First gameplay footage of Gen and Rose in Street Fighter IV...

Earlier, I posted in my Twitter footage of Cammy and Fei Long in Street Fighter IV and now 1up/Gamevideos put up the first gameplay footage of Gen and Rose in action. Keep in mind that these console exclusive characters have to be unlocked via arcade or challenge mode. Good thing more stages were added even though some of them are just nighttime versions like the jungle at night and Crowded Downtown at night (the stage shown in this clip). I'm still not a fan of the English voices for some characters (like Fei Long saying "I lost!!!" when he loses) as I prefer the Japanese voices, so hopefully they will be available from the get go (if the rumors of unlocking them are not true). Both Ultras and Focus Attacks for both characters are shown in this clip, which is good. If 1up's recent footage and tomorrow's Game Night doesn't get you hyped for Street Fighter IV, then I don't know what will.

The PS3 Experience so far... (Part II)

Winter Break is pretty much over and I might as well recap the PS3 Experience so far from last time. This time two games get the spotlight in this post and I actually don't have plans of typing of a long review for either of them. Skate 2 will likely be my first review of 2009 later this month.

Lumines Supernova - This is officially my kick back game on PS3 as it is more Lumines, and that's good enough for me. Actually if you played Lumines Live (on XBLA) to death, there's not that much new here in Supernova in terms of content, but at least Q! Entertainment did not make the same mistake again by having a package that is worth the 15 dollars compared to the experiment on 360 in 2006. The gameplay is pretty much the same and as addictive with some new skins, but the majority of the skins have appeared in previous games. Compared to Lumines Live, the order of rotation for skins did change, so it is not really the same game as two years ago. Other than the disappointing Dig Down mode and no multiplayer, Lumines Supernova is worth it for chill sessions from all the stress other games may provide.

LittleBigPlanet - Okay, I haven't really played much LBP as I wanted to, but I'm loving it so far. Currently I'm at the Canyons in the storyline and I also have the Metal Gear levels DLC along with the free costumes (also the Street Fighter costumes). I usually just play some of the other levels out there online and who knows if I feel like making my own level (then again that it is a crucial part of LBP). I can also see why this game is pretty amazing and perhaps the most charming game in recent memory. The charm factor is just everywhere and it is hard not to love Sackboy as a character. Yeah, the gameplay mechanics could have been a little better like the jump and the three panes, but the game just puts a smile on your face that it eliminates the frustration whether playing alone or with friends. Of course, the servers still suck, but nothing is ever perfect. The soundtrack is also awesome which also surprised me. I do expect myself to play more LBP, but on a slower pace. Plus, it has the longevity to still be around a year later with the community levels and more developer-based levels on other famous franchises.

As for Q1 2009 for the PS3 Experience, expect me to get Skate 2, Street Fighter IV, Killzone 2, and Resident Evil 5 and we move on from there.

New Year = Twitter plus Random Musings from Vegas

The new year is here and I decided to spice up this blog of mine a bit as I decided to make a Twitter account and now my Twitter feed can be seen on the right side. Actually doing Twitter is a New Year's Resolution of mine, so now more insanity can happen I guess.


I guess I can also talk about my recent Vegas trip in which I was there for three nights. Two nights and three days seem to be the sweet spot in terms of how long a Vegas trip should last especially going there three to four times a year, but three nights to me is pushing it. Gambling was a pure fail at this trip (Oh well...), but the arcade scene there is truly starting to show its age and it is kind of a scary sight to see.

2009 at Vegas could be the end of arcades there as I think more hotels will close their arcades for better attractions for the 21 and over crowd (like me!!!). The likely candidates are Bellagio, Monte Carlo, Treasure Island, and New York New York (Last year, arcades at Luxor and The Mirage have closed down). The machines keep getting broken and becoming old as they will eventually have no use at all. They should let the kid-friendly themed hotel/casinos keep their arcades like the MGM Grand, Excalibur, and Circus Circus and take out the ones that probably don't need it anymore.

Anyway, GameWorks continues to be the place for arcade gaming at Vegas even though I'm surprised at Circus Circus's arcade/midway in terms of the selection of old and new stuff (That place is still ghetto anyway). New racers and shooters have shown up there since the last time I was there like the Rambo shoot-em-up, Sega Rally 3, which is pretty much Sega Rally Revo on the PS3 and 360, and other random crap by Sega. Actually I want GameWorks to stay racer and shooter focused as I can just play fighting games like Street Fighter IV and Tekken 6 BR back at SoCal because of the scene and playability (Playing fighting games with broken sticks or buttons is a pain and a waste).

Okay, enough with my mumblings with the arcades and off to the crazy stuff which is my first nightclub experience at Jet in the Mirage Tuesday night, which is rare considering who I am. Good thing I came with some of my best friends as it was very fun and crazy for three hours filled with dancing and drinks. When we got in, we were just ready to go loose especially having drinks before going to the club. Other than endless partying, 2008 American Idol David Cook performed the same two songs twice because they were showing it for Fox's New Year's Eve bash last night. My friends and I pretty much hightailed to the bar at Jet as we're not really David Cook fans, so we weren't on TV. Being 21 at Vegas is a crazy feeling as now I have the whole city to go crazy compared to being limited to shopping and arcades when being younger as my entertainment. You're bound to go a nightclub someday even though is not your thing at first, but I had one of the greatest times of my Vegas life there and I like to thank my friends who were there with me for being part of it.

