Something went wrong. Try again later

MooseyMcMan

It's me, Moosey! They/them pronouns for anyone wondering.

12782 5577 43 345
Forum Posts Wiki Points Following Followers

Why I think Nintendo's new console is The Dreamcast 2.

By MooseyMcMan 62 Comments

So, by now I'm sure you all know about how Nintendo is going to unveil its new console at E3 this year. And of course, rumors are flying around like...flies! And I've come up with my own theory about the name of the system, and some of the launch titles. 
First off, I think it's pretty clear that it's going to be The Dreamcast 2 (a joint effort with Sega, of course). Why? Well, the rumors seem to be indicating that the controller will feature both two analog sticks, and a screen, possibly in HD.

Now, as anyone will state, two of the biggest flaws in the Dreamcast 1 controller were that it had only one stick, and the VMU screen was pretty bad. So, why else would the rumors be emphasizing those specific things? HM?! 

Thus, the launch lineup for the Dreamcast 2 will obviously be mainly filled with sequels to the "olde timey" Dreamcast games. Shenmue III, Power Stone 3, Sonic Adventure 3 (which will finally be a good 3D Sonic game), Typing of the Dead 2, etc. IT WILL BE AWESOME! 

THE DREAM WILL NEVER DIE!!! 

So, what do you think? Clearly you all agree with this, because it's definitely fact and not me joking or anything. That'd be crazy. 

EDIT: Release date would be December 12th, 2012. (12/12/12, in other words). 

62 Comments

Update on my ongoing gaming goals for 2011!

By MooseyMcMan 14 Comments

As you may or may not know, earlier this year I wrote about some gaming related goals I wanted to complete by the end of the year. It's been a while since I posted anything about it, so I figured I'd write up something. I also want to point out that I've decided to abandon (ie, give up on) a couple of them, and add a couple more. I will denote new ones with an asterisk. 


Play through the entire Mass Effect trilogy.

Progress: Not yet started, as the third one is still a long ways off. I am liking the little bit of info I've seen so far on the third one though. 
 

Buy a 3DS.

Progress: Abandoned! After spending some time with a 3DS, and taking a good long look at both the games currently available, and those announced for the rest of the year, I've decided that I don't want to buy a 3DS this year. Unless there's a big price drop, but I doubt that will happen.
 

Upload at least one good LittleBigPlanet 2 level.

Progress: I at least played through all the tutorials, and I have some great ideas for a weird level. 
 

Become skilled at Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Progress: Complete! Depending on how you define skilled, anyway. 
 

Acquire a copy of ZHP: Unlosing Ranger vs. Darkdeath Evilman

Progress: Complete! I've actually played it enough to get five or six different endings (note that after one play through, you can get endings at the end of each dungeon, so you can get them pretty quick).
 

S-Rank Deadly Premonition

Progress: I have beaten the game on easy, meaning that all I have left is beating it on hard. It will be done!

S-Rank Mass Effect 3

Progress: Not started yet. But I'm pretty sure BioWare has said there won't be multiplayer in the game, which means that (with my refusal to pay for Xbox Live) an S-Rank is attainable for me.
 

Finish Alpha Protocol (with my friend).

Progress: Not much of anything has happened here since last time. Hopefully once this semester ends in a few weeks we'll be able to beat it over the summer.
 

Beat Deus Ex: Human Revolution with zero kills.

Progress: I still intend on doing this. 
 

Try once again to beat Dead Rising (and probably not succeed).

Progress: Technically I have done this, because I played a decent chunk of DR earlier this year. But I still kinda want to finish it, especially with the "Westernized" (get it?) version of Dead Rising 2 coming out later this year. 

*Buy and beat Dead Rising 2: Off the Record.

I'm hoping that it won't take five years of work to beat this one, unlike the first (which as stated above, I haven't beaten yet).
 

Don't buy this year's Call of Duty.

Progress: I don't think Activision has even officially announced what this game will be yet. But if it's what I think it will be (Modern Warfare 3), then I'm going to have to borrow it from someone like I did with MW2, because that game ended on a huge cliffhanger. 
 

