Archive for April, 2010

Bungie's 10-year deal with Activision sent shock waves across the video game industry this morning, and few companies stand to see bigger changes come out of the new development than console-makers Sony and Microsoft. While "Halo: Reach," which is exclusive to the Xbox 360, will not be affected by the deal, Bungie's next big project with Activision will be, and anyone with a stake in the PlayStation 3 will want to know their plans. Sony may already have at least a vague idea.

"Congrats to Bungie," Sony's senior director of corporate communication and social media Patrick Seybold wrote via Twitter today. "Marrying their creative minds and incredible talent to the power of PS3 will be like giving PS3 fans Halo on steroids."

Microsoft, meanwhile, has plenty to look forward to as well with "Halo: Reach" still on its way. Their official reaction indicated such sentiment.

"Our partnership with Bungie as a first-party developer for Xbox 360 remains unchanged," Microsoft's response read, according to VG247, "and right now we’re deeply engaged with them on the development of 'Halo Reach,' which is poised to be the biggest game of 2010."

As for what Bungie may create for the PS3 and/or the 360 next, only they and Activision can say for sure at this point, though I will direct your attention back to the recently filed "Marathon" trademark that Bungie registered. They could put together a new IP, but they're still hanging on to that one intently.

What kind of game would you like to see Bungie make on the PS3? Do you think it could be better than anything in the Halo series? Sound off in the comment section below.

Like any good fashion warehouse, Capcom has to have a calendar for its clothing roll-outs, and their new costumes for "Super Street Fighter 4" now appear on such a schedule. Whether you need more threads for Juri, Dudley, T. Hawk or Hakan, they should all be out between now and the end of June in Japan, hopefully with coordinated appearances in North America as well.

Though the Super Classic Pack of outfits is already available to owners who pre-orders and the Super Challengers Pack 1 just came out for Hakan, Makoto, Guy, Dudley, Dee Jay, the rest of the packs with appear in semi-regular intervals from May 11 through the end of June at $3.99 apiece on the PlayStation 3 or for 320 Microsoft Points on the Xbox 360, according to EventHubs.com. I would assume the 35-costume Super Complete Pack will run a bit more.

Anyhow, here's what the next two months look like:

• May 11: Super Shoryuken Pack (Ryu, Ken, Akuma, Gouken, Dan)
• May 25: Super Beauty Pack (Chun-Li, C. Viper, Sakura, Rose, Cammy)
• June 8: Super Challengers Pack 2 (Juri, Ibuki, Cody, Adon, T. Hawk)
• June 15: Super Brawlers Pack (Zangief, E. Honda, Rufus, Abel, El Fuerte)
• June 22: Super Shadaloo Pack (Vega, Sagat, Balrog, M. Bison, Seth)
• June 29: Super Classic Pack (Guile, Blanka, Dhalsim, Gen, Fei Long)
• July 27: Super Complete Pack (All 35 costumes)

Which costumes catch your eye? Do you plan on downloading any of these packs when they become available? Share your opinions in the comment section below.

A new update for Xbox Live's Game Room was supposed to arrive this week with retro titles from Activision, Mattel Electronics, Konami and Atari. Alas, that e-shipment of arcade cabinets never arrived to Microsoft's virtual warehouse, and arcade rats everywhere will have to wait an unknown amount of time to revisit "Pitfall!" and "Super Breakout."

"We're working to bring you additional Game Room titles as soon as possible!" XBL's director of programming Larry Hryb told Kotaku. "We appreciate your patience, and we've been thrilled by the community response so far. We want to provide you with the best experience possible, so stay tuned!!"

Those exclamation points didn't come with a time frame, unfortunately, but as soon as "Megamania," "Night Stalker," "Rack 'Em Up," "Realsports Volleyball" and "Basketball" get cleared to move in, Hryb and at least one other online voice from Microsoft will be there to let everyone know.

"The latest batch of Game Room content has also been delayed until further notice," Microsoft Europe XBL editor Daniel Maher announced via Twitter. "I'll let you know once a new date is confirmed."

Until then, you'll just have to be content with your new-fangled "modern" controllable pictures.

