mechalolipop

Licensed Games Can Easily Be Quality

2009-11-03T01:13:39Z

Milking the cash-cow is often the primary intension with franchise titles. So licensed games have the tendency of being dismissed as tripe before they're even released. Things usually get lost in the transition to game and gameplay ends up being utter crap, since development really only cares to do just enough to make the game sell.

This isn't always the case. It's easier to find good licensed games than many care to realize, and though it became increasingly hard during the X-'Cube-PS2 era when the production of shovelware skyrocketed, recent years have been as kind as ages further back, when games tended to be one of the main ways for franchises to garner money and they had to be genuinely well-developed.

My personal favorites:

Simpsons, X-men, and the TMNT series (Arcade)- Who hasn't wasted quarter among quarter among token on these classic sidescrolling beat-em-ups? All of these games had vivid sprite animations and great sound quality (plus voices!) with ingenous stages and bosses. And maybe it's just my nostalgia glasses on, but it really felt like an episode out of these shows. To make up for watered down sound and graphics, the SNES port of Turtles in Time had fun extras, new enemies, and a more epic final boss fight. Making it completely on par with its original.

The Warriors (PS2)- The Warriors for PS2 is an anomaly; its use of licensing was actually meant for avant-garde purposes instead of any attempt to cash-in on a name. But that's what makes the game so good; it takes the cult-classic film and adds extra layers of story that make total sense, and the in-game mechanics and level design are just as clever. It did nothing but add on the experience of the movie while serving a nostalgic and genre-savvy tribute to beat-em-ups.

Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3, 360)- By now you've heard all of the rave reviews and even played it, so this is self-explanatory. A romp through a less explored but still prominent part of the Batman world, with a wondrously foreboding atmosphere, rich story, and fun gameplay. The ending is quite a let down, but the rest of the game is incredible. Honest to goodness, the best superhero game of all time.

Spongebob: Battle for Bikini Bottom (PS2)- This game was a pleasant surprise for Spongebob fans and those who appreciated 3d platformers. It doesn't add too much to the genre, but it does take from the best of it. And together with quality presentation and the penchant humor of the series, it becomes a total diamond in the rough.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic I & II (PC, Xbox)- Taking us a long, longer time ago to that same galaxy far, far away, the KotOR games take place ages before the saga of the Skywalkers and luminously expands upon the universe of a franchise with a mix of wit, story, immersion, and the d20 RPG system. Given, the games were loaded with stupid glitches, but not enough to detract from the experience. Moreover, it does something that the original trilogy and even the love-or-hate prequels were unable to do; blur the lines between good and evil in respect to the Force. That alone makes them important parts of the "Extended Universe"

Stargate (SNES)- I rented this one lots as a kid. A sidescrolling action-platformer based on the movie, it wasn't without flaws; the controls are bothersome until you get used to them, you're forced to restart at annoying parts when you die, and the ship segments are a pain. But the graphics were stellar and animations were fluid for the SNES, the controls became more natural as you eased into them, and the gameplay was addicting for all of its challenge.

Judge Dredd (SNES)- Similar to Stargate, this is also a sidescrolling action-platformer based on its source material. But it honestly takes more from the 2000 AD comics than the movie whose release it coincided. Partially for that reason and also because of its great controls and equally challenging but interesting gameplay, it's one of the better movie-to-game adaptations of the mid 90's.

Duck Tales (NES)- It may seem like just another sidescrolling platformer, but I've never seen an 8-bit game capture the spirit of a series so well. The graphics were good for their time, the background music was memorable, and the gameplay was standard of the genre but quality and intuitive for all its straightforwardness. And on the topic of Disney games, we might as well include...

The 16-bit Disney games (SNES, Genesis)- From The "Mickey Illusion" series to Aladdin for Genesis to Gargoyles to even Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow, almost all of the Disney games that came out during the 16-bit era were either stellar or incredible. Featuring smart level design, great sound, convincingly series-like animation, all while properly immersing players in the same worlds as the respective series or movie they're based on (noticing a trend here?)

Goldeneye (N64)- Truth be told, Goldeneye really only did for console shooters of its day what Halo did for console shooters of its day; take some (keyword on SOME) of the best of what was on PC and bring it over to the consoles in a way that would make it interesting, challenging, but also easy to pick up and play. Even with it's now-archaic graphics and gameplay, that's obviously the one thing that made it good. Whether or not it captured the essence of the movie it was based is arguable, but its mark in the timeline of video games is undeniable.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (SNES)- That said, a licensed game doesn't always need to completely capture the essence of its source material to be good. TMNT Tournament Fighters was the best fighting game of the 16-bit era, being its own title and not a watered down port like any of the Street Fighter console releases. Even with four palette swaps among 10 characters (the turtles, who have very varied movesets anyway), the game was amazingly deep and balanced, with vivid graphics, awesome sound/music, and tight controls. Many professional fighting gamers actually stand by the game as a uniquely beautiful but underrated gem. If you fool around with it for a bit, you'd realize it plays way more like Street Fighter 4 than any other Street Fighter game ever did, which means it was truly ahead of its time. Do note that I'm referring to the SNES version, not the absolutely horrid Genesis one that's a completely different one.