Don't buy anything at GameStop.

Progress: Goin' strong! You won't get any of my money this year, GameStop! 
 

Buy at least one Wii game.

Progress: Still no word that I've seen about a release date for Skyward Sword (the only Wii game I have any interest in that I don't already have). And with new rumors about the WiiWii (or Wii 2 as normal people call it), who knows. They may end up Twilight Princess-ing it and put it on both. 

*Beat Yakuza 3, then buy/beat Yakuza 4.

Due to the magic of bargain bins in KMart, I was introduced to the world of the Yakuza games for the low price of $15. And I love it! Haven't beaten it yet, and I intend on doing that and doing the same thing for part 4. 

*Buy the new Mortal Kombat game, and memorize some fatalities.

 Seems pretty easy. I just added this one on whim because hey, that game looks pretty sick. 

*Resist buying Portal 2 (or any other Valve product) until Valve gives some concrete info on the next Half-Life game.

God damn you Valve. You put out Half-Life 2 in 2004, said you were going to put out shorter episodes to keep the story going whilst keeping the time between games relatively low, and you made good on that...For a while. It was 2007 that Episode 2 came out. And what has happened since then? NOTHING! Argh! They put out two Left 4 Dead games, announced an entirely new thing (remember that DOTA thing they announced?), put out crap-loads of stuff for Team Fortress 2, made a new Portal game (also with crap-loads of DLC already), and still they have said nothing concrete about this game. It makes me angry. Especially since Valve could never put out another Half-Life game and they would still be hugely successful. 

*Never give up on the other long rumored games I've been waiting for.

Remember Shenmue III? What about Metroid Dread? THEY WILL BE RELEASED SOME DAY, DAMN IT! THE DREAM WILL NEVER DIE!! AAAH! 
14 Comments

AHA! For once I can take advantage of a Capcom re-release!

By MooseyMcMan 21 Comments

Without re-buying a game, I mean (curse you, blog title restrictions). 


Don't know what I'm talking about? Well, today Capcom has announced Dead Rising 2: Off the Record. It seems like it's a remix of Dead Rising 2, just with new weapons, new areas, new story stuff, and most importantly....

YOU PLAY AS FRANK WEST! 

And there's really only one word that can describe how I feel about that...

FAN-TASTIC! 

Now, I realize that anyone who bought Dead Rising 2 last year would hesitate to buy this. I know I would, because I've been in that situation before. I bought RE4 on the GameCube, only to see the PS2 and Wii versions get more content. HOWEVER, I did not buy Dead Rising 2. I kinda wanted to, but the lack of Frank West combined with my never having finished the first made me not buy it. 

And I'm glad I didn't. Because now I can get Dead Rising 2, but with Frank West. Yay! 

So, any other holdouts out there like me, who are now excited for this? Or is everyone just upset about yet another Capcom re-release? 
21 Comments

Persona 4 X Jurassic Park.

By MooseyMcMan 17 Comments

This isn't a blog so much as it is an easy way for me to catalog the crazy nonsense going on here in all one spot.

Johnny V, Jeff Goldblum, Ice Cube, and Will Smith^2 Are: Micheal Crichton Presents: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4: Part II: Jurassic Time 2: Electric Boogaloo: The Movie: The Videogame: FES: The Jack Frost Experience: A SWERY Production: Featuring Zach, Sam Neill, Morgan Freeman, and Ice T

Starring: Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcom.

Soundtrack: From the Fresh Prince himself (Will Smith, to you young people).

(Jamie and Adam's) Tested.com's Will Smith will also be involved to some extent.

Funky Student now rides a raptor around (and is voiced by Ice Cube (and sometimes Jeff Goldblum)).

There will be S. Linking with T. Rexes and other dinosaurs.

Begins with Charlie returning to his home town, where he meets Dr. Ian Malcom.

Game is directed by none other than SWERY.

