My Obligatory 2009 Game of the Year Feature...

Well I at least I'm able to do this earlier than last year as I will reflect upon my top ten games of the year. 2009 is a different story compared to 2008 due to a change of consoles from the Xbox 360 to the Playstation 3. If you checked the reviews tab on the side, you noticed the drop on reviews as I have been pretty selectable with PS3 and PSN games unlike I would with 360 games because of being an achievement whore throughout the time I had with the system. Anyway, here are my top ten games of the year and yes, I have missed some of the bigger titles this year due to my lack of interest or I just flat out don't have that much time as I want to.

10) DJ Hero

So, I actually didn't buy the game for myself hence I didn't review it, but I played it enough to like it a lot. DJ Hero is definitely what the rhythm genre needed since we are starting to see a decline with the rocking (Guitar Hero/Rock Band) in terms of sales and its stability of being good games now. It is a solid start for a potential franchise if Activision still wants to roll with it despite its lack of sales being a disappointment for them and it is worth trying out at least once. Also, it depends if you love the type of music DJ Hero offers from mainstream hip-hop, R&B, electronica, and house. Despite how fun the game is with the turntable controller, its lasting value as a platform will be a make or break for them with more downloadable content, but it seems like they are already thinking about the inevitable sequel next year. Still though, DJ Hero is good enough to make my top ten of 2009.

9) Punch-Out!! (Wii)

The new Punch-Out is a reminder of how you can still do old-school franchises the same way in today's world of gaming. Out of all the franchises Nintendo has decided to bring back, its this one and Little Mac's return feels like a love letter to the NES crowd more than trying to make it appeal to their casual market. As a hardcore Wii game, this is as hardcore as it gets being purely old-school if you loved Mike Tyson's Punch-Out! back in the day. Yeah, this one does not have the magic the original in terms of how a cultural phenomenon it was, but this Wii iteration is one of the better Wii games out this year.

8) Fat Princess

I pretty much call Fat Princess the "cutesy Team Fortress 2." I mean it in a good way because it is a must play online multiplayer experience. Once things do click and you work as a team with other online players, that is when the game satisfies and truly delivers. The class system works and it is still gets patched and balanced with changes, which is neat. At the same time, it does have its charm with the cutesy look being filled with blood and carnage along with feeding the fat princess cake. This is one of the better downloadable games out this year being both fresh and chaotic at the same time.

7) WipeOut HD Fury

Even though Wipeout HD came out last year, the Fury expansion makes it a completely different game and a more complete package with more modes, tracks, and changes to the gameplay. The new modes from Zone Battle, Detonator, and Eliminator makes it one of the most intense racing games I have played. At the same time, this game still looks gorgeous especially with the backgrounds playing Zone mode as they are just sights to behold. A new campaign showcasing the new modes and tracks, the crucial quick 180 turn addition to destroy opponents, and other online additions make Fury the definitive futuristic racing game of the generation.

6) Flower

My favorite game that came out on the Playstation Network without hesitation is the indie hit Flower by thatgamecompany. This is one of those games that is more about living the experience rather than playing the game because that is what Flower is, a special and original experience. Sure, there are some elements that make it more of a game especially later on, but it still never loses its focus of being a beautiful experience. As a game that heavily relies on the Sixaxis, it is the best use of that functionality out this year. Flower feels like you're relaxing and the last time I experienced something similar vibes from is Rez, another indie game I love. Even though Flower is not what you expect out of games these days, it does throw something completely different and original making it awesome.

5) Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion (ARC)

Last year, Tekken 6.0 made my top ten games of the year as Bloodline Rebellion counts it for this year in terms of Tekken. More specifically, I'm counting the arcade version and not the disappointing console version of the game because well the arcade version is still the way to play this game and Namco made less dumb decisions with it compared to console with Scenario Campaign and the rocky start to online play. Despite that, Bloodline Rebellion is Tekken at its best gameplay-wise with balance changes, new characters, new moves for existing characters, and more customizations. It is also the most balanced fighting game I have played in recent memory even though that has been for the franchise since Tekken 5 DR came out as the majority of characters are pretty good with the high tiers still better, but others can still win especially in tournaments. Tekken 6 BR at its core is still a superb fighting game at the arcades and also on consoles despite its issues.

4) New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Once again, Nintendo gives us another example of how to do old-school right, which is the case with New Super Mario Bros. Wii. It is one of the better games in the legendary franchise as if you remember a line from my review, this is pretty much the baby of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World because its combines elements from both games along with the DS game to make it a way better 2D Mario game than New Super Mario Bros. DS. The big addition of co-op multiplayer with up to four players makes it a better game because that is where all the fun is at in terms of teaming up to reach impossible heights or trying to kill each other off by being total jerks. NSMB Wii is one of the better local multiplayer experiences out now and it is worth trying out to screw your friends.

