Music Roundup for 3/23/11 aka "The Black & Yellow Edition"

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.

Kratos Is Still Very Angry in the new Mortal Kombat...

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.

Music Video Roundup for 3/22/11

Jay Sean - "Hit the Lights" feat. Lil' Wayne



The Cataracs - "Top of the World" feat. Dev



Chris Brown - "Beautiful People" feat. Benny Benassi

G Unit Ver1's World now 3 years old

Yup, this blog of mine has been in existence for three years... (been at it for a while I must say)

Might as well celebrate it with a video...

Some New Portal 2 & Child of Eden Footage...

This seems to be the opening for Portal 2 along with some other footage as well from PAX East. I haven't been paying attention to this game that much as I should, but its out next month and looks like Valve retained the charm and mystery the first game was known for being the cult hit it was.

Giant Bomb had a new quick look for my most wanted game Child of Eden, which is now coming out June 14 for the 360/Kinect. Its still my only reason to get a Kinect and so far it looks as amazing as I expected it to be. Ubisoft and Q! Entertainment are still quiet about the PS3 version, which I think is coming out a little later after the 360 version (timed exclusivity makes sense especially with it being a big Kinect game). The Kinect controls seem to work now with the latest builds of the game as I like how both hands are used for different shot styles. Anyway, if you're wandering why I'm still excited for Child of Eden, just watch the video above or check out my Rez HD review.

Jill & Shuma Day 1/2 Combo Videos...

I have been messing around with Jill & Shuma-Gorath (this week's DLC characters for Marvel vs. Capcom 3) and here's some combo videos featuring the two of them showcasing what they're capable of. I like both characters for fun as they have potential to do damage, but me playing them at tourney level needs more work. I'm trying to make it happen with Sentinel as the obvious anchor and of course drones assist works well as a way for both to get in. Jill's low health is indeed a problem as she is pretty much dead in two combos, but once she's in there, the mixups and sheninegans take shape especially with her Feral stance (telport crossups for example). I also love her overhead which can lead to her air knees (similar to Cammy's Cannon Strike dive kick somewhat) as a startup to another combo. Jill's level 3 is useless for me at the moment as I need to find something other than randomly going nuts without thinking at all. Shuma can air dash, but not tri dash so his Mystic Smash is pretty key to getting in (well for me). He can also OTG super with his Hyper Mystic Ray for some damage, but not much. Of course, there's his level 3 Chaos Dimension setups to have fun with as well, but Shuma is a fun character that can both zone (not as well) and deal damage once in range. Would I main these characters right now? Sure, I probably would since they're fresh as all of us figure out the matchups as the days and weeks go on. I'm still sticking with BnB material for the both of them until I know I can tack on the crazy technology in actual matches. For now, everyone that has Marvel 3 should give them a shot (both are 5 bucks each unless you got the Collector's Edition code) and see if they fit your playstyle and team synergy.

Today in the World of Shooters for 3/16/11

While most shooter fans are realizing how overhyped and disappointing Homefront is this week, here's another glimpse to the future for the genre.

Prey 2 was just announced several days ago and now we have an interesting live-action teaser for a game that's coming next year. As someone who played the first game on the 360, I didn't see any resemblance to it in this teaser regarding characters besides the glowing blue thingy. Some say Human Head is "dude-broing" the franchise, which is bad considering how much of a cliche that is for shooters these days, but we'll see how this shapes out since little to nothing has been revealed even after watching this teaser.

The next part in a series of Battlefield 3 videos came out this morning as the squad marches down to take down a sniper in a methodical approach. This is definitely a more realistic method and all of a sudden you use a rocket launcher to destroy the building the sniper, which is definitely video game logic to me. Anyway, this is still one, or perhaps the best looking shooter fans are looking forward to, as the series continues at the end of this month.