the new characters in Super SF4 from now on (Yeah I will still use Bison here and there), but for me the candidates are Dee Jay, Adon, and Guy. With the tease of Ibuki in the scans as well, the 3rd Strike presence will be icing on the cake for me if Makoto and Dudley are confirmed as well along with the new oil wrestler dude. I hope Capcom-Unity announces another Street Fighter Club event in LA sometime soon for the fans to go hands-on with the game because I would go to that in a heartbeat. My HYPE for Super Street Fighter IV has risen once again.
UPDATE - Trailer is now out featuring these guys on IGN.
While everyone is probably still playing hours and hours of Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer, I'm apparently in the Battlefield Bad Company 2 closed multiplayer beta thanks to FilePlanet. It is arguably the first big shooter of 2010 coming out on February and this beta I think lasts till the end of December. There are other ways to acquire this beta from random giveaways of codes by Twitter to pre-ordering the game. At this point, this beta is exclusively on Playstation 3 with a PC one out in the coming weeks. If you prefer the Battlefield style over other shooters, its more of that which is a good thing.
There is one map playable in this beta is a harbor level that is huge as one mode is also playable, which is the standard attack/defend certain choke points for victory. Since the levels are in fact huge, on-foot movement may feel somewhat of a drag because you just want to go straight to the action. Luckily you can do that by spawning close to your squadmates if they are alive rather than spawning away from everything taking a while to get there. As with Battlefield games, there is a class system of different skills with the standard assault class, engineer, recon, and medic offering different weapons and secondary abilities for players to mess with. Along with the class system is the level up system racking up points by killing the opposition, assist kills, and completing objectives. As you level up you gain more weapons to use that are better than the standard equipment you are offered when you first start. It may be a cheap advantage for starting on the beta now rather than later as you may see players that are high leveled with more toys to fire upon. With the classes being offered, they definitely have their separate roles from the assault class being for mid to close range, engineer for taking out vehicles by a secondary rocket launcher, sniping for the recon class, and so on.
If you played a Battlefield game before especially the first Bad Company, you will feel right at home with this sequel as there are definitely improvements in place that hardcore players have noticed that I don't care about since I was like why not get this beta for kicks. The shooting feels fine and especially satisfying getting kills by an assault rifle from far distances that you don't expect it would kill them. The level in this beta is also good being mostly an open environment along with some buildings to destroy, which made Bad Company such a hit with everything being destructable and it remains true here. My minor gripe about the mode being played is maybe the attacker respawn count is too much, which starts at 100, but I don't mind if the defending team keeps shutting them out. Their respawn count does restart again back to 100 when they control both choke points at certain areas as all that hard work can lead to nothing.
In terms of the graphics, it is a beta even though Bad Company 2 looks and performs fine at a constant framerate. When getting hit, at least your screen is not filled with blood stains like Modern Warfare 2. As for the sound, it is also fine considering its in the beta stage as things could be worked out for the final game. Did I see players hopping to Bad Company 2 when it comes out in February? I think so if they are tired of Modern Warfare 2 in which they won't be, but they are two separate games as I consider MW2 more in your face while Battlefield requires more teamwork completing objectives and handling the vehicular combat. We shall see when Bad Company 2 releases in the coming months if people are indeed ready for another shooter to play.
When New Super Mario Bros. Wii was announced back at E3 earlier this year, I was stoked for another new 2D Mario game, but it seemed I'm back again for the ride like it was the good old Nintendo days. Even though New Super Mario Bros. on the DS was an amazing success, it wasn't really the definitive 2D Mario game people have hoped to be as good as Super Mario Bros. 3 or even Super Mario World. This Wii iteration though is filled with nostalgia from yesteryear throwing nearly everything the 2D Mario games have thrown before while offering some new things that felt like how come they didn't think of this till now? With its dedication of fan service to Mario fans, the casual approach, and the inclusion of full cooperative multiplayer, New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a superb package and one of my favorite games of the year.
