Sonic Fan Film Teaser Trailer

From Eddie Lebron, the mind that brought us the live-action Mega Man fan film. Finally, my childhood hero of the SatAM cartoons makes the jump to the real world.

And yes, that is Jaleel White as Sonic.

And I nerdgasmed.

E3 pre-show! Warning: heavy linkage.

Also: my birthday's tomorrow! I'll be a quarter-century old.

Another year, another E3. I know this is starting to sound like one of the first blogs I wrote on this site and that's for a good reason: E3 2011 looks to be the year of sequels, remakes, and ports. I seriously think the games industry is running out of new ideas for new IPs.

The news is fresh from Konami's press conference: HD remakes of the original Metal Gear Solid games, Resident Evil, and Zone of the Enders. Woop-de-doo. Someone might be wondering why I'm so critical of Metal Gear Solid and I can hear the fanboys getting mad right now. Allow me to clarify why I dislike the whole MGS universe: fanboys. Because of the outrageous nature that some fanboys go through, it makes me want to have nothing to do with any of it. From what I've gathered, the MGS universe is a convoluted story centered around Solid Snake... no wait Big Boss... no wait Old Snake... Raiden?! It can't make up its mind who it wants to follow and if its not one specific character the fanboys go nuts and reject the game at first, then suddenly its Game of the Year material. Fanboys are raving lunatics.

Dedicated? No, I just call it freakin' weird.

However I will give Konami a little bit of kudos for announcing the next Contra, but not a lot for not revealing it. For all we know it could be an FPS Contra that old-school fanboys will get mad about. I'm starting to sense a pattern here....

Along with all of this, Konami is developing a multi-platform engine called the Fox Engine. Really? Fox? As in Kojima's company's moniker? I've had enough. Moving on.

Hot on the trails of the "exciting" Konami news is from the Sony camp. Yes they still exist despite recent circumstances. Not only are they getting the MGS remakes, but they're porting all of the digital download PSP releases, those that were on the PSN, to the NGP, or PSVita as some people are claiming. On top of that, they'll be bringing some new games to their Android-powered device, the Xperia Play. While the BFBC2 sounds good to me, I'm going to stick around and see what the NGP (or PSVita) has to offer. Plus I just bought an Android phone, I'm broke right now.

The NGP will also be getting an Uncharted sequel this year. And I know a lot of people are complaining about the motion controls with the NGP and all I hear is whining about using the back touchpad to climb up a rope. Get over it. Its a new way to play a game and it could be one of your favorites. STOP being so critical over something you haven't even played yet!

A little story happening with Microsoft is that CD Projekt is bringing The Witcher 2 to Xbox 360. So what does this little morsel have to do with all of this? Its a port. Enough said. Moving on.

THQ is headed back to the octagon for UFC Undisputed 3.

Another.

Sequel.

I'm just going to run down the list of sequel games that are being shown off this year:

Batman Arkham City

Saints Row: The Third

The Darkness II

Darksiders II

Serious Sam 3: BFE

Call of Juarez: The Cartel

Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm (while not exactly a sequel, it is still a continuation of the StarCraft universe)

Silent Hill: Book of Memories

Mass Effect 3 (with rumored Kinect support)

Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition (even though they said they wouldn't do any more releases of SFIV)

Rayman Origins

Twisted Metal (reboot)

Gears of War 3

Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (its a sequel)

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (ITS JUST A REMAKE, and some of you will pay $50 for a game you've bought 3 or 4 times before. SAME GAME.)
Tomb Raider (reboot)

Prey 2

Halo: Combat Evolved HD remake (very possible

Forza 4

Starhawk

Duke Nukem Forever

Madden 12 (you saw that one coming)

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Driver: San Francisco

Splinter Cell 3DS (rumored)
Guild Wars 2
Ninja Gaiden 3
Red Faction: Armageddon
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3
Battlefield 3
Carmageddon: Reincarnation
Resistance 3
Sniper: Ghost Warrior (PS3 port)
FEAR 3Alice: Madness Returns
Metro: Last Light
FIFA 12
Worms Ultimate Mayhem (rated in Australia)
Trackmania 2
Dragon Age 3
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Tales of Xillia (Tales of... series)
Diablo 3
Final Fantasy V
Might & Magic Heroes 6
Professor Layton
WWE 12
Blizzard DotA

And I'm sure there are a couple of games I missed.

Meanwhile there are three games I'm reluctant to call sequels: Sonic Generations, Age of Empires Online, and Aliens Colonial Marines. While the first two are new games in their respective franchises, I expect them to be more of the same-old same-old that we've played in the past. Aliens:CM has been in and out of development for a long while. I'm not entirely sure if its a sequel to the lackluster Aliens vs Predator game or not.

So, that's the sequels. Let's see how many original IPs are showing up in the next year:

From Dust
Heroes of Ruin
Dead Island
Rage
Bodycount
*Hawken (still in development, they need to find a publisher)

Yep. After 30 mins of searching you can count on one hand the big name IPs that you can expect to see soon. I know there are a few more but, like I said, after 30 minutes I gave up searching.

