2009: +/- and a look into 2010

Hello friends. As this year comes to an end, I'm taking a look back (to the best of my memory) at the events that transcended this year and then I'll talk a little about what I hope or expect to see/get in 2010 (besides your mom).

Pictured: Overall a great year.

Going into 2010 my ps3 was still 'fresh' and getting broken in () since I had just purchased it on Black Friday 2008. Upon purchase of my console I also bought Rock Band 2 (whole set) and a Greatest Hit version of Ninja Gaiden Sigma. Those two titles would keep me afloat and entertained going into 2009. Up to this day I still play Rock Band 2 given the great amount of DLC that I've taken advantage of: Boston pack, Foo Fighters pack, Queen Pack and some single songs here and there (REO Speedwagon, Journey to name a few).

Maybe I should go back; I'm like 80% done and Demon's Souls has 'toughened' me up...

Sometime in January and February I made my first purchase of 2009: Burnout Paradise. The game was a nice $20 and the Burnout series has never let me down. This game was no exception. I won't go into details on the game (that'd take too long) so lets move on. Shortly after I purchased Resistance 2 and so began "R-2" online co-op nights with good friends. At the end of February I added a second FPS to my collection: Killzone 2. Sometime in April I added a game to my collection that really "kicked" my online gaming into action:

Pictured: Ah how I miss arcades...

Then it got a little 'dry' since there weren't many games out and I got busy at work. Then came E3 (won't go into that much) and along with the summer I got a hold of a great sandbox game: inFamous. This game was 'addicting' to say the least. I don't recall what my last sandbox title had been prior to inFamous (screw you, overrated GTAIV). End of summer into fall, there was another 'dry' period and then well into Fall and winter I again got a hold of some great titles: Batman: Arkham Asylum, Assassin's Creed II, God of War Collection, Demon's Souls and of course the game of the year:

Yes, it's that fucking good!

During the year I also had some great titles via the Playstation Network: Fat Princess, Pixeljunk Monsters, Flower, FFVII, Castlevania and some demos/betas: MAG, Bayonetta, Dante's Inferno, God of War 3, Need for Speed Shift, Gran Turismo 5.

Needless to say, 2009 has been a year filled with many great games (which at 60 bucks a pop most times adds up). I don't want to get too much into a debate on console sales but if you don't think that individual games can move consoles (especially exclusives *cough FFXIII *cough) then 2010 will prove you wrong.

So looking at 2010 it looks like this long list of great games released per year will continue. My current 'wish list' is as follows:
-God of War 3
need I say more? I pre-ordered this during summer 2008 (yes, before buying a ps3) and after just finishing the demo I am more thrilled to be on the pre-order list for the collector's edition
-Gran Turismo 5
I could go on about this title, but I'll save it for a post later on when the game releases next summer
-Final Fantasy XIII
it sold over 1.5 million copies in Japan on release day, I believe as of today its upwards of 2 million+ and it's only been about 1 week. Yes, it won't be exclusive to ps3 outside Japan BUT let me just say that in this day and age, some people get real picky as far as graphics and such so to know that the ps3 version won't have compressed files like the 3 disc xbox version, it's pretty much a given that if you have both consoles you get the ps3 version, otherwise you get a ps3.
-Heavy Rain
I had never heard of Indigo Prophecy until recently but apparently Heavy Rain will be just like that but more 'modern' and 'new.' There is a lot of mystery/unknown behind the game as far as how it will actually play out (All quick time events, all cinematics?) these unknowns make us or at least me, want the game more. I have a feeling this game will be on a genre all on its own and it will bring the idea of a movie/tv show and video game closer together as 1 medium.
-MAG
see my post on the Beta feedback
-White Knight Chronicles
recently there's been a growing number of RPG titles hitting current consoles: Demon's Souls, Dragon Age: Origins, Lost Odyssey?. 2010 will start off with this great title that should have been in 09. Heck, the sequel is already in the works
-Last Guardian
No, I haven't played ICO and I've seen Shadow of the Colossus, BUT I know a good game when I see one and this one has me quite interested in the same manner as Heavy Rain since we've only seen but a trailer for this title.

The following games are 'uncertain' as to whether they will hit store shelves in 2010 but if they can, then awesome:
Final Fantasy Versus XIII, Resistance 3, Unannouced Square-Enix title that's been "requested by people/press for a long time", Rockstar's Agent.

And as far as multiplats: Dante's Inferno, Bayonetta (if they fix framerates), Batman 2 (working title), Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands, Rock Band 3.

So as you can see, there's quite a bit of exclusives and some multiplats that should keep all types of gamers happy. One thing to note though is that most of these titles are to be released before the summer of 2010 which makes me wonder what to look forward to in the 2nd half of the year but then again, I'm sure E3 2010 will answer that question.

Again, I won't go into hardware talk much, but do keep in mind that we'll probably be seeing the motion technology and related games kick into gear sometime in 2010. Here's to having another great year as far as gaming. Thanks to my readers, about 3 strong and counting.


Have a safe and happy new years!

Beaner Preview: Dante's Inferno

'Sup peeps?!

