Retro/Grade is Bass Aackwards

This is why I dig PSN. This game looks equal parts fucking awesome and "God, I really don't want to play this because it's going to make me pull my hair." Still, love the thinking of 24 Caret Games. Something diffenet is always welcome in the face of seemingly every game this holiday season having a fucking number behind it.

FINALLY CONFIRMED!!!!!!!!!! MARVEL VS CAPCOM 2 HD COMING THIS SUMMER!!!!!!!

There is a god......evidence here at Capcom's website


And by the way, PS3 owners get exclusive demo Thursday. Suck it with your Fallout 3 and GTA4 DLC, 360 owners. This is something I'm glad PS3 owner get to dig before everyone else. Demo-lition will be coming soon after I get back into the lower 48.



J.

I'm in the Fat Princess beta

Keeping in the tradition of me getting into Sony beta tests, (Warhawk, Home, Littlebigplanet) I just got an invite code to Titan Games much hyped multiplayer PSN exclusive. The game is downloading as we speak. I'll try to get a few impressions up on the site before I take off for a few weeks to enjoy some R and R in Hawaii. It's hard out there for a pimp I hear........


J.

Evidence mounting on Marvel vs Capcom 2 HD remix

A while ago, I posted something about some rumors floating around about everyone's favorite developers, Capcom, re-releasing the fighting game Marvel vs. Capcom 2 on the download circuit. It's still one of my favorite fighting games and one of my biggest video game regrets, selling the game (twice!!) for extra money, only to find it going for ri-fucking-diculous change on Ebay.

Well, people selling MvC2 might want to cash in while they can. Videogamer.com posted an interview with Capcom's Christian Svensson, vice president, business development and strategic planning. In it, he was asked about any other games that might get the "HD remix treatment," and he was quoted as saying....


"while "not every game needs it", the company was "potentially" going to apply the HD Remix treatment to other fighting games in its back catalogue."

He also said about if MvC2 was one of the games that didn't need the HD treatment..........


"I won't say it doesn't need it. Marvel would be great to do. There's obviously a fan base for it. It's probably our most requested title. Unfortunately, I wish I had news to share on that front but I don't."


Hmmm. "Other Capcom fighting games?" With a list that includes Power Stone, X-men vs. Capcom, Final Fight, SNK vs. Capcom and Battle Arena Toshinden (and i'm sure I'm missing some) that's fucking HUGE list to choose from. However, given the choice between an updated Final Fight and one of the most sought after fighting games that come out in the last decade, I'd be willing to put money on MvC2 coming out soon. Maybe at E3 we'll hear more about this awesome thought.

And while I'm thinking about it, will someone at Capcom get off their hands and remake...........


Check out the article here.

J

Opinion: Sony fans SHOULDN'T care if Square Enix RPGs are on the 360

In the shadow of Star Ocean: The Last Hope being released and getting pretty good reviews, I started thinking about the other RPGs Square Enix has released on the 360 this generation. Sure, PS3 early adopters were more than aliitle upset with the defection of Square’s flagship game, Final Fantasy 13 to the competition, Mircosoft’s Xbox360. And more still at the sight of SE throwing more and more support behind the 360, while leaving the PS3 out in the cold has fans worried. But after reviewing the reviews and opinions about the RPGs released so far, I wonder why people are so up in arms about the move.


It started with Infinite Undiscovery. And the results were not as pretty as SE and MS would have liked. The mighty Metacritic has it sitting at a interesting 68 out of 100. Most gaming outlet panned it, saying mostly that the presentation was flawed and full of all the clichés of most JRPGs. While some, like X-Play, praised the combat. Others like Gameradar, called the system “unsatisfying.” The game did well for the 360, selling about 400,000 copies. Making the new marriage seem, at the time, like peas and carrots.



