Music Roundup for 7/12/11 aka the "If Not Now, When?" Edition

The new Incubus album came out today and after listening to it a few times for the past week, I appreciate the change of direction for If Not Now, When? Sure, its just another band taking the more mature and mellow direction, but Incubus has been around for a good while to be able to take a risk in changing their overall sound. There will always be fans that still want more of the same mix of hard rocking and mellow tracks, but as the band grows older, you're bound to make some changes. The title track, which starts things off, does set up the overall mood and tempo for the rest of the album. "Promises, Promises" is a great lead-off single as I look forward to their picks for the rest of the singles since they most of them have single potential. I definitely dig the chill vibes from the album's first half as the only songs that has a little faster tempo you'll hear is later on with "In the Company of Wolves" and "Switchblade." Those songs are not that bad as they're probably the closest thing you'll get for old school Incubus.

Basically, this new Incubus album is worth a listen if you're looking for some new "chill rock" stuff to listen to as you're mostly going to get that for the majority of the album. It is also great to blast while driving casually (when you're not really in a rush to go somewhere). Certain fans may hate the new direction of their sound being more mellow, but this is probably for the best as they're another band that has matured over the past decade and capable to change things up. Plus, the frontman Brandon can still kill it with the vocals especially for this long. Then again, I'm been over the metal-ish type of rock for a while as my fixes for that have been the chill stuff, which is why Incubus's If Not Now, When? is something up my alley.

Today in the World of Games for 7/11/11

We finally get a Riddler trailer for Batman: Arkham City and as expected, he has more of a presence story-wise this time around than Arkham Asylum with all those hidden goodies throughout the game. Of course, he is not the main villain in this sequel, but it is still nice he's still in as just one of the problems Batman has to deal with. Honestly though, I'm kind of in blackout mode for Arkham City other than seeing some trailers because I know it is going to blow people's minds when it comes out in October.

Yes, I'm still playing Mortal Kombat here and there (check out last weekend's Box Arena stream where I pretty much was a pot monster in that tourney) as Rain is the next downloadable character for next week. I like the DLC for this game so far as Skarlet is pretty much a sheninegans-like character with tons of potential as she has the tools to be up in the tiers. Kenshi, which was released last week, is pretty easy to pick up and play with simple combos, zoning tools, etc. Rain finally makes his appearance in this game as the last ninja because of course the ninjas are too good in this game (maybe not Scorpion even though he's obviously easy to learn). I enjoyed using him in the broken Mortal Kombat Trilogy where he has too many tools to dish out the damage. Most of those moves are back here from the roundhouse kick to the other side of the screen, his fireball that makes opponents float for a limited time, and lightning. Even from the trailer above, the combo potential is easily there for simple 30% damage and so on along with a long distance x-ray. Unfortunately, the downloadable characters are banned from Evo even though I'm starting to pick up Kenshi and now Rain along with my Smoke and Ermac. There's still a fourth downloadable character that is not revealed, but we have to probably wait till next month for that.

WWE Brawl is definitely not original in terms of its title, but yup, this is another WWE game attempting to break away from the simulation aspects of their yearly offerings. I think this is the All Stars team doing this one and obviously a departure from any other WWE game out in recent years. They're turning up the fantasy even further as it reminds me of Def Jam Icon mixed with Power Stone. Wrestlers get special powers now such as John Cena' Chain Storm for some crazy stuff. Who knows if this will turn out any good, but then again most of us were skeptical how good All-Stars can be and yet that turned out fun. WWE Brawl is currently slated for release next year on the obvious platforms.

Saint's Row: The Third continues to look as absurd and insane as any other open-world game in existence. Even the pre-order bonus which is some wacky Japanese guy named Professor Genki. This trailer does a pretty good job of selling this pack being similar to some crazy Japanese ad. I probably said this multiple times, but the Saint's Row franchise has basically turned Grand Theft Auto into a fun playground of insanity. Even Rockstar Games probably wouldn't push the envelope into that amount of absurdity with their current gen games since GTA has turned to into a more cinematic, story-driven approach. Anyway, Saint's Row: The Third is still planned to come out in November, aka the most crowded month of game releases because of the holiday season.