3) Batman: Arkham Asylum

Who never thought that we would ever bow down to the Dark Knight in the videogame world? With Arkham Asylum, this is one of my favorite games out in this generation of consoles. I never seen such a polished game based on a popular comic book character in my life and it proves that you can still make a pretty good comic book game rather than trying to rake in the cash because of the property. Arkham Asylum is not really an original game as I got vibes from various games such as BioShock and Metroid Prime. It definitely feels like Metroid Prime with the exploration, the scanning with detective mode, and progression of traveling across various buildings of the infamous island. Most importantly, this is finally the game that you are actually the Batman being true to the character from being a badass at close combat to a stealthy dude using the environment to his advantage. This also feels like I'm watching a long episode of the 90s animated series since the voice actors from that cartoon being the voices for Batman and the Joker, which is awesome. Batman: Arkham Asylum is one of those games you can not miss this year to play.

2) Street Fighter IV (PS3)

In all of my gaming life, never has one game completely changed my life around like Street Fighter IV. It brought me a new perspective in the fighting game culture and I decided to play this a high competitive level against the country's best players. With all those times being spent at tournaments at various locales in SoCal from Arcade Infinity, the Dreamlab at Arcadia, Irvine for West Coast Warzone, and Hooters for Bar Fights, they brought some of the best times of my life as a whole. I have gotten to know new friends and the best players from the scene to the point I hang out with them on a regular basis. Its just crazy that one game has brought me new friends that are amazing people at the same time. Its pretty safe to say now that I'm a completely different gamer with Street Fighter IV. Anyway, the arcade version was my favorite game of last year and I would easily make the console version my game of the year again, but that's probably too biased since the number one game for me this year totally deserved it. You seen me ramble about Street Fighter IV a lot on this blog, so I won't talk about it that much now, but yeah, I never thought Street Fighter would change my life before I decided to actually hang out with the fighting game scene gaining new friendships with such great people.

1) Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Uncharted 2 definitely deserves my game of the year for 2009 because it is truly one of the best games I ever played in quite a while. This is the game that finally defines the Playstation 3 for what it is as a console in gaming today and an amazing experience from beginning to end. The campaign is just jaw-dropping and plays out like an actual movie with Nolan North reprising his role as Nathan Drake. He really sells the character that everyone enjoys as well as the supporting cast. The gameplay is more refined from the cover-based shooting, the melee combat, and the puzzles. With the amazing setpieces, this game is even better than most of the summer blockbuster movies out this year easily topping them in terms of quality. Even if you're done with the campaign, there is the multiplayer, which is pretty solid (of course not as good or addicting as Modern Warfare 2) with the standard set of modes to play with along with the Uncharted twist being thrown in. This is also the best looking game out this generation so far as everything looks beautiful top to bottom. The various locales are sights to behold to the point they are real and all of this is done with no slowdown at all making it extremely polished. The sounds are also the best of the business with the superb voice acting and one of the best gaming soundtracks with its theatrical approach. To me, it is too obvious that Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is my favorite game of 2009.

Well, that's my top ten games of 2009 in a nutshell... More gaming is ahead in 2010 and starting off with a bang!

My Top 100 Songs of 2009

So I decided to make some long list of my 100 songs of the year and this is pretty much my taste of mainstream music in a nutshell. Lots of hip-hop, R&B, and pop in there, but the rock has their place in my mind as well this year even though there wasn't really much rock music I enjoyed this year. Anyway, here's the long list:

1) Jay Sean – “Down” feat. Lil’ Wayne

2) The Dream – “Rockin That Thing”

3) Drake – “Best I Ever Had”

4) Kid Cudi – “Day & Nite”

5) David Guetta feat. Kelly Rowland – “When Love Takes Over”

6) Pitbull – “Shut It Down” feat. Akon

7) Jamie Foxx – “Digital Girl (Remix)” feat. Drake, Kanye West, & The Dream

8) Lady Gaga – “Bad Romance”

9) LMFAO – “La La La”

10) David Guetta feat. Akon – “Sexy Chick (Chuckie & Lil’ Jon Remix)”

11) Alicia Keys – “Empire State of Mind II”

12) The Dream – “Rockin That Thing (Remix)” feat. Ludacris, Juelz Santana, and Rick Ross, and Fabolous

13) Pitbull – “Hotel Room (Room Service)”

14) Jamie Foxx – “Blame It (On the Alcohol)” feat. T-Pain

15) Muse – “Uprising”

16) Silversun Pickups – “Panic Switch”

17) LMFAO – “Shots” feat. Lil’ Jon

18) FM – “Girls on the Dance Floor”

19) Paradiso Girls – “Patron Tequila” feat. Lil’ Jon & Eve

20) The Dream – “Walking on the Moon” feat. Kanye West

21) Black Eyed Peas – “Boom Boom Pow”