I just got finished playing a demo for the upcoming action title "Dante's Inferno."

Pictured: "God of War Ripoff" - Ranting Pikey

Publisher EA brings us this action title from Viceral games which will land store shelves (or Amazon.com) in February 2010.

So the premise is that you take control of a soldier named Dante during the 12th century. I haven't brushed up on my history in a while, but it involves the time when the crusades (can't recall which one) tried to take back 'the Holy Land' from the likes of Saladin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saladin). As a native Florentine (sp), you are set to fight against the forces of Saladin with no worry about the people you kill since your bishop has pardoned all/and future of your sins in the name of the greater good of God.

Pictured: Next Gen graphics were available back in the day

So the demo kicks off with you fending off some foes as you make your way through a castle. How and why you're there isn't explained. You simply realize you have to kill them or they will kill you. After the first wave you find yourself on an open field (you can easily tell a boss battle on the way). Some random dude comes and stabs you in the back, and all of a sudden Death or "the Reaper" appears (I think the two were in on it) and a battle ensues between you and this character. You obviously realize that you have to win, given most of Death's taunts pretty much imply you are going to win: "You can not cheat Death" or "You are just a mortal, give up"

Pictured: Hell's version of American Indians; they threaten you, so you take what's theirs.

The battle (which is uber Easy) rewards you with Death's scythe and then a cut scene ensues: You flash back to your Florentine town where you enlist in aiding to Gods call. In the process you apparently make a promise to your gurl that you will return (and presumably resist the urge to find pleasure elsewhere which we know is NEVER gonna happen). You find the town and local church trashed and then you see your gurl wasn't lucky enough to be spared. Her death which then brings about her spirit being able to talk to you as it gets taken by some 'evil' force triggers the next part of the demo where you begin collecting "souls" ala Devil May Cry/God of War. As you gain these souls you can upgrade moves, your weapon and later on you learn magic.



That's the overall gist of it, at least from what the demo held. Gameplay wise, it's like any other action hack and slash game. The controls are quite responsive and actions such as blocking are well executed in the middle of combos unlike say God of War. The demo seemed to run very well with no signs of too much action going on at once which may cause some frame issues. It does very well in delivering a pleasurable experience (like your mom).

God of War Ripoff?
The quick answer: Yes and No. Though more towards the former camp. Right off the bat there's the HUD display (icons/bars you see on your screen).

Pictured: Imitation or Forgery?

It doesn't end there either, the other major resemblance was with the health/magic 'sources.' In God of War there are health/soul/magic chests that serve as replenishment points along the game. Health chests glow green, magic blue and soul red. Dante's sources of replenishment are fountains that flow different color liquids; green is health, purple is magic, orange is souls. You be the judge.

Final Thoughs:

God of War game play copy aside, the game's story is one to draw interest for those that are either fans of the works by the real Dante. The game promises a journey through the circles of hell which may prove fun and action packed. The demo, which was over 1GB in size, took me about 10-15 minutes to finish. I don't know if that's a good thing or not, but I can tell that the game is easy overall, then again I was playing on the 2nd difficulty setting (other settings were not available), or maybe I've been toughened due to my recent playing of Demon's Souls.

Pictured: this game will kick your ass, feed it back to you and then send you back to the 8-bit era.

I think for newcomers to this genre (if any), the game will certainly fulfill their action needs. As a God of War follower I see it as an alternative to God of War though not one that will take its place, at least with this installment. I realize the demo doesn't show the whole game and such, but just from playing I think that it'll be a good game and if it follows along with the demo it can at least make a good statement for EA. Though the gameplay feels very contained as far as the action scenes, there's plenty going on that you are kept busy. At the end of the demo I will point out that the scenes of the game as a whole (trailer style) were quite 'bad' in that they weren't in the same quality as the CG scenes in the demo, they seemed like they were enlarged/upscaled from a 480 quality which didn't look too good. I figured as your last part of the demo, you should keep the quality high. But that's just minor, I'm sure the final product will be just as the demo.

In case you're unaware, PS3 owners will get the 'Divine' Edition of the game come February at no extra cost to the regular $59.99 tag. Why? Well, if you can't deduce that God of War III releases in March, EA needs something to entice PS3 owners. Xbox owners, well, they don't have a comparable game to God of War so this game is as close as they can currently get, thus no need to throw in the art book or extra goodies that we will find in our Divine Edition.

Next preview: hopefully Bayonetta.

Beaner Preview: MAG

Ahoy hoy peeps,

it's been a while but time goes on. Today I'm going to be giving my feedback and opinion on the upcoming PS3 exclusive "MAG" or "Massive Action Game" for those who don't know.

It has such a "Massive" potential.

Expected to release on January 26, 2010 (North America) this title hopes to achieve what to my knowledge no current console game has done with it's online experience. You see, the feature that I consider will set MAG apart from other First Person Shooters (FPS) i.e.: the "Call of Duty," "SOCOM," "Counter Strike," etc. is the ability to have 256 players online in 1 match. 8 players will form a squad and 4 squads will then make up a platoon and then the platoons will make up the whole company.