That's pretty much my recent Vegas trip in a nutshell (My friends are still there probably partying and having as much fun as they can). Now I'm back at SoCal to chill and relax till my Winter Break is over by the end of the weekend.

Last post of 2008: The first trailer for the new Street Fighter movie

Sorry for the lack of posts (I was at Vegas since last Sunday - more that madness later if I feel like it), but this is pretty much my last post of 2008, which is the trailer for the new Street Fighter movie: The Legend of Chun-Li starring Kristen Kreuk (from Smallville fame) as the Chunster. All I have to say about this is that the trailer I posted here is in Japanese and the movie will suck.

The question is which movie will be worse - This or Dragonball: Evolution? Its more like pick your poison.

Singstar ABBA - The secret best game ever??

SingStar for the PS2 and the PS3 has been pretty successful (okay not as much here in the U.S. compared to Europe), but combining the awesomeness of Singstar with arguably the most influential pop group around, ABBA, into one game is probably the secret best game ever. From "Dancing Queen" to "Mamma Mia," pretty much all of Abba's hits are available to sing and get embarrassed like this one dude in the clip above taking advantage of YouTube and Singstar's special video feature. Even though I'm not really into karaoke games, this one might as well be the one to get.

The PS3 experience so far... Almost a week already

As I'm downloading Lumines Supernova off the Playstation Network (I do love Lumines), I might as well do a write up of my PS3 experience so far in terms of impressions of games that I can have now. I really don't have any plans to type up a long form review of them anyway (Lumines will be my first PSN game review - maybe WipeOut HD). Other than that, here's what I have so far.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune - As the game that comes with the 160 GB PS3, I say its a pretty good choice as Uncharted is a showcase of what the system can do in terms of graphics and presentation. I just beaten it today on Normal and boy, what a great game that felt short and sweet. The presentation aspect of this game is just flat out beautiful from the amazing graphics (Naughty Dog did say that this game didn't use the PS3's full potential in terms of power, but they plan to with the sequel) and the awesome music. It felt playing through a movie with great characters like Nathan Drake, who is pretty awesome after playing this. The supporting cast is pretty good too with Elena and Sully. After playing the Gears games, I felt comfortable with Uncharted's cover-based gameplay with the gun combat. The melee combat is not bad and I would like to see it better for the sequel. Other than a few sketchy sections (I'm not a fan of the boat sequences and you have to stop and shoot), Uncharted is indeed one of the better games on PS3 even though it originally came out last year.

Pain - This downloadable game is free with the 160 GB bundle, so I did download it anyway. I don't see myself playing it seriously and it is a good diversion game to mess around. Its good for a few rounds of jacking your character up for high scores. I don't plan on buying any of the DLC like the movie studio and the amusement park.

Mortal Kombat II - I bought this one yesterday (hey its MK II for five bucks) and its good to keep around as an old-school game (it is the arcade version). Surprisingly, it looks pretty good on PS3 being arcade perfect and great borders surrounding the game screen. Of course, no one plays it anymore online as I just play the single player. I didn't remember the arcade version being too hard, but the A.I. in this port is pretty crazy and cheap. At least, its better than UMK3 and MK vs. DC Universe as for most people, MK II is pretty much the last good Mortal Kombat game (u can make a case for UMK3 however). Plus, what's up with the select button being pause?

SSFIIT HD Remix - I double dipped for this one since I still love this game. Yeah, the online play sucks compared to the XBLA version because the netcode is better and barely people play it when I play online, but everything else is better. The controls felt better with the Dual Shock 3 nailing moves as well as no sound issues compared to the XBLA version (read my XBLA version review if u don't know what I mean).

WipeOut HD - This is one of many reasons why PSN is better than Xbox Live Arcade if u compare to two of them in terms of quality. WipeOut HD is just amazing as I'm almost done with the campaign on novice (I haven't played online yet, but I will soon) and on the final stretch, the computer A.I. do step up to be competitive. No wonder this game is hard according to some people. I am playing with the assists on as I'm still a noob to this game, but I might as well take it off soon. It is also arguably one of the better looking PSN games out today and in general compared to any 360 game in existence. Zone mode is fantastic and beautiful as well as the soundtrack too. I'll be playing this one for a while.

Sonic Unleashed Demo - Yeah, I downloaded this again just to try out the demos portion of the Playstation Store and yes, this game still sucks whether you love Sonic or not.

That's it so far regarding my PS3 experience. Hopefully after Christmas, I'll have more to blog about like maybe LittleBigPlanet and Buzz Quiz TV (This will be my party game replacement for the rhythm games).

Plus, buy Singstar ABBA if u have Singstar.

More Tekken 6 BR clips for the day...

Another day and another Tekken 6 BR video I like to put up here. This one features one of the new characters Alisa and she cleans house with her crazy style of chainsaws, jetpacks, exploding heads, and rockets. I can totally see a lot of people playing as her at SoCal soon. Gosh, this game is too good just like Street Fighter IV.



Here's a clip of Marduk ownage wearing a football outfit as he climbs up the ranks.



Finally some good Lars footage and he's actually a cooler character than I thought. I won't mind learning him soon.