If you played a Mario game before, you pretty much know what happens in terms of a story as if I don't need to explain it, but I will anyway. Once again, Princess Peach is kidnapped by Bowser and his goons as it is up to Mario, Luigi, and two Toads to save her. There are eight worlds of varied themes to transverse that you expect out of a Mario game from the desert, the snow, and more. It is the formula that still works for more than twenty years already and it is still as fun as it was back in 1985 taking risky jumps and going through these levels with no fear. In terms of elements from previous games, it is like Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World had a baby and that baby is this game in a nutshell. From the return of the Koopa Kids at the end of worlds, secret exits, warp cannons, random enemy encounters, and even airships, New Super Mario Bros. Wii basically has it all to be one of the better games in the franchise.
This Wii iteration does introduce new elements and power-ups since it is on the Wii after all. The new power-ups and suits range from a Ice Flower, which was previously seen in Super Mario Galaxy, but its finally in a 2D Mario game in which Mario can fire ice balls to freeze enemies and even use them as ice block platforms in certain situations, which is neat stuff especially in water levels. The Propeller Suit is pretty much this game's version of flying in some way as you shake the controller to give Mario temporary flight to reach high platforms. This suit can be used to get through some of the tougher levels a little easier since you can just propel away from platform to platform. The Penguin Suit allows Mario to be a penguin as he can maneuver better on ice and water sliding as well as firing ice balls like the Ice Flower. These new abilities do indeed help Mario out at the right levels as they can feel useless in the wrong ones as you have to rely on your skills. Other than these new abilities, the Fire Flower is still in as a franchise staple as well as Mini Mario from the DS game, which is rarely used in this one at all. Also rare in this game is the ability to ride Yoshi Super Mario World style as he only appears in a handful of levels, so in some way it feels like a missed opportunity, but that is a minor gripe. Of course, you still become invincible by attaining a Starman for a limited time. Lastly, there is option for the Super Guide, which is a green box that will appear after dying eight times in a row in a level as Luigi will come and beat the level for you if you're having problems. This is clearly designed for casual players that don't have as much experience playing Mario games over the years. It is a nice feature to have for those that need help, but you feel like your pride is on the line if you are a hardcore gamer that should not let someone beat it for you.
All of these power-ups combined with superb level design makes for another fun time as you can beat this game in a handful of hours if your Mario skills are decent enough. There have been claims in previews and such that this is one of the harder Mario games to come out and it can be for casual players that rarely play these games, but for those who are veterans of the franchise that can speed run it at will, they can burn through this game with no problem. Of course, if you want to 100% the game, it will take longer especially getting some of the tough star coins in these levels and finding secret exits, but luckily there are hint videos to purchase by spending star coins that will help you find them as well as getting infinite 1-ups. Speaking of 1ups, this game offers more lives like candy much like Galaxy and NSMB DS as if you never see a game over screen unless you totally suck at the game. The classic formula remains true for the boss battles as three jumps on them are still what it takes to defeat them, but twists will be thrown to spice things a bit when facing the Koopa kids a second time and Bowser Jr. Even though NSMB Wii is not as challenging as some hoped, there is enough challenge to not be a walk in the park for others.
Other than the main game, New Super Mario Bros. Wii offers for the first time in franchise history full cooperative multiplayer. You can play the main game with up to four players as you can transverse through the levels together or just play them casually in free-for-all where the lives don't matter playing through any level you want as long they're beaten in the main game. A multiplayer variant of free-for-all is coin battle, which you play the levels, but there is a competitive aspect in which whoever has the most coins wins the game. With two players, multiplayer is not that bad as you can still play the game normally, but with three or four players, it can turn to complete chaos with lots of things going on and you're likely to die for no reason. Luckily you can respawn in a bubble to be rescued after you die as long you still have lives. The chaotic part about co-op is that you can still team up and go to hard to reach platforms or take out enemies, but it still feels competitive as you can kill your teammates in numerous ways. You may feel dirty for getting rid of the competition, but the competitiveness still makes it fun even though you can be a jerk to win.
