I wanted to quickly apologize to the few fans I have out there for my lack of material lately.
I am in the process of moving and looking for a new job, which is sapping my time. I have tried to stay consistent with my top ten Mondays, but all other things have fallen to the wayside for a short period of time due to time and financial constraints.
Once things are a little more solid, I will be back with a vengeance, I promise.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
Top Ten Monday: Most Overrated Video Game Characters
10. Master Chief
Let’s be honest, you don’t really think about the character you’re controlling in the Halo series. You’re too worried about finding the right kind of gun so that you can take out your opponent, and then tea bag his poor, innocent corpse. Halo is an awesome game, but Master Chief doesn’t do the franchise any favors. This is an incredible shooting, action game that didn’t need a mascot, and Master Chief is easily the single most forgettable part of an unforgettable series.
9. Pacman/ Ms. Pacman
The Pacmans' major talent is swallowing. Good quality in a girlfriend; not so much in a video game character. Beyond that, they have little personality, and really haven’t accomplished anything better than there first outings in the arcades.
8. Pikachu
This little guy might be cute and deadly, but recently he made his way to number seven on one up’s list of the top ten video game characters of all time! Seven! You can play through an entire Pokemon game without ever using Pikachu as a character! Plus, he isn’t really all that great as a selectable Pokemon. He’s not a bad choice, but there are a lot of equally powerful Pokemon to take his spot. Pikachu is the most recognizable face of the Pokemon phenomenon, but removing him from the game wouldn’t change the gameplay very much for many, and wouldn’t affect it at all for others.
7. Donkey Kong
Clearly, this big ape doesn’t have a very good agent. First, he was left out of both of the the Snes sequels that used his name. Then, things got a little better for him with Donkey Kong 64, which by all accounts was an adequate game, but no one seems to be begging to see it released on the virtual console. After that, Donkey Kong fell to bit roll parts in the Mario Party and Mario Brawl games, as well as the headliner for the gimmicky Donkey Konga Games. His agent better get him a show that’s all his own from Nintendo soon, or DK just isn’t going to be a recognizable hero in his own right anymore.
6. Chun Li
Chun Li was often the character I used in Street Fighter II. All the same, she makes the list for one simple reason. She was the only Street Fighter character who would cry after she was defeated in a match. I don’t care if you’re a woman or a man, if you’re going to try to be considered one of the toughest fighters in the world, you don’t cry after you have lost a match. Period. Just can’t happen. Add onto that, the damage that the Street Fighter movie that focused on Chun Li caused and you have one seriously overrated character on your hands.
5. Sonic the Hedgehog
I doubt anyone’s surprised to see Sonic being placed in my list of the most overrated video game characters of all time. Sonic hasn’t performed well in a video game in over ten years. Even before then, Sonic, as one of my friends described his games, was “a lot of running around on auto-pilot”. Speed was a poor choice to make Sonic’s “thing” from the very beginning. You couldn’t slow down and enjoy the gameplay, or the style, of the games because you were always expected to be zooming through each level at 100 mph. Now that 2-D platforms are out of style, this doesn’t work at all, but in my personal opinion it never worked all that well to begin with, which is why Sonic is one of the most overrated video game characters of all time.
4. Bowser
Bowser is the kind of monster children dream about having over for a cup of tea, but Mom’s worry will throw a toddler-like hissy fit. That’s right this villain is just a big, ugly toddler. Nothing Super Nanny and her time out corner couldn’t take care of. Luckily for us, he has a host of other smarter and deadlier creatures surrounding him that make Mario’s quests challenging and exciting.
3. Chris Redfield
Dude’s ripped, but other than that he’s not all that impressive. First, he’s got a partner who he drags through all kinds of stupidity, rather than falling back as he was ordered too. Second, he has someone who can give him orders, and his mission seems to be his own. He must find his old partner. Never mind that he’s putting his new partner’s life at stake; never mind that the military might need him in other ways. Let’s compare him to Leon Kennedy for a moment, shall we? Leon follows orders to a tee, sometimes too well. He has no help, except for Hunnigan, and the only person he has to talk to is a snotty seventeen year old kid who is not only incapable of shooting a gun, but often steps in between Leon and his enemies, so that he has to worry about shooting her. Long story short: Leon equals badass. Chris equals jacked up moron.
2. Lara Croft
If tits were what made a video game heroine, then Lara Croft would be the greatest video game heroine of all time. But if you’re talking about what a character has to do to complete the game, or how she informs the story, then Lara Croft is easily one of the most overrated video game characters of all time. Although some of her first video game antics were acceptable, even enjoyable, since Lara has become more and more like a stripper, and less like a heroine. Fun to look at, but in the long run more frustrating than enjoyable.
1. Luigi
Once upon a time Luigi was the second warrior in the hard road that Mario had to follow. He could do it all. Sure he was a little taller, and sometimes his jumps were slightly more awkward, but they each had a shot to save the princess, the first go around. Now, look what Luigi has been reduced to. Now, he spends most of his time being saved by his brother in Super Mario Galaxy, and when he’s not being saved by Mario he spends his time vacuuming up ghosts. That’s right. The one time hero that could walk in Mario’s footsteps has been reduced to the damsel in distress/cleaning lady. Yeah, Nintendo, you should be proud.
Let’s be honest, you don’t really think about the character you’re controlling in the Halo series. You’re too worried about finding the right kind of gun so that you can take out your opponent, and then tea bag his poor, innocent corpse. Halo is an awesome game, but Master Chief doesn’t do the franchise any favors. This is an incredible shooting, action game that didn’t need a mascot, and Master Chief is easily the single most forgettable part of an unforgettable series.
9. Pacman/ Ms. Pacman
The Pacmans' major talent is swallowing. Good quality in a girlfriend; not so much in a video game character. Beyond that, they have little personality, and really haven’t accomplished anything better than there first outings in the arcades.