Which of the upcoming Game Room titles are you most interested in playing? Are you disappointed about the delays? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Did you know Billy Blanks was the inspiration for the design of Dee Jay? It's true. In the coin-op days, during development of "Super Street Fighter 2," Capcom Japan decided it wanted a new character for the follow-up. Capcom West's James Goddard took the initiative and sent a copy "King of the King Boxers" alongside a rough sketch and a description list of what would become our favorite "Street Fighter" kickboxer, all based on Blanks' striking image. As you'll notice below, what Dee Jay does in battle, though, has nothing to with Blanks.

Move Key

Forward [F]
Back [B]
Down Back [DB]
Down Forward [DF]
Up [U]

Quarter Circle [90]
Back Quarter Circle [-90]
Forward Half-Circle [180]
Back Half-Circle [-180]
Full Circle [360]

Special Moves

Air Slasher - Charge [B] [F] + Punch
Double Rolling Sobat - Charge [B] [F] + Kick
Jackknife Maximum - Charge [D] [U] + Kick
Machinegun Upper - Charge [D] [U] + Punch (repeatedly)

Super Combo

Sobat Carnival - Charge [B] Motion [F] [B] [F] + Kick

Ultra Combo

Sobat Festival - Charge [B] Motion [F] [B] [F] + Kick Kick Kick
Climax Beat - Charge [DB] Motion [DF] [B] [UF] + Punch Punch Punch

Tips

Echoing the restlessness of many other fighters that join the "Street Fighter" tournament, Dee Jay has problems "getting into the rhythm" of the bar scum in his local scene. A solution presents itself when the shark-grinned and kick-happy fighter sees an invitation for the worldwide tournament. He thinks his chances are good, so let's hold off on telling him that the only way he'll win consistently is if he takes more than a couple of packs back and plays a bit of defense.

Dee Jay is like classic Blanka in that his special abilities and combo sets require a large amount of charging. Dee Jay's strength isn't impressive so don't take his moves as one-and-done entries. You'll need to capitalize as on his ability to chain punches and kicks together and finish off those combos with Dee Jay's range of special moves.

Don't let opponents key in on when you're charging for an attack. Move around the screen, flowing back and forth between offensive and defensive postures. Use the Air Slasher to negate others' projectiles and set up your own offensive rush-in. If you insist on staying in an opponent's grill, keep pin-wheeling around his body to avoid getting caught up in a grapple or uppercut. Otherwise, stay low and keep moving backward while looking for opportunities to rush-in. Use Jackknife Maximum and Machinegun Upper as preventive air moves when possible, or hey, use them to polish off one of those combos we talked about earlier. Feel the rhythm!

Need information on other new characters? Stay tuned. Over the next few days we'll do more guides on the rest of the fresh entrants in "Super Street Fighter 4."

Starting today at 4PM Eastern and running for an hour, I'll be playing the "Halo: Reach" beta. The real, live, honest-to-goodness first public look at pure gameplay footage of the year's most anticipated shooter.

I'll be bouncing around the different modes (at launch, only Team Slayer, Free-For-All and Grab Bag are available) and maps, so you'll get to see me get killed in a wide variety of venues. Wondering what it looks like when you take to the sky in a jetpack? Or pull off your very first execution? Tune in at 4PM EST to find out!

As Activision continues to lose members from its most high-profile development studio, Infinity Ward, the massive publisher has gone ahead and signed a 10-year deal with what will certainly be their new most high-profile development studio. Bungie, the studio behind the "Halo" franchise, has agreed to the publishing deal which will include exclusive publishing rights of the developer's next game (after "Halo: Reach" releases this fall).

Today's announcement states that Bungie will remain an independent studio and will own all rights to any new franchises they create. Bungie's last major franchise, "Halo," is owned by Microsoft.

Bungie released a statement on their website, discussing the new deal and what people can expect from their post-"Halo" title:

"Our Next Big Thing now has a concrete path, leading from our studio to the platforms of our choosing. The business formalities are behind us. Our Constitution remains unchanged. We are still Bungie, still independent, and now we are free to bring our stories to an ever bigger audience."