Graphically, New Super Mario Bros. Wii is based off the engine that provided the DS game, but with more hardware at their disposal, they can pull off some things that can't be done on the DS such as more enemies, more obstacles, and other things. It looks fine for what it is and simple enough. The game will briefly freeze when someone dies or gets a power-up for both single-player and multiplayer, which is still a Mario staple, but it can be a distraction and mess things up a bit when playing with multiple people, but that is also a minor flaw. As for the sound, NSMB Wii is filled with charm and nostalgia when little voice-overs by Mario and the gang as well as remixed tunes from previous games. The retro remixes themselves sound great, but the tunes that are slightly remixed from the DS game can be argued for not being as good in comparison. I still enjoyed the soundtrack though as a whole however.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii feels like a love letter from Nintendo for the hardcore fans that stuck with them from this generation with the Wii to back to the NES days with the original Super Mario Bros. It truly feels like a 2D Mario game that is an improvement from its peak which is SMB3 or even World. It still makes you smile every time having fun attempting to save the princess again as well as having that frustration of dying multiple times in a level. Aside from the main game, multiplayer is a blast with up to four players as you are bound to have good times throughout teaming up or being complete jerks trying to take each other out. With the main Mario franchise, Nintendo still figures out ways to keep the formula fresh and fun, and they delivered with this new iteration. This is surely a must have for anyone that has a Wii as well for hardcore Nintendo fans to remind them what made them start gaming in the first place if Super Mario Bros. was their first game. What is considered old school can still be "new" in this generation of gaming as Mario is still top at his game.
Score = 9.5/10
Pros:
The classic Mario formula is still as fun today as it was in the 80s and 90s
Filled with nostalgia as nearly everything from past games are in some capacity
Multiplayer is a blast with up to four players with lots of possibilities
Even though veterans will breeze through this game, there is enough challenge for everyone especially completionists trying to get everything.
Cons:
Minor gripes prevent it from perfection such as some elements not as used (Mini Mario and Yoshi as examples)
Not mentioned in the text, I don't mind the lack of online co-op as multiplayer is meant to be local for this game, but of course it would be nice to have it as an option.
This week for my music roundup is three albums in three days, which is crazy as the holiday season of releases is off and running.
I'll start off with Ultraviolet by Kid Sister, which has that song I really like out now, which is "Right Hand Hi." Apparently if u don't know by now, I like that hip-hop/dance/electronica stuff which is why I checked this album out. Its a quick album lasting 37 minutes, but filled with some enjoyable dance and club tunes I would go crazy like "Right Hand Hi," which is my highlight of the album. There are cameos by Estelle and Kanye West, which are good as well. One of her songs in the album, "Control" is in DJ Hero if that is any familiar to those who never heard of her stuff mashed up with Rihanna's "Disturbia." If you're in a party mood blasting loud club music, Kid Sister's album is worth a listen.
Next up is Rated R by Rihanna, an anticipated album among the mainstream music world. Let's just say she has been through a lot this year with that whole Chris Brown thing, but it seems like she has rebounded with Jay-Z's "Run This Town." It feels like her new album is way more edgy than she has done in the past distancing away from those hit songs from her last album. It was weird to me her first single was "Russian Roulette," (video above) but hey might as well change it up for a bit. I can't tell the rest of the singles from this album yet as Good Girl Gone Bad was filled with hit songs like "Umbrella" and "Disturbia." The songs that I would blast right away were "Wait for Your Turn" and "Hard" featuring Young Jeezy, which are both being played on the radio I think. The first half of the album is the better half, but I can tell that RiRi is going for a different approach for this one. We'll see if Rated R has the same success as her previous albums, but all I can say in the end about it is that it is okay stuff.
Lastly for this week is The Fame Monster by Lady Gaga, which is an extended version of her debut album with eight more songs. Let's face it... Gaga has turned mainstream pop music upside down and we are all stuck with it, but after listening to this, I appreciate it more and it is actually one of the better pop albums I have listened in a while. Sure, the majority that does not care about her music are sick of her already with the constant playback of her songs on radio and her crazy style, but I think it is something pop music needed, which is a new artist that takes things to the next level from a musical perspective and even change the image of the genre. I think Gaga has achieved that and eliminated the poppy girl next door stereotype away from our minds now. Besides her debut album, The Fame, in this special edition with all her hits you love or hate from "Just Dance," "Lovegame," "Poker Face," and "Paparazzi," the eight new tracks for The Fame Monster are actually awesome to listen to. "Bad Romance" is a great first single for this album (her amazing video is in an earlier music roundup), but the rest of the new tracks have potential to all be singles for the radio stations to play. From "Alejandro," "Monster," and "Telephone" featuring Beyonce (by the way, "Telephone" is better than "Video Phone" which is Beyonce featuring Gaga), this album is arguably pop genius by Gaga, which I'm not afraid to admit. It is definitely worth blasting if you love mainstream pop music.