8. Pikachu
This little guy might be cute and deadly, but recently he made his way to number seven on one up’s list of the top ten video game characters of all time! Seven! You can play through an entire Pokemon game without ever using Pikachu as a character! Plus, he isn’t really all that great as a selectable Pokemon. He’s not a bad choice, but there are a lot of equally powerful Pokemon to take his spot. Pikachu is the most recognizable face of the Pokemon phenomenon, but removing him from the game wouldn’t change the gameplay very much for many, and wouldn’t affect it at all for others.
7. Donkey Kong
Clearly, this big ape doesn’t have a very good agent. First, he was left out of both of the the Snes sequels that used his name. Then, things got a little better for him with Donkey Kong 64, which by all accounts was an adequate game, but no one seems to be begging to see it released on the virtual console. After that, Donkey Kong fell to bit roll parts in the Mario Party and Mario Brawl games, as well as the headliner for the gimmicky Donkey Konga Games. His agent better get him a show that’s all his own from Nintendo soon, or DK just isn’t going to be a recognizable hero in his own right anymore.
6. Chun Li
Chun Li was often the character I used in Street Fighter II. All the same, she makes the list for one simple reason. She was the only Street Fighter character who would cry after she was defeated in a match. I don’t care if you’re a woman or a man, if you’re going to try to be considered one of the toughest fighters in the world, you don’t cry after you have lost a match. Period. Just can’t happen. Add onto that, the damage that the Street Fighter movie that focused on Chun Li caused and you have one seriously overrated character on your hands.
5. Sonic the Hedgehog
I doubt anyone’s surprised to see Sonic being placed in my list of the most overrated video game characters of all time. Sonic hasn’t performed well in a video game in over ten years. Even before then, Sonic, as one of my friends described his games, was “a lot of running around on auto-pilot”. Speed was a poor choice to make Sonic’s “thing” from the very beginning. You couldn’t slow down and enjoy the gameplay, or the style, of the games because you were always expected to be zooming through each level at 100 mph. Now that 2-D platforms are out of style, this doesn’t work at all, but in my personal opinion it never worked all that well to begin with, which is why Sonic is one of the most overrated video game characters of all time.
4. Bowser
Bowser is the kind of monster children dream about having over for a cup of tea, but Mom’s worry will throw a toddler-like hissy fit. That’s right this villain is just a big, ugly toddler. Nothing Super Nanny and her time out corner couldn’t take care of. Luckily for us, he has a host of other smarter and deadlier creatures surrounding him that make Mario’s quests challenging and exciting.
3. Chris Redfield
Dude’s ripped, but other than that he’s not all that impressive. First, he’s got a partner who he drags through all kinds of stupidity, rather than falling back as he was ordered too. Second, he has someone who can give him orders, and his mission seems to be his own. He must find his old partner. Never mind that he’s putting his new partner’s life at stake; never mind that the military might need him in other ways. Let’s compare him to Leon Kennedy for a moment, shall we? Leon follows orders to a tee, sometimes too well. He has no help, except for Hunnigan, and the only person he has to talk to is a snotty seventeen year old kid who is not only incapable of shooting a gun, but often steps in between Leon and his enemies, so that he has to worry about shooting her. Long story short: Leon equals badass. Chris equals jacked up moron.
2. Lara Croft
If tits were what made a video game heroine, then Lara Croft would be the greatest video game heroine of all time. But if you’re talking about what a character has to do to complete the game, or how she informs the story, then Lara Croft is easily one of the most overrated video game characters of all time. Although some of her first video game antics were acceptable, even enjoyable, since Lara has become more and more like a stripper, and less like a heroine. Fun to look at, but in the long run more frustrating than enjoyable.
1. Luigi
Once upon a time Luigi was the second warrior in the hard road that Mario had to follow. He could do it all. Sure he was a little taller, and sometimes his jumps were slightly more awkward, but they each had a shot to save the princess, the first go around. Now, look what Luigi has been reduced to. Now, he spends most of his time being saved by his brother in Super Mario Galaxy, and when he’s not being saved by Mario he spends his time vacuuming up ghosts. That’s right. The one time hero that could walk in Mario’s footsteps has been reduced to the damsel in distress/cleaning lady. Yeah, Nintendo, you should be proud.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Embarassing Death #2 The Shaq 3-Pointer NBA Live ʼ08
This embarrassing death is inspired by this yearʼs NBA playoffs, even though Iʼm bummed that the Celtics have been eliminated from the playoffs.
Imagine this: youʼre playing as the Celtics against the Heat with Shaq as their center. You make a comeback from ten down, to tie the game. You manage to keep the ball out of D-Wadeʼs hands, and itʼs inbounded to Shaq.Thereʼs only three seconds left on the clock, so Shaq steps to the three pointline, jacks up a three-point prayer, and swoosh! It goes in. Shaq has just taken the victory from you with a three pointer as the time winds down.
Yes, this is the same Shaq who hasnʼt made a free throw since 1993. The Shaq who has made a total of one three pointer in his entire NBA career. This is the guy whotook the victory from you. Somehow heʼs managed to learn how to shoot the three, just in time to make sure that you cannot win.
But then again, maybe it was your lack of defensive intensity that caused you to win. I mean, we all know how easy defense is to play on the Wii version of NBA Liveʼ08. And whatever you do, donʼt admit this embarrassing defeat to anybody. Not only will it irreparably damage your reputation, youʼll give extra props to the Big Diesel, and the only thing bigger than Shaquille OʼNeal is this imposing centerʼs ego.
Imagine this: youʼre playing as the Celtics against the Heat with Shaq as their center. You make a comeback from ten down, to tie the game. You manage to keep the ball out of D-Wadeʼs hands, and itʼs inbounded to Shaq.Thereʼs only three seconds left on the clock, so Shaq steps to the three pointline, jacks up a three-point prayer, and swoosh! It goes in. Shaq has just taken the victory from you with a three pointer as the time winds down.