Marvel vs Capcom 2 (Arc,DC,PS2,XB,XBLA)- Didn't think I'd bring this one out did you? A case of a licensed game hiding in plain sight, MvC2 may be an incredibly unbalanced fighter, but it's withstood a decade to become one of the most revered fighting games in American history. By bringing a good chunk of the Marvel pantheon, and featuring so many characters and so much variety (though your forced to trade that for depth the better you get at the game), it's sealed its fate as a timeless classic.

Tatsunoko vs Capcom (Wii, Arcades)- So by extension, I had to mention the upcoming Tatsunoko vs Capcom. For those who don't know, Tatsunoko is the Japanese animation company responsible for shows we've known here in the states as Teknoman, G-Force, and Speed Racer. The idea of Teknoman aka Tekkaman Blade teamed with or going up against Megaman X's Zero is rapture-inducing, and the game (which has already been out in Japan for some time now) features the best of the "Marvel vs." quadrilogy, with better balance and some of its own enhancements.

Are there any licensed games you also think were awesome? How about franchises that you think deserved a game? Or franchises that should have had a good game? Because I know I'm still holding out on the hopes for a Transformers game that's actually decent...

Can Fighting Games Teach You to Fight In Real Life

2009-11-03T01:02:44Z

In their rematch, Griffin would never suspect that Rampage had his mouthpiece polarized to counteract the horseshoes in his gloves...

When I was young, my father loved to chew me out for playing too many video games. He'd humble me by saying that motioning my thumbs and pressing buttons wasn't going to teach me how to protect myself if someone ever laid a finger on me. I'd feel hurt (and like a lazy fatty) but he was right; learning how to land Fox's Waveshine Infinite in Super Smash Bros. Melee doesn't keep you physically fit, nor does it teach you to hold your own in a physical confrontation.

But intrinsic parallels exist in anything involving kinesthetic technique. For anyone who knows a little something about either martial arts or fighters, you can find that some of the vital concepts applicable to real life combat are applicable to fighting games and vice versa.

Remember these muscles, they'll be the last thing you see before going to sleep.

Muscle Memory - Much like kata in traditional martial arts and defense drills in self-defense styles, it's key in fighting games to practice combos, blockstrings, set-ups, and (if your game's training mode is any good) defense drills. You'll want to internalize that sense of flow so it your body/hands/fingers act naturally when push finally comes to shove and you can do what you need to do without a hitch.

There's a reason it's called a "trap."

Alertness - Pay attention to what's going on. The most important aspect of war is deception, and you have to look out for ways an opponent will try to trick you. Fake-outs, masking their next step behind a pall of distraction, crossing you up... the list goes on.

EVO What-If Moment#251: Daigo failed the parry.

Reflexes/Timing - Whether it's responding to an opponent's behavior or capitalizing on an opening and (more in fighting games, but to a lesser extent in real life) working those combinations in, you need to get your reflexes and sense of timing up. It's somewhat abstract, but you have to build your own natural sense of rhythm. It eases in transitions between attack and defense while allowing you to more easily maintain your assault on an opponent.

"You haunt my dreams... there's nothing to do but believe... just breathe..."

Breathing - If you don't breathe properly, you tense up. It makes you jumpier, but also stiffer and slower to respond; spazzing in the middle of a fight, if even for a bit, means wasted time, wasted energy, and violates economy of motion. Hey, in a matter of win-lose, life-or-death, every little bit matters.

I never did get how a guy with no depth perception was so good at zoning people out...

Spacing - It seems simple enough. You see something, you hit something, right? But spatial awareness plays an important part in whether or not your attack is going to miss. Moreover, it keeps you safe and maximizes power. Like tossing Hadokens outside of someone's attacking range, or a Marth player minding his distances. This is something fighting game players and aspiring prize fighters have trouble getting. You have a bigger chance of hitting the closer you are, but you yourself also have a bigger chance of getting hit.

I'll stop spamming the moment you stop walking into my stick. Maybe.

Avoid Bad Habits - If something you do consistently ends up being a liability, stop doing it. This includes improper technique, leaving oneself open, not taking enough initiative, and violating any one of the other precepts on this post. The time this becomes apparent is often too late for many people; too many fighters in the UFC drop their hands and let themselves get slugged in the face because they just don't want to guard themselves. And then there are the fighters and players who keep doing the same things over and over again, which leads me to...

Cable can do this all day if he has to.

Patience - It's all-too-common spectators think the more aggressive fighter wins. This is only half-true; the ones who win are those who look for opportunities and are more consistent and effective at making them count. This can seem like brazenness, but sometimes that's only a ploy to lure the opponent into either a false sense of security or to open up their defenses. Thus, patience can come either in the more widely understood, Ryu/Lyoto Machida style of wait and punish, or the more flashy Ken Masters/Anderson Silva style of bait and punish. There's also the fact that after taking a beating, many fighters/players want to go for a revenge kill. You know, some random level 3 super or a truly reckless charge at the opponent. And they're playing right into their enemy's hands; when an opponent knows what to expect, they'll know how to respond. Speaking of which...

He WILL stain his house. With YOUR blood.

