GemuBaka

Dreamcast Review: Confidential Mission

2011-02-27T12:08:00.000-08:00

Arguably seen as the last console to give light guns a chance, the Dreamcast had its share of rail shooting titles that made use of the various console pistols that were available for it. A lot of these favors were due to the fact SEGA was riding on the final waves it had made in the ‘90s with Virtua Cop and The House of the Dead before the genre took a short fizzle while the world became enamored with first person shooters. For a time it seemed every other arcade effort from SEGA was a light gun rail shooter that used one of the two aforementioned games as a foundation and luckily for Dreamcast owners, a good chunk of these titles made it to the white-box underdog. Among the last batch of black-labeled releases SEGA pitched out to the system is perhaps the most obscure title to bank off the long-running Virtua Cop series – Confidential Mission. Dropping the goody-goody law enforcement gimmick for a sauve, hi-tech spy shtick, Confidential Mission strays from the path a bit, offering a shred of innovation that would make its way into other SEGA shooters even if, when you boil it down, players are basically still playing Virtua Cop.

As a SEGA shooter, Confidential Mission follows all of the same clichés and practically a carbon copy setup as any other game it has ever produced in the genre since Virtua Cop. We have a male and female character, which allows up to two players to blast and reload, all the while protecting the innocent as they track down bosses over three stages: Seriously, that describes nearly every light gun game SEGA has made since 1994, with most even falling in under the three stage department. Confidential Mission introduces yet another SEGA three-letter acronymed organization in the Confidential Mission Force (CMF), with players assuming the roles of Howard Gibson, the most blatant imitation of James Bond ever, and the deadly Jean Clifford. The duo’s latest mission has them tracking down a man known as Agares, who has hijacked a satellite that can nuke any global coordinate he chooses … sounds a bit like a certain movie from 1995 starring Pierce Brosnan that was later made into a legendary first-person shooter …

Typically for a SEGA arcade shooter, the story is just “there” and is never really explained in detail. The beginning of the game spells out the aforementioned scenario and players are immediately dropped into the first stage museum level to find information on Agares’ plans and whereabouts. The rest of the story is thrown out in bite-sized cutscenes that hardly flesh out any characters or plot and are filled with painfully cheesy one-liners.

Unlike many of the other arcade-to-home transfers, however, Confidential Mission actually gives players a lot to do, even if it is crammed into the confines of three arcade levels. Obviously, players can tackle the straight-up arcade port of the title, but two players can also test their trigger fingers with a partner mode, which paints enemies red or blue – only player one can kill red enemies while the blue enemies have to be downed by player two. Even though the mode may seem mild, it is a true test of teamwork and serves up a good challenge to players that think they have the game down. A single player can also visit the Agent Academy, which is filled with quick challenges that pit players against the clock. The mode throws out a variety of tasks that involve justice shots, protecting civilians, shooting in patterns and more. If players can clear out 18 challenges, a much-more challenging “another world” mode opens, which remixes the positioning of the arcade mode elements, while adding in more enemies and civilians at random positions and even adding in a few more scenes exclusive to the mode. On top of that, clearing out the remixed mode adds super-difficult challenges to the academy and dedicated players will unlock various other features such as the ability to disable all HUD information and toggling other game settings. Compared to other rail shooters by SEGA, the new modes actually change up the gameplay experience and while the offerings don’t jam the disc full of content, there is a deceptive amount of items to toy with here given the genre and ported-over origin of the title.

Visually, Confidential Mission is nothing to write home about; the graphics do their job, but nothing more to wow the player. While the title brings the arcade straight into the home, looking at other titles in the Dreamcast library, it’s easy to see the system isn’t being put to its full use with Confidential Mission. The environments measure up well for the most part, with notable segments such as the museum’s evolution and Egyptian exhibits, but the characters are just an eyesore to look at, most specifically when you can see their face. The faces remind me of the static slapped-on scans of the Nintendo 64 era and the fact that there is no animation for the characters’ faces when they talk just looks petty when even a game like Ready 2 Rumble could muster up some respectable facial animation. Most of the characters’ movement animations look off as well, most notably whenever one dives, rolls or jumps – it comes off as slow and floaty like they are fresh off the original Virtua Fighter roster (well, okay, it’s not quite that bad). Nearly everything in Confidential Mission looks awkward and fails to utilize the Dreamcast’s power, but given SEGA’s rail shooter track record, the graphics in these games have done little to evolve since the ‘90s. You do get a few slightly impressive rendered scenes and everything does its job, but when a player views an in-game object up close, it’s a potentially cringe-inducing experience that will remind some of their Nintendo 64 days.

As generic as Confidential Mission’s audio is, I would have to say the title has what I would consider among the best sound offered a home SEGA light gun shooter up to its release. That’s not really saying the sound is superb, but I’ll take a mediocre performance over wishing I didn’t have eardrums any day. When you talk about sound in a SEGA game, the biggest bull’s eye to shoot negativity at is always the voice acting, but Confidential Mission nails a solid performance in a handful of areas. Unfortunately for anyone, one of these areas wasn’t the main characters as they feature the most uninspired, wooden performances that lack proper timing since The House of the Dead 2. What actually steals the show in this title are the vocals of the first boss and Agares, which is not to say they qualify for an award, but finding respectable voice acting in a SEGA arcade game is like finding a needle in a mountain of hay. You also get some quality civilian screaming and baddie death grunts along with the constant barrage of your firearm firing and reloading. A lot of the music sounds like it would have been better placed in Virtua Cop, with its funky movie detective/cop-type feel, but it is still easy on the ears even though it commonly gets lost in the action. Unfortunately, just like its graphics, Confidential Mission’s sound is about as average as it gets, leaving players knowing their Dreamcast is capable of much more.

Thankfully, though, this is where things start to get better for Confidential Mission – in short bursts, it’s just plain fun to play. The title makes no effort to hide its Virtua Cop origins, as Confidential Mission features pop-out enemies that target the player with a reticule that blends from green to red as they lock on and prepare to pull the trigger. Similar to just about any game ever released in the genre, players remedy these villains by aiming and firing and reloading when necessary. To enjoy the game properly, players will have to invest in a light gun, but players can also man a standard controller or even the Dreamcast mouse. While the light gun gives the player the most freedom of movement and emulates the aim of the game more appropriately, cursor speed settings still make the use of a controller bearable and, perhaps, button mapping the reload function as opposed to shooting offscreen may make things even easier for the player. Then again, if your light gun has an auto-reload feature, you’ll still get the upper hand there, but the point is, no matter how you control Confidential Mission, there is enough options available to make it playable and through proper calibration, the light gun never fails to please. You fire at the screen to dispatch enemies or off it to reload, so, rest assured, no one will have issues with the controls.

Just like in Virtua Cop, Confidential Mission is measured in its mindless reaction shooting, but, thankfully, there are a handful of additions that elevate the title beyond a mere carbon copy. The most obvious addition is in the quicktime challenges that affect the flow of the level’s gameplay. These challenges often get to show off the spies’ gadgetry to remind us we’re playing a James Bond-esque shooter and offer up a satisfying variety of tasks – players try to use adhesive bullets to plug up a poisonous gas vent, a grappling hook is used to cross buildings and more. While players always end up at the same location, passing or failing these events determines how they get there and, often times, failing results in a bit of an extra fight against more enemies. These events break up the twitch shooting nicely and have proven to be such a welcome addition that SEGA still uses the mechanic in its newest games such as Ghost Squad and Rambo.

Confidential Mission also throws in a bit more item hunting than some of its SEGA-spawned brethren, giving players a lot of incentive to shoot even the things that don’t move. While these points and their resulting rankings were more suited for the arcade’s Internet ranking mode, there are a lot of goodies that can yield extra firepower and health tucked away in the game as well. The title also has two endings to see, depending on your performance at the end, but most of your time is going to be spent in the Dreamcast exclusive modes that really mix the gameplay up a bit. There are some challenging, lofty goals to aim for in order to uncover the game’s extras, but while the replayability hangs up there a bit, this is definitely a title players will tackle one gameplay at a time instead of spending hours on end on the light gun. In that regard, however, a blast through the game’s main mode will only hold a player over for about half an hour, but that makes it perfect for a pick-up-and-play title for one or two players.

The spy skin gives Confidential Mission a bit of a fresh spin even though it is basically a blatant mash of Virtua Cop’s gameplay with 007 Goldeneye’s plot premise, but the sauve attitude and hi-tech gadgetry is what makes the game appealing, moreso than the endless army/zombie/police shooting games in arcades. Even though Confidential Mission does a lot of borrowing, there are some great gameplay moments such as sliding through a tube while fighting off turrets, fighting while undercover as a chef or attendant and blowing away snowmobiles from the top of a moving train. The game is a cliché to end all clichés, but in quick bursts, anyone who enjoys rail shooters won’t regret a bit of time spent with Confidential Mission.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 3 of 5

Confidential Mission is yet another arcade to Dreamcast port that fails to use the power of the system, but, still ultimately delivers with potential fun and a few genre innovations that have stuck with today’s SEGA shooters. The graphics border on polished 64-bit quality and the sound is forgettable even if its decent by SEGA rail shooter standards, but the gameplay gives players a quick burst of pure arcade goodness and the Dreamcast exclusive modes will give players a reason to come back every now and again. By no means is Confidential Mission among the greatest titles on the Dreamcast, but along with The House of the Dead 2, arcade fans will have enough on their hands to get nostalgic over a time when games came to the console from arcades instead of the other way around.

Xbox 360 Review: Raiden IV

2011-02-24T12:08:00.000-08:00

I’ve already disclosed my relationship with the Raiden shooter series in our preview of Raiden IV. After 10 years of silence between my treasured longbox The Raiden Project and Raiden III, the industry has been rather kind to the shmup genre as of late. While Gradius and Salamander are what pulled me into the shmup scene when I was younger, I would have to say Raiden is what hooked me on the genre after I was exposed to its attention to detail, memorable music and satisfying challenge. However, a lot has changed since 1990, as we move from pumping quarters into a stand-up cabinet to spinning a disc around in our Xbox 360s. After nearly 20 years does Raiden still have the punch needed to keep it at the top of the genre? Thankfully, yes, it does, but its means of achieving this definitely isn’t suitable for everyone.

Oddly, Raiden IV has no story to speak of. The instruction booklet fails to humor us with the typical alien war scenario that banks on the might of a single ship to take down an entire enemy armada, but given how cliché and drab this has become, perhaps it serves as a sign that UFO Interactive understands that fans of this genre know what the game is about coming in to the experience. I’ll take a stab at crafting the scenario, though, and state that players once again man the Raiden series of ships, the Fighting Thunder ME-2, in order to fight off an alien menace to Earth – a red crystal being launched into space in order to power up an ultimate weapon of destruction in space. The stages do transition about halfway through to showcase the entry of an enemy base, the launching of a craft into space and players tracking down the parts of the craft, so if you look hard enough, there is some semblance of a story, but most players aren’t going to dig that deep beyond the sparse CGI videos that attempt to convey a plot.

On that note, recently, I came across a situation where it took me a couple of days of sending messages back and forth on a community site to explain to someone that the Seibu-originated Raiden series had nothing to do with Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid series, so maybe I do have to step back for a second and explain this whole ordeal. The original premise of the series put forth a storyline taking place in the year 2090 where a ruthless alien race has targeted Earth. After putting up a desperate fight, humankind is able to salvage a destroyed alien craft and replicate its technology to create the Raiden Supersonic Attack Fighter.

Strangely, through five games in the main series (the third game in the series was an upgraded Raiden DX if you’re wondering “what’s up” with my counting), this is the only one that even attempts to tell a story, which is a disappointment when compared to an Xbox 360 shooter such as Cave’s excellent, Japanese-only Death Smiles, but I’ll make up for it with historical context. Raiden in Japanese literally equates to, “thunder and lightning” or a, “thunderbolt;” a fitting name attributed to a god of those two elements in Japanese mythology. During World War II, the Imperial Japanese Navy manufactured Mitsubishi J2M Raiden fighter plane (for your bonus Metal Gear Solid tidbit, Allied soldiers referred to these planes with the codename “Jack,” which is Raiden’s real name in the MGS series), after which the Raiden Supersonic Attack Fighter is presumably modeled after, albeit in modernized form.

Now that you no longer have an excuse to be unfamiliar with the Raiden shooter series, let’s break down the game’s contents. It is to be expected that many players will assume that Raiden IV, being a port of an arcade title, will be nothing more than a bare-bones transition of the five-stage original game. Thankfully, this is not the case, but when you boil it down, these features are par for the course with any home shooter port: You’ll find an arcade-perfect mode, an original mode, a boss rush and score attack. On top of this, however, you’ll find a few unique features in the online ranking mode and the dual control mode that puts the control of two ships into the hands of one player via dual along controls. To be fair, however, the dual mode was introduced in Raiden III and the online ranking mode has the same gameplay as the other modes but it regulates players to default settings and prohibits continues to promote fair competition. Raiden IV does give players a lot to do if they want to experience some variety in the way they play the main course the title offers up, but a lack of online gameplay and originality does take the overall offerings down just a notch.

Once a player dives into these modes, though, instincts will no doubt take over as fans of the series will know what to do and the simple, two-button control scheme is easy enough for anyone, but regardless of your skill or Raiden familiarity, it’s not hard to understand the concept of “don’t die.” As is typical in this genre, that is far easier said than done, but players do have a scope of tools that haven’t changed in large since Raiden II – players can command a wide-spread Vulcan gun, a narrow, but powerful laser and players can choose to have the purple power-up award them a weak, but homing plasma stream and a branching, arching proton stream. These weapons can be powered up and supplemented with bombs as well as missiles that have various guidance and explosion properties. Pretty much everything from Raiden III is carried over with very few tweaks here and there, so there is really nothing too unfamiliar here.

The controls are as tight as one would expect from a game in the genre and, as stated earlier, are simple in nature. However, there are a few factors that deviate from the mindless shooting such as laying off the fire button for a brief time to allow your sub weapon to charge for a double dose of fire that awards the player bonus points and smart players will switch to different main weapons throughout the game as there are clear instances where one weapon is more efficient over the other to promote a little in-game strategy – the spread of the vulcan cannon is great when transitioning to outer space in stage four and the armadas in stage six are easily taken down with the plasma stream, for example. Still, player reflexes will prove most valuable when the screen is littered with enemy fire and with the speed of enemy fire increasing on the later difficulties, it won’t be hard for the player to become overwhelmed and hastily chasing power-ups will most likely find the player reduced to ashes. Luckily Raiden IV has a very robust difficulty set that even features a practice difficulty where the enemy ships don’t even fire, but where is the fun in that? Even the very easy setting will prove to be a challenge for most players, but the solid shooter foundation in Raiden IV will no doubt have them coming back for more every once in a while. For masochists, there is, of course, the ultimate difficulty and there is a decent spread in between, but this doesn’t help the balance progression at all as the enemies will start throwing everything they have at you as soon as the third level.

Watching the top replays, a lot of success in Raiden IV hinges on memorizing the enemy patterns (which differs very slightly in the Xbox 360 mode compared to the arcade mode), which will no doubt keep interested players glued to the game for quite a bit. If the enemies can’t make it on to the screen, they can’t fire at you and this is where the brilliance of the returning flash bonus feature comes in, rewarding players with bonus points for taking out enemies as soon as possible. If a player scores a 5.0x bonus, that means they have destroyed the enemy as soon as it entered the field, letting players know they are in the best position for that given situation. In order to ease the frustration of defeat, dedicated players will be rewarded with extended continues and level selects, so it isn’t unfeasible to clear the game in most cases and it really encourages players to give the modes one more shot. Also, once you get into the genre, it is quite compelling to see how far you can get into the game with just one ship or one credit, so it’s most likely that if you enjoy your first go with the game, you’ll come back for a little more punishment, but it is also easy to say that a good portion of gamers will be too intimidated by the difficulty.

As fun as the game can be, however, Moss did take a few shortcuts with the game, which is most notable in how the progression is set up. The Xbox 360 mode does reward players for their purchase a little by adding in two new stages to the original arcade lineup, but in Ghost ‘N’ Goblins fashion, players will have to tackle the full seven-stage spread twice to reach the true final boss. This comes across as a cheap way to extend the longetivity of the title, but at least during the second playthrough, the bullet speed increases and the bosses get a few minor upgrades to keep players on their toes. Also, with no real story to the game, it becomes hard to care about the small cutscenes that occur after the seventh stage, so even though it won’t bother fans of the genre too much, the game’s progression is a little shaky, acting more like a throwback to retro titles as opposed to taking advantage of what can be done on the Xbox 360. Also, this new installment is pretty much Raiden III with a fresh coat of paint, meaning very little has been done to advance the series, let alone the genre. However, when you boil down the gameplay, Raiden IV does what is expected out of a shmup and anyone who has interest in the genre will no doubt find a satisfying playthrough with the title.

The presentation in the title is serviceable for the Xbox 360, remaining on par with a lot of what has been released on Xbox LIVE Arcade. While the detail isn’t extravagant in the title, it is definitely in the style of Raiden and, as always with the series, there are some key attentions to detail that do pop out on occasion. Most notably is the game’s use of lighting – explosions are glaringly bright, you can see particles flowing in your ship’s laser and the proton/plasma beams spark with electricity – and if you can somehow pay attention to subtle effects, there are different enemy kill animations that range from an outright explosion to their ship shorting out and crashing to the environment below and enemies destroyed over water result in the craft splashing down, especially the stage three boss where the huge craft creates a wake in the water.

The enemy fire doesn’t nearly have this same pop and the orange colored bullets can get lost on a few of the environments (which why a lot of games in this genre are heading toward vivid green or pink bullets), but you do still get a handful of unique spray patterns, such as the rings spewed by the stage six boss. The menus and transition screens are also a bit lively and give players very adequate visuals to carry them from one menu to the next. Also, while some of the enemies and environments do not have great detail, players can view models of each enemy in a gallery mode, which does provide a bit more detail and scale for the player. Perhaps the most glaringly negative aspect of the title is in its few CGI sequences, that get the job done and are perhaps trying to provide an animation, cell-shaded style appearance, but the lack of detail on anything other than the ME-2 and the slightly jerky animation make these entirely skippable.

Going on to more positives, though, Raiden IV features some quality sounds, which I would wholly expect from the title as the music and sound was one of the aspects that originally engrossed me into the series. While the music is nothing revolutionary, maybe intending to reflect the style of music common to classic shooters, it pushes the action along with some catchy melodies, with a portion of the tunes actually being remixes of classic Raiden themes. These will probably go over the heads of most players, but I just can’t be mad at the game over screen with that recognizable jingle ringing in my ears. As players mow down enemies, they’ll hear impressive booms from the explosions with the bigger enemies and player bombs providing some really deep, satisfying explosions. Outside of this, players will hear a lot of generic weapons sound effects that are pretty subtle, so it’s possible players will lose track of these effects among the intense action. The explosions and music definitely take center stage audibly, though, so the basic sound effects are no huge loss.

A lot of players will probably question the value of the title as it comes off the heels of Valcon Games’ Raiden Fighters Aces, which packs three full Raiden Fighters releases onto one disc, but you really can’t blame UFO Interactive for what Moss developed in Japan. It is clear that UFO has stepped in as a service to fans of Raiden and the shmup genre in order to provide them with a U.S. version that didn’t cost them a $75 import on top of a nearly $300 import system to play it on. While the average gamer might question the package, it seems UFO has a clear, intended target, and for that audience, Raiden IV is an easy recommendation. The title can be further extended for a paltry buck a piece to play as the series’ trademark Fairy as well as the original MK-II Raiden ship and both have more weapon variation than one might imagine. Sure, it would have been nice to have the extra ships on the disc or have DLC that extended the game with more levels, but the extra ships aren’t necessary to enjoy the game and they are excellent fan service to anyone familiar with the series. There are also some challenging achievements to reach for in the game, which will keep shooter fans striving for perfection in the title, however, it is a bit disappointing that the achievements discourage cooperative play with another person.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 3 of 5

While there are some weak spots that can’t be ignored in Raiden IV, as a shooter, the title excels in all of the areas it should – solid presentation stacked on top of intense and satisfying action. UFO Interactive is clearly catering towards fans of the genre and series with this installment and these gamers will no doubt enjoy their time with the title that now graciously comes at about half the price as the imported version. However, it would have been nice to see the series advance the shooting genre a little more as opposed to merely extending what players found in Raiden III and a few omissions such as online gameplay really prevent the title from being much more than an arcade port. Casual players will no doubt be intimidated by the difficulty balance even with practice and very easy modes and, unfortunately, Moss extends the replayability with a cheap repetition, but, overall, Raiden IV does what any shooter fan will ask of it. People unfamiliar with the series might want to approach with caution, but fans of the series and franchise should be able to pull a good amount of fun out of this sequel.

Dreamcast Review: Rent-A-Hero No. 1 (JPN)

2011-02-19T12:06:00.000-08:00

It’s no secret that when it came to SEGA’s systems, the U.S. got boned on a ton of the company’s obscure and unique game titles. One of the company’s offerings that has a solid fanbase was the Rent A Hero franchise. It even, made an appearance in the wacky Fighters MegaMix for the Sega Saturn, but unlike the never-before-seen instances in a game such as Super Smash Bros., no attempt is ever made to explain Rent A Hero or garner fan interest in the series. Aside from guest appearances in character (Fighters MegaMix) and spirit (Samba de Amigo), the character did enjoy two full-featured game releases – Rent A Hero on the Megadrive and Rent-A-Hero No. 1 on the SEGA Dreamcast. On top of that, the Japanese Virtual Console has featured the Megadrive version since 2007. Back in 2004, it seemed like the Dreamcast version finally had a shot at a U.S. release via a release handled by Cool, which ported the title to the Japanese Xbox after SEGA collapsed as a hardware developer. It just wasn’t meant to be, though, meaning the only way for players to get their hands on the full Dreamcast title was through the means any red-blooded Dreamcast owner took part in – they imported the Japanese version.

If Rent A Hero was such a great title, wouldn’t more people have played it and wouldn’t SEGA have given it more of a chance to release in the U.S.? Why couldn’t Nintendo release the imported Rent A Hero on the Virtual Console? Well, most likely, it stems from the language barrier presented by the game. While most of what Americans get to see makes the title seem like a no-frills action title, Rent A Hero, is more of an adventure, requiring players to embark on fetch quests and investigation before they get to the meaty parts where they just rock the faces of injustice with cybernetic fists. Now don’t misunderstand this – the fetching and investigation do not go anywhere near the degree of that found in Shenmue, so don’t walk away just yet. Rent A Hero is more of an adventure-like RPG (in fact, the original Megadrive version used the Phantasy Star III graphics engine), where instead of participating in random turn-based battles, players engaged in hand-to-hand combat. With this, players will be talking to a lot of people, meaning there is a lot of dialog to translate, but the game’s inherent humor, somewhat to the degree of SeGaGaGa toward the end of the Dreamcast’s life, gives the title some legs to stand on and creates a unique, quirky identity to the title, which also allows it to poke fun at SEGA itself among other references.

While both versions of the game share a similar story, the Dreamcast version presents players with the opening premise: Taro is new to the neighborhood as his family has just moved in after his father receives a job in town. The game kicks off with Taro directly in the middle of a housewarming party, which involves the family’s neighbors, including a portly fellow who is eating the party’s food faster than Taro’s mother can prepare it. In a pinch, Taro’s father prompts him to order some takeout food and when he makes the phone call, a mysterious person claims Taro has won a promotion that discounts his dinner and throws in a free prize that is still in its testing stages. Anyone that understands the concept of foreshadowing should gather that when the package arrives, it ends up being the game’s trademark hero suit. At this point in time, in a desperate attempt to liven up the party, Taro’s father has donned a Godzilla-type costume and when he spots Taro fashioning his new super hero suit, he gloats and challenges Taro into a staged fight to entertain the guests. However, after Taro throws a light, playful jab, the power of the suit sends his father flying across the room, smashing him into the wall. From this point on, Taro realizes the suit isn’t just a toy and the events that unfold from here will shape him into a true hero if he can handle the responsibility.

While the story premise is fantastic and becomes much more involved while the player gets into the more serious missions, everything unfolds in text form, which means if you don’t understand Japanese, a good majority of the game’s content and charm will be entirely lost on you. Admittedly, I will say my Japanese is extremely far from fluent and there was a good bit of context I had to look up, meaning players may miss out on a few extras by not being able to read the questions there are being asked in a few of the game’s scenarios. However, this isn’t to say this a fault of a game developed in Japan, it’s just the standard U.S. player will most likely be turned away from the experience or become quite confused as to what they are supposed to do next and without a concept of dialog, players will miss out on the game’s humor and charm.

By accepting the responsibilities of the hero suit, Taro has now officially become the Rent A Hero and the game plays out appropriately based on the title of the game – along with the suit, the Service Café (or SECA to throw out an obvious reference) has delivered a SECA Creamcast (there’s two references) to Taro, which he uses to log onto an online interface to check for people looking to hire him for his services. As a rookie, though, he isn’t going to receive very many high-profile missions until he earns the trust of the city. This means players will get their feet wet handing out promotional pamphlets, delivering a love letter and delivering take-out food while maybe getting to take a few harmless punks until requests that ask you to protect deliveries or assist the police with criminal matters. The game follows a nice, logical progression with tasks that increase in difficulty as the game goes on and the earlier missions really allow for the player to get a grasp on the controls. Even without Japanese knowledge, the Creamcast interface is pretty straightforward and easy to use and players shouldn’t have any troubles launching any of the games missions. A lot of variety is involved with the missions as well and there are a chunk of optional missions that will provide Taro with cash, which become important when he becomes an official Rent A Hero and must pay a rental fee on the suit and purchase other items that will make him stronger.

The game’s controls are extremely straightforward and if you’re a seasoned SEGA connoisseur, the fighting engine will feel all too familiar to you. Players can do the basics such as initiate a single-button combo string, jump and block, but the variety in Taro’s moveset stems from a separate button that players hold down until a charge meter reaches the desired position for more powerful attacks – yes, this is the scheme used in Spikeout, a SEGA game that actually did release notably in the U.S in 2005 for the Xbox, even though low-key arcade versions of the title had been pumped out in the late ‘90s.

While the control scheme is simple, this also means there is very little variation in what Taro can do in a fight as any new techniques learned must be swapped out – you can only have one combo and a handful of charge specials at any given time. This will really turn away fighting enthusiasts who are now spoiled by Virtua Fighter-sized move lists and it doesn’t really help that the fighting mechanics are slightly broken. Rent-A-Hero No. 1 tries to balance out the heavy-hitting techniques a little by having them drain the battery of the hero suit, but when players get low, they can use their cash to purchase more batteries (which turns into a gratuitous plug for Sanyo). However, if you’re keen on exploring every inch of the fighting mechanics, these broken mechanics really work in your favor, providing some really ridiculous juggles and cheap repetition tactics with moves that require no battery usage. While I’m sure it was unintentional on the part of SEGA, the fighting can get a little crazy if you mix and match your moves correctly, but, otherwise, the enemy AI does tend to be a little on the lame side, merely charging in fist-first to try and land their predetermined combo on you before you can pull off a move. This makes sense when Taro is taking on a group of thugs, but it comes off as cheap AI when it’s mano-a-mano.

However, when you boil it down, each button does what it is supposed to do with great accuracy. There are a few hiccups in having to double-tap a direction to dash while in the middle of a fight and some camera angles do not put your fight in the greatest perspective, but, overall, the fights are well done for what players are given, which, admittedly isn’t much. Most of the fun in the game revolves around the campy humor and references the game throws around, which occur outside of the battles. The control scheme differs just a tad of difference while not in battle, but this mostly revolves around interacting with the environment and alternating between Taro and his Rent A Hero form. On paper, switching forms doesn’t sound like a big deal, but people in environment will react to you differently depending on which form you are in, giving you different dialog bits and sometimes the storyline calls for Taro to be in a specific form.

For the most part, players accept a mission, talk to the person hiring Taro, carry out whatever task they desire (which is most often ensuring the safe delivery or protection of something), rough up any goon that gets in your way and get paid. Even though the game does give players some freedom in deciding what to do and offers a number of different areas to explore (with other areas of city accessed by train), the title’s progress is extremely linear, but players will still be able to sink a handful of hours into it. The best way I can describe Rent-A-Hero, really, is that it is a short attention span Shenmue: There’s plenty of fighting to do, but you’ll have to do a fair share of footwork, fetch questing and conversation to get there. As I alluded to before, it’s not nearly as drawn out as it is in Shenmue, but anyone looking to try and get into this title should be aware that is equal parts adventure to the amount of action. This could really turn away a lot of players, most obviously because of the language barrier, but anyone that sticks with it will find it to be a fairly satisfying adventure.

I’ve often heard stories about Rent-A-Hero No. 1 being a low-budget title for SEGA and if this shows anywhere, it is definitely in the title’s animation and sound. While the graphics and character models are very typical of any SEGA release for the time, the animation is hardly on par with other titles on the system. Of course, the Dreamcast can do better than the graphics presented in Rent-A-Hero No. 1 and they are passable, but the animation is noticeably lacking during most of Taro’s actions, even in his general running animation. There is no voice acting in the entire game aside from some battle groans and grunts, so the game puts the characters through some ridiculously overexaggerated animations to convey the action of conversation. Players will also probably notice all sorts of clipping and pop-in quirks with the game as well. Although these do not tend to occur during fights, they add to the group of nagging elements that are extremely visible throughout the title.

The audio in Rent-A-Hero No. 1, however, has got to be the lowest point of the title. There is no voice acting to be had in any part of the game. While it is fairly understandable that with the expansive amounts of dialog featured in the game, the disc probably wouldn’t be able to contain full voice-overs, having important cutscenes and critical story points pop out with some voices could have taken the game a long way. Overall, the music is pretty uninspiring as well, save for the classic Rent-A-Hero theme that belts out after the first scenario (with the accompanying video providing references to the game’s Megadrive release). A lot of the sound effects are just as serviceable and get the job done, but more effects and some variation would have went a long way for the title. Most of the game’s audio gets the job done, but the real offender overall is in what is missing from the title – a little more in the elements of voice, music and sound could have went a long way here.

Even though this Dreamcast entry is essentially a remake of the original Megadrive version, it does take its own liberties, such as introducing Rent-A-Hiroko (your female “sidekick”), arranging the dialog to bring the references up to date (Ms. Naomi, for example), so if you have for some reason played the original title, there is a whole lot more to experience in this title. Rent-A-Hero No. 1 definitely carries the allure of a character U.S players could never get their hands on (unless you are an Xbox pirate with the scheduled domestic release that got canned; it was reviewed by a few outlets so there has to be some copies floating around somewhere) and it is one of the more quirky titles on the system, which makes it a relatively appealing game. The fetching and language barriers will probably be the biggest detractor for U.S. audiences, however, but with all of the guides available online, if you’re looking for a unique experience, Rent-A-Hero should fit the bill, even with all of its shortcomings.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 3 of 5

While you’re going to have to know a decent amount of Japanese or have a guide by your side to fully understand Rent-A-Hero No. 1, the title is another example of SEGA of America hesitating to pull the trigger on a U.S. release of a quirky and original concept. That being said, the title does have its share of issues such as its barely serviceable visuals, lack of quality sound, severely broken and repetitive fighting mechanics and sometimes slow pacing. However, the story and dialog is a good bit entertaining and filled with references to SEGA and the title really banks on its humor and charm. Even though the fighting is broken, it does allow for some customization and those who tinker with it will be able to go to town with some impressive juggles. There is very little deviation from the linear game progression, but the wide variety of tasks and characters the player runs into – from your female counterpart to who eventually becomes your archnemesis – are interesting, even though there is no spoken dialog. This title is above average in every single way, but its not hard to see from its originality, quirky nature and inaccessibility in the U.S. why it has a cult following.

PSP Review: Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoner

2011-02-16T12:05:00.000-08:00

While it's hard to compare Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoner to Pokemon, the newly-released Atlus title brings a number of features from Nintendo's classic RPG over to Sony's PSP. Thankfully for players, the game does more than copy and paste and brings a serious, anime-style tale that unfolds through the interesting management of monsters raised by the in-game characters.

Monster Kingdom initially details the ongoing adventures of Vice, who spends his time tracking down a specific winged Abomination (the most powerful of monsters who control other monsters) that killed his mother. Spending his time as hunter, making money by carrying out monster hunting tasks, Vice has the unique ability to utilize monsters with being trained as a jewel summoner. With only a monster jewel left to him by his mother at his helm, he eventually becomes mixed in with a quest that involves a lot more than just him.

Shortly into the game, Vice unwilling joins The Order, a sort of university that houses and trains jewel summoners. There Vice can partner up with two more comrades of the player's choosing, allowing parties of up to three monsters at one time. While each character comes equipped with a default monster, players can capture more monsters through the use of jewel shards and keep up to nine monsters on hand at one time.

The monsters in Monster Kingdom each have an elemental characteristic, with which players have to match up with an appropriate shard to capture when weakened. For example, a baby Kirin is a thunder monster and can only be captured through the use of a thunder shard. Not only do the elements demand specific shards to capture, but they also detail the strengths and weaknesses of each monster – an ice type monster isn't going to like a fire-based attack too much.

Since three party members can tow three monsters each, ultimately, your party consists of nine monsters when you enter battle. The catch, however, is the fact the monsters' souls are bound with the character that controls them. When a monster takes damage, the controller feels the pain too. The strategy of what monster to use becomes even more crucial through this system as merely changing a monster doesn't bring a character's hit points back up to max.

The most straightforward way to power up monsters is by defeating enemies and gaining experience in typical turn-based RPG fare, but the game's unique analgamy lab features really allow players to get down and dirty with fine-tuning their monsters abilities and stats. The game's lab technicians have different abilities that allow you to fuse jewels with other items and use gained ability points to raise stats and abilities in any manner.

By infusing monsters with different elemental quartz, they can learn abilities outside of their element that they would never learn otherwise. For example, a wind monster can now have fire attacks, an option that allows monsters take advantage of multiple weaknesses. By using gained AP, players can artificially raise experience points to boost monsters faster or use them to raise specific attribute levels such as strength, agility or defense or even raise the levels of specific attacks and actions.

Monster Kingdom features a large cast, each featured in large, well-drawn anime-style figures. The characters are all very unique (aside from the ones that appear in multiple towns) and show off a huge amount of detail. Dialogue is a huge part of Monster Kingdom and you'll spend a large amount of time looking at the close-ups of the characters speaking. The backdrops, for the most part, are also well done and are unfortunately covered most of the time by the characters.

By far, Monster Kingdom is one of the most impressive titles I've seen presentation wise on the PSP. Not only are the characters designed and presented well during dialogue, all of the text, which furthers the game's storyline is fully voiced-over. No small feat for a portable since there is a lot of text. While when the characters are in battle or traveling in a dungeon level, some of the models can look a bit on the jagged side, Monster Kingdom does quite a good job of bringing console-style RPG presentation to a portable system.

Audibly, the game features sounds and music very typical to RPG dungeon games. The music fits each scenario appropriately with a number of different battle themes to reflect the severity of the current battle. Much like Pokemon, each of the different monsters in Monster Kingdom have their unique calls and each of their attacks are accompanied by a sound effect most suited to the attacks element. Outside of battle, the game's voice acting is surprisingly well done for the most part, with each of the main characters receiving very befitting voice talent.

Some players may be turned off by the huge amount of dialogue though, which takes up a huge portion of the game. With the story progression and linear battles at the beginning, Monster Kingdom doesn’t go anywhere fast in its waking moments. The over world maps are all point and click navigation so there are no random battles while traveling from town to town, adding more to the linear nature of the game. It should be noted to those interested in picking up the title should have a little bit of patience in order to tough out the introduction and move on to the meat of the quest.

With all the sounds and voices in the game, there is a lot of disc access and while there is little loading to be scene in the transitions between battles and scenes, the access can interrupt dialect and fights. Every time I got into a battle, almost every first hit led to a delay while the game loaded before the damage dealt was displayed. While the access merely leads to hiccups in the game, it is extremely noticeable and happens rather frequently.

The story, while full of its RPG cliché moments, is a refreshing change of pace for games in the monster-breeding genre. Coming from Cozy Okada, creator of the Shin Megami Tensei series, Monster Kingdom is a tad darker and more mature than most of the games in its genre. While there's no huge twists or surprises in store, the story accompanies the game appropriately and makes for interesting play through.

In addition to the single-player story mode, players can also locally link wirelessly with others to utilize a couple of options. Through wireless connectivity, multiplayer battles become accessible and the option to trade monsters is available outside of the battlefield. While the modes don't exactly add a huge amount of substance to the title, they make use of the PSP's wireless functions and give players not only something to do with other players but it also allows access to stronger monsters.

While Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoner breaks no barriers in the RPG genre, it lends a number of unique and satisfying additions to the monster breeding genre to warrant giving it a look. The tale is expansive for a portable game and offers a lot of adventuring and customization to players. For those who really get into the monsters they raise in similar RPGs, Monster Kingdom will allow them to have a ball with the number of fusion and ability options available to those who take advantage of it.

Right off the bat, presentation comes across as Monster Kingdom's ace in the hole and it really makes the game come alive. However, once you boil down the actual game play, the title is, at heart, wholly similar to just about any other game in the same genre. Regardless, Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoner will give PSP RPG or monster breeding fanatics a lengthy title with plenty of artistic flair.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 3 of 5

PS2 Reivew: Nobunaga's Ambition: Rise to Power

2011-02-13T12:02:00.000-08:00

Koei’s simulation titles might not be for everyone (and in some instances arguably repeat themselves over and over) but you can always depend on their quality of execution. If you enjoy the targeted genre, whether it is tactics or action, these titles always fit the bill and respectably, the company always returns the favor with extended titles in those series. The Playstation 2 continues to see love from Koei, releasing a title, Nobunaga's Ambition: Rise to Power, that fills the current 2008 strategy void on home consoles and fits the bill for any gamer who likes a little thinking with their gaming.

Of course, domination is no easy task and players will be knee-deep in management in order to build up a thriving land in order to raise the means necessary to form alliances, crush enemies in battle, and balance foreign relations, all while keeping the people under your current rule happy and willing to give lives for the good of the nation. While the course of the game boils down to three key elements - gold, food, and troops - maintaining that triad of lifeblood is deceptively deep and comes packaged with a ton of other sub-elements such as officer loyalty, flood protection, and construction just to name a scant few. No matter how you boil it down, Nobunaga’s Ambition: Rise to Power is 100% strategy and anyone who even remotely enjoys strategic elements and management will find a lot to love in this PS2 update of the series which dates back to the days of the NES.

Decisions need to be based on the aforementioned key elements in order to ensure survival: gold is needed for construction and relations' gifts, food is needed to keep the troops battle-ready, and troops are needed to attack and defend territory. In most cases, building up one of those elements negatively affects one or more of the others, so being a successful ruler depends on the player’s ability to balance out those assets all while not using means which anger citizens or other rulers. Facing off against other daimyos’ actions and fixing the aftermath of random “acts of god,” continually keep players on their toes and should create a unique game play experience almost every time the game is played.

Fortunately, foreign rulers aren’t too keen on allowing another daimyo to just come in and claim their land, so players get to put their troops to use and engage in a real-time 3-D battle engine that operates like many of the popular RTS titles on market. Battles allow for up to 24 units simultaneously (12 per side), allowing for some major-scale battles if players have the means to pump a massive amount of troops into war.

