I haven't paid attention to El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron till I saw this Giant Bomb Quick Look EX for it featuring Ignition's Shane "Mangod" Bettenhausen. I knew that this game exists since it was announced and had potential to be pretty good, but now that it is closer to release at Japan (U.S. release a little later), this is actually amazing. The visual style is somewhat refreshing for the genre (looks Okami-esque since some of the Okami guys worked on this from the artistic side) and the combat looks to be interesting as well from what Shane was describing. El Shaddai is shaping up to be a sleeper hit contender for this year that a certain crowd would enjoy.
Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition has been rated by some UK ratings board today, so there's your proof that it is still coming out on consoles. There is still no word if Capcom wants to release it as DLC or another retail game, but we will probably find out at Captivate next week. Speaking of Captivate, Capcom expects to show off new footage of Street Fighter x Tekken, Asura's Wrath, the Ninja Theory DmC reboot that everyone still hates because of the Dante redesign, and the newly announced Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, developed by Slant Six (SOCOM PSP games and Confrontation).
Today on the music roundup is called "The Black & Yellow Edition" for a reason which is Wiz Khalifa's first mainstream album Rolling Papers. We all know how big of a splash he made last fall repping those Pittsburgh Steelers colors being one of the most catchiest rap hit songs in recent years spawning endless remixes. Apparently we "know what it is" with Wiz being the next big rapper to get the mainstream spotlight, but it came at a price especially with the quality of this album. It is probably my expectations and also Wiz's fans pre-Black & Yellow for this to be more of the same before getting famous, but I knew once you got that megahit, your album needs to be more mainstream for that audience and that's what pretty much happened. Rolling Papers puts you in chill and poppy vibes at the get go with the first track "When I'm Gone." The only times Wiz had seriousness in the whole album is at the beginning with "On My Level" featuring Too Short and of course "Black & Yellow." After that, things go way poppy and chill especially with his current single "Roll Up." If you seen the video for "Roll Up," (below) its just weird seeing Wiz being out of character being a love rap song of sorts. I felt this album is just another victim of mainstream success being too much to the point it dampers the quality a bit. Then again, mixtapes have been the saving grace as of late with rappers such as Wiz (especially with Cabin Fever) being able to retain true to hip-hop and to themselves. Despite that little rant, if you wanted that chill and poppy vibe with your rap, Wiz's album is exactly that with decent production all around with tracks such as "The Race." I also gotta give the album some bonus points for the lack of cameo appearances by other artists, so props for Wiz for sticking it out alone for the majority of the album without needing guest appearances (well there's the album with him and Snoop Dogg coming soon though). In a nutshell, Wiz Khalifa's Rolling Papers is just another rap album that could of been better if it wasn't for his mainstream success being too big right away with the majority of it being too poppy for the hip-hop/rap audience. I expected more of "Black & Yellow" Wiz, not "Roll Up" Wiz.
GameSpot released the first gameplay trailer involving Kratos for the new Mortal Kombat and I must say Netherrealm Studios did an amazing job giving the God of War the justice he deserves in a fighting game (Well he was in Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny for the PSP). Kratos truly fits the MK style with the violent mentality he's always in and it shows in this clip. Nearly all of his weapons from God of War III are being represented from his signature chained blades, the cestus, his bow/arrows, and more. He also suits the current MK fighting system well from what I seen here being able to dish out simple button memorization combos to more advanced juggles of craziness. Netherrealm also nailed the presentation aspect of Kratos exceptionally well from the God of War III theme song, the weapon sound effects, the background similar to the finale against Zeus, to even special moves that have the quicktime events the series was known for. Even though he is banned from tournaments being a PS3-exclusive character, Kratos looks like he's a fun character to mess around with in Mortal Kombat when it comes out next month on the 19th.
