Ulitmate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Sees STARS & Gets Strange...

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3's presence at Gamescom is showing off two more new characters in the game, which are Doctor Strange and Nemesis from the Resident Evil franchise. I'll talk about the two of them in a moment as the new overview trailer above does show some new moves for the existing characters, but you'll probably read or heard about them from the Comic-Con/Evo builds. Wolverine has his new Swiss Cheese move, which is a mash attack command, so Logan players better not mash so hard if they still want to do his bread and butter combo that is unchanged from vanilla. Crimson Viper gets an optic blast-like projectile which is basically Capcom saying here's your Cyclops in the game (more like a slap in the face of those who want Cyclops back in a versus game). Hulk gets a new chargeable Falcon Punch-like move, which reminds me of the charge moves from the Smash Bros. games (kind of weird to say Smash Bros. when I'm talking about Marvel lol). Also new in these trailers are more variations of existing games from vanilla such as a day version of the carrier stage and the Biotech lab all burned out.

Doctor Strange finally is a playable character in a Marvel game as he is shaping up to be a great character with a variety of tools at his disposal. His magical projectiles are pretty self-explanatory, has an OTG super, flight, a teleport, projectile counters (even a hyper projectile counter - he counters Akuma's air fireball hyper with his own beam), and a level 3 grab. As of now with his mobility and potential to zone characters out, Strange can hang with the best characters of the game (below average health might be a concern if you're not careful).

Nemesis is more of a character I would play in my main team as I usually like to have one character that can hit hard and has a lot of health. He seems to fit that slot for me with my Dorm and Akuma (assuming this combination is still viable in Ultimate) as point. Anyway, Nemesis is pretty much Capcom's "heavy" character (sorry, Tron doesn't count) that can easily kill opponents in one or two combos while taking a beating. He has attributes I like in a character: jump S ground bounces, good projectiles (rocket launcher/ Dorm dark hole assist for keep away for instance), good hypers (his combination one has super armor startup, his bazooka one OTGs, and a level 3 grab. All of this make it seem like he is scrub friendly like Hulk to a certain degree as tourney-level players will figure out ways to easily beat Nemesis. For now though, Nemesis is certainly on my list of new characters I would main.

Expect more UMvC3 stuff at this next weekend's New York City fight club event as hopefully these two characters will be there playable (Likely not) and of course next month's Tokyo Game Show for the next character reveal trailers. Here's more match footage of Doctor Strange and Nemesis in action below.

Clips from Gamescom for 8/16/11

Gamescom is off and popping over at Germany as conferences and new trailers keep showing up this morning. (I'm saving the UMvC3 and SFxT stuff for a separate post)

Borderlands 2 just got announced some weeks ago as Gearbox puts up a short teaser trailer. Expect more of this game at PAX at the end of the month or if you want to read up on what's new with this sequel, check out the Game Informer cover story.

Now with something up that is up my alley, SSX has also a presence at Gamescom. The new trailer reveals what to expect in the multiplayer department, which EA is doing big things. There is some ghost attack mode, social networking stuff seen in previous EA games, and global events with up to 100,000 players. That's cool and all, but as we see more of this game, the more its becoming like the SSX fans like me know and love. Its definitely a good start for 2012 when SSX comes out in January.

Even Capcom and Ninja Theory's DmC (Devil May Cry) reboot is at Gamescom and I'm still skeptical how this will turn out. At least I'm not as angry as the hardcore fans who still want more of the same Dante from the past four games, but I'm still giving it a chance. This is just gameplay footage of Dante slicing and shooting dudes, but it seems like Ninja Theory is getting closer and closer to getting the Dante they want right. DmC I think is coming out next year as we'll see more of it at the Tokyo Game Show next month.

The improved combat mehanics in Mass Effect 3 will make it a better shooter, but I'm still wandering about the "RPG elements" BioWare promised they'll bring back from the first game. They haven't shown or talked much of it recently, but I understand that you have to show a combat section to get casual fans excited. I probably should not question BioWare's approach of how to show off this game as I know it will be good when its out in March 2012.

As you probably know, I'm still on team Battlefield 3 as DICE shows off a different environment for a multiplayer map. As teased in previous trailers, airplanes are indeed in the game, which is obviously cool and expected for the franchise. Since I don't have a proper gaming PC, I didn't get to check out the alpha version of multiplayer some weeks back, but I can't wait to play the beta next month. According to the fact sheet, there are only nine maps in the final game, which is not that much, but the trade-off is their scale of how big they are. This also means downloadable map packs like no other too, so get ready to pony up a lot of spacebucks if you want more of those.

I'll have more from Gamescom throughout the week...