Yes, this is the same Shaq who hasnʼt made a free throw since 1993. The Shaq who has made a total of one three pointer in his entire NBA career. This is the guy whotook the victory from you. Somehow heʼs managed to learn how to shoot the three, just in time to make sure that you cannot win.
But then again, maybe it was your lack of defensive intensity that caused you to win. I mean, we all know how easy defense is to play on the Wii version of NBA Liveʼ08. And whatever you do, donʼt admit this embarrassing defeat to anybody. Not only will it irreparably damage your reputation, youʼll give extra props to the Big Diesel, and the only thing bigger than Shaquille OʼNeal is this imposing centerʼs ego.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Best of the Bad: Awesomely Bad Game #2
Spyro the Dragon, the other purple dinosaurʼs very first video game adventure, gets my nod for awesomely bad game for extremely poor adult responsibility. If it takes a village to raise a child, then dragon children are seriously stunted. I guess that explains why Spyro hasnʼt gotten any bigger over the last ten years.
In Spyro the Dragon, all of the adult dragons are crystalized. Spyro, the youngest and smallest of the dragons, escaped the ray that crystallized the dragon, and set out to rescue all of the other dragons encased in stone.
The problem? Spyro began saving dragons from the beginning. But instead of these older, bigger, stronger dragons deciding to take on the adventure of their own, they only give Spyro advice, and some witty banter, and run off to drink beer or smoke cigarettes. Deal with the bad guys? Nah, little baby dragon, I think you can handle it. Iʼm stronger, older, and tougher than you? I could beat the bad guy with one swing of my massive arms, but I think you should give it a go.I got better things to do. Itʼs Poker Night back at the lodge.
What the dragons in Spyro the Dragon ask Spyro to do is like asking an eight year old to go to war. Not that that ever happens in our world....
Ok, maybe the dragons arenʼt any less responsible than human beings, but still, they should set a better example than that to their youngsters. And maybe one or two of them should grow a pair of balls while theyʼre at it.
The problem? Spyro began saving dragons from the beginning. But instead of these older, bigger, stronger dragons deciding to take on the adventure of their own, they only give Spyro advice, and some witty banter, and run off to drink beer or smoke cigarettes. Deal with the bad guys? Nah, little baby dragon, I think you can handle it. Iʼm stronger, older, and tougher than you? I could beat the bad guy with one swing of my massive arms, but I think you should give it a go.I got better things to do. Itʼs Poker Night back at the lodge.
What the dragons in Spyro the Dragon ask Spyro to do is like asking an eight year old to go to war. Not that that ever happens in our world....
Ok, maybe the dragons arenʼt any less responsible than human beings, but still, they should set a better example than that to their youngsters. And maybe one or two of them should grow a pair of balls while theyʼre at it.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Top Ten Things That Should Be Added to the Next Elder Scrolls
10. Lycanthropy
Vampirism was one of the most polarizing elements added to the Elder Scrolls IV. Some have called it the biggest mistake in the game, while others have gotten bit as quickly as possible and completed the entire game as a vampire. Werewolves would be a good way to keep everybody happy. You could have a strength bonus, but only suffer the negative effects of being a werewolf once a month, rather than everyday.
9. Pets
There were a few dogs scattered around the world of Oblivion, but you couldnʼt own a dog or cat of your own. It would have been so much better if, after you bought a home, you could buy a cat or dog to come home too. The more breeds of dog the game could add, the better. Fuck cats.
8. Vampire Mastery
Vampirism was one of the classic aspects of Oblivion, but you could only choose to stay as a vampire, or to complete the vampire cure quest. The next older scrolls should add the ability to become the leader of all the vampires in the world, as well as add the ability to convert NPCs to vampirism, adding a new element to the vampirism in the game.
7. Online Arena Play
Online play across the world in the Elder Scrolls would be extremely difficult, but risking your possessions, and your pride, against other players across the world in arena challenges would be a really easy and satisfying addition to the next Elder Scrolls.
6. Slaves
Liberal political correctness be damned! In this type of medieval world, there would be slaves, and collecting slaves could be a lot of fun. If defeated bandits or arena warriors could become slaves that you could use in a variety of interesting, useful, or humorous ways it would add an extra level of depth to an already very deep game.
5. Hunting
In Oblivion, you could, if you had such a mind, hunt deer. But that was pretty much it. Hunting wolves and bears didnʼt make any sense, because as soon as they saw you, they would turn and attack. Making these kinds of animals a little more shy, as well as adding a little more reward for killing them, could add another fun pastime in the world of the next Elder Scrolls.
4. Complete NPC Annihilation
Of this weekʼs top ten, this is the suggestion that you can find talked about most often on the internet. A lot of Oblivion fans wish that they could kill all the people in the world (those evil bastards), but find that certain persons, like Bandits and guards, respawn after a time. In this instance, I couldnʼt agree more. Nothing would be more satisfying than being able to take out ever single NPC in the next Elder Scrolls installment.
3. Marriages/Dating
In Oblivion, you can buy a ton of houses, and become the richest man in the world. And yet, there isnʼt a single bitch all over your grill. No one tries to get you to marry them; and you canʼt try to convince them to be taken as your wife/husband either. Finding a good marriage (or many good marriages) should be another layer of success that can be achieved in the next Elder Scrolls.
2. Toilets
This oneʼs nasty. Iʼve played through Oblivion, and been to every city. I canʼt promise Iʼve seen everything, but Iʼve yet to see a single toilet. I donʼt know if everyone is in diapers, but if not then everyoneʼs walking around with a growing load of crap in their pants. Iʼm not saying that we should see our main character take a shit, but just seeing a toilet or two would make me feel a little better about the hygiene of all the NPCs around me.
