PSN Demo Showcase (Part I for the week of 1/31)

This week's PSN Demo Showcase is a two parter as I will discuss the demos for Syndicate and Binary Domain. Twisted Metal and Starhawk will be on part two of this early next week. A shooter-heavy dose of stuff came out this week for PSN folks to try out since the Q1 game release season is starting to pick up now.

First up is an online co-op only demo for Syndicate, another EA published game and developed by Starbreeze. Demos having only online co-op is a tough thing to sell, but Starbreeze is hoping this release will do its job making people play that besides the main campaign on February 21. This is a modern/futuristic shooter at its core with some nice gadgets to mess around with when playing alone. When playing co-op though, it felt like shooter number 69 with a level progression system to get upgrades, conventional upgrades, and loadouts despite having little details to separate itself from the pack. This demo is four players and only one map as it could be old pretty quick, but your experience depends on being able to play as a team with other players online. The HUD is very futuristic with the ammo count being blasted in your face, but the small fonts with other things can be a problem as it is pretty microscopic at times. This is not the first time small fonts have an issue with games, but it is a recurring trend this console generation. Teamwork is a key part of the co-op as going in guns blazing will not get the job done, which is generally the case with games like this. Teammates might need help healing and rebooting when in trouble as its easy to do once you're near them. The shooting feels fine as I rocked the default assault rifle most of the time even though the action is very fast paced as if I don't know what the hell is going on sometimes letting my teammates do the work. The game looks okay too despite the fact it runs at 30 frames per second for a fast paced shooter. Despite that, Syndicate's co-op seems solid, but I'm more interested how the campaign will play out. At least talking about this demo gives me a reason to put up that Skrillex trailer again (wubwubwubwub).

The other shooter to discuss today I played is the Binary Domain demo, which I got from the Japanese Playstation Store (also on Japanese XBLM). Binary Domain is a third-person squad-based shooter by Sega and the Yakuza team. I think this is the Yakuza team's first non-Yakuza game and no surprise that is a shooter. It has the elements of a modern shooter these days with cover, over the shoulder aiming, and squad commands. Being that I got from Japanese PSN, the demo is definitely Japanese, so I didn't understand what in the world the characters were saying and some of the tutorial stuff at first. The squad commands can be also be done by a headset if you have one, which I do but I haven't tried it personally yet. You play as the squad leader and pick between your squadmates at the start of the level, which is for this demo are not long to beat (there are two levels to play through in this demo). Besides all of what I said so far, Binary Domain is yes, just another shooter in terms of control and options you have, but its made by the Japanese and the Japanese flair is there in terms of the enemies you face. The foot robot soldiers are unoriginal even though there are different types of them as the red ones are fast and tough to defeat. The bigger boss-like enemies though are a different beast from big normal looking robots to monkey-looking ones. Since its made by the Yakuza team, the game looks good, but very similar to those games as the environments can be pretty bland. Binary Domain definitely has some potential to be a decent Japanese third-person shooter and arguably better than that being the best one to come out from that country.

That is it for now as I need more time with the multiplayer demo of Twisted Metal and the public beta for Starhawk (had a code when I bought Uncharted 3), so expect impressions of those in the coming days.

Did You Miss This? For 1/28

This might be a new feature I'm starting on weekends putting up videos I missed during the week here...

A new multiplayer/co-op trailer went up for Mass Effect 3 and its looking better than I thought on that front. Its looks to be another wave-based survival mode, but of course I could be wrong. You have races to choose from in this Special Forces mode as each race has their class they're specialized in as you probably seen in the first two games. Examples being that the Turians are soldiers-based, Asaris being Vanguards, and so on. I just wanna play this already, but its almost a month away so I can still wait in the meantime.

Street Fighter X Tekken keeps on piling on the exclusives on the PS3 as there are five exclusive characters now on that system. Besides Cole from Infamous and the two Japanese Playstation mascots, the other two are Namco and Capcom's big mascots in a different twist. Pac-Man comes in controlling a Mokujin robot and resembles Tron Bonne in some ways. The big talk of this clip however is about the return of bad box art Mega Man. Mega Man fans never seen to get what they wanted these days, but the bad box art version is awesome from a casual perspective. Plus, only Ono would pull a stunt like this including him in the game. Basically, Mega Man is back in a fighting game, but probably not the one fans wanted. Whatever, this is still great to me even though we won't see them in the tournament scene due to being PS3 exclusive. It is still a mixed bag if Street Fighter X Tekken will be worth all the hype with so many crap in it plus the "Cross Assault" reality show they announced recently, which I'm not gonna even bother trying to audition as there are way better people out there suited for that.