BioShock Infinite's 15 Minute E3 2011 Demo = OMG!!!

Tags: GameTrailers.com, GTTV - BioShock Infinite, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

GameTrailers TV premiered the infamous E3 2011 Demo of BioShock Infinite last night to the rest of the world since it was shown in closed doors last month. If you wandered why why it was the game of the show, here's arguably the best demos I have seen in a while and its fifteen minutes long! I don't leave get all nitpicky here after seeing it compared to typical message board posters saying its too scripted, rechargeable health is a no-no, and more, but I'll let the demo speak for itself above. BioShock Infinite is still on track to come out next year for PS3, 360, and PC.

Its The Final Stretch for Entourage...

The final season for Entourage premieres on the 24th and even though it is ending, I'm still excited to see the fate for Vince and the boys. Hopefully the various storylines have closure and there's a reason they don't need to do another season.

Let's Take A Journey... Beta Style

Journey by thatgamecompany (the folks that made FlOw and Flower) is still one mysterious game, but yet so fascinating at the same time. Jenova Chen and his team are at it again delivering another original experience only for the Playstation Network. If you're wandering why this game has a public beta even though it still feels like a single player experience, it is because Journey actually has a co-op component in which they are probably testing the netcode. At its core however, Journey is still a game unlike no other and arguably the best original downloadable game to get this year.

The most important thing you'll get out of Journey is the sense of loneliness and exploration as you're just a guy wandering alone in these sandy environments on the way the top of some mountain. At the start of the beta last week, the camera controls were originally done by the sixaxis since thatgamecompany were major supporters of that control option with their previous games. They were changed to the right stick in a matter of a day for easier controls. Journey in a nutshell can be summed as a puzzle platformer finding a way to get from point A to point B, but even as you watch the footage here, it is still pretty hard to describe. It is one of those experiences you just feel thrown into without a sense of what to do next other than explore your whereabouts and hope for the best, which is a good thing to me with Journey.

Another important aspect of how Journey feels unique and special is the beautiful graphics. The sandy environments are unlike anything I seen in recent games to the point someone finally got sand right from a visual standpoint (okay, there's still Uncharted 3's sand to consider too). The vista-like camera angles are outstanding when you're on the top of a sandy peak that overlooks the mountain you have to reach the top of in the final game. Even the music feels calm and relaxing to listen as you're exploring the sandy deserts, which is similar how Flower's soundtrack was vital to that game.

Despite all of this and playing through the beta multiple times, it is still hard to describe what Journey is. I do feel it is one of those games that should speak for themselves rather than try to explain what in the world is going on, which is what most people would get from a first impression. Yet, this game is still fascinating and special at the same time because of how original it is. I don't think you'll ever get a sense of being alone in a world (unless you find someone to tag along with you exploring these levels together by online co-op) and mysterious exploration elsewhere than Journey when it comes out later this summer on the Playstation Network.

A Week Into the Uncharted 3 Multiplayer Beta...

The multiplayer beta for Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception has been out for a week now (well for Infamous 2 owners and Playstation Plus folks), but its now out for everyone else to enjoy till it ends later this month. After hours of messing around with this being level 16 at the time of this post, it definitely shows that Naughty Dog wants it to be a serious multiplayer game for many months besides the awesome campaign we will expect to see this November. I enjoyed Uncharted 2's multiplayer during its first two months as I didn't bother with the DLC maps they added months after that came out. This time around, the core is pretty much the same from last time, but it is the little things that makes Uncharted 3 a serious contender for your gaming hours compared to the shooter juggernauts of this fall (mainly Battlefield 3 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3).

