Nintendo has been busy this week announcing their Japanese launch plans for the 3DS, but I'll start off with some Kirby's Epic Yarn stuff as new videos surfaced online since the game is getting closer to its October 17 release here at the States. I already mentioned how great Epic Yarn is a while back and yet it still looks very impressive to be another top-notch title for the Wii this holiday season. Then again, this game screams "sleeper hit" as well because only Nintendo fans will appreciate it and Kirby is not really their most popular mascot like Mario, Link, and Donkey Kong, which is unfortunate and considering what Wario Land: Shake It went through, I feel like Epic Yarn may suffer the same fate as being another under-appreciated title among mainstream Nintendo consumers. Also, factor in Wii Party likely having better success sales-wise as well as Donkey Kong Country Returns, Kirby may be left in the dust as gamers would be missing out on an unique take on one of Nintendo's lesser known franchises.
The 3DS has been the center of attention among the gaming world this week as Nintendo finally revealed their launch details at Japan for their new handheld, which is to come out February 26 over there while a March release for the U.S. and other territories. Now I have a day to soak all the info in, it is nice that the 3DS exists and people are excited for it, but the lineup revealed so far looks like something Sony would think of for the PSP as console games being shrunk down to be playable on handheld. Nintendo is once again retreading what was awesome back then can still be awesome with remakes of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Star Fox 64 along with their new Kid Icarus game. Third parties so far are migrating their popular franchises to the handheld from Capcom's Resident Evil games, Mega Man Legends 3, and Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition (Will the AE changes be in place for this iteration?), Tecmo/Koei with Dead or Alive Dimensions, Konami with their MGS3: Snake Eater remake, and more. I know its still early and the thing is not even out, but where in the world is the originality? The original DS capitalized on that aspect even though it took some time for that to kick in and I expect the same for the 3DS too as developers have more time with the system figuring what is capable to do in that thing. There's also the 3DS Virtual Console announcement as well with Game Boy games (GBC/GBA/even the Virtual Boy as well) being downloadable, which is cool along with DSiWare games being transferable, but I'm still wandering where are the new games? Nostalgia is nice and all, but I hope Nintendo will turn things around unlike how Sony handled the PSP. Of course, the steep price is going to question many consumers' minds considering it is currently at 250-300 bucks now. Despite my worries, I know people will still buy the 3DS because Nintendo apparently still knows what's up, but we'll see how things play out in the months to come closer to its Japanese launch.
Another mega music roundup - but with more hip-hop this time around...
We start off at the westside with Ice Cube's latest, I Am the West. This is simply West Coast gangsta rap at its finest as Cube sticks to what he knows and made him famous while not trying to be someone else with that auto-tune. The lead off single "I Rep That West," fits the album description perfectly and proof that West Coast rap is here to stay in hip-hop. If you want to rep California the right way (well the OG way), Cube's latest will fill that void for you as 20+ years into the game and he's still got it. The last thing I'll say about this one is Cube is right, "Is this too West Coast for you ************? So what..."
Even though Weezy is still in prison serving his sentence, he still has a new EP out called I'm Not A Human Being." After the disappointing Rebirth album that was basically an experiment for him adding more rock to his raps, I'm Not A Human Being is a return to form production-wise for "the best rapper alive" sticking to his guns delivering banger after banger. While the rock is still in like the title track (video above), it is not as distracting from everything else which is pretty much another example where hip-hop is today. Along with cameos with his Young Money crew, Drizzy, and Nicki Minaj, Lil' Wayne is not staying quiet while in prison spitting out new songs as his new EP makes hip-hop fans excited for his official return to the game with The Carter IV as his next highly anticipated album. Then again, I'm not as big of a Weezy fan than I thought I would be and everyone else that loves that music... its probably his damn voice.
Next is up is Jeremih (aka Mr. "Birthday Sex") with already his sophomore album, All About You. I always felt like he's just another R&B one-hit wonder with the song I mentioned previously that made him big last year and I think it is the case with his new stuff. There's only a couple songs I like from this one such as "I Like" featuring Ludacris and the club banger, "Down on Me" featuring 50 Cent (that song is just one of those songs at the clubs and I'll leave it at that). Other than that, its your typical R&B album by another dude and who knows if he will have another mega hit soon because I don't see him lasting that long in the music game.
Last, but not least is Bruno Mars's debut album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans, which is out next week. Yeah, the Bruno Mars that sings everyone's favorite song, "Just The Way Are" as if they're trying to impress some chick (like all those YouTube videos by random boys, oh wait that's the official video too!). Of course, the ladies love the song and its overplayed on the radio too much which does not stop the men trying to be Bruno. Anyway, the rest of the album is more of the same if you love "Just The Way Are" which is good if you love that song too much from "Grenade," "Marry You," and "Talking to the Moon." When he's away from trying to serenade the ladies, his more fast-tempo songs (like that "Billionaire" song - oh that everyone else's favorite song too) are also good for the most part especially "Liquor Store Blues" with Damian Marley. The last two songs in his short album are from his Its Better If You Don't Understand EP with "Count on Me" and "The Other Side" featuring Cee-Lo and B.o.B. which are also great songs. As a whole, Doo-Wops & Hooligans is a great debut album by Bruno Mars and you can't underestimate how popular he is now in the world of mainstream music especially with the #1 song in the country (well not #1 in iTunes anymore) because he is that good and definitely lived up to expectations. With that out of the way, bring on the Facebook statuses of how awesome his album is in the coming days.
That's it for the music roundup this week... till next time.
This week on the PSN Demo Showcase features EA's first foray into MMA and the glorious return of a long storied franchise...