I won't go into all the game mechanics and such as I've just recently tried the BETA and thus can't what all the final features will be in the final product. I do know the 3 available classes will remain in the game, but nothing more can/has been confirmed.

As far as what I have experienced in the Beta demo I would summarize the game as being fun/chaotic like Resistance 2 online (60 player matches), thrown in with some Killzone 2 style gameplay modes (objectives to capture/protect a building/item(s)) and then action similar to your typical FPSs. The controls are great as far as responsiveness and being able to aim. Similar to Resistance (may be the case in other games, just that I haven't played many FPSs), when you are gunned down you remain slightly alive and you can then be healed (by a medic) which requires you wait there and hear your player yelling for a medic, or you can simply hit (x) and you will 'bleed to death' which is basically the game's way of having you opt to respawn.

As I mentioned before, the game gives you objectives to complete within the given time limit. In the session I joined, my team had to take control of and secure 2 sites (A and B). The clock started at 30 minutes. About 20 minutes in we had taken site B and were in the process of seizing A but then the tug of war began. We'd start losing B but then take A or retake B but lose A. It reminded me of "Fat Princess" because you get to a point where it's just back and forth and you're so close. However, the stalemate just made the overall feeling one of 'pumped up' anxiety to complete the mission.



Overall though I was quite impressed that a demo could provide such amount of fun.

As far as what I didn't like or wish they fix for the final product I'd say joining game(s) would be one. I had to wait in the lobby for about 15 min. before a game began simply because there were about 120 of us regular class in comparison to about 30 of what I call gang/terrorist group and about 20 of the private organization group. Also since you're part of an 8 man squad, you can only communicate (head set) to those other players. I'm hoping that in the final product perhaps team leaders can communicate with other team leaders so as to plan together for the greater mission.

Final Thoughts:

Sorry Jerry, didn't mean to copy your line...

MAG has good potential despite what I consider to be a current supersaturation of FPS titles for current consoles. If they can work out the bugs (most I believe have already) and deliver that 256 player experience then I'm sure it'll have a decent amount of success which may make it stand out among the other shooter titles.

Next time, hopefully Dante's Inferno demo preview

Remake or Continuation of Classics V

DONKEY KONG COUNTRY
------------------------------------

Hello amigos, it's been a while since I did a segment such as the one that is underway. Your fellow amigo beaner has been busy with work, lazy time, and UNCHARTED EFFIN 2! But I digress. Today we look at a game that I consider was a system seller for the SNES: Donkey Kong Country.

Pictured: A system seller...cause it was ONLY for Nintendo (as seen on box)

The reason I say 'system seller' is because as far as I can recall, the game was bundled with new SNES when it came out. Not many games got that honor, the only other ones I remember are Super Mario World (no duh), and Killer Instinct (see previous RCC blog entry). Back in the golden age of Platforming Awesomeness, a game needed to have traits that would make it stand out above the rest. Just like we have to many frigging FPS now a days, platformers dominated the 16-bit era; unlike FPSs from now-a-days, platformers back then were so varied and offered so many possibilities that people weren't getting the same iteration over and over getting ripped off for a rehashed pile of recycled crap.

Pictured: no, your eyes aren't lying to you, that indeed IS what recycled crap looks like

Now where to open this can of awesomeness? Let's begin with the graphics: as stated in the box the adventure was 3-D which back in the day was a new tech. that developers were toying with. Now despite the 3-D aspect, the gameplay being platformer by nature was more of a 2-D style though the objects and backgrounds did stand out as not 2-Ds like others (though not 3-D-ish in my opinion). The mechanics on the gameplay were top notch. Unlike crappy platformers where the characters defyied physics via bad controls/invisible pixels, DK had awesome controls that were responsive and precise, the polished graphics made it awesome to just look at from time to time.

As far as the story line, you played as Donkey or Diddy Kong, yes you had a choice to play as either one, it didn't matter. Characters were switched at any point, so long as you had both of them. In essence you had 2 lives and if either character got taken out, you could get that character back by finding a barrel labeled 'DK.'




Throughout the game you also had the chance to use several awesome animals which added both fun and unique which wasn't found with other games at the time.

Pictured: best helpers ever, kiss off YOSHI

If you noticed from the video, another epic win for this game was the MUSIC. The mix of 16-bit goodness with the rhythm of a fast paced platformer and the mix of a jungle beat made it a winning game. The levels and the boss fights were both difficult yet fun. I specifically remember the fun jungle levels at the beginning to the minecart-riding levels, to the various underwater levels that were frustrating yet fun (like your mom). The final boss (croc named King K. Rool) was a memorable fight for all reasons mentioned on why the game was awesome.



Aw, such an awesome game...

Now, I know that there were 2 sequels and even though Donkey was absent in them (as far as I know), Diddy just didn't cut it for me. I never got into the 2nd installment and so I didn't even consider the 3rd so for me there's only 1 GOOD Donkey Kong.

Pictured: what? a DK game? no, I don't see it.

