"Friendly" Rant: The Latest "Crush" in Gaming

Just when you thought the world couldn’t become a lonelier place, GameCrush has decided to up the ante on the level of despair the Internet brings to a new generation. What is GameCrush?

“an entirely new interactive social gaming experience allowing gamers to meet, match and pay to play online games with other users (PlayDates). GameCrush is the only online service that allows gamers to choose a companion to spice up their favorite online games. Both Players and PlayDates define the experience they want - either “flirty” or “dirty”, choosing from some of the most popular console titles and casual web-based games.”

–cited from their press release. Thoughts after the jump...

Play it NOW!: Bayonetta

The time where Japan dominated the economic landscape of gaming is fading fast, as more publishers are looking to the west for inspiration in design. Sega is one example of this, but their most recent release is not. Instead, Platinum Games and Sega proudly tout that there will always be Japanese developers and Japanese culture reflected in video games. If there is any game released in 2010 so far that supports this theory, it's Bayonetta. Set in a fictional universe where witches and angels do battle in a dimension parallel to our own, the most striking feature is it’s art style. Bayonetta, the baddest witch of them all, rocks a black skin tight outfit, made completely out of her own hair. Her hair is a key component of the combat, if only aesthetically. So as you complete higher combos and more devastating attacks, the less hair is left to cover her body. Yes, it is a very sexually charged game in a lot of ways, her consumable items are all lollipops and there are moments in game featuring some tongue in cheek humor and euphemisms, but it is not demeaning in my opinion. Bayonetta is a strong female character and one of her antagonists is as well.

Speaking of antagonists, these “angels” are complex in their design and style. Some resemble beaked warriors, others manta rays flying over head and still others are giants wearing the masks which make them resemble a child’s face. That is just some of the most common designs though, play through the whole game and you are sure to run into some creatures that twist the imagination.

There are environments that are equally as cool, taking place in a medieval town, castles, an airfield and eventually some various dimensions. Though this does not seem refreshing when you think of games past, they change the formula when the moon comes out to play. Since Bayonetta is a witch, she also has various powers. At certain points in the story, Bayonetta will have to utilize the power of the moon to platform across walls and ceilings, changing the perspective of your character and how you perceive the environment around her. Sure, some scenes could invite a wicked sense of vertigo, but that’s another thing to keep the gameplay fresh. Keeping with this philosophy, Bayonetta is also a shape shifter, which becomes useful later on when trying to overcome an obstacle or even become more flexible in combat.

Let’s quit all the bullshit and get right to it, the combat in this game is fantastic. First, no matter what your experience level, the difficulty is scalable to all types of gamers, so anyone can play and no one should feel lost. It uses an engine similar to Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden, punch/kick attacks are mixed based on the direction of the analog and the length of time a button is held. Though not in a conventional sense, since in your hands are two guns and on your feet are two guns. That’s right… on your feet! Do I have your attention yet? No, then how about two words, ICE SKATES. As you can imagine the combat and weapon variety gets crazy as your feet are independent from your hands and you can combine a variety of weapons for various enemies and situations. All these points are mute though without utilizing one more very important skill: Witch Time. Essentially bullet time in this games universe, Witch Time provides you the ability to really rack up the combos on weaker enemies, and leaves stronger enemies open for an attack where they may not be. It is triggered with a basic dodge, initiated at the last possible second. Getting in some massive combos and building up your magic bar will also a lot the user an opportunity to initiate a torture attack. These gruesome attacks are a one stop shop of death, typically consisting of an Iron Maiden or Guillotine. Suitable for the flair one should already expect from a game such as this. Combine the option of replaying with a new game plus, various difficulties, challenge rooms (called alfhiem portals), leaderboards and more moves/weapons; this game has an extremely high replay value, I highly recommend that if you enjoy action games, you should play it now.

Completed the game on Normal, obtained 405 of 1000 achievement points

*note: all images are the result of a Google image search

State of the Industry: Dimps is the New, New

Alright people,

Anyone who has read this blog knows from time to time I like to poke fun at our old friend Sonic. But it would appear that his name is about to be redeemed, as shown in the clip below.