First up is EA Sports MMA, EA's attempt to compete with THQ's UFC Undisputed franchise. In case you don't know, EA's MMA game features pretty much every other mixed martial artist that is not in UFC (Randy Couture being an exception however) from the likes of Fedor, Jake Shields (actually now in the UFC too), and others from Strikeforce. The mindset behind this game compared to the recent UFC games is how we can implement Fight Night-like controls into MMA? That is truly the case with the Total Strike Control with various strikes by flicking around with the right stick. Modifiers are on the L and R buttons as clinching, sprawling, and taking opponents down are on the face buttons. On paper, it seems like this can totally work, but the execution seems flat and it ends up being slower to the UFC Undisputed games. In other words, something doesn't feel right with EA Sports MMA compared to its competition. Maybe I'm still not used to the new control scheme even though the classic controls option allows the game to play like UFC, but that even with those controls, it is still not as fluid as I hoped. The fighters that are in this demo are Allstair Overeem, Bobby Lashley (yes, that Bobby Lashley who was in WWE), Jake Shields, and that guy from MTV's Bully Beatdown show. Plus, there's Big John McCarthy doing the fighter introductions as well, so you know the presentation aspect will be good knowing EA Sports. Back to the gameplay though, I had a tough time knocking guys out standing up as the ground game is way too easy. The ground game is more simplistic than UFC, but it allows for more easier situations to knock them out by ground & pound and submissions. There are some neat ideas how EA handles the ground game like various mini-games with the submissions where you have to rotate the right stick around to find the sweet spot by the indication of the rumble to choke someone out and a simple button pressing mechanic by timing them using your stamina meter. My experience with EA Sports MMA has not been that great, which is pretty telling for the game's quality as it doesn't feel as fluid as UFC Undisputed 2010, so it ends up as a sloppy attempt even though there's still potential.
On the flipside, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is out next week as the demo has been out at Europe for Playstation Plus owners for a week, but its out for everyone else there today (Yeah, I had to set up an UK account to get this one). This is the franchise's glorious return to 3D as early reviews for the game so far have been mostly positive. This is also more than just Castlevania being another "God of War" clone for the current generation of consoles as it is actually a solid action game all around from what I played in the demo. Yeah, the game controls like most other action games, but the story and longer length does separate itself from the others. In addition, it is arguably is the most "Castlevania-less" Castlevania because of the setting and the lack of Dracula (for now, who knows later on in the game )even though there's still a whip and you're playing as a Belmont. The Kojima Productions style of polish is also intact in this game as it looks pretty good for an action game and lots of long cutscenes as if you're playing a Metal Gear Solid game, but this game having that style of production is for the best which is why Lords of Shadow is as some people claimed to be "the Arkham Asylum of the franchise." Personally, I wouldn't call it that, but it does bring back the franchise into the right direction after so many disappointments last generation. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow does have that "sleeper hit" mentality out of everything else that is out this holiday season, so its worth a playthrough if you're a Castlevania fan and need another epic action game to bust through.
That's it for the PSN Demo Showcase this week... There's another demo for Vanquish on the Japanese Playstation Store as well which is the challenge mode that will appear in the final game, but I haven't put much time into it, so I might talk about that in a later time. I also played another demo for some new WRC game (UK Store only for now) and that's pretty self-explanatory. Hopefully I can get a DJ Hero 2 Demo stream going soon because I don't have a turntable to play that.
Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode I is finally coming out sooner than most thought, which is now October 11 on WiiWare, October 12 on Playstation Network, and October 13 on Xbox Live Arcade. It is also being priced at 15 bucks for all versions, which seems pretty crazy at first considering it is an episodic game and apparently Sega feels confident enough to sell it at that price even though Sega has been known to not make great decisions at the end of the day with their franchises especially Sonic. The hedgehog has been through a lot to get at this point at an attempt of a return to glory especially with this game going back to its 2D roots along with homing attacks from the 3D games. Of course, Sonic fanboys want this game to be really good and a sign of things going on the right direction, but its hard to please them especially Sega that even they don't know how to handle the Sonic franchise. Personally, I have been pretty skeptical myself how this will turn out because its something up my alley as a classic game modernized for the current generation yet retaining the roots somehow. On WiiWare, Sonic 4 is I think one of the more expensive games to get on that service and considering the lack of fringe space on that my Wii, I'm likely going to get it on PS3 instead and expect a review soon after its release whether or not Sonic is truly back.
Def Jam Rapstar is out next week and yeah it is pretty much hip-hop SingStar with a ton of community features like video sharing and other stuff. I have always this temptation of having a karaoke game around the house for parties just like having Buzz Quiz World for a trivia fix here and there with multiple people. The soundtrack for Rapstar is not that bad with joints that spread across hip hop's existence from Biggie, 2Pac, LL Cool J, Kanye West, Drake, and more with downloadable songs likely in the future as well. The dilemma for what this game faces is that how can it be competitive with the likes of DJ Hero 2 and Rock Band 3. Good thing its only a karaoke game as the game bundled with a microphone is 70 bucks compared to what the other games are offering bundle-wise in terms of pricing. Then again, maybe the more you pay for something like DJ Hero 2 will reward you the better experience. Who knows, but I'm pretty sure there will be an audience out there that will support Def Jam Rapstar when it comes out next week for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.
In the meantime, enjoy the Giant Bomb guys' rendition of Nelly's "Hot in Herre."
UPDATE - Here's the commercial for the game below and the final setlist.
UPDATE 2 - Giant Bomb's quick look of the game just sold me on the game - I'm really considering it now.
Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock is out this week and yes, another Guitar Hero game, but Activision has been smart enough this time around not to oversaturate the market with this franchise even though you can argue that Guitar Hero killed the genre that modernized it for this current generation. Anyway, people have the game early knocking out FCs of the songs in the game. I have been out of the rhythm game for a while even though I have been paying attention to what is going on because of the music fiend in me. It is indeed a make or break year for the rhythm genre as most of us believe it has run its course among the mainstream audience, but the hardcore fans will keep it going from completely dying. Warriors of Rock, to me, doesn't offer anything new to the table as expected other than a story mode that is somewhat pointless. With Guitar Hero and Rock Band in 2010, you get a sense of separation between the two these days even though the core game on both are the first. Warriors of Rock is becoming more of a game with Neversoft putting in "gamey" stuff to make it stick out from the competition while Rock Band 3 is becoming more of an actual experience with the pro instrument stuff, the addition of a keyboard, and more. It is probably for the best that Neversoft not to attempt beating Harmonix at their own game and establish their own identity, but that's pretty much the case with the visual styles both games are going for. In the meantime, here's some Warriors of Rock footage featuring some songs (it is about the soundtracks these days that the disc games have that will decide my purchase, but of course DLC will also matter too). It is more of the same for Guitar Hero fans, but hey more songs to FC I guess for them. Personally, just wait till Rock Band 3 if you are only buying one of these games this fall.