Prediction - Ah yes. The darkest of dark arts. This actually ties in with patience and muscle memory. Reading an opponent is somewhat easier in video games; everybody plays differently, but characters are relegated to the same movesets and tricks. Meanwhile, you see even wider variation in real life when you consider not only fighting habits but physical attributes. Regardless, considering these two variables can allow you to stay one, two steps ahead of your opponent and seem much faster than you actually are. But, the best predictors are the ones who don't just make well-educated guesses but cow their opponents into acting a certain way.

Okay girls, be civil! I'll break out the measuring tape if you want to be so nasty about it with one another...

Attitude - The best players don't spaz, they don't psyche themselves out, don't overthink. Same thing with the best fighters; they stay calm, completely focused on the situation, and let their actions flow naturally. No ego, no malice, you know? And all that trash-talking, that revving up the crowd you see guys doing at EVO or other fighting game tournaments? It's actually meant to psychologically mess with the opponent because some people aren't as good as others at handling pressure. I suspect that with the good-natured manhugs MMA and boxing competitors give each other after a good match, some of the pre-fight commentary is really just the same thing. That said, the best lies are partially true, so there is some honesty to a competitor/fighter's dismissal of losing as an option. Remember: while you can't always change how you feel, you can change how you act and react according to your own feelings. Might as well use it in a way beneficial to the win.

Oh no, not just Japanese dreidels and origami; this broad is wont to literally toss her entire family at you.

Use What You Can - I'm throwing this last one in for all the casual Smash players. If you're a fan of the Jason Bourne movies, you'll probably notice the title character using whatever he can as a makeshift weapon, to dangerous effect. If you're ever playing one of those matches with items on, GO FOR THE ITEMS. Just make sure you're not going to get hit or stopped in the process, but definitely you're at an advantage when you have some kind of a weapon. The same thing applies in real life, weapons give you that much more of an advantage against another person. It's why you run if someone's trying to go at you with a knife (yes, I just said that, this is your life at stake and random, random shit can happen to get you killed) or if you can't, find something in the vicinity to match the person with, like a chair. Million Dollar Baby and Jackie Chan movies have shown how deadly those things can be.

There are a number of things that don't add up when you compare playing fighting games skillfully with being adept in real life fights. The physical aspect of training and endurance is so much more downplayed in video games, and you obviously aren't going to be firing thunderbolts like Ky Kiske or shooting lasers from your forehead like Jin Kazama. Still, a medium of competition that emulates real life combat is bound to have similarities in technique and mentality as keys to success.

Japanese Games That Should Have Made It Stateside

2009-10-05T21:30:59Z

I remember reading gaming magazines all the time as a kid and seeing these really cool titles that would eventually never make it to America. I didn't have the courage to ask my parents to get me any import games back then and I didn't even know that you needed a modded system or some other kind of trick to make these things work. Hell, I didn't even know where to go to buy these import games. For years I'd fawn over these untouchable gems, never actually getting to play any of them for a long, long time.

Now that I'm much older and more savvy about these things, I've figured out ways to get many of these games through alternative channels. But I still feel nostalgic about the fact I've never been able to own a legitimate copy when the games themselves were still very hot. Moreover, even recently there have been Japanese games I wanted to come over that didn't make U.S shores.

Policenauts (3DO, PS1, Saturn) - Billed in American previews as the sequel to Snatcher, Policenauts was actually more of a spiritual successor to the Sega CD sleeper hit. Set in a similar cyberpunk world, it played as part point and click adventure and part shooter. A deep, engaging, and well-written story filled with suspenseful twists accompanied the gameplay to make it an intelligent and immersive experience much like Snatcher had been. That the Saturn release never made it due to arguably trivial dub-syncing issues was very disappointing.

X-Men vs. Street Fighter (Sega Saturn) - Another disappointing no-show on American Sega Saturns, X-Men vs. Street Fighter was the first in Capcom's legendary Marvel Vs series. Utilizing the 4-meg cart to improve the RAM of the system, this release was an arcade-perfect port far superior to the PS1 version. That was perhaps what kept it from coming over here, as the game itself came bundled with the little chunk of plastic and circuitboard, rocketing the price. A damn shame, as X-Men vs Street Fighter, for all its infinite combos, was probably the one game in the quadrilogy where you could legitimately choose any character and win if you knew what you were doing.

Metal Wolf Chaos (Xbox)- This one has me scratching my head. It doesn't make sense that an action game about the President of the United States donning a large, agile power armor filled to the brim with ballistic weaponry to take the country back from his treacherous VP and an army of machines has only been released in Japan. With its explosion-laced, caffeine-paced gameplay, insane mecha, and ludicrously so-bad-it's-good plot, the game could easily pass for a Michael Bay movie or even a title by Rockstar. Cheesy script and story aside, the Japanese version is already voiced in (comprehensible) English, so localization can't be that big of an issue. I'm crossing my fingers and just waiting for this to come out as an Xbox Live Download. Hey, the president's father pops up Ninja Blade, so...

Chikyuu Boueigun II/Global Defense Force (PS2) - Developer D3 is known for making great budget games, and Global Defense Force was no exception. An arcade-y shoot-em-up that threw your character against hordes and hordes of monstrous bugs, GDF managed to avoid devolving into a mindless bore in spite of all its simplicity. It was released in Europe, but never made it to the U.S. The sequel, Earth Defense Force 2107, did reach American 360s, but its last-generation graphics are a let-down even as it continues with the same solid gameplay of its predecessor.