If you think the strategy stops on the battlefield, you’re dead wrong. Troops can be assigned to spearman, cavalry, cannon, rifle squads, and more, each featuring a distinct quality that is extremely useful in some situations and not so great in others. Destroying enemy foundations is a key element of battle as well. Players select squads and direct them in a “point-and-click” fashion in an attempt to either eliminate the opposing leader or completely siege their enemy HQ; however, players must keep a sharp mind because the enemy will be aiming to do the same.

The title allows players to tackle seven different scenarios that begin in 1551 and go as far as to the years following Nobunaga’s death in 1582, so there is definitely no shortage of game play. The title also features an officer creation mode to place custom elements into scenarios and a very detailed tutorial mode will shape up newbs into warlords in just a short time, so while on the surface the game is nothing more than continual reading and menu surfing, the game has a lot of content and depth buried underneath it.

If you’ve ever played any Koei simulation title on the Playstation 2, you’ll know what to expect in the game’s presentation. The character stills all come across as majestic and vivid and the menus are full of small details that make the text a little more bearable to surf through for hours on end. Aside from buildings and foundations, though, the battlefields and maps do lack any sort of detail. While understandably, due to the “eye in the sky” view of the camera, the people look like working ants, generic environments for the most part aren’t much of a treat for the eyes. Thankfully, the management and battle situations should be enough to take your mind off of the sights and hook it with the title’s game play.

The sounds could have been pulled from any other Koei simulation title, but they are used when necessary and bring in the essence of battle to your eardrums. The prologues to most of the game play elements feature some nice narrative so it’s sad to see spoken dialogue is for the most part omitted from the main game play. Thankfully, a powerful score moves the game along and provides fitting accompaniment whether the player is managing territory or in the heat of war.

Overall, the controls are exactly what you would expect from a game based on menus and the scope of controls carry over nicely to field navigation, which is easily handled by the analogue sticks. While occasionally it can be tricky to pinpoint exact locations on the battlefield (especially when you’re trying to select a moving army), a go at the tutorials will have players managing the controls second nature.

While the title probably won’t sway the minds of gamers who don’t go out their way to play strategy titles, it hammers out everything a strategy game should be and contains enough scenarios and random elements to keep players glued to it for quite some time. Koei brought in its big guns for Nobunaga’s Ambition: Rise to Power in producer Kou Shibusawa and composer Kosuke Yamashita and it really shows in those elements of the game. With a few minor issues aside, the title should prove an engrossing entry into the strategy field and a welcome addition to Koei’s long line of simulation titles.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 4 of 5

Classic Interview - Dennis Lee on Elebits

2011-02-09T12:02:00.000-08:00

I actually thought Elebits for the Wii always had a ton of potential and I did thoroughly enjoy the series' debut on the system. It's always had a bit of appeal with me, which is probably what drove me to seek out this interview back in 2006:

Hide and seek makes its way to the Nintendo Wii in Konami fashion on Dec. 12 when Elebits hits the shelves. Konami's Wii debut will have players fishing around various environments in pursuit of Elebits, creatures who create the world's energy, in single-player and multiplayer game modes.

Using the Wii Remote, players will take their place at the helm of a capture beam that will allow them to alter the environment in order to uncover Elebits or lure them out of hiding.

Finding Elebits gives the capture beam a bit of a charge and upon leveling up the gun's power, heavier items are able to be lifted to find even more Elebits.

For the releases of the game in the United States, Dennis Lee of Konami was able to take a few minutes out of his schedule and explain everything Elebits has to offer as well as give insight on what it is like to develop such a unique concept.

Aaron Auzins: Thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to answer our questions. First off, could you introduce yourself to our readers and briefly explain your involvement with Konami?

Dennis Lee: Hi Aaron, my name is Dennis Lee and I'm a group marketing manager with Konami. I'm in charge of all marketing activities for a number of Konami titles, one of which is Elebits.

Aaron: Of course, Elebits is the first title for the Nintendo Wii from Konami. How long did it take to put together Elebits and how does beginning development for a title before a system is even launched differ from other titles the company releases?

Dennis: Developing a launch title for the Wii is inherently different from creating a game for other new systems because you have to get up to speed with how the controller works and how to integrate it into your game.

You can't necessarily fall back on your experience with other platforms because they don't always apply with the Wii. It's definitely been a great experience for the developers to start working with the Wii early, because they have been able to learn the system and all its quirks and also create an amazing new game at the same time.

Aaron: What has it been like developing a title from the ground-up that utilizes the functionalities of the Nintendo Wii remote controller?

Dennis: As I mentioned in the previous question, the controller is what makes the Wii so unique, and this philosophy carries over to the development side as well. There are just to many ways to utilize it, the developer has to make some tough decisions about what works best and what feels right in the context of the game.

With Elebits, the team has created a control scheme that uses the pointing capabilities of the Wii controller, but doesn't try to do too much with it to the point where it is cumbersome to control. The game really espouses Nintendo's belief that games for the Wii should be intuitive and easy to control.

Aaron: Elebits comes to the new system as one of the few new properties on the Nintendo Wii. How did the unique concept of the Elebit creatures come about?

Dennis: Since the Wii is a new system that is so different from all the other consoles, it made sense for us to have our first game be a new property that is totally different from something we had ever attempted.

The development team really wanted to create some memorable characters that would stick with people, so they made them very cute and also gave them distinct personalities so it's easy to believe that they could be a part of the world with humans.

Since Elebits are the only source of energy in the game's world, there's an indirect reference to some of the energy issues our society is facing that is presented in a very thoughtful way when you play the game.

Aaron: What kind of game modes can we expect from Elebits? Will it utilize the system's online capabilities in any fashion?

Dennis: In addition to the game's single player story mode, there's an edit mode where players can create their own stages, a challenge mode where you try to fulfill certain puzzle-based objectives and a multiplayer mode in which up to four gamers compete to collect the most Elebits in a certain amount of time.

While Nintendo's WiiConnect24 service isn't yet up and running, Elebits does support the service. Players will be able to share levels they have created in edit mode with their friends and also trade screenshots, adding a very impressive dose of replay value to the game.

Aaron: How will the game unfold in the single-player mode? Are there unlockables and secrets for players to uncover throughout the game or anything else to encourage multiple plays through the game?

Dennis: The single player story mode has more than 25 different stages. The player will be given a rank at the end of each stage, from C to S (the best). Depending on what rank they achieve, they may be able to unlock additional items to use in edit mode or a new challenge mode stage.

You can also unlock background information on each of the Elebits as well as information on each of the objects you have interacted with. The challenge mode stages really test your skills with the Wii controller, so you'll definitely want to unlock each one.

Aaron: The game will be for up to four players at the same time. How will the multiplayer aspects pan out for a group of Elebit hunters?

Dennis: Up to four players will be able to compete simultaneously in the game's multiplayer mode, competing to see who can collect the most wattage in a given amount of time.

Everyone's cursor is on the same screen, so players can decide how often they want to change what player has control of the camera. The action can get amazingly frantic in multiplayer mode, with objects flying all over the stage and capture gun beams shooting in every direction. It's a great change of pace from the single-player game that puts the players' reflexes and aim to the test!

Aaron: What types of environments will players be able to seek through during the course of the game? How will the environments change and what kind of interaction can be had as the players capture Elebits?

Dennis: The game begins in the main character's home, but you'll also make it outside the house and explore different areas throughout the city. There's a lot of variation in the levels and even a major twist about halfway through the game that I don't want to spoil.

Players can interact with different object as they collect more Elebits and wattage. For example, players can put a turkey in an oven, turn it on and watch as Elebits pour out at the temperature increases.

There are a lot of great puzzles like this throughout the game for the player to figure out that push the game's interactivity in some really fun ways.

Aaron: What was it like for you to work on the company's first title for the Nintendo Wii? What are your impressions of the system?

Dennis: From my impressions of Elebits and some of the launch titles, the Wii is a great new system. Nintendo has delivered on its promises to create an entirely new gaming experience and I look forward to seeing what new properties and game play mechanics emerge as a result.

Elebits is one of the first games that was created from the ground up for the Wii so I hope people get a chance to try it and find out what the system can really do from a creative standpoint.

Aaron: Once again, thank you for taking the time to talk to us about Elebits by Konami for the Nintendo Wii. Good luck to you and your team as the title releases Dec. 12.

Dennis: Thanks Aaron. I hope you and your readers enjoyed learning more about Elebits.

PS3 Review: The Beatles: Rock Band

2011-02-06T12:01:00.000-08:00

It only took the better part of a decade, but, now in 2009 video gaming is finally home to one of the most lucrative and sought-after catalogs of music in modern history. The inclusion into video games was undertaking that was nearly 50 years in the making, with the band originally performing in its five-piece ensemble starting in 1960, but Beatlemania was finally captured by Harmonix with The Beatles: Rock Band, immortalizing the fab four members that carried the name from 1962 onward in a familiar digital format. Given how difficult it was to procure these rights, one would have to assume Harmonix would put every ounce of effort it could into doing the source material justice and, thankfully, the end result should be enjoyable for anyone while serving up a once-in-a-lifetime interactive experience for any Beatles fan.

I’ll just start off by stating up front that I am not the biggest Beatles fan in the world. I appreciate the band’s music and mostly prefer its earlier material, but I am far from being a Beatles fanatic. On this grounds, I am able to look at the game a little more objectively, but, let’s be honest – what we have here is a brand new presentation with Rock Band 2 running under the hood. With this, obviously, the hook of The Beatles being featured in the game is the major draw here and for fans of the band will no doubt be the target audience for the title. However, looking at the title from a pure music gaming focus, the stranglehold placed on the likenesses and content of the game really put forth a good group of limitations that are hard to ignore for those not as enamored with the band and want to enjoy a new rhythm-based game title.

Eschewing the company’s standard of releasing handfuls of content at reduced prices, The Beatles: Rock Band storms in as a full offering, demanding a meaty $60 from your wallet, but, given we won’t see Rock Band 3 this year, it’s hard to suggest that Harmonix is milking the franchise. What players will receive is a stripped down Rock Band 2 experience, customized to accommodate The Beatles, which means features that players are normally accustomed to are absent from the title. The character creation tools are given the boot, which will probably upset some, but, for me, it is a godsend – I can finally just jump into a game without having to wait around because somebody decided they wanted to change the shoes their avatar is wearing. While players can still fail songs, The Beatles can never be booed and the band’s in-game tracks and material cannot be ported over to any other Rock Band offering, which shows the power Apple Corps. holds over Harmonix. A bunch of these omissions come across as minor gripes, as it is a miracle Apple even allowed such a game to come into fruition, however, this serves as another example of how spoiled Rock Band fans will hit a brick wall when the features they expect to see in every installment are absent in The Beatles: Rock Band.

Another question has been popping up in regard to the title’s value. At $60, Rock Band fans, which we no doubt have on a site dedicated to music gaming, may be wondering why they are only being presented with around 40 songs when Rock Band 2 easily doubled the offerings at the same price. If you were to consider each track as a DLC offering at $2 a piece, there does appear to be an evident value in the content, but the shilling of future DLC packs at an extra cost might disinterest some fans and the audience the game is trying to reach out to might not be frequent gamers, tasking them to put down around $300 for a full experience. Obviously, there has been much debate on the game’s value, but the attraction merely hinges on how big of a Beatles fan a potential buyer is.

Cracking into the actual game itself, players will have a quickplay mode and a career-based mode along with a few training features that can isolate the drum and vocal gameplay bits. Everything outside of the career mode works just like any other Rock Band entry, but it is sad to see the creativity of the career mode nerfed so much in The Beatles: Rock Band. This Rock Band iteration merely puts players into chunks of songs with the only “career” additions coming in the form of stylized cutscenes that depict the current phase of the band’s career and dictating the players’ song choices according to what songs the band had crafted at that moment in time. Harmonix creates some cheap replay value for the mode in opening up challenge segments that are nothing more than performing the aforementioned song chunks in a continuous setlist. Also, since the mode amounts to just playing the game’s song catalog, players will blow through the mode in a handful of hours with very little reason to come back to it. The mode still lets you jam to the band’s trademark songs, but the void of innovation and cycle of repetition really makes this entry’s career mode pale in comparison to Rock Band’s previous efforts.

That being said, however, stars earned in career mode go toward worthwhile unlockables for once. Instead of unlocking uninteresting avatar clothing, The Beatles: Rock Band instead unloads exclusive, never-before-seen photos, videos and sound bytes that will fascinate fans of the band and possibly intrigue casual players (I found the Christmas vinyl montage to be quite interesting, actually).
Looking at the gameplay itself, there is only one innovation to see in the harmonized vocals, which allow up to three people to grab a mic and sing simultaneously during a song. The feature works similar to the standard vocal setup, with each pitch determined by colored bars that anyone familiar with how Rock Band operates should be able to naturally follow. This does add a deceptive amount of interesting moments to the gameplay, letting an additional two players get in on the standard gameplay or challenging more dedicated bands to sing and play instruments simultaneously. Outside of this mechanic, however, players are getting Rock Band 2 pound for pound, although a number of the personal freedoms are taken away in order to wholly preserve The Beatles’ content. The overdrive drum fills are replaced by a single green note, misplaying the guitar does not result in a change of pitch and the beginning and ends of songs don’t allow for players to lay into the drums a little. In all, a bunch of minor changes add up to really limit the player in comparison to other Rock Band titles, which is disappointing considering the caliber of quality seen in those titles.

I don’t mean to cast a thunder cloud over everyone’s opinion of the title, though, as the fact the game is essentially Rock Band 2 with a fresh coat of paint means players are getting the foundation of what is arguably the greatest music gaming engine available on the market. Anyone who has had any shred of fun with any of the series’ other installments will continue to do so with The Beatles: Rock Band, with the only determination of enjoyability being the players’ opinion of The Beatles. Even on that note, however, fans of The Beatles might question the song selection slapped into the game, which does omit some classic and notable songs. With the source band and choice of songs included in the title, much of what is encompassed in The Beatles: Rock Band will boil down to subjective, personal tastes that I couldn’t fairly assess in a review. What I can look over, however, is how the tunes are implemented.

Audibly, the title is just as superb as any other Rock Band title – the songs ring through in high quality, which is most likely due to the fact the songs have been remastered, much like they were for the band’s audio CD release that hit stores, also on Sept. 9. The title also enjoys a number of other audible touches such as the crowds going bananas during the band’s touring years and the realistic mode toggle that has the crowd drowning out the band with a symphony of screams are quite interesting diversions and well implemented. With the manner the songs are implemented, though, it should be mentioned there are very few challenging segments to be found in The Beatles: Rock Band’s gameplay, even on the expert difficulty, which may disappoint band game masters, however, on the other side, the ease in difficulty allows for casual players to enjoy a wholly accessible game title. Fans of the band probably won’t care either way, but if you’re looking for the next challenging guitar solo to test your skills, you won’t find it in The Beatles: Rock Band and this may alienate some longtime players that have little to no interest in the band.

On the other side of the presentation, the graphics do the game justice as well. The graphics arguably take a step back with some fuzzy visuals and jaggies, but, somehow, the pastel-laden animated fab four works quite well, which is most likely due to the significantly pumped up animations given to the band. The close-ups of the crowd also give the visuals some juice with a variety of emotions ranging between 1960s girls going nuts and screaming in tears to street goers looking up solemnly to the top of the Apple Corps building, knowing this is the last time they will ever see The Beatles publically perform. For the most part, these animations really lend to the visual appeal of the title, showcasing amusing animations inbetween career sets and creating trippy, creative (although potentially distracting) “Dreamscape” sequences to compliment the band’s studio years. The game’s environments are also very well crafted, accurately reflecting the current time period with clothing fads, 1960s television presentations, hair trends sported by the band members throughout the decade and, of course, the Dreamscape sequences create plenty of interesting environments. If you look closely, you’ll find some graphical snags, but most players will be too wrapped up into the world of The Beatles to notice and, overall, the title is a treat to the eyes.

Overall, the game may rely a little too much on its source material, however, as players that have no interest in the band or are looking for a challenging outing to test their skills should more likely turn to Guitar Hero 5 for a more suitable modern experience. With the advancements made to Guitar Hero 5, the impression is given that The Beatles: Rock Band has done little to advance the series, however, this will probably not matter very much to the game’s target audience. When you put The Beatles to the side for a moment and look at the game as a whole, there are some very evident downsides to the way the game plays out, but, thankfully, the pros far outweigh the cons in this entry.

With the production of the title being all said and done, Harmonix has done well in crafting an experience that any true Beatles fan cannot be without. However, the game limits creative freedoms, provides an extremely shallow and potentially dissatisfying career mode, a lack of difficulty and features a handful of other minor downsides, which may eat away at the interest of music game fans that have little to no interest in the band. That being said, however, it can’t be denied that The Beatles: Rock Band is a very well crafted game overall. The main debate to be had with the title really lies in personal tastes – the player’s opinion of The Beatles, the choice of songs included/excluded, etc. – since the game is built upon the solid foundation of Rock Band 2. I would suggest to anyone on the fence about the game to review its content and if you feel the pros outweigh the cons, I could recommend picking up the title without hesitation.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 4 of 5

PSP Review: Beaterator

2011-02-02T12:00:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while Rockstar will take a break from its proven franchises to take a unique genre in a new, ambitious direction. This is perhaps when I enjoy the company the most as evidenced by the stellar outing the company enjoyed with Rockstar Presents Table Tennis on the Xbox 360 – the releases seem to come out of nowhere, but in typical Rockstar fashion, a lot of thought is put into the release and it stands out among the crowd. The most recent example of this comes courtesy of Rockstar Leeds and Beaterator, which, in collaboration with Timbaland, has released to the Sony PSP.

Right up front here, I’ll want to stress that Beaterator isn’t a game, at least in the traditional sense, but rather, it is an application that serves as a tool to allow its users a streamlined mean in creating music on the PSP. This might turn off people expecting to find a new DJ Max-style game or such on the system, but don’t walk away just yet as anyone interesting in piecing together their own music can still pull fun out of the title even if Beaterator is more of a tool. A gamer’s mileage will definitely vary with this one, but that is entirely dependent on how much patience one has and how much they are willing to put into this title.

Beaterator revolves around two modes, but, surprisingly, both are very robust. The live play mode serves as the entry gates for getting into the title – it is much easier to use and while it doesn’t give users as much freedom and customization as there is to be found in the studio mode, there are still a number of options and functions to utilize with easy-to-understand button icons that are situated around the virtual Timbaland. Users can even record sessions from the live play mode and paste them as loops into the studio mode for tweaking and customization, doubling the usage of the feature. In this initial mode, while there isn’t much to it, it’s easy, accessible and users will be able to pump out some decent tunes in no time flat.

Once users roll over into the studio mode, however, Beaterator becomes a different beast, reflecting more of what you would expect to see in an eJay studio or any other PC tool that costs more than Beaterator. Users will be menu surfing through a string of complex options, which will no doubt intimidate some. There are tutorials tucked away in the game, but given the simplistic PSP layout, users will find the menu navigation to be a tad bit clunky as opposed to a similar mouse-and-keyboard setup that allows commands to be quite spread out when compared to a cramped PSP screen. Navigation and complexity aside, though, the user is given a number of impressive tools that dictate a mass of musical functions that even allow users to control settings on individual layers.

As an application, the modes offered weigh heavily on the quality of the overall package and, thankfully, Beaterator pulls through on these offerings. You can spend 15 minutes in live play fooling around or 15 hours mulling over every single detail of a creation in the studio mode, which tells me Rockstar Leeds understands how to craft a title fit for a portable system. That being said, however, there are some nuances to be had given the limitations imposed by the PSP’s layout that hamper the controls and the nature of the title and its depth certainly won’t be for everyone. Even so, Beaterator meets the goal it set out to accomplish, giving players a solid music application on the system and rewarding dedicated users with the fruits of their own labor.

With the game’s online functionality in tandem with a PC, users can share that fruit with other users, building a sense of community that is missing from the portable system outside of any game with Monster Hunter in its title. With Rockstar planning to host contests and highlight feature submissions, these motivations will intensify the dedication of serious users and if being able to endlessly create your own music doesn’t serve as replayability, this certainly fuels the fire a little more. If you can get lost in music like I can, it won’t be hard to get pulled into the community and it’s hard to put down the system until you finish a song or get a section of a song just right. It also helps that Beaterator is a one-of-a-kind title on the system right now, as while it is hardly the first console creation tool and definitely not the first on the PC, the online functionality and live play mode really brighten the appeal of the title, especially for music fans.

Honestly, while using Beaterator, users will be staring at a lot of menus in the studio mode, making the appearance of the title a standard affair. As a tool, this is generally forgivable as what is provided for users isn’t bad, it just does its part in giving players some visual feedback on what is going on and nothing more. You do get a few videos and Timbaland avatar moments that stand out, but, clearly, overall, the sound takes the full presentation stage in the title. Surely, not every user is going to agree on what genres, instruments, etc., should be represented but there is a healthy mix of samples provided in the game with a chunk coming straight from Timbaland himself. While some users might not find some of the samples useful, the samples do what they should and ring through pretty clearly (although this is definitely a title where headphones or earbuds are a must). You’ll also get a number of standard clicks and such for the menu navigation, but, as expected, the audio is where Beaterator truly shines.

That being said, though, there are some disc access quirks with the title. Samples can take a bit of time to load up, making the previewing process a bit of a pain. I also occasionally received messages stating the title couldn’t locate a sample on the disc and then played or loaded the sample anyway. These are just a few setbacks I encountered with the sound’s implementation, though, as I found the title’s sound to be very solid and I was able to create a few decent tracks just through goofing around and then tweaking the sound in the studio mode. Relying on loops and electronic production, the samples revolve around electronic genres such as D&B and U.K. garage and dabble into others such as hip-hop. Typically, I always make a point to say that tastes in music are subjective, but, perhaps this is one of the few cases I can say if you don’t like the music in the title, it’s most likely your fault for creating it. On that note, however, if you are a hater of the pre-made loops, Beaterator gives you tools to create your own loops as well as to import various sounds. The depth is great, however, again, the only thing holding users back from creating a masterpiece is their patience with the software’s complexity.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 4 of 5

Beaterator is a cheaper alternative to the great PC music creation tools, yet it still manages to hang with those offerings in terms of customization and content. Gamers will have to know straight up, Beaterator is a tool as opposed to a “game,” but those that stick with it will be able to make satisfying compositions, even if the title is a bit difficult to work with due to the PSP’s layout. The community features for the title will have dedicated users going on the application for quite some time, meaning anyone serious about creating music will get their money’s worth here. The live play mode allows users to jam for a short time, while the studio mode can keep players wrapped up for hours, making it a perfect portable music tool. The title has a couple of setbacks to iron out, for sure, but Beaterator easily hangs with the best of the bunch in the console/handheld music creation group.

XBLA: 0D Beat Drop

2011-01-30T12:00:00.000-08:00

Seemingly out of nowhere, Arc System Works has shifted from “That Guilty Gear company,” broadening its horizons with a handful of rhythm gaming installments, a good many of them actually hitting the United States courtesy of Aksys Games. While some of those titles seemed more like attempts to jump on the Rock Band/Guitar Hero bandwagon (Drum King, Rockin’ Pretty), last week 0D Beat Drop fell into our laps giving us something outside of the ordinary. If you can imagine a smashing of Puyo Puyo and Every Extend Extra Extreme with splashes of the face button timing-based rhythm genre, you have a very good idea of what to expect. In that regard, it could be said that 0D Beat Drop borrows from such influences a little too much for its own good, but, still, the end result is a satisfying and engrossing experience.

The formula I laid out above can explain the title in a nutshell: You take puzzle piece connection mechanics of Puyo Puyo, implement the graphical presentation and BPM analyzer of a Q! Entertainment game (E4, Lumines) and prominently feature music which dictates the overall gameplay. At face value, 0D Beat Drop might seem a like a confusing and intimidating game, but once a player dives in and gets a grasp of the mechanics, that is actually pretty far from the truth. To clear pieces from the playfield, players have to line up at least three of the same icon, however, actually removing the pieces from the game can only be done by performing a beat drop, which is done by pressing the X button in time to the beat of the music. When you see that the other face buttons rotate the active piece and the analog stick or d-pad maneuver the pieces, anyone who has played a puzzle game will know exactly what to do. In fact, the simplicity of the title could potentially be one of the game’s biggest hooks.

To create value for your $10, this simplistic gameplay can be enjoyed in a span of modes that pit single players against one-on-one gauntlets of CPU players, teaming up with a CPU to take on two other computer-controlled players or tackling a series of four-player battle royales. The single-player modes also allow players to attempt a series of trails (clear “x” blocks simultaneously, obtain a “x” chain, etc.), tackle a target score as fast as they can in time trial or load up a song of their own via the hard drive or Xbox 360 compatible music device to jam to. Obviously, though, the real meat of the gameplay is in facing off against human opponents (or in the case of co-op, teaming up with a friend) in the same one-on-one and battle royale formats. While, unfortunately, players can’t share their streaming mp3s analyzed into the game, multiplayer modes do encompass both offline and online features, rounding out a very robust range of options for a downloadable puzzler. You could view these modes as standards for the genre and state that little changes between the modes aside from the number of players involved and where attack pieces are sent, however, as it stands, 0D Beat Drop offers more features than some full-priced retail discs.

No matter what mode the player is in, though, the premise is the same - players launch gameplay with an accompanying piece of music, with the BPM analyzed and displayed in the form of an equalizer that pulses from the bottom to top in time with the current tune. At first, music game purists may scoff at the lenient timing window to active a beat drop, which, at the beginning encompasses roughly half of the equalizer. However, as players beat drop, successive drops accumulate a combo meter that awards more points to the player and sends more attack pieces to the opponent in the appropriate modes. As the combo meter builds up, the beat drop timing window gets smaller and smaller until it is nothing more than a tiny sliver at the top of the equalizer, really testing the player to flawlessly hammer out drops in time to the beat. Thankfully, the combo doesn’t reset if players opt to not beat drop and place pieces down on the field manually, allowing players to set up some nasty chains and links that will send the maximum amount of garbage over to the opponent. While the system sounds like a gimmick at first, the mechanic is implemented quite well and in tandem with beat dropping offers some sound risk and reward strategy – you can save your combo and build up a great attack, but, at that same time, opponents can send over garbage and ruin your plan.

0D Beat Drop controls naturally and operates just as well as any other popular puzzle game, which is a godsend when your opponent has your playfield filled with garbage pieces. When you toss in the fact that only a few buttons are used to play the title, the game is a great pick-up-and-play title that should appeal to anyone who has enjoyed a title such as Tetris or Puyo Puyo in the past. The span of modes can keep anywhere from one to four players occupied for some time and while the gameplay is extremely fast-paced and versus games can end in a flash, this does make for a great party feel where players can pass the controller around without having to wait forever for another go. That being said, with the frantic gameplay, some of the attacks can feel extremely unfair, with garbage piece totals easily reaching a total of hundreds. This is sort of remedied by allowing for a fever drop that depletes your combo meter if you beat drop after allowing more than 40 garbage pieces to fall on your playfield. The fever drop changes the colors of some of the pieces on the playfield and results in a mass clearing of your field. However, these attack pieces easily allow the opponent to immediately activate a fever drop in return, effectively creating a wacky balance in the gameplay. In the long run, however, skilled players will still be able to go back and forth and the simple nature of activating the fever drop gives less skilled players an easy means to stay competitive.

Surrounding all of the action is a rather impressive presentation, from which the appeal of the title draws heavily. Obviously, music is a huge portion of the game and on this front, 0D Beat Drop doesn’t disappoint with a small collection of varied electronic tunes that range in BPM values, along with featured material from the Japanese act Sweet Vacation. In reality, the song collection explodes when players use the BPM analyzer feature, so not enjoying the content provided by Arc System Works isn’t an excuse for players. Of course, these songs ring through in great quality and do not get drowned out by the gameplay, which features the now-common sound effects of shifting and rotating the puzzle pieces and the booms of pieces clearing off the playfield. It’s all easy on the ears, yet, somehow, it remains prominent and noticeable even amidst the most feverish puzzle session. The graphics seem like they were pulled straight out of Every Extend Extra Extreme, with the brightly-colored digital overlays and equalizer-influenced meters. Also taking a page from Lumines, there are a number of background and puzzle piece skins to choose from to mix up the scenery. While the visuals do appear to be heavily borrowed in concept, there are a variety of interesting skins to see and the use of color really make the visuals pop from the screen. Huge chains and fever drops litter the screen with explosions of light and are extremely pleasing to the eyes. Integrating with the Xbox 360, 0D Beat Drop does allow for players to use their Microsoft Avatars as in-game characters and while they may look a little out of place among the vivid visuals, their animations add to the victories and defeat encountered in gameplay.

Overall, 0D Beat Drop may not be the greatest puzzle game on the market, but it definitely hits toward the top of the list of offerings on Xbox LIVE Arcade. The rhythm aspect gives the title a hook to separate itself from the “match three” and other general puzzle games flooding the market and with the breadth of options available in-game, 0D Beat Drop is a very worthwhile purchase given its price of admission. There are a lot of obviously-borrowed elements, some odd balance issues and overly-difficult CPU characters in some cases, but with a few friends, it’s very easy to look past the title’s minor issues and put some quality multiplayer time into it. When you factor in the ability to load your own songs into the game, the replayability is amped up considerably and leaves players with a mean to expand their song selections and find tunes that they enjoy the most. While this release was easy to miss in the shuffle of a couple of big weeks at retail, we definitely recommend going back to this puzzle-rhythm fusion.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 4 of 5

PS2 Review: The King of Fighters 2006

2011-01-27T11:59:00.000-08:00

It seems a decade of King of Fighters wasn't enough for the flagship SNK series as the franchise now enters its 2006 installment. The last time KOF entered the PS2 arena, the series evolved into the third-dimension, with the lackluster Maximum Impact. And while 2006 improves upon the previous iteration, it still limps away from the fight.

The most notable improvement in King of Fighters 2006 is the bump in the number of features - the roster nearly doubles, new fighting mechanics are introduced and new single-player modes are added.

The entire cast of Maximum Impact makes an encore performance and are joined by four new characters, and 14 unlockables, which are playable in story, versus, mission, survival and, of course, versus play modes.

In the midst of game play, SNK Playmore has implemented two new fighting mechanics that cover both the offensive and defensive sides of the coin.

Super cancels allow for your character to interrupt the final animations of a special move and combo straight into a super maneuver and allow for extended and even more damaging combos. The second addition comes in the form of parries and allows players to turn the tides on overly aggressive players.

While the additions give the game play a little more depth, overall, the game still feels much like the previous edition and falls into the trap of throwing a 2-D game into a 3-D engine. Jump attacks and sidestepping still feel a tad clunky and I just feel like I'm playing Street Fighter EX all over again.

It's not to say King of Fighters 2006 is a bad game, but on the PS2, it hardly matches up against the competition (or even the recent Japanese SNK Playmore released Neo-Geo Battle Coliseum).

Graphically KOF 2006 gets the job done in the hand-drawn 2-D to rendered 3-D transition. The character models, while not as detailed to the degree of a game like Tekken 5, are nicely done and bring the fighters every recognizable characteristic straight from their 2-D romps. Overall, the game animates nicely and runs at a constantly smooth rate with flashes of pizzazz emulating from special and super maneuvers.

Almost all of the environments are fairly generic but do feature some nice subtle touches in the damage to the ground and arena walls. However, the environmental damage strangely doesn't carry over to all the stages. If you can smash the cement with a bone-breaking throw, why wouldn't you be able to do so in a different stage with a concrete surface or even the marble in the mansion?

Perhaps the titles biggest drawback is in the sound department. First, I would like to write a 10-page thank you letter to SNK Playmore for including the original Japanese vocals, but I'll save that for a different time. The selection will spare players from perhaps some of the worst English voice acting that could possibly be conceived.

Aside from the dangers of the game's English (the menus aren't even free of typos), everything else is standard fare. The music lacks the drive to fuel fiery fights and is easily forgettable, plus the sound effects could have been easily ported straight over from any previous King of Fighters game.

Fortunately, the game's strong suit is in its game play, which tries to keep a balance of satisfying longtime fans of the series while keeping a pick-up-and-play feel for those new to the series. All of the characters feature a surprisingly beefy set of signature, special, throw/hold, super and combo moves aside from their standard punches and kicks. Not only have the characters carried over every single one of their special moves from previous games, but 2006 also gives them new moves into the mix.

The 3-D element also includes the ever-popular "dial-a-combo" maneuvers. By stringing together mapped out combinations of punches and kicks, characters will execute a barrage of attacks in succession. The pre-determined combos end in a brutal punch or kick that sends the opponent flying, but players can throw in a special or super move in at any time before the finish of the combo and dish out even more punishment.

Players will need quick fingers to execute high-hitting combos, as the game play in 2006 is fast and furious. True to the series, matches are brief and brutal running at a speed almost comparable to the classic Street Fighter II Turbo fights. Everything definitely has a classic feel and runs as one of the fastest fighting games on the Playstation 2.

Even though there is no online fighting option once again, the mission modes will give those looking for a fight a run for their money. Not only does the mode extend the single-player experience, but it also uncovers a number of unlockables including clothing options and stages apart from the slew of hidden characters.

The hidden characters range from additional King of Fighters characters to those tossed in for some fan service to those who follow SNK - Hanzo from Samurai Showdown, B. Jenet from Garou: Mark of the Wolves, Fio from Metal Slug and more. While, unfortunately, the secret characters do not feature their own segments and endings for the game's story modes, they give players a lot of incentive to dig around in the game.

Obviously the most glaring omission from the game is the three-on-three team-based combat the series was founded on. Even featuring two-on-two battles would be a step in the right direction for the 3-D installments.

The game still feels a tad unbalanced in areas with some questionable super moves executed by the characters. While the level three super moves should be extremely damaging compared to the lower level moves, the damage scaling limits how effective the characters' ultimate super moves should be.

If a level one super does about one forth the damage and a level three super does roughly one half damage, isn't it more effective use three level one supers?

Some characters have horribly unbalanced level three supers, most notably Nagase's were she just turns invisible, and some supers such as Mignon Beart's projectile-based attack take forever to execute and just require a simple sidestep to avoid. While most of the long-time characters balance pretty well, the 3-D additions most notably fall victim to balancing.

There seemed to be a few other game play nuisances that went overlooked such as the inability to move your character into a position of your choice prior to the start of round one. However, before rounds two or three (or higher if you change the options), characters can freely move around before the round commences. The game, much like Mortal Kombat, also has some rough crossovers during jumping attacks.

Overall, however, the game play is solid and still maintains as much of the classic feel of the series SNK could capture in the extra dimension of game play. King of Fighters 2006 offers players a large number of characters old and new as well as numerous one-player modes to keep the game going just a little bit longer.

While it doesn't compare to the Playstation 2's other top-selling 3-D brawlers, King of Fighters 2006 marks the series' most impressive entry onto the system and adds enough to the mix to provide an even stronger basis to work from in future editions.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 3 of 5

XBLA Review: Bust-A-Move LIVE!

2011-01-24T11:56:00.000-08:00

It’s honestly a bit of surprise it has taken this long, but Bub and Bob have finally splashed down on the Xbox LIVE Arcade service. We saw this one week with the warm reception we gave to Bubble Bobble Neo, but now the other well-known half of the franchise has touched down with Puzzle Bobble now being made available on the Xbox 360. This new entry, entitled Bust-A-Move LIVE!, delivers the classic gameplay to the Xbox 360 and definitely accomplishes what it sets out to do – the action here is as pure as it gets, but if you own a dozen of the series’ other titles and are looking for some new feature that will shake the series up, you might be able to pass up on this popping puzzler.
Bust-A-Move LIVE! offers up everything players typically expect from a puzzle game this generation: You can tackle a puzzle-based story mode (with 135 puzzles and future DLC additions), face off against a gauntlet of CPU opponents, play until you fail in endless mode, enjoy local two-player versus matches or take the game online to face another Xbox LIVE user. Sure, there’s nothing new or earth-shattering here, but the expansive amount of modes gives the player some value in their $10 purchase, especially if they truly enjoy the Bust-A-Move franchise. No matter what mode you choose, however, everything remains the same: Players fire colored (or various specialty) bubbles up into a playfield and by matching three or more bubbles of the same color, players can remove those pieces from the field. Sure, it’s never really explained to the player why they are doing this, but what more do you really want from a fun and easily accessible puzzler?

The major downside to the title is if players have experienced most of the franchise, most particularly the later installments, there will be no surprises to uncover in this title, it will just serviceably provide more of the same. However, at a lower price point and through its digital convenience, Bust-A-Move LIVE! should to be tough to pass up for any puzzle game fan. Even though no liberties are taken to freshen up the franchise, what is provided here plays just like the classics and is executed really well. The tricky bounce shots are still nerve-racking, the controls are still simple and very responsive, the title is still quite a time sink and players that only experienced the very early installments of the series may find some new life in a few of the mechanics such as the specialty bubbles. With the line of achievements, multiplayer and span of game modes, the title will likely have most players coming back time and again, just like most other entries in the series.

With most of the title being pound-for-pound identical to other entries in the franchise, I’ll put more focus into highlighting what has changed for this installment. The most obvious upgrade the title has received is in its high-definition graphical facelift, which, admittedly, is very noticeable even in a simplistic game such as Bust-A-Move. The iconic 24-bit sprites from the series’ origin have come a long way with vivid, colorful art, which even gives the bubbles more flair. The hardware jump also allows for more lighting effects which create some satisfying bursts as players match up their bubble pieces. While the graphics certainly won’t rival any of the powerhouse games on the system aiming for a realistic look, this is definitely the best I’ve seen the series look and it really gives the title’s art some character. Most of the sound does go unchanged, however, but that’s not a bad thing considering the franchise has some very memorable jingles and sound effects. The music and sound in the title fit right in with the series’ themes and round out an already impressive presentation.

A few other additions haven’t been implemented without a few issues, however. The Xbox 360 version of this title works in the hardware’s avatars as in-game cheerleaders, which, normally, would be perfectly fine, if not appropriate. However, these avatars in versus mode are placed at the bottom-right-hand corner of your playfield, and when the game gets down to the wire, this character model can actually obstruct your view of one to three pieces on the playfield. Also, while versus play is made available over Xbox LIVE, I witnessed some strange occurrences where the game fails to communicate the real-time gameplay, showing the opponent losing the round. However, the gameplay continued because the opponent had not actually lost, so both players had to just stay alive as the lack of communication also stopped the flow of attack bubbles from reaching the opponent’s playfield. Granted, this didn’t happen with every gameplay, but it happened enough for me that it became a crippling issue.

Also, while puzzle games are inherently tough against calculating CPU opponents, Bust-A-Move LIVE! doesn’t hold back at all, creating virtually no balance. The CPU opponents become brutal fast as they nail the most appropriate shot with superhuman accuracy at all times. I was sweating as soon as the second opponent, which really throws off the balance of the title. However, given how easy it is to get into the other modes of play, there is something everyone can enjoy, perhaps making the CPU versus mode the final step on the performance plateau. Even so, playing the title with another human being is where the franchise has always shined, so if you’ve got some company, chances are you’ll never even touch any of the other modes, let alone the versus CPU mode.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 3 of 5

Much like any other Puzzle Bobble entry, simplicity serves as the hook to reel in puzzle gamers and those that enjoy casual games. While Bust-A-Move LIVE! is another offering of what is essentially the same game I’ve played at the local bowling alley in the ‘90s, its gameplay and fun factor has kept it relevant and fun even to this day. The lack of additions to the formula and a few technical and balancing hiccups might turn some gamers away, but there have definitely been worse entries into the Puzzle Bobble series. As always, the multiplayer will take you a long way if you wish to spend $10 on another entry in the series, but there is still a handful of other modes and more than 100 levels to experience for your purchase. Bust-A-Move LIVE! doesn’t do anything to revolutionize the game, but even with a mix of pros and cons, the title still proves to be enjoyable.

