The Dance Game Battle Begins This Week!

Tomorrow begins this year's dance game battle as Just Dance 3 releases on Wii, 360, and PS3 while Dance Central 2 is still on track for October 25 exclusively on Kinect. I actually saw the Wii version at my local Target last weekend (Target has two exclusive songs) and was tempted to get it at its 40 dollar price, but good thing it was only temptation. I still expect this to sell gangbusters this holiday season as here's one of the songs in full that is everyone's favorite song on radio this year. Its cool that LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem" is in it, but its missing one important thing: Shuffling!!!! To be fair, Just Dance 3 doesn't really include actual chereography to certain songs as Dance Central 2 has been doing for the most part in some of their songs.

Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Pretty Much Official...

Mass Effect 3's multiplayer has been rumored even since the game's original announcement last year, but looks like its going down after all according to next month's Official Xbox Magazine cover story. The issue comes out next week and probably the embargo on everyone else will be up by then to spill the beans on what BioWare has been up to. Even they announced it early on their Twitter about confirming some sort of multiplayer component. No official word what it is actually going to be whether its the standard competitive modes, co-op through the campaign, or a horde style mode as of yet, but I guess we have to wait till next week for the info along with plans for downloadable content (An online pass has been rumored as well). Personally, it is inevitable Mass Effect 3 is getting it and also probably one of many reasons it was delayed to March 2012. The big campaign is what still matters at the end of the day as we determine the fate of Shepard in the conclusion of this epic trilogy.

Who Needs the Lockout, Its Boom-Shakalaka Time!!! The NBA Jam: On Fire Edition Review

EA's NBA Jam reboot last year was a great return to form for the arcade basketball classic. Even though it was a retail release, this year's On Fire Edition is download only on Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network. NBA Jam being download only is for the best since you're getting a better value for a decent amount of content. Some new gameplay additions and online features are introduced for this year's version, but its still NBA Jam at its core, which what matters importantly at the end of the day. From ridiculous dunks, Tim Kitzrow saying boomshakalaka numerous times, and tons of unlockables, NBA Jam: On Fire Edition is a great downloadable package that is worth your fifteen bucks.

The classic NBA Jam gameplay is still intact in this version sticking to the signature 2v2 format. Games are fast and intense with easy scoring, but as sports goes, a great defense equals a great offense. Defending is key to success with the classic pushes, stealing, and timed blocks. Players on offense can still use their elbows like the original to avoid pushes, but that can only do so much. Scoring still consists of normal shooting, crazy dunks, alley oops, and being on fire to do insane over the top dunks. The new gameplay additions are great adding along to your ways to score. Team Fire allows both teammates to be on fire by scoring three alley oops in a row then the ball goes on blue fire. There is a time limit with team fire, but the opposing team can distinguish it with an alley oop of their own. Razzle dazzle brings some style to the mix with tricks straight out of NBA Street even though it is just a way to show off and crazy shots you normally don't see in a real basketball game. Tag mode is simply controlling both teammates instead of one human and one CPU AI the whole game. Having that on has its advantages and weaknesses, but at least it makes Jam feel somewhat modern to the simulation b-ball games. The core gameplay is still fun, pick up to play, and a blast especially against local friends, where it can get pretty competitive once good games get going.

While last year's reboot has numerous modes that spiced up things from boss characters and other crazy stipulations, On Fire Edition sticks straight to the point of good old fashioned NBA Jam taking those out even though they were decent ideas at the time. Other than the standard Jam Now mode, you're going to spend most of your time in the game's Road Trip and Online Arena. Road Trip is the main career mode as you have to face all the teams at least three times to complete it. The first time will be against current stars while the second time is against a team's legends (some teams don't have legends though). It gets harder at the second half of the campaign as the AI gets better at defense pushing and stealing at will even though you can breeze through teams' current stars. Even though it can be played alone, Road Trip is a grind being longer than you think becoming repetitive even though the AI steps up their game as you progress. At least if you're tired of grinding it out alone, it can be played co-op locally and even online.