Tobal No. 2 (PS1)- The original Tobal was a 3D fighting game in the vein of Virtua Fighter with sci-fi fantasy elements and art direction under Dragonball creator Akira Toriyama. It was also a deceptively intricate 3D fighter, lauded by fighting game fans for its depth and enjoyability. No.2 improves on the original in every way, from better graphics, to character balance and tweaked gameplay, to roster size, to (some say) a more engaging Quest Mode. In spite of any official statements by Square-Enix about their not having enough data on PS1 discs for an English translation (a fan-translation patch was created for the game three years prior for crying out loud!), the game really didn't make it to the states because the original Tobal just didn't sell well.

Radiant Silvergun (Sega Saturn)- For many, Radiant Silvergun is considered one of the best shooters if not the best shooter of all time. It cleverly did away with the collectible power-up system found in many other shooters in favor of weapon-specific level ups achieved through a point-gathering and point-bonus system. The boss fights were also creative in the way they forced you to use your seven built-in weapons to win or properly score bonuses. Some argue its spiritual successor Ikaruga is much better, but Treasure (a developer known for consistently putting out straightforward but high quality games) seems to love it enough to consider an enhanced remake for online download.

The Super Robot Taisen Series (Various)- Now hold on for a second. Observant gamers might be thinking "didn't Endless Frontier make it to American DSs a couple of months back? And what about Original Generations 1 and 2?" But I'm referring to the "regular" games in the series: Super Robot Taisen is supposed to be an epic crossover involving giant robot anime greats the likes of Gundam, Mazinger, and Evangelion. For obvious reasons, these games can never make it to the states due to licensing issues, but it'd be cool to dream about it, wouldn't it? And besides, America would go nuts if an SRW game ever came out involving Transformers, Gundam Wing, Macross, Golion, Tetsujin 28, and Tekkaman Blade (the last four were known here respectively as Robotech, Gigantor, Voltron, and Teknoman, if you're wondering).

Seiken Densetsu III (SNES) - This one should be a no-brainer. Secret of Mana did pretty well on the SNES, and the sequel only improved on the experience: the game had more impressive graphics, a tweaked combat system with six characters to choose for your team as opposed to the original's preset three, and an even deeper tale set in the same world as the original. So why is it that Seiken Densetsu 3 never made it to the United States? The truth is elusive, but theories abound from an inconvenient change of staff to an inability on Square USA's part to shoulder expenses of localization.

Persona 2: Innocent Sin (PS1) - It's a real shame Innocent Sin didn't get the same localization treatment as Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. Surely it's because of all the Nazi imagery and the fact Hitler himself appears as the game's big bad, but Atlus should have taken that risk, considering that he's you know, THE BAD GUY. We can only hope that with the recent re-release of the first Persona on PSP, both Persona 2 games will appear on the portable system. Like Eternal Punishment, IS did come in before the Persona series was introduced to its hallmark socialization system, but also has the equally interesting rumor system and is a solid (if easily breakable) RPG.

Mother 3 (GBA)- If this were a numbered list, Mother 3 should be at the very top. The sequel to Earthbound, it fittingly throttled players back into the world of the series and dealt with many of the same themes and issues Earthbound adressed while taking a look at newer, more mature themes as well. The storyline and gameplay are similarly well-crafted and the characters are unforgettable. The fact this game isn't available on Wii's Shop Channel and probably won't come to the states in a legitimate form for some time would be almost heartbreaking if it wasn't for the fact an independent team very thankfully made a proper fan-translation for the game.

The Parodius Series (Various) - This is a fanboy shout-out to one of my favorite game series of all time, but after doing a bit of research I'm surprised not even the original Parodius managed to make it to American SNESs; the original Parodius was at least released in Europe and given the subtitle "Non-Sense Fantasy". With a unique visual style somewhere between Looney Tunes and mindless parody anime like Excel Saga or Pani Poni Dash, the Parodius games are shooters filled with sneaky Konami references and backed by challenging but creative and fun gameplay. Weird as they are, I don't think they were "too weird to have to stay in Japan". Shangri-la rave parties, raccoon testicles, bunny girls riding bullets, uncomfortably sexy gorgons, and bedsheet-clad giant naked women aside. I mean hey, they got lots and lots of penguins, how can you go wrong?

What do you think of this list? Any Japanese games you also would have wanted to see come stateside? How about as downloadable content?

Super Blazblue Brothers Accent Again 2HD#R: Electric Boogaloo

2009-09-25T04:35:44Z

I was lurking on Shoryuken forums and managed to come across this little morsel. Apparently, Aksys Games has been working on a revision to their latest fighter Blazblue for some time now. This was what I gathered from searching the thread, sifting through links, trying to find translations, and looking elsewhere:

Blazblue Continum: Shift*
System: Arcade
New features in the revision:
- At least two new characters. Tsubaki Yayoi is the only one confirmed so far. Her drive is called 'Install' which allows her to power up her special moves.
- Stages have been redone.
- Many system changes.
- All existing characters receive new moves.
- New Beginner's Mode in the Arcade version allows for easy specials and combos.
- New HUD.
- Arakune has new ways to get curse.
- Carl has a new projectile with Nirvana.
- Rachel has a new Distortion Drive.
- Jin has a new Distortion Drive.
- Ragna has a new dive attack.
- Tager got smaller(!) and faster(?)
When this comes out:
- Most likely coming to Arcades first and then PS3/360 later.
- Still no word whether it will be DLC or a full release. No one knows how much it will cost.

