Pixelated Soul

3DS Impressions: Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition

2011-03-29T18:44:00.000-10:00

The Good: The 3D mode with the 3/4 view is really fun. It really brings a whole new perspective to the game. I honestly wouldn't mind if they included this mode in a console version of the game (Arcade Edition, I'm looking at you). The graphics and animations (for the CHARACTERS) are all there. This game is fully featured as well, training mode, combo challenges, wireless multiplayer for local and internet. This game is stacked. Also, if you turn off the 3D, you get a 60fps fighting experience on a handheld. That is amazing.

The Bad: With those amazing character graphics comes terrible stage graphics. The lively stages on PS3 and 360 are simply dead on the 3DS as the stages do not move...at all. It doesn't affect game play, but it sure doesn't improve the ambiance. Oh well. Still a highly recommended game.

It's A Multi-Dimensional Universe

2011-03-28T21:42:00.000-10:00

My complete launch-day haul. Street Fighter, Pilotwings and Ridge Racer

Sunday was the big launch day for the Nintendo 3DS here in America. I've been excited for this machine since it was officially unveiled last year at E3. Here are my thoughts on the machine so far.

3D EFFECT:
I think the 3D effect is great. Everyone I've showed it too was pretty blown away by effect as well. The slider is a great way to manage the effect though. Some of the games are very distorted if the slider is all the way up. That being said, I rarely bring the slider less than halfway. I've played the system for over 7 hours on day one and have had no ill effects from the 3D...no eye strain at all and no head aches. I've read a LOT of complaints online from people getting headaches within minutes. I guess I'm lucky in that it seems to have no affect on me.

CONTROLS:
First of all the circle pad, is a great alternative to the analog nub. It's comfortable and grippy and very responsive. My only complaint is there isn't two of them on the system. If there was one under the four face buttons on the right, this system would open itself up to TONS of games I'd like to see, but alas, Nintendo never really gives us everything we'd like to see. The D-Pad is solid and responsive as well. I wish it was a little bulkier though.

SYSTEM FEATURES:
• The 3D camera is really fun. The added depth can make even the simplest of compositions stand out. I'm constantly seeking out new places to take cool 3D photos.
• The AR games are interesting. I've played around with them a little and they're pretty trippy. I've taken pictures of Nintendo characters hanging with my Star Wars action figures. Users have already found a way to take this to the extreme, let's see what developers can do.
• Pedomoter and Street Pass. I'm not really sure how often I'll ever get to see everything Street Pass has to offer as I live in a somewhat remote place, so I don't know how likely I'll come into contact with another 3DS. We'll wait and see. What is cool is the pedometer included in the system rewards you with coins the more steps you take in a day. I decided to to put the system in my pocket as I rode my stationary bike today. 40 minutes and 10.6 miles later, the game credited me with 3,337 steps. :) Pretty cool. Though I'm not exactly sure what I can buy with the coins I earned.

Anyway, so far, I'm really enjoying the system. Tomorrow I'll write another blog talking about the games I bought with the system.

Nintendo & Capcom Need To Get With The Times

2011-01-25T20:21:00.000-10:00

According to this, Nintendo is keeping to the old formula of tying your digital purchases to your system. Sigh...while this is actually expected of Nintendo, it is disappointing. In a world with Steam and X-Box Live, one would hope that Nintendo can see the advantages of allowing your digital content be tied to your ACCOUNT rather than your system. But what else is new right? I mean, Nintendo can be very revolutionary with it's decisions as they created the DS bringing a new plateau to portable gaming, They created the Wii, revolutionizing the way (for better or for worse) gaming is seen in the home and up next is the 3DS...being one of the first true glasses less 3D electronic devices to hit the market. But when it comes to the details they are so archaic. It's strange how a company can at once be so forward thinking and so behind the times.

In other news, I am very disappointed in Capcom. I read this article from EDGE online. So some of your characters have been leaked online to the fighting game community? Oops. Trying to cover it up? Not gonna happen. Even though they say it wasn't their intention to get these people banned from YouTube, flagging their videos as copyright infringement is dirty pool. These are the same people who helped bring the fighting game community to it's current renaissance. These are the same people providing content to the world to help people like me improve at Street Fighter. Capcom is basically punishing people for being a fan of Super Street Fighter IV. Shame on you Capcom.

Under Construction

2010-12-30T20:22:00.000-10:00

Hang on, this blog is under serious reconstruction. Everything you see here is likely to change. Move along...that is all.

