Yesterday, SoCal was the first of the United States that got Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition and I just had to play it for most of the day at Super Arcade in Walnut. At is core, it is still SSF4, but it is the new additions (two new characters) and the numerous changes that make the game different from what we have on consoles. SoCal's best showed up at both Super and Family Fun Arcade over at the San Fernando Valley to get as much time with the game trying stuff out and seeing the changes to their main for themselves. As a Bison main for an example, he does not any significant changes to his core game other than his Psycho Punisher ultra (ultra 2) being a charge command now and his standing roundhouse damage is dependent on where it hits as it is nerfed from a range from what I experienced, but his priorities are still the same as that's good news for me. Other characters I messed around with are Guile, Chun-Li, Ken, Honda, Rufus, and Dee Jay. I will be definitely playing Dee Jay a little more since it is a better character since he sucked in consoles. A lot of characters such as Cammy, Seth, and Honda though got the unlucky end of the nerf hammer to the point they completely suck now or you have to come up with a new playstyle. Some characters like Vega, Dudley, Makoto, Gouken, and Hakan (Seeing Ultradavid mess around his new buffs is good stuff) definitely got better with their new move properties at their disposal.
The other big addition to Arcade Edition is two new characters, which are Yun and Yang. A lot of people messed around with the twins and they have potential to be top-tier characters with how they played especially when they get in close. They made the transition well from 3rd Strike even though some combos work and don't work from that game. Plus, they're still dive kick characters and of course it is nice to have a dive kick in a game like this. Personally, I didn't play as them and after watching a lot of the sheninegans they can throw out especially the palm, they are indeed fun to use. Yun, for example, can combo EX dash punch to ultra 1 if timed right and his palm is just godly beating many things. Also, Genei Jin as a super still has its uses as you can do easy high damage combos within the limited time. If Yang can keep going on rekka pressure, he is definitely one of the better characters in the game.
After a few hours on its first day, I had a good time with SSF4 Arcade Edition experiencing the changes to the characters, chatting it up with other players about them, and seeing the potential with Yun and Yang. It is too early to tell how the changes (nerfs/buffs) matter right now as most of the players still need more time with the game to mess with stuff in certain situations. I say give it a month or two and we'll see how people really think of it then. Plus, with a limited release at certain spots of the United States such as California, Texas with Arcade UFO, and New York City, it might be a little hard to take seriously now especially with tournaments for the current console version happening every week. It is still nice to have the game out here even though Capcom has not yet announced plans for the Arcade Edition update to come to consoles. In the meantime, I still wanna play more, so if I have anything new to talk about, expect it here.
If you want more details on certain changes of the characters in Arcade Edition, check Shoryuken and iPlayWinner for that.
UPDATE - Here's my Dee Jay (keep in mind I didn't use him that much in Super) vs. Hugo101's Bison (well another Bison main) from yesterday. Thanks to WonderChef for more footage from Super Arcade.
If you remember the late 80s and early 90s days of arcade games, you're likely spending quarter after quarter playing through the Konami beat-em-ups from Ninja Turtles, The Simpsons, and X-Men. The 1992 X-Men arcade game finally gets the downloadable treatment on Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network. The full game is back unchanged from its original version, but now with added HD filters, widescreen, and online play with up to six people. Just like previous old-school beat-em-ups that have been put out for download, the nostalgic mindset will kick in for a few hours, but after numerous sessions in a row, it will get old fast. Despite that, X-Men is still a good classic to run through every now and then with friends and multiple players online as it is worth the ten dollars.
