New Comic Thursday

It's Thursday again, and we have a couple new comics from the community. Thanks to thecosmicfly and GreyFoxVinzin for submitting these.

Takes it to the Streets - (GreyFoxVinzin)

Brad + XBLA = <3 - (thecosmicfly)

Thanks,
David

Star Wars: Impressions Unleashed

The free demo of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was released on the Xbox 360 today to give players a chance to test the waters and see if they felt like shelling out $60 for the game. While I normally don't play through demos because I like to be completely surprised by a games content, I thought it would help me save $60 in case the game sucks. As we all know, this Fall is a clusterf**k of great games and any oppurtunity to save some money would help. Unfortunately for my wallet, the game is impressive and definitely worth the purchase. That's not to say that the game is perfect because it definitely has some flaws but for the most part, this game seems like it will definitely live up to it's hype.

I'll start with the look and feel of the game because for a universe as big and as important as Star Wars, capturing the atmosphere is incredibly important. The demo itself follows the secret apprentice as he tracks down a Jedi Master through a large Tie Fighter plant. Everything from the story's presentation, the music, and events going on around you really do one of the best jobs of drawing the player into the Star Wars universe that I have ever witnessed. This really feels like playing through the next legitimate Star Wars movie. Hopefully the game will maintain this quality throughout the entire game rather than fall apart near the end like many games tend to do. As far as looks go, the game is gorgeous and packs an impressive amount of detail into the environments. This is definitely Star Wars and there is no doubt about it. With the exception of the explosion animations, everything looks crisp and clean. Maybe they will fix the fire animation before the game hits in September. Those of you who kept up with the game know that it uses the Euphoria Engine to realistically animate character movement and object interaction. If you played GTA4 then you know the implications of this and I can assure you that it works just as well here.

The game plays smoothly with very little complication in terms of the control. Force grip can be used by holding the right trigger wile the remaining force powers are assigned to each of the face buttons. The only awkward control was the force throw because it requires you to aim the left analog stick in the direction you want to throw and then release the right trigger which takes a little coordination but is relatively quick to get the hang of. The cool thing is that even if you mess up an attack, chances are that you will still do something cool. Combat is fun but I really can't comment on it too much because you don't have access to all the upgrades throughout the demo. I see where combat might suffer from the same problems that Assassin's Creed fell victim to because the game will likely not include a large variety of gameplay scenarios. While this may hold true, I doubt the game will ever become so repetitive that it becomes outright boring.

The demo ended with a boss fight against an AT-ST (two legged walker for all the non nerds) that showcased some fun combat but once again, not a whole lot of variety in attack combinations. The fight reminded me a lot of God of War because once the boss's life bar is depleted, the fight wont end until you successfully pull of a Quick Time Event (QTE). Some may hate this but I tend to enjoy the events as long as the entire fight is not one big QTE. Overall, the demo was impressive and I can't wait revisit the Star Wars Universe and see where the story goes from here. The game will hit store shelves on Sept. 16 here in North America and will be followed a few days later in Asia and Europe.

-Nick

My contest was a failure. Now for the... PUNISHMENT!!!

So here is a link to the contest. The goal was to design a Soul Calibur 4 character for me in CAS mode using the picture I posted.

Honestly people had a hard time coming up with a top that is similar to the one in the picture, but I felt Keyweez ended up with really the best option. The funny thing is that this was the top I had for her previously. Asher came in a close second though as I feel his coloring was the best. Special note to Foolishmofo for the wicked armored Chris which I will be using for my alternate outfit.

So I contacted Keyweez and he gave me a list of games he wanted me to play through live on the feed. He had some really good choices, some of which I will end up playing later, but I made my choice. Yep:

I've seen videos of this game and its executions. It is really really fucked up. So you sick fucks should love it. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA


Thanks to all who participated in this quickly made contest. We had many entries so expect more like this one in the near future.

Brad

We love our mods. And so do the chatters.

(CLICK TO ENLARGE)




Thanks SatuMitsumi and Hafjaw.