22) Kid Sister – “Right Hand Hi”

23) Jay Sean – “Do You Remember” feat. Lil’ Jon & Sean Paul

24) David Guetta – “Sexy Chick” feat. Akon

25) Kid Cudi – “Day & Nite” (Crookers Remix)

26) Lady Gaga – “Poker Face”

27) Jeremih – “Birthday Sex (Uptempo Remix)”

28) Pitbull – “Calle Ocho (I Know You Want Me)”

29) Ya Boy – “We Run LA” feat. Dr. Hollywood

30) Kid Sister – “I’ll House You (Reebok Classic Remix)”

31) Clipse – “Kinda Like A Big Deal” feat. Kanye West

32) Birdman – “Always Strapped” feat. Lil’ Wayne

33) Black Eyed Peas – “I Gotta Feeling”

34) Alicia Keys – “Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart”

35) Keri Hilson – “Knock You Down” feat. Kanye West & Ne-Yo

36) Slightly Stoopid – “2am”

37) Fabolous – “Throw It in the Bag” feat. The Dream

38) Lady Gaga – “Paparazzi”

39) Flo Rida – “Right Round”

40) Kid Cudi – “I Make Her Say” feat. Kanye West & Common

41) DJ Class – “I’m The S***”

42) Snoop Dogg – “Gangsta Luv” feat. The Dream

43) Beyonce – “Sweet Dreams”

44) LMFAO – “I’m in Miami Trick”

45) Jay-Z – “Run This Town” feat. Kanye West & Rihanna

46) FM – “2 is Better” feat. Ya Boy & Lil Eddie

47) Eminem – “Crack A Bottle” feat. Dr. Dre & 50 Cent

48) Lady Gaga – “Lovegame”

49) Black Eyed Peas – “Meet Me Halfway”

50) Flo Rida – “Be on You” feat. Ne-Yo

51) 50 Cent – “Baby by Me” feat. Ne-Yo

52) Three Six Mafia – “Feel It” feat. Tiesto, Sean Kingston, & Flo Rida

53) Jay-Z – “Empire State of Mind” feat. Alicia Keys

54) Britney Spears – “3”

55) Soulja Boy – “Turn My Swag On”

56) Baby Bash – “Outta Control” feat. Pitbull

57) Kanye West – “Paranoid”

58) Madcon – “Beggin”

59) Jason Derulo – “Whatcha Say”

60) Lady Gaga – “Telephone” feat. Beyonce

61) Rihanna – “Hard” feat. Young Jeezy

62) Mario – “Break Up” feat. Gucci Mane & Sean Garrett

63) Lil’ Jon – “Give It All You Got” feat. Kree

64) Snoop Dogg – “That’s Tha Homie”

65) Jay-Z – “D.O.A. (Death of Auto Tune)”

66) Verse Simmons – “Buy You A Round”

67) Birdman – “Written On Her” feat. Jay Sean

68) Fabolous – “Money Goes Honey Stay (When the Money Goes Remix)” feat. Jay-Z

69) Clipse – “I’m Good” (feat. Pharell)”

70) Drake – “Successful” feat. Trey Songz

71) Paramore – “Ignorance”

72) Robin Thicke – “Sex Therapy”

73) Lil’ Jon – “Get Out of Your Mind” feat. LMFAO

74) Snoop Dogg – “I Wanna Rock”

75) Timbaland – “Morning After Dark” feat. SoShy & Nelly Furtado

76) Jeremih – “Imma Star (Everywhere We Are)”

77) Beyonce – “Halo”

78) Cheryl Cole – “3 Words”

79) Young Money – “Every Girl”

80) Beyonce – “Diva”

81) Ciara – “Work” feat. Missy Eilott

82) Fabolous – “Everything Everyday Everywhere” feat. Keri Hilson

83) Drake – “Forever” feat. Kanye West, Lil’ Wayne, & Eminem

84) Jeremih – “Raindrops”

85) T.I. – “Dead & Gone” feat. Justin Timberlake

86) Dorrough – “Ice Cream Paint Job”

87) Ciara – “Love, Sex, & Magic” feat. Justin Timberlake

88) AFI – “Medicate”

89) Chris Brown – “I Can Transform Ya” feat. Swizz Beatz & Lil’ Wayne

90) Jeremih – “Break Up to Make Up”

91) Chelley – “Took the Night”

92) 50 Cent – “Do You Think About Me”

93) Cassie – “Let’s Get Crazy” feat. Akon

94) Amerie – “Heard ‘Em All”

95) Space Cowboy – “Falling Down” feat. Chelsea Korka

96) Alicia Keys – “Doesn’t Mean Anything”

97) O’Neal McKnight – “Champagne (Red Lights Remix)” feat. Busta Rhymes

98) Sean Paul – “Hold Your Hand”