Six X-Men are playable in this beat-em-up with Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Dazzler in their classic outfits (before the 90s Fox cartoon started) as each mutant has their own power they can bust out, but with limited quantity. Cyclops's optic blast and Storm's tornado are examples are those powers in use as these are useful when numerous enemies are around and you just want to clear them out quickly and efficiently. The premise of the game with Magneto and his evil brotherhood of mutants terrorizing the Earth as it is up to Professor X's X-Men to save the city and well the world in general. If you any other Konami beat-em-up, you know what you're going to get with this one as you mash the attack button taking out enemy Sentinels, bosses as the end of the level such as Juggernaut, and die a lot since the game loves to take your quarters back in the day. Fortunately, there are unlimited continues in this downloadable version both locally and online, so you can just breeze through the game in its entirety in less than a hour. With the online play though, I wished there was an option for a lives limit to increase the challenge and allow players to play with urgency like the downloadable release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1989 Arcade on Xbox Live. Even with unlimited continues, players tend to be reckless spamming away their mutant powers not worrying about their health, so most online games you'll jump in will play out like that. The performance of the online is good for the most part when at low ping, but of course things will get laggy pending with your connection and players dropping in and out at any time, which is also a nice feature. As a nice bonus in this downloadable release, you can the Japanese ROM of the game as it is significantly different from the US ROM with actual health and mutant power pick-ups. Basically, that version is pretty much the one to go with because it feels like the other Konami beat-em-ups even though with the US version without pickups, you had to play with more urgency.
Graphically, the game looks the same as the original arcade version, but now with HD filters and smoothing, which are fine. The health screens are new though with high resolution art, better looking meters, and showing off your account name when playing locally and online. At default settings, the game is widescreen with wallpaper considering how big the original arcade cabinet was having fit four to six players at a time, but you can stretch out the screen to full if that is your preference. The game also rarely slows down especially when chaos is ensuing on screen being filled with enemies, but online lag can be an issue at times maintaining that consistent framerate. As for the sound, the game's music and sound effects are pretty much identical from the original as well being slightly remastered for this release. The game's signature quotes remain the same since those were good memories especially Magneto's infamous "Welcome to Die!"
X-Men Arcade was a great Konami beat-em-up and still is today with this downloadable release. It is still fun to beat up Sentinels and other enemies here and there with multiple players locally and online. Of course, it will be boring doing it solo as there are not as much enemies on screen compared to multiplayer sessions. Online play that works fine pending lag issues, the Japanese ROM playable, and multiple difficulties that change the number of lives and mutant powers you have keep this game's replay value going for a bit. It is nice to have for short gaming sessions rather than playing it consecutively for a few hours as it will get old and repetitive fast. For ten dollars, X-Men is worth it if you want to be nostalgic again remembering how good the classic era of Konami beat-em-ups was.
Score = 7/10
Pros:
Solid port of the arcade classic with no significant changes
Japanese ROM being playable is a nice touch and the better version to play
Six player local play is an awesome feature on PS3
Online play works fine for the most part pending lag and connection issues
Cons:
Even though there are unlimited continues both locally and online, I wish there was an option for a lives limit especially online to increase the challenge allowing players to play with more urgency
As with the rest of the classic Konami beat-em-ups, it will get repetitive fast if playing for consecutive play sessions especially with those unlimited continues.
Two months ago was the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. and Nintendo has been promoting it little by little, but the main dish of their campaign is a a release of Super Mario All-Stars on Wii. Instead of a Virtual Console release, they went the extra mile of putting out a disc version of the game along with some bonus materials in honor of Mario's milestone with a booklet about the main games of the series and a soundtrack CD for 30 dollars. All of this seems like some last minute decision Nintendo made to put something out and call it a day, which is indeed the case. All-Stars is good and all, but as a 25th Anniversary package, they could of done way more considering how much Mario content has been around since 1985.
For those who never played Super Mario All-Stars, Nintendo pretty much ported the game untouched the game on a Wii disc as the it is the original Super Nintendo version to even having the button layouts on screen. The compilation contains the three NES Super Mario games and at the time for the U.S., the debut of The Lost Levels, or Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2. All four of these games received a 16-bit graphical facelift along with recycled sound effects from Super Mario World. Besides those changes, the games were the same ones from the NES from beginning to end and still a blast to play in 2010. On the Wii, the controls are NES style with the Wiimote sideways as advertised on the back of the box, but there are other control options to choose from if you feel like playing it with the Classic Controller or even a GameCube controller. While the original three are still absolute classics to this day, The Lost Levels are the true test of your Mario skills and it is still as hard as advertised requiring skills that go beyond your imagination at the time when they debuted. Even though the original All-Stars is a fine package, Nintendo could of done more to the game than just shove it to a disc being that it is Mario's 25th Anniversary.