Naughty Dog is going the extra mile (or my words, H.A.M.) to make the multiplayer as good as they can rather than make it as just another cash-in. The beta had a shaky start last Tuesday with game crashes and session managers not working due to the overflow of people trying to get in at the same time, but good thing it was worked out right away later that day as the beta basically has been going well after the 1.01 patch came out. Right from the get go as you navigate the menus there are tons of customization options to mess around with, but of course you can unlock more as you level up throughout this beta to unlock more outfits for your characters, boosters, gun mods, and so on. The developers managed to take some elements seen in recent shooters to be put in Uncharted 3 such as pre-game loadouts, emblems, and character customization. Loadouts totally make the game not much of a hunt for power weapons even though they're still not there, but your rifle of choice is usually the weapon to go with. As you level up, you get better guns from the M9 rifle and the auto pistol. Emblems are basically another way of showing off especially when you're on the lead score-wise as your emblem shows up at various parts of the map.

Uncharted 3's multiplayer beta offers three maps as two of them are used in all the modes while one map is exclusive to free-for-all from what I seen. With the team modes, you'll likely play either Airstrip or Chateau. Airstrip is a multiplayer map that only Uncharted would have as the first part is quite unique. There is a plane ready to take off as you players spawn either inside the plane or outside on chasing trucks trying to transverse their way into the plane. This whole sequence is cool on paper playing it for the first time, but it doesn't really translate into a good map since one team is spawned instantly at an advantageous position as the opposing team has to work harder to get kills out of the gate. After the sequence is over, Airstrip becomes a standard map after. I appreciate Naughty Dog's effort to translate epic campaign sequences into part of multiplayer maps, but it doesn't make sense mostly as it should be only be played during the campaign. Chateau is just a typical map in an abandoned house, but the neat feature for this one is the zipline as the potential is there for some awesome zipline kills for rare medals. Besides the traditional team deathmatch and free for all modes, the playlists will periodically change throughout the beta as team objective, team hardcore (just skill only), and co-op hunter modes are available to be played as of yesterday.

Now that the features are out of the way, does Uncharted 3's multiplayer gameplay wise stand a chance against the competition? My answer would be yes since the Uncharted-only twists still make multiplayer fun to play for long sessions as people already reaching the maximmum level in this beta (50 even though the unlocks stop at 25). The transversal elements are still great unless someone is shooting you with something like an AK-47. The melee attacks definitely got improved with more instant kill animations besides the choke from behind. The gun whip 50/50 contest from Uncharted 2 is still there, but so far it hasn't been a problem in this beta. The boosters (aka perks if you're a CoD person) from this beta have been okay as there is not one of them that seems broken. New to Uncharted 3 though is kickbacks. After getting a certain amount of medals, you basically get another booster at your disposal if you press the up button on the d-pad. These range from getting an instant rocket launcher that has two shots, no reloading for a limited time, sprint speed gets increased, etc. These are pretty much similar to killstreak awards in Call of Duty rewarding players for doing well in matches. There's also a treasure system as kills often drop treasures to unlock more character outfits too.

Then there's what I call the "comeback mechanic" for Uncharted 3, which are the power plays. Power plays are in effect when you're down by more than six kills in a team deathmatch game. These give the losing team a chance to come back into a match in a limited time such as killing one of the marked players for three points instead of one, the whole opposing team being spotted, or getting double damage. Of course it depends on the team to actually take advantage of the power play to get back into the match, which likely happens, but it is there to keep matches close and intense. Thinking about the idea of comeback mechanics in competitive games is making me consider a write up sometime in the future thanks to numerous matches here and of course with recent fighting games. I also like the buddy system in this game as you have the option to respawn next to a teammate besides a random spawn point, which also seem ripped off from Battlefield.