Oh... Another new UFC Undisputed 3 Trailer

UFC Undisputed 3's new gameplay improvements are making me get excited for it now. First of all, there are obviously more fighters to choose from now that the new weight classes (Feather and Banterweight) are in, so you rock as Faber and Dominick Cruz for example. Second, fighters in the game are becoming more like themselves, or in other words, closer to how they fight in real life. We didn't see much of that in last year's game as we thought we would, but this time it looks like Yuke's is finally getting things right on that department. In addition, the trailer shows off leg kick knockouts (also rarely seen in real UFC bouts), ground sways, and more ways to submit your opponents. Even though the graphics engine still looks the same for the most part, the third time could be the charm for THQ and Yuke's with UFC Undisputed 3 to be their best game yet. We shall see when it comes in what's shaping up to be a crowded January 2012.

Today in the World of Games for 8/15/11

Gamescom is this week over at Germany, so expect some new announcements and reveals for the games that are out for the next few months.

First off is a new trailer for Street Fighter X Tekken as they explain the new controls like how tag combos work, double team supers, and the cross assault (controlling both players at the same time I think - sort of a similar mechanic seen in the first Marvel vs. Capcom) for those that haven't played previous builds at E3, SD Comic-Con, and Evo. Then they show off the latest character reveals in action, which feature those that have been teased in previous videos such as Hugo, Raven, Ibuki, and Kuma. Hugo is arguably the biggest character seen in the Street Fighter IV graphics engine (he's always bigger than Zangief and T. Hawk anyway) as its nice to see his SF3 skills translated in great form here. It will be interesting to see how Capcom handles Raven's unique style in this game as I barely saw any of his familiar Tekken moves here. Ibuki is pretty much the same from her SSF4/AE incarnations as I wander if her vortex style will still be a factor here unless her air kunais suck now. Kuma looks great especially seeing his facial expressions (something rarely seen in the Tekken games) as he is shaping to be one of those fun/not serious characters people would be use. Capcom is pretty much showing these new characters along with the ones confirmed already in their new Gamescom build as we have to wait till next month's Tokyo Game Show for more character reveals.

Another popular Batman villain returns in Arkham City, which is none other than Mr. Freeze. His role in the core storyline is not yet been talked about, but he is going to be one those villains that you'll probably spend a hour or two dealing with him. I'm wandering if WB/Rocksteady have demo plans for this game since Arkham Asylum had a demo before its release, but considering how good Arkham City is going to be anyway, I don't expect them to put out a downloadable demo to prove something.

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron is finally out this week and my pick to get for those that to play a new game. This summer has been good for unique/original IPs from Shadows of the Damned, Child of Eden, Catherine, and now this as I hope this one succeeds sales wise. Yes, it is definitely another crazy game I would buy and gloat about how special it is (well look at the beautiful art style in the launch trailer above). There is a demo that came out some weeks ago on Xbox Live and Playstation Network to try out if you're on the fence. From what I played and read with early reviews, El Shaddai is worth your time if you're into original action games.

Today in the World of Games for 8/9/11

Yeah this is an old video, but Final Fantasy Versus XIII is in the news again as Nomura says it won't be at the Tokyo Game Show next month. This is pretty much not surprising since this game is still on development for a while (its about five years since its announcement by the way). This is just another reason why I don't know what in the world is going on with the Japanese side of Square-Enix. They have claimed in the past they're going to put out more big games not having a long development window, but Versus XIII continues to be in development hell with no release than likely the end of next year or even 2013 at this rate. Who knows if the game will be even worth the long wait considering Squenix's track record on this current generation of consoles (Final Fantasy XIII for instance and yet XIII-2 gets announced for an early 2012 release). I can see that they are focusing on XIII-2, Kingdom Hearts 3DS (also the other big franchise Squenix doesn't know what to do with besides put more side games), and other stuff for TGS, but the way Versus XIII is positioned as for the company, this better be their big money maker worldwide. Some would call it the Japanese "Duke Nukem Forever" and that could be the case, but generally, its definitely been a hard time for Final Fantasy fans these days. The franchise's 25th anniversary is coming up, but I can see Squenix screwing it up somehow.

Freddy Krueger is now out today to download in Mortal Kombat and it looks like he has easy bread and butter combos for good damage as expected. It is still early to tell how good he is on a tournament level since he's only out for a few hours, but from what I seen, he's at least better than the other guest character Kratos. As of this writing, I'm still waiting for him to come out on PSN, so you might expect something more later here.

A new trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 hit the interwebs showcasing the Spec Ops Survival mode. I'm sure the fans will like this trailer from the new things they will see gameplay-wise, but cmon Activision, why are you trying to rip off that dumb sound Transformers-like effect from the Battlefield 3 trailers? Seriously, this BF3/MW3 face-off feels so childish at times in terms of talking trash how the opposing game sucks and trying to one up each other with reveals. Anyway, the Call of Duty XP convention will debut actual multiplayer footage, so stay tuned for that if you're still excited for MW3.