First Location Test:
- 9/26 & 9/27 @ Hey Arcade in Akihabara. (New system is 90% complete; overall game is 70% complete)

My feelings on this are mixed. I'm excited about the two new characters and all the rebalances, but for someone who never really got decent at the game until the home release, I'm disappointed I can no longer milk the original for all the high-level enjoyment it's worth. I'm going to be short a few good online opponents when Continum Shift* hits American arcades, that's for sure. I should be used to revisions of these sort (it basically happened to me three times when I used to follow Arcana Heart in Chinatown Fair), but I still can't help but feel a bit shortchanged.

Also, Iron Tager? Smaller? Why? Couldn't the Red Devil have just been given faster attack and walking speed or a dash?

What do you think about all these fighting game revisions? A boon to the genre? A sinister excuse to syphon more money out of the franchise? A chance to give the competitive community what they want? Peanut butter? Potato? Tomato? Chocolate churro?

*- Yes, I'm aware "continuum" is supposed to be spelled with two "u's", Japanese fighting games just think they're too cool for the subtleties of English language, that's all. If you complain about this, you're probably unfamiliar with Melty Blood, aren't you?

Childhood Video Game Crushes

2009-09-23T02:39:28Z

I recently got my 13-year-old brother, who avoided confiding in me for years about his preferences with girls, to confess he had a video game crush. Two in fact. It suddenly made sense why he'd spam his Xbox Live friends with the message “noelvermillion lolwut” and imitate Rydia's “Stay away! I hate you!” from FFIVDS whenever said friends would frag him in an FPS.

I know most of you have at least once in your life had a digital crush. Some of you still do, but that infatuation probably lacks the sincere naivety of a child's. I can only guess how many dudes way back when were captivated by Samus or Zelda or Chun-Li in that elusive, unexplainable way. And I can't speak for all the female gamers, but I'm sure there must have been some kind of equivalent for you. Chris Redfield? Cloud? Link maybe?

Unless we were exceptionally intelligent as kids, we couldn't exactly tell what got to us in these characters. Which is why I find it satisfying being old and wise enough to look back and finally understand what our reasons were. For instance, I used to like the female half of the Pocky and Rocky games for SNES because she was a strong female lead on top of being remarkably cute. But I only realized this subconsciously. If approached about it, I would have stubbornly denied it, arguing "boys were better than girls" and "girls have cooties", but even back then something always intrigued me about girl characters that took charge. It's the same reason I also had a thing for Samus.

Have you ever had a crush on a video game character as a kid?

Classic VG Music is Classic For A Reason: Truth or Nostalgia?

2009-09-23T02:23:38Z

A friend and I once argued about what makes a game memorable and worthy of repeated visits after the first playthrough. We agreed on obvious prereqs like clever art direction, addicting gameplay, iconic story, and captivating ambiance, things that have always been important in good game design. After that our opinions split; when we hit the topic of music, he claimed the best of it all came from the 16-bit era. I dismissed him as being a bit too nostalgic, but after the argument I began to wonder if he had a good point.

For instance, I only really got into the Castlevania games two, maybe three years back and instantly fell in love with all the hallmark tunes having never really paid them much attention in my childhood. I thought something was missing though when I compared newer interpretations to their older equivalents and more recent tracks to the well-established ones. The new music seemed mostly overdone or unspectacular. That said, I'm pretty partial to "An Empty Tome" from the fairly recent Order of Ecclesia, but I digress.

I also once spent a good part of a day comparing the music of Megaman X on SNES to its remake Maverick Hunter X on the PSP. As in the case of Castlevania, the latter's reiterations lacked the same impact of the original. Just lend an ear to this and this to see what I mean.

Extended listening almost led me to believe some inverse relationship between hardware and compositional effort. Games before the 32-bit era had only so many layers of sound to work with, and even then the choice of sound type was limited. Composers made do with what little they had to set the mood, and so the era strove for unforgettable melodies to compensate for technological shortcomings. Of course, the leap from 8-bit tinny was huge and I'm sure these guys were eager to get the most out of the possibilities, giving them the incentive to work that much harder.

Nowadays I'm starting to find a lot of background music uninspired and lacking in cohesion, if not somewhat forgettable. I'm not at all saying today's composers aren't trying or that more recent vg music can't enamor me like the old staples, but I'm not as easily taken in by most newer scores. Considering my friend and I grew up together and played many of the same games, I'd advise you to take my thoughts with a grain of salt since I might be as slanted in my preferences as he is. I appreciate the sweeping orchestrals you'd find in Bioshock and MGS4, or a quirky sound the likes of Little Big Planet, Katamari, and the later Persona games. But I gravitate towards things that are straightforwardly melodic.

Do you think classic video game music is classic because it's better? Or is this letting nostalgia get the better of us?