Now for something different, here's Nicki Minaj on Complex being well, herself. There's a new song that leaked out too today, called "Right Through Me," which is whatever. I'm still curious how her debut album, Pink Friday, will turn out whether if she is for real worth all the hype when it comes out in November 23.
Donkey Kong Country Returns by Nintendo and Retro Studios is still on track for its November release as there is finally new footage in a form of a new trailer. The spotlight in this new clip is the return of animal buddies, mainly Rambi specifically in the video above. It seems that Rambi can pummel through spikes and walls, but he is pretty much the same as it was in the two DKC games he appeared in. Now the question is, will the other animal buddies like Enguarde the Swordfish and Squawks the Parrot also have appearances in this reboot for this classic series? I hope so with certain levels catered to those guys as the core DKC formula is still intact for the most part. I still love the games back in the day and hopefully this new game can live up to Nintendo's expectations as their big game for the holiday season.
So I have this playlist on my iTunes/iPod called The Ultimate "Club G" Mix, which is simply all my clubby stuff I can fit in that can last a night at a nightclub. Since I'm still in my house/dance music phase in my life, I decided to put it together as if I'm some DJ (as if I'll be one in the future). Currently, this mix is almost at five hours as it consists of my favorite clubby songs along with some mainstream hip-hop, but it is mostly house stuff from some of the bigger names in that genre. In the meantime, I would be to share some of my favorites from my mix.
Can't go wrong with some Deadmau5 at the clubs especially his breakout song, "Ghosts N Stuff."
A bit slower, but it is actually one of my favorite songs of the year. (And yes, it does sound like Bruno Mars is singing).
It ain't a club mix without Flo Rida and David Guetta especially this song... I remember going nuts at Vegas when this came on.
Okay, this is my current favorite song in my mix and also one of my favorites of the year too.
Also another mainstay at the clubs these days...
That's just a taste of what's in my clubby mix. It is always a work in progress of trying to find more songs more worthy along with changing the set order whenever I feel like it. Maybe I'll try to add some older stuff even though newer stuff seems to fly more these days. In the meantime, enjoy my five picks above the next time they get played in the clubs.
Xbox Live released the first gameplay video of BioShock Infinite today and I must say it is already looking very impressive so far even though it is a still ways off from its 2012 release. At its core, its still BioShock in terms of shooting and mixing in the elements as well for unique attacks along with the tone and presentation of how events go down. There will be definitely some jaw-dropping moments in this game that Ken Levine has been working on for years especially how the lore and backstory will fit to this iteration at a floating city. Even though it is a ten minute video, you do get a feeling of it being scripted, but it is expected to be for that theatrical tone, so who knows how wide open the gameplay will be since Irrational has a lot of time to polish things up. BioShock Infinite is still planned for a 2012 release, so things can change dramatically for this game in the coming months.
UPDATE - I just saw this 45-minute interview Giant Bomb did with Ken Levine, and if you're skeptical of what you saw above, I'll let Ken try to convince you because he sure convinced me about how awesome BioShock Infinite will be. Plus, it is also nice to see what is in his twisted mind of how he handles game development.
With the Tokyo Game Show and SBO (Super Battle Opera) going on this weekend, looks like the perfect time to announce some new fighting games or at least what's new in existing ones that are out or still coming...
I'll start off with the bombshell that is the announcement of Tekken Tag Tournament 2. It has been only a matter of time when Namco Bandai goes back to the tag style and people have been demanding it, so it makes sense putting this one for now after Tekken 6. From the brief teaser, you'll see new tag combos with the bound system being shown off by Jin/Asuka and Kazuya/Leo as the potential is there for some crazy stuff with the other characters. Of course, it is unknown how many characters will fill up the roster, but I can imagine everybody in the series will be playable. Tekken Tag 2 is expected to come out next year at Japan at arcades first with stateside to follow soon after. Since I haven't been playing Tekken 6 (even by running to some I haven't seen in a while at Arcade Infinity last night), Tekken Tag 2 will bring me back and perhaps seeing some friends was a sign that this will be announced.
Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition gets a proper arcade test at SBO as the trailer above finally shows footage of Yun and Yang in action. It will be interesting to see how much of their 3rd Strike game will be gone making the transition to SSF4 even though most of their moves remain intact. Yun still has Genjei-Jin as his super to wreak havoc, but I think it won't make him that high tiered in SSF4 as he was in 3rd Strike due to meter management as I don't expect it to be that game changing along with damage scaling as well. Personally, I think Yang will be the better of the two with his Rekka game staying the same for Super for the most part. Both characters do have dive kick pressure like 3S and boy we do love dive kicks in SSF4. The question is will the AE balance changes along with the new characters be a downloadable purchase for consoles, or is it worth it enough for another retail release. Who knows, but Capcom seems to do the right thing handling Street Fighter IV stuff lately as the arcade version should be out at Japan by the end of the year and stateside assuming arcades are willing to buy it next year.
As if showing off X-23 and Tron Bonne weren't enough, Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds gets two more characters into the action with Spider-Man and Wesker. It wouldn't be a versus game these days without Spider-Man as he seems to be better this time around with the addition of web zipping along with his familiar MvC2 movetest. His better looking Maximum Spider super is likely level 3 as Crawler Assault and the Ultimate Web Throw supers are still the same. Wesker from Resident Evil fame has some crazy tricks at his disposal such as stopping (or maybe stealing) supers where opposing supers are activated and also throwing a rocket to someone's face. He seems like another fine addition for the Capcom side (Chris being the other RE character in already) of the roster. Marvel vs. Capcom 3 has been bumped for a Q1 2011 release and there's a Fight Club event featuring it at Chicago next week.
As we would say, it has been a good time to play fighting games again, but next year keeps getting better and better as if we are at the 90s again.
Another classic game gets reinvented for the modern generation with Space Invaders: Infinity Gene for both Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network. This is not the first time though that Space Invaders has been modernized in recent years with releases on the handheld platforms, so it has been used towards reaching out today's audience. Infinity Gene is arguably Taito's best effort of making Space Invaders feel modern and fun at the same time by taking the simple shooter formula of the original game and taking it to eleven in every aspect. I am usually a sucker for playing modernized takes on old classic arcade games as Infinity Gene is no different with its simple yet hard to master gameplay and a decent amount of replay value with the numerous modes being offered. It manages to take such an original concept as it flips the switch around for a more trippier and crazier experience that is worth the ten dollars.