When the N64 came around I wasn't too enthusiastic to get one given my biggest peeve for it was it's controller. As I went into the Playstation park, I didn't play the N64 installment of DK so I can't say how it was. But back to the main point of this segment: WE NEED A NEW DONKEY KONG! I know he and Diddy made appearances on Mario Kart(s) and Super Smash Bros, but I've yet to see them on new consoles in their own game. It's not like it's difficult to draw up a story for them to take part in. Granted if a game came out, it'd most likely be on the Wii, but that'd make like 4 good games for the Wii which may entice me to get one.

So please RARE, make it happen. This makes 2 RARE games on my list (Killer Instinct being the first) by the way.

A Remake of Donkey Kong gets my Chuck Norris Thumb of Approval!

Ask the AFC: Your Take on Premarital Sex?

Good evening fellow readers/bloggers,

It's time for another installment of Ask the AFC. We had quite a bit of positive feedback from our last segment (no surprise since this is AFC we're talking about), that we decided to talk to the man that gives it to us with no hidden surprises.

We caught up with our boy o'wonder in a very prestigious and exclusive bar in the heart of Manhattan, New York.

AFC's got lasers!!!!!

We realized (like always) that his time is valuable and so we got right down to this weeks topic: Premarital Sex.

Hey AFC!
Oi!

Thank you for taking the time to chat with us today. This week's topic is premarital sex. What is your take on it?
Don't do it.

Ok, what else?
Just don't do it.

Fair enough. AFC everyone...

And thus with that, our insight into the neutral mindset took off to another club nearby where he was going to chill with a list of country singers that were in town that day. Yes, the interview was that short (no pun intended) but like always, the man goes right to the point and takes care of the business at hand (like your mom).

Remember friends, if you have suggestions for more questions on this and other of Amigo's segments just drop a message or comment. 'Til next time.

What Grinds My Gears II

Registering To Post A Comment

Hello once again amigos! It's been a while since this segment has been on this platform, but oh well. Today we discuss the frustration and time consuming process of registering on a website just so that you can post a comment.

Today I found myself at Gamepro.com (per Google Reader link shared by my good friend Ranting Pikey). The link was for an article titled "Top 10 Games You Need for a Playstation 3 (PS3)" and naturally as most of you know me or sometimes label me as a 'sony fanboy' I was curious to see what, if any, games were on their list...

Pictured: Site now on my 'dislike' list...almost as bad as Kotaku

Now, without going into too much detail or making this a pure gaming post, I'll just cut to the chase. The list of games that 'NEEDED' to be in ps3 owners' libraries were all MULTIPLATFORM with the exception of 2 or 3 (Fat Princess, inFAMOUS). Honestly, why would you recommend games for a system if they look or play better on another? If it's a PS3 list why not have PS3 exclusive only games?

Man is this game fun!!!

After thinking it over and counting to 10...twice! I realized I would not be content until I got some form of satisfaction (like your mom). That's when I decided I'd just leave them a note on how the list does not pertain well to the title of their article. I figured my input was just as good as any other persons as feedback is usually not taken too heavily, especially on gaming sites. Well, that's when I ran into a problem...

Are you serious??????

Yes, in order to post anything I had to register with the site. W...T...F? It took me about 2 minutes to fill out their b.s. application, then another 2 minutes for their confirmation email to hit my mailbox. So 5 minutes later I'm finally able to make 'a' comment. That's 5 minutes that I should NOT have had to take. Friends, do sites really gain anything from having people register? I mean, sure they want to make sure that people don't spam their message boards or forums, but aside from that it's not like people get rewarded from becoming members. Such a waste of time...my Beaner time! lol

By the way here is my post (once I finally got it to post):

Pictured: Partial Satisfaction...

Notice Exhibit A where I ask them how to get out of there; Exhibit B you'll notice a thumbs up on my comment. Yes, I didn't care if I was only making 1 post, I thumbed myself up(not in a perverse way).

Considering all the time I spend surfing the web during my days and nights, I'm surprised I haven't encountered more situations like these because I'm guessing it's more common than I think, but I had not gotten this stirred up about an article in a while and so I guess that's why I'm addressing it now and not a while back. Oh well, i guess things eventually come around (like your mom).

And that my friends:

Ask the AFC: Are Filesharing/Torrent sites Bad?

Hello peeps!

I would like to introduce a new segment to this week: Ask the AFC. Here we will talk, debate, sometimes argue over random things, events, what have you. As far as why I picked AFC for this segment, simple: he gives it to you straight and to the point, you don't get B.S. answers leading around the issue, no sir. This man will tell you how it is (from his viewpoint which is usually very neutral or 'the norm'), 'nuff said. My side notes/commentary are in blue.Let's start...

This week we caught up with AFC in the beaches of New Zealand:

Stay classy AFC...

He took some time off his precious schedule to discuss this week's topic. The following is a transcript (shortened at some parts) of our dialogue:

What is your view on downloading files via torrents/fileshare?
you may as well take your computer to a free STD clinic afterward
If you can't tell, AFC tries to make us educated in medical terminology. I had to look up what an 'STD' was and lemme tell you, he knows what he's talking about.