Well that's it for this week's music roundup... (yeah I'm in a Lady Gaga mood again) Next time will be Jay Sean's new album All or Nothing and maybe some other stuff (Shakira, Birdman, Timbaland, etc.) Now, I guess everyone else is probably listening to the new John Mayer album, cool for you guys, but considering the music phase I'm in now, I am just preferring the fast paced stuff rather than the mellow and chill.
My hype for New Super Mario Bros. Wii is continuing to rise as this quick look that Giant Bomb put up pretty much is an example of how amazing and fun playing the game with four players will be. You can work as a team to get through the game in true cooperative fashion or you can be a complete jerk killing your teammates in the worst ways possible, stealing their powerups. and more mean ways. Now I want to host a night session full of multiplayer shenanigans with friends sometime in the coming week. We shall see how much of the game I will go through on Sunday (I'm hoping at least halfway through, but you know this game is loaded with secret exits, star coins, and possibly even more that I won't spoil even though I know what it is.
While everyone is still talking about how amazing Modern Warfare 2 is, which I admit that it is, my hype is still at a fever pitch for New Super Mario Bros. Wii when it officially comes out this Sunday, unless you have it early as always. Here's some Super Skills videos to enjoy demonstrating the full potential of craziness this new and awesome 2D Mario game will provide for both single and multiplayer. Especially check out the video of 1-3 below, where it takes full precision to pull something off like that, which is truly amazing. Also, this game comes in a special red case, which I think it is the first Wii game with a non-white case, but Nintendo usually does things like that for their big games (remember the gold cartridges for the N64 Zelda games and the yellow one for Donkey Kong 64). Can Sunday come already?? I hope I can review this before Thanksgiving, but we'll see how busy I'll get in the coming days, but I do need some multiplayer buddies one day to mess around with it, so yeah.
Oh the music roundup is back... yay??? New releases for the holiday season are starting to ramp up again, so why not talk about them as well as what in the world is up with westernized rhythm gaming lately.
I just want to put this up as soon as I saw it because once again, Lady Gaga (love or hate her...) brings the crazy yet again with her new video for "Bad Romance". Only certain music artists can pull off crazy music videos these days as Gaga is like the only one doing them now, which it seems so refreshing to see craziness with mainstream pop music videos as compared to your generic video because it is a party/club jam you would dance to. Yes. I'm willing to put this up, so if haters are gonna hate, go ahead.
I'm also listening to 50 Cent's new album, Before I Self Destruct, today and after three full listens, its safe to say that this album is a solid one if u like 50's stuff. Its mostly the gangsta rap you expect out of him for the duration of the album until he goes soft and poppy at the end with such songs as "Baby by Me" with Ne-Yo, which is a dope song. Good thing 50 started up with that song as the first single because I can't really tell which other songs are single worthy and considering this album took a while to come out after long delays. Some songs were probably left out for his Blood on the Sand game. Of course, 50 is not afraid to take jabs at his competition, which is again the case in this new one.
Also music related but also related to games, No Doubt is suing Activision for how their digital likeness was used in Band Hero since you can play as Gwen Stefani in non No-Doubt songs as an example. This video exploits it like crazy seeing Gwen sing other songs in the game that seems very random (Hillary Duff, Janet, Taylor Swift, and Spice Girls as examples) as well as Adam Levine too. As I mentioned earlier, I would totally buy Band Hero for the lulz it will provide for myself and parties with family/friends.