99) Lil’ Jon – “I Do” feat. Swizz Beatz & Snoop Dogg

100) Lupe Fiasco – “Shining Down” feat. Matthew Santos

Teasing The Real Driving Simulator... Quick Hands-On with the Gran Turismo 5 Time Trial Demo

Well, it should be out on the U.S. Playstation Store by the time you read this, but I have messing around with the Japanese version of the Gran Turismo 5 Time Trial Demo, or as Polyphony Digital calls it the GT Academy Time Trial Challenge. This seems to be a limited demo as they will times until sometime next month, but we finally get to test drive a little tease of what is come with Gran Turismo 5. There is only one track and one car (of two variations) in this small demo of about 200 MBs. Surely, this is some early stuff as I don't think some of the features GT5 is heavily promoting is in this demo like car damage (or I haven't checked the options). It is only the car, the Indianapolis Road Course, time trial, leaderboards, and replays. At least the time trial is unlimited in which you can take as many laps as you want with the Nissan 370z (either normal or tuned). In terms of how it plays, it controls like Gran Turismo with x being the accelerate and square being the brake as if it might be hard to adjust back to that style of controls if you have been playing racers on the Xbox 360 like Forza Motorsport 3. Of course, steering wheel controllers are supported as well if you truly want that real experience. Basically, it is the Gran Turismo you know and love for more than a decade as I didn't notice any drastic changes to the gameplay other than the default racing line introduced in Prologue, which can be turned off. As I mentioned before, this time trial demo is pretty much a challenge to find the fastest times per country as leaderboards and demos are separated by location. As far as the graphics go, this is only the beginning of how much potential GT5 can get with the realism from the track design, the cockpit view, having an actual human driving, and so on. Gran Turismo 5 is expected to come out here in the States in the summer of 2010 and good thing this teaser is out there for us to try out to ease the long wait, but so far, I'm liking it even though it remains to be seen how huge everything else will be.

Don't care if its a little early... My Top 10 Albums of the Year

Yeah, it might be a little early to discuss this, but I might as well get it over with, so here we go with my top ten albums of the year. Keep in mind my taste of music and how they are ranked, so I will ignore the haters of such artists.

10) Pitbull - The Rebelution

I shall start this off with a definitive party album with Pitbull's The Rebelution. Love or hate him, this dude makes the hits and this one is full of them even though some of the ones are from last year with "Krazy," "Go Girl," and "The Anthem." If you were at the clubs though, you would go crazy every time "Calle Ocho," "Hotel Room (Room Service)," or "Shut It Down" gets blasted and it is just good times. I mostly enjoyed the hits and party jams of this album as the other stuff kind of fall a little flat, but if you just want to party and go nuts, Pitbull's latest should be heavy in rotation.

9) Silversun Pickups - Swoon

I actually like The Silversun Pickups as "Lazy Eye" (a Rock Band 2 favorite of mine) and "Well Thought Out Twinkles" are my personal favorite hit songs from them. "Panic Switch" is now my new favorite from them which is the lead single for their Swoon album. I just love hearing that song every time it gets played on KROQ. Anyway, their latest album is more of the group and that is enough for me to make my top ten.

8) Jay Sean - All or Nothing

My favorite new male artist of the year has to be Jay Sean (well not technically new since he has been around in the UK world of music, but new to us here at the states). The beginning of the album starts off right with "Do You" and "Fire" as great songs to get the tempo going before the megahits "Down" and "Do You Remember" go off. Jay Sean's latest does use songs from his album My Own Way with "Ride It," "Stuck in the Middle," "All or Nothing," and "Stay" for food reasons introducing the American audience to what they missed back at England. With already his success here in the States, I think Jay Sean is here to stay for a while not being an one hit wonder like most upcoming male R&B artists that came in recent years.

7) Mos Def - The Ecstatic

Back to some real hip-hop with Mos Def and his latest, The Ecstatic. This is some good old fashion hip-hop music that does not rely on house music beats, auto-tune, or meaningless lyrics as Mos delivers once again. If you're a fan of "good" hip-hop and rap, this album should not be missed and worth your listening time.

6) Robin Thicke - Sex Therapy: The Experience

This is a last minute addition as Robin Thicke's latest album just came out today and I'm already loving it. This is him at his best right now as he kills it in Sex Therapy: The Experience. The album definitely lives up to the theme as if it is like some story being told as you're in some waiting in some room to be operated. This album is also filled with cameos from Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Young Money's rising female rapper Nicki Minaj, Estelle, and The Game. Still though with the cameos, Robin delivers the soul music with his own style and why he is one of the better artists coming out from this decade with previous hits like "I Wanna Love You Girl" and the amazing ballad "Lost Without You." If you love that soul music, this is a must listen as soon as possible as if you are actually in sex therapy.