Dead Island is out next month and I'm wandering if people are still excited for it especially it is nothing like that emotional debut trailer earlier this year. As I seen more coverage on the game, it became just another co-op zombie game to me. I would be interested to try a downloadable demo before its release if it changes my mind, but it could of been something special and it probably still is if the developers get things right.

The 25th Anniversary of Metroid... yet ignored by Nintendo.

Last Saturday was the 25th anniversary of the original Metroid's release at Japan for the Famicom. The crazy thing is that Nintendo of Japan ignored it and yet put up the website for the Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary last night. The Metroid franchise has been pretty much third fiddle in the lineup of Nintendo franchises as Mario and Zelda are at the top of the ladder due to their popularity. Sure, Metroid doesn't get the same name recognition as the two I mentioned, but it is definitely one of the most beloved gaming franchises of all-time revolutionizing certain game mechanics that seem crazy at the time. More importantly, it achieved that was a first, a female protagonist that was strong and fearless named Samus Aran.

Metroid flipped the script on gaming back in 1986 where linearity is nonexistent and exploration was key to success. exploration was unique back then where danger was lurking at any moment and one wrong move being unprepared can mean a look at the game over screen. Samus was limited with her abilities at the start, but as she gains new tools such as the signature morph ball, missiles, and bombs, she is able to transverse through more of the world she's in and eventually become a wrecking machine at the end of the game. Later games in the franchise improved on the formula such as Super Metroid becoming one of the greatest games of all-time and the Metroid Prime franchise taking things under the first person perspective.

My personal experience with the Metroid franchise started with Super Metroid, but I didn't remember my time when I played it as a kid. However, I did play it over again four years ago when it came out on the Wii's Virtual Console and you can read my review on how it still holds up today somewhere in my blog. Even back then, it was still a franchise I respect a lot as I finally realized how beloved it was when Metroid Prime came out. That game is still among my top ten favorite games ever. The funny thing about the Metroid franchise is there wasn't really any bad main games throughout the years (unless you count Other M, which I think is not bad as most would say), which is saying something compared to other Nintendo franchises. You can probably argue that Metroid is Nintendo's best franchise from a critical perspective and yet its 25th anniversary get ignored by Nintendo themselves, which is truly a shame. Then again, Metroid is not that popular in Japan compared to here at America, which Nintendo fans can hope they decide to do something about the 25th anniversary of the US release, but who knows.

Anyway, happy belated 25th anniversary Metroid!!!

If you want a better and proper celebration of this, check out the great NeoGAF thread filled with fanart, videos, and more.

Music Roundup for 8/8/11 aka The "Watch the Throne" Edition

After all the delays and hype with surprisingly no leaks, which was pretty amazing considering how easily things can get leaked on the interwebs these days, Watch The Throne by Jay-Z & Kanye West is finally out and definitely something special from beginning to end. It is easily worth the wait considering these are two of the biggest artists today doing a project with such magnitude especially being released first digitally on iTunes and then retail stores days later.

From the first track, "No Church in the Wild," this album starts things right as Frank Ocean does the hook for the song (also in "Made in America" later on). This is one of the best starters for an album in a while (okay, since Kanye's "Dark Fantasy" on MBDTF). Arguably the most mainstream and "poppy" song in WTT is next with "Lift Off" featuring Beyonce. This is not meant as a bad thing as the song has a similar vibe to Kanye's "All of the Lights" and it is expected to be a single sooner or later. The rest of the album is pretty much Hov and Yeezy going off under crazy productions, which is fine by me since this is pretty much the opportunity for the two stars to make magic happen together. You're not really getting a centralized theme throughout Watch the Throne, but you're basically getting what I think the project is all about, which is just simply Kanye and Jay-Z rapping together for a full album. Sure, not all of the songs can be hits, but the good songs are really good such as "That's My B****," "Who Gon Stop Me," and "Murder to Excellence." Then there are the stinkers if I have to say there are some. "Otis" is probably not the best choice for a first official single off such an anticipated album like this, but it is something different I guess. "Welcome to the Jungle" is my other stinker from the album as it is a typical Swizz Beatz production, which says something since the production is top notch for the duration of the album with some autotune here and there, but not overblown as Yeezy has done in the past.

The Deluxe Edition adds four more great songs to the point it is a necessity to get that even though the normal edition is still good enough as a complete package. "Illest Motherf***er Alive" and "Primetime" outshine the okay songs easily as it is pretty much more of Jigga and Kanye going hard or in case "H.A.M" since that is also in the deluxe edition. In a nutshell, Watch the Throne was definitely worth the long wait as Yeezy and Hov were able to make something special from the beginning to end. As far as Kanye concerned, is this better than his last epic album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy? The answer to that is probably early to tell since WTT has only been out for one day, but both are superb albums despite having some faults. Anyway, this is an album not to be missed by any mainstream hip-hop or rap fan this year as who knows when we will get another album of such magnitude as Watch the Throne for a long while.