Forest Kaysen will appear as the guy who gets dino-poison spat on him.

It will feature Zach.

Dinosaurs will see Sam Jackon's arm in their coffee, because they are clever girls. "S...J...In the coffee!"

Johnny V will star as Ice T.

Ice T will be the voice of Fox.

Yosuke (also known as Brosuke) is now always wearing his fresh ski jacket. He also now does the Carlton whenever he dances.

Theme song (written by @dogman795, who is a GENIUS! )

(Entire thing lip-synced by SWERY)

"Now this is a story all about how

My life got flipped-turned upside down

And I liked to take a minute just sit, yeah?

And tell you how I became the prince of a town called Inaba

In the Giant Bomb Community born and raised

In the TV is where I spent most of my days

Chillin out, maxin, relaxing all cool,

And all shooting some Bufu outside of the school

When a couple of Raptors who were up to no good

Started making trouble in my neighborhood

I got in one lil' fight and Jeff Goldblum got scared

And said "You're moving with your Nanako and Zach in Inaba"

I Begged and pleaded with her day after day,

But she packed my suitcase and sent me on my way

She gave me a kiss and then she gave me my ticket

I put the Weather Channel on and said I might as well kick it

First class yo this is bad Gettin' yelled at about chastity (Morooka in background " Grab a chastity belt and SIDDOWN!")

Is this what the people of Inaba living like?

Hmm this might be allright

But wait I hear Igor, big nosed and all that

Is this the type of place they should fuse this Jack Frost?

I don't think so, I'll see when I get there

I hope they're prepared for Charlie Tunoku

Well ah the plain landed and when I came out

There was a dude that looked like Jeff Goldblum standing there with my name out

He said his name was Dr. Ian Malcom, yo

I sprang with the quickness like Mazionga

I whistled for a cab and when it came near

The license plate said "FOX" and it had leaves in the mirror

If anything I can say this cab was tight, yes

But I thought naw forget it yo homes in Junes

I pulled up to the house on a foggy day

And I yelled to the Funky Student "Yo riddle bro, smell ya later"

I looked at my Social Links I was finally there

To sit on my throne as the Prince of Inaba "

(Fade to tested.com's Will Smith and the actor Will Smith rocking out)

The first boss is Dr. Alan Grant (played by Sam Neill) in a helicopter.

Sam Neill will also be portraying Kou Ichijo, who will in turn be dressed as Ghoul most of the time, in an effort to fit in with all the Personae.

Morgan Freeman will be providing the voice (and motion capture) for Jack Frost.

More info pending. Maybe.

17 Comments

My thoughts on the 3DS (after about 10 minutes of play). And 999.

By MooseyMcMan 15 Comments

So, yesterday I found out that a friend of mine who lives down the hall in my dorm building bought a 3DS (and several games). And he let me try it out! Here are my thoughts! 
 

Build Quality.

Much like everything that Nintendo makes, the 3DS felt pretty solid. It was a lot smaller than I was thinking. I think that's just because I've spent more time using my sister's DSI XL than my DS Phat over the last six months or so, but it still surprised me.  
 
Most of the buttons feel nice, and I LOVE the new control-stick-dealy. It's much better than the one on the PSP. But the problem is that it's so nice that I wish there were two, and it makes the d-pad on the thing seem kinda weak (I was also not a fan of the d-pads on the post-Phat DS's).  I do think that having a widescreen on top and a not-widescreen on bottom is kinda weird, but not bad or anything.   
 

The software.

Aside from the AR Games and Face Raiders (both of which were kinda fun, and made great use of the system's cameras and motion sensors), my friend also had Rayman 3D (which I did not play), Super Street Fighter IV, and Pilot Wings.  
 
SSFIV played like Street Fighter. Which is to say I wasn't great at it and I didn't like it much. It sure looked nice though. 
 
And I flew around for a couple minutes in Pilot Wings. You can totally do barrel rolls by double tapping R or L. I will refrain from making the obvious joke.  
 

The 3D.