Gundam's Creator Thinks Video Games Are Evil

2009-09-03T23:10:14Z

Yoshiyuki Tomino was a speaker at the CEDEC game conference this year, and according to this article from Gamasutra, the mind behind the Gundam franchise states that video games are evil and wasteful. Of course, there's a bigger context to all of this. Reading between the lines, he actually seems to be egging on younger developers to make gaming become more conducive to society.

"[Gaming] is not a type of activity that provides any support to our daily lives... Let's say we have about three billion people on this planet wasting their time, bringing no productivity at all. Add 10 billion more people, and what would happen to our planet? Video games are assisting the death of our planet!"

"... has there been anything better than Tetris since it first came out? How many years has it been? This is what I want to tell you: I want you to create a game that does not negatively affect our daily lives and is something that is considered more productive."

Many have dismissed the 70-somethings director as a troll, since he's made equally extreme statements about everything from his stance on strong female characters to the anime industry he's been such a part of. I've heard enough of the man's mad ramblings to realize he just fails at eloquence; it's a shame when he brings up valid points but basically ruins his arguments with grandiose, counterintuitive statements. Being really cynical about it, I could say that Tomino only half cared about what he was saying during his keynote speech and just wanted to use his influence to rouse. After all, Gundam is Japan's equivalent to Star Trek. For the nerds who get it, I think I know where Gihren Zabi took this aspect of his personality from; it wasn't Hitler. :P

Bald, mouthy old men aside, do you guys think that video games are unproductive and unbeneficial? If no, why? If yes, how could we change gaming to make it better?

P.S: Tomino is attending the New York Anime Fest this month, which I'm going to. If the panel allows for a Q&A section at the end, wish me luck. I'm going to see if I can ask him to explain himself.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

2009-08-14T20:00:22Z

"The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" won the Pulitzer Prize in 2007. This comes to me wholly unsurprising, being an unorthodox and clever story showing how Junot Diaz has refined his long-standing experimentation with conventions like voice, grammar, and now footnotes. I received it as a birthday present a year ago but put it off till recently. Even preoccupied with my last year of undergrad, I'm unsure why, given that the book was profound and so well-crafted I couldn't let it down once I picked it up again. I'm sure many already shared their thoughts on "Brief Wondrous Life", but I still find myself inspired to say something about it.

The novel concerns one Oscar de Leon, a socially awkward Dominican-American born and raised in New Jersey. His head filled with ardor for tabletop gaming, comic books, science fiction, and high fantasy, he aspires to find love and become the next J.R.R Tolkien. He is however dogged by the "fukú" --- a curse symbolic, literal, or maybe both --- which has held his family and the Dominican people in a stranglehold since the rule of President Trujillo, said curse originating from "El Jefe" himself. What follows is a poignant and tragic tale exploring the history of the de Leon's lineage from that era til Oscar's own dealings with the curse.

Though the titular Oscar is the crux of the story, we never receive Oscar's point of view. Narration is handled mostly by his college roommate Yuniour (who shares a name with the main character of Diaz's previous work "Drown") in an energetic, colloquial vernacular filled with a healthy mix of nerd-isms and pop culture references. That historical portions are also given footnotes carrying Yuniour's voice is innovative and entertaining at the same time. I feel like the author has succeeded in becoming more "cohesive", as he likes to say, perhaps because of all the time he has been allowed to hone his craft.

My real fondness for the book comes from how much I identify with the book's protag. Oscar is an unmotivated, self-depreciating nerd given to social anxiety and contrived vocabulary. He is so honestly flawed and endearing that for all his faults, a reader can't help but like him or at the very least sympathize. Many of his shortcomings and situations hit close to home, and his predisposition towards "the genres" makes me think he would be interested in the same things as myself had the setting of the book moved a decade forward. I am a good ten or so sizes smaller around the waist, but I feel I've found a fictional kindred spirit.

This doesn't mean the message of the book is lost on me. I understand full and well that "Brief Wondrous Life" is a clever exploration of diaspora and the human condition. I've always been interested in that balance between the personal struggles of a character and their responsibility to a bigger picture. Towards the end, Yuniour and Oscar's realizations about the "fukú" carry a message so powerful it finds relevance beyond just the Dominican and Dominican-American experience, beyond the horrors of Trujillo alone.

"The Brief Wondrous Life" really is (I apologize) a brief, all-too-wondrous experience worth its repute and a good read. It is moving and meaningful, a subversive modern classic.

Girl Gamers and Fighting Games

2009-08-12T01:22:05Z

(Mirrored from my Xanga)

EVO2k9 wasn't even a month ago and I remembered thinking something while watching that sausage-fest on live stream. There was a distinct female voice chanting moral support and shouting advice from Justin Wong's corner during the Street Fighter 4 finals, albeit off-camera. It had me wondering why there weren't more girls cheering at the event. Or rather, why fighting games in general gather less female gamers than other kinds of games. As a guy trying to psychologize the other sex, I can only conjecture as to why this is the case.

Firstly, fighting games straddle the boundary between the mainstream and esoteric. Only the recent release of Street Fighter 4 brought renewed interest in the genre, and so this smaller overall fanbase results in a smaller pool of female players.