PSP Review: Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble

2011-01-21T11:55:00.000-08:00

I really didn’t know what a bancho was until Atlus announced its intent to localize Kenka Bancho 3 for the Sony PSP, but when a company goes out of its way to promote some off-the-wall game concept that normally wouldn’t see the light of day outside of Japan, I’m all for it. Honestly, that was the allure of Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble – we were presented with this bizarre premise, but left wondering what we would be getting ourselves into this November when the game releases. However, after months of waiting and with the end result on the horizon, even though there are some quirks and downsides to the title, it’s easy for me to say that Badass Rumble is indeed badass.

Atlus kindly provided us some advance hands-on time with the game and I pumped out a hands-on preview for Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble on Friday, so if you want the full scoop on how the title plays, be sure to check that piece out. With the premises and knacks of the game already printed on the site, we can dive straight into the technical goods and pick this title apart.

Just to brush the top layer off of the game’s story, the player assumes the role of a character on his senior school trip to the city of Kyouto in Japan. Unfortunately for the school and its teachers, your character, with the default name of Takashi Sakamoto, couldn’t care less about the temples and landmarks of the area. Instead, pulling through on your father’s wishes, your character is far more interested in beating the crap out of anyone who thinks they are tough stuff. After first stepping foot into Kyouto, the player immediate gets into a scrap with a bully who turns out to be the resident bancho (or strongest fighter of the district or school), effectively making the player the new bancho of the school for the trip. This new title engages the player in a competition – it appears a large number of schools are on the very same trip, each school having its own bancho. The overall goal of the game is to take down as many banchos as the player possibly can while managing their time over the course of seven days – not an easy task when you consider there are 46 other banchos visiting Kyouto.

While the school rumble theme might give one some River City Ransom vibes, there is a bit more to that simple premise running under Kenka Bancho’s hood. While the player will take down other students, nab their pocket change and buy items from a number of shops, the mechanics lend themselves to a number of modes: The player can tackle the seven-day story, continue with their stats in a new game plus variant, take a character out on the town for some night life in the Night Out mode or join up with another player in the Night Out mode to take down thugs. Each mode differs slightly, but each allows a player to keep going with a created character and build them up by earning experience, leveling up stats and learning new moves. This comes as a blessing as Kenka Bancho is a game that, while relatively short in nature, is one that you’ll want to play over and over. Spike is the Japanese developer of the Kenka Bancho title and much like its Way of the Samurai series, the player will have a number of choices to make through the week, with each having its own consequences and the results leading to a number of different endings. The player’s punctuality and skill will dictate how the game ends and there is a lot to see if the player searches hard enough, something that really bolsters the game’s story branching and replayability. Not only is there a lot to see in through the course of the gameplay, but the leveling system gradually builds the player up into a wrecking machine so they can ease into the harder Night Out mode and the various difficulties in the game as well as going toe-to-toe with the banchos that get progressively harder.

The story is furthered along by a series of text entries and while the dialog is fairly forced and in-your-face, that is what the game is aiming for and, most of the time, it works. Some of the insults laid out in the game are admittedly a bit groan-worthy, but, again, Kenka Bancho isn’t a game to take itself very seriously. The story gets the job done throughout the main mode and the player has a number of other classmates that interact with their character in different manners and the key characters in the game can be met or called via cell phone at certain times of the week in order to further a sidestory of their personal relationship, again extending the scope of the game and having players go back to do things differently. The story might be cliché on the surface, but if players dig deep enough, they’ll find a little more, albeit nothing that happens in the title will be described as mind-blowing. The relationships are perhaps the most crucial part of the storyline the game has going for it and with the numerous ways players can end the game, it’s not hard to walk away at least moderately satisfied with the game’s progression.

Of course, relationships and chatting with women are all fine and dandy, but if you’re picking up a game called Badass Rumble, you’re probably extremely concerned with the said “rumbling” promised in the game’s title. Overall, the controls work, although they are far from perfect, most specifically with the game’s camera control, uncomfortably mapped to the PSP’s directional pad. Players will find their customized three-hit combo mapped to square, their strong attack mapped to triangle, along with other commands to run, grapple and jump. Pressing combinations of the face buttons will do other actions such as special techniques, back attacks and spiritual charges, which extends the moveset a bit more along with the various grappling positions players can use (front/back, standing/ground). The R shoulder button fires the game’s menchi beam to challenge thugs to a fight and the L shoulder button blocks attacks, giving players a bit of a full repertoire to work with. Most of the time, fighting isn’t overly complicated, although with canned animations, players may find themselves attacking in the wrong direction for a combo and not being able to adjust before being hit and the sensitivity of the combo and attack timing sometimes doesn’t help matters, sticking players in more animation or executing a different attack. Regardless, players should overcome these setbacks quickly and with the vast number of moves to unlock by leveling up and defeating banchos, players will have full customization of their moves that can tie up a lot of the player’s time with experimentation. With no command strings to punch in for moves, players can execute moves without difficulty with the single push of a button, making the control scheme suitable for this style of game.

Ultimately, it will be down to the game’s seven-day time limit (each day lasts roughly half an hour of gameplay) that makes or breaks the game for players. If the mention of Dead Rising makes you cringe, this might not be the game for you, but, on that same token, I would say Kenka Bancho isn’t quite as strict as the aforementioned title. If you miss a bancho, you aren’t completely screwed thanks to the “competition” rule that any territory defeated by a bancho falls under the command of that person; meaning if a bancho defeats five other banchos before you defeat them, you gain control of that bancho’s territory plus the other five under their command. Also, various public transportation modes strewn about Kyouto can take you all across the city for a slight fee and minimal passage of time, cutting down on wandering across entire sections and losing precious time. Furthermore, missing out on some of the deadlines leads to story paths that wouldn’t normally be available if the player did everything they felt was necessary, so players won’t have to stop and quit and they certainly won’t have to revisit hours of gameplay. Even with the time management aspect of the title, picking up school itineraries from school thugs shows exactly where banchos are lurking on the city’s map, cutting down on the time players will spend seeking out their next challenge, so, in the end, the time’s concept of time is more of a guideline than it is a roadblock.

The meat of the gameplay, however, lies in the challenges and, of course, fights, which can become quite repetitive, but that’s par for the course in a game of this nature and players will no doubt expect this coming into the title. When the player isn’t progressing the story or tracking down an uncovered bancho, players will engage a number of thugs with the “menchi beam,” used to shoot a menacing glare at a would-be opponent and declaring your intent to fight – since the fighting in Kenka Bancho is based on respect, the player is punished with a decrease in rank if they do not lay down this challenge before attacking (and other things such as vandalism and threatening innocent bystanders will also decrease this rank). If the thug accepts your challenge (they can also bow in obedience or cower in fear depending on your strength and status), the player enters a “smash talk” mini-game where the player spouts a one-line taunt by pressing the face of shoulder buttons to match up a predetermined phase. This perhaps becomes the most tedious of the features, but if players really explore the feature, it can become quite fun. The game will throw in words that look similar in order to try and throw you off and entirely different phrases appear as well. I was able to get a few unique conversations from enemies in response to my nonsense taunts such as “Frogs say ribbit you moron!” which gave me a bit of a chuckle. If the player is successful in the taunt, they get a free hit in to start the fight and there are hidden selections in each case that does even more damage with the first strike. While screwing up the taunt results in an enemy first strike, experimenting with the smash talk feature is a rewarding experience on its own and gives players even more to do in a game that already has a ridiculous amount to see.

However, when you boil it down, players run into a cycle of using the menchi beam, smash talking, face smashing and repeating until they are blue in the face, which may not suit all players. It doesn’t help that the enemy AI isn’t the most challenging, mostly relying on charging straight in and relying on overwhelming numbers, but there is a fair amount to do outside of battle as well. A large amount of customization is involved, but most of the physical appearance options are merely cosmetic, giving you a number of pockets you can store mostly useless items in. While there are a large number of items in the game, they mostly only differ in how much health they restore, but there are groups of items that buffer your character or provide them a one-time benefit. This makes the stores in the game largely passable, as the enemies themselves usually drop anything you could ever need and when your pockets fill up, players then run into the dreaded Resident Evil-esque item management circus. That being said, though, the physical appearance options in the clothing and hairstyles should keep players going for some time and as players progress through the game, they’ll find some bonus items and unique clothes (as if you needed another reason to replay the game).

That being said, still, if you’re just looking for a game with a ton of action, you can’t go wrong with Kenka Bancho. The Night Out mode fills the streets with powered-up thugs to level up on if you don’t want to be bothered with time or story mechanics and the daily routines of the story mode cut the game up into bite-sized chunks. Again, the fact that Kenka Bancho can be played for a short period of time such as half an hour or for a couple of hours at a time in going through the full week makes the title a perfect fit for the portable format. Its simplicity and parallels to River City Ransom are hard to ignore, but that is definitely the game’s appeal – it harks back to the themes of the brawlers we enjoyed a decade past, bringing us an updated look at the genre with a humor and theme that most definitely stands out.

Even though the gameplay is satisfying, Kenka Bancho’s presentation isn’t exactly the most cutting-edge performance to be found in the system. The graphics resemble mid-generation Playstation 2 models and while they aren’t an eyesore, the lack of animation outside of fighting sticks out like a sore thumb. In conversations, there is a void of voice acting and through the text dialog, the characters’ faces do not animate at all, with most conversations consisting of very little animation. Players will see a few bits of flare in the special maneuvers that emit bursts of light or fire and charging your spirit also results in a flash of light, but such special effects are far and few between. The environments do hold up, however, giving players a variety of buildings and environments to scout in Kyouto and the menus are ripe with designs and are easy to navigate with shop owners giving player clever quotes with some of the in-stock items. In the end, though, the character models do lack a sliver of detail and repeat quite often with the innocent bystanders and thugs, but, thankfully, the banchos in Kyouto provide some much-needed variation in the crowds. If more animation and flare were thrown in along with some polish, Kenka Bancho could have looked as badass as it plays.

The more glaring offender, however, lies in the sound, with its repetitious music, lack of voice acting outside of grunts, yells and squeals, and absence of music through any section where there is no activity. Most of the time players will be listening to the sounds of the environment, which isn’t too bad with noises such as bustling traffic (from the vehicles that can run you over) or wildlife, but most of the travel in the game will only be accompanied by the footsteps of the player. When the music does chime in, it is serviceable, but outside of the smash talk theme, which blares through the speakers and is incredibly recognizable, there are very few tracks to be heard. It’s understandable that full voice acting isn’t included in Kenka Bancho with its portable format, but the voice effects provided also become repetitious and can even border on annoying. However, the fighting sound effects do their job effectively with heavy smacks and thuds and energy effects emitting from special attacks, but they do little to save how weak the rest of the audible package is in Kenka Bancho.

Overall, Kenka Bancho is an old-school package with a burst of freedom and customization that players of today demand from their game titles. It certainly has its ups and downs, but, as a whole, Badass Rumble is a satisfying package that gives players plenty of fistfights and attitude. If anything, hopefully a little retail success can fuel more entries in this series, as a little bit of improvement in some key areas and a bolster in its content could make it a must-have title.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 4 of 5

Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble might not sport the best graphics or stellar sound, but its gameplay is an example of why I love brawlers. Even though it can be repetitive and has a few gameplay quirks, Kenka Bancho has plenty of attitude and humor to lure players to the game and features solid gameplay, entertaining storytelling and a massive amount of replayability to keep them coming back for more. Much like Fable or Way of the Samurai, players will have to know that Badass Rumble is a relatively short game that needs to be played repeatedly in different ways and while this approach and the game’s time-based mechanic may turn some players away, they stand to miss one of the PSP’s most unique and crazy games to release this year.

Genesis Review: Beggar Prince

2011-01-17T11:54:00.000-08:00

Super Fighter Team’s first “modern-classic” put the developer on the map, molding a Chinese-developed Genesis game into a reworked and more polished RPG players could tackle in the U.S. or in PAL territories. 1996’s Xin Qigai Wangzi was given an English facelift by SFT in 2006, resulting in the first commercial Genesis game since 1998 – Beggar Prince.

Given the original title translates to The New Prince and the Pauper, it should come as no surprise Beggar Prince borrows its initial premise from the classic Mark Twain work. Bored with the confines of the castle, the Prince of Shatt sneaks out of the castle and meets a pauper who uncannily resembles him. Predictably, the two trade places but unbeknownst to the kingdom, the minister has been plotting to overthrow the king and upon witnessing the switch, throws his plan into action.

Seeing as the title is on the Genesis format, even though Prince is a 2006 release, players can’t walk into the game with a 2006 mentality. That being said, Beggar Princes looks amazing compared to other games on the system, with a ton of detail placed in the environments and while the character models are small, they feature a lot of color, and the spell effects receive the same appropriate attention. The sound drags down the presentation quite a bit, however, as most of the music is forgettable but the effects do their job.

Thankfully, the developers squashed a great number of the bugs plaguing the original Eastern release, but the title’s extremely challenging game play may make or break the title for players. In Eastern RPG fashion, the enemy encounters are frequent and since players control no one more than the Prince the entire game, players will have a long quest ahead of them. Also, unlike most turn-based RPGs, Prince has quite a bit more strategy involved thanks to the stamina system (which can be a good thing depending on how much you like to think). While players will uncover a good amount of spells, weapons and items to use, the monsters are brutal if players don’t level up properly and the challenge may turn off a number of people.

Those who are looking for a challenging RPG will be right at home with Beggar Prince but the casual need not apply here. If you’re willing to take the dive, however, you’ll find a visually appealing game that will last you quite some time. The title is only available in nicely packaged limited quantities at superfighter.net and if production stops on the game, it may raise beyond its current $40 retail value.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 3 of 5

Wii Review: We Cheer 2

2011-01-13T11:54:00.000-08:00

Prior to the advent of systems such as the Nintendo Wii and DS, if you had told me I would be reviewing a game about cheerleading, I would have labeled you as one daft fellow, but here we are in 2009 and there are a handful of games available based on the competitive activity. That’s not an attempt to discredit cheerleading, but it goes to show you how gaming has evolved in leaps and bounds to involve different demographics, which I am quite pleased with. Apparently, Namco-Bandai had some luck with its first attempt in We Cheer, that, recently, the Nintendo Wii has been graced with a sequel. With rhythm-based routines to more than 30 tunes, We Cheer 2 is leaps and bounds beyond what you are probably expecting going into the title and, for the most part, it nails motion-based rhythm better than most Wii titles, however, there are a few nagging issues that still hold the series back from its full potential.

Right off the bat, it should be expected We Cheer will attract the attention of the young female crowd and, as such, there is a lot on offer to appeal to this demographic. The licensed tunes are appropriate selections one could easily imagine being grouped with cheerleading routines, the title emulates using pom-poms and the squad customization options will allow players to set up a number of different aspects to their liking. I’m going to imagine there will be some people out there that wouldn’t be caught dead playing We Cheer, but, in that regard, this title plainly isn’t for that crowd. What you’ll get with We Cheer 2 is an improved version of the original, so if you enjoyed the first entry or are just curious about the title, you won’t go wrong with the sequel.

The title’s presentation is very serviceable, offering up some unique, cartoon-styled characters that animate well, which is key, considering the game’s movement is based upon rhythmic actions in time to music. Owners of the first title may recognize a lot of recycled materials re-appearing in We Cheer 2 and the character models aren’t the most detailed (although this sequel adds in male cheerleaders for the first time), but you’ll see a lot of color and interesting venues, especially when you add in the nods to classic Namco franchises such as Pac-Man and Tekken (Panda appears in the game’s training mode). There aren’t very many voice samples in the title, but what is provided serves its purpose with those sticking with the game being able to know what to do via some of the verbal cues. The title’s sound effects are standard fare as well, but this is to be expected as in a music/rhythm-based title, the music is suppose to take the stage and this is thankfully the case in We Cheer 2. The music plays cleanly in-game and there are enough recognizable tunes to appeal to the title’s demographic.

On the basis of gameplay, players are essentially getting the same experience as featured in the original title, however, a lot of care has seemingly gone into not only expanding the experience, but also improving on the playability of the series. We Cheer 2 makes the motion controlling much simpler than in the first title – button commands no longer have to accompany motions, the timing is more lenient with new indicators letting the player know if they need to motion faster or slower, the conditions to have stunts and extra movements for bonus points has been relaxed and there are now three difficulty levels per song that includes an easier difficulty setting. We Cheer 2 also makes the single-player progression a free-form affair allowing players to choose songs and venues instead of sticking them specific routines in order to advance. Still, there is a Squad Challenge that mixes in a “story” that has players trying out for a squad and moving on through competitions. Through the course of performance, players earn experience and cash in order to unlock items or purchase customizable goods respectively. In the grand scheme of things, there is a ton to do and uncover in We Cheer 2 and anyone hooked on the game will easily be coming back for more.

Overall, the game is easy to get the hang of and being able to wield one or two Wii Remotes to simulate a pom pom gives the gameplay motions some credibility. There are some accuracy issues with the motion controls, however, which become clearly evident on the hardest difficulties. If Namco-Bandai wants to continue with the series, from here on out, Wii Motion Plus will have to be a must as there will no doubt be some instances where players will feel there were cheated on a motion input. On the other hand, though, the control is mostly sufficient for the forgiving easier levels and when you look at the bottom line, the core audience of the title will most likely not care they are not getting perfect scores in every routine. The motions all make sense given the context of the cheerleading routines, the upbeat routines will give players a mild workout and We Cheer 2 serves as a simple, yet entertaining rhythm title that succeeds on a lot of fronts.

Players will probably spend most of their time in the single-player mode, which, while it has a lot to unlock, will most likely only hold most dedicated players over for a couple of hours. There are multiplayer modes that span basic score competitions, but also a couple of modes that play out as being similar to hot potato and survival. The span of modes gives the title a bit of variety, but some of the battle mode aspects aren’t quite as fleshed out, especially considering there are certain animations that stick players with the “potato” (which is a rapidly-filling balloon) while time whittles down. Regardless, We Cheer 2 could easily be tossed in to any slumber party as it features enough material and multiplayer possibilities to be tossed around among a group of friends.

Sure, the title clearly isn’t for everyone, but when you drop the cheerleading gimmick from the game, you are left with a respectable rhythm effort. While the original title seemingly didn’t win over too many fans, there has been enough additions and improvements crafted into We Cheer 2 to recommend it over the original entry and a number of other less than stellar music game efforts on the Nintendo Wii. While it is still rough in a handful of areas, especially in its control, We Cheer 2 features colorful and lively visuals, an appropriate soundtrack and it’s fun to play with others. I can’t recommend the title to everyone, but if you even have a remote interest in cheerleading or this title, it should prove to be a satisfying experience.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 3 of 5

Xbox 360 Review: Way of the Samurai 3

2011-01-10T11:53:00.000-08:00

Way of the Samurai has had an interesting history in the United States, but through its low-key releases and near misses to the North American market, the series ultimately has quite the cult following. Billed as a samurai adventure, the series has been compared to established franchises such as Fable, based on its decision making, consequences and themes of morality. Enjoying moderate success, the franchise has jumped from the Playstation 2 format to the Xbox 360 thanks to an effort by UFO Interactive (as well as the Playstation 3, although this entry is published courtesy of Agetec). With the expansive offerings seen in the first two entries, it should be expected the 360 hardware would considerably bump up the replayability and scope of the game. Unfortunately, the answer to this expectation is a mix of yes and no and while Way of the Samurai 3 does a number of mechanics to satisfaction, a number of others fall pretty flat.

Just like the other entries of the series, the title puts players in the role of a wandering samurai in which your past has no bearing in the game, but your character’s future is entirely dependent on the actions and choices made through the course of gameplay. In Way of the Samurai 3, specifically, the player appears to be mixed into warfare from the feudal era, when an attack deals a crippling injury to their player. Miraculously surviving and waking up among a battlefield littered with fallen soldiers, the player begins their quest from here and immediately the factors of choice and story development unfold as villagers scoping the battlefield will show concern for you – you can be nice to receive their help or tell them to piss off either verbally or by unsheathing your sword and scaring them away.

While every story path will revolve around the warring states in the vicinity of Amana and various clans vying for control of the territory and the villages affected by this warfare, it is up to the player to decide how events unfold from the beginning up until the impending invasion of the forces of Nobunaga Oda. Ultimately, the story is decided on by the player, which greatly increases the title’s appeal and, in this manner, players are free to do as they please, whether those actions are good, neutral or evil, in order to uncover the game’s more than 20 different endings. While the scripting is hardly mind-blowing, the story is very serviceable and holds true to its source setting and there are some fairly entertaining bits of dialog to be found, even though it is usually sluggishly told through word bubbles that pop on the screen (and when multiple people are talking, this can be quite annoying). As archaic as the delivery might be in regard to today’s standards, adventure aficionados that have seen their fair share of classic titles might fit right at home with the simple text dialog and menu-based delivery. Most of the game is hosted in the traditional single-player story, which, given the amount of options available to the player isn’t necessarily a bad point, but the title doesn’t feature depth in its modes and even some simple online functionality that allowed players to take their custom character online to duel other players would have taken the title a bit further in its offerings.

Before we dive into the gameplay, I will have to point out that technology junkies will surely be put off by the title’s presentation. Way of the Samurai 3 seems as if it was developed originally for the Playstation 2 or on a lower budget because it definitely shows in the game’s visuals and audio. Everything here is certainly passable, but nothing uses the true processing of the Xbox 360 as you’ll see undetailed character models that lack much animation during conversations, pop-up runs wild in certain parts of the title and players will be sure to notice the lack of detail and jagged model edges in the cutscenes. What is provided for the game’s audio measures up just a little better, but with very little voice acting in the title (with the English voices being a bit shaky in quality for the most part), players will mostly be treated to ambient sounds that get the job done. In perhaps the game’s real shining moment in presentation, during certain situations, players will be treated to music that is fitting for the time period. Overall, I wouldn’t say Way of the Samurai 3 has bad presentation, it just needed a lot more polish than what it received and doesn’t hold a candle to most of the game’s seen on the format.

Thankfully, the meat of the game is ripe with satisfying gameplay that the player can tackle in short bursts or long periods of time. Playing by the rules, players will end up doing a fair share of quests, exploration and decision making instead of haphazardly instigating fights, but given the fact these aspects shape the game as a whole, they become immediately engrossing as slight differences in the player’s actions can create the infamous butterfly effect. If you’re truly thirsting for blood, however, who you attack and off in the game does serve as a significant factor in how the world turns out in the end even though it hinders your overall progress in the game by reducing your samurai points that unlock various features in the game. In Way of the Samurai 3, if the player executes a unique character, they never come back for that specific playthrough, however, more honorable samurai will utilize the game’s new feature to attack with the blunt side of the weapon in order to merely knockout that character and immobilize them for a while. Another new mechanic remedies the problems encountered in many other titles in the genre, by allowing the player to bow down and apologize if they accidentally threaten someone (it also does a few other quirky acts such interact with cats or allow the player to beg for money). Along with dialog choices and the ability to unsheathe your sword during any event, a number of mechanics are in place to keep the premise of the game interesting and the branching series of events keep different elements of the game intriguing to return to.

Even if the story isn’t your thing, this installment of Way of the Samurai eliminates the time limitations placed on the player, allowing them to spend whatever time they wish to in the game world before engaging in the final few events of the game. Much like previous entries of the game, this allows players to collect a huge assortment of weapons that can be stored for later use and the weapon crafting system alone has the potential to keep players engrossed in the management the game has to offer. Not only can players pick fights, but they can also foster relationships with key characters and even convince them to be companions that can aid in battle, provide support or even steal from you if you don’t keep an eye on them. Also, through battle, players can raise their abilities with a given weapon, learning new moves with it, but care will also have be given to each weapon as if a weapon loses its durability, it can break and be lost for good. With such examples to supplement the title’s gameplay, it becomes somewhat of a simulation, supplementing the adventure and action aspects of the title for those that like to tinker with collectibles and inventory.

Battling remains very similar to the way it was executed in Way of the Samurai 2, where parries are performed with timing a block with an enemy’s attack as opposed to the original entry, which used directional controls to manipulate the enemy’s momentum. This becomes quite important in allowing players to execute one-hit kills with counters and play passively to adapt to the enemies’ actions. The parrying becomes crucial since being reckless with your weapons will quickly lead to their durability fading away. While mowing down grunt enemies can become a bit repetitive, as the player progresses, there will be more suitable enemies to test the player’s skill and with multiple difficulty settings, players should be able to find a suitably satisfying fight. At face value, the player has a “weak” and “strong” attack, but when you factor in the numerous weapon types and techniques that players eventually uncover, players can mix in a number of offensive strings to compliment the defensive techniques. To further add to the exploration, players can use some wacky weapons such as garden utensils or wield vegetables and scrappy fighters can opt to go to battle with their fists.

That being said, though, everything in Way of the Samurai 3 is a pretty straightforward game and while there is a ton of interesting aspects to do and see, the execution will most likely fall a bit short from most current-generation gamers’ expectations. The game’s targeting and camera work can be a bit suspect at times and while the fighting is overall satisfying, players will most likely expect a bit more scope from the title, which only has a rough handful of environments to check out. Way of the Samurai 3 is one of those titles that is short at face value, taking only an hour or two to reach an ending, but encourages multiple playthroughs and, as such, it may potentially only hold a player’s attention for a couple of times before they move on to something else. The customization of the character is fairly bare-bones and while a number of features such as dual-wielding weapons and more can be unlocked, players will find themselves going through the same processes multiple times to reach this goal and the game’s samurai points are actually pretty easy to exploit for quick advancement that creates a bit of an unbalanced player progression. Thankfully, the multiple difficulties and satisfying fights level out the game’s balance and the quantity of content makes the title worth its price tag.

However, the questionable aspect at hand for a gamer deciding whether or not to pick up Way of the Samurai 3 is in the quality of its content. Acquire has created a unique approach to the “sandbox” style of gameplay many current gamers are familiar with, but with its behind-the-times presentation and calculating gameplay, Grand Theft Auto this is not, which is made most obvious through the game’s slower pacing. One of the first quests has you fetching an old lady’s underwear, which can be stolen from your inventory by crows, definitely setting up a questionable entry into the game, but as players progress or become more unruly, they’ll begin to find more options and action in quests such as punishing thieves. Regardless, Way of the Samurai 3 can still manage to be a satisfying time sink if players can overlook its downsides. Unlike a game such as Grand Theft Auto IV that revolves around giving a story to the player, Way of the Samurai 3 does the reverse and allows the player to dictate the story, allowing the player to make the character his or her own and this even carries over into the possibility of death, which effectively ends the story for that playthrough. This may upset some gamers, but with the ability to keep all money and items earned through the player’s career, the game features enough appeal and content to keep players diving right back in.

Right now, Acquire and Spike have the content feature nailed down with its Japanese releases and if future titles can build upon this with more quality and polish, Way of the Samurai will be a series to recommend without hesitation. There is plenty of appeal and replayability in the series as a whole and this definitely isn’t lost in the series. However, it’s hard to ignore that the title does not take advantage of the hardware, which is perhaps the biggest downside of the game. Sure there are other quirks in the game’s progression and combat, but they can be easily overlooked to find a satisfying title that players can come back to time and time again.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 3 of 5

Much like its predecessors, while Way of the Samurai 3 fails to really flex the system’s hardware muscle, it doesn’t stray from providing the replayability and unique, interesting gameplay the series is known for. The newest installment adds enough new features to freshen up the series while remaining true to its roots, but the fact it does not take advantage of the hardware is one of the title’s crippling downsides. You’ll also have a number of graphical and camera issues along with some questionable quality among the game’s huge scope of content, but at the end of the day, Way of the Samurai 3 is a title you can come back to numerous times and it will most likely have something new to show you.

Xbox 360 Review: Band Hero

2011-01-07T11:52:00.000-08:00

Through the course of 2009, we’ve seen the Guitar Hero franchise multiply like rabbits and with Van Halen on the horizon, you can at least count on one more release in the series to hit consoles this year. Crunched into the music market last month, console gamers were treated to a new spin-off entitled Band Hero. At face value, Band Hero serves as a more welcome addition to the franchise than most people will give new Guitar Hero titles credit for. While most of Activision’s Hero releases cater to specific bands, Band Hero opens up a wider, and arguably, untapped demographic in an attempt to stray from the edgier rock anthems to provide more pop-oriented and well-known classics to draw in a more family and multiplayer-focused affair to encourage more accessible multiplayer and party excursions. The attempt is definitely more noble than most of its releases; however, with some confusing material, lack of innovation and strong competition against Harmonix’s LEGO Rock Band, this otherwise solid game can be easily lost in the shuffle, especially if you’re not a fan of the songlist offering.

To sum it up in the least amount of words possible, Band Hero is a spot-on replication of Guitar Hero 5 with a few presentation tweaks and, obviously, a new, niche songlist. On one hand, this is a fantastic aspect of the game as the modes and accessibility found in Guitar Hero 5 easily makes it the best title in the series in regard to balancing, freedom of progression and ease of use. As such, as a carbon copy of the format, Band Hero is just as accessible, which is a blessing considering the target audience for the title. On the other hand, this is the exact same game I reviewed about two months ago, as you can see from this snippet of that review:

“Let’s just say I’m not going to waste my time explaining the game’s premise. Since you are reading this review online, you have the Internet and have some interest in games, so I’m inclined to believe you aren’t an anti-social hermit that has never heard of Guitar Hero. Every staple mechanic found in World Tour returns, meaning you have selections between quickplay and career modes (albeit these are now fully fleshed out with online features), the band, character and instrument creation tools, GHMix makes a return with a few more options and the competitive modes make a return with a bit more emphasis and twists. For the most part, the “new” modes are just twists on ones already given to us in previous entries but the sequel does pack on some dandy features.

Hands-down, the biggest feature lies in the fact that Guitar Hero 5 allows players to play whatever instrument they please, regardless of whether or not someone is already on that instrument. No longer do the expert guitar players have to fight amongst themselves to see who gets “demoted” to bass, as bands can consist of five lead guitars if that is the players’ desire. The mixing and matching is by far the game’s greatest accomplishment and puts its flexibility beyond what is even found in Rock Band’s entries. Guitar Hero 5 also dumps World Tour’s long-winded and painful career mode and cash earnings to provide players with challenges per each song. This is a most welcome change as not only are players able to tackle the career in a bite-sized, per-song fashion, but each song has an instrument specific challenge (such as using only upstrums on bass guitar, holding on to a 4x multiplier as long as you can, whammying sustains for specified timeframes, etc.) that will have players coming back to songs with different instruments and full bands for those high-scoring band achievements (which is strengthened by the smart decision to finally allow the career to go online). These challenges are now what unlocks the hidden characters, cheats and customization goods and all 85 tracks are available from the getgo, meaning players won’t have to slave away for cash to enjoy certain songs. These two features are certainly well-played on Neversoft’s part.”

Sure the feature set is indeed full, especially when you add in the other additions to GH5 such as the band moments and party modes, but seeing as the name Band Hero implies Activision is trying to take something in a different direction, it’s a bit painful to see no effort whatsoever being made to differentiate itself from a game released two months ago. I mean, GHMix wasn’t even changed to BHMix or something different. If the Band Hero series wants to continue, it could definitely use a shot in the arm to differentiate itself because, as it stands, the song list is the only feature that will pull players into this game and I’ll tell you right now, Band Hero’s song list will turn away a lot of people.

On that same token, though, the title’s song list will pull in a good chunk of players based on its more pop-oriented tones. Names such as Hillary Duff and Taylor Swift have such huge fan bases that two such names on their own would warrant a purchase from some and you’ll see other recent names such as Maroon 5 and No Doubt mixed in with classic acts such as Jackson 5, Carl Douglas, Don McLean and Marvin Gaye. The lineup does have some “name brand” power to it, although it touches on the lighter side of rock and this will admittedly turn away some Guitar Hero players, however, given the context, I believe the included acts touch on the intended demographic extremely well.

The gameplay in Band Hero largely remains untouched: Strum, strike or sing on your favorite instrument as indicated by the game. Of course we wouldn’t expect this foundation to change, but don’t expect any leaps and bounds toward the improvement or innovation of these features. With the career mode challenges, thankfully, more variety has been injected into the tasks, providing a little bit of freshness for the title and preventing the mode from getting as repetitive as it does in Guitar Hero 5. Otherwise, you’re getting the same linear experience with the mode – earn stars from song selection chunks to progress to the next venue and complete challenges to unlock character items, which, for some people, are completely worthless. The basic approach to the career mode worked in Guitar Hero 5 as it was much better than what was implemented prior, but not seeing the mode progress at all in Band Hero is certainly a bummer.

Being built off Guitar Hero 5 means you will see a lot of the same visuals and menus as well as sound effects directly recycled in Band Hero – with so much borrowed material, Band Hero really seems more like a expansion or track pack, but with more than 60 songs and many not being available elsewhere, I wouldn’t say Activision is overcharging on the title. The default characters do receive some touch-ups with new attire that reflects the pop presentation of the game, but every character’s GH5 outfit is included as well. On the whole, you do receive some additions that cater to the target demo of the title, but players won’t find anything mindblowing and the quantity of such material isn’t exactly overwhelming. The two major graphical changes seen in Band Hero is in the menus being re-skinned to feature all sort of purple/pink colors to perhaps appeal to the female demographic and a host of new venues that range from your basic mall to spring break resorts and all the way into space. The venues do sport a sliver more craziness to them and do provide a bit more variety to them than the previous versions’ stereotypically worldly locales, however, you still get recycled characters placed on top of them for the most part. Of course, the career movies are replaced with new ones, but these are just as generic and not entertaining as ever and fail to really tell any sort of interesting story. With those features aside, you’re getting everything handed directly over from Guitar Hero 5 – it looks great for the most part, but some jaggies on the characters and a few instances of transparency issues on the tap notes take the graphics down just a notch.

As I’ve stated before, the song selection could potentially turn away a lot of players, but when you look at the tunes from a technical standpoint, everything is in tip-top shape here. The audio rings through clearly and stage effects and pyro boom through your speakers, really pounding the rock experience into your ears. However, again, you do get a lot of recycled sound effects, but given that the music is real star of the audio, it is mostly forgettable. On that note, however, there are some really questionable song choices that go against the grain here. In a game catering toward family play and tweeners, there are a handful of songs containing questionable sexual content for this group and there are some really bizarre content edits, most infamously in the muting of the word “whiskey” in American Pie, that may draw the ire of fans of these songs.

The charting on the songs also potentially go overboard, with even some of the tunes being a bit of a challenge on the medium difficulty. In trying to go for a more casual audience, one would think the difficulty would be eased up just a tad. Seasoned Guitar Hero players will no doubt go to town on the expert difficulty and, yes, I would believe there are eight-year-olds out there that can shred with the best of them – I’m not out to discredit the younger crowd – but Band Hero should really be drawing in the casual crowd that doesn’t play the game regularly. Finally, Activision is beginning to go way overboard on its implementation of faux instruments – if I’m holding a guitar, I should be playing the guitar, not switching over to instruments such as the piano, trumpet or such at the expense of finding a way to use the tap buttons. A few of the songs really abuse this use of the tap notes and it just did nothing but take me out of the experience with its absurdity, especially with the piano trills found at the end of I Heard It Through the Grapevine. On the whole, while the lineup of tunes really hits home, the way they are implemented among the context of the demographic had me scratching my head a number of times.

In another bit of progress with the series, Band Hero does offer the ability to export and import tracks between a few of the franchise’s games along with implementation of downloadable tracks. While it isn’t a feature new to Band Hero, it shows Activision is showing dedication to the cause and with the admittedly generous offering of free tracks available from World Tour through the newest titles, players can easily bump up the song offerings beyond the initial 65 without any extra cost. I would like to see this Band Hero series continue for the sake of the casual crowd, but, if it does, this spin-off really needs to somehow differentiate itself beyond splashing everything with what I’ve heard some people refer to as “girl colors.” It has a nice approach and thought going for it and maybe even a deal with a label such as the various artist CD collection of NOW! could lend some credibility to this extension in the future. As it stands now, however, Band Hero is a carbon copy of Guitar Hero 5 and fails to produce anything fresh while implementing a song list that will no doubt alienate a lot of people no matter how well put together it is.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 3 of 5

Many people will probably come into a review of Band Hero expecting the reviewer to lambast the song list choices in the title, but, that’s just not the case. Activision and crew has actually assembled quite a suitable song list for a new demographic in family and party play while implementing pop songs to appeal to tweeners and these are appropriate grounds for a spin-off. The crutch here is in the title doing nothing to differentiate itself from Guitar Hero 5 aside from a purple and pink menu skin and a new song list – you’ll even see instances where the developers couldn’t even be bothered to remove instances of the initials “GH” from a number of items. This leaves the title feeling more like an expansion or track pack than anything with its own identity and is no doubt the title’s biggest failure. Also, there are confusing ways the content is implemented that wholly works against the grain when you take a look at who Band Hero tries to appeal to and these additions are no doubt going to drive a good portion of longtime Guitar Hero fans away from this entry. When you get over these glaring downsides, however, you still have the foundation of an enjoyable experience and everything that made Guitar Hero 5fun carries over into Band Hero. Band Hero is another instance where my recommendation would be based solely on whether or not you enjoy the song selection offered in the title. The fun of Guitar Hero is still here, but this spin-off has a long way to go in building its identity and offering something music game fans must have.

XBLA Review: Gyromancer

2011-01-04T11:51:00.000-08:00

It seems you can’t release a puzzle game anymore without having some sort secondary genre gimmick, and the newest puzzle and RPG hybrid comes from the combined efforts of a company known for casual puzzlers and another company that is most certainly known for its RPG titles. PopCap and Square Enix have teamed up for a new downloadable effort entitled Gyromancer, and given this team up, players are certainly expecting great things to be birthed from this collaboration. While the initial concept is hardly original, these companies’ new spin on the hybrid effort pieces together with far more pros than cons, resulting in a title that doesn’t just copy the full Puzzle Quest formula.

In Gyromancer, players assume the role of Rivel, a beast summoner on a quest through Aldemona Wood. Of course, the quest hardly plays out smoothly and Rivel runs into resistance, and in typical RPG fashion, he becomes involved in a larger plot. The story progresses at the beginning and end of each stage along with dialog at specific encounters. Overall, the scripting is handled fairly well and the splashes of “Ye ole English” give the dialog a bit of a unique flair; however, every bit of story is handled with static portraits that rarely change to show emotions and action. Also, even though I enjoy the classic dialog style, I could imagine some players would find it hard to follow, and there were a few portions of the story that I found confusing due to the story flow and the methods used to tell the story. The storyline is standard fare for any RPG title, however, the way it is told lacks any sort of polish outside of dialect – some animations, brief cutscenes, more backgrounds, more portraits, small voice clips or really just anything in this vein would have thrust the storytelling to a much higher score. This is especially true since the single player storyline is the only mode Gyromancer has to cling to. While players can unlock “gauntlets” of enemies to run through, there is no free play or multiplayer to speak of, which is undoubtedly the title’s most glaring weakness.