Dance Central 2 got a sick song as a download this week and the routine for it is pretty sick too. I have been thinking lately about getting a Kinect setup, but I don't think my house is ready for that lol.

That's it for now... maybe I should get Soul Calibur V now? Hmmmmm... naaaa.

PSN Demo Showcase for 1/26/12

The PSN Demo Showcase is back and there is lots to talk about with the variety of games that came out as demos in the past couple of weeks.

First off is UFC Undisputed 3 as I have been playing the demo and the alpha online test that finally came out late last week for PSN peeps. The alpha test is definitely an early build of the game without most of the sounds you hear normally in an UFC game from the music and the announcers. It served its purpose testing the netcode to make sure its fine for the final game and so far it seems so from what I played. Created fighters are only allowed in this version and it is a nice touch to mix things up with fighting styles as the matches go on standard rules compared to the demo. The only disappointing part about the demo is that matches are set to one round only than the traditional three rounds as seen in past demos of THQ's franchise. Luckily there's PRIDE rules to use along with the normal UFC rules as PRIDE rounds are set to ten minutes, so that's the mode to go with if you want more time fighting. Four fighters are selectable in the demo as Jon Jones & Anderson Silva are playable in the UFC while Wanderlei Silva and Rampage Jackson are on PRIDE. The extra year of time has definitely paid off for UFC Undisputed 3 as Yuke's are able to add more touches and beef up the modes to make the game feel like the ultimate UFC game we have been waiting for. The core gameplay is still intact from previous entries, but the little new additions make this game worth it for any UFC fan. From the roster that includes the featherweight and banterweight classes, PRIDE (which the developers did a great job integrating it to the game), and the little new details that make fights don't like the last game, UFC Undisputed 3 is looking pretty good as beatdowns begin on Valentine's Day.

Next up is The Darkness II, the long awaited sequel to 2007's The Darkness. I actually enjoyed the first game as it was one of my personal sleeper hits of that year on the 360, so I'm curious how this one will pan out. First of all, Digital Extremes is handling this game than the original's developer Starbreeze and the graphical style has been changed completely as it looks more cel-shaded now. Cel-shaded graphics are actually a rarity these days, so its nice to see games like this implement it every now and then. The protagonist from the last game, Jackie, is back, and new villains are after his Darkness powers. The combat is mostly the same as more attention was paid to the Darkness tentacles being more than what they were in the original. I do like that you do crazy animations when firing guns as if you were in some John Woo flick, so that's cool than seeing the same old shooting animation from pretty much every other game that's out. There is a level up/upgrades system too as you gain experience by obviously killing enemies by guns or your tentacles. The pace during the demo though was a little too crazy for me, but it did start out with a bang. However, I do have a feeling that The Darkness II will be slept on again but we'll see about that.

The demo for EA's Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning has been out for a couple of weeks and it is a lengthy one too. For those who don't know, 38 Studios (Curt Shilling's development studio) and Big Huge Games are making this as it has been a long time coming for this to come out. If I can sum up this RPG in a nutshell, it would be a mix of Fable and Mass Effect. The environments are as colorful as Fable's especially when outdoors and it also has Mass Effect's dialogue trees even though your created main character is silent. Once you're out of the first area, there is a 45 minute limit for the rest of the demo as there are numerous quests in a big world (whatever you're given) to take on even though most of them can't be finished here. My time with it has been a mixed bag as it is a solid RPG with the necessary elements to be as good as the other big ones that came out recently, but it doesn't mean I had fun with it. In addition the demo is really buggy filled with missing textures and awkward camera angles to the point your land disappears. Good thing its just an early build that the developers released and it will be fixed in the final game, but having that many bugs in a big downloadable demo is inexcusable these days. Then again, this could be the RPG to play after you're tired of Skyrim when it comes out on February 7.

Last up for now is a multiplayer beta for Gotham City Impostors. This is a multiplayer-only spinoff game in the Batman universe as it is pretty self-explanatory that you can play as Batman look-a-likes or a bunch of clowns that are reminiscent of The Joker. It definitely has a certain level of charm that is neat, which is sort of similar to Team Fortress 2 in some way especially when looking at the characters and the tutorials for the game modes. It is objective-based from a territory-like mode where you have to control a set of canisters for a good amount of time for a toxin to release if you're the Jokers or a group of bats if you're on the Batmen side. The other mode in this beta is a capture the flag variant where you have get a battery to your base and if held for a certain period of time you can confuse the opposition as they go into la-la-land, but they still can slap you to death if you're not careful. Gotham City Impostors is full of weapons and gadgets to mess around with from the conventional guns, grappling hooks, and more in the final games as there is a loadouts system and other customization options. Other than that, the gameplay is your standard shooter fare, but with the Batman twists if you're into that and the default sensitivity is higher than other shooters. I only had a brief time with the beta as I'll play more to see if it is worth buying.