An execution barrier also makes these games less accessible to entry-level players than other genres. Fighters almost always require button sequences or combinations to perform single attacks, a setup that seems horribly counterintuitive to the uninitiated. Single-button normal moves and the aforementioned special moves have to be taken into account along with movement and defense, which can prove frustrating. These control-oriented stopgaps, which seem to mix action games with rhythm games, may seem asinine to the uninitiated and make fighters come off as needlessly self-absorbed.

Many fighting game franchises boast character histories and backstories that rival established comic book mythos, but too many serious players argue this is only pretext for the intricacies of gameplay. Mileage tends to vary as far as these stories go, with a lot of plots seeming pretentious or half-baked to many fans, and I'm sure this is off-putting for female gamers who want something deeper.

On that note, fighters are more guilty than any other genre of female objectification. The Dead or Alive series is a prime example, as is the widespread increase of bust size with each iteration of the Soul Calibur games. I imagine that girl gamers want an avatar that presents themselves as attractive, but not at the expense of dignity. Some female characters are particularly fleshed out (no pun intended) and well developed (natch) in terms of plot, but these details are often tertiary to their role as another selectable character.

Still, these complaints can be relevant to both sexes and fail to explain specifically why girls are averse to fighters. Perhaps the answer can be found during the peak of fighting game popularity; of any genre still recognized today, fighters are the most heavily connected to their arcade roots. Arcade games were still dismissed as a nerd's past time for all their popularity in the 90's, and also became the game of choice for many pre-pubescent and adolescent boys from low-income families that couldn't afford a console. Given this (falsely, but understandably negative) association, most girls would only be found playing Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat on a system belonging to a friend or relative. Even now, when many of the older competitive players have already retired, this guy-centric, faux/quasi-ghetto mindset of inside jokes, trash-talking, and "I got next" still perpetuates the forums and online lobbies of most fighting game communities. And for female gamers it can be a big turn-off in atmosphere.

Basically, I think the problem is that community began more guy-oriented than others and numerous deterrents exist keeping XXers away from the genre, much less approaching it with any sense of seriousness. There are exceptions to the rule (say Dead or Alive tournament player Kasumi-chan, or the woman cheering Wong at EVO) but they tend to be too far and few in my experience.

Why do you think there are less female gamers who play fighters hardcore than in other genres? And if you're female, what's your take on fighting games?

Fare Hike =(

2009-07-01T20:25:24Z

I'm sure people living in New York and who commute there know of this. But for those who don't, we ate another fare hike this past Sunday.

I got caught off guard on the way to sparring practice that day. My weekly ran out so I had to throw in some coins on the bus. But the driver told me I was twenty-five cents short, and then I realized there must've been another price increase so I tossed in another quarter. While I was pretty surprised, it wasn't the first time I got blindsided. I remember a year or so back when weeklies turned to $25 from $24, and unlimited all-day passes went up from $7.00 to $7.50. The same thing happened to me then, but I was trying to get a metrocard from one of the vending machines instead. I think I missed my train when I realized I was a dollar short.

Obviously I don't feel any less lucky this happened to me in the wake of graduating school. While I don't go to the city regularly, I'm still looking for a job or internship right now and I'm eventually going to have to put up with this. Budget lunches aren't going to be an option but a necessity from now on.

This is doing wonders for my real life morale. Still holding out for a miracle.

Radical Zapper

2009-06-28T08:39:44Z

(Mirrored from Xanga)

This is actually a long overdue entry. Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram came out on Xbox Live Arcade almost two months ago (the 29th of April to be exact) and considering it's my favorite video game bar none, I eventually meant to share my thoughts on the release. I was already excited when I heard it was coming out in the U.S but went into rapture the moment I purchased it and started playing.

The sequel to the original Cybertroopers: Virtual-On for the Arcade, PC, and Sega Saturn, Oratorio Tangram is a 3rd-person giant robot combat simulator. Unlike most other games in the genre, VO:OT's battles are strictly one-on-one, arcade-paced arena fights. Mechanics favoring linear movement and a plethora of situational, avatar-specific attacks lend Oratorio Tangram more commonality with fighting games and shoot-em-ups than 3rd person shooters and Armored Core.

This version of the game is 5.66, the closest American iteration to achieving arcade perfection. Adding one variation to an existing stage, minor gameplay balances in the name of fairness, slowdown fixes, and three machines not selectable in the Dreamcast release (version 5.45), it exists firmly as the pinnacle of the series. The graphics are remastered in crisp HD goodness and the love-it-or-hate-it soundtrack is composed of high-energy synth beats that match the colorful, sometimes campy tone of the series.

No observation of a Virtual-On game can go without mention of the controls, infamous in arcades for using two joysticks to move around. Sega is currently offering a limited release for an Xbox 360 Twin-Stick controller, but it is rather pricey at $300. Unfortunately, the only other option would be to mod an existing Twin-Stick controller for the Dreamcast (not Saturn). To make up for this there are three default configurations available for the standard controller, two of which emulate the Twin-Sticks using the left and right analog sticks. The third configuration is similar to those found in 3d shooters, relegating directional movement to the left stick and pivoting to the right stick. In the case that these settings still don't accommodate the player, they are permitted to remap the buttons and right stick in any way they feel. Though the left analog stick is currently off limits for reconfiguration, an update is going to be released soon that will allow movement with the d-pad, for people used to playing on the old Dreamcast controls.