Links

2008-09-22T17:34:00.003-10:00

• Of all the games I'd like to see made into movies, The Sims wasn't even on the list. Mass Effect? That totally makes sense.

• From Monday Morning QB:
At 5:14 p.m. ET on Sept. 21, on their 28th offensive possession of the season, the St. Louis Rams invaded the red zone of an opponent for the first time this season.

• You should be buying Mega Man 9 this week. (Or next week for XBLA.)

• Hey Ash Whatcha Playin'? - Team Fortress 2

That's all for now. Watching to see if Heroes is worth a damn this season.

E3 2008 or 'How My Wallet Will Be Raped This Fall'

2008-07-14T21:11:00.003-10:00

So E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo is about to start this week and today was the Microsoft's Keynote Address. Here are my picks for the most interesting news and games announced today.

Nintendo Announces Wii MotionPlus
"Every slight movement players make with their wrist or arm is rendered identically in real time on the screen, providing a true 1:1 response in their game play. The Wii MotionPlus accessory reconfirms Nintendo's commitment to making games intuitive and accessible for everyone."

Final Fantasy XIII Confirmed for X-Box 360
Can you hear the sound of a million fanboys crying out in terror?

Fable 2 Confirmed for October
Honestly, I never thought this game was coming this year. Let's hope it lives up to the hype...of Fable 1.

~~Microsoft Rips off Nintendo Miis~~ Microsoft Unveils New 360 Dashboard, Avatars

Microsoft and Netflix Partner for Movies
If the movies are free, this is totally awesome. I'm assuming it's not in HD though.

Resident Evil 5 Dated, Online Co-Op Confirmed
The first (and really only) example of the co-op in use in the video already surpassed any game play mechanic in the entirety of Army of Two. I know, I know, that's not saying much.

Portal: Still Alive Announced
Exclusive to X-Box Live? I think that's a timed exclusive if anything. Steam users will revolt if not.

Gears of War 2 Dated
November 7th. Cool.

Saving the best for last...
Rock Band 2 Setlist Revealed

Click the link for the full list...here are my favorites:

"You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morissette
"So Whatcha Want" by Beastie Boys
"E-Pro" by Beck
"Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi
"Down with the Sickness" by Disturbed
"Hungry Like the Wolf" by Duran Duran
"Everlong" by Foo Fighters
"PDA" by Interpol
"Mountain Song" by Jane's Addiction
"The Middle" by Jimmy Eat World
"Anyway You Want It" by Journey
"Carry On Wayward Son" by Kansas
"Our Truth" by Lacuna Coil
"Float On" by Modest Mouse
"Drain You" by Nirvana
"Alive" by Pearl Jam
"Lump" by Presidents of the USA
"Testify" by Rage Against the Machine
"Give it Away" by Red Hot Chili Peppers
"Give it All" by Rise Against
"Lazy Eye" by Silversun Pickups
"Today" by Smashing Pumpkins
"Spoonman" by Soundgarden
"Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor
"Chop Suey" by System of a Down
"Master Exploder" by Tenacious D
"Pinball Wizard" by The Who

Personally, I think this is Harmonix's best lineup of songs for a game. I seriously can't wait for this. Plus it's also coming out September 15th.

More tomorrow.

The Importance of Batman?

2008-06-18T10:10:00.005-10:00

The summer movie season is well under way. Iron Man came and surprised the hell out of me. Indiana Jones took us for another fun adventure and The Happening...happened. Now the movie at the top my list is The Dark Knight. The sequel to my favorite “comic book” movie of all time Batman Begins. But this seems to be no ordinary sequel. Buzz around the net from early screenings is that this movie is simply a 'Masterpiece.”

Check out Dark Horizon's reaction:

“It really isn't a comic book movie, this feels more like a great Michael Mann movie - literally a film of "Heat" calibre.“

First Showing has this to say about the film:

“Not since Lord of the Rings: Return of the King five years ago in December of 2003, did I walk out of the theater so moved, so amazed, and so extraordinarily impacted by the movie I had just watched.”

Return of the King is, in my opinion, the single best movie in the past decade. I have never been as awestruck after a movie. To compare The Dark Knight to Return of the King? Wow. I was excited, but I never expected this. So are all these people blowing smoke? Part of me wants to not believe the hype and lower my expectations. It's just another summer movie sequel...a good time, but ultimately not a life changing experience. There must be something to these reactions. It's not an isolated incident. Perhaps Christopher Nolan has put together a great film. Could this movie be good enough to garner some important Oscar nominations? Okay, maybe THAT's pushing it. I'll try to keep my expectations in check, but this is absolutely at the top of my list.