Seriously. People complain about their being no new IPs for games but they'll buy sequels and remakes left and right.
Its your own faults.
Some of the sequels I'm looking forward to, yes, but its the remakes and the thought that there are very little new ideas being made that disappoints me. I'm sure each of those games will do something their predecessor(s) never did but at their cores, they'll be the same.

Keep Playing.

Review: Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga

 (All images are taken from Gamespot.com, even though the community is traitorous.)

Divinity 2 Main Theme

Divinity II is an action-RPG set in a world that shares many ideas from medieval and fantasy stories that you would come to expect from a mass-produced fantasy novel found in a bookstore: dragons, knights, guilds, magic, swords, etc. It's cliched, but its done well. A bit of humor every now and then with a few references to pop culture, such as Power Rangers (it must be seen to be believed) means the game doesn't take itself too seriously without breaking the 4th wall.

The game takes you through the world of Rivelon as either a Hunter, Warrior, or Mage/Priest. Skills from these different classes can be combined to give you an upper hand in a fight. Want a Ranger that summons undead? You can do it. Want to customize skills for a paladin? It can be done. Actions are mapped to the face buttons and d-pad so attacks and healing items can be changed on the fly. About halfway through Ego Draconis, you can transform into a dragon. Flying is chaotic in some areas, with so many projectiles coming at you that you have no choice but to constantly move. Mind-reading is a skill gained at the beginning of the game and is useful for discovering a lot of secrets. Each time you read a mind it comes at a cost of experience points. Useful information, secrets, and sometimes stat and skill upgrades can come from mind-reading. The difficulty levels range from Casual, practically a walk in the park, to Nightmare, a level that requires planning an attention before rushing into a fight. The NPCs can be bland with backstories only being mentioned for a few of them. In my opinion, Damian is the best villain I've seen: he's arrogant, his voice is cocky, he knows he can't be touched and never misses a chance to rub it in. Others, such as Morgana that you meet in the beginning of the game, are never heard from again.

The story is typical and, unfortunately, somewhat predictable at points. You play a soldier who has been trained to become a Dragon Slayer, those who hunt dragons. Before a ritual is complete, one of the minor villains gets into your head, making you become "one with the dragon." From there you play both sides of the fence, trying to hold off your former-brothers-in-arms while discovering your true potential as a Dragon Knight and hunting down the games main villain and his army. Unfortunately again, you never encounter him in a fight, this leaves the possibility of a sequel in the open. But that remains to be seen.

The Flames of Vengeance takes place in Aleroth, which at first seems to be a bunch of back-and-forth fetch quests similar to the start of Ego Draconis. The city itself takes on a vibe different from the large open areas traversed in Ego Draconis. There is supposed to be a lot of life but with the current situation the streets are abandoned, giving it a hollow feeling.

The graphics are tight with very few glitches in the main areas. The redesigned portions of the game have many unconnected rocks and walls, some that seem hastily put together. Villages and forests are bright while dungeons, mines and lairs are darkened, which pulls off a nicely claustrophobic feeling. NPC animation can be very puppet-like, actions are scripted and repeated when talking to people. Traveling among places brings about a change in color tone, some areas may have a green brightness to them while others, particularly near an enemy hideout, will be red and shadowy. In Flames of Vengeance, the city of Aleroth is nicely detailed with a lot of areas that you want to explore.

The sound design is grade A, the orchestral soundtrack gives a sense of an epic tale. The music ramps up in intensity at the onset of a battle: the clash of metal, the yell of enemies, the explosions of a magic missile. The voice acting is superb and with many talented actors you never get bored of the conversations, however some of the NPCs can sound air-headed at times.

For achievement junkies, one playthrough is all it takes to earn 100%, but you may want to replay this game a couple of times since you might miss out on a quest. There are no multiple endings to Ego Draconis but thankfully the Flames of Vengeance sequel wraps up the story nicely. Once ED is finished, the game seamlessly starts FoV.

It should be noted that the Dragon Knight Saga is a re-release of the Divinity 2 game. The first standalone game, Ego Draconis released in 2009, was overlooked by most and received an average of 7/10 from gaming review sites. Aside from a few updated graphics shaders, a closer camera, redesigned menus, added DLC and Flames of Vengeance “sequel,” the main part of the game is the same, right down to the achievements. The load times, however, are dramatically increased even with the game installed. The addition of the art book and soundtrack CD are great incentives to buy the game soon. The art book is short and small but shows off the details of the game that you might not notice. The soundtrack is best described as atmospheric, relaxing, and captivating. If you were let down by the original game, Dragon Knight Saga is worth getting to complete the experience. For those who are unsure, try the demo first. Decide for yourself if you want to spend $40 on an action-RPG that does everything by the book and does it well.

Keep Playing.

Nintendo's Next Console: What I Think (UPDATED)

In case those of you who have missed the news (or rumors, rather) about Nintendo's next console, there's a lot of speculation about what's been codenamed "Project Cafe." Many are saying it will be more powerful than the PS3, others are suggesting that if this is true, then Nintendo will be trying to win back the "hardcore" audience. After having guaranteed success with the Wii, many people might be drawn back to the company itself.