Can you elaborate?
those kind of file sharing websites are NOTORIOUS for being loaded with lots of viruses and spyware

First, the filesharing programs, are you aware of them? if so, any that you can name?
not really, I've never had a reason to search them out; kazzaa and limewire I've heard of
He forgot ARES (my personal favorite), as well as BearShare

Pictured: AFC wants NO part in this...too sour for his taste

Now the fact that files are 'shared' via a client, similar to as 2 friends through a chat client, does that make the program bad?
in theory no, but the reality is they are NOT shared because the media never has to be returned and both parties can use it at the same time
But what if people rent it?

On a tangent off that, do you think physical media will one day become obsolete?
the reason digial media is being jammed down our throats is to eliminate things like loaning the games to friends and resellers like Gamestop. But by and large, I don't know many people who prefer purely digital media. I'd much rather have a physical copy. That being said...I think it'll be more of an equilibrium
I agree with him on this one. Despite a lot of things going digital, we're not at a point where every consumer can download Gigabytes of data in minutes, no, it takes hours. I also think there's too many people who enjoy the sense of having a tangible source of media.

Let's talk about websites or Torrent providers you said early on they carry viruses and malicious software?
they're well known for it. I don't use em so I don't ask about them so I don't know about them

Alright, next i'm going to give you some 'scenarios' and I'd like to see if the actions are justified w/filesharing...

scenario a) Let's say you bought the latest Garth Brooks CD somehow it gets misplaced (cause AFC doesn't lose things...ever) Since you paid for a copy, would it be fair for you to obtain the content via fileshare/torrents?
arguably yes. But you and I both know situations like that NEVER happen. It may have happened twice in the history of the Internet. It would be easier and wiser to find someone else who had bought the CD and burn a copy

finally scenario B) you stumble upon a CD (via torrent/fileshare) of an artist that no longer records and whose CDs you can't find in any major online or physical retailer would filesharing/torrents be 'ok' to use?
I suppose that falls into the same logic I used when I downloaded emulators of only nes, genesis, and snes but really, outside of mexican tuba/accordian band how often does that happen?
Oh AFC, you know me too well... :'-)

Well, he had me there. And thus concluded our conversation. AFC everyone...

For those that wish a topic to be discussed on 'Ask the AFC' simply email or leave your feedback. He's a busy man but I'm sure he can find time for his fans, or your mom (zing!).

Amigo's Review: The Final Destination (3d)

It's been a while since my last post, but oh well. Today we look at a recent movie release:

Pictured: vomit

So this weekend, yours truly and some comrades went up to the Twin Cities (awesome weekend), and while there our schedule made it difficult to catch a showing of 'Inglorious Basterds' or 'District 9' so we opted for what we thought was an alternative...plus the sound of a 3d horror film sounded 'new' and 'different' but in a good way. Thus we embarked on a journey to which I wish we had not gone.

Premise: For those unfamiliar with the series (like myself), the premise behind this series is the following: random person is able to foresee catastrophic, horrific events that involve mass amounts of people and objects just making an endless long chain of events that trigger something which causes people to die in very obsucre and sometimes cruel ways.



With that said, most of the movie obviously revolves around the protagonist trying to figure out why he's having weird visions or dreams and he finally realizes he's seeing how people will die next, but the problem is that he has to find the people first to help them avoid death in hopes of breaking this 'chain' since people (survivors of initial mass death) are dying in the order they were 'supposed' to die.

Obviously this being a horror film, there are plenty of deaths. I won't spoil it much but don't be too surprised with the ending. This film reminded me of the 'Saw' series (Saw > Final Destination in my opinion); however, unlike 'Saw' this series relies too much on things and certain triggers coming together in a perfect timing/alingment sort of like when 'all the stars align in the skies' which to me seemed to be their biggest flaw and thus their downfall. I mean, the deaths in 'Saw' are gruesome too but they don't require you to believe many things other than 'oh crap, it's a puzzle of death.'

Now don't get me wrong, there were some good aspects of the film.

Good aspect of the film

At times it seemed that the film did show lots of promise (like your mom); you felt a sense of suspense because you knew something sudden was coming but you didn't know when. Also, the 3d factor was a good way of seeing the deaths and getting a better sense of 'depth' so as to make the screen jump out (duh).

However, the overall film (which was short in my opinion; about 1hr and a half it seemed like) didn't capitalize on giving that 'horror' feel. If you take out the long detailed death scenes which are rewound and then played over again, you get a story that could probably have been told in 10 minutes. I haven't seen that many 3d films but I can say this is no 'Beuwulf' or that ride at Hong Kong Disnelyand which was awesome less mainlanders.

<>
Pros:
+3d adds new way of seeing death
+Hot chicks
+Crazy deaths

Cons:
-no real story
-not that scary
-too 'fake'; not all the things that are triggered would actually happen in real life
-not the best acting I've seen; no big name stars
-final destination cow has been milked too much

Overall, I don't think I got my $13 worth. Though I could have kept the glasses, why would I keep them? They would serve me no real purpose. Unless you're a fan of the series, put it on your last resort movie if you get to the theaters and there's no other movies playing at that time.