After Activision's disastrous relationship with Infinity Ward basically crumbled, the publisher definitely needed to make a big move to ensure that they remain an important player in the gaming space. The deal with Bungie is about as big a move as one could imagine. Now it's just a question as to whether the relationship between Bungie and Activision is able to stand the test of time.

For all of the farmers working the daily grind on their keyboards and mice, "FarmVille" has a surprise for you. Double storage has finally been added to the game, providing 200 item slots as opposed to the original 100.

There are two ways of obtaining such privileges, namely going down the free and paid routes. For those willing to spend farm cash you can go straight to the market. For those who aren't, it's your task to host a Barn Raising party in order to get the extra space. This will need to be assisted by your friends and neighbours, who can come to your aid by clicking on the relevant Facebook feed.

We're told a total of 10 clicks must be accumulated across a 3 day period, with friends being able to help you out once a day for a total of 3 days. If you've got 4 friends as dedicated as you are, there's no need to spend your hard-earned virtual cash, then.

In another lovely, smile-inducing move, Pro Flowers.com has teamed up with "FarmVille" to award players who purchase real-life gifts from their shop.

Players will receive 100 farm cash credits if they go ahead with this, as well as the warm, fuzzy feeling of delighting their mother on this day. Just click the link via "FarmVille" to take advantage of this offer.

"Call of Duty 7" should show up on paper in May's issue of the UK's Official PlayStation Magazine, but if you can't wait until May, "GameTrailers TV" will have a first look at the project this Friday night on SpikeTV. Well, it's scheduled for 12:40 A.M. EST, so that will still technically be in May, but it's still going to be the place to watch for Treyarch's big reveal.

As for what's going to be featured during that spot at 12:40 A.M. EST, that's anyone's guess, but from the rumors that have made the rounds thus far, it sounds like the game may or may not be called "Black Ops" and could have at least one scene set in Vietnam.

With all of the attention Infinity Ward has received — both good and bad — over the last six months in connection with "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2," Treyarch has to be eager to pull a positive spotlight over to their developers, so I'm sure they're just as anxious for "CoD7" to break out into the public eye as anyone.

In the meantime, double-check your Friday night/early Saturday morning plans and set your TiVo units as necessary.

What do you expect to see from Treyarch in "CoD7"? How do you think it will compare to "Modern Warfare 2"? Share your predictions in the comment section below.

Some of the greatest video game franchises have been around for almost 30 years now, and virtually none of them are batting a perfect 1.000 in terms of quality games. There are always one or two games in most franchises' history that didn't go quite as the publishers would have hoped, and those are the black sheep of video games. We've scoured the annuls of video game history, and put together our picks for some of the worst offenders:

Street Fighter: The Movie

"Street Fighter IV" was a masterpiece that revitalized Capcom's token fighting franchise, and this week's release of "Super Street Fighter IV" is only going to build on that, but if you look back into "Street Fighter"'s past there's one game that truly scrapes at the bottom of the barrel: "Street Fighter: The Movie." Leaps and bounds away from the original's sprite based characters, "SF:TM" went the "Mortal Kombat" route, and used digitized versions of the characters from the movie as combatants, and, amazingly, that didn't work out so well. There's just something really depressing about picking Guile and playing as a poorly digitized version of Jean Claude Van Damme.
Game Rankings Average: 39.00%

Guitar Hero Van Halen

Who would have thought that giving away a game for free would have been its kiss of death? But that's exactly what happened when Activision tried to "reward" anyone that purchased "Guitar Hero V" with "Guitar Hero: Van Halen." Unfortunately, getting the game for free looked like the only way anyone was going to be interested in it. Expectations may have been the biggest thing that hurt "Van Halen," because it could have been a really great game, had the developers had a blank slate to work with, however, they were beholden to a very small window of the band's career, lineup and songs. While there were some greats included, this game ended up being more Balance, and less 1984, which is ironic since David Lee Roth is in the game, and Sammy isn't.
Game Rankings Average (Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, Wii): 56.38%

Sonic the Hedgehog (A.K.A. "Next Gen Sonic")