Brad

The Future of the PSP

We're not in Japan. We're not in the land of Monster Hunter. And because of this, the future of the PSP in America is shaky. There's a recently announced new PSP-3000 with improved screen for use outdoors, but people have got to want to play it outdoors in the first place. I've also heard that the LCD response time is twice as fast, whatever that means. I do understand this is an upgrade for a machine that seems quite unnecessary. The system ran fine before and better with the PSP-2000 upgrade. More important of a factor, there's about 2/3rds less games available to the consumer when compared to the competing portable and Sony feels that reintroducing another model will turn the tables. I'm sorry but I think it's time to call it quits here if that's all they have. The PSP put up a good fight here in America. But like I said in the beginning, we're not Japan. Maybe there's not a market here. Or worse, Sony didn't know who to target.

The PSP was an attempt at grabbing the gaming population. It wasn't marketed towards kids. It didn't have the sugar coated franchise to help it move systems. They had games created for people who played games. But in a time where motion controls and casual mini-games rule, Maybe there's there no place for the people who just want to play games?

Sony could pull it off. They could out of the blue announce triple A titles that would span across every genre, get every game player excited again, and then turn the sinking ship around. But that's not going to happen. Developers have lost faith in the system. I know this company said this, and Capcom said that. But that's what always happens. It happened with the GameCube and it happened with HD-DVD. But people/companies will always put up a front to avoid showing weakness, and that's when you know they're in trouble.

Here's a thought though. Make the PSP-3000 cheap. $149.99 won't do it. Make it less than the DS. Make it $99.99 MSRP. You've been pushed back to the edge of your territories. Make one last stand. The Christmas season is coming up. The opportunity is there. Get the system in people's hands. Then come the games.

Hell, at 100 bucks I'll buy another one,
David

Very Excited but Also Very Tired...

In case you missed it, this new gameplay video for Mirror's Edge hit the net today and watching it makes me incredibly excited about the game. Of course, it also makes me very... very.. tired. Check it out:



-Nick

Hooray for Split-Screen.... Oh wait...

I live in a Dorm, Why use internet for co-op games when i could play on my larger than LIFE... 27 inch television in split screen or shared screen?

I of course am frustrated with Too Human which i picked up earlier today. Very interesting game. The fighting system, while lacking in much complexity is still fun to look at and you can do some interesting things. Such as juggle, use firearms, and of course equip whatever the hell you want. The graphics are glitchy, but I am not Nick. They are shiny enough for me so i deal with it.
Story line i could care less about, I am playing a god, what story line could there possibly be?


"A god by he name of Baldur, not to be confused by the gate, goes around and kicks ass until he dies.... which is odd because he is a god. But none the less he kicks some serious ass."
That is the story line that i have see so far, and i am sticking with it.

Only problem? Co-op is nowhere to be found unless you have xbox live. which i really don't right now. So who am i going to play with? myself? PSH!!! thats hard enough to do with a hall full of guys.... This game is definetly on my to-do list... but i need a little community to enjoy it. So until that is possible for me, i guess once again, I'm going to stick with World of Warcraft.... Which i did pick up again... whoops.

Another game i've picked up recently is Team Fortress 2 for the PC. I get all Valve games for free, and since i got a brand new gaming laptop which will last a year before i need a new one, i decided to try out the "real" team fortress.
Damn guys, you were all right!!! It is pretty sweet. And honestly i think the only reason i say that is because of A: dedicated server, and B: upgrade system which i fully enjoy.
Let me explain this puppy to you. If you have ever played a battlefield game for the pc (not the newest for consoles) then its kind of the same deal. The more you use a certain class, you get more "points". Though i'm not entierly sure how to look at these points... im aware that if i play long enough i get STUFF!!! which is always enjoyable and is why i get hooked to games like World of Warcraft.
Speaking of Steam, we have a tiny community on there. the 4 player podcast Group that is. Check it out!!