What I'm interested in are the controllers: what will Nintendo do this time around? Will it be motion controllers again or something beyond, something similar to Kinect? Or will they go back to regular old button mashers? From the mockups I've seen, particularly the one from IGN, it interests me. You can read the whole article here.

Able to stream games from the controller? That would make it its own handheld, and Nintendo has saturated the market with those. (On a different note: RIP Nintendo DS Lite.)

But I instead imagine something similar to this: 

Nintendo has never been about pressure sensitivity, so that could be put on the back burner for right now. As for control sticks, a screen that size (minus the black borders of the iPhone) would be able to display two of them along with 4 buttons. Nix the d-pad or have the ability to switch between the displayed right thumbstick to a d-pad in-game. Shoulder buttons can, of course, go on top of the controller.

Now about the system, if this thing is a powerhouse that some sites are claiming, I take it Nintendo isn't going to be doing backwards compatibility. They're also saying it'll either be the size of an SNES or an original Xbox.

I was highly impressed when Nintendo first announced the Wii years ago, I was planning on getting one eventually. But then the whole pile of slushware games came out, Nintendo was putting their approval on virtual toys and I realized that that's all the Wii has become: a toy. There are a few games worth playing on the console but the small amount of them makes it not worth buying. I'll keep my eyes, ears and mind open to Project Cafe in the meantime.

UPDATE: It's been confirmed by multiple sources that Nintendo will have a playable version of Project Cafe ready at this year's E3 in June. It seems that the Big Three console developers always have leaked information, which leads me to believe that its intentionally leaked for hype purposes.Speaking of hype, I was highly impressed with Nintendo when they revealed the Wii only to be let down by the millions of slushware titles that got approved by Nintendo, so I never bought one. I'm being cautious on this new console until more news is revealed, and possibly new IPs while they're at it.

Keep Playing.

A Second Look @ Grind Session (PS1)

(Images taken from Moby Games and IGN)

 

When a game refuses to follow the button presses of the player and instead decides what's best for it, it makes for a really terrible game. Playing a game should be fun, not tedious. Its hard NOT to compare this game to the Pro Skater series but it is easy to pick it apart piece by piece and quickly discover what went wrong. I remember being impressed by the demo for this game on a Playstation Underground demo disc years ago. Today, after just one hour of play time, I realize that this game has shattered my good thoughts of it. The game can't even be edgy when it comes to skateboarding, a sport known for having some hardcore people. Amidst the skating craze of the early 00's it should have been easy to tap into the culture.

Grind Session follows its own rules and ends up alienating the player multiple times through inaccurate or incomplete button presses, terrible physics and gravity, broken skating lines, mediocre tricks and skaters, and a meager amount of time to do things in. Remember breaking the objects in the first Pro Skater? Well that happens in pretty much every level here. There's little to no imagination to the entire game.
By advancing through, your chosen professional or created skater earns respect. Although how the words "Grind Session" and "respect" can be said in the same sentence is beyond me. The game physics, possibly 50% of the time, won't allow you to complete a line because you'll fall off a rail or not jump high enough.

Tricks are unlocked by earning enough respect to complete a level. They range from simple combinations to double d-pad presses for the more complicated ones. Something similar to the special tricks in the Pro Skater series. When enough tricks are successfully landed, your skater goes into “Possession” mode, which allows them to spin faster. Grind Session's spinning is done only by left and right on the d-pad, which means you need to press carefully if you're wanting to spin a trick after pressing up or down on the d-pad. Its just convoluted.
You won't be able to count how many times a trick WILL NOT go through. Apparently the game has a hard time processing what should be two flips or grabs in a row. As for the grinding, the best way to describe it would be "broken." Holding down the grind button makes you stay on the rail while releasing it to set up for the next trick causes your skater to jump off. A few times you'll hit a line perfectly, only to come off and bail while landing even with your wheels pointed forward. Why? I don't know.

There's one thing the game almost does right: creating a female skater, something not seen in Pro Skater 2 until 2x. Unfortunately, the create-a-skater options are limited to two variations of a male and female model. Each one looking like someone you'd find pushing mongo around a California boardwalk. One thing that begs to be mentioned is that there are more hidden/unlockable skaters than there are professionals. Personally, aside from Daewon Song, I've never heard of any of the other pros, or have heard anything about them since this game.

The graphics are terrible in the fact that it could have been done better. We've SEEN it done better in the first Pro Skater, and this game came out after Pro Skater 2!
Skating around should be fun, right? Nope, not here. Most of the levels are huddled together and there's very little room to do extravagant things in, much less room to get a good line going. The level designs are terrible and bland. Nothing interesting to see.
More than a few times will the camera screw with you whether on a jump or in general since there's no free-looking. You have to stop the skater either with the circle button (what's wrong with pressing down?) or L2. Holding down L2 to look around in 'Skater's Eye' mode wastes precious time.

The sound is bland: a grunt from the skater, a metallic sound while grinding, a cash registering 'dinging,' it does little to draw you in. There are very few environmental sounds and the cardboard cutout crowd cheering during competitions gives you a feeling of "no one really cares."
The music is varied, at least, and is ALMOST the saving grace for the whole game. Artists like Jurassic 5, Black Flag, and a few others give it a nice diversity, but it repeats so often you get sick of it in the first hour.