Up next was The Last Remnant. And things seemed to go south. The game, again, was relatively met with mediocre reviews. And again, the Metacritic score lingers around 65 out of 100. Reviewers sited the game’s “repetitive battles, cluttered screens, and annoying 'quests'” (Gamepro) and “abysmal frame-rate problems and awful texture pop-in as well as obtuse combat mechanics” (Gamespot) as major problems. Gametrailer put at an 8.0, citing “The Last Remnant is a hard game to judge. A person's enjoyment of it will be directly related to how much they can tolerate the persistent graphical issues.” X-Play and IGN shared the sentiment, saying that the presentation was not up to par. X-Play went so far as to criticizing “the load screens, long cutscenes, and the battle system, saying the game played itself.” It didn’t seem to set the world on fire, but sold well at about 550,000 copies.


So, this leads us to the next in the line of SE RPGs only for 360, Star Ocean: The Last Hope. Reviews are filtering in and they are sounding good. IGN’s review is good for the game and will sell well regardless of reviews or Metacritic scores. But where does that leave the Sony brand? A console that doesn’t have a lot of JRPGs? Nothing. Fallout 3 was the game of the year and is a blast to play. The over-looked Folklore was very good, albeit different kind of role playing. The CRIMINALLY over-looked Valkyrie Chronicles is an awesome game that people who complain about the PS3 not having games need shoved in their asshole. On top of the other non RPG, PS3-only games that you know about already and the gems on PSN like PJ Monsters, Burnout Paradise, Super Stardust HD and Warhawk and I say “Why worry about games you aren’t going to play anyway?” (well, The Last Remnant is coming soon, but whatever)


The perception that Sony has no games is almost taken as a painstaking fact by the general public, even though it’s an outdated claim only used by partisan console owners and well…..fanboys. With Sony getting great reviews on the exclusives that are out (Flower; Pixel Junk Monsters) and that are coming out, (Killzone 2) Sony fans shouldn’t worry about what’s going on the other side. Sure, 360 folks have been riding high in the quality games department for awhile, but the PS3 is coming along alot better then people think. Stop worrying about what other people have and you don't .You should buy games that are out (and are rated great to awesome) before bitching about betrayals and whatnot.

And buy Valkyrie Chronicles already, lugnuts……….

J.

On Deck: old school is the best school

Looking forward, i noticed that a few of the games i was looking to get are throwbacks. not all, but some. so, that's where i'll start this On Deck:



Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection

Jesus! "over 40 Genesis games"? wow. sure your now standard Sonic games are on there. As well as Golden Axe and Altered Beast. But the games that I'm hyped about are overlooked classics like E-SWAT, Streets of Rage and Ecco the Dolphin. All are the standouts to me. "All the games will be upgraded to 720p"? Sweet deal. But, really. Did we REALLY need Golden Axe 3 AND Shinobi 3? Why not Shinobi? Oh well. it's a must buy for the old school console owners and Putt-Putt arcade visitors like me.



Street Fighter 4

I love Street Fighter. It's a god among fighting games. And with 4 coming next month(!), it's going to come back around again, hooking gamers with fireballs shooting from hands, mouths and feet. The little that I've seen is really fluent and fast. Relying on knowledge of the moves and blocking at the right time rather then cheep ass combos. (like Marvel vs. Capcom, as much as i like it) Don't know about online, but it should be there if it wants to hang around with the other fighters on the market. The lineup seems solid, although, the exclusion of Dee Jay is full of fail, as the kids say. At least Fei-Long is in it. Every fighting game should have a Bruce Lee clone in it.



Mahjong Tales: Ancient Wisdom

Mahjong is one of these games that i've always been intimidated by. It seems very complex and difficult. But as i've gotten older, it's become a very relaxing game. Kind of like Lumines and Pixel Junk Eden is for me, it's a game that i play in the morning or at night before bed as a wind down. Something that's not so heavy as Fallout 3 or Bioshock or MGS4. And now, it sounds like Majong Tales should be coming out in the next week or so. Hopefully, the game isn't too much money. X-mas kind of wiped me out. So hopefully Sony thinks about that when it comes out. Until then, check out the video.



Killzone 2

Nothing left to say about this game. It's out next month and it looks amazing. and with some reviews leaking out, some think that the game isn't the internet meme that we all thought it would be back in the old days. I look forward to seeing what the gaming blogs have to say about it next month. I really can't believe i just said that......


Well, that's all for now. Back to Lumines Supernova and Bioshock tonight. Fallout 3 in the morning.


J.