I am impressed of what I played and seen from Uncharted 3's multiplayer beta so far with its first week. We'll see what Naughty Dog offers in the days to come to spice up playlists and even maps before the beta period ends later this month. If you love Uncharted 2's multiplayer, you'll enjoy this new one as it is pretty much the same with little to much needed improvements. The power play concept can make or break team deathmatch games as players who don't like that just stick to the team hardcore playlist. Co-op is also improved with more modes like the unique hunter mode even though I didn't have much time such it came up yesterday, but there is still some cheapness from the last game as enemies will grab you from behind rendering you useless till your teammates get you out. Of course, I'm still looking forward to the campaign much more than this, but it is good to know that multiplayer is still good as it is and that Naughty Dog is working hard to make it as a legitimate contender to compete against the shooter juggernauts.

UPDATE

The 1.02 patch for this beta came out late this night and I was able to spend some time messing around with the changes Naughty Dog came up with into. First of all, there was another playlist change, which now features Plunder, Uncharted's version of Capture the Flag in the two team-based maps. Power plays got changed dramatically as they're now a full minute instead of 30 seconds, but the tradeoff is that they're not put into action at the 40 kill mark in team deathmatch games, which is the right thing to do letting players win the proper way rather than try to rely on a power play for an easy comeback. Players also can't stack kickbacks now, which is another good change for the sake of balance as imagine having 2 RPG kickbacks ready to get nuts. Medals can still be earned, but they won't count towards getting another kickback if you already have one ready to be used. It is nice to see Naughty Dog do balance changes right away with this beta setting things right for the final game in November.

Oh, as I was just typing this, patch 1.03 came out addressing matchmaking issues for some Euro folks. I didn't mention this earlier, but there's Facebook support for Uncharted 3 as well seeing which of your FB friends are playing so you can party up. I'm not using it and it doesn't seem like any others are using it either. It is just another one of those "its nice that its there" features that won't be used.

A Road Trip That Is Just Magnifico... The Shadows of the Damned Review

Note - The gameplay footage can be NSFW, so you are warned!

If you ever liked underrated and crazy Japanese games, you might heard of a man named Suda 51 from Grasshopper, recently known for the No More Heroes franchise. Usually with his games, he delivers an unorthodox style that can be described as insane and twisted, but the gameplay aspect does lack a bit. If you combine that style of presentation, atmosphere, and storytelling with Resident Evil 4-like gunplay that was pioneered by Shinji Mikami, you get a game called Shadows of the Damned. Even though the gameplay premise might be familiar, it is a road trip worth taking from beginning to end, but it definitely has its bumps and bruises along the way.

The protagonist of Shadows of the Damned is a demon hunter named Garcia Hotspur as his lady Paula gets kidnapped by the lord of demons, Fleming. The goal is pretty much simple after that as it is up to Garcia to rescue her at the Underworld with his talking skull sidekick, Johnson, at his side. If I had compare how the story progresses, it takes a similar approach to the 2D Mario games oddly enough as Fleming holds Paula hostage at his castle. In other words, it is a Mario game, but you're in hell shooting demons and to me, that is a good take on a classic formula that still works today. Garcia and Johnson make a fantastic duo together as the banter between the two is hilarious most of the time with the game's great use of crude humor. The crude humor does not as seem as forced compared to some other games as if you can understand and deal with the jokes about private parts the game throws at you, then you'll have a blast trucking your way through the game's five acts.