Infinity Gene is divided up to three major modes as they consist of the normal game, challenge stages, and the music mode. The normal game is the bread and butter of the bunch as it starts off with a throwback to the original game for a few seconds before realizing that this is not your father's Space Invaders. You start off with limited abilities as you progress with the five worlds that consist of six levels each, but as you keep filling up the gene meter fully after beating the level or even getting a game over after running out of lives, you will evolve gaining more abilities such as free movement, various shot types, more lives to start with, and bonus stages. It is actually recommended you start off with the normal game first to gain some abilities that will save you later on in the other modes, specifically free movement. The first world is pretty much a warmup as the game starts taking shape getting more crazier and chaotic from the second world on with more enemies on screen to shoot and obstacles to avoid. The amount of enemies in a snap and everywhere on the screen does remind me of a similar classic getting modernized, which is Galaga Legions, but Infinity Gene handles it better with a progressive experience-based system to gain more weapons besides the normal rapid shot. These unlockable shot types are hit and miss for the most part as some are usable like the wave weapon, which is a spread gun-like shot. There also bosses at the end of the levels as well, but expect them to reappear multiple times later on in the game as if you're playing a boss rush of sorts they consist of many shapes from giant UFOs, a sun, and so on. You do get a sense a repetition seeing these bosses again, but the game manages to throw some twists in the way to make the battles not feel the same with walls and other enemies.
The fun does not stop there with the normal game in Infinity Gene even though there are harder difficulties to unlock as well. The 99 challenge stages are just more of the same in the normal game, but shorter. They will get progressively harder in the later stages, so it is a matter of being prepared for anything they will throw at you. Bonus stages are also unlocked by evolution over time as well which are similar to all the other stuff going on. The music mode is perhaps the best feature in this Space Invaders game as you play a stage with your own music at your disposal. As long as you have music on your hard drive or an external device that the console recognizes, you're able to enjoy the full potential of music mode. Even though the same song will loop if you're playing a long game, it would be nice if a playlist feature within the game can be added later on.
Graphically, the game sticks to the same style the original has with the enemy design of the invaders along with enemy ships. There are a variety of backgrounds in all of the modes, but at times you might be confused of whether or not a line is part of the background or an enemy firing a line at you which likely results in a loss of a life. Infinity Gene still does a great job of retaining the visual style of the original while handling the amount of enemies on screen well with a smooth framerate. The same goes for the sound as well as if you're playing an arcade game back in the 80s as it plays along to those sound effects expectedly. These sound effects may get annoying for some especially if they have used to more modernized games, but it is a matter of realizing you're still playing a Space Invaders game in 2010.
Space Invaders: Infinity Gene is another example of how to treat a classic in the modern era and spin it around to make it more trippy and frantic. There are so many twists and turns in the normal game on how the enemy waves are treated as if you have to be on your toes at all times preparing for the worst. At times, you will lose a life just for being at the wrong spot at the wrong time which will be the case later on in normal mode. As a package, it still feels like you're playing a game in the 80s, but with more technology backing up especially with the amount of enemies on screen to shoot at. There is enough replay value to play for long and short sessions evolving to unlock more weapons, bonus levels, and stuff for the collection as well the music mode is open to your imagination in terms of what to blast. For ten bucks on Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network, Infinity Gene is worth your time and money if you love modernized takes on classic games or even the itch to experience something trippy.
Score = 8.5/10
Pros:
A great modernized take of an arcade classic
The normal mode experience gets crazier and trippier as you progress
Gene evolution meter is a neat touch for gaining new abilities
Tons of replay value with the numerous modes and harder difficulties
Music mode makes use of your own music really well
Cons:
May be too epileptic for some especially with the backgrounds
At some points, you can't tell the difference between the background and enemy fire
Weapon styles are hit and miss as some only stand out being effective
So the conferences were last night our time for both Microsoft and Sony as they announced a lot of games for the upcoming year...
I might as well start off with the showstopper that is Gran Turismo 5, which is less than 2 months away from release. As NeoGAF claims, this game has "more features than God," and yeah, I have to agree with that statement because GT5 is indeed a nutty package. Even though its just more replay footage above, these trailers are put together nicely from the music and the various cuts. In addition, that inside view rain shot is just amazing. The weather effects are just flat out incredible in this game with the rain and snow. Its almost here and now I'm pretty excited for a Gran Turismo game for once.
My most wanted game, Child of Eden, also has a huge showing at TGS with some new stuff. Here Miz himself playing the latest build as I can't wait even though I'm still wandering how this will play with Move controls as the game is still being shown with Kinect controls.
Also somewhat flying under the radar for me this fall is Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, which is actually out next month. This long trailer shows off more of the story in the game and what I mean by long is in the Konami/Kojima tradition with all these cutscenes. This return to a 3D action game instead of the traditional 2D Metroidvania style will be interesting to see how it turns out especially with Kojima Productions at the helm. Can they make Castlevania work in 3D that previous games last generation have pretty much failed? We'll see on October 5th.
Announced during the Microsoft TGS Keynote last night is the return of Radiant Silvergun, another Treasure classic, for a XBLA release next year. I would insert another "this is game is crazy expensive on E-Bay" joke, but I won't. Expect the same features as past Treasure releases on XBLA like Ikaruga with leaderboards, local/online co-op, and downloadable replays.
As if Japan is not sick of the Yakuza games yet, Sega announces another new entry to the series, which they are at five now. However, this an't your ordinary Yakuza game as Yakuza of the End stars our protagonists of the previous games against zombies and monsters invading Japan. This is all crazy stuff and way for Sega to mess up the Yakuza fiction more with putting out creatures to kill as if its some Earth Defense Force game. With Yakuza 4 out next year at the States, except this new one to come out around that same time at Japan in the traditional pattern. This reminds me, I need to get around to playing these games even though I play the demos when they were out.
I was shocked as many were when Capcom announced the return of Steel Batallalion to the 360 with Kinect controls at the Microsoft TGS Keynote. This new game, Steel Batallion: Heavy Armor, is also developed by From Software (makers of many games involving robots) wipes away that crazy mech-like controller of the Xbox game for body controls by Kinect, which is pretty nuts going from near hundreds of buttons to none. I'm curious to see how Capcom and From Software pull this off when this game is out next year only on 360.