(soon to be) IN DECK: merry (early) x-mas to me (on tuseday)

i know, i know. i've been a little down on the PS3 as of late. it's mostly the universal hatred of Home by the gaming media and in turn, everyone that hates the PS3. but i still like the black box. and with x-mas coming up, i decided to (finally) buy myself bioshock, a game i ranted and raved about months ago and forgot to get. i really want to play it and now i am.

on top of that, (and Chrono Trigger on DS AND a 320 gig hard drive for my PS3) i also decided to support the PSN by buying some games that i've been wanting to pick up.


Super Street Fighter 2 HD remix

i recently talked to a friend of mine that i grew up with. he lives in India at the moment and has a PS3. we talked about the old days and street fighter 2 came up. we reminisced about playing all night and i mentioned that street fighter HD remix was (at the time) coming out soon. he suggested that we pick up where we left off years ago: him kicking my ass with cheap ass hits with chung li. fuck chung li. it's all about Guile, baby.

Super Street Fighter 2 Hyper Global Meganet HD Remix is out now for $15.

Soldner-X

finally, an old school, side scrolling, hard as fuck shooter. this game looks awesome. i loved life force and i've been waiting for something like this. not alot more i can say about it. seems like more side scrolling shooters would be coming out for the the download services. coupled with online play and it seems like a great fit for the "get in quick/play for 30 minutes" video game market. i saw screens for this game and i knew that it was looking great and that it was going to be a good one to pick up. i'll talk about it more later next week. until then, check out the screen and link.

Soldner-X is out now for $10.


Lumines Supernova

oh yeah! this is it. my favorite PSP game is finally coming to PS3. lumines is my go to game on the PSP. anytime i have some free time, at work or school, pulling off a quick game is always a good idea. so, take all that and put it on the PS3 with new skins and new modes, i'm in. the only downside is that there isn't a online mode. i would have really liked to play people over PSN. but, in this world of DLC, i'm sure we'll see it sooner then later. also, there will be a holiday skin pack for free. that way, it can be x-mas all year long! right...but free stuff is a good way to get people to buy. i'm on it.

Lumines Supernova is out dec 23rd for $15.


Pain: Movie Studios

i really like pain. it's something that i've said before. it's the highest selling PSN game this year. but, some people seem to really not like pain. sure, it's juvenile and obnoxious, but damn if it isn't fun flinging sid, the punk rocker, into the side of a moving car. so after almost a year of no content from idol minds, new levels seem to be flying out of the studio at a crazy pace. this time, it's the movie studio and the addition of the hoff. call me nuts, but throwing david hasselhoff into a some kind of explosive box or barrel sounds like a lot of fun.

Pain: movie studio is out now for $6.

it's been a good year for PS3, even with the numbers coming out at last month. with lumines coming tomorrow, it's enough to get me through the hard times. cheer up, only two months until........



merry x-mas or whatever your deal is.

J.

Things You Probably Didn’t Know about the Watchmen Game…

…Unless you have this month’s EGM of course. After getting the issue about a week ago, I’ve been meaning to post about this game, the new info laid out by EGM, plus some geek commentary. Mainly, because I’m a comic fanatic and Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons is one of the (if not the) most amazing comic series I’ve ever read (no, it is not really a graphic novel, it’s a trade paperback collecting a 12 issue mini-series). Therefore, I’ve had a healthy amount of skepticism regarding both the Watchmen movie and the game spinning out of it, Watchmen: The End is Nigh. Anyone who has read Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and then seen the movie can probably relate to this (though V for Vendetta didn’t turn out badly…). Anyway, when I first heard about the game, I groaned. After reading EGM’s coverage of the game, I felt a lot better. Here’s some of the things discussed that may put your mind at ease as well:

• First and foremost (to comics nerds like me anyway) to note is that the game’s script is being handled by none other than Len Wein. Len Wein is a comics legend, creating both the Swamp Thing and everyone’s favorite mutant, Wolverine. He has worked on many comics properties, from Batman, to X-Men, and my favorite, Blue Beetle (a character he wrote the entire 24 issue series for in the 80’s). Wein is no amateur writer. He also has worked with Alan Moore in the past, and was the editor for the Watchmen comic series. Not to mention, Alan Moore made his name in the comics’ field writing Wein’s creation, the Swamp Thing. Says Wein: “When you’re dealing with anything that’s become this iconic, there’s always a moment of ‘Boy, I better get this right.’ But I figured Alan [Moore] has followed my work on a number of different titles over the years, so turnabout is fair play. It was actually quite liberating.”
  