On the Rock Band front, there's the Lego Rock Band export, in which I must say that Band Hero is better than that in terms of the soundtrack because there are more songs I would play in that game than Lego RB even though it seems like I'm supporting the Activision evil empire rather than the awesomeness Harmonix always brings (They are indeed taking their sweet time with Rock Band 3 as if they are rebooting the genre setting the standard again). My pick for this week's song is "Icky Thump" by The White Stripes because that song is just crazy with the weird solo sounds. Sgt. Pepper is out on The Beatles: Rock Band next week and who knows what else RB2 has next week.
That's it for the music roundup this week. Expect more music-related business on this blog of mine in the coming weeks with thoughts on more of the season's big releases with new albums from Rihanna, Jay Sean, Alicia Keys, Snoop Dogg, Lady Gaga, and more. In addition, there will be more about the DLC releases for the Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and DJ Hero franchises (David Guetta pack with that "Sexy Chick" song is out on Thanksgiving week). Lips is getting a Lady Gaga pack for Thanksgiving weekend as well (Yes!!!) with "Poker Face," "Lovegame," and another song I forgot. Next month, there might be a megapost to end the year with my top 100 songs for 2009 as it will depend whether I feel like doing it.
Even though the biggest game of the year is less than three hours from official release here at the West Coast, I already blabbed about not joining the party right away and possibly getting it at a later time like maybe next month. In the meantime, I will blab about my most wanted game of the moment, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which is out on Sunday, or unless you're playing luckily early. While I'm not really into the first person shooter that will ruin my life (I already experienced that with Halo 2 and 3), I'm preferring a true hardcore game that feels old-school, but new again for everyone else. The hype for New Super Mario Bros. Wii has been there since it was announced at this year's E3 as if this one will be as good as the best 2D Mario games, which is a tossup between Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World, but that can be debated in a later time or somewhere else. Maybe its my little Nintendo fanboyism that is left in me that still loves their games to no end (Super Mario Galaxy being my favorite Nintendo game out this decade). I still love the Mario games for what they are and been in the past and NSMB Wii will be another love letter to the old-school bringing in lots of fan service if you have been following the game for yourself. In the meantime as my hype continues to rise, enjoy some videos of the first three levels from the game. Gosh I can't wait for Sunday, as I don't plan on doing anything else besides getting through as much of this game as I can.
First off is the debut trailer of actual footage for the EA Sports MMA game featuring Strikeforce. That means, no UFC peeps in this one, but at least there's Fedor. Who knows if this game will provide UFC 2009 Undisputed competition whether or not its better than that, but we'll see. EA Sports MMA is out sometime next year. Maybe THQ and Yuke's should start telling us about their next UFC game already since Undisputed was a great success bringing MMA right to video games.
Super Street Fighter IV is still coming out in March (the arcade release seems 50/50 to me, some say yes while some say no), but here's a new video showing off the new modes from Team Battle, Endless Battle, Replays, and the return of the old-school bonus stages. These bonus stages from the Street Fighter II days are back meaning you're smashing cars and barrels like its 1991 all over again. I'm not sure about the new announcer change for this one since the original SF4 announcer was tolerable for me, so they made him worse? Who cares, I'm playing this game like crazy as my return to serious Street Fighter IV play (well, I play here and there despite Tekken 6 being my main fighting game for the moment). I'm just wandering when Capcom will reveal more characters...
I'm been going crazy lately with Band Hero watching YouTube FC runs even though I don't have the game yet. I don't know why it fascinates me to no other end... maybe its the mainstream focused soundtrack that caught my eye in which it is a pretty good one to a point I would buy it. Maybe its the random songs that are in it like "YMCA," "Kung Fu Fighting," "Happy Together," etc.? Or maybe its the magic of Taylor Swift and me finally breaking down listening to her songs that play too much on mainstream radio? I don't know, but let's just say Band Hero is surprisingly pretty dope doing what it is intended for being a Guitar Hero game for the mainstream audience with pop-friendly songs that everyone will recognize. And yes, I'm not afraid to put up "You Belong to Me" in this blog post, but it is true that she wears high heels and I wear sneakers.