Team ICO has been quiet this year till this week's TGS as far as revealing anything new with The Last Guardian and now a new trailer has surfaced. We still know next to nothing about the game and its still ways off with a holiday release next year. Despite that, its easy to excited for this now that the project is still going and blowing people's minds. Other than The Last Guardian, they officially announced the Team ICO Collection of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus for release next year with 3D support. The two classics are reborn again HD-up and another chance for them to shine because for one, I missed them when they came out on PS2, and gives others that missed out to experience two special games that are unlike anything else out now even today. The Team ICO Collection will be out next year only on PS3 and with that plus The Last Guardian at their disposal next year, the team has a busy time ahead for them and I know they will deliver on the expectations.
Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds has a new build at TGS showing off the roster so far as well as two new additions (more like one). We already know Tron Bonne is in from the last cinematic trailer, but gameplay has surfaced of her in action as she retains her MvC2 movelist for the most part with her supers intact as well as one more super new to the game. As a Tron user in MvC2, I'm happy she is pretty much the same and perhaps even better in MvC3 with more combos that link to her supers, but if her projectile assist is gone that made her one of the better characters in that game, then who knows if I'll still use her for MvC3. The new character announced for TGS is a surprising one as X-23 enters the fray. The first lady announced for the Marvel side is not a Wolverine clone as people feared, but she has her own crazy movelist and quite useful at best. She can be one of those quick characters that hard, so her speed may be used to her advantage. So far, X-23 seems like she will be a worthy addition to the roster with still others yet to be revealed in the coming months, so enjoy the gameplay footage of the new characters in action (Some Level 3 supers for the existing characters are also shown in the trailer above).
The Tokyo Game Show should be going on today and the weekend and it seems like Japanese developers are bringing it in terms of announcing new games (The new DmC and Ninja Gaiden III have their spotlighted posts earlier).
First up is Shadows of the Damned, published by EA and developed Grasshopper. Suda 51 of No Heroes fame is behind this new game along with other notable names in the Japanese game world. It seems like a third-person shooter Resident Evil style against demons with its own visual style. This game is out next year for the PS3 and 360.
Next up is Catherine, which is by Atlus, who does the Persona games. Atlus finally has a Persona-like game on the PS3 and 360 as it has its own craziness that the mind can't consume at first. Plus, this trailer has no subtitles, so good luck trying to figure out what is going on.
Capcom, along with DmC, announced another new game and IP, called Asura's Wrath. This one is developed by Cyberconnect2 (.Hack series back on the PS2) and its another crazy action game with quicktime events done on Unreal Engine 3. The trailer alone is pretty nuts, which is enough to get people excited and who knows when this one comes out on PS3/360.
Dead Rising 2 is out at the end of the month and Case: Zero has been an amazing success for Capcom, so why not put out another downloadable episode called Case: West. This is actually an epilogue of the game (who knows why Capcom announced this already) featuring Chuck Greene and the first game's protagonist, Frank West, making a return to the fray. This is also currently a 360 exclusive like Case: Zero, so PS3 owners are again getting the shaft which makes wonder why Dead Rising 2 is even coming to PS3 if Microsoft continues to wheel and deal their way towards getting exclusive rights.
Continuing on the downloadable front is a teaser for a new Pikeljunk game with Playstation Move support. Its called Pikeljunk Lifelike and at first glance it seems like it will be a Move-only rhythm game, but who knows as it could be totally something else. Considering their track record with great music on their games, a rhythm game by Q Games is not that bad of an idea. It seems early as I don't expect to see this weird PSN game till next year.
Also out at the end of the month (for PC) is Final Fantasy XIV. This new MMO FF game has been in the beta phase for a bit already, and I'm not sure what is the consensus is so far with it since it has been flying under the radar with everything else that is out now. Then again, its probably me not paying attention to what is going on because its a MMO and I'm not into those type of games. However, here's a new and long CG cutscene in FF tradition with the game also coming to the PS3 next year.
That's it from TGS for now. Probably more on the show later on especially Sony showing off The Last Guardian again (Finally!) and yes, the Team Ico Collection of Ico/Shadow of the Colossus, which is slated for release next year only on PS3.
While crazy gamers are still getting angry over Capcom's new Devil May Cry game announcement, Team Ninja silently announces Ninja Gaiden III as they started development on it, but it won't be out for a while. With a new team led by Hayashi, I'm curious if they can continue the series the way it is, which I think they can. The modern Ninja Gaiden games have been the one of the better action games in recent years (The first one/Black still one of my favorite games of all-time), so more Ryu Hayabusa slicing dudes up with blood everywhere is a good thing.
Another rumor that lasted for a while in the gaming world becomes true as Capcom announces a new Devil May Cry game developed by Ninja Theory called DmC. For those who don't know Ninja Theory, they made Sony's Heavenly Sword, which is not that bad of an action game on the PS3, but had its issues and haters. This is pretty much a reboot for the series as a younger Dante with black hair (also haters gonna hate) gets shown wrecking house against new enemies. It also shows him in a captured state being interrogated as some unknown guy, so who knows what will go on with that. Ninja Theory developing the game is making a lot of Capcom fanboys mad with the Dante redesign and how the gameplay would feel totally different, but honestly, I'm giving them a chance to see how they handle such this franchise that has nearly lasted a decade. DmC is expected to come out sometime next year for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.
Super Mario Bros. is 25 years old today in terms of Japanese release, so it is a momentous day in the world of Nintendo celebrating the game that revitalized the game industry back in 1985. I decided to attempt a warpless run of the game on my Wii's Virtual Console and failed miserably halfway if you saw my justin.tv stream earlier this afternoon. Instead of posting my failure, I rather post up a speed run of the game by a better player. In honor of the game's milestone, Nintendo is releasing the Super Mario Collection on the Wii next month at Japan, which is basically All-Stars on a Wii disc plus more Mario goodies like soundtracks and more. Who knows if it is coming out here in the states, but I won't mind having that around.
Here's some more videos celebrating the milestone... way to go Mario!
Alright, this mega music roundup features lots of albums and last night's MTV Video Music Awards as I'll put up my three favorite performances from the show as it was okay having its good/bad moments.