The 3D seemed a little disappointing to me. I don't know if it's just something weird with my eyes not being receptive to the 3D, or if I was expecting too much out of the system, but the 3D didn't pop as much as I was expecting it to. I could definitely see a difference between having the 3D on and off, but not enough to really change much.  
 
I will say that my eyes felt kinda sore after using it, which they usually do not when I use my DS Phat or PSP.  
  
Speaking of DS Phat, I recently played 9 Hours, 9 Doors, 9 Something Else the other day after having a friend recommend it (and let me borrow it). I have to say, I was kinda disappointed by it. The poking around rooms and solving puzzles stuff was kinda fun, but the story stuff seemed kinda meh, and I got a bad ending out of nowhere and found myself with ZERO interest in starting over and trying to get a better ending. But it wasn't a bad game or anything, I just feel like it could have been a lot better.  
 
So, back to the 3DS, I have to say that I was impressed overall. Sure, the 3D wasn't what I was expecting, but everything else about the system was awesome. If there were better games out, and if the price was lower, I would race out and buy one RIGHT NOW. But as it is, $250 is just too steep, especially with the lack of great software. But I look forward to buying one in the future! 
15 Comments

My thoughts on Yakuza 3 (thus far).

By MooseyMcMan 13 Comments

So, the other day I was at KMart, and I decided to look through the bargain bin of games there. And much to my surprise, I found a copy of Yakuza 3 there for $15. So, I bought it. Here are my thoughts after about 15 hours of play. 
 

The Good.

Yakuza 3 is really fun to play. It's a lot like Shenmue (apparently it's made by many of the people who made Shenmue), just faster paced, and without all the time management stuff. It's a lot more streamlined experience, which on the one hand means that there's less downtime, but also results in some pretty funny things if one thinks about it too much. During the course of one night (in game and real world) Kazuma (main character, if you didn't know) went on two dates with, and slept with three women (individually, not a foursome). Also, he met all of them at the local Smile Burger.  
 
I also never knew that the streets of Okinawa and Tokyo were so crime ridden. I can barely get down a street without being challenged to one or two fights. Luckily, the combat is pretty fun. It's a little on the mash-y side, but the more XP Kaz gets from fighting dudes and completing "Sub-Stories" (side quests), the more his skills gets upgraded, and new moves become available (certain Sub-Stories also unlock new moves), and thus combat becomes more interesting. And even without upgrading Kaz, there are some pretty devastating finishers that can be done with environmental weapons (like hitting a dude over the head with a bike so hard that the bike breaks into pieces).  
 
Speaking of weapons, there is weapon crafting in the game. And some of it is pretty amazing. I made nunchucks out of clothes-hangers! They're not the most effective weapons (as I was able to make regular nunchucks with higher durability and damage), but I mean, come on. CLOTHES-HANGER NUNCHUCKS! That's pretty awesome. And there's some other weird stuff that can be made (using some pretty weird materials, like old magazines and broken radios).  
 
And there is a LOT of stuff in this game. Even after 15 hours, the story feels like it's just getting going (mainly because I spent so much time doing side stuff). And there are a bunch of mini-games, like golf, darts, pool, SEGA branded arcades (with Virtua Fighter 5 machines that sadly can't be used), fishing, various forms of gambling (western (black jack and stuff) and Japanese (don't remember the names because it was all stuff I had never heard of)), and probably some other stuff that I can't think of right now. But this game had plenty of content (especially for the super low price I got it at).   
 
The game also has a couple of lengthy recaps of the stories from the first two Yakuza games, which is great seeing as how I've never played either of them. If you're a first time Yakuza-er like me, I'd strongly recommend watching those before starting up the game.  
 
Oh, and in case you're really interested in buying this game, the US copies of the game have a code for some sort of free DLC that expires on the first of next month, so BE QUICK ABOUT IT! (I also found it hilarious that I bought it the month before the code expired). I have no clue about similar codes in other regions (though I'd be willing to bet that it also works in Canada). 
  

The Not-So-Good.