But what makes VO:OT special is its depth. Through the surprising complexity of its controls and gameplay, VO:OT presents a roller-coaster learning curve similar to Nintendo's Smash Bros. series. Projectiles volley and blades clash back and forth, but it is only in the hands of an informed, experienced player that attacks and maneuvers cancel into each other seamlessly. Once players understand positioning, taking cover, technical tricks, and when and how to use their variety of weapons, fights become dazzling spectacles of staying one step ahead of the opponent to ensure victory. As previously mentioned, Oratorio Tangram is at its core something of a third-person fighting game. There are 14 selectable machines (and one unlockable secret machine), all with their own specializations and nuances. Character balance has always been one of the dark arts of fighting games (anyone who plays Street Fighter or Smash even semi-competitively can attest to this), and as testament to the excellence of VO:OT, every mech has the ability to be fearsome. Some have advantages over others, but this can be overcome with skill and prediction.

Of course, this is 2009. A game this incredible would still fail untimely without (proper) implementation of online versus, and I can say that Oratorio Tangram's online experience is one of the best ones I've had by far. Even playing against the predominantly Japanese online community, lag is negligible and matches handle like a dream. The interface that allows you to join the lobby, select from a choice of players proning for a match, or wait for challengers yourself is quick and hassle-free, making sure that there is little downtime between battles.

VO:OT's single-player experience isn't half bad either. Enemies in arcade mode lack the dynamic behavior of human opponents, and the bosses are annoying until you figure out their patterns and exploit their weaknesses. But this does hearken back to the memorization-heavy fun of other arcade classics and lets a player acquaint themself with their character while getting a general idea of how to fight others. Score attack is a variation on the aforementioned arcade mode but lets you skimp on the bosses and add your score to Xbox Live's leaderboards. Lastly, a training mode provides a more relaxed enviroment for understanding the game. Training is the one of the few things VO:OT could have implemented better, as the tutorial videos are inadequate at guiding a player to any level of effectiveness in online battles. Something like Street Fighter 4's challenge mode, forcing you to recognize common situations and hone finger-memory for fundamental tricks, would have made the game perfect. As-is, newcomers will need a lot of outside help to get any good at the game.

This version of VO:OT is also missing a form of split-screen multiplayer, perhaps the biggest flaw of its release. While understandable, since purists loathe any sort of match that crops or shrinks their field of view, it is still inexcusable considering how many shooters have this accommodation for more casual players. It's a shame when the only way two people can play Oratorio Tangram on a single 360 is to take turns.

To top everything off, players can save custom colors for their machines, which are then accessible for both single player and multiplayer modes. Though it adds little to gameplay, it's a nifty feature and affords players an outlet for creativity and individuality. (Or amusement, in the case of the occasional sugar pink Specineffs and Barbie dream house Dordrays.)

Oratorio Tangram feels like the best addition to Xbox Live Arcade since Castle Crashers. The game is well worth its $15 price tag, even though there is no split-screen multiplayer, and even if newbies and casual players have to clear a few hurdles to really start enjoying it all, it's still a rewarding experience.

"I'll Have a Pineapple Cake; With All of Your Condiments"

2009-06-19T09:26:35Z

It's a shame I claim to be a mecha head when I've only just knocked out Macross Frontier and Gun x Sword a few days ago. I meant to tackle these two for a while now, but I was always preoccupied with something else. Thank goodness I finally set aside the time.

Besides the allure of giant robots, both entertained me heartily because they were so intricate and character driven. In Gun x Sword I was always dying to know what would happen to the main players or what else would be revealed about them and the Endless Illusion. Van is surprisingly deep for a trope-ridden, one-track-mind character. Wendy is equally likable and inspiring for all her straightforwardness. And the philosophical Claw Man, while creepy, earnestly made me second-guess whether the heroes were in the right. The rest of the characters are equally interesting and quirky. The series is said to not take itself seriously but it pulls a Jojo's Bizarre Adventure and establishes a distinct, sometimes zany setting not afraid to get dark when the story calls for it.

Now while it's unfair to compare the both of them, I have to say I enjoyed Macross Frontier even more for the same reasons, just on a larger scale. The characters and their relationships came across remarkably sincere and believable, which had me following more than just the central love triangle . Many of the characters simultaneously pay homage to and revolutionize the archetypes on which they were built, making them very unforgettable. The anime is simply magical, with great animation, and an incredible soundtrack. You feel as if you're flying the entire time, and I don't think I've ever watched something captivate like that in a while.

So yeah, watch out for these two if you haven't already. They're definitely worth the view. GxS may feel stagnant for the first 12 episodes, especially to anyone repelled by monster of the week shenanigans. But every episode moves the plot along enough for the rest of the series to start blowing your mind come episode 13. And while Frontier itself isn't perfect, suffering from some developments near the end of the series that feel tacked on due to lack of build-up, the majority of the anime is a tour de force.

A final thought; I'm actually wondering now how they'd handle a Super Robot Wars game featuring both Gun x Sword and Macross Frontier. I guess it's natural since SRW K had my life on stranglehold for a few months after it came out, not to mention it's the reason I even checked GxS in the first place.

First post!

2009-06-06T15:38:48Z

Haven't been on anything of this sort since the heyday of Xanga. Let's see how everything turns out. ;P