This movie gets 2.5 out of 5.0 of my mexican rocking beans

Remake or Continuation of Classics IV

ADVENTURE ISLAND
-----------------------------

It's another great edition of RCC. This week we're taking a look at a platformer which I first played in the arcades and then on my home console and now a days in my emulator: Adventure Island.

Now, I believe this game first made its appearance in the arcades but I remember seeing it on the NES more frequently. In any event, it was part of the big trend back then which was 'platformers.' Given the success of our beloved plumbers: Mario and his green attired brother (sidekick nobody), many games tried to capitalize on the success of a platformer and so the platforming cow kept giving and giving whilst companies kept milking and milking.

Pictured: the source of Chocolate Milk, nice and fresh!

Unlike the treatment of cows now-a-days (fuck you Activision), back then companies knew when enough milking was enough, but I digress. Adventure Island was what it said: an adventure...on an island. You took control of a leaf/hula skirt, shirtless, cap wearing dude whose feet were in constant motion. You didn't really get any 'plot' which was common with platformers at the time. You basically (as a gamer) knew that you had to from left to right and that was the idea. Plus the cover was like many NES covers: very demanding of your imagination and very good at sucking you into buying what 'seemed' as a great game...in this case it was.

Just look at it: you, on a dinosaur with a boomerang...with sea creatures, UFOs, volcanoes...I want this game!

Published by Hudson Soft, this game was indeed a fun filled adventure. Again, like many others of its time, its difficulty level wasn't for n00bs. Without access to the internet back then for tips, walkthroughs, or strategies there was nothing left to do but take the game like a man and just keep trying. As seen in the footage, the object of the game wast to get to the end of the level before the health meter ran out of juice which you could replenish along the way by eating the different fruits you came along. Your primary weapon was a hammer/rock thingamagig which could later be upgraded to shoot out more per throw. You also could stumble upon boomerangs which in my opinion were the better weapon.

You also had the chance to obtain a skateboard in some levels...yes, a skateboard on an island, NICE! With it you could move quicker obviously but as soon as you got hit or stumbled on one of the many rocks in your path (which could be destroyed w/upgraded hammers/boomerangs). It took practice but if you could master the skateboard you could practically ride it all the way through (like your mom).

And so, this first installment was so good (I presume) that they released a sequel for it on the Godly SNES.

Wow, now it's 'SUPER'...mine carts, tiki men chasing you, dragons, more boomerang...shit, I want this one too!

Once again, Hudson published this installment and in the arcades it was such a success...at least, the arcades I played it at, which was back in Home Country.

Me back in home country...break dancers aint got shit on me

I remember as a kid the amount of tokens the locals had to spend the first time a group of them played the game through entirely...it was a lot. However, once they saw all levels once, it was a matter of time before secret levels, lives and shortcuts were discovered. As far as the gameplay, I could play the game over and over. I'll admit that after beating it a couple of times, the levels seem 'short' but it's so much fun that it doesn't matter. The story, which this game did have unlike it's predecessor was your typical "rescue the damsel":



As you can see, the graphics for the time were nice and colorful, but in my opinion it was the music that really made the game great.










Yes, it was relevant to show the whole game in it's awesomeness and yes, our friend does get some luvin as any hero would...except for Link.

'nuff said

So in closing, Adventure Island is something that we or I, would like to see redone or continued. Now a days there's not that many platformers so it wouldn't have too much competition. Personally, I think we've gone into a trend where now a days it's all about shooters and iterations of same shit in new packages (fuck you again Activision). The game has so much random crazy things that result in an overall fun experience. As seen in gameplay vids above, the guy eats fruit to stay alive, and whilst skateboarding he wears protective gear...food, safe skating, what else do mothers want from a video game? Please mothers, don't answer that.

So yeah, this game gets my Chuck Norris Thumb of Approval!

Amigo's Review: Fat Princess

Ok, so here's my first video game/movie/what have you review...

Last Thursday, July 30th, 2009 the Playstation Network released the long awaited (by those of us 'informed' gamers) "Fat Princess." Seen at E3 and hyped for a good reception, this long awaited download can simply be described as: Fun, Addictive, Hilarious, Cheesy, Frustrating, and overall: "lol." Yes, I know 'lol' isn't really an adjective but in my opinion (which is the one that matters in this site), the term suits the game very well. So, let's get started.

Premise: Fat Princess is basically a simple "Capture the Flag" game but with twists...and you don't have to do any physical exercise which is a plus. Anyways, you're assigned to either the Blue team or the Red team (you can switch teams after each match if you so desire). As far as the scenarios/settings go, you can start off in a typical wooden area, a shipwrecked beach stage, a hot lava/volcanic stage, a rocky cliff stage, a simple meadows stage, or a deserty stage (I'm sure there are others but I can't recall them). Teams start opposite each other inside their castle walls. When you start, your avatar (which is customizeable) is guided (by you) to pick up any of the hats lying by their respective machine workshops:

Worker

This guy is the resource gatherer (wood and stone), he makes it possible to upgrade other characters' classes as well as the one who makes it possible for you to build your castle gates (or repair them), your catapult (which in some stages flings you right to the opposing castle), bridges (that only your team can cross), and ladders (used to get into enemy castle). He can later upgrade into a Pyro/Bomber who carries infinite bombs and useful when fully charged. (Fully Charged attacks are performed by holding/charging the square button).