As I'm sure you know, Yakuza 3 is not a new release. It came out last year in the US of A, and the year before that in Japan. As a result, it looks a little dated. Not bad by any stretch, because the game does at least have a pretty solid frame-rate with a lot of characters in environments and a good amount of detail in said environments, it's just that everything looks a little...plastic-y. It doesn't detract too much from the game though.  
 
However, the game is in Japanese with English subtitles. And while many people out there like subs, I usually call those people crazy. I always prefer a dub over a sub, to the point where this was why I didn't buy the game last year when it first came out. After playing the game a whole bunch, I can say that it doesn't really detract from the game much, but I still would have liked it if there was an option for English voices. On the other hand, that would have required that SEGA put more money into a game that they predicted (accurately) wouldn't sell well in the US, but whatever. It's not that big of an issue.  
 
What I do think is an issue though is what is and isn't voiced. All of the side stuff I've encountered so far has been not-voiced. And while that would have been acceptable back in the day, it really isn't in this day and age. There's plenty of room on PS3 discs to get that dialog in there, and not voicing it just seems cheap.  
 
Even more of an issue is when (for no apparent reason) the game goes from a full-motion and fully voiced cut-scene to characters standing still talking to each other in text-boxes (without voice acting). Then, after a bunch of dialog, it switches back to a regular cut-scene! It makes no sense, and all it does is lessen the experience and make the game seem cheaper. Not a game breaker by any stretch, but it does blemish an otherwise awesome game.  
 
So, that's about it for my thoughts. I still have a lot of game left to do, but sadly what with spring break being over (I spent most of it playing games, as you might have guessed), and me being back at college, I'm not going to have a chance to play it for a while, which saddens me, because I was loving what I had been playing. Loving it to the point where once I beat it, unless something happens near the end to ruin it for me, I'll go pick up Yakuza 4, which should then hype me up for Yakuza of the End! You know, the one with zombies! (Hey, at least they're doing something to change it up from the previous ones). 
 
Also, I have a quick question for those who have beaten the game. There are Trophies for "completing" certain numbers of the Sub-Stories, but I ended up only "finishing" a couple of them (I couldn't find one kid whilst playing hide and seek, and gave up after a while, and once a transvestite caught up with and kissed Kaz, thus making him feel violated). So, does anyone know if "finishing" them instead of "completing" them affects my ability to get those Trophies? I want to know before I start obsessing over doing all of them. Also, is there a point in the game where I can freely go from one city to the other? Even if I have to buy a plane ticket each time, it'd be worth it (especially since money is pretty easy to get in the game). 
13 Comments

(Another) Update on my gaming related goals of 2011!

By MooseyMcMan 6 Comments

 Remember that I made a list of goals for this year? No? Well, here's how I'm going with it. 

Play through the entire Mass Effect trilogy.

Progress: Not yet started, as the third one is still a long ways off. 
 

Buy a 3DS.

Progress: Probably going to fail. Whilst I still think the 3DS is a great piece of technology, I don't think there are another games for it to justify a purchase. 
 

Upload at least one good LittleBigPlanet 2 level.

Progress: No further than last time. Might work a bit next week.
 

Become skilled at Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Progress: Complete! Well, sort of. My original goal was to get good enough to competently use Normal mode, which I was able to do. But I haven't played online much, but what little I did was...Interesting, to say the least. Gonna have to play some more. 
 

Acquire a copy of ZHP: Unlosing Ranger vs. Darkdeath Evilman

Progress: Complete! I have even beaten the game. It's quite good. 
 

S-Rank Deadly Premonition

Progress: Still goin' at it. I haven't actually played the game yet this year, but I was well on my way to the S-Rank to begin with. I still have a lot of it to go though. 
 

S-Rank Mass Effect 3

Progress: Not started yet.  
 

Finish Alpha Protocol (with my friend).

Progress: Not much of anything has happened here since last time. Hopefully we'll get a chance to go at it again next week.
 

Beat Deus Ex: Human Revolution with zero kills.