Fortunately, aside from the blatant lack of originality I’ve already touched on, everything else proves to be a much better experience for players. While most of the game’s visuals are static, they are very well done, featuring a fantasy theme that one might say is comparable to the art from Magic: The Gathering. It works extremely well in context, and each character and beast is drawn in extravagant detail. However, again, the glaring lack of animation in most of the art really works against the visuals. The map screens literally looks like a player is moving a game piece on a game board, leaving most of the graphical punch to rely on the bursts and flashes of lighting seen when players trigger switches or similar events on the map. Even in battle, attacks are given the same treatment, with the beast/character portraits never animating or featuring different stills to convey actions, pain, fatigue or victory. The bottom line is the visuals provided in Gyromancer are very well defined, however, they are just never given the chance to truly shine due to their repetition – even some minor animations and alternate portraits could have raised the graphics score into the INCREDIBLE or above territory, because the drawings are, in fact, that well done.

Not only is Gyromancer great on the eyes, but the sound also comes through to round out a satisfying presentation. Anyone who has picked up a puzzle-RPG hybrid should know what to expect from Gryomancer’s sound effects, which mostly come from your basic puzzle game effects of rotating pieces, the bursting of gems and the jingles associated with navigating menus. Gyromancer takes it a bit further, with sound effects that reflect nature elements based on the affinity of a given attack, and appropriate music accompanies every scenario in the game. Players are welcomed to the game with a loud, epic sounding piece, the story-based and map segments are appropriately calm, and the strength of the enemy determines how intense the music is. For a game of this nature, there is a surprising sampling of tunes, and each is used at very appropriate times.

Honestly, there isn’t much novelty to the gameplay, however, that isn’t to say players won’t have an engaging and fun experience with Gyromancer. Not only will the theme be familiar to anyone that has picked up a title such as Puzzle Quest, but the basic mechanic implemented for the puzzle gameplay is a pound for pound recreation of Bejweled Twist, courtesy of PopCap. For those not in the know, Twist follows the same match-three mechanics as Bejeweled, however, players position four jewels at the same time and movements may only be made in a clockwise rotation, which really limits the player’s options and adds challenge to the game. In Gyromancer, of course, this formula has been expanded upon – matching jewels adds juice to your beast’s three attacks, and by filling up an attack, a jewel on the playfield is sparked with energy. Grouping this sparked jewel in a match inflicts damage to your opponent. Of course, players are facing off against an enemy and, as such, every single move made by a player juices up their attack meters, and when an enemy meter fills, a jewel is ignited with enemy energy, leaving a player with seven turns to remove it from the playfield before the attack damages them.

Everything starts off simple enough – players are positioned on simple maps with little room for exploration against standard enemies with very little to worry about in regard to penalties. While on maps, players can move one space at a time. Moving onto the same space as a skull thrusts players into a minor battle, players are shown a full beast skeleton that shows where that level’s boss is, fountains restore some of your beasts’ health and there are code icons which allow players to purchase new forms of beasts in a shop. As players progress though, they will run into roadblocks that have players solving a puzzle (such as clear x amount of jewels at the same time, make an x chain, etc.) in order to proceed, certain spaces on the map will force players to automatically move in a specific direction, enemy spawn points will appear with mini-boss characters and more. Even in the battles, enemies will throw a bunch of tricks at you, locking jewels in place, turning jewels into useless rock pieces and more. Fortunately, more tricks become available to players as well, as they come across items that allow them to rotate counter-clockwise for one turn, reset buffers and more. Obviously, as players progress, the game gives them a Pokemon vibe of “gotta catch them all,” offering up a number of beast types with three different evolutions each to provide more powerful forms that give players a chance on the later levels.

As such, while some players may find the game to be insultingly easy in the beginning, the pace definitely picks up, providing some thought-provoking challenge, especially when players begin being severely punished for taking turns that do not clear jewels from the field. It may take a few stages too long to really pick up, but once players dive into all of the nuances that makes Gyromancer so much different than other titles in the genre, that’s the point where the title becomes the most addictive and rewarding. All of the controls are simple in puzzle game fashion, but the actual mechanics surrounding them is what makes the game so intricate. Even so, there are some safeguards that allows less skilled players to manage in the game, with indicators notifying players of possible matches when they are stuck and at any time on the map or in battle, players can press a help button to allow them to highlight anything of note on the screen for a description. While puzzle veterans might feel the game takes a tad too long to get to the meat of the meal, these mechanics should be more than enough to ease anyone into the game in preparation for when the challenge starts to kick in.

While the title sounds like a straightforward puzzle romp through more than ten levels, Gyromancer does a lot to encourage players to revisit levels a number of times, and the scope of hidden items and multiple paths on the maps should have players coming back to them time and time again. Not only will players have to take part in a number of battles to keep their beasts leveled up, but in nearly every map, defeating the boss opens up a locked path that takes players to new sections of the level that can be nearly the size of the original level. This encourages players to revisit the level to find a large number of new beast codes, items and gil. Not only do the new areas open up, but each level features a lineup of “achievements.” Defeating the boss character unlocks the first achievement, but players will have to go back and take out the mini-bosses, find four codes per stage, score x amounts of points and more to have a complete 100 percent clearing of the level. As I’ve mentioned earlier, players will also unlock a “gauntlet” lineup of monsters, which is the closest Gyromancer comes to offering a type of free play mode, so PopCap and Square Enix has implemented a number of mechanics to keep players coming back time and again, and very little of these mechanics seem forced or cheap.

Overall, the companies have seemingly combined the puzzle, RPG and monster management genres all into one, satisfying package. There is a ton to do and see, and in my experience, I found a good amount of challenge to the title. Since the CPU has no active turns, getting damaged was less a matter of the computer taking the best possible move every time combined with luck; here, the player’s skill (well, yes, along with some luck) is the determining factor in what plays out in Gyromancer. Most of the downsides to the title amount to a lack of polish to the solid mechanics implemented in the title, but the full package is a welcome addition to the Xbox LIVE Arcade library. The mash of themes should be appealing to anyone looking for a solid puzzler and although most of what is presented is hardly original, there are a number of small additions to keep Gyromancer fresh and a worthy purchase. While the lack of a multiplayer or online component is disheartening, what the title does offer will keep dedicated puzzle fans tied to the system for a number of hours.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 4 of 5

Gyromancer hits the ball out of the park in every department a puzzle game should – the challenging mechanics and rewards make the title addictive and there is a score of replayability in this seemingly simple title. You’ll find some kinks in the game’s storytelling and the title is far from original, but PopCap and Square Enix have managed to craft an extremely solid downloadable title. Some lack of polish and slow initial pacing hold the title back just a tad, but once players dive into the meat of the game, it becomes very hard to put the controller down. At the heart of the title is a total recreation of Bejeweled Twist, but the tweaks and additions make Gyromancer a very intriguing title that can hold players’ attentions for hours at a time.

Wii Review: Wario Ware: Smooth Moves

2010-12-26T11:50:00.000-08:00

By now it's become almost some sort of unwritten law that when you develop a game for a Nintendo system, it has to feature mini-games as well. Nintendo's newest Wii effort harks back to a mini-game series it created on the Game Boy Advance. While the Wario Ware name is nothing new, the innovations Nintendo continues to inject into the series still makes it one of the most appealing and freshest franchises on the market.

Of course with Wario Ware: Smooth Moves being on the Wii, the mass of mini-games thrown at players will utilize the Wii Remote in a crazy number of fashions. While one could say the choice of control is the only asset that sets Smooth Moves apart from its predecessors, the motion control really does add that extra layer of game play which prevents the game from being a mere "been there, done that" affair.

The premise of the game hasn't changed one iota since the original released almost four years ago: Players work their way through a number of levels, each designated by a character in the Wario Ware universe. The levels are filled with nothing but a string of mini-game in which players can only fail four mini-games. Each stage only takes a few seconds to complete but as the stage progresses the mini-games speed up and lead to a more-involving boss stage.

While in initial execution, the stages will only take a couple of minutes to work through, completing them will unlock more stages as well as a number of extra features, galleries, extended mini-games and multiplayer modes. After completion, players can also return to the stages and work through them endlessly in order to obtain personal high scores. So while gamers will rip the plastic off Wario Ware and start off with barebones options, through single-player dedication, eventually a bevy of options will be selectable.

Unfortunately, that marked a glaring weakness for me as Wario Ware: Smooth Moves does not come with multiplayer out of the box. Furthermore, the multiplayer modes won't even surface as selectable options until someone completes the single-player mode's storyline (which will round out at about two to three hours unless one is sidetracked by some of the unlockable options).

Being able to fly through the game in a couple of hours isn't the most appealing of features for those who aren't completists or willing to replay levels endlessly. However, Smooth Moves executes very well on the Wii – the game really shows off the capabilities of the remote, can be picked up and played by virtually anyone and has a multitude of options that can occupy players for either a few minutes or hours at a time. It, in essence, is one of the titles that exemplify the "everyone" philosophy the Wii was created behind.

Smooth Moves brings a variety of art styles to the table all of which are visually appealing and lend to the series' wacky off-the-wall charm. While the menus and cut scenes feature a vivid, crisp paper animation-type style, the mini-games are appropriately themed with some featuring mere lines and white backgrounds, some are more meticulous featuring full environments and characters and others are exact copies of Nintendo titles (my personal favorite theme). With so much going on in such a short time span, the game is always visually stimulating and stays true to random nature of the series.

The audio of Smooth Moves is just as random; yet, it is appropriate to each situation. The music drives the action along in the background, most of which is quite strange, and speeds up along with the progressing levels. As a bonus, the music and sound in each of the retro Nintendo stages is true to the original game, including titles such as Star Fox, Punch Out!!, Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, Animal Crossing and much more.

Players should be thankful all of the control schemes in Smooth Moves are explained in "inspirational" segments, which, much like the rest of the game, are quite humorous. The demanding mini-games are each proceeded with a picture of the control schematic that will be utilized in the next mini-game, giving them a few seconds to position the controller in the appropriate fashion. For the most part, the motion sensing controls are spot on, reacting appropriately whether the player is sweeping the controller back and forth, pretending they are unsheathing a sword or even putting the controller on top of their head and squatting.

The game comes with a few potential frustrations, though, stemming from the motion control and the random nature of the game. The games each appear with a very brief description of what to do and with such a short time to react, there tends to be a small handful of mini-games in each Wario Ware where a player just doesn't understand what to do. Also, there are occasions while pointing at the screen where the controller doesn't register on the screen and sometimes the motion controls up and down do not register.

All in all, though, Wario Ware: Smooth Moves is an impressive addition to the Nintendo Wii's quality lineup of casual games. While the single-player mode is hardly deep in any sense of the word, it is a game of potentially infinite replayability due to its random nature and the multiplayer, which spans more than five different game modes, is staple party game material. Just as Wario Ware: Touched served on the basis of showing off the unique system capabilities of the DS, Smooth Moves slides in to show players the multitude of ways the Wii Remote can be used.

Smooth Moves definitely serves as the Wii's greatest title so far for 2007 and fits nicely in Nintendo's releases of mini-game games for the Wii. Wario steps up and fills a gap in the Wii’s launch list, which finally picks up again in the middle of the month. With all there is to do in Smooth Moves, there's no doubt the title will keep players occupied until the next batch of releases for the Wii.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 4 of 5

PS2 Review: Lumines Plus

2010-12-23T11:50:00.000-08:00

Squares have never been seen the same way since Lumines hit the puzzle scene at the launch of Sony's PSP, and while it's surprising it took so long, the musical match up title finally hits the Playstation 2.

Lumines Plus for the PS2 changes only a sliver of the original Lumines release's content in 2005, but thankfully for Buena Vista (now Disney Interactive), the old adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" comes into fruition. With an injection of extra skins from Lumines II, Lumines Plus plays 99 percent identical to the original iteration - and that's initially a good thing, especially for gamers giving the series a first go, but not quite as much for those who already played the original to death.

While dropping squares of two colors down to form same-colored squares doesn't sound too appealing off the bat, leave it to the creator of Rez to work in the aesthetics that really drive a player's sense of sight and sound. When four identically colored pieces form a square, they do not disappear from play until a line panning from left to right sweeps over the piece with a speed reflected by the tempo of the music in any given skin (level).

Players clear each skin by activating blocks and combos to keep the music from looping, and once the track plays all the way through, game play transfers to the next skin. As with all puzzle games, getting through the songs and to the later songs requires skill and planning.

While waiting for the line to clear pieces from play, players can add even more pieces of the same color either on top or to the side to create combos for even more points. Special pieces with a blue jewel in the middle can be activated in a square and will also clear away every single piece of the same color that is connected either horizontally or vertically.

The most obvious piece of news to point out is Lumines Plus is not a sequel, off spin or new entry for the series - don't expect anything more than a special edition of the original Lumines. Aside from the addition of "Plus" on the title screen and nine extra skins from the portable sequel, the endless, versus, time attack and mission modes are exactly the same as the PSP version.

The game's skins not only feature a unique song to every stage of a player's progress but also a backdrop that represents the nature of tune, much like a rhythm game would. While the menus still feature the plain, bland silver background and staring at blocks isn't often too visually appealing, starting the game is the green light that puts the game's presentation into fruition.

Not only is each of the levels' backgrounds bright and "in your face," many of them feature busy streams of animations that just want to draw the eye away from the action. Truly, no two skins are the same and they really represent the charm of the game and along with the game's infectious music tracks (well, most of them at least), are the sole contributors of what makes the game's presentation so great.

As a port of PSP game, however, Plus receives no real visual boost and due to the adjusted screen ratio, the console version seems to move differently than the portable version. The game's constant action, moving backgrounds and flashing tends to block out these nuances, but it's sad to see no extra punch was delivered to take advantage of the hardware and the much larger television sets players will be seeing Lumines Plus on.

Lumines Plus, of course, also carries over the interactivity of the music tracks with actions such as moving pieces left or right, speeding them downward and placing them having different audio effects that compliment the current song being played. Much like Rez, the music tracks in tandem with effects based on the player's actions creates a hypnotic beam that moves Lumines from "just a game" to an "experience for the senses."

When the PSP launched, in my mind, Lumines was the only game I wanted to play on the system and for good reason - it's game play is simple, solid and addictive. Once a player presses the X button to enter an endless mode, it's likely they will be glued to the screen for a good hour and that's just for one game. With all of the unlockable skins, avatars and more, players are rewarded with dedication to the game in every single game mode.

Unfortunately for Lumines Plus, the title's biggest crutch is that it is basically a game that is aging toward the two-year-old mark. Many gamers have already experienced this title and it's unlikely a handful of extra skins will keep them absorbed into Lumines Plus as long as the original if they choose to put money down on the title once again. Owners of a PSP should be more tempted to snag a copy of Lumines II for its expansive set of new features and skins for only $10 more.

Not to say Lumines Plus isn't a blast to play, especially in the comfort of one's own home with a television and blazing sound system, but we've seen this package before. To its benefit, though, the versus mode is a lot more accessible now that two copies of the game and systems aren't necessary. As far as benefits go, however, home comfort and accessibility are the only clear advantages for Plus over the PSP versions.

For Playstation 2 owners, Lumines Plus will definitely feed the need for any puzzle fanatic looking to get even more mileage out of the system. The original Lumines returns in all of its glory for a mere $20 and won't disappoint fans of the series as well as players who never experienced the game the first time. While the game play never gets old, Plus falls flat just a little faster than any other game in the series and the lack of healthy, new material is a real sore spot on what could have been a exceptionally magical debut for the series on Sony's home system.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 3 of 5

PSP Review: Kurulin Fusion

2010-12-17T11:49:00.000-08:00

It seems I’ve been assaulted with puzzle games to finish out the decade, but you’ll hear no complaints from me. Instead of trogging through multi-hour RPGs or generic movie-based titles, the puzzle genre just lets me sit down, relax, and have fun, which, given the hectic holidays, is like a vacation for me. The latest puzzle effort to pass by me is Kurulin Fusion, a downloadable-only title available now on the Playstation Network for a mere $4.99. Featuring classic-inspired puzzle gameplay fueled by compositions from Nobuo Uematsu, Kurulin Fusion refreshingly gives us a straight puzzle game, eschewing the current norm of relying on a sub-genre such as RPG or music. While the end result will feel all too familiar and maybe even a little “borrowed,” Kurulin Fusion gives players an amazing value with solid and addicting puzzle gameplay and a healthy supply of game modes.

Kurulin Fusion doesn’t mess around and pretend it is something other than a puzzle game, so there is no story involved with the title. Perhaps you could script your own story that leads to a multiplayer grudge match using the game’s local battle function, but given the fact Kurulin Fusion doesn’t feature its own story, this portion of the review is based solely on its mode offerings. Right out of the gate, players will have access to an “endless” arcade mode, a time attack mode, a mission mode and local multiplayer. Each mode gives players a variation on the gameplay and each style of endless and time attack featuring its own high score table for players to challenge their best scores. While those two modes are based on score, the mission mode puts forth a variety of challenges, tasking players to form combos, chains and more in order to clear the challenge and progress through tiers of tasks. There are 30 tasks in all and players will be treated to an unlockable if they can tackle each one. Finally, of course, what puzzle game would be complete without a multiplayer mode? The title allows a player to go head-to-head with another player in local gameplay that allows players to flex their puzzle muscle against another human.

While there is a great scope of modes in this title, these are all but expected from a puzzle game anymore and nothing goes above and beyond to offer a fresh, new experience. The core gameplay doesn’t change from mode to mode and each mode merely alters the conditions of when the player stops playing the game. In the end, though, everything is certainly serviceable here and there is a mix of modes to allow players to pick up the game for a couple of minutes or stick with it for a couple of hours if they want to – a great formula present in well-made portable titles. You’ll find everything you’d expect to see in a puzzle game here, but don’t expect to see anything more.

It doesn’t take a lot to describe how one plays Kurulin Fusion. The game revolves around the use of orbs and power pieces, very much akin to the setup of Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo – players set different colored orbs onto the playfield and they are cleared by matching a fusion block of the same color either horizontally or vertically. The title also features other puzzler conventions such as being able to store one piece at a time to switch into the gameplay later when you really need it. The one extension Kurulin Fusion adds to the formula, though, is in the ability to join fusion blocks together (if that wasn’t made obvious by the name). Normally in similar puzzle games, when a player joins two power pieces together, they are removed from the playfield, however, in Kurulin Fusion, this fuses the pieces together. Players can fuse these pieces up to a three by three block before using them to remove orbs from the playfield. Each piece fused adds to your combo multiplier and if players clear a three by three fusion, every orb of that color is removed from the playfield. While the change seems simple on the surface, it does change the dynamic of the game and utilizing these fusions is the key to scoring high in Kurulin Fusion.

It can be a bit annoying at times that the game doesn’t allow players to link fusions beyond three spaces, but it’s a bump that players will quickly get over and learning exactly how the pieces fuse is part of learning the game. The only other nuance I had with the gameplay is amid some of the challenges, players will be pressed for time, and while the animations of the pieces clearing (the orbs get sucked into the power piece in a rotation) is pretty neat, it takes a bit too long to clear the pieces from the field, meaning chains can eat up a sizable amount of your time. These are aspects that can be generally overlooked, though, as they are a handful of minor issues in an otherwise solid puzzler.

Seeing as the title feels familiar to a number of other puzzle titles, most players should be able to jump straight into the title with minimal effort. The d-pad handles all of the piece movement and a simple press of a button rotates the double puzzle piece sets and all of this handles just as well in Kurulin Fusion as it would in most other great puzzle titles. With this simplicity and its price tag, the title should garner a lot of appeal from a number of different people and, as such, Kurulin Fusion carries a great sense of game balancing. The arcade mode starts off simple at level one, with only a few different colors to manage, but, as players progress, more colors are thrown into the mix to challenge you puzzle management skills. Players can choose to start at varying levels of the arcade mode, which lets players of any skill to jump straight into the game. Time attack mode has a variety of settings and the mission mode challenges start off insultingly easy and appropriately progress to more challenging tasks with each tier. Considering the title should appeal to many gamers looking for a great puzzle title on the go, Kurulin Fusion does offer something for everyone. When you further consider the nearly infinite replayability and addicting nature of the genre, which does carry over into Kurulin Fusion, what you get with the title is a great deal.

Outside of the main gameplay, Kurulin Fusion also stands tall on its presentation. The graphics are similar to what you might find in a title such as Lumines or Geometry Wars – the graphics are basic, but they’re filled with eye-catching bright lighting and illuminated colors. A number of animations also accompany the title in the background, so the screen is kept fairly busy even though players are viewing what are essentially basic shapes. The menus are fairly simple, but everything is clean and easy to navigate. When you boil it down, the visuals are minimal, but in that sense, being a puzzle game, sometimes less is better and in Kurulin Fusion, the visuals are a perfect fit. Along with your conventional puzzle game sound effects of rotating and clearing pieces, Kurulin Fusion has the hook of featuring a soundtrack composed by Nobuo Uematsu, most widely known for his audible contributions to the Final Fantasy series. For the title’s soundtrack, Uematsu has revisioned a handful of tracks from classical composer Bach and the results mix well with the game. Unlike music-based puzzlers, Kurulin Fusion’s gameplay doesn’t hinge on these tracks at all, but they are very well produced and feature enough variety to keep them interesting as players tackle the game multiple times.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 4 of 5

As a straight puzzle game, Kurulin Fusion isn’t confused about what it wants to be. While it borrows a number of puzzle elements from other titles, the few revisions made to the formula add a little bit of depth and uniqueness while still maintaining the replayability and addictive nature of the puzzle genre. The musical styling of Nobuo Uematsu is a nice touch, and the spread of game modes will give players a lot to work with whether they are relaxing at home or playing in quick bursts on the go. If the $5 price tag doesn’t entice you, then it’s clear you just aren’t into puzzle games.

DS Review: Lunar Knights

2010-12-14T11:48:00.000-08:00

Lunar Knights marks Konami's interesting new foray into the Boktai series, which is now appearing for the first time on the Nintendo DS. While gamers have always seemed to have mixed opinions on the series that "forced" people to play under the sun, what happens when you take the sun away from the game's universe?

Straying away from once again using the infamous sunlight sensor, Lunar Knights launches players into a world where vampires have succeeded in placing the world under perpetual darkness. While this might seem like a bad thing at first, it initially puts players in the shoes of Lucian, a seriously pissed off sword-toting vampire hunter whose inhuman powers derive from absorbing the light of the moon.

Following strings of leads, Lucian tackles one of the head vampires, which puts a hole in the blanket of darkness engulfing the planet. Finally, with a shred of sunlight now hitting earth, the game's second character, Aaron, armed with what seems to be a useless solar gun, realizes his potential and sets off with Lucian to rid the world of the evil vampires.

While players initially control only Lucian or Aaron through the story's introductions, when the two heroes meet, they can be switched on the fly with a press of the select button. This element becomes crucial to progression in the game as with the light sensor gone from the Boktai cartridges, Lunar Knights uses an in game day and night cycle.

To further stress strategies, the top screen of the DS not only indicates what time of the day it is, but also the current weather conditions. Cloudy conditions will obviously block the sun or moon and traveling indoors will also hinder access to whichever light is currently available. If characters have no access to light, they will have to depend on restoration items players pick up through the course of the game - thankfully, they are plentiful.

While the changes mix Lunar Knights up in a good way, the core mechanics of the game stay the same. Each area has a denizen of baddies to hack and shoot through and as the kills tally up, so does a character's experience. By leveling up, the game will throw stat points your way to distribute in areas that raise the attack, life and magical levels of that character. All of this culminates in a very satisfying dungeon crawling romp that plays very reminiscent of what Castlevania would play like in an isometric view.

The title is a mixed bag graphically, showing an obvious strength in anime-style portraits and FMV sequences glowing beautifully from its screen. During game play, however, Lunar Knights doesn't seem up to par with many other titles on the Nintendo DS. While everything pops off the screen in vivid colors, many items in the environments, and, most notably in the characters, lack detail. In essence, Lunar Knights looks very similar in appearance to its Game Boy Advance predecessors, only touched up a bit.

To push the hardware a little more, however, Lunar Knights replaces the need to backtrack the carcass of a vanquished vampire boss through an entire Boktai level and implements 3-D rail shooting segments. A vampire's body is this time cargo in Lucian's spaceship, which is now taken to a space satellite that destroys a vampire in a beam of light. The space shooting scenes show much more of the title's graphical muscle and the shift to three-dimensional graphics puts some much-needed punch to detail.

Most of the sound effects in the title sound like they could have been ripped straight from a GBA version of the series, but Konami really stepped up to provide Lunar Knights with a memorable score. The music definitely sets the mood for each encounter and the soundtrack overall really nips on the heels of the quality set by Konami's Castlevania titles for the Nintendo DS. Small snippets of voice work are sprinkled here and there to liven up the game's dialogue and, along with the music, brighten up the title's average sound effect work.

Thanks to the step up on hardware, Lunar Knights provides much more action and less stealth and thinking than its previous editions. The beefier action is very enjoyable thanks to a fluid control scheme that makes use of the touch screen to cycle between various elemental familiars accumulated through the adventure or activate a extremely powerful (almost too powerful) character transformation. While targeting with Aaron's solar gun can be finicky at times, hacking away with Lucian's sword and using the DS microphone to distract enemies couldn't be any easier.

The biggest factor that distances Lunar Knights from the enjoyment of Boktai is the decision to drop the solar sensor. While the sensor made its bid as the true innovation of the series, it dictated when and where people could play the game, making it not only more of a chore to play but a real turn off to some gamers.

Konami, however, implemented a very suitable and more appealing alternative to the matter and not only does it make the game more playable, but it also brings a wealth of strategy and character management to the table. For those who don't want to give up playing in the sun, though, those who have a Boktai or Boktai 2 cartridge can utilize a double slot feature between the DS and GBA slots and use the sun sensor to further strengthen characters.

For Lunar Knights, Konami takes a very interesting concept (although the clichéd storyline reads like a Castlevania subplot) and by ditching a gimmick creates one of the better adventure titles released so far this year. The title is full of action and the nature of the game's two playable characters and customization allows for surprisingly deep game play. Despite its presentation blemishes, Lunar Knights freshens up a unique concept and successfully transitions an underrated series onto a new platform.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 4 of 5

GameCube Review: Super Monkey Ball Adventure

2010-12-11T11:46:00.000-08:00

Monkeys. Balls. Oh, the countless jokes I could make about the game’s title - Super Monkey Ball Adventure. Unfortunately for gamers, the real joke is this game’s tedious, fetch-questing adventure aspect.

Super Monkey Ball has always been known for its simple but frantic single player puzzle mode and its addictive and highly competitive multiplayer modes. While both of those elements are still present in Super Monkey Ball Adventure, they are hacked down in number and take a complete backseat to the chore that is the story mode.

In order to flesh out the puzzle mode, developer Traveler’s Tale added a full-fledged overworld environment to the game’s story mode. Things begin innocent enough with the Monkey Ball crew barbecuing bananas on the hottest day of the year. But when a mysterious “mechanical bird” flies overhead and crashes into the local lighthouse, the situation turns ugly when the monkey heroes not only have to investigate the crash but also find out why the joy of Monarch is missing.

With all of the monkeys’ joy gone, everyone on Jungle Island has a sudden dilemma and players will later discover the same has happened throughout the monkey world. For the most part, it ends up that almost all the monkeys are now missing something and it’s up to you to fetch it for them. While the idea seems good on paper, the big 3-D worlds just add an annoyance factor with extremely frustrating and mundane tasks.

The worlds' layouts consist of areas that are either completely flat or inclined and fail to capture the essence of speed or precision that the games before brought to the table. While some areas are easy to access, extremely awkward camera angles, poor collision, and a pretty much useless map will lead to a lot of frustration as players attempt to navigate the remainder of each world.

When a player does reach someone in need, missions sometimes just add up to trial and error and require a lot of exploration. While there are some enjoyable missions such as ones that require stealth and running down monkeys, they are mixed in with a huge number of missions that are nothing more than “collect this” and “find this.”

Players are also not able to take multiple missions and if you should fall off the map and fail the mission, your monkey comes back in a seemingly random location with the mission deactivated. You then have to track down the monkey in need once again and start the mission completely over. After failing a mission multiple times, the repeated process becomes quite annoying.

The frequent disc access will also have players banging their head against the wall. Every world is made of multiple sections, which require loading when going back and forth. Accidentally entering another section during a mission will cancel the mission and players will have to start from scratch no matter how far they are into the task.

On a good note, however, the large worlds will keep curious players rolling around for quite a long time. The landscapes are riddled with bananas that, when enough are collected, will help players accomplish a few more missions and — more importantly — purchase extras that will increase the number of features in multiplayer.

Over the course of play in story mode, some neat power-ups become available to the player. Incorporated into the game as chants players learn to string together, the monkeys can customize their ride with power-ups. While some simply transport players to a different location in the world, others deck your ball out with a spring-loaded boxing glove, suction cups, invisibility, growth, and more. Of course, the power-ups are the key to solving much of the later missions in the game.

The puzzle and multiplayer modes still remain in the game with more than 50 new puzzles, which are also encountered periodically throughout story mode to unlock certain doors.

Puzzle mode is basically the original single player modes from the first two Monkey Balls in which players make a mad dash for the exit for maximum points. The multiplayer modes are cut in half with three new additions – cannon, bounce and tag. While it brings new games to the table, the only one I personally found any fun was the addicting Monkey Cannon, which has you shooting down other players’ castles by using your monkey ball as a cannon ball.

Graphically, Super Monkey Ball Adventure loses its flair over the previous titles through the story mode’s generic looking environments. Instead of the bright, zany graphics of the puzzle mode, players are given areas that seem like they were pulled out of Sonic Adventure with frame rates that sometimes aren’t consistent with the action.

All the sound in the game is recycled from previous versions, including the ever-annoying monkey talk. The story mode is filled to the brim with these sound bytes and will drive anyone older than 10 completely insane. Pound for pound, every sound byte in the game is 100 percent from other versions of the game. You get nothing original, but, just as in the previous versions, what you’re given does its job.

The game controls just as well as the previous versions, but the game is chock full of horrid camera angles that will cause many bad situations for your monkey. Although there is some questionable physics with the inclines, your ball will do everything you command it to do.

Overall, Super Monkey Ball Adventure is an excellent idea that falls victim to poor execution. While the game is very playable, the story mode will try many gamers’ patience and the cutback in everything that made the game a success in the first place is lost among the expansive fetch-driven single player mode. Players will most likely spend most of their time in the puzzle and multiplayer modes for a quick fix of monkey action.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 2 of 5

DS Review: Mario Hoops 3-on-3

2010-12-08T11:45:00.000-08:00

Mario and crew lace up their sports shoes once again, this time taking it to the basketball courts in Mario Hoops 3-on-3 for the Nintendo DS. The game teeters on the rim with its mix of pros and cons, but in the long run Mario Hoops shoots and scores

The Mushroom Kingdom cast originally balled with the NBA pros in NBA Street Vol. 3 (and I guess technically also with mini-games in the Mario Party series) but now the ball is in Mario's court and the game of basketball is given the full Nintendo treatment.

The game is actually developed by Square-Enix, and adds even more flavor to the superb presentation of the game with classic Final Fantasy characters and settings.

If the title of the game wasn't a clear indication, players will man teams of three and hit the court in exhibition, multiplayer or tournament modes. Hoops also offers up several practice lessons to help players learn the game as well as a training mode and mini-games.

Players will notice as soon they start the game that Mario Hoops is one of the most vibrant and visually polished games yet to be released on the system. Very few games on the system have yet to the match graphical shine, superb sound and overall style that 3-on-3 brings to the table. The menus are easy to navigate and are full of great visuals... and of course there's that uber-catchy theme song.

Even in the midst of game play, the graphics are second-to-none for the Nintendo DS hardware. The characters have full detail and still look good when in animation and all of the explosions and items look just as nice. While the environments aren't distracting during play, taking a look at the surroundings still reveals great detail and notables such as the 8-bit advertisement boards, ghosts and Podobos (yes, those fireballs have a name).

While the music during play isn't as dominant as it is in the menus, it serves as an appropriate backdrop to the theme of the current court you're on. Add in all the crazy voice-overs and sound effects you'd expect from a Mario sports title and presentation-wise, Hoops is right on par with the style from even the Gamecube's sports titles.

Unfortunately for Hoops, though, while it looks and sounds like a dream, its most glaring issues are in the areas where it counts most - control and game play.

The main hook of the game is the one-of-a-kind control scheme which allows players to tear up the court with stylish dribbling and on-the-fly passing and shooting all by using the touch screen. Taps and strokes of the lower screen will perform not only passes, shots and steals but also pin-point dribbling, item use, sidesteps and flashy special shots.

While the schematics sound good in theory, ultimately, the commands just end up feeling gimmicky and sloppy in execution as there were many times where my stroke or tap of stylus yielded results much different than my intention. Even a couple of the simple tasks presented in the practice lessons became an exercise in patience - especially in tasks that required jumping and multiple stylus strokes.

This key element is further watered down since a "help button" option allows players to use the DS's face buttons to emulate touch screen strokes. While this saved the control and made Hoops much more playable and enjoyable for me, it defeats the purpose of which the game was designed around since I played the whole time without using the touch screen.

While Mario Hoops is basketball on the surface, the coin system used in tallying a team's score really detracts from the finesse of basketball and puts the focus of the game more on coin chasing than anything else.

Players will find a number of Hatena Blocks (you know, the Mario blocks with the question marks on them) on the court and by dribbling on top of them, coins will be added to a team's total coin count (to a max of 100). When a team scores a basket, not only is it awarded 20 or 30 points (based off of regulation basketball's 2- and 3-point scoring) but also one point for every coin in the team's tally.

When players can score 130 points in one shot, games amount more to running around tallying coins and fetching items (when a player without a ball steps on a Hatena Block, they are provided with a Mario Kart weapon) instead of concentrating on the deeper facets of basketball.

When environmental hazards such as Podobo explosions, cannonballs, ice and more are mixed in, players are constantly being slammed and the game can occasionally turn into a trial of making it past half court. While all the inclusions provide the essential Mario style, basketball takes a backseat to coin collecting and item flinging.

Thankfully in exhibition modes, the Hatena Blocks can be turned off, making the game a more traditional 2- and 3-point basketball game without turtle shells and banana peels flying all over the place. While the items do add a nice competitive element to the game, dribbling over a block a handful of times and making a quick dunk yields more results than using skill to set up a pick and netting a three.

Sticking with the game through all the modes will reward players with a number of new features including new characters, new ball designs and mini-games. Square not only developed the game but also placed a piece of the company in Hoops with unlockable characters - White Mage, Black Mage, Ninja, Moogle and Cactar. While there is a ton to unlock, the process starts slow in the tournament modes.

The first three cups will give players no problem whatsoever, with easy computer AI. The problem is that same AI is laughable - easy to the point where playing through the cup seems more like a chore than anything else. Blowing the computer away in 1,000+ to nothing shutouts is only fun after the first time and it takes some time before the matches seem worthwhile with challenging AI.

However, it seems computer-controlled teammates never increase their AI. Your teammates mostly choose to run around on your flank and provide little assistance in your efforts unless you pass them the ball and control them yourself. While they do a decent job of keeping open for passes and stick decent man-to-man defense on opponents, they do not chase loose balls, converge under the basket for rebounds or even run to the paint so you can hit the post.

While there are some nagging issues with Hoops, it still maintains the fun of the Mario sports series, although to a slightly lesser degree. While the lack of Wi-Fi play is a disappointment, the multi-card and download play has a lot of playability, especially in the addicting Coin Hunter mode - basically a Mario Kart battle mode minus the karts.

Mario Hoops 3-on-3 adds the Mushroom Kingdom charm (although it adds almost a little too much) to the classic game of basketball in a title that stands as one of the most technically impressive and appealing titles on the Nintendo DS. While the remixed basketball game play might turn a few people away, those who give it a shot will find a fun twist on the sport with a huge number of accomplishments to tackle.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 3 of 5

NES Review: TMNT Tournament Fighters

2010-12-05T11:44:00.000-08:00

Regardless of their quality, Konami had three extremely popular Ninja Turtles games for the NES under its belt and when the Street Fighter craze swept the world, the company had no better license to slap onto a fighter than the heroes in a half shell. While this meant the Super Nintendo and the Sega Genesis received yet another obligatory fighter in its pile, surprisingly, NES owners were treated to one of the very few one-on-one titles ever officially released for the system.

The menus are very clean and the up-close character portraits are very detailed, but in-game, the characters resemble the small models seen in previous NES entries, making the large character Hothead seem much more detailed than the others. Regardless of detail, however, the bigger distraction is the massive flickering occurs during every second of the match. While players learn to ignore it, it is by far the biggest nuisance of the entire game. If the character models and animation could have measured up to the rest of the game, Tournament Fighters would be a perfect graphical concoction. Thankfully, excellent music and “voice effects” are present to flesh out an overall superb presentation.

Although the control is mapped to only two buttons, the fighters have a lot of versatility during matches, with a number of punches, kicks, running attacks, special moves, throws and even a super projectile that can be executed after picking up an item. While the turtles mostly play the same, all of the characters differ slightly in some way so players should be able to find a favorite among the seven playable fighters. The real joy of playing the game is in multiplayer since the CPU fights pathetically unless pumped up to the hard difficulty. With a total of four players alternating the controllers, the game’s tournament mode alone can produce hours of intense play and rounds out the surprisingly robust option set the game offers.

Overall, when it comes to the NES, Tournament Fighters may surpass what gamers expect from an 8-bit fighter. While the single-player mode lacks depth and flicker runs rampant, the title will certainly entertain those who can look past the flaws. Collectors should take special note of the title as for a number of reasons: Releasing in 1993, it was Konami’s final NES offering in the U.S.; Tournament is the final game series based on the original 1987 animation; it is the only game in the TMNT universe where the turtles do not use their trademark weapons; complete copies feature the NES variant cover of Leonardo fighting Hothead. As such, values on the cart are climbing insanely fast with a recent eBay auction netting nearly $140 for the complete package.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 3 of 5

Lost Capsule Reviews

2010-12-02T11:43:00.000-08:00

The following is a couple of capsule reviews I did for a source that were killed before publication. They aren't very long, but, hey, it's better they finally see the light of day instead of being buried forever.

Title: SNK Arcade Collection Vol. 1
System: Playstation 2
Developer: SNK-Playmore
Publisher: SNK-Playmore

SNK’s first multi-IP collection hits the PS2 with a bang, offering up a number of titles from multiple genres that will keep any MVS diehard happy. The span and quality of the titles is more than worth the money and there is plenty for one or two players to enjoy. With 16 total games and a lot of challenges to tackle for unlockables, this collection without a doubt tops all of the company’s previous retro offerings and will provide hours of game play for less than $20. While there are a few odd choices in the lot and the genres lean heavily toward fighting, Vol. 1 leaves us looking forward to Vol. 2.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 4 of 5

R-Type Command
System: Sony PSP
Developer: Irem
Publisher: Atlus

Switching up the genre of the classic shooter hasn’t put it down in the least, as Command offers up a great futuristic tactics game on the go. Progression is nicely handled as players have a ton of options with building ships, managing pilots and positioning fleets and even have the option to replay earlier levels with more powerful fleets to unlock items missed before. While the game’s presentation is great, the disc access on the PSP really kills the game flow if all of the cinematics are toggled. However, with one or two players, Command is sure to please strategy fans.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 4 of 5

PSP Review: Creature Defense

2010-11-29T11:42:00.000-08:00

I enjoy a nice tower defense game every once in a while, but with access to the Internet, at the same time, it’s kind of spoiled me in regard to the genre. When you jump on the Internet, you can find a massive number of free tower defense games just waiting for someone to give them a tender click of the mouse. So whenever a tower defense game would land on a console or handheld, a price of $20 or more would usually equate to sticker shock. Fortunately, Hudson Entertainment looked to do something a little different with the genre by mixing the tower defense genre with a card management scheme and for the first time, I paid attention to a handheld tower defense game. By tossing in a fantasy element akin to what people might see in Magic: The Gathering, Creature Defense creates a unique identity for itself, but fans of tower defense games will be pleased to know the title didn’t mess around with what makes the genre fun.