Last, but not least, is one of the best game trailers I have seen this year, which is the launch trailer for my pick for first-person shooter of the year, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. It is pretty much self-explanatory how big this game will be for the holiday season with midnight sales going through the roof and kids wasting their money on those night vision goggles that came with the pricey Prestige Edition (then again, maybe they're good after all). Anyway, this trailer got me pretty hyped even though I'm not getting it right away, but its near the top of holiday list of games to play during my Winter Break. Eminem and Nate Dogg's "Till I Collapse" song was used very well in this trailer building up the hype to max levels. Then again as expected, this game is leaked already meaning people got it hella early before its actual release on Tuesday, but hey it is still going be insane.
Please note: This is the review for the console version of Tekken 6 as it is a slightly altered review from Tekken 6.0 and Bloodline Rebellion. Keep in mind also that videos here may not be from the console versions for the sake of high-level play in the arcade versions.
Namco Bandai brought back the Tekken games to their glory with Tekken 5 and its upgrade, Dark Resurrection. It focused on what made them great and also delivered on the storyline, which I think does the best job at it in the fighting game genre. Tekken 6 is the latest entry in Namco's famed fighting series combining what was there in the original game and its arcade expansion, Bloodline Rebellion, It also continues the story of the Mishima bloodline with Jin Kazama now heading the Mishima Zaibatsu, which was once owned by Heihachi in Tekken 5, and currently taking over the world being independent from the rest of them. The only other entity that can oppose Jin's company is the G Corporation, now headed up by Kazuya, and they offered up a huge price for anyone to capture Jin alive. All of this war and chaos starts the sixth King of the Iron Fist tournament for those fighters who want vengeance, the fame, and the power. While some may call Tekken 6 simply Tekken in high definition, its new gameplay changes make it enough of a different game for new players to learn new moves, combos, and strategies with their favorite characters, and that to me what makes the game fun. While the fighting is still as good as ever, I feell that Namco Bandai made some weird decisions with this console port that ended up as an unfortunate disappointment in the end.
The character lineup for Tekken 6 is a staggering amount, which is over 40. Other than the new characters that debuted in 6.0, which are Leo, Zafina, Miguel, and Bob, two more new characters make their debut in Bloodline Rebellion. There's Lars, who is supposedly a long lost son of Heihachi as Kazuya and Jin don't know about him. The other new character is Alisa, a female robot related to Doctor Boskonovitch, that crazy doctor in Tekken 3, having flying abilities along with chainsaws on both her hands. The returning characters are all back with favorites like Marshall Law, Paul Phoenix, Bryan Fury, the Williams sisters, Eddy Gordo, Steve Fox, King, and more. For veterans of the series, the old characters are still play the same way with the same moves, but some of them have different animations, which gives Tekken 6 some sense of freshness. Of course, there are also new moves for every character as well along with certain moves getting changed in terms of properties and priorities. Then you have your boss characters, which is a totally different story I will mention later.
The console version of Tekken 6's main mode is surprisingly not the traditional arcade mode you expect to see in fighting games. Instead, it is Scenario Campaign mode, which is pretty much a HD version of the Tekken Force mode from past games. This being the main mode bothers me because Namco could of spent more time on other things besides this, but I guess they wanted to make it more than just another off-shoot for the console version. In this Scenario Campaign, you play as one of the new characters, Lars, as he sets off on a journey along with another new character Alisa, to figure out the mess that Jin's Mishima Zaibatsu and Kazuya's G Corporation started hopefully preventing from causing further damage to the world. The good thing about this mode is you're not to forced to play as Lars as you unlock more of the huge roster to be playable by defeating them in the various stages. Despite having that feature, you get a feeling of disconnect as you play the stages as the character of your choice, but the cutscenes, which can be pretty lengthy at times, have Lars in them. Another weird decision Namco made with this story mode is the Arena, which is the only way to get character prologues and endings for every character rather than randomly unlocking them as you keep playing the game. Now back in the day, you would just play arcade mode with the characters to unlock these endings and even though the Arena itself is a mini-arcade mode, this is something that Scenario mode does not need as an extra and should of stayed in arcade mode. The gameplay in Scenario Campaign is pretty much Tekken Force, which is sloppy and bad as it is Tekken trying to be an old-school beat-em-up. Most of the stages do not last long, but is very repetitive facing the same enemies over and over again until a boss appears to fight. Other than fighting of your fists and feet, there are weapons such as a machine gun, flamethrower, and a leadpipe available to lay waste on random robots and suits. It is also one of the most frustrating things I ever played this year to the point I would throw a controller because the enemies can be pretty cheap against you as well as gaining up with you by numbers blocking the camera from seeing what is going on. Scenario Campaign as a whole is very sluggish and pointless as it should of remained an off-shoot rather than Namco actually taking more time trying to get better.