Warrior

Your muscle and power land attacker. Warriors are quick, agile and very responsive to attacks/blocks. You begin with a warrior bearing shield and sword but later on you can upgrade them to a warrior that carries pike and shield. Though pikes deal more damage, they are slower and take longer to charge for a heavy attack.

Mage

Mages or Wizards as you may call them, are your 'mass control' units. When charged, they deal damage to opponents that are within their circle of reach. You begin with a fire mage who can later get upgraded to an Ice mage who is great in slowing down opponents, especially when escorting your troop(s) that are carrying the princes(sses).

Archer

Archers are obviously your long range unit (However, mages too can shoot long range though with weaker attacks). Archers have the longest reach and can later be upgraded to Gunmen who sport an old school musket that when fully charged for a heavy attack deals 3 shots at once in a "<" pattern to cover more area.

Priest

Priests are the healers in your team. They can either heal individually (great as a backup when leading an attack), or when fully charged they heal comrades within their reach circle. Later on they can be upgraded to what I call a 'Dark' priest who leeches health off the enemy individually or within his circle reach when fully charged.

The Princesses

These are the 'flags' of the game. You begin with the opposing princess in your castle cell/dungeon. To wint the game you need both princesses in your castle: one in the throne and one locked up. Whilst you upgrade your stations/classes andt try to infiltrate the enemy castle, you can have any team member grab a slice of cake and give it to the enemy princess who will down it with much hunger (like your mom). The more cake you feed her, the more difficult it will be for the opposing team to carry her fat ass over to their castle.

And that pretty much sums up the set up. As far as gameplay, it is extremely fun even with bots who are actually quite good, but overall games can last upwards of 30min-1hr unless it's set up to a certain time limit at which point the team with the most points wins. Here's a sample walkthrough:



As you saw, it can get quite gory, but in a fun way. Though you can do a single player 'campaign' it's best suited for online. There's no option for 2 player or co-op play but I doubt you need it. The game makes it so that it is essential for teammates to communicate as they play. You can't just rush in since the opposing castle doors are usually well defended and take a while to knock down. Also, it's important that not everyone chooses a non-worker class since without workers you can't upgrade and you can't repair. Along the way to the enemy castle are outposts/towers which can be captured by either team. Usually an unattended outpost will become your teams outpost if you stand by it and wait for the meter on the outpost to fill up in your team's color. Outposts can then be used as a place to hit enemies from or to heal if you sit on them long enough.

The game ends (as mentioned) when one team has both princesses. When a team gets the second princess and sets her (either on the throne or in the cell), a timer begins and if the timer ends with the princesses still in the castle, the game ends. Upon the game ending you can see scores of all players and even vote for what stage you want to play in next.

<>
Pros:
+Addictive online multiplayer: the more players the better, though bots are quite good
+Voice chat with teammates: best to help organize attacks
+Variety of classes
+Variety of stages
+HD visuals: game looks beautiful
+Audio: everything from the game sounds to the phrases said by the characters (enemy princess often says 'cakey please!' lol...or by the announcer/narrator. (in 1 game which our team lost, the announcer said "you got pwned" LoL)

Cons:
-Getting connected to online: online is fun but it takes several attempts (3-5) to find a game and it's not because there's no games out, it's just the server gets glitch (which Titan studios has already addressed will get patched up).
-Respawn counter sometimes gets delayed. (I've sometimes gotten knocked off cliffs and it takes a while to register my player's death).
-Occasional lag: you'll hit enemy players who will remain untouched and then kill you but then they die as your attacks catch up

Overall, the game is extremely fun. And for 15 USD, it's quite a purchase. The hype was sure worth the 'weight' and its cost is well worth it. As mentioned, the only main issue is joining an online game which gets frustrating after 5 attempts or more, but otherwise once you're in you can go at it for well over an hour (as with your mom).

This game gets 4.5 out of 5.0 of my mexican rocking beans

Remake or Continuation of Classics III

DOUBLE DRAGON
------------------------

For this week's issue of "RCC" (I have coined this term now); I decided to step back (away from 16-bit games) and go back to the father of 'modern' gaming as I see it: the NES.

Pictured: my first encounter with my gaming destiny

Now, the first time I saw/played an NES was back in home country in the year of 1990; thus I did not speak this crazy tongue you all call 'English' and so most of the time when I gamed I understood nothing in the manuals or games other than: move left to right, if you get powerups/bonus items use them and don't die.

Pictured: capital of home state in home country.

Any who, it was one of my older cousins that first got an NES (given to him by his cousins from the city) and so began my gaming life. Some of the games he got with his NES were Super Mario Bros. (expected), Punch Out, Joust, Bionic Commando, and finally: Double Dragon III. Now, this specific cousin was what I considered a 'natural' gamer. Within days he was able to beat Punch Out and go through Super Mario. without warping ahead. In my young head I began to want to 'emulate' him as he was someone I looked up to (which may explain my gaming interest). I also recall this cousin as being the one to introduce me to:

Pictured: Quarter/Token Guzzler of Arcades.