An

Its a game that's meant to be taken or leaven as is. I, for one, would rather leave it, in a trash pile. Oddly enough the developer, Shaba Games, went on to develop Pro Skater 3 for the PS1 which wasn't a bad game at all. Grind Session was up against a giant of a game in the arcade skating genre, and when measured beside it its simple manual trick just couldn't compare to the Hawk's 900.

200 Miles of Wasted Time

My friend and I go on a journey through the backroads of Alabama for flea market hunting, only to find... two games. Google maps + GPS = lies! All lies!

*Just realized the outro card got cut off. I don't know why but It says "Next trip, we're staying in Georgia. Athens, baby! Thanks for watching."

Retro Hunting Failures and Crossroads

Last week I posted a video about my own flea market retro hunting adventure. I went with my family and came away with what I initially thought was a good haul, but after second-guessing, I reasoned it wasn't all that great. Here's the video for those of you who haven't seen it.
My friend, Lady_Fi, caught the retro hunting bug and wanted to go with me yesterday to a flea market in the next state, the same one I went to last week. This time I was strapped for cash and couldn't buy much.

We walked around for a few minutes but only found the occasional sports game. My friend picked up Billy Hatcher and Viewtiful Joe though. We headed over to the infamous reseller's table and found out the ugly truth....

(This next part, I don't intend to sully her name, whatever it may be, but I intend to post as a warning to anyone going to Lee County Flea Market: if you see a woman at a table with a lot of games on it, just walk away.)
This woman is a sniper. She showed us the original Genesis and said she had just picked it up that morning, meaning from someone else' table. And she's a definite reseller. Someone out to make a profit off of the idiots. And let me just say: this part of Alabama isn't exactly a shining star. My friend is looking for an NES and I asked the lady how much she had one for.

She said $100.


I'll let that sink in for you....
Meanwhile, here are some search results from ebay :




$100 for an NES.
Not in the box and probably not with controllers.
I would give her $20 and a slap in the face. Prices on ebay are $50+ cheaper. She preys on those who aren't knowledgeable about gaming prices and she doesn't know anything about the games themselves. She's like an independent GameSlop: making money off of people who don't know that better stores exist.
I asked to see her original Game Boy games and she had them priced at $10 and above, and the selection was absolute crap! My friend found Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers on Genesis for $13 but we walked away from the table with nothing and saved ourselves some cash. Later in the day we made our way to Play N Trade and found MMPR for $5.

I filmed it, and its goofy, but its really bad. So bad that I can't salvage it. So bad that I won't try to piece something together. So bad that not even putting a FantomenK song in the background will save it. This video will go in File 13 and maybe in the future I'll do bloopers and use that as a starting point.

The Short-And-To-The-Point of it all:
The original idea of it came from the Retro Hunters. They inspired me to go out to a flea market and look for games. However, these games are often overpriced, overabundant, sports games, or scraps. I can get a better deal at Play N Trade (I say PNT because its the only retro store near me. We don't have a GameCrazy or Gamerz Exchange or GameAttack *cough*franchise, Craig*cough*). I have a list made out of retro games that I want to acquire but it has put me at a crossroads:
Is it all about flea market hunting, or about getting the retro games I want?
Do I shell out $40 for Super Metroid at a flea market, or get six games for $40 at a corporate store?
Support the little guys or give money to the giants?
Its a tough call but its my list and I'm not picky about how I get the games. Play N Trade, which is an underdog when compared to GameSlop, has been good to me and I intend to keep the games I collect for a long while, not just play and throw back like a fish...
That was an Alabama analogy, wasn't it? The place is starting to affect me.

The next planned flea market outing is in late March/early April. I have to save up money again and Valentine's Day isn't helping. In the meantime, I have several games to play that are on the backburner, and even more still that I've never beaten (Mass Effect NG+, O_O).

Keep Playing.

My Own Retro hunt

After seeing the Retro Hunter's videos, I caught the bug and wanted to go to a nearby flea market and do a little hunting of my own. After the cold winds, dirt, and lack of food, I realize I may have came up empty-handed after all.

A Second Look @ Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (GBA)

(All images are taken from Gamespot)

If you've played any of the console versions of Pro Skater 2, you should have high expectations already. The sequel takes everything fans love about the previous game and cranks it up to 11. The same holds true for the GameBoy Advance version. I want to avoid using the word "port" since this is far from it. It's Pro Skater 2, to be sure, just mini. Same levels, same pros, same tricks. However that might not be enough to afford attention from someone who prefers the console versions.

As soon as the main menu wheel shows, you'll understand how much attention went into this game to be just like the bigger versions. The game contains a Career Mode, Free Skate, and Single Session. Upon first seeing the character selection, one might be disappointed by the pixelized pros. But don't be fooled, they stand up just as well as one should expect.

It will take some time to get used to the default control scheme, but if it becomes too difficult it can be freely changed in the menus; something that feels more natural to the player would be the best route to take. Things such as entering the nollie stance is done by pressing the same button used for kick tricks. The shoulder buttons, as well as the d-pad, rotate the skater left or right in the air. These can't be changed but there is no button interference when playing.