There are so many Sonic games that could have made the cut for this list, but this dubious honor belongs to the hedgehog's first next-gen game, "Sonic the Hedgehog." Everyone had high hopes for this generation's fist Sonic game, thinking that maybe, just maybe, Sega would be smart about it, and turn the franchise around, but they didn’t. Instead they included Silver, a homicidal hedgehog who's buddies with Blaze the Cat. As bad as Sonic has gotten over the years, "Sonic the Hedgehog" is at the absolute bottom of the list.
Game Rankings Average (Xbox 360, PS3): 46.95%

Tony Hawk's Ride

Tony, Tony Tony… what happened? After so many great, and then some not as great, games it seems like you finally hit a wall when you released "Ride." While it might be jumping the gun calling it a "failure," but there sure are a lot of those dedicated peripherals floating around games stores still. Plus, has anyone aside from Tony Hawk himself actually been able to pull off more than an ollie in the game without almost putting their head through their TV?
Game Rankings Average (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii): 50.86%

The Legend of Zelda CD-I Games

While some may consider "Zelda II: The Adventures of Link" to be Link's most misdirected outing, the three CD-I Zelda games are commonly regarded as some of the worst games ever made. Horrible graphics: check. Incomprehensible stories: check. Ridiculously animated cut scenes: check. "Link: Faces of Evil," "Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon," and "Zelda's Adventure" have all of the elements to make them the black sheep of Nintendo's cherished "Zelda" franchise.
Game Rankings Average: N/A

Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero

The team at Midway attempted to do some interesting things with the "Mortal Kombat" mainstays over the years, and none of them have worked out really well. While "Shaolin Monks" was at least interesting to play, and "Special Forces" starred Jax (yeah, that's the best thing I've got), there's really no redeeming factor of Sub-Zero's late 90s 2-D adventure for the PS1 and N64, "Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero," unless you count the FMV cutscenes that are so bad they're good. Really, under no circumstances should any one character of the "MK" franchise be broken out on their own; they stand much stronger together.
Game Rankings Average (PS1 and N64): 49.02%

Final Fight Streetwise

Is there really a better way to revitalize a property that has been dormant for six years than by releasing a game that doesn't resemble the original in anyway? Ask Capcom, because that's what they did in 2006 with the release of "Final Fight Streetwise," a game that only distantly resembled the classic with the same namesake. Sure, there game's main character, Kyle, was related to the original's Cody, and both punching and kicking were involved, but other than that, this game should be completely forgotten.
Game Rankings Average (Xbox and PS2): 46.45%

Splinter Cell Essentials

Even Sam Fisher has had a run in with a really bad game. His first, and only, foray on Sony's PSP resulted in a barely playable collection of "greatest hits" from the "Splinter Cell" series, up to, and including, "Splinter Cell: Double Agent." The early days of the PSP saw many, many console ports, but few of them were structured in a manner similar to "Essentials" which culled its levels from a span of games, instead of just porting one whole title over. Unfortunately, much like many of Sam's missions, things just didn't work out quite as planned.
Game Rankings Average: 58.22

Mario's Early Years Games

Over the years Mario has done many things, from being a plumber to a soccer player, but back in the 1990s Nintendo's mascot had a brief stint in early childhood education on the SNES. Due to a unique licensing contract with The Software Toolworks Inc. a handful of titles were released under the "Mario's Early Years" moniker, where you could have Mario teach your children the alphabet with "Fun with Letters," or how to count with "Fun with Numbers," or just how to get along with all your little friends in "Preschool Fun." "Super Mario Galaxy" these games were not, heck, they weren't even "Reader Rabbit."
Game Rankings Average (two of the three titles listed): 56.75%

Castlevania: Judgment

It's one thing to take your franchise in a different direction, but at least run it by the fans first. "Castlevania: Judgment" pitted characters from the "Castlevania" universe against each other in one-on-one battles in a 3-D setting. Virtually none of the game had anything to do with the "Castlevania" except for the fact that it included (a very androgynous looking) Simon Belmont, the obligatory Dracula, and a handful of other mish-mashed characters from "Castlevania"'s past. It was almost a valiant effort, but Igarashi should have pointed his whip in a different direction.
Game Rankings Average: 57.71%

Capcom's ridiculously popular "Monster Hunter" franchise is back in action with "Monster Hunter Tri" for the Nintendo Wii, combining free online play with new hunting grounds, creatures, items, and equipment permutations. The new game also features undersea hunting grounds — a first for the series.