But this isn't about the great Street Fighter series, I'll address that at some other point. Going back then before this digression...One of the games that came along with my cousin's NES was Double Dragon III (DD3).

Pictured: Fun yet very difficult/frustrating game...unless you did co-op.

Now, before I start going on about the game, i'll point out that this was on the Angry Video Game Nerd's list of video reviews which I recommend seeing.


Though he didn't like the game (due to difficulty) I still think it's worthy of being on my RCC list. The other thing I will point out that I still laugh about is the whole "BIMMY - JIMMY" typo on the beginning of the game (as pointed out by the AVGN):

Pictured: lol!

Ok, so the story goes that you must more or less avenge your friend that got pwned like a bitch and rather than tell you who did it, he leaves you in a cliffhanger state as he dies. Assuming he's also a martial arts expert, I'd imagine he'd tell you who to kill rather than waste his last breaths bulding up to it, but he dies and so you begin. (Note, I love the intro theme music)...


Overall the game is quite difficult. If I can recall, the only way my cousin and I beat it was in Co-Op mode B (the one where you can't hurt each other). Looking back, this game was very versatile as far as gameplay. You could move up and down the screen (to add depth?) besides the typical left to right. Each of the brothers had a hand attack as well as a kick attack. You could also grab and hold enemies and finish them off with either hand/kick combos or throws. However, the best attack that you could use was the Hurricane Kick...similar to Ryu's in Street Fighter.

In the game you also had the option to carry weapons which were dropped by enemies: knives, staffs, or broken beer bottles. In a way, the game was a bit ahead of its time. Though there were several iterations, I only have played the 3rd installment so I don't know much about the first two and I'm too lazy to do research that will insight you on those. So for now just take what I'm presenting (like I told your mom).

Upon the 16-bit era, the game got a couple installments on the SNES. The one that made it on my SNES library was Super Double Dragon. (Yes, it fell victim to the 'super' series).

Pictured: Double Dragon...SUPER!

This game unlike it's predecessors wasn't too 'exciting'. New features added to the game included fancier grappling finishers, enemies with new weapons (that again could be used if dropped), and the ability to block/guard against some attacks. Where this game failed was in a) Story line: the plot sucked...i can't recall it entirely but that's how much it sucked and probably the worst change was the 'modification' of their hurricane super kick. No longer could you just tap two buttons and execute the kick, now you had to charge up a 'gauge' that was below your vitality and upon charging it anywhere from 1-99 percent, you could do a hurricane kick.

The more you charged, the longer you remained in the air or traveled if executed with forward motion. If you charged the meter up to 100, you'd enter a semi-steroid stage where for a limited time you could do more damage (but ultimately it was useless). Often you'd find yourself wanting to charge the kick to maximum but accidentally leave the charge for too long and enter 'steroid' phase instead which was a kick in the gonads since the kick was more useful. Now the game was good graphics/sound wise but other than that it was all downhill.



Ah, memories...What next? Oh, well, they made other Double Dragon entries, the most notable ones that people recall would be those that were in the fighting genre. The most known, at least that I remember is Double Dragon V...which I did play at one point in my life and it SUCKED (simply stated). Given I had already played the likes of Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter, playing DDV was just not fun. It was difficult and the controls sucked. There weren't any of your typical 'fighting' input commands: down, downright, forward punch...and so that turned me away from the game.

Pictured: A pathetic excuse for a fighter.

Now, with success of a game or franchise comes the well predicted ability to keep wanting to squeeze and squeeze (like your mom) the money out of it. Double Dragon's game success like other games brought about the creation of an animated series...which was decent in my opinion. I think it only ran a couple of seasons but overall as a kid I really liked it but now I'm wondering if it was because the image of DD wasn't tainted yet since I had only been exposed to DD3.


Yeah...memories. "For might, for right, we are double dragon!" lol. Now I did say and emphasized (see above) 'tainted.' Why you may ask. Simple:

Pictured: Proof of Video Game to Movie Law; Failure

Yes, the franchise got greedy and decided to make a film...a very bad one at that. Now, the movie is overall quite funny given the bad acting and story line. I'm sure it'd make for a great drinking game. But yeah, it's a bad movie. The only reason to watch...

The only reason to watch the movie, though she doesn't get much camera time (like your mom).

After the movie failure I think the franchise got the hint and stuck with games...however, I am certain that since then no 'new' entries have been made to the series other than remakes for handhelds or for online stores (Wii/XBL/PSN?). Which brings me to my closing...

I think we're due for a new Double Dragon. Wether it's a remake of the first 8-bits or an entirely new story...we need a Double Dragon with current graphics. I can't think of a game currently where you can do co-op in a semi-free environment where gameplay is action and beat-em-up fighter mixed. Their genre is untapped right now. So please Technos, go back to what made you well known and make a good game!

I give the Double Dragon Series my Chuck Norris thumb of APPROVAL.