1. Sex
You know you thought about it. Some of those peasants girls were asking for it. And if itʼs your thing, an Argonian or two might be just your style. You could gauge just how well you were doing in the game, by who you could get to have sex with you, and how long they were willing to do it. Admit it, if this were suddenly added to Oblivion, youʼd get the game out right now, and never put it down.
Vampirism was one of the most polarizing elements added to the Elder Scrolls IV. Some have called it the biggest mistake in the game, while others have gotten bit as quickly as possible and completed the entire game as a vampire. Werewolves would be a good way to keep everybody happy. You could have a strength bonus, but only suffer the negative effects of being a werewolf once a month, rather than everyday.
9. Pets
There were a few dogs scattered around the world of Oblivion, but you couldnʼt own a dog or cat of your own. It would have been so much better if, after you bought a home, you could buy a cat or dog to come home too. The more breeds of dog the game could add, the better. Fuck cats.
8. Vampire Mastery
Vampirism was one of the classic aspects of Oblivion, but you could only choose to stay as a vampire, or to complete the vampire cure quest. The next older scrolls should add the ability to become the leader of all the vampires in the world, as well as add the ability to convert NPCs to vampirism, adding a new element to the vampirism in the game.
7. Online Arena Play
Online play across the world in the Elder Scrolls would be extremely difficult, but risking your possessions, and your pride, against other players across the world in arena challenges would be a really easy and satisfying addition to the next Elder Scrolls.
6. Slaves
Liberal political correctness be damned! In this type of medieval world, there would be slaves, and collecting slaves could be a lot of fun. If defeated bandits or arena warriors could become slaves that you could use in a variety of interesting, useful, or humorous ways it would add an extra level of depth to an already very deep game.
5. Hunting
In Oblivion, you could, if you had such a mind, hunt deer. But that was pretty much it. Hunting wolves and bears didnʼt make any sense, because as soon as they saw you, they would turn and attack. Making these kinds of animals a little more shy, as well as adding a little more reward for killing them, could add another fun pastime in the world of the next Elder Scrolls.
4. Complete NPC Annihilation
Of this weekʼs top ten, this is the suggestion that you can find talked about most often on the internet. A lot of Oblivion fans wish that they could kill all the people in the world (those evil bastards), but find that certain persons, like Bandits and guards, respawn after a time. In this instance, I couldnʼt agree more. Nothing would be more satisfying than being able to take out ever single NPC in the next Elder Scrolls installment.
3. Marriages/Dating
In Oblivion, you can buy a ton of houses, and become the richest man in the world. And yet, there isnʼt a single bitch all over your grill. No one tries to get you to marry them; and you canʼt try to convince them to be taken as your wife/husband either. Finding a good marriage (or many good marriages) should be another layer of success that can be achieved in the next Elder Scrolls.
2. Toilets
This oneʼs nasty. Iʼve played through Oblivion, and been to every city. I canʼt promise Iʼve seen everything, but Iʼve yet to see a single toilet. I donʼt know if everyone is in diapers, but if not then everyoneʼs walking around with a growing load of crap in their pants. Iʼm not saying that we should see our main character take a shit, but just seeing a toilet or two would make me feel a little better about the hygiene of all the NPCs around me.
1. Sex
You know you thought about it. Some of those peasants girls were asking for it. And if itʼs your thing, an Argonian or two might be just your style. You could gauge just how well you were doing in the game, by who you could get to have sex with you, and how long they were willing to do it. Admit it, if this were suddenly added to Oblivion, youʼd get the game out right now, and never put it down.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Embarassing Death Number One: Death By Goomba
Death by Goomba is just one of the most embarrassing things that can happen to a video game addict; far more embarrassing than the time my little sister's girlfriend was able to open a can I couldn't. Goombas aren't only slow and stupid; they don't seem to have any tools to take out everyone's favorite plumber. Take a look:
What's he going to do to take you out? He hasn't got any teeth (yet), and when he does get them, they seem pretty easy to avoid. He;s got no arms, so he can't punch you. He's got two tiny little feet that definitely can't reach out to kick Mario. So, how does this guy take you down?
But watch out, if he does get you, you're going to lose a life, or a power-up. More importantly, you will lose any respect you might have earned amongst your gaming friends. So, if one of these ugly little critters does take you out, hope that no one is there to see, and then deny, deny, deny (just like during a police interrogation). If you don't, you might lose all your respect amongst your friends, and never be able to show your face in public again.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
New School Review: Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe
Mortal Kombat decided to pull a page out of Street Fighterʼs book in this game, and pit its recognizable fighters against even more recognizable comic book heroes. Street Fighter has already used Marvel Universe, so the obvious twice for the Mortal Kombat franchise was DC Universe, the home of both Superman and Batman.
The game features all of your favorite Mortal Kombat characters (even the ones that I thought were deceased after Deadly Alliance) as well as many of the most popular characters from the DC comic books. But is it a worthwhile game? Does it stand up to all of the other games in the Mortal Kombat franchise? In some ways. In others, Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe seems to have made some incredibly poor choices that seriously hampered its gameplay.
The Good:
Graphics
The graphics arenʼt the best youʼll find for todayʼs fighters, but they are perfectly competent, and fit really well into the style of the Mortal Kombat Universe.
Parts of the Gameplay
The rage counter bars were a really well thought out part of this game, and added a level of strategy. You could either save up until you were able to go into Rage mode, which made you a lot more difficult to block, or you could use a single full bar in order to counter an enemyʼs attack. You have to pick right, because if you choose wrong you could find yourself flat on your back, or worse yet, on the receiving end of a Fatality. Secondly, close fighting worked really well for me because that is the way sometimes fighting would work. Getting in close to punish your enemy. The ability to change who was getting hit by pressing the right button gave you just enough control to be able to turn this part of the fight around to your advantage.
Batman
For those of us desperately waiting for the release of Batman Arkham Asylum (and I assume thatʼs all of us), Mortal Kombat Vs, DC Universe gives us the chance to take control of the Big Bat, and take out not only the Joker, but Catwoman, Scorpion, and Sub-Zero.