The booklet is pretty much a basics look of the Mario games from the original Super Mario Bros. to this year's Super Mario Galaxy 2 with one sentence quotes by Mario's main creators such as Shigeru Miyamoto and composer Koji Kondo. The same goes for the soundtrack CD that goes with this package in terms of a basic approach by putting the games' main themes and iconic sound effects into one disc. Even though all of this feels like a bare bones offering for the 25th Anniversary, it is still worth it as a collector's item being there is a limited run of copies around and 30 bucks for All-Stars is questionable, but they are still fun to play. For those that skipped the originals' Virtual Console releases, All-Stars on Wii is worth getting, but if you have the original SNES cart around, then just bust that one out instead of buying this package.
After numerous delays throughout the Playstation 3's lifespan and adding every much detail to a car as possible to deliver the perfect driving experience to some, Gran Turismo 5 is finally here. It is a long road for Polyphony Digital working on such an ambitious game, but its expected from them considering their pedigree from the franchise that changed the racing genre. Since the last main entry in the series, Microsoft and Turn 10's Forza Motorsport series has been the new standard for simulation racers due to its westernized approach and online options. Now that the originator has returned with Gran Turismo 5, can they reclaim their top dog spot of simulation racers? Surprisingly, the answer is yes and no as the game does live up to the "real driving simulator" name, but everything else feels dated and unfinished. It also makes another example of how Japanese and Western philosophies of game development are two completely different things.
Where Gran Turismo 5 shines at is still the driving just like it has been for the whole franchise. You're still getting a real driving simulation that is still unrivaled with any car you drive. Like Forza, GT5 now has a driving line turned on at default settings for those that have a hard time turning and cornering effectively even though at some times, the line does not do its job of when to brake at the opportune time where it depends with your gear rather than your speed. I wish they borrowed Forza's turns only driving line as an option rather than the full line, but it serves its part well mostly. Making that perfect time trial run with a certain car at the game's numerous tracks with the majority of them returning from previous games is still as satisfying as it was in the first Gran Turismo. Of course the experience is different with cars that span six decades of their existence from muscle cars, NASCAR stock cars, tuners, exotics, and race cars in the A-Spec mode. All those times have paid off for Polyphony making everything feel you're driving that specific car especially for the special events which I'll mention later on. While the driving aspect of Gran Turismo 5 is the best thing its going for, the non-driving aspects, well everything else, feels like a disappointment.
If you have been paying attention to Gran Turismo 5 before its release, chances are you know they have a stacked feature list to the point there's too much content to deal with in the game. The Gran Turismo Mode is still the main career mode with A-Spec events, where you drive the cars yourself, B-Spec events, a returning mode from Gran Turismo 4 where you simulate races by coaching drivers, special events, and the signature license tests you know and love. All of that is accessed in a cluttered up menu that feels thrown together at the last minute, which severely hurts its presentation value. It goes to show how Japanese philosophies of game design have been behind the times compared to the majority of Westernized games and they show no signs of realizing it hurts their games. This goes along with how you progress in the GT Mode with the numerous events they throw at you. The progression feels very much like a grind and a chore to a point it doesn't get fun anymore when you're just repeating the same races to have enough money to buy a certain car for a certain event, which is a whole problem as well. The majority of the A-Spec/B-Spec events require certain cars such as which company they're made from, the country, and even weight classes, to complete them and that can be a mixed bag because you have a buy cars wisely that fulfill the specific requirements and also win you the race. Even with the one car-specific events, you feel like you have to tune your car (Tuning is also unchanged from previous games as well) by increasing its horsepower to increase your winning chances to the point you're blowing them away for that easy win. I appreciate that all these restrictive events make you want to drive as many different cars as you can, but as a career progression model, it feels dated and frustrating especially at higher levels where you have to buy the insanely expensive cars to have a winning chance and the opposing AI drivers are tougher taking advantage of your slightest mistakes. While it is not that bad in A-Spec Mode, its worst in B-Spec because when your drivers are not doing well seeing their AI not perform to your orders, it is frustrating as if you want to do that race, but that takes away the whole B-Spec element. All of this will drive completionists and perfectionists crazy as it will take days, weeks, and even months to 100% if you have what it takes to do so.