As far as I could tell, there is no official story for Creature Defense, which given the rich fantasy tone of the title is a slight disappointment, but, then again, I could easily rattle off a good handful of great tower defense games that also have no rhyme or reason. Regardless, it is always kind of nice to know why waves of baddies are attacking your tower (which, conveniently in most these titles you never even get to see) and why the player can summon defense creatures – it isn’t necessary, but it certainly would have enriched the experience. As such, most of this review’s attention will be placed on the title’s modes of play and variety.

There are no real discernible game modes, per say, instead, the title features a single mode that thrusts players onto an overhead parchment map that features all available environments as well as the game’s shop. Each environment obviously places players into new territories and how the enemies attempt to storm your tower, however, each environment also comes packed with multiple phases (differing the order and frequency of the monster types that spawn in each wave) and an eventual time attack mode. Players do also have access to deck editors, help menus and more, but as a whole, there is only one game mode in the entire game, which, if you’re picking up a tower defense game, though, you’re probably expecting nothing more than the straight-forward strategy provided in Creature Defense. Even though there is a lack of variety, the title does provide a lot of scope in its offerings and tower defense and card management fans will find it hard to be disappointed in Creature Defense’s offerings.

While the mechanics are sound in the title, Creature Defense’s presentation isn’t necessarily strong. None of it will make the title less fun and addictive, however, it is entirely noticeable if you are paying attention to everything involved. The visuals get high marks outside of the gameplay as the menus are all very clean and well-organized and by accessing a creature’s stats, players are shown large hand-drawn fantasy artwork that will no doubt please anyone into that style. During gameplay, however, players won’t be treated to heavy details in the visuals, with muddy, pre-rendered environments, low animation and somewhat fuzzy visuals. Nothing is so bad that players won’t be able to tell what is going on and, thankfully, the monster paths are displayed very clearly, but everything else is as average as can be. The graphics do have their highlights, though, which is more than what I can say about the generic audio. While nothing is painfully bad to the ears, the game’s quiet music is easily lost in the action and Creature Defense is full of generic magic sound effects that the player will hear over and over. If there were a few more various sound effects and some more urgency to the music, everything would come across a lot better for the audio.

While a mouse is easily the most intuitive means of controlling a tower defense game, there are thankfully no real issues in navigating the terrain and placing your creatures in Creature Defense. The square button handles the zooming of the playfield, the X button allows players to place a creature and confirm selections and the triangle button toggles active creatures in order to level them up or sell them back for mana, while the shoulder buttons cycles through options to slow down or speed up the gameplay. That is simply all there is to controlling the game and the simplicity makes the format work on the handheld scene and anyone that has touched a tower defense game should feel right at home with Creature Defense.

However, there are a few mechanics that shake things up and insert even more strategy into the genre as opposed to a standard tower defense game. These obviously come in the form of the roughly 50 cards players can collect to cast creatures out into the playfield. However, the catch is players can only bring five of these creatures into each phase. When you consider that each creature has an elemental infinity and each one of these has a weakness, you’ll start to see where the strategy comes in to play. Flying enemies that can only be destroyed by items suitable to attack in the air also make their way into the title, but it goes further than this when you have to prepare fire element creatures that do heavy damage to the forest element. While players start off with a meager span of cards, by slaying a suitable number of baddies, that enemy is added to the card shop for the players to shuffle in stronger and varying creatures into their decks.

What this will mean for most players is eventually during a phase, a poor choice of cards can really haunt players as each phase consists of 50 waves and once the player settles on a deck, they have to use it for the duration of the phase. Players may get well into a phase to find out they are not prepared to battle a flying water element monster, causing them to rethink their strategy. Strategy is the key in Creature Defense because even though you might place in a creature more suitable for fighting off the flying water elements, you may end up replacing a card that is necessary for another wave in the game. As such, the title is equal parts strategy and management, and each lends itself to the game incredibly well. Dedicated players will become quickly addicted to the title and given the title’s challenging nature, the payoff is extremely rewarding for players that can tackle some of the game’s stages.

Even though players can dive through the handful of environments relatively quickly, there is a lot to go back and accomplish. Players can revisit levels after picking up stronger creatures to improve their scores or to more effectively battle powerful enemies to add them to their card store. Eventually, players will also unlock new phases with different sets of waves to challenge players and completists will want to own every single card in the game. Tower defense players looking for a more challenging outlet might be able to find it in Creature Defense as the game doesn’t really hold players’ hands at all, starting out moderately tough and amping up the difficulty from there. While this might intimidate beginner players and scratches the balance down just a little bit, the progression is easily suitable from that point, injecting branching paths and more difficult environments, monsters and waves as players move on. Again, if you’re interested in this title, though, you’re probably somewhat accustomed to the genre and a lot of it should be second nature.

With the combination of genres, Creature Defense opens up its appeal even more as it is definite sell to tower defense fans and a great suggestion to management buffs that like to tinker with customizable decks. The title is also positioned at a comfortable price of $8 on the Playstation Network that is easily worth the price of admission and will give players on the go hours of entertainment. It’s hard to put down once you get sucked in and there are a lot of extra goods to be seen, including a fan service nod to Sony’s Eye of Judgment series as the game contains three creature cards pulled from the PS3 series.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 4 of 5

While the mixture of genres found in Creature Defense might not revolutionize tower defense games, it actually comes pretty close, and it becomes hard to put the game down once you get into it. Due to the nature affinities each creature has and the limitation of only being allowed five creatures at a time really piles on the strategy and challenge more than one might initially think. Creature Defense drops the ball on its presentation a little and the challenge and balance might not be too welcoming for those new to the genre, but the title doesn’t fail to provide hours of fun and it will do everything that matters to tower defense fans. The title is an easy recommendation for tower defense fans and the appeal should carry over to those that like to micromanage and when it comes to the PSP, Creature Defense is a great solution for those looking for this style of game on the Sony handheld.

Xbox 360 Review: Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot

2010-11-26T11:41:00.000-08:00

Borderlands has received yet another DLC update to prove there truly is no rest for the wicked. After opening The Vault and foiling Dr. Ned on an island full of zombies, Xbox 360 owners got to close 2009 out with another DLC update that adds yet another memorable character to the mix in Mad Moxxi. As if the game disc itself didn’t have enough Mad Max and Thunderdome references for you, this newest addition could be considered a flat-out parody of that universe as it thrusts players into Mad Moxxi’s Underdome through a new “Riot” game mode for 800 Microsoft Points. While the Underdome isn’t as expansive as The Zombie Island, it certainly does its job in implementing some frantic action into the otherwise wide-open format of Borderlands and it adds enough to make the battles fresh and easily worth the 800 MS Points if you are a fan of the game.

As Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot is an non-standalone expansion of a retail title, I’m going to eschew the traditional review format as having nearly all of the game’s material recycled to the disc makes revisiting items such as graphics, control and the like a bit pointless. If you enjoyed these aspects in Borderlands, they are served up once again in their purest form in this expansion.

There isn’t much of a story to Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot, other than to introduce the Underdome’s ringmaster, Mad Moxxi herself. The Underdome, much like the obviously referenced Thunderdome, also fits within the conventions of items such as Smash T.V. – “contestants” are placed into a proverbial blood sport where only the strongest survive and fans look on in bloodthirsty fashion. Mad Moxxi fits into the cast of Borderlands characters extremely well and, as expected, her voice acting is top notch. While her one-liners will no doubt become a bit repetitive during gameplay, they also serve in alerting the player to some of the ongoing action and most of the quips will get a few smiles or laughs from players (at least from the first few times they hear them). A few scenes and references in the lobby will shed a little light on Moxxi’s backstory, but what the expansion is really about is in annihilating the competition and scooping up some extra loot.

As I’ve already said, the exploration and questing aspects of Borderlands and its first DLC are pitched to give players a more action-based survival mode. The game handles this in Horde and Firefight fashion (from Gears of War 2 and Halo 3 ODST respectively), placing players into a moderately-sized environment and unloading enemies in waves. As players progress, up to four random modifiers will be mixed in to trouble them with handicaps such as no shields, steadily decreasing health and strengthening enemies or making the combat more interesting by speeding up movement, reducing gravity and making certain weapon types super effective. Each combat round has five waves of varying enemies placed into groups (normal enemies, melee-only enemies, gun-wielding enemies, etc.) with the fifth introducing a boss character from the on-disc quest taking center stage. If players can survive through five waves, they are rewarded with a small loot dump at the stage’s central tower and given a quick breather before the next stage begins. On the other hand, if a player drops dead, they are thrown into a penalty box where they can attempt to shoot at enemies while their teammates try to survive the round to bring everyone back into the game – otherwise, if the entire team falls, all of the players will be unceremoniously booted back to the Underdome lobby.

The premise is simple, perhaps even unoriginal, for sure, but the sheer random nature of the modifiers and the frantic pacing of the mode makes Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot a winner. Not only will players get a survival-based mode that will occupy them for around an hour on just the simplest of environments, but they will also get a much-needed storage bank for items that can be expanded by purchasing SDUs throughout the game. If you’re serious about Borderlands, the storage bank alone might be worth the price of admission, but it’s all about the team-based gameplay and given the odds of survival against the relentless hordes, especially with the later environments throwing a rough 20 rounds (100 waves) each at you, The Underdome provides a great multiplayer mode that is ripe with action. Also, seeing as the enemies adjust to evenly match the host’s current level, players can surely be challenged and with high-end vending machines located in the lobby, this expansion is perfect for players coming in from the end of the Borderlands quest.

Unfortunately, players will see a lot of repetitiveness in the expansion, especially with the few environments being recycled back into the more advanced survival arenas, and the extra achievements aren’t exactly inspiring, but Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot does what it set out to do. The expansion is meant to be a no-frills action experience and on that front, it delivers on all levels. If you enjoyed Borderlands but feel that you didn’t get to pull the trigger as much as you wanted to, this expansion is clearly for you. The only way I could not recommend this expansion to someone is if the idea of spending multiple hours fighting off bandits, psychos and skaggs in an endless onslaught doesn’t sound fun to you, but I would imagine these players would be few and far between if they already own Borderlands. Fans of Horde or Firefight mode will know what they are getting into with this DLC add-on and for $10, players can give this new mode a spin and come away satisfied while taking a break from grinding through the main game.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 4 of 5

XBLA Review: Matt Hazard: Blood, Bath & Beyond

2010-11-23T11:39:00.000-08:00

It was hard for me to look at Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard when it released in early 2009. Vicious Cycle took a concept that I was shocked no one had come up with before – taking all of video game’s noted clichés and a faux gaming universe and throwing them into a blender – and unleashed it as a current-gen offering. See, as gamers, we really should enjoy Matt Hazard in concept and I’m sure a good portion of us still want to, but Eat Lead just didn’t offer what it takes to win gamers over: The story and level progression was a mess, the characters and AI were subpar, the presentation was average and the Gears of War-style cover shooting was woefully plain. However, what probably hurt the most was the fact the title annoyingly sank into the conventions it attempted to make fun of and most of the humor just wasn’t that funny to me. If the title made anything clear, though, it could be said the series definitely had potential if it could balance its humor and gameplay and, thankfully, Vicious Cycle has given the series another go with the new downloadable effort Blood Bath & Beyond. Painfully cheesy subtitle aside, Matt Hazard: BB&B shows the team went back to the drawing board and even though the title misses the must-buy mark, we’ve thankfully seen one step of advancement with this series.

In case Eat Lead’s game box scared you away from ever playing it, Matt Hazard is a fictional video game “legend,” who has starred in an obscene amount of gaming titles from hard-boiled action to kart racing to quiz titles throughout his career. His enemies always somehow find a way to jump between games from Hazard’s past and wreak havoc on the hero’s life and in BB&B, he comes fresh off Eat Lead to contend with General Neutronov, who has abducted his 8-bit self from the past in a plan to eradicate him during his gaming roots. The story isn’t extravagant as it pans out through static cutscenes and boxed-in text dialog, however, the title’s conventions, parodies and ability to turn the other cheek really saves the title from being the mess we were provided in Eat Lead.

Immediately from the beginning, the series lays into itself stating Eat Lead is cluttering bargain bins around the country and the resulting cutbacks in budget immediately eliminates voiceovers and cutscenes in between levels. Call it lazy if you will, but it’s refreshing to see a series poke fun of itself, especially with the fairly humorous ending sequence. Most of the story, though, is just QA and Hazard conversing about the current game they are entering at the moment and while the story is by no means amazing, there is far more humor and less convoluted twists and turns to make BB&B’s tale leaps and bounds above Eat Lead’s. The problem in Eat Lead stemmed from the game just throwing out random game titles, clichés and references without taking any effort to get players accustomed to the character and build a personal rapport with him, which is crucial since players are supposed to pretend they have been controlling the character for the past two decades. Thankfully, some of the items in BB&B actually explain some of Matt Hazard’s past exploits in better detail, While more backstory would be nice, we get to see just a bit more of this fictional past in the newest title.

Outside of the story, however, BB&B doesn’t give players a whole lot to return to. A quickplay mode allows players to tackle one stage of their choosing, a mini-game reflecting one of the segments encountered late in the game is unlocked and there is a gallery of hidden items to unlock and view, so players are really just getting more of the same in different doses. The title was smart to include a two-player mode with Hazard’s “sidekick” Dexter Dare but, unfortunately, this doesn’t extend to online play. On the front of modes, BB&B doesn’t deliver as much as it probably should have for $15, especially considering some of the other offerings at $15 or even less. Regardless, what is delivered is a no-nonsense affair – players paying for a 2D run-and-gun title will receive exactly that.

Being a man of action, Hazard harks back to the days of 2D action titles such as Contra, where players will run to the right and blast the crap out of anything that moves in traditional fashion. Hazard and Dare both have the expected arsenal of a rifle with infinite ammo and Metal Slug-style grenades, however, pickups such as shotguns, flamethrowers and rocket launchers can be picked up from defeated foes to freshen up their firepower. All of this is standard affair for the genre, but BB&B attempts to deviate just a bit by having players hold the left trigger to be able to fire into the background, effectively dividing the gameplay into two planes. Enemies will attempt to overwhelm the players by swarming in from the 2D plane of focus, the background and foreground, with enemies in the background being able to fire upon the players. Honestly, this creates some really challenging situations and freshens up some of the boss battles more than one might initially think, even though it seems strange or counterproductive for a game of this nature. Finally, as players tear up common enemies, their Hazard Bar will fill up and a full bar allows them to press Y to enter Hazard Time. The mode puts players into a balls-to-the-wall action frenzy where their character is invincible and gains spread projectiles for a short time. Finally, now you and your friend no longer have to fight over the spread power-up and, interestingly enough, the mode also spreads special weapons, giving players three-way machine guns, rocket launchers and the like to experiment with.

Outside of these additions, though, fans of the genre will know what to expect from everything else including the giant bosses, vehicle segment and tricky jumps to keep players on their toes when they aren’t slaughtering goons en masse. Thankfully, players will get a decent span of environments to burn through, with each seemingly knowing about when to shift the action from mindless shooting to navigating deadly terrain, racing a clock or solving simple bits of necessary item interaction. As players head into the space sections, the reduced gravity and Lunar Lander-inspired segment further mix up the game play. However, that isn’t to say the game can get excessively repetitive. Much like other titles in the genre, BB&B inherits the certainty of running to the right (or occasionally other directions) and mashing on the fire button. Compared to other titles of its ilk, Matt Hazard doesn’t always measure up. While the fundamentals of running and gunning are all here and the package as a whole is enjoyable, the controls just seem laggy on occasion, there are glitches that can cause your character to get stuck and it annoys me to no end that you cannot fire downward without jumping. I suppose the control issues stem from placing an eight-way directional scheme on an analog controller but, for the most part, everything in BB&B’s gameplay is still passable even in its worst moments. As for the rest of the issues I encountered, well, I suppose that would be blamed on the original Matt Hazard games being programmed with these glitches, right?

What really gets BB&B rolling, however, is its tongue-in-cheek humor which, admittedly, has improved since Hazard’s first outing last year. Packed in with the action, the humor will definitely keep most gamers’ attentions through 10 stages, however, it is unlikely most players will want to tackle the game again, even with achievements and the unlockable gallery that features “previous” Matt Hazard games. The game’s challenging nature might also disgruntle those not so into the 2D shooter genre as the game starts to pump up the difficulty toward the end of the first stage and doesn’t let up. BB&B is ripe with one-hit kill environmental traps and water/pitfall hazards to fall in and players must contend with these likely at the same time the screen is filled with enemy shrapnel. Even on the game’s easy difficulty of “Wussy,” it’s likely players will be taking advantage of the infinite continues offered, especially if a player can’t quite get the patterns of the boss characters down.

Even though BB&B is a downloadable title as opposed to Eat Lead, Vicious Cycle still pumped out a very reasonable presentation for the title. While it strikes me as odd that the game doesn’t hark back to 2D graphical styles or, more appropriately, cycle through various hardware to showcase levels in varying bit displays appropriate for the timeframe the fictional games’ releases (the only 2D model in the gameplay is the 8-Bit Matt Hazard, which General Neutronov amusingly carries around like it is a cardboard cutout), the visuals are indeed solid, making all of the various environments immediately recognizable.

The Hate Boat stage starts out simple enough as a typical cruise ship, but as players descend, it immediately reflects Rapture from Bioshock, complete with Big Daddy wannabe enemies. The Oh. Canada stage takes players through the stereotypical ice rinks with zambonni fight and maple syrup factory, but getting there requires a rooftop scramble that is a dead ringer for Mirror’s Edge’s visuals. The Dismember the Alamo section starts off as a simple western theme, but due to a scrambling of classic games stemming from a glitch, players will begin to see Super Mario Bros. themes mid-stage, culminating with a backdrop straight out of Team Fortress 2. While BB&B tends to pull its references from more modern titles such as Portal, there are still some references to the classics such as Lunar Lander and Rush’n'Attack that will keep longtime gamers paying attention.

Each of these backdrops is handled quite well with appropriate lighting and graphical effects and it is almost possible for the player to get lost in the backgrounds to pick out references instead of focusing on the action. Due to the onscreen action, most of the character models are smaller and not as detailed as in other 2D shooters, but they animate extremely well, something that is further made more satisfying due to the use of ragdoll physics in every single kill. The developers even go overboard with the ragdoll physics with a mini-game where the players collect pachinko coins and drop ragdoll models into a playfield to try and score points. Even while still alive, the characters look smooth even while transitioning from the foreground or background and there are also subtle animations such as a common enemy fist pumping after killing one of the players.

Even though BB&B loses a lot of the spoken dialog seen in Eat Lead, there is still a helping of cheesy one-liners delivered by Will Arnett to maintain authentic Matt Hazard audio. The action does drown out a lot of the game’s tunes, which is a bit of a downer as I found this title’s soundtrack to be much more memorable than the repetitiveness found in Eat Lead. Otherwise, you have your traditional gunfire and explosions, rounded out by splashing of blood and guts littering the floors. Even if a few of the one-liners can get really repetitive, a lot of them are context appropriate such as coming off of a continue, being low on health and the characters even have some banter specific to some of the major enemies they encounter in the game. When everything is said and done, although the developer could have taken some more liberties with the presentation to provide a more authentic fictional gaming timeline, what players get is still pretty well done.

Finally, I find it a bit odd that other items of cultural relevance have made their way into BB&B, most notably movie references. The pirate-themed stage was originally developed to be filled with scantily-clad pirate women, but the timeline had this title to be released during the infamous Congressional hearings in the ‘90s and the pirates were reverted back to males. However, the developer didn’t have time to reanimate the characters, so the pirates wield pistols in a limp-wristed fashion with mannerisms straight from Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie trilogy. I also got a kick out of the J5 boss, a dead ringer for Johnny Five from the Short Circuit series of movies. These didn’t take away from the experience in the slightest and I found them quite humorous, so, hopefully, we can see this series continue with a little more effort under its belt. With its finger on the pulse of popular culture, the Matt Hazard series could really go somewhere and I’m sure there are some retro buff out there that want to identify with the character, but first, we just have to get a solid game out of the franchise. BB&B is a good start, but, for everyone, it definitely won’t be worth the $15 asking price.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 3 of 5

Matt Hazard is a character everyone wants to give a chance, but his games thus far don’t give players to many reasons to do so. Blood Bath & Beyond is a step in the right direction, but it’s too shallow with a few nagging gameplay issues to readily recommend it at $15. It’s balancing won’t do the title any favors as the difficulty gets pumped up fast, which is a plus for those looking for their next run-and-gun challenge, but it will easily turn away those not so in tune with the genre. Still, the title is very serviceable and surpasses Eat Lead in just about every single way. It carries far more humor and action, has an appealing presentation and the video game and culture references coupled with the ability to make fun of itself makes the title a satisfying playthrough, especially with a friend (so you can steal their lives a la Contra, naturally). BB&B falls victim to far less conventions it tries to make fun of than its predecessor; however, when you boil it down, there are better game choices at its price tag, especially when you take its lack of real replayability into account.

XBLA Review: KrissX

2010-11-20T11:37:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday, Konami sprung a new casual title on us, bringing KrissX to Xbox LIVE Arcade. Amid a couple of weeks that brought us heavy-hitting games such as Matt Hazard, Death by Cube, and Serious Sam, KrissX takes a step back and brings forth a more gentle and relaxing experience to the service for 800 Microsoft Points. Thankfully, the title comes in as a change of pace and is immediately one of the most accessible titles made available on LIVE Arcade so far in 2010. Those looking for a new spin on word puzzles will definitely find a fix here and, while the game will definitely not be for everyone, it is a well-produced game based on its technical merits even though it does admittedly fall short in a few areas.

First, we will address the title KrissX: Instead of pronouncing the game phonetically like it is some kind of breakfast cereal, the actual pronunciation of the title is “criss cross” (like the pattern, not the child rappers that wore their jeans backward and had their own SEGA CD “game”). In KrissX, players are tasked with unscrambling jumbled words arranged in a crossword-style fashion. Once the specific word is spelled correctly, it is locked in place and the player scores points and bonuses until the player clears all the words on a stage in order to progress. Surprisingly, a sliver of story has been inserted into the game, revolving around a wise owl named Wordsworth. Poor Wordsworth has fallen out of a tree and upon hitting his head, all of his knowledge became scrambled, resulting in the mixed-up words. It won’t win any awards and nothing is done with the story beyond that point, but it is definitely charming and explains why the presentation is arranged the way it is in KrissX.

As such, KrissX depends more on its modes to engross the player. Thankfully, there is a span of modes players can unlock by progressing through the main quest mode, where players tackle 150 stages of progressively difficult words, to gain access to a new time attack mode, a timeless free mode, and special puzzles based off themes such as featuring the names of U.S. states or world countries. While tackling all of these modes, players will also gain badges through their performance. Some of these badges merely proclaim a mode or feature has been unlocked, but others are based off the player’s ability to grab tokens, create chains and more. While the collection of badges does nothing more than net the player an achievement, everything comes together to give the game much more breadth than other casual word games.

Ultimately, though, the modes do nothing more than alter the time restraints placed on the player and, in some cases, the words involved, as nothing radically changes the root gameplay. Furthermore, the absence of any multiplayer or online interactions further damper the game as the ability to create and share puzzles of your own would have pushed the game’s replayability to near limitless levels. Fortunately, the title’s menu does sport a “Downloaded Puzzles” mode, so we’ll see what lengths Konami will go to keep this game swimming along. On the other hand, even though there is no multiplayer, there are leaderboards for each individual game mode, so it is possible to have a score rival. When you look at everything as a whole, if you don’t mind tackling the game on your own, KrissX should serve you just fine, however, don’t count on it to service a crowd.

KrissX wouldn’t be much of a casual title if it had complicated controls and, thankfully, the title’s controls are as simple as one would expect. The cursor used to highlight the alphabet tiles is operated with the d-pad or left analog stick and the tiles are selected and swapped by pressing the A button. The only deviation from this simplistic scheme stems from the tokens that fall from completed words. Players will need to watch what color the tokens appear as – blue, yellow, or red – and press the appropriate face button, X, Y, or B respectively, to pick them up for extra points time or power-ups. In between stages, players will have single-line puzzles tasking them to create words or place letters in alphabetical order for bonuses or switch tiles between multiple stacked words in order to break up the gameplay; however, these sections play out in exactly the same way.

The balance in the title is handled quite nicely, with early stages throwing seemingly insulting words at the player, but as he or she progresses, the number of words, the difficulty of the words, and the number of letters contained in each word increase and players can make use of a few techniques and power-ups to increase combos and score. Some of the power-ups increase a tip meter, where if a player gets stuck, they can press the right bumper to highlight two tiles that can be correctly flipped and this meter slowly increases every 30 seconds or so to ensure no player will be stuck on a puzzle forever. At certain durations, some words will light up in a red color and correctly forming this word while highlighted will switch one pair of letters to a correct position and spread a wildfire to its neighboring words. It is possible to clear an entire level through the use of wildfire, which is obviously good for racking up combo bonuses. After a handful of stage, non-movable asterisk tiles are placed in the puzzle, masking one of the correct letters to challenge players; however, clearing this word, much like the wildfire, will correctly flip two tiles in a neighboring word. Some of the tokens will even perform correct flips and freeze a random letter in its correct position, so there are some real-time elements to juggle while busting your brain and these elements are where KrissX really shines

Even though the game is simplistic in nature, KrissX still carries a very solid presentation. In fact, the title will likely remind people of a PopCap product, which most definitely isn’t an insult. The game’s colors are vibrant and each stage background environment pops out with fairly detailed storybook-style art. Starburst effects and the small wildfire blazes accent what would normally be plainfully dull alphabet tiles on the main playfield. Wordsworth also has a number of different poses based on the current situation to make him jump when a word is clear, appear to be deep in thought if players are idle and if players take too long to make a match, he actually falls asleep. On the other hand, aurally, the game doesn’t shine quite so much. Some of the sound pipes through without being in crystal clear clarity and while nothing is inherently bad with either the visuals or the audio, many aspects are repeated way too many times to be wholly engrossing. Aside from the repetition and a few minor knacks, though, KrissX is as appeasing to behold as it is play.

A player could potentially play KrissX indefinitely, so there is a good amount of replayability to be had with the title and if you’re one to get buried into puzzles, the title certainly has a bit of an addictive nature. As mentioned earlier, online interactions could have taken this further, but, still, once players clear all 150 quest levels, they can keep playing ad infinitum, which, aptly enough, the game refers to for every level after 150. Eventually, though, players will run into words and clues that repeat themselves and I even ran into this occurrence sooner than I thought I would before even clearing level 100. Also, the leaderboards in the quest mode are an accumulation of all play, so it is more of a measure of time sunk into the game as opposed to overall skill. Regardless, there is a lot to do and see in the title and it should deliver its full worth to most gamers, especially those looking into word puzzle games.

It will definitely take a few hours to tackle everything there is to see in KrissX and in good news for achievement buffs, the title is actually a fairly easy 200 points. Seeing as I am a journalist, though, maybe words just work into my favor. However, I don’t believe many of the words would be beyond the grasp of anyone looking for a decent casual game to play and by matching clues to words, hopefully players will be able to deposit a few new words into their word bank. One could probably argue a book of word puzzles might take them further than KrissX; however, the title provides the interactivity and feedback you can’t get from paper and power-ups and real-time aspects of the title add to the title more than one might initially think. As such, if you’re looking for a decent casual title or just want a break from the recent wave of action titles, KrissX just might be what you’re looking for.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 3 of 5

KrissX is definitely the most accessible and universally appealing Xbox LIVE Arcade title to release so far in 2010, giving players a more laid-back break from the recent wave of action titles that have dominated the year thus far. The title takes the simple concept of a word jumble and livens it up with power-ups, comboing, and other real-time involvement to spice up the gameplay. Still, nothing is overly complicated and the game is great to pick up and play for an hour or even just 15 minutes. KrissX has a lot of repetition going for it, however, and players that sink a handful of hours into it will start to see the words repeating, which greatly diminishes the challenge. When you add in the fact the presentation is very repetitive and there is no online interaction or multiplayer, there are a few kinks in the game’s shell. Fortunately, those kinks fail to prevent the title from being a good time for one player and those looking for a relaxing word puzzle title will find plenty to like in KrissX.

XBLA Review: The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom

2010-11-17T11:34:00.000-08:00

Originally from Diehard GameFAN

Since Paul Bellezza from The Odd Gentlemen filled us in on the details of The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom with our recent interview, I had grown even more interested in exploring the black-and-white, pastry-filled world crafted in the title. The big worry, however, was if the game would avoid the trap of allowing its artistic flare to take the spotlight over its game play. Now that we’re a couple of weeks removed from the game’s release date, though, I can assure our readers that this crust has plenty of satisfying filling.

The title introduces players to P.B. Winterbottom, the notorious pie thief plaguing the quaint village of Bakersfield. P.B. will go to any lengths to nab pies and no amount of type of pie is ever enough for his never ending sweet tooth. After a run-in with a magical Chronoberry pie, P.B. gains the ability to bend time and space, recording himself in order to unleash time-looped clones to assist him in scoring more pie than he ever imagined. With the game being featured as a silent film, the story is progressed with still art and rhyming text dialogue, all cued to a wickedly eerie, yet appealing score. As players progress, they find out how Winterbottom’s escapades are affecting the lives of the citizens in Bakerfield as P.B. makes time stop altogether, runs through a blaze at the local bakery and plugs up the water supply in the sewer. Although players won’t be spending a huge amount of time engrossed in the story, it is charming and full of wit, and each level is named and subtitled with a clever phrase or description that taps into a lot of parody and humor as well.

These facets piece together an impressive environment, but players will find a shortage of modes within the game world. Although there is an impressive number of puzzles and film scenes accessed through a central game hub, the game can be boiled down to only two game modes, both of which employ the exact same game mechanics. The top two levels of the in-game hub unfold as players progress through the story-based films while progress also unlocks bonus short films in a third row. The short films act as a sort of challenge mode, where players tackle the same goal of pie snatching while aiming for medals earned by either completing the level in par time or by utilizing a set number of clones (or both). This wouldn’t normally be a negative on its own, however, there is no real incentive to play through the story sequences again once they are completed. The package still offers a suitable amount to do in a puzzler, but a level editor, two-player co-op puzzles, downloadable puzzles, or other modes would have easily taken the game an extra mile.

Upfront, the main hook of the title was in its noir motif and The Odd Gentlemen really ran with this concept to produce top-notch visuals while implementing a varied and intense score. As soon as players boot up the game, they are greeted with a film grain and flicker that transforms your Xbox into a black-and-white world while eerie music in the vein of something you might hear in a Tim Burton film rings in. The P.B. Winterbottom character is immediately identifiable and definitely breaks the norm of the stacked heroes we tend to be presented with in today’s games. The game’s story panels feature fantastic fantasy-style artwork with a number of different characters and even though the in-game models are small, they certainly do not lack detail and are still full of fluid animation. The environments really steal the show, however, with all of the locations featuring detailed and motion-filled backdrops. Even though the vast majority of the game is experienced in black and white, it still looks incredible and the conservative usage of color actually has meaning when players eventually see it.

Instead of being filled with “old-tyme” piano jingles like one would associate with a silent film in its heyday, P.B. Winterbottom pulls in a full-feature ensemble that creates some memorable results. As I’ve already stated, the opening theme makes a huge impression and is definitely memorable. The rest of the music fits each scene well and shares the same quality throughout the title. As for the sound effects, much like the game’s color, sound is used very sparingly, as this is a silent film, after all. There are little jingles when a pie is collected, when clone recordings are made a nice film reel roll is played, and items hit with P.B. Winterbottom’s umbrella result in an appropriate thwack. When you mix all of the visuals and audio together, P.B. Winterbottom has one of (if not the) best presentations you can find on the Xbox LIVE Arcade service.

The gameplay in Winterbottom is as simple as it sounds: the A button makes Winterbottom jump, holding the A button allows him to float using his umbrella, and pressing the X button makes him execute a strike with the umbrella. These simple commands will guide P.B. through the introductory levels until he gains the ability to make clones of himself. As players progress through each film, new gimmicks are implemented in favor of a previous one to keep the game fresh. For example, traveling through the clock tower, pies must be picked up in a numerical order, through the bakery, blue pies can only be picked up by clones and in the sewer, P.B. needs to use specific portals to record clones, and red portals create clones that will harm P.B. if he comes in contact with them. However, no matter what the current gameplay gimmick is, one thing always remains constant: P.B. cannot continue on to the next level until all pies are devoured.

The beauty of the title is this can be done in a number of different ways and players are posting online methods that achieve this in more efficient, quicker and innovative methods. Cloning P.B. allows players to defy gravity or space, hit out-of-reach switches, weigh down floor switches, and more so the player can score the current stage’s pie. The cloning process is actually very responsive and I can’t say I ever had a clone do something I didn’t want it to do. The platforming is also on par with where it should be and all of the game’s puzzles are extremely satisfying once the player triumphs. There are certainly no qualms with the controls and the core gameplay is extremely enjoyable, however, the title gets hit the hardest in its replayability and balancing.

Once again, once players tackle the main story, there is essentially no incentive to go back through the levels unless it has just been a long time since the player cleared the game or they are looking for faster or crazier ways to grab all of the pie. On the other hand, the challenges are more suitable to replay, featuring the different medals and various leaderboards. Ultimately, the replayability in the title amounts to how much of a perfectionist you are and I could see many players viewing P.B. Winterbottom as a once-and-done experience. This further hampers the experience when you figure the title will likely take you only around three hours to complete. Players will burn through the game quickly once they have the mechanics under control, and the shallow amount of content is a definite sore spot on the ‘Bottom.

It should also be noted The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom is not the easiest game on the block. The puzzles aren’t afraid to amp up in intensity as soon as the second film. While there was nothing obscenely difficult in the title, there were quite a few times I had to stare at the screen for upwards of 10 minutes before I finally had that “ah-ha!” moment that allowed me to progress. This is great for puzzle junkies; however, the more casual of audiences will most likely be discouraged as the puzzles become more and more complicated. The pacing could be a potential matter for players as well, with one of the game’s mechanics finally picking up full speed only to be dropped completely in the next set of challenges. The balance is nice in the fact each story movie introduces a new game mechanic with a very simple puzzle that holds the player’s hand for a level or two. However, it gets pretty hairy toward the last few puzzles in the lot and players will have to do a lot of experimentation to see what actually sticks. If you enjoy a great challenge, P.B. Winterbottom will definitely be your ticket, but if you get frustrated easily, be warned you will most likely hit a brick wall somewhere amid P.B.’s journey.

However, these are just minor setbacks as any puzzle fan will find it hard to put the controller down until they finally solve a puzzle that has been eluding them. It is very easy to try and draw some parallels between this title and something like Braid and the whole time and space mechanic is certainly not a new happening. However, The Odd Gentlemen have crafted an experience with so much charm and personality, P.B. Winterbottom easily stands out from the crowd. However, unlike some of the other titles pushing the oft-discussed boundary of art, P.B. Winterbottom actually has some substance under its hood and, mechanically, by far the title is best offering on the Xbox LIVE Arcade service so far in 2010. That isn’t to say the title will be for everyone, however, the experience and puzzling gameplay are well worth the 800 Microsoft Points.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 4 of 5

Building off its stellar presentation, The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom offers up a puzzling adventure that is sure to challenge gamers all the while captivating them in the endearing world of Bakersfield. The audio and visuals are superb and are used to maximum effect in producing a unique silent film environment, and the gameplay keeps players performing new tasks while offering tight controls. The only downsides to the purchase include a very short game with shallow mode offerings and, for some, the difficult nature of the title may turn off a portion of the casual crowd. The difficulty serves as its own reward when players finally reach the solution, however, and the game is extremely memorable even when you consider there is little to be had in replayability. While the experience isn’t the longest, it is definitely sweet and satisfying.

WiiWare Review: Tomena Sanner

2010-11-14T11:31:00.000-08:00

When I imagined that digital distribution would break down the barriers between the various regions around the world, perhaps I jumped the gun a little. Japan continually receives goods on the Nintendo Wii that have yet to surface in the United States, and region differences are blocking me from using my Microsoft Points to download items such as Idolm@ster to my Xbox 360. When I first saw Japanese sites promoting Tomena Sanner, a gentleman in a business suit began breakdancing with a panda and various other bizarre characters, which greatly peaked my interest. Given the obscurity, I didn’t give the title much of a chance to reach our shores. Thankfully, Konami proved me wrong and released the quickfire title as a $5 download on the North American WiiWare service, and gamers can also be thankful that Tomena Sanner holds up as a solid addition to the service.

For the U.S. release of Tomena Sanner, Konami has merely translated the game’s text, meaning all of the obscurity and insanity has remained intact. The player assumes the role of businessman Hitoshi Susumu, who, as a businessman, does not like to be late. Susumu has his eye on a number of dance parties being held at the end of each level, but to make it through each environment, Susumu has to contend with dinosaurs, robots, manholes, vehicles, ninjas, and more hazards that will impede his progress. That is all the story the game receives and none of it is really detailed in-game, but it works in this scenario, similar to the games of yesteryear where all of the story was laid out in the instruction booklet and players were launched straight into the action. In a game where the player does nothing but run from point A to point B, the need for a story is very minimal, but the zany premise behind Tomena Sanner just adds to the charm.

The title has a few different game modes. However, none of them drastically change the way the game is played, also recycling the same levels players will experience the first time through. Once players have a feel for the title by completing the nine levels, they can enter a more challenging turbo mode that pits players against the same single-player levels, but the speed of the gameplay increases by about double to reduce the available reaction time to obstacles. Outside of the two single-player modes, up to four players can pick up Wii Remotes and race each other to the finish line. The multiplayer modes do add some power-ups to the madness, and there are also subtle battle advantages such as having a curtain gradually slide in over an opposing player’s playfield as you build up successful combos. Even though the story isn’t fleshed out and there are only a handful of modes, you do get what you pay for and Tomena Sanner is still an interesting game to pick up now and again, especially if you can get your buddies involved.

Controlling and playing the game is as simple as it gets, and that further increases the title’s appeal. Players control the title with the Wii Remote, and the A button is the only button necessary to control Susumu when he is in action. In Japanese, susumu is the act of moving forward and this holds completely true in Tomena Sanner – Mr. Susumu will automatically start sprinting when the level kicks off and will not stop unless he collides with an obstacle or he runs out of time and is late to the party. When he approaches an obstacle, it is up to the player to time presses of the A button in order to avoid the hazard. Players can also have Susumu jump in order to collect bonus coins and power-ups, but a majority of the action is in nailing down an exact timing to avoid obstacles.