5) Alicia Keys - The Element of Freedom

Also coming out today is Alicia Keys's latest, The Element of Freedom, and it is already up there on my list because its Alicia Keys first of all and she does not disappoint as well. I already mentioned my thoughts about the album in an earlier music roundup, but she delivers again with amazing songs from beginning to end. Actually, this is one of those albums every time you blast, you would start from the beginning and finish it out. Personally, added to her repertoire of instant classics are "Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart," "Wait Until You See My Smile," "Unthinkable (I'm Ready)," "Like A Sea," and "Empire State of Mind (Part II)." Even her new ladies anthem with Beyonce, "Put It in a Love Song" is not that bad and I don't mind if it is one of her next singles considering its radio playback lately. This is another album that should be missed by one of the better music artists of today.

4) David Guetta - One Love

My latest appreciation of house/club music this whole year (since apparently I like to go clubbing I guess) has made this album go way high in my top ten list. David Guetta has now become of the known DJs this year with One Love filled with club bangers especially "Sexy Chick" with Akon even though I love the remix with Lil' Jon more now these days (refer to my top 10 songs I'm blasting list). Actually my favorite song from the album is the first track, "When Love Takes Over" with Kelly Rowland. This is a great starter to get things going and Kelly surprisingly delivers in the song as well. Of course, "Sexy Chick" is more known to us due to its constant radio playback and a favorite at the nightclubs, but the rest of Guetta's album is top notch. Other than the two songs I mentioned previously, other favorites of mine range from "Memories" with Kid Cudi, "Missing You," "How Soon is Now," and the title track "One Love" with Estelle. If you that house music, David Guetta gives you various aspects of it and gets you into that nightclub vibe no matter where you at in the time of day.

3) Lady Gaga - The Fame Monster (Deluxe Edition)

This may come as a surprise, but admit it, Lady Gaga is kind of awesome and taking over the pop music world as we know it. The Fame Monster is an extension of her first album with eight more songs as an EP, but I'm counting the deluxe edition because it includes all of her first album along with then new stuff. So you get the hits you love or hate every time you hear them from "Just Dance," "Poker Face," "Paparazzi," and "Lovegame" to her new stuff like the lead single, "Bad Romance." I already said my thoughts about this album in an earlier post and how she is that good of an musician and talented as hell, but the EP is filled with singles to choose from to make videos make "Alejandro," "Monster," and hopefully her next single, "Telephone" with Beyonce. It is likely she will go with "Speechless," one of her better ballads showcasing a different side of her than being crazy all the time and she has been performing it on television lately, which I don't mind since she kills it every time she performs that song. Let's face it people, Lady Gaga will be around for a while delivering her crazy antics and weird style to the world while making some good music at the same time.

2) Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon: The End of Day

Number two on my top ten is Kid Cudi's debut album, which is amazing from beginning to end. Sure, its hard to tell whether or not he is a true rapper or someone that can deliver good hooks, but Cudi does bring it. I wished more singles came out of his album as the potential for videos of certain videos seems crazy, but "Day N Nite" has been his statement that Cudi is no joke. Both the original and the remix are great songs, but the rest of the album's production is awesome with the various beats being used. I don't care if Cudi is going through an identity crisis of what to stick with in the future, but being multi-talented appearing on everyone's albums seems to be a good thing and I'll support that.

1) Muse - The Resistance

In case you don't know, my favorite band is Muse and it is not shocking that their newest album, The Resistance, is my favorite album of the year. From start to finish, this is Muse at their best being one of their better albums in their career with their earlier stuff still having the slight edge. Also, if Black Holes and Relevations didn't elevate them to mainstream status, their latest surely did reaching the mainstream crowd performing on American programs left and right from MTV's Video Music Awards, KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas last Sunday, and Saturday Night Live this weekend. "Uprising" starts the album right being a typical lead single type of song you expect out of a rock band. After that is when the album truly shines with the title track, "United States of Eurasa," and the rest. This is some special stuff and I'm glad Muse is finally getting that success they deserved. Just watching that KROQ concert online the other night made me appreciate them even more because they are that good live and their hit songs are just a blast to listen every time they get played. This album is among my highest recommendation for any music fan that enjoys the art as a whole.

So there are my top ten albums for 2009 and my top 100 songs of the year will be up soon as I need to start organizing that list, but don't be shocked to see songs by these artists from this list on there as well.

Messing with the Fluids... The Pikeljunk Shooter Review

Note: The gameplay footage consists of me playing utilizing the YouTube upload feature.

Pixeljunk Shooter is the fourth title in the franchise that started off with Racers, Monsters, and Eden. These are some of the better downloadable games out there on Playstation Network with consistent sense of providing original and unorthodox gameplay experiences. Shooter continues Q Games' notion of providing that same experience by taking a similar concept, the twin-stick shooter, and then mix it in with interacting with water, lava, ice, and toxic to make it feel original. The two concepts combined together make Shooter one of the better downloadable titles to come out on PSN this year and if you're a fan of the Pixeljunk franchise, this game should not missed for the ten dollar purchase.