While the A-Spec/B-Spec events tend to get repetitive later on at higher levels and classes, the special events are the saving grace for the career mode. These events are more diverse with more types of cars that challenge your driving skills. From go karts, NASCAR training with help by Jeff Gordon, and rally cars, they're interesting for their respective car class. That does not mean it equals fun as I enjoyed the go kart and rally events, but the NASCAR and even the Top Gear ones were disappointments. With NASCAR, while a cool addition to the franchise, it is not that fun driving left for numerous laps and those races are frustrating to beat especially where it takes more luck than skill to win because of the whole drafting mechanic (specifically in Indianapolis and Daytona), which I think goes against Gran Turismo's whole deal with simulation. Plus, Jeff Gordon's soulless coaching in the game puts a damper on the experience as well trying to beat the challenges. The Top Gear Test track events are disappointing because of the cars they give you to use such as a slow bus and a jeep. It makes you wonder, well why you drive a jeep that goes 50+ MPH max on a track known on television to be driven by faster and cooler looking cars. At least there's arcade mode for that, which is pretty much the same except they added a drift trial mode for those that like to drift. The special events are okay distractions for the rest of career mode, but they could of done better with those. The license tests also make a return, but they're not much of a factor this time around being a requirement to move on to the next set of events and car classes.
Another important aspect of Gran Turismo 5 that feels unfinished is the online portion, which is pretty disappointing for those that have been waiting for a main entry of the series taking that next step. While some aspects of the online are cool ideas such as social elements with friends by giving cars and whatnot even though they look a little light (somewhat trying to go Facebook, but not really), the more important aspect where you wanna play against others feels like a complete mess. The online lobbies are no sense of structure at all being just rooms with unorganized chaos even if you put a title to your room. These lobbies go as free driving first and then if the host wants to race, then they set that up, and it begins. Chances are most of the rooms players host are just to mess around especially if just want to race against competition. In addition, even with online races, you can't promise you can race clean against other humans, which is the case for simulation racers period. Polyphony promises improvements to the online environment in future updates like leaderboards and matchmaking because as it is now, the online play is not worth your time for now.
At times, Gran Turismo 5 is one of the best looking games out there on the current generation of consoles, but also ugly at times too. It seems like Polyphony focused on certain graphical touches and didn't do much on everything else, which is actually true with the whole premium car/standard car debacle. The premium cars have cockpit views and look more sharper while standard cars have no cockpit view and don't look as good to the point its even PS2 quality, which is a shame. Plus, most of the time you would be driving in first person if that is your preference compared to other third-person views. In replays, the game looks amazing at some spots which is why there is a photo mode for those opportunities to save up memories and even near real-life photos the game provides. The various camera views work well in those replays as well as Polyphony is the best of the game that nails those moments well in races. Half of the tracks look amazing, specifically the city tracks while most of the fictional and speedway tracks are not as visually superior as they didn't pay good attention to some details even though they still look 100% accurate to their real-life counterparts. The day/night cycle is a redeeming mark to the graphics as some tracks look beautiful in the time of day they're set at especially at dawn and dusk even though it can difficult to see at times. Even the dynamic weather effects of rain and snow were not as impressive as they originally thought they were on paper.