By hitting a small timing window, players will receive a “GREAT!” rating, which increases the player’s combo by one, awards a few bonus seconds of time, and usually plays out an animation that places Susumu past the obstacle in the shortest amount of time. If the player is slightly off, a “GOOD” rating won’t penalize the player, but the resulting animation is usually just a tad slower and no combo bonus or extra time is awarded. Of course, if the player is way off or fails to do anything, a “BAD” rating will award no points and the resulting animation will put Susumu even more behind schedule. Once the player reaches the goal, Susumu immediately begins breaking out the dance moves that has the player taking part in a timing-based mini-game for additional bonus points. The timing structure works well and it is very rewarding in the different animations that play out between different items and timing ratings and all of the secrets and bonuses packed in each level will keep players coming back on occasion in order to place new scores on the online leaderboards and discover new oddities that inhabit each stage. Mastering a few of the control mechanics might take players a little bit of time, but in the way of just being able to enjoy the game, Tomena Sanner is an easily understood title that takes little skill to break into.

On the downside, you could probably burn through everything the title has to offer in about an hour. Tomena Sanner’s main hook is in its simplicity and bizarre premise and you get plenty of that for $5, but that still might not be enough for everyone with Wii Points to burn. Also, a huge attraction for the title is in its animations, which are executed extremely well. However, all of them will eventually repeat themselves, meaning there will be a point where seeing a giraffe fart in Susumu’s face will be old news … maybe.

Furthermore, a little more variety in the modes would have taken the title a long way. The multiplayer modes could have used some different levels as opposed to recycling the same content from single player in order to freshen it up, and the turbo mode would have benefitted from some alternate layouts to produce more challenge. Regardless, the levels do feature a decent build in difficulty and it might take some players a little of time to master the third set of levels in the turbo mode. Finally, Tomena Sanner wasn’t all that addictive, in my opinion. Since each level barely lasts two-minutes, the title definitely speaks to the short attention span that lurks within all of us. The title was great to come back to here and there, but I couldn’t see myself playing Tomena Sanner for more than 10-15 minutes at a time. It’s all perfectly fine in getting players to come back. However, don’t expect to have marathon sessions of the title.

I can’t say many negative things about the presentation, though, as it really assists in punching through the quirky nature of Tomena Sanner. The graphics have a cell-shaded look that borrows artistic direction from titles such as Out of This World and Feel the Magic, featuring vibrant characters that lack detail such as faces and fingers. While some gamers might scoff at the lack of detail, Tomena Sanner has a cartoon-style look that goes hand-in-hand with what the game tries to accomplish. The backgrounds also have a fair amount of scenery displayed in the same style, but in order to make the style effective, the game needs to animate well and Tomena Sanner does exactly that. Again, seeing Tomena Sanner in motion takes me back to games such as Out of This World and Flashback, where animation was also handled extremely well. Since the title relies so much on its animations, watching the game is almost as fun as playing it and for some people, these animations could potentially be their favorite part of the entire game.

The game’s audio will mostly be one of the three accompanying music tracks that are placed with each of the game’s stages and while most of it is enjoyable to listen to, it perhaps doesn’t match the frantic pace of the gameplay. I suppose it is weird to say something is out of place in this title, but I felt most of the music in the title was easily forgettable outside of the breakdancing sample that plays at the end of each level. The sound effects have some notable pop to them as they accompany most of the timing animations. Each one is suitable for the situation and well done and they really add emphasis to the animations. I could have done without some of the voice and random noise samples that trigger every time the player meets with an obstacle marker, though. Most of them are unnecessary, and after you hear the same clip played out back to back within seconds, you’ll most likely want them to go away. In all, though, Konami developed Tomena Sanner’s audio to match up with the absurdity of the premise and it succeeds on that front. However, I didn’t find all of it to be as enjoyable as other aspects of the title.

While the title has its ups and downs, most of what is presented is quite original and when all is said and done, Tomena Sanner is a fun 10-minute time killer that players can come back to every now and again. This title is an easy recommendation to anyone who feels the United States doesn’t get enough of Japan’s quirky video game titles. The $5 price tag also makes it easy to pitch to gamers looking for an innovative and humorous title on the cheap. Tomena Sanner might be a little too out there for some gamers to get into, but, as I’ve said earlier, the title is almost just as fun to watch as it is to play and items such as the running commentary at the top and bottom of the screen caters to those who would rather watch than play.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 3 of 5

If you like your gaming ripe with Japanese zaniness, there is no alternative to Tomena Sanner on WiiWare. The game’s quirky nature will no doubt be what pulls most players in and its simple, yet solid, timing-based platforming will ensure they have a good time while playing. Players will get a unique presentation with the title and its animations are no doubt the highlight of the title. A decent spread of challenge and multiplayer modes stretch the title just a little bit, but at the end of the day, there is little to see in Tomena Sanner, which features only about an hour’s worth of content. Tomena Sanner is more of a title players will come back to in short bursts as opposed to sitting through long gameplay sessions and all of the game’s modes recycle the exact same gameplay levels. Regardless of its negatives, though, the title’s one-button nature should help anyone get into the title, making it a solid title to pick up at the 500 Wii Point level.

DSi Ware: Faceez

2010-11-11T11:29:00.000-08:00

With the Nintendo DSi implementing its cameras and social features to compete with the likes of the iPod Touch, it was a matter of time before we began seeing more apps surface among the games. At the end of February, French developer/publisher Neko Entertainment entered this field, offering up a photo application entitled Faceez, available only on the Nintendo DSiWare service. Thankfully, Faceez enters in as one of a handful of apps that are actually making use of the dual camera setup integrated into the Nintendo DSi and steps in to give DSi owners a more robust creative portal in which they can alter their snapshots and spring them to life. Seeing as there is no gameplay to speak of in Faceez, this application might not be for everyone, but anyone interested in having a competent tool to go hand in hand with the cameras they spent $170 on should take notice of Faceez and its extremely suitable $2 price tag.

Again, please note Faceez is an application or a photo tool, to be more exact. As I do not classify it as a game, certain review elements and score labels are adjusted to accommodate as such.

Being a $2 photo application on the DSiWare service, Faceez is about as straightforward as one gets with its purpose and offerings. Faceez allows users to snap a photo of a visage on the fly or utilize existing photos saved on an SD card in order to create a Faceez – a creature that features an oversized portrait for a head and body, complete with stick-like arms and legs. Once a user has pasted someone’s (or something’s) face onto the Faceez, they are given a pre-existing set of more than 150 accessories ranging from hats to facial hair to a tuna the Faceez can hold in its hand. Once the appearance has been decided, the user can then select an animation such as ballet dancing or rapping motions for the Faceez and place them over an in-software background or another photo that has been already saved to the SD card. The user can then take a snapshot of this Faceez to save to their memory and by using the Nintendo DSi Wi-Fi service, you can slap these bad boys up on Facebook.

There you have it. That is the entire premise of Faceez, but the application strives on its simplicity and is very serviceable for 200 Wii Points, especially considering most companies wouldn’t settle for less than a $5 price point on most video gaming services. The application is very easy to use as the title will guide you through the photo process and the menus feature touch screen commands and tabs that are clear and easily understood. Most of the controls are laid out with scrolling bars and arrows the user can press to scroll through options and each command is very responsive. The Facebook sharing has been a key selling point for the title and its ease of use and camera functionality actually grabs at the purpose of the Nintendo DSi – making portable gaming a social outlet for casual gamers. Faceez nails this mission perfectly.

Most of the visuals depend on the user, seeing as a lot of the content is transferred over from photos snapped by the Nintendo DS or saved on the SD card, the title’s graphics are a matter of how well the user can take photos, along with the quality of the DSi’s camera. For the most part, this works out very well and the application even gives the user pointers with lighting, backgrounds, positioning and personal grooming in order to produce the best picture possible, which further adds to its accessibility. The in-software props aren’t overly detailed, but the cartoony look of the items works hand-in-hand with the silliness of the Faceez. However, the real treat is in getting the Faceez to animate, which generally results in some pretty funny scenarios, especially when you have a friend’s face attached.

The sound in Faceez is serviceable, but forgettable, with low-key music that merely serves a backdrop and typical menu-surfing sound effects. While the audio might not be too memorable, I doubt the goal was create powerful audio to accompany the application. The sound here does what it needs to do and nothing more.

Even though Faceez really hits the mark for a $2 application, there are a few aspects that drag the overall experience down a little. First, it would have been nice to utilize the Facebook functionality straight from the application instead of having to trudge back out to the Nintendo DSi menu. Normally, it wouldn’t have been such an issue, but when such a focal point of the game is being able to share the snapshots on Facebook, one will probably expect the feature to be implemented within the app. On that same token, there is no DSi-to-DSi sharing of any sort for the application, which would users to share photos or animated Faceez – a missed opportunity for those that would be devious enough to snap a shot of a fellow DSi player while they aren’t paying attention and send them a crazy caricature of themselves. While the application is entertaining for one person for maybe ten minutes at a time, it is quite amusing to see what a group of friends can come up with, especially since you can group multiple Faceez in the same picture, so being able to share somehow would have put this application up a few more notches.

With the odd number price points that release on the Ware services, DSi owners will sometimes find themselves with a couple hundred extra points to burn and Faceez is a solid recommendation to anyone that would like to have something that actually utilizes their cameras. For a couple of bucks, the application offers a surprising amount of items to throw onto your photos and users are only limited to their imagination and number of items they can conveniently photograph. The application might lose steam quickly for those that prefer to game by themselves and the lack of gameplay might turn some people away outright, however, Faceez is one of the more interesting and entertaining application items I’ve come across on DSiWare.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 3 of 5

Even though Faceez is a photo application, its wacky creativity, use of the DSi cameras and low price point create a satisfying application offering for the Nintendo DSi. A few more functionality additions would have taken the application up a few notches, but, as it is, Faceez accomplishes what it set out to do with positive results. Outfitting your friends and family in goofy attire and animating them is genuinely amusing and the software makes this process painless. If you don’t mind spending a few paltry bucks on a solid application, you can’t go wrong with this title.

PSP Review: Fat Princess: Fistful of Cake

2010-11-08T11:28:00.000-08:00

After a stellar 2009, the PSP’s library has dried up a tad, but it is still running strong thanks to the launch of PSP Minis and the handheld’s digital delivery platform. As such, it’s still refreshing when we see Sony roll out with a new original company-exclusive series that displays the uniqueness of its freshman portable effort. Tomorrow sees the release of Titan Studio’s Fat Princess on the PSP, under the subtitle Fistful of Cake, this time re-developed by SuperVillian Studios. A few slices had to be taken from this cake in order to accommodate the jump from the Playstation 3, however, the premise and extra content hold up well in the transition, even though there are some annoying caveats to keep in mind if you have an eye on this treat.

Much like the original version, Fistful of Cake oversees two armies – one blue and one red – duking it out in blood-soaked medieval-style combat. The premise is one of capture the flag, however, Fat Princess obviously substitutes a fair damsel in place of a flag. Carrying out your mission could be as simple as running straight through the opposition’s defenses and hiking back to your castle with the princess in tow, however, in video game fashion, of course, there is more to the premise. The princesses can be fattened up with magical cake, temporarily making them much harder to carry. In the meantime, the rest of the map unfolds with strategic warfare that sees players donning hats that assign them classes such as warriors, archers and mages, along with critical workers that gather up wood and stone materials to build barricades, ladders and catapults while also being able to upgrade the various hat machines for more powerful and versatile classes.

Fistful of Cake introduces a single-player “The Legend of the Fat Princess” mode that lays down an overall story. The princesses of the two warring factions used to meet up in gatherings, but upon discovering the magical cake in the forest, their craving for the cake creates a difficult situation for both kingdoms. Not too far into the mode, it is discovered that the craving curse can only be cured by the kiss of a prince and when it is declared Prince Albert (ugh …) will be in the area in the near future, the war between the two kingdoms becomes serious business as each king does everything in his power to make sure their daughter is the one that secures the prince’s affections. The story is hardly amazing, but it does a fair job in a genre that probably in most cases wouldn’t even attempt to craft an expanded narrative. Fortunately, Tom Kane (most notable recently for his work as Mr. Herriman on Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends) provides narration and commentary during the game, and his gruff, gentlemanly voice is a perfect fit for the fairy tale nature of the game, bumping the story’s appeal up quite a bit.

Thankfully, the title gives players quite a few modes to fall back on. Not only can the story mode be played on multiple difficulty settings, but the player can tackle a battle in free mode that allows for a healthy selection of modes that include four modes original to the PSP version. A survival-type mode also allows players to enter an arena and forsake the strategy elements of the main game to fend off enemies for as long as they can stay alive. Ad-Hoc and infrastructure modes allow for multiplayer, although the PSP version cuts the number of players allowed in a game. With features that allow a player to customize their avatars, extra maps and other exclusives, and a large number of different modifiers, there is actually a lot to do and see in Fistful of Cake, definitely giving players their money’s worth.

Even though the game is making a move to the PSP, the title doesn’t suffer too much in its presentation. The audio is still in the player’s face with satisfying combat sound effects and gruesome weapon blows that spill buckets of blood, and each tune is appropriate to the situation or stage, which really drives the action. Tom Kane’s commentary can be repetitive, but not only do the phrases alert players to happenings in the battle, hearing the various internet memes in his voice is sure to give most players a good chuckle.

Visually, the game makes great use of vivid colors, which really bring the environments to life. The menus and storybook sections feature cute-style handrawn art that is quite unique and humorous, and the menus are clean and filled with humorous descriptors of each option. The characters, on the other hand, suffer a little due to the zoomed-out nature of the maps. The soldiers are fairly jaggy around the edges and it is hard to discern much detail in the model or animations, which can really put players’ eyes to the test when groups of soliders meet in combat. In all, though, Fistful of Cake’s presentation really comes through to provide quality visuals and audio for the player to soak in.

The gameplay in Fistful of Cake is pretty straightforward, offering up very responsive controls. Characters control fluidly and most of the time respond as the player would like them to. Occasionally, there will some issues in picking up items, and it is at times a chore to reach up to the d-pad to attempt to control any CPU teammates in the area, but otherwise, the control is scheme is comfortable and makes sense. Likewise, the gameplay is just as straightforward, as while there are numerous modes of play, each one has a simple concept and the player is given a lot of freedom in accomplishing most of the goals.

Unfortunately, the biggest slam against Fistful of Cake is made evident when the player doesn’t have any humans to fill in the slots in their army. I’ll use the term “intelligence” loosely when describing the AI, as your CPU companions will do some downright frustrating things to make your mission two hundred percent more difficult than it should be.

In the mode where players are required to drop a bomb off in the opposing throne room, my AI would carry the bomb all the way to the goal. The bomb must set for about five seconds before going off, but at the last second, one of my CPU soldiers would pick up the bomb and kill everyone in the area with the explosion. Whatever. The final straw, though, came when the CPU did this to me three times in a row. You’ll also be constantly fighting against your CPU worker class for resources. In the mission where players must assemble an altar in the middle of the map, your CPU workers will be far more interested in wasting your resources to build ladders and gates and upgrade various hat machines. Even in the most simplistic of missions, I never know what my CPU teammates are doing because they sure aren’t interested in helping me nab the opposing princess, even when I attempt to utilize the feature to command units to tag along with me. In all, the CPU seems to have its own agenda no matter the goal of the current battle and these instances really grate away at an otherwise fun strategy title.

When you can actually click with your army and get things done, Fistful of Cake is actually quite rewarding, providing players with a satisfying blend of action and strategy. The game’s presentation and unique premise, combined with its humor, craft a very appealing title, and even with its downsides, Fat Princess is still a winner. There are six exclusive maps to provide more value and all of the maps feature quite a variety in environments and throw out some tricky terrain to traverse. There is a good variety of modes even for a single player, though the oafish AI might drive down the replay value and addictiveness the title would otherwise have. With a review copy prior to launch, I wasn’t able to test out the multiplayer, but future players can look forward to four versus four matchups. While this would still leave CPU drones on your teams, at least then you could look forward to up to three other (hopefully) competent soldiers to back you up. Fistful of Cake has the makings of a great title; unfortunately, the AI issues are seriously a big enough of a drag to hold the title back a few notches from “must-buy” territory.

While Fistful of Cake is a port of a PS3 title, you won’t really find anything else like it on the system and a number of refreshing changes have been made to provide exclusive content. If you can find a way to shake off the frustration the AI will no doubt dish out to you, Fistful of Cake is worth every penny. It’s got a lot of charm and solid gameplay to back it up, but players won’t get the most out of their time with the game unless they dive into the online or local multiplayer.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 4 of 5

Fistful of Cake is what the PSP really needs right now – Sony-exclusive titles with a ton of charm and appeal. This Fat Princess remake features a ton of solid gameplay, unique strategy elements, great presentation and exclusive game content that provides great variety. There are a few technical issues, but interested gamers will really have to take some narrow-minded AI into account. Your CPU drones will do things that will make you triple facepalm and these instances really drag the game down a bit. Outside of these issues, Fistful of Cake is fantastic game that will give PSP owners a great distraction for only $19.99.

Xbox Indie Review: Lewjmele

2010-11-05T11:26:00.000-07:00

Originally from Diehard GameFAN.com

We’re known to not ignore the Xbox LIVE Indies service when we can and today’s quick look comes in the form of Prodigy’s Lewjmele, a vertical shmup that hit the service recently. The chosen genre pits Lewjmele against some classic shmup titles on Xbox LIVE Arcade such as Ikaruga, Triggerheart Exlica and 1942, and even other Indie efforts such as Shoot 1Up. Against these titles, Prodigy gives the genre an honest go but, in the end, some much-needed polish is needed to make Lewjmele a contender.

The game’s $5 price point puts it in a better position to appeal to gamers over most of the titles on the Arcade service. As such, though, the title doesn’t come packed with a large amount of features, leaving players with a story mode and a score attack mode. The story mode does offer players the choice of experiencing a cycle of five stages from the unique perspectives of three different characters, which extends the playability of the title a little bit. Otherwise, the score attack mode merely allows the player to choose a specific stage and go for broke. Both modes provide three different difficulty levels, though, so bullet hell veterans can pump up the challenge if they wish. Finally, while character-driven shmups can be acceptable single-player endeavors, it would have been nice to allow a local buddy jump in to add more value to the game modes.

Even though the title is a shmup, Lewjmele actually makes somewhat of an effort to tell a story, which is contrary to many titles in the genre. An ancient weapon “Lewjmele” was discovered by civilization and, over time, it was discovered it could give people the power of necromancy. The weapon was hidden because people began to abuse its powers and, in typical gaming fashion, this weapon gets into the wrong hands once again. As the struggle for power tears the land apart, three heroes from differing nations depart to bring peace to the land. Each character has his or her own story that accompanies the story mode at the beginning of each chapter. Unfortunately, while this should make the game’s characters and world interesting, some of the text is awkwardly translated and it disappears from the screen far too fast for most people to actually read it.

For an Indie title, Lewjmele actually sports some solid presentation. The attempted anime stylings should appeal to those interested in the artform and while a lot of character models aren’t too detailed and can be too small for comfort, they are certainly colorful. The game’s projectiles are also fairly vivid, which allows them to play into Lewjmele’s gem mechanic, which I will detail in just a bit. While the characters are 2-D, they are placed over a generally well-done 3-D background. These backgrounds sport some fair detail and the scrolling is spot on, making transitions such as traversing down a hollow spire in stage five memorable.

Lewjmele’s sound gets the job done without being spectacular. The game’s music provides some energy and drives most of the stages along well enough, but many of the title’s sound effects are meek and it seems certain situations such as boss explosions demand a lot more effects. The title does have some Japanese voiceovers to give the sound its biggest punch, but it could have definitely used some more effects to flesh out the audible experience.

Unfortunately, the gameplay in Lewjmele, doesn’t hold up as well. That’s not to say the title is downright horrible, but some nagging issues, steep difficulty and lack of gameplay explanations really show the title needed some more polish before being unleashed.

Lewjmele shows some innovation in its gem slot mechanic, allowing players to capture gem pieces in one of three slots to dictate the style of their firepower. If the player captures three of the same-colored gem, their aura then turns that color, making them impervious to enemy fire of that color. It’s an intriguing concept that is used fairly well in-game, but this is explained nowhere in the game and it took two to three playthroughs before I understood what exactly the gems did outside of increasing the number of projectiles I shot.

Outside of that mechanic, Lewjmele brings nothing new to the table for the genre, which isn’t exactly bad news for those that love the genre, but you’ll get a share of game issues in tow. The hit detection in some instances, especially for bosses, seemed a tad spotty and there were a number of instances where I felt I shouldn’t have taken a hit, which, coupled with occasional lag, made for a frustrating experience. The bosses also have a number of uninspired bullet patterns, with some cheap ones keeping you from attacking it thanks to the extremely narrow range of your character’s projectiles. The decision to frame the playfield is confusing as there is no arcade monitor aspect ratio to obtain and this results in a very narrow playfield with a lot of wasted space. Lastly, nothing really interesting seems to happen outside of the boss battles, which is a shame, especially considering how short each level is.

With these issues, it’s hard to call Lewjmele addictive and if it weren’t for the roster of different character stories, there would essentially be zero replayability in the title, sans leaderboards. The difficult nature of the title (filling the screen as soon as the first stage, even on easy) won’t do much for casual players and, unfortunately, the options of playing better shmup titles doesn’t bode well for appeal from fans of the genre. There are some options to change factors such as health to your advantage, but given the game gives the player no direction whatsoever, it shouldn’t be a surprise to see someone move on quickly after they fail to grasp some of the game’s mechanics. Ultimately, while the title does have some noticeable high points, it’s hard to say it gives the player value, even at $5.

GemuBaka Final Review Score: 2 of 5

Lewjmele is far from the worst game I’ve ever played, but it is disappointing to see its flaws, considering, with a little more polish, it could have been a great addition to a shmup fan’s library. The title has favorable presentation, it actually attempts to give a player a full story and there are some unique stylings to its gameplay. However, its lack of interesting game modes, uninspired stage design, poor hit detection and more really dampen the title’s gameplay and replayability. When you stack the difficulty on top of these issues, the appeal really starts to wane and gamers will most likely move on with their $5. With a solid foundation, though, if Prodigy can move on and remedy these issues, a Lewjmele sequel would likely deliver a lot more value to the player.

My Persuasion Theory Final Project for The University of Toledo

2010-11-03T11:25:00.000-07:00

I will be creating a propaganda campaign of my own in which I will represent and work with the company Galloping Ghost studios in the promotion and brand image building of its first product. Galloping Ghost Studios is an independent video game developer and arcade vendor based in Brookfield, IL, and its first product is a motion-captured fighting arcade machine titled Dark Presence.

In the promotion of Dark Presence, the company has two critical roadblocks to overcome, both based on the format it represents: It features direct digital footage of live actors (to compare it to the most popular fighting title using digitized footage, Midway’s Mortal Kombat from 1992, while not the first to implement live actors into a fighting video game, was the first to use the technique to critical and financial success) and it is being developed as an arcade title.

The digital footage arises as an issue due to the fact that following the success of Mortal Kombat, many companies attempted to cash in on the concept and it created a fad of digitized fighters in which a large number of very poor quality titles were developed. Furthermore, the former home console developer SEGA forced a number of very poor quality full motion video titles (games where the player watched the action unfold through digital movies utilizing actors and sets) in order to drive its SEGA CD disc-based format, also in 1992. With many companies believing digital footage to be the future of video games, this concept was forced onto gamers and the poor quality of the majority of the product, as deemed by aggregate criticisms, led to the failure and conditioned opinion of the format.

Given the timing of the full motion fad, this is going to have a great effect on the groups that Aristotle defines as the prime of age and the elderly. Because of the glut of poor quality of digitized games in the early to mid ‘90s, many people have what Huxley’s Brave New World’s Director refers to as an “instinctive hatred” of the format. This represents the Pavlovian approach to propaganda; thus, any media based on Dark Presence will most likely act as a stimulus that triggers this with “reflexes unalterably conditioned.” This is a clear area where horizontal propaganda will work against the company and it is perhaps the biggest obstacle to clear considering certain publics are already denouncing the product solely due to similarities to products released in the ‘90s.

Secondly, the development of an arcade title is a risky proposition in the 21st Century, considering the weakened state of the industry in the United States. Many of the most prominent arcade developers began to focus solely on the home console market in the late ‘90s and in the previous decade due to the technology catching up to the quality seen in arcades. Online gaming has replaced the social aspect of arcades and the social stereotype of arcades developed in the ‘80s – children skipping school, loitering and causing trouble in town – led to a number of strict coin operation laws that crippled a number of these locations. In fact, only two months ago, a pinball parlor in Beacon, NY, was shuttered due to the city’s decision to enforce a law created in the ‘80s. These laws have even affected Galloping Ghost in the opening of its first arcade in Brookfield, IL, due to an old law that prohibits more than six coin-operated machines in a single business.

Furthermore, thanks to runaway hits such as Konami’s DanceDanceRevolution (a title which plays original tunes and licenses from the European Toshiba-EMI label while players were tasked to follow commands by stepping on floor panels in time to the music) and Namco’s Time Crisis (a gun game that allows players to seek cover from enemy bullets through the use of a foot pedal) spiked the utilization of “deluxe cabinets” (oversized or featuring controls beyond the typical joystick and buttons) in order to garner a gamer’s interest away from the home formats. Unfortunately, this also led to increased costs which many arcade owners couldn’t keep up with. With very few companies producing materials for the industry and a number of established arcade locations closing within the past five years, most outlets have publicly announced the format as “dead” and this is a sentiment many perceive as a fact even though it is an exaggeration. This again echoes the concepts of Pavlovian conditioning as well as Ellul’s theory of crystallization, which will be detailed later.

With the major obstacles defined, Galloping Ghost’s campaign will need to be set up in order combat these ingrained beliefs.

Immediately, Galloping Ghost has a fantastic weapon against these factors. The company is still in the middle of the game’s initial programming, so no one in the public has seen the game running in motion or been able to physically interact with the product. This is a key element and strength of any propaganda campaign as it puts the company in a position to interpret the reality of the product for the consumer. It also ties into another very powerful act of propaganda in wholly controlling the flow of information about the product, which Galloping Ghost is already handling very well. The head of the company Dock Mack is already selective in what information gets provided to the public, so this is an area where any future campaigning would benefit from.

This further allows the company to put out information based on what will be perceived to change behavior, or implement Dewey’s sense of public relations. Simple public relations sticks the facts out for the consumer, but effective PR interprets information for the consumer, as people remember interpretations far more clearly and when they reflect the values and beliefs of the audience, these interpretations are very effective calls to action.

A key starting point is in developing an identity or brand image for the Galloping Ghost company. By advertising who Galloping Ghost is, we can develop a sense of ethos for the audience in order to make the messages more effective. Since expertise is a key segment of ethos, we can establish that the development team is comprised of a number of competitive fighting game players based on arcade titles such as Midway’s Mortal Kombat, Capcom’s Street Fighter and more. The company can further develop its ethos by letting people know they own and operate their own arcade location and understand what it is arcade owners would be looking for in an arcade cabinet. Aristotle further states one can gain ethos through honesty, fairness, humor, positive attitude and sincerity, all of which could be reflected upon with any campaigns.

Galloping Ghost also has relationships which can garner ethos by proxy. The development has a working relationship with a majority of the martial arts actors that portrayed characters in the early Mortal Kombat games, so using their support benefits the company in a number of ways. First, it reflects the values and beliefs of quality – since these actors were in a successful game, they must be supporting another successful game. Secondly, having such recognition lends expertise and credibility to the product. Furthermore, while these actors are not featured in the game, they have recommended their own martial arts students for implementation in the game, which gives a portion of the cast notoriety. Lastly, those of prime or elder age will have memories of the Mortal Kombat titles and by having announced public appearances of these supporting actors, the company can gather fans and interested people to create a group, which has a number of benefits as indicated by Ellul and LeBon.

To further elaborate on groups, the systematic arrangement of the public will be a crucial element in the success of the game title. There are certainly a number of publics assembled based on the arcade industry and various other video game sources that cater to the industries Galloping Ghost is involved in, the youth and others not actively involved with games have to rely on other interpretive sources for their propaganda and nearly all of these reflect digitized games and arcades in a negative light. Seeing as a game of this nature hasn’t been attempted for more than a decade, the general consumer only has these “archaic” images to paint their beliefs and through the concept of crystallization (or selective perception), most of these people will only accept information that reflects what they currently believe.

The odd thing about the two main obstacles the company faces is they are both a pro and a con for the different age groups involved. The prime of age and elderly have fond memories of arcades, while the typical youth has no memory of arcades. On the other hand, the prime of age and elderly have reservations about digitized games, but this will seem likely an entirely new technology to the youth.

For the elderly, we can utilize Aristotelian thought to address the experience of those involved in the company and it needs to admit that the majority of the products introduced in the format are poor in quality. The practicality and usefulness of the features of the arcade cabinet need to be addressed and since Aristotelian thought indicates the elderly have no confidence in the future, it could be said instead that today’s technology corrects what has been attempted in the past.

Admittedly, the youth will easier to attract due to their nature, as described by Aristotle. They are easily swayed by sexuality and Dark Presence does feature a female cast and a few suggestive themes that would reflect the Freudian approach to propaganda. However, what really drives the youth appeal lies in the fact it is a video game: The youth has a love of victory and superiority which would result from the competitive nature of the game and tournaments and they are fond of friends and fun, which are social staples of the arcade environment. Furthermore, the youth are far more optimistic and accepting, so the game’s format would likely resonate better with this group.

Since arcades are now mostly prominent in larger cities, this brings Ellul’s concept of mass society theory into a more prominent light. Seeing as entertainment media is largely recognized as sociological propaganda, much of Dark Presence’s campaigning would address social needs for the public. Leading up to the launch of the game, public appearances of the title would be done in group fashion in order to more effectively promote the game. Game tests would be held in public places where many people gather and tournaments would draw in like-minded individuals to further promote horizontal propaganda. The company will also be utilizing social technologies such as Facebook to attract groups of people, so Galloping Ghost largely stands to benefit from horizontal and group propaganda.

Another technique implemented in promoting the product is in amplification. Making one aspect of something seem like many is something video game marketing does on a grand scale considering many games are built from the framework of a single premise. Stating the game has “15,000+ frames of animation, 200+ moves and reactions per character and 437 finishing moves” amplifies a simple aspect of the game and, at the same time, it provides relevant truths and facts for the consumer.

Using front organizations and accommodation will also further assist the product in its campaign. Galloping Ghost already utilizes fronts such as interest groups including Arcade Heroes, which will deliver any relevant message to the appropriate audience for the company. Galloping Ghost already has a front organization in its control, known as the Support Your Local Arcades initiative, which would come in great use in promoting the game. In order to further the use of these techniques, the company could set up “leaks” of game content or encourage the development of fan sites in order to spread the word from an “unbiased” source. The company could also further its reach of pubic relations by utilizing specialized services such as GamesPress.com, which would host content based on the game for games journalists to take and report on.

Lastly, and perhaps, most importantly, though, the company has to cognitively penetrate and stick in the minds of the consumer. This is already being done with the stress on the digitized live actors, but more can be done to push this crucial element of propaganda. The release of media and screenshots will stick the image of these live actors into people’s minds and by utilizing big visuals, the person will have a clear memory of what the images entail. I’ve already detailed how sexuality would stick, especially in the minds of the youth, and simple slogans can be used to stick into the consumer’s mind. The game title would also carry gnostic values, as the development of a game utilizing these formats is a rarity today.

In summation, Galloping Ghost could effectively campaign its first game title by utilizing a number of key elements we learned through the course of our persuasion theory course. It can implement nearly every single commandment of propaganda as applicable and many of the theories projected by Aristotle, Ellul and LeBon can be relevantly introduced. The company has two very large obstacles in the format it is utilizing, but these can be overcome by adjusting the messages based on age groups, enhancing the company’s ethos and brand image, segmenting and sending target groups specific messages, controlling the flow of information, reflecting on the values and beliefs of the audience and cognitively penetrating and sticking within the mind of the consumer. A number of external tools are available in order to promote effective horizontal propaganda, while combating rival propaganda that stems from conditioned beliefs.

Once further progress is made on the game, the public will become more involved with the product and the marketing efforts will increase in order to promote the title to arcade owners, which, in reality, is the true initial target market of the product. Arcade owners have memories of arcades as they were in the ‘80s and ‘90s, so reflections of these values will take the title very far. In order to continue making money and progress for Galloping Ghost, though, arcade gamers will also have to derive value from the product. By utilizing techniques already in place by the company, combined with other approaches, there is no reason Dark Presence cannot be successful in the ailing industry of coin-operated entertainment.

Event Overview for Owens CC Gaming Club

2010-10-28T10:44:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, Oct. 12 allowed a number of Owens students to throw down on the digital streets as the college’s Gamers United club hosted its first competition of the school year with Capcom’s one-on-one fighting game Super Street Fighter IV.

Featuring two Microsoft Xbox 360 consoles running the game, the free tournament saw 10 students enter for a chance to win gift cards to the campus’ bookstore. With a qualifying pool and an eight-person elimination bracket, psychology student Carl White stormed through nine different matchups undefeated to have his hand raised in victory after the dust settled. Utilizing a handful of the game’s various characters, White noted he has been competing on Street Fighter IV since the game’s initial release in 2008.

“At that point, there was nothing else to play,” White explained. “People stopped playing Dead or Alive [the fourth installment of Tecmo’s one-on-one fighting franchised released on the Xbox 360 back in 2005] and at that time, that was my game.”

Before picking up on either of the aforementioned titles, White said he actively played a number of fighting game titles that are now staples of the annual Evolution 2K tournament, the United States’ largest competitive fighting game event, such as Street Fighter III: Third Strike, Super Street Fighter II Turbo, Capcom Vs. SNK 2 and Marvel Vs. Capcom 2. White attended this year’s “EVO” tournament, along with various other competitions throughout the past couple of years and was enthusiastic about the fighting video game circuit.

“The people around Toledo haven’t been too exposed,” he said, making note to the fact that larger competitions are primarily found in larger cities such as Columbus and Detroit. “Playing here, though, I can see everyone really has potential. Overall, competitions are getting really big. This year, EVO had 2,000 people in just one event, but, still even local events can pull in about 50, with regionals reaching 500.”

The Street Fighter series, crafted by Japanese company Capcom back in 1987, has mostly depicted renowned martial artists Ryu and Ken as they interact with other fighters in worldwide fighting tournaments. Because of the focus on vivid and unique characters, the company has enjoyed revenue stemming from comics, books, movies and other merchandising opportunities featuring the Street Fighter name throughout the years. Since the initial release, nearly every Street Fighter game sees two players (or one player fighting a computer-controlled character) pitted against each other in one-on-one hand-to-hand combat, utilizing a joystick (or controller pad) and six attack buttons.

According to software sales tracker VGChartz, the original entry of Street Fighter IV has accumulated sales of more than 3 million copies worldwide, banking off its popularity stemming from the fact Street Fighter II caused arcades and the fighting game genre to explode in the early ‘90s. The “Super” version of the title, released late in April this year, added a new selection of fighting characters, moves, modes and more to create a budget update release for those who couldn’t get enough of the game. The life of the franchise, as Capcom reported at the end of its fiscal year 2008-2009, has enjoyed more than 29 million units sold worldwide, placing it among the top 50 best-selling video game franchises of all time on many sales sources.

“Fighting games as we know them today essentially began with Street Fighter II back in 1991,” said Gamers United club advisor Chris Zasada about the series. “It featured a refinement and complexity that had never been seen in a video game before and its contributions to gaming are immeasurable, securing the Street Fighter name in pop culture legend. Street Fighter IV represents the first numbered sequel of the primary franchise in eleven years and, while the graphics have greatly improved and the game is more refined, fans and newcomers alike flock to the game because the competitive spirit and fun of a Street Fighter game hasn't changed a bit.”

Although the Street Fighter competition is finished for 2010, Gamers United certainly isn’t done for the year. On Tuesday, Oct. 26, a Left 4 Dead 2 competition will spark a Halloween theme for the club and on Tuesday, Nov. 9, Gamers United will host more shooting action with a Halo: Reach competition. Both events will start at 5:30 p.m. in AVCC 125 and interested players can get more info at www.occgamersunited.info.

Repurposing: Halo: Reach Article Revised for Owens Outlook

2010-10-19T08:45:00.001-07:00

Here is an example of repurposing a piece for publication. I took my previous piece, took out all elements of Napoleon and subtituted the quotes with relevant sources. The information is also updated.

In the still of the night, thousands worldwide dug into the trenches in preparation for a Sept. 14 standoff. Fueled by beverages and snack food rations, these future soldiers refused to give up their position.

Many waited hours for the opposing side to act first and at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, the gate finally opened for them to make a move of their own. As the GameStop and other video game retailer locations across the United States finally opened up for midnight business, this army of eager gamers flooded into the storefront to be among the first to get their hands on the thumb-blistering digital warfare of Halo: Reach.

“This is the legacy of Halo,” Owens’ Gamers United Advisor Chris Zasada explained of the appeal of the game and these events. “As each game has been released, a new milestone and hordes of new fans are created. There’s a reason fans camp out in front of stores at night, braving the elements, just to be among the first to secure their copy of the next Halo entry.”

Billed with one of the most recognizable brand names among gamers, this entertainment juggernaut drew in thousands as a part of the gaming spectacle of midnight launches, of which many were held worldwide for the Halo release. Reserved for only the most anticipated of titles, the midnight launch of gaming product is pretty self explanatory – stores operate special late-night hours to get these hot titles into the hands of gamers the second the calendar flips over to the game’s allocated release date.

These launches are more notorious when one of the three console manufacturers, Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, release their newest gaming platforms, which typically take gaming hardware into the “next generation.” For such releases, it wasn’t uncommon for people to wait outside of a store for days, claiming their rightful spot in line for the product while camping out with coolers and lawn chairs. Such campers became so adamant and showing up earlier and earlier for releases that many locations now prohibit the act and set up special dates where people can come and be placed on a list to avoid such acts of "loitering."

Specifically for Halo: Reach, the Times Square Best Buy in New York City was host to thousands of fans of the series, with the location's theater featuring a music performance and a chance for visitors to meet the creators of the game. Seattle also hosted a grand-scale event at the The Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame, with more creators from the game present in order to carry out official tournaments.

“The release of Halo: Reach marks a historic end to the series,” stated Zasada on the scope of the release’s recognition. “This is the last release by the series’ original creator and developer, Bungie, who has expressed interest in moving on to other projects with other companies. While Microsoft still owns the Halo franchise, the departure of the original developer marks a significant change to the record-breaking series that began almost ten years ago. The final chapter written by the group that created this legend is nothing short of historical to the gaming community and the world of entertainment”

With Microsoft Game Studios Vice President Phil Spencer announcing Halo: Reach pulling in day one sales of $200 million (which at the standard price of $60, translates to more than 3 million copies sold), many are counting on the title to be 2010’s biggest sales success. The popularity of the title has exploded since Bungie developed the original title Halo: Combat Evolved for the Xbox in 2001, making it the first certifiable success for Microsoft’s fledgling debut system.

The series depicts futuristic warfare where players control human soldiers that wear enhanced armor through an elite squad known as Spartans as they fight off an alien race known as the Covenant. The series' gameplay uses a format known as first-person shooting where the player views the action through the eyes of their character and while single-player modes are available in each installment, the success of the franchise has stemmed from its competitive modes that essentially made console online gaming successful thanks to the release of Halo 2. Before this release, even though a number of gaming systems had online capabilities, online gaming was a feature nearly exclusive to the PC format.