My favorite performance of the night obviously has to go to the showstopper himself Kanye West. He debuted a new song called "Runaway" and boy that song is funny yet amazing at the same time. Leave it to Kanye for his ingenious work using his personality to his advantage with the lyrics. Pusha T from the Clipse also came up to perform his verse as give him props for having another cameo appearance in the VMAs (Remember Justin Timberlake's "Like I Love You" performance from 2002?). I didn't expect Kanye to go autotune at the end, but I don't mind it, but damn that song is just too good right now. At this rate, his album better live up to the hype now.
Drizzy Drake had a surprisingly good performance as I didn't expect him to perform "Fancy," but he did (Oh u fancy huh?) with Swizz Beatz and Mary J. Blige. I expected Drake to perform something else, but I went crazy for a bit when the song came up. Also, the highlight of the performance wasn't Drizzy at all, but it is Mary killing it as always as if its some different remix because without her I think the performance would of sucked, so luckily Drake had her backing him up. Actually, Mary J. brings new light to the song even though the T.I. verse is still good. In the meantime, where's the official music video Drake?
I want to put up the Usher performance too, but MTV's embed link for it is not working at this time, so I'll add it later. He performed "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" and "OMG" and danced his butt off as he didn't sing enough, which I didn't mind at all. Along with him dancing, the stage lights played a huge role with his performance which made it pretty dope. If only I can learn the dance routine to this someday, but I'll let the performance speak for itself because it felt like he was dancing like its the last night of his life there.
Okay, my mini VMAs recap is done... off to albums that are out this week (one of them is out next week though)
First off is one highly anticipated album and the return of Linkin Park with A Thousand Suns. After the disappointment that was Minutes to Midnight for many, will this new album rebound them to similar success of their first two albums? The answer to that is both yes and no as this new album is better than Minutes, but not that much. There are some hits and misses as there are several standouts. "The Catalyst" is a solid first single for them (video above) as its not that bad to the point its still growing to me. Expect a lot of slow-tempo stuff from the boys, but the songs that are closer to their roots are my personal favorites with "Blackout" and "Wretches and Kings." These songs are the closest for them recapturing the music of the first two albums as "Blackout" is Chester in screaming voice mode to the point he would easily lose it and "Wretches and Kings" is your standard LP song of the past with Mike rapping, Chester singing the hook, and your occasional DJ Hahn scratching section. Other than that, A Thousand Suns is somewhat a return to form for Linkin Park as far where they're at in their careers. I didn't expect them to rehash Hybrid Theory or Meteora for the entire album, but this new album does show off their maturity and being able to experiment with new things yet maintaining their core sound at the same time.
Continuing up the rock is Weezer's new album, Hurley. Its still awesome that the cover of the album is Hurley from Lost. I like the first single, "Memories" (video above), but its more of the same from the boys for the rest of the album. The only special mention is the deluxe edition having a cover of Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" which is actually pretty good. I have pretty much nothing else to say about this one other than if you like more Weezer, this new album is worth a listen.
Maroon 5's latest, Hands All Over, is out next week and this new album felt like it was under the radar for me even though it has been on the iTunes pre-order list for a while. Specifically, I was like "Oh they have a new album out soon, ok why not." I felt like this band fell off after their breakout album with all those hit songs like "Harder to Breathe," "This Love," and "She Will Be Loved." This new one though retains their core sound of poppy rock and the masses will love it. Their singles so far for the album, "Misery" and "Give a Little More," (video above) are what I expected from them, but it can't hurt to have your Adam Levine fix here and there. If you need your chill pop rock fix, you can't go wrong with Maroon 5's new album.
Last but not least to mention is Trey Songz's Passion, Pain, & Pleasure. I must say though, this is quickly becoming one of my favorite R&B albums of the year. With Ready propelling him to the mainstream spotlight, the new album will take things to the next level and does. The album is divided cleverly to three sections according to the album's title, so you expect to hear a certain vibe per section like the pain section being mostly slow stuff like "Can't Be Friends" and "The Unusual" featuring Drake in the pleasure section being more up-tempo. Drake is not the only cameo in the album as Nicki Minaj is in the album's first single "Bottoms Up" (video above) and does her usual thing of delivering crazy verses. You're pretty much getting three sides of Trey with the album's title and delivers on all of them well, but I think you'll get full appreciation of all three sides hearing the album in its entirety. Its going to be hard to top Trey's album in the world of R&B for the rest of the year and of course the ladies will like this album a lot too.
Well that's a lot for this music roundup - More to come soon.
GameSpot just put up a new story trailer for Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds featuring the characters that weren't in earlier story trailers before like Chun-Li, Captain America, Doctor Doom, Amaterasu, Trish, Viewitiful Joe, and Super Skrull. The only new relevation is the confirmation of Tron Bonne as a playable character, which is also expected. We'll see if she retains her MvC2 moveset especially her projectile assist since its still one of the best assists in that game. TGS is pretty much the next big event MvC3 will make an appearance with more reveals as Tron Bonne will likely be playable there and some more new ones yet to be confirmed. (Crimson Viper & Frank West are among the rumored peeps to be in the roster)
This week for the PSN Demo Showcase features two Japanese-developed games as one features a good ripoff of a long-lasting franchise while the other is a horrible ripoff of a popular shooter...
First up is Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes by Capcom as the head guy that was behind Devil May Cry 4 is the head honcho for this project. If you played any Dynasty Warriors games, this one is pretty much that in a nutshell as you mash the attack buttons to pummel hundreds of enemies that just stand there mostly to get killed. Other than mashing, you may have to dodge some attacks here and there by tougher boss-like foes, but it is pretty much what I described earlier if you're into those type of games. There are two characters to play as in this demo and one scenario that is long enough (like 20 to 30 minutes) defeating waves of enemies gaining new allies in the process for world peace. Some of the attack animations look like Devil May Cry 4's which is why you may get a familiar vibe if you played that game to death also by Capcom. Some of the allies you gain feel useless, so you feel like you're doing all the work, which is not that bad. There is a Basara gauge that gets filled up for one powerful attack string that uses the meter when full, which is useful if you're in trouble. Other than some camera control issues that struggle to keep along in the action, Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes is a solid Dynasty-Warriors-like game if you crave those type of repetitive gameplay.