When you stick to it all the way through, you'll find the usual bonus characters, Officer Dick and Spiderman, on the character selection screen. One new addition is Mindy, not the same one from American Wasteland, added to replace Private Carrera.

The 45-degree angle that the game is presented in takes some getting used, eventually it becomes something the player just ignores and accepts. It works, and that's fine.

The biggest, and possibly only, gripe one might have with this game is the lack of character creation. It's understandable that it would have to be cut from the GBA, but we could all do without a few cheats, Mindy, and one less song. A simple character editor would be ideal. Change skin color, hair color, clothes color, and add a board from one of the pros and that would satisfy. I suppose having that option would be too much to put on a GBA cart though.

Pay close attention when performing a trick, you'll see the animations have practically been copied frame by frame from the console versions. The animations, such as Tony Hawk's 900 or Rodney Mullen's Casper to 360 flip, are excellent to look it. They're never just "rotating to 900 degrees" or "a manual that ends with a flip." Each trick is detailed to look exactly like the bigger versions.

Large areas such as the School in Florida and New York City have been shuffled around a bit to make it compatible. Others such as Marseille, France and the hangar in Mullet Falls are the same. As a slight bonus the Warehouse from Pro Skater 1 has been added, with only a few minor changes to level layout. Each change isn't enough to get angry over, it just takes some getting used to.

The sound is the best I've heard in a GBA game so far. From the main menu wheel to a skater hitting the pavement, it's all the same from the console versions. The only thing different from the consoles is the music: the midi-file music is similar, yet at the same time it feels as though it's best suited for this game alone. You still have that SoCal rock feel to it as well as a few hiphop basslines.

The replay value takes this game to about 10 hours, with breaks. Once you get used to getting 100% with one skater it becomes easy to get the rest of the careers complete. Achieving 100% game total, however, will take effort. Mindy can't be unlocked unless you find all gaps (up to Skatestreet anyway). Even after completing the game its still fun to take on-the-go and play every now and then, its something that sticks with you.

If one started with Pro Skater 2 on the GBA and never touched the console versions, there would be no need to fret. This IS Pro Skater 2, just smaller. It's the cherry on top for any fan of the series. Its an excellent game that's worthy of any addition to one's collection.

Keep Playing.

Dreamcast's 11th Birthday

Right.

So.

It snuck up on me.

Dreamcast's 11th birthday.

Had it not been for checking Blogspot and seeing The Dreamcast Junkyard mentioning it I would have forgotten. So this means I need to write a blog. Well, unfortunately I can't think of anything in such a short amount of time with most of the day being passed by already.
I can always mention MY SMALL GAME COLLECTION. Yes. I think that'll do. Maybe a mini-review for each. So before this intro drags on too long, let me get started.

I unfortunately can't say I'm a big fan of Crazy Taxi. Its blasphemy, I know, but I find the driving and physics in this game impossible to deal with. The tires constantly spinning out as the precious seconds tick down, the insane amount of traffic even on easy difficulty, the passengers commenting about every turn you make, and the most repetitive soundtrack ever conceived (Offspring: "Yah! Yah! Yah! Yah! Yaaaaaaah!"), make it a teeth-grinder for me.
Regardless of all that I've said, Crazy Taxi has an undeniable charm to it. Its an arcade game through and through and its been converted nicely to the Dreamcast. The graphics are clean, the controls are sharp, and it's just fun. As for the soundtrack, it can always be muted, I suppose.

Hit or miss. Its the best way to describe Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX. The controls are sloppy, the graphics seem incomplete, the music is repetitive, and the levels are just lackluster. After completing the challenges of the first levels you have to compete, and place first in, three competitions. Second place wins you nothing but a pat on the back. The only unlockable character here is the SlimJim guy. Yes, you read that right. He's nothing special either. And its almost impossible to bail, just pressing the Y button while coming down from a vert lands you in a stalling position. Broken? Yes.
But despite the bad nature up front, its more like the Pro Skater series than Matt Hoffman's Pro BMX was. Its just as chaotic, the soundtrack, though small, is varied and soulful, and the tricks are insane. You can pull off moves that aren't even physically possibly in real life. Its a true arcade game and I'm proud to have it in my collection.

A game that's as unique as anything you can imagine, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver is the tale of Raziel, a vampire who has evolved beyond his master. Considering this a travesty, Kain kills Raziel. Many years later, Raziel is brought back to life by the gods with a task they want him to complete: kill Kain.
Thus begins your adventure.
This third person platformer is an amazing adventure through two worlds: the land of the living and of the dead, each with their on dangers, and at the end of each level lies a vampiric boss that has also been transformed.
The graphics seem pretty advanced for their time, the smoothness of objects lends to the game pretty well. The areas, though fogged in the distance, are varied and never just walking through a gray cave.
The voiceacting is superb and the actors put emotion into their words. No cookie-cutter blandness here.
If you can ever find a copy of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (not to be confused with Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain) it's a definite buy. They just don't make'em like this anymore.

With little to say about this game, Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear on the Dreamcast is... meh. The graphics are nothing to be impressed by, the voiceacting is there, the environments are impressive for back then, and the gameplay is hard. This is no run-and-gun one-man-army shooter. It's tactical in the sense that when the enemies see you they do not hesitate to aim for the head. One main problem lies in the controls, they take a while to get used to. Since there is no strafing, there is no easy way to dodge bullets.
This is one of my least-played in my Dreamcast collection.

