Wild Shot

Annie's Wild Shot is a game I bought some months ago but have been avoiding doing an entry about. It was the first game that convinced me of the iPhone's capabilities as a gaming device. See before this game I genuinely thought that games for the phone were an idiotic idea, that they couldn't do much with the platform therefore most games produced would be just like other puzzle-centric games on other cell phones. In short I just thought game developers were phoning it in with their games, this looked like they actually meant to produce a quality title.

And there is much to like: the graphics are superb, done in a very color rich animated style using a palette of pastels and drawings straight out of a well made flash game. In other words its pretty to look at. Gameplay uses the touch capabilities of the phone for shooting, reloading and looking to your sides. It's a first person shooting gallery game in which you control a pink haired girl instead of the usual grunt taskforce/militia.

Unfortunately there is also lots to dislike. For starters the shooting involves touching and hitting whatever you want, there's no trigger or buttons or anything to mimic either a gun or a controller on a game console. So you just feel like you're tapping on a screen, I realize that most games on the iPhone have you doing this but others do a better job at making you forget this sad point.

The game also might be a bit too easy. It has four or five levels with a Western boss a the end of each one. There are three parts per level: the first one is a shooting gallery (in which you are rarely shot at) the second is a chase and the third has you battling the boss in a unique way. It can be entertaining but it's not challenging and feels like you're gonna finish it in under in hour (which you certainly could do).

But the art is ultimately this game's saving grace. Sure its a bit weird to shoot pink paintballs at enemies but the fact that they're pretty makes it ok. Sure the protagonist is a pink haired tomboy but, again its ok. Sure she drives around in a traffic buggy but, again, its fucking eye candy. The great music doesn't hurt either. Also: cutscenes!

So what's the final verdict after this crazy mishmash of love and hate? I dont know. I really dont know, I'm actually torn over a fucking iPhone game and its pretty ridiculous. I know, but I simply don't know.

Oh hey Cody, Guy, Adon

Three more new characters for Super Street Fighter IV were unofficially unveiled today as some dude scanned a Famitsu magazine which does not come out until Friday and was supposed to signal the official unveiling. Somehow I really don't mind these spoilers.

Guy, Adon and Cody are the three returning characters. Nothing out of the ordinary, we sorta expected them. I don't care for any of these so its all a big meh for me. I'm glad I know three more characters sure but the actual characters do nothing for me. Design wise they look great updated to the SFIV style, if anything I'd say Cody's prison outfit should be baggier. We'll have to wait for high quality official artwork to be able to critique them.

Looks like the reveals are going to be made three at a time and possibly done on a monthly basis in order to maximize the hype up until the release.

Check out Hadoken.Net for more info.

KOF meets NBA

Well now I can't decide whether this flickr gallery of mashups of NBA players and King of Fighters is the worst thing ever or the best thing ever. I think I'm gonna go with best.

Let us now count down how this in fact is the best thing to happen to the SNK franchise in years:

-KOF: Maximum Impact brought 3D action to the 2D stalwart. This would be great if it wasn't for the fact that the characters suffered from heavy polygonitis and the gameplay was choppy at best. It also relied heavily on a few new characters who were frankly horrible.

-Bankruptcy in 2001.

-The release of King of Fighters XII with brand new, beautiful sprites. Too bad the game has been universally panned as incomplete and lacking in replay value. That games like Blazblue and Guilty Gear had already taken KOF's 2D throne didn't help, that Street Fighter made a marvelous return with SFIV didn't help either.

-There's a new KOF live action movie coming up with promises to be horrible. It's so bad that it probably already did come out but nobody cared.

Yes, the fact that somebody decided to photoshop Shaq as Chang Koehan (and keep the beard) is definitely the best thing to happen to King of Fighters this decade. Ok, except for the adorable alternate costume Leona had in Maximum Impact.

France '98

To celebrate Thierry Henry's magnificent use of his hands to land France a spot in the 2010 World Cup (and make UEFA, FIFA and all sorts of other acronyms very happy) we have a wallpaper from the earliest FIFA titles (the earliest?).