There is a sense of story in Shooter in which you are a ship sent to the underground of a planet to rescue survivors and explore the depths of such planet witnessing any diversions that you affect the experience. The controls in Shooter are not exactly like a normal twin-stick shooter as there is still a button to shoot, but the ship does indeed maneuver like such games. There is also a grapple button to rescue survivors, attain gems to unlock more levels, and pull switches. These survivors can be killed if they are not saved in time or if they are accidentally killed by your shots, which happened to me in certain situations. Having five survivors killed will end your game and you have to start over from the beginning of the level you started, but extra lives can be gained easily by gathering a hundred coins from the levels or killing enemies. Your ship does not technically have a health meter, but instead a heat meter at its normal state as being close to lava does heat up your ship and you have to let it cool down by water to replenish. Being shot by enemy fire also does not result in an instant death as it will raise your heat level up to the warning state, but bumping to them sure does. Other than playing it alone, there is an option for local co-op as well with two ships transversing the underground depths.

The big idea of Pixeljunk Shooter is interacting with the water, lava, ice, and toxic in the three worlds that consist of five levels each with the last level ending in a boss battle. This interaction basically makes it somewhat a puzzle game along with the shooter figuring out how to navigate through these levels alive. It is common sense how these fluids interact with each other affecting the levels from water on lava turns to rock, the lava dissolves the ice, water and toxic = gas, gas and lava = explosions, and so on. You get a sense of satisfaction seeing them interact with each other to make certain areas open as the level design is top notch. These puzzles are not that difficult to figure out as I rarely had a hard time navigating through these levels. Speaking of difficulty, this game is among the easiest of the Pixeljunk games as it is more forgiving to beat the game, there is no harsh penalties, and it is not as frustrating as say the later sections of Eden. Shooter is however a short game being downloadable as it takes a handful of hours to beat as each level for the first time takes 15-20 minutes to beat, but longer to 100% everything rescuing all the survivors and finding all the gems/hidden areas. It does also leave the door open for the inevitable Encore expansion.

Graphically, Shooter retains the same style of the Pixeljunk franchise with its use of colors, which still works and looks beautiful. The thing that strikes me is the water, lava, and toxic physics, which do matter in a game like this where they interact with each other. The soundtrack is also awesome as it fits the tone and theme of the game even though it may be a departure from previous Pixeljunk titles. Like Eden, Shooter does have YouTube support in which you can upload your recordings to YouTube, which is a neat idea and the quality of the videos are great. It will be interesting to see how the community utilizes this feature from high score runs, speed runs, getting 100$ tuns, or any random turn of events.

Pixeljunk Shooter is another superb game in the franchise as Q Games manages to innovate yet again with combining a twin stick shooter and puzzle elements with the fluids into one. These concepts together truly make it feel original and unorthodox as you don't experience games like these every day. It is definitely a game to relax to playing compared to most games out there as there is not as much frustration unless you are trying to find everything in the game or you accidentally killed a survivor by firing like a mad man. There is enough replay value to keep playing even though it can be beaten in a few hours, but the door is clearly open for downloadable content or the inevitable "Encore" expansion. For ten dollars, Shooter is worth your time and money being an unique experience only on the Playstation Network.

Score = 9/10

Pros:

• Unique concept of throwing an environmental twist to the twin stick shooter
• More forgiving than previous Pixeljunk games
• The various fluids interacting with each other turn out great as the physics are truly astounding.
• Great soundtrack fitting to the tone and theme of the game
• YouTube upload feature works

Cons:

• Yeah, online co-op could of worked as it is local only as teamwork and voice chat is a necessity.
• Over before you know it, but leaves the door for more with the "Encore" expansion

SF Bar Fights at Hooters Megapost!!!

So last Friday I was at Hooters for my first time ever in my life not just to get my grub and drink on, but also play in another Bar Fights event hosted by Gootecks. This time, he decided to hold an actual 64-man tournament rather than have main event matches with the big players of Street Fighter IV. Still though, the best players from SoCal (both LA and San Diego) showed up for the Street Fighter shenanigans from Alex Valle, Mike Ross, Ken I, Keno, Shady K, and Yeb the Gen master from San Diego. Before actually mentioning how much the tourney went, I might as well break down the night in order.

