The hype for the console versions of Street Fighter IV is getting crazier and crazier by the second with Gamestops calling people about their FightStick/TE Stick pre-orders coming in today (even though most of them are saying tomorrow) and lucky stores selling the game as early as today too. You never know when a random 7 Eleven or even Fry's would have the game at this moment.
Anyway, the hype has reached to another level!!!
For actual gameplay of Rose showcasing her "ShamWow" Ultra (This is what everyone is calling that move now), here's this video:
Okay, here's an example of the hype going too far, but still funny (3rd Strike related from last month's California Regionals).
As stated on my Twitter, I'm not going to the Downtown LA Launch Party anymore on Thursday as my weekend will be filled with "Flowers" (if u know what I mean). Plus, expect my reviews of Skate 2 and Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion later in the week.
Yesterday was a long marathon arcade session for the whole day. First was some Street Fighter IV at Video 94 (costs a quarter to play compared to Super and Arcade Infinity) and I had a mini-streak going with my main man Bison for a bit with the decent competition. Considering how Bison is a top 5 character, his EX specials are great weapons, more specifically his EX Head Stomp (that move is no joke!!!). I'm still trying to improve my execution of some BnB (bread and butter) combos that lead to his Scissor Kicks (Bison's best move other than EX Head Stomp) and also I usually use his Nightmare Booster Ultra after a focus attack or on wakeup if the opponent whiffs something. I need to learn to do his jump strong, strong to Ultra setup soon. Speaking of Video 94, there is a tournament going on now for SF IV (Teams of 2) and HD Remix in which I thought it was yesterday, oh well.
Then, for the rest of the day was at Super Arcade playing more Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion with the regulars and SoCal's best. That night, the camera recorder made an appearance recording some matches and luckily I'm in some videos (1st time on YouTube ever). I'll admit I suck at this game compared to the likes of Kane, MYK, Suiken, Rip, Cynnik, and others that play the game reguarly, but I think I'm decent enough to hang with them winning a round or two (Luckily the games are 5 rounds now as of last week). If you're going to try to be good at games like these, every game is a learning experience whether if it is a winning one or a losing effort. I still had a great time last night at least just hanging out with the community again and at least there's a tournament coming soon like the end of the month (Like I have a chance of winning, but it doesn't hurt to try). Other than that, watch my scrubby Bryan get owned...
Note - I can't use my GUnitVer1 tag on BR because they blur it out assuming gun is a bad word, so I'm going by my old name, SlayerVer1 on Tekken. Plus, expect a review of this game soon too here. For more BR matches at Super Arcade, here's the channel link.
Me vs. Suiken
Me vs. Cyborg (I didn't have an answer or a plan going against Baek, so that's what I get for not really knowing the matchup = A classic beatdown or rape!!)
Me vs. How Wrong (This Hwoarang player is a Super regular and seriously his Tekken name is really how the announcer says Hwoarang's name).
Me vs. Kane (His Lili is too good and luckily my poking game worked for one round.)
Beat Freaks also delivered again with The Offspring's "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)." Nice ending too with JC signing the autograph.
With the elimination of the Ringmasters (about damn time since they suck), 5 crews remain and yes, the division between the awesome and the crap is widening up (There's a reason only 2 performances are up on this post).
This was mentioned in my Twitter earlier today, but Capcom-Unity has been rolling out open invites to the Street Fighter IV Launch Party next Thursday at Downtown Los Angeles and I'm hoping I get in. The details are here and I already sent an e-mail requesting one, but who knows if it went in. If not, I'll just try again tomorrow I guess. If I am going, then it is going to be an awesome time with the amount of stuff going on at the event from giving early copies of the game, the fighting game community and gaming press at large will be there in a big way, performances by DJ Qbert, The Knux, and ABDC's Season 2 favorites Supreme Soul. Hopefully, others can be come and I might provide some pics and moments from the night if it is on.
After about 1.8 million people download the Resident Evil 5 Demo on Xbox Live Marketplace, which came out last week, the same demo is now on PSN as of yesterday morning and about time PS3 only players get a shot of what's to come with RE5. The demo consists of two sections, Private Assembly and Shanty Town, the same two scenarios we have seen since last E3, but now available for download. You can play these sections alone or co-op both local and online. Lastly, there's 4 control options ranging from the old-school RE4 style controls (Type A) to the "Gears" controls (Type D). Good thing the demo is there for people to figure out which control style to prefer. After playing through the sections twice, I am currently preferring the "Gears" controls to the classic RE4 style. Of course, the gaming message boards have been divided whether or not this game is still good and relevant despite being RE4 in HD gameplay wise. Sure, players have been spoiled of Halo/COD/Gears style controls because those shooters got it right, but returning to the RE4 playstyle where u stop and shoot at enemies, it does feel weird and dated in this age of the current generation.