Progress: Have read some more about the gameplay of this, hopefully stealth-ing won't be terribly difficult. 
 

Try once again to beat Dead Rising (and probably not succeed).

Progress: No more than last time. Haven't had a chance to play any of this. I am always stoked for more Dead Rising though. 
 

Don't buy this year's Call of Duty.

Progress: Lookin' good. Signs seems to be pointing toward this being Modern Warfare 3 (I know, a SHOCKER!). While I definitely want to find out what happens after the "Finish the Fight" like cliffhanger ending, it's not enough to make me want to pay money for it.
 

Don't buy anything at GameStop.

Progress: Goin' strong! You won't get any of my money this year, GameStop! 
 

Buy at least one Wii game.

Progress: None. Rumors seem to be pointing toward the one Wii game I'm currently interested in (Zelda Skyward Sword) may be delayed until next year. But, who knows. If that game does not come out this year though, I shan't be buying any Wii games this year. (Probably).  
 
So, that's it. Only real change was MvC3. Man, that's a fun game. I should go play some more of that.  
6 Comments

My final thoughts on ZHP. And Rango. I saw that.

By MooseyMcMan 2 Comments

So, if you've been keeping up with my status updates here on GB (and why wouldn't you?), you should know by now that I've finished ZHP. And here are my thoughts! 
 

Presentation

The presentation here is pretty solid overall. Graphically the game isn't really anything special (it is a PSP game, after all), but it has a nice style. I do find the 2D sprites in 3D environments to be a little odd, but the main character's sprite actually changes based on what equipment is...equipped, which is a nice change from pretty much every other 2D sprite game I've ever played (especially since a lot of the equipment is insane; things like a hat made out of lit candles).  
 
Better though is the audio. The voice acting is pretty great (though often in an intentionally goofy fashion), and the music is AWESOME. Awesome to the point of rivaling Deadly Premonition for best videogame music of all time (it even constantly plays loudly over the dialog, much like in DP). Here's the best song in the game:  
 
  
   
Also, there are about 8 different versions of the song in the game, all with different singers, different lyrics, different styles, etc. And yes, the English version of the lyrics (which can be seen in game) is just as awesome, as it's about stuff like defeating evil with a fist of love.  
 

Gameplay

Here's the part of the game that might turn a lot of people off from ZHP. The best way to sum it up would be to call it a "Roguelike." Don't know what that is? Neither did I! Basically, it's a turn based randomly generated dungeon crawling RPG. If that sounds intimidating to you, don't worry, the game has a good amount of tutorials early on (that can be re-played through) that explain things well enough to get by. If you want a detailed description of how the game plays, go to the ZHP page on GB, I wrote pretty much all of it.  
 
It's definitely not for everyone, but if you like JRPGs in general, you should be able to figure out how to play through the game, because you can get through most of it by just grinding and leveling until you can beat the tougher bosses (and they get pretty tough). On the other hand, if you know what you're doing, equipping the right equipment, or using the right tactics can make all the difference. The first time I fought the boss in the last dungeon, I was soundly defeated. However, when I went against him again, and had better stuff equipped, I was the one doing the sound defeating!  
 
But to be completely honest, the gameplay is not the main draw here (at least for me). There's certainly plenty of it (I spent about 30 hours my first time through), and there are bonus dungeons that are CRAZY long, lasting between 60-150 floors, whereas the hardest main story dungeons are only 10 floors. But it can get old after a while, especially when I keep dying against the same boss, and having to start the dungeon all over again.  
 

Story

Now this, is the main draw of the game. Like any good Japanese made product, it's completely insane at times. Sometimes it does drag a little when the game is trying to teach you a lesson (like, "bullying is bad," or "running out on your pregnant girlfriend is uncool"), but whenever that happens, the game always follows it up with a joke that literally made me burst out laughing. And much like most college age Americans, my cold, lifeless heart usually prevents me from actually laughing. Okay, I'm exaggerating, but the game is crazy funny at times. I also love how characters freely refer to things in the world in videogame terms, such as a boss at one point proclaiming, "I'm the final boss, I should have at least three forms!"  
 