Speaking of online, On Fire Edition's Online Arena is deeper with lots of stat tracking, challenges to complete (also counts for Road Trip). The Jam challenges are self-explanatory performing certain tasks to accumulate Jam Points to buy the game's unlockables. Online specific challenges are there as well as your friends list that play this game can help achieve them even though they function the same. The big feature with Online Arena is that there is a time period to accumulate wins and racking medals every week. This is neat to have pushing players to keep playing online matches against the world. Other than that, be prepared to deal with players that like to spam three pointers as unless you can defend that, online play is going to be frustrating and it has been personally. In addition, there are ragequitters that will not finish games if they are behind by lots of points. It still functions fine with minimal lag during my experience so far, but it is rare to have a fair game of NBA Jam going against online opposition. There will be intense moments during close games as you just want to scream out loud pulling off a double overtime win to yelling curse words in defeat.

If you seen the graphics of last year's NBA Jam, On Fire Edition basically looks the same with accurate faces to current stars and legends. There are some missing legends probably because of likeness issues (Michael Jordan being in NBA 2K12 is obviously an exclusive thing), but it is still pretty much a who's who of basketball players from the 80s and 90s. The crowd looks fine for the most part and the unlockable teams are obviously a nice treat in a game like this. In traditional Jam fashion, Democrats and Republicans are unlockable as well as mascots and characters from other EA games that I won't spoil (unless you saw that launch trailer above). I also like the soundtrack in the game with beats that gets people going in-game and the menus. Tim Kitzrow's commentary is still as good as it was back in the 90s with his classic lines even though he can ramble too much and when he throws out references from today's times, they're cringe-worthy at best.

For fifteen dollars (1200 Microsoft Points), NBA Jam: On Fire Edition is as good as it gets when it comes to arcade sports games. Being downloadable is a great thing as you're getting lots of replay value out of it for that price from the lengthy Road Trip mode and playing against other people locally or online. The classic gameplay is still as fun and a blast to play as it was in the 90s along with the craziness the franchise has been known for. The numerous unlockables and completing jam challenges are also keep players going for weeks and months to come along with downloadable content and updated rosters. At this rate, who needs the NBA lockout when you can go boomshakalaka on your foes with this latest NBA Jam.

Score = 8.5/10

Pros:

• The core NBA Jam gameplay is still fun and a blast especially with the new gameplay additions
• Tons of replay value and numerous unlockables
• Sticks straight to the point taking out the gimmick modes
• Lengthy career mode
• Deep online focus will keep players going

Cons:

• Some of the commentary could of been better (Kitzrow can ramble too much at times)
• Online competition can be frustrating to play against (opponents that love to spam three pointers because they have a player with a high 3pt rating and ragequitters if they are down by a huge margin)

Playing An Outrun Cabinet in Real Life?

This is some random video I just saw regarding an Outrun arcade cabinet being driven in the real world. Apparently, when the game tells you to turn, you turn the actual vehicle for reals. Shoutouts to UC Irvine for coming up with this even though it is still in experimental stages, but there's some potential despite how scary it can be at open environments than closed ones.

A New Modern Warfare 3 Campaign Trailer

We're about a month away from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's big release as the latest campaign trailer is now up on the interwebs. Activision is obviously expecting big things from their latest cash cow as if they're going to trump Black Ops as the biggest entertainment launch of all-time. The crazy setpieces will still be there along with a summer Hollywood blockbuster-like plot to conclude this trilogy. I'm still on Team Battlefield, but obviously MW3 is no slouch.

Let's Get A Drink From Subway & Go Hands-On with Uncharted 3 Multiplayer Again...

Subway has a big contest and promotion going for Uncharted 3 as the grand prize is some trip to various locales around the world. Buying a medium drink gets you a code for the latest version of Uncharted 3's multiplayer while getting sandwiches and chips gets you codes for other in-game goodies. This is not apparently the final version of the multiplayer as there are only six maps and a level cap of 35, but there are enough changes that are different from the summer beta. This version will last for the whole month of October till the final game's release date of October 1st, but it allows your stats, loadouts, and unlockables to carry over. Its basically a head start for those that want it to mess around early because the big multiplayer juggernauts are coming out by the time it arrives on retail. The feature set at its core is still similar to the summer beta, but the subtle gameplay changes did change people's playstyles.