I got to Hooters early at Anaheim (its by the 57 Freeway exiting Katella) to actually eat dinner before things actually got started. As my first time eating at Hooters going through the experience everyone knows about, it wasn't that bad. The Hooters girls were surely there in full force and I don't know if they were ready for such madness as Street Fighter Bar Fights. Good thing there was a 2 entrees for 1 deal for that night only and spent five bucks only on 10 Garlic Parmesan wings and tots. At least I took my time with the food (which I didn't mind eating because I was hungry) eventually tearing through those wangs since Gootecks, Cami from GTFO.tv and Get Your Tournament, and the rest of the crew were setting up. Good thing there was that deal, so I can also get my "drink" on too later in the night. After pre-registration was held, the 64 players were divided into four pools of sixteen. I was in the last pool so I had to wait a while before I play, which is probably a good thing because I was able to have some beer with my friends from the Street Fighter scene providing good times. Of course, it is always good to hang out with all my friends that were there from Luka, Duralath, Colin, Mike Ross, KillerKai, StarSlay3r (had a good chat with her about Tekken 6 and how that game makes us less salty compared to Street Fighter IV), Sanchez, and others. Even there was an appearance by East Coast's, but moving to LA in a week or two, Justin Wong as well as Empire Arcadia's leader, TriForce, as they were in town for Spike TV's Video Game Awards. When the last pool started with me playing, I already consumed a Corona and a Guinness, so pretty much it was game on.

My first match was against OnlineTony, a known Seth player here in SoCal. Yeah Seth has a low health meter, but once he gets things going, he cannot be stopped, so as long as you can catch him since he has so many options, you can win. Before the match, Sanchez, fellow Bison player, gave me some words of some encouragement (basically to f*** him up). I was able to win the first game by that gameplan and plus Tony's execution wasn't on lock till the second game where he got things going with the link combos and the head stomps. Eventually I got "downloaded" and lost to Tony 2-1, but it was a good match being my first time against a legit Seth player that knows what he is doing. With that, I was right away in the losers bracket even though the pool I was in stacked with Yeb and Shizza, the best pad player in SoCal using Chun-Li (or as the scene calls him the Pad Warrior Princess). My next match was an easy victory against some Abel player as I made short work of him as he only knew some basic Abel stuff compared to the better Abel players I have seen from BustaBust and Combofiend (that's his main now). Then I lost a nailbiter against a Ken player as it went down to the last round of the match as I screwed up in the end. Oh Ken, why do I have to lose to you? At least, the Ken player knows his stuff with link combos and SRK FADC to Ultra. With that, I got peaced out of the tournament, but at least the drinks sort of helped as I played my best with limited practice of slowly going back to this game.

The main highlight for me of the tournament was the rise of some 15-year old C. Viper player named Jason going deep in the tourney making top 8 upsetting Keno, the Arcade Infinity Ranbats Season 2 Champion, hearing the hype in the room. He then peaced out Shizza in top 8 in arguably the match of the night going down to the last round clutching it out when it matters. Eventually he lost to Shady K (the best Akuma player from San Diego and a fighting game veteran) even though he took him to the limit as well. The crowd was surely behind him since we all love the underdogs achieving the upsets as I was in pure shock when beat Shizza. Now we all know he is a player in the scene doing big things with Viper as if he is the future. I saw him getting interviewed by Get Your Tournament's Glenn after the match and Gootecks giving him match of the night honors as well as a Mad Catz Marvel vs. Capcom 2 Tournament Stick (oh I want that for Christmas). Other than Jason's success at Bar Fights, the rest of top 8 was Alex Valle, Ken I, Shady K, Yeb, ComboJack, and Hugo101. In the end, it was Alex again winning it against Ken with his Ryu even though Ken I did take grand finals to a second set.

The whole night in a nutshell consisted of great times throughout. It just feels good hanging with the good people of the Street Fighter scene as always especially not seeing them for about a month because of school and other things. I gotta hand it to Gootecks for another successful event getting it done and I look forward for the next Bar Fights event. The top 4 of this tournament (Valle, Ken I, Shady K, and Yeb) will be also in LA Riots II next month, also hosted by Gootecks, along with Combofiend, Keno, Kai, and Shizza, which should be another interesting event with only the top players. Once again, it was nice being around great company that were there and I'll be around next time (I guess I can now play both SF4 and Tekken 6 at a competitive level).

Photos by Get Your Tournament's Kelly "Xensin" Bracha

Stepping to the Gates Below... Quick Hands-On with the Dante's Inferno Demo

Warning - This is indeed a mature rated game and it contains some nudity (even in this demo) in the videos.