Story Mode:
The Story Mode did a pretty good job of explaining how these two universes met each other, and how each side handled the collision of the world. Further, it did a great job of explaining how it made sense that Batman could be taking on Superman, or how Joker could possibly beat Green Lantern of the Flash in the best of three rounds. Unfortunately, this mode got a little repetitive because it was always just a matter of beating your next opponent. There were never other more interesting types of challenges, nor could you ever choose which character you would use for any of those challenges.
Fatalities:
Fatalities have always been what sets Mortal Kombat apart from other games, and like previous games this give Mortal Kombat a bit of an edge over other fighters. Yeah, itʼs fun to knock out your opponent, but itʼs a lot more fun to deep freeze your opponent and then shatter his or her body into a bunch of fragmented little pieces.
The Bad:
Limited Number of Unlockables:
Unlike Deadly Alliance, which was my favorite Mortal Kombat game of all time, there were only two characters that you could unlock in the game. Further, you could only unlock endings for each of the characters in the game. I wanted to be able to unlock so much more: like different suits, styles, extra endings, more characters. The way it worked in Deadly Alliance was really well thought out, and I wish that Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe had done the something similar.
Superman
Something just doesnʼt sit right with me about being able to play Superman, and getting beaten by Catwoman or the Joker. The Story Mode helped to explain this a little, but still I didnʼt buy it. Superman would have been better served as a character at the end, whom you had to try and beat, rather than as a playable character, but I suppose fans would have rebelled if Midway had tried to pull that off.
Some of the Gameplay
Parts of the gameplay in this game just didnʼt work. One of the prime examples of this was in the air fighting. You could pummel your enemy, and then he could flip you at the last minute, and you would receive all of the damage! This is like saying that those hits you landed didnʼt even hurt. Midway could have fixed this very easily by splitting the damages depending on who got flipped, and when, but they didnʼt, I assume because they got a little lazy. Test your might was also just boring, but it doesnʼt happen as often, and the damage is usually considerably less so I wasnʼt as annoyed by this add on to the game.
Heroic Brutalities:
I understand DC, that you donʼt want to let Midway take your heroes, and make them killers. But, who cares? Itʼs not as if Batman actually does the killing, or Superman for that matter. We would be the killers, and we understand that. We donʼt want to attack with bats, or drive a guy into the ground with these characters. When we win with Superman, we want to rip someoneʼs arms off and beat them to death with them. Thatʼsthe formula that has always worked for Mortal Kombat, and its the formula that should remain, no matter who is on the roster.
No Weapons:
Weapons added a new level of strategy to the Mortal Kombat games, and the lack of them was sorely missed in this game. Again, their absence from the game felt like laziness on Midwayʼs part. Adding weapons would have added a desperately needed extra layer to the gameplay in this game.
Bottom Line:
Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe will be fun on your own for a few days, especially as you play through the story mode, but once you defeat the game with all the characters and both story modes youʼve run out of things to do. Online play, or having a friend or two to join you, will help with this problem, but wonʼt completely solve it, especially if youʼre like me, and youʼre internet connection isnʼt stellar.
Graphics 8/10
Sound 8/10
Gameplay 7/10
Lasting Appeal 6/10
Overall: 7.5
Final Say: Definitely rent this game, but donʼt buy unless youʼre a huge fan of the Mortal Kombat series.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Top Ten Super Nintendo Games
First, to make this list the game must be a game made for the Super Nintendo System; not a rerelease of older games like Super Mario All stars. Also, the game must have been released in North America during the SNES’ run (Sorry Mother and Seiken Densetsu 3).
10. ActRaiser
ActRaiser was brilliant because it was a two part game that managed to make both parts of the game fun and addicting. Neither part felt like an interruption from the other part. Playing as the God with a sword who had to defeat all the enemies in a given level was almost as fun as the overworld part of ActRaiser in which you had to help cities grow and prosper as their God. The gameplay was never slow, never dull, and there was a pretty big power rush about getting to play God for the little people on your television screen. Also, the music was brilliant in this game. This is definitely an under-appreciated classic of the Super Nintendo Era.
9. Donkey Kong Country
Although all of the Donkey Kong Country’s were great during the series’ run on the SNES, the greatest, by far, was the original. Donkey and Diddy worked extremely well together. The gameplay was fun and intuitive. The characters were extremely likable and a lot of fun to interact with (especially Kranky Kong who is always good for a laugh). The bad guys were challenging, and the four animal friends you could find were a lot of fun to ride. Also, in this game you could actually play Donkey Kong, which is enough to earn it a spot as a better overall game than Donkey Kong Country 2 (though I really suggest that you play both games to come to a decision for yourself as both are really excellent games).
8. Super Mario World 2 Yoshi’s Island
Nintendo didn’t throw any punches with this release despite the fact that it came near to the end of the SNES' run. Yoshi’s Island is just straight fun. And even after the first run through of the game you will find yourself entertained for hours trying to get a 100% score on all the levels in the game. Yoshi’s Island failed to seem as deep as Super Mario World for a couple of reasons. The first, is that the worlds you travelled through did not feel like worlds, but rather more like levels lined up one next to the other. Second, was the linear progression of the game. There were no shortcuts in Yoshi’s Island; no way to skip over some of the levels, which made this game feel less extensive than Super Mario World. However, the graphics were considerably better in Yoshi’s Island; there was a great deal more dialogue, and the boss fights throughout the game were far more complicated than jumping on someone’s head three times. These few improvements to the classical Mario formula put Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island firmly on the list of the greatest Super Nintendo games.