If you don't know this game by now you should be ashamed of yourself.
Take all the real-world physics that you know and toss them out the window. A true arcade racer, the only enemy you have is the time limit. Race as fast as you can to get to the next checkpoint, rack up those extra seconds, and splatter some mud on the windshield of the car you're about to pass.
With a true sense of speed, mud splatters when you drive through it, water splashes, dust rises, sparks fly, and your car never gets damaged. Just like in Dave Mirra: there is no reward for second place.
This is one of the definitive Dreamcast games. Any collection wouldn't be complete without it.

ANOTHER arcade classic brought home by the Dreamcast, it's a perfect recreation of the original, with a large exception: since there is no gun attachment, you stay zoomed in all the time. You zoom out by holding down the left trigger. Firing is done with either the A button or the right trigger. Movement is done by the analog stick. It might not be as fast as aiming the gun in the arcade, but the movement speed of the crosshair can be changed in the menus.
Aside from a training mode, its the same as you would find in the arcade. The branching story paths are there, the same bosses, the same patterns. It might not seem appealing, but its better than having the actual arcade cabinet take up space in your room. Another definitive title of the Dreamcast.

Do I have to say anything about this? Well I think I should.
*FANBOYS!* I was a HUGE fan of Sonic when he first premiered, you have to consider that, before you read this, it is an opinion. It is biased. It is what I think. You can love this new Sonic all you want. I don't.

Sonic's transition to full 3D could have gone better. With controls that are too sensitive and wonky, levels that are lacking (and some that just seem like they were halfway completed), camera controls that are maddening, voiceacting that is phoned in, characters that shouldn't exist (I'm looking dead at you Rose and Big), and the useless Chao mini-game, Sonic Adventure is where the image of the blue blur with attitude was dragged through the new millennium mud.
Is it a bad game? Somehow no. But you can't ignore the stack of minor inconveniences that drag it down.

While getting the above image from Gamespot, one number jumps out at me directly: 10.
A perfect 10. A lot can be said for this game and yet I'm at a loss of words. Not only is it a perfect recreation of the arcade fighter, but it packs in a ton of extras such as an adventure mode, survival mode, galleries, and unlockable weapons and characters.
The graphics are crisp, bright, vibrant, and smooth. They run at a steady pace and are mind-blowing compared to the 3D fighters of the time.
This is the true definition of an arcade game. The tale of souls and swords eternally retold does not begin however. Soul Blade made its debut on the PS1 in 1995, and even then it was a technical marvel. Soul Calibur on the Dreamcast is just another reason why Namco is my favorite game company today.

I'm not quite sure what crowd this game is aimed towards. Any rednecks (I'm from Georgia, I can say it) that might have bought this game would have been very disappointed, as would have anyone else.
Controls that are sloppy, gameplay that isn't fun, race courses that are a pain to navigate through, and voiceacting with people that sounded like they were hired with the promise of payment of a new banjo or mud tires... its just not a good game at all.
Just by the cover you would think that this is an arena-racing game or open environment, Dakar-style rush to the end of the track. That's a great deception isn't it? Although its not quite Cover Art Fail material, I for one was disappointed when I first played it.

The Hawkman makes a jump to the Dreamcast. An arcade-style game on a console made for arcade games. What more could you ask for?
Although this game is a simple copy-and-paste job, its still the Pro Skater we all know and love. I can't say much about it. What I can say is that the original screenshots I had seen of it a long time ago made the game looking amazing, almost like a new entry. Instead we get the same game as all the other platforms.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 on the Sega Dreamcast is my favorite game of all time. Top favorite. Number 1. I have written in length about this game in other blogs. I can't keep re-writing the same things.
Take the Playstation 1 version, add in a few graphical effects such as: t-shirts blowing in the wind, greater anti-aliasing, better graphics and cleaner sound, a better fogging distance, and you get Pro Skater 2 on the Dreamcast. Its just the best version presented.

Forget all the skills you know about the current UFC games. Can you press a button? Then you can win Ultimate Fighting Championship. The roster of MMA stars is vast, and with the ability to create your own fighter it can be bigger. The main problems lie in that each match can last as little as 30 seconds, and that if your opponent gets in the dominant position, ground and pound, strangle hold, etc. then you're done for. There is no getting out of it, no fighting back. Instant submission. Game over.

Every time I think Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense, that theme song comes into my head. A strict copy-and-paste job of the PS1 version, there's nothing new to this game. I'm not even sure this game has the ability to unlock the levels from the first game, it can be done by swapping out the disc with the original V8 on the PS1 version, but with the Dreamcast, opening the disc lid takes you to the console menu.
Graphics are clean, audio is clear, controls are the same. Its on par with the PS1 version.

Its baseball, just not very good baseball. With convoluted controls, graphics that "just get the job done," and menu music that gives you a nervous twitch if you listen to it for too long, its the same as every other baseball game in existence. Maybe that explains why I got it for $1.