The core gameplay is pure Resident Evil 4, but enhanced due to the co-op mechanic with Sheva around. It is clear that this game is designed for co-op throughout and Capcom did a good job with Sheva's CPU A.I. Of course, the game would be more interesting with another human player around as u have to act more as a team, but even as a CPU, Sheva does hold her own end helping you revive from death and give you cover. The co-op mechanic surprisingly delivers in the co-op specific sections where Chris and Sheva divide up, but still in the same vicinity helping each other out (the two buildings part of the Shanty Town section). Yeah, going back to "tank" controls standing still shooting at enemies is awkward especially if people have been playing shooters like Gears 2 and Left 4 Dead like crazy. Personally, having not played shooters seriously, the change of pace with the shooting feels fine even with the limited movement options. This is the case fighting the chainsaw guy at the end of Shanty Town demo when my plan of attack is to hit and run with the rifle after hitting the burning crates. At least with the Private Assembly section, there is some sense of freedom due to being an open area of how to survive the enemy encounter before the helicopter comes for the rescue.
Despite my mixed feelings with the gameplay, the game does look beautiful with detailed characters and the action does fit the setting. Even though the demo environments feel the same, at least the final game will spice it up with the variety of locales from the vehicle chase scene, some nighttime levels, and more. I didn't notice any framerate drops on the PS3 version compared to what people are saying as the game runs pretty smooth and constant. Good thing there's also a mandatory install to minimize load times. The game also delivers on the sound department especially when the music picks up in intense moments and enemy encounters. The voice acting seems fine to me as Chris and Sheva are not as annoying as I thought they would be when screaming out orders. Then again, the demo didn't provide enough different lines when giving out partner commands or giving Sheva items.
I haven't tried the demo yet cooperatively both locally and online. Even though it is a great feature and nice to have another human player around, I don't mind playing RE5 alone like RE4. The single player feels fine as Sheva does hold up as a great partner. It does feel like I'm back in 2005 playing Resident Evil 4, one of my favorite games of that year, but I can see why people think this style of gameplay in 2009 feels somewhat dated especially if they have been playing Call of Duty or Gears-like shooters every day. It is a different game than those previously mentioned shooters and I do believe we are spoiled of that standard control scheme, so it is nice to return to this different change of pace with Resident Evil 5. It is going to be a tough decision between Killzone 2 and RE5 after my game of the forever Street Fighter IV comes out in 2 weeks (I'm spending too much money on that damn game). If I'm buying RE5, I'm not even going to bother with the Collector's Edition this time as I will just spend the normal 60 bucks. Yeah, Japan still has some catching up to do especially in the action shooter genre, but that topic can be saved for another time. Plain simply, the Resident Evil 5 Demo is not that bad and I hope the final game (story, gameplay, and replay value) delivers in the end. Otherwise, I'll stick to Killzone 2 instead of this.
As big sports weekend (UFC 94 and Super Bowl XLIII) closes, midterm hell begins and I'm stressing out as usual. Then again, here's "Begging" by Madcon to end the day as this song is getting lots of playtime on LA radio stations now.
Plus, the Resident Evil 5 Demo is out tomorrow on PSN and we'll see what side I'm on concerning whether or not this game feels dated in the current console generation later in the week.
The Britney episode turned out way better than I thought. We're already in the third episode and you can already tell who's good and will go deep compared to those that will leave eventually. Even though tonight's elimination of Team Millenia (Shout out to Fullerton!!!) was shocking, that moment may be the last straw for a lot of people and stop watching this season. In NeoGAF terms, America loves gimmicks confirmed.
Here are the top 3 performances of the night...
Quest killed it with "Toxic" and clearly the best performance of the night.
Beat Freaks murdered "Womanizer" and at first when the song debuted, I wasn't feeling it, but this song gets u hyped like crazy!!
Strikers All-Stars also killed it with "Gimme More" and the mirror prop.
Here's my rankings after this week.
Quest
Beat Freaks
Strikers All-Stars
Fly Khicks
Dynamic Edition
Ringmasters
Next week we do this again I guess...
UPDATE - Yeah the videos usually get taken out once they are up the day after the episode, so watch if u can here, or just search YouTube and get lucky or go to MTV's website to watch them there without the judges' thoughts.