At the time these graphics were fucking killer, the gameplay was amazing and it actually had announcers. This was unprecedented, I remember being amazed at how they could achieve such thing. Not only that but the introduction? it gave you some Chumbawamba.

This was more than 10 years ago, the level of complexity that goes into today's FIFA, from rosters, teams, uniforms, online play, ball physics, stadiums, chants, is unbelievable and cannot even begin to be compared to what was going on then. The question then is what is a soccer game going to look like 10 years from now?

Man that is so dumb

"Hands Down" (Warning: Youtube) by Dashboard Confessional has been stuck in my head for the better part of two days now. I'm not exactly sure why a self described emo song would be in there but it is and I have a crazy hankering to play it on Rockband (ha! I just tied it to video games) but the problem is its 180 points and I only have 70. I could add points but I don't want to. What to do. What to do.

In other news that X-Plorer whose customization I analyzed in exhausting detail some months ago has broken. This fucking blows. Now I have four guitars and three of them are broken in some form or another. I'd like to believe I've just played them too much and messed up the gears (I certainly did play that custom til it could take no more) but most likely they're just meant to be break after playing for some time.

The good news is I have a replacement in the form of a GH3 Gibson wireless which is jet black (ok its just black) and to which I have attached the Weezer inspired lightning bolt strap. It actually looks pretty cool. Add to that the three months subscription to Live Gold that I bought for $5 today and I'm a pretty happy camper.

Now if only I could get some better updates on this thing. You must admit though, even if by "you" I mean "me", yesterday's post was the shit.

Oh hey its Paul McCartney

Princess

Rosalina > Toadstool

Somebody had to say it.

Super Empire Strikes Back (!)

Super Empire Strikes Back is not, by any means, an easy game. It's a standard platformer in which the main character must pass through multiple stages fighting off multiple baddies with multiple weapons and the help of multiple, well, helpers. The reason why this game is more like Dungeons and Dragons than, say, Mega Man, is because while in MegaMan you encounter an enemy every once in a while in SESB it's a neverending parade of creatures trying to kill you.

You start off as Luke Skywalker in Hoth (a planet which is very cold) with a lightsaber and a pistol surveying the area for meteors or some shit. He gets to right around in a Tauntan, he gets to fight wampas and so on. You know like that in that one movie. Right from the get-go there are tons of enemies shooting off spores or bursting or running at you or fucking biting you. It is unrelentless and, for some reason, it takes about five lightsaber hits to kill some of these things.

Most levels are like this but in other planets or environments. In some you fly around in vehicles, in others you fight off a boss. The player is helped by a password system which keeps you from tearing your hair out in frustration every time you get killed (it happens often). You get a number of continues, when you use one Yoda's head tells you to "do or do not, there is no try". The voice of Darth Vader also appears sometimes.

Not much more to say about this game. The lightsaber seems weak like the other weapons mostly because the enemies are so tough and numerous. It was the middle game of the "Super" trilogy, followed by Super Return of the Jedi whose cover is the only instance of an official Star Wars product downplaying Slave Leia. Empire came out in 1993, a year or two before the relaunch of the original trilogy which signaled a resurgence of the Star Wars phenomenon.

Since the relaunch the machine has not stopped, producing three prequels of varying quality, as well as countless merchandise, television, video game in other properties. Star Wars has always been a part of the video game landscape to this day, from the early games to Shadows of the Empire for the N64, to KOTOR to Battlefront to the appearance of some characters in SoulCalibur 4. Lucas is not exactly hesitant to license his intellectual property and this could be readily seen in 1993 and even earlier on.

The Onion: Modern Warfare

Apparently today is a big day in video game land as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was released to throngs of anxious fanboys waiting to get a glimpse of life on the barracks. I must admit all this love for this game sorta appeared out of nowhere, it seems like three or so weeks ago everybody started talking about, Wal Mart started making some of their annoying "did you get ______ yet" commercials that only air during Madden season and people were going gaga over a special package that gives you actual night vision goggles. Because that's what you need.

Anyway you can always count on The Onion to lampoon such an occurrence. This time they've produced a video talking about Modern Warfare 3 which promises the most realistic military gameplay ever. Everything from "waiting around for hours" and "cleaning humvees" to countless fun "hauling equipment" and "filling out paperwork". These are only a few of the jokes in the beginning of the news story. It only gets better. I rarely laugh out loud to anything I read or see online but I was definitely Lol'ing with this video.