If you ever played the recent Resident Evil games, you will feel right at home with Shadows of the Damned's core gunplay as it does not play like any other modern third-person shooter. The aiming can take some time to get used to at the beginning, but things will be fine as you keep progressing. Besides being a talking skull, Johnson can transform to multiple guns and also be used as a stick for melee attacks, but they're not as powerful as the guns are the stars of the show. There isn't really a variety of guns in the game as you have your conventional pistol, which is actually called the boner, a shotgun, and a machine gun, but they have multiple functions that are unlocked as you move along in the game. There is an upgrade system in which you have to collect red gems by finding them within the levels or buying them from the merchant Christopher to increase your health, your guns' damage input, reload speed, etc. Besides the gunplay, the other core gameplay mechanic in Shadows of the Damned is how it handles light and darkness. At numerous sections throughout the game, you will encounter darkness as being there for long will result in a loss of health or even death if you can't find fire at a mechanism that turns on the light. Examples of that range from a goat head, a pore, or setting up fireworks. Playing through these sections of darkness reminds me of another Nintendo game, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, but Grasshopper handles this mechanic better by throwing different situations at you to dispose the darkness. Even enemies will be in their dark form as you have to light them up before you can damage them at all. Specific enemies also have to killed in the darkness, so you have to be play carefully in these sections. There are also great boss fights against bigger enemies even though they consist of finding a way to shoot their red weak spot numerous times to defeat them. Both of the core gameplay mechanics work exceptionally well, but there are some questionable moments in the game in which I'll talk about next.

Besides going from one kill room to another, Grasshopper throws in some diversity giving players different things to do such as puzzles, instant death situations, turret sections, and even a change in dimension gameplay-wise. The puzzles are not that bad as they're not there to challenge your brain as most of them consist of finding a strawberry or a brain to unlock the next door or making a path within a big room that lets you keep going. Then there are the little situations that will throw players for a loop as some of them seem cool on paper, but they can be frustrating at the end of the day more than halfway into the game. Other than those frustrating parts, Shadows of the Damned is a short and easy game to blast through in seven to nine hours on average. There are difficulty options at the start of the game as the default normal difficulty is pretty easy since you will rarely die especially with the generous checkpoint system, it is better to start on Legion Hunter, the game's version of hard for a more challenging trip. There is definitely a lack of replay value as there are no other modes besides the main game, no level select, and even a no new game plus option, so this is something Grasshopper dropped the ball on.

The sense of tone and atmosphere has been nailed exceptionally well in Shadows of the Damned as Suda 51's take on the underworld looks great. You are always wandering what is the next for Garcia and Johnson whether it is another enemy encounter with darkness thrown in, a boss fight, or just the two interacting with the posters scattered throughout the game. Even the little details such as background or past stories about the characters and even the bosses are fascinatingly hilarious to listen to. There are some technical issues from the camera mishandling certain situations such as close enemy encounters, texture pop-in, after loading from a checkpoint, and other things not happening the way it should of (impossible to find any light mechanisms within darkness at times, which can lead to death). The game's sound is also amazing from the voice acting that can be cheesy at times even though I enjoyed it and specifically the soundtrack done by Akira Yamaoka of Silent Hill fame. His tracks scattered throughout the game are just phenomenal corresponding the mood and atmosphere to the point it is a contender for best soundtrack for a game this year.

Despite some faults, Shadows of the Damned is one hell of a road trip worth playing through. The mix of Suda 51's stylish presentation and Mikami's Resident Evil 4-like gameplay equals pure brilliance. It is easy to love the ragtag duo of Garcia Hotspur and Johnson as they're just great characters to play as. I also enjoyed the crude humor a lot you don't see this style of humor handled effectively in most of today's games. Even though there are some design decisions that made me feel a little frustrated, it is still a fairly easy game to blast through in a few hours. The lack of extra content beyond the main game is disappointing as it may not be worth the full price tag, but if you're a Suda 51 fan, down to laugh, and love insane Japanese games, Shadows of the Damned is definitely worth your time and money as it is definitely my sleeper hit of the year so far.

Score = 8.5/10

Pros:

• As expected with a Suda 51 game, great sense of style and atmosphere
• Great use of crude humor throughout this road trip
• One of the best gaming soundtracks this year
• The duo of Garcia and Johnson are such a blast play as
• Core gameplay mechanics from the gunplay and the light/darkness work exceptionally well

Cons:

• Questionable design decisions especially at the second half of the game
• Technical issues from a bad camera at times to texture pop-in
• Definitely a short game, but it still feels like a road trip (seven to nine hours on normal for most folks)
• Lack of extra content (no level select, bonus modes, no new game plus)