Yesterday on the Playstation Store, a demo for Dante's Inferno came out and I decided to give it a try. In case you don't know about this game and wandering why this game is a big of a deal, Dante's Inferno is billed as a God of War ripoff among the gaming crowd and it is true from what I played so far. Being a ripoff can be both a good thing or a bad thing pending on how you spin it. The good thing is that it is another God of War style action game with blood, gore, and nudity. On the other hand, the developers clearly ripped off some things from the God of War games and actually God of War still does it better. The controls are similar, the combat is a little mashy, but still satisfying beating things up, the story is about Dante getting revenge for those that killed his wife after making a deal with the Grim Reaper, and so on. Graphically, Dante's Inferno looks okay at its demo state, but you can tell there is unoriginality with the look as if you seen this before. Some of the cutscenes are in CG and cartoony form, which are not bad but still an interesting decision by Visceral Games how to take these scenes in a certain direction. I also felt like they tried to go toe and toe with the God of War III Demo of what to put in it to show off before the game comes out from having mini-boss battles to riding a big creature around destroying the opposition. The magic and upgrade systems are also similar to God of War as well gaining souls as you progress through the game. All in all, Dante's Inferno is a solid ripoff of a better game and it is nice for 360 owners (this demo for them is out on the 24th) to have something like this, but for PS3 owners, there is God of War III to blow it away. Still though, if you enjoy these type of action games, then give Dante's Inferno a shot.

Mega Music Roundup for 12/9/09

Lots to cover for this music roundup as I start with something different which is some EuroPop. First up is a new UK pop artist Cheryl Cole and her debut album, 3 Words. I somewhat enjoyed it for what it is being pop music from the UK and nothing else. Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.I.Am is in a quarter of the album lending his voice and producing skills to the table especially the title track, the main single. If you are interested in some new artists, she is worth listening to, but who knows she will have any American presence what so ever considering how popular she is in the UK.

Now off to the new releases of the week (I'm skipping Chris Brown since I don't like him) starting with the long awaited new album by Clipse called Till The Casket Drops. This one is truly worth the wait filled with good stuff to blast from "Kind of Like a Big Deal" with Kanye West, "Popular Demand" with Cam'Ron, "I'm Good," and "Door Man." The Neptunes provide most of the production as always and they still got it maintaining their style of sound and of course the Clipse guys' spitting of the rhymes still deliver. For hip-hop fans, this one is worth checking out being one of the better releases of the year.

Next up is Snoop Dogg's latest, Malice N' Wonderland. Of course, Snoop has been around the game for a while and this one is another solid one by the boss dogg. The album starts off right with "I Wanna Rock" as I didn't like it at first, but it started to grow on me listening to it more and of course I gotta give props to the video featuring Quest Crew, ABDC season 3 winners, and Jamie Foxx. With the good start, its nothing like enjoying the good life with "Gangsta Luv" featuring The Dream, "That's The Homie," and "Upside Down." Overall, I enjoyed most of the album as there are some very good songs while others didn't click with me, so this is worth a listen too.

Looking ahead to next week, the big release is the highly anticipated album by Alicia Keys called The Element of Freedom. Now we all know how awesome she is over the years and her latest continues her awesomeness. This album has a different take to it as she tried some different things, but it is still purely an Alicia Keys album. I didn't mind her first single, "Doesn't Mean Anything," as it sounds like all her other big songs, but I think the standouts for me are "Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart," "Like A Sea," "Empire State of Mind II." About Empire, she just kills it and I rather listen to that instead of Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind" as now I think he just ruins the song the way it is meant to be heard. Then again, I guess there is room for both since how popular the song is on the mainstream radio to the point you're sick of it and for New York City in general. Basically "Empire State of Mind II" is one of Alicia's best songs ever and as good as "If I Ain't Got You," "No One," and "Fallin." The only cameo appearance is Beyonce for "Put It in a Love Song" which is another one of those ladies anthems they would love. Still though, this album is great from beginning to end every time I would listen to it and definitely one of my favorites of the year.

Well that is it for the music roundup for now in terms what I have been listening to other than top 10 songs I have been blasting. Now that I'm on Winter Break, more time for blogging I guess or maybe more time for Street Fighter IV (Yes, I'm playing that again) and Tekken 6? We'll see if I'm going by my plans in the coming weeks.

Music Roundup for 12/03/09... aka Alicia Keys Being Awesome + Shock Value 2 Edition.

Today's music roundup features Alicia Keys's World Aids Day performance from YouTube on Tuesday (yes, the whole thing). She performs her hits through the years as well as new songs off her new album, Element of Freedom. I don't want to spoil the ending if you haven't seen it, but I think it ends right. All I have to say is "Empire State of Mind 2" is an awesome song and as good as her hit songs. So if you got a hour to kill with some great music, then enjoy Miss Keys doing work above.

I have been trying to enjoy Timbaland's new Shock Value 2 album, but other than his productions, its just that and the songs are whatever to me. Its probably the random cameos in this album compared to the last one like Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, the singer from Nickelback, Jet, and Daughtry. At some cameo appearances are still good like his first single "Morning After Dark" with SoShy and Nelly Furtado as well as songs with Justin Timberlake, Keri Hilson, and Drake. I guess it goes to show how known Timbo is now in the pop world being a production genius for so many artists, but you gotta miss his old days as a producer when he produced better songs back then.

That's it for the music roundup for now. Hopefully, next time I can talk about Snoop's new album and maybe some other stuff.