Bungie estimates the series as a whole will push the franchise’s sales figures beyond $2 billion some time this year. Given the company made a Twitter statement announcing Halo: Reach has already surpassed the record for concurrent unique users on Xbox LIVE (a record previously held by Halo 3, which sold $600 million in 2007, with day-one sales of $170 million), it is very likely the title will hold up to these lofty expectations.

Backed by a gargantuan marketing campaign on the part of Microsoft and padded by a critical reception averaging at 92 percent on the review aggregator Metacritic.com, it already seems like Halo: Reach has a hefty portion of gamers already sold on the title. During the launch period, Amazon listed the title’s four packages among the company’s top 10 sellers, placing the standard edition of the game at number one and the limited edition package, retailing at $80 and packaged in a special case with extra items, at number 2. The Legendary Edition of the title, packaged in crate-style container with an exclusive statue crafted by McFarlane Toys, still ranked at number six even though it was produced in very limited numbers and carried a $150 price tag. Players also had the option to purchase Halo: Reach in an Xbox 360 system bundle that also included two Halo-themed controllers and a 250 gigabyte hard drive for $400 and this ranked in at number seven for Amazon. In the United Kingdom, storefronts HMV and Play also listed the standard and limited editions at one and two on top sales lists respectively.

Furthermore, according to the U.K.'s GfK Chart-Track, Halo: Reach has also spurred interest in the Xbox 360 system itself. GfK director Dorian Bloch revealed to U.K. publication Eurogamer that the system drove a 99 percent console sales increase during its launch week. While many sales figures have poured out from U.K. sources, the only product sales source in the U.S. tracking video games sales, market research firm NPD, only releases stats monthly and comes under criticism from some in the industry due to the fact it allegedly does not have an agreement with heavy-hitting sales giant Wal-Mart to provide figures and it also does not track digital downloads.

Bloomburg has predicted the title will move 10 million copies of the game this year and Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan who is known for specializing in gaming industry predictions, predicts it will be 2010’s top-selling title. Even so, Pachter feels Halo: Reach won’t have quite the sales punch 2009’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, developed by Infinity Ward and published by third-party giant Activision, had last year. He noted the title, billed as the single-biggest day-one entertainment release in history by Activision, pushed 15 million copies in 2009 alone.

Figures aside, in the end, all that really matters is the smiling faces of those that picked up their copy of Halo: Reach. Even with Bungie now moving on to new products, Sept. 14 proved the gaming community has stuck with the series until the end.

Halo: Reach Draws Gamers Out for Midnight Events

2010-09-15T13:27:00.001-07:00

In the still of the night, more than 100 dug into the trenches in preparation for a Sept. 14 standoff. Fueled by beverages and snack food rations, these future soldiers refused to give up their position.

Many waited hours for the opposing side to act first and at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, the gate finally opened for them to make a move of their own. As the GameStop location in Napoleon, Ohio, finally opened up for midnight business, this army of eager gamers flooded into the storefront to be among the first to get their hands on the thumb-blistering digital warfare of Halo: Reach.

Billed with one of the most recognizable brand names among gamers, this entertainment juggernaut drew in roughly 130 to the Napoleon retailer as a part of the gaming spectacle of midnight launches, of which many were held worldwide for the Halo release. Reserved for only the most anticipated of titles, the midnight launch of gaming product is pretty self explanatory – stores operate special late-night hours to get these hot titles into the hands of gamers the second the calendar flips over to the game’s allocated release date.

These launches are more notorious when one of the three console manufacturers, Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, release their newest gaming platforms, which typically take gaming hardware into the “next generation.” For such releases, it wasn’t uncommon for people to wait outside of a store for days, claiming their rightful spot in line for the product while camping out with coolers and lawn chairs. Such campers became so adamant and showing up earlier and earlier for releases that many locations now prohibit the act and set up special dates where people can come and be placed on a list to avoid such acts of "loitering."

While most software releases aren’t so competitive as discs are printed in a far larger number than initial game consoles are manufactured, it doesn’t stop some gamers from showing up well in advance. In the case of the Napoleon GameStop, Johnny Puckett of Napoleon was the first person in the lineup for the game, arriving at 1:30 p.m., essentially half of a day prior to the game’s launch. Having had the game reserved for him since the beginning of summer, Puckett attributed the early arrival to dedication.

“It was dedication as I am a big Halo fan,” he explained. “I wanted to be the first person in line today.”

Puckett looked forward to the release and its online play, which allows those with Xbox LIVE Gold subscriptions to play against or cooperate with other Halo owners around the world. He noted Halo 3, developed by Bungie and released by Microsoft in 2007, was his favorite so far, but Puckett wants to continue the experience and be exposed to the franchise’s full story since Reach serves as a prequel to the original game in the series.

“I’m really looking forward to the campaign,” he eagerly stated. “I’m ready for the challenge of beating the game on the legend difficulty.”

Of course, Puckett wasn’t the only spectator at the event. Lined up behind him were more than 100 other fans of the series, grinding the waiting time down while socializing with other gamers that shared the same interests. A group arriving at 8 p.m. lugged a card table out on the sidewalk of the city’s last remaining active shopping plaza and invited others to participate in Magic: The Gathering collectable card game matches. Others tossed a football back and forth, used stereos to play music for others or even pulled out portable gaming devices such as mobile phones, Sony PSPs or Nintendo DS systems to pass the time. Napoleon, a small city of roughly 10,000 people, normally sees its businesses close no later than 9 p.m. through the week, so the situation creates a one-of-a-kind event that the Napoleon GameStop manager Kolt Handy labels as a “social event.”

“People get to enjoy each other’s company,” he said. “It’s really more than just picking up the game. It becomes a social event and not just a release.”

Adding to the social aspects of the event was the station set beside the store’s doors by the local branch of the United States Marines. With a red, metal bar hoisted from a frame, those in attendance were given a chance to show off their physical mettle by attempting as many pull-ups as possible. Each attempt garnered many cheers from the crowd and those closing in on the current record had everyone counting off each repetition and shouting encouragement. Those in the top 15 of the pull-up challenge were awarded with promotional material such as posters for games including Halo: Reach and Lionhead Studio’s upcoming Fable III, another critical series to Microsoft’s portfolio that only sees a release on its formats.

With so many people gathering for the release, Handy tied this aspect into why Halo is so popular.

“The multiplayer is a huge aspect to the game,” he noted. “It’s just a fun game and people get behind the story. It’s the first first-person shooter a lot of people got into with their friends and they just want to stick with it.”

While no specific sales measures have been made available after the title’s first full day on sale, many are counting on the title to be 2010’s biggest sales success. The popularity of the title has exploded since Bungie developed the original title Halo: Combat Evolved for the Xbox in 2001, making it the first certifiable success for Microsoft’s fledgling debut system. The series depicts futuristic warfare where players control human soldiers that wear enhanced armor through an elite squad known as Spartans as they fight off an alien race known as the Covenant. The series' gameplay uses a format known as first-person shooting where the player views the action through the eyes of their character and while single-player modes are available in each installment, the success of the franchise has stemmed from its competitive modes that essentially made console online gaming successful thanks to the release of Halo 2. Before this release, even though a number of gaming systems had online capabilities, online gaming was a feature nearly exclusive to the PC format.

Bungie estimates the series as a whole will push the franchise’s sales figures beyond $2 billion some time this year. Given the company made a Twitter statement announcing Halo: Reach has already surpassed the record for concurrent unique users on Xbox LIVE (a record previously held by Halo 3, which sold $600 million in copies in 2007), it is very likely the title will hold up to these lofty expectations.

Backed by a gargantuan marketing campaign on the part of Microsoft and padded by a critical reception averaging at 92 percent on the review aggregator Metacritic.com, it already seems like Halo: Reach has a hefty portion of gamers already sold on the title. Amazon has listed the title’s four packages on the company’s top 10 sellers, placing the standard edition of the game at number one and the limited edition package, retailing at $80 and packaged in a special case with extra items, at number 2. The Legendary Edition of the title, packaged in crate-style container with an exclusive statue crafted by McFarlane Toys, still ranked at number six even though it was produced in very limited numbers and carried a $150 price tag. Players also had the option to purchase Halo: Reach in an Xbox 360 system bundle that also included two Halo-themed controllers and a 250 gigabyte hard drive for $400 and this ranked in at number seven for Amazon. In the United Kingdom, storefronts HMV and Play are also already listing the standard and limited editions at one and two on top sales lists respectively.

Bloomburg has predicted the title will move 10 million copies of the game this year and Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan who is known for specializing in gaming industry predictions, predicts it will be 2010’s top-selling title. Even so, Pachter feels Halo: Reach won’t have quite the sales punch 2009’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, developed by Infinity Ward and published by third-party giant Activision, had last year. He noted the title, billed as the single-biggest day-one entertainment release in history by Activision, pushed 15 million copies in 2009 alone.

However, in the end, all that really matters is the smiling faces of those that picked up their copy of Halo: Reach. Handy noted his previous midnight release only drew 10 people, so in his mind, the launch was a hearty success. As many people at the Napoleon launch admitted to calling off of work and school to play Halo: Reach, it seems there are at least 100-plus gamers that will definitely be getting their money’s worth out of the title.

About GemuBaka

2010-09-08T13:07:00.000-07:00

Seeing as I will be utlizing this blog location for a class portfolio, I figured I might as well explain a few things so people know what exactly is going on here.

What is GemuBaka?
GemuBaka is a collection of works from the GemuBaka collaboration. The name is derived from the Japanese loan word for game as well as “baka,” which in one of its variants means “crazy.” In a literal sense, the phrase means “game crazy,” which would describe one who is crazy about games. Fortunately, that describes us perfectly. GemuBaka catalogs the works of the GB team and spans a wide range of video game topics to include features, previews, reviews, editorials, FAQs and more. Pretty much the only item we do not feature here is game news – a facet we see as fairly pointless considering about a million other sites would be reporting on the same thing. Our scope does not stop at current systems as we look back upon past systems from the 1980s forward. While it doesn’t always happen, we try to update the site with at least one new feature every weekday, however, at the minimum, there is at least one update every week.

Who is GemuBaka?
GemuBaka is the collaborative efforts of nestlekwik and MixMasterLar. The two authors became accquainted while working on projects through Rithum Interactive, including Rithum News, a video games-based Web site that covered video game news while producing original features and reviews on a daily basis. Although the site was scrapped in early 2008 in favor of a more ambitious project from the company, the two still saw potential in what they had to offer in their writings, forming GemuBaka nearly six months following the close of the site.

Nestlekwik (aka D.J. Tatsujin) has been writing about video games for the past seven years, being published and holding positions at sources such as Blogcritics.org and self-published materials before joining Rithum. Since then, he has spread out to work with sources such as Diehard GameFAN.com, J2Games, Video Game Collector Magazine, Arcade Heroes, Bemanistyle and more. Nestlekwik has been playing games actively since 1985 and has lightly dabbled into nearly every aspect of the video game industry, which includes app development, independent game conceptualization, journalism, public relations, marketing and more.

MixMasterLar joined up with Nestlekwik at Rithum News and has stuck with the cause since that time. A fairly well-known member of the DDR culture and a lover of the fighting game genre, Lar helped shape the J2Games segment The Nestlekwik Happy Hour and launched the Objective Tangent line of editorials for GemuBaka. Also a video game reviewer, Lar has contributed to sources such as J2Games and Video Game Collector Magazine.

Haven’t I seen some of your work on “x site?”
Most likely. As stated earlier, GemuBaka is an active contributor to a handful of other gaming sites past and present and the GB site serves as a sort of HQ or portfolio for our works, along with any original musings we decide to craft exclusively for the site.

Just to clarify, so there are no confusions, we are not a scraper site. We do not just pull someone else's work from another site and report it as news. GemuBaka only reprints work when a member of the site creates an original work for another site and we are given permission to reprint it on our site. Thus, you should know any article posted on this site comes from its original author. The site is more than a collection of works from other sites as we do produce original materials for the site as well. You can view any site-exclusive material on our GemuBaka Exclusive Feature page over at www.gemubaka.com.

Interview with Nana-OnSha's Masaya Matsuura

2010-09-08T10:13:00.000-07:00

We really shouldn't have to introduce Masaya Matsuura as his work on 1997's Playstation hit PaRappa the Rapper is the reason why a good chunk of us are here today, writing on a Web site dedicated solely to music video gaming. Over the course of a decade, the team of NanaOn-Sha has brought us two PaRappa games, Um Jammer Lammy, Vib-Ribbon, Mojib-Ribbon, Tuninglue and Rhyme Rider Keroican and outside of music-based video games, the company has released numerous Tamogatchi games for the Nintendo DS, handled the audio features for the robotic AIBO pet, participated in a 2004 educational project and more. Matsuura is essentially the pioneer of music gaming as we know it today and his newest game finally hit in April as he once again teamed up with renowned artist Rodney Greenblat.

Just before the release of Major Minor's Majestic March for the Nintendo Wii, Masaya Matsuura graciously agreed to answer a short list of questions for us. While the translation process and holidays celebrated over in Japan brings us the interview a month after the game's release, we were also able to pick Matsuura's mind a little on the general status of music video gaming as well.

Bemanistyle: First off, what was it that inspired you to create NanaOn-Sha's newest title, Major Minor’s Majestic March?

Masaya Matsuura: A strong request from the publisher was the main drive behind the choice. But in any case, whenever a new technology comes out, I'm curious to give it a try.

BMS: What are your thoughts on the experience you had in developing a music game using the Nintendo Wii’s motion controls? How different was this experience for you as opposed to the button-based music titles you’ve created in the past?

MM: The difficult thing when we plan a game for Wii is any action with a Wii Remote users play has to be the same as action they actually do in their daily life otherwise it wouldn’t be realistic for the users. On the other hand, if you only focus on that issue, your creativity would be limited! I had a hard time planning this title to solving this issue.

BMS: How was your experience in working along with Rodney Greenblat on yet another title? What was it like creating an entire cast of characters from scratch in your newest title? Is there a certain inspiration behind any of the characters or themes from the game?

MM: I've occasionally worked with Rodney for 15 years since PaRappa the Rapper came out.

We had already decided that the band members would be various animals right from the start. From there we bounced various ideas around until we came up with the final cast. In particular, we tried many different animal designs for the main character, Major Minor. Whilst this is a fairly routine process in game development, it would be fair to say that it was filled with elements that were at times hard, mysterious and yet always fun.

BMS: Did you have a certain goal you were working for in the development of the title? Since many of the Wii’s games aim to have players interact with the controls and make them active, was this a main motivation for you in creating a game on the system?

MM: I think that it is very important for a player to communicate with other band members through the marching and to lead the band as a leader.

BMS: Was there ever a consideration in taking the game to another interactive interface such as the Nintendo DS (with its touch screen) or the PS3 (with its SixAxis controls)? Would you have any interest in releasing music games using such formats?

MM: I'm not sure if it could be fixed easily but I think it's possible.

BMS: Many of your titles come with the ease of use in not having to purchase peripherals. What are your thoughts on the recent batch of music games that include such controllers? Have you ever considered trying to produce a music game title which requires a special controller?

MM: Perhaps it's due to my background as a musician, but whilst the game peripheral at first feels like it's very similar to an actual guitar, for example, it's a little different for me. I really want to feel as if I'm playing the actual guitar ... of course, the game controller and the real guitar, there are very big differences between them, but if I can overcome these kinds of differences by making good software ... maybe that is what's interesting to me. I really want to make the appeal of the experience derive from playing the software. It's a very potent thing.

BMS: What does it feel like to be the person who pioneered the music gaming genre as we know it now? What are your thoughts on the fact that other companies, such as Activision and Harmonix, have taken the music game concept and are now quite successful?

MM: A long time ago, I really implored the Harmonix guys that they really should be making games. I'm pretty sure that they got similar advice from elsewhere, but looking back it was definitely the right advice. The success of Guitar Hero and Rock Band therefore fills me with pride as if they were my own creations.

BMS: Can you offer any insight on the design philosophies Eastern developers have for their music game titles versus Western developers, which seem to develop music games on the basis of appeal and social game play? Are there any bands or artists from North America that you really enjoy?

MM: I don't think that there is much system design difference between Western music games and Japanese ones so far. However, I would be happy if M4 could inspire other designers as a brand new example of music game design. On the other hand, there are different views of music to those of Western culture. We all know that rock music is familiar and close to a large group of people, and this resonates with the success of Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Rock music is popular in Japan too but it's not as widely common as it is in western culture.

As it happens, I got inspired by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band for M4.

BMS: Are you interested in working on new titles for the Parappa or Um Jammer Lammy franchises or do you feel you’ve done all there is to do in those titles?

MM: We currently do not have any specific plans to make a new one, but I cannot rule out any future possibilities.

BMS: We thank you very much for your time. Is there anything you would like to say to the many music game fans of Bemanistyle.com?

MM: Enjoy M4!

Naoki Maeda: Latin America "Is a Hopeful Market" for Konami, DDR

2010-09-08T10:08:00.001-07:00

Back when news of this year’s brand new DanceDanceRevolution titles surfaced during July’s E3 event, Konami of America went out of its way to state it was going to feature “major licensed master Latin tracks.” While we were initially ignorant about the impact these Latin tunes would have on the final product, DanceDanceRevolution X2 released in North America on Oct. 27 and it became clear exactly how far Konami was looking to go in featuring Latin-style music in the title. Of the title’s 60 songs, nearly 17 percent of the list features Latin songs and/or artists and it seemed as if the company purposely went out of its way to reproduce Konami originals in this styling in bringing revival songs from previous entries into the mix. It’s hard to deny DanceDanceRevolution is as global as it has ever been, originating from its humble, nine Konami original songs on the original DDR arcade cabinet, evolving to later include European influence with the company’s Toshiba EMI partnership and, finally, breaking out into recognizable tunes made popular in America. While Latin-style songs are hardly nothing new to series, what attributed this focus to load almost one-fifth of DDR X2 with this music genre?

“We believed that the PS2 market in Central America is relatively large, so we decided to implement Latin/Spanish-influenced licensed and Konami original songs that might be better accepted in that region and for the residents in North America who enjoy this type of music,” stated series producer Naoki Maeda in a recent e-mail interview with Bemanistyle.com. Looking at recent events that have unfolded in 2009 between Central America and Sony, perhaps saying the previously untapped video game market in the territory is large could be an understatement.

A February announcement made by Sony Computer Entertainment America officially put the company’s consoles and services available to the territory for the first time(1). Prior to this point, residents of the area had to either swallow heavy-hitting price tags for systems and games thanks to customs taxes and import tariffs or take part in playing pirated copies of games titles. In fact, a 2008 editorial by Pascal Clarysse, who was formerly a marketing manager for Lik Sang, commented on Edge Online that a popular title such as Super Smash Bros. Brawl could cost as much as $110 U.S. at retail in Columbia – a real slap to the wallet when you take into account that Clarysse states the minimum and average wage in the country is $260-280. Because of these limitations, he states the Game Boy Advance and Playstation 2 continue to be the best-selling systems in Central America(5) and when you factor in the huge install base the PS2 has in Brazil – the largest in the territory - it becomes easier to understand SCEA’s decision to officially enter the market(2).

“The significance of the Latin America market is huge. Obviously from a population standpoint I don’t think it’s a big secret that this is a huge opportunity. We will put a number of resources in place to cater to that market,” stated Sony Computer Entertainment America’s Vice President of Sales Ian Jackson one year ago at a BMO Capital Markets Interactive Entertainment Conference. “… We’ve identified the Brazilian market as probably the biggest market opportunity for us, and that will be the third part of our launch which will take place over Spring 2009."(3)

Thanks to the official distribution of Sony product in Central America, the distribution has made the prices of official games a bit easier to swallow for the 13 countries within reach of Sony Latin America, even though the territory has some fierce competition in the form of the regional Zeebo console and pirated discs that provide games at a lower price. Regardless of where players are receiving their games, it can’t be denied that gaming is a huge hobby in Central America and the Playstation 2 is a common system, much as it is worldwide, where it has been cut to a $99.99 U.S. price tag. Konami’s efforts to market DanceDanceRevolution to this territory rolled off of Sony’s momentum in the region as X2 and Hottest Party 3 made appearances the weekend prior to the titles’ release at Latin America’s largest video game event, the eighth-annual Electronic Games Show in Mexico City, which saw more than 30,000 attendees(4). As such, Konami certainly isn’t ready to give up on the system, which still has a full year to follow Sony’s intention to give the Playstation 2 format a 10-year life cycle.

“We still look at the PS2 as a competitive platform in today's global market but the so-called next generation consoles like the PS3 and Xbox 360 have great possibility of permeating throughout the world even more,” noted Konami's Naoki Maeda. “Our goal is to foresee the needs of the market and provide titles with the hardware that best suits these needs.”

Before the attempted penetration of DDR into the Central American territory, however, local players had long been accustomed to Andamiro’s Pump It Up series, a cheaper arcade alternative that served as the go-to dancing title for this territory along with Korea. In 2005, Mastiff CEO Bill Swartz, who was at the time preparing Pump It Up Exceed for a home console release in North America, told Edge Online, “It's insanely popular in Latin America and Korea. Every year in Mexico City there are tournaments. This year's drew more than 15,000 people and they had to open the doors an hour early to avoid a riot. " Interestingly enough, the same interview has Swartz stating the release features “lots of Latin music,” showing the dancing game market has in some form catered to the territory for a number of years(6). According to Maeda, the global appeal of DanceDanceRevolution stems from the art of dance being a global language that is enjoyed by everyone across the world, however, cultural differences are what tend to bring such “market targeting” into play.

“The global appeal of DanceDanceRevolution lies in the fact that the main idea of the game is ‘dancing,’ which is a method used to express oneself that can be seen throughout the world,” he explained. “However, there are several different types of dancing which can come from elements such as the characteristics of a country or what they deem beautiful. We believe that holds great importance in that the recorded music fitting the dance type of a specific region is essential.”

Of course, targeting the Latin music market isn’t an unfamiliar endeavor, with Konami of Japan releasing Mambo a Go Go (which, unfortunately, missed the U.S. market with an intended, but cancelled, release under the name Mambo King) and SEGA developing Samba de Amigo during the Latin pop craze that hit at the turn of the century. Even though neither title had a huge impact, if any, on North America, Maeda noted Konami hasn’t given up on the theme as long as its games are openly available to the region.

“Yes, depending on the location of where we release our titles and the characteristics of the people in the country, we would like to provide content that is geared more toward that region,” he stated. “Music in Southern America has its own characteristics with a very unique history and developing games with these themes are in one of our best interests.”

Will the adjusted focus help Konami and its DanceDanceRevolution series in the long run? Only time will tell in the long run, but, currently, the company is keeping a positive focus on the market for now.

“Our view of Central America is that there are several unknown elements in the market, but features such as their national trait where they look at things objectively and with the way ‘dancing’ is positioned in their lifestyle, we believe that it is a very hopeful market,” concluded Maeda.

[1] Official SCEA Press Release, “Sony Computer Entertainment America Expands into Latin America” - GameSpy
[2] Theo Azevedo, “Produção do PlayStation 2 e jogos no Brasil é aprovada” – UOL Jogos
[3] Staff, “SCEA: Latin America is a Huge Opportunity for PS2” – Playstation Universe
[4] Official Michael Meyers Public Relations press release – “Eighth-Annual Electronic Game Show Draws 30,000” – (received internally by Bemanistyle.com)
[5] Pascal Clarysse, “Gaming in Latin America” – Edge Online
[6] Staff, “Pump it Up” – Edge Online

Galloping Ghost Arcade

2010-09-08T10:01:00.000-07:00

Jesse Attard of Tactics Studios Discusses Latest Project

2010-09-08T09:34:00.000-07:00

Tactic Studios has been hard at work in 2010, publicly releasing Immortal Empire, a multiplayer strategy RPG that can be played on the PC straight out of your Web browser with no downloads. Although the title is multiplayer, Immortal Empire still features a fully fleshed-out story that puts players in the role of an immortal that can eventually summon up to five combatants that have a variety of strengths and skills that can be used strategically to take out the opposition. As players connect with others online, they can tackle the quests in co-op mode or, once the player reaches a certain overall level, they can engage in head-to-head battle in versus or teamplay modes.

Immortal Empire, at its core, features a very standard setup: each character has its own action meter, which depletes every time that character carries out an action. Once a player is finished with their characters, the enemies or other players are then given a turn. However, the title strays from the traditional RPG path a little in the fact the player does not have to place five party members into their lineup, and experience levels up the player’s personal immortal. Each level of progression adds a skill point into a pool of skill points each party member has to share. This allows the game to be as easy or difficult as the player would like, but given the number of options available, this also plays heavily into the strategy of the title. As players run through stages, of course, enemies will drop a good number of items, weapons, and equipment for the player to use and elemental crystals allow players to construct and customize weapons.

Immortal Empire is free to play in its basic format. However, a one-time fee of $9.99 can be paid to unlock the entire feature set of the game. As the game receives regular updates and expansions, more content and other alternatives to the one-time fee are gradually being implemented and fans of the game can be happy knowing more content is on the way, as promised by Tactic Studios’ founder, Jesse Attard.

If the name of Tactic Studios’ head developer and producer Jesse Attard looks familiar to you, it’s because we had him featured in our rather large BioShock 2 preview, just prior to its launch. What many gamers might not know, however, is Attard has been hard at work with his personal studio, and after a marathon of work that has encompassed a few years’ time, he is beginning the promotions of his newest self-released work, Immortal Empire. We were recently lucky enough to get a few moments of Attard’s time as he talked about his education, the former titles he has had a hand in, working on BioShock 2, how Immortal Empire was created and, of course, what it is like to form and run your own independent gaming studio.

Attard’s foray into games development originated after graduating from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, with a degree in computer science. From there, he has had a hand in developing titles such as Open Season on the Playstation 2 and Xbox, Dark Sector, some of Capcom’s mobile titles including Street Fighter II, Resident Evil, Dead Rising, and Lost Planet. With his involvement with the BioShock series, not only was he involved with the multiplayer of BioShock 2 (with Digital Extremes, where he is still on the team), he also worked on the Playstation 3 port of the original BioShock. Attard was coming fresh off the release of BioShock 2 when I was able to speak to him, and he had nothing but positive statements about the development and its performance.

“It was awesome,” he said. “BioShock 2 was a great project for Digital Extremes and me. Having played the first one, it had great critical reception and it was a great franchise so there were big shoes to fill and everyone felt it. It was such a unique and interesting IP and adding in the multiplayer, which was my main responsibility, was a really risky thing to add on to BioShock.”

Even so, Attard said he felt the risk paid off, telling me, “My friends say they like it and the critics seem to be positive, so, on the whole, people seem to like it. We went for a faster-paced game, like a Quake or Unreal-style gameplay. It wasn’t just a one-shot kill thing and I was always a fan of that style. It ended up being cool and fills out a category that isn’t predominant nowadays.”

Wrapping up on our discussion of BioShock 2 and his experience, Attard noted the final release was as complete as his team was able to make it, citing no specific desire to change anything implemented in the final release. While some gamers will no doubt disagree that nothing could be changed or added, from a developer standpoint, he backed his stance with the concept of time. Under the pressures of time, a developer has to realistically cut its line of features and implementation off somewhere, and Attard felt Digital Extremes did the best job possible within the timeframe it was given.

“It would always be nice to have more time, but a game has to come out eventually,” he noted. “We added more community support than what was in the original and we did make a full game. Then, we got an extension [when the game was pushed back from 2009 to 2010] and this allowed us to add more modes and content. So, that was a huge bonus. It allowed us to polish the game and all developers can do more with more time. With the time we had, the result was a finished project.”

While BioShock 2 will no doubt be the work on Attard’s list of works that grabs most gamers’ attentions, he had actually formed his very own studio a few years back called Tactic Studios, at which he developed Immortal Empire. With a full-time development load from some of the projects detailed in Attard’s background, the launch was a spare time endeavor and the current build of Immortal Empire is actually a culmination of years of work.

“I always like making games and I had the experience with developing mobile games,” he recalled. “I was used to 2-D casual games, so it was totally natural and I wanted to do something that was my own. I wanted to see my own ideas come into fruition, so I guess the motivation to open the studio was for selfish reasons. I kept the development up for years and, eventually, it looked like it would materialize into a real game. There were graphics and a game was present, so I let people play it and it just happened, coincidentally, during the BioShock [2] launch.”

Gamers tend to hear a lot of stories about developers moving on from successful titles to their own studios. While, as stated earlier, Attard is still employed at Digital Extremes, these occurrences no doubt lead gamers to believe having their own studio is a pretty sweet deal. While Tactic Studios is a part-time commitment for him, Attard says there are pros and cons to the setup, however, for his personal situation, his pros are outweighing the cons at this point.

“It’s completely different,” he explained. “I’m not collaborating between multiple studios now and there aren’t tons of people at my office. Sure, that can make it a little lonely, but, at times it is very rewarding. At first you are just adding stuff and you’re the only one playing, but once others play it and you find other people that enjoy it, it’s a cool feeling. It’s already been worth the risk for me. It’s been awesome, but it’s been a lot of effort. It’s really easy to say it was worth it when the effort is behind you. Still, I’m constantly working and improving on the game. For me, it’s more of a personally satisfying thing as opposed to a revenue-generating machine, but you never know what will happen. It’s more of a personal accomplishment that I feel happy about.”

It isn’t always easy being your own boss, though, and, of course, a startup studio will need its own equipment and resources. Attard was able to break down the process a little bit and describe some of the hardships of developing a title.

“I’m sure everyone envisions it,” he said. “You envision an idea, flesh it out and develop it into a game. I dreamed of it as a kid playing Atari, but the hardest part is stepping outside of yourself and finding out if the game is logical. Obviously you need a computer and a server, but experience is important. I don’t think I could do it without having made games – it’s hard. I kept looking at Immortal Empire and the game looked the same as it did a year ago and I kept asking myself ‘what did I do with that time and work?’ People get discouraged when they realize things are taking forever to develop. Also, a lot of your early feedback will most likely be from friends and colleagues and sometimes it is hard to get an honest, unbiased opinion from them.”

On top of experience and drive, Attard also noted people are a resource any aspiring developer needs to have available. He stated it was most important to have as many people as possible with diverse talents that can cover areas such as sound effects, music, art, and programming. In the case of Immortal Empire, Attard was able to discover artists for the fantasy-inspired artwork as well as pixel artists for the in-game characters and environments. Without this additional help, he admitted “there would be nothing in the game.” The game’s official Web site was also host to an open music submission contest in order to have background music featured in the game, with the call of music resulting in more than 50 submissions. In regard to working with others, Attard noted aspiring developers need to discover which disciplines they lack in and fill those positions in accordingly, adding, “While startup studios will probably find it hard to pay people to provide content, if you search hard enough, you’ll find someone eventually.”

If someone is aspiring to start up their own studio, Attard provided the following situational advice: “Once you’ve made a full game, consider it bug-free, show it to others, fix all of the additional bugs found by others and handle customer support and complaints … once you have the game under your belt, it may be time to invest in it. There are so many different ways to screw up and once you go through that, you can consider your dreams.”

Looking at Attard’s first project, Immortal Empire combines elements from a group of games that he loved playing growing up and his desire to implement these designs spurred the development of the title. Some of his ideas were inspired by games such as Baldur’s Gate, Warcraft III, Star Control II, Diablo, and X-Com and building on his desire to do an isometric game with elements of retro influences and character strategies, Immortal Empire was born. As described earlier, the leveling in the title is unique, with each passing level providing a universal skill point pool that must be used sparingly amongst the players’ group of immortals.

“It’s kind of wacky,” Attard explained. “I wanted to add a strategic element. Most games don’t let you choose how to develop your characters; they completely remove the element of choice. In Immortal Empire, though, you can have one guy at max level or five guys that are equal. You can even play the game with just one character. It’s entirely doable, but, of course, it is a challenge. I just wanted to make sure choice was available to the player.”

Although it only took Attard a couple of months to get the title into playable form, he recalled the process of adding monsters, characters, storylines, squashing bugs, optimizing the game and adding features stack on to the base of the development. Essentially, he said the title “turned out to be a year of work and another year of small touches to make it playable [in its current state].” The key to making the development easier on Attard was his development of the Immortal Engine on which the title runs.

“I knew when I was building the game, I wanted a robust engine,” he said. “That comes from my mobile game experience. When you are churning out so many games, it is necessary to have a single, dynamic engine, and I knew I needed to do the same here. The engine is a generic layer of code not tied to the game. It is a layer a programmer can use for user interface elements, widgets for panels and layout, playing audio through .WAV and .OGG formats, rendering and utilities for griding and displaying images on the screen. With it, I have a collection of utilities to use in any game, so if I were to make another RPG, huge amounts of the code are already written. There is even a map editor built in and developing the maps is really easy. Adding features on top of this dynamic engine is a heck of a lot easier than building from the ground up.”

While Attard had a huge hand in nearly everything involving the development of Immortal Empire, in the end, around 15 different people had a part in the game, including concept artist Eric Vedder and pixel artist Matt Chambers. With the results in playable form at the game’s official Web page, Attard isn’t resting entirely on the current product, with expansions already in development to double the length of the game, add additional environments such as polar and volcanic areas, a new immortal, and more. The plan is to release new content every couple of months as Attard fixes a few bugs in the current game as well as implementing a microtransaction system for those that would like to pay money in order to pick up extra in-game gold, experience point boosts and more. Since Attard can update the game dynamically, once player-versus-player gaming starts to pick up a lot more on the game, he is hoping to hear more balancing feedback, at which point he can update the game in a quick and efficient manner, so players can expect the game to be updated regularly.

Of course, Attard depends on player feedback in order to make Immortal Empire a better game.
“Player feedback is extremely important,” he said. “The more we get, the better the game gets. I love getting it. A lot of it actually gets implemented and it is incredibly useful. I’m not egomaniac – even if I disagree, I’ll still drop it in and see what happens with a test. We’ve already implemented features such as clicking controls similar to Warcraft, more dialog boxes and more tweaks. All of the feedback comes from our users and it is incredibly useful.”

With dedication going into Immortal Empire, Attard hasn’t committed to the development of future titles just yet, but he does have future plans and may even consider different formats in the future. “I’m not working on any future titles yet,” he confirmed. “I have some ideas in my head I want to do, but I can only do one game at a time. I want to give it the appropriate attention first and maintain it throughout that time. I would always consider other formats and I do know how to do it, but it is a completely different undertaking. You need massive teams and a big budget to release on a console. I might be able to do an Xbox LIVE or Playstation Network title, but that is definitely down the road. You need a bigger team in order to do that right.”

Talking With Galaxy 4 Gamers' Pro Competitors

2010-09-07T12:32:00.000-07:00

Galaxy 4 Gamers (G4G) started its push for competitive gaming for online console gamers back in 2008 but, recently, it has added on a new cast of players for gamers to clash with. Adding in a star-studded cast of pros, the site is asking gamers who think they can tackle the top tier of games such as Street Fighter IV and Guitar Hero to partake in “Beat the Pro” challenges. The premise is simple: A pot is established as the pro begins his or her gameplay and each time a pro defeats a gamer, more cash is added to the pot. Obviously, if a gamer finally succeeds in toppling a pro, they win the competitive jackpot. Unfortunately, this won’t be a walk in the park as G4G has enlisted some pretty heavy guns to fend off gamers eager to grab the cash.

Recently, Diehard GameFAN was able to get some insight from four the site’s established pros – Ciji “StarSlay3r” Thornton, Robert “Prod1gy X” Paz, Justin Wong (“JWong”) and Alex Valle.

StarSlay3r is most known for her expertise in Guitar Hero and a competitive drive that saw her participating in the inaugural seasons of World Cyber Games’ Ultimate Gamer and The Tester, but she still has plenty of time to wreck faces in a number of popular fighting games such as Street Fighter IV as well. Prod1gy X actually won runner-up honors in the aforementioned WCG Ultimate Gamer show and while he is also a pro at Guitar Hero and DJ Hero, he also likes to partake in first-person shooting competitions including Halo, Gears of War and Call of Duty. Justin Wong can be considered the number one Street Fighter IV player in the U.S., taking top honors at GameStop’s launch tournament of the game and second place in 2009′s EVO 2K tournament, but he also dominates in titles such as Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike (finishing first in the 2v2 tournament at EVO this year) and Marvel Vs. Capcom 2. Alex Valle is also one of the more famous fighting game competitors in major tournaments, receiving very respectable top eight finishes in the Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix and SFIII:3rd Strike 2v2 tournament at EVO this year and formerly holding honors such as the U.S. champion in Street Fighter Alpha 3.

These four pros took the time out of their schedule to describe how they got into gaming, how they prepared for competitive gaming and more:

DHGF: What initially drew you toward the game which you are now a certified pro at?

StarSlay3r: I initially was drawn toward Guitar Hero due to the fact that I had previously been playing a similar rhythm game called Guitar Freaks since 1999. The first time I played Guitar Hero was at a GameStop and I five-starred one of the hardest songs my first try so I knew this was a game I wanted to invest some time into perfecting.

Prod1gy X: I have been playing Guitar Hero since the day it came out. It’s a great competitive game and really fun to watch. I use to be in a band so when I picked this game up, it was pretty easy to play and I was into expert in no time. At this point, DJ Hero is my number one game of all. Hitting top 10 in all of the DJ Hero setlists made me realize I am a top player and I can take this to a pro level.

JWong: I have been playing fighting games since I was 12. I chose fighting games because I love the idea of playing against a human opponent and the best type of competitive games to do that is a fighting game such as Street Fighter, Tekken or any related games that goes under fighting games.

Alex Valle: The popularity of the Street Fighter series has always driven me to compete. With the release of Street Fighter IV, it was only natural for me to display my years of tournament experience to the competitive scene.

DHGF: What made you decide you wanted to become a professional at the title?

StarSlay3r: I competed in a series of video game tournaments known as the Midnight Gaming Championship in Dallas, Tx., in 2006, and during this time, I was competing against some of the best players in the nation, which was an inspiration to do better. After getting to top 16 for Texas state finals I knew that if I tried harder and dedicated more time into learning the game more in depth, I could step my game up to the next level. After making it to National top 10 finals at CPL in Texas for Guitar Hero II and being beat by a top-three nationally-ranked player was when I really started to kick my training into overdrive and compete for the professional gamer title.

Prod1gy X: I have to have the love for the game. If I play a game for hours just for training and I do not want to play anymore … that tells me I am really not into it. I like to pick each game from different genres so that I can maintain that high expertise and continue on to any other FPS or music games.

JWong: Well, I never chose this road. One day it just happened. I went to tournaments just because it was really fun playing new competition and meeting new people and then eventually I realized I did it every single weekend and said to myself, “Might as well try to become professional.”

Alex Valle: Street Fighter has been my strongest competitive video game ever since the ’90s and it’s about time companies like G4G are taking notice of the talented players. It was only a matter of time before our scene gets noticed and I felt inclined to prove myself on the mainstream as a true professional cyber athlete.

DHGF: What is your training like for your title?

StarSlay3r: Training for Guitar Hero used to be 50-60 hour weeks, which consisted of about three or so hours a week of watching YouTube videos to determine the best star paths and techniques for solos, reading star paths on scorehero.com, practising solos in practice mode, repeatedly playing songs over and over until I full-comboed the song and online versus mode against every opponent that would accept the challenge. Since I had this type of training for two years, I now only have to play about five hours a week or so to maintain my skills.