But does the series' debut on the Wii live up to the hype?

The Basics

Like in previous versions of "Monster Hunter" (including last year's "Monster Hunter Freedom Unite," one of my favorite games of the year), you play the role of a Monster Hunter charged with protecting a village from the creatures that populate the surrounding forests, deserts, swamps, arctic tundras and, in the case of "Tri," underwater regions.

Objects you collect from the bodies of slain monsters or gather via fishing, catching in nets or other means can be used for a variety of purposes, including forging or upgrading your armor and weapons, combining to form rare items, improving the efficiency of the local farm or fishing fleet, and even creating furniture or other unique items for your character.

The Highs

More!
Just as with any good next-iteration of a franchise, "Monster Hunter Tri" basically takes the previous title and amps everything up a bit with new enemies, items, and skills, and wraps it all around one big addition to the series. In this case, the big selling point is the undersea hunting element — which is actually a lot of fun, and the best part? It doesn't require the extended learning curve typical to the "Monster Hunter" games. I was able to jump into the water and maneuver fairly easily, with much of the new terrain's requirements fairly intuitive translations from the normal controls.

Better!
One of my biggest complaints about the previous iteration of the franchise, "Monster Hunter Freedom Unite" for the PSP, was the awkward camera angles. Much of that issue seems to have been resolved with "Tri," and I rarely found myself running into walls or — worse yet — creatures every few seconds. The camera seems "smarter" this time around, and the game benefits immensely from this improvement.

Different!
The online multiplayer system in "Tri" also received a significant overhaul, and benefits greatly from the new, simplified structure for cooperative play. I'm not sure how much of this was due to user reaction or Nintendo-imposed restrictions, but the end result is a much simpler method for finding and participating in cooperative hunts. While "Monster Hunter" veterans might not be big fans of the new, scaled-down style of online play, it feels far more welcoming to new or less-hardcore players, which will likely benefit the series in the long run.

The Lows

Classic Is Best
There's a good reason why some versions of "Monster Hunter Tri" come bundled with the new Classic Controller Pro — the game's controls are nearly impossible to manage with just the Wii remote and nunchuk.

Waiting On A Screen
One of the recurring issues with the "Monster Hunter" franchise continues to be a problem with "Tri," in that you still spend quite a bit of time waiting for load screens between areas and various portions of the game environment. While the occasional load screen is necessary in games with such a massive number of options in any given area, it gets a bit cumbersome to have to wait through five or six load screens for every quest. with technology as it is today, this seems like a problem that could be remedied, and should be in future installments.

Buy A Book
I mentioned the notorious "Monster Hunter" learning curve earlier in this review, and it holds true in the Wii iteration as much as with any other version of the game. It takes a long (possibly a week or more) to really get comfortable with many of the skills necessary to manage your character's growth when you pickup your first "Monster Hunter" game. While I was able to jump into "Tri" with very little difficulty, that's only because of my existing comfort level with the basic skills and game fundamentals I learned in "Monster Hunter Freedom Unite" (and it took me a week to learn how to gather and combine items in that game). New players will likely have a rough time getting up to speed in "Tri," but no more so than any of the other "Monster Hunter" games.

The Verdict

"Monster Hunter Tri" is a great addition to the celebrated franchise, and while it still suffers from some of the problems of its predecessors, fans of the series will find a lot to like about the latest installment. The new additions to the game manage to provide a lot of extra fun without upping the already considerable learning curve, and the online multiplayer aspect has been simplified enough to make it nearly as much fun as the solo narrative. If you're a fan of the "Monster Hunter" franchise, you'll enjoy the heck out of "Tri," but be warned: the Classic Controller Pro is an absolute necessity for the game. Do not hunt monsters without it!