Sound-wise, it is also all over the board of high and low points. Menu music is straight up chill and jazzy as if you're in an actual car dealership being sold on a car by some salesman, which is a good thing for the game. Sometimes, you just want the mellow stuff browsing through menus and menus, which is indeed the case I mentioned earlier how cluttered they are in GT Mode. While racing through, the soundtrack kicks in as it is mostly rock stuff from lesser known bands to mainstream stars like My Chemical Romance, who did the intro song. It is tolerable at best, but of course there are custom soundtracks, which shine in a game like this pending which music you have to blast. The sound effects are also a mixed bag which bumping sounds not feeling like noises of a real car crash since actual car damage was promised for the final version even though it is secretly hidden, which is also a huge selling point failing to miss its mark among the consumer audience (Unless you consider the recent online damage patch for that mode). The various cars' engines roaring and slowing down are still top notch for the franchise.
Is Gran Turismo 5 worth the long wait after the numerous delays? If just want to drive a lot of cars, yes because the driving model is still as good as it was since the original. If you're expecting a huge leap for the franchise because of how long Polyphony worked on, prepare to be disappointed as this game feels like one step behind its main competition now in everything else. The franchise formula is starting to feel dated of being more a grind and a chore than fun after numerous hours in the main career mode. The laundry list of features is still there driving different types of cars, but there are definitely lots of them hidden missing from what they initially promised such as damage not being a significant addition as it should be, the track creator feels tacked on, and besides some interesting social elements, the online department feels unfinished as a whole until they update it with more structure and purpose. This game also proves that Japanese philosophies of game design especially in the single player progression aspect of grinding it out till you can get the one thing you need to win just can not cut it in these days of gaming as it used to be maybe a decade ago. I had high expectations for Gran Turismo 5 to deliver on all the promises it sets out to achieve, but it could of been so much more especially with how long it was in development for.
Score = 7.5/10
Pros:
From a gameplay standpoint, still lives to the "real driving simulator"
Tons of content which means lots of replay value especially if you're willing to 100%, which will take a while perfecting everything
At some moments, it is one of the best looking games out today
Cons:
Tons of questionable design decisions that turned out bad
Career progression becomes too much a grind and a chore in A-Spec/B-Spec Modes
The premium car/standard car debacle is an issue - especially when you put more polish to a certain percentage of the cars, it makes that much of a difference
Hidden/missing features that Polyphony promised before the game came out (Where's the YouTube upload feature for example?)
Online play as of now feels unfinished as it is a complete mess until it gets patched with improvements
Spike TV's Video Game Awards happened tonight and while I don't care about the awards themselves as always, its the exclusive reveals that got people's attention even though most of them have been rumored for the whole week, but not a lot of surprises even though its good some games were officially confirmed...
I might as well start off with the showstopper that is Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception. Coming out on November 1, 2011 and the sequel to my favorite game of last year, Among Thieves, Nathan Drake is back on the loose with his adventuring ways. This time, there are no jungles, well for now, as the franchise takes a different turn at the desert where more possibilities can be thought of. Considering Naughty Dog's pedigree and amazing success with Uncharted 2, I want to see them top themselves with Drake's Deception next year. No word about multiplayer or co-op features yet other than lots of improvements to those modes even though like the last game, looking forward more to the campaign than the rest. I hope Uncharted 3 blows my mind when the final version is out in November because it already is right now.
One of my favorite franchises (even though I jumped on late) from the last generation of consoles finally makes a return, which is the SSX franchise. The new game, SSX: Deadly Descents is the series going in different directions with its premise and new developer. The Skate team is now handling the game as we'll see how their expertise can be handled to the world of snowboarding. Will the crazy tricks and style that made SSX awesome come back? I hope so, but its too early to tell for now. SSX: Deadly Descents is out next year and another most wanted game for me because of my love for the franchise.
Forza Motorsport 4 was somewhat a surprise, but the announcement trailer confirms its existence and its release for Fall 2011. Expect it to trash Gran Turismo 5 (which I still have to review lol) as well as Kinect-related features that Microsoft was demoing at E3 too.