In any case, at least Robin won't be joining the franchise anytime soon.

Christian Bale Rules Out Robin For Batman 3 (and beyond)

Frustrations of a Battlestar Galactica Fan

2008-05-19T21:05:00.002-10:00

This morning, I read this article detailing how there is a possibility of three new Battlestar Galactica TV movies going into production soon. BSG is easily one of my all time favorite TV shows so this is great news right? I mean, with the final season of the show currently airing, more BSG is a good thing right? Well yes it is, until you read this little snippet:

"By the way, at this point, it’s not known when those last 10 episodes of "Battlestar" will air. Informed sources say that a decision on that won’t get made until mid-summer, so my guess is that Sci Fi won’t air the final 10 episodes until 2009."

2009.

TWO THOUSAND NINE.

Being a fan of Battlestar Galactica is not easy. Patience is something we all must have to make it from each season to the next. But this is really too much for me to process. You see, BSG is not created like a standard network show. First off, their season is 20 episodes long. Pretty standard actually. Most shows have a yearly production schedule of 20 - 25 hours per year. But what BSG does is air ten weekly episodes consecutively and have a break of a few weeks or (more likely) months between episodes 10 & 11. That is where the pain of being a fan comes...the excruciating wait.

Season Three ended on March 25, 2007. Season Four BEGAN on April 4, 2008. That is over ONE YEAR to wait for new episodes. One freaking year. As I write this, episode seven of the fourth season has aired. So we are now three weeks from another break. A break that could last seven months until 2009. So in a span of possibly 19 months, nearly 2 full years, we will have only gotten 10 new episodes. WTF is Sci-Fi Channel doing to us?

Does this show really take that long to produce? It takes seven months to create ten 43-minute episodes? Many other shows end up with 25 episodes in nine months. They've already announced that season 4 is the FINAL season. All the stories are coming to a close. For MONTHS, they have been hyping up this final season of BSG only to have it air over 2 months with a 7 month wait for the real payoff?! What is the hold up? Why drag this on for so long? I think The Sci-Fi Channel is milking this show and its small but loyal audience for all they can. So they can sell half-season on DVD for full price before the second half airs.

As a fan, I feel like I'm being dragged through the mud. What's the point of watching the next three episodes? Should I even bother? I'm just going to get a huge cliffhanger with a long break before any answers. Maybe I should just cut the cord now and catch up in 2009.

Just finish up the new episodes and air them already. We've waited long enough. Ugh...this makes me sick. Please Sci-Fi, put BSG Season 4.5 on the FALL schedule. I beg you.

A Fire In The Attic, Proof of the Prize

2008-04-01T20:25:00.000-10:00

Okay, it's been too long since I've posted here. I apologize for that. So what has happened lately? Well, if that image above hasn't tipped you off I went to my first rock concert in years. I isn't very often that major bands come to Hawaii to perform. Let alone Maui, which would probably be one of the smaller venues on any bands tour. Though, I've actually been lucky that my favorite bands have performed here. Foo Fighters performed here in 2000, No Doubt performed here in 1998 and again in 2000. On the long Easter weekend, I was lucky enough to see Incubus.

I've been a fan of the band since 1999, when their second album "Make Yourself" was released and dominated the radio. So it was a little surreal to be driving to the show. I thought, "This is a band I've listened to for nearly 10 years...and now I finally get to see them perform." I don't want to go into a long winded review of the concert, but I think it was awesome. There really is no other feeling like being in a crowd singing every word of every song. Here's their set list by album. (I'm not hardcore enough to remember the order)

Light Grenades
Quicksand
A Kiss to Send Us Off
Ann Molly

One Crow Left of the Murder
Megalomaniac
Talk Shows on Mute
Beware! Criminal
Sick, Sad Little World
Pistola

Morning View
Nice to Know You
Wish You Were Here
Blood on the Ground
Aqueus Transmission

Make Yourself
The Warmth
Stellar
Drive

S.C.I.E.N.C.E.
Redefine
Vitamin (Not 100% sure about that one)

One last note, please check out the Silversun Pickups. They were the opening act and freakin' ROCK! I've been listening to them for a while because I listen to WOXY.com. I'm really glad I got to see them perform before they really hit the big time. They seemed to be really impressed at the enthusiasm for our rock hungry crowd.