And that's about it. That's all the Dreamcast games in my collection. It's a short stack but they warrant their own CD holder. I would buy more, and I do plan on buying more, but with increasing rarity and price points that are a bit too high for old games, its hard for me to do. Soul Calibur alone cost me $15 and I bought that immediately. It came with no manual but it did have the back cover.
I'm the type of collector that prefers to have get everything with the game. I know I need to get over that otherwise Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation will be lost to me. There are two copies at the Play N Trade store that I bought my Dreamcast games from as well as others. If I don't buy them, someone else will.
Back in middle school, my friend and I used to bash the Dreamcast every day. It wasn't until I was able to buy one a few years ago that I realized just how wrong I was. The Dreamcast is an amazing console and it ended too shortly. There are still quite a few homebrew companies out there that are still making games for it.
I still need to download Half-Life for the Dreamcast. Getting the cdi image is the pain for me.
So how was that for a short notice blog? Took me two hours to write but that's fine by me. Its my contribution to the Dreamcast community and a small insight to my collection. Now if you'll excuse me, Silent Scope isn't going into demo mode with me just sitting here.

Keep Playing.

A Second Look @ Enthusia Professional Racing.

(All images are from Gamespot.com. YouTube video is not mine either.)

Enthusia Professional Racing, made in-house by Konami, attempts to blend arcade and simulation racing. It does this rather well by keeping the arcade aspect in the menus while the racing is fully simulation (minus vehicular damage).

This wouldn't be such a bad thing if it weren't for the fact that the player may spend the bulk of their time in the menus trying to figure out the probability system in their favor.

As the game is first started, you're treated to a walkthrough of the menus. Skipping this may be a bad idea as it teaches the player about the probability system, which the game seemingly runs on. It's all about whether or not the player's car has a chance of winning the race, and this is explained during the walkthrough. Don't let these words fool you though; you can still win a race at a harder difficulty but only by roughing up the other cars and driving harshly.

It's an ambitious title that strives to show off what it does. Ambition doesn't cut it as the game is littered with problems that are hard to overlook and limit the overall enjoyment.

One problem lies in the fact that each race is only a few laps, you may find yourself participating in the small-fish races that can give you the odds in your favor. There is no limit to this and its a smart way to upgrade your vehicle to tackle the harder races and improve your odds. If you're feeling daring you don't have to stick to the easy stuff, you're welcome to try the harder races in order to acquire better cars.

This presents a few more problems: Before the start of the start race you can place a “bet” on which car you think will win. This has no bearing on the outcome, leveling up, etc. and is generally useless in the game.

At the end of the race a raffle is presented wherein the cars that participated in the race are displayed and a single one is highlighted. The player presses a button and probability takes effect again as to whether or not the player acquires a new car. This is THE ONLY way to get new cars since there is no purchase system. Konami lost the point with this game when more focus was put on the probability system and Enthu points rather than the gameplay.

The Enthu Points present another problem: Enthu Point are points you get for racing; they deplete with each scrape, each time you go off the road, or each time you hit another car (or when another car hits you). Other than that they exist to gauge nothing. The points refill with each successful win or when you take an in-game week off from racing. If the total points reach zero, it will force you to take a week off. Your Driver level determines how many points you regain during this process.

No matter how many Enthu Points you acquire, one bump or slide off the road will take away the same amount of EP, forcing the player to pay more attention to their driving. This is the question that begs to be addressed when concerning the Enthu Points: if the same amount of EP is taken away for each mistake, why have it so the total number of EP raises with each level? To put it another way: if you have 100 Enthu Points, bumping another car might take away 10 points. Meanwhile if you have 1500 points, bumping a car seems like 150 points are taken away. No matter how many Enthu Points the player has garnered, it seems they're penalized for the same percentage for each mistake.

The Free Ride mode is limited to what you have unlocked so far, meaning new tracks and cars are pretty much off limits unless you work to win them.

There is another mode called Driving Revolution which is a take on Konami's Dance Dance Revolution series. The player is given a preselected car and tasked with driving down a three-lane highway, passing through certain marker gates along the way while trying to make the best time. It's a mixture of skill and little bit of luck (bringing in the probability system again).

The racing is, for the most part, straightforward with the physics and speed being as closely accurate to the real world as Konami can muster. Each car handles, accelerates, and brakes differently from each other. The upgrade system has a small but noticeable effect on the cars.

The tracks consist of real world and original designs, each one requiring a different way to master driving through. It's not tough since the course map provides the player with enough warning of which corner is coming up, its up to them to remember when to brake and accelerate.

There is no damage and, seeing as how there is no monetary system involved, this is a good idea. Since the computer AI is anything but intelligent, you'll have to deal with them bumping into you in their attempts to drive the correct line. The AI is lifeless in that it doesn't fight back, its programmed to just go, to never make a mistake, to accelerate and brake perfectly, to recover from when the player cheaply runs it off the road and continue along as though nothing has happened.
There are two camera views: a close chase camera and a bumper cam with a rearview mirror. The bumper cam is the only way to see what's behind you since there is no button to look back.
Also, you may want to make sure you take a drive properly as there is no restart, only retiring. Doing so forfeits any Enthu points recovery and the chance to unlock a new car.