  
  
• The game is a downloadable title for XBLA, PSN, and Steam for PC and will be broken into six episodes, the first releasing in March 2009 to coincide with the movie release. Despite the downloadable nature of the game, EGM claims that the production values are so great that, “This game looks so good in high-def on a huge 50-inch television that you’ll easily forget it’s a downloadable title.”
  
  
  
• The End is Nigh features two playable characters, Rorschach and Nite-Owl. The game is a brawler at heart, with puzzle solving elements, and co-op is key. Even when you do not play with another player, your partner will be controlled by the game’s AI. Both characters have their own attributes and specialties that makes playing as each one a distinct experience. Rorschach uses street weapons dropped by thugs, is a bit faster and has a rage meter that builds when he attacks and when he is attacked; Nite-Owl’s combat techniques are a bit more refined and he uses gadgetry, such as screecher grenades, his grapple hook gun and an electrified suit, the latter of which has a meter that charges up. Teamwork will be required for some puzzles. Unfortunately, there will be no online co-op.
  
  
• Watchmen film director, Zack Snyder doesn’t want the game to fall under the usual licensed movie stigma, and serves as an adviser for the game. Says Snyder: “…I don’t see The End is Nigh as a marketing tool, I really don’t. I want to be able to say, ‘This is a movie. This is a videogame. And this is a comic book. All as good as they can be. None of them compromised for the other.’”
  
  
  
• Dave Gibbons, the artist of Watchmen, is also an adviser for the game: “I keep an eye on it, and if I see anything I really don’t like, I let people know.” Gibbons also points out that this isn’t the first time Watchmen has been made into a game, “A long, long time ago, before the days of sophisticated computer games, role-playing games—you know, with dice and paper—were very popular and Alan [Moore] did collaborate to a great extent, as did I, with a company called Mayfair on three Watchmen modules, which actually seem to cover similar ground, although in a different way, to that which is being covered by the [upcoming] videogame.” Because these were written partially by Moore and do not conflict with the book, a renown set of online Watchmen Annotations states that these modules can be considered semi-canonical. That The End is Nigh treads similar ground to these RPG modules is definitely a good thing.
  
  
  
• The game is a prequel and takes place in 1972, thirteen years before the setting for the comic series. Therefore, vigilantes aren’t outlawed yet by “The Keene Act” which was detailed in the book. Characters mentioned in passing in the comics will play a big part and be fleshed out, such as Jimmy the Gimmick and Underboss. Each chapter will have bookends in the form of motion comic intros done in the style of Rorschach’s journal. Enemies will include Top Knot gangsters seen in the book, as well as cops, who will prove a bit tougher. Utmost respect is being paid to the source material. Says Wein: “I’m a fan myself, and there’s an inclination to despise change for the sake of despising it. We love and respect the original graphic novel as much as you do—maybe more if that’s possible. Nothing we’ve done has been done lightly and without much serious consideration. Loosen up, and you’re in for a heck of a ride.”
  
  
  
• Scandinavian developer Deadline Games is the team working on Watchmen: The End is Nigh for Warner Bros., but despite their location have an international roster with several employees from the United States and South America. One team member of note is Junichi Yamada, a level designer formerly of Sega, who worked on the Super Monkey Ball and Shenmue series, as well as the Sega/Nintendo joint project F-Zero GX.
  
  


• The End is Nigh is rated M, and will have much of the violence and profanity the comics are known for.