Quantum Theory, on the other hand, is a whole different story. Oh boy, what happened to this game since it was first announced by Tecmo two TGSes ago that has some potential to be interesting being a "Japanese Gears of War?" It definitely feels and plays like Japanese Gears but in worst ways in all areas. Honestly, it is one of the worst games I played in recent years as everything feels bad you feel like why did I wasted all this time to download this and play through the whole demo. The cover-based shooting does not feel as satisfying and fluid as you expected being a Gears clone. In other words, you feel like you have to press more buttons to pop in and out of cover compared to how automatic the Gears games handle cover controls. The weapons feel generic with nothing special such as a single shot rifle, a machine gun, shotgun, etc. Even the melee system feels complicated and disappointing if people expected Quantum Theory to have some Ninja Gaiden flavor. The only redeeming gameplay element is the partner commands in which you can throw her from a distance to take out foes from afar, but even that has its flaws as well.
Besides the overall gameplay being flat out bad, the graphics and sound are more worse. Graphically, it looks like a darker and grittier Gears and yet it is more ugly. Add along poor level design on how the encounters are handled and bad enemy A.I. that just stands there at times to shoot, you have a bad ripoff that even shames the original. To top things off, the voice acting is abysmal with generic one-liners at any moment as the main guy just sounds dumb saying these pointless lines like "mmmm ammo." and the partner chick telling you "nice shot." The main character looks and sounds like the most cliche space-marine dude you're ever meet in any game because seriously its that horrible.
Playing something like Quantum Theory makes you wonder why games like this get green-lit to be released in stores. It is an abomination unlike anything I played in recent times, which is saying something for myself too. Avoid this game at all costs, or better yet play the demo for yourself and see how horrible it is.
In case you don't know, I don't have DJ Hero 1, but I have played lots of it at my cousin's house and master Hard difficulty. I almost bought it for 20 bucks when Toys R Us had that deal, but I was too late, which was a bummer. Anyway, DJ Hero 2 is out next month and already impressing me because it is still up my alley in terms of music and they have been cranking up the features that the first game lacked. A demo came out today on Xbox Live Marketplace and soon on Playstation Network as footage of it in action in below featuring three good mixes (1 of them shows off the new battle mode). Also, you will notice the new gameplay touches as well (vocals are also in too). After seeing this, my excitement meter raised up significantly to the point I would cave in for the pricey party bundle, but we'll see with that. Plus, can't wrong with scratching as Deadmau5 in the game and yes, I want to play this demo now too.
This week in Rock Band is something special, which features the one and only Snoop Dogg. Yeah yeah, Snoop is not considered rock, but like Lady Gaga week, this is Harmonix once again branching out to non-rock genres because we all know you would get sick of hearing and playing the same old songs. A little random variety is nice to have here and there especially with some hip-hop. It also seems like a jab at Def Jam Rapstar with Harmonix saying hey - we can do hip-hop too with rock instruments. Most of the tracks got re-recorded for the game like the older ones, but some of them are the original ones especially Snoop's later hits like "Sensual Seduction" (video above). As expected, this is not really meant for guitarists/bassists as vocalists and drummers will have a field day with the new DLC out today on the Xbox Live Marketplace and Playstation Network. In the meantime, here's more full song footage of some songs... Snnnnoooppppp!!
The Fabolous / Ryan Leslie song "You Be Killing 'Em" is currently on my top 10 songs I'm blasting now and this video shows why this song is dope. I'll let the video speak for itself with Ryan Leslie doing his thing.
Note: The gameplay videos might contain spoilers...
When Metroid: Other M was announced last year by Nintendo, fans were eagerly excited yet curious of how a different developer, Team Ninja, would handle such a beloved franchise. Departing from the successful and critically acclaimed Prime Trilogy by Retro Studios, Other M feels like a new refreshing take, yet familiar retaining elements from both the 2D and 3D games. I gotta give Nintendo credit for having the balls allowing Team Ninja to take story presentation to the next level with this game, which is something Nintendo has not been known for over the years. Samus Aran is no longer the silent bounty hunter we once knew from past games and now has a voice on things she has dealt with her past and the present. At first, it seems crazy that Samus having human emotions for once as if she is a more fleshed out character especially in this modern time of gaming. I also have to give Nintendo their kudos for taking a chance with Other M because it allows them to stray away from their philosophies and actually releasing a game that feels modern compared to their other franchises that continue to be on the same path such as the Mario and Zelda games. As a game itself, Other M is a different yet mixed take that is still a must-play for fans of the series.
Metroid: Other M begins with a retelling of events of Super Metroid, specifically the ending where the baby Metroid saves Samus from death by the Mother Brain and then sacrifices itself which leads to Samus finally defeating her nemesis again. The baby's sacrifice has been on Samus's mind after those events, which is why a familiar distress signal from an unknown ship calls her name to go there and investigate what is going on. Turns out the mission is more than just a random signal when the Galactic Federation gets involved as Samus decided to help them out again to figure out what is really on inside the Bottle Ship and come out of it alive. The story goes through many twists and turns in typical Japanese fashion, which is expected out of Team Ninja, to the point where familiar enemies return to attempt to ruin the mission. How is the story is being told in Other M is the major part of the game as there are lots of cutscenes in Samus's perspective where she tends to blab too much about what is going on and thinking how the Federation, specifically Adam Malkovich, the leader of the Federation unit sent to the Bottle Ship and her former boss, thinks of her. This tends to get annoying as the game progresses as you sometimes wish she can shut up and move on to the next part of the mission. Then again, I expect this out of Team Ninja especially with how they handle stories in their Ninja Gaiden games.