Enthusia shows off its potential in the graphics department by featuring some of the best graphics seen in a racing game on the PS2, potentially rivaling Gran Turismo 4. There are rarely any jagged edges on the environments, which are unique in their own rights, and the cars are smoothly designed. The game feels to run at a steady 30+ fps (I could be very wrong in that description) even with several cars all going full speed. The car models shown in the menus aren't the same during gameplay, however, but its hard to take notice of the other cars when your main focus is directed towards the driving.
Cars gather no dirt on the off-road courses, similarly the dust isn't kicked up behind you. During the wet courses the rain runs down the screen and back up when speeding. The reflections on car windows are dulled down to pixelated blocks but the reflections on the cars themselves are nice. Lighting during the night levels is nice, but nothing to get excited over. The ground reflects the light during wet night levels.

The soundtrack has an interesting mix of songs, the menu music is piano-techno mix, something of the arcade variety. The in-game soundtrack mixes it up quite a bit with songs mixing techno with rock guitars, its tolerable but best taken in small doses.
The car's engines seem to drone, increasing in pitch when accelerating and decreasing when revving down. Sadly, it's just unnoticeable.
What may be noticeable is that there are no crowd noises. The game feels lifeless and because of this you get a sense of loneliness. No one's cheering you on because no one cares.

FINAL LAP:

In the end, Konami took a bold step in an attempt to blend arcade and sim. It was, however, a misstep. In essence it can be seen as a game you would play in an arcade with a sim racing engine, it just can't make up its mind to figure out which side of the fence it wants to reside on.

If a sequel is ever put into production, Konami should learn from they're mistakes and rid the game of the Enthu points, complicated menus, probability system and focus more on the driving.

The game is littered with problems, sure, but it's not a bad game. The roster of cars is a strong one, the racing is accurate and fun, and the probability system is tolerable, even ignorable.

Konami attempted to make a community behind the Enthusia brand name with a website, which is no longer active, that was meant to be a community hub for Enthusia players which held events, contests, leaderboards and other news. It was just mediocre when compared to other racing games of the time (Gran Turismo 4, Forza Motorsport, even R: Racing Evolution) which had more reason and depth to them.

Even with the game being as old as it is, it would make a perfect addition to the Sim Racing Aficionado's collection. All others would be better off sticking with the more AAA titles.

Keep Playing.

Nerdcore and other video game-inspired music. Enjoy!

E3, Microsoft and YOU

On Monday morning, the level of stupidity on the internet rose to epic proportions as scores of mindless fanboys rose up in anger with pitchforks and torches and demanded the death of the heads and developers of Microsoft.
Turning on their once beloved console, these fanboys forgot about the years of entertainment that the Xbox 360 had given them.
Alas, they wanted more. Rather than letting Microsoft broaden the scope of the Xbox 360, these fanboys insisted that they receive more mindless destruction video games, scantily-clad women, short storylines and bad voice acting.

What they seem to forget is that Kinect is aimed towards the casual audience.
I KNOW!
How DARE Microsoft attempt to turn a video game console into a casual machine! They shouldn't make money from it that way! They should keep charging $60 for a game that players will forget in less than a month!

Kinectimals featured a little girl playing with a tiger, and the fanboys demanded blood. What they forgot at that precise moment was that Kinectimals was made for little kids.
They saw Kinect Adventures and proceeded to tear out their own eyes. They also forgot that this game, no matter how unimportant it seemed, was meant for the casual gamers as well. If someone invites their friends over for a movie and says "Let's play some games first," they can all JUMP IN (Xbox 360's motto) and play together.
They saw Kinect Joyride and demanded a human sacrifice. Nevermind the fact that it's a kart racer and that it was already announced to be supported by the Kinect.
The fanboys saw the fitness program and it made them sweat. I guarantee that half of them are actually obese gamers and hate the thought of exercising.

I am one, I know I need to exercise. That's why I'll be buying the Kinect. At least it will separate me from you mindless baboons that demand to see explosions and hear 12-year-olds, frat boys and potheads curse you out for fragging them.
Want to know why gamers get such a bad rep? It's all of you that get in an uproar when you see something you don't like.
"Hardcore" gamers are some of the whiniest child-like people I have ever come across. If something isn't up to their standards, which are very low in this case, they voice their opinions thinking it will change the minds of the developers.

They simply REFUSE to step back and take a look at the potential that the Kinect offers. Most of them have been stuck inside their rooms for so many years that the main social interaction they've received is through a headset and party chat.
What if they could ACTUALLY see what their friends look like for a change? What if gaming could be something more social than a headset?
You fanboys are stuck in a rut and you don't want to come out of it.

Because Bulletstorm, Gears of War 3, Halo Reach, Metal Gear Rising, Assassins Creed: Brotherhood, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, Medal of Honor, Fable 3, Rock Band 3, Dead Rising 2, Red Faction: Armageddon, Portal 2, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, Crysis 2, a new Duke Nukem, Fallout: Vegas, Brink, Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit, Rage, and all these other games aren't enough for you....

You want more and you don't want to give the casual audience any leeway. You don't want Microsoft to try out new technology.

You all make me want to quit gaming.