That's right! Everyone's favorite hedgehog is getting a proper sequel with the release of Sonic 4.

But, is it too late?! Has years and years of punishment inflicted on the gaming populous supposed to be forgotten? Probably not, although Sonic Team appears to be taking a back seat to this project and leaving it in the capable hands of Dimps. A studio responsible for the last 2 good sonic franchises (Sonic Rush series, Sonic Advance series) and not the recent horrors released by Sonic Team (Sonic Unleashed, Sonic and the Black Knight, Sonic and the Secret Rings and Sonic the Hedgehog 2006).

So should I be excited? I am hot and cold on this one as well. Having been burned by some of these previous titles myself there is not a really good answer. Sure, 2D Sonic has always been the best Sonic, so logically a 2.5D version is the version most consumers had been waiting for. But something in me feels like maybe too much time has passed. Maybe that sense of speed that I loved was somehow attached to nostalgia and not gameplay. Platforming has never been Sonic's strong suit, despite the game being considered a platformer.

Who is Dimps? Well, if you have played pretty much any Dragonball game for PS2, PS3, or Xbox360, then you know who Dimps is. Still not following me? How about Street Fighter 4, have you played that game? Thought so. So, these guys make good games, some would say great games. This studio was founded in Osaka, Japan by former SNK lead designer Takashi Nishiyama on March 6, 2000. This gentleman could be considered the father of the various 2D fighting franchises, of which SNK was made famous by (Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting, & King of Fighters).

A moment of concern comes with the tagline following Sonic 4, "Episode 1".... Why oh why Sega would this game be episodic? It just does not seem like Sonic 4 would benefit from this distribution model. Sure, download only is the way to go, following the success of titles like Shadow Complex or S'plosion Man, but Episodic? Really? Only time will tell whether or not this franchise has officially gone bust; but while we wait, there is still room to make fun of Sonic after the jump.

State of the Industry: You Killed It!

Oh Sega, remember way back when you used to make hardware and there came this little white hope that would usher you in a new generation of on-line home video game consoles? And then you killed it before it had a chance to blossom?!! Well, I have not forgotten and with the 10 year anniversary coming up for the Dreamcast (9/9/09), I felt it would be appropriate to pay homage to the under appreciated genius of it.




From its quirky logo and ridiculous controller cord, the Dreamcast had all the potential in the world of becoming the next big thing, until Sony stole its thunder and sent Sega running to the software industry like no tomorrow. Sure, you still make arcade games Sega, but the idea of a home console designed by you seems like a distant memory. Speaking of arcade games, that is why I fell in love with the Dreamcast in the first place, because of how many of Sega's best arcade titles were so easily ported. I could go into an endless list of fighting games that made the system great, but rather, have chosen to explore some of the other unique games which made the console great. This is not a list of the best games the system had to offer. Its more of a list of the games that I remember fondly. Enjoy!



Sonic Adventure - has to be the last Sonic game that I not only played all the way through, but enjoyed at the same time! Think about it, when was the last time anyone could say that about a Sonic game? The characters were fantastic and the 3D models really got me excited about the Dreamcast's potential. Despite a unique take on traditional platforming of the series, the sense of speed was still fantastic. Don't forget the portable memory mini-game involving the Chao, probably not Sega's greatest idea, but ambitious. Sadly, Sonic would only begin to age worse as time went on and until they go to a 2.5D High Definition Sonic game, I wish this mascot the long sleep he deserves. If only to keep them from making another Wii game...




Jet Grind Radio - looking into how games have changed over the past 10 years, cel-shading has become almost common place. There are even new designs types to the genre of cel-shading as Gearbox Studios tries to interpret it differently (Coined "Concept Art Style") or Mad World, who did it all black on white with a red motif. Though anyway you slice it, Jet Grind was the first to do it in my memory and it fit perfectly into the DJ/Raver generation in which it was released. Racing around the shopping district of Shibuya, tagging, picking fights with rival gangs and the police were the staple of Jet Grind. And Beat with his iconic goggles, gigantic headphones and personalized t-shirt earned him a place in Sega's history.