Other than the Scenario Campaign, the console version has the standard modes you expect to see in the genre. There is the traditional arcade mode of fighting a set of characters till the last boss. Along the way, a bonus fight occurs with a huge robot named Nancy, which is an example of the wackiness the Tekken series had provided over the years. The last bosses were kind of cheap most of the time and Tekken 6 is no different with Azazel, a huge dragon that fills up nearly half the screen that can use rock-like projectiles, lasers, and its size to its advantage. Other than that, the difficulty for the single player game not that hard, but the computer A.I. can give a fight most of the time. Along with the arcade mode is ghost battle mode, which is the arcade mode with Tekken 5 facing as many opponents as you can until you lose or stop. Then there are the time attack, team battle, and survival modes which are self-explanatory. The practice mode is also another disappointment in which Namco made another weird decision leaving out some sort of record functionality that tournament-level players use. For local versus play, the game plays great against buddies on the same screen, but the online play, on the other hand, is a different story, which I'll mention later.
The overall gameplay mechanics for Tekken 6 is still the same Tekken you know and love with some new additions. One of them is the bound system which refers to the juggle combos. This usually happens when you use a slam-type move like Paul's Hammer of the Gods or Law's Dragon Hammer to the ground during a juggle which gives you another chance to continue the combo with a low or mid attack. Sometimes, using these bound-type moves will cause the ground to break in certain stages that are multi-leveled to a lower level. The other major addition in Tekken 6 is the rage system. Your character will be in rage when he or she is less than ten percent in health and some signs of red glow will show up. Once in rage, you can inflict more damage to your opponent than normal and vice versa if your opponent is in rage. This usually can lead to comebacks in certain situations which makes the last seconds of a match more intense kicking in the nerves of not making a mistake. Despite those new additions, Tekken 6 is still a juggle festival for high-level players and fun for casual players because of its flashiness compared to other 3D fighters.
The character customization is still the same from Tekken 5 of various color changes and additional clothing that is full of insanity. More customizations and item moves are in the console version ranging from Miguel's guitar, Bryan's machine gun, Xiaoyu's magic wand where you can make your opponent wear a Panda head for the rest of the match, and more. The console version also has exclusive costumes for certain characters like Lars, Yoshimtsu, Asuka, Jin, and Kazuya as some cyborg robot. Other characters like Bryan, King, and Marduk are wearing Tapout t-shirts as their third costume since Tapout is one of the sponsors for the game advertising their name out there to more people. The in-game currency to unlock and buy all the customizations can be gained by mainly playing Scenario Campaign mode, but the random roulette opportunities come in when playing the game normally in hopes of getting more rage colors and rare items.
The online play in Tekken 6 ends up being the most disappointing feature for those that are looking forward to fighting other players worldwide. The lag can be at times tolerable to very unplayable not doing anything at all. With a fighting game like Tekken as frames and timing do matter when doing juggle combos, you are likely going to drop a combo here and there with the horrible lag. There is the standard ranked and player matches for online play as the Tekken ranking system (kyus, dans, Mentor, etc.) are still in tact along with an online ranking. In addition, a separate win/loss record will be placed for online matches rather than local matches for all the characters too. With the lag in Tekken 6 being pretty bad, it is the best to play local matches against friends, but at least Namco Bandai have listened to fans' complaints in which they release a patch in the future to fix its latency issues.