Despite the storyline being a major focus of the game, it is still the gameplay that fundamentally matters at the end of the day and Other M is indeed a different yet familiar experience for the franchise from the controls to the structure. Sure, there are the elements Metroid fans have been used to from the exploration, having limited abilities at the beginning to becoming a wrecking machine at the end, but it is how Team Ninja changed up these core elements and these changes do feel welcome even though you question yourself the design choices they ended up going with. An example of this of such a change is how Samus gains back her abilities. Usually in the Metroid games, something crazy happens to her that makes her lose those abilities in order to start from scratch to get them back again. Other M tackles it differently as Adam has to authorize the right to be allowed to use such weapons as the Ice Beam and Super Missiles, but sometimes this design choice by Team Ninja feels weird that they let you get used to being in hazardous situations for a little bit before Adam lets you use them. This is specifically the case with the Varia Suit where you're in a warm area for a good amount of time losing energy and wandering where's the suit when you truly need it. Other than that scenario, the timing of when Adam authorizes the right to use new abilities come at times when they make sense. Another significant change Team Ninja made with the core mechanics is how to gain back lost health and missiles. Instead of getting energy balls and missiles from defeating enemies in past games, you can replenish your missile ammo in a snap by standing still and recharging with the Wiimote held vertically holding the A button. The same goes for recovering lost health, but only when its low even though you have to do it at a safe spot, otherwise you would die and will die at such times. This is a design choice that works for the most part for Other M's action-heavy gameplay style reminiscent of the Ninja Gaiden games keeping the action going at a frantic and steady pace, but there are times as I mentioned a bit ago, where it is frustrating to find some time to recharge and you just want to take a chance to survive a tough enemy encounter in order to do it. The core Metroid formula is still in effect in Other M from exploring to find missile/energy tanks, backtracking a bunch to go to new areas that were previously unreached, Navigation Rooms as save points, and epic boss encounters, but the new changes to some parts of the formula are refreshing to what we're used to in past games.
The other major design choices being put in question are the controls in Other M. It is pretty clear that the developers wanted to make the controls as old-school as possible with the Wiimote being held sideways like a NES controller, but the limitations of such a control scheme makes you wonder how better this would play with a Nunchuk attachment. However, Team Ninja handled the limitations well for the most part especially with the game being a hybrid of both first-person/third-person perspectives. From the third-person perspective, the game controls like the NES game at its core shooting away at enemies with auto-aim and going to Morph Ball mode, but its the action-heavy mentality that kicks in where there are moments that the series has been Ninja-Gaidened and it is again another welcome change of pace. What I mean is that you're dodging away from enemies by SenseMove and countering with Charge Beam blasts, and finishing them off with Overblasts and Lethal Strikes which Samus goes in close doing something cool and something Ryu Hayabusa would do for the kill. Once you get used to the timing of SenseMove dodging instead of running and jumping around in attempt to evade, which will take some time at the beginning of the game, Other M's third-person combat is fun and satisfying when things click. On the first-person perspective though, it is a different story where you have to point the Wiimote at the screen and its the only way to use missiles in the game. The awkward part about being in 1st person is not being able to move at all when aiming and locking on at enemies to shoot missiles. If you're allowed player movement in this perspective, then it is just another Prime game in a nutshell combat-wise, which is why such a design choice was made for this. There are times in heated enemy encounters though where you wish you can move in 1st person to evade the enemies' attacks and also will be intense moments where you're only in 1st person to eliminate the opposition. In addition, there will be times where your controller won't be your best friend in heated combat situations where you struggle to switch perspectives when needed and when you're trying to recover lost health/missiles, you go in Morph Ball mode because your Wiimote is not positioned right. Those moments make the overall controls frustrating at times which would lead to deaths, but a generous checkpoint system is there to continue where you're left off especially with boss battles. Despite the flaws and weird design choices, Other M's controls do take time to get accustomed to, but when they work and click with you, a good sense of satisfaction comes out of performing the cool moves making Samus more badass of a character now.
The graphics in Metroid: Other M look pretty sharp from the gameplay to the cutscnes. The cutscenes are in CG and they look good for a Wii game as you will see lots of them throughout the mission as if you're almost playing a Metal Gear game to get character development and backstory. There are rare cases of slowdown when the framerate takes a dip, but it runs pretty consistently at 60 frames per second, which is expected out of Nintendo games to have that level of polish with no obvious glitches. In addition, there will be times where you will see the "now loading" prompt up on the screen at some hatches. As for the sound, there is little to no music most of the time when playing the game, but it does make the game feel ambient and moody. When the music shines though is hearing familiar themes being modernized, which would make fans happy. The voice acting, on the other hand, ends up flat specifically for Samus. Most of the time she just talks in a dull voice of the events and reflections of their past. Along with that, when she gets all emotional, it also feels awkward as if she takes a second to consume what in the world is going on. Other than that, the other characters' voices are okay as they do their job for the most part. It is however Samus's voice in the game along with the story full of twists and turns that makes Other M feels awkward at certain moments.
I feel like Metroid: Other M will be the dark horse of the franchise as it is a love/hate game. There will be both sides to this as some will appreciate Team Ninja's new direction and others that will not like such a dramatic change to what they knew and to Samus as now a modernly fleshed out character. The overall storyline feels very Japanese on how its presented with lots of CG cutscenes, but still highly produced with all the crazy plot twists. However, Samus's voice acting does make the story feel weird and bad as you would want her to shut up because she wants to keep rambling. The core Metroid formula is still intact in Other M as I like some of the new changes that were implemented even though how you gain new abilities can be awkward at times. It does take time to get the ball rolling especially with the overall gameplay and both the first/third-person controls, but when they click, they feel fun and satisfying unleashing Lethal Strikes against bigger foes. However, be prepared for frustration where you will fight your controller when things are not going your way. It is as long as the Prime games, which takes about a dozen hours to beat on Normal, but a bit longer if you want to collect every items for the 100% to unlock a harder difficulty where there are no pickups as it is just one tank and ten missiles throughout. It is indeed a must-play for fans of the series with all the fanservice it offers and for Nintendo fans in general. I appreciate all the risks Metroid: Other M is as a game, but those risks paid off as it is a different yet worthy addition to a beloved franchise.
Score = 8.5/10
Pros:
A Metroid game with a surprisingly deep storyline
A new, experimental, and refreshing take on the beloved franchise by Team Ninja
Some changes to the core formula feel welcome
Feels like you're playing a modern game NES style, but Team Ninja did a great job handling the limitations of the Wiimote to a game like this
I like the action-heavy approach this game offers (Some would say Samus got Ninja-Gaidened, but it works)
Lots of fanservice for fans of the series (Bosses, familiar music being modernized, little details)
Cons:
Samus's voice acting ends up flat and she can be annoying at times in the numerous cutscenes
The Japanese-like storyline can be a mess at times with all the twists
Weird design choices with some gameplay elements that may turn players off
Controller frustrations can happen in heated enemy encounters