That's it for now... next week is the Starhawk Beta for me since I have a code from Uncharted 3, but Playstation Plus owners have been playing it for a couple of weeks, so expect thoughts about that one soon.

Oh Yeah New SSX Gameplay Footage Yeah!

If this new gameplay footage of SSX doesn't sell you on the game, I don't know what to say. Perhaps my game of 2011 is coming quicker than I thought, so basically buy this game on February 28!

Leon & Chris Are Ready to Do Work Again in Resident Evil 6

After months of rumors and speculation, Resident Evil 6 is officially announced for a November 12 release on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 (PC version will be out later). This ain't just another Resident Evil game though as two mainstays of the franchise are playable and have a big role in the story. Leon and Chris are doing work again to save the world from bioterrorism, but in different locales this time around. Leon's arc is dealing with the president, who is apparently got caught in the virus forcing Leon to make as Capcom says in the PR the biggest decision of his life. Chris's arc is in China to clear out the latest threat there and yes, there are zombies everywhere again. A third playable character is introduced along with who likely seems to be Ashley (The playable guy is probably Alex Wesker?). What I mean as this ain't just another RE game, its a pretty big game with elements from 4 and 5, but Capcom says they're trying to have a middle ground between those games gameplay-wise. I actually skipped RE5 because it was too much like 4 with little improvements to the formula. Maybe they learned their lesson this time around incorporating elements seen in other first & third-person shooters like cover and sprinting, but it is still 4 and 5 at its core. This is a lengthy trailer to digest as well and I'm already hype for the game, but we'll see if Capcom can bring it back again after 5 being a disappoint for many people.

Are You Really Ready For Some Genkibowl??

The first mission-based DLC for Saints Row: The Third came out earlier this week titled Genkibowl VII. Maybe I should of had missions in air quotes because these are basically more activities that have the crazy vibe of the Genki stuff from the main game. The announcers from Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax return for Genkibowl featuring slightly different twists of existing activities from the game that have that Genki flavor. Unfortunately, the slight twists aren't much as Apocalypse Genki is another version of S.E.R.C., except in a jungle-like environment and sharks coming out of the water to bite mascots away. Sexy Kitten Yarngasm is Tank Mayhem, but with a big ball of yarn instead trashing the city for points. There's a cleverly named achievement/trophy called C-C-C Combo Breaker for that activity alone (shoutouts to Killer Instinct). Super Ethical PR Opportunity is basically Escort, but with Genki around as you drive his Genkimobile burning people up while avoiding the exposure. Getting the car's flamethrower to go is interesting as you have to run over pedestrians to get it going to impress the professor. The only original activity of the bunch however is Sad Panda Skyblazing. Honestly, you probably won't get it done in the first try as the game and skydiving controls can be a pain for this instance, but once you know what to do as the announcers explain, then you'll be fine. The point of Sad Panda Skyblazing to skydive through rings and kill mascots in skyscrapers to accumulate enough money to go on the landing spot. There are hot air balloons spread throughout the level to keep your dive intact while in the air (even the unethical pandas give you more air).

The Genkibowl activities can be done in a hour or less unless you're getting to get all the achievements/trophies from the set, which aren't that hard but can take you a little longer if things don't go your way in the missions. I wish there was more originality with the activities as three of them are just different takes on existing activities, but still fun regardless. Its not everyday you're rolling a big ball of pink yarn down a city destroying everything in your way. It is a little disappointing you're getting this much content for seven dollars (unless you got the Season Pass for the rest of the DLC), but if you're itching for new stuff to do in Saints Row: The Third, Genkibowl is still worth to get strapped on again till the next mission-based DLC comes out in a month or two.

My Type of Snowboarding Heaven...

Yeah it is Winter time (well not really in Los Angeles during the day time) and my personal big game of the season is none other than the return of EA's SSX. I've been pretty stoked since the original announcement and every time it has been shown in preview events and trailers, it keeps getting better and better. This is my own snowboarding heaven as SSX is out on February 28, a crowded stretch personally for me when I have Mass Effect 3 and Street Fighter X Tekken out a week later, but who cares since I have been waiting for this all console generation.

And yes, SSX has lots of wubwubwubwub...