So, what's my final word? The game is good. Damn good. If you have a PSP, and love things that are crazy and Japanese, you NEED to play this game. It's $30, on Amazon, and PSN. Totally worth the money. I'd even go so far as to say that it'd be worth buying a PSP for it once the NGP comes out and the price drops some more. Well, not on its own, but the point I'm trying to make is that I want people to play this game. It released to almost no fanfare, and I feel that's a great injustice. BUY THIS GAME. Please!  
 
 
... 
 
 
Yeah, so I saw Rango this weekend. It was pretty good. Not Toy Story good, but still pretty good. I also think that how much you get out of this movie depends on how much of a fan of westerns (specifically the Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns) you are. There's one scene in particular that for my dad and I, as huge fans of the "Man with No Name Trilogy", was almost worth the price of admission alone. I really don't want to spoil it, but fans of those movies will instantly know what I'm talking about (though sadly the voice actor in that scene was merely a good imitation, not the real thing). Actually, the whole movie is a big love letter to those old movies, and it's pretty good. The CG is pretty amazing too, because the level of detail on everything is INSANE, and all the characters and environments are really well designed. A lot of love and care went into making the movie. 
 
So, if you like westerns, or want to see an animated movie that isn't too kiddy or on par with most animated movies these days (ie, terrible), go see this movie. Again, it's no Toy Story, but then again, what is? Of course, I'm biased toward Toy Story, but you get the point. I guess the best thing I can say about this movie is that if it came out ten years ago (when I was ten), I would have absolutely loved it.   
 
So...thoughts? Any other ZHP fans out there? Or Rango fans? Theme song for that is still stuck in my head. RANG-GO!! RANG-GOOO!I 
2 Comments

So, apparently the last time I played Sneak King was 1753.

By MooseyMcMan 15 Comments

So, I was looking over my Achievements here on GB, because sometimes I find it funny to see when the last time was that I played certain games.  
 
And here's what I saw tonight:  
 

No Caption Provided
You will notice that it says the last time I played the game was Jan. 1...1753.  
 
Now, even going by the date of birth I claim in my bio on GB, I was not around in 1753. Xbox 360s were not around then. Burger King was not around. TVs were not around, etc.  
 
Now, what I'm wondering is if this is a glitch/bug, or some sort of joke put in by someone at Whiskey Media. You know, have the oldest game on someone's list be 1753. Something like that. 
 
Also, the dates are correct (or at least in years that make sense), for all the other games I've played. 
 
So, has this happened to anyone else? 
15 Comments

More detailed thoughts on my time with MvC3.

By MooseyMcMan 5 Comments

So, as you may or may not know, I acquired a copy of MvC3 Friday last week. And I spent a large chunk of the weekend playing it. Here's my thoughts (PS3 version, just so you know): 
 

Presentation

Damn, this is a nice looking game. Capcom nailed the comic-book look of the game just about perfectly. Even better is that even at its craziest, the framerate never, EVER drops. Well, at least not when playing offline, but that's beside the point. It's a game that really needs to be seen (preferably on a large, HD television) to be believed. The menus are pretty slick looking too (what with still frames of various characters mid-combat), but they can be a little clumsy to navigate at times. The load times are also really fast, which is nice. 
  
And I was quite impressed with the instruction book. It was fairly thick (probably 40-ish pages, and only one language), and was in full color. It even has abridged move lists for the non-secret characters in the game.

Gameplay

Never having played an MvC game before, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect in terms of how to play it, but the game is really easy to pick up, even with the normal control scheme (speaking of which, don't play on Simple mode unless you're absolutely terrible at fighting games). Yeah, I was mashing a lot at first, but it's pretty easy to figure out how characters play, and what stick movements need to be done to pull off hypers.  
 
Overall, the gameplay is what really makes this game shine, and keeps me coming back for more despite its shortcomings. It's easy to pick up, yet very deep, and always fun. And always crazy. 
 