Graphically, Tekken 6 looks sharp enough as a fighting game. For those who think it is Tekken 5 HD, think again because it improves despite motion blur preferences. At times, Tekken 6 looks pretty good, but it can look pretty ugly especially in Scenario Campaign mode. Most of the cutscenes in that mode are in-game, but the CG scenes and endings look better. The characters look great with more details added to them than previous games. The environments also look beautiful and diverse with details, which is a staple of the franchise. These stages range from a forest filled with sheep, a Spanish-like arena filled with tomatoes, a skyscraper stage called Lightning Storm, and the Electric Fountain, an urban-like arena filled with multi-colored fountains. The ground does receive damage and will break as mentioned earlier in a handful of stages meaning there are destructible elements in some stages and look great as well. The water effects also improved from previous games with splashes acting somewhat like splashes. There is also motion blur effects with certain moves, which is a nice touch as well. In addition, certain hit effects like rage don't felt distracting. All in all, Tekken 6 is one of the better looking 3D fighting games around.
The sound for the console version is the usual expectations of the franchise. Blocking sounds different now which seems harder than previous games and the hits still sound the same. There is little character voice acting when they are introduced before fights, but they seem accurate to their personalities which is good enough. Scenario Campaign mode has more voices during the cutscenes, but sometimes it is just weird seeing Lars speaking Japanese and Raven speaking in English in a conversation as if they totally understand each other without no explanation at all. Musically, Tekken games deliver great soundtracks and this one is no different with lots of diversity. That diversity consists of various rock, techno (favorite being the Electric Fountain background music), orchestra, and even yodeling in the new forest with sheep stage.
Overall, Tekken 6 is another great entry to Namco's Bandai successful franchise with the core fighting mechanics. The new gameplay additions make the fights more entertaining and intense giving players to new ways to mess with your favorite characters. It looks sharp enough in high definition and sounds great as expected. The wackiness that the series has maintained since its inception is still here in various places with a cheap boss and playing as a bear. Even with the fighting still as great as ever, the console part is a slight disappointment with the sluggish and pointless Scenario mode, missing features in other modes, and the tolerable, but unplayable at times, online play. Luckily, there will be updates in the future in hopes of fixing the online, and co-op scenario campaign. Tekken 6 is still great as a fighting game, but as a complete package, the execution is just not there to be the premier fighting game to get this year.
Score = 8.5 / 10
Pros:
The core fighting mechanics are still fun even in this sixth entry of the franchise.
The new gameplay mechanics like rage and bound do spice up the fighting a bit making them more entertaining and intense.
Still has the best and wackiest character customization in a fighting game.
Great graphics and music (Perhaps the best right now in a 3D fighter).
Cons:
Scenario Campaign mode is sluggish and arguably pointless (should of stayed as a side mode)
Weird disconnects in that same mode with character interaction
Missing features in practice mode
Online play is the most disappointing feature with latency issues that makes fights unplayable at times.
I was able to pre-order the Ultimate Edition for God of War III yesterday and also got a code to play the infamous E3 2009 Demo as many times as I want to now. If you have seen the whole demo back at E3, there's nothing new to see other than playing it, but after unleashing hell as Kratos once again in this demo, it is pretty safe say that God of War III will be indeed epic and amazing just as the first two games were. The controls and combat are basically the same as before, but the scale of epic setpieces and quicktime events have turned up to 11 as if they were crazy enough. In this demo, Kratos has his signature blades of chaos, the gauntlets from Chains of Olympus (I think?), a bow that does not require magic, and Helios's head, in which he gains later on in the demo to illuminate dark areas. If you thought the first two games were bloody, think again as God of War III turns up the gore once again and it is truly badass seeing Kratos ripping body parts again like no one's business. Some of the new things Kratos can do are playable in this demo from Harpy riding, the battering ram move, escaping from hordes of enemies surrounding you, and more. The graphics and sound are once again top notch being another showcase of what the Playstation 3 can do (as if Uncharted 2 is already the defining showcase for the system too). A God of War game in true HD looks and feels amazing in every way possible. Sure, this demo may be some framerate issues since it is an early build of the game, but I'm guessing that the whole game will run at 60 frames per second the whole time with no slowdown at all. This brief demo is indeed a taste of what's to come in the conclusion of this awesome trilogy, and from what I played so far, Kratos's story will indeed end with a bang being something that all gamers should not miss when it comes out in March 2010.