Seaman - where do I begin with this monstrosity. Seaman was like a bad acid trip where somebody took the business model of a tamagotchi, the face of a Japanese salary-man and the personality of Oscar the Grouch, then slapped all this on a fish. Finish by having Leonard Nemoy narrate, now you have one of the most interesting games to date. The objective of Seaman was raise this little guy from a tadpole like state to a full amphibian, legs and all. But the charm came from your interaction with Seaman, where through a microphone you could teach your seaman to talk, respond and eventually critique your personal flaws. Ignore the game long enough and you would be greeted by one pissed off fish. Tell him to "eat shit" and he would defecate on your TV. Like I said, charming...





Soul Calibur - Fall in love with 3D fighters all over again. That is how this game came to the marketplace and sucked a couple hundred hours out of my life and and the lives of my friends. Sure, it is probably the easiest 3D fighter out there or at least the most approachable for the masses. But that only made it more entertaining, since anyone gun shy was immediately won over. The hardcore had to love it anyway, since it offered a ton of content ranging from a plethora of diverse characters, alternate costumes, unlockable art, multiple fight modes and lets face it, Ivy's breast. Stop looking at me like that... I mean, you played this game too, right? Nuff said.







Power Stone 2 - For round 2 on Capcom's 3D fighter, they added support for one of the best multiplayer functions to date, up to four challengers. This made the replay value on versus battle extremely high, packed with frantic multiplayer and some ridiculous brawling. Plus, adding new level designs, character models and weapons that dropped, helped to make the game feel fresh over its predecessor. I enjoyed this game much more than Smash Bros at the time, not only cause of the 3D environment, but I felt the graphics put Nintendo to shame. 10 years later Smash Bros has become Nintendo's competitive fighting game, while Power Stone is subjected to becoming a collection on UMD, for shame.

Retro Gaming Round Up: Greatest Heavyweights of the Ring

Many of you will remember a little game from 1992 called Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Boxing; sure Nintendo had it's Punch Out!! and George Foreman's KO boxing, but if you owned a Sega Genesis it was all about the Holyfield. So, while cleaning out my garage, I found a mysterious box that belonged to my roommate, which low and behold it contained gaming gold!! The original Sega Mega-Drive and Sega Genesis in working condition! From Mortal Kombat to Sonic the Hedgehog, a plethora of childhood memories rushed back and there seemed to be enough entertainment to quench my thirst for retro gaming. But, when I found the spiritual successor to Holyfield's video game debut, titled Greatest Heavyweights of the Ring, only one thought ran through my head... to quote Michael Buffer "Let's get ready to rumble!!"

Now, although I never owned a Genesis, my neighbor did and at an age of 8, it seemed like one of the coolest things on the planet (until I got a Super Nintendo). Playing Holyfield boxing in his musky basement happens to be one of my fondest memories of the Genesis. I couldn't tell you if critics thought it was a great game back then, but to me it was the closest I could get to the ring. I guess my nostalgia could have skewed my memory of the game, but I had to see if it still felt the same.

So, I jumped right in and started pummeling the NPC's. It all was what I could remember with a fighting system reminiscant of a digital "Rock'em Sock'em Robots". One thing I noticed after a couple fights was the technical aspect of the gameplay hidden behind the simple controls; where Muhammad Ali was a little faster and threw lots of Jabs, Rocky Marciano was a brawler going for the big hits. It was nice to see that not every fighter felt the same. The Sound & Graphics were crispy on my HDTV (smirk), but hey thats why its retro. After a couple hours fatigue was beginning to set in. Not that I was physically tired, but I had become desensitized to the wonder games like this brought me. Instead, if the NPC made it to round 5, I found myself becoming bored. A game that I once played on and off for hours on end had become tedious. With only 3 real punches per boxer and limited movement and guarding, I realized that somethings will never be the same. Since playing boxing games like Fight Night, from a technical aspect, this game cannot provide my brain entertainment for more than a couple matches. I am not unhappy with my latest experience in retro gaming. I am more disappointed in the realization that my expectations can never be met by playing this game, since I am not the 8 year old in my neighbors musky basement anymore.