Prod1gy X: There are different methods of training in games. Some games have training modes that work great for your advantage to get better and so I highly suggest you take that advantage and get better. Practice makes perfect. You cannot give up if it’s too hard because eventually you will get it. For DJ Hero, I would play each song over and over until I get it. It’s as simple as that.

JWong: I use to play everyday for at least six hrs just practising and honing my skills. Now I don’t really practice (even though I should). I am older now and I am usually behind a computer answering e-mails, doing Street Fighter IV lessons, doing the Beat a Pro by G4G or talking to potential business partners.

Alex Valle: Great question. Street Fighter is a game of reaction time, physical execution and strategy. You need to master all of these elements in order to compete with the next player or you won’t stand a chance. In my youth, I used to spend eight to 12 hours daily to develop a unique, aggressive style. Bringing new and exciting elements are needed to win national tournaments. Today, I use my talents to train others worldwide, which is also a good form of training for me.

DHGF: What is your overall opinion on competitive/professional gaming?

StarSlay3r: Competitive and professional gaming is not as easy as it may seem. You must be extremely dedicated and determined to succeed in order to be successful in the field, but I love the challenge. I am happy to see that G4G enables players from all over to come and compete against the top players in this fashion because this is the best way to level up your game and take it to the professional level.

Prod1gy X: Its a very hard industry to get by in and the reason why I say that is because not many people are driven to take on the role of leadership and dedication. You need to understand the value of who you are and what you can make of it in this industry. The best advice on this … “Never give up.”

JWong: I feel that it isn’t there yet, but, eventually, it will be and I hope to be a part of that era.

Alex Valle: I believe competitive gaming is the next sports generation. There are millions of gamers out there that have exceptional skill that not many people in the world can achieve. The main difference from real sports and video games is that you can compete at any age with minimal physical requirements.

DHGF: Is there any advice you would give to anyone looking to play a game competitively?

StarSlay3r: Ensure that you have a lot of spare time on your hands before deciding to tackle a game on the competitive level because being a top player means spending many hours practising and perfecting your skills. Make sure to hunt out players that are better than you and practice with them because playing against the best will help you since you will not only see how your skills compare to a top player’s, but often times, they will give you tips/tricks/advice on your gameplay and can let you know where you went wrong and what you were doing right. Stay dedicated! Pro/competitive gaming is a lot of hard work, but it definitely pays off when you’re taking that top three ranking check to the bank.

Prod1gy X: Practice, practice, practice. Take that risk and travel to these events and get yourself noticed. All you need is the passion for gaming and dedication.

JWong: Practice makes perfect, network to get some sparring partners and travel to events and participate in online events to gain that experience you need.

Alex Valle: If you feel you deserve recognition for being the best athlete in the world, let your game do the talking!

Now that you know a little bit more about some of G4G’s pros, if you think you have what it takes to beat them, you can head over to G4G’s official page for rules and details.

Getting Fit ... The Arcade Way

2010-09-07T10:24:00.000-07:00

I don't know how I was able to salvage this, but this is one of the very few things I have remaining from my work on Rithum.com. I guess it is pretty relevant still with the release of the Pokewalker and the huge surge of active gaming the Wii has brought upon us:

For those who like to pretend they are reading intelligently with news articles, MSN Health and Fitness has a story up that details the Top Gamers’ Workouts (http://health.msn.com/dietfitness/ar...0697>1=10412).

While the story hits up on items that us gamers have known for years and years, it goes into newer technologies being used by fitness companies to incorporate video game-like attributes to exercise equipment. It is interesting to know that in the future I will be riding a stationary cycle in front of a 17-inch screen slaying dragons instead of getting off my ass and cycling through the scenic countryside like I do from time to time. I do have to point out three key areas this article fails though:

1) Dance Dance Revolution appeared in the United States prior to the 2001 indicated in the article. DDR was introduced to U.S. arcades in 2000 alongside the Japanese release of 3rd Mix - while the domestic version is labeled Dance Dance Revolution USA and has a limited songlist, they share the same interface. I've even had people tell me the original entry released in the U.S. in extremely limited numbers, but I've yet to come across any concrete evidence for this.

2) The article claims Guitar Hero is an active game. My opinion is flicking your wrist back and forth repeatedly hardly makes a game “active.” To the article’s credit, however, this could be comparable to masterbation and I have seen some medical journals promoting that due to the nature of the blood flow involved.

3) The article does good in mentioning Wii Sports, but completely fails to point out the upcoming Wii Fit, a game on the same system completely tailored to the very reason this article was written.

However, what kind of fairness would it be if I didn’t offer my insight on active games? Check these ones out:

MoCap Boxing (arcade) - I made the mistake one time of playing this all day and then attending a lock-in for Dance Dance Revolution. Never have my legs been more cramped in my entire life. MoCap Boxing by Konami puts gamers into the virtual boxing ring by making them attach makeshift gloves and step into a motion capture area located in front of the game. Not only does the game force you to punch in front of the screen feverishly, but in order to avoid the taste of canvas, you’ll have to duck, sway and weave away from the motion sensor areas where the opponent’s punches would travel if they were real. The punching works the arms and the defense works the legs - a one-two punch to strengthening up.

World Class Track Meet (NES) - In a pretty obvious choice to anyone close to my age, the good old Nintendo Entertainment System Power Pads gave us a pretty good workout even though we knew how to cheat the long jump. Placing a mat on the floor, players competed in sprints, hurdles and jumping events by alternating left and right steps as fast as possible. You’re not human if there isn’t sweat on your brow after a matchup against the CPU character Cheetah or a heated two-player race. The floor mat even further supported activity with games such as Dance Aerobics.

Martial Beat (arcade/Playstation) - In 2002, Konami unleashed this monsterously-sized cabinet into Japanese arcades, and while it shares similar concepts to the company’s Bemani titles, many Bemani fans may very well slap you if you claim that. Once again using sensors to detect movements, the game cycles music tracks and features a full-motion video of an instructor asking you to imitate them performing simple martial arts moves and Tai Chi-type positionings. If you think it sounds a lot like Tai-Bo, well, it does. That in fact makes it a primary candidate for a full-scale workout if you can stick with it (or in today’s date, even find one of these cabinets).

Downhill Racers (arcade) - Speaking of putting game screens in front of bicycles, this arcade cabinet lets two people race each other down dangerous mountain courses by pedaling on a stationary bike. While nothing beats riding a bike for real, I wouldn’t advise sailing down steep paths located in between jagged rocks. Obviously, peddling as fast as one can, Downhill Racers provides for quite a workout. To rub it into the opponent’s face with style, there are a number of jump points where players can execute mid-air tricks, making it as fun to watch as it is to play.

Arm Champs II (arcade) - While recently arm wrestling arcade cabinets have becoming notorious for breaking arms in Japan, Jaleco’s Arm Champs II has been floating around U.S. arcades now for 15 years. The cabinet emits a large, robotic arm, which players grip in traditional arm wrestling fashion and attempt to outmuscle the computer in nine different levels of strength. The first three opponents are laughably easy, so the casual player shouldn’t blow a bicep or anything, but those looking to flex their might will find challenge in the later opponents. Those who get into the game should find the game can be almost as intimidating as the actual sport itself.

Of course there is more to be had, but anyone who is looking to get active should head out to any local arcade as active gaming has become the staple on which arcades still exist in the United States.

Cheapskate: Playing Galaga for Free

2010-09-07T10:00:00.000-07:00

I’m a cheapskate. So it should come as no surprise that I enjoy the fact that I can “play” Galaga in the arcades without even spending a single cent.

Here’s a cute little trick you can show off if you come across a 20-Year Reunion: Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga Class of 1981 cabinet:

While the Galaga demonstration is playing, watch the game play and wait for the green ship to fly down and shoot out the tractor beam. Once this happens, start hammering on the fire button and you’ll be given control of the demo.

This glitch can allow for a few interesting things to happen that wouldn’t normally happen during game play. While your ship is spinning in the tractor beam, the demo gitch allows players to fire, sending bullets in directions they wouldn’t normally go in standard play. If you can destroy the ship abducting your fighter, you can play as normal until a third green ship flies down (about 15 seconds) and fires off its tractor beam - if either this happens or your fighter is destroyed, a test menu will pop up for moment and cycle straight into the Ms. Pac-Man demo.

If you allow your fighter to become abducted, the game play will continue as normal and you’ll have a chance to snag a double ship. If you clear the screen of ships, you’ll be able to move around and fire into space for about 15 seconds until the demo cycles back to Ms. Pac-Man.

So, there. Technically you can play Galaga in the arcade without paying - make a competition out of it with your friends to see how many ships you can destroy before time runs out without using the double ships.

The Human Game Boy

2010-09-07T09:32:00.000-07:00

A recent power outage zapped all of my works in progress for a number of sites, so, bummed out and unmotivated to write everything back from scratch, I did the unthinkable - I went outside into society to see what there is to find outside of my house. Well, that's a real exaggeration - I'm very active at school and that's what has been sucking up some time as of late, but, recently, I was able to take a weekend to myself and head out to a local anime convention. While numerous video game cosplays were present, among the Pyramid Head, Resident Evil cast, Marios and more, one video game cosplay stood out heads and shoulders above the rest:

THE HUMAN GAME BOY!

It might not be evident by the picture, but, this gentleman, who I didn't have a real chance to speak to because I was promoting my own event and he was swamped with photo requests, took his human console one step further with wiring that turned him into a fully functional Game Boy. Yes, if you were brave enough and he didn't mind, you could play a full game of Game Boy Tetris on his person. I'm not too sure how many people are willing to admit they played Tetris on a man, but if the convention is to be believed, wearing a functional Game Boy is a great conversation piece and an excellent way to impress the ladies.

That being said, I'm currently developing a cosplay which will turn me into a human Virtual Boy.

Nick Baynes of Black Rock Studio on Split/Second

2010-09-06T21:30:00.000-07:00

Nick Baynes has come a long way from his memories of playing his first video game, Punchy on the Commodore 16. Now actively creating games as a member of Black Rock Studios, Baynes is eagerly awaiting gamers’ responses to his newest project, Disney Interactive’s Split/Second, when it releases on May 18. Serving as the game’s director, he took time out his schedule Friday to give members of the press some development insight and detail rundowns of what he calls a “massive, action-packed, arcade racing game.”

A demo has been made publicly available for gamers to check out this new twist on the racing genre, but for those that haven’t been able to download the trial, Split/Second details a fictional reality show where some of the greatest stunt drivers compete in a season of races to determine the greatest. In video game fashion, the races are much more than jogs around a track, though. Littered throughout the course are “power plays,” with which the player can trigger rigged explosives littered around each course to wreck opponents, create shortcuts or even completely change the current route of the track. As Baynes describes the premise of Split/Second, “Just imagine a Hollywood movie director was given control of NASCAR for a weekend.”

Black Rock Studios is no stranger to the racing genre, formerly being known as Climax Racing and developing titles such as ATV Off Road Fury, Hot Wheels Stunt Track Challenge and the ’06 and ’07 versions of Moto GP, prior to being picked up by Disney Interactive in 2006. Baynes even indicated some members of the team had worked on racers prior to Climax, so it was noted the studio has a lot of expertise in the genre. Following the acquisition by Disney Interactive, Black Rock Studios began work on more projects, with the first being Pure, an offroad racer that was well-received.

Baynes indicated Split/Second’s development was started around the same time as Pure, with the projects dating back as far back as almost five years ago when the studio began judging what it could do with the current generation of hardware.

“We judged what we couldn’t do on the Playstation 2 and Xbox,” recalled Baynes. “Many of those games had customization and car damge … all of the innovation (in that generation) was based on vehicles. We saw an untouched potential in driving around a dynamically changing track.”

Before settling on the power plays, Black Rock Studios had some brainstorming sessions to decide how it would implement the dynamic element. Baynes threw out a few concepts that came up including severe weather conditions and even futuristic tracks with hydraulic lifts underneath them.

Black Rock Studios is now well known for its dedication to the racing genre and Baynes stated the studio isn’t worried about being “typecast” into future games in the genre.

“The goal is to stay experts and stay within the realm of racing,” he explained. “We don’t want to stand still and do the same thing. We thought Pure pushed what we wanted to do with that concept and we wanted to do street racing with Split/Second. We’re always looking at new, innovative ways to bring fun, new exciting gameplay to racing games. We are proud of the games we make and we have love for the games we make.”

The unpredictable nature of the game’s racing is complimented by the reality television show concept, which gives the premise some legs to stand on.

“With the TV show, we wanted to go larger than life the player is constantly blown away by the scale of the reality a little bit further,” Baynes detailed. “The presentation point-of-view provides a nice look and feel that you may not have seen before.”

Likening the setup to hit shows such as Lost and 24, Baynes also explained why the reality show setup will keep players coming back for more.

“There are tracks and hidden content waiting to be triggered,” he noted. “Players will go through the season mode, unlock a new episode, new tracks and game modes. Like Lost and 24, there is a concept of cliffhangers with teasers at the end of episodes where players get a ‘next-time’ trailer and they will want to carry on and see what happens in the next episode.”

Each episode in the season will have qualifying events. As players progress through the races, points are awarded based on performance and the player will need to have a target number of points across these races to join in on the final elite race in the episode. The top three racers in the elite race are invited back for the next episode and there are unlockable vehicles, tracks, modes and more to earn through the course of the game. Outside of the reality show season, players can come back to the game to enjoy modes such as survival (where players try to survive a storm drain run, inspired by films like Transporter and Terminator 2, where trucks throw explosive barrels at your vehicle), elimination, a detonator time trail mode and even another survival-based mode where a helicopter chases the players and rains down missiles at them.

Breaking down the gameplay and development of Split/Second, the first thing players may notice is the lack of a screen-topping HUD, which is predominant in nearly any racing game on the market. Instead of packing the top of the screen with text, Split/Second places a small HUD directly beneath the player’s vehicle. While this may seem out-of-place, Baynes fully defended the decision, asserting the positioning lends itself to the presentation.

“We’re not doing things for the sake if it,” Baynes began in explaining the HUD. “In racing games, it does seem there are certain aspects implemented because others do it. Many racing games have a lot of uncessary information on the screen like the best lap, current lap, spreads and more. We looked at what was needed for the player to play the game and this game is all about the environment. It seemed crazy to cover this up. We had the idea of putting it behind the car to free the screen up for the player. It was one of those things that once it went in, it was really popular with players.”

Even though Baynes stated the ideas and concepts of Split/Second were amazingly consistant throughout development, he did note some challenges and difficulties. With the unique premise of the title, he noted the development of the tracks became a larger process as opposed to going from conception to layout to scenery. Including power plays meant involvement from other teams in the studio, such as animation, and found the tracks being bounced around in a longer process. Baynes also commented on crafting a title that will please racing enthusiasts while still drawing in other types of gamers.

“We have a deep physics model so the hardcore racer can paly and all of the subtlties are there,” he explained, “but we have layered enough on top for pick-up and playability. We kept the power plays down to a couple of buttons and didn’t add in reticules or aiming. The speed works well with the concpet as well. We tried to keep it open to more people, not just racing fans, but also people that like action. We don’t want to alienate those players.”

The greatest difficulty in piecing together a racing title, according to Baynes, was in develping the AI of opponents.

“The very nature of the race is pitting you versus opponents,” he said. “You want to win, but you still want the AI to give you a challenge. Making the race believable is a real challenge and is the most difficult thing.”

Of course, the real star of the show in Split/Second is in the power plays and Black Rock Studios spent a great amount of time developing these features. In order to trigger these attacks on the other racers, players will build up a meter by drifting, drafting, jumping and performing other extreme feats. The studio has taken time to balance the gameplay to allow players behind first place to catch up without the experience of any “blue shell moments” while not allowing first place racers to trigger and waste power plays.

“Some of the tracks and environments lent themselves better to power plays than others,” Baynes recalled in developing tracks and their associated power plays. “Coming up with the ideas wasn’t hard, but doing it in a way that was fun … that was tricky. Sometimes it’s easy to say, ‘let’s have a wrecking ball fly in and smash all of the cars across the road,’ but timing that and making sure it’s balanced is where the challenge is.”

At the same time, the team also had to have some restraint to keep things from getting too crazy.

“When you come up with these ideas, we want to push it further and further, but you can’t push it too far,” Baynes stated.

A specific example came in a casino, Vegas-style environment that was eventually axed from the game because, as Baynes explained, “from a gameplay point of view, it didn’t offer anything new.” The enviornment spurred an idea of having a giant, one-armed bandit slot machine that released a mass of explosive barrels when triggered.

While these features didn’t make it into the final game, the casino enviornment did influence some of the features players will see in the Downtrack track, which players can experience themselves when Split/Second releases on May 18. The final game will allow for two-player splitscreen local play and up to eight players in various modes online. Through the course of the title, players will be able to control around 25 different vehicles after all are unlocked through progression and milestones. Split/Second may be another racing game on the shelf, but Baynes indicated players won’t find the action of this new racing title in any other game in the genre.

“It’s the intensity of the experience,” he said. “Sometimes you have races where it doesn’t let up from start to finish. It’s an adrenaline-filled experience. In a lot of other racing games, you do get that, but it comes in bite-sized pieces. Players haven’t experienced any other racing game as action-packed as Split/Second.”

Prototype Controller Fun

2010-09-06T10:35:00.000-07:00

I've been met with a number of obstacles over the past two months that have kind of kept me away from writing original material. After school and my seasonal work cleared up, I ran into a few computer problems that kept me offline but diving through the mess of folders on my laptop, I came across a photo I haven't seen in a few years and it ultimately made me realize that it was something I had never shared online and that I am perhaps the only person who still has record of this prototype contraption.

If I had you guess what this beastly controller was supposed to function with, we could be here all day, but those keen to the crafted arcade controller scene may recognize the trademark Ransai craftsmanship. While recent arcade releases of Madden, Guitar Hero and the like seems to suggest companies are trying to bring home to the arcades, believe it or not, there was a great period of time where companies strove to bring the arcade into homes. Seemingly, until the wave of guitar clones struck U.S. shores, it was perceived gamers in the territory weren't interested in shelling out for plastic instruments or mech-controlling twin sticks and this left nearly every single music game released stateside as only a shell of its original Japanese self. As such, companies such as Ransai and Desktop Arcade stepped in to provide premium controllers to those who would be willing to have a 100 percent complete experience in the home.

While Ransai's site no longer seems to exist, I was able to sample its wares not only at the 2006 East Coast Gaming Expo, but in 2004 at a local video game store, where the special guests pulled out this boomerang-shaped prototype specialized to act as an arcade-style controller for Harmonix's Frequency and Amplitude titles. To my knowledge Ransai never developed the controller beyond this stage but its design allowed for immediate four-player compatibility in multiplayer (two players on each side of the controller) if you had a multitap and once you got used to the layout, it was an interesting way to play the game.

Looking back on the controller, the only problems I had with it were with the sensitivity of input in the game, rolling the keys always resulted in a miss so you had to be really articulate with key presses and with key positioning, I felt the arrow keys were too far apart and the item activation key was placed near the top of the controller, basically out of reach from the player's stationary position. None of the problems stopped people from having fun with the controller or the game, though, and if it was really that much of a deal to someone, Pop'N Music 8 and 9 were just a television screen away (on Ransai's AC controllers, of course).

I'd never heard about or seen the Ransai Amplitude/Frequency controller since that day so I would imagine it never saw the light of day, but it's another instance of a video game peripheral spoken of but played by very few. While in 2004 a Frequency controller would have sounded absolutely crazy on the market, who would have thought back then that soon our living rooms would be filled to the brim with plastic instruments?

An Early Look at Galloping Ghost's Dark Presence

2010-09-05T23:42:00.000-07:00

Back in the ‘90s, some companies were absolutely convinced FMV and “movies that you control” were the future. Unfortunately, the results of such efforts were deemed by the majority as below average at best and painful at worst. If capturing live actors in photo-realistic detail brought us anything, though, it delivered classic fighting games such as Mortal Kombat, which pushed the concept into the limelight in 1992. When you fast forward nearly 17 years later, though, many people might be surprised one arcade developer is giving the concept another go, even among the current explosion of 3-D rendered fighting games.

Located in the Chicago area, Galloping Ghost Studios has been long at work to bring arcades the title Dark Presence, which features footage of live actors fighting it out. Unlike the similar titles of yesteryear, however, the studio has the technology muscle of 2009 to back it up. The studio was actually formed back in 1994, when founder Doc Mack had ambitions to make a game in the same vein as Dark Presence, but the team felt the video quality and technology wasn’t up to par with what they wanted. Up front, the title will have eight playable characters, each stemming from live actors filmed at a 1080p (1920×1080) high-definition resolution. It took three years to film each actor, but that time will place 151,044 frames of animation in the game, giving each character more than 200 full animations, which includes attacks, reactions and finishing moves. The extra care to attention is the aim of the game, which has different animations for the characters’ left and right sides (removing the image flipping seen in similar games) and 437 strings of finishing moves that reflect the characters’ relations to each other – rivals will be more visceral with each other, but those with friendships and blood relations might be a little more hesitant to end one another’s life.

“While 3D and motion capture have made great strides, you can’t beat the level of realism provided with using actual actors instead of just textured 3D models,” commented Mack. “You can really see all the effort from the actors as they perform the attacks and reactions. For example with our fall animations, when our actors hit the ground you can clearly see the level of impact it has on them. Our actors were often covered in bruises from all the falls they had to film, which lent to realistic pained facial expressions. Honestly, it would have been a lot easier to just go the 3D route, but I’ve always like 2D fighting games better personally. With digitized characters, we are given a very unique look compared to anything else out there.”

The studio is also turning its attention to the backgrounds, which are developed using parallaxing. Each cabinet will have a GPS device that reads where the arcade is located, taking in account the current time of day and weather conditions. Mack is promising players that when it is night outside, the in-game environments will be seen at night; the GPS recognizes that it is raining outside, it will be raining in the game’s environments as well. Most impressively, this function is handled in real-time, so players in the middle of a match might notice the sky gradually darkening or rain could start up in the middle of a fight.

Mack also approached Dark Presence’s background by crafting a storyline that fills up more than 1,300 pages and counting. While the central plot line revolves around the character who has become to be known as the Mind Master and his quest of revenge, each character has a meticulous background story that allows players to understand why the characters are fighting should they choose to dig that far. The story also encompasses the in-game relationships of the characters and actions taken within the game will affect which of the multiple endings players will receive with their character. Mack is still plugging away at the game’s background, but it is also being written to transition into the events of a planned sequel for Dark Presence, entitled Conquering Light – a follow-up slated to have 18 characters (with only three returning from Dark Presence) and new features.

“I really tried to chronicle the entire lives of all the characters in Dark Presence and Conquering Light,” Mack noted on the storyline. “That is why the story is currently at over 1,300 pages, which makes it a little difficult to sum up quickly. You certainly don’t need to know the story to jump into playing the game and enjoy it, but for those who really want to know everything about the characters, the story is there. It’s basically a collection of short stories and really the order you read them in and what connecting stories you’ve read can really affect how you look at the characters. What I refer to as the Dark Presence story just follows the main eight playable characters and the one boss. However, several characters that appear in Conquering Light tie in with events that happen while or before Dark Presence happens.”

While there are no detailed accounts of how the gameplay will shape up, the still photos are looking great for the title, showing characters in combat and showing off a few of the brutal hits and resulting blood. The violence is there, but, according to Mack, it isn’t the focus of the game to just show off gratuitous blood and gore. Mack admitted while there is plenty of blood present that would naturally go hand-and-hand with brutal weapons-based combat and live actors, the team is putting most of its attention on the combat mechanics and the finishing moves were artistically implemented to convey the characters’ relationships to each other. Each character will have three fatalities to perform and Galloping Ghost has already stated each of the three fatalities can be linked into one execution move as players learn how to perform them. With the nature of moves depending on who the character is facing, the total fatality footage reel tallies in at an hour and a half of footage, ensuring those who enjoy messy fighters will be pleased with the results.

“We wanted to make our finishing moves a unique experience above and beyond just a vicious way to kill off your opponents,” said Mack. “Each character has three finishing moves that can be linked together. It took quite a bit of planning to come up with ways that they could all link. Everything was filmed from several different camera angles and then edited together, so it has more of a cinematic feel than finishing moves in other games. Since most of our actors filmed each finishing move with all the other actors, we were able to add variations. Sometimes it would allow us to show a greater connection story-wise for the characters. They are all pretty violent to say the least, but with how we filmed everything, we were given a lot of freedom to not just show an abundance of gore. Sometimes not focusing on the blood and centering the shot more on the characters and their facial expressions and such can make the scene have much more of an impact.”

Outside of the GPS tracking, Galloping Ghost also has a score of other plans for its Dark Presence cabinets. Through USB inputs, players will be able to keep track of personal stats, as well as participate in achievement challenges to earn in-game icons (there are 100 in total) that show how experienced the player is and players can also wager their icons against other players to win ones they do not have. A small touch screen panel will be implemented into the cabinet for players to set up these wagers, but the screen will also display special move commands as players discover them and allow arcade owners to display messages for tournaments, events and more.

The studio is anticipating a lot of customization options for arcade owners, allowing them to place 27 to 65-inch monitors in the cabinet, have prize drawer options and more. However, one of the more interesting optional features is the shock band – a wristband worn by players that generates a harmless jolt if they are hit by a fatality at the end of the match. Mack recalled the initial prototype bands had a little more juice to them, which the development team had a bit of fun with. On the other hand, the team also realized that having such a repercussion to the end of a fight made them fight more strategically and made matches more interesting, but Mack anticipates a lot of locations will opt out of the component and even for those who do not, players are not required to wear them to play the game.

“It was originally more of an inside joke to keep players from button mashing,” explained Mack. “Our programmer at the time made a prototype of the shock band and once we tested it out, we really noticed it was changing how we were playing the game. It added a whole new element of repercussions to having your character get hit and poor playing. The prototype shock band was pretty strong. It was a great motivator and elevated the strategy of gameplay quickly as you did not want to get shocked. We tested it well beyond anything that would be released to the public. It’s definitely not something everyone will want to experience but, it does really add a new level for the hardcore player.”

Currently, Dark Presence is set for a 2009 release with select arcade locations receiving test cabinets in the future.

An Early Look at System Flaw for the DSi

2010-09-05T12:39:00.000-07:00

While the Nintendo DSi’s anticipated release has come and gone, it seems little has been done to take advantage of its features. With expanded audio features and two cameras, one would think we would be seeing more in regard to innovative games that take advantage of said features. Thankfully, Visual Impact Productions has teamed up with publisher Storm City Games in an attempt to fill this void with its upcoming Nintendo DSi release System Flaw. System Flaw will be the very first Nintendo DSi-only title to be released on a cart to retail and I even believe I overhead it being said that Nintendo had to create a brand new packaging label (“Only Plays On Nintendo DSi”) specifically for this game.

Ryan Harbinson, product specialist of Storm City Games, was on hand at the recent VGXPO event in Philadelphia and, as luck would have it, he brought a playable copy of System Flaw to the event. It’s not every day you get to see a Nintendo DSi unit suspended from the top of tent with a wire, but, then again, System Flaw is anything but ordinary.

System Flaw’s premise draws heavily from the philosophies of the Nintendo Wii, in which it directly involves the player in the game. The meat of the game pits players in a 360-degree arena where they must fend off dangerous alien-looking creatures before they latch onto the player and drain their health. While this sounds extremely ordinary for a video game, the big hook in System Flaw is in its use of the Nintendo DSi’s external camera. With what is billed as “360-degree optical flow/motion detection technology,” the playfield is reality – what you see is your environment piped through the DSi’s camera and the 360-degree gameplay is achieved by having the player physically spin to view more of the environment through the camera.

Meanwhile, the top screen is a HUD that displays the player’s stats as well as a radar that reveals where threats are approaching the player. This means if you see a blip at the bottom of the radar, you will have to spin your body 180 degrees to see the incoming creature. Once a creature is in sight, players will have to maneuver their DSi unit to put the enemy in the crosshairs and push one of the system’s shoulder buttons to fire at the enemy. What results an undeniably fast-paced and fun experience that most anyone that doesn’t mind physically getting into their games should enjoy.

Right on the cart, players will have 100 mission-based levels that start out with tutorial-focused levels before breaking into more intense fights, but players can also launch a survival mode where they engage in a standoff in an attempt to survive as long as they possibly can. Players will be fending off 10 different creature types with various movement abilities and strength. If a creature latches on to the player, they will have to shake the DSi in order to loosen the grip and stop their health from draining. Defeated monsters will occasionally drop power-ups for the player, however, giving them bonuses such as extra juice to their laser and allowing them to fire two laser simultaneously.

In my experience with the game, System Flaw’s functions operated as naturally as the concept appears on paper. You can literally just tell people to move the camera around and press the trigger to shoot and they will understand how to play the game, making it accessible and understandable to anyone (and admittedly, it can be entertaining to watch people play the game as well). While the environments of VGXPO weren’t exactly the most eye-catching, you can see in promotional screens for the title that players can find themselves in some interesting battles depending on their location. However – and I know I’m not the only that did this – I couldn’t help but smile whenever someone was in front of the camera and I couldn’t resist the urge to fire a laser at their face (the crotch was also a popular location at the show) for no reason. I found the surrealism of people living their everyday life in the background while I fought for my life amusing, but I suppose that is part of the game’s approach – through this unique device, only you can see these threats to humanity and everyone else is oblivious to the menace.

Storm City Games seems to be putting a lot of stock in the release of System Flaw, and for good reason. While in System Flaw, you can’t move forward or backward to create distance between yourself and approaching enemies, Harbinson indicated it was one of a few items the team would consider if a sequel was made possible. Seeing as the team is looking forward with possible ideas gives me the impression the studio is confident in what it has created and the title is openly billed as the publisher’s featured game. Even though System Flaw is being heavily promoted, the publisher does have a number of other Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS, including a Nintendo DS port of the classic PC adventure Myst and Hands On! Tangrams, a game I was also able to try at the event.

There’s no doubt System Flaw is one of the most unique and innovative games we’ve seen lately on the format and I look forward to being able to unleash this game out in the wild. The title proved to be original and was definitely a hit among the crowds of VGXPO. In my short time with the title, I came away impressed and, honestly, the only negative thing I can think of about the title is in its portability – I can’t imagine a child would be able to bust this out and spin circles while riding in a car on a long trip. However, with the term handheld mostly replacing what we used to know as portables, it’s possible that no home will be safe from the System Flaw. We’ll find out when Storm City Games releases the title, which has a currently-scheduled release date of Oct. 27.

Seth Killian, Community Manager for Capcom, on Fighting Games

2010-09-05T09:46:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love fighting games. Behind rhythm games, it is my favorite genre of video games and if you mix the two genres, with games such as Slap Happy Rhythm Busters or Draglade, I find the results to be euphoric. The magic about fighting games, though, is that legions of gamers share the same love for the genre, resulting in tight, competitive communities and even in the industry, there are fighting fans hard at work spreading the love for game publishers such as Capcom.

At Capcom, competitive digital pugilist Seth Killian sits as the senior manager of community for the company. Killian is responsible for much of what gamers see on the Capcom Unity community site, but that doesn’t keep him from getting his hands dirty with a little bit of game development for select titles. When it comes down to it, though, he also isn’t afraid to step down from his office chair and lay beat downs on Street Fighter players. An accomplished competitive Street Fighter player and long-time EVO supporter, Killian is just as crazy about the series and fighting games as any other fan of the genre.

Seth Killian was kind enough to accept an interview with us, so please read on as we reach into the deepest annals of the fighting game community and Killian details what got him into fighting games, the competitive fighting game scene, some of Capcom’s more obscure fighters and having the final boss of Street Fighter IV named after him.

Diehard GameFAN: You’re quite known for your competitive play, EVO presence, Capcom-Unity leadership and, of course, being involved with the Capcom company itself. They say every story has its humble beginnings, so what was it that originally pulled you into video games, fighting games and the competitive scene?

Seth Killian: I grew up playing games in arcades. I liked a lot of games, and was really good at a few, but with Street Fighter II, you weren’t just fighting for your quarter against the machine, you were fighting against another human – fighting for your quarter, for honor, for respect. Just like that, games became instant drama. I guess the magic of “winner stays, loser pays” was what drew me into the scene. I didn’t have that much money, so I had to win if I wanted to keep playing. The competitive SF scene was also taking off at the same time as the internet, so we basically used forums as a way of trash-talking other kids and then working out a place to fight – EVO grew directly out of that. I still have a picture on my desk of the arcade where I learned to play – it’s now a discount textbook warehouse.

DHGF: We see a lot of people still claim U.S. arcades aren’t dead, even though a few comments from Capcom execs seem to prove otherwise (and keep us from having legal Street Fighter IV cabinets). What are your thoughts on the issue and what do you feel that arcades could offer that the console experience does not (or even vice versa)?

SK: I don’t think the life or death of arcades is up to Capcom, but there’s no question there aren’t as many as there once were. I still love arcades, and go to as many live events as I can. Arcades have an electric atmosphere that you just don’t get online, no matter how good the connection. For anyone that plays competitive games, there’s nothing like it. Capturing that arcade atmosphere was a big part of the reason we started organizing events and one of the core aspects of EVO. Online is great, but staring down the opponent, cheering, having to skulk away if you lose, etc. — that’s really what bonds people and makes them play with their whole heart. Playing in a live event is like nothing else in gaming.

DHGF: Obviously, with the success of Street Fighter II, there had to be an original Street Fighter title. What are your thoughts on the original title that only put players in the gi of Ryu or Ken? Do you ever pull this one out on occasion? There’s got be one of these cabinets floating around the office somewhere.

SK: Honestly, I was not a fan of Street Fighter. It opened the door to Street Fighter II, but when I do play SF1, I’m usually not happy that I did. It’s got a lot of great concepts, but the controls are terrible and controls mean a lot.

DHGF: It always seems like a no-brainer that it would be sweet to play video games competitively and earn cash for doing so. What advice would you give to someone who is considering playing Street Fighter or other fighting games on a serious, competitive level?

SK: Play for the love and you’ll be happy. If you’re in it to make money, my advice would be to finish school and get your degree. Even the successful top competitive gamers make less than most game industry professionals, and they probably work harder doing it. I am a huge advocate of competitive gaming and earning money for playing is well-deserved, but it may not be a smart life plan overall. Even if the dream comes true and competitive gaming replaces the NBA, you personally may not stick around long enough to see it or maybe nobody will care about the games you happen to be great at. The people who tell you otherwise usually have their own agendas, so think very carefully about what they’re saying.

DHGF: And with that, EVO2K9 is set to take place from July 17-19. The tournament has come a long way and has seen a number of famous battles and mighty competitors and includes a number of Capcom products. What is your thought on this competition? Would you like to see more competitions like this pop up in the U.S. or is there only room for one “big one?” Lastly, will we see Capcom step up on tournament support in the future?

SK: I love EVO. It’s the backbone of the worldwide competitive scene, and all of our greatest SF legends come straight from EVO finals. One of the best things about Shoryuken.com and EVO is that they have inspired so many competitions like this around the country. EVO is the biggest by far, but since it took off, there are now hundreds of similar tournaments around the country, where before there was 1 – maybe 2 – a year. So EVO and SRK are definitely big supporters of more tournaments (all of the other events use SRK to advertise), both in the US and around the world. Capcom is a big supporter of EVO in various capacities, but they are a product-driven company like anyone else. This means they are able to support events like this more directly when they have relevant games. Capcom has tried to support EVO even when they don’t have new games as well, so I have a lot of respect and appreciation for that.

DHGF: You seem to enjoy a span of fighting game products since you feature videos, fan creations and tidbits of Capcom’s fighters on the Unity site. On the other side of the fence, be brutally honest – what fighting games do you absolutely despise and why?

SK: There are very few fighting games I enjoy playing for long periods of time, but as a student of the genre, I learn something from playing even the crummiest fighters. They all have their own ideas, it’s just that most of them are really badly implemented. I also like seeing the fighting-game mechanics that show up in a lot of crossover titles, like the new UFC game, or even in God of War, both of which benefit a lot from Street Fighter-style thinking and designs, even if it doesn’t seem that way on the surface. I did hate Virtua Fighter 3 — just because I could play VF2 pretty well, but could not win at VF3 to save my life.

DHGF: In my recent review of Sunday X Magazine, I stated Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom had too many licensing issues to become a U.S. crossover fighter and it looks like you made me a liar (please start working on bringing Namco X Capcom over). While E3 provided a great feast of news on the game, can you detail why you fought so hard to bring the game over to us? Also, in a short hype blurb, can you tell people why they should be excited about the game?

SK: I fight for the things that I believe in, and I’ve been a big believer in this game since I first saw it. People should be excited about it because it’s the best fighting game on the Wii, it’s one of the prettiest games on the Wii period, and it’s really the next evolution in the “Capcom Versus” style. It’s got amazing amounts of style, attention to little details, love for the characters … exactly the kind of stuff you used to find only in sprite-based fighters, but we’re doing it in fully rendered 3D now. It’s also just a lot of crazy fun. I’m all for top-level intensity on the most serious fighters, but if we only made games for that type of player, the genre would disappear. TvC combines the best of both worlds – easy to pick up and play, but with real depth for the hardcore.

DHGF: Street Fighter II received a super upgrade with HD Remix last year. With a solid chunk of time elapsing after its release, do you think the game achieved its goal of being as balanced as possible? What things would you change or add to the release?

SK: That’s a complicated question – the competitive community hasn’t reached a consensus about it yet. Speaking personally, there’s always more work to do in terms of balancing but HD Remix is a new chapter in the SFII series and gave people a reason to go back and re-engage with a great game and remember what’s so fun about fighting games. As the 5th version of SFII, the original Super Street Fighter II Turbo mechanics were some of the most highly-evolved anywhere in the fighting world, so for me, HD Remix is really a nice dose of icing on a delicious cake. Having 15 *years* of player feedback on SSF2T really helped give a clear picture of what needed to change, and how. I love that so many of the weaker characters like Cammy are now a lot more competitive and easy to play. As for changes, I think Akuma missed the mark in some respects, but Akuma is always a big challenge.

DHGF: When people talk Capcom fighting games, all you tend to hear about is Street Fighter and the Versus series. What games outside of these franchises do you enjoy? Is there any love for series such as Darkstalkers, Cyberbots, Rival Schools and the like and are there any franchises you’d like to see revived?

SK: Personally I’d love to see Cyberbots, just because I was really good at that game. I love Darkstalkers as well, though I got worse at those games as they went on. Although the IP isn’t popular in the West, I’d also love to take a crack at another Jo-Jo’s Bizarre Adventure. From the fans, I hear a lot of love for Rival Schools, and lately there’s been a lot of noise about Power Stone, which I do think has a lot of potential.

DHGF: It’s no secret that Street Fighter IV’s end boss shares a first name with you. Was there a process involved with this? How did this happen? Also, does anyone ever rag on you over the fact you share your name with a naked, blue man (that could wreck said people with spinning pile drivers)? It seems a lot of press outlets didn’t make any sort of correlation and completely ripped on the name.

SK: The original docs (some of which are from before I started at Capcom) talked about a Cane and Abel pairing, but, although “Abel” stayed, “Cane” got replaced with “Seth” after we’d been working together for a while. They did ask me if that was okay, but that wasn’t a very tough decision for a lifelong SF fan. I thought it was especially nice since, as you mention, Seth is not the toughest sounding name, and on top of that, the “th” sound can’t even be pronounced in Japanese at all (they say “Sesu”). Hopefully they are happy with my work, though I don’t think he’s exactly a fan-favorite character.