7. Super Mario Kart
The Super Nintendo’s Super Mario Kart was Mario’s first venture into racing, and the rest is history. The racing style of Super Mario Kart would have been enough to keep me hooked for hours, but Nintendo gave us so much more than that. Nintendo also gave us time trials, and vs play. Most importantly, though, Nintendo added the Battle Mode to the Vs. section of Super Mario Kart, and gamers like me were hooked. Sure, it was fun to beat your friend (or your sister) in a race, but not half so much fun as pelting her with a red or green shell.
6. EarthBound
A game about a kid who is destined to save the world from a hostile alien with a baseball bat doesn’t seem like it would make sense, does it? Earthbound may be one of the strangest games on the SNES, but that didn’t keep it from being one of the most fun titles available for the Super Nintendo. EarthBound was odd from beginning to end; you got attacked by police officers and town bullies as much, if not more, than you got attacked by monsters. And every time you defeated those bullies or cops you’re Dad would add more money into your bank account. That’s right, you would get paid for fighting. Despite its oddity, or maybe because of it, EarthBound’s story remains interesting while the gameplay keeps you challenged and entertained. If you missed this one the first time around, you really missed out. Good luck trying to find a copy now, though.They can run upwards of $100 on Ebay, and so far, Nintendo has not released the title for Virtual Console download.
5. Super Mario RPG, Legend of the Seven Stars
Mario’s first RPG has never really been outdone by any Mario RPG game since. The characters really serve the story well. But Seven Stars shines best in its gameplay element. Certainly, not a mario game, but an RPG, Seven Stars manages to maintain the Mario charm during elements of the gameplay. You can jump throughout the game, as well as jump as one of Mario’s special attacks. This made the feel of Seven Stars stay consistent with the feel of Mario; but with many of the same rules as the RPG genre. The result was a video game experience that played like no other, and a welcome edition to the SNES library.
4. The Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past
Link to the Past took the story of Zelda back to its roots. The side-scrolling days of Zelda II were over, and Link returned to his past roots from the original Legend of Zelda. The result was one of the most critically acclaimed, and well known, game of the SNES era; The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Of course, the excellence of this game cannot simply be attributed to its return to the form that The Legend of Zelda took. Instead, Link to the Past really improved upon the formula in a variety of ways. It added an alternate, scarier dimension known as the dark world. This allowed Hyrulian adventurers to really feel as if they were taking on the darkness themselves. Second, they added the concept of pieces of heart (rather than whole heart containers). This made it a lot more fun to explore the world of Zelda because it became an extra challenge to find and collect all the heart pieces in order to get the maximum health possible. A Link to the Past also boasts a great amount of replay value because you could always make the game more difficult on yourself in the next run through by neglecting to find optional things that made the game easier. For instance, I have beaten the game without getting any pieces of heart or glass jars. This would make the game a lot more difficult, and a lot of fun to play through one more time.
3. Super Mario World
Super Mario World has really stood the test of time for me. Not only do I rank it as one of the best the SNES has to offer, but also as the greatest mario adventure of all time. For more of my reasoning behind that see: http://gameium.blogspot.com/2009/04/top-ten-mario-games.html Super Mario World was straight fun, and incredibly addicting. There was a lot to do in this title including finding all 96 exits, completing the special world, and finding all of the Yoshi coins. The fact that a game as awesome as Super Mario World comes in as number 3 is a real testament to how great the games were during the Super Nintendo’s run.
2. Chrono Trigger
Generally speaking, I hate games about time travel. Always, it seems, the hero goes back and time to stop some terrible evil. Of course, if he succeeds he would never have been able to go back in time, and therefore he would fail and the whole space time continuum would collapse! Okay, maybe I went a touch too far there, but I’m just saying, the whole scenario has been played out, and had been even at the time of Chrono Trigger’s release. But Chrono changed the formula on me. He didn’t want to stop something from happening in the past; he wanted to stop an apocalypse that occurred in the future. First, what a guy. If I knew about an apocalypse in the future, I would probably just shrug my shoulders and say that it’s the future people’s problem. Not Chrono; he grabbed his Kitana and went to business, and even paid the ultimate sacrifice in one part of the story. The gameplay in Chrono Trigger took the classic RPG formula, and added enough of its own elements to seem fresh. It further added a cast of colorful characters with their own strengths, weaknesses, and history (a trend that was not yet popular in video games) and a twisty-turny plot that would keep any fan interested for the duration of the game, if not longer.
1. Secret of Mana
Way To Go! Perhaps, I’m a nerd, but whenever I accomplish, well anything, this is the first thought that pops into my head... still. Secret of Mana’s congratulations for beating its latest boss. If that isn’t a sign of a game that has stuck with you, I don’t know what is. Secret of Mana was more than just a great game; it was one of those defining games that really showed what its console could do.
The hardest thing I’ve had to do thus far on gameium.blogspot.com is decide whether Chrono Trigger or Secret of Mana deserved the top spot in this list. It was a very close contest. So close, in fact, that it was Secret of Mana’s Sound that managed to give it the edge it needed to take the top spot on the list. If there is one thing that Secret of Mana should be famous for, it’s the game’s musical score. I have never played a game with such beautiful music, which seemed crafted specifically for the game, and I doubt I ever will again. It seems like such a small thing, but this element really helped Secret of Mana stand out.
Secret of Mana was awesome for a variety of reasons. 1. You got to use a lot of different weapons, as well as a lot of different magics. 2. The story was incredible, the tragedy still sticks with me. When the Sprite tells his friends that he’s not going to kick the bucket, I couldn’t help but to feel for all the characters I had controlled during the course of the game. 3. You could ride a dragon. 4. You could play with two friends if you wanted. My sister even played this game with me a little. 5. The power-up ability of the weapons really made the game one of strategy as well as one of fighting. 6. There was a lot of replay value to the game: once you beat it you could always try to beat it without using magic. 7. The World was huge for its time.
There are so many things to like about Secret of Mana that it would take more than a single blog post to talk about them all. The gameplay, the visuals, the audio were all spot on in this game. Unfortunately, unlike the Zelda series which would continue to improve, Secret of Mana would prove to be the best the Mana series has yet had to offer.