Till later,
Travis

Intelligent Systems = Fuck Ups

I mean, it is fair to call someone a "fuck up" if they continually fuck up. Right?

Intelligent Systems is one of Nintendo's best first party subsidiaries. This developer is also one of my all time favorite game companies. They are responsible for some of my all time favorites like Advance Wars and Panel de Pon(Puzzle League/Tetris Attack), and other great franchises such as WarioWare and Paper Mario. They even had a hand in making the great Super Metroid.

So yeah, the "fucking up" part. Well, Intelligent Systems also develops another one of my all time franchises, Fire Emblem. This strategy/rpg series has had history since the NES, but in the US they have only released 2 GBA games, 1 Gamecube game, and 1 Wii game. I beat the first three entries, but never touched the Wii game. I imagine I'll get around to it eventually, but I'm in no rush. After all, it is just more of the same. While this isn't always a bad thing.... it is in this case.

So here is the basic info. They are making a new Fire Emblem game for the NDS. "New" only in the sense that the game will be coming out this fall, because the game is actually a remake of the very first Fire Emblem on the NES.

Here is where they are fucking up:
1. This series should never have been brought back to consoles, as Fire Emblem is a perfect fit on handhelds. The console adds nothing to this game but 3d graphics. And they are absolute shit. The graphics were clunky and rigid 3d models; and their animations looked awful. I swear I think the GBA look better. The only graphical effort they put into these console iterations are in the games' very few cutscenes. Like I could seriously give a fuck about cutscenes...

2. The new Fire Emblem on DS should not be a remake. The franchise needs to continue on the NDS, but this is a sign that the main series will stay on consoles.

3. The new Fire Emblem remake looks like shit. Complete shit. They actually decided to use shitty 3d models instead of beautifully animated sprites. This is what made the latest Advance Wars looks like shit, and they are doing it again.

Here is what I'm talking about in these videos. The top clip is footage from the GBA Fire Emblem. Over 5 years ago on a weaker system. You don't need to watch the whole video, as it is just a compilation of the attacks from the GBA games. The point is to take note of the badass animation. The second video is of the new Fire Emblem releasing later this year on a more powerful system. And it looks like dick.





Am I the only one who sees this?


Stop fucking up I.S.,

Brad

New Mad World Trailer

Mad World is a new Wii game being developed by Platinum Games and published by Sega. If you remember the company that worked on Viewtiful Joe, Okami, and God Hand this is basically the group left over from Clover Studios destruction. Being one of those people who loves Japanese weirdness, I thought this would be right up my alley.

First thing I can't get over is the color. Most of you should be able to tell, There is none! I want a beautiful game with rich vibrant colors. That's my biggest worry with this title. Black and White is an interesting take but if this is it work the entire game, I see myself running into a lot of headaches.

Thanks,
David

So instead of a time mechanic.... we get a double jump? Meh

So I took another look at the actual gameplay of the new Prince of Persia game, and there are aspects of this game that are beginning to bother me.

1. This woman partner isn't filling the time mechanic void. The time mechanic was what pushed the 3d Prince of Persia games from a decent series to a really good one. She appears to be nothing more than a glorified double jump.

2. Those orange leap pads look lame as hell. I understand that they are probably in their to add a sense of scale to the environments, it's just thats the "automatic" nature of them just seems very 3d Sonic. And yes, that is a bad thing.

3. The voice of the main character, much like in Assassins Creed, is fucking terrible. A prince of Persia shouldn't sound like... some dude I work with.

4. I want to be able to see my life bar. This is an action game; and if I see the enemies life bar, there is no reason I shouldn't see mine.

5. The "Save Me System" might remove all sense of urgency or danger. At least with the time mechanic you had a limit to its uses. I'm worried this game may be to easy and end too quickly because of this "system".


Just some honest worries I have going forward. They keep re-showing this gameplay portion, so there isn't much else to go on yet. I still love the art style and I'm sure the environmental navigation will be great, but I can't be all 100% hype all the time.


Brad