Prototype 2 has been rumored for a while too and while the original didn't live up to its expectations as some hoped, I guess it was successful enough for a sequel to happen. I got nothing else to say about this since I didn't play the first game, but it is out in 2012.
Resistance 3 has been teased before, but finally there's some gameplay footage this time around as Insomiac hopes to keep the momentum going with this franchise despite mixed reactions with Resistance 2. Its out on September 6, 2011 and we'll see if this shooter can make the next big leap up to AAA status Sony wants it to be.
The leaks with Mass Effect 3 came true as this game is officially confirmed for release next holiday season (PS3 Mass Effect 2 is still out next month which I'm considering getting it since I didn't play it on 360). The Ravagers have invaded Earth and as its defenses to down to a slim, it is up to Shepard to save the home planet of the humans or let it fall. Who knows how the choices from the previous games will play out in this third and maybe the end of the trilogy.
Mortal Kombat gets a PS3-only character is none other than Kratos from the God of War franchise. He's no stranger to the fighting game world being in that Soul Calibur PSP game, but his brutal personality and no holds barred combat style makes perfect sense to be in the new Mortal Kombat. Just seeing the trailer of Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Shao Kahn, and then Kratos coming in was kind of nuts. Who knows if I would rock him in the game, but the new MK is still coming in the spring time.
It is about time Bethesda returns to the Elder Scrolls franchise after dabbling with Fallout for three games. The fifth game, Skyrim, is planned for release cleverly on 11/11/11. Since I enjoyed Oblivion and never cared that much for their Fallout games, hopefully Elder Scrolls can bring it back for my Bethesda RPG needs.
Batman: Arkham City is also out next fall and Hugo Strange seems to be the main villain this time around. With the amazing success of Arkham Asylum last year, can Rocksteady's magic happen again with this new one. I hope so...
There were some other stuff at the VGAs, but I didn't care much about for now. Next fall is already looking crazy and arguably better this fall after tonight's bombardment of announcements. All I have to say is bring them all on!
Marvel vs. Capcom 3's new announcements today are a good start to my morning...
MvC2 high-tier favorite Storm finally gets the MvC3 treatment and pretty much most of her game is intact. She can still somewhat runaway with her flying abilities (I guess), her supers are still the same with her hailstorms and lightning storms. Hailstorm game might be nerfed though since u can't really call assists out like crazy. I do like the different retro look she has as well and also not as annoying (voice-wise) too like in MvC2 (lol). Since most of her core game is still the same deal, expect Storm to be another favorite here.
Street Fighter IV's Crimson Viper makes her versus game debut in MvC3 and out of the new characters in that game, she makes the most sense in this type of game with her crazy sheninegans. After seeing the footage, the transition has worked well for the lady with thunder knuckles and seismos (Also her focus attack from the SF4 games). Her combo game seems good and she also seems to have a tri-dash, which getting in should be easy for her to dish out the damage. All her supers and ultras are in as well, which is expected and easier to connect after combos. Since SSF4 and MvC3 are completely different games, her flame kick game would likely be nerfed (crossup sheninegans is what I mean). Speaking of her burn kick, it seems too bright once it connects, which could be a little distracting for the eyes as we'll see if Capcom will tone down the brightness of that move come final release. All in all, I like Viper's inclusion in the game to the point I would consider trying her out, but then again high levels of execution like in SSF4 will probably matter, so we'll see with that.
There's the MvC3 Food Fight event also happening this Saturday at Los Angeles and I might go, but if I recall my experience with previous Capcom events, specifically the Super Street Fighter IV launch party, it's going to be a hassle to get in and luckily I got in by just swooping in. Since they're only letting 200 people in first come first serve, I'm not willing to take any chances of waiting a few hours outside downtown LA just to hang out, eat some awesome food by the food trucks that will be there, and play MvC3. So, who knows with that... but you never know I might just go after all. Anyway, here's more footage of Storm and C.Viper in action below.