Notable Exemptions:
Super Metroid
Not going to lie to you: I’m not a fan of shooters; especially Sci-fi shooters. This was a good game, but not one of my favorites. In fact, it’s probably not on my top twenty all time favorite SNES games. I know that’s going to make a lot of fanboys mad at me, but I can take it.
Final Fantasy IV
This game was excellent too. I loved it. It’s failure to be included in the list says more about how good the Super Nintendo was as a system, than it says about Final Fantasy IV.
Star Fox
This would have been number eleven on the list, and was just barely edged out by ActRaiser. The gameplay in Starfox was fast and addicting, and it’s a great add to any collection of SNES games.
10. ActRaiser
ActRaiser was brilliant because it was a two part game that managed to make both parts of the game fun and addicting. Neither part felt like an interruption from the other part. Playing as the God with a sword who had to defeat all the enemies in a given level was almost as fun as the overworld part of ActRaiser in which you had to help cities grow and prosper as their God. The gameplay was never slow, never dull, and there was a pretty big power rush about getting to play God for the little people on your television screen. Also, the music was brilliant in this game. This is definitely an under-appreciated classic of the Super Nintendo Era.
9. Donkey Kong Country
Although all of the Donkey Kong Country’s were great during the series’ run on the SNES, the greatest, by far, was the original. Donkey and Diddy worked extremely well together. The gameplay was fun and intuitive. The characters were extremely likable and a lot of fun to interact with (especially Kranky Kong who is always good for a laugh). The bad guys were challenging, and the four animal friends you could find were a lot of fun to ride. Also, in this game you could actually play Donkey Kong, which is enough to earn it a spot as a better overall game than Donkey Kong Country 2 (though I really suggest that you play both games to come to a decision for yourself as both are really excellent games).
8. Super Mario World 2 Yoshi’s Island
Nintendo didn’t throw any punches with this release despite the fact that it came near to the end of the SNES' run. Yoshi’s Island is just straight fun. And even after the first run through of the game you will find yourself entertained for hours trying to get a 100% score on all the levels in the game. Yoshi’s Island failed to seem as deep as Super Mario World for a couple of reasons. The first, is that the worlds you travelled through did not feel like worlds, but rather more like levels lined up one next to the other. Second, was the linear progression of the game. There were no shortcuts in Yoshi’s Island; no way to skip over some of the levels, which made this game feel less extensive than Super Mario World. However, the graphics were considerably better in Yoshi’s Island; there was a great deal more dialogue, and the boss fights throughout the game were far more complicated than jumping on someone’s head three times. These few improvements to the classical Mario formula put Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island firmly on the list of the greatest Super Nintendo games.
7. Super Mario Kart
The Super Nintendo’s Super Mario Kart was Mario’s first venture into racing, and the rest is history. The racing style of Super Mario Kart would have been enough to keep me hooked for hours, but Nintendo gave us so much more than that. Nintendo also gave us time trials, and vs play. Most importantly, though, Nintendo added the Battle Mode to the Vs. section of Super Mario Kart, and gamers like me were hooked. Sure, it was fun to beat your friend (or your sister) in a race, but not half so much fun as pelting her with a red or green shell.
6. EarthBound
A game about a kid who is destined to save the world from a hostile alien with a baseball bat doesn’t seem like it would make sense, does it? Earthbound may be one of the strangest games on the SNES, but that didn’t keep it from being one of the most fun titles available for the Super Nintendo. EarthBound was odd from beginning to end; you got attacked by police officers and town bullies as much, if not more, than you got attacked by monsters. And every time you defeated those bullies or cops you’re Dad would add more money into your bank account. That’s right, you would get paid for fighting. Despite its oddity, or maybe because of it, EarthBound’s story remains interesting while the gameplay keeps you challenged and entertained. If you missed this one the first time around, you really missed out. Good luck trying to find a copy now, though.They can run upwards of $100 on Ebay, and so far, Nintendo has not released the title for Virtual Console download.
5. Super Mario RPG, Legend of the Seven Stars
Mario’s first RPG has never really been outdone by any Mario RPG game since. The characters really serve the story well. But Seven Stars shines best in its gameplay element. Certainly, not a mario game, but an RPG, Seven Stars manages to maintain the Mario charm during elements of the gameplay. You can jump throughout the game, as well as jump as one of Mario’s special attacks. This made the feel of Seven Stars stay consistent with the feel of Mario; but with many of the same rules as the RPG genre. The result was a video game experience that played like no other, and a welcome edition to the SNES library.
4. The Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past
Link to the Past took the story of Zelda back to its roots. The side-scrolling days of Zelda II were over, and Link returned to his past roots from the original Legend of Zelda. The result was one of the most critically acclaimed, and well known, game of the SNES era; The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Of course, the excellence of this game cannot simply be attributed to its return to the form that The Legend of Zelda took. Instead, Link to the Past really improved upon the formula in a variety of ways. It added an alternate, scarier dimension known as the dark world. This allowed Hyrulian adventurers to really feel as if they were taking on the darkness themselves. Second, they added the concept of pieces of heart (rather than whole heart containers). This made it a lot more fun to explore the world of Zelda because it became an extra challenge to find and collect all the heart pieces in order to get the maximum health possible. A Link to the Past also boasts a great amount of replay value because you could always make the game more difficult on yourself in the next run through by neglecting to find optional things that made the game easier. For instance, I have beaten the game without getting any pieces of heart or glass jars. This would make the game a lot more difficult, and a lot of fun to play through one more time.