Game Modes

This is where the game falls short. While I didn't dabble in the online much (at least not beyond getting the Trophies for pitting specific characters against each other (and if you're reading this, thank you to the guy who helped me (not sure if that PSN name is tied to someone here on GB, and if so who it is (sorry!)))), I have played the offline modes pretty extensively. Also, my time online was pretty laggy, though that probably has more to do with my internet than anything else (it was snowing out, and it tends to run slower when it's cold out (I blame Comcast and old/crappy cable lines)).
 
Versus mode: Your typical 2 player local multiplayer mode. It has options for time limits and handicaps (I always set time to infinite), but not much beyond that. But this is the ideal way to play against people, because it's lag-free, and the framerate is as solid as ever. Plus, I always find playing with people in the same room to be INFINITELY more fun than playing with people online, even if those people are my slightly-annoying crazy cousins. But if you're going to be playing this game, this is the mode I recommend spending time with. 
  
Arcade mode: This mode was a little disappointing to me. You pick your crew, fight a few fights, and then go up against Galactus and a couple of his heralds. The final fight (pun intended, but only if you're playing as Haggar) is kinda clunky, because the game wasn't really built with fighting something as big as Galactus in mind, and I ran into some troubles fighting two heralds at once, because there doesn't seem to be any way to pick which direction you're facing when you have one on each side.  
 
Then, after beating Galactus (which is hard, I can barely do it on normal), you get two static images (which aren't even full screen) along with some text in the form of dialog from one or more characters. That's it. No animations, and no voice acting. Which is a real shame, because the voice acting is really good overall (with Nolan North stealing the show as Deadpool), and even a little bit of voice acting would make the endings tremendously better. After the credits roll, you unlock some more stuff like character bios and stuff, but again, it's all kinda underwhelming.  
 
However, it doesn't stop the mode from being fun though, at least if you're like me and not good enough to destroy the AI. And while the endings aren't that great, I have a strange urge to go and get them all... 
 
Training and Mission modes: I'm lumping these two because they both revolve around raising one's skill in the game. Training mode is what you expect from a fighting game, and is notable only in that you can do two player in it (which may be standard for all I know), and that it lets you simulate lag. But the trouble with the lag simulator is that the lag is too consistent, whereas in my experience with real lag, it's constantly changing in the level of laginess. Still a neat feature though, if only because it's funny. 
 
Mission mode is different though (and poorly named). Here, the game gives you some moves to do, and you complete the "mission" by doing them. The big problem here is that with the game not paused, it only tells you the names of the moves, not how to actually do them, so I often found myself pausing the game, and going to a menu (and the game automatically brings the menu selector thingy to the correct menu, as if the developers knew this was a problem) to find out how the moves are done. But the bigger problem (for me) was that I'm not actually fast and accurate enough to do most of the moves, so I wind up with only two or three "missions" done for most characters. I was able to get to five or six on a couple of them (Magneto comes to mind), but there are 10 (I think) per character, so I'm not that great. But if you're better than me, then you may blow through these, so whatever.  
 
And that's about it in terms of gameplay modes. There's not a lot here beyond the core combat. But, if that's all you want out of a game, then this is the game to get, because this is the fun I've had with a fighting game in years. Of course, a lot of my enjoyment is coming from the fact that I love having a fun fighting game filled with Marvel characters (and to a lesser extent, the Capcom ones), so the roster is going to have a fairly big impact on what you think of the game. If you can't stand Marvel comics (though I can't think of any logical reason as to why), then you might not get as much out of hearing Deadpool say "Welcome to die" to Magneto. But if you understand why that is awesome, then you're going to love the characters in this game.  
 
So, my final word is that if you like fighting games, check this game out. But, if you like fighting games, Marvel comics, and things that are CONSTANTLY CRAZY, then you need to play this game.  
 
Also, Thor says, "By Odin's beard!" during one of his hyper moves. 
5 Comments