• While EGM attributes Batman-like qualities to the game’s two main characters, Rorschach and Nite-Owl, the pair are actually based off of characters Steve Ditko (who co-created Spider-Man with Stan Lee) created for Charton comics: the Question and Blue Beetle, respectively. Almost all of the Watchmen characters are based on Charlton characters, who DC Comics bought the rights to in the 80’s. Word is that the original Watchmen outline used the Charlton characters before DC nixed the idea as they had other plans for them. The Charlton version of Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) is the same one who had the series Len Wein wrote. There have been reprints of early Charlton adventures by DC lately (Action Heroes Archives Vol. 1 and Vol. 2) while the reprints of the 80’s Question series by penultimate Batman scribe, Len Wein, have been coming out in trades since last year.

Hopefully, all of this information will come as a relief to some of you die-hard fans worried about a video game disaster mucking up some of the greatest comics ever. Still, a promising early look from a video game magazine never guarantees quality in the final product, but it sounds like Deadline is taking all the right steps to not make a total screw-up, and instead produce something Watchmen fans like me may actually get into. Be sure to pick up a copy of this month's EGM to learn much more about the game and read interviews with Gibbons, Wein and Snyder.

What’s this? Haven’t read Watchmen yet? Get thyself to a Comic Book Shoppe! Or risk having your geek cred yanked!

Max

Another Capcom Remake?

Capcom has been allegedly mining its old franchises after the success of Mega Man 9 and Bionic Commando: Rearmed to see what else they can dig up, make new again, and profit from. I’ve been looking at games I’d love to see Capcom remake, covering Magic Sword and the Buster Bros. series. Meanwhile, J’s planning to write about what he’d like to see in a Strider remake, and there’s a rumor that Capcom is already on it. Now the latest word from the rumors section of the latest EGM states that Capcom is looking into remaking Forgotten Worlds as a downloadable title for XBLA and PSN.

What’s Forgotten Worlds you might ask? It’s basically a side scrolling shooter originally released in 1988, where you can take control of a jetpack wearing soldier (with two player co-op available) and fly around stages shooting badguys. One cool aspect of the game is that you can rotate your shots 360 degrees around you, controlling where they go. You can earn Zenny (the currency of many a classic Capcom game) to buy power-ups at shops scattered throughout levels.

While many of us have probably forgotten Forgotten Worlds, the Sega Genesis version of the game (which cut two stages from the arcade version) just hit the Wii Virtual Console yesterday. Plus, Capcom apparently doesn’t regard the franchise as a throwaway, as one or both of the solider characters from the game have had cameos in games such as the first Marvel Vs. Capcom, the Japan only Namco X Capcom, and the Neo Geo Pocket Color’s SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash. The game has also appeared as part of Capcom Classic Collection Vol. 1 for PS2 and Xbox (and surprisingly doesn’t work on the 360), where I’ve played a bit of it. It’s alright, but I’d definitely love to see other Capcom games remade (and I’ll post about more of them soon). But if Capcom is digging this deep, who knows what else might be being prepped for a comeback?

Max

Best news of the week.

so, i've been gone to Columbus, oh to work for my school for the weekend. it was a long weekend too. geez. it was a good time though, but i'm glad to be done with it. so i'm back to posting news about video games when i should be sleeping or studying anatomy.

so, cruising the internets of the first time in a few days, i ran into to this. if true, is the best news possible for fighting gamers. if for some reason you don't know about this game, i won't go in to a huge amount of time about it. other then it's one of the best ideas for a fighting game. loads of great characters on both ends. a 3 on 3 tag mechanic that makes for an insane amount of action. ok, i really won't go into more detail. go here to learn your ass about my unbeatable Strider/Cable/B.B. Hood team.

if you're like me, you've seen the fucking ridiculous ebay prices for Marvel vs Capcom 2. this option is the best possible solution for gamers that are tired of waiting for Capcom to get of their ass and put out Super Street Fighter HD Turbo Hyper Mega Super Duper Remix.

no word on if this is a "remaking" or a port of the PS2 game. either would be awesome. as someone that had the PS2 version once upon a time, a port would be fine with me. more on this soon......hopefully.


J.

Gaming Update Prologue (Bioshock demo version)

topics for the next post:

- playing Burnout Paradise, Pixel Junk Eden and Wipeout HD for trophies.

- my lack of COD4 time.

- the beginning of the month of hell.

- GTA4 getting trophies?!?!? i have to play through again?

- and, oh yeah, THE BIOSHOCK DEMO!!!


J.