3. Super Mario World
Super Mario World has really stood the test of time for me. Not only do I rank it as one of the best the SNES has to offer, but also as the greatest mario adventure of all time. For more of my reasoning behind that see: http://gameium.blogspot.com/2009/04/top-ten-mario-games.html Super Mario World was straight fun, and incredibly addicting. There was a lot to do in this title including finding all 96 exits, completing the special world, and finding all of the Yoshi coins. The fact that a game as awesome as Super Mario World comes in as number 3 is a real testament to how great the games were during the Super Nintendo’s run.
2. Chrono Trigger
Generally speaking, I hate games about time travel. Always, it seems, the hero goes back and time to stop some terrible evil. Of course, if he succeeds he would never have been able to go back in time, and therefore he would fail and the whole space time continuum would collapse! Okay, maybe I went a touch too far there, but I’m just saying, the whole scenario has been played out, and had been even at the time of Chrono Trigger’s release. But Chrono changed the formula on me. He didn’t want to stop something from happening in the past; he wanted to stop an apocalypse that occurred in the future. First, what a guy. If I knew about an apocalypse in the future, I would probably just shrug my shoulders and say that it’s the future people’s problem. Not Chrono; he grabbed his Kitana and went to business, and even paid the ultimate sacrifice in one part of the story. The gameplay in Chrono Trigger took the classic RPG formula, and added enough of its own elements to seem fresh. It further added a cast of colorful characters with their own strengths, weaknesses, and history (a trend that was not yet popular in video games) and a twisty-turny plot that would keep any fan interested for the duration of the game, if not longer.
1. Secret of Mana
Way To Go! Perhaps, I’m a nerd, but whenever I accomplish, well anything, this is the first thought that pops into my head... still. Secret of Mana’s congratulations for beating its latest boss. If that isn’t a sign of a game that has stuck with you, I don’t know what is. Secret of Mana was more than just a great game; it was one of those defining games that really showed what its console could do.
The hardest thing I’ve had to do thus far on gameium.blogspot.com is decide whether Chrono Trigger or Secret of Mana deserved the top spot in this list. It was a very close contest. So close, in fact, that it was Secret of Mana’s Sound that managed to give it the edge it needed to take the top spot on the list. If there is one thing that Secret of Mana should be famous for, it’s the game’s musical score. I have never played a game with such beautiful music, which seemed crafted specifically for the game, and I doubt I ever will again. It seems like such a small thing, but this element really helped Secret of Mana stand out.
Secret of Mana was awesome for a variety of reasons. 1. You got to use a lot of different weapons, as well as a lot of different magics. 2. The story was incredible, the tragedy still sticks with me. When the Sprite tells his friends that he’s not going to kick the bucket, I couldn’t help but to feel for all the characters I had controlled during the course of the game. 3. You could ride a dragon. 4. You could play with two friends if you wanted. My sister even played this game with me a little. 5. The power-up ability of the weapons really made the game one of strategy as well as one of fighting. 6. There was a lot of replay value to the game: once you beat it you could always try to beat it without using magic. 7. The World was huge for its time.
There are so many things to like about Secret of Mana that it would take more than a single blog post to talk about them all. The gameplay, the visuals, the audio were all spot on in this game. Unfortunately, unlike the Zelda series which would continue to improve, Secret of Mana would prove to be the best the Mana series has yet had to offer.
Notable Exemptions:
Super Metroid
Not going to lie to you: I’m not a fan of shooters; especially Sci-fi shooters. This was a good game, but not one of my favorites. In fact, it’s probably not on my top twenty all time favorite SNES games. I know that’s going to make a lot of fanboys mad at me, but I can take it.
Final Fantasy IV
This game was excellent too. I loved it. It’s failure to be included in the list says more about how good the Super Nintendo was as a system, than it says about Final Fantasy IV.
Star Fox
This would have been number eleven on the list, and was just barely edged out by ActRaiser. The gameplay in Starfox was fast and addicting, and it’s a great add to any collection of SNES games.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Upcoming Awesomeness: Batman: Arkham Asylum
First, sorry I'm two days behind schedule. A lot had to get done over the past couple of days; getting a puppy, signing a lease, but that's over and gameium is back in business.
Over the past few weeks it seems that every blogger in the blogosphere has been drooling over the upcoming release of Batman: Arkham Asylum. Nor am I an exception to the rule. The Dark Knight is set to be released in June 2009 and there's no other game that has me so excited. See below:
Everyone's talking about how good this game is going to be; so I'm not going to hop on that bandwagon. Mostly because I don't like doing what everyone else is doing.
Instead, I'm going to tell you the five villains I most want to see, and the five I would least like to see.
Top 5
1.The Riddler
2.The Scarecrow
3.Clayface
4. Mr. Freeze
5. Two Face
Bottom 3
1. Catwoman (I want straight murderers here; not Jewel Thieves)
2. Poison Ivy (Something unmanly about being undone by a kiss)
3. Tweedledee and Tweedledum. (If the name isn't enough to make them less than frightening, then the shape is)
4. The Ventriloquist (Don't feel I need to explain this one)
5. Penguin (Fat, ugly, and not real scary without henchman)
Over the past few weeks it seems that every blogger in the blogosphere has been drooling over the upcoming release of Batman: Arkham Asylum. Nor am I an exception to the rule. The Dark Knight is set to be released in June 2009 and there's no other game that has me so excited. See below:
Everyone's talking about how good this game is going to be; so I'm not going to hop on that bandwagon. Mostly because I don't like doing what everyone else is doing.
Instead, I'm going to tell you the five villains I most want to see, and the five I would least like to see.
Top 5
1.The Riddler
2.The Scarecrow
3.Clayface
4. Mr. Freeze
5. Two Face
Bottom 3
1. Catwoman (I want straight murderers here; not Jewel Thieves)
2. Poison Ivy (Something unmanly about being undone by a kiss)
3. Tweedledee and Tweedledum. (If the name isn't enough to make them less than frightening, then the shape is)
4. The Ventriloquist (Don't feel I need to explain this one)
5. Penguin (Fat, ugly, and not real scary without henchman)
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