I'll post again soon with reviews for God of War: Chains of Olympus & Call of Duty 4.

Send in the Clone Wars

2008-02-12T12:55:00.000-10:00

All my life I have been a Star Wars fan. I love it. I love ALL of the movies...yes even the prequels. I saw Attack of the Clones FOUR times on opening day. When the Special Editions were released theatrically I was in heaven because it was the first time since I was a kid that my most favorite thing in the world was at the top of pop culture consciousness. So it is with great excitement and satisfaction when I say that there will be another Star Wars movie released.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars In Theaters and on Television in 2008

The coolest thing about this? It will be released on August 15th, my birthday. So while most people are dreading the coming day and feeling old on their 30th birthday, I'll be spending it watching a new Star Wars film feeling like a little kid again. I can't wait.

In other news, on September 7, Spore will actually be released. It's good to know they didn't rest on their laurels of E3 Game of the Show for four years running and are actually selling a product.

LOST & Found

2008-02-01T09:47:00.000-10:00

So here are the questions rolling around my head after last nights season premiere of LOST.

1. Hurley said he was one of the "Oceanic Six." Does that mean only six people made it off the island? If so, we now know half of them. Jack, Kate and Hurley. Is Sawyer another one? Kate did refer to someone else saying "He'll wonder where I've been" in the season 3 finale. Plus, I'm guessing one of them died and that's the funeral that Jack went to in the season 3 finale. But clearly it's someone that no one missed as only Jack showed up...Ben?

2. What is the secret known only to the Oceanic six? Jack checked up on Hugo to make sure he didn't say anything. What's so important that they can't tell? Hmm...

3. Who was the man who claimed to be an Oceanic lawyer? He asked "Are they still alive?" Does this mean the Oceanic six are not the only survivors? Could ONLY six people leave or did the rest of the survivors willingly stay on the island? Or does it mean all but six people DIED on the island?

Here's a prediction. After learning that Hurley and Jack both think they shouldn't have left, I'm going to guess that the series will end with them all returning to the island.

I'm really glad that the show is back on. I've missed it dearly. But I'm also watching with a sense of dread, because I know there's only seven episodes left. I truly hope the writers get what they want so they can get back to making my favorite shows.

PS3 Impressions

2007-12-27T16:34:00.000-10:00

So I went ahead and took the plunge to get a PlayStation 3 for myself with my Christmas bonus paycheck. I was hoping to find a 60GB somewhere but with that version out of production, it was a meager endeavor. So it looks like full backwards compatibility is out of the question. Oh well. I ended up getting the 40GB bundle at Costco which comes packaged with Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, a second Six-Axis controller, a Blu-Ray Remote and Spider-Man 3 on Blu-Ray. I also got (the last copy at GameStop) Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. Here's my initial thoughts so far.

Spider-Man 3
Let's get the worst out of the way. This movie is TERRIBLE! I remember the morning after the midnight shows, the fans went insane with anger. Honestly, I have never seen such a negative reaction from a movie. After seeing the it, I completely understand. The movie is simply too cheesy, silly, over the top and soapy to be enjoyable. All I wanted was some awesome action scenes. All I got was Emo Pete, climactic forgiveness (?!) scene and multiple dance scenes...um no thanks.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Everything you do in this game reminds me of some other game. The combat and cover system is almost exactly like Gears of War. The jumping and climbing is taken right out of Prince of Persia. But the thing is, none of this is a bad thing. All the parts in this game come together wonderfully and are better than the sum of their parts. The story is classic adventure. Think Indiana Jones in modern times. The voice acting is well done and the animation and production is top notch. All this adds up to my current favorite game that I can't get enough of.

Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
This game I've barely delved into, but I can tell you that the graphics are gorgeous. The game is LOCKED at 60 frames per second, so it is super smooth. The animations in the cut scenes and gameplay are excellent. Although I've never really been a R&C fan, I've always respected the developer, Insomniac. This will actually be the first R&C game I've owned and I intend to play through the whole game.

PS3 Hardware
I've heard a lot of negative things around the whole PS3 setup process, but mine went pretty smoothly. I was able to connect and update the system without a hitch. I also signed up for a Playstation Network Account. I've already download a few demos and am looking into what PSStore games are worth buying (I'm thinking, Calling All Cars and Stardust HD). Overall, I'm happy with the purchase.