I wont embed the video because two video posts in a row would be gauche. Watch for the link at the end of this entry. I'm not against this game per se, I just dont really care much for it. I had the first MW and I played it for a bit before it was stolen by (I assume) some crackhead. Of course I found that it glorified military life to a great extent but I'm not enough of a fucking liberal blowhard to be offended by it. People trying to make the military look badass? my that's shocking! I also find that games in which you control an arm holding a gun don't really hold my attention for very long. Yes at this point in my life I'd rather play a fake guitar than shoot a few fake Afghans.

But getting back to the Onion video, it appears it was somewhat produced with the aide of the developers of this game which means that they at least have a sense of humour and realize that their game might be exaggerate what the military does and are willing to take a few jabs at the whole situation.

Aaaaanyways, watch the video here:
Ultra Realistic Modern Warfare Game Features Awaiting Orders, Repairing Trucks - The Onion

I Will not title this "Juri Duty"

Here's the deal. When Capcom teased us with Super Street Fighter IV they did so mainly with promises of new characters. Sure the game would be beefed up graphically, musically and gameplay wise but the one thing you cant get in SFIV that you're gonna really want are new characters. Sure its a money grab but everything is a money grab, right Call of Duty Super Mega Special Collector's Edition? Hence, with money in mind, did Capcom unveil T.Hawk, Dee Jay and Juri.

The first of those two characters we know and don't much care for as that sense of discovery is long gone. But Juri is a different story altogether. She has basically been used as the face of this new iteration, she's the most palpable "new" aspect of this game and as such has been paraded all over the internet. Dee Jay and T. Hawk might make old schoolers happy but Juri is Capcom's promise of excitement to come.

With new images, information and videos being released seemingly on a daily basis I suppose now is the time to make a semi-informed decision as to what kind of character she'll be. So here's what we have so far:

She's the first Korean and Taw Kwon Doe fighter in the series. Ok this means nothing to me, not that I have anything against Korea its just that since they went away from personalized stages she could be from the fucking moon and I wouldn't be able to tell where she's from. She's Korean, that doesn't come through in any of the things she does.
She has great kicks and two somethings in her hair. Hmm dont we already have a character with those characteristics? also those points she has for hair remind me of a pinata.

She has a beef with Bison. Storyline means nothing to me. The whole thing is too
convoluted.
She has a pretty cool fighting style. She does. It looks like she's fast and her kicks seem more powerful than Chun Li's. Yes this is a plus.
I like her design. Yes I do, I've criticized the parachute pants and hair thingies but she looks cool nonetheless. Let's be honest most of SF's designs are out there, from the old (Vega) to the new (Viper), Street Fighter isn't afraid of being out there. Sure Juri might seem a bit too fantasy-y but I'm willing to give her a chance. This isn't King of Fighters.

I could go on. Actually I couldn't but I have a video that makes my point for me. The thing with these new characters is that they're designed in 2009 to blend in with characters from 1989. It's gonna be a mishmash, its gonna be a bit off regardless of whatever design is released. The final verdict will have to wait until the game is released, we know what the rest of the characters look like and I've had a chance to play it.

Video Game - E3 2009 - X-Play

Here's that video. Also: bonus stages!

Stages: Vega

Note: the title should be read as a parody of David Bowie's "Changes" (i.e Staaa aages)

The Spain stage is unique in the Street Fighter series in that it plays an important role in at least one move that Vega can perform. When the masked-clawed one decides to jump against the wall like fucking Spider Man and jump on top of his rival that fence has to be there otherwise it looks like he's just floating in mid air.

This was not a problem in the original SF2 because Vega was not meant to be a playable character but merely one of the final four Shadaloo members. Therefore the possibility of him ever playing in another stage was nonexistent and the developers were free to chain him to that stage as much as they could. In later games, in which he was actually playable, his moves were altered so that he jumps off the edge of the screen and not that fence.