Other than the three maps that appeared previously, this new version offers three more maps with Desert Village, London Underground, and Syria. The cool thing about Desert Village is that a sandstorm will occur mid-match and the visibility will decrease for a short time. London Underground follows a similar structure than Airstrip when playing team deathmatch as the start of the game takes place in a moving train before stopping at the station. These sequences are still nice to have in concept, but disrupts the flow of a normal mutliplayer game as teams can get big leads easily if they have a positional advantage. Even the train can kill you at the station if you're standing on the tracks too. Syria is a nighttime map in a castle that works well for objective-based games. These maps are great additions with more to come in the final game.

If you played the summer beta, you'll feel right at home with this Subway version. The major thing you'll notice however is blindfire being better to the point it becomes chaos when close against opposing players praying you'll get a kill. A recent patch supposedly fixed this with stopping power, but I haven't had much time with that. Melee can still be a 50/50 as its been trying to out-mash someone for the two hit kill. Of course, there are moments where an enemy would take lots of shots can still not die and headshots don't act like headshots, but Naughty Dog still has time to tune things up for the final release. Sprinting was improved in the latest beta as well as increasing the medal count for the RPG kickback from eight to ten (previously with that kickback, I can get three kickback king pretty easily if I'm doing well). With this build, there is an argument that Uncharted 3 has become a blindfire fest like how Gears of War has been shotgun fest with its multiplayer, but you can stop and pop your way to victory.

The playlists and the party system remain the same for the most part with team deathmatch, free for all, plunder, team objective, and three team deathmatch. Having a party around is obviously advantageous if you're able to communicate well especially in objective-based games. There will be always players that play objective games to rack lots of kills rather than go for the win, so be prepared to encounter some games like that. Replays, YouTube uploads, and Uncharted TV still function the same as well even though Uncharted TV is showing footage from the summer beta rather than this one now. The HUD change is another thing worth mentioning as the scores appear on the bottom right of the screen, which is fine. Unlockable boosters, guns, weapon mods, and characters are expected too as you play as the villains that have a viable role in the camapaign here. Since this is the Subway version, you can get attain Subway exclusive items that won't appear in the final game, so get it now while you still can last month if you're that completionist type.

At first, I wasn't a fan of the changes in this Subway build of Uncharted 3's multiplayer, but it seems like the developers have noticed the new player tendencies and hope to balance things out for the final version. Even though it has become a blindfire festival, the core tactics still work fine as usually you have to resort to the BS to win, which is the case in multiplayer games in general. I'm still having a good time leveling up quickly even though there are tons of people that reached the level cap of 35 in a matter of hours. The campaign is what I'm most anticipating seeing how Nathan Drake survives this new adventure, but its a cool thing that the multiplayer is already out to get it over with.

Ultimate Assist Me is Off and Popping...

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is about five weeks away and Maxmillian was able to snag a near final build of the game to start off his Ultimate Assist Me! series, an in-depth tutorial featuring the new characters. This week is Strider-Hiryu and Hawkeye as Max covers the basics for these guys with his roommate Doctor Doom. Don't expect the crazy business right away since the game is not even out, but this is a good overview of what the new guys will play like. Also, expect the live nation hilarity that the Assist Me videos has been bringing the past few months as well.

Last night, iPlayWinner and Capcom hosted a little event called Ultimate NorCal vs. Capcom, where UMvC3 and Street Fighter X Tekken were playable to NorCal's best players. UMvC3 got more of the spotlight (hence the title and it was the Vergil/Iron Fist build) as we get the see some crazy sheninegans the other new characters have so far. It was a great stream filled with amazing commentary that NorCal has been known for along with some players already getting used to some new characters like Vergil, Nemesis, and Ghost Rider. I'll have the YouTube link up later for that. Next weekend is New York Comic-Con and also the next (final?) reveals of the remaining new characters, so stay tuned.