But back to the stage. It seems that the working idea behind its design was to cram as much Spain in it as possible. He's fighting in front of a chained-off restaurant in which patrons are no doubt eating tapas as they enjoy a flamenco dance in front of a bullfighting mural. This is Spain in the late 80's, a fun place to enjoy drinking, eating, entertainment and a good fight. It's in Europe sure but it retains that luster and excitement characteristic of a downtown in a culturally rich third world country. There's socioeconomic commentary for the month.

The music plays a vital role in the selling of this as SPAIN. It appears to be borrowed directly from the intro music used for Don Flamenco in Punch Out. Globalization not being what it is today, knowledge of Spain was limited to flamenco music and tapas, there is no sign of the first world socialist haven that the country would evolve into. But at least its not mired in the civil wars and fascist dictatorships that the country suffered through in the middle of the last century.

As for Vega, well he evolved. Not a lot really, he still appears as an ADD raddled metrosexual in the latest Street Fighter game, but at least he has been consistently portrayed as the most cold blooded member of Shadaloo throughout the anime, manga and games. Unfortunately the same cannot be said with the slap in the face that was his casting in the Chun Li movie.

Mario RPG: A Primer

Released in 1996 Super Mario RPG might be the best game to ever come out for the SNES. I'd argue its the second best but we dont have time to talk about Mario World 2 right now. RPG was created by both Nintendo and Square as a combination of the famous Nintendo characters and the gameplay and style made famous by Square in such games as Chrono Trigger and the early Final Fantasies.

It was a complete overhaul of the Mario franchise: gone were the days of sidescrolling mario saving 2D Toadstool, now there was possibly the first ever 3D rendered Mario going through an up and down world, talking to townspeople, teaming up with Bowser and saving Princess Peach. Luigi was presumably MIA.

Like any other RPG the player could form his or her party to battle against foes in turn based combat. Bowser and Peach (or maybe it was still Toadstool) along with two new characters (probably Square characters) called Geno and Mallow. The first looks like an odd Italian magician while the other looks like a marshmallow or a cloud. Honestly it's kinda complicated. I'm sure there was a lot of thinking being done and a lot of weed being smoked. It should be noted that this is probably the first time Bowser is portrayed as a charismatic, if flawed, figure instead of an all out villain, this theme would continue in later games.

The bad guy is some crazy sword or something who runs the "Smithy Gang". I have no idea what this means but its definitely a poor choice of words. It reminds me of a smodcast. The group then walks around solving numerous puzzles, playing multiple mini games, gaining experience, talking to townspeople, gathering items and fighting enemies. You know like in those other RPG's of the time.

The graphics were fucking 3D renders! the gameplay smooth, the story innovative. In short it was a nice effort by both companies. The game did not have a sequel but there were numerous Mario RPG games released afterwards. Though they may be more imaginative and better graphically Super Mario RPG is still a worthy predecessor.

So what is all this about? well I wanted to get a copy of the game to review and reminisce. I have very special memories of this game and was curious to see if these memories were romanticized or justified. The problem is a copy for the SNES can run you about $50 on eBay, or more. So what's the alternative? the Wii virtual console. For about $8 the game is now ready to go on the
Wii, I've started playing it and will have a report up some day. But this was part 1, the primer if you will, hopefully the second part will be up soon.

Explanations

I've been a bit of a whore lately. While I claim to be big on old school games and detest the complicated gameplay and mechanics of the newer systems I have recently been on a tear on the Xbox 360. In the past week or so the following games have appeared next to my tv:

• DJ Hero
• FIFA 10
• Soul Calibur IV
• Grand Theft Auto IV
• Rock Band 2

Add to this my ongoing obsession with Street Fighter IV (so many IV's) and I have reached the point where I have no idea what game I should be playing. All of this while Super Empire Strikes Back, The Lion King and a few other SNES games gather dust in the next room. I'm a bit of hypocrite but fuck it I appreciate the advances in graphics and the innovation of music games. Also fighting games, fuck how I love fighting games.

Anyways this explains the lack of substantial updates. And even though I now hate myself because I promised never to do a "this is why I haven't been posting" post I just had to do it. I'm sure this will pass and we'll get to those SNES games and that much promised Koopa Kids post but for now fuck it, I'm gonna go play some more Rock Band 2.